Guide to the Mellony Turner Collection
Prepared by Walter Cano and Kathleen Knaack, 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
9/13/2000
Overview of Collection
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| Record Creator: |
Turner, Mellony |
| Title: |
Mellony Turner Collection |
| Date Span: |
1908-1963 |
| Abstract: |
Mellony Turner was a Methodist Church missionary to Bulgaria. This collection is made up of material relating to her work
in Bulgaria and her family.
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| Extent: |
5.61 cubic feet |
| Resource ID: |
gcah.ms.3830 |
Biographical Note
Mellony Turner (1901-1949), Methodist missionary, was born on April 9, 1901 at Erin, New York. Turner graduated in 1919 from
the Cazenovia Seminary located in Cazenovia, New York. In 1924, Turner began to teach at the American School for Girls in
Lovetch, Bulgaria for the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1930 she had became the principal of the school.
During World War II, Turner was able to continue teaching at the school. Her problems became worse after the war when the
Communists took over the country. The official communist paper of Bulgaria, Rabotnichesko Delo, repeatedly mocked Turner and her work in the paper.
Forced out of Bulgaria, Turner relocated to Athens, Greece, and taught at Pierce College. After her departure from Bulgaria,
false accusations of espionage were made against her after the torture of fifteen Bulgarian Methodist pastors with whom she
had closely worked. Turner never returned to Bulgaria.
On Sunday, November 20, 1949, Mellony was scheduled to give a missionary message at Baldwinsville, New York, Methodist Church.
On the way to the church a truck hit her and her father, W. Cleon Turner, a Methodist minister, and both were killed instantly.
Turner is buried with her father and mother on a hilltop in Cato, New York.
Scope Note
The Mellony Turner papers primarily documents her life as a missionary in Bulgaria. There is a number of records on the American
School for Girls in Lovetch, consisting of photographs, textbooks, yearbooks, and financial records. Turner's notebooks and
lecture notes are included in the collection. It should be noted that there is a single folder containing information on
closing the school. Turner kept diaries during her tenure in Bulgaria as well extensive correspondence. There are general
images in both photograph and slide format ranging from the royal family of Bulgaria to her own family in the United States.
Turner has a copy of a sermon by Bishop Burt; the bishop who had established the Bulgarian mission at the beginning of the
twentieth century. Clippings and other types of publications reflect Bulgarian life and politics. There are eight lectures
and a sermon written by Turner. Artifacts are personal in nature, reflecting the clothing and accessories of mid-twentieth
century Bulgarian dress. There is a pot in the artifact series as well.
The other series within the collection reflects Turner's immediate family. The few records relating to her parents deal with
their will and a folder of letters. Mellony's brother, Ewart Turner's three folders are related to his spying for the United
States War Department during the World War II. Though he was ministering to a church in the United States during the war,
Ewart was familiar with German communities in Europe and South America. The War Department had Turner collect information
on Germans, in the U.S., who were thought to be a threat to national security during the war. This information is elucidated
in a correspondence folder.
Arrangement
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Series: Family
subseries: Ewart Turner
subseries: Reverend W. Cleon and Mrs. Turner
Series: Mellony Turner
subseries: American School for Girls
subseries: Artifacts
subseries: Clippings
subseries: Correspondence
subseries: Diaries
subseries: General
subseries: Images
subseries: Manuscripts
subseries: Publications
Preferred Citation
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder,
Mellony Turner Collection, 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.
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Subject Terms
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Additonal Creators - Personal |
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Turner family |
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Turner, Ewart Edmund |
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Turner, Martha L. |
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Subject Names - Corporate |
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Methodist Church. Board of Missions and Church Extension |
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Methodist Episcopal Church. Board of Missions. Department of Foreign Missions |
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Subject Topics |
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Armed Forces |
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Children |
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Church work with children-Methodist Church |
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Church work with students-Methodist Church |
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Education |
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Education, Higher |
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Family |
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Finance |
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Financial records |
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Financial statements |
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International Relations |
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Methodist Church-Education |
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Methodist colleges |
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Methodist schools |
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Methodists, Bulgarian |
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Schools |
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Travel |
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Travel photography |
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Universities and colleges |
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War |
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Women |
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Women intellectuals |
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Women teachers |
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Women's colleges |
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World War, 1939-1945 -War work -Methodist Church. |
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Subject Geographic |
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Bulgaria |
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United States. |
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Genre |
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Abstracts |
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Accounting-Books of account |
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Addresses |
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Albums |
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Annual reports |
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Architectural drawings |
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Articles |
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Artifacts |
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Bibles |
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Biographies |
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Booklets |
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Books |
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Budgets |
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Catalogs |
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Class books |
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Clippings |
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Correspondence |
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Diaries |
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Drawings |
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Essays |
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Financial records |
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Lectures |
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Negatives |
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Newsletters |
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Newspapers |
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Notebooks |
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Obituaries |
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Paintings |
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Pamphlets |
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Paper |
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Periodicals |
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Photograph albums |
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Photographs |
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Picture books |
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Poetry |
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Portraits |
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Postcards |
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Prayers |
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Slides |
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Yearbooks. |
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Occupations |
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Educator |
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Missionary. |
Series: Family
Sub-series: Ewart Turner
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-3-3:
17
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Information on Ewart Turner |
Undated |
| 1601-3-3:
18
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Correspondence: Ewart Turner |
1926-1963 |
| 1601-3-3:
19
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Correspondence: War Department |
1942 |
Sub-series: Reverend W. Cleon and Mrs. Turner
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-3-3:
20
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Correspondence |
1941-1949 |
| 1601-3-3:
21
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Legal Settlement: Estate of W. C. Turner Mellony Turner vs. Baker, Johnson and Lewein. |
1951 |
Series: Mellony Turner
Sub-series: American School for Girls
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-3-1:
23
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Financial Records |
1941-1948 |
| 1601-3-2:
1
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Lecture Notes at the American School for Girls at Lovetch |
Undated |
| 1601-3-2:
2
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Notebooks |
Undated |
| 1601-3-2:
3
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Notebooks |
Undated |
| 1601-3-2:
4
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American Girls School Lovetch Yearbook |
1931 |
| 1601-3-2:
6
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"The Gold and The Purple": Yearbook |
1940 |
| 1601-3-2:
7
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Textbook: The Study of the English Language Part I |
1945 |
| 1601-3-2:
8
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Textbook: The Study of the English Language Part II |
1946 |
| 1601-3-2:
9
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Documentation about the American School for Girls at Lovetch. |
1939-1948 |
| 1601-3-2:
10
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Information on the closing of the American School for Girls at Lovetch. |
1947-1948 |
| 1601-3-4:
3
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Photographs: American School for Girls, Lovetch, Bulgaria. |
1920-1945 |
Sub-series: Artifacts
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 5029-1-1:
1
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Apron |
20th Century |
| 5029-1-1:
2
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Dress |
20th Century |
| 5029-1-1:
3
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Undergarment |
20th Century |
| 5029-1-1:
4
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Costume |
20th Century |
| 5029-1-1:
5
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Dress |
20th Century |
| 5029-1-1:
6
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Dress |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
1
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Flag |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
2
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Pouch |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
3
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Bolt of cloth |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
4
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Bolt of cloth |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
5
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Cloth |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
6
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Cloth |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
7
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Cloth |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
8
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Cloth |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
9
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Cloth |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
10
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Cloth |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
11
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Hankerchief |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
12
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Hankerchief |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
13
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Head covering |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
14
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Floor mat |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
15
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Textile |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
16
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Mat |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
17
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Pillow |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
18
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Textile |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
19
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Socks |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
20
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Apron |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
21
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Apron |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
22
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Doll outfit |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
23
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Doll with outfit |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-1:
24
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Shoes |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-2:
1
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Drawing |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-2:
2
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Painting |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-2:
3
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Drawing |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-2:
4
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Painting |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-3:
1
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Bracelet |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-3:
2
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Belt buckle |
20th Century |
| 5029-6-3:
3
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Pot |
20th Century |
Sub-series: Clippings
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-3-1:
2
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Clippings |
1930-1949 |
| 1601-3-1:
3
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Clippings |
1949-1950 |
Sub-series: Correspondence
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-3-1:
4
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Correspondence |
Undated |
| 1601-3-1:
5
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Correspondence |
1932-1939 |
| 1601-3-1:
6
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Correspondence |
1940 |
| 1601-3-1:
7
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Correspondence |
1941 |
| 1601-3-1:
8
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Correspondence |
1942 |
| 1601-3-1:
9
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Correspondence |
1943 |
| 1601-3-1:
10
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Correspondence |
1944 |
| 1601-3-1:
11
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Correspondence |
1945 |
| 1601-3-1:
12
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Correspondence |
1946 |
| 1601-3-1:
13
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Correspondence |
1947 |
| 1601-3-1:
14
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Correspondence |
1948 |
| 1601-3-1:
15
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Correspondence |
1949 |
| 1601-3-1:
16
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Correspondence |
1924-1949 |
Sub-series: Diaries
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-3-1:
19
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Diary |
1943-1944 |
| 1601-3-1:
20
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Diary |
1944-1945 |
| 1601-3-1:
22
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Excerpts from Mellony's Diaries |
1941-1946 |
Sub-series: General
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-3-1:
1
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Biographical Information |
1925-1950 |
| 1601-3-3:
2
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Bulgaria Mission Conference |
1909 |
| 1601-3-3:
16
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Personal Bible |
1946 |
Sub-series: Images
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-3-4:
1
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Personal Slides |
Undated |
| 1601-3-4:
2
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Photographs: Mellony Turner |
1928-1945 |
| 1601-3-4:
4
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Photographs: Bulgaria |
1930-1965 |
| 1601-3-4:
5
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Photographs: United States |
1948 |
| 1601-3-4:
6
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Photographs: Bulgarian Royal Family |
Undated |
| 1601-3-4:
7
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Oversized Photographs: Lovetch, Bulgaria |
1920's |
| 1601-3-4:
8
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Oversized Photographs: A Bulgarian Girl |
Undated |
| 1601-3-5:
1
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Photograph Album |
1915-1920 |
| 1601-3-5:
2
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Photograph Album |
1915-1920 |
| 1601-3-6:
1
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Photograph Album |
1920's |
| 1601-3-6:
2
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Photograph Album |
1920's |
| 1601-3-7:
1
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Photograph Album |
1925-1930 |
| 1601-3-7:
2
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Photograph Album |
1925-1930 |
| 1601-3-8:
1
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Photograph Album |
1948-1949 |
| 1601-4-1:
1
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Photograph Album |
1920-1940 |
Sub-series: Manuscripts
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-3-3:
4
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Sermon: Acts 17:15 - 30 |
Undated |
| 1601-3-3:
5
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Lecture: "Is Life Fair ?" |
Undated |
| 1601-3-3:
6
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Lecture: "My Trip to Egypt" |
Undated |
| 1601-3-3:
7
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Lecture: "Russia and the Peace" |
Undated |
| 1601-3-3:
8
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Lecture: "The War Years in Bulgaria" |
Undated |
| 1601-3-3:
9
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Lecture: "The House Built Upon a Rock" |
Undated |
| 1601-3-3:
10
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Lecture: "The World of the Church" |
Undated |
| 1601-3-3:
11
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Lecture: "Conditions in Europe" |
1946 |
| 1601-3-3:
12
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Lecture: "World Day of Prayer" |
1947 |
| 1601-3-3:
15
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Papers written in Bulgarian |
1942-1949 |
Sub-series: Publications
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-3-2:
5
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"A Bulgarian Anthology" |
1939 |
| 1601-3-3:
1
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Bishop Burt's Sermons (in Bulgarian) |
1908 |
| 1601-3-3:
3
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Das Niederdeutlche Luthertum (in German) |
1939 |
| 1601-3-3:
13
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Newspaper: Free Bulgaria |
1948-1949 |
| 1601-3-3:
14
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Booklets written in Bulgarian |
1948 |
| 1601-3-4:
9
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Book of Bulgarian Illustrations |
1929 |
