Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 20th Century (Creation)
Extent
0.18 cubic feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
John Christman Wengatz (1880-1977), American missionary to Africa, was born on October 13, 1880 in Steuben, New York. At age ten years later, after hearing a powerful sermon on missionary work, he decided that it was God's will that he become a missionary.
He became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1898, and soon after enrolled in Cazenovia Seminary, from which he graduated in 1906. He went on to study theology at Taylor University, where he earned his doctorate of divinity in 1909.
At Taylor University, Wengatz, fell in love with Susan Talbott. Susan, the granddaughter of a Methodist minister, was studying stenography and later theology at Taylor. The two were married June 29, 1909.
The Wengatzes wanted to do mission work. John tutored at Taylor for a year in Latin, Greek, and oratory, and received his license to preach in 1909, and was a pastor at a church for two years.
Susan graduated from McCordsville University in 1910, and the two set off on their assignment to the Quiongua mission in Malanie, Angola
They arrived in Angola on September 16, 1910, and Wengatz became a member of the West Central Africa Conference.
John and Susan Wengatz taught at the mission school. John became superintendent, did industrial work, and was the local preacher. Susan translated over fifty songs into the local language.
On December 13, 1929, Susan was bitten by a rabid dog. Her survival was dependent on a serum that was locally unavailable. Her husband appealed to his superiors in Cape Town, who had serum flown to Malenie, but they it was too late. Susan died three weeks after being bitten.
John finished his term in Malanje, and left in July 1931. He returned to Taylor, where he met Helen Barton. They were married, coincidentally, on June 29, 1933, exactly twenty-four years after his first marriage began. The two left for mission work in Liberia in 1934, and worked there ten years. They served in the Congo from 1946 to1949, and then went back to Angola until April 1951, when John Wengatz retired.
Wengatz was one of the few missionaries of his time who was a licensed pilot. He was also a dentist. He and Helen moved to Winter Park, Florida, where they lived out the rest of their lives. John died in 1977, Helen died in 1990.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection consists of slides of the photographs of John Wengatz. Most of the photos are from the later part of John's life, and the majority of the photos are in color. The collection contains approximately 340 photographs of different mission projects in Africa, and about 360 pictures of vacations to South Carolina, England, Belgium, and Portugal, as well as John's home in the United States.
System of arrangement
The slides are arranged geographically into ten folders.
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
Bishop John McKendree Springer Collection
Records of the World Division of the General Board of Global Ministries
Missionary File Series of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Church
Missionary Correspondence of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Mission Biographical Reference Collection
John Wengatz African Artifacts, Taylor University, Upland, Indiana
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, John Christman Wengatz Slides, 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 Evan Smith, Student Assistant and Mark C. Shenise, Associate Archivist
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Methodist Episcopal Church--Missions--History (Subject)
- Johnson, Eben Samuel (Subject)