Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1920-1977 (Creation)
Extent
3.39 cubic feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Melville Owens Wiliams (1904-1995) was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, to Meville Owens and Mary Louise Codd Willams. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1924, an Master of Science degree in sociology and religion from Vanderbilt University in 1929, and an Doctor of Education from Union Theological Seminary in 1936. He married Annie Lee Young in August of 1926, and they had two children: G. Melville and Anne W. (later Craig).
Willaims spent his early years in education, serving as the chaplain for the Virginia Industrial School in Maidens (1924-1925), and then as a teacher at Emory University Academy, in Oxford, Georgia (1926-1928). In 1929 the Williams family moved to China where he taught sociology. They remained there until 1940. In 1942, Williams was ordained in the Virginia Conference of the Methodist church, receiving his full connection in 1945. The same year he was ordained Williams was appointed secretary of Missionary Personnel, a position he held until the merger in 1968. From 1964 until 1968 he was Chairman of the Commission on world Mission under the National Student Christian Federation. After his retirement from the Board of Missions, Williams worked with the Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations (COEMAR), a cooperative effort with the Presbyterian Church, USA. In this capacity he and his wife traveled to Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central and South America. They retired to Ohio in 1985.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This 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.
System of arrangement
This collection is arranged by series.
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
1988-081, Melville Owen Williams, 1988
2008-063, Ann Craig,2008
2009-014 Frances Bray 627 Leyden Lane, Claremont, California 91711 2009
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Microfilm Edition of the Mission Biographical Reference Files.
Microfilm Edition of the Missionary files series of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Records of the World Division of the General Board of Global Ministries.
Records of the Mission Education and Cultivation Program Department of the General Board of Global Ministries.
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Melville Owens Williams, 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 Morris Davis, Scott Ostlund and Daisy Wiggins King, Student Assistants and Mark C. Shenise, Associate Archivist
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Methodist Episcopal Church, South (Subject)
- Methodist Church (U.S.) (Subject)
- Methodist Episcopal Church (Subject)