Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Baptist Church collection, 1827-1970
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Oregon Historical Society
- Title
- Baptist Church collection
- Dates
- 1827-1970 (inclusive)18271970
- Quantity
- 6 cubic feet, (12 document cases, 1 flat box, 22 reels of microfilm)
- Collection Number
- Mss 1560
- Summary
- Materials assembled by the Oregon Historical Society and related to the Baptist Church in Oregon, the First Baptist Church of Portland, Oregon, various Baptist churches throughout Oregon, and general Baptist matters. Most materials date from the early 20th century and include newsletters, periodicals, programs for services, by-laws, ephemera, and a small amount of correspondence. Also included are scrapbooks related to the First Baptist Church of Portland, kept by Kate Failing.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
In 1844 a Baptist church was established in a log cabin in West Union, Washington County, Oregon Territory. Baptist missionaries Ezara Fisher and Hezekiah Johnson came to the territory the following year. Throughout the 1840s Baptist congregations were formed at McMinnville, Oregon City, Clatsom Plains, Sodaville, Abiqua, and Turner. A church governing body, the Willamette Baptist Association, began in West Union in 1848. In Portland, the First Baptist Church was established in 1855 and the Mount Olivet Baptist Church was incorporated in 1929. Prominent figures in the early Oregon Baptist church were the preacher Joab Powell, and Dr. George C. Chandler, who became president of McMinville College.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of materials assembled by the Oregon Historical Society and related to the Baptist Church in Oregon, the First Baptist Church of Portland, Oregon, various Baptist churches throughout Oregon, and general Baptist matters. Most materials date from the early 20th century and include newsletters, periodicals, programs for services, by-laws, ephemera, and a small amount of correspondence. Also included are: materials related to the career of Rev. James Whitcomb Brougher, the American Baptist Convention, the Oregon Baptist Convention, and the Chinese Baptist Church of Portland. Scrapbooks concerning the First Baptist Church of Portland, kept by Kate Failing, include clippings, programs, invitations, and general ephemera.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.
Preferred Citation
Baptist Church collection, Mss 1560, Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series A: First Baptist Church, Portland, Oregon, 1893-1970
- Series B: Other Oregon Baptist Churches, 1872-1969
- Series C: Baptist Churches, General, 1901-1964
- Series D: Kate Failing Scrapbooks, 1899-1948
- Series E: Microfilmed Records, 1827-1964
Location of Originals
Originals of most microfilmed records are housed in the various churches represented by the film.
Related Materials
See also Microfilm 286, Oregon Historical Society Research Library, for additional records of Baptist Church associations.
Acquisition Information
The collection was acquired from a variety of sources, including Kate W. Failing, Henrietta C. Failing (1971), and the Chinese Baptist Church (1975).
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Series A: First Baptist Church, Portland, Oregon, 1893-1970Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
Periodicals |
||
The Trumpeter
|
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 |
Missing 1942
|
1940-1943 |
| 1/2 | 1944 | |
| 1/3 | 1945 | |
| 1/4 | 1946 | |
| 1/5 | 1947 | |
| 1/6 | 1948 | |
| 1/7 | 1949 | |
| 1/8 | 1950 | |
| 1/9 | 1951 | |
| 1/10 | 1952 | |
| 1/11 | 1953 | |
| 1/12 | 1954 | |
| 1/13 | 1955 | |
| 2/1 | 1956 | |
| 2/2 | 1957 | |
| 2/3 | 1958 | |
| 2/4 | 1959 | |
| 2/5 | 1960 | |
| 2/6 | 1961 | |
| 2/7 | 1962 | |
| 2/8 | 1963 | |
| 2/9 | 1964 | |
| 2/10 | 1969-1971 | |
The Oregon Baptist
|
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2/11 | 1943-1946 | |
| 2/12 | 1947-1949 | |
| 2/13 | 1950-1951 | |
| 2/14 | 1953-1954 | |
| 2/15 | 1955-1956 | |
| 3/1 | 1957-1960 | |
| 3/2 | 1961-1968 | |
General Files |
||
Annual reports |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3/3 | 1950-1960 | |
| 3/4 | 1960-1962 | |
| 3/5 | 1962-1964 | |
| 3/6 | 1964-1966 | |
| 3/7 | 1966-1968 | |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3/8 | Board of Christian Education--Annual
reports |
1947-1950 |
| 3/9 | Brougher, James Whitcomb, Reverend |
1913-1914; undated |
| 3/10 | By-laws |
1946-1959; undated |
| 3/11 | Committees |
1944-1958 |
| 3/12 | Dedication and history |
1893-1950 |
| 3/13 | Financial statements (incomplete run) |
1936-1963 |
Programs for services |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3/14 | 1902-1904 | |
| 3/15 | 1905-1908 | |
| 4/1 | 1912 | |
| 4/2 | 1913 January-June | |
| 4/3 | 1913 July-December | |
| 4/4 | 1914 | |
| 4/5 | 1915 | |
| 4/6 |
Only program for 1918 is July 14th.
|
1916-1918 |
| 4/7 | circa 1930-1939 | |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/8 | Proposed budgets |
1947-1970 |
| 4/9 | Women's Baptist Mission Society--Yearbook |
1958-1967 |
| 4/10 | Women's Missionary Society |
1955-1965 |
| 4/11 | Women's Society |
1947-1967 |
| 5/1 | Women's Society--Yearbooks |
1938-1957 |
| 5/2-3 | General ephemera |
circa 1900-1963 |
Series B: Other Oregon Baptist Churches, 1872-1969Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 5/4 | Chinese Baptist Church, Portland--Ephemera (3
items) |
1875; undated |
Mount Olivet Baptist Church (Portland, Or.) |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 5/5 | Baptist Association |
1935-1947 |
| 5/6 | Church officers (including articles of incorporation
and budget) |
1945-1963 |
| 5/7 | Correspondence |
1945-1948 |
| 5/8 | Statistics |
1941-1968 |
| 5/9 | Death lists |
1936-1963 |
| 5/10 | Gains--Baptism (baptism lists) |
1936-1964 |
| 5/11 | Gains by letter |
1938-1965 |
| 5/12 | Gains--Christian experiences |
1936-1964 |
| 5/13 | Programs |
1942-1945 |
| 5/14 | Reports |
1935-1946 |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 5/15 | Salem First Baptist Church--Programs
(incomplete) |
1914-1950 |
| 5/16 | Various Oregon Baptist Churches |
1872-1969; undated |
Series C: Baptist Churches, General, 1901-1964Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6/1 | American Baptist Convention--Reports |
1956; 1959 |
| 6/2 | American Baptist Missionary Union |
1909-1910; undated |
| 6/3 | Baptist Young People's Union--Ephemera |
1908; 1915; undated |
| 6/4 | Conventions, general |
1951-1958 |
| 6/5 | Northern Baptist Convention--Bulletins, programs,
"Campus directory" |
1907-1909; 1945 |
Oregon Baptist Convention |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6/6 | Annual meetings |
1908-1963 |
| 6/7 | Annual reports (incomplete) |
1944-1962 |
| 6/8 | Budgets |
1958-1963 |
| 6/9 | Constitution and by-laws |
1950; undated |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6/10 | Willamette Baptist Association |
1901-1954 |
| 6/11 | Women's Baptist Mission Society |
1942-1964 |
| 6/12 |
The worker
(newsletter) |
1952-1953 |
| 6/13 | General materials and ephemera |
1908-1960; undated |
Series D: Kate Failing Scrapbooks, 1899-1948Return to Top
Scrapbooks contain news clippings, programs, ephemera, invitations, a small number of letters, and a few photographs. Most materials pertain to the First Baptist Church in Portland, but also to other Baptist activities, friends, and local events.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 7/1 | Old volume 106 |
1899-1904 |
| 7/2 | Old volume 92 |
1904 February-1905 January |
| 7/3 | Old volume 93 |
1905 January-June |
| 8/1 | Old volume 94 |
1905 June-December |
| 8/2 | Old volume 95 |
1905 December-1906 April |
| 8/3 | Old volume 96 |
1906 April-1906 December |
| 9/1 | Old volume 97 |
1907 January-1907 December |
| 9/2 | Old volume 98 |
1907 December-1908 November |
| 9/3 | Old volume 99 |
1908 December-1909 June |
| 10/1 | Old volume 100 |
1909 June |
| 10/2 | Old volume 101 |
1909 June-1909 September |
| 10/3 | Old volume 102 |
1909 September-1910 May |
| 11/1 | Old volume 103 |
1910 June-1911 April |
| 11/2 | Old volume 104 |
1911 April-1911 November |
| 11/3 | Old volume 105 |
1911 November-1912 August |
| 12/1 | Old volume 17
Contains letters, momentos, ephemera, and photographs from Kate
Failing's Sunday school students, given to her on her departure for India.
|
1919 |
| 13/1 | Old volume 16 |
1916 |
| 13/2 | Old volume 18 |
1945-1948 |
Series E: Microfilmed records, 1827-1964Return to Top
All records are for Oregon churches unless otherwise specified.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Reel | ||
| 1 | Various Oregon churches and Baptist
organizations
|
1846-1939 |
| 2 | Mt. Olivet Baptist Church (Portland, Or.?) |
1935-1963 |
| 3 | First Baptist Church of Albany--Records, volume
3-4 |
1906 July 1-1926 Decemember 19 |
| 4 | Bethany Baptist Church (Washington County,
Or.)--Records |
1876-1934 |
| 5 | Hillsboro Baptist Church--Records |
1847-1856 |
| 6 | First Baptist Church of Portland--Minutes |
1854-1906 |
| 7 | First Baptist Church of Goose Valley and Pine Creek,
Siskyou County, California |
undated |
| 8 | First Baptist Church, (Lacomb, Linn County,
Oregon)--Register |
1896-1948 |
| 9 | First Baptist Church of La Grande,
Or.--Minutes |
1901 May-1915 December; 1925 April-1940 April |
| 10 | Mispah Primitive Baptist Church of Touchet,
Washington--Records |
1913-1952 |
| 11 | McMinnville First Baptist Church |
1867-1951 |
| 12 | University Park Baptist Church, Portland (including
records of Peninsula Baptist Church, 1923-1925) |
1905 May 17-1940 April 24 |
| 13 | First Baptist Church of Eugene--Records |
1852-1881; 1889-1937 |
| 14 | Central Baptist Association--Abstracts of letters and
correspondence |
1857-1888 |
| 15 | Various Oregon churches
|
1873-1926 |
| 16 | First Baptist Church, Salem |
1859-1937 |
| 17 | West Union Baptist Church |
1844 May 25-1879 March; 1903 December-1904 May; 1913 October |
| 18 | Third Baptist Church, Portland--Minutes and records
(name changed from Albina Baptist Church in 1894) |
1890 September-1922 February; 1927 October-1942 February |
| 19 | Pleasant Butte Baptist Church (name changed to Baptist
Church of Brownsville) |
1865 November-1883 January; 1883 February-1949 April |
| 20 | First Baptist Church of St. John's, Portland (includes
Peninsula Baptist) |
1905 July-1964 January |
| 21 | Various Oregon churches
|
1853-1929 |
| 22 | Prineville Union Church Associaion, First Baptist Church
of Prineville |
1889-1936 |
| 23 | Various Oregon churches
|
1856-1945 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Baptists--Oregon
- Churches--Oregon--History
Personal Names
- Failing, Kate Whittlesey
Corporate Names
- Chinese Baptist Church (Portland, Or.)
- First Baptist Church (Portland, Or.)
- American Baptist Convention
- Oregon Baptist Convention
Family Names
- Failing family
Geographical Names
- Portland (Or.)--History
Form or Genre Terms
- Newsletters
- Photographs
- Programs
- Scrapbooks
Titles within the Collection
- The Oregon Baptist
- Trumpeter (Portland, Or.)
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Brougher, James Whitcomb (creator)
Corporate Names
- Mount Olivet Baptist Church (Portland, Or.) (creator)
Finding aid prepared by Geoffrey B.
Wexler, collection processed by Darsee Staley
2007
