Guide to the R.R. Stewart and Hladia Porter Stewart Papers
Open for reseach.
To browse this collection's digital content visit Pearl.
Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not be available on Pearl or in their entirety.
Ralph Randles Stewart was born in West Hebron, New York, on April 15, 1890. He attended Columbia College, New York City, and was graduated in 1911 with a BA and elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Ki. He taught biology at Gordon College, Rawalpindi, India, for three years, as a short-term missionary. He returned to Columbia College and was awarded an A.M. in 1915 and a Ph.D. in 1916 in Botany. In October 1916, he was married to Isabelle Caroline Darrow, herself also a missionary and botanist. In 1916, the United Presbyterian Church of North America appointed Ralph and Isabelle Stewart missionaries to India, assigned to Gordon College, Rawalpindi.
In addition to his work at Gordon College, Ralph Stewart served briefly at the Christian Hospital, Taxila, Pakistan. In 1934, Dr. Stewart was elected principal of Gordon College, a position which he held until 1955. From 1941 to 1944, due to the difficulties of wartime travel, Dr. Stewart served as Curator of the Oriental Herbarium at the New York Botanical Garden.
Ralph and Isabelle Stewart had two daughters. In 1953, Isabelle Stewart died of cancer.
In October 1954, Dr. Stewart was married to Winifred Hladia Porter. In 1955, the Stewarts took a six month furlough and then returned for a final term of service at Gordon College. Dr. Stewart also served as an elder in his local congregation, taught Sunday School for several years, and supervised construction of church buildings. Upon his retirement on April 15, 1960, Dr. Stewart was awarded "Sitari-I-Imtiaz" (Star of Distinction) by the Pakistani government. He was a member of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, and his plant collection became the basis for the National Herbarium of Pakistan.
After his retirement from Gordon College in 1960, Dr. Stewart served as a Research Associate at the University of Michigan until 1981. In 1981, Ralph and Hladia Stewart entered the Presbyterian retirement home, Westminster Gardens, Duarte, California. Dr. Stewart died in 1993, at the age of 103 years and 6 months.
Winifred Hladia Porter, a fourth generation member of a mission family, was born on November 23, 1896, in Gujranwala, Pakistan. She received her early schooling in India and then her BA in 1917 and MA in 1919 from Wooster College, Wooster, Ohio. She taught high school for one year in Salem, Ohio.
Hladia Porter served in the Punjab for forty-one years. She was appointed to India by the Board of Foreign Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and served from 1919 to 1954 as teacher of English and Bible, Vice Principal, and then acting Principal of Kinnaird College, Lahore.
From 1955 to 1960, following her marriage to Ralph Stewart, she served as Dean of Women and Professor of English at Gordon College, Rawalpindi. She retired from Gordon College on April 15, 1960.
From 1960 to 1981, Hladia Stewart lived in Ann Arbor with her husband and was active in the First United Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor. She wrote poetry and painted trees and flowers. In 1981, she entered Westminster Gardens with her husband. Hladia Stewart died on January 5, 1984, in Duarte, California.
The papers consist of biographical material, correspondence, and writings of both Ralph and Hladia Stewart. Some maps and photographs are included as well. The bulk of the material is dated in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The correspondence reflects the wide web of relationships Ralph and Hladia Stewart enjoyed as workers in the Pakistani mission field. Over their many years of service, they met and encouraged many students and church workers at Kinnaird and Gordon colleges. They kept in touch with alumni of the colleges and fellow missionaries; these relationships are reflected in the correspondence. Subseries III: Shared Correspondence consists of letters collected by the Stewarts through the practice of circulation of mutual friends' correspondence.
The writings consist of personal reflections on the work of the missions in Pakistan, including their history and evaluation of their success; Dr. Stewart's history of Gordon College and his memoir; and Hladia Stewart's plays, presentations, autobiography, and poetry. A posthumous collection of Hladia Stewart's poetry, "Living with Joy," is included. Subseries III: Converts' Stories consist of the personal stories of several converts to Christianity, which documents a project of particular interest to Hladia Stewart and, subsequently, to Ralph Stewart. Included in the Daskawie and McAuley files is correspondence relating to the composition of their respective conversion stories.
Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 1947-1990
Series II. CORRESPONDENCE, 1930-1992
Subseries I: Outgoing, 1930-1991
Subseries II: Incoming, 1943-1992
Subseries III: Shared, 1947, 1952, 1983-1992, nd
Series III. MAPS, 1936, 1961, 1973
Series IV. PHOTOGRAPHS, 1911-1970s
Series V. WRITINGS AND SPEECHES, 1950-1990
Subseries I: Ralph Randles Stewart, 1952-1990
Subseries II: W. Hladia Porter Stewart, 1950-1988
Subseries III: Converts' Stories, 1936-1990
Series VI. MISCELLANY, 1952, 1957
To browse this collection's digitized content visit Pearl.
Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not have been digitized in their entirety.
Related materials can be found in RG 83 Board of Foreign Mission/India Mission, Secretaries' Files, 1891-1972; RG 209 Board of Foreign Missions (UPCNA), Records, 1833-1966; RG 291 R. Park Johnson (1907- ) Papers, 1938, 1950-1985; and an oral history Interview of Hladia P. and Ralph R. Stewart by Margaret Deck (1983) [sound recording cassette tape 936; transcript MS/C272/(936)].
The Stewart family papers, 1890-1991 (bulk 1950-1991), are held by the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. That collection consists of the papers of Ralph and Hladia Stewart and includes reminiscences and other biographical writings, correspondence, diary, articles concerning flora of India and Pakistan, and files relating to the teaching and missionary work of R.R. Stewart; as well as the letters, memoirs, and poetry of Hladia Porter Stewart; and a number of photographs.
These materials were donated to the Presbyterian Historical Society by Dr. Stewart's daughter, Ellen S. Daniels, in 1992.
Collection processed and finding aid prepared: August 2002
Ellen C. Rutherford, Archives Intern
| Box | Folder | Description | Alternative Formats |
| 1 | 1 | Finding Aid to RG 415 | |
| SERIES I: BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 1947-1990 | |||
| 1 | 2 | Ralph Randles Stewart, 1947-90 | |
| 1 | 3 | W. Hladia Porter Stewart, 1960-84 | |
| SERIES II: CORRESPONDENCE, 1930-1992 | |||
| Subseries I: Outgoing, 1930-1991 | |||
| 1 | 4 | Ralph Randles Stewart, 1947-54 | |
| 1 | 5 | W. Hladia Porter, 1930-51 | |
| 1 | 6 | Ralph & Hladia Stewart, 1955-83 | |
| 1 | 7 | Ralph Randles Stewart, 1962 | |
| 1 | 8 | Ralph Randles Stewart, 1984-91 | |
| Subseries II: Incoming, 1943-1992, nd | |||
| 1 | 9 | A-C, 1958, 1982-91 | |
| 1 | 10 | D-F, 1943, 1983-91 | |
| 1 | 11 | G-J, 1943-47, 1983-90 | |
| 1 | 12 | K-M, 1979, 1982-92 | |
| 1 | 13 | N-Q, 1975, 1978, 1984-90 | |
| 1 | 14 | R-S, 1978, 1982-91 | |
| 1 | 15 | T-Z, 1978-79, 1982-91 | |
| 1 | 16 | Unidentified, 1979, 1982-90, nd | |
| Subseries III: Shared, 1947, 1952, 1983-1992, nd | |||
| 1 | 17 | Various Authors and Recipients, 1947, 1952, 1983-92, nd | |
| SERIES III: MAPS, 1936, 1961, 1973 | |||
| 1 | 18 | Maps, 1936, 1961, 1973 | |
| SERIES IV: PHOTOGRAPHS, 1911-1970s | |||
| 1 | 19 | 1911-early 1930s, nd | Digital |
| 1 | 20 | 1911-1949, nd | |
| 1 | 21 | Ralph and Hladia Stewart, 1970s | Digital |
| 1 | 22 | Mission Annual Meetings, 1921-34 | |
| 1 | 23 | Miscellaneous, nd | |
| SERIES V: WRITINGS AND SPEECHES, 1950-1990 | |||
| Subseries I; Ralph Randles Stewart, 1952-1990 | |||
| 1 | 24 | "Changes in My Time in Pakistan," nd | |
| 1 | 25 | Gordon College, 1953, nd | |
| 1 | 26 | Gordon College, Results in Life, nd | |
| 1 | 27 | History, nd | |
| 1 | 28 | History, nd | |
| 1 | 29 | History, nd | |
| 1 | 30 | Diaspora of Pakistan Christians, nd | |
| 1 | 31 | Church Workers, 1965, 1983-89, nd | |
| 1 | 32 | Hladia [biography], nd | |
| 1 | 33 | "Maharaja Dalip Singh and Bamba Miller," 1952, 1961, 1977, 1985, nd | |
| 1 | 34 | Memoir, nd | |
| 1 | 35 | Memoir, nd | |
| 1 | 36 | Memoir, nd | |
| 1 | 37 | Education, nd | |
| 1 | 38 | Financial History, nd | |
| 1 | 39 | Journey to Pakistan to Attend the International Symposium of Plant Life in South Asia, [co-authored with daughter, Ellen Daniels], 1990 | |
| 1 | 40 | Leper Work, nd | |
| 1 | 41 | Presentations, 1986-88, nd | |
| 1 | 42 | Miscellaneous, 1989-90, nd | |
| Subseries II: W. Hladia Porter Stewart, 1950-1988 | |||
| 1 | 43 | "Centennial Drama of the Sialkot Mission: The First Hundred Years," nd | |
| 1 | 44 | Church Programs, 1974, nd | |
| 1 | 45 | Genealogical Notes on the Walsh and Porter Families, 1977 | |
| 1 | 46 | History, nd | |
| 1 | 47 | "In the Land of the Five Rivers" [autobiography], nd | |
| 1 | 48 | Poetry, 1936, 1982-82, 1988, nd | Digital |
| 1 | 49 | Miscellaneous, 1950-57, nd | |
| Subseries III: Converts' Stories, 1936-1990 | |||
| 1 | 50 | "On Converts," 1937-38, 1954, 1968, nd | |
| 1 | 51 | Daskawie, 1963, c.1970, nd | |
| 1 | 52 | James, nd | |
| 1 | 53 | Khan, nd | |
| 1 | 54 | McAuley, 1984-90, nd | |
| 1 | 55 | Ponsonby, nd | |
| 1 | 56 | Samuel, c.1936, 1985, nd | |
| 1 | 57 | Various Authors, 1940, c.1949, 1987, nd | |
| SERIES VI: MISCELLANY, 1952, 1957 | |||
| 1 | 58 | Gordon College, 1952, 1957 |