Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1903-1945 (Creation)
Extent
0.45 cubic feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Mildred Simonds (1876-1969) was a Methodist Episcopal Church missionary to India for forty years. She received a certificate from the State Normal School in Steven Point, Wisconsin, in 1895. In 1902 she graduated from the Chicago Training School. Prior to entering mission work, Simonds taught school in Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois. In 1903 she was a teacher for one year at Chaddock Boys' School in Chicago. During her time at Chaddock she was consecrated as a deaconess.
In 1905 she was accepted as a missionary by the Des Moines Branch of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, and a year later she sailed for India. From 1906 to 1927 Simonds was stationed at Vikarabad in the South India Conference. She was involved in evangelistic and education work including supervising village and night schools and adult education. From 1927 to 1938 Smonds was stationed at Tandur and Narayanpet. She also worked at Dalthabad in 1942. During her missionary years, Simonds took four furloughs: 1913, 1920, 1928, and 1936. She retired from missionary work in 1946.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection contains nine handwritten journals kept by Simonds while she was a missionary in India. The journals record her daily activities while serving in the mission field.
System of arrangement
The journals are organized chronologically.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
There are no restrictions on 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
1996-170
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Records of the Mission Education and Cultivation Program Department of the General Board of Global Ministries.
Microfilm Edition of the Mission Biographical Reference Files.
Records of the Women's Division of the General Board of Global Ministries.
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, Mildred Simonds Journals, 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 Jhestarri DePasquale, Student Assistant and Kristen Turner, Associate Archivist