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Merrill Isely Papers

 Collection
Call Number: RG 158

Scope and Contents

This collection consists primarily of letters written by Merrill Isely to family members and friends in the United States. Regular, detailed letters describe Isely's life and work in Turkey. Writings and reports provide extensive information about the American Board hospital in Gaziantep (Aintab), Turkey. These papers complement the papers of Albert Dewey found in YDSL Record Group No. 161. Dewey was a colleague of the Iselys at the Gaziantep station.

Dates

  • 1919-1961

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Arrangement

  1. I. Correspondence,1919-1961, n.d.
  2. II. Writings and Reports, 1919-1961, n.d.
  3. III. Personal Items and Memorabilia, 1920-1932, n.d.

Extent

4.5 Linear Feet (10 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.158

Abstract

Correspondence to family members and others, dating from 1919 to 1961, provides detailed documentation of Isely's life and work in Turkey. Merrill Isely and his wife Mildred were missionaries serving under the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Gaziantep, Turkey for four decades beginning in 1920.

Biographical / Historical

1894 Aug 4
Born in Fairview, Kansas
1916
B.A., Fairmount College
1916-1917
Attended Oberlin College
1920
B.D., Yale Divinity School
1920 Jun 14
Ordained as Congregational minister in Wichita, Kansas
1920-1960
Missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Gaziantep (Aintab), Turkey; served as business manager of the Azariah Smith Memorial Hospital. His wife, Mildred, served there as dietician. Isely was also involved in a reforestation project, persuading the Turkish government to start a tree-growing project in Gaziantep, as well as in bee-keeping and other agricultural projects.
Title
Guide to the Merrill Isely Papers
Author
Compiled by Shelly Rambo and Martha Lund Smalley
Date
2000
Description rules
Finding Aid Prepared According To Local Divinity Library Descriptive Practices
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Yale Divinity Library Repository

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