Guide to the J.H. Zivley Papers

Descriptive Summary

Title

J.H. Zivley Papers

Inclusive Dates

1839-1905

Call Number

RG 456

Creator(s)

Zivley, J. H. (John Henry), 1824-1905.

Quantity

4.00 cubic feet (5 boxes)

Language

Materials in English

Restrictions on Access

Collection open for research

Repository

Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 USA

Biographical Note / Administrative History

Biographical Note

J.H. Zivley, a Presbyterian minister and evangelist, was born in 1824 in Shelbyville, Tennessee. He studied at Lane Theological Seminary in Ohio for one year before attending Union Theological Seminary in New York, from which he graduated in 1847. He was licensed by the Fourth Presbytery of New York, New School, in 1847, and ordained by the North Alabama Presbytery, New School, in 1848. Between 1847 and 1901, he worked as a stated supply, pastor, and evangelist primarily in Texas, but also at churches in Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, and Colorado. From 1853 to 1879 he resided in Austin, Texas, where he engaged in home mission work, organizing and building churches in San Marcos, Seguin, Lockhart, and Manor, Texas, while also preaching at several churches in Travis County. He served as moderator of the Synod of Kentucky, New School, in 1848. He was married in 1850 to Mary Frances Wallace Sutton. The couple had six surviving children. During the Civil War, Zivley served as a chaplain in General Tom Green’s Brigade of the Confederate Army. In 1898, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the Austin School of Theology. Zivley died in Marlin, Texas in 1905.

Collection Overview

The collection contains the personal papers of J.H. Zivley, documenting to a major extent his seminary training and his early ministry in Kentucky and Alabama from 1847 to 1851, and to a lesser extent his work as a Confederate chaplain and his ministry and speeches on social issues in Texas from the late 1880s to the late 1890s. The collection includes general correspondence relating to various pastorates, 1852-1898; many handwritten sermons, both bound and unbound, 1847-1900; speeches and lectures, 1845-1900; an autobiographical sketch, 1892; clippings, 1880-1899; and notebooks, 1839-1847, many of them kept while Zivley was a student at Lane Theological Seminary and Union Theological Seminary in New York. In the notebooks, Zivley recorded biblical and theological lectures given by Diarca Howe Allen, Calvin Ellis Stowe, and Lyman Beecher at Lane; and Henry White, Edward Robinson, Thomas Harvey Skinner, and George Shepard at Union. The collection also includes a letter from Mrs. J.H. Zivley to S.M. Tenney, sent shortly after J.H. Zivley’s death in 1905.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Received from Reverend W.S. Red in 1927, Mrs. E.M. (Mattie) Jones in 1945, Charles Cotton in 1978, and Janie L. Binnion in 2004.

Processing Information

This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered beyond their original condition. A preliminary inventory is provided in this guide. Guide revised in 2009 by Jennifer Barr, Archives Intern.

Preferred Citation

J.H. Zivley Papers, RG 456, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Catalog Headings

The following headings have been used to index the description of this collection in the society’s electronic catalog.

Personal Name Subject

Zivley, J. H. (John Henry), 1824-1905.

Allen, D. H. (Diarca Howe), 1808-1870.

Beecher, Lyman, 1775-1863.

Robinson, Edward, 1794-1863.

Shepard, George, 1801-1868.

Skinner, Thomas H. (Thomas Harvey), 1791-1871.

Stowe, C. E. (Calvin Ellis), 1802-1886.

White, Henry, 1800-1850.

Corporate Subject

Lane Theological Seminary.

Union Theological Seminary (New York, N.Y.)

Topical Subject

Presbyterian Church--Pennsylvania--Clergy--19th century.

Missionaries--United States--19th century.

Sermons, American--19th century.

Military chaplains--Presbyterian Church--19th century.

Geographic Subject

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Chaplains.

Genre-form

Correspondence. aat

Sermons. aat

Speeches (documents) aat

Notebooks. aat

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description

1	1	Correspondence, Mrs. J.H. Zivley to S.M. Tenney, 1905 Mar. 20
1	2	Notebook, 1839-1845
1	3	Notebook, 1844 Dec.
1	4	Notebook, 1845 Apr.
1	5	Notebook, 1845 Nov.
1	6	Notebook, 1845 Dec.
1	7	Notebook, 1846 Jan.
1	8	Notebook, 1846 Apr.
1	9	Notebook, 1846 Oct.
1	10	Notebook, 1847 Feb.
1	11	Notebook, Church History Notes, 1847
1	12	Notebook, Systematic Theology Questions, 1847
1	13	Notebook, 1847
1	14	Journal, 1851
1	15	Sermons, various topics, 1847-1857
1	16	Sermons, various topics, 1867-1889
1	17	Sermons, various topics, 1890-1893
1	18	Sermons, various topics, 1894
1	19	Sermons, various topics, 1895-1896

2	1	Sermons, occasional topics, 1847-1850
2	2	Sermons, occasional topics, 1878-1889
2	3	Sermons, occasional topics, 1890-1894
2	4	Sermons, occasional topics, circa 1847-circa 1860
2	5	Sermons, occasional topics, circa 1861-circa 1900
2	6	Sermons, funerals, 1848-1851
2	7	Sermons, funerals, 1861-1872
2	8	Sermons, funerals, 1891-1897
2	9	Sermons, funerals, circa 1847-circa 1900
2	10	Sermons, I. The Bible, Studies of Ecclesiastes, undated
2	11	Sermons, I. The Bible, Sermon on the Four Gospels, undated
2	12	Sermons, I. The Bible, The Book of Revelation, undated
2	13	Sermons, I. The Bible, Divine Inspiration of the Bible, undated
2	14	Sermons, II. The Nature of God, undated
2	15	Sermons, III. The Nature of Man, undated
2	16	Sermons, IV. Death/Dying, undated
2	17	Sermons, V. Salvation by Grace, undated
2	18	Sermons, VI. Christ, His Offices, undated
2	19	Sermons, VII. The Holy Spirit, undated

3	1	Sermons, VIII. Christian Life and Duties, undated
3	2	Sermons, VIII. Christian Life and Duties (continued), undated
3	3	Sermons, IX. Justification/Sanctification, undated
3	4	Sermons, X. The Church and Church Doctrine, undated
3	5	Sermons, XI. The Sacraments, Communion, undated
3	6	Sermons, XI. The Sacraments, Baptism, undated
3	7	Sermons, XII. Faith, undated
3	8	Sermons, miscellaneous, undated
3	9	Sermons, miscellaneous, undated
3	10	Sermons, miscellaneous, undated
3	11	Sermons, miscellaneous, undated
3	12	Sermons, miscellaneous, undated
3	13	Sermons, miscellaneous, undated

4	1	Sermons, miscellaneous, undated
4	2	Sermons, miscellaneous, undated
4	3	Sermons, miscellaneous, undated
4	4	Sermons, composed from Nov. 1845 notebook, undated (see box 1, folder 5)
4	5	Sermons, composed from Oct. 1846 notebook, undated (see box 1, folder 9)
4	6	Sermons, composed from 1847 notebook, lectures on I John, undated (see box 1, folder 11)
4	7	Sermons, fragments, undated
4	8	Prayers, circa 1845-circa 1900
4	9	Prayers, occasional, circa 1845-circa 1900
4	10	Speeches and lectures, 1845-1859
4	11	Speeches and lectures, 1860-1879
4	12	Speeches and lectures, 1880-1900
4	13	Speeches and lectures, undated
4	14	Correspondence, J.H. Zivley to Aurora Indiana congregation, 1852 Nov. 12
4	15	Correspondence, J.H. Zivley to Colonel [Thomas] Green, circa 1863
4	16	Correspondence, postcard from American Tract Society to J.H. Zivley, 1882 Jan. 16
4	17	Correspondence, J.H. Zivley to Presbytery of Central Texas, 1885 Oct. 19
4	18	Correspondence, J.H. Zivley to Rev. C.R. Dudley, 1891 May 18
4	19	Correspondence, First Presbyterian Church of Colorado to Presbytery of Dallas, regarding J.H. Zivley, 1893 Apr. 23
4	20	Correspondence, First Presbyterian Church of Colorado to J.H. Zivley, 1893 Apr. 24
4	21	Correspondence, C.M. Hutton to Session of Big Springs and to Session of Coahoma, circa 1898
4	22	Correspondence, J.H. Zivley to unknown congregation, undated
4	23	Personal papers, transcript of testimony regarding land transfer with J.W. Hannig, San Marcos, Texas, circa 1879
4	24	Personal papers, autobiographical sketch (fragment), 1892 Dec. 3
4	25	Personal papers, "Report of the Evangelist," undated
4	26	Clippings (photocopies), 1880-1899 and undated

5	1	Miscellaneous notes, addresses and correspondence, 1841-1851 and undated

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Guide to the J.H. Zivley Papers

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