Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1939-1993 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
0.70 Linear Feet; 1 archives box and 1 half archives box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
H. (Harvey) Ernest Bennett was born to Frank Bennett and Theoda Collins-Bennett, Cumberland, Maryland on January 22, 1915. He studied at Eastern Mennonite School, Eastern Baptist Seminary, and Elizabethtown College. He married Earla Hostetter on July 12, 1941.
Bennett served in Spain under the Mennonite Relief Committee of the Mennonite Board of Missions from 1939 to 1940. From 1940 to 1941, he served with Mennonite Central Committee in France. He then began his long career as a Mennonite agency administrator. From 1941 to 1946, he worked for Mennonite Central Committee in Akron, Pennsylvania as a bookkeeper, assistant treasurer, and office manager. From 1951 to 1965, he served as treasurer of the Mennonite Board of Missions.
From 1952 to 1976, Bennett served as executive secretary for the Mennonite Health Assembly. He then served as president of the Mennonite Board of Missions from 1967 to 1990 and as executive secretary for the Mennonite Health Alliance from 1980 to 1990. In his retirement, Bennett served as the custodian of Prairie Street Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana. Bennett died in 2009.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
A small, fragmented set of personal papers primarily documenting Bennett's early career. Materials include correspondence, speeches and presentations, photographs / slides (most poorly labeled) and miscellaneous materials. Photographs and slides primarily depict Bennett's life in Akron as an MCC worker, as well as his relief work in France and Spain.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Flat
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
These materials are open to public research.
Conditions governing reproduction
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. Copyright owned by the Mennonite Church USA Archives.
Language of material
- English
- French
- Spanish