Guide to the Anne Hart (fl. 1804-1811) / Reverend John Stanford (1754-1834) Correspondence 1804-1811 MG 290

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary
Biographical Note
Scope and Content Note
Restrictions
Access Points
Related Material
Administrative Information

Container List

Documents


Guide to the Anne Hart (fl. 1804-1811) / Reverend John Stanford (1754-1834) Correspondence 1804-1811
1804-1811MG 290
MG 290

The New Jersey Historical Society
52 Park Place
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Contact: NJHS Library
(973) 596-8500 x249
library@jerseyhistory.org
https://www.jerseyhistory.org
© 2006 All rights reserved.
The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher
Inventory prepared by Stephen Sullivan, November 1999, as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Finding aid encoded by Julia Telonidis. April 2006. Production of the EAD 2002 version of this finding aid was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Finding aid written in English.


Descriptive Summary

Creator: Hart, Anne, (fl. 1804-1811)
Title: Anne Hart (fl. 1804-1811) / Reverend John Stanford (1754-1834)

Correspondence

Dates: 1804-1811
Abstract: Letters written from Burlington, New Jersey by Anne Hart, widow of Reverend Oliver Hart of Hopewell in Mercer County, to Reverend John Stanford of New York.
Quantity: .01 linear feet (1 volume)
Collection Number: MG 290

Biographical Note

Reverend John Stanford was born in Wandsworth (Surrey), England on October 20, 1754. His parents, William and Mary Stanford, died before he was twenty years of age. He was ordained in England in 1781 and moved to the United States five years later.

He first worked as a pastor in Virginia and later as pastor in the First Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island. In 1789, he traveled to New York City and helped erect a building on Fair (now Fulton) Street that served as a combination church, school and residence. He served as pastor until 1801 when, following the yellow fever outbreak of 1798 that ravished the congregation, a fire destroyed the building.

After leaving New York City he was an itinerant preacher on the eastern seaboard for nearly a decade before his appointment in 1812 as chaplain to the New York State Prison. It was in this position that he advocated separating children from hardened criminals in order to promote their re-education. He also founded the House of Refuge to provide emotional support and moral guidance to the poor.

On June 16, 1790, Stanford married Sarah Ten Eyck, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. Sarah Ten Eyck Stanford died of yellow fever in 1798. John Stanford died in New York City on January 14, 1834.

Mrs. Anne Hart, who wrote the letters in this collection, was the widowed wife of Reverend Oliver Hart (d. ca. 1804) of Hopewell, New Jersey. She resided in Burlington, New Jersey when these letters were written.

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Scope and Content Note

The Anne Hart /Reverend John Stanford correspondence consists of twelve original letters dating from 1804-1811 bound together chronologically in one scrapbook. The scrapbook also contains the paper envelopes that held each letter.

Anne Hart, a pious woman, wrote to Reverend Stanford for spiritual guidance after the death of her husband. These letters reflect the personal trials and tribulations of Anne Hart during this time period. She confides in Reverend John Stanford about her family concerns, religious devotion, personal health and local issues. She became one of many who religiously wrote Reverend Stanford for friendship and advice.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Photocopying of materials is limited and no materials may be photocopied without permission from library staff.

Use Restrictions

Researchers wishing to publish, reproduce, or reprint materials from this collection must obtain permission.

The New Jersey Historical Society complies with the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials.

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Access Points

The entries below represent persons, organizations, topics, forms, and occupations documented in this collection.
Subject Names:
Hart, Anne, fl.1804-1811.
Stanford, John, Rev., 1754-1834.
Subject Organizations:
House of Refuge (New York, N.Y.)
Subject Topics:
Bereavement–Religious aspects.
Clergy.
Prison chaplains.
Widows.
Subject Places:
Burlington (N.J.)
New York (N.Y.)
Document Types:
Letters (Correspondence).

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Related Material

Stanford, Thomas Naylor Papers,

Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives
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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 290, Anne Hart (fl.1804-1811) / Reverend John Stanford (1754-1834)
Correspondence, The New Jersey Historical Society.

Acquisition Information

The source of these letters is unknown.

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Container List

Documents

Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Personal problems, depressed over death of husband 1804 Feb.
1 2 About son and his family, her health, local deaths 1806 Feb.
1 3 About son, local deaths, efforts to renew faith 1806 Nov.
1 4 Inner struggles of faith 1807 May
1 5 Inner struggles, family issues 1807 Sept.
1 6 Expressions of appreciation for Rev. Stanford’s friendship 1808 Apr.
1 7 More expressions of appreciation, grandson born 1809 Jan.
1 8 Self pity, poor health, reaffirmation of friendship 1809 Apr.
1 9 Marriage of son, concern over Stanford’s injury 1810 Mar.
1 10 Family neglect, her desire to be with her children 1811 Mar.
1 11 Son’s move to Charleston, thoughts of death n.d.
1 12 Gratitude for Stanford’s support 1810 May

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