Fonds 137J - Papers [of the Adams family]

Identity area

Reference code

137J

Title

Papers [of the Adams family]

Date(s)

  • 1887-1952 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

1.25 cubic feet (1 cubic foot box and 1 flat box)

Context area

Archival history

Albert G. Adams and his wife, Alice Dager Adams, missionaries for the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., were appointed to the West Africa Mission in 1902. Albert Adams served as mission treasurer. Alice Adams was primarily engaged in evangelistic and educational work. During World War I, the Adams remained in West Africa with the West Africa Mission. Alice Adams died in Cameroun, West Africa in 1933. Albert Adams returned to the United States on furlough in 1936. For health reasons, he could not return to the field. He retired from active service in 1937 and died in 1938. Evelyn A. Adams, the daughter of Albert and Alice Adams and a medical missionary for the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., was appointed to the West Africa Mission and assigned to Cameroun in 1936. She was officially retired by the Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations in 1972.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Box 1: personal correspondence between Alice and Albert Adams, 1928-ca. 1931 (bulk 1928 and 1931 when Albert was recuperating at the Clifton Springs Sanitarium and Clinic in New York); March 1905, July 1910, and 1928-1938 personal correspondence from Alice or Albert Adams to Evelyn Adams, to loved ones, and to relatives primarily documenting the Adams' missionary service and daily life in Cameroun, the West Africa Mission, other missionary personnel, and Evelyn Adams; material concerning the death of Alice Adams in 1933 including letters of condolence to Evelyn and Albert Adams; correspondence and related material primarily concerning personal financial matters of Albert Adams, 1932, 1937-1938; Albert and Alice Adams' 1903 and 1909 personal reports and a 1932 Batanga Station report submitted by Alice Adams; a 1903 typewritten copy of an article by Albert Adams and an undated typewritten sketch by Alice Adams; folder identified as R. G. Adams and Africa data (mainly contains several 1937 "Dear Friends" letters from West Africa Mission missionaries, a few 1936-1937 station and hospital reports as well as an undated personal report of Evelyn Adams, several typewritten copies of Albert Adams' 1933 article on the treasurer's office and a ca. 1937 address by Albert Adams, and undated typewritten copies of an article on Alice Adams' missionary service); an unidentified folder (mainly contains a few hospital reports, station reports, and personal reports of Evelyn Adams, 1936-1944; several "Dear Friends" letters from Evelyn Adams, 1936-1952; and several undated manuscripts by Evelyn Adams); undated photographs and postcards of Cameroun, of West Africa, and of the West Africa Mission; "Dear Friends" letters from the Office of Secretary and some from the Treasurer's Office of the Board of Foreign Missions of the PCUSA to the West Africa Mission (Gaboon and Corisco Mission prior to 1900) chronicling the Mission and the Board, ca. 1887, 1893, 1900-1906, 1909-1914, 1917; letters from the Treasurer's Office of the Board of Foreign Missions of the PCUSA mainly to Albert Adams, 1901-1902, 1910-1916; correspondence concerning the West Africa Mission, missionary personnel, and the Gossner Missionary Society, 1912-1913; typewritten and handwritten West Africa Mission documents including 1894-1895 and 1897 Batanga Station meeting minutes, a 1900 Auditing Committee report, December 1902 mission meeting minutes, December 1908 mission meeting minutes and various committee reports, and a 1914 mission meeting program; and typed extracts for September 27, 1915-January 9, 1916 from the diary of Arnold Hilmar Lowe (Presbyterian minister and missionary to the West Africa Mission, 1912-1916) pertaining to the West Africa Mission and World War I. Box 2 (flat box): folder identified as war documents, etc. contains material primarily in German, some in English, and a small amount in Spanish and French, ca. 1913-ca. 1918 (bulk 1914-1915). Mainly includes official letters, notifications, orders, regulations, and other documents from German government and military officials in German Kamerun to the American Presbyterian Mission (West Africa Mission) and some related mission correspondence and documentation; German bills and accounts with the Mission; Albert Adams' correspondence with English and Spanish officials and to the Board of Foreign Missions in New York; a typewritten August 1, 1914-January 11, 1915 Batanga Station report; and some news sheets and typescript copies of Reuter telegrams reporting news of the war in Europe.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Presbyterian Historical Society

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Material must be used in accordance with current copyright law.

Language of material

Script of material

Language and script notes

This description was automatically translated with the help of www.DeepL.com. Translation errors are possible. Please note that the document itself has not been translated.

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area