Arthur and Margaret Barnett Papers
Scope and Contents
Several recordings of oral history interviews with the Barnetts, as well as a box of miscellaneous papers. Materials describe Arthur’s growing up in Africa with missionary parents, Arthur and Margret’s courtship and marriage, joining Africa Inland Mission, the sinking of the Zamzam as the ship was sailing to Africa and their experiences as internees, the couple’s work as AIM missionaries in Tanzania, the Belgian Congo, and Kenya, and medical problems and care in Africa.
Dates
- 1941, 2003-2006
Creator
- Barnett, Arthur M., 1910-2014. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
The copyright to the sound recording in this collection is held by the Billy Graham Center Archives.
Biographical Information
Full name: Dr. Arthur Malcolm Barnett
Birth: December 3, 1910 in Rumuruti, Kenya
Death: June 24, 2014 in Kenya
Family:
Parents: Rev. Albert Edmond Barnett and Elma Elizabeth Nischer Barnett
Siblings: Karl Albert (died of spinal meningitis at 20 months), Erik Stanley (twin), Paul Austin, Ruth Dorothy (Collins), William John
Full name: Elizabeth Margaret Stevenson Barnett, usually called Peg
Birth: March 1915
Death: 2019
Family:
Parents: Immigrants to the United States from Ireland
Marital Status: Arthur and Margaret were married on January 4, 1941
Children: William Albert (b. 1945), Mary Elman (b. 1946), Arthur Stephen (b. 1948), Walter Erik (b. 1950)
Conversion: About age 7, baptism at age 12 in mission church in Kijabe, Kenya
Education:
1917-1925 – Rift Valley Academy
1925-1926 – San Bernardino High School, California
1926-1927 – Los Angeles Junior College (high school)
? -- John Brown University High School and College, High school diploma
Summer 1929 – University of Arkansas – certificate
1929-1930 – Columbia Bible College, 2-year diploma
1930-1933 – University of South Carolina, B.S.
1933-1937 – Columbia University Medical School, M.D.
1937-1939 – Hackensack, N.J. hospital – internship diploma
January 1939 – Passed national licensing board
August – October, 1942 – course in tropical and military medicine at Army Medical School in Washington, D.C.
Career:
1941 – Sailed for Africa on the Zamzam
1942-1943 – First lieutenant, U.S. Air Force, stationed at various bases in Africa, where he served as assistant to flight surgeon
1943 – Furlough in United States, stationed near Detroit
July 1945 – Discharged from the military
First Missions Term
April 1947 – September 1951 – Assigned to AIM mission station at Busia, Tanganyika territory to work Kola Ndoto Hospital, a leprosarium previously supervised by Dr. Nina Maynard
Furlough
January 1953-July 1953 – spent in Belgium
Second Missions Term
July 1953-December 1957 – Assigned to AIM mission station at Rethy General Hospital in Belgian Congo, replacing Carl Becker
Third Missions Term
February 1959-August 1963 – Assigned to AIM mission station at Kijabe, Kenya to launch a new hospital (1959-1960) and Princess Elizabeth Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya
1971 – Retired from AIM
Extent
8 Sound Recording
616 Minutes : 1 born digital recording, 7 audio cassettes
1 box : .25 cubic feet
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement of Materials
This collection consists of oral history interviews, a folder of materials, and photographs.
There are two sets of oral history interviews which are described in more detail in the audio tape location records. Both cover Arthur and Margret Barnett’s life and ministry. T1 is a 94-minute interview by the Archives staff of Arthur. T2-T7 are approximately 8-1/2 hours of interview with both Arthur and Margaret done by a family friend, Dr. DeVon Wayne Linn.
Folder 1-1 consists of a written account of the Barnetts’ life and work (including material on their parents) by Linn, a tract on blood as symbolic of salvation by Arthur, and photocopies of some clippings about the Barnetts.
The photos were taken of the Barnetts in their home in 2003.
Provenance
The material in this collection was given to the Billy Graham Center Archives by Dr. Arthur Malcolm Barnett in December 2006.
Accession 06-50
February 26, 2020
Katherine Graber
Accession 2009-015
March 25, 2025
Bob Shuster
- Africa Inland Church.
- Barnett, Erik S.
- Barnett, Margaret., Mrs. (Barnett, Elizabeth "Peg" Margaret Stevenson), 1915-2019
- Barnett, William John., 1917-1923
- Children of missionaries -- Kenya.
- Colonialism -- History -- Africa.
- Hurlburt, Charles E.
- Leprosy -- Hospitals -- Kenya.
- Leprosy -- Hospitals -- Tanzania.
- Maasai (African people)
- Maynard, Nina.
- Missions -- Congo (Democratic Republic).
- Missions -- Kenya.
- Missions -- Tanzania.
- Missions, Medical -- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Missions, Medical -- Kenya.
- Missions, Medical -- Tanzania.
- Scott, Peter Cameron.
- World War, 1939-1945.
- Zamzam (Ship)
Creator
- Barnett, Arthur M., 1910-2014. (Person)
- Shuster, Robert D. (Person)
- Title
- Collection 630 - Arthur M. and Margaret "Peg" Stevenson Barnett Papers
- Author
- Katherine Graber
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- No Linguistic Content
Revision Statements
- March 25, 2025: Revised by Bob Shuster
Repository Details
Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository