Guide to the Christian Palmer Althaus Papers
Open for research.
Christian Palmer Althaus was born on August 6, 1881, near Bluffton, Ohio. He was graduated from De Pauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, in 1910. Prior to his appointment as a missionary on May 15, 1911, Althaus was a teacher in Ohio and a principal in a ward school in Centralia, Illinois.
Althaus married Laura Wilson of Bethel, Ohio, on August 9, 1911. After being appointed by the Board of Foreign Missions on September 18, 1911, the couple sailed to Siangtan, a town in the Hunan province of China. The couple had five children: Grace Marie (b. 1912), Russell Palmer (b.1914), Wilbur Maurice (b.1917-d.1918), Christine Elizabeth (b.1920-d.1930), and Alice Louise (b.1924).
Christian Palmer Althaus was a teacher at the John D. Wells School for boys (called I-Chi by those who attended) in Siangtan. He later became the principal of the school from 1913 to 1927. During 1927, however, political upheaval and health conditions in China forced the Althauses to be furloughed, and they resigned from missionary service in March 1928.
After returning to the United States, Christian Palmer Althaus became the Editor for The Bethel Journal in Bethel, Ohio. He died sometime after 1964. His wife survived him until at least 1971.
The papers include letters written to Christian Palmer Althaus. The majority of correspondence is from former I-Chi students. The content of the letters focuses upon family news and reaction to China's communist regime. It should be noted that the papers were originally arranged by the donor in a photograph album. The album was dismantled for preservation purposes, but a copy of the original layout and photograph captions has been retained in Series II.
Numerous photographs of the Althaus family are in the collections, as well as photographs taken between 1911 and 1928 of China, the Hunan Mission, the Kuling School in the Lu Shan Mountains, and the John D. Wells School.
SERIES I Correspondence, 1928-1964
SERIES II Photographs, 1911-1971
SERIES III Miscellaneous, 1964, n.d.
Researchers may also consult the Board of Foreign Missions Secretaries' Records (RG 82) for general information about the China mission.
This collection was donated in August 1997, by Russell Althaus (Christian Palmer Althaus' son).
Collection processed and finding aid prepared: September 1997
Stephanie Phillips, Archives Technician.
| Box | Folder | Description | |
| 1 | 1 | Finding Aid to Record Group 408 | |
| SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE, 1928-1964 | |||
| 1 | 2 | Correspondence, 1928-1964 | |
| SERIES II: PHOTOGRAPHS, 1911-1971 | |||
| 1 | 3 | Photocopy of Scrapbook, 1911-1971 | |
| 1 | 4 | Family and Friends Photographs, 1911-1971 | |
| 1 | 5 | Miscellaneous Photographs, 1911-1971 | |
| SERIES III: MISCELLANEOUS, 1964, n.d. | |||
| 1 | 6 | Newspaper Clippings, 1956-1963 | |
| 1 | 7 | Scrapbook Captions, n.d. | |
| 1 | 8 | Miscellaneous, 1911-1964 |