Collection on Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon

A Guide to the Collection

Biographical Note

Selina Shirley Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (1707 – 1791), was a noteworthy figure in eighteenth-century English Methodism. She was an admirer and follower of John Wesley yet made her own mark as a leader of the Calvinistic wing of the Methodist movement.

Born into an aristocratic family in 1707, Selina Shirley married Theophilus Hastings, the ninth Earl of Huntingdon, in 1728. The couple had seven children, of whom only three survived into adulthood.

The Countess of Huntingdon was known as "Lady Bountiful" for her philanthropic support of the Evangelical Revival. She provided funds for the establishment of sixty-four chapels, missionary work in America, and the first Methodist theological college, Trevecca College (later Cheshunt College, now part of Westminster College). Following her transition from Wesley's Arminian Methodism to Whitefield's Calvinistic Methodism, she founded "The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion," her own society of preachers in England.

Source:

Tyson, John R., and Boyd Stanley Schlenther. In the Midst of Early Methodism: Lady Huntingdon and Her Correspondence. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2006.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

This collection contains original manuscript letters written by, received by, or concerning Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon. The primary correspondents are the Rev. Thomas Haweis (1734-1820) and Judith Townsend Wordsworth Haweis (1738-1786). In addition to these original historical records, the collection also includes two groups of study documents. These study series contain copies of letters and other documents held by other libraries connecting Lady Huntingdon with George Washington (1732-1799), Charles Wesley (1707-1788), and Sally Wesley (1726-1822). The items in this collection contain insights into the religious thought, personal relationships, and business matters of an aristocratic Methodist leader in England during the second half of the 1700s.

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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.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Collection on Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University.

Acquisition Information

Acquired, 1957 – ongoing.

The original core of the collection was purchased by Bishop Frederick DeLand Leete in 1949 and donated to Bridwell Library in 1956-1957 as part of his Methodist Historical Library.

Processing Information

Arranged and described by Timothy S. G. Binkley, 2012. Biographical note written by Rebecca Howdeshell.

Finding aid written by

Timothy S. G. Binkley, 2012.

Encoded by

Ada Negraru, 2012.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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