Guide to the William Roland Phinney Papers 1767-1987 Published for Drew University Methodist Archives By General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church P.O. Box 127, Madison, NJ 07940 2014-02-06 Guide to the William Roland Phinney Papers William Roland Phinney Papers 1767-1987 20.77 cubic feet dumc.ms.2414 The purpose of this finding aid is to help you understand the nature of this collection and to assist you in the retrieval of material from this collection. The following pages contain a brief biographical history of the person, or persons, who created or collected these papers, followed by a general description of the collection in the scope and content note. If more detailed information is warranted then series descriptions also appear. The container listing appears last and is the listing of material in each box, or container, of this collection. To request material you need to turn to the container listing section. It is essentially a listing of file folders, or artifact items, in the collection. Each folder, or item, has a call number associated with it. Each folder also lists the inclusive dates of the material in the folder. On the material request form list both the call number and the folder, or item, title. Use a different line for each folder, or item, requested. When your request sheet is complete, or full, bring it to the archivist and the material will be retrieved. Biographical Note William Roland Phinney (1906-1986), was a well-known Methodist historian and minister in New England and Upstate New York. Born in Cicopee, Massachusetts to William Henry Phinney and Betsy Allis Phinney and descended from early Puritans, Phinney was educated in Cicopee and attended Massachusetts State Agriculture College (later Massachusetts State University). Phinney later earned a B.A and M.S at the University of Massachuesetts and an M.A at Cornell University. Phinney earned a B.D degree at Drew Theological Seminary subsequent to this and was licensed to preach in the New England Conference in 1925, as a Deacon in the New York Conference in 1935, and as an Elder in 1936. Phinney served as a minister at Methodist churches in the New York Conference: Pleasant Valley and Washington Hollow (1934), Verbank and North Clove (1937), Red Hook and Elizaville (1939). During World War II Phinney served in the United States Army as a chaplain from 1942 to 1946 in the 33rd General Hospital, attaining the rank of major. Following his military service, Phinney pastored at Methodist Churches at Millerton (1947), Stamford and Harpersfield (1952), Jefferson, Blenheim Hill, North Blenheim, and North Harpersfield (1971), and North Blenheim (1973). Phinney retired from Stamford Church in 1971, and from North Blenheim in 1980. In 1940 Phinney married Florence Miller. Florence Miller Phinney predeceased him in May, 1977. Phinney compiled numerous histories of United Methodist Churches in Delaware and Schoharie Counties in upstate New York. Among his histories were: "Head Waters of The Delaware", "Maggie Newton VanCott - First Woman License to Preach in the Methodist Episcopal Church". "From Chore Boy to Bishop" on Francis Burns, and "The Hunter Camp Meeting". Phinney also wrote briefly for the "Berkshire Eagle" Newspaper and as a hobby for the bee-keeping enthusiast magazine, "Gleanings in Bee Culture", and historical essays for the Schoharie County Historical Review. As a historian, Phinney served for forty years on the Archives and History Committee and the Journal Committee for the New York Conference. Outside the church, Phinney was a Trustee of the Stamford, New York Library and the Stamford Cemetary Association, the town historian for the Town of Harpersfield, and a member of the Delaware County (New York) American Revolution Bicentennial Committee. Phinney donated a two-thousand volume collection of Methodist History to Drew University prior to his death, along with his personal histories and collected sermons. Phinney died in Stamford, New York on September 12, 1986. Scope Note The collection contains a large volume of personal writings and research by Phinney between the mid-1930s and mid-1980s. Among them are his personal diary during his military service overseas during the Second World War, particularly during the Italian Campaign. Phinney's diary is extensive and General Commisson on Archives and History Page 1 Madison, New Jersey Guide to the William Roland Phinney Papers thoughtful, reflecting on his duties as a military chaplain in both training and overseas duty. He gives many details on the day to day life of a military chaplain officer and some of the services they would perform for soldiers during the Second World War, ranging from religious and legal advice to assisting in issues of marriage, divorce, and personal problems. It is recommended for any students interested in the work of military chaplains or perspectives on the Second World War. Phinney describes his transport overseas in July 1943 and the voyage to North Africa along with descriptions of Casablanca.Phinney also describes a number of German air raids on the port of Bizerte in Tunisia while his unit was posted there and of the effect of recent fighting between Allied and German/ Italian Units at the end of the North African Campaign. Among interesting anecdotes are how Roman Catholic chaplains gave confession to Italian prisoners of war, a raid by Italian commandos, and combined church services between American and British units. He chronicles his unit's service in the Italian Campaign with depictions of a field hospital, its reception and treatment of large numbers of battle casualties, along with the emergency duties of a field hospital chaplain in the US military. Phinney also mentions significant outside events such as the Liberation of Rome, receiving word of the Invasion of Normandy, the 1944 Presidential Election, the death of Hitler, and the surrender of Germany and eventually Japan. Phinney remained in Italy until mid-1946 and his diary depicts post-war occupation duties as well as a dispute between Phinney and the War Department over an Army Jeep that was stolen after Phinney had parked it, for which he was billed several hundred dollars. Phinney's diary covers other stretches of time after World War II in detail, covering 1947 and much of 1948, 1949-1953, 1955-1957, parts of the early and mid-1960s, and periods of 1967and 1968. Phinney's ministry at Millerton, New York, Stamford, New York, Harpersfield, New York, and Blenheim, New York are covered in his collected sermons and sermon topics. Phinney's sermon notes from the 1950s to the 1980s are topical and themed, sometimes reused based on their liturgical or calendar themes, or at different churches under Phinney's charge. The sermons are organized by date. In the case of those based on the liturgical calendar, they are also organized by the Christian year (Advent I, Advent II, etc). Other sermons are arranged according to chronology. Phinney produced a broad body of independent scholarship and writings during the 1950s and 1960s on topics ranging from literature, poetry, agriculture, New York history, Methodism, bee-keeping, and his preserved papers with professors commentary from his college education. A detailed index of his writings is provided, giving page numbers and titles for all of his typed work. However, many elements of the typed work mentioned in the indexes are not present. The existing articles particularly focus on Methodist History in Upstate and Central New York, including depictions of Methodist figures in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, small towns and their churches, and Methodist communities throughout the region. Some of the material also deals with New England history, owing to Phinney's Western Massachusetts origins. The areas of New York State that are extensively covered center on Schoharie, Greene, Dutchess, Oneida, Orange, Ulster, and Delaware Counties. Primarily this is the Catskills Region of the state. Phinney's scholarly work and his numerous manuscript notebooks for research, quotes, and citations are included and numbered. The research notebooks contain over five-thousand pages of notes, quotes, and hand-written research. The finished works are typed and separated by title. Shorter writings are compiled into chronological and indexed volumes. Any researcher interested in New York State Methodism, or the history of Central New York in general, particularly its rural regions, would be well advised to consult this collection. Material and news releases indicates Phinney was well -regarded as a Methodist Historian in the Northeast Jursidiction and the New York Conference. Roughly 4500 legal pages of personal manuscripts and scrapbooks are catalogued together, along with their indexes. They range in timespan from the mid-1950s to 1985. They cover subjects ranging from local church news and regional news stories to trips abroad and Methodist history commemorations. They also include handwritten notes on historical material, including source quotes and source information. It also contains personal correspondence and communication with those either interested in Methodist historical information and Phinney's response to them, as well as communication between Phinney and Methodist General Commisson on Archives and History Page 2 Madison, New Jersey Guide to the William Roland Phinney Papers Commissions (particularly the Northeast Jurisdiction) on Archives and History. The collection also includes personal documents and materials ranging from Phinney's college transcripts from 1925-1930 at Massachusetts Agricultural College (now University of Massachusetts, Amherst). Phinney's commission in the United States Army during World War II, along with personal correspondence. Material produced by and pertaining to Phinney's wife, Florence W. Phinney (nee Miller) also appears. Also in the collection is a large volume of visual microfiche and projector slides containing a broad array of images on Methodist history. There is roughly 6-8 cubic feet worth of microfiche material on over five-hundred subjects.