In 2003 the African American Episcopalian Historical Collection was established at the VTS Archives as a joint project with the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church. Through documents, institutional records, oral histories, personal papers, and photographs, the collection documents the experience of African American Episcopalians in the U.S. Individual collections document the experience of African American Episcopalians and contain significant references to religious faith and involvement in the Episcopal Church, particularly at the regional, diocesan, or local level.

AAEHC Recent Acquisitions

1) American Negro Academy Collection RG A04. Copies of minutes, articles, clippings, and research notes about the American Negro Academy collected by the Rev. Dr. Alfred Moss while researching his book The American Negro Academy: Voice of the Talented Tenth (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1981, 1995). The American Negro Academy, active 1897-1928, was the firs major black learned society in America and included among its members Alexander Crummell, W.E.B. Du Bois, Archibald Grimke, and Arthur Schomberg. Gift of the Rev. Dr. Alfred Moss, Episcopal Priest and Associate Professor of African-American, U.S. Social and U.S. Religious History at the University of Maryland, College Park.

2) Franklyn I. A. Bennett Family Papers, RG A03 Franklyn Bennett, a graduate of the King Hall, Washington, DC, served St. Marks Parish in Charleston, SC, where he was ordained priest (November 1897) and Calvary Church in Washington, DC. Materials in this collection include correspondence, photographs and pamphlets, and document Bennett’s professional and personal life. Gift of his granddaughter Mary Williamson McHenry of Washington, DC.

3) Bishop Family of Annapolis, Maryland, unpublished family history RG A12. An unpublished family history, “Bishops of Annapolis” by family member Joan C. Scurlock. Gift of Dr. Elizabeth Bishop Trussell, daughter of the late Reverend Shelton Hale Bishop, former rector of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Harlem, NY.

4) Reginald Glenn Blaxton Papers RG A06. The personal and professional papers of the Rev. Reginald Glenn Blaxton (1953-2001), Episcopal Priest, AIDS activist, and a advisor to the Mayor of Washington, D.C. The papers include correspondence, resumes, sermons, and articles documenting his ministry in the Episcopal Church and governmental and advocacy work Gift of the Estate of Reginald Glenn Blaxton, through Mr. James Blue, executor.

5) George H. Callcott Donation Collection of Southern History books from the library of George H. Callcott. Selected volumes were added to the collection of The Bishop Payne Library at Virginia Theological Seminary and the remainder sold with proceeds added to the HSEC African American History Collection Fund.

6) Church of the Advent, Seattle, Washington, HistoryThe Church of the Advent, Seattle, formerly St. Phillip’s mission, was a historically African American Episcopal congregation that was closed in 1958 by the Right Reverend Stephen Bayne, Bishop of Olympia. Most of its members that remained in the Episcopal union transferred their membership to St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, Seattle. The information in this collection provides a microcosm of the impact of integration and the closing of so-called segregated churches during the 1950s and early 1960s.

7) Roderic B. Dibbert Collection RG A02. A collection of correspondence, pamphlets, transcripts, articles and photographs about the Rev. Canon Roderic B. Dibbert and his interracial work in the Episcopal Church in Illinois, South Carolina, and Texas. A gift of the Rev. Canon Roderic B. Dibbert, Director of the DeKoven Foundation of Ohio and former Historiographer of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago.

8) Fannie Jeffrey Oral History Tapes and Transcript RG A14. The tape and transcription of an oral interview with Fannie Anell Pitt Cross Jeffrey conducted by Dr. Patricia N. Page, November 17-18, 2003. Ms. Jeffrey was one of the first African American graduates of Windham House, the premier institution of higher learning for female Episcopal Church workers in the 1940s Dr. Patricia Page conducted an oral history interview with Ms. Jeffrey for the AAEHC under a grant from the HSEC.

9) Alfred E. Ives Collection, RG A10. A printed sermon by Alfred E. Ives, Victory Turned into Mourning: A Discourse on Occasion of the Death of Abraham Lincoln, Late President of the United States. (Bangor: Wheeler & Lynde, 1865, 1st edition) and biographical information about the author. Given by the Rev. Dr. Alfred Moss in honor of Cassandra Anderson Pyle (1935-2000), an educator of international renown, and John William Pyle (1914-2001), an Episcopal clergyman and educator.)

10) Alfred Moss Donation. One book, Raelene Lyons Bowman and Anne Morgan DeAcetis, The Church of the Holy Spirit: The first 100 Years, 1902-2002 (Lake Forest, IL: Church of the Holy Spirit, 2002) and one videotape, Today’s History..Tomorrow’s Hope (Washington, DC: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Parish, 1999). Gift of the Rev. Dr. Alfred Moss.

11) Archibald R. Murray Papers RG A01. Papers of the late Archibald R. Murray, Esquire (1933-2001), chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of New York (1975-1987) and chief attorney for the Legal Aid Society Office. The papers include correspondence, reports, speeches, and awards from Mr. Murray’s professional career and his work for the Diocese of New York and St. Philip’s, Harlem, NY. On 11 September 2001, these papers were still located in Mr. Murray’s office in the neighborhood of the World Trade Center and had to go through extensive decontamination prior to their donation. Gift of Kay C. Murray, widow of the late Archibald T. Murray.  As an index to this collection please review the Finding Aid

12) African American Episcopalians Research Guide This bibliography was compiled primarily to provide assistance to researchers in locating information in The Bishop Payne Library collection about African Americans who have been ordained in the Episcopal Church. The sources cited herein complement the documents held in the African American Episcopal Historical Collection. Particular emphasis has been placed on sources pertaining to graduates of The Bishop Payne Divinity School and The Virginia Theological Seminary.

Making Donations of Materials to the AAEHC

The African American Episcopal Historical Collection encourages donation of appropriate archival materials from African-American individuals and/or organizations or others working with African Americans in the Episcopal Church. All donations are documented by a Deed of Gift transferring full title to the AAEHC.

Materials of interest from individuals may include any personal papers, manuscripts, correspondence, diaries, photographs, oral histories, and other materials that reflect the life, work, and religious experience of the African American Episcopal individual, or with such persons.

Materials from organizations can include minutes, proceedings of meetings, correspondence, photographs, and files on specific projects with and for African Americans in the Episcopal Church.

Prospective donors of archival materials to the AAEHC should contact Julia Randle, Archivist, at 703-461-1850.

Individuals interested in providing financial support for the African American Episcopal Historical collection are invited to send contributions to the AAEHC, Virginia Theological Seminary, 3737 Seminary Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22304.

Contacts for donating archival materials:

Julia E. Randle, Archivist, Bishop Payne Library 3737 Seminary Road Alexandria, Virginia 22304 703-461-1850 FAX 703-370-0935 Email: jrandle@vts.edu

Contacts for financial contributions: Mr. Edwin K. Hall, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Virginia Theological Seminary 3737 Seminary Road Alexandria, Virginia 22304 703-461-1711 Email: ehall@vts.edu

AAEHC Partnerships

The African American Episcopal Historical Collection is a cooperative effort of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church and the Bishop Payne Library of the Virginia Theological Seminary.

The Historical Society of the Episcopal Church was founded in 1910 to further understanding of church history among those interested in the Episcopal Church. The Historical Society publishes a journal (Anglican and Episcopal History), sponsors a book series (the University of Illinois Press Studies in Anglican History), and organizes historical conferences. Members of the Historical Society began to discuss the possibility of the African American Episcopal Historical Collection in the 1990s and to gather materials for the collection in 2000.

In December 2002 the Historical Society and the Virginia Theological Seminary agreed jointly to sponsor the African American Episcopal Historical Collection. Virginia Theological Seminary, which is the second oldest and the largest of the Episcopal seminaries in the United States, has had a long standing interest in ministry by and among African Americans. From 1878 through 1949 the Bishop Payne Divinity School, Petersburg, Virginia, was the primary institution for the education of African American candidates for the Episcopal ministry. Bishop Payne Divinity School merged with Virginia Theological Seminary in 1953. The VTS library was later named the Bishop Payne Library in honor and memory of the former divinity school.