Guide to the William Torrance Papers
Open for research.
At the age of fourteen, William Torrance immigrated from Scotland to the United States with his mother and two brothers. The family settled with relatives near Terre Haute, Indiana, and it was in this region that Torrance first attended and taught school. In 1861, Torrance was granted admission to Hanover College with advanced standing. After graduation from this college, in 1863, Torrance received a scholarship to attend Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1866, Torrance married and moved to Croyton, Indiana where he was ordained. For the next 30 years he was to serve as minister for eight Presbyterian congregations scattered throughout Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin.
After retirement in 1917, Torrance moved to Muncie, Indiana. He lived in this town, with his two daughters, for the remaining years of his life. Presumably, it was during these later years that he worked on several manuscripts which examined religious philosophy and morality. Torrance died in 1924.
This collection contains the original drafts of sermons written by William Torrance between 1866 and 1907. These sermons contain allusions to Biblical parables, Greek and Roman philosophers and the theme of the importance of work as a means for spiritual redemption. Torrance seems rarely to have spoken from the pulpit on the cultural or political matters of his era during the time he served as minister, presumably because he did not--in his own words--believe in a "spread eagle" (nationalistic) style of preaching. This collection also includes copies of Torrance's unfinished manuscripts: "The Life of Christ", "Religious Feeling and What it Implies", and "The Pastor and the Bible: How to Study it for Himself."
SERIES 1: SERMONS, 1866-1904
SERIES 2: MANUSCRIPTS
SERIES 3: GROPING AFTER GOD
Box 1 Folder 2 contained acquisition correspondence; this material, which is closed to researchers, has been removed.
Box | Folder | Description | |
1 | 1 | Finding Aid to Record Group 76 | |
SERIES 1: SERMONS, 1866-1904 | |||
3 | 1866 | ||
4 | 1868 | ||
5 | 1872 | ||
6 | 1873 | ||
7 | 1874 | ||
8 | 1875 | ||
9 | 1876 | ||
10 | 1876 | ||
11 | 1877 | ||
12 | 1877 | ||
13 | 1878 | ||
14 | 1878 | ||
15 | 1878 | ||
16 | 1879 | ||
17 | 1880 | ||
18 | 1881 | ||
19 | 1882 | ||
20 | 1882 | ||
21 | 1882 | ||
22 | 1883 | ||
23 | 1883 | ||
24 | 1884 | ||
25 | 1885 | ||
26 | 1886 | ||
2 | 1 | 1886 | |
2 | 1886 | ||
3 | 1887 | ||
4 | 1887 | ||
5 | 1888 | ||
6 | 1888 | ||
7 | 1889 | ||
8 | 1889 | ||
9 | 1890 | ||
10 | 1892 | ||
11 | 1893 | ||
12 | 1895 | ||
13 | 1897 | ||
14 | 1904 | ||
15 | Undated Sermons | ||
16-18 | Incomplete Sermons | ||
SERIES 2: MANUSCRIPTS | |||
2 | 19 | Life of Christ, chapters 1-13 | |
20 | Life of Christ, chapters 14-21 | ||
21 | "The Pastor and His Bible: How to Study it for Himself" | ||
22 | "Religious Feeling and What it Implies" (incomplete) | ||
SERIES 3: GROPING AFTER GOD (typescript) | |||
3 | 1 | Chapters 1-4 | |
2 | Chapters 5-10 | ||
3 | Chapters 11-15 | ||
4 | Chapters 1-4 | ||
5 | Chapters 5-10 | ||
6 | Chapters 11-15 | ||
7 | Chapters 1-4 | ||
8 | Chapters 5-10 | ||
9 | Chapters 11-15 | ||
10 | Undated Sermon | ||
11 | Incomplete Sermon |