This collection is made up of administrative records from the Council of Bishops and predecessor organizations. It includes the minutes of the Bishops meetings and their position papers.

This collection documents the professional life of Paul Bentley Kern as a pastor, educator and bishop for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1844-1939) and later for the Methodist Church (1939-1968). At the end of this collection the researcher will find various ministerial credentials awarded to Kern and his forbearers.

The manuscripts include sermons (with and without Biblical texts), addresses, and publications which offer a diversity of interests and commitments that shaped Kern's ministry. Major topics of concerns include a strong anti-war stance in both World Wars (though most of the information is centered on World War I), ethics in business, labor, church union in 1939, the Advance, Crusade for Christ, jazz, as well as systematic and practical theological issues, role of the church in America and the world, America as a steward of the world's wealth and resources, temperance, organization of the Korean Methodist Church, and Methodism. Christian education, sociology, matriculation addresses, Reformation Sunday, missions with an emphasis on China round out the rest of the topics. Kern considered all these areas as major forces which could and should shape the ever changing world in the early and middle twentieth century. . Part of the materials include addresses which were part of the Cole Lectures which he delivered at Vanderbilt University in 1935.

Administrative records include correspondence, telegraphs, reports, annual conference materials, and the Council of Bishops. The correspondence segment is centered on congratulatory remarks in the form of letters (1930) and telegrams (1930) which Kern received upon his election to the episcopacy. One of the reports relates to his trips to the Orient where he served his first term as a bishop for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. There are a small number of field reports from Orient as well. Clippings make up most of Florida, Holston and Tennessee Annual Conferences folder with emphasis on Kern's Episcopal administration in the Tennessee area. There are also a few items relating to China.

The Bishop William Burt Collection is an excellent documentary on the life and work of a pioneer minister within the Methodist Episcopal Church. In this collection we see the pathos and commitment Burt and his family brought to the work of the church, especially in Europe. These records illuminate his varying roles as clergyperson, presiding elder, bishop, and family member. Well liked by most, Burt was an influential person within the denomination throughout his career.

Records from his wife, Helen, and daughter Edith are located here, as well. The collection shows the historical and sociological involvement Burt had with the life, events, and politics of Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world. This involvement covered society from its lowest common denominator all the way through and including the very top of the social ladder. Burt was a world traveler and the collection sheds light on Methodist Episcopal work around the globe. This is especially true in the correspondence, diaries, and photograph series. Besides reflecting Burt's ministry in Europe, there are significant records concerning his work in the United States. Other notable personalities are also included

Early missionaries to Europe, especially to Russia, have primary documents located here as well. Many of Italy's leading Methodists such as the Taglialatela family have both published and handwritten materials within the collection. Records by other bishops such as Vincent and Bast are interspersed throughout the first section. Another area which is documented is Burt's commitment to the ongoing work of the Jerusalem Home which was started by Bishop J. P. Newman. There is a sizeable amount of records pertaining to the Crandon Institute in Rome, as well.

The John Dreisbach Papers contains his printed sermon book, sermon outline book (1853-1854), and a personal diary - all written in German. In the sermon outline book, there is a reference to an 1876 date which relates to A. E. Dreisbach's estate; a descendant's of John. After the A. E. Dreisbach entry, writings from the childhood of Arthur W. Dreisbach, another descendant, can be found. There are extra copies of his John's sermons with English translations. The images include two glass ambrotype portraits of John and his and two additional photographs of John. There is correspondence to a Reverend A. Stapleton, as well as other correspondence, which gives information about Dreisbach and items within the collection.

Records pertaining to Dreisbach's family history are in notation format. There are other personal papers which include poems, hymns, a copy of John's final testament and a couple of passages from his journal. These records are written in both German and English. The sole artifact is a lamp bracket from the First Evangelical Church in Dayton, Ohio, which was used by John Dreisbach as a potato masher.

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.