Guide to the Roy F. Cleveland and LeNoir Ramsey Cleveland Correspondence

Descriptive Summary

Title

Roy F. Cleveland and LeNoir Ramsey Cleveland Correspondence

Inclusive Dates

1914-1956

Call Number

RG 462

Creator(s)

Cleveland, Roy F. (Roy Fields), 1883-1962.

Cleveland, LeNoir Ramsey, 1890-

Quantity

1.50 cubic feet (3 boxes)

Language

Materials in English

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

Roy F. and LeNoir Ramsey Cleveland were Presbyterian missionaries in the Congo from 1913 to 1956. Roy Cleveland was born in 1883 in Brownwood, Texas. He graduated from Austin College in 1911, and then attended Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary for two years. He was licensed and ordained by the Presbytery of Western Texas in 1913. LeNoir Amilia Ramsey, daughter of Thomas Isaac Ramsey and Jane Cunningham Boyd, was born in 1890 in San Antonio, Texas. In 1913, LeNoir Ramsey and Roy Cleveland married and shortly thereafter, sailed for the Congo, where they served as missionaries for the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Roy Cleveland engaged in business and financial work for the mission as well as teaching and evangelizing. LeNoir Cleveland worked in the Educational and Women’s Work Department, teaching in the day school at the Luebo mission station and conducting women’s bible study classes. The couple retired from missionary work and returned to the United States in 1956. Roy Cleveland died in 1962.

Collection Overview

This collection consists of correspondence written by Roy F. and LeNoir Ramsey Cleveland between 1914 and 1956, when they served as missionaries in the Congo. The letters, mostly addressed to family members, were sent from mission stations at Luebo, Lubondai, Mutoto, and Lusambo. There are also letters between Roy and LeNoir Cleveland as well as letters written by the couple during furloughs and in transit to and from the field. The letters provide detailed descriptions of the daily life and work of the mission, visits of other missionaries, the development of the mission stations, evangelizing trips made to various locations in the Congo, and the activities of the Clevelands’ four children.

Organization and Arrangement

Summary of Box Contents

Box 1: Correspondence, 1914-1922

Box 2: Correspondence, 1923-1933

Box 3: Correspondence, 1934-1956

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Received from Anne Boyd Crane in 1999.

Processing Information

This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered beyond their original condition. Guide revised in 2009 by Jennifer Barr, Archives Intern.

Preferred Citation

Roy F. Cleveland and LeNoir Ramsey Cleveland Correspondence, RG 462, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Catalog Headings

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

Personal Name Subject

Cleveland, Roy F. (Roy Fields), 1883-1962.

Cleveland, LeNoir Ramsey, 1890-

Corporate Subject

American Presbyterian Congo Mission.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Board of World Missions.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Executive Committee of Foreign Missions.

Topical Subject

Missionaries--Congo (Democratic Republic)--20th century.

Women missionaries--Congo (Democratic Republic)--20th century.

Missions--Congo (Democratic Republic)--20th century.

Presbyterian Church--Missions--Congo (Democratic Republic)--20th century.

Geographic Subject

Congo (Democratic Republic)--Missions--20th century.

Genre-form

Correspondence. aat

Personal Added Name

Cleveland, Roy F. (Roy Fields), 1883-1962.

Cleveland, LeNoir Ramsey, 1890-

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Guide to the Roy F. Cleveland and LeNoir Ramsey Cleveland Correspondence

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