The collection consists chiefly of the correspondence of Harry Baylor Taylor, his wife, Alma Booth Taylor, and their childresn Helen Wickham Taylor, Mary Booth Taylor Hollowell, Harry Baylor Taylor, and Beverley Conway Taylor Gilliam. The letters describe the life of the family in Anking, China where Taylor worked at St. James Hospital, a mission of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. There are descriptions of local life and customs, routine activities at the missionary compound, medical and surgical work both at the hospital and in famine relief, summer vacations in Kuling, China, and the mission's evangelistic work. Of interest are accounts of how the political events which shaped modern China affected Dr. Taylor's work including the Revolution of 1911 in which he helped the Imperial Governor of Anking escape the city. Other accounts include those of the occupation by the Nationalist Southern Army and his forced evacuation, his 1929 return and rebuilding, the Japanese conquest, the U.S.S. Panay incident and his efforts to rescue the survivors, the family's evacuation from Kuling, his 1942 house arrest and prison camp life. Also included are accounts of his 1943 repatriation, intervening years at Berea College, Berea, Ky., the return of the family to China in 1947, occupation by the communists in 1949, and his forced return to the U.S, in 1951. During the 1930s and 1940s there are letters from Alma in Charlottesville, Va., and from the children at camp and school, including Chatham Hall, Chatham, Va.; Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, Va.; University of Virginia Medical School; and Virginia Episcopal High School, Lynchburg, Va. Of interest are letters from Helen as an exchange student at St, Andrew's school, Fife, Scotland. The correspondence is supplemented by Taylor's diaries, speeches and articles by him and his wife, news clippings, photographs, a copy of a 1938 speech by Chiang Kai-shek, the District of Anking newsletter, 1925-1941, and its successor Free Wan-Kan, 1942-44, souvenirs including Japanese propaganda posters, and two copies of Taylor's autobiography My cup runneth over. The collection also contains a letter form Charles Carroll to Charles Carroll about the latter's opinion of women; a diary, 1863, of John Cowdery Taylor concerning the siege of Vicksburg, and a summary of his war service including imprisonment at Ft. Lafayette, N.Y. harbor.
