John S. Martin papers, 1840-1864.

Creator: Martin, John S.
Collection number: 3469-z
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Abstract: Itinerant Methodist minister in northern Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, present-day West Virginia, and Baltimore, Md. Included are letters from Martin to his wife, Susan P. (Ruff) Martin, while he was away attending church conferences in the North, where the slave controversy was a major issue; letters from his father-in-law, John Ruff of Rockbridge County, Va., containing local news and political opinion; and letters, 1860-1861, from son J. Thomas R. Martin at Roanoke College, Salem, Va., describing college life.

Repository: Southern Historical Collection

Collection Highlights: The dominant subject of most of the letters is the division of the Methodist Church over the issue of slavery. Includes letters of John Rubb complaining about abolitionists (1840-1850) and descriptions of Methodist Conference debates on slavery, from Indiana, New York, Maryland, and Virginia.