Guide to the William Caldwell Johnston Papers

Descriptive Summary

Title

William Caldwell Johnston Papers

Inclusive Dates

1893-1959

Bulk Dates

1893-1938

Call Number

RG 133

Creator(s)

Johnston, William Caldwell, 1868-1953.

Quantity

4.08 cubic feet

Restrictions on Access

Collection open for research

Repository

Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 USA

Biographical Note / Administrative History

Biographical Note

William Caldwell Johnston and his wife, Emily Logan Truax Johnston, were assigned to the West Africa Mission by the Board of Foreign Missions in 1895. Arriving at Batanga in that year, Reverend Johnston spent his entire career in West Africa and played a large part in framing the policy of the Church there. His service included work at Efulan, Elat and Yaounde and in 1921 he was named Field Secretary of the Presbyterian Mission in West Africa. He retired from missionary service in 1938.

Collection Overview

Record Group 133 consists primarily of Reverend Johnston's correspondence, 1895 1951, the bulk of which covers the period up to 1938. Other items, including the correspondence of his wife, 1897 1938, photographs, slides, station minutes and reports, 1902 1938, are also included. It is arranged as follows:

SERIES 1: GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1895 1951 Boxes 1-2

SERIES 2: PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1897 1938 Box 2

SERIES 3: STATION MINUTES/REPORTS, 1902 1938 Box 2

SERIES 4: W.C. JOHNSTON DIARIES/JOURNALS, 1894 1938 Boxes 3-5

SERIES 5: E.L. JOHNSTON DIARIES, 1897, 1906 Box 5

SERIES 6: PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES, CA. 1900 Boxes 6-10

SERIES 7: MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS, 1890S-1959, UNDATED Box 6

Alternative Formats

Portions of collection available on microfilm: MF/POS./833/r.1-7.

Reel 1: Correspondence and reports, 1893-1912

Reel 2: Correspondence and reports, 1912-1922

Reel 3: Correspondence and reports, 1922-1925

Reel 4: Correspondence and reports, 1926-1933

Reel 5: Correspondence and reports, 1933-

Reel 6: Series 2, personal correspondence, 1897-1938

Reel 7: Series 3, Station minutes and reports; miscellaneous, 1902-1959

Related Material

Administrative Information

Processing Information

Portions of this collection available on microfilm.

After processing and microfilming, RG 133 was shipped to a relative of Mr. Johnston's for perusal. When the papers were returned in September 1981, they were somewhat disorganized, and the following folders were missing: Box 1, folder 2; Box 2, folder 16 (folder empty).

Behind folder 20, Box 2, is one folder which was not included in the original lot. It contains transcripts of travel letters from Johnston's daughter, Mrs. Jonny Adams, written from Africa and Asia in the 1960s.

The photographs in Series 6 were donated by Joseph McNeil.

The glass slides in Series 6 should be handled with care, as several are cracked.

Collection processed and finding aid prepared: 1978
Jane Ramsey, Records Researcher

Notes to finding aid added: 1983
Frederick J. Heuser, Jr., Archivist

Finding aid revised: March 1992
Stephanie Muntone, Processing Archivist

Additional photographs added and finding aid revised: July 1998
Jeffrey LaMonica, Archives Technician

Catalog Headings

The following headings have been used to index the description of this collection in the society’s electronic catalog.

Personal Name Subject

Johnston, William Caldwell, 1868-1953.

Johnston, Emily Logan Truax

Topical Subject

Missionaries Africa, West.

Presbyterian Church Missions Africa, West.

Corporate Added Name

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Foreign Missions.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description

1	1	Finding Aid to Record Group 133
	2	Biographical Data
	3	Deed to Land 1893

		SERIES 1: GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1895-1951

1	4	1895, 1896
	5-7	1897-99
	8	1900‑1902
	9	19O3-04, 1906‑08
	10	1909-10
	11	1911-12
	12	1912‑1915
	13	1915-16
	14	1916-17
	15	1918-19; 1921
	16-18	1922-24
	19-20	1925-26
	21	1927 (incl. correspondence re appointment of Negro missionaries); Minutes of Conference, 1927
	22	1928-29

2	1	1930
	2	1930‑32
	3	1932-33
	4-5	1934-35
	6	1936-37
	7	1938-39; 1951
	8	Articles by and about W.C. Johnston
	9	Writings of E.L. Johnston, 1897‑1938

		SERIES 2: PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1897-1938

2	10	E.L. Johnston to her mother, 1924‑38
	11-12	W.C. Johnston to R.C. Johnston, 1910‑13, 1915-22
	13-15	E.L. and W.C. Johnston to family, 1923-29
	16	W.C. Johnston to L.T. Johnston, 1910-21
	17	German Involvement, 1900-01

		SERIES 3: STATION MINUTES AND REPORTS, 1902-1938

2	18-19	1902‑38
	20	Miscellaneous items

		SERIES 4: W.C. JOHNSTON DIARIES AND JOURNALS, 1894-1938

3	1	1894
	2	1895‑1896
	3	1896?‑1897?
	4-7	1897-1900
	8-10	1901
	11-14	1902-04

4	1-3	1907‑08
	4-6	1910
	7	1910‑1911 (plus miscellaneous notes)
	8	1910, 1913 (incomplete)
	9-10	1911‑12
	11	1912‑13
	12-16	1915-18
	17	1922; 1927
	18	1922 (incomplete)
	19	1923
	20-21	1922‑23 (incomplete)

5	1	1924
	2	1924-25 (incomplete)
	3	1925‑27
	4-5	1926, 1931, 1934 (incomplete)
	6	1927‑28 (incomplete)
	7	1927‑29 (incomplete)
	8-9	1928-29
	10	1931‑1932 (incomplete)
	11-12	1932
	13-15	1933‑1935 (incomplete)
	16-17	1937‑38

		SERIES 5: E.L. JOHNSTON DIARIES, 1897, 1906

5	18	1897
	19	1906

		SERIES 6: PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES, CA. 1900

		PHOTOGRAPHS

6	7	Photographs, ca. 1900

		SLIDES

		BUILDINGS

7	1	"Gabon Mission House"
	2	"Batanga Mission House"
	3	Mission House
	4	Mission House
	5	Mission House
	6	Mission House
	7	Hut
	8	Mission Building
	9	Hut
	10	"Church and School"
	11	Mission House "Batanga Africa"
	12	Mission Building
	13	Mission Building
	14	Mission House
	15	Mission Buildings
	16	Mission Building
	17	Mission Building
	18	Mission Building
	19	Mission Building Under Construction
	20	Mission Building

		CHURCH

7	21	Service
	22	"Frame-work for Church"
	23	Church
	24	Church
	25	Church
	26	Inside of a Church
	27	Outdoor Service
	28	Outdoor Service
	29	Inside of a Church "Efulan"
	30	Outdoor Service
	31	"Congregation"
	32A	Congregation
	32B	Congregation
	32C	Congregation
	33	Congregation
	34	Congregation

		INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL

7	35	Logs
	36	"Carrying a Ridge Pole for Church"
	37	"Plastering Walls"
	38	"Carpenter Class Erecting Residence"
	39	"Making Church Pews"
	40	Sewing Class
	41	Chairs
	42	Making a Chair
	43	"Making Hats"
	44	Blacksmith
	45	Weaving?
	46	Weaving?
	47	Plowing
	48	Woodshop
	49	Cutting a Log
	50	Cutting Wood
	51	Power saw
	52	Woodshop
	53	Woodshop
	54	"Elat-Frank James-Industry School-Instruction in Measures"

		LANDSCAPES

7	55	Beach
	56	Forest
	57	"Crossing River"
	58	Port

8	1	Road
	2	Big Tree
	3	Village
	4	Farm
8	5	Bridge
	6	Bridge
	7	Bridge
	8	River
	9	Waterfall
	10	Forest
	11	Waterfall
	12	Beach
	13	Coast
	14	Coast
	15	Village
	16	Farm
	17	Village
	18	Road
	19	Road
	20	Village
	21	Beach
	22	Lighthouse
	23	Mountains
	24	"Boy Climbing Tree"
	25	River
	26	Trail

		WILDLIFE

8	27	Two Gorillas
	28	"Leopard of Gabon"
	29	Leopard
	30	Two Monkeys
	30B	Two Monkeys
	31	Boar
	31B	Boar
	32	Leopard
	33	Fruit Tree
	34	Plant
	35	Fruit?
	36	Fruit Tree?
	37	Monkeys
	38	Monkeys
	39	Fruit Tree
	40	Yams?
	41	Goat
	42	Fruit Trees
	43	Fruit Tree
	44	Boar
	45	Nests
	46	"Animal Transporter"
	47	"Man-Eating Gorilla"
	48	"Missionaries at Foot of Big Tree"
	49	Anthill?

		PEOPLE

8	50	Wrestling
	51	Playing a Game
	52	Playing a Game
	53	Man with a Pole
	54	Women Making Food
	55	Playing Drums
	56	Playing Music
	57	Men Playing Music
	58	Men Playing Music

9	1	Boy
	2	Baby
	3	Baby
	4	School Girls
	5	Two Boys
	6	Two Boys
	7	Boy with a Stick
	8	"Melbate Outcast"
	9	Two Boys
	10	Children
	11	Boys
	12	Boys
	13	Boys
	14	Boys
	15	Boys
	16	Man, Woman, Child
	17	Man and Woman
	18	Women and Children
	19	"Dowry"
	20	"Evangelist's Child"
	21	People Carrying Crops
	21B	People Carrying Crops
	22	"Bulu Charter Members"
	23	Two Boys
	24	Boy with Basket
	25	"African Women Preparing Kank-a Bread from the..."
	26	Large Group
	27	Large Group
	28	Group
	28B	Group
	29	Working on a Roof
	30	Village Scene
	31	Carrying Baskets
	32	"Carrying Mud"
	33	Woman and Five Girls
	34	Girls
	34B	Girls
	35	Sick Boy
	36	"Elat-...to the Evangelist Conference"
	37	Women with Pot on Her Head
	38	Two Girls
	39	Girls in School
	40	Large group
	41	Two Boys
	42	Men with Backpacks
	43	"Carrying Loads"
	44	"Bible Institute"
	45	Large Group of Girls
	46	"School Boy"
	47	"Carriers with..."
	48	"Woman Carrier with Baby"
	49	"School Girls Batanga"
	50	Men
	51	Man with Boat
	52	Men
	53	Children in Class
	54	Parents with Children
	55	Men Working
	56	"Efulan..."
	57	Men on a Ship
	58	Man

10	1	Men in Boat
	2	Two Men One Woman
	3	Woman
	4	Two Men
	5	Men in Boat
	6	Three Men
	7	Man with Pipe
	8	"Canoe on Kamerun River"
	9	Group of Women
	10	Group
	11	Man in Boat
	12	"Laffin's Canoe"
	13	Seven Men
	14	Man and Woman
	15	Child
	16	Two Men with Motorcycle
	17	Two Men with Truck
	18	Group of Men
	18B	Group of Men
	19	Women with Child
	20	Women with Child
	21	Village Scene
	22	Women on Bikes
	23	Men and Boys
	24	Men Carrying Woman
	25	"Kunuwe-Batanga"
	26	Two Men
	27	"Old Ervine and One of His 178"
	28	Men Carrying Boy
	29	Men and Boys
	30	Sick Man
	31	Women and Children
	32	Group

		MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS

10	33	Tools Etc.
	34	Furniture
	35	Tools Etc.
	36	Cars
	37	Pulling a Boat
	38	Cargo
	39	" "
	40	Life Boats
	41	Dock
	42	Crossing a River
	43	Doctors

		SERIES 8: MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS, 1920-1959

6	1	Clippings, 1930‑1950s
	2	Marie Gocker, miscellaneous manuscripts, n.d.
	3	E.T. Johnston, miscellaneous items, n.d.
	4	Miscellaneous items, n.d.
	5	manuscripts, n.d.
	6	W.C. Johnston, sermons, n.d.

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Guide to the William Caldwell Johnston Papers

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