John Heyl Vincent papers

A Guide to the Collection

Biographical Note

The Rev. John Heyl Vincent, S.T.D., LL. D. (1832-1920), was a noted minister, author, educator, and public speaker. He was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on February 23, 1832, to John Himrod Vincent (1798-1873) and Mary Raser Vincent (1803-1852). In 1838 the Vincent family relocated to Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.

As a young adult, John Heyl Vincent worked as a school teacher and as a circuit riding Methodist preacher. He was licensed to preach and became a local pastor in 1850. He relocated to Newark, New Jersey in 1852 upon the death of his mother. After completing studies at the Newark Wesleyan Institute, Vincent was ordained in the New Jersey Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1857. His first action as elder was to request a transfer to the Rock River Conference. While in Illinois, Rev. Vincent served Methodist churches in Joilet, Mt. Morris, Galena, Rockford, and Chicago.

In 1862 John Heyl Vincent traveled to Europe and Palestine. This was the first of several international voyages he would undertake. Toward the end of the American Civil War, Vincent served in the U. S. Christian Commission.

Rev. John H. Vincent founded two successful religious periodicals: Northwestern Sunday School Quarterly (1865) and Sunday School Teacher (1866). The Methodist Episcopal Church General Conference of 1868 affirmed his work in religious education by naming him editor of the Sunday-School Journal, Corresponding Secretary of the Sunday-School Union, and Superintendent of the Department of Sunday-School Instruction.

Believing that a large-scale, interdenominational, religious educators’ training event could strengthen the Sunday School movement, Rev. Vincent and Akron, Ohio, businessman Lewis Miller organized a Sunday School Assembly at Lake Chautauqua, New York, in 1874. The Chautauqua Assembly became the Chautauqua Institution under the long-term guidance of President Miller and Chancellor Vincent.

Rev. Vincent was elected Bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1888. He was named Resident Bishop Abroad in 1890, charged with overseeing Methodist conferences in Europe. Bishop Vincent retired in 1904 and died in 1920.

John Heyl Vincent married Sarah Elizabeth Dusenbury (1832-1909), daughter of Henry and Caroline Butler Dusenbury, on November 10, 1858. Known as Elizabeth, "Lib," and "Libbie," Mrs. Vincent shared her husband’s Methodist faith, love of books, and passion for the promotion of education.

Their son, George Edgar Vincent (1864-1941), adopted many of his parents’ interests. He became the literary editor of the Chautauqua Press in 1886 when in his early twenties. George E. Vincent later served as Vice-President (1888-1889) and President (1907-1915) of the Chautauqua Institution. Dr. Vincent taught and held administrative positions at the University of Chicago from 1900 to 1911. From 1911 until 1917, he served as President of the University of Minnesota. Dr. George Vincent then became the President of the Rockefeller Foundation in 1917, retiring in 1929.

George Edgar Vincent married Mary Louise Palmer in January of 1890. They raised three children: Isabel, John H., and Elizabeth.

Sources:

Leete, Frederick DeLand. Methodist Bishops – Personal Notes and Bibliography. Nashville: Parthenon Press, 1948.

Price, Carl F. Who’s Who in American Methodism. New York: E. B. Treat & Co., 1916.

Vincent, Leon H. John Heyl Vincent: A Biographical Sketch. New York: The MacMillan Co., 1925.

John Heyl Vincent, February 23, 1832 - May 9, 1920, Commemorative Exercises, August 1, 1920. Chautauqua, NY: Chautauqua Press, 1920.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The John Heyl Vincent papers chronicle the family life and career of Methodist Bishop John Heyl Vincent, revealing his broad intellectual and religious interests. The collection also demonstrates that, during his long career as a public figure, Vincent met many of the leaders of his day, including Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Thomas Edison. The Vincent papers feature one linear foot of genealogical research notes, more than 1200 family and business letters, twenty folders of Chautauqua Institution-related materials, Rev. Vincent’s lecture notes and journals, copies of books and booklets written by him, publications owned by Bishop Vincent but not written by him, and photographs.

Restrictions

Access to Collection:

The collection is open for research use. Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.

Publication Rights:

Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Director of the Bridwell Library.

Copyright Statement:

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], John Heyl Vincent papers, Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Bishop Frederick DeLand Leete, 1956.

Custodial History

The core of this collection consists of materials that were gathered by John Heyl Vincent and used by him in publishing a serialized autobiography in 1910. The papers later came into the possession of George E. Vincent, who added correspondence and anecdotes collected from Bishop Vincent’s friends and colleagues. The augmented collection was then used by Bishop Vincent’s nephew, Leon H. Vincent, author of John Heyl Vincent: A Biographical Sketch (1925). Internal evidence suggests that the entire collection was acquired by Bishop Frederick D. Leete. Bishop Leete added a number of publications by Bishop Vincent given by Mrs. Paul V. Harper of Libertyville, Illinois, before donating these materials to Bridwell Library in 1956 as part of his Methodist Historical Library.

Processing Information

This collection was arranged and described in 2010 by Timothy S. G. Binkley with assistance from Heather M. Oglevie and Elizabeth Perry.

Encoded by

Lara Corazalla, 2010.

Detailed Description of the Collection