Biographical Material
The Biographical Materials series consists of the different biographies (some intended for publication) written by Williams' wife Lucy V. Williams, his son Benedict Williams, and his secretary Charles O. Ford.
The Biographical Materials series consists of the different biographies (some intended for publication) written by Williams' wife Lucy V. Williams, his son Benedict Williams, and his secretary Charles O. Ford.
3 linear feet
The papers of Charles D. Williams, Episcopal bishop of Michigan, include correspondence concerning personal and church affairs and the social gospel movement, including correspondence with Walter Rauschenbush, Samuel Mather, and Lucretia Garfield; also sermons and addresses, 1885-1923, journals of European trips, 1896, 1917, and 1921, notebooks on social and labor problems, material on the 1908 forest fire at Metz, Michigan (Presque Isle County), and material on the Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio in 1898; biographical writings by his sons, Benedict Williams, his wife Lucy V. Williams, and his secretary, Charles O. Ford; letters of condolence from fellow clergy, including Reinhold Niebuhr; also photographs.
The Correspondence series dates from 1878 to 1923, and concerns personal and church affairs. Of note is the correspondence with Walter Rauschenbush, December 12, 1916, January 17, 1917, and November 18, 1918. There are also letters from Samuel Mather, December 13 and 31, 1892, and from Lucretia Garfield, February 3, 1906. Letters written from northern Michigan in October 1908 recount the forest fire at Metz, Michigan. Many of the letters are from Williams written to his family while traveling aboard or away from home on church business in Michigan.
The Sermons series has been arranged by date (when known). If undated, individual sermons have been arranged by title or scripture verse on which the sermon was based. Most of these sermons are handwritten. A small portion of them have been published.