Barnum Family Papers

Samuel Horace Barnum was born on April 7, 1852 in West Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale University in 1875, and from Yale Theological Seminary in 1879. He moved to Salisbury, New Hampshire on November 9, 1879, where he remained until May 1882, when he received a call to go to Durham, New Hampshire. Samuel was ordained and installed in Durham on April 24, 1883. He married Susan P. Little on July 13, 1882 in Salisbury, New Hampshire. The couple had six children: Gertrude, Alice, Charles, Clara, Horace, and Walter. Samuel served as the pastor of the Congregational Church in Cornwall, Vermont from 1890 to 1907. He worked as a Congregational minister for 48 years, serving congregations in Salisbury and Durham, New Hampshire, and Cornwall, Jericho Center, and Weybridge, Vermont. Samuel died on October 16, 1939 in Groton, Connecticut.

Thomas Rossiter Barnum was born on May 4, 1857 in Phillipston, Massachusetts. He attended the Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale in 1879. After graduation, Thomas worked at the Astor Library in New York City, and was later appointed librarian at the University of Vermont. In 1918, he was appointed curator of a special collection of Yale memorabilia in the Yale University Library, and remained in that position until his retirement. Thomas died on January 20, 1938 in East Haven, Connecticut.

Charlotte Cynthia Barnum was born on May 17, 1860 in Phillipston, Massachusetts. She attended Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut, and graduated from Vassar College in 1881. From 1881 to 1886, Charlotte taught at Betts Academy in Stamford, Connecticut, and at Hillhouse High School. From 1883 to 1885, she did computing work for the Yale Observatory, and revised James Dwight Dana's System of Mineralogy. Charlotte was also an editorial writer for Webster's International Dictionary from 1886 to 1890, and taught astronomy at Smith College for the academic year 1889–90.

Charlotte was the first woman to receive a PhD in Mathematics from Yale, graduating in 1895. In 1901 she moved to Washington D.C. to work as a computer for US Naval Observatory. In 1914, she returned to New Haven, where she did editorial work for Yale Peruvian Expeditions, the Yale University Secretary's office, and the Yale University Press. Throughout her life, she was involved in social and charitable organizations and activities. Charlotte died on March 27, 1934 in Middletown, Connecticut.

Clara Louisa Barnum was born on March 5, 1866. She taught and tutored Latin in New Haven, where she remained for most of her life. She died on January 3, 1953 in New Haven, Connecticut.