Missionary Collection

Livingstone Lodge, the "Inky," was one of many missionary homes on or near campus.

Between 1870-1905, at least 40 percent of all library donations were made by Presbyterian clergymen or their families. According to early library accession ledgers, in 1892 38 percent of the library's collection was comprised of works of religion and theology. These volumes emphasized several of the college's ties to the Presbyterian Church and missionary work abroad, especially missionary work in Africa and Asia. (Freeman 10-12). In the 1890s, a "missionary alcove" was established in the library as a pledge of support for missionary activities on campus (Notestein, L. vol. 1, 166-167) . As a result, the department now houses quite a collection of 19th-century periodicals related to missionary work, as well as many personal collections of missionary families.

The Rice Collection is the personal collection of Mary Compton Rice and her husband, Dr. C. Herbert Rice. They both dedicated their lives to work with educational missions in India. Dr. Rice served as a professor of psychology for six years at Forman Christian College in Lahore and then later served as the principal of Ewing Christian College in Allahabad. They both witnessed the upheaval when India and Pakistan were partitioned in August 1947. This collection includes scrapbooks, journals, diaries, photographs, and correspondence.

Another collection of note is The Noyes Collection, donated by Henry H. Noyes in 1995. The Noyes family has long been connected to the college. Emily Noyes (Class of 1874) was the first female graduate of the college. The collection includes the manuscript for Henry Noyes' China Born, a book that documents his life as part of a third-generation Presbyterian missionary family. Primary source material, such as family correspondence and photographs, accompany his working notes.

Among our archival materials, the department also houses many files related to our campus missionary homes, such as "The Inky" (incubator), "operated by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions as a home for the sons of missionaries" (Notestein Volume Two, 6) . The College Archives also houses the ledgers and record books of Wooster's Women's Board of Foreign Missions.

For Additional Information:

• Blackwood, James R. The House on College Avenue: The Comptons at Wooster, 1891-1913. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1968.
• Notestein, Lucy Lilian. Wooster of the Middle West. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1937.
• Notestein, Lucy Lilian. Wooster of the Middle West: Volume Two, 1911-1944. Kent, OH: Kent State University, 1971.
• Noyes, Henry. China Born. San Francisco: China Books, 1989.