Guide to the Edward Goodman Papers 1854-1919


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Table of Contents

• Descriptive Summary
• Information on Use
• Access
• Citation
• Biographical Note
• Scope Note
• Related Resources
• Subject Headings
• INVENTORY

Descriptive Summary

Information on Use

Access

No restrictions.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Goodman, Edward. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Biographical Note

Edward Goodman was born in 1830 in Clipstone, North Hamptonshire, England. In 1852 he immigrated to Chicago for health reasons and began a career as a printer, publisher, and columnist for the Baptist paper, the Christian Times (later, the Standard). Although he had been trained as an apothecary, Goodman took to this business and by 1857 had saved enough money to buy a quarter interest in the paper. A few years later Goodman became the partner of the Standard’s publisher, Rev. Leroy Church.

In 1867 Goodman invited Richard Robert Donnelley (1837-1899) into the printing firm, which was renamed Church, Goodman, and Donnelley. By 1870 the firm was sold and became the Lakeside Publishing and Printing Company, the first major mid-western publishing house. Eventually Donnelley took control of the company, now known as R.R. Donnelley and Sons.

Goodman’s interest in Baptist organizations continued after 1870 when he became an officer in the Baptist Theological Union, the American Baptist Missionary Union, and the Chicago Baptist Union. In 1862 Goodman became the deacon of the First Baptist Church of Chicago, which he had first joined in 1854. He held this office until his death.

Edward Goodman served as a member of the Board of Trustees during the incorporation of the University of Chicago in 1890. He remained on the board until 1909.

Edward Goodman died in 1911.

Scope Note

The Edward Goodman papers consist of notebooks of newspaper clippings, handwritten notes, and church membership rosters, as well as loose notes for The History of the First Baptist Church of Chicago, 1833-1910, which was published in 1910 by the United Religious Press. The clippings contain accounts of church business, poetry, and interesting facts.

Much of the collection was donated by Ernest DeWitt Burton, President of the University of Chicago (1923-1925) in 1952 and 1953.

The notebooks and newspaper clippings predominantly pertain to The Chicago Baptist Social Union. The majority of the clipped articles are excerpts or reprints of meeting information or minutes originally published in The Standard.

The Collection is divided into 7 boxes. The first two boxes are a notebooks containing newspaper clippings in regard to the Chicago Baptist Social Union. The third box is a collection of miscellaneous notes and scrapbooks pertaining to the church history. The fourth box contains loose articles as well as membership lists and Chicago Baptist Social Union pamphlets. The fifth box contains scrapbooks, notes, programs and memorabilia about the Baptist Anniversaries. Boxes six and seven contain six scrapbooks documenting the founding and early years of the University of Chicago, from 1888 to 1907.

The loose notes, donated by Burton, consist of two groups of papers on the history of the church: (1) notes Goodman made for speeches and for an article in the church paper; (2) letters relating to the selection of Poindexter Smith Henson (1831-1914) as pastor, 1881-1882; (3) Henson’s tenth anniversary in as pastor in 1892; and (4) to the selection of Austen Kennedy de Blois (1866-1945) as Henson’s successor in 1903.

Related Resources

Browse finding aids by topic.

Baptist Ministers Conference of Chicago. Records.

Baptist Theological Union and Baptist Union Theological Seminary. Records.

The History of the First Baptist Church of Chicago, 1833-1910, by Edward Goodman (BX6480.C4A275).

Old University of Chicago, Records, 1856-1886.

University of Chicago. Board of Trustees. Minutes

University of Chicago Scrapbooks. Collection, 1885-1990.

Subject Headings

• Goodman, Edward, 1830-1911
• Baptist Theological Union (Chicago, Ill.)
• Baptist Union Theological Seminary (Morgan Park, Ill.)
• First Baptist Church (Chicago, Ill.)
• Baptists -- Illinois -- Chicago
• Chicago (Ill.) -- History

INVENTORY