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© 2007 University of Chicago Library
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When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Hulbert Family. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Eri B. Hulbert, Jr. was born in Chicago in 1841, and lived in the city until leaving to attend Union College. After graduation from that institution, he attended Hamilton Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1865. He immediately accepted a pastorate in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he stayed for three years. From 1868 to 1870 he was in charge of mission work in the rolling mills in Chicago. After Chicago, he became pastor of Baptist churches in St. Paul, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. In 1878, Hulbert returned to Chicago to become pastor of the Fourth Baptist Church.
In 1881, Hulbert surrendered his pastorate to accept the professorship of church history with Union Theological Seminary. While at the seminary, he became an associate of William Rainey Harper, first president of the University of Chicago, and Thomas W. Goodspeed. Hulbert served as acting president of the seminary in 1884 and 1885, and was appointed dean when the seminary merged with the University and formed the Divinity School. Hulbert served in that capacity until his death, in 1907.
The Hulbert Family Papers consists of typescript copies of the original letter of members of the Hulbert/Walker family. Eri B. Hulbert, Jr. was the first dean of the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. The Hulbert family lived in Chicago during much of the period covered by the papers, and the letters chronicle many significant local events, including the 1871 Great Fire and its aftermath. They also chronicle life in the Chicago Baptist community in the 1860s and 1870s and include observations on national events, including the Presidential elections of 1860 and 1864.