Elam Jewett Comings Papers, 1834-94, 1904-36, undated | Oberlin College Archives

By W. E. Bigglestone; Valerie Komor

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Collection Overview

Title: Elam Jewett Comings Papers, 1834-94, 1904-36, undated

Predominant Dates:1834-1907

ID: RG 30/052

Primary Creator: Comings, Elam Jewett (1812-1894)

Extent: 1.0 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 02/08/1971. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Congregational ministers

Forms of Material: daguerreotypes, diaries, lecture notes, letters (correspondence), manuscripts, photographic prints, photographs, photographs - daguerreotypes, photographs - photographic prints, sermons

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The papers of Elam J. Comings include correspondence, writings, miscellaneous family papers, and photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of the correspondence of Elam J. Comings to his family, written while a student at Oberlin College (1836-41) and while serving pastorates in Ohio (1842-43, 1853-60), Vermont (1845-48), and Massachusetts (1848-53). Topics covered in the Oberlin correspondence include the preaching of Asa Mahan (1799-1889) and Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875), the lectures of John Morgan (1802-84), land values, and the financial state of the young institution. Sixty letters (1863-64) written by Elam and his daughter Sarah (1840-1926) describe their work educating former slaves in Beaufort, North Carolina, under the auspices of the American Missionary Association (AMA). There are also two letters (1984) to Elam Comings from Siam missionary, Dan Beach Bradley (1804-73), written during Bradley's three-year residence in the United States (1847-50) as a fund-raiser for the AMA. Additional materials in the collection include original essays, sermons, and diaries of Elam Comings, miscellaneous family papers, and photographs of the Comings family.

Collection Historical Note

Elam Jewett Comings was born on April 22, 1812 in Berkshire, Vermont, to Andrew and Betsey (Jewett) Comings. He attended the Kimball Union Academy, and the University of Vermont (1834-36), graduating from Oberlin College ("Oberlin Collegiate Institute" before 1850) in 1838. In 1839, he married Fanny Woodbury Fletcher (d. 1894; enr. Oberlin 1833-35). They had two children, Sarah (1840-1926) and Eliza. Following his gradation from Oberlin Theological Seminary in 1841, Comings was ordained to the Congregational ministry. He held pastorates in Ohio, Vermont, and Massachusetts. From 1863-64, he and his daughter, Sarah, served in the Freedmen's Bureau at Beaufort, North Carolina under the auspices of the American Missionary Association. From 1874 until his death on November 23, 1894, Comings lived in Kingsville, Ohio, and preached to several neighboring parishes.

Subject/Index Terms

Congregational ministers

Administrative Information

Repository: Oberlin College Archives

Accruals: Accession 129.

Acquisition Method: Accession.

Finding Aid Revision History: Processed by William E. Bigglestone. Rearranged and described by Valerie Komor, 1992. Revised by Archives staff, 2022.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series I: Correspondence of Elam and Sarah Comings, 1834-1894, undated],
[Series II: Writings, 1837-1839, undated],
[Series III: Comings/Fletcher Family Papers, 1904-1907, undated],
[Series IV: Comings Family Photographs, ca. 1850-1936, undated],
[All]

Series I: Correspondence of Elam and Sarah Comings, 1834-1894, undated

Box 1

Folder 1: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 2: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 3: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 4: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 5: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 6: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 7: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 8: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 9: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 10: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 11: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 12: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 13: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 14: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 15: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 16: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated
Folder 17: Correspondence, Outgoing, 1834-1894, undated

Flat File GR2 D1

Folder 1: Correspondence, Elam J. Comings to Fanny Fletcher, 1838 September 16: GR 2, Drawer 1

Series II: Writings, 1837-1839, undated

Box 2

Item 1: Diary of Elam J. Comings, 1837-1946
Folder 2: Essays and Sermons by Elam J. Comings, 1838-1839, undated
Folder 3: Essays [by Fanny Fletcher? and Sarah Comings?], 1862, undated

Series III: Comings/Fletcher Family Papers, 1904-1907, undated

Box 2

Folder 1: Miscellaneous Family Papers, 1904-1907, undated

Series IV: Comings Family Photographs, ca. 1850-1936, undated

Box 2

Folder 1: Photographs, 1869-1936, undated: 17 items.

Box 3

Folder 1: Daguerreotypes, ca. 1850, undated: 5 items.