INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD EXECUTIVE OFFICE RECORDS AR 551 - 3 Robert J. Willingham, Corresponding Secretary of the Foreign Mission Board, 1893 - 1914 Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives September, 2006 Updated January, 2012 1 International Mission Board Executive Office Records AR 551 - 3 Summary Main Entry: International Mission Board. Executive Office Records. Date Span: 1845 – 1995 Abstract: The International Mission Board Executive Office Records contain official documents of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board from 1845 to 1995. There is correspondence between denominational leaders and the Executive Secretaries, reports, and informational files. The files focus on the early years of the Board and the tenure of Baker James Cauthen (1954 – 1979). There is extensive correspondence from Annie Armstrong and William Owen Carver in the collection. Size: 39 linear ft. Collection #: AR 551 – 3 Historical Note When the Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845, Convention leaders quickly adopted a resolution to create a “Board of Managers for Foreign Missions.” Missionaries were then sent to China, Liberia, and the Far East. Over the next hundred years, the Southern Baptist foreign missions grew from a handful of missionaries to more than 1,000 missionaries in 35 countries. Throughout this period of growth, the necessity of support staff to assist the needs of missionaries and the rest of the Southern Baptist body was obvious. Based out of Richmond Virginia, the Foreign Mission Board Executive Office oversaw missionary work and served as a liaison between missionaries and the Convention. Corresponding Secretaries led the FMB Executive Office in its task. James Barnett Taylor was the first man appointed to this position. He served from June, 1846 to December, 1871. He was followed by Henry Allen Tupper, who filled the position until June, 1893. Like Taylor, Tupper helped expand the vision of the FMB by opening several new mission fields. Robert Josiah Willingham advanced the FMB to the next century by serving until December, 1914. Willingham’s administration was characterized by an awakening of Southern Baptist laymen to the task of global missions. James Franklin Love (1915 – 1928) followed Willingham’s success with a period of greater growth and the ambitious effort to raise $75,000,000 in five years, called the “75 million campaign.” Upon Love’s death in 1928, the position of Corresponding secretary was renamed Executive Secretary. T. Branson Ray (1929 – 1932) was named to the position, where he weathered the storm of financial depression. Charles Edward Maddry, appointed in 1933, served the Foreign Mission Board 2 for 12 years by bringing it out of debt and expanding its mission force. Milledge Theron Rankin (1945 – 1953) followed Maddry’s success with a strong emphasis on expansion and denominational awareness. Baker James Cauthen (previously secretary for the Orient) began his long and productive tenure in 1954. When Cauthen retired in 1979, the FMB had expanded to 3,008 missionaries in 94 countries. R. Keith Parks was elected Executive Secretary January 1, 1980. Scope and Content: The International Mission Board Executive Office Records span the history of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board (1845 – 1995). The collection includes official documents of FMB administrators, missionaries, regional directors, and Baptists from foreign fields. Much of the collection contains correspondence between denominational leaders and the Executive Secretaries. The early documents from this collection include letters from Basil Manly, John Broadus, E.Y. Mullins, Lansing Burrows, and many more significant figures from the formative years of the Southern Baptist Convention. The papers are arranged in chronological order and then alphabetically by folder title. The titles have been saved in a database format to provide an alphabetical listing of the folders as found below. They are contained in 39 boxes and are approximately 39 linear feet in size. While the collection contains documents from 1845 – 1995, the majority of the files are from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s – the period Baker J. Cauthen served as Executive Secretary of the FMB. Many of these files contain information concerning FMB dealings with other agencies and organizations. These agencies include the SBC Executive Committee, SBC Home Mission Board, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Women’s Missionary Union, and Baptist World Alliance. The records were transferred from the International Mission Board Archives in 2004. This record series is open to researchers. Arrangement The collection is arranged in chronological order, then alphabetically by folder title Provenance Transferred from the International Mission Board Archives in 2004 Preferred Citation International Mission Board Executive Office Records, Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee. Access Restrictions None Subject Terms Armstrong, Annie Walker, 1850 –1938 Bell, Theodore Percy, 1852 – 1916 Broadus, John Albert, 1827 – 1895 Brown, J. Newton (John Newton), 1803 – 1868 Buckner, Robert Cooke, 1833 – 1919 Carver, William Owen, 1868 – 1954 Cauthen, Baker James, 1909 – 1985 3 Crane, William Carey, 1816 – 1872 Crawley, Winston, 1920 – Curtis, Thomas Fenner, 1815 – 1872 Cutting, Sewell Sylvester, 1813 – 1882 Eaton, Thomas Treadwell, 1845 – 1907 Fowler, Franklin T. Fuller, Richard, 1804 – 1876 Goerner, Henry Cornell, 1908 – 1998 Hays, George H. Heck, Fannie Exile Scudder, 1862 – 1915 Howell, Robert Boyte Crawford, 1801 – 1868 Hughey, John David, 1914 – 1984 Hunt, Alma, 1909 – Love, James Franklin, 1959 – 1928 Maddry, Charles Edward, 1876 – 1972 Manly, Basil, Jr., 1825 – 1892 Mathis, Marie McIntosh, William H. Means, Frank K. Mell, Patrick Hues, 1814 – 1888 Parks, Robert Keith Rankin, Milledge Theron, 1894 – 1953 Ray, T. Bronson, 1868 – 1934 Routh, Porter Wroe, 1911 – 1987 Rushbrooke, James Henry, 1870 – 1947 Sadler, George Washington, 1887 – 1975 Saunders, Davis L. Schofield, Fon H., Jr. Smith, Roger M. Taylor, Charles Elisha, 1842 – 1916 Tichenor, Isaac Taylor, 1825 – 1902 Tolbert, William R., 1913 – Tupper, Henry Allen, 1828 – 1902 Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs Baptist World Alliance Displaced Persons Office (World War II) Southern Baptist Convention, Foreign Mission Board – History Southern Baptist Convention, Committee of Fifteen Southern Baptist Convention, International Mission Board – History Baptists – Missions Missions, Foreign World War, 1939 – 1945, Civilian relief 4 Related Materials Container List Box – FF # Folder Title Dates 4521 – 0001 Administration – Administrative Associate: Smith, Rogers M. 1971 – 1973 4525 – 0037 Administration – Administrative Associate: Smith, Rogers M. 1977 4514 – 0001 Administration – Administrative Associate: Smith, Rogers M. 1954 – 1970 4523 – 0026 Administration – Administrative Associate: Smith, Rogers M. 1974 – 1976 4526 – 0001 Administration – Administrative Associate: Smith, Rogers M. 1979 4526 – 0004 Administration – Administrative Staff and Office Personnel Roster 1959 4523 – 0027 Administration – Administrative Staff Roster 1975 4526 – 0002 Administration – Administrative Staff: Biographical Sketches 1972 – 1973 4526 – 0003 Administration – Administrative Staff: Memos 1969 – 1978 4521 – 0002 Administration – Africa – Area Secretary: Goerner, H. Cornell 1972 4521 – 0003 Administration – Africa – Area Secretary: Goerner, H. Cornell 1970 – 1971 4514 – 0022 Administration – Africa – Secretary: Goerner, H. Cornell 1969 – 1970 4514 – 0019 Administration – Africa – Secretary: Goerner, H. Cornell 1964 – 1966 4514 – 0021 Administration – Africa – Secretary: Goerner, H. Cornell 1968 4514 – 0020 Administration – Africa – Secretary: Goerner, H. Cornell 1966 – 1967 4514 – 0018 Administration – Africa, Europe, Near East – Secretary: Goerner, H. Cornell 1963 4514 – 0017 Administration – Africa, Europe, Near East – Secretary: Goerner, H. Cornell 1962 4514 – 0016 Administration – Africa, Europe, Near East – Secretary: Goerner, H. Cornell 1954 – 1961 4514 – 0005 Administration – Africa, Europe, Near East – Secretary: Sadler, George W. 1951 – 1957 4693 – 0006 Administration – Annual Reports 1940 – 1949 4693 – 0005 Administration – Annual Reports 1950 – 1959 4693 – 0004 Administration – Annual Reports 1960 – 1969 4693 – 0003 Administration – Annual Reports 1975 4693 – 0001 Administration – Annual Reports 1991 4693 – 0002 Administration – Annual Reports 1982 – 1986 4514 – 0006 Administration – Area Secretaries 1968 4521 – 0004 Administration – Area Secretaries 1968 – 1973 4537 – 0001 Administration – Area Secretaries: Selection Process 4521 – 0005 Administration – Audio – visuals – Associate Secretary: Scofield, Fon H. 1971 – 1972 4693 – 0007 Administration – Building and Equipment Maintenance – 1978 Addition 1978 4693 – 0008 Administration – Building and Equipment Maintenance – Headquarters Building 4693 – 0009 Administration – Building and Equipment Maintenance – Missionary Learning Center 1978 – 1984 4693 – 0010 Administration – Building and Equipment Maintenance – Space Study 1986 4693 – 0011 Administration – Building and Equipment Maintenance – Space Study 1982 4521 – 0007 Administration – Business Manager (Assistant): Hildreth, Ward S. Jr. 1970 – 1973 4523 – 0028 Administration – Business Manager (Assistant): Hildreth, Ward S. Jr. 1974 – 1976 4525 – 0038 Administration – Business Manager (Assistant): Hundredth, Ward S. Jr. 1977 4521 – 0006 Administration – Business Manager: Wright, Elbert L. 1970 – 1974 4514