Guide to the Skellie Family Papers
Open for research.
Walter James Skellie was born in Argyle, New York in 1899. After completing high school he attended first Westminster College and later Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. After completing seminary in 1924, he married Clara Imogene McDowell. The couple was appointed to Egypt by the UPNA Board of Foreign Missions in 1924.
Skellie's first appointment was to the Delta mission in Alexandria. He subsequently served at the Thebes, Assiut, and Argyle missions. During his evangelistic field service, Skellie also completed his M.A. in Arabic studies from the Hartford Seminary Foundation in 1930, and his Ph.D. in Arabic studies from the same institution in 1938. During a furlough to the U.S. in 1946-47, he completed additional course work in school administration at Columbia University Teachers College. He then returned to Egypt and served as Principal of the Secondary School for Boys in Assiut from 1947 to 1960. From 1958 on he served under the auspices of the COEMAR PCUSA. In 1964, Skellie retired from the field, and returned to the U.S., and until his death in 1981, Walter Skellie spoke frequently on the subject of his 40 years in the mission field.
The papers primarily consist of correspondence of both Walter and Clara Skellie. The bulk of the correspondence is comprised of regular letters written to their supporters at home, recounting the experiences of their mission work. The correspondence also contains poems written by Walter Skellie. Also included in the collection are lecture notes by Walter Skellie, reports, and miscellaneous biographical materials.
SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE, 1924-1964
SERIES 2: NOTES, 1930-1980
SERIES 3: REPORTS, 1967-1980
SERIES 4: MISCELLANEOUS, 1924-1979
This collection was donated to the Presbyterian Historical Society by the First Presbyterian Church, Glen Falls, N.Y. (Ann M. Center, Archivist).
Collection processed and Finding Aid prepared: February, 1995
Amy J. Roberts, Processing Archivist
| Box | Folder | Description | |
| 1 | 1 | Finding aid to Record Group 393 | |
| SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE, c.1924-1964 | |||
| 1 | 2 | Home letters, 1924-1929 | |
| 1 | 3 | Home letters, 1930-1939 | |
| 1 | 4 | Home letters, 1940-1949 | |
| 1 | 5 | Home letters, 1950-1959 | |
| 1 | 6 | Home letters, 1960-1964 | |
| 2 | 1 | Clara I. Skellie, 1938-1942 | |
| 2 | 2 | General correspondence, 1924-1980 | |
| SERIES 2: NOTES, 1930-1980 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Notes, 1930-1980 | |
| 2 | 4 | Notes, n.d. | |
| SERIES 3: REPORTS, 1967-1980 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Reports, 1967-1980 | |
| SERIES 4: MISCELLANEOUS, 1924-1979 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Miscellaneous, 1924-1979 |