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Collection Number: 05185

Collection Title: First Presbyterian Church (Fort Gibson, Okla.) Notebooks, 1884-1939

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 67 items items)
Abstract The First Presbyterian Church of Fort Gibson, Okla., sponsored the Ladies Missionary Society, Ladies Aid Society, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The collection contains minute books, a subscription book, an account book, and enclosures from those books, all relating to women's groups affiliated with the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Gibson, Okla. The groups include the Ladies Missionary Society, the Ladies Aid Society, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The minute books document the regular meetings of each organization and include information on fundraisers, topical readings, and social events. The subscription book lists subscriptions to various Presbyterian publications held by the members of the Ladies Missionary Society. The account book documents income and expenses of Edith H. Walker, long-time member and secretary of the Ladies Missionary Society.
Creator First Presbyterian Church (Fort Gibson, Okla.).
Curatorial Unit Southern Historical Collection
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the First Presbyterian Church, Fort Gibson, Okla. Notebooks #5185, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Purchased from Michael Brown Rare Books of Philadelphia, Pa., in November 2004 (Acc. 99931).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Jesse Brown, December 2004

Encoded by: Jesse Brown, December 2004

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Historical Information

The First Presbyterian Church of Fort Gibson, Okla., sponsored women's groups in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Ladies Missionary Society was founded in 1884 in response to the growth of similar women's missionary societies around the country. It began as an organization that financially supported both the local church community and foreign missions, but it later focused more on foreign missions. The Ladies Aid Society, by contrast, was formed to help raise funds for the improvement of First Presbyterian Church. The church also sponsored a chapter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, a national organization founded in 1874 and dedicated to the prohibition of alcoholic beverages.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Minute books, subscription book, account book, and enclosures from those books, all relating to women's groups affiliated with the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Gibson, Okla. The groups represented are the Ladies Missionary Society, the Ladies Aid Society, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The minute books document the regular meetings of each organization and include information on fundraisers, topical readings, and social events. The subscription book lists subscriptions to various Presbyterian publications held by the members of the Ladies Missionary Society. The account book documents income and expenses of Edith H. Walker, long-time member and secretary of the Ladies Missionary Society. All of the books had loose papers inserted between their pages. These papers are filed within the same series as the books in which they were found.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Ladies Missionary Society Books, January 1884-May 1937.

39 items.

Arrangement: by type, then chronological.

Minute books and subscription book pertaining to the Ladies Missionary Society of the First Presbyterian Church, Fort Gibson, Okla. The minute books provide information on the monthly meetings of the Ladies Missionary Society. Meetings generally began with Scripture reading, prayers, and hymn singing and then moved on to the reading of various articles on missionary activities in the United States and around the world. Often, there would be a specific country or population studied at each weekly meeting, such as China, the Philippines, Native Americans, or Mormons. The Ladies Missionary Society also engaged in various fundraising activities, such as ice cream socials and quilt sales, which are documented in the minute books. The subscription book lists the yearly subscriptions of Ladies Missionary Society members to various Presbyterian publications, such as Home Missions Monthly, Woman's Work, and Women and Missions. Enclosures are from various sources. Some cover general missionary topics; others deal with Ladies Missionary Society events. Some of these papers are dated after the final date of the minute books.

Folder 1

Minute book, January 1884-January 1893

Folder 2

Minute book, January 1901-January 1910

Folder 3

Minute book, January 1910-October 1929

Folder 4

Subscription book, 1919-1926

Folder 5

Enclosures, 20 January 1884-23 May 1937

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Woman's Christian Temperance Union Minute Book, 1914-1936.

13 items.

Arrangement: by type.

Minute book of the First Presbyterian Church's chapter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The minute book chronicles the Union's monthly meetings. At the meetings, the members read articles discussing the spread of Prohibition throughout the United States and related various anecdotes about the consequences of alcohol abuse and the benefits of abstaining from alcohol. Some discussion is related in earlier entries about pressuring the United States Congress to pass legislation prohibiting the sale of alcohol. After passage of the Volstead Act and the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union chapter appears to have met less often and began to discuss topics unrelated to alcohol prohibition, such as tobacco, narcotics, and indecency in motion pictures. Enclosures include essays, poems, and songs advocating prohibition. Some of the papers are dated after the final date of the minute book.

Folder 6

Minute book, March 1914-April 1924

Folder 7

Enclosures, 1920-1936

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Ladies Aid Society Minute Book, 28 February 1899-26 December 1939.

10 items.

Arrangement: by type.

Minute book dealing with the activities of the Ladies Aid Society of the First Presbyterian Church, Fort Gibson, Okla. The minute book chronicles periodic meetings of the Society. The meetings generally began with prayer, Scripture readings, and hymn singing then moved on to business matters. Various church improvements were discussed, such as repairing the church fence, hiring a janitor to clean the church, and replacing the organ. Fundraising activities, such as socials and "chicken broils," to raise money for these projects were discussed. The enclosures have little apparent connection to Ladies Aid Society business, but may have been produced by or belonged to members of the organization.

Folder 8

Minute book, 8 February 1906-10 November 1910

Folder 9

Enclosures, 28 February 1899-26 December 1939

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Edith H. Walker Account Book, December 1905-October 1934.

5 items.

Arrangement: by type.

Account book of Edith H. Walker, a long-time member and secretary of the Ladies Missionary Society of the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Gibson, Okla. The account book documents income she received from a small farm, including the sale of cotton, corn, butter, milk, and chickens, as well as various expenses, including dues to the Ladies Missionary Society. The enclosures include a deposit slip and receipts from a general merchandise store.

Folder 10

Account Book, December 1905-October 1934

Folder 11

Enclosures, 5 May 1928-19 February 1934

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