Joseph Emerson Worcester

1784-1865

Manuscript Collection

In the realm of general lexicography, Joseph Worcester, a noted teacher and author, first entered on the scene by preparing an abridgement of a Johnson dictionary in 1828 for American readers and then of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language in 1829. When his own dictionary, Comprehensive Pronouncing and Explanatory Dictionary was published in 1830, Webster accused Worcester of plagiarism, thus initiating what is popularly referred to as the Dictionary Wars, or War of the Dictionaries.

Special Collections is pleased to possess a collection of correspondence and other materials relating to Joseph Worcester. Many of these were written by Joseph to his brother Samuel, who served as a Union legislator during the war years. Included are other letters to and from Joseph Worcester as well as between other individuals. Also included in the manuscript material is an inventory of Joseph Worcester's library at the time of his death. These items consist of 67 manuscripts. While some of the letters touch on legal matters, many of the family letters are of a personal nature.

Correspondence

Listing of Letters by Date, Author/Recipient, & Location Mailed
  1. October 12, 1816. From J. Baker to Joseph E. Worcester. Unknown.
  2. February 22, 1831. From Rev. Grant Powers to Joseph E. Worcester. Goshen, Connecticut.
    3. PDF
  3. May 22, 1854. From Sherman Converse to Messrs. Jenks, Hickling, and Swan. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  4. November 19, 1855. From Edward Everett to W. D. Swan, Esq. Boston, Massachusetts.
  5. December 26, 1856. From B. H. Smart to Joseph E. Worcester. London, England.
  6. April 18, 1858. From Samuel H. Fuller to Caroline Fuller? Pekin, Illinois.
  7. January 24, 1859. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  8. May 1, 1859. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  9. May 8, 1859. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cincinnati, Ohio.
  10. May 12, 1859. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. St. Louis, Missouri.
  11. May 30, 1859. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  12. October 17, 1859. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  13. January 28, 1860. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Boston, Massachusetts.
  14. January 30, 1860. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  15. March 27, 1860. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  16. August 6, 1860. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  17. August 12, 1860. From Samuel T. Worcester to Joseph E. Worcester. (incomplete) Norwalk, Ohio.
  18. October 8, 1860. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  19. December 10, 1860. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  20. January 28, 1861. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  21. February 6, 1861. From Charles Sumner to Samuel T. Worcester? Washington, D. C. .
  22. March 5, 1861. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  23. May 27, 1861. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  24. July 8, 1861. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  25. July 18, 1861. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  26. August 4, 1861. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  27. September 12, 1861. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  28. October 13, 1861. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  29. November 5, 1861. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  30. January 6, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  31. January 28, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  32. February 10, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  33. February 16, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  34. February 27, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  35. March 24, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  36. June 2, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  37. June 5, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  38. June 26, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  39. July 4, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  40. July 23, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  41. August 22, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  42. September 29, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts?
  43. November 6, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  44. December 8, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  45. December 18, 1862. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  46. February 5, 1863. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  47. March 19, 1863. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  48. May 21, 1863. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  49. July 6, 1863. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  50. January 25, 1864. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  51. April 18, 1864. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Unknown. .
  52. August 17, 1864. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  53. September 6, 1864. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  54. December 29, 1864. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  55. April, 1865. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. (incomplete) Unknown.
  56. April 16, 1865. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  57. July 2, 1865. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  58. July 5, 1865. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  59. August 21, 1865. From Joseph E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  60. October 27, 1865. Telegram from J. A. Sawyer to Samuel T. Worcester. Boston, Massachusetts.
  61. October 27, 1865. Telegram from Charles Holsom to Samuel T. Worcester. Boston, Massachusetts.
  62. November 18, 1872. From H. C. Dane to Mrs. Samuel T. Worcester. Boston, Massachusetts.
  63. December 8, 1872. From Virginia F. Townsend to Mrs. Samuel T. Worcester. Boston, Massachusetts.
  64. December 9, 1872. From H. C. Dane to Mrs. Samuel T. Worcester. Boston, Massachusetts.
  65. July 24, 1873. From S. M. C. Perkins to Ladies' Lecture. Cooperstown, New York.
  66. January 26, 1874. From A. E. Worcester to Samuel T. Worcester. Cambridge, Massachusetts.

    67. Inventory of the Worcester Library
  67. 1865 Catalog of Joseph E. Worcester's Library. [Transcription only.] PDF

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