William G. Barnett (1819-1885) papers, ca. 1837-1854
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: Barnett, William G. (William Gibson), 1819-1885
Title: William G. Barnett (1819-1885) papers, ca. 1837-1854
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department.
Size of Collection: 0.33 cu. ft.
Location Number: Mss. A B261a
Biographical Note
William G. Barnett was born on February 17, 1819, the son of Samuel Barnett, of Bentleyville, Washington County, Pennsylvania. From his correspondence, it appears that he had three younger siblings: John, Martha, and Nathanael.
Barnett graduated from Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1837. In 1839, he moved to Kentucky where he was a teacher for several years. While at Nicholasville, Kentucky he contemplated becoming a missionary to a Native American tribe and teaching at a mission school, but these plans did not reach fruition.
Barnett later studied medicine under Thomas M. Taylor, near Lexington, Kentucky. He boarded and studied with Taylor in exchange for the tutoring of Taylor’s children. He again contemplated missions work as a physician, but upon completing his medical studies commenced practicing in Pennsylvania. He practiced for many years in Fayette County and Venice, Pennsylvania and in 1864 moved to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, where he appears to have resided for the remainder of his life. In 1863, at the age of 44, he registered for the Civil War draft as a doctor, but it is unclear if he served in the war. He served in the State Legislature in 1875-1876. He died on May 10, 1885 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
Barnett married Mary Cooper Morrison. They had at least two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth G. “Lizzie” Barnett, who both appear to have never married. Lizzie Barnett, who died in 1930, had a real estate and insurance business in Canonsburg, and was librarian at the Canonsburg Library.
Sources:
Biographical and Historical Catalogue of Washington and Jefferson College 1802–1945. (George H. Buchanan and Company, Philadelphia: 1945).
Elizabeth G. Barnett obituary. The Daily Notes (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania) 3/31/1930. Accessed via findagrave.com.
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence of William G. Barnett, a native of Pennsylvania, who was a teacher and medical student in Kentucky in the mid-19th century. The collection includes correspondence between Barnett, his father, and younger siblings. There is also a series of incoming letters to Barnett from former college classmates and from the residents of Kentucky towns where Barnett worked for several years. Some themes of the correspondence include the itinerant nature of teaching as a profession, medical education in both formal and apprenticeship settings, the role of religion in daily life, and aspirations to missionary work.
Folder 1 contains letters, 1839-1843, from William G. Barnett to his father Samuel Barnett. Barnett writes from Nicholasville and Clark County, Kentucky. His letters concern his teaching positions at local schools; his desire to become a teaching missionary with Native Americans, applying for positions with the Cherokee and Chippewa tribes; and apprenticing with a local physician to study medicine and become a doctor. His religious conversion to Christianity and his desire to live a godly life are frequently discussed as well.
Folder 2 contains Barnett family letters, 1840-1842. Several are letters from William Barnett to his younger siblings, containing details about life in Kentucky, crops grown and foods consumed, descriptions of slavery in the state, as well as advice on religious matters. There are also two letters from Martha Barnett to her father, written while she was a student at Washington Female Seminary in Pennsylvania, in which she requests items she needs and discusses her living situation.
Folders 3-4 contain incoming letters, ca. 1837-1854, to William G. Barnett. The letters are written by a variety of individuals but are primarily from Barnett’s former Jefferson College classmates and the residents of Kentucky towns after he leaves the area and returns to Pennsylvania. The letters are filled with details on schooling, religious matters, news from the various towns the men write from, and memories of old friends and classmates. Several correspondents are teachers, religious scholars, or medical students, and describe their studies or work situations. In addition, there is a set of letters from Walter Lowrie, Presbyterian Missions in New York, regarding Barnett’s interests in missionary work.
Folder List
Box 1
Folder 1: William G. Barnett letters to his father Samuel Barnett, 1839-1843
Folder 2: Barnett family letters, 1840-1842
Folder 3: Letters to William G. Barnett, ca. 1837-1842
Folder 4: Letters to William G. Barnett, 1843-1854 and undated
Subject Headings
Antislavery movements – United States.
Baptism.
Bethel Academy (Jessamine County, Ky.)
Christianity.
Clark County (Ky.)
College students – Pennsylvania.
Conversions – Christianity.
Death.
Diseases.
Education – Kentucky.
Food – Kentucky.
Indians of North America.
Jefferson College (Canonsburg, Pa.)
Medicine.
Methodists.
Missionaries.
Nicholasville (Ky.)
Parenting.
Physicians.
Political candidates.
Presbyterians.
Schools – Kentucky.
Slavery – Kentucky.
Teaching – Kentucky.
Transylvania University.
United States – Religion – 19th century.
Washington Female Seminary (Washington, Washington County, Pa.)
Women – Education – Pennsylvania.
