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Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider family papers, 1911-2016
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Schneider, Gilbert D.
- Title
- Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider family papers
- Dates
- 1911-2016 (inclusive)19112016
1938-2016 (bulk)19382016 - Quantity
- 4.35 cubic feet, (2 legal document cases; 6 letter document cases; 1 record carton; 1 oversize folder)
- Collection Number
- Coll 570
- Summary
- Papers and photographs relating to the Schneider family. Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider were Oregonians who worked as missionaries in Cameroon from 1945 to 1961.
- 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
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Gilbert Schneider was born in Dallas, Oregon, in 1920. That same year, Mildred Voth was born in Salt Creek, Oregon. Both were descended from Russian-German (Volga German) immigrants. They met in high school, and after they had both completed college, they married in 1944.
In 1946, Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider were sponsored by the North American Baptist Commission as missionaries to western Africa. They worked in the Mambilla region of Cameroon, and during the 1950s built and managed New Hope Settlement, a hospital for leprosy patients in Mbingo, Cameroon. In 1961, the Schneiders returned to the United States, where Gilbert Schneider began graduate studies.
After their official resignation from missionary service in 1963, the Schneiders moved to Athens, Ohio, where Gilbert Schneider taught linguistics and African Studies at Ohio University, and Mildred Schneider worked as a registered nurse at the Ohio State Mental Hospital. In 1982, the Schneiders retired and moved back to Oregon.
Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider had three children: Evan Schneider, Mary Alice Schneider, and Linda Schneider. Mary Alice Schneider, the only one of the children born in the United States, died at sea in 1952. Gilbert Schneider died in 1999; Mildred Schneider died in 2016.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection contains the papers and photographs of the Schneider family. The majority of the collection's contents are letters and records from Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider's time as Baptist missionaries in Cameroon, as well as letters from other missionaries to the Schneiders. The collection also contains biographical sketches of Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider; articles written by and about them; their diplomas and credentials; notes made for religious study in the 1980s; and the genealogy of Mildred Schneider's family, the Voths. In addition to several family photographs, the collection contains slides taken at the 1996 centennial celebration of Mildred Schneider's hometown, Salt Creek, Oregon, and a scrapbook put together for the Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider's 50th wedding anniversary in 1994.
Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top
Collection was titled "Schneider family collection" prior to 2021.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider family papers, Coll 570, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in five series: Series 1. Biographical, education, and genealogical records; Series 2. Missionary work in Africa; Series 3. Post-missionary work papers; Series 4. Writings by Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider; Series 5. Other Schneider family papers.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series 1: Biographical, education, and genealogical records, 1911-2016Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Biographical and education information about Gilbert Schneider |
1999; undated |
| 1 | 2 | Gilbert Schneider passports and vaccination forms |
1946-1979 |
| 1 | 3-4 | Gilbert Schneider diplomas |
1938-1946; 1967-1972 |
| 1 | 5 | Unsorted Mildred Schneider papers |
1934-2016 |
| 1 | 6 | Nursing education and career papers of Mildred Schneider |
1942-1981 |
| 1 | 7 | Mildred Schneider diplomas |
1938-1944 |
| 1 | 8 | Genealogical research on Voth family, including family tree |
undated |
| Folder | |||
| Oversize 1 | Certificates |
1911-1916; 1945 | |
Series 2: Missionary work in Africa, 1945-1962Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
Subseries 1: Mildred Schneider personal papers |
1946-1961 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 2 | 1-16 | Letters to family |
1946-1961 |
| 8 | 12-21 | Transcriptions of letters to family from 1952-1961 |
undated |
| 5 | 1 | Diaries |
1947-1948 |
| 5 | 2 | Diaries and calendars |
1949 |
| 5 | 3-5 | Calendars |
1951-1961 |
Subseries 2: Official correspondence and administrative records |
1951-1961 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 3 | 1-6 | Correspondence and invoices; material related to Gilbert Schneider's research in anthropology and linguistics |
1951-1956 |
| 4 | 1-7 | Correspondence and invoices; material related to Gilbert Schneider's research in anthropology and linguistics |
1956-1961 |
| 6 | 1 | Quarterly reports |
1953-1961 |
Subseries 3: Publications and ephemera |
circa 1945-1962 | ||
| Box | Folder | ||
| 6 | 2 | Program for "A Serious Problem," event where Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider spoke |
1946 September |
| 6 | 3 | Booklets: "Now We Are Twenty-Two"; "Go: Christian in Cameroons" |
circa 1945; 1957 |
| 6 | 4 | Photographs, brochure, and article about Bamenda New Hope Settlement |
undated |
| 6 | 5 | Issues of "Junior Mission Material" |
1960-1962 |
| 6 | 6 | Reports and brochure about African missions |
1961 |
Series 3: Post-missionary work papers, 1962-1989Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 6 | 7 | Mildred Schneider calendar |
1962 |
| 6 | 8-13 | Correspondence |
1962-1967 |
| 7 | 1-3 | Correspondence |
1968-1970 |
| 7 | 4 | Correspondence |
1986-1987 |
| 7 | 5 | Notes on Christianity labeled "Lesson Outlines" |
undated |
| 7 | 6-9 | Notes on Christianity labeled "Lesson Outlines" |
1983-1987 |
| 7 | 10 | Mildred Schneider calendar with family photographs and artwork by grandchildren |
1989 |
| 9 | 50th wedding anniversary scrapbook |
1994 |
Series 4: Writings by Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider, 1949-2000Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 7 | 11 | Article drafts and issues of "Baptist Herald" |
1947-1948 |
| 7 | 12 | "200 Sweet Truths from Africa," by Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider |
1986 |
| 7 | 13 | "The Friendship Cup: Memories of Mambila," by Mildred Schneider |
1988 |
| 8 | 1 | Book about Africa by Gilbert Schneider for Morgan Schneider for birthday |
1988 |
| 8 | 2 | Mildred Schneider reminiscences about her first year in Africa |
1997 |
| 8 | 3 | Articles about Bamenda New Hope Settlement by Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider |
2000; undated |
| 8 | 4 | Book with biographical sketch of Gilbert Schneider and Mildred Schneider and their missionary work, "Heroes of the Faith, Volume II" |
2006 |
| 8 | 5 | Volume of Pidgin English proverbs by Gilbert Schneider |
undated |
| 8 | 6 | Book of African recipes by Mildred Schneider |
1963 |
Series 5: Other Schneider family papers, 1940-2000Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 8 | 7 | Gilbert Schneider's copy of National Music Week program, autographed by Leslie Hodge |
1940 |
| 8 | 8 | Newspaper clippings |
1945-1964; 2000 |
| 8 | 9 | Evan Schneider letter to grandparents (photocopy) |
1960 |
| 8 | 10 | Birth certificate and narrative in Pidgin English |
undated |
| 8 | 11 | Book by James Yingpeh Tong, "African Art in the Mambila Collection of Gilbert D. Schneider" |
1967 |
| 8 | 22 | Family photographs |
circa 1950-2000 |
| 8 | 23 | Salt Creek Centennial celebration slides |
1996 July 20 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Missionaries--Cameroon
Personal Names
- Schneider, Gilbert D.
- Schneider, Mildred, 1920-2016
Family Names
- Schneider family
Form or Genre Terms
- administrative records
- correspondence
