This collection contains slides, audiotapes, films, a filmstrip, slide scripts and listings, conference reports and promotional materials, correspondence, and some photographs.

This collection contains slides, audiotapes, films, a filmstrip, slide scripts and listings, conference reports and promotional materials, correspondence, and some photographs. The slides contain images taken by Hannah Flammer of diverse subjects, most of which are related to the home and foreign missions of the Methodist Church during the 1940's to the 1960's. These include pictures of schools, hospitals and medical clinics, homes, settlement houses, missions to cities and rural areas, Native American missions, and a variety of scenes from both urban and rural areas that were foci for the church's mission and ministry during this period. There are also many slides of conferences of the Women's Society of Christian Service and other church agencies in which Flammer was active. Many scenes from foreign missions and pictures of foreign missionaries are also included. Most of the slides were used in presentations that Flammer gave to highlight and promote the mission work of the Methodist Church. The audiotapes include recordings of some of Flammer's slide presentations, of Bible studies and lectures given at various conferences that she attended, of radio interviews, and of church music. There are three reels of film, two of which are 16 mm and one is 8 mm. the filmstrip is titled "Swinging toward the Light." Also included in the collection are some printed slide scripts connected to Flammer's slide shows, several letters related to her mission promotion work, a container listing of the audiotapes, reports and promotional materials from some W.S.C.S. conferences that she attended, and some photographs.

The Roy Stinson Smyres Collection documents the life of a person and his family whose multifaceted ministerial career exemplifies a dedication to United Methodist Church work in the twentieth century. This dedication is well documented through a variety of record types within the collection. Smyres kept an ongoing journal (1914-1990) and date books (1913-1990) that reveal his intimate experiences as a missionary, minister, and family member. The journals from his missionary days discuss the ongoing work of the mission as well as documenting Smyres' trek across West Africa in 1919, as well as other related trips. Additional entries record interviews with missionaries and indigenous people alike. Also included are discourses and reflections on sociology, anthropology, theology, politics, and life in general.

The date books list mundane things such as financial expenditures, appointments, etc. Some of the entries are in shorthand. The correspondence between Roy Smyres and his family, friends, and colleagues are just as illuminating as the journals, date books, and images. Most of these letters were collected by Nell Smyres and were given to Roy after her death.

While in Africa, Smyres made it a point to write home at least once a week whenever possible. Roy saved copies of letters that he wrote home while serving as a missionary to Africa, which is the reason for some duplication from Nell's files. A few letters were written on the back of older ones for economy. His early pen name to his family was Bud. Record types include correspondence, Christmas letters, and postcards. There are a few letters between Roy and Esther's children with each other which due to the lack of volume were incorporated into Roy's sub-series. Roy's earlier letters (1914-1929) contain personal observations on student life at Northwestern, mission work, missionaries, cannibalism, and "frontier justice" in Africa. These letters also document formal and casual reports from the mission field, photography, and hand-drawn diagrams of architectural features of mission buildings in the Congo.

The African travel accounts tell of the dangers of living in the jungle. Family matters are sprinkled throughout the correspondence. Most of the letters are addressed to Smyres' immediate family. Correspondence from 1930 to 1949 focuses on teaching, church work in Ithaca, and the beginning of a cooperative store in Ithaca - the first of its kind in that city. Roy was greatly interested in politics and peace issues.

Smyres' early work for the mission board is discussed here as well. The letters dating from the 1950's and early 1960's revolve around his continued work for the mission board, trips, publishers, and family. Included in the mission board correspondence was his involvement with the Advance Program.

After Smyres' retirement, the correspondence documents voluntary mission work in India, the Vietnam War, and other peace issues. Subjects found in correspondence from 1970 to 1992 document articles that Smyres published, speaking engagements, ministerial activities, work for the Religious News Service, and global trips. Also during this time period family issues are recorded which include the death of his first wife, Esther, and his second marriage to Mary Fraley, and extended family events. There are social and political remarks about Vietnam, peace, The Human Needs and Security Bill of 1984, El Salvador, the Lebanon conflict, opposition to the United States government appointing an ambassador to the Vatican, and the Persian Gulf War. Most of these letters were written to government officials who had a direct influence in these issues. Another aspect of this correspondence involves his photographic commissions and subsequent loans of images to publishers and missionaries.

Esther Smyres' correspondence ranges from 1920 to 1968 with the bulk of the letters dated from 1920 to 1937. Though not as voluminous as Roy's, they do illustrate in some detail the domestic work in a missionary home as well as documenting a spouse's missionary work in the Belgian Congo. There are casual references to African geography and society. Later correspondence documents Esther's work as a school teacher, her various travels, local church work, and family. Another value of Esther's correspondence is that they often fill in points of information that Roy leaves out of his correspondence of the same time. This is especially true during their years on the mission field and ministry in the local church. Most of the correspondence is directed to Mary Hannah Brown Smyres and Nell Smyres. Mary Fraley Smyres correspondence dates from 1972 to 1980 with bulk dates of 1973 to 1975. Most of these letters relate to family events and friends. Nell Smyres incoming and outgoing correspondence documents her early childhood, college life, family news, trips, and theology.

Some of the letters are from Roy and Esther's children and grandchildren, who express their embracing of Pentecostalism and faith healing. The last group of letters is from Roy's parents. Recipients of these letters include their children as well as extended family. Topics include family news, missionary work, spirituality in the church, and theology in general.

Mary's correspondence ranges from 1911 to 1947, with the bulk of the correspondence from 1919. Luther's correspondence dates from 1916 to 1920, with the bulk of the letters from 1919-1920. Family records are general in nature and revolve around four people: Roy, Esther, Nell, and Joan Smyres. Joan was Roy and Esther's daughter-in-law who died of cancer at an early age. Joan's sub-series documents her funeral.

The rest of the material reflects the childhood, marriage, and careers of Esther and Roy. Nell's records contain her Master's Thesis written at Ohio Wesleyan on the expansion of Christianity in Russia. Nell also collected reports written by her nephew, Eugene Stockwell, a missionary in Africa.

The Writings Series contains manuscripts (1917-1990), sermons (1929-1966), prayers (1937-1988), and publications (1939-1987) authored by Roy Smyres. Included in this section are two books that Roy wrote: Thoughts of Chairman Smyres, and his autobiography. Both these volumes were published in the late 1980s. Other publications include articles and photographs. The sermons (1929-1966) illuminate a variety of topics including missions, politics, theology, liturgy, world communion, cooperatives, and stewardship. Formats include radio and children sermons as well as pulpit sermons. Some of the sermons are in shorthand. The prayers relate to the various aspects of Smyres' ministry within the church. Smyres' professional life in the ministry of the church revolved around three sub-series: local church, annual conference, and the General Board of Global Ministries. Local church records contain worship bulletins and miscellaneous church papers. Annual conference records contain reports and ephemera.

The General Board of Global Ministries sub-series documents Smyres' work in DOM Committee material, reports, gift programs, IDOC International records, Advance Program Support Funds, Central America, financial records and journals, treasurer codes, notebooks, and newsletters. Roy created and collected maps that attest to geographic areas that he served or visited. The African maps are of special interest to those researchers whose historical focus is either missions or the Belgian Congo political boundaries during his years as a missionary. The hand-drawn maps are especially enlightening. The largest series in the collection contains Smyres' photographic images. These images are the spotlight of the collection. His photographic abilities and style were sought out by a number of religious organizations. Record types include glass lantern slides, 35 mm slides, negatives, photographs, and contact sheets. Geographic areas include countries from each of the populated continents as well as Oceania.

The images cover a vast array of topics too numerous to list. In some instance's Roy kept log books that identify certain images with corresponding narrative via his unique cataloging system. It should come as no surprise that family images are in abundance as well.

This collection is made up of material from the Annual Conferences and local churches of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. The material consists of minutes, histories, photographs, publications, and news clippings and does not contain church records such as baptismal, membership, marriage etc.

Record types within this collection include sermons, addresses, clippings, notes, note cards, orders of worship, and program materials. Most of the collection consists of sermons and addresses delivered by Arnold to a wide variety of community and church groups. These are mostly handwritten and in outline form, although a few are complete typewritten manuscripts. Topics include Biblical themes, challenges of Christian living, national and patriotic subjects, liturgical and secular holidays, and Sunday School lessons. Many were delivered to church services and church groups in Ohio and neighboring states; others were addressed to a wide variety of community groups. Among the organizations that benefited from Reverend Arnold's wit were the Ohio Farm Bureau, 4-H Club, Rotary Club, General Conference of 1933, and the Otterbein Guild. The clippings and notes are closely related to Arnold's sermons and addresses. Also included in this collection are some program materials relating to Arnold's work with the Evangelical United Brethren Sunday school publications, as well as a few orders of worship from his ministerial and speaking career.

This collection contains papers related to John Balmer Showers. The bulk of this material includes writings by Showers. There are three folders of short typed pages. Some are on selected topics such as faith, Pentecost, stewardship and service, evangelism, the home, and the preacher. Other writings are greetings, welcomings, or dedications prepared by Showers on special occasions such as anniversaries, dedications, and conference meetings. The remaining writings are tributes or memorials to A. B. Statton, Elizabeth Ann Powell, Harold C. Urschel, Sam Stanrod, and Walther Murth.

Also included is a booklet kept by Showers when he was a student at Berlin University. It contains a listing of courses in German. There is a certificate of appreciation present to Showers from Otterbein Press in 1946 and an honorary degree diploma presented to him from Indiana Central College in 1947 are part of this collection. An essay Showers wrote on his father-in-law, Edmund S. Lorenz, is part of these papers. Some work Lorenz did on the hymnal book questionnaire can be found in the same folder. Finally, there is a scrapbook entitled, "Memories of My Years at Otterbein Press." This contains photographs of Showers and staff members, as well as articles written by Showers.

This record group contains administrative records, as well as staff records from the division on curriculum research and development, the division of Higher Education, the Division of the Local Church, general youth fellowship material and various publications. The Administrative series contains executive meeting minutes, minutes of the board, audit reports and ad hoc committee reports. The Division of Curriculum contains meeting minutes and reports from various sub committees. The Division of Higher Education contains reports and correspondence with various schools supported by the denomination. The Division of the Local Church contains resources developed for the local church and Sunday school, meeting and convention minutes, and information relating to camping. General Youth Fellowship contains information about general conventions, resources developed for youth programs, and youth council minutes. Publications are resources developed for the local church and college programs.

This collection primarily documents the work and ministry of the Evangelical Church's annual conferences and local churches from the middle nineteenth century to the middle twentieth century. To a lesser degree there are records that reflect the ministry of the general church as well. There are other records that pertain to filial denominations such as the Evangelical Association, United Evangelical Church, Church of the United Brethren in Christ (United Brethren Church), and the Evangelical United Brethren Churches are also found in this collection. Leedy was an avid collector of church related information so that the topical landscape of this collection is broad enough to cover information ranging from local church ministries and histories to denominational theological beliefs and social concerns. Most of the paper records center on church work in the Ohio region though not to the exclusion of other geographic areas within the continental United States and Germany. All in all this collection provides a nice overview of the diversified life within the Evangelical tradition and is an excellent resource for those who wish to understand more fully the Evangelical Church's historical influence within the ongoing traditions of United Methodism.

Material in this collection that relates to women include records from the World Federation of Methodist Women, notes from Wade's second wife, and an address by Emily Smith. Those records that relate to the World Federation of Methodist Women include articles, correspondence, a constitution, treasurer's reports, and signatures from representatives. The inclusive dates are 1936-1961, with the bulk of the material from the 1940s. Also included in Bishop Wade's papers are travel notes and observations from 1949 by his second wife. There are also several copies of an address given by Emily Smith in 1934 regarding Africa.

This collection consists of sermons, notes, photographs, legal documents, reports, clippings, correponsdence, and an artifact, reflecting mainly Bishop Wade's professional life. Also includes materials relating to the trial and prosecution of Bishop Anton Bast.

There is a microfilm (1892-1946) of his papers and manuscripts located in the library.

Three bound diaries. The first few pages of the third volume also contain notes created by John Roesner. Article clipping from 1927 Evangelical Messenger that sums up his service to the church.

This collection centers primarily on Seybert's journals. The original journals are written in German and are incomplete. Of the eighteen total volumes that Seybert compiled, only ten volumes have survived. They are volumes 2, 4, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18. In 1956 the Reverend J. G. Eller translated all volumes into English and this translation was microfilmed. The typescripts of chapters 16 and 17 are located at the end of the journals series.

Most of the journal entries are laconic with a few entries being the exception to the rule. What these journals do illustrate is the far reaching itinerancy that Seybert followed during his ministry. Other records would include a class book for the Canaan District (Pennsylvania) which was compiled by Seybert in 1825 and a constitution and subscription for the Manheim church which Seybert wrote in 1826. This is the very same church in which Seybert was originally converted.

Seybert's keen interest in church architecture can be found throughout the journals as well as in the holograph file. Photographs, flyers, a biography written by Andrew Gramley, and a letter dated April 23, 1853, that Seybert wrote to Daniel Bertolet are situated in the biographical file.

Seybert's traveling trunk (circa 1844), writing desk, and saddle bags round out the collection. The trunk is eighteen inches in length, eight and one- half inches in height, and nine and a half inches in width. The exterior covering is made from an animal skin with leather trim, a brass handle on the top of the lid, and hasp with locking mechanism. The interior of the trunk is lined with newsprint from 1844. On the interior top of the trunk lid is an identification card that states: BISHOP SEIBERT"S TRUNK. I Rebecca Ocker of Troxelville Snyder, Co., a grand-daughter of the sainted Rev. Philip Smith do present this little trunk to Albright College as a token of my interest in the same. When a little girl of a few summers I saw the sainted Bishop carry this trunk and heard him preach with wonderful power from the text, "TOD, WO IST DEIN STACHEL?" If this trunk had a mouth to talk, what wonderful things it could divulge! Rev. P. Smith resided about one mile west of Troxelville and his home was a stopping and preaching place for the Bishop. He traded this trunk on a saddle-bag, during one of his annual visits to my grandfather's house. Secured for Albright College Dec. 26, 1904. by Rev. A. D. Gramly (pastor). The trunk is in poor condition.

The writing desk measures eighteen and three-quarter inches in length, five and three-quarter inches high, and nine and three-eights inches wide. The outside is a cherry laminate with an ivory knob to open the desk. The interior contains compartments in the front which held various writing implements. There is a felt cover located behind the compartment section. When lifted reveals a storage space for paper. A label on the velvet cover reads as follows: First writing desk of Bishop Seybert who presented it to Rev. Solomon Neitz in appreciation of his great interest and success in the soul-winning for Christ's Kingdom.

Seybert's leather saddle bag is thirty eight inched long and fourteen and a half inches wide. It is in poor condition. A typed note pasted on the left saddle bag reads as follows: "This saddle bag and dress outfit of Bishop John Seybert, was left at the home of Mr. and Mrs. David Fisher, of Manheim, Pa, by Bishop Seybert, between the years 1855 and 60. He was usually entertained in the above home when he came to Manheim to preach. At the death of Mr. and Mrs. David Fisher, these mementoes were given to their Daughter, Susan, who married John Fisher. After their death, they were handed down to their daughter, Louise, who married William McCauley. After the death of Mrs. McCauley, these relics came into the possession of Mrs. McCauley's daughter Edith. Thro [sic] her pastor Rev. I. E. Johnson, of Manheim, Pa. they have been transferred to the ‘Historical Society' and she wishes them placed in their room at the Publishing House. A very brief history of these articles as they were associated with life and labors of the late Bishop John Seybert. Signed and dated I.E. Johnson May 24, 1920."