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Baptist Churches
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The records for 4 Baptist churches have been donated to the John Hay Library during the past year to augment the Baptist Collection.
1. Shawomet Baptist Church, Warwick, RI, 1842-2011
2. Meshanticut Baptist Church, Cranston, RI, 1899-2011
3. Roger Williams Baptist Church, Providence, RI, 1867-2011
4. Niantic Baptist Church, Westerly, RI, 1851-2012
The records of these churches provide documentation related to the debate over the vitality of religious organizations in the United States. All four churches served as vital centers of worship for their communities for 100-160 years. They all survived the tumult of the economic, social and political upheavals and changing neighborhood demographics of the past 160+ years. The reason for their closure may be linked to a larger societal trend or may simply be the natural life cycle of an organization. They are now available for use by researchers interested in that topic or many others involving the role of religion in the life of a community.
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Librarians After Dark – 4/9 and 4/10!
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Librarians After Dark – 4/9 & 4/10 Working on a research project?
Are you stuck or want to dig more deeply?
Come to the Librarians After Dark session to get hands on tips to become a more effective library user, and bring your research questions for some personalized guidance. You’ll leave with tips and tricks that can lead to more efficient and productive research.
When:
April 9 & 10, 7-8pm
Where:
Rockefeller Library, main level
Hecker Center Computer ClassroomSponsored by the University Library
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The Itinerant Actor
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Edwin Scribner, c.1908 The papers of playwright Edwin Scribner (Ms.2012.005) arrived recently to complement a large collection of his published plays in the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays.
Edwin Scribner was born in Logansport, IN in 1879. On 27 July 1898, he quit his job in the Master Mechanics office of the Pan Handle Railroad in Logansport and, as he states in the first volume of his diary, “From that date the theater has been my interest and occupation in life.” He was an itinerant actor and a playwright, writing at least 50 plays. He died in Waterville, ME in 1964.
His papers contain 18 typescripts for his unpublished plays which complement the 33 published plays already owned by Brown. Of particular interest is the diary he kept from 1898-1921 which provides an intimate view into the life of a traveling theater troupe actor. It was not meant as a place to bear his soul but rather as a record of his work. And work he did. Every page documents the unrelenting travel schedule of an itinerant actor.
Diary of Edwin Scribner, Oct 4-Nov 3, 1900 In the fall of 1900, from September 19 to December 15 (88 days) he visited 77 cities and gave 79 performances. The tour ended on December 15 this way: “Before meeting our leading man John Fry Palmer, drunk picked a fight with Griffith – which got him a good licking and landed him in jail. Closed with John Griffith Co. – they beat me out of my last weeks salary.” Two days later Edwin was working for another theater troupe in yet another city and so it went for the next 20 years.
