This collection is made up of administrative material from the Foreign Missionary Society and its various mission fields. It also includes material regarding the 1898 Sierra Leone massacre of missionaries and the trial of Daniel F. Wilberforce for cannibalism.

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 Mary Dumm Papers document her work as a missionary. The bulk of this collection is correspondence written by Dumm to her parents, Elizabeth and Walter Dumm of Madison, New Jersey. Dumm wrote to her parents on a weekly basis while she was in India, and this correspondence is from 1959 to 1972. Several letter indices were included with the letters. These were probably prepared by her parents, but are not complete for the entire years. Also included in the correspondence are several postcards from a trip Dumm took to Europe in 1969. Other correspondence included in this collection is addressed to her parents and concerns Mary's work. Some of these letters were written by individuals who had visited or who had contact with Dumm while she was stationed in India. The remaining letters addressed to her parents are from the Vellore Christian Medical College Board, the Women's Division of Christian Service of the Board of Global Ministries, and "Dear Friends" letters from other missionaries in India.

There are numerous news clippings regarding Dumm's work, life, and accounts of talks and presentations on her missionary experience in India. All the clippings have been photocopied from the originals because of deterioration. Programs and newsletters also document some of these presentations. Twenty-five black and white photographs are also included. All have been identified and dated. The second part of this collection documents the Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, India. Items in this section of the papers include publications, articles, miscellaneous materials such as brochures, book announcements, pamphlets, and news clippings.

The Rose Thomason papers document her work as a church leader, educator and writer. Here the researcher will find evidence of her efforts on women’s issues as well as her personal struggles with career, illness, and relationships which can be found in her writings.

In the COSROW series there are a number of areas covered in a variety of genres which include: Equal Rights Movement, women’s liberation, inclusive language, women being fairly represented in the church, minutes, correspondence, legislation for General Conference, regional training events, etc. One item of provenance note is an oversized working notebook of COSROW related documents which are broken up into multiple file folders while the original order is maintained. The contents reveal and encapsulate the breath and scope of Rose’s work which include topics such as national issues, correspondence, supporting documents for publications, petitions to General Conference, dialogue with the Council of Bishops, regional work in the form of events notes, caucuses, as well as annual conference activism in the Florida Annual Conference on the themes of advocacy, language, monitoring agencies, etc.

The UMWC series one will find similar issues as those in the COSROW series in the forms of minutes, correspondence, the Caucus’ newsletter entitled “The Flyer” which deals with the issues such as ordination of homosexuals, Equal Rights Amendment, sex roles in the denomination to name just a few items. The documents reveal how the Caucus partnered with Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministry, General Commission on the Status and Role of Women and Pew Women brought great change in the way women were treated and perceived as persons and leaders. The caucus and Pew Women were the grass roots, boots on the ground part of the above-mentioned quadrilateral. Officers of the caucus, like Rose, also became leaders in the two general agencies.

The Study Commissions series have a number of standard record types that include news releases, minutes, reports and manuscript papers. If one area stands above all others in this series, it would be documents related to the Itineracy Study. These files are loaded with resources that range from articles to resource papers by various authors. This section is worth researching if you are looking for historical materials related to the questions of handling clergy couples, spouses with careers outside the church, hardships caused by the itineracy on families, etc.

In the Writing Series you will find a large collection of Thomason’s poems, speeches, manuscripts in both published formats or personal unpublished manuscripts. It should be noted that there are unfinished works as well. The fan letters’ folder contains a number of correspondences between Rose and her close friends, people inspired by her writings - especially "Shoring Up My Soul, A Year with Cancer", as she only has days and hours left to live. Robert, her husband, sent emails to a number of her friends and fans on a daily basis giving updates to Rose’s condition during her last moments. He also sent emails out announcing her death. The letters are testimonials to those who were personally touched by her life and work. The manuscripts of poems and stories illustrate her struggles with health, social issues and relationships. These documents show who Rose is and why she did the work deemed important to her on all levels of her life. A number of the poems and stories reflect filial relationships.

The Education series contains elements of Thomason’s life as a student along with her teaching career as a Reading Comprehension and English teacher on both a secondary and college. There is an oral history done by Mary Elizabeth Moore for the Program for Women in Theology and Ministry at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, which features both Rose Thomason and Nancy Grissom Self in dialogue about their shared experience and continued friendship on women’s fight against institutional sexism and racism during the last half of the twentieth century. Many of the essays in the Student and Professional Papers date from Thomason’s higher education.

The Family series primarily contains documents created by Thomason, her husband Robert and their children, Mark and Bryan.

This collection contains scrapbooks and other materials detailing the ministry and life of William Angie Smith, bishop of the Methodist Church. The first part of the collection consists of fifty-nine scrapbooks that document Smith's life from high school until shortly after his retirement from the episcopacy in 1968. While the majority of the material in these scrapbooks encompass the dates listed for each scrapbook, there are exceptions to the rule. Three other scrapbooks attributed to Bess Smith, wife of the Bishop, contain congratulatory letters on the occasion of their retirement. The final segment of the collection is comprised of loose materials that contains his retirement years and portraits. The records themselves illustrate almost every accomplishment Smith achieved whether it be sacred or secular. Methodist related schools in Oklahoma and Texas are well represented. Local church information ends to center on his evangelistic meetings and correspondence with the pastors. Other correspondences are representative of his work with general church boards, jurisdictions and various conferences. Native American work in Oklahoma is strongly represented.

This collection is made up of records from the various educational institutions that were run or supported by the Board and administrative material from the Board of Christian Education and its predecessor organizations.

The Sherertz Family Papers cover the time period from about 1870 to 1970. These documents were created by several generations of missionaries assigned to China and Africa.

The focus of the collection is divided between China and Africa. China constitutes the earlier period from about 1855 to 1945. The Sherertz' activity in Southern Rhodesia begins in 1953 and ends in their retirement in 1958. Of particular interest is the first Methodist deaconess from Southern Rhodesia, Mai Mhlanga (1007-2-7:04).

Because of D. L. Sherertz's propensity for documentation, the bulk of the collection directly reflects his life and career. Two highlights include his role in the national government of the Republic of China and his internment in Pootung by the Japanese. He also preserved family genealogies and memoirs.

The Park family is represented by William Hector Park's memoirs, several photographs, and a few letters by his wife, Nora Lambuth Park, which were written during the years after her husband's death.

The Lambuths' papers include one letter from Mary McClellan Lambuth in Chinese and English as well as a number of photographs from this early period.

Upon reviewing the entire collection, it becomes apparent that Margarita Park Sherertz played the central role in the family's development. Her papers are not as voluminous as those belonging to her husband, but it is clear that she was a charismatic and intelligent individual. Margarita's strength reveals itself when her husband was interned by the Japanese in China after Pearl Harbor. Her letters written during this period and those she wrote shortly before she left China illustrate her cognizance of political and social events which occurred locally and internationally.

Margarita's mother, Nora Lambuth Park, similarly remarks in a few of her letters about local political developments as they relate to the welfare and fate of the missionary community. Nora's experience as a seasoned missionary in China during several periods of social upheaval is demonstrated in her comments about the events in Soochow leading up to Pearl Harbor. Her work was indispensable to her husband's career as wife, mother, caretaker, nurse, teacher, cook and social secretary. She was equally revered by the Chinese community.

Nora's mother, Mary McClellan Lambuth was an extremely intelligent individual who mastered written and spoken Chinese during her tenure as a missionary (see 1005-6-1:18). She also provided the means for her children's education and was an active and vital force in the Chinese community according to her daughter and granddaughter.

Nora Lambuth Park and Mary McClellan Lambuth are two figures who deserve further illumination because of their pivotal role in family development and stabilization, community work and religious dedication.

Diaries and journals belonging to Mary Isabella McClellan Lambuth and Walter R. Lambuth can be found at the J.B. Cain Archives, Millsaps-Wilson Library, Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi.

The lives of William Hector Park and Dwight Lamar Sherertz illustrate the more public and well known series of events among missionaries in China. Their letters, memoirs, diaries and public statements give a broad view of events in China before and during World War II. As a whole, this collection provides a valuable glimpse of their private family life as well. Specifically, the lives of Margarita Park Sherertz, Nora Lambuth Park and Mary McClellan Lambuth come into focus as "the thread which binds" generation to generation.

This collection is made up of records of the various agencies of the church. It also includes material regarding local churches and annual conferences. The collection is made up of thirteen series. The three largest series which make up the bulk of the collection are the Missionary Society, the Woman's Missionary Society, and the Board of Christian Education.

This series contains general administrative records of the division. Also included are committee records and records from various departments and special programs. This would include the programs on economic and racial issues, religion and race (which later became its own agency), church and government issues, and urban concerns. Also included are the records of the Law of the Sea Project (shared with Global Ministries), the Committee for Congressional Reform and records related to specific programs conducted by the Division in Washington, D. C.

The collection contains materials relating Lind's personal activities as a missionary. There are seventeenth diaries in this collection. They range in date from 1924 to1979. The years 1926 to 1928 and 1939 are missing. Entries in these diaries are only a few lines and discuss daily events, school activities, Bible meetings, and weather conditions. Many of the diaries reflect China's social unrest because of Western intervention. One diary makes note of mid to late twentieth century China and is a good resource for a student of Chinese culture as impacted by Protestant mission work. Another diary describes the military occupation in Kimkiang and communist regime in Nanchung. There is one more diary which describes historical sites of Egypt, the Middleast and Europe.

Correspondence is dated from 1935 to1962 and relates to family and friends, including "Memories of China" in 1951.

There are two memory scrapbook, dated 1960 and 1964 respectively, which were created by Lind's Bible Class Students. A third scrapbook is a 1959 graduation commemorative yearbook from Aoyama Woman's Junior College in Tokyo, Japan. The final part of this collection contains various clippings, programs, pamphlets, and photographs related to Lind's work and family.