Pearl Collections

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Description:
Adolphus Clemens Good was appointed in 1882 by the Board of Foreign Missions to the West Africa Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Initially assigned to the Baraka Station, he was transferred to the Ogowe River area in 1884 and spent the bulk of his career there. In addition to his work as a teacher and evangelist, Dr. Good studied bird and animal life in the Ogowe Valley and in the Cameroon, as well as the ethnology and religious beliefs of various West African tribes. He also prepared a text on Bulu grammar which was published posthumously. Consists of Dr. Good's journals and notes, his papers on the religious beliefs of the Gabwa and the role of women among the Bulu, and miscellaneous Bulu language items. The collection also contains various personal items, including letters sent to his widow, Lydia B. Walker Good. View the collection guide to learn more. The entire physical collection has been digitized.
Featured image: Portrait of Adolphus Clemens Good, undated.
Start date:
1882
End date:
1896
Creator:
Good, Adolphus Clemens, 1856-1894. (creator)
Subject names:
Good, Adolphus Clemens, 1856-1894., Good, Lydia Belle Walker, 1856-1924., Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. West Africa Mission.
Topics:
Missionaries--Africa., Presbyterian Church--Missions--Africa, West., Presbyterian Church--Missions--Congo (Democratic Republic), Presbyterian Church--Missions--Gabon., Presbyterian Church--Missions--Cameroon., Bulu (African people)--Social life and customs., Gabonese--Religion., Bulu language--Texts.
Geographic subjects:
Ogooué River Region (Gabon)--Discovery and exploration., Baraka (Congo), Congo (Democratic Republic)--Discovery and exploration.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:adgood
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:bookCollection
Description:
Born in February 1837, Rachel Kerr Johnson and her husband William F. (Will) Johnson served as Presbyterian missionaries in the northwestern provinces of India from 1860-1884. Upon their return to the United States, Rachel became a frequent speaker at women's missionary society meetings in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and northern West Virginia. She died in 1888 of injuries sustained in a buggy accident. The collection consists of correspondence from Rachel Kerr Johnson to her family members from 1856, her first year at the Female Seminary in Steubenville, Ohio, until 1888. Her letters reveal the dynamics of family relations and provide colorful descriptions and keen insight about India and mission life. The collection includes a few letters written by her husband Will (William F.) and daughters Mary (Mary Ella) and Jane (Jennie). View the collection guide to learn more.
Featured image: Rachel Kerr Johnson correspondence, 1886-1888.
Start date:
1854
Creator:
Johnson, Rachel Kerr, 1837-1888., Johnson, William F., 1838-1926., Johnson, Mary Ella, 1864-, Johnson, Jane, 1870-
Subject names:
Johnson, Rachel Kerr, 1837-1888--Archives., Kerr, Frank., Kerr, Samuel., Kerr, Stella., Johnson, Edwin, 1865-1890., Biddle University., Steubenville Female Seminary.
Topics:
Missions--Presbyterian Church--India., Evangelistic work--India., Female seminaries--Ohio--Steubenville., Returned missionaries--Charlotte.--North Carolina, Women in missionary work--India--19th century., Women missionaries--India--19th century.
Geographic subjects:
India., Steubenville (Ohio)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:rg392
Description:
The Shedd family were Presbyterian missionaries in West Persia from 1892 to 1918. William Ambrose Shedd was appointed to the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. West Persia Mission in 1892 and served until his death in 1918. His first wife, Adela Myers Shedd served from 1894 until her death in 1901. His second wife, Louise Wilbur Shedd, served from 1900 until her death in 1915. This collection includes photographs of missionary work and travels in Iran and Turkey.
Featured image: Urmia Hospital staff at dinner, ca. 1890-1920.
Creator:
Shedd family (creator)
Subject names:
Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. West Persia Mission., Shedd, William Ambrose, 1865-1918., Shedd, Louise Wilbur, 1868-1915., Shedd, John Haskell, 1833-1895., Shedd, Margaret, 1900-, Coa, Frederick G. (Frederick Gaylord), 1859-1943., Cochran, Joseph Plumb, 1855-1905.
Topics:
Missions--Iran.
Geographic subjects:
Iran--Description and travel., Turkey--Description and travel.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:shedd_family
Description:
Amid the COVID-19 crisis, churches across the nation have shown themselves to be beacons of hope—providing food and social services, pastoral care, and online worship. The Presbyterian Historical Society has responded to this unprecedented moment by gathering 2020 Easter Sunday worship services and sermons from PC(USA) congregations and other worshiping communities. The COVID-19 collection is a curated selection of these contributions, including services from congregations in California, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania -- including Arabic and Hakha Chin services from First Presbyterian Church (Allentown, Pa.) -- Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Topics:
COVID-19 (Disease)--United States., Easter sermons--United States--21st century., COVID-19--Religious aspects--Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:covid19
Description:
History of interdenominational and interfaith cooperation, including the work conducted by the following organizations: Religious News Service, National Council of the Churches of Christ, American and Foreign Christian Union, American Sunday School Union, Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, and Home Missions Council of North America.
Featured image: Delegates of the World's First Religious Parliament, Art Palace, Chicago, Illinois, September 21, 1893.
Subject names:
Religious News Service., National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America., American and Foreign Christian Union., American Sunday-School Union., Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America., Home Missions Council of North America., World Council of Churches.
Topics:
Interdenominational cooperation., Ecumenical movement.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:ecumenical
Description:
At the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, the General Assembly (PCUSA--Old School) appointed a Committee for Education of Freedmen, to establish churches and schools. At the 1870 reunion, this committee merged with the Freedmen's Department of the New School Committee of Home Missions; the new committee was named Committee of Missions for Freedmen. In 1883, the Freedmen's Committee was formally incorporated as the Board of Missions for Freedmen. The new board, like its predecessors, helped to educate and supply black teachers and preachers in the southern United States. It built and supported black schools, churches, colleges and seminaries and prescribed courses of study to be used. In 1923, the Freedmen's Board merged with other boards and agencies to become the Board of National Missions. This collection consists of the records of the Board of Missions for Freedmen and its predecessors. The collection includes annual reports, correspondence, minutes, and application books. View the collection guide to learn more.
Featured image: Committee on Freedmen first annual report, presented May 1866.
Start date:
1864
End date:
1972
Creator:
United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Missions for Freedmen. (creator)
Subject names:
United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Missions for Freedmen., Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Missions for Freedmen., Presbyterian Committee of Home Missions (U.S.). Freedmen's Dept., Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (Old School). Committee for Education of Freedmen., Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Committee of Missions for Freedmen., Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Unit of Work with Colored People., Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Unit of Schools and Hospitals.
Topics:
Freedmen--Religious life., African Americans--Missions--Finance., Slaves--Emancipation--United States.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:rg376
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:video_collection
Description:
Images of church buildings.
Featured image: Church at Emerson Institute, Blackville, South Carolina.
Topics:
Church architecture., Church buildings., Presbyterian church buildings.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:churchbuildings
Description:
In recognition of the incredible work being done by healthcare workers in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in honor of National Nurses Week (May 6-12, 2020), we have curated a collection that celebrates the long history of Presbyterian involvement in nursing, from training prospective nurses in Presbyterian schools and hospitals, to hands-on work with the sick and suffering.
Featured image: Taegu Nurses' School dedication, June 1952.
Topics:
Nurses,, Nursing--History., Missions, Medical.--Presbyterian Church, COVID-19.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:nurses
Description:
Christmas images from the Presbyterian Historical Society's collections.
Topics:
Christmas.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:christmas
Description:
Dr. Divie Bethune McCartee (1820-1900) and his wife Juana M. Knight McCartee (d. 1906) served as missionaries in China and Japan for the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Foreign Missions from 1844 until their retirement in 1900. Dr. McCartee served as a physician and also performed consular services. This collection consists primarily of the correspondence of Divie Bethune McCartee and his wife, Juana Knight McCartee, 1854-1906. The correspondence is mostly outgoing and includes letters to the Board of Foreign Missions, to Henry William Rankin, the McCartee's nephew, and to Franklin Knight, Juan McCartee's father. Also included is correspondence relating to Dr. McCartee's consular service. View the collection guide to learn more. The entire physical collection has been digitized.
Featured image: Portrait of Divie Bethune McCartee, 1843.
Start date:
1854
End date:
1906
Creator:
McCartee family. (creator)
Subject names:
Knight, Franklin., Rankin, Henry William., McCartee, Divie Bethune, 1820-1900., McCartee, Juana Knight, d. 1906., United States. Office of Consular Affairs., Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Japan Mission.
Topics:
Diplomatic and consular service--China., Diplomatic and consular service--Japan., Missionaries, Medical--China., Missionaries, Medical--Japan., Presbyterian Church--Missions, Medical--China., Mission, Medical--Presbyterian Church--Japan.
Geographic subjects:
China., Japan.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:rg177
Description:
This collection consists of materials digitized for use in Building Knowledge and Breaking Barriers (BKBB), an archives-based learning project that brings students, educators, and student-support networks from Community College of Philadelphia together with the resources of the Presbyterian Historical Society. Learn more about how these digitized materials are used in the project and the Building Knowledge and Breaking Barriers student exhibit. Support for BKBB has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
Topics:
Study and teaching.--History, Archives and education., Libraries and education.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:bkbb
Description:
In 1836, Henry Harmon and Eliza Hart Spalding, under appointment by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) to the Osage Indians, met Marcus Whitman and were persuaded to go to the Northwest as Presbyterian missionaries. The Spaldings and Whitmans made a hazardous six months journey, the wives being the first white women to cross the Rocky Mountains. The Spaldings established a mission among the Nez Percé in the Lapwai Valley (present Idaho). They opened a school, set up the first printing press in the Northwest, and trained the Indians in farming. In 1847, they escaped the massacre which claimed the lives of the Whitmans. The collection consists of eight original letters by Henry and Eliza Spalding to family members. View the collection guide to learn more.
Featured image: Portrait of Henry Harmon Spalding by Matthew Brady, 1871.
Creator:
Spalding, Henry Harmon, 1803-1874. (creator), Spalding, Eliza Hart, 1807-1851. (creator)
Subject names:
Spalding, Henry Harmon, 1803-1874., Spalding, Eliza Hart, 1807-1851., American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
Topics:
Indians of North America--Missions.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:spalding
Description:
William Martyn Baird, Jr., (1897-1987), and his brother, Richard Hamilton Baird, (1898-1995) were born in Chosen (Korea) to Presbyterian missionary parents, William Martyn Baird (1862-1931) and Annie Laurie Adams Baird (1864-1916). Both men served as missionaries in Korea under the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. The collection includes photographs primarily documenting the Korean mission and the Korean Presbyterian Church, as well as Baird family members; correspondence; a travel account by Richard Baird; and material pertaining to the Rev. Carl McIntire and the Korean Church. View the collection guide to learn more. The entire physical collection has been digitized.
Featured image: Korea missionary staff, ca. 1900.
Creator:
Baird family. (creator)
Subject names:
Baird, William Martyn, b. 1897., Baird, Richard H. (Richard Hamilton), 1898-1995., Baird, Anna Landis Reist, 1895-1981., McIntire, Carl, 1906-2002., Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Chosen Mission., Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Korea Mission., Taehan Yesugyo Changnohoe.
Topics:
Missions--Educational work--Korea., Missionaries--Korea., Presbyterian Church--Missions--Korea.
Geographic subjects:
Yalu River (China and Korea)--Description and travel.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:rg316
Description:

The PCUSA's Board of Foreign Missions was organized in 1837 to convey the Gospel throughout the "heathen and anti-Christian world." This collection documents the Board of Foreign Mission's work through photographs, glass slides, and negatives. Subjects depicted include missionaries, mission stations, educational institutions, churches, medical facilities, projects and certain prominent events. The bulk of the collection is from the twentieth century.

Featured image: Korean conspiracy trial prisoners.

URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:rg223
Description:
Rachel Henderlite was a teacher, writer, ordained minister, and activist. In 1965, Henderlite was ordained by Hanover Presbytery as the first woman minister of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. The collection includes photographs, audio and video recordings, a scrapbook, correspondence, lecture and sermon notes, speeches and writings, and publications. View the collection guide to learn more.
Featured image: Bishop Frederick D. Jordan congratulates Dr. Rachel Henderlite.
Creator:
Henderlite, Rachel, 1905-1991. (creator)
Subject names:
Henderlite, Rachel, 1905-1991--Archives.
Topics:
Women clergy--United States., Presbyterian Church--Clergy--United States., Ordination of women--Presbyterian Church.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:rg504
Description:
History of the Protestant Reformation--the series of changes in Western Christendom between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries resulting in the schism from the Roman Catholic Church.
Featured image: Martin Luther's thesis nailed to the church door in Wittenberg. Engraving by Johann Leonard Raab, from a drawing by F. Lessing, ca. 1850.
Topics:
Reformation--Early movements.
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:reformation
Description:
The Adams family served as missionaries in Korea for two generations. This collection includes photographs, negatives, and a photograph album primarily documenting the period of the family's life and work at Taiku (Taegu), Korea. The collection also contains annual meeting photos of the Korea/Chosen Mission; a few "Dear Friends" letters written by Edward Adams in 1937, 1938 and 1941; and his annual personal report from Korea for 1938. View the collection guide to learn more. The entire physical collection has been digitized.
Featured image: Young Benjamin Adams standing with two Korean men outside of a building.
Start date:
1896
End date:
1941
Creator:
Adams family. (creator)
Subject names:
Adams family., Adams, Nellie G. Dick, 1866-1909., Adams, Edward, 1895-1965., Adams, Benjamin Nyce, 1898-1994., Adams, George J. (George Jacob), 1907-, Adams, James Edward, 1867-1929., Baird, Annie Laurie Adams, 1864-1916.
Topics:
Missions--Korea., Missionaries--Korea.
Geographic subjects:
Taegu (Korea)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:rg251
Description:
The Ballston Female Heathen School Society was founded in 1817 by fifty-seven women from the Ballston region of New York to support the work of the Princeton Theological Seminary and American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions' (ABCFM) work in Brainerd, North Carolina and Ceylon. Its scope later broadened to include support for mission work in Beirut, Syria, Iran, and with Native Americans near Detroit. The collection includes the Society’s constitution, annual reports, a subscriber roll with contributions, acknowledgments of contributions, and correspondence from recipients of support. View the collection guide to learn more.
Featured image: Ballston Female Heathen School Society constitution, 1817.
Creator:
Ballston Female Heathen School Society.
Subject names:
Ballston Female Heathen School Society., American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions., Princeton Theological Seminary.
Topics:
Women in missionary work., Women--Societies and clubs.
Geographic subjects:
Ballston (N.Y. : Town)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:rg422

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