Crawford, Matsu, 1902-2006. Matsu Crawford papers, 1923-1988.
Title:
Matsu Crawford papers, 1923-1988.
Correspondence, publications, clippings, prose and poetry, and research files re Presbyterian Church in the United States, especially the schism between conservative, liberal, constitutional, and theological factions; Ecumenical Institute (Chicago); National Council of Churches; and Peoples' Bicentennial Commission. Pre-war correspondence from Japan (Tokyo, Kochi, Okazaki, and elsewhere) includes Vernon Crawford's arguments against Laymen's Foreign Missionary Enquiry's proposal to end Presbyterian missionary work in Japan, transference of Carrie McMillan Home for Girls to Japanese church, the folly and foolishness of American isolationists, expulsion of Episcopal clergy and German-Japanese cooperation. Three printed circular letters, 1964-1966, of J.M.T. Winther, Lutheran Bible Institute and Theological Seminary, Kobe, Japan, re annual reports; and correspondence from Japanese friends, including letter, 16 Jan. 1966, from Takahiro Kozuka, Kobe, Japan, re Matsu Crawford's book, For Every Red Sea, and discussion of U.S. policy in Vietnam. Letters, 1970-1978, from Jamshid Dinsha Italia, India, re politics in India and visit to South Africa; photocopied letters, 11 Apr. - 30 May 1973, Second Presbyterian Church, Greenville, S.C., from Rev. Gordon K. Reed, re division within Presbyterian Church; biographical sketch, ca. 1970, of Kate Vixen Wofford; and letter 11 Jan. 1979, Black Mountain, N.C., to Sen. Strom Thurmond, Washington, D.C., re Ecumenical Institute and stating concerns about the People's Temple and "the Jim Jones Group" in Jonestown, Guyana. Autobiography, 1988, written by Matsu Crawford, re the Wofford family and her childhood near Madden's Station in Laurens County, S.C., including recollections of her parents, siblings, early education, and farm life; copy of Solomon's Daughter, 1976, a bicentennial play re Dicey Langston; and undated corrected typescript of Secret in Sapporro. Works by other writers include a copy of unpublished autobiography, ca. 1940, by Azile M. Wofford (b.1896), a professor of Library Science at the University of Kentucky and sister of Matsu, Kate Wofford, and other siblings, re her childhood on the family farm in Laurens County, S.C., during early decades of 20th century; and book, published, 1974, She Smiles Forever: In Memory of Aoi, edited by Aoi's father, Katsu Hara (English and Japanese editions bound together), and including correspondence with the Crawfords. Scrapbook, ca. 1920-1976, with letters, clippings, programs and other items, records biographical information on Matsu and Vernon Crawford, some of their homes and haunts, such as New Prospect Baptist Church in Laurens County on its 125th anniversary in 1968; descriptions of their life in Japan, ca. 1930s and 1950s; and political issues within the Presbyterian Church, "Presbyterian Schism... is Explained..." (8 Feb. 1968, from unidentified newspaper, possibly in Greer, S.C.), re doctrinal differences among factions within the denomination, and noting several court cases in which churches in Savannah had withdrawn from the Presbyterian Church but had been allowed to retain ownership of Church property. Collection includes many booklets, pamphlets, and newsletters interfiled with correspondence (Box 1); these titles reflect causes that Crawford supported or opposed, as she grew concerned observing many social changes of the later 20th century; titles represented include: Church in mission (Atlanta, Ga.), at leat one issue (Dec. 1967); Concerned Presbyterian (Miami, Florida), "Dedicated to Returning the Presbyterian Church U.S. to its Primary Mission," at least two issues (Nov. 1967 and Oct. 1969); two publications of the Ecumenical Institute: I.E. (at least seven issues, 1971-1973), and Image (1 issue, 1969); Engage, at least one issue (June 1970), published by the Board of Christian Social Concerns of the United Methodist Church; News & Views (Wheaton, Ill), at least four issues (Sept. 1966, Oct. 1971, Nov. 1973, and Apr. 1976) published under the slogan "Eternal vigilance is forever the price of freedom"; Presbyterian Survey (at least one issue, 1968); and others.
ArchivalResource:
921 items and 8 v. (2 cartons)
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