Guide to the John Gracey Collection
Prepared by Myong Shin Jeon, Student Assistant and Mark C. Shenise, Associate
Archivist
United Methodist Archives and History Center
General
Commission on Archives and History, Madison, New Jersey
7/8/2009
Overview of Records
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| Record Creator: |
Gracey, John Talbot |
| Title: |
John Gracey Collection |
| Dates: |
1814-
1924
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| Abstract: |
John Talbot Gracey was a missionary, a teacher,
and a pastor, and thus was influential to a great many people. He served as a missionary to India
for eight years, and later as a member of a mission evaluation team to Africa. He also was the
missionary editor for the Northern Christian Advocate. He taught at Drew University for a year,
as well as gave numerous lectures and speeches about the importance of mission work and Christian
service. This led to his work as the pastor of a great many churches. Much of his work and his
life is included in this collection.
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| Extent: |
4.09 cubic feet |
| Resource ID: |
gcah.ms.4574 |
Biographical Note
John Talbot Gracey (1831-
1912), American Missionary to India, was born in Philadelphia on September 16, 1831. He was very
studious, and liked to study the sciences. He eventually went off to college to study medicine in
an attempt to one day become a physician. However, it was during this time that he realized that
his true calling was not to heal people physically, but spiritually. When he made this decision
in 1850, he joined the Virginia and later the Pennsylvania Conferences. Gracey received his
masters from both Ohio Wesleyan University as well as Dickinson College, and earned the title of
Doctor of Divinity from Syracuse University. On March 10, 1858, John married Annie Ryder, who was
at the time working at Ohio Wesleyan University.
Early in 1861, Gracey decided that he and
his wife were being called for missions in India. At the time, India was still a very remote
location, one especially devoid of westerners since relations between India and Britain had not
been so great. India was a very important place for missions, and a land in need of help, but few
had yet pioneered the mission field in that area. Gracey brought together a team of missionaries,
including his wife, to embark on such a journey. They left the United States in June
1861 and arrived in India in October. The trip had been quite dangerous, and the group was lucky
to have arrived safely. Now that they were in India, they got right to work. Gracey was a very
impressive man, intelligent yet humble and kind. One could always find Gracey sitting with the
local children or the older men, telling them stories of the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan,
and the locals would accept this with excited and wild imaginations. After only living in India
for five months, Gracey gave his first sermon in a native tongue. Gracey was also involved with the
Methodist Indian Conference, of which he was secretary when he arrived, and President in 1867.
During his time in India, John lived in Sitapur, Calcutta, Bareilly, and Naini Tal. He also took
a short excursion into the mountains to the north.
In 1868, their homestead in India was
abruptly cut short when Annie became severely ill. Upon return to the United States, it was clear
that she could not endure the extreme tropical environment, and thus the two could not return
together. So after a marvelous seven years serving and teaching in India, John retired from that
particular field, never to return to India.
For the latter stage of his life, Gracey took on
many different roles. He was involved with a missionary society through the church, giving
speeches and writings in the interest of all missions. He was a professor of a historical
theology at Drew University. He transferred to the Central New York and Genessee Conferences.
While in these conferences, Gracey was the pastor of many churches, from Rochester, Buffalo, and
Brooklyn to holding the position of elder at a church in Syracuse for six years. He also
organized and presided over the International Missionary Union in 1883, an organization that
protects the rights and safety of missionaries. From late 1876 to early 1877, Gracey was invited
to join a group in a visit to missions in West Africa. There he evaluated the work and gave
suggestions to improving life and efficiency in the mission field. Upon the return to the United
States, Gracey stopped in Spain and France as a little vacation.
Gracey retired from the
pastorate in 1889, but that didn't end his ministry. He worked for the Northern Christian
Advocate as the missionary editor for 18 years. He also continued to speak about his experiences
about being a missionary. He wrote a few books on his thoughts as well.
Along with being
such an active member in the church, Gracey was a devoted father of three. One of these children, Frances Ida Gracey, became
a missionary to China. She devoted her life to
helping little children in China have a better life. His wife Annie died on February 17, 1908,
and John died four years later, on January 5, 1912.
Scope Note
A great deal of the work,
biography, and family life of John Talbot Gracey is contained in this document. Gracey wrote a
great deal of sermons in his life, many of which exist in this document. Some of these are
completely written out, while some are still in outline form. Also included are many newspaper
and magazine articles written by Gracey about various aspects of his life. There are articles
about mission work, about other religions, and about his own Christian faith. The majority of
these would have been published in a Christian newspaper or magazine, such as The
Methodist.
Much of Gracey's missionary life is documented, from articles written about his
experiences to notes he took while on different mission trips, to photographs of mission work.
Gracey had many journals, some of which can be found in this collection.
As for his
biography and family life, there are correspondences between Gracey and different members of his
family. Some of his wife's writings are included in this collection, as well as responses to her
work. Also included is information about his daughter Ida's missionary work in China. An
interesting thing to note is the copy of marriage licenses from his wife Annie's father during his
pastorate. This provides a bit of family history for the Gracey household.
Arrangement
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Series: Writings
Series: Missionary Work
Series: Family
Preferred Citation
When citing material
from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file
folder, John Talbot Gracey 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
For personal
papers refer to the donor form otherwise use There are no restrictions regarding this
collection.
Restrictions on Use
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
Missionary
Correspondence Collection
Mission Biographical Reference Collection
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Subject Terms
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Additonal Creators - Personal |
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Gracey,
Annie Ryder.
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Subject Names - Corporate |
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Methodist Episcopal Church
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Syracuse, University
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Ohio Wesleyan
University
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Subject Topics |
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Christian life
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Evangelistic work
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Marriage.
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Missions
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Missions-Africa
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Missions-China
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Missions-India
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Pastoral Care
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Religion
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Sermons
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Teachers
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Missionaries
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Subject Geographic |
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China
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Europe
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India
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New York (State)
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Spain.
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Africa
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Genre |
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Articles
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Correspondence
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Journals
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Lectures
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Manuscripts
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Memorials.
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Photographs
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Scrapbooks
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Speeches
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Sermons |
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Occupations |
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Minister.
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Missionary |
Series: Writings
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-4-2:
1
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Sermons |
1850-1853 |
| 1601-4-2:
2
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Sermons |
1855-1857 |
| 1601-4-2:
3
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Sermons |
1860-1869 |
| 1601-4-2:
4
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Sermons |
1870-1879 |
| 1601-4-2:
5
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Sermons |
1880-1886 |
| 1601-4-2:
8
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Sermons |
1890-1899 |
| 1601-4-2:
9
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Sermons |
1900-1907 |
| 1601-4-3:
1
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Sermons: A - D |
Undated |
| 1601-4-3:
2
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Sermons: F - P |
Undated |
| 1601-4-3:
3
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Sermons: S - W |
Undated |
| 1601-4-3:
4
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Journal of Sermons |
1903 |
| 1601-4-3:
5
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Scrapbook of Articles - Africa |
1877-1883 |
| 1601-4-3:
6
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Scrapbook of Articles - Misc |
1847-1890 |
| 1601-4-3:
7
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Misc Articles |
1881-1905 |
| 1601-4-3:
8
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Misc Lectures |
Undated |
Series: Missionary Work
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-4-4:
1
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Journal of Missions-India |
Undated |
| 1601-4-4:
2
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Photograph of Missions-India |
1863 |
| 1601-4-4:
3
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Journal of Missions-Africa |
1876 |
| 1601-4-4:
4
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Missionary Books |
Undated |
| 1601-4-4:
5
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Listing of Books |
Undated |
| 1601-4-4:
6
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Articles-Missions |
1895-1903 |
| 1601-4-5:
1
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Ida Gracey Home for Crippled Children |
1915-1924 |
| 1601-4-5:
2
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Photographs - Ida Gracey Home for Crippled Children |
1923 |
| 1601-4-5:
3
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Correspondence |
1862-1869 |
| 1601-4-5:
4
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Correspondence |
1876 |
| 1601-4-5:
5
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Correspondence |
1877 |
| 1601-4-5:
6
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Correspondence |
1907 |
| 1601-4-5:
7
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Correspondence |
Undated |
Series: Family
| Call Number |
Folder Title |
Date(s) |
| 1601-4-4:
7
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Articles-Memorial to JT Gracey |
1919 |
| 1601-4-4:
8
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Writings of Annie Gracey |
1855 |
| 1601-4-4:
9
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Book reviews for Annie Gracey |
1881-1882 |
| 1601-4-4:
10
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Articles - Ida Gracey |
1911-1917 |
| 1601-4-5:
8
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Marriage Licenses |
1814 |
| 1601-4-6:
1
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Scrapbook of Gracey History |
1908-1912 |
| 1601-4-6:
2
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Scrapbook of Gracey History |
1868-1903 |
| 1602-4-1:
1
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Diplomas |
1855 |
