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Dwight Lyman Moody Collection

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 11 Apr 1968

Biographical History

Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899) was an American Protestant clergyman and evangelist.

Born in Northfield, Massachusetts, Moody settled in Chicago in 1856 where he became successful in business and active in reliogious work. He withdrew from business in 1861 to devote his full energies to city missionary work. During the Civil War he acted as agent of the United States Christian Commission and was also secretary of the YMCA.

In 1867, while in England, Moody carried on evangelistic work. In 1870 he became associated with Ira D. Sankey, organist and singer. Together they made two notable tours of England (1873-1875 and 1881-1883), and held meetings in many parts of the United States. Their collections of gospel hymns were well received.

In 1879 Moody established Northfield Seminary for Young Women, the first of a chain of educational institutions of his planning. Mount Hermon School for Young Men was added in 1881, and the Bible Institute for Home and Foreign Missions in 1889. He also inaugurated the Students' Conference and the Christian Workers' Conference in Northfield.

Moody was married to Emma C. Revell, with whom he had three children: Emma Moody Fitt, William Revell Moody, and Paul Dwight Moody, who became President of Middlebury College.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Dwight Lyman Moody Collection consists of correspondence, subject files, writings, photographs and clippings. The collection is divided into two parts according to the donor.

Material donated by Mrs. E.M. Powell, grand-daughter of Mr. Moody, contains correspondence, subject files, writings and photographs. These are further subdivided as shown in the following shelf list. Subject files include ephemera and a curator's file. Writings consist of articles by and about Moody, including one page of a sermon outline in his handwriting. Photographs include several of Moody at various ages.

Material donated by Mr. Colton Storm contains material relating to Dwight Lyman Moody and material relating to Carl Sidney Bishop. The Moody material includes correspondence, clippings and a curator's file. The Bishop material contains correspondence and a Parsons family genealogy. Mr. Bishop was Mr. Storm's grandfather and a correspondence of Moody.

Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is arranged chronologically. Photographs are arranged alphabetically by subject.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has extensive holdings relating to church and clergy in Central New York. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.

Subject Headings

Persons

Bishop, Carl Sidney.
Moody, Dwight Lyman, 1837-1899.

Subjects

Evangelists -- Great Britain.
Evangelists -- United States.
Protestant churches -- Clergy.

Genres and Forms

Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Genealogies (histories)
Memorabilia.
Photographs.

Occupations

Clergy.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Dwight Lyman Moody Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mrs. E.M. Powell.

Gift of Colton Storm.

Table of Contents

E.M. Powell, donor

Colton Storm, donor

Inventory