Archives West Finding Aid

The papers contain correspondence, sermons, circulars and notes of Jonathan Going, chiefly relevant to religious subjects.

The Notes series (Series 1) contains Going's personal notes from 1805 to 1823. The notes detail daily activities on 31/2" X 6" paper that appears to have once been bound in a notebook. The early entries are sketchy and rather philosophical. Beginning in 1809 the notes become a daily log of his ministry activities and list the places and people he visited. Many of the names are repeated on a list of 1812 Ohio Baptist Society members found toward the back of the notes.

The Sermons series (Series 2) contains two sermons written by Going. The first, dated April 28, 1809 is titled, "A Lecture on Prayer." It was written while Going was a theological student at Brown University. The second sermon, "Isaiah 58:12," is not dated. It references the Baptist Convention and encourages the listener to send aid to the less fortunate students struggling to learn the gospel in colleges and missionary schools.

Within Series 3: Circulars, the first circular, "Circular of the Ohio Baptist Educational Society", makes reference to Going's 1837 election to the Granville Institution presidency. Written by J.B Swaim, a frequent correspondent of Going and a fellow member of the Society, the circular is a clear call for monetary support and may have bearing on the Society's financial responsibility for a portion of Going's salary while he was president at Granville. The second circular, "The Granville Lit. and Theo. Institution", appears to have been written in Going's handwriting. It too is primarily a fundraising effort and may have been written as part of Going's administrative duties while president of Granville.

Series four contains Correspondence received by and sent from Jonathan Going during the period 1807 to 1841. Most of the correspondence centers around the year 1837 when Going was elected to the presidency of two colleges, Granville and Shuntlief; Going declined Shuntlief. The bulk of the rest of the correspondence concerns the Granville presidency and the role of the Ohio Baptist Education Society in funding his position. Though most of the correspondence is professional in nature, there are a few personal letters interspersed throughout the series. One such correspondence contains only the first page of a letter written by Going to his parents in 1809. It describes an interesting list of flourishing businesses and shops Going passed each day on his way to University.