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Inventory of the Marquis Lafayette Wood Records and Papers, 1852 - 1984

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Descriptive Summary

Title
Marquis Lafayette Wood Records and Papers, 1852 - 1984.
Creator
Wood, Marquis Lafayette, 1829-1893.
Extent
2.5 Linear Feet,
500 Items
Repository
University Archives, Duke University
Abstract
Marquis Lafayette Wood was a Methodist clergyman, missionary, and educator. He served as President of Trinity College (Randolph County, N.C.) from 1883 to 1884. The Marquis Lafayette Wood Records and Papers primarily consist of diaries, sermons and addresses, with a small amount of correspondence, minutes, account books, and writings. Modern materials, such as Wood family genealogies and biographies, were added to the collection as well. Major subjects of the collection include Trinity College during the mid 1880s and Wood's career as a minister in North Carolina and as a missionary in China during the early 1860s. Materials range in date from 1852-1984 (bulk 1855-1892).
Language
English.
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Administrative Information

Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
No restrictions.
Use Restrictions
Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Marquis Lafayette Wood Records and Papers, University Archives, Duke University.
Provenance
The Marquis Lafayette Wood Records and Papers was received by the University Archives as a transfer in 1974.
Processing Information
Processed by University Archives staff
Completed 1996
Encoded by Jill Katte, October 2003
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
            

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Biographical Note

Born 23 Oct. 1829, Randolph Co. N.C. Wood was a clergyman in the North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Educated at Normal College (Randolph Co., N.C.), receiving his A.B. in 1855. He was a missionary in Shanghai, China from 1860-1866, and served as President of Trinity College (Randolph, Co., N.C.) in 1883-1884. Died in Gibson, N.C., 25 Nov. 1893.

When Braxton Craven died in 1882, the Trustees turned to Marquis Lafayette Wood (1829-1893). Although he served as president only a year-and-a-half, his leadership proved critical during the period following Craven's death. A minister and Craven's close friend, Wood was a graduate of the school--the only president who was an alumnus in Duke's history. He worked diligently for the college, was the first president to raise money for endowment, and remained on the Board of Trustees the rest of his life, even submitting the resolution in 1889 to move the college from his beloved native Randolph County to Durham, N.C. His one-sentence definition of the college presidency was that "All great enterprises require time and patience and labor and suffering and money." After Wood left in 1884, the college was run for three years by a Committee of the Board of Trustees.

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Collection Overview

The papers of Marquis Lafayette Wood form part of the records of the President of Duke University. Wood's papers span the years 1852-1984, with the bulk occurring between 1855 and 1892. Included are diaries, correspondence, minutes, account books, writings, sermons and addresses, and other materials. The materials are useful for the study of Trinity College during the mid 1880s. Minutes from the college trustee meetings held in 1883-1884, accounts, and correspondence form the official records of Wood's presidency. Letters concerning the federal support and enrollment of Cherokee Indians at Trinity are of particular interest. Wood's diaries from 1883 and 1884 provide limited information on Trinity College.
Wood's ministerial career is the major subject documented in the collection. The diaries span the years 1856-1885; sermons correspondence, and miscellaneous volumes supplement the account of Wood's service that is reflected in the diaries. Diary entries portray Wood's life as an itinerant pastor, missionary, and presiding elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The papers portray Wood's life as well as provide information on a number of western North Carolina churches, including those in the Salisbury District, Iredell District, Surry Circuit, the Greensboro District, and the Charlotte District.
Of particular significance are the diaries and letters that date from 1860 to 1866, the years Wood served in China. Beginning in 1859, the diaries relate Wood's voyage to China, his observations on life and customs in China, and his views of the Chinese. Ellen (Morphis), Wood's wife, became ill while in China and died. Wood noted both her symptoms and attempted treatments in his diary. The diaries from the period also reflect Wood's observations on the Tai-Ping Rebellion. Other papers concerning Wood's service in China include synopses of letters Wood wrote to E.W. Sehon of the Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church, South.
In addition to serving as minister, Wood was interested in the history of North Carolina Methodism. Wood collected and penned accounts of early western North Carolina churches and ministers. His manuscripts on Sunday School work in the Fayetteville District and the rise of Methodism in the Yadkin Valley are among the extant notes, letters, and volumes.
Other figures and subjects reflected in the papers include Charles Force Deems, Methodist minister, Wood family genealogy, and Wood's lifelong loyalty to Trinity College. An address by Wood to the Trinity College alumni association is present.
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Subject Headings

These and related materials may be accessed under the following subject headings in the Duke University Libraries online catalog.
  • China--Description and travel.
  • Duke University--History.
  • Duke University. President.
  • Methodist Church--Clergy--North Carolina.
  • Methodist Episcopal Church, South--Clergy.
  • Methodist Episcopal Church, South--Education.
  • Methodist Episcopal Church, South. North Carolina Conference.
  • Missionaries--China.
  • North Carolina--Education.
  • Trinity College (Durham, N.C.)--History.
  • Trinity College (Randolph County, N.C.)--History.
  • Wood, Marquis Lafayette, 1829-1893.
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[Forms part of:] Duke University President Records.
University Archives, Duke University.

Martha Foster Crawford Diaries.
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.

List of Series in Collection
Diaries, 1856-1885.
Volumes, 1889-1892 and undated
Subject Files, 1859-1892, 1981-1984, and undated
Sermons and addresses, 1869, 1887 and undated
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Detailed Description of the Collection

Diaries, 1856-1885.

The Diaries series contains 21 diaries kept by Wood for the years 1856 to 1885. The journals dating from 1859 to 1866 reflect the the years Wood served as a missionary in China. Diary entries relate Wood's voyage to China, his observations on life and customs in China and on the Tai-Ping Rebellion, and the illness and death of his wife Ellen, who accompanied him to China.
Diaries from 1883 through 1885 provide some information on Trinity College in Randolph County, N.C. during Wood's tenure as president of the College. The journal from 1885 contains one entry describing Wood's resignation.
The remaining diaries detail Wood's career as an itinerant pastor, missionary, and presiding elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Box 1
   Folder 1
1856-1859   [3 volumes]
   Folder 2
1860
   Folder 3
1861
   Folder 4
1862
   Folder 5
1863
   Folder 6
1864
   Folder 7
1865
Box 2
   Folder 8
1866
   Folder 9
April 1866-1870   [2 volumes]
   Folder 10
1871-1873   [2 volumes]
   Folder 11
1874-1876   [2 volumes]
   Folder 12
1877-1879   [2 volumes]
   Folder 13
1880-1882
   Folder 14
1883-1885   [2 volumes]

Volumes, 1889-1892 and undated

The Volumes series consists of 4 bound volumes related to Wood's work in the Methodist Church and his writing on the history of the Church.
Box 3
   Folder 15
Pastor's Visiting Book [Rockingham Station, NC], 1889
Presiding Elder's Minutes [Rockingham District, N.C.], 1892
   Folder 16
Outline, "History of the Christian Church," 1891
Account book, 1892
   Folder 17
Notebook [John Lee's grave and other biographical notes], no date

Subject Files, 1859-1892, 1981-1984, and undated

Subject files include correspondence, writings, financial papers, Trinity College (Randolph County, N.C.) materials, and printed matter. Modern materials, such as Wood family genealogies and biographies, were added to this series as well.
   Folder 18
Letters, 1886 and 1892; Poem, "Uncle Sam's Birthday" , no date
   Folder 19
Journal of correspondence, 1865-1878
   Folder 20
History of Methodism notes, compiled ca. 1876
   Folder 21
Correspondence and financial papers, 1859-1892
   Folder 22
Trinity College records, 1883-1884
   Folder 23
Broadside and other printed matter, 1887-1888 and no date
   Folder 24
Wood biographical and genealogical material, ca. 1884-1932
   Folder 25
Wood family genealogy, compiled by Russell Wood, 1981-1984
   Folder 26
Wood family genealogy; Account of Rev. Jesse Lee, no date
   Folder 27
Writings on the history of Methodism in North Carolina, 1876-1892
   Folder 28
Notebook on metaphysics, ca. 1855

Sermons and addresses, 1869, 1887 and undated

The Sermons and Addresses series contains a few titled sermons and addresses and hundreds of short sermon passages. The majority of these brief writings are undated and untitled, though many begin with a series of Bible verses.
Box 4
   Folder 29
"The Aim of Life" [Address to Trinity College alumni], 1869
   Folder 30
"Influence of the Reformation upon Popular Education" , undated
   Folder 31
"Is it Probable that China Will be Christianized Without a Revolution?" undated
   Folder 32
"The Work to be Done" , 1887
   Folder 33-36
Sermons, untitled and undated   [roughly 250 short sermons in 4 folders]
   Folder 37
Sermons and addresses, no date
   Folder 38
Miscellaneous sermons, writings, and notes, no date