Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1902-1971 (Creation)
Extent
2.65 cubic feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Charles August Sauer (1891-1972), American pastor, missionary, and author, was born on June 27, 1891, near Wheelersburg, Ohio. He was the son of Christian August and Anna (Miller) Sauer. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University, from which he received a B.A. in 1919 and a D.D., 1958, and Ohio State University College of Education, which awarded him an M.A. in 1928.
Sauer married Marguerite Suttles of Albion, Pennsylvania, on August 17, 1920, and they had three sons. Sauer served in the United States Army during World War I.
From 1921 to 1932, he lived in Yeng Byen, Korea, serving as missionary principal of the Mission High School there. From 1932 to 1935, he was an instructor of farm engineering at the Konju Mission School. He was treasurer of the Korean Methodist Church in Seoul, Korea, from 1936 to 1941, and again from 1946 to 1950.
From 1942 to 1946, after missionaries were expelled from Korea, he served as minister in the West Unity, Ohio, Methodist Church. Sauer returned alone to Korea in 1946, to be joined later by his wife. He was treasurer for the National Christian Council Union Projects in Korea, form 1950 to 1962. From 1949 to 1958, he returned to education and his position of principal, working in the Korean Language School.
From 1949 until 1962, Sauer was editor for the Korean edition of The Upper Room. Sauer wrote Korean Language for Beginners in 1925, with reprints in 1950 and 1954; Chinese Characters for Beginners, in 1930; A Pocket Story of John Wesley, in 1967; and Beginner's Lessons in the Book of Genesis, written in Korean , in 1938.
In 1962 he was cited by the Minister of Defense in the Republic of Korea, and later that year he was awarded a Cultural Merit, which is the national medal, by the President of the Republic of Korea. Sauer was a member of the Ohio Annual Conference. He participated in the General Conference of the Korean Methodist Church in 1951, 1954, 1958, and 1960, and served as a delegate to the General Conference of The Methodist Church in 1956. He acted as the editor for Korea in the Encyclopedia of World Methodism. He died on September 13, 1972, at Ashley, Ohio.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Sauer's correspondence, and the manuscript and supporting documents for his unpublished "Methodists in Korea," make up the bulk of the collection. These materials document Methodist Episcopal mission work during Sauer's tenure in Korea, including the evacuation of missionary personnel in 1940, and their return in 1945. This was a critical transition phase for the Korean Methodist Church (KMC) as they struggled for power and control during the heightened Japanese control over churches in Korea, and then rebuilt after the war. There is also considerable material covering state of missions and the KMC during the invasion of South Korea in 1950. Photographs and publications nicely supplement this part of the collection.
System of arrangement
This collection is arranged by series and subseries.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
This material was donated with the understanding that it be used for "exhibit and reference work only and not for publication of letters or books."
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Charles A. Sauer Collection, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the item's call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Prepared by Lacey Brother, Student Assistant; Morris Davis, Jr., Manuscripts Processor; Mark C. Shenise, Associate Archivist
Access points
Subject access points
Name access points
- Korean Methodist Church (Subject)
- Methodist Episcopal Church (Subject)
- Methodist Episcopal Church, South (Subject)
- Abe, Y. (Subject)
- Baker, James C. (Subject)
- Bunker, Annie Ellers (Subject)
- Diffendorfer, Ralph Eugene (Subject)
- Dyer, Nell (Subject)
- Han, Young-Sun (Subject)
- Harper, Charles H. (Subject)
- Kerr, William C. (Subject)
- Kim, Helen K. (Subject)
- McLaren, C. I. (Subject)
- Moffett, Samuel H. (Subject)
- Noble, Mattie Wilcox (Subject)
- Ryang, J. S. (Subject)
- Underwood, Ethel (Subject)
- Underwood, Horace H. (Subject)
- Wagner, Ellasue (Subject)
- Yil, Cho Shin (Subject)