The Bishop W. Ralph Ward Jr. Papers document Ward's ministry from his earliest appointment through his episcopal leadership and his years of retirement.

A major part of this collection consists of Ward's sermons, addresses, and writings. These materials reflect Ward's personal faith and his commitment to social concerns and the institutional life of the Methodist Church.

Ward's correspondence is fairly typical and not as revealing of larger issues as might be hoped. There are occasional letters to ecclesiastical and political leaders of note. There is one note to him from Harry Emerson Fosdick.

Ward's episcopal leadership is well documented in this collection. He was a dynamic and insightful leader. There is significant information about his skill in developing goals and programs in the Council and in his Areas.

Ward gave particular attention to the training of his District Superintendents.

While bishop of the New York Area Ward was involved in the racial crisis which engulfed the nation. There is not as much material on this period as might be desired, but it should not be overlooked in research. There is also significant material on the well publicized program by 60 Minutes on the role of the World and National Councils of Churches which inferred Communist sympathies on the part of those groups.

Ward was a prolific writer. Several of his published sermons are included in the collection as well as a number of unpublished manuscripts on Christian belief and practice. As an active and loyal member of the Masonic Order he spoke frequently at their assemblies. He was also an early advocate of the importance of visual aids in promoting Christian education.. The materials include early scripts he wrote as well as film strips dealing with educational themes. This interest in communication continued throughout his ministry.

There is considerable material documenting of TV and radio in the ministry of the larger Methodist Church.

Methodist history was one of Ward's special interests. The collection includes addresses he gave on this theme. The collection also documents Ward's continued ministry after retirement in 1980. There is a small but significant body of material on the Ward family. There are photos and genealogical materials. The latter material pertains to both the Bishop's roots but also those of his spouse, Arleen Burdick Ward. There are a few items from Arleen's childhood which are particularly attractive. She was a Christian educator in her own right, and some of the articles she authored are included in the collection. Family letters from the Ward children depicting their activities and marriages are also in the collection. For the interest of the researcher who may be working on Bishop Ward's life and ministry this family section has extensive materials written by the bishop in preparation of his autobiography. This autobiography was never published, but offers a sound base for understanding the man.

The Roy Stinson Smyres Collection documents the life of a person and his family whose multifaceted ministerial career exemplifies a dedication to United Methodist Church work in the twentieth century. This dedication is well documented through a variety of record types within the collection. Smyres kept an ongoing journal (1914-1990) and date books (1913-1990) that reveal his intimate experiences as a missionary, minister, and family member. The journals from his missionary days discuss the ongoing work of the mission as well as documenting Smyres' trek across West Africa in 1919, as well as other related trips. Additional entries record interviews with missionaries and indigenous people alike. Also included are discourses and reflections on sociology, anthropology, theology, politics, and life in general.

The date books list mundane things such as financial expenditures, appointments, etc. Some of the entries are in shorthand. The correspondence between Roy Smyres and his family, friends, and colleagues are just as illuminating as the journals, date books, and images. Most of these letters were collected by Nell Smyres and were given to Roy after her death.

While in Africa, Smyres made it a point to write home at least once a week whenever possible. Roy saved copies of letters that he wrote home while serving as a missionary to Africa, which is the reason for some duplication from Nell's files. A few letters were written on the back of older ones for economy. His early pen name to his family was Bud. Record types include correspondence, Christmas letters, and postcards. There are a few letters between Roy and Esther's children with each other which due to the lack of volume were incorporated into Roy's sub-series. Roy's earlier letters (1914-1929) contain personal observations on student life at Northwestern, mission work, missionaries, cannibalism, and "frontier justice" in Africa. These letters also document formal and casual reports from the mission field, photography, and hand-drawn diagrams of architectural features of mission buildings in the Congo.

The African travel accounts tell of the dangers of living in the jungle. Family matters are sprinkled throughout the correspondence. Most of the letters are addressed to Smyres' immediate family. Correspondence from 1930 to 1949 focuses on teaching, church work in Ithaca, and the beginning of a cooperative store in Ithaca - the first of its kind in that city. Roy was greatly interested in politics and peace issues.

Smyres' early work for the mission board is discussed here as well. The letters dating from the 1950's and early 1960's revolve around his continued work for the mission board, trips, publishers, and family. Included in the mission board correspondence was his involvement with the Advance Program.

After Smyres' retirement, the correspondence documents voluntary mission work in India, the Vietnam War, and other peace issues. Subjects found in correspondence from 1970 to 1992 document articles that Smyres published, speaking engagements, ministerial activities, work for the Religious News Service, and global trips. Also during this time period family issues are recorded which include the death of his first wife, Esther, and his second marriage to Mary Fraley, and extended family events. There are social and political remarks about Vietnam, peace, The Human Needs and Security Bill of 1984, El Salvador, the Lebanon conflict, opposition to the United States government appointing an ambassador to the Vatican, and the Persian Gulf War. Most of these letters were written to government officials who had a direct influence in these issues. Another aspect of this correspondence involves his photographic commissions and subsequent loans of images to publishers and missionaries.

Esther Smyres' correspondence ranges from 1920 to 1968 with the bulk of the letters dated from 1920 to 1937. Though not as voluminous as Roy's, they do illustrate in some detail the domestic work in a missionary home as well as documenting a spouse's missionary work in the Belgian Congo. There are casual references to African geography and society. Later correspondence documents Esther's work as a school teacher, her various travels, local church work, and family. Another value of Esther's correspondence is that they often fill in points of information that Roy leaves out of his correspondence of the same time. This is especially true during their years on the mission field and ministry in the local church. Most of the correspondence is directed to Mary Hannah Brown Smyres and Nell Smyres. Mary Fraley Smyres correspondence dates from 1972 to 1980 with bulk dates of 1973 to 1975. Most of these letters relate to family events and friends. Nell Smyres incoming and outgoing correspondence documents her early childhood, college life, family news, trips, and theology.

Some of the letters are from Roy and Esther's children and grandchildren, who express their embracing of Pentecostalism and faith healing. The last group of letters is from Roy's parents. Recipients of these letters include their children as well as extended family. Topics include family news, missionary work, spirituality in the church, and theology in general.

Mary's correspondence ranges from 1911 to 1947, with the bulk of the correspondence from 1919. Luther's correspondence dates from 1916 to 1920, with the bulk of the letters from 1919-1920. Family records are general in nature and revolve around four people: Roy, Esther, Nell, and Joan Smyres. Joan was Roy and Esther's daughter-in-law who died of cancer at an early age. Joan's sub-series documents her funeral.

The rest of the material reflects the childhood, marriage, and careers of Esther and Roy. Nell's records contain her Master's Thesis written at Ohio Wesleyan on the expansion of Christianity in Russia. Nell also collected reports written by her nephew, Eugene Stockwell, a missionary in Africa.

The Writings Series contains manuscripts (1917-1990), sermons (1929-1966), prayers (1937-1988), and publications (1939-1987) authored by Roy Smyres. Included in this section are two books that Roy wrote: Thoughts of Chairman Smyres, and his autobiography. Both these volumes were published in the late 1980s. Other publications include articles and photographs. The sermons (1929-1966) illuminate a variety of topics including missions, politics, theology, liturgy, world communion, cooperatives, and stewardship. Formats include radio and children sermons as well as pulpit sermons. Some of the sermons are in shorthand. The prayers relate to the various aspects of Smyres' ministry within the church. Smyres' professional life in the ministry of the church revolved around three sub-series: local church, annual conference, and the General Board of Global Ministries. Local church records contain worship bulletins and miscellaneous church papers. Annual conference records contain reports and ephemera.

The General Board of Global Ministries sub-series documents Smyres' work in DOM Committee material, reports, gift programs, IDOC International records, Advance Program Support Funds, Central America, financial records and journals, treasurer codes, notebooks, and newsletters. Roy created and collected maps that attest to geographic areas that he served or visited. The African maps are of special interest to those researchers whose historical focus is either missions or the Belgian Congo political boundaries during his years as a missionary. The hand-drawn maps are especially enlightening. The largest series in the collection contains Smyres' photographic images. These images are the spotlight of the collection. His photographic abilities and style were sought out by a number of religious organizations. Record types include glass lantern slides, 35 mm slides, negatives, photographs, and contact sheets. Geographic areas include countries from each of the populated continents as well as Oceania.

The images cover a vast array of topics too numerous to list. In some instance's Roy kept log books that identify certain images with corresponding narrative via his unique cataloging system. It should come as no surprise that family images are in abundance as well.

The records of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW) encompass its beginnings as a general agency and continues up to the early twenty-first century. Its primary role is advocacy for women both within and beyond United Methodism. Over time advocacy would be expanded beyond just women roles and acceptance as leaders. Responsibilities in their defined mission include workplace and sexual harassment, equitable leadership roles and benefits in relation to gender and race, legislation to General Conference such as changing language usage in the Book of Discipline to codify improvements for women and social issues relating thereof. These are but a few examples of its advocacy work for the denomination.

In order to support, empower and educate the denomination on all levels within COSROW’s defined responsibilities can be found in the Advocacy, Audio-Visuals, Connectional Ministries and Printed Matter series. Here the researcher will find a plethora of avenues by which COSROW fulfills its mission through multimedia, mailings, newsletters such as the Yellow Ribbon and The Flyer, correspondence, creation and submission of petitions to General Conference along with organizing and informing delegates, worship resources reflecting various women’s concerns and expressions, pamphlets, workshops and monitoring seminaries and all the boards and agencies throughout the connectional structures within the larger church.

COSROW is highly organized in the sense of resourcing and utilizing its membership both on the general church and annual conference levels. The creation of a talent bank in which to draw upon not only for its own qualitative work but also to network skilled individuals is but one of the creative ways COSROW optimizes its impact on the church despite its small staff. The records illustrate how the role of monitoring became a defining part of its work. Social justice issues related to women and children are amply documented in the files. The genesis of using non-gender specific language issue to promote inclusiveness within United Methodism can be traced here as well.

The Financial and Administration series reflects how COSROW ran its organization and implemented its mission on a daily basis. Minutes of the various committees, reports on the work and funding of the commission, along with membership records and the General Secretary’s office files make up the primary documents in this series. A researcher will notice multiple files on the same topics. The reason for this duplication rests upon the original organizational structure the commission utilized for an egalitarian General Secretariat rather than a typical top-down corporate management structure found in other United Methodist agencies. Later COSROW adapted the latter structure out of necessity. On another note it should be noted that COSROW often recorded their meetings in various media platforms which became the official record.

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.

Kawata's work as a missionary, scientist, scholar, and humanitarian are reflected in this collection. Correspondence, photographs, legal papers, and reports on community improvement projects make up the series on his early life in schools, Japanese-American internment camps, and the mission field in India. Correspondence, academic papers, and published articles and monographs represent his university and publishing life. The publications series also contains articles by Kawata on such topics as the internment camps, prejudice in South Africa, and the U.S. military.

This collection contains much that is relevant to the history of the Evangelical United Brethren Church. Included are various essays, publications, clippings and reports related to the Church. These encompass many subjects, including the faith of the Church, the activities of the church in Howard's time, and the eventual union between the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist Churches to form the United Methodist Church in 1968. Related to this topic and of particular interest is an issue of The Evangelical Challenge which speaks vehemently against the merge. Howard. This includes speeches and articles about him.

There is some correspondence to and from Howard and his family. There is also some information about his father, A.T. Howard, who was also a bishop of the Evangelical United Brethren, including a poem and some quotations by him, and an essay and an article about him. There are a few photographs in the collection as well, and a few notes that seem to have been made by Howard. 1873. The writer of this diary is an unknown woman. There is also a manuscript entitled A Key to the Holy Scriptures and to the most essential Knowledge of the Christian Rules of Life printed in 1830. There are two documents relating to the one-hundreth anniversary of Benjamin Hanby's classic Christmas song, "Up On The Housetop."

The papers of Bishop Ivan Lee Holt chiefly reflect his work while pastoring the St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Saint Louis, Missouri. However, other areas of Holt's service to the church are documented as well. There is a small number of records that pertain directly to his episcopacy. Holt was an intellectual who mastered many areas within the study of theology. More often than not he would make both broad and minute applications of his various learning experiences and apply them in praxis from the local church level all the way up to and including his work with the World Council of Churches.

The effects of twentieth century wars on the Christian faith and the subsequent role of ecumenicism as related to these wars were primary in Holt's thoughts. Methodism and its placement in conjunction with other denominations during his lifetime is well represented. This is especially true of his sermons. The first and largest series within the collection is entitled Discourses. Here the researcher will find sermons, addresses, prayers, meditations, and quotes. The first sub-series, sermons, make up the bulk of the series. It is here that the diversity of Holt's ministry is best illuminated. However, it should be noted that the standard identifying tags that distinguish between sermons, addresses, and manuscripts are at times blurred. The second series is comprised of manuscripts. Subjects such as Methodism in South America, the Old Testament account of the military campaign against Biblical Sihon, and Bishops Quayle and Selecman are covered. Correspondence is the next series. This series contains letters relating to pastoral appointments, speaking engagements, and various conference cabinets.

Other professional activities include correspondence dealing with Bishop Holt's teaching career, episcopacy, and the various honorary degrees he received during his lifetime. One will find Holt's personal correspondence here as well. Holt's administrative records are located in the following series. Records such as reports, dockets, statements, regulations, minutes, and interviews complete this series.

Like many of the previous series the administrative series reflects both the Bishop's personal and professional life. Subjects include: Southern Methodist University, Central College, Federal Council of Churches, American-Japanese relations, the Commission on Christian Unity, North Texas Annual Conference, Asian Methodism, and cornerstone dedications. Series five contains publications. The first section encompasses both local church and conference publications. This would include bulletins, programs, pamphlets, and postcards. Holt's involvement with award dinners, church services, Women's Society of Christian Service in Northwest Texas, youth rallies, liturgy, various heritage meetings, and special holidays/ celebrations such as Reformation Sunday are documented. The second section includes reprinted articles collected by Holt for research purposes. Subjects covered are sociology, morality, communications, fishing, economics, biographies, Catholicism, Protestantism, Italy, and the Bible.

Newspaper clippings make up the final section. Centering on the United States in general and more specifically Texas, topics include church traditions, political science, awards, Reformation Sunday, speaking announcements, spirituality, and church unity Series six contains biographical records. This series focuses on Holt's memoirs. Oral history transcripts, travel documents and a vita round out the record types. The seventh and final series is a general file. Postcards, poems, correspondence, and notes cover areas such as orders of worship, sermon topics, and Holt's publication: The Methodists of the World.

A large section of this collection consists of almost ninety years of correspondence between the Hartzlers and their friends and relations. It begins with some of Lucy's earliest letters as a young child. It also includes much correspondence dating from Coleman and Lucy's courtship. Later letters describe, in great detail, their days as missionaries, with Lucy striving to include almost every small detail of their lives in her letters. As their sons grew up and moved away, the letters between them and their parents become a central feature of the collection. Also present is a signed letter from John Kennedy to Coleman Hartzler, dating from Kennedy's 1960 election campaign. The diaries are Lucy Padrick Hartzler's accounts of both missionary and family life in Africa and the United States. Written in long hand, they give brief insights into Lucy's devotion to her husband, family, and church. They are personal in nature and quite informative.

In the first diary there is a short genealogical record of the Padrick family (1851-1957). Those records that center primarily on Coleman Hartzler are located in the Sermons and Administrative series. The former series reflects Hartzler's philosophy of ministry, Christianity, hermeneutics, ethos, and world-view. Most of the sermons are in outline form and are type scripted. There are research notes attached to a few of the sermons. Some of the sermons are dated. Supporting documentation for Hartzler's sermon preparation is comprised of notes, proto-addresses, quotes, prayers, poems, and litanies. The latter series, Administrative, contains three primary elements. The records in the first element reflects his professional life as a minister and a missionary. Subjects include the mission work in the Congo, financial accounts, job descriptions, and the Collins Pension Fund.

The second element contains personal/family administration. The third and final element encompasses those travel documents that both Coleman and Lucy Hartzler used throughout their lives. The series containing photographs and biographical information are a mix of different family members both immediate and extended. It here that the genealogist will want to start their research. The photographs series cover the geographic areas of Africa and the United States. They are primarily portrait in orientation but also include a church facade (unknown) and weddings of variously connected relatives. The biographical series contains subjects that cover clergy, baptismal, and death certificates. Other subjects include various family members funeral services and education. The final series is located in a general file which covers such topics as pastoral records, African holidays, historic sites, friends, obituaries, and a historical calendar of the Congo mission. The bits of information contained within this small series fills the intellectual gaps left out by the preceding series.

This collection contains a copy of the Evangelical Missionary Speaker, which was compiled by George Edward Epp. This fifty-four page booklet contains missionary poems, readings, and exercises prepared for programs on Children's Day and Foreign Day. It was published and distributed by the Missionary Society of the Evangelical Church in Dayton, Ohio. The collection also includes two additional items in German. The first is a hand-drawn booklet depicting the work of the Sunday School . The second item is a photo album depicting the buildings and leaders of the Berlin-Christuskirche.

The Jeannette Charlotte and Esther Laura Hulbert Papers consists of personal papers, publications and artifacts stored in one flat box, one 5" letter-sized document box (diaries and notebooks) and two 5" legal size boxes in the following series:

There are many letters to and from both sisters. Jeannette maintained a supportive relationship with the Park family for many years, even after leaving Korea permanently; she provided financial support for the children and they stayed in touch with her for many years. There is personal correspondence from fellow faculty and friends in which she is addressed as "Bert."

Esther also has a similar line of correspondence. Of note are copies of two letters she wrote in retirement to Fidel Castro pertaining to his potitical stance post-revolution. Also, the back of a letter requesting aid for refugees of the Spanish Civil War signed by Pablo Casales was used by Esther to create a copy of a personal typed letter she wrote. Holiday cards are also found.

The collection contains work related correspondence which is mostly received mail, rather than sent by either sister. These items include letters from Dr. Helen Kim, Dr. Alice Appenzeller and notable figures in women's education in Korea.

Documents from this collection include the following: Personal papers of both sisters inclue passports, statement of accrued wages, etc. There is an ID document for Esther written in Chinese. Also, Esther's teaching credentials/license from the state of Ohio is included.

From Korea, a researcher can find 1919 Korean Independence papers, affidavits of arrested students, papers pertaining to the schools at which they taught. Also found are many small leaflets and brochures. A significant collection of photographs contains shots of both sisters, faculty members, students (both individual, groups and engaged in activities, plus landscape images (one of the landscape images is a glass negative) and shots of campus buildings. Images from Ewha contain shots of Helen Kim and Alice Appenzeller. Shots from Cuba include images of activities, class portraits, individual student portaits, images of school buidlings and shots of faculty. From the US are Jeanette's graduation photo from Ohio Wesleyan University (1912) and Esther's commissioning photo. There are scenes from retirement such as Ewha faculty reunions.

Esther left a number of small notebooks and diaries which include poetry, comments on scripture, expense/budget notations, personal musings and scrapbook entries.

Photocopies of newspaper clippings are part of this collection as are full copies of the Ewha Voice and Korea Calling. The Voice is Ewha Women's University's student newspaper, while Korea Calling is publication of news from all of the Protestant missions in Korea. There is one item classified as an artifact. It is a small, flat woven basket said to be a replica of one found in an ancient tomb. From Esther's stay at the high school in Pyengyang are two yearbooks.