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This collection is comprised of correspondence, sermons, clippings, articles, postcards, poems, and manuscripts. The manuscripts cover topics such as biographies, camp-meetings, history of the denomination, sermons and sermon notes, devotionals, and published texts.

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 contains the sermons of C. Willard Fetter. The original collection contained nearly one thousand sermons. However, the first two hundred folders were donated by Fetter to United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. The remaining collection of nearly seven hundred sermons is located at the United Methodist Church Archives.

Fetter's sermons document his ministerial career from 1941 and 1990. Fetter placed each sermon in a folder on which he noted the title and sermon number. On most of the sermons, he also noted the date and location where he preached the sermon. The majority were preached in Akron and Dayton, Ohio, from the late 1940s to the early 1970s.

Most of the sermons are typed. A few are handwritten. Many contain draft, revision, and alternate copies. Fetter kept news clippings and articles that supported or related to a sermon. These clippings and articles have been photocopied onto acid free paper and kept with the sermon. In addition, church bulletins from the service in which a sermon was preached are included in the folder.

The first folder of the collection contains a typed index to the sermons. This index is organized in numerical order. Fetter assigned a classification number to each sermon. His classification scheme allowed him to organize his sermons by topics.

Regular sermons are numbered one to five hundred. The first two hundred of these sermons are located at United Theological Seminary. Church-theme sermons are labeled in the five hundreds. Sermons on stewardship are found in the six hundreds. Sermons on communion themes are numbered in the seven hundreds. Advent sermons are found in the eight hundreds. The nine hundred series contains Christmas sermons. Lenten sermons begin at one thousand. The eleven hundred range contains Easter-theme sermons. Sermons on topics of the Christian home are found in the twelve hundreds. The thirteen hundreds contains mission-theme sermons. Holiday sermons are in the fourteen hundreds. Some of his holiday themes are on Armistice Day, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Election Day, and Labor Day. Sermons commemorating special days such as Reformation Day, Children's Day, Youth Sunday, Boy Scout Sunday, Pentecost, Anniversary Day, Thanksgiving are numbered in the fifteen hundreds. Finally, special sermons begin in the sixteen hundreds. These sermons include high school, college, and seminary graduation addresses, funeral sermons, and a memorial tribute to John F. Kennedy.

One folder contains fifteen pamphlet versions of Fetter's sermons. The pamphlets were published by the First Evangelical United Brethren Church in Dayton, Ohio. Some of the pamphlets correspond to typed sermons in the collection, and small tabs of paper inside the front cover indicate the stack location of that sermon. Other pamphlets do not correspond to any sermon in this collection.

The last box of the collection contains a card catalog Fetter used to organize his sermons. The cards contain the sermon title, scripture reference, and sermon number. All the cards have been arranged alphabetically.

The collection comprises mostly Charles Warren Brewbaker's published works and other writings. The majority of the publications include articles from church-related periodicals. These articles discuss topics such as children’s Sunday School attendance, elderly participation in the church, preaching, and the church’s involvement in society. The unpublished works consist of book manuscripts, sermons, and Sunday School lessons. Given the ambiguous format of the sermons and Sunday School lessons, these often overlap in the collection. There are several miscellaneous items in the collection as well, including Brewbaker’s passport and several photographs.

This collection contains eight journals of Ethel Suzy Weisz Withers, dating from April 1958 through May 1984. These entries include records of baptisms, weddings, deaths, church attendance, and church membership. Daily entries also include a list of Ethel’s daily calls, hospital visitations, attendance at conferences, and various personal appointments. The first entries in 1958 serve as a simple log of Ethel’s daily commitments but over time the entries become more detailed and an image comes together of Ethel’s personal opinions and experiences. Some journals also contain itemized lists of church related expenses and record of the Withers’ monthly income.

Journal 1: Entries range from April 3, 1958 to September 4, 1963. In 1959, Ethel’s journal entries begin to be more discursive. The 1960 entries become more regular compared to the sporadic entries from 1958 and give a greater sense of Ethel’s daily tasks and domestic life. During her vacations, Ethel typically suspends her record, such as her entry for her 1962 “Trip to the West” from July 2 to September 3 which merely provides a list of the states they crossed. The journal then resumes on September 4. The entry for September 30, 1961 is followed by a page blank on one side and then seven pages of entries ranging from April 1958 through September 1959. These pages contain entries of various church related expenses. Regular journal entries resume on October 1, 1961. Another gap in entries occurs between June 24, 1963 and August 15, 1963.

Journal 2: Entries range from March 1, 1964 to March 31, 1968. It is notable that Ethel’s entries become more extensive as she inserts more of her personal opinions into the text, using more descriptive adjectives, and thus providing a rich level of detail largely absent from her previous journal. There are several gaps in entries in this journal. First, from July 29 through July 22, 1964 with the note “See Trip Book.” Second, from September 27 through October 2, 1964 with the note “Our trip to New Hampshire.” Third, from July 12 through August 4, 1965, with the note “See Travel Logue.” Fourth, from July 6, 1967 until August 28, 1967. Fifth, there is a one year gap in entries from April 19, 1966 to April 13, 1967. The intermediary pages contain the Withers’ income records from August 1966 through March 1968 and expenses from October 1966 through May 1968. This journal also includes a 1967 Hallmark Date Book.

Journal 3: Entries range from April 1, 1968 to June 30, 1969. The last pages of this journal contain itemized lists of the Withers' earnings in October 1968.

Journal 4: Entries range from July 1, 1969 to December 31, 1971. A loose page inserted into the front of this journal contains a chart titled “1968 Income Tax Details” containing a breakdown of the Withers’ financial information including income and various itemized expenses. The last pages of this journal include lists of the Withers’ income in 1969, 1970 and 1971 with separated data for Robert and Ethel.

Journal 5: Entries range from January 1, 1971 to December 31, 1974. The last pages of this journal include lists of the Withers’ income in 1972 through 1974 with separated data for Robert and Ethel. The last page of this journal also includes a record of a property sale in 1972.

Journal 6: Entries range from November 1, 1977 to September 30, 1979. Ethel writes very detailed entries in February and March of 1979 concerning Robert’s declining health until his death on March 12 at age 85. The final pages of this journal contain income records from 1978-1979.

There are also several letters included in this journal which are located in the folder following the journal. Typed Letter from Dwight M. Bittner, Treasurer for the Western Pennsylvania Conference, dated March 23, 1979, expressing condolences, ensures Ethel that she will continue to receive health insurance coverage, and encloses a check for the Death Benefit Program. Typed Letter from Robert C. Hicks of the Presbyterian Ministers’ Fund dated April 5, 1979, concerning the “Death Claim-Robert Blackwood Withers” and enclosing a check in full settlement of all claims. Typed Letter from Vernon A. Sladek of the General Board of Pensions, dated May 24, 1979, explaining the details of Robert’s monthly pension and policy for reporting income for tax purposes.

Journal 7: Entries range from October 1, 1979 to December 29, 1981. The entries from October 13 through 28, 1979 describe Ethel’s travels in the south of England including visits to London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath, and Cambridge. There is a gap in entries between February 4 and March 24, 1981 with the note, “February 5 to March 23 in Travel Book.” There is a second gap in entries between July 20 and September 1, 1981. The last page of this journal details Ethel’s income from October 1979 through April 1980.

Journal 8: Entries range from August 1, 1983 to May 16, 1984. Journal entries cease rather abruptly on May 16. In her entry on May 14, Ethel mentions that she is packing and explains that a load has already been moved. She became a resident at Brooks-Howell on October 2, 1984.

This collection contains sermons, notes, news clippings, articles, speeches, and photographs which document the ministerial career of I. F. Bergstresser. The bulk of this collection is comprised of sermons. A few sermons are in German. Articles Bergstressed used in preparing the sermons are included. Topics in his sermons include temperance, patriotism, Labor Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Rally Days, Sunday School, and missions. In addition, there are several funeral sermons including those given on the deaths of Matilda A. Yeager, Lewis D. Krause, Louise E. Wentz, and Mrs. Wesley Bowman. Some of the addresses Bergstresser gave while he was a minister are included in this collection. Other items in this collection are mission materials (including two booklets by Walter Haller), a book on the first commemorative historical marker in the Evangelical Church, religious tracts, and a pastor's funeral book. There are also several large black and white panoramic photographs of conference meetings and conventions held in the Evangelical Church.

This collection contains a variety of handwritten essays dealing with Sunday schools, class meetings, historical notes on the charitable society and the denomination, the episcopacy, sermon preparation, and church polity. There are nine essays. In addition, there is a unique leather case in the collection in good condition size 6 x2 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches and has a 36 inch strap which wraps around the case to secure it. It is referred to as a sermon case and may have been designed to fit into a saddlebag. The case is filled with a collection of Domer's sermons on a variety of topics and texts. Most of them a readable. Only two are dated. Both were preached at New Hamburg, Pennsylvania in 1876.

This collection contains thirty pastor's pocket record books. These notebooks record such information as membership rolls, pastoral visits, expenses, sermon topics, salaries, and other notations.

This collection consists of the dissertation of K. James Stein at Union Theological Seminary, submitted in 1965. There is a single volume of roughly 320 typed pages. Its focus is on the various Ecumenical currents within the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and its forerunners, along with its occasional attempts at union with denominations such as the Methodist Episcopal Church. Stein examines the attempts and explains their origins, progress and ultimate reasons (in attempts at union) for failure. The time-span largely focuses on the 19th century, with some early focus on the late-18th century. Stein depicts the ethos, and rural emphasis of the Brethren sects along with their involvement in foreign missionary work. He also makes a significant focus of the pietistic elements in Church of the United Brethren doctrine, attitude, and worship.

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.