Guide to Methodist History
This guide contains entries for collections that include material by or about persons with close connections to the various Methodist Churches. Though the majority of these individuals are ordained ministers, others, including lay persons, missionaries, authors and educators are also included. There are also entries for organizations and institutions.
For additional manuscript collections relating to Methodism, researchers should also contact Special Collections at the Pitts Theology Library, Emory University at http://www.pitts.emory.edu/ResearchAssist/methodres.html; 404-727-4166. The repository for the records of the South Georgia Conference is the Arthur J. Moore Museum and Library at Epworth by the Sea, St. Simons Island at http://www.epworthbythesea.org/museum.html; 912-638-4050. The United Methodist Archives Center, which includes the General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church, is located at Drew University at http://depts.drew.edu/lib/methodist/index.php; 973-408-3189. Please contact the University Archives for information concerning Methodism and the history of Emory University.
This guide is not intended to be a complete finding aid to the collections. It serves as a preliminary research tool, providing a brief description of holdings with basic information on size, inclusive dates, types of records, and broad subject areas. More detailed descriptions of the sources listed below are available in the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL) and through EUCLID, the Emory Libraries’ online catalog. EUCLID contains bibliographic records for the majority of the manuscript collections held in MARBL as well as books and other printed material available at Emory University. EUCLID is accessible through the Internet at http://www.library.emory.edu. Finding aids for these sources are also available through MARBL's Web site in the finding aids database.
Please note that not all manuscript collections are housed in MARBL. Some collections are located at an off-site storage facility and must be requested in advance. In addition, some collections have access restrictions. Researchers are encouraged to contact MARBL to insure that materials will be available. We are also happy to pull materials in advance of a research visit.
ADAMS, OSCAR W. (MSS 931)
Papers, 1919-1934; 4.5 linear ft. (9 boxes, 3 oversized papers, 1 bound volume)
Oscar W. Adams (1882-1946) was an African American publisher and founder of the Birmingham Reporter. The papers include correspondence and printed materials concerning Adams involvement in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.
ALLEN, YOUNG JOHN (MSS 11)
Papers, 1854-1924; 16.25 linear ft. (35 boxes, 3 bound volumes, 13 oversized papers)
Young John Allen (1836-1907) left the United States in 1859 to become a missionary in Shanghai, China, but after his arrival in 1860, he was forced to work also as a teacher, editor, and businessman due to the disruption caused by the American Civil War and his loss of contact with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He later worked as a translator, became superintendent of the mission (1881-1886), was president of the Anglo-Chinese University in Shanghai (1885-1895; became Soochow University), helped found the McTyeire Home and School for Girls with Laura Askew Haygood (1892), and promoted missions in Japan and Korea. He authored or translated about 250 works including Women of All Lands, and edited the monthly Review of the Times (1868-1907) and other periodicals. His papers include correspondence and letterbooks (1857-1907), diaries and notebooks (1855-1878), account books, clippings, writings, files and photographs relating to Allen, his family, his student years at Emory College, his work as a missionary, or to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The collection also includes Allen’s extensive correspondence with his wife Mary before and after they got married, with his children Edgar, Arthur, and Malvina (Mellie), and with women promoting Methodist mission work, including Mrs. D.H. McGavock and Laura A. Haygood.
ANDREW, JAMES O. (JAMES OSGOOD) (MSS 35)
Papers, 1813-1848; .5 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Bishop James O. Andrew (1794-1871) was the center of the 1844 controversy over whether a bishop should own slaves (Andrew owned slaves through his wife's inheritance). This controversy eventually led to the formation of a Southern branch of the Methodist Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The papers include correspondence from Andrew to Bishop William May Wightman, who was director of the Southern Methodist printing concern (1844‑1848).
ASBURY, FRANCIS (MSS 36)
Papers, 1800-1816; .5 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Francis Asbury (1745-1816) was an English‑born Methodist minister who was responsible for the founding and proliferation of American Methodism. He served as itinerant preacher in the U.S. for over 30 years. The papers include letters, a sermon signed by Asbury, his will, a note on the Western Annual Conference written by Asbury at Liberty Hill, Tennessee, other notes on general conferences, and a published article by Bishop William R. Cannon on Francis Asbury and Georgia.
AVARY, ROBERT LEE (MSS 460)
Papers, 1872-1948; 2.25 linear ft. (5 boxes)
The papers of Robert Avary (1863- ), a lawyer and Emory alumnus, include a folder of church papers which relate primarily to the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Atlanta.
BAKER, JOHN WESLEY (MSS 443)
Diaries, 1877-1892; .75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
John Wesley Baker (1826-1902), a Methodist minister, served the Methodist Episcopal Church, South on the following circuits: Gwinnett, Hartwell, Morganton, Alpharetta, Dallas, Dawsonville, Belton, Etowah, Polk, and Cobb. His diaries include accounts of church activities, lists of members, financial information, and church statistics.
BARTON, ETTA PURSLEY (MSS 737)
Papers, 1915-1992; 20.25 linear ft. (46 boxes, 2 oversized papers)
Etta P. Barton (1887-1992) was an educator, writer, and the wife of a Methodist minister. The collection includes materials concerning the Barton Education Trust Fund which was created in 1950 to support foreign Methodist students seeking to study in the United States. Series 5 includes the papers of J. Hamby Barton, her husband and Methodist minister and consists almost entirely of his pastor’s books which record his activities as a circuit preacher in northern Georgia from 1915 until his retirement in 1960.
BAXTER, JAMES HAMILTON (MSS 64)
Papers, 1879-1889; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
The papers of James Hamilton Baxter (1848-1891), a minister and native of Gwinnett County, Georgia, consist mainly of sermon notes and outlines. Among those districts he served in the North Georgia Conference were: Athens, Gainesville Station, Covington, Greenville, Newnan, Cartersville, Dalton, Elberton, and Marietta.
BETHESDA HOME FOR BOYS (SAVANNAH, GA) (MSS 551)
Records, 1915-1945; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes, 5 reels microfilm)
George Whitefield founded this Savannah orphanage in 1740. The records include the diaries of O.W. Burroughs, director of the school, the journal of superintendent Quarterman, scrapbook of newspaper clippings, and material concerning the history of the school.
BINGHAM, JOSEPH REID (MSS 237)
Papers, 1876-1889; .125 linear ft. (1 box)
Joseph Reid Bingham (1861-1933) was a Methodist layman active in the North Mississippi Conference and the Board of Missions. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence between Bingham and Bishops Charles Galloway, Eugene Hendrix, and Warren Candler. Some of the letters have to do with the Vanderbilt Controversy in the Methodist Church.
BONNELL, JOHN MITCHELL (MSS 105)
Papers, 1848-1865; 6 bound volumes
John Mitchell Bonnell (1820-1871) was a minister and president of Wesleyan Female College (Macon, Georgia). He spent three years in the ministry within the North Georgia Conference. The collection contains a sermon book and records of various Methodist schools.
BROTHERTON, LEVI (MSS 313)
Papers, 1832-1919; .125 linear ft. (6 folders)
Levi Brotherton (1810-1893) was a Methodist deacon and elder, and was also the builder of the first church in Dalton, Georgia. The papers include sermon notes and texts, church letters, licenses to preach, an authorization to exhort, and correspondence with James Osgood Andrew.
BURGE FAMILY (MSS 266)
Papers, 1832-1952; 1.5 linear ft. (3 boxes, 20 bound volumes, 1 reel microfilm)
The papers include letters (1866-1885) describing Methodist conferences and church affairs of William Justice Parks and John Davis Gray, who were both Methodist ministers. Correspondents include Warren Candler, Charles Edward Dowman and Atticus Greene Haygood. Most correspondents outside the immediate family are persons related to Emory College. The diary (1860-1862) of Louisiana Burge recounts life at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia
Restriction: Due to preservation concerns, researchers are required to use the microfilm
copy of the Dolly Burge, Louisiana Burge, and Sarah Gray diaries.
BURKE, WILLIAM BLOUNT (MSS 187)
Papers, 1887-1964; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
William Blount Burke (1864-1947) was a Methodist minister and missionary to Sungkiang, China for 56 years, during which time he witnessed the Civil War of 1923 and the Japanese invasion of 1938-43. Although Burke makes few political comments, and does not detail his missionary activities in his letters, the letters provide a good portrait of his daily life in China.
CALLAWAY, MORGAN (MSS 122)
Papers, 1851-1864; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Morgan Callaway (1831-1899), Methodist clergyman, was president of Andrew Female College in Cuthbert, Georgia from 1858-1862. He served as a chaplain in the Georgia Artillery during the Civil War, following which he served as pastor for two years in Washington, Georgia, and for one year in Little River, Georgia. In 1869 he became president of LaGrange Female College in LaGrange, Georgia. Callaway joined the Emory College faculty in 1871, becoming vice‑president in 1878. Papers include sermon notes and letters, the bulk of which fall during the Civil War years.
CANDLER FAMILY (MSS 4)
Collection, 1875-1974; 2.25 linear ft. (6 boxes, 3 bound volumes, 1 oversized bound volume, 2 oversized papers)
The collection consists of the papers of the Candler family and includes correspondence, clippings, an architectural drawing, photographs, scrapbooks, biographies
and genealogies and items relating to the Methodist Church.
CANDLER, ASA GRIGGS (MSS 1)
Papers, 1821-1951; 8.75 linear ft. (18 boxes, 8 bound volumes, 7 oversized papers)
Asa Griggs Candler (1851-1929), a businessman and mayor of Atlanta, was active in the Methodist Church. He frequently served as a steward in various congregations, donating land and money to his churches, leading classes, and serving on church‑related boards and committees. With his brother Bishop Warren Akin Candler, he helped organize, finance and lead the Wesley Memorial Enterprises, which included a church, educational facilities, a hospital, and a nurses' training program. When the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, decided to establish a church governed college east of the Mississippi, Candler provided land for the campus, and a $1,000,000 endowment for the new school. This collection contains material concerning his church work, a scrapbook about Wesley Memorial Enterprises, and an autograph book signed by many prominent Methodists who attended the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Atlanta in 1878, including Young John Allen, James Osgood Clark and Holland Nimmons McTyeire among them.
CANDLER, CHARLES HOWARD (MSS 3)
Papers, 1894-1969; 8 linear ft. (17 boxes, 2 oversized bound volumes, 6 oversized papers)
Charles Howard Candler (1878-1957) was a businessman and the son of Asa Griggs Candler. The collection includes material about the Glenn Memorial Methodist Church building on the Emory Campus built by Candler in honor of his wife's father, the Rev. Wilbur Fisk Glenn.
CANDLER, WARREN A. (WARREN AKIN) (MSS 2)
Papers, 1846-1977; 35.5 linear ft. (128 boxes, 2 bound volumes, 1 oversized bound volume, 4 oversized papers)
Warren A. Candler (1857-1941), a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, served as president of Emory College and Chancellor of Emory University. There is some correspondence regarding Candler's ministries at the Sixth Church, Atlanta, and St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Augusta, Georgia. The bulk of the correspondence is official in nature, relating to Candler's responsibilities as a minister, editor, college president, bishop, and university chancellor. Topics include: Methodist missions, the establishment of the Wesley Memorial Hospital, the Vanderbilt controversy, Methodist unification, and the development of Emory University.
CARMICHAEL, MARION WALTER (MSS 132)
Papers, 1895-1935; .5 linear ft. (1 box, 1 oversized paper)
The papers of Marion Walter Carmichael (1870-1935), a Georgia minister, include sermons and sermon outlines, and various journals and reports of the South Georgia Conference and of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and its annual conferences.
CLARK, JAMES OSGOOD ANDREW (MSS 19)
Papers, 1807-1945; 3.75 linear ft. (9 boxes)
James Osgood Andrew Clark (1827-1894), a Savannah, Georgia native, was ordained in 1854, made deacon in 1856, and became a Methodist elder in 1858. He served in various pastorates in Augusta, Thomaston, Washington, Athens, Sandersville, Columbus, and Americus. From 1875 until his death he served as presiding elder of the South Georgia Conference. During this time he also served as the general agent for the project to raise money to build Wesley Monumental Methodist Church in Savannah. One of his fundraising projects was the Wesley Memorial Volume, a book composed of articles about John Wesley, written by prominent Methodists. In 1881, Clark went to England, serving as a delegate to the Ecumenical Methodist Conference and seeking more aid for the building of the Wesley Monumental Methodist Church. The papers consist of correspondence (personal and official), clippings, sermons, manuscripts and typescripts of writings.
CLECKLER, RICHARD COX (MSS 581)
Papers, 1892-1956; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Richard Cox Cleckler (1872-1963), a Methodist clergyman, was minister to churches in Atlanta, Calhoun, Covington, East Point, Jackson, and other Georgia cities and towns (1892-1940) and the author of articles published in the Wesleyan Christian Advocate. The papers include pastor’s books (1892-1940) which contain church rolls, addresses, and accounts. Printed material includes pamphlets and leaflets related to the Methodist Church and religious education, including articles written by Methodist bishops and others. Some material relates to the World Sunday School Convention (1907).
CLINE FAMILY (MSS 816)
Papers, 1867-1951; 2 linear ft. (4 boxes)
John Earl Cline, Methodist minister, of Waleska, Georgia attended Emory College in Oxford, Georgia and was a graduate (1917) of the Theology school when Emory established an Atlanta campus. The collection includes stories as told by John Earl Cline regarding his life as a Methodist circuit rider.
COAN, JOSEPHUS ROOSEVELT (MSS 872)
Papers; 46 linear ft. (62 boxes)
Josephus Roosevelt Coan (1902-2004) was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) minister and educator, and also a missionary to South Africa (1938-1947). This collection includes diaries, notebooks, correspondence with South African religious leaders and printed material from the AME Church in South African and Georgia, and portions of his library, including many publications by the AME Church.
DAVIS, MARY R. (MSS 742)
Papers, 1950-1986; 6 linear ft. (6 boxes)
Mary Roberts Davis (1903-1992), civic and political activist, was one of the founders of the Memphis Chapter of the League of Women Voters. She continued her work with the League in Georgia. The papers include notes related to her activity with the United Methodist Church.
DEMPSEY, ELAM F. (MSS 451)
Papers, 1855-1952; 12 linear ft. (24 boxes)
Elam F. Dempsey (1878-1947) was a Methodist minister, and dean of the theology department at Oxford College. He was also editor and business manager of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate, and the biographer of three bishops who served as presidents of Emory. The papers include his sermons, correspondence, clippings, and notes on the biographies.
DEWEY, MALCOLM HOWARD (MSS 457)
Papers, [ca. 1903-1963]; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Malcolm Howard Dewey (1881-1966) joined the Emory University faculty in 1919 as professor of Romance Languages and organized the Department of Fine Arts in 1927. The collection includes articles relating to Glenn Memorial Methodist Church where Dewey directed music.
DOUB, PETER (MSS 24)
Papers, 1828-1867; 1.5 linear ft. (4 boxes, 3 oversized papers)
Peter Doub (1796-1869) was a minister, revival preacher and professor of Biblical literature at Trinity College (North Carolina). Collection includes sermon outlines, articles and a diary.
DUREN, WILLIAM LARKIN (MSS 25)
Papers, 1928-1936; .5 linear ft. (2 boxes)
William Larkin Duren (1870-1965) was a minister of the North Georgia Conference. The papers include typescripts of Duren's books on Francis Asbury and on Methodism generally.
ELWOOD, JOHN W. (JOHN WILLIAMS) (MSS 593)
Papers, 1851-1930; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
The papers of John W. Elwood (1842-1933), Civil War soldier and author, include materials (1883-1904) relating to a controversy in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Beallsville, Pennsylvania.
EMORY UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES. DICKEY, JAMES EDWARD (RG 800/Series 102)
Papers, 1903-1913; .25 linear ft. (11 folders)
Bishop James Edward Dickey (1864-1928) served as president of Emory College from 1902-1915. The papers include sermon notes and some correspondence, including a letter from Bishop Warren Candler.
EMORY UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION
Records, 1914-1918; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
The collection consists of official correspondence of the Commission, 1914, June 6-Jan. 11, 1916; three bound volumes containing minutes of the Commission and its Executive Committee, 1914-1916; and miscellaneous papers (reports, drafts of resolutions, minutes, etc.) concerning the Vanderbilt University case and the establishment of Emory and Southern Methodist Universities, 1914-1918.
FEATHERSTON, LUCIUS HORACE (MSS 504)
Papers, 1825-1979; 10.5 linear ft. (21 boxes, 2 bound volumes, 1 oversized bound volume, 3 oversized papers)
The papers of Lucius H. Featherston (1814-1886), lawyer, judge, and landowner, of Newnan, Ga., include materials relating to Reconstruction efforts by the Methodist church to colonize former slaves.
FLOYD, ARVA COLBERT (MSS 524)
Papers, 1924-1970; 4 linear ft. (4 boxes)
Arva Colbert Floyd (1898- ) served as a Methodist missionary to Japan from 1924-1928, and professor of Christian Missions and World Religions at the Candler School of Theology at Emory from 1934-1967. The collection consists of writings of Dr. Floyd and of his students.
GALLOWAY, CHARLES BETTS (MSS 39)
Papers, 1849-1910; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Charles Betts Galloway (1849-1909) was a prominent Methodist bishop from Mississippi who was closely associated with Bishop Warren Candler. As bishop, Galloway made extensive official tours of the Orient and South America, earning the title of "missionary bishop of Methodism." The collection consists primarily of the correspondence of bishops, ministers and laymen to Galloway. Two main topics dealt with in these papers are the Mississippi Conference and the controversy over the "war claim" of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
HADEN, THOMAS HENRY (MSS 447)
Journals, 1896-1946; 3 linear ft. (37 bound volumes)
Thomas Henry Haden (1863-1946) served as a missionary to Japan for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He was assigned to the Tadotsu Circuit but became a professor (1896-1940) and dean of theology at the Kwansei Gakuin (University) in Kobe, Japan; he was also in evangelistic work for three years. The collection consists of his personal diaries from 1896‑1946 which cover his daily routine, including his teaching duties in Japan and at Emory University, and his retirement years.
HARPER, MARVIN H. (MSS 675)
Papers, 1927-1957; .75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Marvin H. Harper (d. 1997) was a Methodist missionary to India (ca. 1927-1957) and taught at Leonard Theological College in Jubbulpore, India. The papers include correspondence, personal writings, and printed material (1921-1926)) relating to volunteer work, mainly through the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions during his years at Emory University; and correspondence (1927-1956) from Harper and his wife, Emmie Flicklen Harper, written while serving as missionaries with the Methodist Episcopal Church at the Leonard Theological College in Jubbulpore, India. The collection reflects living conditions and daily life of the Indian people and of a Christian missionary community in India during the mid-twentieth century.
HARRELL, COSTEN JORDAN (MSS 522)
Papers, 1828-1970; 18.5 linear ft. (29 boxes, 11 oversized papers)
Costen Jordan Harrell (1885-1971), a consecrated bishop of the Methodist Church, served various churches throughout the South as pastor and taught at Emory and Duke Universities. Most of his papers relate to his association with the Methodist Church and include correspondence, clippings, sermons, meditations, and materials relating to the jurisdictional system of the Methodist Church, union of the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren Churches, the Methodist Federation for Social Action, Methodist higher education, and studies of Methodist ritual and doctrine.
HARRIS, CORRA (MSS 199)
Collection, 1899-1968; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Corra Harris (1869-1935), an author and journalist, was married to a Methodist circuit rider and wrote The Circuit Rider's Wife and other books. The collection is mostly correspondence, with some clippings, photographs and typescripts. Her letters to Bishop Candler are found in the Warren Akin Candler papers.
HARWELL FAMILY (MSS 704)
Papers, 1835-1932; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
The papers of Thomas Douglas Harwell, who served as a Methodist minister in the Friendship, Crockett County (now Dyer County), Tennessee area, include sermon notes and his autobiography.
HAVEN, GILBERT (MSS 292)
Papers, 1873-1875; 1 reel microfilm
The letters of Gilbert Haven (1821-1880), bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church to the U.S. Consul in Mexico City, concern the missionary efforts of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Mexico.
HAYGOOD, ATTICUS (ATTICUS GREENE) (MSS 138)
Family Papers, 1861-1952; 2.25 linear ft. (5 boxes, 18 bound volumes, 3 oversized papers)
Atticus Haygood (1839-1896), a Methodist minister in the North Georgia Conference and later bishop to the Los Angeles Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was also at one time the editor of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate. Haygood also served as the president of Emory University from 1875-1884. Papers mainly include clippings, manuscript sermons, and material concerning members of the Haygood family. Also included is a diary and letterbook belonging to Laura Askew Haygood, Bishop Haygood's sister, who was an educator and Methodist missionary to China.
HODGE, BACHMAN GLADSTONE (MSS 603)
Papers, 1917-1961; 3 linear ft. (4 boxes)
The papers of Bachman Gladstone Hodge (1893-1961), Methodist minister, district superintendent and bishop in Kentucky and Tennessee, include sermons and notes as well as church ephemera relating to Hodge’s service as Methodist minister and bishop, primarily in Tennessee.
HOWARD, HARRY CLAY (MSS 50)
Papers, 1891-1933; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
The papers of Harry Clay Howard (1866-1930), Methodist minister and professor in the School of Theology at Emory University, include a few items of correspondence with Atticus Haygood, Warren Candler, Edwin Mouzon, an article on John Wesley, and sermons.
JARRELL, CHARLES CRAWFORD (MSS 428)
Papers, 1926-1961; 18 linear ft. (32 boxes)
Charles Crawford Jarrell (1874-1961) served as pastor in Cartersville, Conyers, Jasper, Young Harris, College Park, Atlanta, Athens, and Augusta, and as presiding elder of the Athens Elberton district. He was also active in education and Methodist hospital associations. Collection includes correspondence, manuscript notes, sermons, speeches, articles, pamphlets and other materials. Also included are church histories of twenty churches in the North Georgia Conference. Some papers of Jarrell's father, the Rev. Anderson Joseph Jarrell, are included as well.
JONES, SAM P. (SAM PORTER) (MSS 312)
Papers, 1859-1961; 2 linear ft. (4 boxes, 2 oversized bound volumes)
The papers of Sam P. Jones (1847-1906), a Methodist evangelist from Cartersville, Georgia include correspondence, diaries, lecture and sermon notes, clippings, scrapbooks, and other materials.
KEENER, JOHN CHRISTIAN (MSS 204)
Papers, 1864-1865; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Keener (1819-1906) was a Methodist bishop, editor of the New Orleans Christian Advocate, and founder of the Central Mexico Mission. His papers deal with the return to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of property confiscated in New Orleans by Union armies.
LITWACK, LEON F. (MSS 1027)
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RELIGIOUS AND FRATERNAL
Collection, 1905-1922; 3 bound volumes
The collection contains materials collected by Leon F. Litwack, the Alexander F. and May T. Morrison Professor of American History at the University of California-Berkeley, relating to the African Methodist Episcopal Church and fraternal organizations in Southern California from 1905-1922.
LONGSTREET, AUGUSTUS BALDWIN (MSS 209)
Papers, 1790-1870; .25 linear ft. (1 box, 1 oversized paper, 1 reel microfilm)
Augustus Baldwin Longstreet (1790-1870) was a lawyer, author, and president of Emory College from 1840-1848. He was ordained a Methodist minister in 1838. The papers include correspondence, reports, clippings, and other materials.
LOVETT, ROBERT W. (MSS 486)
Papers, 1787-1916; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes, 2 bound volumes, 3 oversized papers)
Robert W. Lovett (1818-1912) was a physician, minister, and a member of the Georgia Annual Conference. His papers include correspondence, speeches and essays, a diary, wills, deeds, land grants, and other materials. Lovett's first wife was the daughter of Bishop James Osgood Andrew and some of the correspondence relates to him, to Joshua Soule, and to other church leaders. The correspondence deals primarily with church matters.
MACKAY, EDWARD GEORGE (MSS 691)
Family papers, 1875-1935; 10.5 linear ft. (21 boxes)
William Robert Mackay (1874-1935) was born in County Monaghan, Ireland. He came to America in 1893 and studied at Moody Bible Institute (Chicago, Illinois) in 1895. He became an ordained Methodist preacher, serving in a number of churches in north Georgia.
Edward George Mackay (1885-1956) was born in Scotstown, County Monaghan, Ireland and came to America in 1904. Reverend Mackay served as minister of several Methodist churches in Georgia and Alabama from 1910-1939. In 1940 he became Superintendent of the newly created Atlanta-East District of the North Georgia Conference. From 1945-1950 he served as pastor of Glenn Memorial Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. After leaving Glenn Memorial, he became Superintendent of Decatur-Oxford District of the North Georgia Conference.
The collection includes correspondence, photographs, and printed material relating to the Mackay family’s activities in the Methodist Church.
MACKAY FAMILY (MSS 691)
Papers, 1875-1935; 10.5 linear ft. (21 boxes)
Orrell Keeler (“Ollie”) Mason was a relative by marriage to William Robert Mackay. She was a missionary in Assam, India from 1875 to 1887. The papers include Mason’s letters which describe other missionaries and daily life in Assam, India.
MAY, JAMES W. (JAMES WILLIAM) (MSS 667)
Papers, 1929-1988; 8.5 linear ft. (16 boxes)
The papers of James W. May (1912- ), Methodist minister, World War II chaplain, and professor of church history at Emory University, document his activities as a student at Union Theological Seminary (1938-1941), his service as a chaplain in the United States Army during World War II, and his career as a professor at Emory University. Included are materials relating to the Methodist Federation for Social Action (1947-1952) collected by executive secretary, Jack R. McMichael.
MCCLINTOCK, JOHN (MSS 33)
Papers, 1828-1910; 4.25 linear ft. (16 boxes, 14 bound volumes, 1 oversized bound volume)
John McClintock (1814-1870) was a Methodist leader, editor of the Methodist Quarterly Review (1848) and first president of Drew Theological Seminary. His papers include correspondence with such prominent Methodists as Robert Emory and Stephen Olin concerning Methodist activities. McClintock's diaries reveal much about Methodist Episcopal Church history. The collection also includes a ritual of the Methodist Episcopal Church, licenses to preach, and other materials.
MCMICHAEL, JACK RICHARD (MSS 649)
Papers, 1933-1984; 23.5 linear ft. (30 boxes)
Jack R. McMichael (1917-1984) was a Methodist minister, social activist and educator. He served as executive secretary of the Methodist Federation for Social Action from 1945-1953 and as a minister in the California-Nevada Conference from 1953-1964. The papers include sermons and some correspondence which date from his time as a minister.
MEANS, ALEXANDER (MSS 151)
Papers, 1824-1879; .5 linear ft. (2 boxes, 1 bound volume, 1 reel microfilm)
Alexander Means (1801-1883) served as the first superintendent of the manual labor school established at Covington, Georgia by the Methodist Church in 1834, and as president of Emory College from 1854-1855. He was given a local preacher's license by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1828. The papers include correspondence, diaries, addresses, and other materials.
METHODIST LEADERS (MSS 41)
Collection, 1782-1941; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes, 1 reel microfilm)
The Methodist Leaders collection is an artificial collection of correspondence of leading American Methodists. The collection includes documents, essays, sermons, notes, and other materials. Prominent Methodists represented in this collection include: William Capers, William Winans, Thomas Coke, William White, Francis Asbury, Lovick Pierce, Warren Candler, Holland McTyeire, E. M. Martin (whose letters to his son contain an account of his trip to the Holy Land), Laura Askew Haygood, and Hoke Smith.
METHODIST MISCELLANY (MSS 329)
Collection, 1782-1972; 1 box, 21 bound volumes, 1 oversized paper
The Methodist Miscellany collection is an artificial collection of papers relating to Methodists and Methodism. The collection includes correspondence, ordination certificates, diaries and notebooks, sermons, minutes, music, photographs, programs, brochures, and an unpublished typescript about the life of Rev. Charles Wesley. Some of the material gives details of mission work in China, Cuba, and the Orkney Islands (Scotland).
M'KENDREE, WILLIAM (MSS 34)
Papers, 1801-1855; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
William M'Kendree (1757-1835) was a pioneer evangelist, later a Methodist bishop, who was first licensed to preach in 1787. For several years he served a vast district that extended from the Chesapeake Bay to the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. In 1800, he was appointed to superintend a district that embraced a large part of the partially settled territory beyond the Alleghenies. M'Kendree is given credit for the great revival in that area, out of which grew the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
In the spring of 1808 he was elected and ordained bishop at the Baltimore General Conference. At one point in 1816, M'Kendree was the only bishop of his church. He continued to travel through the country with his ministry until his death in 1835. His papers reflect his career, and include correspondence with prominent Methodist leaders, including John Emory and Joshua Soule. Among topics covered are: Indian missions, Bishop Asbury's illness, the Methodist conferences, appointment of ministers, charges brought against various ministers, and the state of the Church in Canada, particularly concerning the rift between the American and British missions there.
MORRIS, JAMES V. M. (MSS 615)
Diaries, 1859-1921; 2.5 linear ft. (5 boxes)
James V. M. Morris (1830-1927) entered the ministry at age 23. During the greater part of his ministry, Morris was a circuit rider. When he died in 1927, he was (at 97) the oldest living Methodist minister. He kept a diary for nearly 70 years; this collection consists of approximately 29 of those diaries, plus financial records.
NEFF, LAWRENCE W. (MSS 495)
Papers, 1913-1954; 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Lawrence W. Neff (1880-1970) was a Methodist minister, journalist, lawyer, publisher of Emory's Banner Press, 1919-1960, and the Bozart Press in Atlanta, and author of The Quest, a novel about the Apostle Paul. The collection includes several of his religious tracts, notebooks of sermons, and a record book for the Thomaston Circuit, 1913-1914.
OLIVER, CHARLES JAMES (MSS 444)
Papers, 1832-1868; 1 reel microfilm
Charles James Oliver (1831-1914) became a Methodist minister after the Civil War and served in Burke County, Georgia and Atlanta. The papers include his diary from 1866-1868 in which he recounts his activities as a Methodist minister in Savannah and Atlanta.
PEACOCK, FRANCES (MSS 857)
Papers, 1927-1937; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Frances Peacock (1903-1998), educator, taught 6th and 8th grade at Boylen-Haven School in Jacksonville, Florida. The school, designed for the education of African-American girls, was under the direction of the Woman’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Church. In January 1930 she began teaching at the Mather Academy in Camden, South Carolina, a co-educational boarding school for African Americans. The papers consist of a scrapbook containing photographs (1927-1937) of Boylen-Haven School, and the Mather Academy. The photographs depict student activities and school personnel, as well as scenes in and around the two schools. Also included is biographical information regarding Miss Peacock, a small amount of correspondence, a transcript of an interview conducted in 1979 by the University of Delaware College of Education, and some family photographs.
PIERCE, GEORGE F. (MSS 85)
Papers, 1872-1875; 1 reel microfilm
George F. Pierce (1811-1884) was a Methodist bishop and president of Emory College from 1848-1854. Lovick Pierce, his father, was a Methodist clergyman and physician. The collection consists of Dr. Lovick Pierce's diary (1872) and of a pocket record book of Bishop George Pierce's pastorship in Sparta, Georgia (1873-1875).
QUILLIAN, WILLIAM FLETCHER (MSS 453)
Papers, 1920-1952; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
William Fletcher Quillian (1880-1960) was a clergyman, educator, and college president. Quillian held various offices with the Methodist Church before and after unification (1931-1952). The papers include notebooks which contain sermons, essays on education, and addresses and speeches concerning religion.
RANSOM, REVERDY C. (MSS 1043)
Collection, 1936-1975; .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Reverdy C. Ransom (1861-1959), 48th Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) from 1924-1952, served as a pastor in numerous AME congregations across Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and Illinois. He also served as an editor of the AME Church Review and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Wilberforce University from 1932-1952. The collection contains printed minutes and conference material related to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, particularly in Ohio and New England, reports and minutes from Wilberforce University, and a small amount of correspondence, photographs, and collected material.
REEVE, THOMAS ELLIS AND ETHA MILLS REEVE (MSS 863)
Papers, 1887-1971; 11 linear ft. (25 boxes and 9 oversized papers)
Thomas Ellis Reeve, Sr. (1889-1971) was a Methodist minister. He entered his first pastorate in 1911 with the Methodist Episcopal Church South at Woodland, California, where he remained a year. He served a two-year pastorate at Alameda, California until 1914 when he became pastor of Wesley House in San Francisco. In 1916 he traveled to the Belgian Congo to do missionary work in Lubefu with the Methodist Episcopal Church Mission South. While in the Congo he met and married fellow missionary Etha Virginia Mills (1883-1974) in December of 1918.
The Reeves subsequently were assigned to the Methodist Episcopal Congo Mission (South) at Wembo-Nyama (1921-1923), Tunda (1923-1924), and Minga (1926-1929), with furloughs to the United States in the interim periods. Reeve authored a book, In Wembo-Nyama’s Land, detailing his experiences in the Congo. The Belgian government found the book controversial and delayed the Reeves’ return to the mission field.
The papers include family correspondence, diaries, legal and financial records, mission records, photographs, sermons, and printed material. The correspondence includes letters from his time in California, and letters while he was a missionary in the Belgian Congo. The diaries (1916-1920 with gaps) begin with Reeve’s descriptions of his travels to the Congo and go on to describe his experiences as a missionary at Wembo-Nyama in the Belgian Congo. The writings series contains mainly sermons written by Reeve and articles written by various missionaries in Africa probably for distribution in Methodist Church publications. Authors include H.P. Anker, Ansil Lynn, Thomas E. Reeve, and Charles P.M. Sheefey.
The photographs are comprised of images of the family and their missionary work and includes a scrapbook containing photographs taken in the Congo depicting missionary life and the native people. The majority of the printed material relates to either the Methodist Episcopal Church, South missionary work in Africa or to Georgia history. Many of the pieces published by the Methodist Church are written in native African language.
ROBINSON, ARWILDA G. (MSS 860)
Papers; 1933-1950; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Arwilda G. Robinson was a member of the First Colored Wesley Methodist A.M.E. Zion Church, Philadelphia. She went to Liberia on February 12, 1934, and served as a missionary at the Mt. Coffee Mission Station at least through 1937. Her papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, printed material, and a half-dozen Church buttons and ribbons.
ROSE, EDWIN EVANDER (MSS 73)
Papers, 1894-1942; 1962-1968; 1.75 linear ft. (7 boxes, 17 bound volumes, 4 oversized papers)
Edwin Evander Rose (1873-1928), an itinerant Methodist minister, served various churches and circuits in the South Georgia Conference for thirty-two years. The largest portion of the collection includes annual record books, which contain personal accounts, diary entries, and sermon notes dating from 1896-1928. These record books document most of his career as a Methodist clergyman.
SCARBOROUGH, W. S. (WILLIAM SANDERS) (MSS 1021)
Scrapbook; 1890-1926 (1 bound volume)
W.S. Scarborough (1852-1926), African American author, educator, lecturer, was born a slave in Macon, Georgia. Despite state restrictions, he learned to read and write. In 1875 he graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio. Shortly after completing a master’s degree from Oberlin, he became a professor of Latin and Greek at Wilberforce University. He was appointed president of Wilberforce University in 1908 and served until his resignation in 1920.
The collection contains a scrapbook concerning W.S. Scarborough and Wilberforce University from 1890-1926. It contains newspaper clippings, relating to lectures given by Scarborough, African American politics, Wilberforce University, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and African American education.
SMITH, GEORGE GILMAN (MSS 228)
Papers, 1835-1956; 4.75 linear ft. (10 boxes, 1 oversized paper, 1 reel microfilm)
George Gilman Smith (1836-1913), a Methodist minister from Georgia, started his career as a circuit rider, and served at various times in the Georgia, North Georgia and South Georgia Conferences. The collection includes correspondence, diaries, writings, manuscript materials relating to books that he authored and other materials. Among his correspondents: Warren Akin Candler, Young John Allen, Wilbur Fisk Glenn, Atticus Greene Haygood, and Holland N. McTyeire.
SNELLING, WILLIAM AMOS (MSS 55)
Papers, 1873-1950; 1 linear ft. (4 boxes)
William Amos Snelling (1856-1907) was a Methodist layman and Georgia businessman. The papers include family correspondence revealing much of everyday life crops and business conditions, social customs, and church activities.
SOULE, JOSHUA (MSS 40)
Papers, 1816-1865; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
The papers of Joshua Soule (1781-1867) consist of approximately 50 letters to and from Bishop Joshua Soule as well as certificates and articles by him. These primarily concern business of the denomination, particularly the split of the church and mission work.
STEEL, S.A. (SAMUEL AUGUSTUS) (MSS 712)
Papers, 1867-1989; 3 linear ft. (3 boxes)
The papers of S.A. Steel (1849-1934), Methodist clergyman and author, include letters from Warren A. Candler about the reunification of the Methodist Episcopal Church; sermons and sermon notes; and reminiscences of a number of prominent Methodists including Holland Nimmons McTyeire and John Albert Broadus.
TILLY, DOROTHY ROGERS (MSS 539)
Papers, 1868-1970; 3 linear ft. (4 boxes, 4 bound volumes, 4 oversized papers)
Dorothy Rogers Tilly (1883-1970) was active during most of her life in the Methodist Church. Her papers include correspondence, record books, and other materials relating to various Methodist women's organizations.
WESLEY, JOHN (MSS 100)
Collection, 1734-1864; 2.5 linear ft. (10 boxes, 2 bound volumes,1 oversized bound volume, 1 oversized paper, 3 reels microfilm)
The collection consists of letters, papers, and memorabilia of John Wesley (1703-1791) and members of his family. Wesley is best known as the founder of the Methodist revival in the mid 1700s, which resulted in separation from the Anglican Church. His brother Charles, also a Methodist clergyman, was in addition a noted musician and hymn writer. The two brothers spent two years, 1735-1737, in the Savannah, Georgia area, the only place in America where John Wesley had a parish.
John Wesley and his niece Sarah Wesley (daughter of Charles) are best represented in the collection. Wesley's letters contain information about church business, spiritual advice, and answers to questions about the church and theology. There is little of a personal nature. Also included is his 1736 diary from Georgia, written in cypher. Sarah's letters give the most complete picture of personal and family activities and thought. Her personal writings are also included. The other chief correspondents among these papers are Charles Wesley (1707-1788), Sarah Gwynne Wesley, Samuel Wesley (1766-1837), Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876), and George Whitefield (1714-1770).
The collection includes 22 letters (1778-1784) from Charles Wesley to John Langshaw, organist at Lancaster, three draft replies (1778-1779) from Langshaw to Wesley, one letter (1809) from Samuel Wesley and six letters (1822-1827, n.d.) from Charles Wesley (1757-1834) to John Langshaw, Jr. Charles Wesley, Sr.'s letters discuss Methodism, the American Revolution and London musicians and music teachers. Charles Wesley, Jr.'s letters concern his own music, instruments and musicians.
WESLEYAN COLLECTION (MSS 101)
Collection, ca. 1770-1970; .5 linear ft. (2 boxes, 6 oversized bound volumes, 1 oversized paper)
The Wesleyan collection is an artificial collection of letters and other papers of Methodist ministers. The collection includes letters of Conference presidents, letters to Rev. Joseph Hutton, and various letters from other Methodists, spanning the entire history of Methodism. Also included are broadsides, circulars, brochures, photographs, and other printed material.
WILLIAMSON, ROBERT FOSTER (MSS 195)
Papers, 1826-1934; .25 linear ft. (1 box)
Robert Foster Williamson (1840-1915) was an itinerant minister of the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church, South. The papers include his journal, diary, a picture of the South Georgia Annual Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and information on Williamson Methodist Church history and on the Red Oak Methodist Church in Williamson, Georgia.
WILSON, ALPHEUS WATERS (MSS 417)
Papers, 1854-1916; .5 linear ft. (1 box, 1 oversized paper)
Alpheus W. Wilson (1834-1916), bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, during the years 1882-1916, and secretary of the Board of Missions, took numerous episcopal tours abroad to Japan, Korea, and China, 1898-1900, and to Brazil, 1892-1903. His correspondence relates to these missions as well as other concerns of the church. Also included is a sermon. The diary of Wilson's father, Norval Wilson, a Methodist minister, is in the collection, as are ordination certificates and other church documents.
WORRELL, ZECHARIAH (MSS 335)
Papers, 1801-1813; .25 linear ft. (1 box, 2 reels microfilm)
Zechariah Worrell (1760-1834) was a Methodist circuit rider and preacher, who served in Ireland for 40 years beginning in 1796. The papers include books of his poetry and materials about his writings.
WRIGHT, ARMINIUS (MSS 719)
Papers, 1845-1900 (bulk 1845-1879); 2.5 linear ft. (5 boxes)
Arminius Wright (1829-1879) was a Methodist minister. He was granted license to preach in 1845; was admitted on trial as an itinerant minister in 1846; and served churches throughout the North and South Georgia Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The papers include sermons, sermon notes and outlines, and notebooks which are from Wright’s work as a Methodist minister. Also included are listings of church members and collections, and the 1877 minutes from the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
WRIGHT, THOMAS (MSS 98)
TOPLADY, AUGUSTUS MONTAGUE
Collection, ca. 1762-1776; 2 bound volumes
Thomas Wright (1859-1936) was a biographer of Augustus M. Toplady (1740-1778). The collection consists of papers of Augustus Montague Toplady from ca. 1762-1776. Toplady was a British preacher and hymnwriter. The collection, formed by Toplady's biographer, Thomas Wright, includes correspondence, manuscripts of his sermons, hymns, and other writings, and notes. Of particular interest is a letter to the Countess of Huntingdon (July 30, 1776) pertaining to religious matters and referring to London bookbinder Roger Payne and to his own hymns. Toplady is best known as the author of "Rock of Ages."
YUN, CH’I-HO (MSS 754)
Papers, 1883-1918; 9 linear ft. (20 boxes)
The papers of Yun Ch’i-ho (1865-1945), Korean Methodist minister and teacher, consist of mainly diaries from 1888-1893. Daily entries discuss his experiences as a student at Vanderbilt University (1888-1891) and Emory College (1891-1893) and his reflections on life, religion, and politics. Correspondence includes letters between Warren A. Candler and Yun.
