Guide to the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly Stated Clerk Lewis Seymour Mudge Correspondence

Descriptive Summary

Title

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly Stated Clerk Lewis Seymour Mudge Correspondence

Inclusive Dates

1921-1938

Call Number

RG 17

Creator(s)

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly. Stated Clerk (1921-1938 : Mudge)

Quantity

5.00 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

The General Assembly was the highest judicatory of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. The Stated Clerk was the chief permanent executive officer of the Church. By designation of the General Assembly, he was the executive head of the Office of the General Assembly and its several departments. Among his important duties were editing the official church law books and giving legal opinions on the meaning of the Constitution of the Church in its relation to problems which arose in the life of the judicatories, particular churches and individuals.

The Reverend Dr. Lewis Seymour Mudge (1868-1945) served the Church as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly from 1921 until 1938. One year, 1931-1932, he held the two highest offices in the PCUSA, having been elected the Assembly's Moderator, or presiding officer, while continuing to serve as its Stated Clerk. Dr. Mudge graduated from Princeton University in 1889 and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1895. Prior to his election as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, he served the pastorates of the First Presbyterian Church of Beverly, NJ, the First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, NJ, First Presbyterian Church of Lancaster, PA, and the Pine Street Church of Harrisburg, PA. From his retirement in 1938 until his death in 1945, Dr. Mudge was the Stated Clerk Emeritus of the General Assembly. Illustrative of the high respect accorded him by his colleagues and the church at large are these words of appreciation expressed in a letter to him from Dr. Henry S. Coffin, President of the Union Theological Seminary, 1926-1942: "We are all so thankful that we have a Stated Clerk who is a man of such tact as well as legal scholarship. We honor you for the magnificent way in which you discharge a very difficult office."

Collection Overview

Record Group 17 comprises correspondence accumulated in a file entitled "Decision Letters" and covers the entire span of Dr. Mudge's term of office as Stated Clerk. The correspondence deals with matters requiring interpretation of the constitutional provisions of the Church and the acts and deliverances of the General Assembly.

Organization and Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically and chronologically.

Administrative Information

Processing Information

Collection processed: May 1968
Milton Kenin, Records Researcher

Collection reprocessed and finding aid prepared: 1983
Jane M. Ramsay

Catalog Headings

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

Corporate Subject

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Government.

Topical Subject

Ecclesiastical law Interpretation and construction.

Personal Added Name

Mudge, Lewis Seymour, 1868-1945.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description

1	1	Finding Aid to Record Group 17

		CORRESPONDENCE, 1921-1938

1	2	A-AL, 1922-38
	3	AM-AZ, 1922-38
	4	BA, 1922-29
	5	BA, 1930-38
	6	BE, 1923-38
	7	BI-BL, 1922-34
	8	BI-BL, 1935-38
	9	BO-BU,1922-26
	10	BO-BU, 1927-29
	11	BO-BU, 1930-33
	12	BO-BU, 1934-36
	13	BO-BU, 1937-38
	14	C-CL, 1921-28
	15	C-CL, 1929-33
	16	C-CL, 1934-38

2	1	CO-CU, 1922-28
	2	CO-CU, 1929-32
	3	CO-CU, 1933-38
	4	D, 1922-29
	5	D, 1930-33
	6	D, 1934-38
	7	E, 1922-30
	8	E,1931-38
	9	F,1922-28
	10	F,1929-33
	11	F,1934-38

3	1	G, 1922-30
	2	G, 1931-34
	3	G, 1935-38
	4	H, 1922-28
	5	H, 1928-30
	6	H, 1931-32
	7	H, 1933-35
	8	H, 1936-38
	9	I, 1934-38
	10	J, 1922-29
	11	J, 1930-38

4	1	K, 1922-30
	2	K, 1931-34
	3	K, 1935-38
	4	L, 1922-29
	5	L, 1930-33
	6	L, 1934-38
	7	M, 1922-27
	8	M,1928-30
	9	M,1931-32
	10	M,1933-34

5	1	M, 1935-36
	2	M,1937-38
	3	N-O, 1934-38
	4	P, 1934-38
	5	R, 1927; 1930; 1934-38
	6	S, 1934-36
	7	S, 1937-38
	8	T-V, 1934-38
	9	W-Z, 1934-36
	10	W-Z, 1936-38

Print

You are here

Guide to the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly Stated Clerk Lewis Seymour Mudge Correspondence

Creator(s)