Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1935-1991 (Creation)
Extent
0.23 cubic feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Gertrude M. Feely (1903-1996) was a Methodist Episcopal Church, South, missionary in Japan. Feely received her B.S. from the University of Missouri in 1927. She earned an M.A. from Scarritt College in Tennessee in 1930 and a Ph.d. in education from Columbia University in 1950.
Feely was a missionary for more than forty years, and worked in several Japanese cities. From 1931 to 1933, she taught English and language study at the Kure Naval Station and at Kobe. While in Oita from 1933 to 1941, Feely was involved with youth work and taught English.
In 1941, she went to the Philippines and during the Second World War was interned by the Japanese. She spent time on the Santo Tomas and Los Banos Camps and stayed with a group of Methodist missionaries at Harris Memorial Training School for some time before she was finally interned in Los Banos. She served as an interpreter for two and a half years of the war.
Upon her liberation on February 23, 1945, Feely was furloughed to the United States, where she remained until 1949. Feely returned to Japan later in 1949 and became the director of the Kobe Christian Youth Center, which opened in 1953. She continued to teach, working at the Night School, at the Palmore Institute and at Seiwa Junior College, where she was an instructor in the Old Testament. In 1954, Feely was ordained by the Church of Japan. She retired in 1972.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The personal papers of Gertrude Feely include three internment notebooks. There are articles, letters and general writings concerning her internment and also a copy of her book, Five Years in the Philippines, written in 1946. Included in her internment papers is a map of the Los Banos Camp. There are several black and white photos, mostly of Mission Meetings and two color photos, one of Gertrude Feely herself and one of James W. Lambuths' grave. There are two pamphlets published by the internees of Santo Tomas during their imprisonment, a leaflet advertising The Christian Youth Center in Kobe, Japan and a booklet titled The Church in the War Years
The Oral History Collection of Gertrude Feely contains three audio cassette tapes from an oral history interview conducted by June Fothergill on January 16-17, 1985. A tape index, release forms, several magazine articles about Feely, and two black and white photographs are included. The tapes are located at 6029-1-1:23-26.
System of arrangement
The collection is arranged by record type with a subsequent arrangement by chrononlogical date.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
There are no restrictions regarding this collection.
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
For additional information on Feely see the Records of the United Methodist Church, Board of Missions Missionary Files Series; the Records of the Methodist Church, General Board of Global Ministries ( Accession 1982-059); the Records of the United Methodist Church, General Board of Global Ministries, World Division ( Accession 1984- 022); and the Records of the United Methodist Church, World Division, Program Department ( Accession 1987-032).
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
The purpose of this finding aid is to help you understand the nature of this collection and to assist you in the retrieval of material from this collection. The following pages contain a brief biographical history of the person, or persons, who created or collected these papers, followed by a general description of the collection in the scope and content note. If more detailed information is warranted then series descriptions also appear. The container listing appears last and is the listing of material in each box, or container, of this collection. To request material you need to turn to the container listing section. It is essentially a listing of file folders, or artifact items, in the collection. Each folder, or item, has a call number associated with it. Each folder also lists the inclusive dates of the material in the folder. On the material request form list both the call number and the folder, or item, title. Use a different line for each folder, or item, requested. When your request sheet is complete, or full, bring it to the archivist and the material will be retrieved.
General note
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Gertrude Feely 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 Sophia Novozilova, Student Assistant and Mark C. Shenise, Associate Archivist
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Methodist Church (U.S.) (Subject)
- United Methodist Church (U.S.) (Subject)
- Fothergill, June (Subject)
- Scott, Lavina (Subject)