Letters to Rev. and Mrs. Isaac Bird

Collection — Container: Manuscripts (not separately boxed) - 1

Identifier: MS 0035

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Collection of 10 letters written to Rev. Isaac Bird and/or his wife Ann P. Bird when they were missionaries in Beirut. Many of the letters mention the diseases affecting the area and one letter has slashes in it from when it was fumigated. The letters also give news of the conditions other missionaries in the Middle East were working in, such as a fire destroying a school and the absence of gingham with which to make dresses. One of the Arabic letters concerns repayment of a debt owned to Rev. Bird. Two separate translations of the 4 letters in Arabic is included.

Dates

1822-1835

Language of Materials

Folder 1 consists of letters in Arabic

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted

Biographical Note

Rev. Isaac Bird, b. Salisbury, Connecticut on June 19, 1793; graduated Yale College and Andover Theological Seminary. Sailed to the Middle East as a missionary for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1822. Was principally in Malta, Beirut and Smyrna until 1835, when his wife Ann's ill-health brought them back to the United States. Following his return, Rev. Bird taught at theological seminaries in New England and died in Hartford, Connecticut in 1873.

Extent

0.08 Linear Feet (2 folders containing 14 letters)

Additional Description

Abstract

Letters to Rev. and Mrs. Isaac Bird, 1822-1835; missionaries in Beirut, Lebanon. Correspondence in English and Arabic (with translations) reflects living conditions among Christian missionaries in the Middle East chiefly with regard to their health, general living conditions, and prospects for success among the Nestorians, Muslims and Jews.