Hector Humphreys papers

Collection

Identifier: AR-SC-004

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Hector Humphreys papers include letters, sermons, a commencement speech, and a manual for farmers.

Series I contains letters written to Humphreys between 1821-1856. Correspondents include students and colleagues from Yale and Washington College, religious colleagues, and a letter from his niece, Adeline C. Griswold. Humphreys also corresponded with Denison Olmsted, a professor at Yale, about a scientific apparatus, demonstrating Humphreys’s interest in science and his search for materials to improve St. John’s science program.

Series II contains Humphreys’s sermons, an 1852 St. John’s College commencement speech, and a manual for farmers on the chemistry of soil and manure. All items are hand-written and bound, and illustrations of soldiers or other men are pasted on the front cover of the sermons and commencement speech. The sermons were given in churches around Annapolis and Eastport such as St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, All Hallows Church, St. Margaret’s Church, and the Naval Academy.

Dates

1821-1856

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Biographical / Historical

Rev. Dr. Hector Humphreys was born on June 8, 1797, in Canton, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale University in 1818 and studied law at Hopkins Academy. After a year of practicing law, Humphreys abandoned his practice and began to pursue ministry. Humphreys was soon after appointed tutor at Trinity College (then called Washington College) and became a Professor of Ancient Languages. After seven years at Trinity College, he was called to be the President at St. John’s College in 1831.

Humphreys remained President of St. John’s College for 26 years until his death in 1857. He advanced the college’s facilities by acquiring funds to build a new hall (named Humphreys Hall after his death) and laboratory, securing supplies for the science programs, and increasing the number of books at the library. He was also heavily involved in education at the college, as he taught a variety of classes including Greek, Latin, astronomy, science, and natural philosophy, and he regularly gave lectures. Humphreys had an active religious life as well, and he had charge of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church during vacancies or temporary absences of the Rector. In this position, he wrote over 300 sermons.

Extent

0.417 linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

Series I: Correspondence

Series II: Writings

Both series are arranged chronologically.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The provenance of Humphreys’s papers has not been established. However, they may have been given to the archives by Burton Bright prior to 1978.

Related Materials

The St. John’s College Digital Archives contain materials related to Humphreys, and Greenfield Library at St. John’s also contains some of Humphreys’s books. The Maryland State Archives, the New York Public Library Digital Collections, and the University of Virginia possess some of Humphreys’s letters.

Bibliography

Humphreys, Frederick. The Humphreys family in America. Internet Archive, 467–70. New York, New York: Humphreys Print, 1883. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/humphreysfamilyi01hump/page/470/mode/2up.