Pliny Fisk papers, 1821 -- 1935

Creator:: Fisk, Pliny, 1792-1825 and Bird, Isaac, 1793-1876
Abstract:: Pliny Fisk was a Middlebury College and Andover Theological Seminary alumnus and Missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions stationed in the Near/Middle East. The collection contains provenance notes, Fisk's journal, and Fisk's book of extracts and records.
Extent:: 0.5 linear feet 0.5 linear feet; 1 box
Language:: English , French , Arabic , Greek, Modern (1453-) , Latin .
Scope and content:: This collection contains provenance notes regarding the purchase of Fisk's journal; Fisk's journal, continued by Rev. Isaac Bird with notes and miscellaneous matter; and Fisk's book of extracts and records, compiled while he was stationed in Smyrna.
Biographical / historical:: Pliny Fisk was a missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions who served in Syria. Fisk was born in Shelburne, Massachusetts on June 24, 1792. After his preparatory studies he went to Middlebury College in Vermont, graduating as part of the class of 1814. In January 1815, he was examined by the Franklin Association of Congregational ministers and received a license to preach. In March, 1815 his first assignment was to preach in Wilmington. He established a Sabbath school and a Ladies' and Gentlemen's Missionary Association while he was in Wilmington. In November 1815, Fisk became a member of the Andover Theological Seminary. In September 1818, Fisk completed his professional studies and that same month at a meeting of the Prudential Committee of the Board, the Palestine Missions was established and Fisk was appointed to that station. In November 1818, he received ordination in the Tabernacle Church, Salem. Fisk died on October 23, 1825 in Beirut.

Acquisition information:

Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.

Custodial history:

Fisk's journal was purchased from Mr. E. J. Van Lennep, grandson of Isaac Bird, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on August 3, 1935. In 1935, the preceding journal volume was held by the library of Middlebury College. The papers were then transferred to the Missionary Research Library (date unkown).

Processing information:

Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and a box. The finding aid was created by Tenny Thomas in 2009, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2020.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in one series in reverse chronological order.

Related material:

Memoir of the Rev. Pliny Fisk, late missionary to Palestine, by Alvan Bond. Boston: Crocker and Brewster, 1828, c1827. Burke [UTS] Union Rare (Non-Circulating) Call Number: MP84 F54x

MRL 12: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions records, 1878-1958, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Other information:

Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL2, Near/Middle East

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Onsite storage.

Terms of access:

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.

Preferred citation:: Item description, MRL 2: Pliny Fisk Papers, 1821-1935, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Location of this collection:: Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Burke Home Page
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Collection