Melville Owens Williams Collection
Morris Davis, Scott Ostlund and Daisy Wiggins King, Student Assistants and Mark C. Shenise, Associate Archivist
United Methodist Archives and History Center
General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church
2017-11-15
Overview of Collection
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| Creator: |
Williams, Melville Owens |
| Title: |
Melville Owens Williams Collection |
| Title: |
Williams Collection |
| Date Span: |
1920-1977 |
| Abstract: |
Melville Owens Wiliams (1904-1995) was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, to Meville Owens and Mary Louise Codd Willams. Willaims spent his early years in education, serving as the chaplain for the Virginia Industrial School in Maidens (1924-1925), and then as a teacher at Emory University Academy, in Oxford, Georgia (1926-28). In 1929 the Williams family moved to China where he taught sociology. They remained there until 1940. In 1942 Williams was ordained in the Virginia Conference of the Methodist church, receiving his full connection in 1945. The same year he was ordained Williams was appointed secretary of Missionary Personnel, a position he held until the merger in 1968. This collection contains mostly administrative records from Williams' work in missions administration. Included are Williams' reports on his trips overseas; personnel application procedures and personnel development procedures; papers and reports by other authors on missiology and missions theory; a history of the Joint Committee on Missionary Personnel; clippings, books, pamphlets, and reports on several geographic regions, especially China. |
| Extent: |
3.39 cubic feet |
| Identification: |
gcah.ms.3574 |
Biographical Note
Melville Owens Wiliams (1904-1995) was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, to Meville Owens and Mary Louise Codd Willams. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1924, an Master of Science degree in sociology and religion from Vanderbilt University in 1929, and an Doctor of Education from Union Theological Seminary in 1936. He married Annie Lee Young in August of 1926, and they had two children: G. Melville and Anne W. (later Craig).
Willaims spent his early years in education, serving as the chaplain for the Virginia Industrial School in Maidens (1924-1925), and then as a teacher at Emory University Academy, in Oxford, Georgia (1926-1928). In 1929 the Williams family moved to China where he taught sociology. They remained there until 1940. In 1942, Williams was ordained in the Virginia Conference of the Methodist church, receiving his full connection in 1945. The same year he was ordained Williams was appointed secretary of Missionary Personnel, a position he held until the merger in 1968. From 1964 until 1968 he was Chairman of the Commission on world Mission under the National Student Christian Federation. After his retirement from the Board of Missions, Williams worked with the Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations (COEMAR), a cooperative effort with the Presbyterian Church, USA. In this capacity he and his wife traveled to Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central and South America. They retired to Ohio in 1985.
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains mostly administrative records from Williams' work in missions administration. Included are Williams' reports on his trips overseas; personnel application procedures and personnel development procedures; papers and reports by other authors on missiology and missions theory; a history of the Joint Committee on Missionary Personnel: clippings, books, pamphlets, and reports on several geographic regions, especially China.
Arrangement
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Missions-General Administrative
Manuscripts, Lectures and Notes
Printed Matter
Geographic Regions
Preferred Citation
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Melville Owens Williams, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the item's call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions regarding this collection.
Use Access
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
Related Material
Microfilm Edition of the Mission Biographical Reference Files.
Microfilm Edition of the Missionary files series of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Records of the World Division of the General Board of Global Ministries.
Records of the Mission Education and Cultivation Program Department of the General Board of Global Ministries.
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Index Terms
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Subject Terms
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Missions |
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Missions-Africa |
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Missions-China |
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Missions-Japan |
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Missions-Korea |
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Missions-Latin America |
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World War, 1939-1945 |
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Geographic Terms
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Africa |
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Algeria |
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Asia |
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Bolivia |
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Brazil |
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Burma |
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England |
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Hawaii |
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Hong Kong |
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India |
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Japan |
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Korea |
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Latin America |
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Malaya |
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Pakistan |
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Pennslyvania |
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Peru |
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Philippines |
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Singapore |
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South America |
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Taiwan |
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Subject Names - Corporate Bodies
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Methodist Church (U.S.) |
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Methodist Episcopal Church |
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Methodist Episcopal Church, South |
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Genre Terms
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Biographies |
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Clippings |
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Correspondence |
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Publications |
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Reports |
Series: Missions-General Administrative
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Call Number
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Folder Title
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Date(s)
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| 1551-5-1:
1 |
Missionary Statistics |
1948-1967 |
| 1551-5-1:
2 |
Missionary Personnel |
1956 |
| 1551-5-1:
3 |
Missionary Personnel Evaluation |
1967 |
| 1551-5-1:
4 |
Missionary Application Procedures 1 |
1962 |
| 1551-5-1:
5 |
Missionary Application Procedures 2 |
1962 |
| 1551-5-1:
6 |
Department of World Missions |
1959-1969 |
| 1551-5-1:
7 |
Personnel Developmental Interview-COEMAR |
1970-1975 |
| 1551-5-1:
8 |
Board of Global Ministries Newsletter |
1975-1978 |
| 1551-5-1:
9 |
JCMP |
1961-1973 |
| 1551-5-1:
10 |
JCMP History |
1985 |
| 1551-5-1:
11 |
Delta Ministry |
1967-1969 |
| 1551-5-1:
12 |
Missions-General |
1956-1969 |
| 1551-5-1:
13 |
Commissioning |
1942-1985 |
| 1551-5-1:
14 |
Christian Vocations |
1945-1950 |
| 1551-5-1:
15 |
Missions in War |
1942-1945 |
| 1551-5-1:
16 |
Scriptural Study Outlines |
1962-1980 |
| 1551-5-1:
17 |
Papers, Reports: 1 of 3 |
1950-1960 |
| 1551-5-1:
18 |
Papers, Reports: 2 of 3 |
1964-1966 |
| 1551-5-2:
1 |
Papers, Reports: 3 of 3 |
1968-1976 |
| 1551-5-2:
2 |
Retired Military in Missions circa 1960 |
1960 |
| 1551-5-2:
3 |
Missionary Adjustment |
1960-1971 |
| 1551-5-2:
4 |
Mission Call |
1965-1969 |
| 1551-5-2:
5 |
Mission Questionnaire Summary - Jesuit Missions, Inc. |
1966 |
| 1551-5-2:
6 |
Missionary who is a Wife |
1972-1973 |
| 1551-5-2:
7 |
Bibliography - World Christian Mission |
1976 |
| 1551-5-2:
8 |
International Year of the Child |
1979 |
| 1551-5-2:
9 |
North Africa Trip |
1952 |
| 1551-5-2:
10 |
Africa Trip - Notes, Papers |
1964 |
| 1551-5-2:
11 |
General Printed Matter - Africa |
1961-1966 |
| 1551-5-2:
12 |
Mozambique Institute |
1967 |
| 1551-5-2:
13 |
Africa-General |
1961-1971 |
| 1551-5-2:
14 |
Southern Africa: A Monthly Survey of News and Opinion |
1968-1969 |
| 1551-5-3:
1 |
Asia - General |
1965-1966 |
| 1551-5-4:
1 |
Conferences - Willingen, 1 |
1952 |
| 1551-5-4:
2 |
Conferences - Willingen, 2 |
1952 |
| 1551-5-4:
3 |
Conferences - Interfield Consultation |
1960 |
| 1551-5-6:
4 |
A Visit, After Forty Years, To Old Friends and Familiar Places |
1980 |
| 1551-5-6:
5 |
Short Biography |
1929-1980 |
| 1551-5-6:
6 |
Letters to Colleauges |
1927-1947 |
| 1551-5-6:
7 |
Correspondence |
1940-1949 |
| 1551-5-6:
8 |
Correspondence - Mostly United States |
1950-1975 |
| 1551-5-6:
9 |
Correspondence - Significant |
1964-1979 |
| 1551-5-6:
10 |
Correspondence Re Health Work |
1942-1954 |
| 1551-5-6:
11 |
Correspondence with Family |
1927-1947 |
| 1551-5-6:
13 |
K. H. Ting |
1983-1989 |
| 1551-5-6:
14 |
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, East China Mission, Requesting to Write |
1982 |
| 1551-5-6:
15 |
East China Mission Retreat |
1983-1991 |
| 1551-5-6:
16 |
Aim of The Missionary |
1940-1985 |
| 1551-5-6:
17 |
Joint Committee on Missionary Personnel, History as Remembered |
1985 |
| 1551-5-6:
18 |
Craig, Jean, Oral History Outline |
1965-1985 |
| 1551-5-6:
19 |
Sittings Dawn of Jim Lawson |
1960 |
| 1551-5-6:
20 |
Trip to China; Shanghai Friends and Maps |
1980 |
| 1551-5-6:
21 |
Friends Around the United States and China |
1980-1981 |
| 1551-5-6:
22 |
Virginia Annual Conference |
1943-1979 |
Series: Manuscripts, Lectures and Notes
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Call Number
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Folder Title
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Date(s)
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| 1551-5-7:
1 |
China - Imperialism and Mission Thrust; Madsen's Paper |
1979 |
| 1551-5-7:
2 |
China - Speaking |
1980-1987 |
| 1551-5-7:
3 |
Christianity and War, Shanghai |
1937-1942 |
| 1551-5-7:
4 |
Mission - Selected Writings |
1960-1977 |
| 1551-5-7:
5 |
The Missionary Movement and Western Imperialism |
1980-1981 |
| 1551-5-7:
6 |
Pageants and Songs |
1946-1947 |
| 1551-5-7:
7 |
Philosophy of Education and Christian Faith; Doctor of Education Thesis |
1936 |
| 1551-5-7:
9 |
Soochow University Courses |
1931-1934 |
| 1551-5-7:
10 |
Soochow University Teaching Materials - Religious |
1931-1939 |
| 1551-5-7:
11 |
China Three-Self Background - Paper Drafts |
1981 |
| 1551-5-7:
12 |
Three-Self Paper - Memos |
1981 |
| 1552-5-4:
1 |
Bibliographic Notes 1 |
Undated |
| 1552-5-5:
1 |
Bibliographic Notes 2 |
Undated |
| 1552-5-6:
1 |
Topic Notes |
Undated |
| 1552-5-6:
2 |
Geographic Notes |
Undated |
Series: Printed Matter
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Call Number
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Folder Title
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Date(s)
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| 1551-5-4:
6 |
America and the Far Eastern War |
1937 |
| 1551-5-4:
7 |
C.M.S. Newsletter |
1968-1969 |
| 1551-5-4:
9 |
Methodism Behind the Bamboo Curtain |
1950 |
| 1551-5-4:
10 |
China, Key to the Orient - and to Asia |
1950 |
| 1551-5-4:
11 |
China's Capacity for Resistance |
1937 |
| 1551-5-4:
12 |
The Christian Community in the Modern World |
1939 |
| 1551-5-4:
13 |
The Churchman Overseas, "Ministering to the New Emerging 'International Man'" |
1969 |
| 1551-5-4:
14 |
Ecumenical Information from Czechoslovakia |
1969 |
| 1551-5-4:
15 |
Ecumenical Institute, "The Recovery of Ministry" |
1964 |
| 1551-5-4:
17 |
Ecumenist, The, Volume 6, Number 6 |
1968 |
| 1551-5-4:
18 |
The Great Migration and the Church Behind the Lines |
1941 |
| 1551-5-4:
16 |
If You Were in China |
1940 |
| 1551-5-4:
19 |
Japan and Shanghai |
1938 |
| 1551-5-5:
1 |
Japan's War in China, 1 |
1937-1939 |
| 1551-5-5:
2 |
Japan's War in China, 2 |
1938-1939 |
| 1551-5-5:
3 |
World's Student Christian Federation, The Life and Mission of the Church |
1959 |
| 1551-5-5:
4 |
Methodist Student Movement Bulletin |
1962-1967 |
| 1551-5-5:
5 |
Methodism in China: The War Years |
1939-1947 |
| 1551-5-5:
6 |
Ministries to Women and Children |
1976 |
| 1551-5-5:
7 |
Mission: Brazil |
1973 |
| 1551-5-5:
8 |
New Life in Fan Village North China |
Undated |
| 1551-5-5:
9 |
Occasional Bulletin |
1975-1976 |
| 1551-5-5:
10 |
On Christianity and Buddhism |
1960 |
| 1551-5-5:
11 |
On Foot to Freedom |
1940 |
| 1551-5-5:
12 |
Papers on the Theology of Mission |
1958-1960 |
| 1551-5-5:
13 |
Revolution in Peru? |
1971 |
| 1551-5-5:
14 |
Some Dimensions of International Affairs Education |
1967 |
| 1551-5-5:
15 |
The Spiritual Spectrum of Latin America |
1965 |
| 1551-5-5:
16 |
Chinese Language |
1929-1942 |
| 1551-5-5:
17 |
Syllabus for Study of The Life of Jesus |
1940 |
| 1551-5-5:
18 |
Tanaka Memorial |
1931 |
| 1551-5-5:
19 |
Tung Wu Magazine of Soochow University, The |
1937 |
| 1551-5-5:
21 |
The Annuals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |
1964 |
| 1551-5-5:
20 |
Unity Apart from Mission is Sterile, Mission Without Unity is Partial |
1967 |
| 1551-5-6:
2 |
What Is The Truth About China? |
1945 |
| 1551-5-6:
3 |
"What is Worship?" |
1962 |
| 1551-5-6:
23 |
The World Conference of Christian Youth |
1939 |
| 1551-5-7:
16 |
American Information Committee, Shanghai |
1939-1940 |
| 1551-5-6:
1 |
The War Conduct of the Japanese |
1938 |
Series: Geographic Regions
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Call Number
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Folder Title
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Date(s)
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| 1551-5-3:
2 |
China: Tunghai University |
1920-1979 |
| 1551-5-3:
3 |
China Consultation |
1975 |
| 1551-5-3:
4 |
China - General |
1975-1977 |
| 1551-5-3:
5 |
China - Notes, Telegram |
1965-1978 |
| 1551-5-3:
6 |
China - Printed Matter |
1969-1973 |
| 1551-5-3:
7 |
Hong Kong |
1959-1969 |
| 1551-5-3:
8 |
India |
1958-1966 |
| 1551-5-3:
9 |
Japan |
1958-1969 |
| 1551-5-3:
10 |
Korea |
1959-1971 |
| 1551-5-3:
11 |
Okinawa |
1959 |
| 1551-5-3:
12 |
Trip to South East Asia |
1959 |
| 1551-5-3:
13 |
South East Asia |
1969-1971 |
| 1551-5-3:
14 |
Taiwan |
1959-1971 |
| 1551-5-3:
15 |
Bolivia and Peru |
1970-1971 |
| 1551-5-3:
16 |
Brazil - COEMAR |
1972/1973 |
| 1551-5-3:
17 |
Brazil - Fred B. Morris |
1974 |
| 1551-5-3:
18 |
Trip to Hawaii |
1959 |
| 1551-5-3:
19 |
Latin America-Miscellaneous |
1966-1976 |
| 1551-5-3:
20 |
Latin America-Reports |
1950-1970 |
| 1551-5-3:
21 |
Latin America-'La Camba' |
1970-1971 |
| 1551-5-3:
22 |
Americas-Clippings |
1968-1977 |
| 1551-5-4:
4 |
China |
1948-1950 |
| 1551-5-4:
5 |
Trip to Asia |
1959 |
| 1551-5-4:
8 |
Trip to England |
1952 |
| 1551-5-7:
14 |
Fellowship Book (China) |
1965 |
| 1551-5-7:
15 |
Pictures - China |
1930-1941 |
