This collection contains the disbound contents of a scrapbook that Massachusetts minister Calvin Durfee kept during the mid-19th century. The first item is Durfee's 14-page journal describing his domestic travels from April 22, 1851-June 20, 1851. He embarked from South Dedham, Massachusetts and travelled, often by steamboat, across northern New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The journal records Durfee's daily activities, including delivering sermons and making social calls in numerous cities, and also contains a genealogical record of his sister's family, the Lashiers of Maine, New York (page 10).
The journal is followed by biographical sketches of pastors from Pittsfield and Lanesboro, Massachusetts, clipped from the Berkshire Courier (approximately 14 pages); the clippings include manuscript annotations. Two additional clippings are a history of the pastors of the Presbyterian Church at Whitfield, Massachusetts, and a note regarding the marriage of Durfee's son Charles. The collection also contains 7 sermons that Calvin Durfee delivered by between 1852 and 1876, consisting of 6 manuscripts and one newspaper reproduction. Four of the sermons are between 18 and 30 pages long.
Additional printed material includes a program from Charles S. Durfee's ordination in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on September 8, 1869; a related letter of congratulation; and a printed invitation from the First Presbyterian Church of Newburyport (August 24, 1869). The original scrapbook cover is housed with the collection.
Biographical Sketch Subjects: Pittsfield
- Thomas Allen
- William Allen
- Thomas Penderson
- Heman Humphrey
- Rufus William Bailey
- John W. Yeomans
- Chester Dewey
- H. N. Brinsmade
- John Todd
- S. A. Allen
Biographical Sketch Subjects: Lanesboro
- Daniel Collins
- John De Witt
- Noah Sheldon
- Ransome S. Cook
- John Furgerson
- Edward Joab Brace
- Martyn Tupper
- Chauncey Eddy
- Charles Newman
Calvin Durfee was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on October 6, 1797, the son of John Durfee and Mary Peck. He had one sister, Mary Ann (b. 1810), who married Samuel Lashier of Union, New York. Durfee graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1825, and was ordained in Hunter, New York, on April 21, 1828; he then became the minister of a local church. From 1836-1851, Durfee lived in South Dedham, Massachusetts, and from 1851-1855 he lived in Brooklyn, Ohio. After returning to Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1855, Durfee became a financial agent for his alma mater and authored two texts on the college: History of Williams College (1860) and Williams Biographical Annals (1871). He married Maria Beckwith in 1828 and, after her death, Sarah Tappan (m. 1831). He had at least one son, Charles S. Durfee, who became a Presbyterian minister. Reverend Calvin Durfee died on November 21, 1879.