Jesse Chickering papers, 1758-1918, bulk 1818-1855

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Summary

Creator:
Chickering, Jesse, 1797-1855 and Economists' Papers Archive
Abstract:
Jesse Chickering (1797-1855) was an American abolitionist and polymath who spent time as a Unitarian minister, physician, and statistician. This collection primarily documents his professional life through his correspondence, writings, and statistical analyses. It forms parts of the Economists' Papers Archive.
Extent:
4 Linear Feet (Five document boxes, one flat box, two custom boxes, and two oversize folders.)
Language:
Material in English.
Collection ID:
RL.00222

Background

Scope and content:

This collection primarily documents Chickering's professional life through handwritten data tables, writings and notes, and correspondence, which are sometimes bound or oversize. There are also some legal and financial records, clippings and printed material, two diplomas and one certificate, one plat, and a three astronomical objects--a wooden model and two diagrams on linen. Some printed items were separated for individual cataloging.

Most of this material is related to Chickering's research and writings on population, immigration, slavery, government, Harvard University alumni, astronomy, banking, and railroads, as well as medicine and his private medical practice.

Notable correspondents include political figures such as James Buchanan, Daniel Webster, John Davis, and John M. Clayton.

There is only a small amount of material that reflects Chickering's personal and family life, although the items past his death date of 1855 belonged to his wife and child.

Biographical / historical:

Jesse Chickering was a white American abolitionist and polymath who engaged with theology, medicine, astronomy, and statistics during his life. His work reflects the convergence of moral reform, statistical reasoning, and civic engagement that shaped the intellectual and political climate of the US in the 19th century.

Chickering was born in Dover, New Hampshire, on 31 August 1797 to Jesse Chickering and Dorcas Chickering and was one of five children. He graduated from Harvard University in 1818 with a degree in theology and became a Unitarian minister but never settled on a parish. He returned to Harvard to study medicine, graduating in 1833, and then practiced in Boston, Massachusetts, for ten years, during which time he pursued independent research and investing. He delivered lectures on astronomy, wrote on banking, became involved with a housing construction project in Boston, and owned stock in multiple Boston banks and railroad lines in Massachusetts.

A committed advocate of empirical inquiry, the final phase of Chickering's life saw him turn to statistics and population studies, during which he produced his most well-known works on the population of Massachusetts and U.S. immigration. He published essays in which he occasionally derived policy implications from his findings and engaged in correspondence with political figures as high-ranking as cabinet members and senators, seeking to influence the socio-political order of his time, especially on pressing issues such as slavery. This is reflected in his final published writing, a book-length letter addressed to President Franklin Pierce with an antislavery argument based in constitutional law and signed by an "American citizen."

Chickering married Caroline Reaney (1801-1859) on 18 November 1838, with whom he had a daughter, Caroline E. Chickering (1843-1927). He died in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, on 29 May 1855.

Acquisition information:
The Jesse Chickering papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library as purchases from Parker Bishop Albee Jr. between 1965-1972. Parker graduated from Duke with a MA and PhD in History in 1964 and 1968, respectively, and was born in Massachusetts.
Processing information:

Encoded by Alvin Pollock, Electronic Text Unit, University of California, Berkeley Library.

Additional description by Soroush Marouzi, July 2025.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 1967-0032, 1969-0020, 1970-0205, 1971-0028, and 1972-0024. Cataloged by John Gribble in 1994.

Arrangement:

The Jesse Chickering papers are organized into five series: Volumes, Correspondence, Financial, Writings, and Other.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Access note. Some materials in this collection are bulky and will require extra assistance from staff. There are two oversize astronomical diagrams on linen in good condition but they are around six feet in length. Contact Research Services for access.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Jesse Chickering papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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