George Merriam Newell papers, 1905 -- 1960

Creator:

Newell, George Merriam, 1875-1956

Abstract:

George Merriam Newell had a 37-year career as a school teacher and missionary in Fuzhou 福州, Fujian 福建 province, China. The collection contains correspondence, reports, maps, and publications.

Extent:

2.5 linear feet (2.5 linear feet; 1 box, 1 oversize (OS) box)

Language:

English .

Scope and content:

This collection contains correspondence and reports written by Newell during his tenure in Fuzhou and relating to his mission work in Fujian province. The maps and short publications were likely collected by Newell during his time in China, and focus on Fuzhou and the work of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

Biographical / historical:

George Merriam Newell was born on September 18, 1875 in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, the son of Stillman Clark Newell and Ellen Lucretia Carpenter. He received a B.S. from Wesleyan University in 1904 where he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. After graduation he travelled to China as a missionary under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He worked as a teacher at the Foochow Union High School in Fuzhou 福州 , Fujian 福建 province, from 1904 to 1941.

On June 4, 1906 in Beijing he married Mary E. Reynolds , an English teacher who had intended to join the North China Mission before marrying Newell. They had four children together over the next twelve years. In January 1912 the family returned to the United States on furlough, and the next year Newell received his A.M. degree from Columbia University, after which the family returned to Fuzhou, and remained there until 1919. George Merriam Newell died on August 27, 1956 in Florida.

Acquisition information:: Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were donated in 1960 by Mary Reynolds Newell, widow of George Merriam Newell, and accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
Processing information:: Notes, book, report letters, and miscellaneous documents were cataloged by Lynn A. Grove on 1988-07-20. Metal clips and staples were removed from materials, folded items were flattened, and large items were moved to rolled storage. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Items were separated from one another by interleaving with acid-free paper as needed. The finding aid was created by Gregory Adam Scott in 2010, reviewed and updated by Sarah Davis in 2014 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2020.
Arrangement:: This collection is arranged in one series; folders are arranged in alphabetical order and items in the oversize box are unarranged.
Rules or conventions:: appm
Related material:: MRL 12: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions records, 1878-1958, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Other information:: Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL6, China

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Onsite storage.

Terms of access:

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.

Preferred citation:: Item description, MRL6: George Merriam Newell Papers, 1905-1960, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Location of this collection:: Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Burke Home Page
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Contact:: burke@library.columbia.edu

Collection