Guide to the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Foreign Missions Secretaries' Files
Open for research.
Walter Lowrie (1784-1868) succeeded Elisha Swift in 1837 as Corresponding Secretary of the Western Foreign Missionary Society, the predecessor of the Board of Foreign Missions (BFM). He served in that capacity until his death in 1868. Prior to his service with the Presbyterian Church, Lowrie had served as a representative to the Pennsylvania Assembly (1811-1812); as a State Senator (1813-1819); and as a United States Senator (1819-1825). A contemporary of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun and Thomas Hart Benton, Lowrie was a temperance advocate and an ardent opponent of the extension of slavery into the territories. He served on a number of congressional committees, including roads and canals, accounts, finance and Indian Affairs. In 1825, he was elected Secretary of the United States Senate, a position he held until 1836.
During his tenure as Corresponding Secretary, the newly formed BFM grew from obscurity to an extensive missionary operation. He solicited contributions for the Board and maintained close touch with all phases of mission work. His senatorial experience provided a unique and detailed knowledge of the needs of Native Americans. He personally supervised the sending of household provisions and farm implements to the Native Americans and frequently visited missionaries in the West. In the area of foreign missions, Lowrie corresponded extensively with those serving in Africa, India, and China and those ministering to the Native, Chinese, and Jewish Americans.
The Board of Foreign Missions (BFM) of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. was formed in 1837 from the Western Foreign Missionary Society. The Corresponding Secretary of the BFM was responsible for maintaining contact with missionaries in the field. Missionaries sent reports at specified intervals and wrote additional letters, detailing their day-to-day work on the fields, discussing future plans for their missions, reporting illnesses, and asking for help whenever necessary. The secretaries responded with comments, counsel and their central perspective on the mission work.
Record Group 174 consists primarily of Walter Lowries's incoming correspondence and reports. Some outgoing correspondence is also included. The collection also includes four letterbooks, two of which contain correspondence from John Lowrie, his son and successor as Corresponding Secretary.
SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORTS, 1839-1871
Researchers should consult RG 31, Secretaries' Files of the Board of Foreign Missions, 1829-95; RG 175, John C. Lowrie Papers, and the card catalogue for complementary materials.
Collection processed and finding aid prepared: 1984
Frederick J. Heuser, Jr, Archivist
| Box | Folder | Description | |
| SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORTS, 1839-1871 | |||
| 1 | 1 | Finding Aid to Record Group 174 | |
| Incoming Correspondence and Reports | |||
| 1 | 2 | Miller, MR--Correspondence and reports regarding missions to the Jews in Indiana and New York, 1845-1851 | |
| 1 | 3 | Alexander, JW--Correspondence regarding missions to the Jews, 1846 September 1 | |
| 1 | 4 | Monroe, Allen--Correspondence regarding missions to the Jews, 1847 November 12 | |
| 1 | 5 | B. Steinthal--Correspondence and reports regarding missions to the Jews and Germans in Philadelphia, 1850-1854 | |
| 1 | 6 | Henry A. Boardman--Correspondence regarding Steinthal and missions to the Jews, 1854 February 27 | |
| 1 | 7 | Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1846, 1850 | |
| Outgoing Correspondence | |||
| 1 | 8 | Rev. Stephen Mattoon correspondence, Siam Mission, 1846-1850 | |
| 1 | 9 | Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1843-1854 | |
| 1 | 10 | Address to the female members of the Presbyterian Church, 1844 October 15 | |
| Letterpress Correspondence (bound) | |||
| 1 | 11 | Walter and John Lowrie regarding Furrukhabad Mission, 1839-1864 | |
| 1 | 12 | Walter Lowrie, 1855-1858 | |
| 2 | 1 | Walter Lowrie, 1855-1867 | |
| 2 | 2 | Walter and John Lowrie regarding missions regarding West Africa, 1862-1871 |