John Lawrence Thurston papers

The John Lawrence Thurston Papers are arranged in four series:

I Family Correspondence 1894-1904 II General Correspondence 1898-1904 III Correspondence of Others 1903-1956 IV Miscellany 1900-1903

Series I, FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE 1894-1904, is composed of Thurston's letters to his family from the time he entered Yale to his death. The letters are weekly and biweekly reports of his activities as a Yale undergraduate, as a divinity student at the Hartford Theological Seminary, and as a missionary in China. Subjects discussed include the Yale Missionary Band's activities, the organization of the Yale Foreign Missionary Society, and Thurston's role in locating a site for the Yale Foreign Missionary Society in China.

Series II, GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE 1898-1904, contains Thurston's letters to and from members of the Yale Missionary Band, the Yale Foreign Missionary Society, and other missionaries. Subjects discussed include Yale Missionary Band activities, the organization of the Yale Foreign Missionary Society, and Thurston's work in China. Correspondents of note include:

Harlan Page Beach, 1902-1904 Henry W. Luce, 1903-1904 Edward Bliss Reed, 1901-1904 Warren B. Seabury, 1903 Anson Phelps Stokes, 1901-1902 Matilda C. Thurston, 1904 Arthur C. Williams, 1900-1904 Yale Missionary Band, 1898-1903

Series III, CORRESPONDENCE OF OTHERS 1903-1956, contains correspondence between members of the Thurston family and the Yale Foreign Missionary Society staff. Correspondents include Charles S., Isabel S., and John R. Thurston, brother, sister, and father of John Lawrence Thurston, and Thurston's wife, Matilda. The correspondence of Thurston's brother, sister, and father relate to Thurston's illness and death. Matilda Thurston's letters relate to her husband's death and to her subsequent work for the Yale Foreign Missionary Society at Changsha. There is no substantive correspondence relating to Matilda Thurston's later work as founder and president of Ginling College in Nanking.

Series IV, MISCELLANY 1900-1903, includes clippings, obituaries, and memorial notices on John John Lawrence Thurston Lawrence Thurston; three photographs of Thurston; miscellaneous notes and memoranda on his activities in China; and a copy of Ginling College Magazine (June 1928) devoted to Thurston's wife, Matilda C. Thurston.

The John Lawrence Thurston Papers are arranged in four series: