Guide to the Belle Hawkes Papers
Open for research.
To browse this collection's digital content visit Pearl.
Sarah Belknap "Belle" Sherwood was born on December 13, 1854 in Ballston, New York. Belle was appointed to the mission in East Persia by the Board of Foreign Missions in 1883. In October 1884, she married the Reverend James W. Hawkes, also of the East Persia Mission. Together they were stationed in Hamadan for 36 years. During their mission work, Belle ministered to the needs of Armenian, Jewish, and Muslem women and children. Her home became a center of missionary service and hospitality to the flow of travelers between Teheran and Baghdad. She died in service on December 4, 1919.
Record Group 116 consists primarily of Sarah Hawkes' outgoing correspondence addressed to her family during her years in Hamadan, and her diaries. It also contains photographs of the East Persia missionaries, including Belle herself, and other miscellaneous items.
SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE, 1872-1919
SERIES 2: DIARIES, 1880-1919
SERIES 3: PHOTOGRAPHS AND OTHER ITEMS, 1872-1969
To browse this collection's digitized content visit Pearl.
The Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College houses a Sarah Belknap "Belle" Sherwood Hawkes collection (Collection 39). The guide to this collection can be found at: https://archives.wheaton.edu/repositories/4/resources/46
Collection processed and finding aid prepared: 1975
Jane Ramsay/Grace Mullen, Assistant Records Researcher
Collection rehoused and finding aid revised: February 1991
Stephanie Muntone, Processing Archivist
| Box | Folder | Description | Alternative Formats |
| 1 | 1 | Finding Aid to Record Group 116 | |
| SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE, 1872-1919 | |||
| 1 | 2 | Correspondence, 1872-1879 | Digital |
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence, primarily outgoing, 1880-1885 | Digital |
| 1 | 4 | Outgoing correspondence, 1887-1889 | Digital |
| 1 | 5 | Correspondence, primarily outgoing, 1892-1895 | Digital |
| 1 | 6 | Correspondence, primarily outgoing, 1897-1901 | Digital |
| 1 | 7 | Condolence letters addressed to Margaret Sherwood, 1919-1920 | Digital |
| SERIES 2: DIARIES, 1880-1919 | |||
| 1 | 8 | Diary, 1880-1913, with some undated | Digital |
| 1 | 9 | Personal items, ca. 1883-1919 | Digital |
| 1 | 10 | Diary, 1899-1903 | Digital |
| 1 | 11 | Diary, 1912 | Digital |
| 1 | 11 | Diary, 1913 | Digital |
| 2 | 12 | Diary, 1890-1895 | Digital |
| 2 | 12 | Diary, 1914 | Digital |
| 2 | 12 | Diary, 1915 | Digital |
| 2 | 12 | Diary, 1916 | Digital |
| 2 | 12 | Diary, 1917 | Digital |
| 2 | 12 | Diary, 1918 | Digital |
| 2 | 12 | Diary, 1919 | Digital |
| SERIES 3: PHOTOGRAPHS AND OTHER ITEMS, 1872-1969 | |||
| 2 | 13 | Photographs, ca. 1872-1919 | Digital |
| 2 | 14 | Biographical items, ca. 1872-1969 | Digital |
| 2 | 15 | Personal items, ca. 1872-1919 | Digital |