Scope and Contents

This letter, likely dictated by Rev Samuel Hopkins to a scribe, was likely addressed to Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) of Britain. The letter opens with a statement about Hopkins declining health. The majority of the letter is a theological argument on how to determine what a true Christian is, how to think about faith, and how an individual may go to heaven. The letter includes notes and edits and is unsigned indicating this was likely a draft letter.

Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection includes a series of personal records relating to the formation of the Separatist Church in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The records dated 1749 are formal letters written by some of the separatists to the Congregational Church formally providing written testimony for their reasons for leaving the church. The two documents created after 1749 were written by separatists who, after separation, wished to rejoin the Congregational Church. Those documents are akin to confessions...