Scope and Contents
This collection consists of diaries and letters of the Johnstone (also spelled Johnston) and Walker families. Almost all of the items in the collection were written by the women of the family, in particular Marianne Cassandra (Howe) Johnstone (Mrs. Thomas Pinckney Johnstone) and her daughters Martha Howe (Johnstone) Walker (Mrs. James Walker) and Mary Sybil Johnstone. Thomas Pinckney Johnstone (died 1883) was a missionary for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent to Turkey in 1833, where he served in Constantinople, Trebizond, and Smyrna before returning to the United States with his family in 1853, and the diaries of his wife and daughters record their experiences in both countries. Marianne Johnstone writes of raising her children in Turkey surrounded by hardship and disease, or her attempts to convert her Turkish, Greek, and Armenian neighbors, and of the persecutions suffered by the converts. Martha Johnstone Walker kept diaries which describe the countryside, the happy family life they enjoyed, events such as the visit of the Sultan of Smyrna, and their voyage home to America in 1853, while her sister Mary Johnstone wrote a short history of the family's adventures in Turkey.
The diaries of Marianne and Martha Johnstone continue after their return to the United States and describe their life in Granville (Ohio), where they came in contact with anti-slavery activists, in Salem (Massachusetts), and in New Haven (Connecticut). Martha Johnstone Walker attended Le Roy Seminary in New York, and her school experiences include a women's rights debate and a student rebellion against bad food. A more detailed summary of the diaries, prepared by Curtis Howe Walker, son of James and Martha Walker, is included in the collection. Also included are a record of Johnstone family births and marriages, and six family letters, the earliest of which is a record of Thomas Pinckney and Marianne Johnstone's activities in Smyrna in September of 1846 and of their education of their children. Of the remaining letters, an undated one from Martha Johnstone Walker was written in Turkey and the others were written after the family had moved to the United States.
These papers were donated to Yale University by Mrs. Curtis H. Walker in 1957.
The diaries of Marianne and Martha Johnstone continue after their return to the United States and describe their life in Granville (Ohio), where they came in contact with anti-slavery activists, in Salem (Massachusetts), and in New Haven (Connecticut). Martha Johnstone Walker attended Le Roy Seminary in New York, and her school experiences include a women's rights debate and a student rebellion against bad food. A more detailed summary of the diaries, prepared by Curtis Howe Walker, son of James and Martha Walker, is included in the collection. Also included are a record of Johnstone family births and marriages, and six family letters, the earliest of which is a record of Thomas Pinckney and Marianne Johnstone's activities in Smyrna in September of 1846 and of their education of their children. Of the remaining letters, an undated one from Martha Johnstone Walker was written in Turkey and the others were written after the family had moved to the United States.
These papers were donated to Yale University by Mrs. Curtis H. Walker in 1957.
Dates
- 1833-1951
- Majority of material found within 1833 - 1901
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright status for collection materials is unknown, though much of the material in this collection is likely in the public domain. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Curtis H. Walker, 1957.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
Chiefly diaries and correspondence by the wife and daughters of Thomas Pinckney Johnstone, a missionary to Turkey from 1833 to 1853. The diaries record their attempts to convert Turkish, Greek, and Armenian neighbors, the persecutions suffered by the converts, and the life of the missionary family. Diaries and letters written on their return to the United States describe their life in Granville, Ohio where they met anti-slavery activists; in Salem, Massachusetts; and in New Haven, Connecticut. The diary of Martha Johnstone Walker reports on her experiences at the Le Roy Seminary in New York. Also in the papers are six family letters and genealogies of the Walker and Johnstone families.
- Clergy
- Diaries
- Families
- İzmir (Turkey) -- Description and travel
- Johnston family
- Johnstone, Marianne Cassandra Howe, 1804-1898
- Johnstone, Mary Sybil, 1844-1918
- Middle East
- Missionaries
- Missionaries' spouses
- Missions -- Turkey
- New Haven (Conn.) -- Social life and customs
- Ohio -- Social life and customs
- Salem (Mass.) -- Social life and customs
- Slavery -- Antislavery movements
- Turkey -- Social conditions
- Walker family
- Walker, Curtis Howe, 1877-1956
- Walker, Martha Hall Johnstone, 1836-1917
- Women -- Education
- Women -- United States
Creator
- Title
- Guide to the Johnstone-Walker Family Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- compiled by Janet Elaine Gertz
- Date
- July 1983
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Created In Accordance With Manuscripts And Archives Processing Manual
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
Contact:
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)
beinecke.library@yale.edu
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)
beinecke.library@yale.edu
Location
Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511