Samson, Smallwood, and Kenrick families papers

This collection comprises the contents of a small box of correspondence, photographs, and documents preserved intact by George and Elizabeth Samson's descendents until their gift to the archives in 2017.

The oldest materials in the collection are related to Abisha Samson's vocation as a Baptist minister, and include his certificate of ordination as well as letters of recommendation he received from churches he was affiliated with. This portion of the collection also contains correspondence between Abisha and his wife, Mehetabel, and her father, John Kenrick; and with her brother, Enoch B. Kenrick, about the estate of John Kenrick after his death. A later set of correspondence to Abisha Samson dates from the time he spent living with his son and daughter-in-law in Washington D.C. following Mehetabel's death.

The first materials in the collection directly related to George W. Samson are a complete set of bills sent to Abisha Samson for George's education at Brown University from 1835 to 1839. An interesting cluster of correspondence dates from his time shortly after that, when he was studying at Newton. During this time, he corresponded with friends and family, including his father, Abisha, who updated his son on his activities and successes in spreading the Baptist faith. Another set of documents of potential interest to historians of Baptism in the United States are some partial notes about meetings that George Samson took while serving as minister of the E Street church. Finally, the George Samson materials include several copies of a studio photograph of him from later in his life, as well as memorial tributes from Brown and the E Street Baptist Church, and letters of condolence written to his widow, Elizabeth.

George Samson and Elizabeth Smallwood courted by letter for about two years before their marriage in 1844, and they continued corresponding during times of separation in 1844, again in 1847-1848 (while George Samson was apparently traveling abroad), and in 1853. Their correspondence is unfailingly loving; during a period of physical separation after their marriage, George wrote Elizabeth a poem included in this collection that touches on themes of both love and religion. In a letter in 1848, Elizabeth writes to George about the birth of their second son, George, and her move from Washinton to New York when he was six weeks old.

This collection contains a significant amount of correspondence to Elizabeth Smallwood dating from the years prior to her marriage to George Samson. While at her parents' home in Newton, she corresponded with numerous cousins and friends, and while she was abroad at her father's ancestral home in Macclesfield, Cheshire, her correspondence also heavily featured her sisters, Emma Smallwood (later known as Mrs. Dr. S.C. Smoot) and Matilda (later known as Matilda Linden), and her brothers Edwin, George, and John Boden, called "J.B." The correspondence from her friends and family continues into the early years of her marriage, heavily featuring Emma as well as her father, Thomas Smallwood. The collection also includes a newspaper from 1881 that includes a story with a biography and tribute to Thomas Smallwood as a citizen of Newton.

The collection also includes carte de visite photographs of Elizabeth Smallwood's aunt and cousin, Mrs. John Smallwood and her daughter Catharine Smallwood, both of Macclesfield, as well as a photograph of an unidentified woman, all of which were loose in the box.

Finally, the collection includes several scraps of unattributed writings, including a eligious autobiography which discusses, among other things, the death of a young daughter; an essay; and a transcription of a Smallwood family a gravesite, likely located in Cheshire.