Historical Diaries and Journals

This is a collection of historical diaries and journals written by prominent Presbyterian clergymen who each impacted Union Theological Seminary in Virginia and more broadly theological education in Virginia during the 18th and 19th centuries. Smith’s diary, spanning the years from 1836 to 1890, provides a primary source account of antebellum and reconstruction era life and theological education from a southern perspective. Foote’s journal documents his work as a historian of Virginia and North Carolina as well as his influence on the Presbyterian Church U.S. in the Winchester Presbytery of Virginia as a minister during the years leading up to the Civil War. Foote’s detailed entries should prove invaluable to researchers interested in antebellum life and ministry in Virginia from a Presbyterian perspective. Davies diary offers a unique glimpse at colonial Presbyterianism during the 1750’s including the relationship between dissenters and the Church of England in colonial America.