Religious Life

Materials in this category contain considerable information on women's religious experiences and activities. Holdings are particularly strong in documenting personal spiritual struggles and women's involvement in Protestant religious organizations.

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Adams, Sarah Eve

Diary, 1813-1814. 1 vol. (52 pp.) Richmond County, Ga. Chronicles Adam's life while living with the Eve family near Augusta where she attended Christ Presbyterian Church. Includes descriptions of congregation, preacher, and activities. Also includes references to Methodist activities in the area.

Blair, Cynthia and Mildred

Papers, 1852-1892. 79 items. Randolph Co., N.C. Correspondence of two adolescent girls with friends and relatives contain family news and much information on social and religious life in the pre-war period. Subjects include camp meetings, revivals, religion at home, Trinity College in 1861, and quilting bees.

Coleman, Inabelle Graves

Papers, 1896-1981. 479 items and 3 vols. Durham, N.C. Restricted. School administrator, teacher, Baptist churchworker, missionary. Chiefly photographs of Chinese people, churches, and schools. Also included are articles and letters written by Coleman from the mission field describing missionary activities.

Crawford, Martha E. Foster

Diaries, 1846-1881. 7 vols. Clinton, Ala. and Shanghai, China. Diaries as a young woman in Alabama, 1846-1851, and later as a Baptist missionary to China. Included are several printed pamphlets and an original manuscript history of missions in China.

Crosby, Sarah

Papers, 1760-1804. 2 items and 1 vol. Leeds, England. Restricted. Letters from the first woman authorized to preach by John Wesley. Contains mainly outgoing correspondence on Methodism: included are memoranda, copies of letters between John Wesley and Mary Bosanquet, and extracts from the diary of Jane Cooper.

Eames, Mehitable Forbush

Letters, 1804-1855. 54 items. Westborough, Mass. Chiefly letters to Eames relating to the religious ferver of the Second Great Awakening in Massachusetts, especially among its female adherents in the Baptist churches of Westborough and Medway. Letters are filled with spiritual lamentations and often describe religious activities in the area.

Everett, Lillie Moore

Papers, 1890-1948. 275 items, 15 vols. Rockingham, N.C. Correspondence, manuscripts, clippings, and notes concerning the history of various religious groups and churches in Richmond County. Includes information on early Methodist leaders, camp meetings, Pee Dee and Peidmont circuits, the Women's Missionary Society, and Methodism among blacks.

Fraser, Mary Jane

Notebook, 1842. 1 vol. (66 pp.) Charleston, S.C. Notes on "The Church Universal" in the form of questions and answers.

Gresham, Mary E. Baxter

Commonplace Book, 1836-1882. 1 item. Athens, Ga. Manuscript volume (ca. 200 p.) of a young woman includes transcribed letters, poems, and essays expressing religious and cultural values.

Hall Family

Papers, 1868-1965. 1,071 items. Wilmington, N.C. Collection contains correspondence between Maggie T. Sprunt Hall and her daughters relating to family matters, Wellesley College, and women's work in the Presbyterian Church, particularly the Women's Foreign Missionary Society.

Harley, George Way

Papers, 1911-1975. ca. 2,500 items. Asheville, N.C., and Ganta, Liberia. Correspondence, diaries, writings, subject files, scrapbooks, and miscellaneous items document the missionary work of Harley and his wife Winifred Jewell Harley. During the 35 years spent at the Ganta Mission, the Harleys built a medical dispensary, hospital, church, school, and several residences, shops, and "sick" villages.

Harmony Church (Pilgrim Holiness)

Record book, 1910-1944. 1 vol. (111 pp.) Harmony, N.C. Minutes, financial accounts, memoranda, and membership lists include numerous references to revivals and evangelists such as Laura Albright (1925), a Quaker and Northern Methodist minister.

Jocelyn, Susan Elinor Willard

Manuscript, ca. 1840. 9 vols. (244 pp.) New England Unpublished fictional portrayal of the daily life of a rural pastor's wife entitled "Lights and Shadows: Parish Sketches." Includes mounted photographs of rural kitchen interiors dated 1907.

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King, Carl Howie and Mary Eskridge King

Papers, 1918-1973. Ca, 5,800 items and 1 vol. Salisbury, N.C. The Mary Eskridge King division, 1941-1973, of the collection contains primarily printed materials representing her work with the Methodist Church and her interests in Christian social ministries on local, regional and national levels. Included are materials from the Women's Society of Christian Service, North Carolina Council of Churches, Methodist Board of Hospitals, Board of Missions, Board of Christian Social Concerns, Inter-religious Foundation for Community Organization, Western North Carolina Conference, and other groups.

Knowles, Elizabeth M. H.

Diary, 1914-1915. 1 vol. (258 pp.) Macon, Ga. Teacher. Records her life in Rome, Ga.; teaching at the Appleton Church Home, an Episcopal orphanage for girls in Macon, Ga.; travel by train and steamship; student life at Shorter College. Includes information on social life, her relationships with students and the sisters of the Order of Deaconesses of St. Katherine at the orphanage, Episcopal churches and clergy.

Murray, Pauli

Papers, 1976-1977. 2 items. Alexandria, Va. Copy of letter addressed to "Family and Friends" is largely autobiographical and reviews her academic career in both religion and law, training for the Episcopal priesthood, her dedication to human rights, and names of those who have helped and influenced her. Also includes an invitation to her ordination as priest in the Washington Cathedral.

Parsons, Sarah B.

Diary, 1819-1859. 1 vol. (171 pp.) East Haddam, Conn. Reflections upon family and spiritual life. Bulk of entries chronicle her children's birthdays, illnesses, education, and marriages. Frequent mention of husband's church, local prayer meetings and revivals, and illnesses and deaths in the community.

Resource Center for Women and the Ministry in the South, Inc.

Records ca. 1970-1991. 5,960 items. Durham, N.C. Alphabetical, grant, and financial files relating to the organization's work with women's issues in the church. Also contains correspondence, audio-visual materials, and printed materials including newsletters and brochures of the organization as well as other groups. Records document conferences sponsored by the Center; sermons and talks by the Center's director; relationships with other women in ministerial organizations; and general information on a range of topics such as lesbians and gays in the church, abortion, and feminism and Christianity.

Sayre, Elizabeth

Petition, (ca. 1880-1850?). 1 item (1 p.). Warwick, NY Request to the Baptist Church at Warwick, N.Y., for restoration of her membership. Includes references to personal and family difficulties and religious views.

Stokes, Missouria H.

Papers, 1856-1924. 182 items. Decatur, Ga. Correspondence relating to personal affairs, temperance and religion. Included is information on the National and the Georgia Women's Christian Temperance Union; Frances Willard; temperance legislation; author Mary Ann Harris Guy; Harmony Male and Female Academy, Georgia Female College, and the Sans Souci School for Girls.

Strong, Christiana

Diary, 1806-1810. 1 item. Connecticut. Diary primarily chronicles Strong's inner spiritual struggles.

Turner, Anne A.

Diary, 1821-1837. 1 vol. Fayetteville, N.C. Chiefly concerned with religious introspection and family matters.