The Bishop William Burt Collection is an excellent documentary on the life and work of a pioneer minister within the Methodist Episcopal Church. In this collection we see the pathos and commitment Burt and his family brought to the work of the church, especially in Europe. These records illuminate his varying roles as clergyperson, presiding elder, bishop, and family member. Well liked by most, Burt was an influential person within the denomination throughout his career.

Records from his wife, Helen, and daughter Edith are located here, as well. The collection shows the historical and sociological involvement Burt had with the life, events, and politics of Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world. This involvement covered society from its lowest common denominator all the way through and including the very top of the social ladder. Burt was a world traveler and the collection sheds light on Methodist Episcopal work around the globe. This is especially true in the correspondence, diaries, and photograph series. Besides reflecting Burt's ministry in Europe, there are significant records concerning his work in the United States. Other notable personalities are also included

Early missionaries to Europe, especially to Russia, have primary documents located here as well. Many of Italy's leading Methodists such as the Taglialatela family have both published and handwritten materials within the collection. Records by other bishops such as Vincent and Bast are interspersed throughout the first section. Another area which is documented is Burt's commitment to the ongoing work of the Jerusalem Home which was started by Bishop J. P. Newman. There is a sizeable amount of records pertaining to the Crandon Institute in Rome, as well.

The papers of Catherine Ezell contain a variety of articles and materials on deaconesses. There are several annual reports from the Commission on Deaconess Work (1951-1970). A copy of the 1976 annual report from the National Division of the Board of Global Ministries is contained in these papers. Magazine articles and photographs concerning US-2s are included. This material dates from 1951 to 1989. Several articles about deaconesses and about rural work (1941- 1983) are part of this collection. Most of the articles in this collection pertain to what is now known as Church and Community Work which is part of the National Division of the General Board of Global Ministries. In addition, there are copies of the Deaconess Home Missionary News and View Newsletter from 1956-1980. Material from deaconesses' conferences and convocations from 1951-1976 have also been included in her papers.

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.

The Marion Lane Conrow Papers document Conrow's life as a missionary and educator in Korea. In addition to detailing her professional and personal life, these papers also describe the history of women's education in Korea and of Ewha Woman's University. The papers have been divided into twenty-two series.

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.

This collection contains dairies, stereoscopic photographs, correspondence, clippings, bulletins, pamphlets, and publications relating to the work and ministry of Newton Tennis Gottschall. One of the diaries, written while in Indonesia, is from Charlotte Agnes Swank Gottschall.

This collection includes dossiers, correspondence, letters, records of annual conferences and agencies, subject files, manuscripts, articles, personal and family papers, photographs, negatives, clippings, and other printed matter. Bishop Springer's papers primarily document the interaction of American social and ecclesiastical structures forged at the edge of the American frontier with a region of the African continent which was undergoing the process of civilization. Reflected also among these materials is the impact which such interaction had upon Americans who went to spend their lives in the African mission fields, as well as the impact upon Africans themselves. See the published guide, "Preliminary Inventory of the Papers of Bishop John McKendree Springer" (issued by the General Commission on Archives and History, 1982) for individual series descriptions.

The papers contains file folders on various places, organizations, and people Ralph T. Templin associated with during his missions. There are five files while he was at Central State University. Eight files directly related with missionary work in India but there are a number of others also pertaining to the India Missions. Eight files on the Puerto Rican independence nationalist movement which Ralph Templin strongly supported. There are various amounts on information pertaining to the Peacemaker movement and a number of files on personal correspondence. The other folders are manuscripts and published works. Some files contain photographs and newspaper clippings. The last box of the collection contains three large copies of Templin's, "Farewell Address" at Clancey High School. Two of the copies are in English and the final copy is in Sanskrit.

The work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is documented through a variety of record types.

Minutes and reports reflect the official action of the agency when preparing for and dealing with various crises throughout the world. Through these documents we see the interconnectedness of UMCOR with the other general boards and agencies within the denomination in an attempt to fulfill the mandate to help others in the time of need. The series also shows UMCOR's humble beginnings and its subsequent maturity as a viable denominational entity.

Administrative records that document the general work of the agency can be found in the Office of the General Secretary series. Gaither Warfield, who was one of the primary forces of compassion ministries in the denomination during the mid-twentieth century, guided the agency from its nascent beginnings to an administrative powerhouse.

Warfield's records not only reflect his skill as an administrator, but also the heart of dedicated Christian whose compassion was translated into the basic philosophy that guided the decisions and direction that UMCOR became famous for in later years. Much of this guidance was based on his experience as both a missionary to Poland and subsequent imprisonment by both the Polish and Russian armies as a spy during World War II. The result of this experience produced a keen interest on Warfield's part, and the work of the staff, on the plight of refugees and their relief around the world. His correspondence, memos and other record types document ecumenical, denominational and personal involvement in the area of relief. Records of later general secretaries follow this same trend though the volume of material is much less than those records of Warfield's time. The Office of Refugee Resettlement Program series is the heart of the collection. It is in this area that the agency had its greatest impact.

This impact is reflected in the sheer size of materials in relation to the other series within the collection. Often this office had to work with ever-changing laws, programs and guidelines established by the United States Government and other governments around the world. A quick explanation of the laws that directly impact the work of the agency as documented in the collection would be helpful at this time. Record types that document the works of the office are card files, correspondence, application forms and photographs, reflect the value of their work.

Quota section - Immigration Act of May 26, 1924 limited the number of aliens of any nationality entering the United States to 3 percent of the foreign-born persons of that nationality who lived in the United States in 1910. Approximately 350,000 such aliens were permitted to enter each year as quota immigrants, mostly from Northern and Western Europe. This figure was changed in 1927 to 150,000 in relation to national origin as recorded in the 1920 census.

Immigration and Nationality Act of June 27, 1952 - A system of selected immigration by giving quota preferences to skilled aliens whose services were needed in the United States and were related to U.S. citizens or legal aliens.

Section 7 - relates to the citizenship of children of persons naturalized under certain laws.

Displacement Act (Displaced Persons Act) - President Truman introduced this act in 1948 to address the European refugee problem. Eventually 400,000 individuals immigrated to the United States under this act.

Refugee Relief Act - President Eisenhower pushed this act that allowed for 200,000 non quota visas for Europeans fleeing Hungary after the uprising. Later on the Refugee Escape Act in 1957 opened the door of any victims of communist controlled countries and their respective regimes. Primary nationalities that benefitted from this act were the Hungarians, Albanians, Koreans, Yugoslavs and Chinese.

Public Law 316 admitted aliens between the years of 1945 and 1954 which was amended in 1957 allowed entry of those individuals and their families who were fleeing persecution because of race, religion or politics but misrepresented their nationality, place of birth, identity, or residence because of fear due to persecution in their homelands.

The files of the Office of Refugee Resettlement Program is absent. A researcher may look at these files, but may not use any names, addresses, and other related information contained therein. The files can only be used for gathering statistical information. Please contact the General Commission on Archives and History for more information.

The Adoption Program files do not contain information on actual adoptions but illuminates both the roles and procedures that UMCOR used as a conduit in processing such requests from Methodist families to other church and governmental agencies. Information within these files includes the process on how to adopt an infant, monetary support of the work, general adoption information and program classifications for adoption. Records from the Office of the Treasurer are primarily reports and audits. Financial records historically tend to be secondary in documenting the history of an agency. That is not the case here. Over the course of time the agency spent less of a focus on actual physical work but financing the work of relief through other avenues. These records reflect this change and show what areas of relief were a priority depending on the need and specific time period. The Office of Public Relations records can be found exclusively in scrapbooks which contain pamphlets, clippings, brochures and other similar types of materials which illustrate how the agency publicized its needs and work to the denomination. The scrapbooks are oversized and some are in fragile condition.

This collection primarily documents the work and ministry of the Evangelical Church's annual conferences and local churches from the middle nineteenth century to the middle twentieth century. To a lesser degree there are records that reflect the ministry of the general church as well. There are other records that pertain to filial denominations such as the Evangelical Association, United Evangelical Church, Church of the United Brethren in Christ (United Brethren Church), and the Evangelical United Brethren Churches are also found in this collection. Leedy was an avid collector of church related information so that the topical landscape of this collection is broad enough to cover information ranging from local church ministries and histories to denominational theological beliefs and social concerns. Most of the paper records center on church work in the Ohio region though not to the exclusion of other geographic areas within the continental United States and Germany. All in all this collection provides a nice overview of the diversified life within the Evangelical tradition and is an excellent resource for those who wish to understand more fully the Evangelical Church's historical influence within the ongoing traditions of United Methodism.