Guide to the Francis McFarland Papers
Open for research.
Francis McFarland was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1788, and immigrated with his family to the United States in 1793. He graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1820, after which he served for several years as a home missionary in Indiana, Missouri, and Georgia. In 1823, he was called as pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Augusta County, Virginia, where he served until 1835. Between 1835 and 1841, McFarland served as corresponding secretary of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Education. In 1841, he returned to Bethel Presbyterian Church, where he remained until his death in 1871. McFarland served for many years as stated clerk of the Synod of Virginia, and in 1856, he was elected General Assembly Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (Old School). He was one of the key figures involved in the formation, in 1861, of the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America, which became the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. He presided over the Assembly for that church until its first moderator and clerks were elected.
The collection contains the personal papers of Francis McFarland documenting his career as a seminary student, Presbyterian minister, and corresponding secretary of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Education. The papers consist primarily of handwritten sermons, circa 1823-1866, and personal correspondence from 1817 to 1871, including a letterpress book, 1840-1849. Correspondents include William Henry Foote, Charles Hodge, William Swan Plumer, William Henry Ruffner, and Joseph Ruggles Wilson. Included is a sermon logbook, circa 1823-1866; two notebooks, circa 1819-1820, which record lectures on pastoral theology and church history delivered by Archibald Alexander at Princeton Theological Seminary; and copies of "secret circulars," 1836, and other materials which illustrate disagreements over the Westminster Confession.
Summary of Box Contents
Box 1: Correspondence, A-Y, 1817-1871
Box 2: Manuscript sermons, circa 1823-1866, arranged by text
Box 3: Student notebooks on church history, pastoral care, and metaphysics, 1819-1820; sermon log (in the same notebook as metaphysics lecture notes), 1823-1866; and account books, 1843-1855
Box 4: Letterpress book, 1840-1849
Francis McFarland Papers, 1815-1871, Accession #318, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. The collection includes student writings, lecture notebooks, and diaries (1832-1866).
Received from Mr. and Mrs. W.B. McFarland in 1936.
This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered beyond their original condition. A preliminary inventory is provided in this guide. Guide revised in 2009 by Jennifer Barr, Archives Intern.
Francis McFarland Papers, RG 459, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
| Box | Folder | Description | |
| 1 | 1 | Correspondence, A | |
| 1 | 2 | Correspondence, B | |
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence, C-G | |
| 1 | 4 | Correspondence, H-L | |
| 1 | 5 | Correspondence, M | |
| 1 | 6 | Correspondence, P-R | |
| 1 | 7 | Correspondence, S-V | |
| 1 | 8 | Correspondence, W, Y | |
| 1 | 9 | Correspondence, miscellaneous | |
| 1 | 10 | Correspondence, unidentified | |
| 2 | 1 | Sermons, Genesis | |
| 2 | 2 | Sermons, Exodus | |
| 2 | 3 | Sermons, Leviticus | |
| 2 | 4 | Sermons, Numbers | |
| 2 | 5 | Sermons, Deuteronomy | |
| 2 | 6 | Sermons, Joshua | |
| 2 | 7 | Sermons, Judges | |
| 2 | 8 | Sermons, Ruth | |
| 2 | 9 | Sermons, I Kings | |
| 2 | 10 | Sermons, II Kings | |
| 2 | 11 | Sermons, I Chronicles | |
| 2 | 12 | Sermons, II Chronicles | |
| 2 | 13 | Sermons, Nehemiah | |
| 2 | 14 | Sermons, Job | |
| 2 | 15 | Sermons, Psalms | |
| 2 | 16 | Sermons, Proverbs | |
| 2 | 17 | Sermons, Ecclesiastes | |
| 2 | 18 | Sermons, Isaiah | |
| 2 | 19 | Sermons, Jeremiah | |
| 2 | 20 | Sermons, Lamentations | |
| 2 | 21 | Sermons, Ezekiel | |
| 2 | 22 | Sermons, Daniel | |
| 2 | 23 | Sermons, Hosea | |
| 2 | 24 | Sermons, Joel | |
| 2 | 25 | Sermons, Amos | |
| 2 | 26 | Sermons, Jonah | |
| 2 | 27 | Sermons, Micah | |
| 2 | 28 | Sermons, Haggai | |
| 2 | 29 | Sermons, Zechariah | |
| 2 | 30 | Sermons, Malachi | |
| 2 | 31 | Sermons, Matthew | |
| 2 | 32 | Sermons, Mark | |
| 2 | 33 | Sermons, Luke | |
| 2 | 34 | Sermons, John | |
| 2 | 35 | Sermons, Acts | |
| 2 | 36 | Sermons, Romans | |
| 2 | 37 | Sermons, I Corinthians | |
| 2 | 38 | Sermons, II Corinthians | |
| 2 | 39 | Sermons, Galatians | |
| 2 | 40 | Sermons, Ephesians | |
| 2 | 41 | Sermons, Philippians | |
| 2 | 42 | Sermons, Colossians | |
| 2 | 43 | Sermons, I Thessalonians | |
| 2 | 44 | Sermons, II Thessalonians | |
| 2 | 45 | Sermons, I Timothy | |
| 2 | 46 | Sermons, II Timothy | |
| 2 | 47 | Sermons, Titus | |
| 2 | 48 | Sermons, Philemon | |
| 2 | 49 | Sermons, Hebrews | |
| 2 | 50 | Sermons, James | |
| 2 | 51 | Sermons, I Peter | |
| 2 | 52 | Sermons, II Peter | |
| 2 | 53 | Sermons, I John | |
| 2 | 54 | Sermons, Revelation | |
| 2 | 55 | Sermons, miscellaneous | |
| 3 | 1 | Miscellaneous papers | |
| 3 | 2 | Circular letters, broadsides, and other printed material, 1828-1870 | |
| 3 | 3 | Metaphysics lecture notebook and sermon log, 1819, 1823-1866 | |
| 3 | 4 | Pastoral theology lecture notebook, 1819 | |
| 3 | 5 | Church history lecture notebook, 1819-1820 | |
| 3 | 6 | Account books, 1843-1855 | |
| 4 | Letterpress book, 1840-1849 |