In 1969 The Henry Luce Foundation, Incorporated, made a grant to the Oral
History Program, Claremont Graduate School, to tape record interviews with former
China missionaries. The goal of this project is to produce interview manuscripts
dealing with the interaction of Western values with traditional Chinese values
which led to the emergence of modern China. Forty-four persons who were engaged
in Christian work in China have been interviewed and their interviews placed
in The China Missionaries Collection. Almost all are residents of Southern California.
A broad spread of denominational affiliation, professional responsibilities and
religious commitment are reflected in the roster.
The interviewers were: Georgina Irwin, Oral History Program; Cyrus Peak, Emeritus
Professor of History, Claremont Graduate School; Assistant Professor of East
Asian History, Claremont Men’s College. In addition, Enid H. Douglass, Director
of the Oral History Program at Claremont Graduate School, conducted twelve interviews
with several former China missionaries
now living in England.
Copies are held at The Luce Foundation in New York City, in Honnold Library of the Claremont Colleges and at the following universities in the United States,
all of which have strong Asian Studies programs: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia,
Chicago, Stanford, California at Berkeley, Michigan, and Washington at Seattle.
The New York Times has micropublished this Collection and it has been received
with great interest in Canada and the United States. Included with the interview
manuscript collection is a written Overview of the Project.
The Collection contains tapes and transcribed interview manuscripts from interviews
with forty-four individual Christian workers totaling 3,320 pages.
Ady, Merrill S. (b. 1895)
China Missionaries Project
1970–1971.
After studying Greek at McCormick Seminary in 1923 and receiving his B.D.,
Ady and his wife, Lucy Meloy, departed for Canton, China, sponsored by the Presbyterian
Board of Foreign Missions. Ady worked as an evangelical missionary and also held
executive positions. Between 1923 and 1965, he lived and worked mostly in Yeung
Kong, Canton.
In this interview, he gives an account of his experiences in the area. Ady
describes the influence of Christianity in a revolutionary period in which the
area became more urbanized, secularized, nationalized, and finally, communized.
Ady points out political and economic factors at work in this area of China during
this period. He discusses in detail the activities and organization he was involved
in, including the first session of the Asian Churchwomen’s Association in 1958.
In addition, Ady discusses his role as a secret agent for the United States with
the aim of getting the “Japanese out of China.”
Interviewers: Cyrus Peake, Georgina Irwin and Arthur
Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Allen, Netta P. (b. 1890)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Allen talks about her experiences as and English and History teacher in Shanghai
and at the Boone School in Hankow. She and her husband, Arthur Jones Allen, arrived
in China in 1918. In this interview, she recounts the history, organization and
student and faculty life at the Boone School. Allen also discusses her husband’s
career and his role in lifting the Siege of Nanchang. Allen talks about the political
turmoil and violence against missionaries and particularly notes the 1938 Japanese
looting of the Boone compound in Wuchang. She mentions the changes for missionaries
and teachers in China after the communist takeover of schools.
Interviewer: Georgina Irwin.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Andrews, John N., M.D. (b. 1891)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Dr. Andrews studied at the Washington Foreign Missionary Seminary in Tacoma
Park, MD. He received his M.D. from George Washington University in 1916. That
same year, he and his wife were sponsored by the Seventh Day Adventist Church
to go to Chungking, China. They worked in China until 1932 doing medical work
along with evangelism.
In the interview, Andrews notes the importance of missionary work within the
Seventh Day Adventist Church. He also emphasizes the involvement of his family
and his wife’s family in church related work. He recounts the experience of learning
Chinese on the boat to China and then Tibetan after his arrival in Tatsienlu
in 1919. He notes his prior lack of historical knowledge about the area and gives
his observations of religious and cultural practices of the areas he worked in.
He also talks about some of the health problems which afflicted the people. He
points out that Christianity has
had difficulty surviving in Tibet.
Interviewer: Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Baker, Bishop James C. (b. 1879)
China Missionaries Project
1969.
Baker was a Methodist minister at the University of Illinois between 1907
and 1928. There, he organized and headed the first Wesley Foundation. He served
in Shanghai from 1930 to 1932. Because of this relatively brief stay, he notes
that he did not consider himself a true China missionary.
In this interview, Baker comments on overall problems confronting missionaries
and the ways in which mission policies govern their relations with the Chinese.
He recounts meeting Pearl Buck and echoes her criticism of Chiang Kai-Shek’s
repressive response toward students. Baker emphasizes Chiang Kai-Shek’s failure
to meet the needs and demands of the common people. He is critical in the interview
of missionaries who sought to overthrow indigenous culture. He notes that missionary
work was much more successful when religion was well-rooted in church and community,
not simply in spending a great deal on education. He points to Japan and Korea
as examples of countries where Christianity survived and grew after World War
II. Baker discusses his activities in the world-wide ecumenical movement of the
Protestant Church and his role in helping establish the World Council of Churches.
He expresses belief that Christianity has a future in China.
Interviewers: Cyrus H. Peake and Georgina Irwin.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Bradshaw, Homer (b. 1899)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Bradshaw studied medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He and his wife
arrived in Lin Ven, Kwangtung in 1928. The American Presbyterian Mission made
him superintendent of the Van Norden Hospital. He served there until 1951. He
was arrested by the Communists and expelled from the country in
1955.
Bradshaw notes that in college he became interested in becoming a missionary.
He recounts his experiences as a physician in China and the chAllenges that the
Communists posed to his practice. He talks about the language barrier, his difficulty
in finding time to learn languages and what he learned from the Chinese people
when he began to recognize their individuality. He also mentions his work establishing
a staff training school. Bradshaw emphasizes that his missionary work involved
ministering to the suffering rather than preaching. One of the most successful
aspects of his work was the vaccination campaign against smallpox. He details
the changes in schools with the Communist takeover in 1949 and emphasizes his
own experience of adjusting to and respecting another culture.
Interviewers: Georgina F. Irwin and Arthur L Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Cranston, Earl M. (b. 1895)
China Missionaries Project
1969 – 1970.
Mr. Cranston was ordained in the Methodist ministry in 1920 and left for China
that same year. He served in Taionfu from 1921 to 1922, Chengtu from 1922 to
1924 and the west China University from 1926 to 1928. Ultimately, he became the
Dean of the School of Religion at the University of Southern California. He articulates
the belief that various religions are efforts to get to the same place and that
missionaries grapple with universal issues.
Interviewers: Cyrus H. Peake and Arthur L. Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Cranston, Mildred Welch. (b. 1898)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Received an M.A. in religious education from the University of Illinois in
1923 and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Boston University in 1930. She arrived in
China in 1922, sponsored by the Women’s Board of the Methodist Church. She taught
in Chengtu from 1922 to 1927. She married Earl Cranston in 1929. Here, Mrs. Cranston
is critical of the missionary goal of the twenties. That is, bringing Christianity
to the non-Christian world in one generation. She evaluates many strong and weak
points of the missionary movement.
Interviewers: Arthur L. Rosenbaum and Georgina Irwin.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Cross, Rowland McLean. (b. 1888)
China Missionaries Project
1969.
Cross studied at Union Theological Seminary and in 1917 was sponsored by the
American Board for Foreign Missions to go to China. He did evangelical work near
National University, taught Bible classes and led conferences and discussion
groups. He worked as the American executive Secretary for the North China Kung
Li Hui Council (the organization of Congregational churches, schools and hospitals).
He then moved to the Peking- Tungshien area as executive secretary and engaged
in rural reconstruction work. Cross describes his experiences and periods of
crisis such as famine and Japanese attacks. He particularly praises James Yen,
who developed the thousand character system, which made literacy on the basis
of spoken language possible. He discusses the development of translations of
the Bible, pastor’ manual and hymns. He comments on intermarriage and visits by John
Dewey and Bernard Russell. He also discusses the role of the missionary in political
affairs and the pressures which contributed to the Communist
takeover.
Interviewers: Cyrus H. Peake, Arthur L. Rosenbaum, Georgina Irwin and Enid
H. Douglass.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Dizney, Helen (b. 1894)
China Missionaries Project, Nurse
25 pages. 1970.
Dizney went to China in 1920 as a registered nurse, sponsored by the Congregational
Church. Here, she discusses her work there, noting that she was not an evangelist
and that, “you could teach Christianity better
by example.”
Interviewer: Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Faulkner, Cyril (b. 1911)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Faulkner studied at Melbourne Bible Institute and went to China in 1935, working
for the China Inland Mission. He discusses organization, policies and activities
of the China Inland Mission and talks about what it was like to be a missionary
and cultural practices such as footbinding. Faulkner notes that while there were
a few schools and hospitals, the emphasis of his missionary work was evangelism.
He points out that he worked largely among the lower economic classes and states
that the Inland Mission was the first to turn over controls to the Chinese at
the time of the Communist revolution. He includes an account of activities and
characteristics of
Chiang Ching-kuo, the Generalissimo’s son.
Interviewers: Cyrus H. Peake and Georgina F. Irwin.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Fuller, Glenn V. (b. 1894)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Glenn Fuller arrived in Changli, China in 1921. He was sent by the Methodist
Board of Foreign Missions to start a school of business administration. He left
China in 1944. During those years, he taught and worked as treasurer of the North
China Methodist Mission.
Mr. Fuller discusses his motivations for going to China, his experience learning
the language, and what it was like to open a school. He also talks about working
as treasurer of the mission and treasurer in Shanghai for the Board of Foreign
Missions for the whole of China. He discusses how funds were allocated and missionaries
salaries. He also includes his perception of the Chinese culture and of the shift
in leadership of the mission to
the Chinese.
Interviewer: Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Goulter, Oswald J. (b. 1890)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
This interview supplements the account of Goulter’s life in Wilfred
Powell’s Scattered Seed. Mr. Goulter portrays the disruption in Chinese
life in the area of Lu-chou (Hofei) in Anhwei province during the years
1922 to 1951. He tells how the Communists were able to take advantage of
the disorder caused by warlords and bandits and the Japanese invasion to
drive the nationalists from power. He also discusses his conception of
practical Christianity and its applicability in China.
Interviewer: Arthur L. Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Hayes, Edward Pearce (b. 1895)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Edward Hayes spent most of his time in the province of Fukien. He worked for
the Methodist Church and covered two counties which had the most Christians per
capita of any Methodist area. He worked as and administrator in church and relief
agencies.
In this interview, Mr. Hayes notes the conciliatory role he played with respect
to the activities of local coastal pirates. He discusses at length the policies
and activities of the communists in his area and his own personal experiences
after they took over in 1949.
Interviewer: Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Hayes, Egbert M. (b. 1886)
China Missionaries Project
1969.
Egbert Hayes was born in China, the son of missionaries. He recounts his experiences
growing up there, the work of his parents, and his own work with the YMCA. He
served in various capacities in Nanking, Shanghai, Nanchang and Peking until
1935. In Peking he was the director of religion and social work at the Peking
Union Medical College. Mr. Hayes criticizes the refusal of the U.S. Government
to recognize Communist China after 1950 and discusses his reasons for becoming
a Quaker in later life.
Interviewers: Georgina F. Irwin and Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Heininger, Alfred D. (b. 1891)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Alfred Heininger and his wife went to North China in 1917 and worked as missionaries
under the Congregational Board until 1927. He returned to China in 1945 and engaged
in post-war rehabilitation work until the
Communist seizure of power.
In this interview, Mr. Heininger is sympathetic to Chinese nationalism and
its demands. He comments on evangelism programs, objectives and operational techniques.
He talks extensively of his experiences in China, the attitudes missionaries
encountered and the development of the work within the political context. He
also analyzes the social structure of China and the importance of the family
system there.
Interviewers: Georgenia F. Irwin and Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Holleman, Clarence, (b. 1890)
China Missionaries Project
1969.
Dr. Holleman served as a medical missionary in Lung-yen and Amoy, Foochow
Province, China between 1919 and 1950. In this interview, he describes his life
and work during the war and violence of the Japanese invasion and the Communist
takeover.
He is critical if Chiang Kai-shek. He expresses appreciation of the organizational
abilities of the Communists and their apparent concern for the welfare of the
masses, but opposes Communist ideology. The interview transcript includes a copy
of a letter Holleman wrote for his grandchildren, detailing his capture by the
Communists in May, 1929.
Interviewers: Georgenia F. Irwin, Cyrus H. Peake and
Arthur L. Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Houston, Lydia (b. 1891)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Lyda Houston was born in China. Her father was a Presbyterian missionary.
Ms. Houston worked as a teacher and principal in the Fukien province from 1924
to 1950. She was interned by the Japanese from September 1944 to May 1945. After
1950, she taught in Japan.
This interview includes her account of missionary activities in Fukien province.
Houston claims that it was the most Christianized province in China. She explains
this and describes her life under Japanese and Communist governments. Houston
talks of Chinese customs and Buddhism as well as teaching religious writing and
drama.
Interviewers: Georgenia F. Irwin and Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Hylbert, Ethel Lacey. (b. 1889)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Ethel Hylbert arrived in China in 1920 and held the position of treasurer
for Baptist Missions. She tells how mission funds were accounted for and distributed
by the Associated Missions Treasury. She also discusses the transfer of mission
property to Chinese control. Ms. Hylbert talks about her work among the educated,
middle class Chinese people. She contrasts methods of Catholic and Protestant
missionaries.
Interviewer: Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Ikenberry, Ernest (b. 1892)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Mr. Ikenberry worked in China for the YMCA between 1922 and 1951. Here, he
comments on YMCA policies compared to missions. He discusses policies and activities
of various missions operating in Shansi, where he was stationed. He criticizes
U.S. policy regarding the communist takeover. He insists that Christianity has
had an abiding influence in China, despite Communism.
Interviewer: Georgenia F. Irwin.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Johnson, Lydia (b. 1893)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Lydia Johnson went to China to work as YWCA secretary in 1926. She worked in Peking and Tientsin on education projects and training YWCA personnel until
1940. From 1940 to 1943, she worked in the Shanghai National YWCA offices. Johnson
was interned by the Japanese for nine months in 1943. Here, Ms. Johnson discusses
policies and methods of the YWCA aimed at developing leadership among younger
Chinese women. She emphasizes that the goal of the YWCA was to improve the lives
of factory workers. She discusses awareness within the YWCA of the importance
of transferring organizational control to the Chinese. She also talks about the
salaries and lifestyles
of missionaries.
Interviewer: Cyrus. H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Jones, Francis Price (b. 1890)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Francis Jones was sponsored by the Methodist Church to serve in China as a
professor at the University of Nanking and the Nanking Theological Seminary.
Here, he notes that the superior English instruction by mission schools allowed
them to compete with government schools. He discusses the growth of ecumenism
and evaluates church life and mission policies. Dr. Jones also discusses his
leadership establishing and editing the Christian Classics Library Translation
project.
Interviewers: Georgenia F. Irwin and Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Jones, Lucile T. (b. 1889)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Lucile Jones went to China in 1915, sponsored by the Methodist Church. She
wrote letters from China to the Dodgeville Chronicle about her experiences. In
this interview, she describes her life as a missionary wife and mother. She discusses
her culture shock in going to a rural village and recounts the efforts to provide
her family with adequate sanitary conditions and education. She also discusses
furlough experiences and her work as a teacher in the mission schools. She includes
a detailed account of her evacuation by the U.S. Air Force from China after the
war
Interviewer: Georgenia F. Irwin.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Kellogg, Claude Rupert (b. 1886)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Claude Kellogg worked in China between 1911 and 1941. He taught zoology at
Anglo-American College in Foochow and later in Fukien Christian University. He
discusses how he was able to combine scientific work with evangelism, noting
his efforts to introduce rice seed and silkworm production to Chinese farmers.
He recounts talks he gave on crop and livestock improvement which attracted villagers.
Theological students traveled with him and gave sermonettes
to villagers.
Interviewer: Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Latimer, Mary (b. 1898)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Mary Latimer was born in China and discusses the life and activities of her
parents. They were faith missionaries who were unattached to a church or mission
board. Latimer taught in Kikungshan School between 1923 and 1927. She discusses
Chinese customs and her adjustment to life in America after leaving China. She
also talks about her father and hr book entitled
An Adventure with God.
Interviewer: Georgenia F. Irwin.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Loftus, John Joseph. (b. 1902)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Born and educated in China, Father Loftus arrived in China in 1926 and spent
most of nine years in the Han-Yong area. By 1935, he was in charge of all Catholic
activities in Chung Hsiang Hsien. He discusses the work of the Catholic clergy
in China and their persecution by bandits and communists.
Interviewers: Georgenia F. Irwin and Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
McCallum, James H. (b. 1893)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Born in Olympia, Washington, James henry McCallum attended The University
of Oregon, Yale University, Chicago Divinity School and the Union Theological
Seminary. He married Eva Anderson in June 1921 and they went to China in August
of that year, sponsored by Christian Church Disciples, United Christian Missionary
Society. Reverend McCallum spent the years from 1921 to 1951 in evangelical and
community center work. Mrs. McCallum taught music and
trained choirs.
Here, Reverend McCallum discusses the transfer of mission control from pioneer
missionaries to Chinese Christians and finally to state control, ending in the
suppression of institutionalized Christianity in 1951. He also discusses the
impact of the Korean War on the expulsion of American
missions from China.
Interviewer: Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
McCormick, Sister Mary Colmcille
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Sister Mary McCormick taught elementary school in Ireland for nine years before
entering a convent. She discusses conversion and teaching objectives and methods
employed by the Catholic Church. She taught Christian doctrine to women and girls
in China from 1929 to 1939. She also visited the sick and flood refugees. Her
challenges were learning the language and adapting to the culture. Even during
the turbulent decade she served in China effective discipline of the girls in
the convent
was maintained.
Interviewer: Georgenia Irwin, Oral History Program.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Oliver, Jay Charles. (b. 1886)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Jay Oliver went to China in 1916, studied language in Peking, then worked
in Hangchow from 1917 to 1934 for the YMCA. He worked for the Chinese National
Government in the salt administration until 1937 and from 1937 to 1943, worked
in Shanghai, in finance, education and administration, teaching, training YMCA
secretaries and supervising construction. In 1943, he was interned in Chapei
Camp for seven months, after which he returned to the U.S. until 1945 when he
was appointed General Secretary of the YMCA International Committee and Assistant
Secretary for the Chinese National Committee. He
left China in 1950.
Interviewer: Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Reed, Alice Clara. (b. 1890)
China Missionaries Project
1969.
The daughter of a pastor in Oberlin, Ohio, Alice Reed earned a BA from Grinnell
College in 1913 and a MA from University of Chicago in 1930. She went to China
in 1916, studied language and culture in Peking and in 1918 was assigned to the
American Board (Congregational) mission station at Techow, Shantung. She remained
there for the better part of fourteen years, after which she taught in Tungchow
and Szechuan, Sian and Shensi provinces. She served as American Board Mission
Secretary in Peking in 1948 and retired
in 1960.
In this series of three interviews, Ms. Reed discusses missionary life in
China along with political, social, cultural and pedagogical issues she faced.
A collection of her letters home from China is also included in the Claremont
China Missionaries Collection.
Interviewers: Georgenia Irwin, Cyrus H. Peake, John O. Regan, Assistant Professor
of Education, and Arthur L. Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Rowley, Grace Mary (b. 1887)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Grace Mary Rowley received her BA from Occidental College in 1910. Later that
year, she went to China, sponsored by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian
Church. She spent most of thirty-three years at mission stations in Weisien and
Yihsien, working as a teacher and principal in
girls’ schools. She discusses the problems of educating girls in rural China,
the Japanese invasion of 1927, and rising student nationalism and communism.
She also discusses memories of the Henry W. Luce family whom
she met in Weisien.
Interviewers: Georgenia Irwin and Arthur L. Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Scott, Agnes Kelly (b. 1891)
China Missionaries Project
1972.
Agnes Kelly was born in Michigan to Quaker parents. She received her BA from
Earlham College in 1913 and married Roderick Scott in 1914. The couple went to
China in 1916 when Mr. Scott obtained a job with Fukien
Christian University.
Mrs. Scott taught mathematics and music at Fukien Christian University from
1916 to 1949. She discusses the nature and role of music in Chinese life and
the differences between Chinese and Western music as well as her life during
wartime.
Interviewers: Georgenia Irwin and Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Scott, Roderick (b. 1885)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Born in Auburn, NY, Roderick Scott received an MA in English and Philosophy
from Haverford College in 1907 and earned a Ph.D. in Chinese philosophy from
the University of Southern California in 1946. He worked at Fukien Christian
University from 1916 to 1951 as a professor of English and philosophy and as
Dean for twelve years. A list of Dr. Scott’s publications accompanies the transcript
of his interview.
In this interview, Dr. Scott discusses the universal philosophical context
of the Christian missionary movement. He provides a detailed description of Fukien
Christian University and its workings while also describing the administrative
problems he encountered as Dean of the University during the years of war and
unrest.
Interviewers: Cyrus H. Peake and Arthur L. Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Simkin, Margaret Timberlake (b. 1892)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Margaret Timberlake earned a BA in philosophy and religion from Earlham College
in 1922 and an MA in education from the Teachers College at Columbian University
in 1923. Also in 1923, she married Robert Louis Simkin who had been serving as
a professor of Religion at West China Union University in Chengtu, China since
1906.
Mrs. Simkin had joined the Society of Friends during the First World War and
from 1923 to 1944, she worked as a Quaker missionary in Chengtu. She discusses
the work of the American Friends Board of Missions and the Friends Ambulance
Unit in China during World War II. She also describes the problems she encountered
raising two daughters in China and the political and social events of her years
there. Some of her letters accompany
the interview.
Interviewers: Georgenia Irwin, Cyrus H. Peake and Arthur
L. Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Smythe, Lewis S. C. (b. 1901)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Lewis Smythe received his BA from Drake College in 1923 and his Ph.D. in Missions
and Christian Theology from the Chicago Divinity School in 1928. He married Margaret
Lillian Garrett in 1924. In 1928, the Smythes went to Nanking, sponsored by the
United Christian Mission Society. Mr. Smythe served as Professor of Sociology
at Nanking University until 1951. He also worked as an advisor to several organizations
and wrote several articles and books relating to social change in China. In this
interview,
he discusses his work and his social theories.
Interviewers: Cyrus H. Peake and Arthur L. Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Smythe, Margaret Garrett (b. 1901)
China Missionaries Project
1972.
Born to missionary parents in Nanking, Margaret Garrett came to the U.S. in
1918 to attend Drake University. She earned her M.D. from Rush Medical College
in Chicago in 1925 and returned to China in 1928 with her
husband Lewis Smythe.
Mrs. Smythe worked in the mission hospital in Nanking for the next twenty
three years. She had a special interest in tuberculosis patients and recounts
her experiences with them. She provides a unique description of the lives of
missionary children, both from her own childhood experience and her experiences
raising her two daughters in Nanking. Mrs. Smythe also describes the living conditions
the family encountered as refugees at West China Christian University from the
Japanese invasion between 1938 and 1946.
Interviewers: Georgenia Irwin and Arthur L Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Stanley, Louise Hathaway (b. 1880)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Born in Ohio to Baptist parents, Louise Hathaway married Charles Alfred Stanley
in 1904 and went to China with him as a Congregational Board Missionary. They
lived in China until 1941, residing in Tientsin and Shantung provinces. Mrs.
Stanley taught English and music.
Charles Stanley’s family had a long history of missionary service and Mrs.
Stanley thinks this prepared her better for her experience. She describes the
development of women’s industries in Tientsin under the guidance of mission ladies
as well as her experiences and perceptions of the country.
Interviewer: Georginia Irwin.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Steurt, Marjorie Rankin (b. 1888)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Miss Rankin arrived in China under the sponsorship of the Presbyterian Mission
Board in 1922 and taught in Weisien and Ichowfu, Shantung until 1927 when she
returned to the States to complete her graduate studies at Columbia University.
She returned to Tientsin in 1929 and served as the head of the Experimental Education
Department of Nankin University until the school was destroyed by the Japanese
in 1932. At that time, she returned to the U.S. and continued a teaching and
writing career. She married Roy
Steurt in 1937.
As an intellectual and professional liberal, Miss Rankin found herself in
constant rebellion against her predominantly fundamentalist and evangelical associates
in China. From this position, she provides a unique description of missionary
and educational work in China.
Interviewer: Georgenia Irwin.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Stockwell, F. Olin (b. 1900)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Olin Stockwell graduated from Garrett Theological Seminary in 1924, married
Esther Bech that same year, and arrived in China in 1929. From 1929to 1941, he
engaged in rural evangelistic work in Foochow and Chengtu. He worked at West
China Union Theological Seminary from 1942 to
1949. From 1950-’51 he was a prisoner of the communists.
In this interview, Mr. Stockwell describes the methods of attracting potential
converts to Christianity and the standards and goals set for converts. He compares
the Catholic emphasis on family to the Protestant
concentration on the individual.
Interviewer: Georgenia Irwin.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Tootell, George Thomas (b. 1886)
China Missionaries Project
1969.
Born in Chicago to English parents, George Tootell earned his MD from the
Chicago College of Medicine and Surgery in 1912 and a Diploma of Tropical Medicine
from Harvard Medical College in 1921. He went to China in 1913, sponsored by
the American Presbyterian Church and lived in five cities of Hunan between 1913
and 1949, serving as Director of Medical Work. By responding specifically to
general questions in this interview, Dr. Tootell provides valuable details for
historians, especially concerning medical
conditions and practices.
Interviewer: Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Topping, William Hill (b. 1885)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Born in Maberly, Ontario, Canada, Mr. Toping attended Perth Collegiate Institute
in Ontario, New York University and Union Theological Seminary in NY, obtaining
his B.D. in 1917. He went to Foochow, China in 1911, supported by the American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and served there until 1951 as teacher,
District Secretary and Associate General Secretary of Middle Fukien Synod of
the Church of Christ in China. He describes the cooperative administrative policies
of various denominations in Fukien
and the roles of women in missionary work.
Interviewer: Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Ward, Katherine Bertha Boeye (b. 1900)
China Missionaries Project
1971.
Katherine Boeye graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1922 with a
major in psychology. She earned an MA from the Teachers College at Columbia University
and arrived in China in 1925. From 1928 to 1939,
she taught English at girls’ high schools in Nanking and Chungking. In 1939,
she returned to the U.S.
In 1948, Miss Boeye married Ralph Ansel Ward, the Methodist Bishop of Chekiang,
Kiangsu, Anhweit and Kiangsi provinces. The Wards lived in Shanghai until 1950
and from 1951 to 1958 they worked in Hong Kong and Taiwan. From 1960 to 1964,
Mrs. Ward worked establishing a school for girls in Taiwan, she lived there until
1967. In her interview, Mrs. Ward discusses the effects of social and political
change on the students and faculty in mission schools.
Interviewers: Enid H. Douglass and Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Wiley, Martha (b. 1874)
China Missionaries Project
1969.
Born and educated in Washington State, Miss Wiley went to China in 1900 sponsored
by the American Congregational Missionary Society. She served for forty-seven
years, spending most of her time in Foochow. She began teaching mathematics,
but soon switched to Bible studies. Throughout her time in China, she was involved
in relief work, evangelism and the education
of women.
In this interview, Miss Wiley discusses her contacts with other missionary
groups and her impressions of Asian religions. She relates her experience of
the Boxer rebellion and the Japanese invasions and describes her relationships
with various Chinese people, and with the local government. She also describes
her view of her mission in life as it relates to Chinese culture and religion.
Appended to Miss Wiley’s interview are interviews with Mr. and Mrs. Roderick
Scott, friends of hers who share their personal recollections
about her.
Interviewers: Georgenia F. Irwin, Cyrus H. Peake and
Arthur L. Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Winance, Joseph Eleutherius OSB (b. 1909)
China Missionaries Project
1969.
Born in Mons, Belgium, and educated in Jesuit schools, Father Winance earned
a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology from the University of Louvain in 1934 and
was ordained a priest in the Order of Saint Benedict in 1935. He served in China
from 1936 to 1952, as a teacher and a parish priest. In 1950, Fr. Winance was
placed on trial. He was imprisoned, subjected
to “brainwashing” and was expelled from the country in 1952. While recounting
his experiences, Fr. Winance also discusses the role of the Catholic Church in
China and its adaptation to Chinese culture.
Interviewers: Enid H. Douglass, Georgenia F. Irwin and
Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.
Winans, Pearl Fosnot (b. 1891)
China Missionaries Project
1970.
Miss Fosnot earned a BA from Nebraska Wesleyan College in 1917 and a Ph.D.
in Religious Education from Boston University in 1940. She first went to China
in 1921, sponsored by the Methodist Church. She was stationed in Chengtu, Szechuan
at West China Union University until 1952 where she
developed women’s education and served as the Dean of Women. In this interview,
she discusses the fears she had being responsible for the women and girls at
the university during periods of unrest. She also describes her journey from
Chengtu to Hong Kong upon being expelled
by the government in 1952.
Interviewers: Georgenia F. Irwin and Cyrus H. Peake.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of page.