Guide to the Joseph McKeen Collection, 1781-1966, undated
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Joseph McKeen Collection, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine.
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Joseph McKeen, the first president of Bowdoin College, served from 1802 until his death in 1807. He was born in 1757 in Londonderry, New Hampshire, the town his father and grandfather had helped to settle. McKeen, who received his A.B., A.M. and D.D. from Dartmouth in 1774, 1777, and 1804 respectively, taught school in Londonderry for eight years, had a short period of voluntary service in the Revolutionary War, and studied mathematics and astronomy in Cambridge, Massachusetts. McKeen spent a few terms assisting Dr. Pearson at Phillips (Andover) Academy before he moved to Beverly, Massachusetts, to preach from 1785 to 1802.
McKeen viewed Bowdoin College as a classical seminary that produced virtuous and pious Republicans. He presented the first six graduates of Bowdoin College with their Bachelor's degrees before dying in office.
McKeen married Alice Anderson in 1785; they had three sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Joseph (1787-1865), was an Overseer at Bowdoin(1813-29) and Secretary of the Board (1816-23). He was also Treasurer of the College and a Trustee (both 1829-65).
McKeen's second son, John (1789-1861), received his A.B. and A.M. from Bowdoin in 1811 and 1814 respectively. He served as an Overseer of the College (1839-61) and Secretary of the Board (1841-61). He married Frances, daughter of Richard Toppan of Brunswick, in 1821. The couple had one daughter.
McKeen's youngest son, James (1797-1873), received an A.B. and a A.M. from the College in 1817 and 1820 respectively. He succeeded one of his teachers as pracitioner in Topsham. James was Professor of Obstetrics in the Medical School from 1829 to 1839 and served as a lecturer on the Theory and Practice of Physics from 1837-39. He was also an Overseer from 1841-73. James had one child with his first wife, Sarah Farley of Waldoboro, and had no children with his second wife, Octavia Frost of Topsham.
Nancy, the eldest daughter of Joseph McKeen, married David Dunlap, a wealthy and well-known merchant in Brunswick.
The younger daughter, Alice married William J. Farley (Bowdoin 1820), but died in 1827.
The collection consists of correspondence between Joseph McKeen (1757-1807), his family members, and others, as well as sermons, lectures, speeches, and biographical notes and clippings concerning individual family members. Also included in the collection are various photographs, lithographs, engravings, and silhouettes of Joseph McKeen.
Sermons in this collection are supplemented by the Samuel Eaton and Joseph McKeen Sermons (M53). For related Joseph McKeen material, see the Joseph McKeen Administrative Records.
Contains letters, sermons, clippings, and other biographical information relating to Joseph McKeen (1757-1807). The bulk of the correspondence is to or from McKeen, with the notable correspondents including Benjamin Vaughan and Elijah Kellogg. Also within the series are biographical notes and clippings concerning McKeen, several volumes of his sermons, and an account of the induction of President Willard at Harvard in 1781.
Arranged chronologically by material type.
No restrictions.
Rufus Anderson to Joseph McKeen, Hanover (NH). 6 August, 1791 [3p.]
Levi McKeen to Joseph McKeen, Peterborough (NH). 6 August, 1791 [1p.]
Rufus Anderson to Joseph McKeen, Bradford (NH). 8 November, 1791 [1p.]
Rufus Anderson to Joseph McKeen, Exeter (NH). 15 May, 1792 [2p.]
Simon Williams to Joseph McKeen, Windham (NH). 30 September, 1793 [2p.]
Joseph McKeen to William Burley, Beverly (MA). 25 September, 1795 [3p.]
Alex Macwhorter to Joseph McKeen, [n.p.]. 8 November, 1799 [1p.]
Joseph McKeen to Jedidiah Morse, Beverly (MA). 23 December, 1800 [2p.]
Elijah Kellogg to Joseph McKeen, Portland (ME). 18 June, 1801 [3p.]
Elijah Kellogg to Joseph McKeen, Portland (ME). 18 July, 1801 [1p.]
Elijah Kellogg to Joseph McKeen, Portland (ME). 24 July, 1801 [3p.]
M. Newman to Joseph McKeen, [Andover, MA?]. 18 August, 1801 [1p.]
Joseph McKeen to Joseph McKeen Jr., Beverly (MA). 24 August, 1801 [2p.]
Joseph McKeen to Alice McKeen, Portland (ME). September, 1801 [2p.]
Alfred Johnson to Joseph McKeen, Freeport (ME). 5 November, 1801 [2p.]
Joseph McKeen to John Abbot, Beverly (MA). 30 December, 1801 [3p.]
Levi McKeen to Joseph McKeen, Poughkeepsie (NY). 8 January, 1802 [3p.]
John Abbot to Joseph McKeen, Portland (ME). 10 April, 1802 [3p.]
Joseph McKeen to the Trustees & Overseers of Bowdoin College, Beverly (MA). 20 April, 1802 [4p.]
Joseph McKeen to Elijah Kellogg, Beverly (MA). 10 May, 1802 [2p.]
Joseph McKeen to Joseph McKeen Jr., Beverly (MA). 11 May, 1802 [2p.]
John Prince to Joseph McKeen, Salem (MA). 12 June, 1803 [3p.]
Joseph McKeen to Joseph McKeen Jr., Brunswick (ME). 28 September, 1804 [1p.]
Joseph McKeen to Joseph McKeen Jr., Brunswick (ME). 7 October, 1804 [1p.]
Joseph McKeen to Joseph McKeen Jr., Brunswick (ME). 13 October, 1804 [3p.]
Joseph McKeen to Joseph McKeen, Jr,. Brunswick (ME). 20 October, 1804 [2p.]
William Vaughan to Joseph McKeen, London (England). 30 July, 1805 [2p.]
Joseph McKeen to Joseph McKeen Jr., Haverhill (NH). 31 May, 1806 [3p.]
Benjamin Vaughan to Joseph McKeen, Hallowell (ME). 12 August, 1806 [2p.]
Benjamin Vaughan to Joseph McKeen, Hallowell (ME). 19 August, 1806 [2p.]
Joseph McKeen to Alice McKeen, Beverly (MA). 22 October, 1806 [3p.]
Robert Rantoul to Nehemiah Cleavland, Beverly (MA). 26 March, 1856 [4p.]
Fanny A. McKeen to Nehemiah Cleaveland, Brunswick (ME). 2 February, 1857 [2p.]
Fanny A. McKeen to Nehemiah Cleaveland, Brunswick (ME). 9 April, 1857 [2p.]
Joseph McKeen to Joseph McKeen Jr., Brunswick (ME). 20 September, [n.y.] [1p.]
Joseph McKeen to the Trustees & Overseers of Bowdoin College, Brunswick (ME). [n.d.] [4p.]
Joseph McKeen to E. Pearson, [n.p.], [n.d.] [2p.]
Account of Induction of President Willard & Professor Tappan at Harvard 19 December, 1781
Biographical Notes by A.S. Packard and N. Cleaveland
Biographical Clippings, 1913-1966
25 May, 1783 - 20 July, 1806.(2)
13 December, 1783 - 6 July, 1806.(3)
19 June, 1785 - 11 May, 1806.(1)
Contains letters and other biographical information about Joseph McKeen's family. Consists mostly of the correspondence of John McKeen (1789-1861) and James McKeen (1844-1911). Also included are lectures by John McKeen, the College theme of 1853 by Joseph McKeen (1832-1881), and materials ofother family members.
Arranged chronologically by birthdate of family
No restrictions.
Joseph McKeen (1787-1865): Biographical Clippings, 1865-1992
John McKeen (1789-1861): Biographical Clippings, 1859-1914
Lectures (Typescript), 1845-1846
Correspondance, 1811-1861
James McKeen (1797-1873): Biographical Clippings, 1873-1962
John Orr McKeen (1823-?): Biographical Inquiry (1947)
Joseph McKeen (1832-1881): Biographical Clippings, 1906
Examination, 1853
James McKeen (1844-1911): Biographical Clippings, 1891-1914
Bowdoin Centennial Banquet
Correspondance, 1881-1910
Joseph McKeen: Biographical Clippings, 1909-1911
Alice McKeen sampler
Images of Joseph McKeen (1757-1807), most of which are reproductions of the J.H. Bufford lithograph and the H.W. Smith engraving. Also includes serveral photographic reproductions and original silhouettes.
No restrictions.
7 pieces: 7 reproductions of J.H. Bufford lithograph
3 pieces: 3 cabinet cards of J.H. Bufford lithograph
2 pieces: 2 photographs of J.H. Bufford lithograph
5 pieces: 5 reproductions of H.W. Smith engraving
4 pieces: 4 photographs of H.W. Smith engraving
1 piece: 1 newsprint reproduction of H.W. Smith engraving
1 piece: 1 silhouette, negative cut, by itinerant silhouettist William King
2 pieces: 2 silhouettes
3 pieces: 3 photographs of 3 silhouettes