B. Sam Hart Oral History Interview
Scope and Contents
Oral history interview with B. Sam Hart (1931-2012) in which he discusses his childhood; his parents’ work as missionaries in Jamaica; church life in Jamaica; his early preaching efforts; racial tensions and class divisions in Jamaica and witnessing segregation in churches in the United States; education at Gordon College; comparison of congregations in the United States and Jamaica; reflections on radio preaching ministry; thoughts on being named after Berlyn M. Nottage. The time period covered by the interviews is 1931 to 1996.
B. Sam Hart was interviewed by Robert Shuster on June 20, 1996, at Hart's home in Ambler, Pennsylvania. Sound quality throughout the audio recording is poor, and the interviewee is occasionally difficult to hear.
Dates
- Created: 1996
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.
Biographical Information
Full Name: Berlyn Samuel Iles Hart
Birth Date: April 8, 1931, New York City
Death Date: January 19, 2012
Family:
Parents: Arthur Iles Hart and Doris C. (Miller) Hart
Siblings: Four brothers (Arthur Jr., Charles), five sisters
Marital Status: Married to Joyce, June 1951
Children: Bradley (deceased), Anthony, and three others
Conversion: At the age of eleven
Education:
ca 1943-1948 - Jamaica College (private boarding school)
ca 1949 - Gordon College, Boston, Massachusetts
Career:
ca. 1945 - Began preaching
1961 - Founded the Grand Old Gospel Fellowship
1962 - Started the Grand Old Gospel Hour on radio
1967 - Founded the Arthur and Doris Hart Children's Home in Jamaica along with two of his brothers
Other significant information:
1932-1948 Grew up in Clowmill, Jamaica
Extent
2 Audio Tapes
91 Minutes
Language of Materials
English
Accruals and Additions
The materials in this collection were given to the Billy Graham Center Archives by B. Sam Hart in June 1996.
Accession: 96-56
December 13, 2000
Wayne D. Weber
- African American evangelists.
- African American missionaries.
- African Americans -- Missions.
- African Americans -- Religious life.
- African Americans.
- Bob Jones University.
- Children -- Jamaica -- Religious life.
- Children -- Jamaica.
- Christian leadership.
- Christianity and culture -- Jamaica.
- Church development, New -- Jamaica.
- Church development, New.
- Discrimination -- Jamaica.
- Discrimination -- United States.
- Discrimination.
- Evangelistic work -- Jamaica.
- Evangelistic work.
- Gordon College (Wenham, Mass.)
- Hart, B. Sam.
- Missions -- Jamaica.
- Nottage, B. M.
- Radio in religion.
- Segregation
- Segregation -- United States.
- United States -- Race relations -- Jamaica.
- United States -- Race relations.
- Title
- Collection 516 Oral History Interview with B. Sam Hart
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Roman Script
Repository Details
Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository