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Collection Overview

Creator:
Griffis, William Elliot, 1843-1928
Title:
William Elliot Griffis Collection
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/5q47rn80z
Dates:
1873-1903
Size:
1 box and 0.2 linear feet
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1
Language:
English

Abstract

Consists of correspondence and manuscripts related to the history of the 1859 mission of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. in Japan and the role of James Curtis Hepburn in making it a success, collected by William Elliot Griffis for the purpose of writing a book.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of selected correspondence and manuscripts of William Elliot Griffis about the history of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. mission to Japan in 1859. Griffis collected this material for a book he was publishing about the medical missionary James Curtis Hepburn, his devotion to the Presbyterian Church, and his role and contributions to foreign missionary work and education in China and in Japan, as related to the mission of the Presbyterian Church in U.S.A. (Griffis's Hepburn of Japan and His Wfe and Helpmates: A Life Story of Toil for Christ was published in 1913.) Included are a manuscript essay about the history of the mission to Japan and an autobiographical letter about Hepburn's life, both written by Hepburn and sent to Griffis. There are also several letters from Hepburn to Griffis responding to Griffis's questions about his life history. There is correspondence between Griffis and others who came into contact with Hepburn during his lifetime, including diplomats, church officers, dignitaries, and Hepburn's Japanese students, who were asked to provide information and recollections of him. Other correspondents include the Rev. James H. Ballagh and his daughter, the author Carrie Elizabeth Harrell; Harlan P. Beach; Rev. Thomas Rissel Beeber; Dr. John C. Berry; Varnum Lansing Collins; the Japanese diplomat Count Tadasu Hayashi, who wrote an essay (TMs) about Hepburn; J. C. Hepburn's son, Samuel Hepburn, and his nephew S. B. Hepburn; Robert Elliott Speer of The Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. in New York; John Grier Stockton; Korekiyo Takahashi , the Japanese statesman and financier; and John Crittenden Watson.

Arrangement

Folders are organized by accession number.

Collection Creator Biography:

Griffis, William Elliot, 1843-1928

William Elliot Griffis was an American orientalist, congregational minister, lecturer, and prolific author. He attended Rutgers University at New Brunswick, New Jersey, graduating in 1869. In September 1870 Griffis was invited to Japan by the Fukui Lord Matsudaira Shungaku, for the purpose of organizing schools along modern lines, and, in 1871, he was Superintendent of Education in the province of Echizen. Griffis taught chemistry and physics at Kaisei Gakko (forerunner of Tokyo Imperial University). He prepared the New Japan Series of Reading and Spelling Books (1872) and published primers for Japanese students of the English language. He contributed numerous articles of importance on Japanese affairs to the Japanese press and to newspapers and magazines in the United States. Griffis published Hepburn of Japan and his Wife and Helpmates: A Life Story of Toil for Christ in 1913.

At the age of fourteen James Curtis Hepburn matriculated as a junior in the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) from which he graduated in 1832, earning an A.M. degree in 1835. He attended the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and graduated with an M.D. in 1836. In 1841 Hepburn accepted an assignment from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to work among the Chinese people; in 1859 when Japan opened its ports to American trade, Hepburn requested permission to go and work there. In the years that Hepburn served as a medical missionary he aided in the growth of both the Protestant Church and the medical profession in Japan. He was honored by his colleagues in Japan and in the United States for his contributions to lexicography and education, and was awarded "The Third Order of Merit of the Rising Sun" for services to spiritual and educational causes in Japan by the Japanese Emperor Mitsuhito.

Collection History

Acquisition:

The material was a gift of William Elliot Griffis in November 1918 .

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

Folder inventory added by Nicholas Williams '2015 in 2012.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

William Elliot Griffis Collection; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/5q47rn80z
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1