Joseph Parrish Thompson and Leonard Bacon papers, 1845-1928

Series I: Joseph Parrish Thompson and Leonard Bacon Correspondence, 1845-1879

This series is made up of correspondence between Joseph Parrish Thompson and Leonard Bacon between 1845 and 1879 (the year of Thompson's death). Most of the correspondence pertains to their work as Congregational ministers and as the editors of The Independent between 1848 and 1861. The majority of the letters are from Thompson to Bacon, but there are a significant number from Bacon to Thompson, as well as several addressed to Bacon from other associates including Seth B. Hunt, an owner of The Independent. Other letters worth noting are a twenty-two page letter from Bacon to Thompson in 1860 that is heavily critical of William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips and a letter from Bacon's daughter Rebecca to Thompson in 1863 notifying him of Bacon's son's death in the Civil War. One folder contains correspondence between Katherine W. Bacon Smith and her parents Leonard Bacon and Catherine Elizabeth Terry Bacon. These letters detail general family news and Katherine's pregnancy and the birth of her children with Eugene Smith, a New York City prison reformer.

Series II: Thompson Family Files, 1854-1928

This series contains various personal files documenting the lives of members of Joseph Parrish Thompson's family. There are several items, including an ambrotype and two manuscripts of articles, which date to Thompson's lifetime. There is also a biography of Thompson written by his son, physician William Gilman Thompson. There are several more items that relate to William Gilman Thompson, including a history of his childhood written by his mother, Joseph P. Thompson's second wife, Elizabeth Coil Thompson. There are several folders of the personal papers and correspondence of Lucy Bartlett Thompson Hunt, who was Joseph P. Thompson's daughter, as well as her husband Seth B. Hunt and their children Lucy and Seth. The correspondence of Seth B. Hunt (Jr.) suggests that this collection was assembled in the 1920s when Theodore D. Bacon, grandson of Leonard Bacon, consulted Hunt while researching the biography of his grandfather.

Series III: The Independent, 1853-1908

This series contains a few items pertaining directly to The Independent itself. These items include an issue of the paper dating to July 28, 1853, during Thompson and Bacon's tenure as editors, as well as the sixtieth anniversary issue of the periodical, dating to 1908. This issue includes reprinted material from earlier issues that were overseen by Thompson and Bacon.