Sidney Brooks (AC 1841) Papers

This collection contains thirty-three letters and draft letters written by Sidney Brooks and two received by him, dated 1835 to 1864, nearly 100 prose drafts and essays, and a detailed ledger of expenses for his years at Amherst, 1837 to 1841. Correspondents include his father Obed Brooks, his brothers Henry Cobb Brooks and Obed Brooks, Jr., his sisters Sarah Godfrey Brooks, Harriett Newell, and Tamesin Brooks, and his wife Susan.

Correspondence with his family touches on several topics of interest in the early life of the College, including Fourth of July celebrations, cane traditions, and the aforementioned speaking exercises. Two later letters sent to Brooks by Amherst College students Samuel F. Miller (AC 1848) and J. M. Manning (AC 1851) in 1846 and 1848, respectively, suggest some ongoing involvement with the College after graduation. A series of letters written to his wife Susan and his sisters in 1864 chronicle Brooks' visit to a military hospital with the Christian Commission and his encounters with Abraham Lincoln.

The prose writing includes texts for orations and debates, and coursework from throughout Brooks' undergraduate years. The earliest pieces were written for a lecture to the Porter Rhetorical Society of the Theological Seminary at Andover, and are dated 1834 and 1835. Most pieces are drafts of speeches given at the weekly speaking exercises for students, which Brooks describes in his letter to his brother Obed of November 29, 1837. Essays may also have been composed for meetings of the Athenian Society; Brooks' essay recounting a meeting of that Society is light-hearted, and has the air of a short story.

Coursework subjects include astronomy, rhetoric, classics and theology. Many of the rhetoric pieces are based on Newman's A practical system of rhetoric, one of the sophomore textbooks. The coursework also includes two translations: from Hebrew, chapter 27 of Genesis, and from Greek, book 1, lines 180-200 of Homer's Odyssey.

Brooks’ account ledger provides a detailed financial record of his expenses for tuition, room and board, books, social activities, and personal expenses during his four years at Amherst College. Items of interest include his membership in several student societies and their associated fees, as well as costs of necessities, like wood for heat, textbooks, and travel costs across Massachusetts.