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.

This collection is made up of material from the Annual Conferences and local churches of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. The material consists of minutes, histories, photographs, publications, and news clippings and does not contain church records such as baptismal, membership, marriage etc.

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.

Record types within this collection include sermons, addresses, clippings, notes, note cards, orders of worship, and program materials. Most of the collection consists of sermons and addresses delivered by Arnold to a wide variety of community and church groups. These are mostly handwritten and in outline form, although a few are complete typewritten manuscripts. Topics include Biblical themes, challenges of Christian living, national and patriotic subjects, liturgical and secular holidays, and Sunday School lessons. Many were delivered to church services and church groups in Ohio and neighboring states; others were addressed to a wide variety of community groups. Among the organizations that benefited from Reverend Arnold's wit were the Ohio Farm Bureau, 4-H Club, Rotary Club, General Conference of 1933, and the Otterbein Guild. The clippings and notes are closely related to Arnold's sermons and addresses. Also included in this collection are some program materials relating to Arnold's work with the Evangelical United Brethren Sunday school publications, as well as a few orders of worship from his ministerial and speaking career.

This collection is made up of administrative records from the Council of Bishops and predecessor organizations. It includes the minutes of the Bishops meetings and their position papers.

The Papers of Anne E. Herbert is a varied collection which contains correspondence, programs, and articles. The correspondence consists of "Dear Friends" letters from 1950-1958 from a variety of missionaries and mission stations. There is a folder of information on mission work in Bolivia that contains articles and correspondence from 1955-1958. An ecumenical chart from 1967 is included. Program materials from the " Twentieth Conference on New and Furloughed Missionaries" held at DePauw University in Indiana from June 14-20, 1956, are part of this collection. There is a copy of an April 1946 report prepared by Frank T. Cartwright entitled Report on the Special Mission to China. A news clipping from the Alta Advocate (Dinuba, California) dated March 28, 1968, contains a biographical sketch of Ann Harder who was associated with Herbert while both were in Hong Kong. Additional miscellaneous unrelated items are also included in this material.

The collection contains papers which document the personal and professional activities of Arthur R. Clippinger. Included in this collection are diaries, correspondence, General Conference materials, information about the first assembly of the World Council of Churches, programs, and brief biographical material.

There are ten diaries in this collection. They are dated 1904-1935. The years 1906-1908 are missing. Entries in these diaries are only a few lines and discuss daily events, church activities, and weather conditions. Expense records are often found in the back of these books.

The correspondence in this collection is dated 1928-1946 and relates to Clippinger's professional work as a bishop, specifically the 1929 General Conference. All but a few of the letters are addressed to him.

Materials related to General Conference include two undated delegate election ballots. Clippinger's name and the number of votes he received appear on both. There is also a complete list of delegates to the General Conference, but this is undated. Other items on General Conference include a conference program from 1925, a Quadrennial Report prepared by Clippinger in 1925, the 1925 Quadrennial Report of the Board of Administration, a list of committees for the 1933 conference, and the 1933 Quadrennial Address by the Bishops.

One folder contains material on the first assembly of the World Council of Churches. This meeting was held in Amsterdam, Holland, from August 22 to September 4, 1948. Clippinger was a delegate to this assembly. Items from this meeting include a report of the delegates, and notes and personal impressions on the conference. On February 8, 1949, Clippinger presented a speech at the International Council of Religious Education in Columbus, Ohio, about the World Council of Churches meeting in Amsterdam, and this speech is included in his papers.

There are two programs in this collection. One is from the Joint Meeting of the Councils of Administration of the Central Area of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. This was held in February 1924 in Westerville, Ohio. Clippinger was the chairman of this meeting. The other program is from the Third Annual Session of the Central District Conference, a meeting held in December 1940 in Bowling Green, Ohio. Clippinger was the presiding officer of this meeting.

The remaining material consists of an undated list of delegates and alternates from the Southeast Ohio Conference of the United Brethren Church and a few biographical items. The biographical material is an obituary of Harriet R. Clippinger, Arthur's mother who died in 1917; a 1919 announcement of the birth of John Arthur Clippinger, a son of Arthur; and fraternal greetings signed by Clippinger on behalf of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ.

The collection includes clippings that pertain mainly to the union of the Methodist Church, a eulogy for Lawson, program for "Judge Lawson Day" at the Liberty Methodist Church, opinions of the Court of Appeals, court decisions, and an original signed copy of the opinion of the Judicial Council of the Methodist Episcopal Church South on the matter of the unification of Methodism. The collection also includes several booklets and periodicals; an October 1932 edition of the newspaper Christian Standard, Volume 7 of The Methodist Layman for 1930, a June 1956 edition of the Missouri Methodist, a 1939 edition of the Christian Advocate and several other booklets discussing Methodism. There are many letters, to and from Martin E. Lawson, photographs, a biography of the judge and ephemera concerning the fifth and sixth Ecumenical Conferences.

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 Evangelical United Brethren Church is one of the predecessor denominations of The United Methodist Church. This collection is made up of the administrative material from the Women's Society of World Service. It also includes the records from the Local Branches, Quadrennial Conventions, World Evangel, Literature Department and the Society's area's of emphasis Christian Social Relations. Missionary Education, Missionary Education for children and Youth, and Spiritual Life. The collection is made up of nine series.