Guide to the Van Evera Family Papers

The collection is arranged into five series: Personal materials, 1905-1965; Correspondence, 1904-1995, bulk 1912-early 1950s; Subject files, 1907-2003, bulk 1920s-1940s; Photographic materials and travel diaries, circa 1904, circa 1910s-1953, 1982; and Oversize materials, circa 1912-1913, 1920s-1952.

The Personal materials series contains material arranged under three headings: Kepler Van Evera and Pauline Wurster/Van Evera; Louise Van Evera/Person, Harold J. Person, and Mary Helen Person; and Carl Van Evera and Mary Patricia Andrews Van Evera. Material relating to Kepler and Pauline includes Kepler's certificates of licensure and ordination, 1911, 1912; passports and travel documents; assorted account records, 1940s-1951; a few items from their 1943-1944 voyage back to China; a citation from the Board of Foreign Missions in recognition of the Van Everas' achievements and service; memorial minutes, 1955, 1965; ephemera; clippings; and other assorted material. Material relating to Louise and family primarily includes a few SAS class items and a 1932 letter of recommendation from the school secretary; her 1928-1932 cash book and May-August 1932 diary; a few items relating to her study trip to Germany; a few photographs; Harold's 1941 cablegram and copy of the radio message aired via radio station K.G.E.I in San Francisco to Kepler and Pauline in Hangchow informing them of Mary Helen's birth; and a set of photographs of Louise, Harold, and their infant daughter. Of particular note is Louise's 1940 master's thesis on the problems involved in the education of children of PCUSA Board of Foreign Missions missionaries. Material relating to Carl and Mary Patricia includes Carl's pocket yearbook with entries for 1927, three 1936 snapshots of the Peddie School and Carl, their 1942 wedding invitation, and two clippings.

Series II consists of correspondence arranged chronologically and grouped by folder title heading. A heading may consist of a single folder to multiple folders with the number of items in a folder ranging from a few to a large quantity of material. There are posted envelopes for a large portion of the correspondence that provide context and visual interest. They are filed with their respective correspondence. Posted envelopes that did not contain contents are housed in a single file at the end of the series. The bulk of the correspondence is from 1912 to the early 1950s and personal correspondence is the most extensive. Although Kepler and Pauline's correspondence is largely personal, it provides a rich account of their missionary life and service in China from 1912 to 1951. The series also includes personal correspondence of Louise and Carl from childhood to adulthood. The PCUSA Board of Foreign Missions circular letters and bulletins to the relatives and friends of China missionaries (August 1937-March 1939, 1942-1945, and 1948-1950) provide information on the situation and status of Kepler and Pauline during the Japanese occupation, World War II, and the fighting between the Nationalists and the Communists.

The Subject files series is arranged alphabetically by folder title with the exception of the folders comprising the Shanghai American School (SAS) material. Subject files of particular note include the following: Hangchow American School and Mothers' Club, 1918-1934 and undated, including Pauline's notebook of programs given by Hangchow children; Hangchow and mission history, 1907-1940, 1963 and undated, including historical sketches, notes, a church work report, pamphlets, and correspondence; Mokanshan Sunday School, 1915, 1922-1935 and undated, including a honor roll notebook for scripture memorization; Occupied China/repatriation/Gripsholm, including Kepler's undated personal account of experiences from 1937 to 1942; and the memoir of Jay Charles Oliver, Y.M.C.A. secretary in Hangchow and Shanghai from 1917 to 1943. SAS subject files include six yearbooks from the 1920s and 1930s; May Day and quadrangle photographs; a few issues of the student publication Nooze and programs, 1930-1935; SAS Alumni Association material; and SAS class of 1935 55th reunion material and photographs from Carl's 1935 graduation.

The Photographic materials and travel diaries series is divided into three subseries: Photographs and postcards, circa 1904, circa 1910s-1953, 1982; Photograph albums and travel diaries, 1912-1940; and Lantern slides, circa 1910s. The first subseries features the following: a set of photographs in four folders, September 1912-November 1914, taken on Kepler and Pauline's voyage to China and during their first two years in China (locations include Shanghai, Hangchow, Nanking, and Mokanshan); five folders of Hangchow photographs, circa 1913-1947, documenting the mission compound, mission life, the Van Evera family, and other missionary families; a folder of photographs documenting Hangchow American School and Mothers' Club, 1922-1931 and undated; a folder of photographs documenting the Up River field, 1914-1949 and undated; a folder of photographs documenting child welfare, welfare and relief, Japanese occupation, and war (primarily Hangchow), mid-1930s-1940s; and 3 folders of Mokanshan photographs, circa 1904, circa 1913-1934 and undated, documenting the mountain retreat, the community, and the Van Evera family. The China postcards, circa 1910s-circa 1930s, are of Hangchow's West Lake as well as a few of Mokanshan, Nanking, Shanghai, Changchow, Hai Yien, and Quinsan.

The first of three photograph albums, 1912-1919 and undated, primarily documents Kepler and Pauline; Presbyterian mission and missionaries in China; Chinese people; Nanking, Hangchow, Mokanshan, Up River, and their environs; places and natural scenery; transportation and travel; and shrines and temples. The second album, 1912, circa 1920s-circa 1930s, primarily documents the Van Evera family in Hangchow and Mokanshan, and the Presbyterian mission compound in Hangchow. The third album, 1912-1914, 1940 and undated, primarily documents the Presbyterian mission compound in Hangchow, the Van Evera family, holiday events, child welfare work in Hangchow, Hangchow Christian College, Mokanshan, Nanking, and China scenes. Some photographs in these three albums may be duplicate images of photographs in the photographs subseries. A fourth album includes photographs from Louise's 1932 graduation from SAS and her 1932-1933 study trip to Germany. Relevant to the circa 1927-1928 album of the Van Evera family's furlough trip from China to the United States are Kepler, Pauline, and Louise's 1927-1928 furlough travel diaries.

The third subseries consists of over 220 color and black and white lantern slides, circa 1910s and undated, primarily documenting Chinese people and their daily life and work, housing, transportation and travel, events, temples and churches, and places and natural scenery. Some lantern slides are duplicate images of photographs in the photographs subseries.

The Oversize materials series contains assorted material arranged under five headings: Diplomas, school document, and invitation; Graphic material; Printed material; Maps; and Poster. Featured items include Kepler's 1913 Nanking Language School diploma; an invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Chu, teachers, and young people to Kepler and Pauline to a December 21, 1945 welcome back feast after a three year absence from Hangchow; a circa 1912 pen and ink story drawing, "Further Romance of the Germ-Finder and the Sky-Pilot," about Kepler and Pauline; and some China maps of assorted types, 1930s-1940s and undated.