This collection contains the sermons and prayers of Matthew Simpson Hughes. The sermons, given between 1888 and 1917, document his ministerial career. Hughes placed each of his sermons in an envelope on which he noted the title and the date and location where he preached the sermon. The majority of the sermons were given in Kansas City, Missouri, and Pasadena, California. He also preached in Iowa, Maine, and Minnesota. Most of the sermons are handwritten. Only a few are typed. Many of the sermons contained draft, revision, and alternate copies. There are approximately five hundred sermons in this collection. Some of the topics addressed by Hughes include missions and morality.
Twenty-four sermons have no text reference, and are arranged alphabetically. This includes a lecture on the evolution of women. News clippings, articles, and small note cards were also part of the envelopes. The clippings include Hughes' published sermons which appeared in newspapers, as well as articles and news stories that supported or related to his sermons. The note cards contain brief bibliographic references to works Hughes used in preparing a sermon. The clippings, articles, and note cards have been photocopied onto acid free paper. All the items related to the sermon were kept together and placed in an acid free mini folder with the title and text reference noted on the outside of the folder. The last folder in this collection contains fourteen prayers prepared by Hughes. Eight of these prayers are dated from 1898 and 1902. The remainder are undated.
Hughes, Matthew Simpson