Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina Records

MS609

The Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina grew out of the Woman's Central Committee, organized in 1886 to coordinate the efforts of the Woman's Mission Societies in Southern Baptist churches throughout the state. These records contain administrative records and personal materials relating to the history of the organization and its staff, 1882-2003. It also documents the lives of North Carolina missionaries supported by the Woman's Missionary Union during their assignments worldwide.

Submit a research request for this material

On this page

Summary Information

Repository
Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives
Title
Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina Records
Creator
Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina
Date
1874-2003 (inclusive)
Extent
12.12 linear feet / 9 record cartons, 1 document box
ID
MS609

Biographical and Historical Note

The Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina grew out of the Woman's Central Committee, organized in 1886 to coordinate the efforts of the Woman's Mission Societies in Southern Baptist churches throughout the state. Fannie Exile Scudder Heck was appointed its first president and continued to serve in this capacity until her death in 1915. In 1891, the North Carolina joined other state unions in the Woman's Missionary Union Auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention, an organization over which Heck also presided from 1892 to 1899 and from 1906 to 1915. Under the direction of the Woman's Central Committee, the North Carolina Woman's Missionary Union organized Sunbeam bands to train children in 1896, the Young Woman's Auxiliary for teenagers in 1906, Royal Ambassadors for boys in 1911, and Girls' Auxiliaries for pre-teens in 1913. These organizations were in addition to the adult Woman's societies that had existed in Baptist churches since 1815. Following the organization of the North Carolina Baptist Convention, individual church clubs were organized into larger geographical Associations and organized into 5 regional Divisions, over which the Central Committee, and after 1916, the Executive Committee, presided.

Upon the death of Fannie E.S. Heck in 1915, Mrs. Wesley N. (Sallie Bailey) Jones assumed the role of North Carolina Woman's Missionary Union President, a position which she held until 1936, when Mrs. J. Clyde Turner was elected her successor. In 1942, Foy Farmer, daughter of Livingston Johnson and a missionary to Japan from 1911 to 1920, became president and served in this capacity until 1950. Other Woman's Missionary Union Presidents include: Mrs. C. Gordon Maddrey (1951-1956), Mrs. W.K. McGee (1956-1961), Mrs. LeRoy Parker (1961-1966) Mrs. Knolan Benfield (1966-1971) Mrs. Gilmer Cross (1971-1976), Mrs. J. Frank (Betty) Gilreth (1976-1981), Mrs. Horace (Beatrice) McRae (1981-1986), Mrs. Hoyle (Dorothy) Allred (1986-1991), Mrs. Sanford (Ann) Smith, (1991-1996), Mrs. J.D. (Donace) Harrod (1996-1997) and Ruby Fulbright. The position of Executive Director was established in 1977, with Nancy Curtis appointed to direct the Woman's Missionary Union headquarters in Cary, North Carolina. She served until 1994 and was replaced by Irma Duke. Ruby Fulbright, formerly president of the Woman's Missionary Union, currently serves as Executive Director.

Collection Overview

The Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina Records consist of administrative records and personal materials relating to the history of the organization and its staff from 1882 to 2003. It also documents the lives of North Carolina missionaries supported by the Woman's Missionary Union during their assignments worldwide. The collection is divided into three series.

The Administrative Files document the activities and administration of the North Carolina Woman's Missionary Union, including its component divisions - Woman's Missionary Societies, Sunbeams, Royal Ambassadors, Girls' Auxiliaries, and Young Woman's Auxiliaries. The Administrative Files were primarily created or collected by members or officers of its presiding board - the Woman's Central Committee, or (after 1916) the Executive Committee. Also documented are special projects and conferences of the Woman's Missionary Union, such as Interracial Institutes, Annual Meetings or Sessions, Camp Mundo Vista, the Heck-Jones Memorial Offering, State Missions Seasons of Prayer, and activities of the North Carolina State Federation of Baptist Business Women. These records date from 1882 to 2003 with the bulk dated 1905 to 1972, and are primarily comprised of correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings, financial records, and printed materials. The printed materials take several forms, especially conference or meeting programs, published reports, pamphlets, and religious literature.

The Woman's Missionary Union Centennial Series documents both the 1986 centennial celebrations of the Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina and its component associations and chapters at Baptist churches throughout the state. The bulk of the series dates from 1984 to 1988, when the Woman's Missionary Union of the Southern Baptist Convention celebrated its centennial; throughout this period, a primary goal of North Carolina Woman's Missionary Union centennial activities was to collect and record the history of individual Woman's Missionary Union chapters. Thus, the Centennial Series contains correspondence, photographs of centennial celebrations, and printed materials or typescripts of church histories, Woman's Missionary Union chapter histories, and compiled association histories. These range from one hand-written draft paragraph of an older member's recollections to detailed published works, extensively researched and authored by a committee. The Woman's Missionary Union Centennial Series also includes original chapter records and copies of these materials sent to the Woman's Missionary Union, dating as far back as 1880. These primarily consist of printed materials such meeting programs, financial records, photographs, correspondence, and former chapter officers' personal collections. These materials were filed by regional association and intended to comprise a "Woman's Missionary Union Historical Collection."

The Biographical Files document the lives of North Carolina missionaries around the world, in addition to a few North Carolina Woman's Missionary Union administrators and officers. The bulk of the series dates from 1974 to 2000 and is primarily comprised of correspondence from North Carolina missionaries to the Woman's Missionary Union. This correspondence usually describes missionaries' efforts both in America and abroad, usually in the form of periodic newsletters from missionary families. The newsletters provide cultural and political insights into the missionaries' countries of assignment, in addition to personal information. Missionary correspondence also takes the form of Christmas cards and notes of thanks for birthday and Christmas gifts sent to missionaries from the Woman's Missionary Union. Materials dating from 1956 to 1966 are primarily clippings from the Biblical Recorder or Thomasville  Charity and Children. Missionaries serving abroad between 1924 and 1938 are documented through correspondence, photographs, biographical sketches and remembrances, and clippings collected in a scrapbook filed at the end of this series; notable is a substantial amount of correspondence from missionary Katie Murray to Lena Middleton, spanning over three decades. Woman's Missionary Union presidents Foy Farmer and Fannie E.S. Heck are also represented in this series with materials dating from 1874.

Controlled Access Headings

Subjects

  • Baptist Associations--North Carolina
  • Baptists--North Carolina--Missions
  • Farmer, Foy, 1887-1971.
  • Heck, Fannie E.S., 1862-1915.
  • Missionaries.
  • Murray, Katie, 1897-1982.
  • Southern Baptist Convention--Missions.
  • Southern Baptist Convention. Woman's Missionary Union--North Carolina.
  • Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina. (history?)

Administrative Information

Publication Information
Finding aid prepared by Processed by: Catherine McDowell; machine-readable finding aid created by Apex, 2004
Revision Description
Revised by Stephanie Bennett, 2017 May
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. 
Preferred Citation
Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina Records (MS609), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. 

Collection Inventory

  • Administrative Files (Bulk, 1905-1972) (1882-2003) Box 1 Box 2The Administrative Files contain materials documenting the administration of the North Carolina Woman's Missionary Union and created or collected by its officers, all members of the Woman's Missionary Union Executive Committee or its predecessor, the Woman's Central Committee. These records are comprised of financial records, drafts and typescripts of meeting minutes, correspondence, publications, and articles for the Biblical Recorder. financial records (including contributions to specific fundraising drives or funds by all Woman's Missionary Union branches) and meeting minutes have been largely compiled into bound volumes, including a scrapbook that also contains correspondence and printed materials. Other general administrative correspondence is filed chronologically and is primarily comprised of mass mailings to members, including the Sunbeams and Royal Ambassadors. The Administrative Files also document the planning, proceeding, and accomplishments of conferences such as the Woman's Missionary Union's Annual Session (called the Annual Meeting before 1911 and after 1992); Interracial Institutes; Assembly, Divisional, and Association meetings; the North Carolina State Federation of Baptist Business Women; and gatherings of the Girls' Auxiliary, Royal Ambassadors, and Young Woman's Auxiliary, in addition to annual state-wide fundraising efforts such as the Heck-Jones Offering and State Missions Season of Prayer. The Administrative Files are organized by subject, including events or subordinate Woman's Missionary Union divisions, and arranged alphabetically. Within subjects, files are arranged alphabetically in the case of financial Records, Girls Auxiliary, and Publications (alphabetical by author or publisher), and chronologically in the case of Annual Sessions and Central and Executive Committee materials. The container list reflects an effort to indicate the formats contained the folders of this series.
    • Annual Sessions/Meetings Box 1
    • Central and Executive Committees
    • Financial Records
    • Girls' Auxiliary
    • Publications
    • State Federation of Baptist Business Women
  • Woman's Missionary Union Centennial Series (Bulk, 1984-1988) (1893-1988)The Woman's Missionary Union Centennial Series documents both the 1986 centennial celebrations of the Woman's Missionary Union in North Carolina and its component associations and chapters at Baptist churches throughout the state. Information on the statewide celebration, celebrated at the Annual Session in 1986, can be found in the first folder of the series and also in the reports and programs from the Annual Session found in the Administrative Series. The Southern Baptist Convention Woman's Missionary Union celebrated its centennial in 1988.In 1984, in preparation for the 1986 statewide celebration, the Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina solicited histories and historical materials from every chapter and association to start a "Historical Collection" or archives. Members responded by sending a variety of materials, primarily consisting of church histories, Woman's Missionary Union chapter histories, and association histories. Participation varied; while some associations compiled histories including every church in their membership, some associations were represented by only one church history. Some chapters and associations sent original records or copies of them, including old meeting programs, financial records, correspondence from missionaries they sponsored, former chapter officers' personal collections, etc. These materials were compiled and filed by association, and comprise the bulk of this series. Photographs sent to the Woman's Missionary Union for this purpose but unidentified or separated from the sender's correspondence are filed at the end of this series, along with what appears to be a preliminary list of materials sent by church compiled by an unknown Woman's Missionary Union staff member.The dates provided below indicate the year in which materials in the folder were originally written, collected, or published. (Note that many church histories written in 1985 address a century years of history, but this information is not reflected in the date.) Most folders also contain a letter acknowledging receipt of materials by the North Carolina Woman's Missionary Union, usually dating to 1984 or 1985. To locate a particular church's associational membership, please see the Baptist Convention of North Carolina Annual or Directory (206.9756 M66).This series is organized by regional association, preserving the original order, and arranged alphabetically.
  • Biographical Files (Bulk, 1974-2000) (1874-2000)The Biographical Files primarily contain correspondence from North Carolina missionaries to the Woman's Missionary Union documenting the lives and efforts of Southern Baptist Missionaries in countries around the globe. This correspondence usually takes the form of periodic newsletters from missionary families, copied and distributed to a mailing list of friends and family by a sponsor church. Biographical files also frequently contain Christmas cards and notes of thanks for birthday and Christmas gifts sent to missionaries from the Woman's Missionary Union, a practice which continued even in retirement for North Carolina missionaries. Biographical information, such as photographs and clippings, is also found in this series, as is any information about individual missionaries that was collected by others but donated to the Woman's Missionary Union "Historical Collection" for use in the Woman's Missionary Union Centennial Celebration. The Biographical Files also contain general newsletters regarding mission work, especially specific mission fields or regarding multiple missionaries. This series also documents the lives of a few Woman's Missionary Union officers and their families, most notably presidents Foy Farmer and Fannie E.S. Heck.The Biographical Files are organized by individual or married missionary couple and arranged alphabetically, with correspondence from unidentified individuals, multiple persons or organizations filed at the end. Within folders, material is arranged chronologically. Cross-references are provided for missionaries who married or re-married (and therefore changed names) on the lower right lip of the folder, and in the container list below. Gaps of three or more years are usually represented in date spans, while breaks of 1-2 years are not reflected in folder titles or in the container listing below. Countries of assignment, when represented in the materials, are indicated in parenthesis following date spans; occasionally, only the region is known, as the exact country location was confidential.
    • Ephemera
  • Oversize Materials Box Oversize 3 Box Oversize 1 Box Oversize 2The Oversize Materials contains materials physically removed from Boxes 1-7 due to size. Oversize Boxes 1 and 2 are comprised entirely of bound volumes.
    • Administrative Files
    • Biographical Files
    • Woman's Missionary Union Centennial Series