Guide to the Rachel Kerr Johnson Papers
Open for research.
To browse this collection's digital content visit Pearl.
Rachel Kerr Johnson was born in February of 1837 in Hookstown, Pennsylvania. When she was eighteen, Rachel attended the Steubenville Female Seminary in Ohio, where she remained to teach upon her graduation. She returned to Hookstown in the fall of 1858 to teach at the Hookstown Select School. On June 5, 1860, Rachel married William Johnson. Closely following the wedding, they departed as missionaries for the Northwestern Provinces of India, where they stayed until 1884. She established herself as a homemaker during her husband's evangelistic mission. Upon their return to the States, Rachel became a frequent speaker at women's missionary society meetings in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and northern West Virginia. By 1887, Will and Rachel moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where Will had accepted an elected appointment to the presidency of Biddle University. In July of 1888, Rachel Kerr Johnson died of injuries sustained during a buggy accident.
This collection consists of correspondence from Rachel Kerr Johnson to her family members from 1856, her first year at the Female Seminary in Steubenville, Ohio, up until the year of her death in 1888. Her letters reveal the dynamics of family relations and provide colorful descriptions and keen insight about India and mission life. There are a few letters written by her husband Will (William F.) and daughters Mary (Mary Ella) and Jane (Jennie) interspersed in the chronological order.
To browse this collection's digital content visit Pearl.
This collection was used as the basis for the book, Affectionately Rachel: Letters from India, 1860-1884, by Barbara Mitchell Tull, great-granddaughter of Will and Rachel Johnson. A copy of this book is available in the society's library. Researchers can also consult RG 83, Board of Foreign Missions, Secretaries' Files, India Mission, for relevant material.
Collection processed and Finding Aid prepared: July 1994
Kerry J. Norce, Co-ordinator for Governing Body Services
| Box | Folder | Description | Alternative Formats |
| 1 | 1 | Finding Aid to Record Group 392 | |
| SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE, 1854-1888 | |||
| 1 | 2 | Correspondence, 1854-1859 | Digital |
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence, 1860-1865 | Digital |
| 1 | 4 | Correspondence, 1866-1870 | Digital |
| 1 | 5 | Correspondence, 1871-1880 | Digital |
| 1 | 6 | Correspondence, 1881-1885 | Digital |
| 1 | 7 | Correspondence, 1886-1888 | Digital |
| 1 | 8 | Correspondence, approximately 1854-1888 | Digital |