Emerson Requests membership in First Parish

Emerson Requests membership in First Parish

First Parish

Emerson affirmed his desire to become a member of the First Parish in Concord in this letter of April 30, 1865, to John Brown, Jr. Brown was a member of the church’s Standing Committee and, from 1873 until 1899, a deacon.

This document provides a dramatic counterpoint to Henry Thoreau’s well-known 1841 sign-off from membership in the First Parish.

All materials courtesy of the William Munroe Special Collections at the Concord Free Public Library.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Concord Free Public Library

1865

Letter