The collection is open for research.
The following boxes are located offsite: Box 1. Please note that requests for use of boxes held in offsite storage must be made three business days in advance.
This collection contains 42 letters written to former Presbyterian minister James H. Ecob, the majority concerning his resignation from the Presbyterian church in protest of the heresy trial of Charles Augusts Briggs. The letters provide insight into how Ecob's decision to resign was received by his congregation, associations, and the public, including UTS affiliates Francis Brown, Henry Preserved Smith, and Josiah Stone.
James H. Ecob papers, 1892 -- 1894
This series contains 42 letters written to former Presbyterian minister James H. Ecob, the majority concerning his resignation from the Presbyterian church in protest of the heresy trial of Charles Augusts Briggs. The letters provide insight into how Ecob's decision to resign was received by his congregation, associations, and the public, including UTS affiliates Francis Brown, Henry Preserved Smith, and Josiah Stone.
Union Theological Seminary Archives: UTS 1, papers of faculty and students
This collection is arranged in one chronological series.
The collection is open for research.
The following boxes are located offsite: Box 1. Please note that requests for use of boxes held in offsite storage must be made three business days in advance.
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.
Item description, UTS 1: James H. Ecob Papers, 1892-1894, box #, and folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
UTS1: Charles Augustus Briggs Papers, 1841–1913, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
These papers are part of the Union Theological Seminary Archives, which comprises institutional and administrative records of the Seminary, combined with the papers of many organizations, scholars, pastors, laypersons, and others connected with the school. The materials in this collection were part of a large group of unprocessed material that was organized in 2015.
The exact provenance of this collection is unknown.
Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Acidic items were separated from one another by interleaving with acid-free paper as needed. The finding aid was created by David Mucz in 2015 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2020.
2020-09-24 PDF converted to EAD and description updated by Leah Edelman.
Dr. James Henry Ecob was born on September 17, 1844 and died on November 6, 1921. He began preaching in Augusta, GA before moving to Albany, NY in 1881, where he was a Presbyterian minister for fourteen years. It was during this period that he became connected to Charles Augustus Briggs, a noteworthy religious scholar and theologian. Briggs' trial for heresy and subsequent acquittal influenced Ecob to resign from the Presbyterian Church on doctrinal grounds. As an open supporter of Briggs, Ecob strongly advocated a liberal stance and the establishment of the Free Church of America. Such an institution, it he hoped, would have a more open doctrine acceptable to any Christian denomination.