This finding aid is made available for public use following the Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons designation.
This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), and possibly donated to that entity in 1968 by Mary Walker (United Church Board for World Ministries Library), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) established the American Madura Mission (AAM) in July 1834 with seven missionaries from Jaffna, Ceylon, India. Education was emphasized at the American Madura Mission not only for evangelism, but as a foundation for cultural and economic advancement. By 1836, AAM established thirty-seven schools in Madurai and fifty-six in the surrounding area. That same year, a Plan of Polity was created so that the mission would be autonomous, but still connected to ABCFM. Multiple churches were also formed at this time. After years of discussion, a resolution was passed by ABCFM in April 1839 to create a seminary to train Indian mission workers. Missionary William Tracy gathered thirty-four boys from local boarding schools in 1842 to begin the seminary. A permanent establishment did not occur until 1844 when Pasumalai was chosen, located two miles southwest of Madurai City; it was fully functional by 1847. The Pasumalai Seminary evolved, was renamed Union Theological Seminary at Pasumalai and would eventually merge with other seminaries to become the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary in 1969. The American Madura Mission continued to broaden its scope, reaching out with Bible teaching focused towards women. Christianity as a whole began to take precedence as opposed to the focus on an individual. Medical and industrial education and work became a focus into the twentieth century. The work of the American Madura Mission slowly became the work of the Church of South India, and missionaries were not replaced. The AAM no longer exists as a separate entity.
John J. Banninga was an American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions missionary in Madura from 1901-1942.
Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL3, South Asia
Item description, MRL3: American Madura Mission records, circa 1900-1944, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Materials were cataloged by Lynn A. Grove on 1988-07-18. Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Chapters were separated by interleaving with acid-free folder inserts. The finding aid was created by Brigette Kamsler in 2011 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2021.
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.
WAB: John J. Banninga papers, 1883-1959, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
This collection contains the typed recollections of Dr. John J. Banninga, a missionary with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Madura from 1901-1942, titled, "Notes on the History of the American Madura Mission, South India, since the 75th Anniversary in 1909." Banninga wrote the document in Boston in 1944 at the request of Reverend Enoch F. Bell, concerning the history of the Madura Mission since the writing of the 75th anniversary book, "Seventy-Five Years in Madura," by Dr. John S. Chandler, 1849-1934. Banninga's recollections were designed to provide further anecdotal information. A later addition to the collection consists of two handwritten and bound sermons by the Rev. P. Thomas Pastor of Trinity Church, Tirumangalam.
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.
This collection is arranged in order of receipt.