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Arthur and Margaret Barnett Papers

 Collection
Identifier: CN 630

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

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

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

Contact:
501 College Avenue
Wheaton IL 60187 US
630-752-5910