A Guide to the Dr. Robert Semple Bosher Papers, 1937-1987 #10722

Special Collections, University of Virginia Library

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Preferred Citation

Dr. Robert Semple Bosher Papers, Accession #10722, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Bosher papers were loaned to the Library for copying on May 28, 1987, by Lewis H. Bosher of Richmond, Virginia, through David Holmes, Professor of Religion, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, and were returned to Mr. Holmes after filming.

Biographical/Historical Information

This sketch is taken from the tribute to Bosher by Rev. Powel Mills Dawley. Dr. Robert Semple Bosher was both a graduate and member of the faculty of the General Theological Seminary in New York City. Upon completion of the requirements for the Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1937, Bosher chose to work in a mission area of western Virginia as an Episcopal priest.

After World War II, Bosher returned to General Theological Seminary as a Fellow and a Tutor, working on his Master of Sacred Theology. Encouraged to continue his studies abroad, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1949. That same year, he began teaching ecclesiastical history at the Seminary, becoming a Professor in that department and Director of Graduate Studies by 1954. Bosher retired from teaching in 1972, but continued to serve as a pastor by his informal association with The Church of the Holy Comforter in Richmond, Virginia, until his death in December 1976.

Scope and Content

This collection of ca. 190 items (3 Hollinger boxes), 1937-1987, and undated, chiefly consists of the lecture notes, outlines, and related syllabi and bibliographies used by Dr. Robert Bosher in teaching European and American Church History at General Theological Seminary, New York, New York.

The Bosher papers also contain correspondence, a paper concerning the formation of the Anglican communion, two theses written by Dr. Bosher while a student at General Theological Seminary, notes kept by Russell A. Smith of Bosher's lectures, quotation material used by Bosher in his lectures, and reviews of his book, The Making of the Restoration Settlement.

The correspondence folder contains copies of letters from Robert Bosher to his father (April 20, 1949) and from H. St. George Tucker (February 11, 1952), both concerning The Making of the Restoration Settlement ; a copy of his last sermon, delivered shortly before his death at the Church of the Holy Comforter, Richmond, Virginia, with a tribute to him by Rev. Powel Mills Dawley (December 12, 1976); and other letters to Dr. Lewis H. Bosher, Jr. concerning his brother, Robert, his contributions to teaching and the General Theological Seminary, and the location of his lectures.

Contents List

Series I: Lectures and Related Materials

"American Christianity in the Nineteenth Century"-Schedule, Bibliography n.d.
"American Christianity in the Twentieth Century"-Lectures n.d.
"American Christianity in the Twentieth Century"-Schedule Bibliography n.d.
"American Church History"-Lectures n.d.

2 folders
"The Anglican Communion"-Lecture n.d.
"The Anglican Communion"-Schedule, Assignments n.d.
["The Catholic Church in America"?]-Lectures n.d.
"Christian Mission in the Contemporary World"-Assignments, Bibliography n.d.
"Church History from the Conciliar Movement to the Present"-Lectures n.d.
"Church History from the Conciliar Movement to the Present"-Schedule, Reading n.d.
"The Church of England in the Stuart Period"-Lectures n.d.
"The Church of England in the Stuart Period"-Schedule, Bibliography n.d.
["Eighteenth Century Church History"?]-Lectures n.d.
"The Episcopal Church and American Christianity"-Lectures n.d.
"The Episcopal Church and American Christianity"-Schedule, Bibliography n.d.
"The Gallican church in Modern Times"-Lectures n.d.
"The Gallican church in Modern Times"-Schedule, Bibliography n.d.
["History of the Anglican Church"?]-Lectures n.d.
"The History of the Church in America"-Lectures (Notes from Bishop Haines) [ca. 1966-68]
"The History of the Church of England"-Lectures n.d.

2 folders
"The History of the Church of England"-Schedule, Reading, Revised Topical Bibliography n.d.
["Movements in American Religion"?]-Lectures n.d.
"The Oxford Movement"-Lectures n.d.
"The Oxford Movement"-Schedule, Bibliography n.d.
"Religion in Hanoverian England"-Bibliography n.d.

Series II: Miscellaneous Papers n.d.

Correspondence (electrostatic copies) 1949-1987
"The American Church and the Formation of the Anglican Communion, 1823-1853"-A Paper n.d.
"Anglicanism in Exile, 1645-1660," A Thesis by Rev. Robert S. Bosher, at the General Theological Seminary 1947 April 1
"The Church in Exile," A Thesis by Rev. Robert S. Bosher, at the General Theological Seminary 1937 April 10
Notes Kept by Russell A. Smith of Lectures by Robert S. Bosher at the General Theological Seminary, w/accompanying letter 1949-1951, 1986
Quotation Material for Lectures n.d.
Reviews of The Making of the Restoration Settlement by Robert S. Bosher 1952