The Anderson Family Papers

Identity elements

Reference code

US NjMdUMCG 648

Name and location of repository

General Commission on Archives and History

Level of description

Collection

Title

The Anderson Family Papers

Date(s)

1900-1970 (Creation)

Extent

1.36 cubic feet

Name of creator

Anderson family

Biographical history

Karl E. Anderson (1867-1946) and his wife, Emma Jennie Wardle Anderson (1878-1963), were education missionaries with the Methodist Episcopal Church in India from 1899 to 1932. Educated at Cornell College (M.A., 1899) in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, He was recruited as a missionary by Bishop James Mills Thoburn. Karl Anderson was appointed to India in June 1899 and sailed on October 21, 1899. He worked first in Madras (1899-1901) and later in Bangalore (1901-1909). On October 23, 1903 he married Emma Jennie Wardle.

In January 1909 Anderson returned to the United States on furlough and took a leave of absence from missionary work. He was active in the Upper Iowa and Northwest Iowa Conferences, but was later reappointed to India on November 19, 1913 to work in Kolar, Bangalore, and Bidar. From 1926 to 1930 he served as District Superintendent for Bidar. He retired June 1, 1932, and died at Glendale, California on September 5, 1946.

Emma Jennie Wardle Anderson was educated at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa (1903), and at the Chicago Training School. Before becoming a missionary, she taught music at the Chicago Training School from 1901 to 1902. She was first appointed to the India field in April of 1903 and sailed to India on September 19, 1903. In that year she married Karl Anderson. She worked with her husband in Kolar, Bangalore, and Bidar until their retirement in 1932.

Dorothea Anderson Kemper, missionary and educator, was the daughter of Karl and Emma Anderson. She served as a short-term educational missionary in southern India. She later taught religious education in the San Francisco Theological Seminary and in the California public schools.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

This collection contains items related to the Karl E. Anderson family. The bulk of this collection are Karl Anderson's diaries which are dated 1897-1905, 1914-1915, 1924, 1926-1927, and 1929-1934. The diaries contain information about his daily experiences and religious observations. Other records include sermons and writings which are in outline format (undated), notes from which Anderson preached (undated), and a poem (undated). There are also several biographical materials (1931-1970) in this collection. Dorothea Anderson's materials of creative writings (undated) are located in a single folder. These items are mostly plays and articles on Indian mission subjects.

There is also a folder of letters and articles (1933- 1945) by or about Bishop William F. Oldham. This includes correspondence from Oldham and a copy of his funeral service bulletin. Oldham was the subject of a 3,000 word biography written by Emma Anderson. Helen Rieger Emmerson has a manuscript (1970) on the history of the Lisbon, Iowa, United Methodist Church. This piece covers the time period when Anderson pastored the church. In addition there are two photographs: one of the General Committee of the Foreign Mission Board from November 1913, and a second picture of the General Executive Committee of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society in October 1923. The two artifacts in this collection include a Bidar metal vase (undated) with a copy of a legend and a woven straw tray (undated).

System of arrangement

The collection is organized by record type. When possible, materials in the record types are arranged chronologically. All undated material will be found at the beginning of each folder in which they are located.

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

There are no restrictions regarding 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

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

Related materials elements

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related archival materials

Related descriptions

Notes element

General note

When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Anderson Family Papers, 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 Robert Drew Simpson, Assistant Archivist, Kristen Turner and Mark C. Shenise, Associate Archivists