Print preview Close

Showing 441 results

Archival description
Collection
Print preview View:

Erland Waltner Papers

  • US BCMLA 00/MS.383
  • Collection
  • 1920-2000

Waltner’s papers are extensive and cover his career and service in great detail. Waltner discarded very little, and this is immediately evidenced by the detailed notes and student papers surviving for the classes he took at Bethel, the University of South Dakota, and all three seminaries where he studied. A handful of Winifred’s student papers are included. Both Erland and Winifred kept journals, and Erland actually retained his pocket calendars listing appointments for virtually his entire career. The most significant documentation of the Waltner family is their correspondence, especially some thirty years of nearly weekly letters from Erland’s father, Ben J Waltner. Also revealing the story of the Waltner family are the frequent letters between Erland and Winifred; corresponding whenever they were apart early in the marriage and whenever he traveled to his numerous speaking engagements. The demand for him to speak is documented by many hundreds of letters inviting him to speak, and far more invitations were received than he could accept. Perhaps of most interest to the historian will be Waltner’s extensive correspondence regarding the Mennonite Biblical Seminary and as a General Conference leader in the 1940s and 1950s. Included are details regarding the revival of the seminary and its early years in Chicago. Most significant are likely the negotiations with the Mennonite Church (Old Mennonites) regarding the move of the seminary to Elkhart and the early cooperative efforts, which includes a number of original letters with Harold S. Bender. Also of interest are a decade of letters from E. G. Kaufman trying to recruit Waltner to Bethel College, and letters from those trying to recruit him to the seminary at the same time. Waltner’s involvement with the Board of Education and Publication and numerous subcommittees will have overlapping documentation in the archives of the General Conference, but some materials are not duplicates. This is perhaps most true of the six years of correspondence as conference president. The Board of Missions papers are mostly duplicates of the conference archives, including many numbered and circular letters, but interspersed are some likely original letters not in the church archives. (The collection contains several folders of letters from other, mostly older, General Conference leaders which Waltner somehow acquired and retained). The correspondence and reports Waltner saved from his work with MCC and MWC are also significant although not extensive. He even has papers documenting the beginning of the Mennonite Medical Association (and for many years seemed to be the only non-doctor on the membership list). He was often the person called upon to represent the General Conference in inter-Mennonite activities in the fifties, sixties, and seventies. Waltner was a founder of the first General Conference Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Hively Avenue, and the collection contains materials related to the beginning of the church and its ongoing activities. One surprise might be that this collection does not contain significant documentation from Waltner’s two decades as seminary president - these official files from his administrative duties are at the seminary as they should be. Following his retirement, Waltner did continue to receive and retained a thorough set of faculty minutes and memos. Some of these communications with other faculty may be unique copies. What is definitely unique among Waltner’s seminary papers are the thousands of pages of lecture notes, course syllabi, student papers, exams, and other evaluations. These cover a period of nearly forty years (late fifties through early nineties) and provide insight into what was being taught at a very detailed level. Although perhaps less significant historically than the MBS and General Conference materials, this collection also documents the thinking and preaching of one of the most significant General Conference preachers of the twentieth century. As many as fifteen hundred to two thousand of his sermons have survived - most are in outline form on half sheets of paper and almost all have the place/occasion and date included. They are generally sorted by the scripture passage, i.e. all of the sermons on Mark, Psalms, Job, etc. Some are sorted by topic. However, they maybe found everywhere - so a folder for a seminary course on Peter may contain a handful of sermon outlines on Peter from the 1940s or 1950s. In one respect these sermons are important because only a decade of the over four decades of sermons were as a pastor of a congregation. The demand for Waltner to preach was overwhelming and it seems like he was preaching somewhere every Sunday, including not only at local congregations but also district conferences and a host of special events, such as ordinations, building dedications, commencements, and so forth.

A handful of Waltner’s early sermons in Mountain Lake were in German, and be preached in German during some of his earlier MCC and MWC travels in Canada, Europe and South America. Otherwise the collection is in English.

Waltner, Erland, 1914-2009

Noah Oyer Papers

  • US GCA HM1/024
  • Collection
  • 1905-1931

These papers are divided into three series:

(1) Correpondence

(2) Notes and Teaching Materials

(3) Miscellaneous

Oyer, Noah, 1891-1931

J. E. Hartzler Papers 1904-1960

  • US GCA HM1/062
  • Collection
  • 1894-1963

Personal papers of a Mennonite preacher, college administrator, and theology professor whose career helped to reframe the Mennonite faith for the next generation. These papers are divided into five series:

1) Correspondence and Subject Files

2) Biographical Materials

3) Lecture, Sermon, and Tour Notes

4) Manuscripts

5) Clippings and Miscellaneous

Hartzler, John Ellsworth, 1879-1963

Sanford Calvin Yoder Papers 1917-1974

  • US GCA HM1/162
  • Collection
  • 1878-1975

Personal papers of an esteemed churchman of the (old) Mennonite Church.  An ordained minister and bishop, Yoder served as secretary of the Mennonite Board of Missions (1921-1944) and president of Goshen College (1923-1940).  His papers reflect his two simultaneous positions within Mennonite inistitutions and provide insight into the conservative / liberal struggles of the (old) Mennonite Church of the early and mid- twentieth century.  His papers are divided into five series:

(1) Correspondence, 1917-1974

(2) Genealogical Materials, 1890-1967

(3) World War I Correspondence and Subject Files, 1917-1921

(4) Writings and Class Materials, 1901-1975

(5) Miscellaneous Materials, 1878-1975

Yoder, Sanford Calvin, 1879-

Orpah B. Mosemann Papers

  • US GCA HM1/174
  • Collection
  • 1948-1964

A small set of personal papers created and collected by a former director of the Mennonite School of Nursing in La Junta, Colorado.  Materials include a 1948 study of Elkhart County hospitals and health care facilities, a 1954 Crhistmas letter, a student paper about the leaders of the Mennonite Nurses Association (by Norma F. Martin, 1963), and  a diary of Mosemann's trip to Asia and Africa in 1963-1964,

Mosemann, Orpah B., 1911-1991

Silas and Anna Weaver Hertzler Papers 1904-1975

  • US GCA HM1/197
  • Collection
  • 1813-1988

These papers primarily document the life and work of Silas Hertzler, but includes some material pertinent to his wife, Anna Weaver Hertzler.  The papers are divided into seven series:

(1) Diaries, 1904-1974

(2) American Committee for Relief in the Near East Materials, 1919

(3) Correspondence, 1909-1975

(4) Articles and Writing, 1917-1967

(5) Photographs, 1909-1970

(6) Miscellaneous, 1905-1975

(7) Genealogical Research Files, 1813-1988

Hertzler, Silas, 1888-1975

Christian L. and Mina Roth Graber Papers 1840-1973

  • US GCA HM1/209
  • Collection
  • 1813-1973

Personal papers of Christian L. Graber and Mina Roth Graber, consisting of correspondence, diaries, sermons, scrapbooks, geneological records, and information about Christian L. Graber's time as a conscientious objector during World War I, his stint as a relief worker, and his service to Mennonite Central Committee.

The papers are divided into the following series:

(1) Correspondence

(2) Sermons and Writings

(3) Personal and Family Records

(4) War, Peace, and Relief Work

(5) Business, Legal, and Estate Files

(6) Subject Files and Miscellaneous

(7) Mina Roth Graber Diaries

(8) Photographs, Scrapbooks, and Miscellaneous

Graber, Christian L., 1895-1987

Walter E. Yoder Papers 1934-1965

  • US GCA HM1/325
  • Collection
  • 1909-1965

A small set of personal papers created by a Mennonite composer, arranger, and professor of music at Goshen College.  Materials include a number of original musical compositions and arrangements, an autobiographical sketch, correspondence, conference programs and notes, various writings, and miscellaneous materials.

Yoder, Walter E., 1889-1964

Gustav Heinrich Enss Papers

  • US GCA HM1/604
  • Collection
  • 1910-1965

These papers consist primarily of manuscripts of Gustav Enss's writings, most of which are theological in nature.  Other materials include notes, correspondence, and ephemera.  Researchers should note the "Catalog of Gustav H. Enss Papers" in Box 1, Folder 1, which provides some annotations and contextual information.

Enss, Gustav Heinrich, 1885-1965

Jacob Sudermann Papers

  • US GCA HM1/606
  • Collection
  • 1900-1980

These papers are divided into three series:

(1) Documents, 1923-1980

(2) Photographs, 1900-1970

(3) Sound Recordings, circa 1937-1950

Sudermann, Jacob, 1909-1980

Lores E. Steury Papers

  • US GCA HM1/728
  • Collection
  • circa 1936-2008

Personal papers of Lores E. Steury, consisting largely of gathered information on the Amish Christian Church (including information highlighted in the book The Amish Christian Church: Its History and Legacy by Fredrick J. Schrock). Holdings also include personal information about Steury, including diaries, photographs, newspaper clippings, and drafts of an autobiography.

The papers are divided into the following series:

(1) Amish Christan Church Materials

(2) Geneological Records

(3) Diaries and Recollections

(4) Recorded Interviews

(5) Correspondence and Miscellaneous Materials

Steury, Lores E., 1922-2008

Don Blosser Papers

  • US GCA HM1/767
  • Collection
  • 1980-2010

The collection consists primarily of correspondence concerning "A Crisis Among Mennonites: in Education: in Publication" by George R. Brunk  II (1983), political and social issues, and his work with Goshen College and the Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries.  Also included in the collection is a diary of his experiences in 2008 as Interim Lead Pastor at First Mennonite Church in Berne, Ind. and sound recordings of a six sermon series preached at College Mennonite Church (Goshen, Ind.) in 1986.

Blosser, Don

Bertha B. Bender Papers

  • US GCA HM1/878
  • Collection
  • 1952-1978

A small set of personal papers, including correspondence, poetry, and miscellaneous materials.

Bender, Bertha B., 1896-1978

Rachel S. Fisher Papers

  • US GCA HM1/949
  • Collection
  • 1966-2002

Papers of a Mennonite women who began her career as a secretary in Mennonite organizations and transitioned into ministry in the 1970s and 1980s.  Fisher served on the pastoral team of College Mennonite Church (Goshen, Ind.) and as an overseer of Waterford Mennonite Church (Goshen, Ind.).  Her papers include correspondence, sermons and presentations, worship materials, photographs, audiotapes of sermons preached at College Mennonite Church, and miscellaneous materials.

Fisher, Rachel S.

Goshen College Pax Club Records

  • US GCA V/04/010
  • Collection
  • 1935-2008

Records of a Goshen College student and faculty club dedicated to promoting peace scholarship and research, peace education, and peace activism.  Materials include the governing documents, minutes, reports, correspondence, and some subject files containing publications, brochures, and other materials collected by the club.  Researchers will find that both the quantity and quality of documentation of the club's activities decreases over time, with little material available from the mid 1980s through the present.

Goshen College. Pax Club

Results 1 to 15 of 441