Earl Herbert Cressy papers, 1918 -- 1960

Creator:
Cressy, Earl Herbert, 1883-
Abstract:
Earl Herbert Cressy was a missionary to China who worked with the Central China Famine Relief Committee and served as the executive secretary of the Council of Christian Colleges in China and as the associate general secretary of the National Christian Council of China. This collection contains reports and drafts, charts, tabulations, maps, surveys, summaries of data, and other materials related to Cressy's research on Chinese religious institutions, mostly in Hangzhou.
Extent:
8 linear feet (8 linear feet; 7 boxes)
Language:
English .
Scope and content:

This collection contains reports and drafts, charts, tabulations, maps, surveys, summaries of data, and other materials related to Cressy's research on Chinese religious institutions, mostly in Hangzhou. He was assisted by a Chinese researcher who gathered information on hundreds of religious institutions in the region. Cressy's research put him into contact with contemporary Chinese religious organizations such as the Buddhist Right Faith Society (佛教正信會), the Wuchang Buddhist Seminary (武昌佛學院), the Hubei Confucian Society (湖北孔道會), and the Hankou Buddhist Society (漢口佛教會).

Biographical / historical:

Earl Herbert Cressy was born in Lacon, Illinois on June 15, 1883. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1907 and Rochester Theological Seminary in 1910. That same year he traveled to Hanyang 漢陽 in China to work as a missionary under the auspices of the American Board of Foreign Missions. He worked with the Central China Famine Relief Committee in 1912 to solicit direct support for the needy, and from 1916 lived in Hangzhou, where he was principal of Wayland Academy. In 1925 he was the executive secretary of the Council of Christian Colleges in China, and associate general secretary of the National Christian Council of China. Cressy married Margaret Millie, [18??]-[195?] in 1927, and ultimately left China in 1946. In the 1950s he was involved with Christianity in Thailand. He later taught at the Kennedy School of Missions at Hartford, and was director of the Urban Church Research Center for Asia in Claremont, CA in the 1960s. He passed away in 1979. Cressy produced several books, including China Marches Toward the Cross (1938), Daughters of Changing Japan (1955) and Understanding China (1957).

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection contains some restricted material. Restrictions related to specific material are listed in the detailed contents list.

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: Earl Herbert Cressy papers, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Location of this collection:
Burke Home Page
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