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Missionary Scrapbooks collection, 1900-1970

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-Miss-14

Scope and Contents

There are sixteen scrapbooks in this collection dating between 1900 and 1970. They feature missions around the world, showing photographs, newspaper clippings, newlsetters, and more. They are in three boxes spanning 3.5 cubic feet, plus an external scrapbook.

The Home and Foreign Fields scrapbook shows Dr. Mansfield Bailey and Dr. C.S. Ngeo at Kwei Lin Hospital in China on the cover. Other missionaries mentioned in this scrapbook are Catharine Mabie, Howard Freas, O.L. Swanson, J.A. Ahlquist, Reuben Holm, Bengt Anderson, John Selander, Dana and Ruth Larson, J.E. Tanquist, Linnea Nelson, Ruth and Herman Tegenfeldt, Hugo Sword, Gustaf Sword, Frank Goddard, Dale Bjork, E.O. Schugren, amongst many others. Locations featured include Africa, Assam, Burma, Central America, China, India, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, and South America. The scrapbook is undated but appears to be from the first half of the 20th century.

The Clifford E. Larson scrapbook dates to 1940. Its sections are labled "Missionaary Enterprise," "India (South India)", "Bengal-Orissa", "Assam", "Burma", "China", "Japan", "Philippines", and "Africa." The scrapbook includes descriptions of the areas, photographs, and newspaper clippings.

The Photographs scrapbook holds pictures of Swedish Baptist missionaries with the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society. It likely dates to the early 20th century. Some of the missionaries pictured include Esther Nelson, August Berg, Bengt Anderson, Gustaf Sword, J.A. Ahlquist, and Ola Hanson. In the back pages are some maps of Swedish Baptist demographics in America.

The Herde-Rösten scrapbook is titled after the newspaper clipping on the first page. The scrapbook is made up mostly of newspaper clippings, some of which deal with missionaries. The clippings are in both Swedish and English.

The Blue scrapbook holds several pamphlets and newsletters in the cover, such as "The Martyr's Antiphony", "Congo News Letter" from 1946, and letters from John Howard, E.H. Cressy, J.E. Tangquist, E.R. Abbott, Henry Waters, and Ruth Harris. The scrapbook pages mostly hold missionary newsletters from places such as Argentina, Congo, Sudan, Manchuria, Shanghai, China, Burma, and Assam. Many of the letters date to 1940.

The Floral scrapbook is mostly of India. It appears to date to the mid-20th century, with some views of the evancuation of Rangoon during World War II.

The first tabbed scrapbook is labeled "Annual Reports", "Addis", "Gendeberet", "Group Scoop", and "Foreign News". The scrapbook is focused on Ethiopian missions of the 1950s.

The second tabbed scrapbook has tabs for Arlene Coleman, William Murray, Marge Malm, Esther Robinson, Kenneth Gullman, Thomas Colman, Bill Head, Russell Johnson, and Dennis Carlson, all missionaries. The third tabbed scrapbook has tabs for Lois Howat, Gladys Taranger, Robert Schenck, Gil Anderson, Edwin Erickson, Ronald Nelson, Walt Ebert, Ruth Haglund, Jim Eshenaur, Ruth Wintersteen, Clifford Vennerstrom, Roger Erickson, Lydia Degner, Kermit and Eunice Ericsson, Gerald Kern, David and Doreen Martin, Sam and Annie Linden, Irma Penner, Harold Lindbom, and Bonnie Courtion.

The Missions Advance clippings from the Standard scrapbook dates between 1945 and 1953. It holds clippings from the Standard specific to the series Missionary Advance.

The Ethiopia scrapbook contains clippings, photographs, and newsletters from missionaries in the field. There are sections on Addis Ababa and the Christ Chapel Business Office, Good Shepherd School, the Language School, Literature Bible School, Ambo, Bekoji, and Gendeberet.

The Black scrapbook holds clippings, missionary reports, and photographs. It is specific to Ethiopia.

The Foreign Fields scrapbook has sections for Africa, Assam, Burma, China, Europe, Russia, India, Japan, and the Philippines. The scrapbook belonged to Agnes Eugenia Palm. It dates to the early 20th century. There are pictures of Mrs. Ekwall's school for bilnd girls at Wuchang, China from 1924 to 1927. Some content shows Belgian abuse in Congo.

The Brazil scrapbook is labeled was owned by A.A. Holmgren and features Assemblea de Deus in Pernambuco. It dates to 1936. The content is mostly photographs. Daniel Berg and his family are featured in many photographs. Near the end of the scrapbook, there are photographs from other areas of the world, including Manchuria and India.

A second Brazil scrapbook also features A.A. Holmgren, with mostly newspaper clippings in Swedish of missionary work.

The Virgil Olson scrapbook was donated by him, but it is unclear if he created the scrapbook. It is filled with world missions materials, such as photographs and newspaper clippings, featuring Ethiopia, Japan, and China. There are also clippings of various Swedish Baptists.

Dates

  • 1900 - 1970

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for researcher use.

Extent

3.5 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Swedish

Arrangement

This collection is not arranged in any particular order. The order of pages inside scrapbooks is original.

Custodial History

It is unclear when this collection was donated to the History Center.

Virgil Olson donated a scrapbook in this collection on June 12, 2007. It is unclear if he made the scrapbook.

Title
Missionary Scrapbooks collection, 1900-1970
Author
Rebekah Bain
Date
June 2024
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