]
]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Expand/collapse
Collection Overview
| Size | About 375 items (3.5 linear feet). |
| Abstract | Aldert Smedes (1810-1877) was an Episcopal clergyman in New York City and rector at St. Mary's School, Raleigh, N.C., 1842-1877. He graduated from General Theological Seminary and was ordained a deacon in 1832. He served as an assistant to the Rev. Dr. Thomas Lyell of Christ Church, N.Y. from 1832 to 1835, and was ordained a priest in 1834. He married Dr. Lyell's daughter, Sarah Pierce, in 1833. From 1835 to 1838 he served as rector of St. George's Church in Schenectady, N.Y. He was recruited in 1842 by Bishop Levi Silliman Ives of North Carolina to direct St. Mary's School in Raleigh. He served as rector of St. Mary's from May 1842 until his death in 1877, when he was succeeded as rector by his son, Bennett Smedes (1837-1899). The collection consists chiefly of sermons, notes, and other writings of the Rev. Aldert Smedes while serving at Christ Church, N.Y., St. George's Church, Schenectady, N.Y., and St. Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C. Also included are registers and sketches of sermons by Smedes; seminary notes and writings; sermon fragments; a travel notebook dated December 1837, which describes a few days at Gibralter and in Spain during the eighteen months when Smedes traveled throughout Europe and the Holy Land for his health; and other miscellaneous papers and notebooks. The collection also includes sermons and writings of the Rev. Bennett Smedes, Aldert's son, dating from 1858 to 1886. Other papers include sermons of Levi Silliman Ives, 1828-1829; an autobiographical manuscript of Thomas Lyell (1775-1848), Aldert Smedes's father-in-law, Methodist circuit rider in Virginia, and Episcopal clergyman in New York City; miscellaneous notebooks of George N. Smedes and A. H. Lewis. |
| Creator | Smedes, Aldert, 1810-1877. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
Expand/collapse
Information For Users
Expand/collapse
Processing Information
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Finding aid updated by: Amanda Loeb, April 2014
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Expand/collapse
Biographical Information
Aldert Smedes (1810-1877) was an Episcopal clergyman in New York City and rector at St. Mary's School, Raleigh, N.C., 1842-1877. He was born in New York and entered Columbia College in 1823, but later moved with his family to Kentucky. He studied law at Transylvania College and was admitted to the Kentucky bar. He graduated from General Theological Seminary and was ordained a deacon in 1832. He served as an assistant to the Rev. Dr. Thomas Lyell of Christ Church, N.Y. from 1832 to 1835, and was ordained a priest in 1834. He married Dr. Lyell's daughter, Sarah Pierce, in 1833. From 1835 to 1838 he served as rector of St. George's Church in Schenectady, N.Y., but spent eighteen months of that time traveling throughout Europe and the Holy Land because of throat illness. He was recruited in 1842 by Bishop Levi Silliman Ives of North Carolina to direct St. Mary's School in Raleigh. He served as rector of St. Mary's from May 1842 until his death in 1877, when he was succeeded as rector by his son, Bennett Smedes (1837-1899). Rev. Bennett Smedes was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church 26 July 1863. He served as a teacher and assistant to his father at St. Mary's School from 1862 to 1877, and was rector of the school from 1877-1899. He also served as a Confederate chaplain and spent sometime at Grace Church in Baltimore, Md.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Scope and Content
Chiefly sermons, notes, and other writings of the Rev. Aldert Smedes while serving at Christ Church, N.Y., St. George's Church, Schenectady, N.Y., and St. Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C. Also included are registers and sketches of sermons by Smedes; seminary notes and writings; sermon fragments; a travel notebook dated December 1837, which describes a few days at Gibralter and in Spain during the eighteen months when Smedes traveled throughout Europe and the Holy Land for his health; and other miscellaneous papers and notebooks. The collection also includes sermons and writings of the Rev. Bennett Smedes, Aldert's son, dating from 1858 to 1886. Other papers include sermons of Levi Silliman Ives, 1828-1829; an autobiographical manuscript of Thomas Lyell (1775-1848), Aldert Smedes's father-in-law, Methodist circuit rider in Virginia and Episcopal clergyman in New York City; and miscellaneous notebooks of George N. Smedes and A. H. Lewis.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Series Quick Links
Expand/collapse
Series 1. Sermons and writings of Aldert Smedes, 1831-1890 and undated.
Arrangement: Sermons are arranged by books of the Bible.
Chiefly sermons, notes, and other writings of the Rev. Aldert Smedes. Most of the sermons are marked several times to show when and where they were delivered, chiefly Christ Church, N.Y., St. George's Church, Schenectady, N.Y., and St. Mary's School in Raleigh, N.C. There are also a few scattered Bible class lectures and questions. Writings also include two registers and sketches of sermons preached by Smedes, seminary notes and writings, and scattered fragments of sermons written by Smedes. A travel notebook dated December 1837 describes a few days at Gibralter and in Spain during the eighteen months when Smedes traveled throughout Europe and the Holy Land for his health. Miscellaneous papers include an engraving of Smedes, records made while he served as rector at St. George's Church, and two certificates of ordination. Notebooks contain Italian and French language studies conducted by Smedes, lectures on scripture, notes on the church calender, and themes for examination.
Expand/collapse
Series 2. Sermons and writings of Bennett Smedes, 1858-1886 and undated.
Arrangement: Sermons are arranged by books of the Bible.
Sermons, notes, and other writings of the Rev. Bennett Smedes, ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church 26 July 1863. He served as a teacher and assistant to his father, Aldert Smedes, at St. Mary's School from 1862 to 1877, and was rector of the school from 1877-1899, following the death of his father. He also served as a Confederate chaplain and spent sometime at Grace Church in Baltimore, Md. Writings include sketches of sermons, miscellaneous fragments, sermons written at seminary, and academic notebooks. Most of the sermons are marked several times to show when and where they were delivered.
| Folder 52 |
Sermons and writings on books of the Old Testament |
Folder 53-54
Folder 53Folder 54 |
Sermons and writings on Matthew |
| Folder 55 |
Sermons and writings on Mark |
Folder 56-57
Folder 56Folder 57 |
Sermons and writings on Luke |
| Folder 58 |
Sermons and writings on John |
| Folder 59 |
Sermons and writings on Acts |
| Folder 60 |
Sermons and writings on I Corinthians |
| Folder 61 |
Sermons and writings on II Corinthians |
| Folder 62 |
Sermons and writings on Galatians |
| Folder 63 |
Sermons and writings on Ephesians |
| Folder 64 |
Sermons and writings on Philippians |
| Folder 65 |
Sermons and writings on Colossians |
| Folder 66 |
Sermons and writings on Hebrews |
| Folder 67 |
Sermons and writings on James |
| Folder 68 |
Sermons and writings on I Peter |
| Folder 69 |
Sermons and writings on Jude |
| Folder 70 |
Miscellaneous notes and sketches of sermons preached by Bennett Smedes |
Folder 71-72
Folder 71Folder 72 |
Miscellaneous fragments |
| Folder 73 |
Miscellaneous academic notebooks |
Expand/collapse
Series 3. Other Papers, 1828-1829, 1868, and undated.
Arrangement: by type or subject.
Includes severals sermons of the Rev. Levi Silliman Ives, before he became Episcopal Bishop of North Carolina; an autobiographical manuscript of the Rev. Thomas Lyell, native of Virginia and Methodist circuit preacher, who became an Episcopal priest in New York City and was the father-in-law of Aldert Smedes; and the notebooks of George N. Smedes and A. H. Lewis.
| Folder 74 |
Sermons and writings of Levi Silliman Ives, 1828-1829 and undated |
Folder 75-76
Folder 75Folder 76 |
Thomas Lyell autobiography, manuscript copy, undated |
| Folder 77 |
Miscellaneous notebooks of George N. Smedes and A. H. Lewis, 1868 and undated |