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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.

This collection contains materials from the ministry of Rev. Barbara Troxell from 1980-2009. The collection is divided into three series. The first series contains materials from retreats that Troxell led along with sermons and other lecture materials. The second series contains materials and interviews Troxell conducted with United Methodist bishops and clergywomen about the concept of ministerial authority for an unpublished book. The interviews have been restricted from the public. The final series contains general materials from events Troxell attended, clippings, and other research material and notes from her ministry.

This collection is comprised of documentation related to the investigation of Bishop James Cannon Jr. This collection contains transcripts concerning the investigation by the College of Bishops of the Methodist Church, South; meeting minutes; letters, telegraphs, postcards, and other correspondence from witnesses, friends, banks, finance companies, employers, clergy, professional colleagues, and acquaintances of Bishop Cannon and other parties directly and indirectly involved with the investigation. Also contained within this collection are the complete trial transcript and verdict, newspaper articles, periodicals, and General Conference Journal of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, relative to the investigation.

This collection reflects the missionary work of the Reverend Carroll Summerfield Long and the Methodist Episcopal Church in Japan. The material ranges from 1863 to 1931, and includes multiple record types. The collection provides an insider’s point of view towards a missionary’s life in 19th century Japan.

Correspondence from the Reverend Long has been recorded in two copy letter books (1881-1885). They include copies of business and personal letters written by Reverend Carroll Summerfield Long, which documents his role as missionary and Presiding Elder in the Nagasaki Conference. Included are financial information describing salaries, grocery lists and other expenses kept by the Japan Mission. Also included is a documented account of the newly established Cobleigh Seminary (1881), as well as the joys and concerns of running a Christian seminary in a foreign land. Personal correspondence is between his friends and family. He keeps his loved ones updates on his life abroad, describing the benefits and challenges he and his family gain while in Japan. One issue which he speaks of often is that of ill health. He writes to his family doctor in one letter, “Our mission is almost broken up by sickness...the few missionaries who are left here...to carry on the work in absence of the sick members” (March 2, 1882). Nearly all the letters are written in English, with a handful written with Japanese characters. In addition, both copy letter books include an index, where the Rev. Long as organized and recorded his letters alphabetically in reference to the respondent.

The collection includes Long’s diary (1881-1883). In which he describes his responsibilities as a minister to the Methodist Episcopal Church, as well as his responsibilities as a father, husband and son to his family. He records his day to day experiences including visitations from various missionaries, his relationship to his students and teachers at Cobleigh Seminary, as well as his reaction and criticism towards his sermons and preaching abilities. He also writes of his personal inspirations to why he joined a religious life and how it has effects his daily routine as a missionary overseas. The collection also includes an excerpt from the diary of the Reverend Long’s daughter Flora Hortense Long Harrison (1908). She describes how her Japanese teacher, Mr. Chiga, became to be a Christian and a Methodist, and the role that her father played in his religious transformation.

The role which the Reverend Long played in the Methodist Episcopal Church can also be seen in the Presiding Elders Manual which he kept for both North Carolina (1886-1888) and Japan (1888). Both manuals give a detailed account of the different conferences he was involved with. The manuals include the names of pastors, number of church members, attendance for Sunday school, as well as the financial information regarding each organization. The role of Carroll Summerfield Long, as well as other missionaries, are depicted in the collection’s thirty-one photographs. These include portraits of Long, his family, members of the Nagasaki Conference. The photographs also include some buildings, including the Wistorua of Kwassui Joyakko and Kwassui Joen, Girls Home Omura.

The collection also includes a number of publications which showcase Long’s writing and descriptions of a life in Japan to his American audience. Included in the publications are pieces written by missionary Elizabeth Russell, the history of Evangelization of Japan, as well as some biographical writings, including an obituary for the Reverend Carroll Summerfield Long.

The Dora Amelia Wagner Papers contain graduate certificates as well as documents from Wagner’s time spent in Japan. Three certificates of degree are enclosed from Kingman High School in Kansas, Northwestern University in Evanston-Chicago, and Baker University in Kansas. A letter documenting her experience in Japan in 1936, including meeting Emperor Hirohito, a newspaper from Iai Jo Gakko Girls’ School in Hakodate chronicling Helen Keller’s visit to the school amongst other school activities, and a photograph of the Emperor in his car, are also included in the collection. Of the three large documents with currently unknown Japanese characters, one appears to be a Testimonial of Gratitude to Miss Wagner from the mayor of Hakodate, and one is the “Fifth Order of Sacred Treasure,” granted by Emperor Hirohito.

The Papers of Edward Pearce and Lily Anderson Hayes are comprised of correspondence, journal entries, informational files, photographs, speeches, newspapers in both English and Chinese, and conference programs and journals, dating from 1916 to 1988. This collection reflects the Hayes’ passion in their mission work in China, as well as Edward Pearce Hayes' view on Communism and its perceived threat to the United States.

The largest part of the collection is correspondence. Edward Pearce Hayes signs his name as Pearce in his letters. The bulk of the correspondence (1938-1947) is letters from Edward Pearce Hayes in China to his wife and family residing in the United States. These letters recount his life in China. The letters discuss homesickness and difficulties due to lack of money, food, and clothing. They also allow for a glimpse into the uncertainty of life during war time, including rumors about the path of war, bombings, and government unrest. Once Lily rejoined him in China for the one hundredth anniversary of Methodism in China, they both sent letters to their family in the United States. These letters (1947-1950) inform family about daily life and how it had changed before, during, and after the communist takeover in China, which later produced the People’s Republic of China. These letters also discuss the ever changing prices in China, rumors about the happenings in cities and towns taken over by the Communists, information on the fate of other missionaries, reasons for staying in China longer, and the evacuation of other missionaries.

Another collection of correspondences pertain to Edward Pearce Hayes’ 1958 and 1961 trips for the then Methodist Church Board of Missions in New York. These letters, written to his wife, discuss his daily life, as well as give a glimpse into his thoughts on issues in Asia, Africa, and Berlin, as well as his thoughts on the state of the Methodist Church and mission issues.

The collection also includes Edward Pearce Hayes' letters and travel logs about his two trips abroad. In 1952, he traveled to South East Asia. This trip consisted of visiting Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Manila. In 1955, he traveled to other areas of South East Asia, India, and Malaysia. Both sets of letters and travel logs tell of his daily travels and encounters.

In addition to correspondence, the collection includes files containing biographical information written by the family about the lives of Edward Pearce and Lily. These files also include letters Edward Pearce wrote to friends and family over the years prior to 1938. There are also clippings of Edward Pearce's various speaking engagements, as well as numerous obituaries for both and a clipping about their Golden Anniversary. Other items of note found in the collection are notes written by Edward Pearce for his speeches, and some diary and journal entries from his trips abroad. There are also pamphlets and booklets from Methodist conferences Hayes attended, including a photograph of the 1947 Centennial Celebration of the Methodist Church taken at the China Central Conference, as well as four banners given to the Hayes' as parting gifts upon their departure from China in January 1950. There is a General Conference badge Edward Pearce received when attending the 1940 General Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Another item of note is a 1947 Chinese newspaper printed in Foochow, China, pertaining to the one hundredth anniversary of Methodism in China.

While this collection is primarily in English, there are a few items that are in Chinese. The banners are in Chinese, with translations included. There is a document with his name written in Chinese. This includes a YMCA membership certificate from Foochow. The 1947 newspaper pertaining to the one hundredth anniversary of Methodism in China is printed in Chinese as well.

The collection contains information pertaining to the educational and professional life, as well as the home life of Deaconess Ivy Myers, while also exploring topics within the Methodist Deaconess and Missionary organizations as a whole. These documents encompass Chicago Training School (CTS) class and faculty information, images and history between the years 1922, 1925-1927, 1929-1930, and 1933. The most prominent subject within the collection pertains to Lucy Rider Meyer, the founder of CTS, particularly information surrounding her death and accounts by acquaintances regarding Meyer's character and professional experience. The collection accommodates obituaries of other significant members of the Chicago Training School, as well as written correspondence to Ivy from various persons. The publications contain information on both Deaconess and missionary work. Photographs depict CTS faculty and students, as well as Ms. Myers life outside of her education and profession.

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.

The 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.

The Mellony Turner papers primarily documents her life as a missionary in Bulgaria. There is a number of records on the American School for Girls in Lovetch, consisting of photographs, textbooks, yearbooks, and financial records. Turner's notebooks and lecture notes are included in the collection. It should be noted that there is a single folder containing information on closing the school. Turner kept diaries during her tenure in Bulgaria as well extensive correspondence. There are general images in both photograph and slide format ranging from the royal family of Bulgaria to her own family in the United States. Turner has a copy of a sermon by Bishop Burt; the bishop who had established the Bulgarian mission at the beginning of the twentieth century. Clippings and other types of publications reflect Bulgarian life and politics. There are eight lectures and a sermon written by Turner. Artifacts are personal in nature, reflecting the clothing and accessories of mid-twentieth century Bulgarian dress. There is a pot in the artifact series as well.

The other series within the collection reflects Turner's immediate family. The few records relating to her parents deal with their will and a folder of letters. Mellony's brother, Ewart Turner's three folders are related to his spying for the United States War Department during the World War II. Though he was ministering to a church in the United States during the war, Ewart was familiar with German communities in Europe and South America. The War Department had Turner collect information on Germans, in the U.S., who were thought to be a threat to national security during the war. This information is elucidated in a correspondence folder.