The largest element of the collection consists of Methodist newspapers from Estonia, Latvia and Russia. The time span for these periodicals range from 1909 to 1940. Here the researcher will find a written record of the church's main activities in these specific geographic areas. Many of the periodicals are not in English but their native tongues. There are, however, some English language documents with the most important being the index for the Russian Christian Advocate. General administration records are the next section within the collection. Various minutes make up the bulk of these records. Other documents include histories of the areas, one local church set of records, an Estonian Book of Discipline (1927), and other ephemera. One of the unique aspects of this collection is Bishop Nuelsen's records while serving as bishop for the Baltic-Russia area. These records were separated out from the general administrative records in order to highlight Nuelsen's work for these annual conferences during the turbulent times they both found themselves in. Most of the documents found here are photocopies. The orginal records can be found at various institutions in the Russian-Baltic region.
Kimbrough, S. T.Sauer's correspondence, and the manuscript and supporting documents for his unpublished "Methodists in Korea," make up the bulk of the collection.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.
Sauer, Charles AugustThe collection includes clippings that pertain mainly to the union of the Methodist Church, a eulogy for Lawson, program for "Judge Lawson Day" at the Liberty Methodist Church, opinions of the Court of Appeals, court decisions, and an original signed copy of the opinion of the Judicial Council of the Methodist Episcopal Church South on the matter of the unification of Methodism. The collection also includes several booklets and periodicals; an October 1932 edition of the newspaper Christian Standard, Volume 7 of The Methodist Layman for 1930, a June 1956 edition of the Missouri Methodist, a 1939 edition of the Christian Advocate and several other booklets discussing Methodism. There are many letters, to and from Martin E. Lawson, photographs, a biography of the judge and ephemera concerning the fifth and sixth Ecumenical Conferences.
Lawson, Martin EmertThis collection contains mostly administrative records from Williams' work in missions administration. Included are Williams' reports on his trips overseas; personnel application procedures and personnel development procedures; papers and reports by other authors on missiology and missions theory; a history of the Joint Committee on Missionary Personnel: clippings, books, pamphlets, and reports on several geographic regions, especially China.
Williams, Melville Owens