Title: Charles Grandison Finney Presidential Papers, 1814-1878, n.d.

ID: RG 2/002

Extent: 7.28 Linear Feet

Charles Grandison Finney, flamboyant evangelist of the Second Great Awakening, served as the second President of Oberlin College (1851-65). He was born in Warren, Connecticut on August 29, 1792 to Sylvester (1727?-1842) and Rebecca (Rice) Finney (1759-1836). When Finney was two years old, his family joined the westward migration and settled in the frontier town of Hanover in Oneida County, New York. Finney is believed to have attended Oneida Academy in Clinton, where he developed his gifts for music and for sports. From 1808 to 1812, Finney taught in the district school at Henderson. For two years, he studied independently while living in Warren, Connecticut, preparing to enter Yale College. In 1814, he moved to New Jersey where, on his schoolmaster's advice, he began working through Yale's college curriculum. After two years, he entered the law office of Judge Benjamin Wright in Adams, New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1818.

On October 10, 1821 in Adams, Finney underwent a dramatic religious conversion, which altered the course of his life. Abandoning the practice of law, he transferred his oratorical skills, powers of reason, and belief in human accountability to the preaching of the Christian gospel. In 1823, Finney put himself under the care of the St. Lawrence Presbytery as a candidate for the ministry; he was ordained in July 1824. He left the Presbytery in 1836 and from then on identified himself as a Congregationalist.

For nearly a decade, from 1824 to 1833, Finney conducted unusual revivals in the Middle and Eastern states, but especially in the towns of New York: Rome, Rochester, Utica, Clinton, Antwerp, Evans' Mills, Western, and Gouverneur. In 1832, he became pastor of the Second Free Presbyterian Church, New York City. In 1835, the wealthy silk merchant and benefactor Arthur Tappan (1786-1865) offered financial backing to the newly founded Oberlin Collegiate Institute (as Oberlin was known before 1850), and he invited Finney, on the recommendation of abolitionist Theodore Dwight Weld (1803-95), to establish its theological department. After much wrangling, Finney accepted, on the conditions that he be allowed to continue to preach in New York, that the school admit blacks, and that free speech be guaranteed at Oberlin.

At Oberlin Theological Seminary, Finney held the posts of Professor of Systematic Theology (1835-58) and Professor of Pastoral Theology (1835-75), teaching courses in Didactic and Polemic Theology, Pastoral Theology, and Mental and Moral Philosophy. He served simultaneously as pastor of Oberlin's First Congregational Church (1837-72) and was a member of the Oberlin College Board of Trustees from 1846 until 1851 when he was elected president. For much of the academic year, he carried on his immensely successful evangelistic work, visiting Great Britain in 1849-50 and again in 1859-60. Through the Oberlin Evangelist, established in 1839, he expressed his views on doctrinal and practical matters, collectively referred to as "Oberlin Theology" or "Oberlin Perfectionism." Finney taught that the individual has a limitless capacity for repentance.

He also taught that an exalted state of spirituality was attainable by leading a Christian life. These New School Calvinist views, opposed by conservative Calvinists, included prohibitions against tobacco, tea, coffee, and most popular amusements. Finney's brand of theological perfectionism placed Oberlin on the theological map for more than a century.

In 1869, Finney published The Character, Claims, and Practical Workings of Freemasonry, attacking the order of which he had once been a member. His Lectures on Systematic Theology were published in 1846 and 1847. Among his other works are: Sermons on Important Subjects (3rd ed., 1836); Lectures to Professing Christians (1837); and Skeletons of a Course of Theological Lectures (1840). In 1867, Finney began writing Memoirs of Rev. Charles G. Finney. Edited by James Harris Fairchild and published in 1876, the memoirs deal chiefly with his evangelistic activities; they do not constitute an autobiography. Finney taught up until his eighty-third year, submitting his resignation from the presidency in 1865. He died in Oberlin in August 1875 following a heart ailment.

During his life, Finney had three wives. In 1824, he married Lydia Root Andrews (1804-47). They had six children: Helen C. Finney (b. 1828); Charles Grandison Finney (b. 1830); Frederick Norton Finney (b. 1832); Julia R. Finney (b. 1837); Sarah Sage Finney (1841-43), and Delia Andrews Finney (1844-52). Finney's second wife was Elizabeth Ford Atkinson (1799-1863, m. 1848) and his third wife Rebecca Allen Rayl (1824-1907, m.1865). All three women shared in Finney's revival work, accompanying him on his travels and even developing parallel ministries, as Elizabeth Ford Atkinson did during the two evangelistic trips in England. In Oberlin, they were active in various women's organizations, including the Maternal Association, the Infant School, and the Oberlin Female Moral Reform Society. Rebecca Rayl served as Assistant Principal of the Ladies Department at Oberlin College between 1856 and 1865, prior to her marriage.

Author: Valerie S. Komor

Forms of Material (links to similar genres)

Languages of Materials

Administrative Information

Acquired: 10/26/1966. Accession Nos: 1, 31, 1978/35, 1982/15

Restrictions: Unrestricted. See microfilm note.

Acquisition Note: The calendared correspondence, loose sermon outlines, printed tracts, and some miscellaneous printed materials were given to the Oberlin College Library in 1930 by Mr. Charles Monroe and Mrs. Emma Monroe Fitch, heirs of Finney's daughter, Julia Finney Monroe. These materials were transferred to the College Archives in 1968 and 1978. Additional accessions occurred in 1966 (family business papers, Lamson letters, and marriage licenses) and in 1982 (Marvin letters). Late accretions include a certificate transferred from the Special Collections Department of the Oberlin College Library in 2009.

Related Materials:

One roll of microfilm (Correspondence, 1830-75) contains letters from Finney located in other collections in the College Archives. The papers of James Harris Fairchild (2/3) contain correspondence from Finney; consult the calendar and index for these papers in the College Archives. Consult faculty records on microfilm, the records of the Board of Trustees, and the records of the Office of the Treasurer for additional related materials.

See also the Finney Family Papers (30/236).

Finding Aid Revisions: Processed by Valerie S. Komor, 26 September 1991. Revised 12 November 1992 by Archives staff; additional revisions April 2004 by May Tran; April 2005; November 2009.

Collection Material Type: Official Records

Other Note:

Microfilm Note

Finney papers on microfilm include the following:

Calendared Correspondence, 1817-1875

Correspondence, 1830-75

Miscellaneous Manuscripts, 1835-60, n.d.

Lectures (bound), 1868-75

Sermon outlines, 1853-75, n.d.

Memoirs of Charles Grandison Finney (original microfilm is faint)

A listing of the contents of individual rolls is available in the College Archives.

Scope and Contents:

The Finney papers are organized into the following record series, arranged to facilitate access to the collection's index and calendar: I. Correspondence, Incoming (calendared); II. Correspondence, Incoming and Outgoing (uncalendared); III. Miscellaneous Manuscripts; IV. Diaries and Commonplace book; V. Lectures; VI. Sermon Outlines; VII. Business Papers of Finney; VIII. Writings of Finney (Ms.); IX. Writings of Finney (Printed); and X. Late Accretions. Series II, Correspondence (uncalendared), and Series III, Miscellaneous Manuscripts, were united under the title "Letters and Papers" in the original arrangement scheme. The present arrangement separates them into consecutive series. Typically, records within series are arranged chronologically or alphabetically by type of material.

The papers of Charles Grandison Finney consist mainly of incoming, calendared correspondence (1817-75) documenting Finney's revivalist activities in New York state (1817-75) and in England (1850, 1859). The correspondence is indispensable to a study of Finney's evangelism and of prevailing Presbyterian and Congregationalist controversies during the first half of the nineteenth century. Twenty-four letters (1817-71) are in Finney's own hand. Correspondents include the Rev. Horace Bushnell (1802-76), abolitionist Theodore Dwight Weld (1803-95), English mill owner Potto Brown (1797-1871), lawyer John P. Cushman (1794-1848), the Rev. George Washington Gale (1789-1861), the Rev. Eliphalet Gilbert (1793-1853), Catharine Beecher (1800-78), Oberlin Professor John Morgan (1802-84), friend Herman Norton (1799-1850), metal merchant Anson G. Phelps (1781-1853), the Rev. George Redford (1785-1860), Boston businessman Willard Sears (1803-1880), and benefactor Lewis Tappan (1788-1873). Topics covered in the correspondence include evangelical Christian thought, revivalism, temperance, the anti-slavery movement, the role of women in evangelical Christianity, and the history of Oberlin College and of the town.

Finney's uncalendared correspondence includes twenty-three letters from Finney to Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Lamson of Boston describing his work in England (1860), reporting the death of Finney's second wife, Elizabeth Ford Atkinson (1863), and discussing the Evangelical Union. Additional documentation created by Finney includes diaries (1814-19, 1829-41, 1857, 1860-70) containing brief, uninformative entries; lecture notes (1868-75) dating from his tenure as Professor of Pastoral Theology at Oberlin; and writings. Writings by Finney include the manuscript draft of Finney's Memoirs (1876), in which Finney narrates the story of his career and defends his evangelical methods against the charges of Lyman Beecher and Asahel Nettleton. Also in the collection are several miscellaneous signed manuscripts (n.d.); over six hundred sermon outlines (1853-75); printed religious tracts; articles in religious newspapers; and reprints of his addresses. In their span and completeness, the sermon outlines, arranged by year, provide a valuable source for the analysis of Finney's biblical theology.

There is virtually no record in this collection of the Finney presidency at Oberlin (1851-65), or of Finney's service as a trustee (1846-51). Consult the records of the Board of Trustees (Record Group 1) and the Office of the Treasurer (Record Group 7) for the administrative papers from the period 1846-65.

Within the Finney Papers, other materials relating to Finney's long association with Oberlin (1835-75) include various personal business papers, among them a copy of the so-called "Finney Compact" (1835); bank books issued by Oberlin banks; deeds of land in Oberlin; and a map showing the parcel of land on which Finney built his home, at the corner of Lorain and Professor streets (n.d.).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series I. Correspondence (calendared and microfilmed), 1817-1875 ( 2.4 l.f.)

The bulk of the Finney Papers consists of Finney's incoming correspondence (Boxes 1-6). Calendared in two volumes with an index prepared in 1939 by LeRoy P. Graf, the 2,246 letters are divided as follows: volume 1, letters 1817-33; volume 2, letters 1834-75. These letters are written mainly by converts and friends of Finney, particularly from New York state, the scene of Finney's revivals. Also included are letters from Finney's English friends, written during and after his evangelistic visits to England in 1850 and 1859. The bulk of the later correspondence (1868-75) relates to anti-masonry.

Series II. Correspondence (uncalendared), 1828-75 (0.2 l.f.)

This correspondence was acquired after the calendared correspondence; it includes both incoming and outgoing correspondence. Letters by Finney include two written in defense of his account of the 1825 revival at Gouverneur, New York (1873) and one letter (1871) to Mrs. Sarah Spees, opposing Freemasonry and secret societies. Additional letters are addressed to Jacob Helfenstein, a preacher in Germantown, Pennsylvania (1828, 1832); E.P. Marvin (1868-74); Mr. and Mrs. James Barlow, Finney's English friends, (1860-75); and Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Lamson of Boston, Massachusetts (1860-70). Incoming correspondence is filed before outgoing correspondence.

Series III. Miscellaneous Manuscripts (indexed; microfilmed), 1835-60, n.d. (0.2 l.f.)

This series, containing a variety of printed and manuscript materials relating mainly to Finney's revivals, includes two manuscripts by Finney: "Revival Memories," (n.d.) and "Innocent Amusements," (n.d.). The original order of these files has been maintained and follows the listing on pp. 271-72 of the index to the Calendar of the Finney papers. Accordingly, receipts, bills, and orders (1832-60) have been retained here rather than joined with those receipts housed in Series VII, Business Papers.

Series IV. Diaries and Commonplace Book, 1814-70, n.d. (0 .2 l.f.)

Includes four diaries (1814-19; 1829-41; 1857; 1860-70) containing weather observations, financial accounts, and scripture passages [Note: Although these volumes are called diaries, they do not contain the typical diary entries.] The commonplace book (527 pp., n.d.) seems to be a small concordance to Scripture, with passages copied in and cross-referenced. Also housed here is an address book, purchased and used in England (1859) and a pocket-sized pamphlet, The Names, Titles and Characters of Jesus Christ, London, n.d. The diary (1857), pamphlet, and address book are included in the Index to the Finney papers. Volumes are filed chronologically.

Series V. Lectures, 1868-75, n.d. (0.6 l.f.)

Includes both bound and unbound lectures given by Finney, in outline and in essay form, covering such topics as baptism, church government, pastoral theology, and Asa Mahan's religious philosophy. The unbound lectures have been calendared and indexed. Bound lectures precede unbound lectures.

Series VI. Sermon Outlines, 1853-78, n.d. (0.4 l.f.)

Finney's sermon outlines, which were arranged by Roy Alan Cheesebro in 1947, are individually numbered (1-685) and are housed in envelopes labeled by year of creation. Within years, outlines are arranged according to Scripture order. Filed with the sermon outlines are various lecture outlines (48 pieces), miscellaneous outlines (19 pieces), "Remarks of President Finney," made in 1874 at the dedication of Council Hall, and the original ms. account (with copy) of notes taken by a student hearing Finney preach on August 1, 1826; this is Finney's earliest reported sermon.

Series VII. Business Papers of Finney, 1823-75, n.d. (0.8 l.f.)

Consists of family business papers such as receipts (1840-75); expense accounts (1844-47); agreements to have land cleared and barns built (1837-47); deeds of land; copyright agreements; insurance papers; bank books (1863-71); and an appraisal of William C. Cochran's estate (1847). It is possible that the Lorain County marriage licenses (1839-75) were issued to couples married by Finney. Materials are arranged alphabetically by type.

Series VIII. Writings of Finney (ms.), [1867-68] (0.4 l.f.)

Includes the original manuscript of Finney's Memoirs with annotations by its first editor, James Harris Fairchild (1817-1902). The manuscript is arranged in page order.

Series IX. Writings of Finney (Printed), 1824-71 (0.2 l.f.)

Finney's printed writings include: a series of pocket-size tracts published by the Williard Tract Repository, Boston; several issues of the Oberlin Evangelist (1852-61) containing Finney's addresses; an 1858 pamphlet; two 1942 reprints of Finney devotional works; a Chinese translation of "A Spiritual Awakening," (1920); and clippings relating to revivals conducted by Finney (1839-71).

Series X. Late Accretions, 1862 (1.68 l.f. )

Additional materials added to the Finney Papers after 1982 fall into this series. One item, a certificate made out to Charles Grandison Finney by the American Missionary Association in 1862, constitutes the series.

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