Inventory of
the Elbert Russell Papers,
1893 -
1968
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Descriptive Summary
Title
Elbert
Russell Papers,
1893 - 1968.
Creator
Russell, Elbert,
1871-1951.
Extent
1.3 Linear Feet,
1,000
Items
Repository
University Archives, Duke
University
Abstract
Elbert Russell served as a Quaker
historian, author, minister, and Dean of the Divinity
School at Duke University from 1928 until 1941. Personal
and professional papers contain correspondence, manuscript
materials, sermons, articles and short writings, and
clippings. Major subjects include Duke University Divinity
School, study and teaching of the Bible, history of
Quakerism, study and teaching of Quakerism, fellowship,
study and teaching of pacifism, and sermons. Materials
range in date from 1893-1968.
Language
English.
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Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
In off-site storage; 24 hours advance notice is
required for use.
Use Restrictions
Copyright for Official University records is
held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by
the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants,
as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Elbert Russell Papers,
University Archives, Duke University.
Provenance
The Elbert Russell Papers were received by the
University Archives as a transfer in 1966, 1968, and
1974.
Processing Information
Processed by Emily Glenn
Completed March 2003
Encoded by Jill Katte, September 2003
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note
Elbert Russell, Quaker historian, author,
minister, and leader, was born in 1871 in Friendsville,
Tennessee. He was educated at Earlham College (Richmond,
Ind.) and the University of Chicago. After earning a degree
at the University of Chicago (Ph.D.), he returned to teach
religion at Earlham College from 1895 to 1915. Russell also
taught at Johns Hopkins University, Woolman College,
Haverford College, and Swarthmore College.
Russell joined the faculty of the Duke University
Divinity School in 1926 as a professor of Biblical
Interpretation. In 1929, he became Dean of the Divinity
School. He served on the Executive Committee of Carolina
Institute of International Relations and worked closely
with colleagues at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill to establish a network of specialists in
nonviolent international relations. When he retired from
the Divinity School in 1942, the Divinity School Alumni
Association established the Elbert Russell Scholarship in
his honor.
Russell was a prominent leader of the Society of
Friends, or Quakers, a traditionally pacifist religious
group. He was a guest speaker at Quaker educational
institutions, a visiting preacher at churches and religious
gatherings across the country, and a teacher of nonviolent
conflict resolution. In 1927, he traveled to Central
America in on a goodwill mission. After World War II, he
traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East
working on projects for his church and as a representative
of the American Friends Services Committee. A pacifist,
Russell had helped young men to defend their right to
declare themselves conscientious objectors of war.
Some of Elbert Russell's writings include
The Beatitudes (1929),
The Book of Revelation: with
an introduction, paraphrase and notes (1930),
The Message of the Fourth
Gospel (1932),
A History of Quakerism
(1942), and
Elbert Russell, Quaker: an
Autobiography (1956).
After retiring from Duke University in 1942,
Russell and his family lived in Greensboro, N.C., Mobile,
Ala., and St. Petersburg, Fla. Russell was married to
Lieuetta Cox Russell, and had two children. Elbert Russell
died in 1951 at age 80.
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Collection Overview
Contains materials pertaining to the personal and
professional work of Elbert Russell, Quaker historian,
author, minister, and Dean of the Divinity School at Duke
University from 1928 to 1941. In addition to his sermons,
articles and books, Russell authored many poems and a play.
Much of the correspondence in the collection includes
references to pacifism and concerns sermons, teaching,
preaching, Quakerism, and formal publication of his
writings. Some clippings and correspondence in the
collection date from after Russell's death and discuss his
life and work. These most likely were collected by
colleagues or family members. Materials range in date from
1893-1968.
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Subject Headings
These and related materials may be accessed under
the following subject headings in the Duke University
Libraries online catalog.
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Related Material
Divinity School records.
University Archives, Duke
University.
Elbert Russell papers,
1895-1966.
Arthur and Kathleen Postle Archives
and Friends Collection, Earlham College.
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Detailed Description of the Collection
Container List:
Box 1
Folder 1
Correspondence,
1924-February,
1941
Folder 2
Correspondence,
March 1941-May
1941
Folder 3
Correspondence,
June
1941-1965
Articles and Sermons
Folder 4
Articles about politics,
character, and the Bible,
1902-1934
Folder 5
Articles about trust, optimism,
life problems, general issues,
1912-1951
Folder 6
The Inner Light in
the History and Modern Problems of the Society of
Friends, ca.
1945
Folder 7
"The Basis of
Authority in Religion,"
undated
Folder 8
"The Richmond
Declaration of Faith,"
ca.
1922,
1961
Includes correspondence.
Folder 9
"The Relation of
Christianity to War and Peace,"
ca.
1929
Folder 10
Criticism, correspondence,
"The Relation of
Christianity to War and Peace,"
ca.
1929
Folder 11
Central American goodwill mission,
1927
Folder 12
"Nonviolence as a
Means of Social and Religious Progress,"
"Freedom and Moral
Responsibility in Modern Life,"
and
"Irish
Stories,"
undated
Folder 13
"Learning and
Piety,"
"The Christian
Church,"
"Hero
Worship,"
and meeting notes.
Folder 14
"King of
Kings,"
"The Little Girl God
Forgot,"
"Suspected
Bigamy,"
"Quaint Old Kernel of
Kendal Green Fame,"
and a review of
Gone with the
Wind.
Folder 15
Chapel Talks
and
More Chapel
Talks
Includes some reprints.
Folder 16
"The Importance of
Religious Education,"
"Courses in Religion
for Negro Ministers,"
"Why We Do Not Want
County Liquor Stores,"
and
"Prohibition in
America,"
undated
Folder 17
Manuscript material for play about
Antioch in Syria, A.D. 48, undated
Folder 18
Sermons and prayers,
1937,
undated
Folder 19
"The Seed
Picker,"
1926-1927
Folder 20
The Book of
Revelation, [193-?]
Folder 21
Poems, ca.
1893-1919
Folder 22
"Tales of the
Parson,"
part 1, ca.
1927-1928
Folder 23
"Tales of the
Parson,"
part 2, ca.
1927-1928
Folder 24
Articles on peace and nonviolence,
undated
Folder 25-26
Articles on Christianity,
1909-1951
Includes some reprints.
Folder 27
Articles on Quakerism,
1897-1921
Folder 28-29
Articles on Quakerism and Present
Tendencies,
1922-1951
Folder 30
"A Commentary on the
Book of Revelation,"
undated
Folder 31
Clippings and reprints, ca.
1921-1951
Folder 32
Discussion of Russell's last
lectures in North Carolina,
1968
