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George Sherwood Eddy Papers

 Collection
Call Number: RG 32

George Sherwood Eddy Papers

Scope and Contents
  1. I. Correspondence, 1912-1977, n.d.
  2. II. Writings, 1893-1956, n.d.
  3. III. Collected Material, 1913-1958, n.d.
  4. IV. Personal Items and Memorabilia, 1851-1981, n.d.

These papers, dating from 1851 to 1981, document the activities and associations of Sherwood Eddy throughout his long career as a Y.M.C.A. secretary, seminar leader, author, and lecturer. Eddy's insightful letters and writings reveal much about his interests and involvements, which ranged from Christian evangelism to world politics to cooperative farms in the South to spiritualism. The controversies that accompanied Eddy's liberal views on various issues are documented.

The Eddy Papers complement numerous other collections at the Yale Divinity School Library, including the John R. Mott Papers and the archives of the Student Volunteer Movement and World Student Christian Federation. Of particular interest to the YDSL focus on China missions are the documentation of Eddy's evangelistic meetings in Asia 1911 to 1914 and letters that report on visits to China throughout the 1920s and 20s, revealing Eddy's evolving estimation of China's leadership.

The Eddy Papers came to the Library in three nearly equal sections, one during Eddy's lifetime, one donated by Eddy's widow in 1977 and one following her death in 1982. The original group of papers plus the 1977 addendum have been reorganized and integrated with the third increment.

CORRESPONDENCE, the first series, is divided into six sections:
  1. a. Correspondence: Family. These letters, dating from 1912 to 1946, read as a travelogue telling of Eddy's activities and encounters with notable personages such as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lloyd George, Sun Yat-sen and John R. Mott. Many of the letters exchanged between GSE and his brother, D. Brewer Eddy, deal with management of the financial resources which allowed Eddy to pursue his independent activities.
  2. b. Correspondence: General. These letters date from 1906 to 1963. Notable correspondents include Reinhold Niebuhr, Kenneth Scott Latourette, Kirby Page, Nels F. S. Ferre', G. Bromley Oxnam, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Henry P. Van Dusen and representatives of the Student Volunteer Movement. Eddy's activities overseas are described as well as his efforts to finance various projects and arrangements for speaking engagements and publications. Letters related to the formation and development of the interracial Delta Cooperative farms in Mississippi are of particular interest.
  3. c. Correspondence: Report Letters. These are circular type letters written from around the world.
  4. d. Correspondence: Seventieth Birthday. A bound volume of congratulatory letters from his friends was presented to Eddy on his seventieth birthday, January 19, 1941. There are letters in this bound volume from many of the individuals who appear in the Correspondence: General section.
  5. e. Correspondence: Kirby Page. The letters in this section, primarily written in 1953, came in response to Kirby Page's appeal to friends and acquaintances of Eddy for any material that would aid in his efforts to write a biography of Eddy. Eddy's personality and the lasting impressions he made on people are evident in these letters.
  6. f. Correspondence of others. These are letters of Eddy family members which are neither to nor from GSE. The majority of the letters are those of Eddy's second wife, Louise Gates Eddy. A sampling of condolence letters written to her after the death of GSE has been retained as well as correspondence which relates to the symposium honoring GSE in October and the deposit of GSE's papers in the Yale Divinity School Library.

The Writings of the second series are divided into five sections:
  1. a. Writings: Articles and Speeches. This section includes published and unpublished articles, papers,and speeches dating from 1896 to 1956. The listing of titles reveals the wide range of Eddy's interests - from world affairs to race relations to personal belief.
  2. b. Writings: Pamphlets. These publications in pamphlet format date from 1893 to 1942 and address many of the same topics as Eddy's articles and speeches.
  3. c. Writings: Related to Major Works. This section contains primarily drafts, notes and correspondence related Eddy's booklength works, both published and unpublished. Many of the drafts are for books written late in Eddy's life for which he was not able to find a publisher. 0f particular interest are the source materials and the notes for Eddy's book You Will Survive After Death.
  4. d. Writings: Notes and Fragments. These more ephemeral writings and notes of Eddy are topically arranged and date from 1926 to 1955, n.d.
  5. e. Writings: Published Works. Included in this section are noncirculating copies of Eddy's major works, both pamphlets and books. Most of these works also appear in the Library's cataloged collection.

The Collected Material of Series III is a compendium of articles, books, and pamphlets on a variety of topics that Eddy had retained in his files. The wide range of Eddy's interests is reflected here as elsewhere in his papers.

Series IV, Personal Items and Memorabilia, is divided into four sections:
  1. a. Biographical Documentation. This section contains a wide variety of primarily printed material documenting Eddy's life and background. Articles and tributes written about Eddy are included as well as a few autobiographical writings.
  2. b. Material Related to Seminars and Lectures. Announcements, programs, newspaper articles and other items dating from 1919 to 1958 document Eddy's seminar trips to Europe and his activities as a lecturer and evangelist in the Untied States and abroad. In 2007, additional materials related to the 1938 European Seminar were donated by John M. and Sharon D. Ewing. These consist of a VCR copy of an 8mm film taken by Joseph S. Ewing during the Seminar, a DVD made from the film footage, with audio voice-over by John M. and Sharon D. Ewing from the original journals of Ewing, the roster of participants in the Seminar and a photocopy of a photograph of the participants.
  3. c. Financial Records. The records in this section are not comprehensive but they do provide a glimpse of the financial arrangements that allowed Eddy to be largely independent of a salary throughout his career. Finances were also a frequent topic in letters exchanged between Eddy and his brother. (see Series I)
  4. d. Genealogical Material. These materials collected by Eddy do not document his personal family history in any detailed way.
  5. e. Photographs. Most interesting in this section are the early photographs from China that document meetings led by Eddy in 1913 and 1914.
Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.
Arrangement
  1. I. Correspondence, 1912-1977, n.d.
  2. II. Writings, 1893-1956, n.d.
  3. III. Collected Material, 1913-1958, n.d.
  4. IV. Personal Items and Memorabilia, 1851-1981, n.d.
Dates
1851-1981
Extent
10.5 Linear Feet (25 boxes)
Related Names
Eddy, Sherwood, 1871-1963
Language of Materials
English