This finding aid is made available for public use following the Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons designation.
This collection contains some restricted material. Restrictions related to specific material are listed in the detailed contents list.
Onsite storage.
This collection was donated to the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL) in 1958 by John Nevius Dodd, son of Samuel Dodd. This collection was accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
Samuel Dodd was an American United Presbyterian missionary in Ningbo, China and Hangzhou, China. Born on January 21, 1832 in County Down, Ireland, he emigrated to America in 1850, and after about a year joined the Second Reformed Presbyterian Church of New York City. In 1854 he heard the Scottish missionary Alexander Duff speak and was inspired to dedicate himself to mission work. He attended New York University and Princeton Theological Seminary before heading to China in 1861 under the auspices of the Board of Foreign Missions. He first lived in Ningbo 寧波, Zhejiang 浙江 and worked at various churches and mission schools in the area. In 1865 he married Sarah Green, 1836 - 1907. In 1867 they moved to Hangzhou 杭州 where he supervised a mission school. In December 1877 they left Hangzhou to return to the United States, after which he served at a number of Presbyterian churches, including that of Stephentown, NY, where he was pastor from 1884 until his death in 1894.
Samuel Thompson Carter Dodd was the eldest son of Samuel Dodd and Sarah Green Dodd, and was born in Ningbo, China in 1866. He attended Princeton University in the 1880s, and later worked for the General Electric Company. During a business trip in 1922 he stopped in Hangzhou, revisiting many locations mentioned in his father's diary, and taking the photographs collected in folder 16. Dodd died circa 1956.
Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL6, China
Item description, MRL6: Samuel Dodd and Samuel Thompson Carter Dodd papers, circa 1925-2014, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Acidic items were separated from one another by interleaving with acid-free paper as needed. Any items in an advanced state of deterioration were placed in Mylar envelopes. A contents list was created by Paul A. Byrnes in 1997 and revised by Ruth Tonkiss Cameron in 2008. The finding aid was created by Gregory Adam Scott in 2009, revised by Brigette C. Kamsler in 2009 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2021.
The Samuel Dodd Manuscript Collection, SCM 136. Princeton Theological Seminary. Library. Special Collections.
China Records Project Miscellaneous Personal Papers Collection (RG 8), Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.
This collection contains a copy of Samuel Dodd's 1861-1877 journal detailing travels in China typed and with notes by his son, Samuel Thompson Carter Dodd, and including a preface by S.T.C. Dodd and his brother, John Nevius Dodd. This collection also contains correspondence regarding Samuel Dodd and his wife Sarah Green Dodd, as well as about the acquisition of the collection; and photographs on CD from the original journal as well as from S.T.C. Dodd's album of a 1922 China trip mirroring his father's (this 1922 album is included in the collection but is restricted due to condition).
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 rough chronological order.
This item is restricted due to physical condition; use folder 18 for access.