Henry Jackson Van Dyke, Sr., was a graduate of the Princeton Theological Seminary (1845) and pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, N.Y. His papers include manuscripts of sermons (1844-1891), essays, speeches, Bible lessons, and theological notes. The correspondence subseries contains many letters to Van Dyke from clergymen, parishioners, friends, and family, often regarding the controversy caused by his publication of The Character and Influence of Abolitionism, the Reunion movement in the Church, and matters of the General Assembly. Men such as N. C. Burt, Howard Crosby, Cyrus Dickson, William H. Green, James O. Murray, E. D. Prime, and Nathaniel West are representative of Van Dyke's correspondents.

This series is arranged into seven subseries: Works, Correspondence, Journals, Photographs, Documents and Receipts, Memorabilia and Printed Matter, and Papers of Persons Other than Henry Jackson Van Dyke, Sr.

48 boxes

The papers of Henrietta (Ashmead) Van Dyke, Henry Jackson Van Dyke, Sr.'s wife, consist of one subseries dedicated to her correspondence with friends and family, such as Albert Ashmead, Lizzie Brown, Andrew Reid, and various Van Dykes.

Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

3 boxes

Henry Van Dyke, Jr., was the first son of Henry Jackson Van Dyke, Sr., and a member of the Princeton Class of 1873, as well as a poet, author, minister, professor, diplomat, and fisherman. His papers include thousands of letters, often with carbons of Van Dyke's replies, that document the literary, religious, and political life of which he was a part. Many notable names in American literature represent the extent and variety of his correspondence, such as Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, Lyman Abbott, Struthers Burt, Willa Cather, Edith Wharton, Hamlin Garland, Robert Underwood Johnson, James Whitcomb Riley, Lord Tennyson, and numerous others. His Princeton connections are fully recorded-from his early days as a student, then a Murray Professor of English Literature, and later as an annual lecturer-with letters from James McCosh, John Grier Hibben, Francis L. Patton, Allan Marquand, and Woodrow Wilson. There is also a large file of correspondence written while he was Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg at the Hague, 1913-1917. As pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York (1883-1899), chaplain for the U.S. Navy, and moderator of the General Assembly, he became a religious leader with a far-reaching influence. He maintained correspondence with clergymen, presidents, nobility, fellow anglers, school children, family, friends, and strangers. Some examples are John E. Parsons, W. G. T. Shedd, Grover Cleveland, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lord Bryce, Jules Jusserand, Helen Keller, R. B. Marston, Ernest Thompson Seton, Andrew Carnegie, J. P. K. Bryan, and Henry Jackson Van Dyke.

Also contained in this series are many manuscripts, mostly holograph, of Van Dyke's larger works, such as Companionable Books, Fighting for Peace, and The Spirit of America; over 300 shorter works, including "The Birth, Infancy, and Childhood of Jesus Christ" and "A Single Star Mind: An Appreciation of Woodrow Wilson;" and other articles, interviews, introductions, memorials, reviews, sermons, speeches, verse, and early writings. There are also scrapbooks (1868-1933); photographs; documents, with genealogical material; memorabilia; printed matter; papers of others, which includes Mollie Gillie's thesis on the "Literary Works of Dr. Henry Van Dyke;" and memorials to Van Dyke upon his death.

This series is arranged into eight subseries: Works, Correspondence, Journals, Photographs, Documents, Memorabilia, Printed Matter, Papers of Persons Other than Henry Van Dyke, Jr.

121 boxes