Collection 540 Papers of William E. Blackstone
Scope and Contents
Materials relating to the ministry of William E. Blackstone, evangelist, Christian Zionist, and first superintendent of the Chicago Hebrew Mission. These materials include correspondence, organizational reports, miscellaneous mission organization reports, book orders, financial statements involving home and foreign missionaries as well as indigenous Christian workers, people and organizations who received support from the Milton Stewart Evangelistic Fund of which Blackstone was sole trustee, petitions to Presidents Harrison and Wilson concerning formation of a country for Jews, especially for displaced Russian Jews in Palestine and the evangelization of Jews around the world, especially China, India, Israel (then Palestine), Poland, and Russia.
Dates
- Created: 1891-1979
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.
Biographical or Historical Information
Full Name: William Eugene Blackstone
Birth Date: October 6, 1841, in Adams, New York
Family:
Marital Status: Married Sarah Lee Smith, June 5, 1866
Children: Andrew, Harry (missionary to China), and Flora
Conversion: Age 11 at evangelistic meetings at the Methodist Church
Death: November 30, 1935
Education: No formal college education, self-educated
Career:
1870 - Building and property investor
Preacher and Evangelist
1889 - Helped organize and became the first superintendent of the Chicago Hebrew Mission, incorporated in 1891
Sole trustee of the Milton Stewart Evangelistic Fund
Selected Publications:
Satan: His Kingdom and its Overthrow. New York: Fleming H Revell Company, 1900 (see folder 1-1)
The Millennium. New York: Fleming H Revell Company; 1904 (see folder 1-1)
Jesus is Coming. New York: Fleming H Revell Company, c. 1908. Translated into many languages
Extent
3.40 Cubic Feet (8 Boxes (DC), Photographs)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement of Materials
[Note: In the Arrangement description, the notation "folder 2-5" means box 2, folder 5.]
Arrangement: Alphabetical and then roughly chronological
Date range: 1891-1979
Volume: 3.4 cubic feet
Geographic coverage: China, Egypt, India, Israel (Palestine), Poland, Russia, United States
Type of documents: Correspondence, organizational reports, petitions to U. S. presidents (called Memorials), miscellaneous mission organization reports, book orders, financial statements
Correspondents: Home and foreign missionaries, Presidents Harrison and Wilson, people and organizations who received support from the Milton Stewart Evangelistic Fund of which Blackstone was sole trustee
Subjects: Establishment of a homeland for Jews in Palestine (Israel), Zionism, and the evangelization of Jews
Notes: Much of the collection was damaged to varying degrees by fire and water and some letters could not be salvaged and were disposed of; the numbers in parentheses in the Container List were assigned by Blackstone to distinguish between correspondents
Exceptional items: Documents which show the early work of Blackstone and the resultant letters of petition to presidents Harrison (folder 6-9) and Wilson (folder 7-5) to establish in Palestine a state for displaced Jews, especially those from Russia (folders 7-2 through 8-6); the debate over liberalism in the Methodist Episcopal Church (folder 3-5).
There are also several manuscripts and a thesis which deal with the Zionist movement (folders 6-1 through 6-5).
Many correspondents were recipients of funding from the Milton Stewart Evangelistic Fund, such as the All Russian Union of Evangelical Christians (folder 1-2, 3), American Bible Society (folder 1-3), Barbican Mission to the Jews (Poland) (folders 1-7, 8), China Inland Mission (folder 2-9) Greek work in Los Angeles (folder 2-15), Mount Carmel Bible School, Haifa, Palestine (folders 4-7, 8); New York Gospel Mission to the Jews (folder 5-1), North China Theological Seminary (folder 5-3), Union Methodist Seminary and Union Chinese Church of Korea (folder 5-7), Women's Bible Institute, Korea (folder 5-9), among others.
Folder 1-9 includes notice from Charles Hurlburt of new mission called Unevangelized Africa
Accruals and Additions
The materials in this collection were given to the Billy Graham Center Archives by the American Messianic Fellowship in March, 1990.
Accession 90-31
January 22, 1998
Janyce H. Nasgowitz
M. Bergstedt
J. Taussig
- Blackstone, W. E. (William E.), 1841-1935.
- Christian literature -- Publication and distribution -- China.
- Christian literature -- Publication and distribution -- Egypt.
- Christian literature -- Publication and distribution -- Korea.
- Christian literature -- Publication and distribution -- Palestine.
- Christian literature -- Publication and distribution -- Poland.
- Christian literature -- Publication and distribution -- Russia.
- Christian literature -- Publication and distribution.
- Christian literature.
- Evangelicalism -- Relations -- Judaism.
- Evangelistic work -- United States.
- Evangelistic work.
- Fundamentalism.
- Jews
- Jews -- United States.
- Milton Stewart Evangelistic Fund.
- Missions -- China.
- Missions -- Egypt.
- Missions -- India.
- Missions -- Korea.
- Missions -- Palestine.
- Missions -- Poland.
- Missions -- Russia.
- Missions to Jews.
- Missions.
- Modernist-fundamentalist controversy.
- Persecution -- Russia.
- Persecution.
- Zionism.
- Title
- Collection 540 Papers of William E. Blackstone
- 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