Joseph Tuckerman Papers 1799-1863 Guide to the Collection

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketch Collection Description Acquisition Information Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms Materials Removed

Collection Summary

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.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Joseph Tuckerman papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Materials Removed from the Collection

Printed Material

The following printed material has been removed to the MHS printed collection:

Tuckerman, Joseph. A Letter to the Executive Committee of the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches, Respecting Their Organization for the Support of the Ministry at Large in Boston. Boston: n.p., 1834.

Tuckerman, Joseph. A Letter Respecting Santa Cruz as Winter Residence for Invalids; Addressed to Dr. John C. Warren, of Boston, Mass. Boston: D. Clapp, Jr., 1837. (2 copies)

Tuckerman, Joseph. A Sermon, Preached on the Twentieth Anniversary of His Ordination. Boston: Phelps and Farnham, 1821.

Wolcott, Oliver. An Address to the People of the United States, on the Subject of a Report of a Committee of the House of Representatives, Appointed to "Examine and Report, Whether Monies Drawn from the Treasury, Have Been Faithfully Applied to the Objects for which They Were Appropriated... Boston: Russell and Cutler, 1802.

Museum Objects

The following item has been removed to the MHS artifacts collection:

Lock of hair, probably of Joseph Tuckerman, enclosed in paper wrapping with inscription: "A lock of hair presented by my mother, Dec. 20 - 1798."