Mr. Brown's Thanksgiving Sermon

This bound quarto contains Clark Brown’s sermon preached in Swanzey, New Hampshire, Warwick, Massachusetts, and Putney, Vermont on the annual Thanksgivings celebrated in those states. It was published by John Prentiss of Keene, New Hampshire in 1808. The sermon was titled “The Propitious manifestations of God, considered as subjects demanding the grateful homage of Thanksgiving, and as excitements to devout adoration and humble supplication.” While the Copp’s library is full of sermons, Reverend Clark Brown (1771-1817) had a family connection to the Copp’s, as he was Samuel Copp’s (1743) nephew through Dolly Brown.

The Copp Collection contains about 150 books of early American imprint and shows a wide range of reading matter typical of a New England Puritan family living in a port town. Literacy was expected of many New Englanders, as Puritan doctrine required everyone to read the Bible. The abundance of multiple Bibles, psalms, hymnodies, sermons, and morality tales reflects the Copp’s religious beliefs. Other highlights of the library include the works of Shakespeare, almanacs, historical and political texts, and travel narratives.

The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.

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