Guide to the Albert Barnes Papers
Open for research.
Albert Barnes was born in Rome, NY on December 1, 1798. He attended Fairfield Academy, Hamilton College, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Upon ordination in 1825, he became pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Morristown, NJ. In 1830 he accepted a call from Philadelphia's First Presbyterian Church. Upon the 1837 division of the Presbyterian Church into the Old School and New School parties, Barnes allied himself with the New School branch, but worked through the press and the pulpit toward the reunion between Old School and New School which eventually took place in 1870. In 1851 Barnes was elected moderator of the General Assembly (New School). In 1868 he retired from First Church, but at the request of his congregation he accepted the title Pastor Emeritus. He died two years later, on Christmas Eve of 1870.
Barnes was an abolitionist and a temperance advocate. He was also a noted theological scholar and the author of several articles and a complete series of Commentaries on the books of the New Testament.
Record Group 13 contains Barnes' writings: manuscripts, notes, sermons and lectures. It also includes a copy of an 1880 article about Barnes.
This collection was never properly processed. Researchers will have to use perseverance and patience to find materials as notes and commentaries on the same books of the Bible are scattered throughout the collection, and pages within folders are often out of sequence.
| Box | Folder | Description | |
| 1 | 1 | Finding Aid to Record Group 13 | |
| 2 | Reply to Review of Tract "The Position of the Evangelical Party in the Episcopal Church" | ||
| 3 | "Old and New School Theology," 1860 | ||
| 4-6 | Notes on I Corinthians | ||
| 7 | Section of Notes on Job | ||
| 8-12 | Notes on Daniel | ||
| 13 | "Life at Three-Score," 1869 | ||
| 14 | "Relation of the Church to Slavery," 1856 | ||
| 15 | "Inquiries and Suggestions in Regard to the Foundation of Faith in the Word of God," 1859 | ||
| 16 | Lectures on Evidence of Christianity, 1834-35 | ||
| 17 | Sermon Outlines, 1860 | ||
| 18 | Questions on Epistle to the Romans | ||
| 2 | 1 | Enquiry into the Organization and Government of the Apostolic Church | |
| 2 | "The Peaceful Death of the Righteous," "Home Missions," 1858 | ||
| 3-5 | Notes on Acts | ||
| 6 | "A Presbyterian Relic: Albert Barnes," Notes, 1880 | ||
| 7 | Galatians | ||
| 8-10 | Hebrews | ||
| 11-13 | I Peter | ||
| 14 | II Thessalonians | ||
| 15 | Philemon | ||
| 16 | Catholic Epistles | ||
| 17 | Philippians | ||
| 18 | Questions on I Corinthians | ||
| 3 | 1-2 | II Corinthians | |
| 3 | Ephesians | ||
| 4 | Colossians | ||
| 5 | Ephesians | ||
| 6 | I Timothy | ||
| 7 | Titus and II Timothy | ||
| 8 | Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon | ||
| 9-13 | Romans | ||
| 14-15 | Preface and Indices to 17th Edition of the Gospels | ||
| 16 | Essays, Lectures, Sermons, Fragments | ||
| 17 | The Atonement (pt. 1) | ||
| 18 | The Atonement (pt. 2), 1858 | ||
| 4 | 1-4 | Questions and Notes on Acts of the Apostles | |
| 5 | Job (new translation) | ||
| 6-9 | Notes on Job | ||
| 10 | Sermon Outlines: Psalms, 1859-63 | ||
| 11 | Questions on Isaiah, Essay on Hebrew Poetry | ||
| 12-16 | Notes on Revelation, 1852 | ||
| 5 | 1-2 | Notes on Revelation, 1852 | |
| 3-14 | Notes on Isaiah, 1838 | ||
| 15 | Sermon, c. 1850-52 | ||
| 16 | Notes for Lectures, Sermons | ||
| 6 | 1-10 | Lectures on Theology, volumes 1-10, 1845 | |
| 11 | Remarks on 300th Anniversary of Church of Scotland | ||
| 12 | Sermon, 1842 | ||
| 13 | Sermon, undated [August 2013 folder not found in collection] | ||
| 14 | Closing scenes from Life of Christ, parts 1-6, 1842-1858. | ||
| 15 | Closing scenes from Life of Christ, parts 7-12, 1843-1862 | ||
| 16 | Robinson’s Bible Atlas | ||
| 17 | Notes on theological subjects, 1827-1828 | ||
| 18 | “Sermon in Behalf of the American Home Missionary Society,” 1849. |