Call Number:

C1280

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 0.2 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); William S. C. Webster collection, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1862-1887 (inclusive)

Creator:

Webster, William S.C.

Form:

Correspondence -- 19th century, Essays -- 19th century, and Manuscripts -- 19th century.

Abstract:

Consists of selected correspondence and several manuscripts of Princeton student William Stewart Cross Webster.

William Stewart Cross Webster was a member of the Princeton Class of 1864 and attended the Princeton Theological Seminary.

The collection consists of selected correspondence and several manuscripts of William Stewart Cross Webster. His correspondence, with members of his family and with friends and classmates, dates from the time he was a student at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and, later, at the Princeton Theological Seminary. Most of Webster's letters are quite detailed and contain valuable information about student life at both institutions during the second half of the nineteenth century. In his earlier years at Princeton, Webster writes to his mother, sisters Martha and Lizzie, and brothers Richard and Charles, about his classes, the faculty, events on campus, and his friends and classmates. In a letter to his mother dated January 21, 1864, Webster informs her of his plans to become a missionary. In order to fulfill residency and teaching requirements for his degree, Webster traveled and lived in such cities as Philadelphia, Pa., and Hartford, Conn., and taught small children; during that period he writes about all the places he visits and the people he meets, the clergy and their sermons, New Jersey politics and government, Abraham Lincoln and slavery, and about Lincoln's murder. After his return to Princeton, Webster starts giving detailed information about the Seminary, its presidents, administration, faculty, curriculum, students, and the general life of a seminary student. In 1866 Webster's brother Richard was admitted to the College, and they both shared a room. Some of the letters sent home then are from both brothers.

The manuscripts include an undated short story titled "The Pigeons," written by Webster at an early age, and three speeches or essays written for one of his classes. The first one (untitled) is about hatred, and it was delivered at the College Chapel on November 28, 1863. The second, dated March 1864, is titled Causes Modified by Circumstances, and the third speech or essay (undated) is titled "The Eye."