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Joseph Tuckerman Papers

1799-1863

Guide to the Collection

Collection Summary

Creator:	Tuckerman, Joseph, 1778-1840
Title:	Joseph Tuckerman papers
Dates:	1799-1863
Physical Description:	4 document boxes, 1 narrow box, and 1 oversize box
Call Number:	Ms. N-1682
Microfilm Call Number:	P-630, 1 microfilm reel (diaries 1-10 only, 1799-1828)
Repository:	Massachusetts Historical Society 1154 Boylston StreetBoston, MA 02215library@masshist.org

Abstract

This collection consists of the papers of Unitarian minister Joseph Tuckerman, including correspondence, diaries, and other papers documenting his ministry and missionary work for the poor.

Biographical Sketch

Rev. Joseph Tuckerman, a Unitarian clergyman, was born on 18 Jan. 1778, the son of Edward and Elizabeth (Harris) Tuckerman. He graduated from Harvard College in 1798. In 1801, he was ordained as a Unitarian minister and began his tenure as pastor at the First Church of Chelsea, Mass. (later Revere), a position he held until 1826, when he moved to Boston. In Boston, he began his Ministry at Large, a city mission for the poor. He described his work in this area in a book entitled The Principles and Results of the Ministry at Large, in Boston (1838). From 1833-1834, he visited England, particularly London and Liverpool, where he started similar missions. A society of women who called themselves Tuckerman's Sewing Circle sewed and sold what they made for the Poor's Purse until 1888.

Tuckerman was an original member of the Anthology Society (publishers of the Monthly Anthology and Boston Review) in 1805 and started the Boston Society for Religious and Moral Improvement of Seamen (the first of its kind in America) in 1812. In 1803, he married Abigail Parkman. Following her death, he married Sarah Cary in 1808. He had ten children, including Joseph Tuckerman, Jr., Abigail Tuckerman, Sarah Tuckerman, and Lucius Tuckerman.

In 1836, ill health forced him to leave Boston and travel to Santa Cruz and Cuba. He died in Havana on 20 Apr. 1840.

Collection Description

This collection consists of the papers of Unitarian minister Joseph Tuckerman, including loose papers, 20 volumes of diaries, and 13 miscellaneous volumes. The papers document Tuckerman's work as a minister in Chelsea, Mass., and for the Ministry at Large in Boston, as well as his travels and missionary work in Europe. The loose papers include family correspondence, deeds to land in Chelsea, estate documents, and other papers. The diaries describe Tuckerman's studies, pastoral work, and activities in Chelsea, Boston, and Europe. Additional volumes in the collection include sermons, commonplace-books, and account books.

Acquisition Information

This collection is a combination of what were formerly three collections of J. Tuckerman papers. The J. Tuckerman papers contained the loose papers and the bulk of the volumes; the two-volume diary for 1816 was formerly known as J. Tuckerman II; and J. Tuckerman III contained one folder of letters from Tuckerman and his wife Sarah to their children, 1836-1837.

A diary was deposited by Bayard Tuckerman, Jr. in Dec. 1945, although it is unclear which diary. The 1816 diary (formerly J. Tuckerman II) was acquired by purchase in Jan. 1980. The source for the remainder of the J. Tuckerman papers and J. Tuckerman III is unknown.

Detailed Description of the Collection

I. Loose papers, 1803-1863

This series contains deeds to land in Chelsea, Mass.; correspondence between Joseph Tuckerman, his second wife Sarah Cary Tuckerman, and their children Joseph, Abigail, and Lucius; a few documents related to his ministry; documents related to the legal guardianship of Abigail Eliza Tuckerman; and papers related to the estates of William Harris (for which Tuckerman served as executor) and Rev. Tuckerman, including his will (1839).

Box 1

II. Diaries, 1799-1835

The diaries of Joseph Tuckerman document his studies, pastoral work, and activities in Chelsea, Mass., and his missionary work for the poor of Boston. The 1816 diary (in 2 volumes) was kept during a trip to London, Oxford, and Blenheim and describes working and social conditions there. The nine diaries written between 13 July 1833 and 18 July 1834 were addressed to his wife and document his extensive trip to Europe, particularly London and Liverpool, where he set up missions for the poor modeled after his Ministry at Large in Boston.

Box 2Vol. 1