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Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2004085137
Collection material in English, with Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew and Swedish
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The American Colony in Jerusalem Collection was given to the Library of Congress by the board of directors of the American Colony of Jerusalem, Ltd., between 2004 and 2009.
Parts I and II of the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection were arranged and described in 2007 by Laura J. Kells. Additional material received between 2007 and 2009 was processed as Part III in 2010 and 2011.
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Some picture postcards have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. Audiovisual recordings have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. Some maps have been transferred to the Geography and Map Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection.
Related collections in the Manuscript Division include the G. Eric Matson and Edith Matson Papers and the John D. Whiting Papers.
It is the researcher's responsibility to determine requirements of domestic copyright laws and international treaties and conventions.
Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division for information concerning these restrictions. In addition, many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Part of the papers of the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection is available on the Library of Congress Web site at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/collmss.ms000020 and http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/collmss.ms00020x .
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, American Colony in Jerusalem Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers in the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection span the years circa 1786-2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1870 to 1968. The collection documents the history of the American Colony in Jerusalem and its members, particularly the Spafford, Vester, and Whiting families. It covers the events that led to the founding of this cooperative Christian community in the Holy Land, the lives and philanthropic work of American Colony members, the secularization and shift toward incorporation of the religious commune, and the conflict and split between American and Swedish members. It is also a record of life in Jerusalem and Palestine as part of the Ottoman Empire, the British mandate, Jordan, and Israel. Most of the items were collected and saved by Bertha Spafford Vester, who was the daughter of American Colony founders, Horatio Gates Spafford (1828-1888) and Anna T. Spafford, and the community's primary leader following the death of her mother. Other members who fulfilled administrative roles include adopted son Jacob Spafford and son-in-law John D. Whiting. Although most of the items in the collection are written in English, there is also material in Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, and Swedish. The collection consists of three parts.
Part I of the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection is organized in two series: Topical File and Oversize . The items in Part I were gathered for a 2005 exhibit in the Library of Congress on the history and work of the American Colony in Jerusalem. They include documents significant to the lives of the colony founders and those that are representative of the activities of the group. The material is arranged according to the thematic sections of the exhibit: Family Tragedy, On to Jerusalem, In the Holy Land, The American Colony at Work, The Locust Plague, World War I, Wartime Aid, and Continuing Relief Work.
Items in Part I relating to the founders of the colony include a telegram sent by Anna
T. Spafford to her husband following the sinking of the
Part II of the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection is organized in seven series:
The
In addition to the chronological file, the
The Bertha Spafford Vester Diaries span the years 1920 until her death in 1968. They provide a personal account of her life and work and offer Bertha's point of view on people and events. She supplemented her written entries by inserting invitations, telegrams, programs, photographs, newspaper clippings, flowers, and other memorabilia in the volumes. Loose items have been removed and are foldered next to the volume from which they were removed. Family members frequently mentioned are her husband, Frederick, and her children, Anna Grace, Horatio, Tanetta, John (“Jock”), Louise, and Frieda. Bertha's sister, Grace, and her husband, John D. Whiting, are also featured prominently. In the diaries Bertha discusses her involvement with the baby home, various health care services and charitable activities, the American Colony Store, and the tourist services provided by the American Colony for visitors staying at the hostel (later the American Colony Hotel). Diaries for 1930 and 1931 provide Bertha Vester's point of view on the split in the American Colony membership and her feelings about the actions of the Swedish members who dissented from her efforts to organize the American Colony into a formal corporation. She also discusses the care of the elderly Swedes who remained at the American Colony for the remainder of their lives. The diaries chronicle the periods of violence between Jews and Arabs in the region, particularly in the 1940s, that culminated in the Arab-Israeli War. Bertha Vester's visits to the United States and her relationship with Lowell Thomas, who assisted her in the publication of her book and helped to arrange lecture tours are also covered. An entry in January 1955 describes a meeting with President Dwight D.Eisenhower in which she offered her opinion on the problems in Jerusalem and the plight of Arab refugees.
An American Colony Members series contains files of some
individual colonists. Names of members can also be found in a birthday book and register
of those belonging to the colony when it was incorporated. A file on Ana Andersson
contains letters from Bertha Vester's daughter, Anna Grace Lind. Information on American
Colony members is located in other sections of the collection as well. Files relating to
1896 in both the
The Business and Legal Files are grouped into sections pertaining to the American Colony and the Spafford family. Many of the files relate to the corporate entities and business ventures established by the American Colony and its members. In 1929 the American Colony was formally organized into a corporate body named American Colony of Jerusalem, and minutes of the meetings of the membership and the council are filed here. The litigation and arbitration leading to the formal split in membership is documented in a section called “reorganization and dissent.” Included in Vester and Company business enterprises is material on the American Colony Stores. Information on the Jerusalem store is lacking. Most material pertains to the store opened in New York City in the 1920s. Among the Spafford family legal files are those relating to litigation concerning Spafford property in Chicago and copies of the divorce papers of Horatio Gates Spafford (1778-1832) from 1811.
A Chronological File series, like the
Included in a Miscellany series are hymns, poems, and other writings by Horatio Gates Spafford (1828-1888). A transcript of a 2005 oral history interview with Valentine Vester, who managed the American Colony Hotel with her husband Horatio, son of Bertha Spafford Vester, is also part of this series. The audiovisual version of this interview is available along with other related oral interviews in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.
Part III of the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection is organized in five series: Bertha Spafford Vester Files , John D. Whiting Files , Valentine Vester Files , Miscellany , and Oversize .
The Bertha Spafford Vester Files in Part III supplement the material found in Part II. A correspondence section includes letters from American Colony members, visitors, and individuals of prominence in Jerusalem during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. Among the family correspondence are letters Bertha wrote to her children during the years 1928-1930 while they were living in the United States. Many are written to her daughter Tanetta, who was attending Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The letters detail Bertha's activities and describe her feelings about the split among the American Colony members and the reorganization occurring at that time. Other material documents relief and charitable work during the period 1918-1921. Scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings and other items relating to her lecture tours in the United States and the work of the Spafford Children's Hospital, and texts of Bertha Spafford Vester's radio broadcasts for the Palestine Broadcasting Service detail her reminiscences of life in old Jerusalem .
The John D. Whiting Files contain additional material relating to his life and work, including catalogues of his pottery collection, permits and passes relating to his work in British military intelligence during the first World War, and writings on Jerusalem and the Holy Land including articles published in
The Valentine Vester Files are comprised of material relating to the American Colony Hotel and life in Jerusalem in the period 1989 through 2007 that were compiled by Valentine Vester. Horatio and Valentine Vester managed the American Colony Hotel from 1963 until 1980, and she continued to live there until her death in 2008. The major portion of this series consists of newspaper clippings dating from 1989-2005, including accounts of Palestinian uprisings. Correspondence from 1991 between Valentine Vester and her two sons describes the impact of the Persian Gulf War and the intifada on life at the hotel. Also included are photographs of a gathering of descendants of the Matsson, Vester, and Whiting families in 2006.
A Miscellany series contains additional material relating to the American Colony and its members. Among the items is a diary kept by American Colony member Mary Louise Adams (Sister Miriam) for the year 1931. A notebook kept by Anna Spafford contains a record of her correspondence, and a notebook kept by Jacob Spafford includes copies of letters he received. Writings about the American Colony include those that focus on Swedish members, including some that are written in Swedish.
The collection is arranged in three parts composed of sixteen series:
Part I:
Part II:
Part III:
Correspondence, hymns, photographs, photograph albums, scrapbooks, account book, wartime passes, lace sample book, lists, printed matter, and other papers gathered for a 2005 Library of Congress exhibit on the history of the American Colony.
Arranged according to the order and thematic topics used in the exhibit.
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Draft of hymn, map, scrapbooks, photograph album, hospital record, and printed matter.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.
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Correspondence, notes, writings, lectures, printed matter, and other papers compiled by Bertha Spafford Vester as resource files for her book,
Most files are arranged chronologically by year. Others are grouped by type of material and therein chronologically.
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Diaries and folders of loose items that were removed from each volume.
Arranged chronologically.
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Correspondence, diaries, notes, financial records, wills, printed matter, registers of American Colony members, and other papers.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person or type of material and therein chronologically.
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Correspondence, memoranda, minutes, legal documents, financial records, and other business documents relating to the American Colony and the Spafford family.
Grouped into files pertaining to the American Colony and those concerning the Spafford family and therein alphabetically by topic or type of material.
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Correspondence, legal documents, notes, printed matter and other papers concerning the activities of the American Colony.
Arranged chronologically by year.
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Hymns, poetry, and other writings by Horatio Gates Spafford (1828-1888), notes, oral history transcript, photographs, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.
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Business and legal files.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.
Diaries, hymns, poems, and other writings by Horatio Gates Spafford (1828-1888), maps, and printed matter.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.
Correspondence, writings, photographs, passes, permits, financial papers, scrapbooks, and other papers.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material, name or topic, and therein chronologically.
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Catalogues, correspondence, permits and passes, writings, and other papers relating primarily to John D. Whiting.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.
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Correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other papers.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.
Diary, hymn book, notebooks, photographs, writings, and other items.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.
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Photographs, scrapbook, prints, printed matter, and a Samaritan manuscript.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.