TABLE OF CONTENTSScope and Contents of the Collection
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![]() Samuel J. May CorrespondenceA description of his letters at Syracuse University
Biographical HistorySamuel Joseph May (1797-1871) was a Unitarian minister, pacifist, abolitionist, and social and educational reformer. He graduated from Harvard University in 1817 and then attended divinity school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After a brief stint in Boston, he accepted the invitation of the Brooklyn, Connecticut Congregational church (the only Congregational body in Connecticut to embrace liberal theology). He later ministered for many years in Syracuse, New York, at what is now known as May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society. He advocated and organized on behalf of freedom and civil rights for blacks, emancipation and voting rights for women, and just rights for workers. His progressive and liberal beliefs meant that he was often at odds with ministerial colleagues, church members, and the public at large. When he died, Andrew D. White, then president of Cornell University, spoke of him as "the best man, the most truly Christian man, I have ever known." [Portions of this biographical sketch adapted from the Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography and from the Harvard Square Library's online article, "Unitarianism in America." ] Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Contents of the CollectionThe Samuel J. May Correspondence consists of four letters. Two are from May (one to a Hannah Fuller of Skaneateles, the other unaddressed), in his hand and signed. One is from American theologian Noah Worcester to May, in his hand and signed, concerning the return of some articles lent to Worcester by May for his work. The last is a clipping from an unidentified publication containing a transcript of a letter of recommendation from May regarding Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Cardozo, directors of a Normal School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Return to the Table of Contents Arrangement of the CollectionLetters are arranged in chronological order. Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsAccess RestrictionsThere are no access restrictions on this material. Use RestrictionsWritten permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection. Return to the Table of Contents Related MaterialFor additional letters from May, see the Ebenezer Meriam Letters on Onondaga Indian Education Return to the Table of Contents Subject HeadingsPersonsMay, Samuel J. (Samuel Joseph), 1797-1871.
Genres and FormsCorrespondence.
OccupationsClergymen.
Administrative InformationPreferred CitationPreferred citation for this material is as follows: Samuel J. May Correspondence, Acquisition InformationVarious. Finding Aid Information
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