Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions records, 1893 -- 1946

After clicking 'Submit Request', users will login with their UNI and password (Columbia affiliates) or their special collections account (external users). Appointments are required and will be arranged according to each individual repository's policy.


Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions records, 1893 -- 1946

This series is open for research.

0.5 linear feet; 0.5 linear feet; 1 box

This series contains organizational records-- including a bibliography, manuals, publications, minutes, and historical and other materials-- and correspondence related to the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions (SVM). The organizational records contain early documentation of the organization, including material from the Student Volunteer Union of New York and Brooklyn and the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor. Also included is correspondence of James B. Cochrane, as well as Horace Tracy Pitkin. Pitkin, a graduate of Yale and of Union Theological Seminary (1894) and former travelling secretary for SVM, was killed during the Boxer rebellion in China in 1902. Individuals of note whose letters are included are Henry Winters Luce, Harlan P. Beach, John R. Mott, and traveling secretary Robert E. Lewis. Pitkin's letters include a list of missionaries and a brief summary of their education and missionary history; missionaries of note include Harvey D. Griswold, George Cornwell, Frank Hoskins and Willis P. Elwood.

This series is arranged roughly alphabetically by format.



Box 1 Folder 1 Articles, 1936


Box 1 Folder 2 Bibliography, 1935


Box 1 Folder 3 Calls to missionary service, circa 1946


Box 1 Folder 4 Correspondence regarding early organization, 1893 -- 1899


Box 1 Folder 5 History, 1902 -- 1906, 1928 -- 1937


Box 1 Folder 6 Meetings, 1941 -- 1943


Box 1 Folder 7 Membership and minutes, circa 1890 -- 1899


Box 1 Folder 8-9 Publications, circa 1893 -- 1946


Box 1 Folder 10 Student manual, circa 1930 -- 1939


Box 1 Folder 11 Horace Tracy Pitkin correspondence, 1893 -- 1894


Box 1 Folder 12-25 James B. Cochrane correspondence, 1896 -- 1899