Guide to the Frank Owen Emerson Papers

Descriptive Summary

Title

Frank Owen Emerson Papers

Inclusive Dates

1906-1952

Call Number

RG 200

Creator(s)

Emerson, Frank Owen, 1876-1952.

Quantity

1.00 cubic foot (1 box)

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

Frank Owen Emerson was born on the Nebraska prairie, near the town of Peru, in 1876. The ninth of eleven children, Emerson received his education at Park College (Parkville, Missouri) and at Auburn Theological Seminary (Auburn, New York). In 1906, Emerson received a missionary assignment to the Cameroon (West Africa) which was then under German jurisdiction. Earlier in that year Emerson had wed Alta Kimberly, a schoolteacher from the Auburn area.

Emerson was to serve as Presbyterian missionary in the Cameroon for the next 40 years until his retirement in 1947. Emerson died in 1952 in Tecumseh, Nebraska.

Collection Overview

Record Group 200 documents Emerson's personal life as a missionary in the Cameroon and the later years of his life -- from his retirement to his death. The collection primarily consists of Frank Emerson's outgoing family correspondence addressed to members of his family, including his three wives: Alta Kimberly Emerson (1876-1929), Edna Heminger Emerson (1880-1941) and Vera Eick Emerson (1884-?). While providing some insight into the social, cultural and religious aspects of Emerson's life as a missionary, this correspondence mainly addresses personal and family matters.

This collection also includes: daybooks, photographs, manuscript copies of Emerson's poetry and memoirs, and the descriptive "field" sketches Emerson wrote about West African native life and customs.

Organization and Arrangement

Series I: Correspondence, 1924-1952

Consists of the outgoing correspondence of Frank Emerson as well as some of the outgoing correspondence of Emerson's three wives. This series is arranged by correspondence and chronologically by year.

Series II: Manuscripts, undated

Includes original and photo copies of Emerson's poetry and field sketches as well as the manuscript of his memoirs which was published under the title "The Farthest Away Man".

Series III: Daybooks, 1915-1951

These four books contain a brief account of daily activities, notes and memoranda.

Series IV: Miscellany, 1906-1952

Includes newspaper clippings, programs and sermons as well as family and missionary photographs which document social and cultural life in West Africa (circa 1906-1930)

Catalog Headings

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

Personal Name Subject

Emerson, Frank Owen, 1876-1952.

Emerson, Alta Kimberly, 1876-1925.

Emerson, Edna Heminger, 1880-1941.

Emerson, Vera Eick, 1884-

Corporate Subject

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. West Africa Mission.

Topical Subject

Evangelistic work--Africa, West.

Presbyterian Church--Missions--Cameroon.

Missions--Cameroon.

Missionaries--Cameroon.

Geographic Subject

Cameroon--Missions.

Africa, West--Social life and customs.

Genre-form

Autobiographies (literary genre) aat

Clippings (information artifacts) aat

Correspondence. aat

Daybooks. aat

Photographs. aat

Personal Added Name

Emerson, Alta Kimberly, 1876-1925.

Emerson, Edna Heminger, 1880-1941.

Emerson, Vera Eick, 1884-

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description

1	1	Finding Aid to Record Group 200

		SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE, 1924-1952

		Frank Owen Emerson
1	2	1924-1929
1	3-11	1930-1939
1	12-19	1940-1949
1	20-22	1950-1952

		Alta Kimberly Emerson/Edna Heminger Emerson
1	23	1928-1941

		Vera Eick Emerson
1	24	1942-1946

		SERIES II: MANUSCRIPTS, UNDATED

1	25	Poetry
1	26	"The Farthest Away Man", pages 1-132
1	27	"The Farthest Away Man", pages 133-264
1	28	Field Notes

		SERIES III: DAYBOOKS, 1915-1951

1	29	1915, 1920-1924
1	30	1927-1931, 1942-1946
1	31	1942-1946, 1947-1951

		SERIES IV: MISCELLANY, 1906-1952

1	32	Clippings, Announcements and Programs
1	33	Sermons (Drafts), 1947
1	34	Missionary Correspondence
1	35	Photographs, 1906, undated
1	36	Photographs, circa 1911-1915
1	37	Photographs: Members of the Corisco and Metet Presbyteries, 1938

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Guide to the Frank Owen Emerson Papers

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