Carleton, Alford

Reverend Dr. Alford Carleton began his career as a teacher at American College in Tarsus, Turkey, to which he was assigned by the Congregational Christian Churches' mission board in 1924 after graduating from Oberlin College. He was ordained from Hartford Theological Seminary in 1930, then returned to the field for the next 24 years. He was president of Aleppo College in Syria for 17 years.

In 1954 he was elected head of the Congregational Church's American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and saw that body through the negotiations with the Evangelical and Reformed Church. The two churches merged into the United Church of Christ in 1957 and Dr. Carleton became leader of its Board for World Ministries.

When he retired as the board's executive vice president in 1970, his staff numbered more than 400 missionaries in 29 countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.

Among his ecumenical achievements was laying groundwork for uniting the work of his own missionary board with that of the Christian Church in India and Latin America. He also set up close liaison with the United Presbyterian Church's missionary program in Europe and was a founder of both the Theological Education Fund and the worldwide Christian Literature Fund.

Dr. Carleton was married to Mary Cashmore Carleton; they had three daughters, Muriel Siddal of Ohio; Anne Wright of North Carolina and Caroline Burgoon of Calififornia, and 11 grandchildren.