TABLE OF CONTENTS
Guide to the Lorenzo Whiting Blood Diary, 1835 - 1844
Special Collections and ArchivesOlin Library
Wesleyan University
252 Church Street
Middletown, CT 06457 USA
(860) 685-3864
(860) 685-2661
Email: sca@wesleyan.edu
URL: http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/schome/
Descriptive Summary |
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| Repository | Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University |
| Creator | Blood, Lorenzo Whiting, 1812-1881. |
| Title | Lorenzo Whiting Blood Diary, |
| Dates | 1835 - 1844 |
| Linear Feet | 0.1 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Abstract | Lorenzo Whiting Blood, Methodist minister, was born April 13, 1812 in Mason, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. He graduated Wesleyan University in the class of 1838. |
| The volume is a 131-page manuscript diary kept by Blood from May 17, 1835 to July 28, 1844. All entries are shorter than a full page, apart from a few exceptions. The diary begins with Blood describing his abusive childhood, and he then introduces himself as a freshman at Wesleyan University. During his freshman year, he became a member of the Missionary Lyceum student organization, and he traveled across Connecticut preaching at the Connecticut State Prison in Wethersfield, the American Asylum, at Hartford, for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb (now American School for the Deaf), Middletown's African-American Cross Street A.M.E. Zion Church, and many other Methodist churches. On November 14, 1835, Blood left Wesleyan University to teach at a school in Cheshire; however, the following March the school was shut down. He returned to Wesleyan University a semester behind but took twice the course load to catch up. On November 3, 1836, Blood left Wesleyan University again, this time to teach at the Amenia Seminary. He relished in the chance to preach, but on March 16, 1837, he came down with the measles, leaving him the verge of death for two months. Blood did recover and went on to graduate Wesleyan University near the top of his class in 1838. After commencement, he received a job in Litchfield, and then decided to set up a select school in Bradleysville on November 13, 1838. During this time, Blood dealt with an adulterous husband, whose wife feared that he will leave the family; curiously the majority of this entry is crossed out in the diary. After his school was shut down, Blood married Elizabeth Smith and moved to a small Methodist church in South Hadley. On March 1, 1841 their first daughter, Mary, was born and on June 13, 1841, Blood was ordained as deacon to Stafford. The diary ends after Blood was appointed the Methodist minister to Mystic, Connecticut. Blood often felt incapable of preaching God's work, and continually admitted it through his entries. Blood also occasionally remarked on his support for the abolitionist movement, with hope that the Methodist Church would follow suit. | |
| Call Number | 1000-32 |
| Location | For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Special Collections & Archives staff. |
| Language of Material | Material in English |
Biographical Note
Lorenzo Whiting Blood was born April 13, 1812 in Mason, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. At the age of nine, he moved to Phillipston, MA where he stayed with a Mrs. Patheus until he was fourteen. At the age of 19, Blood decided to begin his training as a Methodist Minister after a Methodist "saved his soul." In 1835, at the age of 23, he attended Wesleyan University to continue his training as a minister. During his studies at Wesleyan, he taught at a school in Cheshire, was an active participant in the Missionary Lyceum at Wesleyan, and often spoke at the African Church. Blood also made many trips to Phillipton, Massachusetts to visit his mother and his future wife, Elizabeth Smith. On November 1, 1836, Blood briefly left Wesleyan University to teach at Amenia Seminary, a school of sixty to seventy students. On March 16, 1837, Blood contracted the measles which left him on the verge of death for two months, but luckily he survived. Blood left Amenia Seminary after his sickness, only to return a few months later at the request of the new headmaster. On August 1, 1838, Blood graduated from Wesleyan University with 26 other students.
After commencement, Blood moved to Litchfield, CT, where he became minister of the Methodist Church there. On November 13, 1838 Blood established a select school in Bradleysville, but it only last until March 1, 1839. After the school was shut down on June 19, 1839, Blood married Elizabeth Smith. He served as minister in South Hadley for two years, and then moved to Stafford, CT. On March 1, 1841, Blood's first daughter, Mary, was born. On June 18, 1841, he was ordained as a deacon of Stafford and then went to the Methodist General Conference to discuss the topic of abolition, but there were fears that the southern Methodist Church would break away from the church as a whole. On July 11, 1844, Blood was appointed to the Methodist church in Mystic, CT.
Blood next moved to East Greenwich, Rhode Island in 1847, where his health failed. Following this incident, Blood remained in Connecticut. Blood was stationed in South Glastonbury (1848-1849), Rockville (1850), Hazardville (1851-1852), Quarryville (1853-1854), Colchester (1855-1856), and Danielsonville (1857-1858). From 1859-1861, Blood was Presiding Elder of New London District. Blood was then stationed at Portland (1861-1862), Uncasville (1863-1865), North Grosvenor Dale (1866-1867), Norwich Town (1868), Warehouse Point (1869-1870), Burnside (1871-1872), and Windsorville (1874). During his time in Windsorville, his health failed yet again. However, he recovered and was then stationed at Gurleyville (1875-1876), Staffordville (1877-1879), and West Thompson (1880-1881). Lorenzo Whiting Blood died 1881 at about age 69.
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Collection Overview
The diary of Lorenzo Whiting Blood was written from 1835 when he was a freshman at Wesleyan, to 1844, when he was a Methodist minister in Mystic, Connecticut. During this period, Blood traveled throughout much of Connecticut, along with some stops in Massachusetts (where his future wife lived)and New York City. Blood wrote about many Methodist ministers, especially his professor Dr. Fisk, as well as many parish members throughout his travels. Blood does not dwell too often on any one person; though he does occasionally mention his wife, Elizabeth Smith and first child, Mary, it is only when something dire occurs that they are mentioned. Blood dwells heavily upon his faith towards God, often ending almost every entry with some assurance to his everlasting devotion to the Almighty. There are also three brief mentions of Blood's sentiments towards abolitionism.
Blood often remarked about Wesleyan University's student body being somewhat unfaithful towards the Methodist faith, and expresses his sentiments towards a more conscious school. There are many Methodist churches written about by Blood in his diary, including, "The African Church,""Farm Hill,""Westfield Baptist Church,""Staddle Hill," along with the churches in Litchfield and Mystic where he was a minister. Blood also spends a great deal of time discussing the educational facilities of Wesleyan University and the Amenia Seminary, along with schools he created in Cheshire and Bradleysville. Blood also took part in many of the regional Methodist quarterly meetings, including the North East conference at Lymn. The diary is written to page 131 but pages 4 through 12 are blank. Also, the physical design of the diary is about 200 pages, but there is nothing written from page 131 to 200, except for a few names in the very back of the book. The diary is entirely handwritten in cursive, and although the first page appears to be written in Latin, the rest of the book is completely in English.
The majority of the diary entries date from Blood's time at Wesleyan University from 1835 to 1838. Blood starts the journal with a look into his past as he explains being raised by Hindal, a cloth trader, who used to beat him regularly. He then identifies himself as a freshman at Wesleyan University, who is training to be a minister of the Methodist faith. During his freshman year he became a member of the Missionary Lyceum, and mentions a "member of Colored Preachers" who was very helpful. After completing his exams, Blood traveled to the state prison in Wethersfield where he preached to about two hundred inmates with good behavior. Also during his summer break, Blood visited a school for the deaf at Hartford where he was amazed at the "conversations with their hands." He also attended a Methodist quarterly meeting where there were "joyous celebrations all night." After the Annual Commencement at Wesleyan on August 23, 1835, Blood spoke at the African Church on September 27, where he was shocked at their zealousness.
On November 14, 1835, Blood left Wesleyan University to teach at a school in Cheshire; however, on March 10, 1836 Blood had to close his school. Blood then returned to Wesleyan University, but unfortunately had to take twice the normal course load. Back at Wesleyan, he preached at the Alms House and Farm Hill, but he still wished to do more. After his sophomore examinations, Blood went to his hometown to visit his mother and his future wife, Elizabeth Smith. At home he discovered his brother was planning to leave on a whaling voyage, so he rushed off to Coostan, Massachuetts to stop him. Though finding his brother's ship to have terrible living standards, Blood let his brother go because he wanted to explore the world. During the start of the new semester, Blood writes that he has doubts about his faith towards God and it makes him want to cry. However, Blood recovered and on November 3, 1836, he left Wesleyan University again, this time to teach at the Amenia Seminary.
After some initial hesitation, Blood became fully acquainted with the Amenia Seminary and became a valuable member of the school. On March 16, 1837, Blood contracted the measles, leaving him on the verge of death for two months during his stay in the Amenia Seminary. However, with the help of Dr. Stanton and Mrs. Clark, he was able to recover and returned to Middletown. Soon after returning, however, Blood was called back to the Amenia Seminary by the new headmaster, Clark. After the term finished on October 13, Blood traveled to New York City, then back to Middletown. By winter break, Blood was again near the top of his class in most of his studies and was preaching frequently at Staddle Hill. His last semester at Wesleyan University passed by uneventfully, and after he completed his final examination, Blood went to Litchfield where he preached in different three churches. On August 4, 1838, Blood went back to Middletown for his commencement where he graduated with 26 other men. After returning to Litchfield, Blood decided to set up a select school in Bradleysville on November 13.
In the February 2, 1839 diary entry, Blood crosses out a large portion of the entry seemingly because it discusses the adultery of a parish member and questions whether the husband will ever come back to the family. In the following entry, another section is crossed out which reads that the husband did in fact come back.
On March 1, Blood had to close his school yet again, and decided to go on a "pilgrim to sojourns." After his travels he decided to go to the Methodist North East Conference at Lymn, where he was upset about the lack of discussion of abolitionism. On June 19, 1839, Blood married Elizabeth Smith and received notice that he would be preaching in a small Methodist church in South Hadley. Here he lived in a one room apartment near the Church, which though it was small, was comfortable. On March 1, 1841, Blood's first daughter, Mary, was born, and soon after Blood was ordained as deacon to Stafford. On June 17, 1843, Blood attended the Eastford Conference, which to his bitterness upheld the doctrine of slavery. The issue was once again brought up at the General Conference, but out of the fear of the southern Methodist breaking away from the Church, slavery was again upheld. The diary ends with Blood being appointed to Mystic, Connecticut, as the Methodist minister there.
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Restrictions
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
The cover of the diary is worn, but the binding is still intact. There are some loose pages, and page 49 is completely detached. The ink is still bold, though the writing on some pages near the beginning have began to become less visible and may be difficult to read. There also appears to be a loose piece of paper added into the diary, stating the names of ministers. There is a section towards the end of Blood's entries that is crossed out, but it is still legible with careful inspection.
Copyright Notice
Copyright for Official University records is held by Wesleyan University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
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Related Material
Missionary Lyceum Records, 1834-1871, Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University
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Online Catalog Headings
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Lorenzo Whiting Blood Diary, Collection #1000-32, Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Donated prior to 1980.
Processing Information
Processed by Steven St. Onge, June 2008
Encoded by Valerie Gillispie, June 2008
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Detailed Description of the Collection
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| Diary of Lorenzo Whiting Blood, 1835-1944 | |||||||||||