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Reuben and Edna Holm papers, 1932-1983

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-Miss-25

Scope and Contents

The Reuben and Edna Holm papers date between 1932, when they first went to India as missionaries, to 1983. It covers 1.5 cubic feet in one box.

The Biographical folder holds visa applications, a commissioning service bulletin, Board of Foreign Missions documents, and certifications that the Holms were in the mission field.

The Reports folder contains reports by the Holms on their work in India. It dates from 1936 to 1951.

The Newsletters folder dates from 1952 to 1959.

The Correspondence folder dates from 1932 to 1935. Many of the correspondence are with Esther Sabel.

The American Baptist Mission Correpondence dates between 1933 to 1949.

The Correspondence with Esther Sabel folder dates between 1932 to 1936.

The dated folders contains information such as correspondence, excerpts from the Board of Foreign Missions minutes, and some financial information. Most of the material regards their time as missionaries in India, but some later involves their time as missionaries in Ethiopia.

The 2019 Acquisition came from the Baptist General Conference/ Converge headquarters. Most of the series is correspondence, dating from 1940 to 1976. The last folder contains newspaper clippings, mostly from the 1940s, compiled into a scrapbook.

Dates

  • 1932 - 1983

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for researcher use.

Biographical Note

Reuben Holm was born to Peter and Hanna Holm in 1906 in Duluth, Minnesota. He attended Bethel Theological Seminary from 1926 to 1929. In 1931, he received his B.A. from Macalester College. He was ordained in 1931 at Bethel Baptist Church in Duluth.

Edna Pearson was born to Theodore and Emma Pearson in 1907 in Des Moines, Iowa. Edna attended Mounds-Midway School of Nursing, graduating in 1929. She died in a car accident in 1984 and is buried in Isanti, Minnesota.

Reuben and Edna married in 1931. Together they had Marion, Peter, and Stephen. They sailed to the North Bank, Assam, India as missionaries with the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society in 1932. Soon afterward, they moved to Golaghat to replace missionary O.L. Swanson. After a furlough in 1946, they were appointed by the Baptist General Conference as missionaries. They returned to Assam in 1949. From 1961 to 1972, Reuben served as pastor in Ohio and Iowa. They then became short-term missionaries in Ethiopia. In 1974, they moved to Isanti, Minnesota. Following Edna's death, Reuben married Margaret Slaikeu in 1986. Reuben died in 2000 and is buried in Isanti, Minnesota.

Extent

1.5 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection was arranged by the archivist during processing.

Custodial History

It is unclear when most of this collection came to the archives.

The 2019 Acquisition series was tranferred to the History Center around 2019 from the Baptist General Conference/ Converge headquarters in Arlington Heights, Illinois, during the time they transitioned their headquarters to Florida.

Title
Reuben and Edna Holm papers, 1932-1983
Author
Rebekah Lopez, archivist
Date
March 2026
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the The History Center: Archives of Bethel University and Converge Repository

Contact:
3900 Bethel Drive
Arden Hills MINNESOTA 55112 United States