Greene County Archives Exhibit on Relationship Between Payne Theological Seminary and Wilberforce University

In mid-Summer 2015, Payne Theological Seminary partnered with the Greene County Archives & Records Center on a K-12 curriculum and outreach program focusing on local African-American history. Themed lessons include manumission, Wilberforce area family histories and educational opportunities available to African Americans through Wilberforce, Central State, and Payne Theological Seminary.

Payne’s contribution authored by our archival intern and Antioch College student Ciana Ayenu, tells the story of the Seminary's development and change from its founding in 1891 to 1939, when the institution had been established for nearly 50 years. The small exhibit which has just gone “live” features items from the Payne Theological Seminary and A.M.E. Church Archive on the Princeton Theological Commons and un-digitized items from the archives.

To see the exhibit visit Greene County Archives’ Family History Page:
http://www.co.greene.oh.us/index.aspx?NID=952

Final Report of the "Arrangement and Description of the Payne African Methodist Episcopal Church Archive" Grant Project (Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board)

Payne Theological Seminary received funding of $1,960.00 from the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board to purchase Re: discovery Software Inc. (RSI)’s Proficio Elements archival management software to inventory, arrange, describe and create electronic finding aids for two significant primary source collections by and about the seminary and African Methodist Episcopal Church denomination, The George A. Singleton and Bishop Reverdy C. Ransom Collections.
This final report details Payne's work on Arrangement and Description of the Payne African Methodist Episcopal Church Archive project and significant progress made toward our goal of reprocessing and arranging more than 10 linear ft.1 of holdings from our special collections. Read the report below!

http://www.ohrab.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Payne-Theological-Seminary-Final-Report.pdf

Relabeled and Brand Spanking New Labeled Hollinger Boxes

The expanded Ransom Collection

We will be printing new labels soon! I know the Post-Its are TACKY!

National Park Service Centennial Story Corps Project @ Payne Theological Seminary- November 2, 2015

I'm always seeking after genuine connection. In my personal life and in my professional work, collaboration is the name of the game. 

My friendship with Dr. Joy Kinard, Superintendent of the Colonel Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument is one of the most sincere connections I've established since arriving in the Wilberforce, Ohio area. We've chatted about libraries, museums, African American historical collections, imposter syndrome, God, dating, and have bonded deeply together over being transplants in our new community (Joy moved to Wilberforce in March 2015).   

Library literature and trends in our own institutions have proven that collaboration is both innovative and economically advantageous. When libraries, museums, and institutional archives collaborate we must first determine how a prospective partnership benefits all strategically, economically, socially, intellectually, and culturally? What investments make sense?  Does it advance our institutional goals? Does it serve our constituency well?

When Dr. Kinard told me she was looking for a place to host the NPS Centennial Story Corps Project, I jumped at the opportunity to partner and connect once again. I knew that this would be great a collaboration because the Payne administrators were musing about the Library as a “place to play and pray”. We had also been discussing personal narrative, spiritual formation, and Payne Seminary as a spiritual retreat during our faculty meetings.

 

The Ransom Memorial Library features two meeting rooms for quiet study. During our walk through of the building with Dr. Kinard, it was decided that one of the rooms would serve as a welcome area for attendees. 

The Story Corps program was a WONDERFUL collaboration for Payne. It gave us the opportunity to invite community members into our space, many of whom were visiting for the first time. We also were able to establish relationships (and in some cases strengthen/reimagine) with Wilberforce gatekeepers and learn about existing partnerships in the community. I learned that Dr. Ski, who I had previously known as an ambassador for Payne and the Wilberforce Community, is a celebrated Paul Lawrence Dunbar Scholar. While waiting for to be interviewed Dr. Ski  talked about growing up on the campus of the Historically Black Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, FL where here mother taught. She told us an amazing story about seeing Marian Anderson sing as a young girl. Do you see what happens when folks already primed to tell stories?!?! Oral history just keeps on spilling out! 

I am so glad that Dr. Kinard brought Story Corps to Wilberforce and directly to the Ransom Library doors. It really was an incredible experience. For more information about Story Corps and to see pictures/listen to two of the oral histories captured that day, keep on scrolling! 

The first Interviewees are checked in. Sisters, the Honorable Mayor of Xenia, Marsha Bayless and Payne's very own Marilyn Hatcher, retired Community Outreach Coordinator

Booker/Gooding Interview

89-year-old Jessie Gooding and his 85-year-old friend, Loretta Booker, recall their time at Wilberforce University in Ohio. They discuss its legacy as the oldest private historically black institution in the United States.

Warren Family Interview

91-year-old Harold Warren Jr. tells his son, Lee Warren, about serving as a "Buffalo Solider" duringWW II and his feelings about the Charles Young Buffalo Solider National Monument in Ohio.

In partnership with StoryCorps, the Midwest Region of the National Park Service (NPS) is celebrating the NPS Centennial through sharing and preserving our favorite parks memories. The Stories from the Midwest project will tour our region to record conversations with the local communities, visitors, and employees of the parks, using the StoryCorps interview model: a 40-minute conversation between two people who know each other well.

The NPS Centennial Stories from the Midwest project will: 

• Celebrate the diversity of the National Parks in the Midwest Region, with stops that include parks, monuments, historic sites, and the first National River.

• Create a valuable archive of interviews that individual parks are encouraged to access and use.

• Demonstrate why these “places to play in and pray in” have captivated Americans for 100 years through first-hand, personal stories.

Handy Dandy, what to expect from StoryCorps.org

• Contribute to the centennial goal to connect with and create the next generation of park visitors, supporters, and advocates.

ABOUT THE PARKS CENTENNIAL

The National Park Service and National Park Foundation are working closely with partners and stakeholders across the country to ensure that the Centennial is more than a birthday. We want every American to embrace the opportunities to explore, learn, be inspired or to simply have fun in their 407 national parks, as well as understand how we bring our work, and the national park experience, to them through our community-based recreation, conservation, and historic preservation programs.

ABOUT STORYCORPS

StoryCorps is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share and preserve the stories of our lives. Since 2003, nearly one hundred thousand everyday people have recorded their stories with StoryCorps; it is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind Several million people listen to StoryCorps’ weekly broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition. https://storycorps.org/about/  

#TheDailyRecord Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

How can archival documents help us learn more about the sequence of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s voter registration campaigns and the role of Dr. Martin Luther King in mobilizing donors to fund the movement?  In a 1962-1963 fundraising letter in the George A. Singleton Special Collection at Payne, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. writes on behalf of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, “I am Martin Luther King, Jr. I want to tell you about the secret weapon that may win the battle for human dignity in the South”.

 In this particular letter King uses the election of a “Negro” to the Georgia Senate, the first in 92 years to persuade donors to that they are in a crucial moment, “When you write your write your check you write history”. Another digitized letter dated March 1963, from the University of Kentucky containing much of the same message excludes the paragraph about the election the to the George Senate and instead emphasizes that “more than 40,000 Negro voters were added to the registration roles last year”. Which was written first? What’s the purpose of including the Georgia contests? Are there different audiences? How stylistic features different (personal address, built in return envelope, hand signed rather than mass generated signature)? Explore the differences between the two letters by visiting: http://nyx.uky.edu/dips/xt7j0z70xm3d/data/2012ua022/2012ua022_1/82805/82805.pdf

#TheDailyRecord Vinyl in the Archive

Not just old papers! The archives also are home to a number of multimedia formats including long play albums popularly known as vinyl records. A.M.E.’s have been recording their regular meetings since the organization of the denomination. Pioneers in Protest: A Civil Rights Documentary is a recording of the May 1964 General Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio keynoted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Excerpts from his appearance are included along with commentary from Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary, NAACP, A. Phillip Randolph, Pres. Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and Daisy Bates, Little Rock, Arkansas-School Protest Leader. 

Partners in Mission, is an album of the 16^th District Youth Convention and Welcome Meetings for the Connectional Y.P.D. Board Meeting of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. General Conference 1976 is double album featuring a collage and sticker based legend for identifying Bishops and General Officers. 

#TheDailyRecord Women of Agency: The Bishops’ Wives

Rarely are archival photographs accompanied by text identifying the names and titles of those pictured. Researchers are required to do their own investigation into the time period often based on the quality of the photo, the dress of those featured, and any identifying features in the background of the frame. The Wives of the Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church at the General Conference, Columbus, Ohio, May 1900 bucks the norm. Neatly tucked into the clear polypropylene sheet protecting the photograph are two typed pages listing the women in the order of their seating arrangement along with a short bio for detailing her work beyond the title of “wife”. Who is responsible for the preserving the photo and bios? Who wrote the bios? Did the Bishops Wives provide information to the author? Aren’t you glad we have the opportunity to read them?

Seated Left to Right:
MARY FRISBY HANDY-The second wife of Bishop James A. Handy whom she married in 1886; born in Baltimore, a tailor’ was widowed before she was married to the President Elder James A. Handy; served as President of the Women’s Parent Mite Missionary Society.

FLORIDA MORRIS GRANT- Born in Florida; Married to Bishop Abram Grant; sister to Louisa Rebecca Morris Armstrong Grant; President of the Women’s Parent Mite Missionary Society.

SARAH E. MILLER TANNER-Born on May 18, 1840 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania’ educated at Avery College, and married to Bishop Benjamin T. Tanner in 1858; seven children among whom was the first black woman admitted to practice medicine in Alabama, Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson; famed artist, Henry O. Tanner; A.M.E. minister and missionary to South Africa, Carlton M. Tanner; charter member and Treasurer of the Women’s Parent Mite Missionary Society.

JULIA A. CAMPER GAINES-Wife of Bishop Wesley J. Gaines who she married on August 30, 1863; born probably in Georgia; described as “small in stature, a black but dignified woman…an efficient housekeeper”.

MARY LOUISE GORDON ARNETT-wife of Bishop Benjamin W. Arnett whom she married on May 25, 1858; an Ohio native; there were seven children two of whom were clergymen-Reverends Benjamin W. Arnett, Jr. and Henry Y. Arnett.

M.L. ASHE LEE-wife of Bishop Benjamin F. Lee; born in Alabama and the mother of four children.

PRISCILLA SMITH SALTER-Married to Bishop Moses B. Salter on September 2, 1874; a South Carolina native. In 1895 she along with Christine Shoecraft Smith called a national women’s convention in Nashville to “discuss questions of interest to the colored women and to obtain for them a better recognition in the councils of their church”. Mrs. Salter gave a paper on “Social Purity”

Standing from Left to Right:
MRS. MORRIS M. MOORE- widow of Bishop Morris M. Moore; according to a black female contemporary she was “one of Florida’s most prominent women, greatly beloved by the Florida brethren because of her worth and ability to together with her earnest and courageous work in whatever field she is called upon to labor for the Master (Jesus Christ)”.

MRS. EVANS TYREE-wife of Bishop Evans Tyree; their son Herman, became a minister.

CHRISTINE SHOECRAFT SMITH-second wife of Bishop Charles S. Smith whom she married in 1888; born in Muncie, Indiana; in Alabama she was vice president of the State Normal and Industrial School; active in the National Association of Colored Women; joined Priscilla Smith Salter in spearheading the national women’s convention in Nashville in 1895. Her son, Charles Jr., was an early black graduate of the University of Michigan.

LOUISA REBECCA MORRIS ARMSTRONG GRANT-born in Florida in 1852; sister of Florida Morris Grant; widow of Bishop Josiah H. Armstrong whom she married on May 15, 1870; she was widowed in 1898; wife of Bishop Abram Grant whom she married on October 23, 1902; she was widowed again worked as a matron at Wilberforce University in Ohio after the death of Bishop Armstrong.

LILLIAN M. DERRICK-wife of Bishop William B. Derrick; president of the Women’s Parent Mite Missionary Society; she died in 1907; the Lillian Derrick Institute which Bishop Derrick founded in South Africa was named in her honor.

HARRIED WAYMAN TURNER-widow of Bishop Alexander W. Wayman who died in1895; served as president of the Women’s Parent Mite Missionary Society from 1878 through 1883; became the third wife of Bishop Henry M. Turner in 1900.

ANNIE MARIE TAYLOR SHAFFER-wife of Bishop Cornelius T. Shaffer whom she married in 1870; born in Lexington, Kentucky; they were the parents of two daughters and one son; the son, Carl like Bishop Shaffer earned a M.D. degree.

FANNY M. JACKSON COPPIN-second wife of Bishop Levi J. Coppin whom she married in 1881; born a slave in Washington, D.C. in 1837; her aunt purchased her freedom; reared in Newport, Rhode Island where she attended the Rhode Island State Normal School; was graduated from Oberlin College in 1865 with the A.B. degree; Institute of Colored Youth in Philadelphia; in 1869 she became principal of the whole school; she retired in 1902; she was active with the National Association of Colored Women. She died on January 21, 1913.

#TheDailyRecord The Big Sea

Langston Hughes' autobiography, The Big Sea was released in 1940. Today's featured item is an autographed copy of this book that belonged to Dwight V. Kyle, an A.M.E. minister. It was signed 70 years ago today in celebration of Negro History Week. First observed in 1926, Negro History Week did not expand to a month long celebration until 1976.

#TheDailyRecord White House Correspondence

 In the world of Archives and Special Collections, Correspondence is distinguished from other documents by the fact that it is typically addressed to a specific individual or group, and is intended to be delivered by a third party. Examples include letters, email, postcards, and telegrams. The correspondence series in the George A. Singleton Collection includes exchanges with some very important organizations and people including The White House. The White House correspondence spans April-December 1939. On April 11, 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt penned a letter of “hearty congratulations on the happy occasion of the ninety-first anniversary of the establishment of the Christian Recorder”. The envelope containing the letter gives us a rare glimpse at formal White House stationary and the cost of postage during that time.

#TheDailyRecord NAACP's 50th Anniversary

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on February 12, 1909. This newspaper article highlights a celebration of the NAACP's 50th anniversary, at which George A. Singleton would be speaking.

Referencing Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and the NAACP, the article says, "By coincidence the birthdates of the three all fall on the same date, Feb. 12." Douglass's exact birth date, however, is actually unknown. The tendency to claim that it was the 12th likely has to do with the desire to draw connections between him and Lincoln. Regardless, this article shows us that many have used this day to celebrate the lives of both Lincoln and Douglass, as well as the founding of the NAACP.

#TheDailyRecord The Deaconess Manual of the AME Church 1902,

The Deaconess Manual of the AME Church 1902, recounts the history Women’s Ministry in the AME Church. The Dorcas Society was organized in 1824 by Sarah Allen, wife of Richard Allen. Sarah was unhappy because of the shabby appearance of the ministers who attended the Annual Conference to give their reports, etc. She wanted them to look more adequately dressed. So, she sought other women to help her mend the preacher’s clothes. The organization lasted only a few years and became inactive. On February 17, 1874, the editor of the Christian Recorder, Rev. Benjamin T. Tanner wrote an open letter to the women of the AME Church posing the question: “What are the women doing?” It was suggested that a Women’s Missionary Society should be organized. On August 11, 1874, at Bethel AME Church in Pennsylvania, the Women’s Parent Mite Society was organized.

See the manual for yourself: https://archive.org/details/deaconessmanualo00gran

#TheDailyRecord the Forcean at Wilberforce University

It is evident from the cover of this 1973 edition of the Forcean that students were committed to capturing the spirit of the times.  An interesting thing to take notice of in this 1973 volume where most of the persons pictured are rocking larger than life afros, is how they are photographed. The photographer must have been forced to zoom out farther than traditional portraits to capture the full hairstyle. The Ransom archive has a small run of Wilberforce University and Central State University yearbooks.

#TheDailyRecord Payne Asks "What Ought to be the Character of a Theological Seminary?"

Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne asked “What Ought to be the Character of a Theological Seminary?” Read his answer on page 11 of The Payne Theological Seminary Catalogue 1893-1894 https://archive.org/details/paynetheological00unse_3 

 

#TheDailyRecord February 5, 2016

In this October 1909 edition of The AME Church Review, Mr. W.C. Bolivar shows documents the history of the convention movement where free and fugitive Blacks came to together in state, national and religious conventions to strategize about racial uplift. Read "Early Conventions and Their Influence on Promoting Social Efficiency among Negroes" on pg. 159 https://archive.org/details/amechurchreviewo00keal 

Read more about Colored Conventions here: http://coloredconventions.org/conventions

#TheDailyRecord February 4, 2016

Early AME ministers were better travelled than you think. See for yourself  (pictures of a number of programs showing preaching schedules for George A. Singleton: Sonya) Learn more about African American travel in this interactive exhibit about The Green Book, a travel guide published between 1936 and 1966 that listed hotels, restaurants, bars, gas stations, etc. where Black travelers were welcome. http://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-map/

#TheDailyRecord February 3, 2016

Bishop Reverdy C. Ransom 

Cover of printed Eulogy

There is a rich tradition of eulogizing our African American heroes by delivering powerful, expressive sermons about their impact. A good eulogy will make you cry, laugh, and shout hallelujah. Think of Today Bishop Joseph A. Gomez marked the passing of the Great Prevailer Reverdy C. Ransom with these moving words: https://archive.org/details/eulogyforgreatpr00gome

Photograph of Bisho Gomez as seen on book cover
In Darkness with God: The Life of Joseph Gomez, a Bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church 

#TheDailyRecord February 2, 2016

The 1880 publication, The Life, Experience, and Gospel Labors of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen, to which is annexed the rise and progress of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Containing a narrative of yellow fever in the year of our Lord 1793. With an address to the people of color in the United States, offers an autobiographical reflection of Richard Allen, the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the denomination’s first Bishop. Richard Allen’s legacy will be celebrated along with Mother Bethel AME’s bicentennial year today in the latest of the release of the U.S. Postal Service’s Black Heritage Commemorative Series with a stamp barring his image.

Read the digitized version of Richard Allen’s autobiography here: https://archive.org/details/lifeexperiencego1880alle

To purchase the Commemorative Stamp visit:                   https://about.usps.com/postalbulletin/2016/pb22433/html/info_011.htm

In Celebration of Black History Month: The DailyRecord at Payne Theological Seminary #TheDailyRecord

In celebration of Black History Month, The Ransom Library at Payne Theological Seminary is pulling items from the archive. These glimpses into the unique collection at Payne will henceforth be filed as "The Daily Record" #thedailyrecord

February 1, 2016

Epic Scrapbooking! Ethie Ruth Singleton wife of George A. Singleton, long time editor of A.M.E. Church Review and elected editor of the denomination journal (Singleton Special Collection housed at Ransom Library) was a mean scrap- booker and historian in her own right. The Wilberforce Alum can be seen in this circa 1918 sepia toned photo, where she is leaning on a windowsill. The back of the photo reads “Ettie R. Singleton, a student at Wilberforce University”. Between the black felt paper pages of Mrs. Singletons’ scrapbooks we find incredibly well staged and candid photographs of Wilberforce University students, postcards from members of the Singleton family, and collages of unidentified people the Singleton met throughout their many years of travel and work in the AME Church. Some photographs appear to be captioned with white text before their development. We think black ink was used on the negatives.

                                      

George A. Singleton pictured in Upper Left 

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Epic Scrapbook page

Ettie at Wilberforce University