American Colony in Jerusalem collection

LC control no.	mm2004085137
Type of material	Archival Manuscript/Mixed Formats (Collection)
Corporate name	American Colony (Jerusalem) » More like this
Main title	American Colony in Jerusalem collection, circa 1786-2007 (bulk 1870-1968).
Related names	Spafford, Anna T., 1842-1923. Anna T. Spafford papers. » More like this Spafford, Horatio Gates, 1828-1888. Horatio Gates Spafford papers. » More like this Vester, Bertha Spafford, 1878-1968. Bertha Spafford Vester papers. » More like this
Related titles	American Colony in Jerusalem
Description	16,600 items. 64 containers plus 17 oversize. 37.6 linear feet.
Organized/Arranged	Part I arranged in 2 series. Series 1: Topical File, 1871-2004; and Series 2: Oversize, 1871-1942. Part II arranged in 7 series. Series 1: Our Jerusalem, circa 1786-1942; Series 2: Bertha Spafford Vester Diaries, 1920-1968; Series 3: American Colony Members, 1810-2006; Series 4: Business and Legal Files, 1811-2006; Series 5: Chronological File, 1893-1968; Series 6: Miscellany, 1869-2005; Series 7: Restricted, 1887-1984; and Series 8: Oversize, 1866-1938. Part III arranged in 5 series. Series 1: Bertha Spafford Vester Files, 1861-1991; Series 2: John D. Whiting Files, 1906-1924; Series 3: Valentine Vester Files, 1989-2007; Series 4: Miscellany, 1879-1997; and Series 5: Oversize, 1918-1967.
Access advisory	Restrictions apply.
Biography/History note	Religious community in Jerusalem founded by American emigré Christians, Horatio Gates Spafford and his wife, Anna T. Spafford, and perpetuated by their daughter, Bertha Spafford Vester, and others.
Summary	Correspondence, diaries, minutes, notes, hymns, financial and legal records, scrapbooks, printed matter, photographs, photograph albums, and other papers relating to the history of the American Colony and its members, particularly the Spafford, Vester, and Whiting families. Documents the events that led to the founding of this cooperative Christian community in the Holy Land; the lives and philanthropic work of American Colony members including the Anna Baby Home (later the Anna Spafford Baby Home, the Spafford Children's Hospital, and Spafford Children's Center) and other health care services; the secularization and shift toward incorporation of the religious commune; tourist services provided by the colony; and the conflict and split between American and Swedish members. Also documents life in Jerusalem and Palestine as part of the Ottoman Empire, the British mandate, Jordan, and Israel. Documents business interests including the American Colony Stores and Fr. Vester & Co. Subjects also include the trial in Chicago concerning Mary Whiting's custody of her two children, John D. Whiting and Ruth Whiting; Swedes emigrating to join the American Colony; the locust plague of 1915; antagonism of the U.S. consuls toward the colony; World War I in Palestine; the 1927 earthquake; and Jewish-Arab violence especially the Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949. Includes the papers of Anna T. Spafford, Horatio Gates Spafford, and Bertha Spafford Vester. Horatio Gates Spafford's papers include his handwritten lyrics to the hymn, It is well with my soul, written after a shipwreck that resulted in the death of his four daughters. Other individuals represented include Anna Grace Vester, Frederick Vester, Frieda Vester, Horatio Vester, John Vester, Louise Vester, Tanetta Vester, Valentine Vester, Grace Spafford Whiting, and John D. Whiting.
Notes	Audio-visual recordings: transferred to Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. Some maps: transferred to Library of Congress Geography and Map Division. Some picture postcards: transferred to Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Collection material chiefly in English, with Arabic, Hebrew, Swedish, and Turkish. MSS85137
Finding aids	Finding aid available in the Library of Congress Manuscript Reading Room and at <http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms010123>
Acquisition source	Gift, Board of directors of the American Colony of Jerusalem, Ltd., 2004-2009.
Additional formats	Selected material also available through the Library of Congress Web site.
Subjects	Vester, Anna Grace. » More like this Vester, Frederick. » More like this Vester, Frieda. » More like this Vester, John. » More like this Vester, Louise. » More like this Vester, Tanetta. » More like this Vester, Valentine. » More like this Whiting, Grace Spafford. » More like this Whiting, Mary. » More like this Whiting, Ruth. » More like this Whiting, John D. (John David), 1882-1951. » More like this Spafford family. » More like this Vester family. » More like this Whiting family. » More like this American Colony Stores. » More like this Anna Baby Home. » More like this Anna Spafford Baby Home. » More like this Fr. Vester & Co. » More like this Spafford Children's Center. » More like this Spafford Children's Hospital. » More like this Americans--Palestine. » More like this Charities--Palestine. » More like this Christian communities--Palestine. » More like this Consuls--Jerusalem. » More like this Consuls--Palestine. » More like this Earthquakes--Palestine. » More like this Hymns. » More like this Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949. » More like this Jewish-Arab relations. » More like this Locusts--Middle East. » More like this Medical care--Palestine. » More like this Shipwrecks--Atlantic Ocean. » More like this Swedes--Palestine. » More like this Tourism--Palestine. » More like this World War, 1914-1918--Palestine. » More like this Jerusalem--History--19th century. » More like this Jerusalem--History--20th century. » More like this Israel--History. » More like this Jordan--History. » More like this Palestine--History--19th century. » More like this Palestine--History--20th century. » More like this Turkey--History--Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918. » More like this
Local shelving no.	0601K Oversize 0112T Oversize 7:6
Language code	eng ara heb swe tur
Repository	Library of Congress Manuscript Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA dcu <http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.home>
Links	Selected material: <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/americancolony/> Selected material: <http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/americancolony/> Finding aid: <http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms010123> Finding aid (PDF): <http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms010123.3>