Scope and Contents:
This collection contains the correspondence and notes of Reverend George Barrett. In one 1872 letter, Barrett writes to his family from Venice, Italy, while on a journey through Europe. Many of the papers in this collection are notes on biblical texts and sermons given by Barrett near his home in Pittsfield, Illinois.
Biographical/Historical Context:
George Johnson Barrett (1818-1876) was born in Washington County, New York. He moved to Morgan County, Illinois, in 1837, where he began traveling as a Methodist preacher. Barrett had thirteen children, and his youngest, Oliver Rogers Barrett, became an attorney, Lincoln collector, and President of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois State Historical Society.