Daniel Webster Key Papers

Collection

Identifier: MU-PP-0051

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The papers cover the personal life and preaching career of Daniel Webster Key. The majority of the collection (5 folders) is correspondence, both personal and professional, from the last year of Dr. Key’s life (1926-1927). Also contained within the papers are several folders of sermons and sermon notes written by Dr. Key. Of special interest is a notebook containing a record of marriages, funerals, and baptisms performed between 1882-1920 by Dr. Key. The collection also contains information of Dr. Key’s finances, as well as information on his family. Many photographs of Dr. Key and his family can also be found.

Dates

Creation: 1852-1927

Rights Statement

To quote in print, or otherwise reproduce in whole or in part in any publication, including on the World Wide Web, any material from this collection, the researcher must obtain permission from (1) the owner of the physical property and (2) the holder of the copyright. Persons wishing to quote from this collection should consult the reference archivist to determine copyright holders for information in this collection. Reproduction of any item must contain the complete citation to the original.

Biographical / Historical

Daniel Webster Key was born on April 14, 1854, in Panola County, Texas. He grew up in Clinton, Tennessee, and graduated from Carson-Newman College in 1879 with a B. A. He taught for one year at Carson-Newman before graduating from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1880. He married Sarah McIntosh Norwood in 1892. He first served churches in South Carolina, including Mt. Carmel, St. Matthews, Williston, Welsh Neck, Rutherford Street, and Greenville. Key’s other activities in South Carolina included leading in the establishment of the Welsh Neck Association and Coker College. He also served as a trustee of Furman University and Greenville Female College. He led in the organization of the Board of Ministerial Education of South Carolina as well as the Baptist Ministers- Mutual Benefit Association. He was one of the founders of the Connie Maxwell Orphanage. In 1905, Key moved to Georgia to serve as pastor of First Baptist Church of Washington. Key moved to First Baptist Church of Monroe in 1912. He served as a trustee of Mercer University and was a contributing editor to The Christian Index. Key retired from active ministry in 1920 but continued to serve as a supply pastor throughout the South until his death on March 12, 1927. Key was buried in Greenville, South Carolina. -The Christian Index, March 17, 1927