Details

Subject(s)

• Clergy—18th century—Correspondence—New Jersey [Browse]
• Clergy—New Jersey—18th century—Sermons [Browse]
• Congregational churches—18th century—Clergy [Browse]
• Great Awakening [Browse]
• Princeton University [Browse]
• Dickinson, Jonathan [Browse]
• Mayhew, Experience [Browse]

Getty AAT genre

• Correspondence—18th century [Browse]
• Manuscripts, English—18th century [Browse]

Compiled/​Created

1729-1759

Restrictions note

Collection is open for research use.

Summary note

• Thomas Foxcroft served as a Congregational minister at the First Church of Boston. The collection consists primarily of letters sent to Foxcroft by acquaintances and colleagues, notably Jonathan Dickinson (1688-1747) and Experience Mayhew (1673-1758). Several manuscripts, including sermons by Jonathan Dickinson (both written and printed) and lengthy responses to theological debates, are also included.
• The collection consists primarily of correspondence sent to Foxcroft by five individuals: Aaron Burr, Sr. (1716-1757), Jonathan Dickinson (1688-1747), Moses Dickinson (1695-1778), Jeremiah Halsey (1735-1780), and Experience Mayhew (1673-1758). Multiple letters touch upon the early history of Princeton University as Jonathan Dickinson and Burr were the first and second presidents respectively. Others letters, notably those written by Jonathan Dickinson and Experience Mayhew, are largely concerned with matters of theology and the doctrinal splits spurred by the First Great Awakening, often mentioning other prominent ministers of the time including Gilbert Tennent, George Whitefield, and missionary David Brainerd. The escalation of a doctrinal disagreement between Dickinson and Mayhew can be traced through a number of letters and manuscripts written in response to one another. The collection also suggests Foxcroft essentially served as a literary agent for these two men. The papers include drafts and copies of sermons and remarks written by Dickinson and Mayhew, many unpublished; Foxcroft was asked to review them for content and facilitate their publication and distribution. Researchers should note the collection essentially consists of items written by others; Foxcroft's hand appears only in the occasional notation.

Publications about

American Writers Before 1800 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983) and American National Biography Online (www.anb.org) were consulted during preparation of biographical note.

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