Inventory of the Isaac Leroy Shaver Papers, 1893-1982
[top]Descriptive Summary
Repository
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University
Creator
Shaver, Isaac Leroy, b. 1893
Title
Isaac Leroy Shaver Papers, 1893-1982
Language of Material
Material in English
Japanese
Extent
13.0 Linear Feet
approx. 4000 Items
Abstract
approx. 4000 Items
Isaacy Leroy Shaver was a Methodist clergyman and missionary to Japan, both pre- and post-World War II.
The collection includes sermons, correspondence, photographs, printed material and published works related to Shaver's missionary work in Japan. The material ranges in date from 1893-1982.
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Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsCollection is open for research.
However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Copyright Notice
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Isaac Leroy Shaver Papers, Rare Book,
Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Isaac Leroy Shaver Papers were received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as a
gift in 1983-1986.
Processing Information
Processed by Kimberly Sims, October 2009
Encoded by Kimberly Sims, October 2009
Accessions were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note
Isaac Leroy Shaver was born in Rowan County, NC in August 1893. He graduated from preparatory school at Rutherford College in 1915 and from Trinity College (now Duke University) in 1919. That same year, he married Pearl Tesh and soon thereafter, moved to Japan to begin work as a Methodist missionary. In 1924, he returned to Durham where he graduated with a master's degree from Duke University in 1925. Over the next several years, Shaver and his family moved between Japan and the United States, spending almost a year in Korea as well. During World War II, Shaver served as a Methodist minister to a Japanese community in Caldwell, Idaho and worked on behalf of Japanese held in U.S. detention centers. After the war, Shaver returned to Japan to continue his missionary work until returning to Idaho in 1959. He retired from his work as a pastor in 1969 and moved back to North Carolina with his wife. Shaver died in 1984.
[top]Collection Overview
The collection is divided into five series: sermons, personal files, photographs, printed matter/published works, and material sent to the Preservation Department. The sermons are largely from the 1940s-1960s. The sermon note are in English, though some were transliterated into Japanese. The personal files include correspondence, church bulletins, baptism and marriage records from Idaho, family papers, passports, and clippings. Some correspondence, largely from 1942, concerns Shaver's work on behalf of Japanese held in U.S. detention centers. The photographs include eight albums and numerous loose pictures which have been placed in archival sleeves. The majority of the images are in black and white and were taken in Japan. Some were take at various locations in the United States. Photographic subjects include children, families, congregations, conference attendees, landscape/exterior views and the Shaver family. The printed matter/published works include books written about Japan and Christianity, the mission field, and sermons. There are also several Bibles, hymnals (some in Japanese), prayer calendars, and appointment books. The material that has been sent to the Preservation Dept. within Perkins Library includes photographs and certificates of achievement. The collection ranges in date from 1893-1982.
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Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
- Shaver, Isaac Leroy, b. 1893
- Missionaries--Japan--Correspondence.
- World War, 1939-1945--Japan.
- World War, 1939-1945--United States.
- World War, 1939-1945--United States--Japanese Americans.
- Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation--1942-1945.
- Sermons, American--Translations into Japanese.
- Evangelicalism--Japan.
- Photographs--Japan.
- Japan--History--1926-1945.
- Sermons.
Related Material
Park-Lambuth-Sherertz family papers, 1825-1989
Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collections Library at Duke University
Mary McMillan Papers, 1936-1997 and undated (bulk 1952-1991)
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University
 | List of Series in Collection | |||||||
 |  | Sermons | ||||||
| | Personal Files | ||||||
| | Photographs | ||||||
| | Printed Matter/Published Works | ||||||
 | | Material sent to Preservation Dept. | ||||||
Detailed Description of Collection
Sermons
(2 boxes)
This series contains a sampling of Shaver's sermon notes, largely from the 1940s-1960s. The majority of the sermons notes are in English, although there are some that were transliterated into Japanese. Each folder contains multiple sermons. Sermon titles include
"On Holding Fast,"
"Search the Scriptures,"
"Three Crosses on Calvary,"
"Dare to be Different,"
and
"Christmas Then and Now."
Box 1
Sermons (21 folders)
Box 2
Sermons (34 folders)
Personal Files
(1 box)
This series includes correspondence (some of which pertains to Japanese held in U.S. detention centers during World War II), church bulletins, clippings, baptism and marriage records from Idaho, papers regarding the Anti-Alien Bill in Arizona, and family papers.
Box 3
Correspondence, 1893, 1895, 1913, 1916, 1919, 1925
Correspondence, 1926, 1928-1929, 1934-1936
Correspondence, 1939-1941
Correspondence, 1942 Jan.-June
Correspondence, 1942 July-Dec.
Correspondence, 1943
Correspondence, 1944-1948
Correspondence, 1950-1951, 1953, 1955
Correspondence, 1956-1957
Correspondence, 1958
Correspondence, 1959
Correspondence, 1960-1964, 1968-1971, 1974-1977, 1982, undated
Anti-Alien Bill in Arizona [includes clippings, correspondence], 1933, 1935-1936
Caldwell Church Bulletin, circa 1941-1947
Kuna Methodist Church Bulletin, 1961-1962, 1965, 1967-1969
Miscellaneous Church Bulletins, circa 1935-1970s
Caldwell Japanese Methodist Church, circa 1942, 1947
Kuna Methodist Church Membership, circa 1960s
Baptism Records, 1942, 1946-1947, 1961-1968
Baptism Records, 1954-1968 (1954-1960 incomplete)
Marriage Records, circa 1941-1969
Papers: China, Korea, Japan, undated
Pacific Japanese Provisional Conference, 1943, 1946-1947
Clippings
Trinity College/Duke University, circa 1893-1935, 1969
Rutherford College, 1912-1916
Pearl Shaver, 1916, circa 1958-1960
Shaver Family: Miscellaneous, circa 1913-1955
Shaver's
"Life Sketch"
Miscellaneous Newsletters, 1936, 1942, 1945, 1959
Miscellaneous, circa 1913-1970s (2 folders)
Photographs
(2 boxes)
This series includes albums and folders which house largely black and white images of Shaver's time in Japan. The majority are unidentified and undated, although the bulk appears to have been taken post-World War II, likely during the 1950s. Many of the shots are posed although there are a good number of candid shots throughout the collection. In addition to serving as a missionary to Japan, Shaver also worked briefly in Korea. Some of the images from the late 1930s could possibly be from there. There are also family photographs.
Box 4
Album: Images circa 1950s-1960s, conference photographs (group/attendees), church congregation photographs, Greencastle, Indiana, Oita, Japan, the Shaver family, outdoor shots of Japan, Japanese orphans, Caldwell, Idaho, Camp Chickamauga, the 187th American Airborne Regimental Combat Team, photographs from the dedication of the American Airborne Memorial Children's Home (Eiko-en, 1952).
Album: Images circa 1950s, dedication of the American Airborne Memorial Children's Home (Eiko-en), Japanese orphans, the Shaver family, Japanese children at play, Camp Chickamauga.
Album: Images from 1920s-1930s, group shots of congregations and possibly conference attendees, outdoor shots of Japan, the Shaver family, Japanese and/or Korean children, Japanese and/or Korean families.
Album: Images circa 1940s-1950s, front and back covers are separated from the album, outdoor shots of Japan, groups shots, congregations, Japanese children, Japanese women, Japanese families, the Shaver family, weddings.
Folder 1: Loose album pages, circa 1920s-1930s, the Shaver family, outdoor shots of Japan and/or Korea, groups, congregations
Folder 2: Loose album pages, circa 1940s-1950s, groups, conference attendees, weddings, Japanese families, Japanese children, the Shaver family.
Folder 3: Loose photographs, circa 1930s-1950s, groups (Korea and Japan), landscapes
Folder 4: Negatives
Box 5
Album: Images circa 1940s-1950s, Oita, Japan, kindergarteners and their mothers, kindergarten teachers, the Shaver family, teachers' wedding, field day.
Album: Images circa 1920s-1930s, groups, congregations, the Shaver family, Japanese children.
Album: Japanese postcards, undated
Album: Images circa 1920s-1930s, Japanese and/or Koreans at work, groups, congregations, the Shaver family, images of destroyed buildings, outdoor shots of Japan and/or Korea.
Folders: The folders contain loose photographs which have been placed in archival sleeves. Images circa 1920s-1970s and are in black/white and color. Subjects include groups, conferences, Japanese families, Japanese children, the Shaver family, outdoor shots in Japan and in the United States. One folder houses a card-mounted photograph of Dr. J. C. Rowe, father of Trinity College/Duke professor Dr. Gilbert Rowe, circa late-19th century.
Printed Matter/Published Works
(4 boxes)
This series includes books written about Japan and Christainity, missions and sermons as well as Bibles, appointment books, hymnals, and prayer calendars. Handwritten notes can be found in most of the printed matter/published works. The appointment books and prayer calendars range in date from 1939-1975. Some of the hymnals are in Japanese.
Box 6
Bibles, hymnals, appointment books, prayer calendars (this box is heavy)
Box 7
Books related to sermons, ministers' manuals
Box 8
Books related specifically to Japan and/or Christianity
Box 9
New Testament, books related to missions, Christianity
Material sent to Preservation Dept.
(17 items)
This material is unavailable until returned from the Preservation Department.
Panoramic image of California Street Community Church and its Japanese/Japanese-American congregants
Panoramic image of an unidentified group of conference attendees, taken in Seattle, undated
Pan-Am certificate "Domain of Phoebus Apollo," given to Shaver after he crossed the International Dateline, dated 1954 Feb. 20
Five documents written in Japanese
Local Preacher's License, 1913 July 24
Renewal of License to Preach, 1917 July 18
Certificate naming Shaver an Elder of the Methodist Church, 1922 Aug. 29
Preaching License signed by JC Rowe, Gold Hill Circuit, 1912 Sept. 28 (one side); this is a renewal of other side, also signed by JC Rowe, 1911 July
Letter stating that WR Wall [?] is sending Shaver his license to preach, 1913 July 28
Renewal of License to Preach, 1918 July 24
Certificate acknowledging Shaver as a Deacon of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, 1919 Nov. 2
