Henry Matson Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-116

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The papers consist of four manuscripts by Matson: "Faith Natural, Rational, and Spiritual" (1 vol., 200 pp.); "Truth and Error Concerning God, the Bible, and Christ" (5 vols., 1005 pp.); "The Individual and Society" (416 pp.); and, "Second Reference Book for Literary Workers" (ca. 400 pp.).

Dates

Creation: ca. 1901
Other: Date acquired: 07/14/1978

Creator

Matson, Henry (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted.

Biographical Sketch

Henry Matson (June 23, 1829 - May 21, 1901), stenographer, Congregational minister, librarian and author, was born in Ellsworth, Ohio to George E (1799-1841) and Emaline Augusta Bottum Matson (1805-1835). He had four siblings, although only one survived to adulthood - William Augustus (1827-1910), Caroline Eliza (1830-1836), Mary Sophia (1832-1832), and Charles Frederick (1835-1837). He studied stenography as a young man and moved to New York City where he worked for phrenologists Orson Squire Fowler (1809-1887), Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811-1996), and Samuel Roberts Wells (1820-1875). He returned to Ohio, graduated from the Oberlin College Seminary in 1861, and held pastorates in Massachusetts (1861-64) and Ohio (1864-72). Matson returned to Oberlin in 1867-68 , long enough to take Charles Finney's dictation of his memoirs. After serving as the College Librarian, 1974-77, Matson retired to devote full time to his literary pursuits. He had previously published Jesus the Cure of Skepticism. Matson's other publications included References for Literary Workers with Introductions to Topics and Questions fro Debate, A.C. McClurg and Co., Chicago (1892) and Knowledge and Culture (1895). Matson died in Oberlin. [See Obituary in the Oberlin News, May 24, 1901, for more detail about his life.]

Sources Consulted

William E. Bigglestone's unpublished "[Guide] to the Oberlin College Archives," which was prepared on individual entry sheets in a three-ring binder during the early 1980s.

Note written by William E. Bigglestone.

Extent

0.60 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

Matson was working on "Second Reference Book for Literary Workers" when he died. This work and one other of his manuscripts were given to the library by his sister, Miss Henrietta Matson (Lit. 1862). These records were received by the Archives in 1978 and 1979 (1978/32, 1979/2).