Guide to the Paul C. Cassat Papers

Descriptive Summary

Title

Paul C. Cassat Papers

Inclusive Dates

1913-1993

Bulk Dates

1913-1923

Call Number

RG 420

Creator(s)

Cassat, Paul C. (Paul Clifford), 1889-1936.

Quantity

1.00 cubic foot (1 box)

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

Paul Clifford Cassat, missionary and educator, was born July 28, 1889, in Woodbine, Iowa, to David Williams and Lillian May Berryhill Cassat. Cassat graduated from Park College, Parkville, Missouri, in 1913 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In his senior year of college, he applied to the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. for missionary work in China and was appointed by the Board in April 1913 to the Shantung Mission. He left for Shantung (Shandong) Province, China, in September 1913.

Cassat spent nine months at Chefoo Language School studying Chinese in preparation for his permanent assignment. In 1914, he was assigned to the boy's high school in Tsingtau (Tsingtao) as a teacher of English and the gospels. When Japanese forces invaded Tsingtau that autumn, all missionary personnel had been evacuated to Tsinan. During this period Cassat taught English language classes at the Young Men's Christian Association.

Cassat returned to Tsingtau in December 1914 and resumed his teaching. He was assigned supervisor of the elementary and high schools served by the Shantung Mission.

Rowena Wilson was appointed as a missionary in May 1915 to the Shantung Mission by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. She left for Japan in September and, in October, she and Paul Cassat were married in Kobe, Japan. Following their wedding, they returned to Tsingtau, China. Rowena Cassat studied the Chinese language and did evangelical work with Chinese women and children. The Cassats' two daughters, Jean in 1916, and Barbara in 1918, were born in China. Jean died in 1918.

In 1916, Paul Cassat was assigned as supervisor for all the educational work of church related schools in the area established by the mission. In 1917, he accepted the position of treasurer and registrar of Shantung Christian University in Tsinan (Jinan). He also served as secretary and treasurer for the American Red Cross Chapter in Tsinan in 1918.

The Cassats returned to the United States for a furlough in 1920. During this furlough, Paul Cassat stayed in New York City to do deputation work for the Board of Foreign Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., speaking in churches and encouraging contributions to the building program for Shantung Christian University. In 1921, the Cassat family returned to Tsinan. Rowena Cassat taught English as a second language in the University and Latin and Algebra to children of British, Canadian, and American missionaries. Paul Cassat, in addition to his work assignment, was made chairman of the University Chapel Planning Committee and served as treasurer for the Shantung Relief Committee (established for famine relief).

In 1923, the Cassat family returned to the United States on medical leave due to Paul Cassat's health. In 1925, the Cassats resigned from the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Paul Cassat accepted the position of comptroller and, later, assistant treasurer at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York.

Paul Cassat was also active in his community. In addition to membership in various clubs, he was an elder in the Presbyterian Church and the Director of Vassar Bank in Arlington, New York. In 1935, he retired from Vassar College and took up residence in Beaufort, South Carolina. He died in 1936.

Following her husband's death, Rowena Cassat earned a Master's degree in Education from the University of Iowa in 1938. From 1939 to 1943, she was employed by the Board of Education in Springfield, Ohio, as Director of Family Life Education. During World War II, she set up and supervised child care centers for working mothers. In 1945, she accepted the position of Associate Secretary of Missionary Personnel, Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. where she remained until her retirement in 1957.

Rowena Cassat died in May 1993 in Asheville, North Carolina.

Collection Overview

This collection primarily documents Paul Cassat's missionary service in China assigned to the Shantung Mission, the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., from 1913 to 1923.

The bulk of the collection consists of Cassat's correspondence to family members chronologically arranged, 1913-1923. These letters document his missionary assignments as well as his daily life in Shantung Province, China. A portion of the correspondence in 1913 describes his Chinese language studies at Chefoo Language School prior to his permanent assignment. Correspondence also relates to his teaching experiences at the boy's high school in Tsingtau, the 1914 Japanese invasion of Shantung Province, the subsequent evacuation of all missionaries to Tsinan, and Cassat's return to Tsingtau in December 1914.

Correspondence for the period from 1915 to 1920 relates mostly to Paul Cassat's marriage to Rowena Wilson in Kobe, Japan, and to his assignments as supervisor for all elementary and high schools served by the Shantung Mission and then as treasurer and registrar of the Shantung Christian University, Tsinan.

The Biographical Materials Series consist of a brief biographical sketch of Paul Cassat and pages from Rowena Cassat's 1981 autobiographical account of her activities in China. Paul Cassat's 1919 memoir narrates the historical places visited and the Chinese associates he met in Peking. The 1914-1915 church bulletins and letters document his association with the First Presbyterian Church, Atlantic City, New Jersey, which sponsored his missionary work.

The Shantung Mission Documentation Series includes 1913 statistical data for Shantung Mission, a 1914-1915 Tsingtau Station report, 1916 quarterly letters for Tsingtau Station, and blueprints of a missionary village. The Clippings Series include two newspaper clippings from 1913 and 1914 describing Paul Cassat's activities in China, items concerning the 1914 invasion of Tsingtau by Japanese forces, and several typed extracts from the Japanese owned daily Tsinan Jih Pao which focus on Japanese attitudes toward other countries. There is also a copy of Cassat's article, "The Rise of Nationalism in China," from The Chronicle, 1927.

The Photographs Series consist of photographs taken by Cassat, a portion of which are annotated with a brief description and identification of people, activities, and places in China. The collection also includes two film negative albums, "Personal" and "Chinese Subjects" from 1915 to 1919. There are positive contact prints for the latter. The publication, Album Von Tsingtau, included in this series is a German language monograph that was annotated by the Cassats with short notes beneath each photograph.

Organization and Arrangement

SERIES I: BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 1914-1993

SERIES II: SHANTUNG MISSION DOCUMENTATION, 1913-ca. 1920

SERIES III: CORRESPONDENCE, 1913-1923

SERIES IV: CLIPPINGS, 1913-1927

SERIES V: PHOTOGRAPHS, 1913-1927

Related Material

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

These materials were donated to the Presbyterian Historical Society by Barbara Cassat Keleher and Anne Cassat Nash in 2002.

Processing Information

Collection processed and finding aid prepared: October 2005
Rita Beatty, Archives Volunteer

Catalog Headings

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

Personal Name Subject

Cassat, Paul C. (Paul Clifford), 1889-1936.

Cassat, Rowena Wilson, 1891-1993.

Corporate Subject

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Shantung Mission.

Shantung Christian University (Jinan, Shandong Sheng, China).

Topical Subject

Missionaries--China--20th century.

Women missionaries--China--20th century.

Presbyterian Church--Missions--China--20th century.

Missions--China--20th century.

Geographic Subject

China--History--Japanese occupation, 1914-1922.

China--Missions.

Genre-form

Correspondence. aat

Photographs. aat

Clippings (information artifacts) aat

Personal Added Name

Cassat, Rowena Wilson, 1891-1993.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description

1	1	Finding Aid to Record Group 420

		SERIES I: BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 1914-1993

1	2	Biographical sketch of Paul Clifford Cassat, ca. 1993
1	3	First Presbyterian Church, Atlantic City, New Jersey, church bulletins and letters from Paul Clifford Cassat, 1914-1915
1	4	Rowena Wilson Cassat, autobiography, pages 27 to 55 from “A Long Far View,” 1981
1	4	Obituary for Rowena Wilson Cassat, 1993
1	5	“A Week in Peking,” memoir by Paul Clifford Cassat, 1919

		SERIES II: SHANTUNG MISSION DOCUMENTATION, 1913-ca. 1920

1	6	Shantung Mission statistical data, 1913
1	7	“The Chinese Woman versus The American Woman,” 1913
1	8	“Tsing Tau Station Report,” 1914-1915
1	8	Quarterly letters for Tsingtau Station, 1916
1	9	Tsinanfu Institute Extension Department, Shantung Christian University, annual report, 1917
1	10	Graduation program (written in Chinese with some annotations in English), ca. 1920
1	11	Chinese religious material: “The Lords Prayer” (written in Chinese with a literal translation in English) and “Graded Lessons--Primary First Year” (written in Chinese), n.d.
1	12	Missions in China map and missionary village blueprints, n.d.

		SERIES III: CORRESPONDENCE, 1913-1923

		To family members, from Paul Cassat
1	13	Chefoo, October –December, 1913
1	14	Chefoo, January – April, 1914
1	15	Tsingtau, May – July, 1914
1	16	Tsingtau and Tsinan, August – September, 1914
1	17	Tsingtau, Tsinan and Weiksien, September –December 1914
1	18	Tsingtau, January –April, 1915
1	19	Tsingtau, May – July, 1915
1	20	Tsingtau, September – December, 1915
1	21	Tsingtau, January – March, 1916
1	22	Tsingtau, April – August, 1916
1	23	Tsingtau, September – December, 1916
1	24	Tsingtau and Tsinan, January – May, 1917
1	25	Tsinan, June – December, 1917
1	26	Tsinan, January – December, 1918
1	27	Tsinan, February – November, 1919
1	28	Tsinan, February – March, 1920;
1	29	United States, May - October, 1920 and April, 1921
1	30	Tsinan, October - December, 1921
1	31	Tsinan, January – November, 1922
1	32	Tsinan, June – July, 1923

		SERIES IV: CLIPPINGS, 1913-1927

1	33	Newspaper clippings of letters from Paul Clifford Cassat and announcements of activities, 1913-1914, 1921, 1923
1	34	“Missionary Work,” The Continent and newspaper clipping and other items about the invasion of Tsingtau, 1914
1	35	“The Startling Inside Story of Tsingtau,” The Sunday School Times, 1914
1	35	“A Terrible Typhoon Test Four Days from China,” The Sunday School Times, 1916
1	36	Tsinan Jih Pao, “The Future of the Yellow Race,” 1919
1	36	Tsinan Jih Pao, “Psychological Analysis of Americans,” 1919
1	36	Tsinan Jih Pao, “Criticism of President Wilson,” 1919
1	36	Tsinan Jih Pao, “The Brutality of Shantung Christian University and the Corruption of the Modern Christian Church,” n.d.
1	37	“The Rise of Nationalism in China,” The Chronical, Paul C. Cassat, 1927
1	38	Printed material written in Chinese, n.d.

		SERIES V: PHOTOGRAPHS, 1913-1927

1	39	Language School Missionary Class, Chefoo, China, 1913
1	40	Chinese missionary campus and housing complex, ca. 1914
1	41	Chinese missionary school buildings, ca.1914
1	42	Chinese scenes, ca. 1914
1	43	Chinese students and missionaries, ca. 1914
1	44	Postcards, scenes of China, ca. 1914
1	45	Japanese invasion of Shantung, ca. 1915
1	46	Film Negative Album, “Personal,” and positive contact prints (3, 4, 5, 6), 1915-1917
1	46	Portraits of Paul Cassat and Rowena Cassat, n.d
1	47	Film Negative Album, “Chinese Subjects,” and positive contact prints (1-48, 60), 1915-1919
1	48	Cassat residence, ca. 1916
1	49	Rowena and Paul Cassat, Paul Cassat with associates, ca. 1916
1	50	Peking Medical College and Rockefeller Hospital, Peking, ca.1921
1	51	Chefoo University [Shantung Christian University] Chapel, Tsinan, China, 1923
1	52	Chefoo University, University Press Staff, Tsinan, China, 1923
1	53	Album Von Tsingtau, Verlag von Adolf Haupt, monograph of photographs of Tsingtau annotated by the Cassats, Tsingtau, 1927

Print

You are here

Guide to the Paul C. Cassat Papers

Creator(s)