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| Record Creator: | Wiant, Paul Prince |
| Title: | Paul Wiant Family Papers |
| Title: | Wiant Papers |
| Date Span: | 1920-1990 |
| Abstract: | Paul Prince Wiant (1887-1973), American Missionary, was born on July 2, 1887 to the Reverend William Allen and Loretta Hoak Wiant in Mad River Township, Ohio. Paul Wiant spent two years as an engineer in the building trades before he and his wife were accepted as missionaries to China by the Methodist Episcopal Church in December 1916. The Wiants officially retired in 1956. Photographs document their Chinese work and the other records reflect reunions for the Shanghai American School and a manuscript on the new China in 1985. |
| Extent: | 0.18 cubic feet |
| Resource ID: | drew.ms.4628 |
Paul Prince Wiant (1887-1973), American Missionary, was born on July 2, 1887 to the Reverend William Allen and Loretta Hoak Wiant in Mad River Township, Ohio. Wiant started his formal education at Miami University in 1905 but finished his Bachelor of Science degree at Ohio Wesleyan University in 1911. By 1914, the University of Cincinnati awarded Wiant a civil engineering degree. It is the field of engineering that became Wiant’s primary vocation on the mission field. During this time, Hallie Fritz attended Miami University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1911. Hallie married Paul on September 9, 1915 which eventually produced two sons, Joel and Allen. Paul Wiant spent two years as an engineer in the building trades before he and his wife were accepted as missionaries to China by the Methodist Episcopal Church in December 1916.
The young couple started their new missionary life by sailing to Foochow, China, on January 17, 1917 from the Port of San Francisco. Upon arrival in China both embarked to learn Chinese and start their respective careers. Paul worked with the Fukien Construction Bureau and was appointed their Foochow supervisor in 1923. He held this position for a number of years. Wiant also served as President for the Anglo-Chinese College Board of Trustees starting in 1924. Other duties included holding the offices of secretary and treasurer for the Foochow Mission and Field Committee, member of a number of boards and then transferred to Shanghai after the war to become the Executive Secretary of the National Blind Welfare Association along with his construction ministry. Hallie taught at the Anglo-Chinese School from 1918 to May 1922. Both left Foochow in 1942 and returned in 1946 to the Shanghai mission until 1950.
After Hattie’s death, Paul married Estelle Blanche Apple who also served as a China missionary for more than thirty years with the Women’s Foreign Missionary Society. Afterwards they served in Malaya, Sarawak and Korea along with brief stays in India, Philippines, Hong Kong, Liberia, Congo and Taiwan before retiring in 1956. Estelle died on June 17, 1972 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Paul died on October 22, 1973 in Cincinnati as well. Both were living at the Bethesda Home at the time of their passing.
The photograph album documents not only the construction work of Paul Wiant but also Chinese construction and general life in the Fukien-Foochow-Peking areas. There are images of Methodist schools as well as unidentified churches. Other Methodist work s are illustrated such as episcopal visits, group shots and individual missionaries as well. Newsletters and correspondence from the later twentieth century record Shanghai American School missionary reunions, current news with a smattering of remembrances. Civil engineer William Warren’s manuscript reflects on the emerging modern China in 1985.
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Material is arranged by record type or date.
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Paul Wiant Family Papers, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the items call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
There are no restrictions regarding this collection. Copyright still owned by Drew. Permissions to publish must be directed to Drew.
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.
Administrative File Series of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Church
Missionary File Series
Mission Biographical File Series
| Call Number | Folder Title | Date(s) |
| 2128-4-9: 1 | China Photographs - Folder 1 | 1920-1929 |
| 2128-4-9: 2 | China Photographs - Folder 2 | 1920-1929 |
