RECORDS OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH INSTITUTE

1867-1968
12.3 cubic feet
The American Church Institute for Negroes, begun in 1906 and renamed as the American Church Institute in 1961, was the institutional Church's response to the disparity between educational opportunities for African Americans and whites within the church. Its predecessor, established in 1865 by the General Convention, was the Protestant Episcopal Freedmen's Commission (renamed the Commission of Home Missions to Colored People in 1868), functioning under the auspices of the Board of Missions. Charged with the mandate to regain a foothold in the African American community after a decline in membership following the Civil War, the Commission focused on founding schools in the South to provide higher educational and religious instrucion to African Americans.

In 1904, the Board of Missions dissolved the Commission, believing that the results gianed in its forty years of operation were too small to justify continued funding. Despite this dissolution, investigation of the needs of African Americans within the Church carried on, and in 1906 the American Church Institute for Negroes (ACIN) was established to coordinate the Church-affiliated schools and re-focus attention on the educational needs of men and women of color. The organization's strategy was to train African Americans to be successful tradesmen, businessmen, teachers, and clergy (and in the case of women, homemakers as well) who would return to their communities and spread the benefits of their education to others.

By the 1960s, ACIN (then named ACI) saw the need to reevaluate the usefulness of its mission in light of integration. At the same time, others in the national Church questioned continuing funding of segregated schools in America’s changing cultural atmosphere. In 1967, the Executive Council voted to dissolve ACI, and the Home Department assumed control of the financial responsibilities for the three remaining schools. The General Convention’s continuing financial commitment to the historic black colleges is an outgrowth of the Episcopal Church’s educational work through ACIN.

The ACIN collection is a reasonably comprehensive record of ACIN during its lifetime and, in most cases, a much more brief synopsis of the life of each of the schools that ACIN administered. The entire collection consists of correspondence, reports, legal documents, financial ledgers, publications, building plans, photographs, and ACIN’s corporate seal.

RECORDS OF THE BOARD OF FOREIGN PARISHES

1859-1992
10 cubic feet
The Board of Foreign Parishes of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America is a corporation founded in New York State in 1883. The purpose of the corporation is to establish and support Episcopal churches for purposes of providing a familiar place of worship and ministry for Americans living in or visiting Europe and assisting the parishes in holding legal title to their property. The Board acts as both a fiduciary agent and a coordinating business entity for eight congregations of The Episcopal Church on the European continent. As of June 2002, these congregations are: Florence, Italy, St. James Church; Frankfurt, Germany, Church of Christ the King; Geneva, Switzerland, Emmanuel Church; Munich, Germany, Church of the Ascension; Paris, France, Church of the Holy Trinity; Rome, Italy, St. Paul's Within-the-Walls; Waterloo, Belgium, All Saints' Church; and Wiesbaden, Germany, St. Augustine of Canterbury Church. The Board also owns title to two church properties: the American Cathedral in Paris and Christ the King Church in Frankfurt.

The Records of the Board of Foreign Parishes are arranged into three subgroups: the Board of Trustees (of Foreign Parishes), 1883 - 1999; the Board of Trustees of St. Paul's Church, Rome, Italy, 1870 - 1994; and the Board of Trustees of St. James' Church, Florence, Italy, 1909 - 1991. An accumulation of documentation created or collected by officers of the Board, these records document the managerial, advisory, and fiduciary relationship among the three boards and between the Board and the European parishes of the Convocation. Of particular interest in the collection are the business and financial records, notably the correspondence; other records reflect the administrative involvement of the Board including charters, minutes, estates and real property documents. The Board's records complement a related collection on the Convocation of American Churches in Europe (ACIE), the ecclesiastical jurisdiction that binds the churches to The Episcopal Church, of which all the congregations are members. The core of the collection is housed and cared for by the Archives, although the Board continues to gather additional documentation on the contemporary period.

PAPERS OF EMELINE BOWNE

1902-1986
4.3 cubic feet
The papers of Emeline Bowne are an excellent example of a rich trove of private correspondence that supplement the official file. Emeline Bowne (1896 - 1993) was an Episcopal missionary to China from 1922 to 1951. She spent the bulk of her career at St. James Hospital, Anking, serving as superintendent of nursing and as the principal of the school of nursing. The collection has remarkable variety and depth. It includes correspondence, diaries, printed material, maps, photographs, financial records, broadsides, posters, and creative works documenting her experiences as a missionary and nurse in China, along with a small grouping of personal materials from other missionaries in China. Of particular interest is a set of materials collected by Ms. Bowne on the Japanese occupation of China including a number of oversized maps and posters.

PAPERS OF THE RIGHT REVEREND DANIEL N. CORRIGAN

1931-1989
1.0 cubic foot
The Right Reverend Daniel N. Corrigan (1900 - 1994) was an Episcopal Bishop and director of the Home Department of the Executive Council from 1960 to 1968. Covering the years 1931 to 1989, the papers include correspondence, printed material, photographs, legal documents, and reports which document his involvement in civil rights, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and ecumenism as well as his participation in the Mass for Peace at the Pentagon and the ordination of the Philadelphia 11.

CUSTODIAN OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER: PRAYER BOOK COLLECTION

RECORDS OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH PUBLISHING COMPANY

1923-2003
23.5 cu.ft.
The Episcopal Church Publishing Company is the publisher of The Witness. The archive is the result of the most recent downsizing of the magazine, its move to new quarters, and the re-emergence of The Witness as an internet publication. The earliest material is comprised chiefly of unbound copies of The Witness. The bulk of the business material falls into the period 1974 to the present.

RECORDS OF THE EPISCOPAL MISSION TO CHINA

1839-1954
49 cubic feet
The records of the Episcopal mission to China constitute one of the most heavily accessed research collections due to its historical, educational, and political significance. Documenting the missionary activities of the Board of Missions and, later, the Overseas Mission Department of the Episcopal Church in China from 1839 to 1954, the records provide substantial evidence of the Church's efforts in the four Chinese districts of Shanghai, Hankow, Anking, and Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui. The records consist primarily of personnel files, containing correspondence between individual missionaries and the Board of Missions in New York as well as financial records, district newsletters, conference records, and visual materials. Other valuable sources of information regarding the Episcopal Mission to China are Early China Records, 1845 to 1951; Publications of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (Spirit of Missions/Forth/The Episcopalian); photographic prints and negatives taken by the National Council's Promotions and Publicity departments between 1880 to 1962; bishops' biographical files; and the private papers of China missionaries. Mission personnel files are open to the year 1922.

RECORDS OF THE EPISCOPAL MISSIONS TO CUBA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, AND HAITI

Cuba, 1874-1962, 3.3 cubic feet
Dominican Republic, 1902-1964, 1.2 cubic feet
Haiti, 1855-1967, 2.6 cubic feet
The records of the Episcopal missions to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti document the Episcopal Church's mission in these countries. Consisting primarily of personnel files, the collections also include financial records, printed materials, and photographs, which capture the activities of American and native clergy and lay people. Related collections in the Archives of the Episcopal Church include photographic prints and negatives taken by the National Council's Promotions and Publicity departments between 1880 to 1962. Mission personnel files are open to the year 1922.

RECORDS OF THE EPISCOPAL MISSION TO THE PHILIPPINES

1898-1963
12 cubic feet
The Protestant Episcopal Church established a presence in the Philippine Islands at the turn of the twentieth century, ministering to American troops stationed there after the Spanish-American War. Shortly thereafter, the Church expanded its mission to include the native population, and the first two missionaries assigned to the Philippines by the DFMS arrived in November 1901.

The records of the Episcopal mission to the Philippines consist primarily of personnel files, but also includes financial records, printed materials, and photographs and document not only the experience of the missionaries but also offer an overview of the history of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. Complementing this collection are photographic prints and negatives taken by the National Council's Promotions and Publicity departments (1880 - 1962) and the personal papers of Lyman C. Ogilby and Edward K. Brown. Mission personnel files are open to the year 1922.

RECORDS OF THE EPISCOPALIAN

1960-1992
16.7 cu.ft.
The Episcopalian was the national news journal of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society from 1960 to 1992. In June 1989, The Episcopalian, which operated in Philadelphia under the editorial control of an independent corporate board, was dissolved by Executive Council. The paper’s name changed to the current Episcopal Life. In order to preserve and make accessible photographic records from a momentous period in Church history. Archivists processed 10.5 cubic feet of visual records, which include photographs, negatives, contact sheets, and attached articles. The photographic records have been organized and inventoried by article title and alphabetically by subject where applicable. Subject files, minutes, and indexes for the magazine constitute 6.2 cubic feet of administrative and corporate records.

RECORDS OF THE GIRLS' FRIENDLY SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

1860-1986
12 cubic feet
The Girls' Friend Society (GFS) is an international, religious organization for girls and young women from the ages of 7 to 21 of any race, religion, or nationality. Affiliated with the Episcopal Church as a parish-based program, GFS provides support and opportunities to girls through service to others, worship, study, and recreation. The records include proceedings, financial documents, correspondence, published materials, reports, and artifacts.

RECORDS OF INTEGRITY, INC.

1974-1998
13 cubic feet
Integrity, Inc. is the national organization of gay and lesbian Episcopalians and their friends and families. Founded in 1974 by Louie Crew, Ph.D., Integrity consists of a national organization and local chapters throughout the United States and Canada. Over time, there have been more than 70 chapters. Administrative records, correspondence, financial records, subject files, and publications comprise the Records of Integrity, Inc.

PAPERS OF THE JENKINS FAMILY

1876-1986
.35 cubic foot
The Rt. Rev. Thomas Jenkins worked as a frontier missionary in Alaska and Oregon and served as Bishop of Nevada from 1929 to 1942. In 1944, he wrote The Man of Alaska, a biography of Bishop Rowe, the diocese's first bishop. Dr. Ruth Jenkins, a long-time Episcopalian educator, taught in Alaska, Oregon, and Hawaii. In a well-publicized incident, Jenkins was one of four female delegates elected as deputies to the General Convention in 1949 who were refused seating. This incident opened the way to her participation in the national Joint Commission to Consider the Problems of Giving the Women of the Church a Voice in the Legislation of the General Convention (1951). She was co-founder of the National Association of Episcopal Schools and served as vice-president from 1959 to 1963. The papers include correspondence, letters, scrapbooks, printed materials, and photographs pertaining to the activities of both Thomas and Ruth Jenkins.

JOURNALS OF DIOCESAN CONVENTIONS (CANONICAL COPY)

1780-2004
445 cu.ft.
The Journals of Diocesan Conventions is the accumulating archive of proceedings of the annual diocesan conventions and councils. These published documents include the official record of the bishop diocesan’s reports and addresses, clergy and parish lists, annual reports of diocesan agencies, parish statistical reports, diocesan budgets, and directories. The journals are deposited with the Archives by canon. A finding aid has been published to serve as a searchable guide to an extensive collection of domestic, provincial, and foreign diocesan journals. Jurisdictional history is documented in the finding aid by indexed references to dates of creation, division, union, and dissolution of dioceses.

RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL AIDS MEMORIAL, INC.

1985-1995
2.15 cu.ft.
The records of the National AIDS Memorial, Inc. consist of administrative and financial records of the organization, publicity and event materials, and records and photographs relating to the establishment and maintenance of the AIDS Memorial Book, in which names of individuals who have died of AIDS are inscribed. In addition to the Memorial Book, NAM raises funds for grants to organizations that provide services to persons with AIDS.

RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL EPISCOPAL AIDS COALITION

1987-1997
3.35 cu.ft.
The administrative, project, and publicity files, along with the printed and audio-visual material included in this accession document the activities and objectives of this organization. NEAC is a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of all people infected with AIDS/HIV and promotes pastoral care and education of Episcopalians affected by the disease.

RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION: ORDINATION AND CONSECRATION RECORDS

1784-2000
30 cubic feet and 803 letters of consecration
The records of the Office of the Registrar of the General Convention consist of testimonials, correspondence, order of service booklets, letters of consecration, and consecration registers which document the Apostolic Succession of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America. The collection is periodically updated with shipments sent by the Registrar's Office.

PRESERVATION MICROFILMING PROJECTS

In 1999, the Archives began a project to microfilm the newspapers of the dioceses within the Episcopal Church. Since the commencement of the project, the microfilming of 78 reels has been completed for 6 dioceses: California, Connecticut, Iowa, Olympia, Quincy and West Texas. Also microfilmed were the newspapers of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the national Church, Episcopal Life (1980 - 2000) and its previous title, The Episcopalian (1980 - 1990) and 2 scrapbooks of the Church Association for the Advancement of the Interest of Labor. Read here about APPEND, the Archives' Diocesan History and Preservation Project.

RECORDS OF ST. MARGARET’S HOUSE

SEABURY PRESS PUBLICATIONS ARCHIVE

1947-1983
17 cu.ft.
The decommissioning of the Sherrill Resource Center (SRC) library at the Episcopal Church Center in New York released a number of archival collections, including a deposit copy of many Seabury Press imprints. Upon transfer of these volumes to the Archives in Austin, they were integrated into the existing collection of Seabury publications. The additional volumes augmented two series of printed works in the Seabury Press Archive: Trade Publications and the Seabury Curricula.