Charles Reynolds Brown Papers

The first series, Correspondence, is divided into Family Correspondence and General Correspondence. Within each of these sections the correspondence of Brown's wife is separated from his own. The Family Correspondence dates from 1886 to 1944. It includes letters to or from Brown, his wife, mother, father, sister, niece and cousins. Brown wrote long and detailed letters to family members regarding his trips abroad in l894 and l897 and regarding the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. During trips to Europe in 1911 and 1931 Brown wrote daily to his wife.

General Correspondence dates from l894 to 1951 and consists primarily of letters received by Brown. The letters in this section are useful for tracing the development of Brown's own career. Factors influencing his decisions first to accept a call to Oakland and later to become dean of the Divinity School are evident in his correspondence with friends and colleagues. Matters regarding Brown's extensive publications and his involvement in the affairs of the Congregational Church are also dealt with in the General Correspondence section. An abbreviated list of notable correspondents would include: Henry Sloane Coffin (1919, 1922, 1943), Alfred Coit (1920), David E. Fitzgerald (1922\Washington Gladden (1906), Herbert Hoover (1917, 1920, 1940), John R. Mott (1921), William Lyon Phelps (1928, 1939) , John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1919) , Theodore Roosevelt (1926, 1932, 1933), William H. Taft (1914, 1916, 1923, 1926) and Booker T. Washington (1902).

The second series, Notebooks and Journals, dates from 1883 to 1947 and includes material written by Brown and by his wife. Engagement record books and a record of sermons preached document Brown's long and active life. Other notebooks include notes for sermon illustrations. The journals of Alice Tufts Brown record daily activities during trips abroad in l897, l898, 1928, and 1931.

The Writings of Series III are divided into four sections.

The material in this series supplemented by the newspaper clippings in bound volumes 1 through 7 gives a reasonably complete picture of Brown's career as a preacher and writer. The collection contains little which deals with issues or events at Yale Divinity School during Brown's tenure as dean.

The fourth series, Personal Items and Memorabilia (1883-1951, n.d.), includes biographical material, memorabilia, newspaper clippings which spotlight important events in Brown's career, and one folder of photographs.

Bound volumes 1 through 7 contain primarily newspaper clippings about Brown, by him or reviewing his publications. These volumes are recorded on microfilm. Bound volume 8 is apparently a record of members received by the churches Brown served from 1889 to 1896. Bound volumes 9 and 10 contain the International Sunday School Lessons written by Brown from 1911 to 1917. Bound volumes 8 - 10 and microfilm (vol. 1-7) are found in the oversize box.