This collection is open for research.
The following boxes are located offsite: Box 1. Please note that requests for use of boxes held in offsite storage must be made three business days in advance.
This collection contains the correspondence of Charles Tudor Leber while on tour representing the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church from 1944-1945 and again in 1953. Leber's letters describe the countries, people, and social and economic environments he traversed, and illustrate the nature of travel and the work of missionaries in the mid-20th century. Locations visited include Japan, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand, Spain, Korea, Indonesia, India, Germany, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Charles Tudor Leber travel correspondence, 1944 -- 1953
This series contains the correspondence of Charles Tudor Leber while on tour representing the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church from 1944-1945 and again in 1953. Leber's letters describe the countries, people, and social and economic environments he traversed, and illustrate the nature of travel and the work of missionaries in the mid-20th century. Locations visited include Japan, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand, Spain, Korea, Indonesia, India, Germany, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL12, Ecumenical/World Mission
This collection is arranged in one chronological series.
This collection is open for research.
The following boxes are located offsite: Box 1. Please note that requests for use of boxes held in offsite storage must be made three business days in advance.
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.
Item description, MRL 12: Charles Tudor Leber travel correspondence, 1944-1953, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
Materials were cataloged by Lynn A. Grove on 1988-08-03. 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 The finding aid was created by Elizabeth Beller in 2013 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2021.
2021-04-15 PDF converted to EAD and description updated by Leah Edelman.
Charles Tudor Leber (1898 – 1959) was a native of Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Baltimore City College and later Johns Hopkins University. Leber earned his Doctorate of Divinity at Princeton's Theological Seminary, studying under J. Ross Stevens. Leber was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church of Baltimore in 1923 and served first in Trenton, New Jersey. That same year Leber married Eloise Heath. Shortly following his ordination Leber moved back to Baltimore in 1924 and became pastor of the Forest Park Presbyterian Church. In 1936, Leber was called to serve the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions as secretary for Japan, Korean, the Philippines, and Thailand. Following his service to the Board of Foreign Missions in that capacity, Leber served as General Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America beginning in 1952. During his tenure Leber circumnavigated the globe three times, paying visits to many of the countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North, Central and South America. Leber died of a heart attack in 1959, at the age of 60, while attending the 18th General Council of the World Presbyterian Alliance in Sao Paolo Brazil.