The Mary Dumm Papers document her work as a missionary. The bulk of this collection is correspondence written by Dumm to her parents, Elizabeth and Walter Dumm of Madison, New Jersey. Dumm wrote to her parents on a weekly basis while she was in India, and this correspondence is from 1959 to 1972. Several letter indices were included with the letters. These were probably prepared by her parents, but are not complete for the entire years. Also included in the correspondence are several postcards from a trip Dumm took to Europe in 1969. Other correspondence included in this collection is addressed to her parents and concerns Mary's work. Some of these letters were written by individuals who had visited or who had contact with Dumm while she was stationed in India. The remaining letters addressed to her parents are from the Vellore Christian Medical College Board, the Women's Division of Christian Service of the Board of Global Ministries, and "Dear Friends" letters from other missionaries in India.

There are numerous news clippings regarding Dumm's work, life, and accounts of talks and presentations on her missionary experience in India. All the clippings have been photocopied from the originals because of deterioration. Programs and newsletters also document some of these presentations. Twenty-five black and white photographs are also included. All have been identified and dated. The second part of this collection documents the Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, India. Items in this section of the papers include publications, articles, miscellaneous materials such as brochures, book announcements, pamphlets, and news clippings.

This collection contains sermons, lectures, a manuscript, correspondence, and biographical materials related to Charles B. Mitchell. The bulk of this collection is sermons. There are approximately four hundred sermons prepared by Mitchell between 1875 and 1941. All the sermons are handwritten. They were folded length- wise in envelopes which provide the date and location the sermon was given. Many of the sermons had news clippings accompanying them. His sermons were often published by The Inter Ocean newspaper, but a few clippings are from other papers. The clippings have been photocopied and are joined with the sermon and the envelope in an acid free mini folder. Additional clippings or short articles that supplemented the sermon or were used in its preparation have been kept with the sermon as well.

Mitchell's sermons are oriented to the Social Gospel, as he speaks of contemporary issues and challenges. He is particularly concerned with the spiritual and moral well being of young men and women. All the sermons have been arranged by text reference, except those that were given as part of a series. There are thirteen sets of sermons prepared as series. These series sermons contained several sermons on a particular topic such as temperance, gambling, the danger of cities, temptations, and the Christian life. One folder contains a sermon Mitchell gave on the death of Ulysses S. Grant. A news clipping of this sermon is from the Leavenworth Times. Another folder contains photocopies of four news clippings to sermons that had no handwritten copy. In addition, there is a folder of fragmented sermons.

Two folders contain prayer meeting materials prepared by Mitchell. There are forty-four prayer meeting talks in one folder. These are short notations on note cards or small pieces of paper. This material is dated 1897 to 1909, although not every piece is dated. These talks have been arranged by text reference. Talks with no text reference are separated from talks with text reference by an acid free sheet of paper. In addition, there are seven prayer meeting addresses which may have been part of a series. These addresses were given between 1901 and 1912. An envelope contains the date and location of each address.

Lectures and addresses given by Mitchell are the second major part of this collection. There are approximately ninety-five addresses given between 1882 and 1933. The lectures were also folded length-wise and placed in envelopes with the date and location of the presentation. Mitchell lectured to a variety of groups including the Y.M.C.A., college commencements, conferences, conventions, Mason meetings, women's clubs, community organizations and civic groups. Topics that Mitchell addressed in his lectures include peace, women's suffrage, missions, teachers, education, citizenship, Memorial Day, revivals, Abraham Lincoln, Sunday school, and youth. Mitchell also spoke at several universities including Hamline, Dakota Wesleyan, Allegheny College, and Nebraska Wesleyan. The lectures also include five travel accounts. The most extensive account is on the Bible lands. Other countries covered are Holland, Italy, Norway, and Russia.

A typed manuscript Mitchell prepared entitled "Questions to Modern Youth" is part of this collection. There are also three letters addressed to Mitchell. Biographical materials include a handwritten copy of a characterization of Mitchell by Reverend J. S. Daney; two short articles on Mitchell; an article on Mitchell's father, Revered Daniel Patrick Mitchell by S. J. Heaton; and an application for membership in the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. This application contains some ancestry information.

The Mellony Turner papers primarily documents her life as a missionary in Bulgaria. There is a number of records on the American School for Girls in Lovetch, consisting of photographs, textbooks, yearbooks, and financial records. Turner's notebooks and lecture notes are included in the collection. It should be noted that there is a single folder containing information on closing the school. Turner kept diaries during her tenure in Bulgaria as well extensive correspondence. There are general images in both photograph and slide format ranging from the royal family of Bulgaria to her own family in the United States. Turner has a copy of a sermon by Bishop Burt; the bishop who had established the Bulgarian mission at the beginning of the twentieth century. Clippings and other types of publications reflect Bulgarian life and politics. There are eight lectures and a sermon written by Turner. Artifacts are personal in nature, reflecting the clothing and accessories of mid-twentieth century Bulgarian dress. There is a pot in the artifact series as well.

The other series within the collection reflects Turner's immediate family. The few records relating to her parents deal with their will and a folder of letters. Mellony's brother, Ewart Turner's three folders are related to his spying for the United States War Department during the World War II. Though he was ministering to a church in the United States during the war, Ewart was familiar with German communities in Europe and South America. The War Department had Turner collect information on Germans, in the U.S., who were thought to be a threat to national security during the war. This information is elucidated in a correspondence folder.

The papers consist of clippings, published transcripts, typed transcripts, reports, correspondence, memoranda, publications, and pamphlets pertaining to the merger of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church. Additional extensive material relates to Bishop Oxnam's hearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities, as well as the Committee on Inter-Jurisdictional Relations.

The first series is comprised of correspondence, the bulk of which relates to the Inter-Jurisdictional Commission of the Methodist Church. The work focused on the dissolution of the Central Jurisdiction and the merger of the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist Churches. Some of this correspondence is of minor importance, but much of it reflects opinion and counter opinion and proposals growing out of the subjects under consideration.

The second series is the major part of the collection and includes all the substantive minutes, reports, and legislative proposals which emerged from the work of the Commission on Inter-Jurisdictional Relations. This material is international in scope.

The third series is a two volume collection of Parlin’s speeches and addresses given to churches, schools, universities and business groups. These volumes have been dissembled and organized in chronological order.

The fourth series is biographical in nature in so far as it includes articles, clippings, and statements reflecting Parlin's wide and varied projects and interests.

The fifth series is a Book of Remembrance from the Drew University Collection. These letters and statements of appreciation honor Parlin's achievements and contributions to the life of the church.

The sixth series is a substantial collection of articles, clippings and most importantly working documents regarding the hearings of Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam before the U.S. House Un-American Activities. Parlin served as Oxnam’s counsel and strategist at these hearings.

The work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is documented through a variety of record types.

Minutes and reports reflect the official action of the agency when preparing for and dealing with various crises throughout the world. Through these documents we see the interconnectedness of UMCOR with the other general boards and agencies within the denomination in an attempt to fulfill the mandate to help others in the time of need. The series also shows UMCOR's humble beginnings and its subsequent maturity as a viable denominational entity.

Administrative records that document the general work of the agency can be found in the Office of the General Secretary series. Gaither Warfield, who was one of the primary forces of compassion ministries in the denomination during the mid-twentieth century, guided the agency from its nascent beginnings to an administrative powerhouse.

Warfield's records not only reflect his skill as an administrator, but also the heart of dedicated Christian whose compassion was translated into the basic philosophy that guided the decisions and direction that UMCOR became famous for in later years. Much of this guidance was based on his experience as both a missionary to Poland and subsequent imprisonment by both the Polish and Russian armies as a spy during World War II. The result of this experience produced a keen interest on Warfield's part, and the work of the staff, on the plight of refugees and their relief around the world. His correspondence, memos and other record types document ecumenical, denominational and personal involvement in the area of relief. Records of later general secretaries follow this same trend though the volume of material is much less than those records of Warfield's time. The Office of Refugee Resettlement Program series is the heart of the collection. It is in this area that the agency had its greatest impact.

This impact is reflected in the sheer size of materials in relation to the other series within the collection. Often this office had to work with ever-changing laws, programs and guidelines established by the United States Government and other governments around the world. A quick explanation of the laws that directly impact the work of the agency as documented in the collection would be helpful at this time. Record types that document the works of the office are card files, correspondence, application forms and photographs, reflect the value of their work.

Quota section - Immigration Act of May 26, 1924 limited the number of aliens of any nationality entering the United States to 3 percent of the foreign-born persons of that nationality who lived in the United States in 1910. Approximately 350,000 such aliens were permitted to enter each year as quota immigrants, mostly from Northern and Western Europe. This figure was changed in 1927 to 150,000 in relation to national origin as recorded in the 1920 census.

Immigration and Nationality Act of June 27, 1952 - A system of selected immigration by giving quota preferences to skilled aliens whose services were needed in the United States and were related to U.S. citizens or legal aliens.

Section 7 - relates to the citizenship of children of persons naturalized under certain laws.

Displacement Act (Displaced Persons Act) - President Truman introduced this act in 1948 to address the European refugee problem. Eventually 400,000 individuals immigrated to the United States under this act.

Refugee Relief Act - President Eisenhower pushed this act that allowed for 200,000 non quota visas for Europeans fleeing Hungary after the uprising. Later on the Refugee Escape Act in 1957 opened the door of any victims of communist controlled countries and their respective regimes. Primary nationalities that benefitted from this act were the Hungarians, Albanians, Koreans, Yugoslavs and Chinese.

Public Law 316 admitted aliens between the years of 1945 and 1954 which was amended in 1957 allowed entry of those individuals and their families who were fleeing persecution because of race, religion or politics but misrepresented their nationality, place of birth, identity, or residence because of fear due to persecution in their homelands.

The files of the Office of Refugee Resettlement Program is absent. A researcher may look at these files, but may not use any names, addresses, and other related information contained therein. The files can only be used for gathering statistical information. Please contact the General Commission on Archives and History for more information.

The Adoption Program files do not contain information on actual adoptions but illuminates both the roles and procedures that UMCOR used as a conduit in processing such requests from Methodist families to other church and governmental agencies. Information within these files includes the process on how to adopt an infant, monetary support of the work, general adoption information and program classifications for adoption. Records from the Office of the Treasurer are primarily reports and audits. Financial records historically tend to be secondary in documenting the history of an agency. That is not the case here. Over the course of time the agency spent less of a focus on actual physical work but financing the work of relief through other avenues. These records reflect this change and show what areas of relief were a priority depending on the need and specific time period. The Office of Public Relations records can be found exclusively in scrapbooks which contain pamphlets, clippings, brochures and other similar types of materials which illustrate how the agency publicized its needs and work to the denomination. The scrapbooks are oversized and some are in fragile condition.

This collection is made up of records of the various agencies of the church. It also includes material regarding local churches and annual conferences. The collection is made up of thirteen series. The three largest series which make up the bulk of the collection are the Missionary Society, the Woman's Missionary Society, and the Board of Christian Education.

This series contains general administrative records of the division. Also included are committee records and records from various departments and special programs. This would include the programs on economic and racial issues, religion and race (which later became its own agency), church and government issues, and urban concerns. Also included are the records of the Law of the Sea Project (shared with Global Ministries), the Committee for Congressional Reform and records related to specific programs conducted by the Division in Washington, D. C.

The collection contains newspaper clippings, correspondences, and reports which primarily document the 1934 defaulted bonds controversy. The material is extremely anti-Methodist.

This collection consists of three scrapbooks filled primarily with clippings from The Religious Telescope, a church newspaper of the United Brethren Church, and from assorted newspapers. These were compiled by C. I. B. Brane while he was active as the Washington correspondent for the magazine and the popular pastor of the Washington, D.C. United Brethren Church. The clippings are a rich resource for both religious and secular history in the latter years of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. In addition there are several letters and an address on the pioneers' history of the United Brethren Church written by Brane.

This collection contains a small assortment of papers related to David Edwards. There are three diaries: 1861, 1862, and 1864. These describe daily events. Two articles from the Religious Telescope are included -- one by Edwards in 1851, and a response to the article. Two certificates permitting Edwards to perform marriages are included in this collection -- one is from Ohio (1860), and one from West Virginia (1873). The collection also includes a statement against secret societies, a small ledger recording donations for the Edwards Monument Fund, a wallet belonging to Edwards, and an 1860 account book. In the Biographical folder there are two portraits and short history on the bishop's life.