The Reverend Thomas McClure Peters, Archdeacon of New York, was the rector of St. Michael’s Protestant Episcopal Church in New York and the founder of the Sheltering Arms home for children.
Peters was born on June 6, 1821 in Boston, MA. He graduated from Yale in 1841 and entered the General Theological Seminary in New York in the same year. In June, 1843, he postponed his studies for a two-year tour of Europe, during which he was attaché to the American Legation in Constantinople and attaché to the British Legation in Weimar. He resumed his theological studies upon his return to the United States and was ordained in 1847.
Peters married Alice Clarissa Richmond in 1847, and together they had 14 children. Peters assisted his father-in-law, William Richmond, at St. Michael’s Church in New York and succeeded Richmond as rector in 1858.
While rector at St. Michael’s, Peters founded a new church cemetery, several other churches, and was actively involved in charitable institutions, especially for orphaned children. He founded the Sheltering Arms, a home for older children, in 1864. Towards the end of his life, he was made Archdeacon of New York. Peters died on August 13, 1893 in Peekskill, NY.
The Thomas McClure Peters Collection consists of two handwritten diaries. The first diary, beginning April 22, 1844 and ending June 12, 1845, is a travelogue from Thomas McClure Peters’ tour of Europe. It contains observations of buildings and landscapes from Italy, France, England, and Germany, as well as personal reflections. The entries are frequent, though not daily. The author provides many detailed comments regarding architecture (especially churches) and descriptions of places and transportation methods during the mid-nineteenth century.
The second diary begins on January 1, 1860, and while Peters notes on the first page that it extends until July 31, 1867, the last entry included is January 22, 1866. Entries consist of daily notes regarding the theological calendar, church services, or personal notes. This diary would be useful for historians of St. Michael’s Church or to illustrate the duties of an Episcopal rector during this time period.
Materials are organized into two series and arranged chronologically. The first diary consists of a travelogue, dating from 1844-1845, and comprises a bound 204-page manuscript detailing Thomas McClure Peters’ travels in Europe. The second diary primarily consists of daily notes, dating from 1860-1866, and comprises one bound 292-page manuscript with brief notes regarding church services or personal activities.
This collection is open for research under the conditions set forth in the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center archives access policy. All archival material should be handled with care and kept in its original order; notes may only be taken in pencil or with a computer, and food and drink are prohibited in the Reading Room. Records may be copied for scholarly or personal research using the edge scanner or a digital camera without flash; however, researchers must obtain copyright permission prior to publishing material from the collection.
Diary of Thomas McClure Peters, 1844-1866. North Jersey History and Genealogy Center, Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Described by Tara Schaberg and encoded by Jeffrey V. Moy, Archivist, September 2015.