Letters from Thomas Guthrie to Blair and others, 1855.

ms1790: Autograph letter signed, Rev Dr Thomas Guthrie to a Mr Blair. Advising him of his personal well-being. 32 Duncan Terrace, Islington, 5 May ny.

ms1859: Autograph letter, signed, Rev Dr Thomas Guthrie to an unknown recipient. Concerning the meaning of the word Huguenot. Edgill, 12 July 1855.

ms1860: Autograph letter, signed, Rev Dr Thomas Guthrie to an unknown recipient. Concerning Inspiration in Scripture. Edinburgh, 2 September 1855.

ms1861: Autograph letter, signed, Rev Dr Thomas Guthrie to an unknown recipient. Concerning the Sabbath question. Headed notepaper, Leven, 10 September 1856.

The content of ms1859 to ms1861 suggests the identification of J Gilfillan as the recipient. cf msBX9225.G5 (ms1862).

Thomas Guthrie (1803-1873) trained as a Church of Scotland minister, working first in Arbirlot, Forfarshire, and then Old Greyfriars in Edinburgh, where he was given the new parish of St John's; he became involved in the controversy concerning lay patronage and was broke away with the Free Church at the Disruption of 1843. He organised a very successful campaign to raise money for the Manse Fund, then turned his attention to education of the poor with a pamphlet, A Plea for Ragged Schools in 1847, and the founding of 3 schools in Edinburgh. His preaching attracted audiences from far and wide, and he was later moderator of the Free Church. He had to retire from Free St John's in 1864 due to poor health, but continued to take an active interest in church and educational matters, and began to edit a periodical, the Sunday Magazine.

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ms1790 purchased, 31 January 1956

Call numbers used to be ms1790, ms1859, ms1860, ms1861

Individual Manuscripts and Small Collections database available as part of Manuscripts Database.

Paper: ms1790: 1 sheet, 18.6x11.4cm folded. ms1859: two sheets, 19.8x15.9cm folded. ms1860: 1 sheet, 22.8x18.5cm folded. ms1861: 1 sheet, 22.4x18.1cm folded.

Description compiled by Maia Sheridan, Archives Hub project archivist, based on material from the Manuscripts Database

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