Guide to the Kenneth E. Wells and Margaretta B. Wells Papers

Descriptive Summary

Title

Kenneth E. Wells and Margaretta B. Wells Papers

Inclusive Dates

circa 1859-2000

Call Number

RG 268

Creator(s)

Wells, Kenneth Elmer, 1896-1981.

Wells, Margaretta B., 1902-1999.

Quantity

11.08 cubic feet (18 boxes)

Language

Materials primarily in English with some material in Thai

Restrictions on Access

Open for research.

Digital Content

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Repository

Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 USA

Biographical Note / Administrative History

Biographical Note

Kenneth E. Wells was born in Muskegon, Michigan, on December 17, 1896, the eldest son of Paris E. Wells and Hattie O. Nelson Wells. During World War I, he served in the Army Medical Corps. After receiving a B.A. in 1923 from Jamestown College in North Dakota, he taught school for one year in Souris, North Dakota. In 1927, he received a B.D. from McCormick Theological Seminary and a M.A. from the University of Chicago Divinity School.

On June 16, 1926, Wells was ordained in Jamestown, North Dakota, by the Presbytery of Fargo-Oakes of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (PCUSA). Two days later, he married college classmate Mary Margaretta Burr in Rugby, North Dakota. She was born in Bottineau, North Dakota, on May 15, 1902, to Alexander George Burr (who served on the North Dakota Supreme Court from 1926 to 1949) and Josephine Carothers Burr. She graduated in 1923 with a B.A. in English from Jamestown College and received an M.A. in English from the University of Michigan in 1924.

In March 1927, the Wellses were commissioned as missionaries by the Board of Foreign Missions of the PCUSA and appointed to the Siam Mission as teachers in Chiang Mai, northern Siam (now Thailand). They arrived in Bangkok in October of the same year and commenced with Thai language study. Kru Tardt, their instructor, and Kenneth and Margaret Landon, missionary colleagues and fellow language school students, became the Wellses’ lifelong friends. Margaret Landon went on to write the historical novel, Anna and the King of Siam, published in 1944. By August 1928, the Wellses were in Chiang Mai at Prince Royal’s College, a school for boys. In addition to their teaching duties, Kenneth Wells did evangelistic work in villages and chaired the Siam Mission Educational Committee from 1933 to 1937. Margaretta Wells tutored the daughter of the Viceroy of the Northern Provinces and edited a quarterly mission publication, the Siam Outlook, for most of the 1930s. It was during this time, that the Wellses met fellow missionaries and lifelong friends Henry R. O'Brien and his wife, Mary Lou O’Brien. The O’Briens were stationed in Chiang Mai, and Dr. O’Brien was on the staff of the mission hospital.

In 1938 the Wellses returned with their children, Roberta Catherine (born in Chiang Mai in 1933) and Kenneth Alexander Burr (born in Chiang Mai in 1935), to the United States on their second furlough. Kenneth Wells completed resident work on his doctorate at Columbia University and received the degree in 1940 after the 1939 publication of his Ph.D. dissertation, Thai Buddhism: Its Rites and Activities, in Bangkok.

In 1940, the Board of Foreign Missions confirmed Kenneth Wells’s election as station treasurer and, with the retirement of William Harris, he became headmaster of Prince Royal’s College. However, Wells and his family were forced to flee from the invading Japanese in December 1941, going first to Burma. From Burma they were evacuated to Calcutta and then to Allahabad, India, where Kenneth Wells taught at Ewing Christian College. In September 1942, Margaretta Wells and the children returned to the United States, where they resided in Bismarck, North Dakota.

After Kenneth Wells returned to the United States in June 1943, the Wells family relocated to Arlington, Virginia. As a senior research analyst in the Southern Asia Section (Far East Division, Research and Analysis Branch) of the Office of Strategic Services, Wells worked the Thai desk. He became section chief in 1945. In October of the same year, the Research and Analysis Branch was transferred to the Department of State. Wells took leave of his section in November to prepare for his return to the mission field in Thailand.

In March 1946, Kenneth Wells returned to Chiang Mai. He reopened Prince Royal’s College and resumed his position as headmaster. In July he received two decorations, the Santimala and the Order of the White Elephant, from the Thai government for his wartime services and educational work. In February 1947, Margaretta Wells and the children joined him at Prince Royal’s College. The Wellses hosted many guests including church and government officials. In addition to her work at Prince Royal’s College and Dara Academy, Margaretta Wells set up a home school for Roberta and Kenneth and several other children using the Calvert Correspondence System in Baltimore and later the American School System from Chicago.

In 1951, the Wells family returned to the United States on furlough and, in the following year, the Board of Foreign Missions granted the Wellses a leave of absence from the Thai mission field. From 1951 to 1953, Kenneth Wells served as an intelligence research specialist in the Southern Areas Branch (Division of Research for the Far East) of the Department of State. During this period, Margaretta Wells wrote articles which appeared in American Girl and National Geographic.

In 1953, Kenneth Wells returned to the mission field in Thailand and was stationed in Bangkok. He served as the director of the new Christian Education and Literature Department of the Church of Christ in Thailand. (Established in 1934, the CCT is the national Protestant church.) Wells oversaw the move of the department into the new church headquarters building in Bangkok, assembled and supervised a staff of Thai writers and editors, oversaw the opening of Christian bookstores, supervised and edited church publications, and wrote The History of the Protestant Work in Thailand, 1828-1958. He also served on the Thai Bible Revision Committee. From 1965 until his retirement in June 1967, Wells was the Acting Commission Representative in Thailand for the Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations (COEMAR) of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

From 1954 until his graduation from Macalester College in 1956, Margaretta Wells lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her son. She arrived in Bangkok in June 1956. She taught English at Wattana Wittaya Academy and worked at the Christian Bookstore. During this period, she wrote several books including the popular guide books to Bangkok and Chiang Mai. She was active in church and community organizations. As a member of the American Women’s Club of Thailand, she served as president for the program year 1966-1967. She also served on the board of the Thai Cancer Society. While living in Bangkok, the Wellses entertained many tourists as well as visiting friends and fellow workers.

Following the Wellses’ retirement from missionary service in 1967, they moved to Newport News, Virginia, where they led active lives. From 1970 to 1976, Kenneth Wells served as an intermittent chaplain at the Veterans Administration Center in Hampton, Virginia. In 1968, he wrote his unpublished career memoirs (“Thailand Story”). Margaretta Wells continued writing; speaking in churches, high schools, and to women’s groups; and giving lectures. In 1974 and 1976, she made presentations to the Thai Committee of Washington of the Asia Society. During these years, the Wellses maintained contact with their missionary and Thai friends through correspondence and reciprocating visits.

Kenneth Wells died in Newport News on December 1, 1981. Margaretta Wells died in Newport News on December 26, 1999. Their memorial services were held at Hidenwood Presbyterian Church, Newport News, where they had been active members.

Collection Overview

The Kenneth E. Wells and Margaretta B. Wells Papers document the couple’s life and work, particularly their missionary service to Thailand, as well as their family. From 1927 to 1967, the Wellses served under the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and the Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations (COEMAR) of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. With the dissolution of the Thailand Mission in 1957, the Wellses became fraternal workers in Thailand with the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT), representing the UPCUSA.

The collection’s correspondence, writings, photographs, and other materials document the Wellses’ missionary work, life, and family in Thailand, including the family’s escape when Japanese forces invaded in December 1941, as well as their interests in Thai culture and the history of Protestant mission work in Thailand. Also documented are Kenneth Wells’s service with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II and the Department of State from 1951 to 1953, and his expertise on Thai Buddhism. The papers document Prince Royal’s College and other educational institutions, the Church of Christ in Thailand, Thai Christians, and the Wellses’ friendships with fellow missionaries, Thai friends, and colleagues. The collection also documents the Wellses’ post-missionary years in Newport News, Virginia.

The collection consists of eleven series: personal material; correspondence; reports; biographical, historical, and subject material; writings and related correspondence and material; photographs and negatives; slides; photograph albums; scrapbooks; drawings and related textual material; and audio-visual material.

The personal series, 1926-2000, features clippings primarily concerning the Wellses and their children, Roberta and Kenneth; certificates of appreciation and citations as well as clergy, missionary, travel, residential, and birth certificates for the Wellses; assorted material documenting Kenneth E. Wells’s service with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II and the Department of State in the early 1950s; and invitations, programs, orders of worship, cards, and ephemera. It also includes biographical sketches of the Wellses and Margaretta Wells’s autobiographical reminiscences re-worked into a first person account by Roberta Wells Rogers in 2000.

The correspondence series comprises five subseries: Wells family, 1915-1987; supporting churches, 1927-1970; chronological, 1927, 1933, 1941-1995; missionary friends and colleagues 1932-1995; and Thai friends and colleagues, 1945-1989. The bulk of the Wells family correspondence consists of Kenneth E. Wells’s letters to his wife. The letters are primarily from two periods of separation: February 1946 to January 1947 and September 1953 to May 1956. The bulk of Margaretta Wells’s letters to her husband are from July 1942 to March 1943. The letters of Kenneth A.B. Wells to his parents are primarily from 1963 to 1967. Also included is correspondence between Margaretta Wells and her father, A.G. Burr, and between Kenneth E. Wells and his mother, Hattie Nelson Wells Henry.

The supporting churches subseries consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence each arranged chronologically. The bulk of the correspondence consists of Kenneth E. Wells’s outgoing letters to supporting churches from 1927 to 1967. The chronological subseries consists primarily of assorted incoming correspondence to the Wellses and some interfiled outgoing correspondence. A portion of the correspondence is work related and correspondents include the Board of Foreign Missions, COEMAR, other national office staff, and Horace W. Ryburn of the Thailand field office.

The missionary friends and colleagues subseries consists of three groups of correspondence. The first group consists of correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent’s last name. The inclusive date for all correspondence is 1932 to 1995. The second and third groups comprise the Wells/Landon correspondence and the Wells/O’Brien correspondence, respectively. The Wells/Landon correspondence, 1935-1990, documents the lifelong friendship between the Wellses and Kenneth (1903-1993) and Margaret (1903-1993) Landon, as well as documenting their families. The correspondence consists of original and carbon copies of incoming and outgoing correspondence arranged chronologically. Files from 1966 to 1986 include photographs, clippings, writings, and other materials enclosed with the original correspondence from the Wellses to the Landons. The Wells/O’Brien correspondence, 1931-1970, documents the friendship between the Wellses and Henry (1891-1970) and Mary Lou (1896-1984) O’Brien. The correspondence consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence, interfiled chronologically, the bulk of which consists of the Wellses’ original letters, particularly those of Kenneth Wells to Henry O’Brien.

The Thai friends and colleagues correspondence, 1945-1989, is arranged alphabetically by correspondent’s last name. The most extensive correspondence is from the Wellses’ lifelong friend, Kru Tardt (Tardt Pradipasena). Other correspondents include the Reverend Charoon Wichaidist and Koson Srisang, who served as general secretaries of the Church of Christ in Thailand.

The report series consists primarily of Kenneth E. Wells’s reports for Prince Royal’s College, 1946-1947, 1951; the first installment of his 1958 report on his trip to Central and South America; his 1964 personal report and 1966 Thailand narrative report; and Margaretta Wells’s 1960s personal reports.

The biographical, historical, and subject material series is arranged alphabetically and dates from 1878 to 1996. The series consists primarily of assorted biographical material documenting missionaries to Thailand; the foreign community in Thailand; and Thais, Thai Christians, and Thai royalty. Also included are assorted historical material and the Wellses’ annotated copy of the 1928 Historical Sketch of Protestant Missions in Siam, 1828-1928.

The writings and related correspondence and material series comprises three subseries: Kenneth E. Wells, 1920s-1991; Margaretta B. Wells, 1936-1995; and other authors, 1935-1988. The material in all three subseries is interfiled alphabetically by title, topic, and type of material.

The photographs and negatives series comprises five subseries: missionaries and Thai Christians, circa 1890-1987; institutions, circa 1900-1981; chronological, 1893, 1900s-1990s; oversize images, circa 1859-1964; and negatives, circa 1948-1950, 1969, 1987. The first subseries consists primarily of photographs of missionaries and missionary families who served in Thailand. They are arranged alphabetically by last name and includes group photographs of mission meetings, Thai Christians, and Christian workers. The second subseries primarily documents educational institutions including Aroon Pradist School, Bangkok Christian College, Dara Academy, Prince Royal’s College, Thailand Theological Seminary, and Wang Lang School. Other photographs document the Leper asylum in Chiang Mai, McCormick Hospital and School of Nursing, and the Church of Christ in Thailand. The images are arranged alphabetically by the name of the institution. A portion has identifying information and some are undated. The largest group of photographs document Prince Royal’s College, particularly the February 1948 visit of U.S. Ambassador Edwin F. Stanton and the March 1958 visit of King Phumibol Rama IX and Queen Sirkit. The largest subseries consists of photographs arranged chronologically by decade and undated. The majority have identifying information. The photographs primarily document: Kenneth E. and Margaretta Wells, their children, and other Wells, Burr, and Carothers family members; mission work and missionaries; Thai Christians; the Church of Christ in Thailand; churches; educational and medical institutions; the Thai royal family; the Thai people; weddings; architecture; Buddhists and temples; and Chiang Mai and Bangkok. The oversize images are arranged alphabetically by description and are primarily portraits, missionary group photographs, and class pictures. The negatives are mostly unidentified and undated.

The slide series includes a collection of images, 1948-1971, of Chiang Mai, the Department of Christian Literature of the CCT, Bangkok Christian College, Wattana Wittaya Academy, Petchaburi, Chiang Rai, and churches. Additional slides are of Kenneth E. Wells’s 84th birthday in December 1980 and his memorial service on December 7, 1981.

The photograph albums series primarily documents the Wellses’ April 1930 journey to Baptist missions at Loi Mwe and Keng Tung in eastern Burma; their April 1931 journey to the Presbyterian mission station at Chiang Rung (Kiulungkiang) in the Yunnan Province of South China; their 1931 travels through the Middle East, Europe, and Britain en route to New York; Kenneth E. Wells’s April 1935 journey to Chiang Rung (Kiulungkiang) and Keng Tung; and family, missionary colleagues, friends, and Thai scenes. These albums have some identifying information. The 1960s albums feature the Wellses in Thailand. The photographs are mounted on self-adhesive pages that have no identifying information. Some images are loose, and most have identifying information on the reverse side.

The scrapbook series consists of material concerning the film, play, and stage musical versions of Margaret Landon’s 1944 historical novel, Anna and the King of Siam; the American Women’s Club of Thailand and Margaretta Wells’s 1966-1967 presidency; and letters, remembrances, anecdotes, words of appreciation, and photographs from friends and missionary colleagues to the Wellses on their retirement from missionary service.

The drawings series consists of circa 1930s colored and black and white pencil drawings, that depict scenes typical of rural northern Siam by Evalee Skinner Proctor, a friend and missionary colleague (Siam Mission, 1928-1933) of the Wellses.

The audio-visual material series includes two audio interviews of Margaretta Wells. A 1967 interview focuses on the family’s December 1941 journey of escape from Thailand, their arrival in the United States, and the war years in Washington D.C. An undated interview focuses on the Wellses’ October 1927 arrival in Bangkok; missionary colleagues and Thai friends; events; and Thai people, culture, and religion. A circa 1972 audio cassette letter from Ray Downs to the Wellses primarily concerns Chiang Mai, the Church of Christ in Thailand and church issues, and mutual friends. The series also includes a circa 1930s Wells family home movie, filmed in Thailand.

Organization and Arrangement

Alternative Formats

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Catalog Headings

Personal Name Subject

Wells, Kenneth Elmer, 1896-1981.

Wells, Margaretta B., 1902-1999.

Wells, Kenneth A. B., 1935-

Landon, Kenneth Perry, 1903-1993.

Landon, Margaret, 1903-1993.

O'Brien, Henry R. (Henry Rust), 1891-1970.

O'Brien, Mary Lou (Mary Lucretia), 1896-1984.

Rogers, Roberta Wells, 1933-

Landon family.

Wells family.

Corporate Subject

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Siam Mission.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Thailand Mission.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Yunnan Mission.

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Thailand Mission.

Prince Royal's College (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

Wang Lang-Wattana Wittaya Academy (Bangkok, Thailand)

Church of Christ in Thailand.

Bangkok Christian College.

Topical Subject

Buddhism--Thailand.

Missionaries--Thailand.

Women missionaries--Thailand.

Presbyterian Church--Missions--Thailand.

Geographic Subject

Thailand--Description and travel.

Thailand--Missions.

Thailand--Social life and customs.

Thailand--Kings and rulers.

Genre-form

Correspondence. aat

Photograph albums. aat

Photographs. aat

Writings (documents) aat

Personal Added Name

Landon, Margaret, 1903-1993.

Proctor, Evalee, 1898-1991.

Wells, Kenneth Elmer, 1896-1981.

Wells, Margaretta B., 1902-1999.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description	Alternative Formats

1	1	Guide to Record Group 268

		SERIES I: PERSONAL, 1926-2000

1	2	Autobiographical/biographical material, 1956-1963, 2000, undated
1	3	Book inventory and Christmas card list, circa 1964, 1969
1	4	Certificates of appreciation and citations, 1947-1984
1	5	Clergy, missionary, travel, residential, and birth certificates, 1926, 1933-1967
1	6	Clippings, 1930, 1942-1979, 1991, 1999
1	7	Invitations, programs, worship services, cards, and ephemera, 1937-1938, 1947-1967
1	8	Invitations, programs, worship services, cards, and ephemera, 1970-1981, 2000, undated
1	9	Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Department of State material, 1942-1946, 1951-1953
1	10	“Welcome” card from Prince Royal’s College to the Wells family, 1947 February 27

		SERIES II: CORRESPONDENCE, 1915-1995

		Subseries 1: Wells family, 1915-1987

1	11	Between A.G. Burr and Margaretta Burr/Wells, 1915-1916, 1935, 1942-1950, undated (bulk 1946-1950)
1	12	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta Burr, 1923-mid-1920s
1	13	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1942-1946 (bulk 1946 February-May)
1	14	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1946 June-1947 January
1	15	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1953 September-December
1	16	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1954 January-May
1	17	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1954 June-August
1	18	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1954 Sept.-December
1	19	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1955 January-May
1	20	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1955 June-November
1	21	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1956 January-May
1	22	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1959 August-Oct
1	23	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1962-1967
1	24	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, 1977 June-August
1	25	Wells, Kenneth E. to Margaretta B. Wells, fragments, undated
1	26	Wells, Margaretta B. to Kenneth E. Wells, 1940-1943, 1949 (bulk 1942-1943)
1	27	Wells, Kenneth E. to Earl P. Wells, 1942 November 22
1	28	Between Alexander C. and Lillie Burr and Kenneth E. and Margaretta B. Wells, (includes an undated letter from Henry and Louise Bucher to the Burrs), 1943, 1970-1979, undated
1	29	Between Hattie Nelson Wells Henry and Kenneth E. Wells, 1945-1946, 1953-1954, undated
1	30	Burr, A.G. to Kenneth E. Wells, 1946 January 30, 1947 December 9
1	31	Wells, Kenneth A.B. to Kenneth E. and/or Margaretta B. Wells, 1953-1965 (bulk 1963-1965)
1	32	Wells, Kenneth A.B. or Roberta C. Wells (Mrs. Calvin E. Hunt) to Kenneth E. and/or Margaretta B. Wells, 1966-1982 (bulk 1966-1967)
1	33	Wells, Kenneth E. or Margaretta B. to Kenneth A.B. Wells or Roberta C. Wells, 1956-1972
1	34	Pinckney, May to Kenneth E. Wells, 1957-1965 (bulk 1962-1965)
1	35	Other relatives to Margaretta B. Wells, 1962, 1981, 1987

		Subseries 2: Supporting churches, 1927-1970

1	36	Incoming to Kenneth E. Wells, 1927, 1943-1970
1	37	Outgoing from Kenneth E. Wells, 1927-1929
1	38	Outgoing from Kenneth E. Wells, 1930-1934
1	39	Outgoing from Kenneth E. Wells, 1935-1939
1	40	Outgoing from Kenneth E. Wells, 1940-1946
1	41	Outgoing from Kenneth E. Wells, 1947-1949
1	42	Outgoing from Kenneth E. Wells, 1950-1959
1	43	Outgoing from Kenneth E. Wells, 1960-1967

		Subseries 3: Chronological, 1927, 1933, 1941-1995

1	44	1927, 1933, 1941-1945
1	45	1946-1948
1	46	1949-1955
1	47	1956-1958
1	48	1959-1962
1	49	1963-1964
1	50	1965-1966
1	51	1967

2	1	1968-1970
2	2	1971-1979
2	3	1980-1995, undated

		Subseries 4: Missionary friends and colleagues, 1932-1995

2	4	A-B, 1946-1987
2	5	C-G, 1932-1995
2	6	H, 1942-1983
2	7	J-P, 1935-1993
2	8	R-Y, 1943-1989
2	9	Wells/Landon, 1935-1945
2	10	Wells/Landon, 1946
2	11	Wells/Landon, 1946-1959
2	12	Wells/Landon, 1947-1949
2	13	Wells/Landon, 1950-1953
2	14	Wells/Landon, 1954 January-June
2	15	Wells/Landon, 1954 July-December
2	16	Wells/Landon, 1955
2	17	Wells/Landon, 1956-1957
2	18	Wells/Landon, 1958-1959
2	19	Wells/Landon, 1960, February-April
2	20	Wells/Landon, 1960, April-November
2	21	Wells/Landon, 1960, February-November
2	22	Wells/Landon, 1961-1963
2	23	Wells/Landon, 1961-1963
2	24	Wells/Landon, 1964
2	25	Wells/Landon, 1964-1966
2	26	Wells/Landon, 1965-1966
2	27	Wells/Landon, 1966
2	28	Wells/Landon, 1967
2	29	Wells/Landon, 1967
2	30	Wells/Landon, 1967
2	31	Wells/Landon, 1968
2	32	Wells/Landon, 1968
2	33	Wells/Landon, 1968

3	1	Wells/Landon, 1969
3	2	Wells/Landon, 1969
3	3	Wells/Landon, 1969
3	4	Wells/Landon, 1970
3	5	Wells/Landon, 1970
3	6	Wells/Landon, 1970
3	7	Wells/Landon, 1971
3	8	Wells/Landon, 1971
3	9	Wells/Landon, 1971
3	10	Wells/Landon, 1972
3	11	Wells/Landon, 1972
3	12	Wells/Landon, 1972
3	13	Wells/Landon, 1973
3	14	Wells/Landon, 1973
3	15	Wells/Landon, 1974
3	16	Wells/Landon, 1974
3	17	Wells/Landon, 1974
3	18	Wells/Landon, 1975
3	19	Wells/Landon, 1975
3	20	Wells/Landon, 1975
3	21	Wells/Landon, 1976
3	22	Wells/Landon, 1976
3	23	Wells/Landon, 1976
3	24	Wells/Landon, 1977
3	25	Wells/Landon, 1977
3	26	Wells/Landon, 1977
3	27	Wells/Landon, 1978
3	28	Wells/Landon, 1978-1979
3	29	Wells/Landon, 1979
3	30	Wells/Landon, 1980
3	31	Wells/Landon, 1980
3	32	Wells/Landon, 1981
3	33	Wells/Landon, 1981
3	34	Wells/Landon, 1982
3	35	Wells/Landon, 1982-1985
3	36	Wells/Landon, 1983
3	37	Wells/Landon, 1984-1985
3	38	Wells/Landon, 1984-1985

4	1	Wells/Landon, 1986
4	2	Wells/Landon, 1986
4	3	Wells/Landon, 1986-1990
4	4	Wells/Landon, undated
4	5	Landon third party, 1943, 1946, 1958
4	6	Wells/O’Brien, 1931-1939
4	7	Wells/O’Brien, 1940-1949
4	8	Wells/O’Brien, 1950-1959
4	9	Wells/O’Brien, 1960-1970

		Subseries 5: Thai friends and colleagues, 1945-1989

4	10	Chailangkarn, Muak, 1946, 1954-1980	Digital*
4	11	Gunanukara (Gunanukorn), Suty, 1962-1982
4	12	Kuvanond, Prapit, 1968-1969, 1975-1983
4	13	Nivat, Dhani (Prince, grandson of Mongkut, King of Siam), 1947-1967, undated
4	14	Pradipasena, Tardt (Kru Tardt), 1945, 1964-1969
4	15	Pradipasena, Tardt (Kru Tardt), 1970
4	16	Pradipasena, Tardt (Kru Tardt), 1971-1973
4	17	Pradipasena, Tardt (Kru Tardt), 1974-1976
4	18	Pradipasena, Tardt (Kru Tardt) and third party correspondence re Kru Tardt’s death, 1977-1978, undated
4	19	Saligupta, Kua, 1970-1989
4	20	Singhanet, Chinda, 1960-1964, 1972-1976	Digital*
4	21	Srisang, Koson and Wannee (Wuttithamrong) Srisang, 1963-1988, undated
4	22	Srisang, Wannee and daughters; includes related Kua Saligupta letters, 1985 February-March
4	23	Wichaidist, Charoon, Tawee, and Wipa, 1956-1984

		SERIES III: REPORTS, 1946-1967

4	24	Reports, 1946-1967

		SERIES IV: BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, AND SUBJECT MATERIAL, 1878-1996

4	25	Annotated copy of the 1928 Historical Sketch of Protestant Missions in Siam, 1828-1928
4	26	Bibliographies and book list re Thailand, 1966-1967, undated
4	27-28	Biographical and historical material (includes loose material removed from the annotated history), 1901-1996, undated
4	29	Biographical material re foreign community in Thailand, 1958-1970, undated
4	30	Biographical material re missionaries, 1940-1992, undated
4	31	Biographical material re Thais/Thai Christians/Thai royalty, 1947, 1957-circa 1968, 1978-1981, undated
4	32	Church of Christ in Thailand, 1934, 1960s, 1974-1979, undated
4	33	Cole, Edna S. and Wang Lang-Wattana Wittaya Academy (includes photographs and photographic postcards), 1878-1945, undated
4	34	Cort, Edwin C. and Mabel (includes photographs), 1935-1968, undated
4	35	Landon, Kenneth and Margaret (includes photographs), circa 1928-1995, undated
4	36	McKean family (includes photographs) and McKean Leprosy Hospital, Chiang Mai, Thailand, circa 1900-1984
4	37	Margaretta B. Wells’s research visit to the Oberlin College library and research notes regarding Dan Beach Bradley and family, 1963

5	1	O’Brien, Henry R. and Mary Lou (includes photographs), circa 1940s, 1952, 1969-1988
5	2	Prince Royal’s College, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1946-1951, 1969, undated
5	3	Proctor, Thomas M. and Evalee, 1943-1991, undated (bulk 1988-1991)
5	4	Ryburn, Horace W., 1976, 1993
5	5	The Princess Mother (Princess Sangwal Mahidol) and the Thai royal family (includes photographs), circa early 1930s-1996, undated

		SERIES V: WRITINGS AND RELATED CORRESPONDENCE AND MATERIAL, 1920S-1995

		Subseries 1: Kenneth E. Wells, 1920s-1991

5	6	Addresses, lectures, notes, outlines, and other writings, 1946-1959
5	7	Addresses, lectures, notes, outlines, and other writings, circa 1960-1965
5	8	Addresses, lectures, notes, outlines, and other writings, 1966-1974, undated
5	9	Book reviews and related correspondence, 1947-1977
5	10	Correspondence and other material regarding Thai Buddhism, Its Rites and Activities and copy of 1960 edition, 1943-1991
5	11	Correspondence, research notes and bibliographies, and typescript copies of articles for the Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, 1960-1962
5	12	“Flight from Thailand,” Asia and the Americas, 1943 February
5	12	“Flight from Thailand” and “The Evacuation from Thailand” (typescripts), undated
5	13	“The Grand Trunk Road,” “Of Shrines and Sites,” and “Buddhagaya” (typescripts), circa 1942-circa 1943
5	14	History of Protestant Work in Thailand, 1828-1958 and related correspondence and material, 1959-1963, 1979, undated
5	15-16	“History of Protestant Work in Thailand, 1828-1966” revised/second edition (typescript with corrections and additions) and related correspondence, 1967-1968, 1976-1977
5	17	“Into China on Horseback, 1931” and “Before the Bamboo Curtain” (typescripts), 1977, undated
5	18	“Kru Sri Moh of Thailand” a story in Unforgettable Disciples, 1942
5	19-20	“The Land of Golden Merit” (typescript), 1943
5	21	“Let Us Remember” (typescripts) and related correspondence and material, 1977, undated
5	22	The Meaning of Baptism, 1964
5	23	“My Boyhood Recollections” (typescript), 1973
5	24	Obituary, memorial minute, and anniversary tribute, 1970-1972
5	25	Poetry, 1920s, 1942-1943, 1962
5	26	“The Prince and the Wall” (typescript and published story in One World A-Building) and related correspondence and material, 1945-1946

6	1	Published articles and anecdote, circa 1928-1965, undated
6	2	“The Story of Koson Srisang: The General Secretary of the Church of Christ in Thailand” and related typescripts, 1976, undated
6	3	“Thailand Story” (first draft typescript), 1968
6	4	“Thailand Story” (typescript and notes), 1968
6	5	Theravada Buddhism and Protestant Christianity (Sinclair Thompson Memorial Lectures, Second Series), Thailand Theological Seminary, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1963
6	6	Typescript re late sixteenth century letters from the King of Cambodia to the Head of the Franciscan Order in Malacca, 1960
6	7-8	Typescript (working copies) for Thailand narrative, undated

		Subseries 2: Margaretta B. Wells, 1936-1995

6	9	Anecdotes, 1955, 1974-1982, 1992, undated
6	10	Articles and related correspondence and/or material, 1944-1946
6	11	Articles and related correspondence and/or material, 1950-1952
6	12	Articles and related correspondence and/or material, 1952-1953
6	13	Articles and related correspondence and/or material, 1960-1966
6	14	Articles and related correspondence and/or material, 1968
6	15	Articles and related correspondence and/or material, 1972-1990, undated
6	16	Book reviews and reading list, 1965-1970
6	17	Collected material, circa 1955-1957, undated
6	18	Correspondence and related material re writing projects, manuscript, and essay contest, 1960-1963, 1987-1991
6	19	Ghost writings, undated
6	20	Guidebooks to Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand, material for COEMAR tourist guidebook, guidebook for Thai exchange students (typescript working copy), and related correspondence and material, 1958-1968, 1976, undated
6	21	Historical sketch on Bangkok Christian College and related correspondence, 1969
6	22-23	History of Bangkok Christian College material, circa late 1960s-circa early 1970s
6	24	“International Debt” (typescripts), circa early to mid-1950s, undated
6	25	Manuscripts and typescripts, 1985, undated

7	1	1974 presentation to the Thai Committee of Washington of the Asia Society on“American Life in Siam During the Third and Fourth Reigns (1824-1868)” and related correspondence and material, 1974, undated
7	2	1974 Wang Lang-Wattana Wittaya Academy centennial material, 1968, 1974, undated
7	3	1974 Wang Lang-Wattana Wittaya Academy centennial material, 1975
7	4	1976 presentation to the Thai Committee of Washington of the Asia Society on “The Northern Dynasty” and related correspondence and material, 1975-1976, undated
7	5	Pamphlets, Board of Foreign Missions of the PCUSA (printed and/or manuscript copies), 1936, 1940s, undated
7	6	Playscripts and related correspondence and material, 1949, 1961, undated
7	7	Playscripts and related correspondence and material, circa 1964-1978, undated
7	8	Services, 1965-1967, undated
7	9	Talks, 1955, circa 1979-1987, undated
7	10	Talks and material for talks on Siam/Thailand, 1944-1994, undated
7	11	Thai Fairy Tales and related correspondence, mid-1960s-early 1980s, undated
7	12	Wang Lang-Wattana Wittaya Academy, 1959, 1964, undated
7	13	Wives of the Six Musketeers of the North and Women of Faith material, 1950, 1969, 1980s-1995, undated

		Subseries 3: Other authors, 1935-1988

7	14	The Americans Came to Southeast Asia and Grandfather Bomrong’s Village Disappeared, by Franceska Sullwold, 1972
7	15	Correspondence re conference on Stability and Change in Thai Culture and published notes, 1959, 1966
7	16	East is East, by Loren S. Hanna, 1935
7	17	Interview with and articles, lectures, and presentation of essays by Koson Srisang, 1975-1983
7	18	Introduction to Thai Literature, a lecture given at the Siam Society by Professor Prince Prem Purachatra, 1964
7	19-22	Margaret Landon’s annotated carbon copy typescript of Bertha Blount McFarland’s manuscript, “A History of the Wang Lang School for Girls,” with additional notes by Margaretta B. Wells, undated
7	23	Now in Thailand, Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1951
7	24	Photocopy of Connie Hudson’s first draft of the first section of her unfinished book on a family of missionaries (Bradleys and McGilvarys) spanning four generations in Thailand and related correspondence, 1987-1988
7	25	Photocopy of Margaret Landon’s typescript, “Anna and I,” undated
7	26	Photocopy of William L. Bradley’s typescript, “Mr. Kellett and Dr. Cheek: The Uses and Abuses of Extra-Territoriality,” 1986
7	27	Prae Christian Hospital, Prae, Thailand, circa 1966
7	28	Thailand and Christian Missions, by J.T. Paul Manickam, 1964

		SERIES VI: PHOTOGRAPHS AND NEGATIVES, CIRCA 1859-1990S

		Subseries 1: Missionaries and Thai Christians, circa 1890-1987

8	1	Arnold, Mrs. William Paul (Louise) and son, circa 1949
8	1	Bissell, Dr. and Mrs. Charles Lewis and son, 1948
8	1	Blanford, Carl E. and Lily, and children, 1976
8	1	Bradburn, Robert Morris, circa 1950s
8	1	Briggs, W.A., M.D., circa 1910
8	1	Bucher, Priscilla (daughter of Henry H. and Louise Bucher), kindergarten at Phetchaburi, circa late 1950s-circa early 1960s
8	1	Buker, Richard, M.D., with leper, 1951
8	1	Bulkley, Dr. Lucius and Mrs. Edna Bruner and children, undated
8	1	Campbell family, circa late 1900s-1956, undated
8	1	Chafee, Cliff and Mary, and children, 1950s
8	1	Collins, Rob and Dee, circa early 1960s
8	1	Cooper, [Larissa J.], "Miss Cooper," at the annual festival of the Wang Lang School, Bangkok, undated
8	1	Crouch family in Bangkok, circa 1958
8	1	Downs, Ray and Mrs., and children, 1950s, 1965
8	1	Dunlap, Dr. and Mrs. J.B, undated
8	1	Eakin family, circa 1890, 1928
8	1	Fogg, Ernest L. and Mrs., and children, 1963-1965
8	1	Fuller, Geraldine, 1985
8	1	Fuller, Janise, Justine, and Warren (children of Graham W. and Geraldine Fuller), circa 1930
8	1	Grether, Hebert and Jeanne, and children, 1951
8	1	Hamlin, E. John and Frances, circa 1950s
8	1	Hanson, Harold and Harriet, and children, 1977-1979
8	1	Harris, Dr. and Mrs. William, 1947, undated
8	1	Hoffman, Ann and Sadie Lemmon, undated
8	1	Holladay family, circa 1930s-1940s	Digital
8	2	Homes of missionaries, circa 1890, undated
8	3	Irwin, Dr. Robert, 1923
8	3	Kilpatrick, Faye, circa 1920s
8	3	Littlejohn, Henry and Mrs., and children, undated
8	3	McClure, Helen, 1954
8	3	McCord, Margaret C., 1969, undated
8	3	McDaniel, Edwin Bruce, M.D., Mrs. McDaniel and children, undated
8	3	McKinley, Barbara, undated	Digital
8	3	Marvin, Rob and Betty, circa late 1940s
8	3	Mattoon, Stephen and Mary Lourie; portraits, silver tea service, and gravestones, undated
8	4	Mission meetings, circa 1915-1949, undated
8	5	Newman, Helene, 1981
8	5	Palmer, Marion B. and May, children and Mrs. Palmer's father, circa 1910
8	5	Ryburn, Horace and Mary, 1950s, 1963
8	5	Scovel, Tom and Janene, and son, circa mid-to late-1960s
8	5	Seely, Francis and Ruth, and children, 1951
8	5	Seigle, Albert and Jeanette, circa 1958-1960
8	5	Starling, Lucy, circa 1925-1966, undated
8	5	Stewart family, 1922-1926
8	5	Stewart, Mrs. H.W. (Winnie Burr), 1941
8	5	Swart, William J., M.D., and Mrs. Swart on an elephant, undated
8	5	Tate, Mowbray and Josephine, 1936, undated
8	5	Taylor, Hugh, itinerating on Nan River, 1928
8	6	Thai Christians and Christian workers, 1925-1977, undated (bulk undated)
8	7	Thompson, William James Sinclair, undated
8	7	Travaille, Forrest C. and Dottie, 1987
8	7	Twelker, Esther E., farewell party and retirement ceremonies, circa 1960
8	7	White, Henry, and White family, circa 1910, circa 1920s
8	7	Wylie, Sally, leaving Bangkok for home, 1963
8	7	Younkin, Frank and Anita, and sons, 1967, 1972

		Subseries 2: Institutions, circa 1900-1981

8	8	Aroon Pradist School, Phetchaburi, Thailand, 1965, undated
8	9	Bangkok Christian College, Bangkok, Thailand, circa 1920-1981, undated
8	10	Church of Christ in Thailand: church headquarters, Bangkok; Office of Christian Education and Literature, Bangkok; and the Christian bookstores, 1954-1967, undated
8	11	Dara Academy, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1948-1965, undated
8	12	Leper asylum, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1923, 1938-circa 1940, 1951, undated
8	13	McCormick Hospital and School of Nursing, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1933-1938, circa 1948-1958	Digital
8	14	Prince Royal’s College, Chiang Mai, Thailand, circa 1917-1930s
8	15	Prince Royal’s College, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1940s
8	16	Prince Royal’s College, visit of U.S. Ambassador Edwin F. Stanton, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1948 February	Digital
8	17	Prince Royal’s College, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1950s
8	18	Prince Royal’s College, visit of King Phumibol Rama IX and Queen Sirkit, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1958 March 8	Digital
8	19	Prince Royal’s College, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1960s, undated
8	20	Thailand Theological Seminary, Chiang Mai, Thailand, circa 1940, 1963 November
8	21	Wang Lang School, circa 1900, circa 1910, undated

		Subseries 3: Chronological, 1893, 1900s-1990s

8	22	1893, 1900s-1910s
8	23	1920s	Digital
8	24	1920s-1930s
8	25-26	1940s
8	27-29	1950s
8	30-31	1960s

9	1-4	1960s
9	5-6	1970s
9	7	1980s-1990s

10	1-3	undated

		Subseries 4: Oversize images, circa 1859-1964

11	1	Aerial view of the new Bangkok Christian College, undated
11	2	Burr, Rev. Alexander (1830-1897), class pictures, circa 1859, early 1860s
11	3	Group photograph of missionaries in front of Fourth Thai Church, Bangkok, 1939
11	4	Group photograph of new missionaries, Board of Foreign Missions, PCUSA, New York, 1927
11	5	Junior class, Wang Lang School, Bangkok, undated
11	6	Portrait of Margaret Landon, undated
11	7	Portrait of Margaretta B. Wells, circa 1920s
11	8	Portrait of Prince Dossiriwongs (Dossiriwonges), Viceroy of the North and grandson of King Chulalongkorn of Siam, 1929
11	9	Portraits of Mom Chow, Rajah Dara and daughter, and unidentified young Thai woman, undated
11	10	Portraits of W.A.R. Wood (aka Lotus), 1930, 1964
11	11	Presbyterian Life photograph by Henry L. McCorkle of Kenneth E. Wells at the Office of Christian Education and Literature, Church of Christ of Thailand, Church Headquarters (Sapah) Building, Bangkok, 1957
11	11	The Christian Bookstore, New Road, Bangkok, 1957

		Subseries 5: Negatives, circa 1948-1950, 1969, 1987

12	1	“Arts from the Golden Triangle,” an exhibition of Margaretta B. Wells’s fine art collection at the 1846 Courthouse Museum, Portsmouth, Virginia, 1987 May
12	2	McCord, Margaret C., 1969
12	2	Matoon silver tea service, undated
12	3	Prince Royal’s College, Chiang Mai, Thailand, circa 1948-1950, undated
12	4-8	Unidentified, undated

		SERIES VII: SLIDES, 1948-1971, 1980-1981

11	12	Chiang Mai; Department of Christian Literature, Bangkok; Bangkok Christian College and Wattana Wittaya Academy, Bangkok; Phetchaburi; Chiang Rai; and Thai churches, 1948-1971, undated
11	13	Kenneth E. Wells’s 84th birthday, Hidenwood Presbyterian Church, Newport News, Virginia, 1980 December
11	14	Kenneth E. Wells’s memorial service, Hidenwood Presbyterian Church, Newport News, Virginia, 1981 December 7
11	15	Matton silver tea service, 1968
11	15	Samuel Jones Smith house, Bangkok, 1963
11	15	Thai scenes, undated

		SERIES VIII: PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS, 1930-1970

13	1	Album documenting the Wellses’ April 1930 journey to Baptist missions at Loi Mwe and Keng Tung in eastern Burma; also Thai scenes, missionary colleagues, and the Wellses, 1930, undated
13	2	Album primarily documenting the Wellses’ April 1931 journey to the Presbyterian mission station at Chiang Rung (Kiulungkiang) in the Yunnan Province of South China and their travels through the Middle East, Europe, and Britain en route to New York, 1931, undated

14	1	Album documenting Kenneth E. Wells’s April 1935 journey to Chiang Rung (Kiulungkiang) and Keng Tung; also family, missionary colleagues, and friends, circa 1930-circa 1936	Digital

15	1	Album featuring the Wellses in Thailand (no identifying information), circa 1963-1967
15	2	Album featuring the Wellses in Thailand (some identifying information), 1964-1965
15	3	Album featuring the Wellses in Thailand and in the United States (some identifying information), 1964-1965

16	1	Album featuring the Wellses in Thailand (no identifying information), 1965-1966
16	2	Album featuring the Traditional Friendly Quadrangular Football Tournament (includes Bangkok Christian College), Bangkok, Thailand, 1970

		SERIES IX: SCRAPBOOKS, 1945-1977

17	1	Scrapbook material concerning the film, play, and stage musical versions of Margaret Landon’s 1944 historical novel, Anna and the King of Siam, 1945-1977
17	2	Scrapbook material concerning the American Women’s Club of Thailand and Margaretta B. Wells’s presidency; programs and invitations, 1957, 1965-1967 (bulk 1966-1967)
17	3	Scrapbook (compiled by Ray Downs and Helene Smith) of letters, remembrances, anecdotes, words of appreciation, and photographs for Kenneth E. and Margaretta B. Wells from friends and missionary colleagues, Bangkok, Thailand, 1967 July 11

		SERIES X: DRAWINGS AND RELATED TEXTUAL MATERIAL, CIRCA 1930S, CIRCA 1971

11	16	Siam drawings by Evalee Proctor (PCUSA missionary to Siam Mission, 1928-1933), circa 1930s, with description and cover letter from Proctor to Margaretta B. Wells, circa 1971

		SERIES XI: AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIAL, CIRCA 1930S-CIRCA 1972

18	1	Audio tape interview of Margaretta B. Wells re the family’s December 1941 journey of escape from Thailand, arrival in the United States, and the war years in Washington D.C., circa 1967	Digital
18	2	Audio cassette interview of Margaretta B. Wells re (side 2) the Wellses’ October 1927 arrival in Bangkok; missionary colleagues and Thai friends; events; and Thai people, culture, and religion, undated	Digital
18	3	Audio cassette letter from Ray Downs to the Wellses re (side 1) Chiang Mai, the university program, the Church of Christ in Thailand, mutual friends, and the 14th General Assembly of the CCT and church issues; re (side 2) Thai music added by Downs, circa 1972 [available as MP3 files]	Digital*
18	4	Wells family home movie (16 mm, 2-3 minutes running time), Thailand, circa 1930s	Digital

Guide to the Kenneth E. Wells and Margaretta B. Wells Papers

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