Guide to the Ramsey Family Papers
Open for research.
William and Mary Wire Ramsey served as missionaries in Bombay, India from 1830-1834. William Ramsey, born in 1803 in Thompsontown, Pennsylvania, graduated from Princeton University in 1821. In 1822, he attended Princeton Theological Seminary and was licensed to preach by the Huntingdon Presbytery in 1826. He was ordained as an Evangelist by the same Presbytery in 1827. William married Mary Wire on July 12, 1830.
Mary Wire was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1803 to John and Mary Wire. She attended the Burlington School and was baptized by William Ramsey in 1828. Mary had two younger sisters, Deborah and Elizabeth. After marrying William in July, they set sail for Bombay under the direction of the American Board for Foreign Missions in August, 1830. Mary, and her son, John William, died in Bombay in June, 1834. William returned to Philadelphia with their daughter, Jane Mary Wire Ramsey, in January, 1835. He was called to Cedar Street Presbyterian Church in 1837, where he served until 1857. He died in 1858.
The collection largely consists of journals and notebooks kept by William and Mary Ramsey. The collection also contains a journal kept by Deborah and Elizabeth Wire for William and Mary while they were in Bombay. There is also correspondence written to and by the Ramseys. Miscellaneous items include arithmetic, poetry, and note books from Mary's childhood, a drawing and note book belonging to Jane Mary Wire Ramsey, clippings and other ephemera belonging to William Ramsey.
SERIES I: JOURNALS, 1820-1844
Subseries 1: William Ramsey, 1820-1844
Subseries 2: Deborah and Elizabeth Wire, 1830‑1833
Subseries 3: Mary Wire Ramsey, 1830‑1833
SERIES II: NOTEBOOKS - WILLIAM RAMSEY, 1823-1835
SERIES III: SEMINARY AND PUBLIC SPEAKING NOTES - WILLIAM RAMSEY,
1825-CIRCA 1863
SERIES IV: CORRESPONDENCE, 1830-1840
Subseries 1: Wire Family, 1831-1834
Subseries 2: Ramsey Family, 1830-1840
SERIES V: MISCELLANEOUS NOTEBOOKS, 1782-1797, 1821-1832, 1848, CIRCA 1860-1877
Subseries 1: John Wire, 1782-1797
Subseries 2: Mary Wire Ramsey, 1821-1832
Subseries 3: Jane Mary Wire Ramsey, 1848
Subseries 4: Deborah Wire, circa 1860-1877
SERIES VI: WILLIAM RAMSEY - MISCELLANEOUS, 1834-1871
Collection processed and finding aid prepared: December 1989
Susan W. Miller, Processing Archivist
| Box | Folder | Description | |
| 1 | 1 | Finding Aid to Record Group 261 | |
| SERIES I: JOURNALS, 1820-1844 | |||
| Subseries 1: William Ramsey, 1820‑1844 | |||
| 1 | 2 | 1820 August-1822 June | |
| 1 | 3 | 1822 June-1822 November | |
| 1 | 4 | 1823 January-1824 March | |
| 1 | 5 | 1824 March-1824 December | |
| 1 | 6 | 1824 December-1825 July | |
| 1 | 6a | 1825 July-1826 August | |
| 1 | 7 | 1826 August-1828 March | |
| 1 | 8 | 1828 March-1829 March | |
| 1 | 9 | 1829 May-1830 February | |
| 1 | 10 | 1830 Februry-1830 July | |
| 1 | 11 | 1830 August-1831 March | |
| 1 | 12 | 1831 March-1831 December | |
| 1 | 13 | 1832 January-1832 December | |
| 1 | 14 | 1833 January-1834 June | |
| 1 | 15 | 1834 July-1835 October | |
| 1 | 16 | 1836 January-1836 December | |
| 1 | 16a | 1837 January-1838 May | |
| 1 | 17 | 1838 May-1840 July | |
| 1 | 18 | 1844 February-1849 July | |
| 1 | 19 | Journal extracts, 1825, 1832-1833, undated | |
| 1 | 20 | Journal extracts, 1831 | |
| Subseries 2: Deborah and Elizabeth Wire, 1830‑1833 | |||
| 2 | 1 | 1830-1831 | |
| 2 | 1a | 1831-1833 | |
| Subseries 3: Mary Wire Ramsey, 1830-1833 | |||
| 2 | 2 | 1830 | |
| 2 | 3 | Extracts, 1833 | |
| SERIES II: NOTEBOOKS - WILLIAM RAMSEY, 1823-1835 | |||
| 2 | 4 | "Departure from Bombay: Journal of a tour on the Continent by Messrs. Allen and Ramsey," 1832 | |
| 2 | 5 | India notes, circa 1830 | |
| 2 | 6 | Misc. notes - India language, undated | |
| 2 | 7 | Misc. notes - including record of letters sent to America from India, 1823‑1837 | |
| 2 | 8 | Notes about India, circa 1832 | |
| 2 | 9 | "Tower of Silence" notes, circa 1835 | |
| SERIES III: SEMINARY AND PUBLIC SPEAKING NOTES - WILLIAM RAMSEY, 1825-CIRCA 1863 | |||
| 2 | 10 | Princeton Theological Seminary, 1825 | |
| 2 | 11 | Bible Questions, 1826 | |
| 2 | 12 | Bible Questions, 1827 | |
| 2 | 13 | Bible Questions - Acts, 1827 | |
| 2 | 14 | Bible Questions, 1829 | |
| 3 | 1 | Sermons - Text book no.2 containing 59 sermons, Philadelphia, 1827 | |
| 3 | 2 | Sermons 1839‑1856 | |
| 3 | 3 | "Lectures of Revelation," circa 1845 | |
| 3 | 4 | Lectures, 1846‑1849 | |
| 3 | 5 | Lectures - Notes on Exodus, circa 1863 | |
| SERIES IV: CORRESPONDENCE, 1830-1840 | |||
| Subseries 1: Wire Family, 1831-1834 | |||
| 4 | 1 | John and Mary Wire, 1831‑1833 | |
| 4 | 2 | Mary Wire Ramsey, 1831‑1833 | |
| 4 | 3 | Deborah Wire, 1831‑1834 | |
| Subseries 2: Ramsey Family, 1830-1840 | |||
| 4 | 4 | William Ramsey, 1830‑1834 | |
| 4 | 5 | Joseph Wolf to William Ramsey, 1837‑1840 | |
| 4 | 6 | Jane Ramsey, undated | |
| SERIES V: MISCELLANEOUS NOTEBOOKS, 1782-1797, 1821-1832, 1848, CIRCA 1860-1877 | |||
| Subseries 1: John Wire, 1782‑1797 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Account book, 1782‑1797 | |
| Subseries 2: Mary Wire Ramsey, 1821‑1832 | |||
| 4 | 8 | Arithmetic notebook, 1821 | |
| 4 | 9 | Poetry, 1822 | |
| 4 | 10 | Poetry, 1828 | |
| 4 | 11 | Attendance record (?), 1825‑1832 | |
| Subseries 3: Jane Mary Wire Ramsey, 1848 | |||
| 4 | 12 | Drawing book, 1848 | |
| Subseries 4: Deborah Wire, circa 1860‑1877 | |||
| 4 | 13 | Notebook, circa 1860‑1877 | |
| SERIES VI: MISCELLANEOUS - WILLIAM RAMSEY, 1834-1871 | |||
| 4 | 14 | 1834‑1871 |