National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division: United Presbyterian Church of Scotland

United Presbyterian Church of Scotland

IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0233 MSS 7638-744, 8943-53, Dep 298 (63-105)
Held at: National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division
Domain: archival
Title: United Presbyterian Church of Scotland
Date(s) of contents: 1846-1938
Level of description: Sub-fonds
Extent and medium: 160 volumes of archival material.

CONTEXT

Name of creator(s):
Anderson, William (1812-1895)
Glasgow Ladies' Society for Promoting Female Education in Kaffraria
Ladies Zenana Committee
United Presbyterian Church of Scotland
Waddell, Hope Masterton (1804-1895)

Administrative/Biographical history: The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (UPC) was formed in 1847, subsequent to the Disruption, by the union of the United Secession and Relief Churches. The UPC inherited from the Secession Church missions in the Caribbean and in Calabar, Nigeria. Soon after the union the UPC also took over the work in Jamaica that had been commenced earlier that century by the Scottish Missionary Society, as well as the mission in Kaffraria that had been established by the Glasgow South African Missionary Society.

The Calabar mission had its origins in Jamaica when the emancipation of slaves gave weight to proposals to take the Christian message to Africa. In 1846 a party landed in Old Calabar, now Nigeria, led by Hope Masterton Waddell (1804-1895) a Scottish Missionary Society missionary, and backed by the United Secession Church, the mission being brought under the supervision of the UPC in 1847. Waddell remained at the mission until 1859. He was joined by William Anderson (1812-1895), a dominant figure at the mission from 1849-1891, and Hugh Goldie (1815-1895) who became the mission's leading Efik scholar and translator. Progress was at first slow, the missionaries concentrating partly on education and partly on preaching by which they hoped to effect both religious and social change. They were particularly concerned to alter such practices as ritual killing, the killing of twins and poison ordeals. Church membership remained small, but in the 1880s some growth was evident and the mission began a period of expansion, for example, to Okoyong. The Hope Waddell Institute in Duke Town was established during this period.

The UPC also went on to found new missions in Rajputan (now Rajasthan) in India in 1860, in Manchuria in China in 1872, and Japan in 1873. In addition to foreign missions in the strict sense, the UPC Foreign Mission Committee was for some time concerned with colonial and Jewish mission work, the former particularly in Canada, the latter in centres thoughout Europe (such as Spain) and North Africa, and also maintained links with European evangelical churches. In 1900 the UPC was united with the Free Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church (though an element of the Free Church continued autonomously).

See also:
Hope Masterton Waddell, Twenty-nine years in the West Indies and Central Africa; a review of missionary work and adventure, 1829-1858 (London: T. Nelson, 1863).
John McKerrow, History of the foreign missions of the Seccession and United Presbyterian Church (Edinburgh: A. Elliot, 1867).
George Robson, Missions of the United Presbyterian Church: described in a series of stories (Edinburgh : Offices of the United Presbyterian Church, 1896).
Geoffrey Johnston, Of God and Maxim guns: Presbyterianism in Nigeria, 1846-1966 (Waterloo, Ont. : Published for the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion/Corporation Canadienne des Sciences Religieuses by Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1988).

Custodial history: Subsequent to the 1900 union of the UPC the with the Free Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church, the two secretaries of the former churches remained in office as Joint Secretaries, each dealing in general with the same mission fields as previously. Their successors continued the United Presbyterian series of letter-books for foreign letters, and both series for home letters. It was therefore necessary to ignore the union of 1900 in arranging the material. No incoming letters to the United Free Church have survived. Those to the United Free Church from former UPC fields have been placed with those from former Free Church fields.

Immediate source of acquisition: MSS 7638-744 were deposited at the National Library of Scotland by the Overseas Council of the Church of Scotland in 1953, MSS 8943-53 in 1967, and Dep 298 in 1979.

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

Scope and content/abstract: The main part of the collection consists of MSS 7638-744, and includes:
101 volumes of Home Letter Books (MSS 7638-738) of the Secretaries (general, home and foreign), the Home Mission Secretary, the Treasurers, and concerning adoption of orphans in Rajasthan (1847-1936).
6 volumes of the journal of the Calabar Mission, kept by the Reverend Hope Masterton Waddell (MSS 7739-43), 1846-58.
1 volume consisting of the Minute Book of the Eastern Committee dealing with missions in Rajputana (now Rajasthan), Manchuria and Japan (MS 7744) 1883-6.

System of arrangement: Subsequent to this union, the two secretaries of the former churches remained in office as Joint Secretaries, each dealing in general with the same mission fields as previously. Their successors continued the United Presbyterian series of letter-books for foreign letters, and both series for home letters. It has therefore been necessary to ignore the union of 1900 in arranging the material. Livingstonia comes into the foreign series in 1914; for the earlier letter-books relating to that field see MSS 7864-8. No incoming letters to the United Presbyterian Church have survived; those to the United Free Church from former UPC fields have been placed with those from former Free Church Fields (MSS 7793-859).

ACCESS AND USE

Language: English.

Conditions governing access: *

Conditions governing reproduction: Copies supplied by the Library must not be reproduced (eg in a publication, or by electronic means or broadcasting) without permission to reproduce the item first having been obtained from the Library in writing. Refer to the relevent web page of the National Library of Scotland for more details.

Finding aids:
National Library of Scotland, Catalogue of manuscripts acquired since 1925 (volume VI) manuscripts 7530-8022, Scottish Foreign Mission Records 1827-1929 (Edinburgh: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1984).

National Library of Scotland, Catalogue of manuscripts acquired since 1925 (volume VII) manuscripts 8023-9500, charters and other formal documents 7637-8500 (Edinburgh: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1989).

ALLIED MATERIALS

Related material: Refer also to the National Library of Scotland descriptions for the Scottish Missionary Society and the United Free Church of Scotland.

The National Library of Scotland also holds additional papers relating to William Anderson (MSS 2981-83).

Edinburgh University New College Library holds papers of the Calabar Mission, Church of Scotland Missions in Africa including illustrations of the UPC's work at Calabar, papers of the Calabar UPC missionary William Marwick and Home Minutes (1900-29) of the UPC.

Publication note:
National Library of Scotland, Catalogue of manuscripts acquired since 1925 (volume VI) manuscripts 7530-8022, Scottish Foreign Mission Records 1827-1929 (Edinburgh: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1984).

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Note: Compiled using:
National Library of Scotland, Catalogue of manuscripts acquired since 1925 (volume VI) manuscripts 7530-8022, Scottish Foreign Mission Records 1827-1929 (Edinburgh: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1984).
National Library of Scotland, Catalogue of manuscripts acquired since 1925 (volume VII) manuscripts 8023-9500, charters and other formal documents 7637-8500 (Edinburgh: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1989).
Biographical dictionary of Christian missions, ed. by Gerald H. Anderson (New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1998).

Date(s) of descriptions: July 2002.

INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Personal names: Anderson | William | 1812-1895 | United Presbyterian Church of Scotland missionary in Nigeria; Waddell | Hope Masterton | 1804-1895 | United Presbyterian Church of Scotland missionary in Nigeria
Corporate names: United Presbyterian Church of Scotland
Places: Africa; Asia; East Asia; Rajputana (now Rajasthan), Manchuria and Japan; South Asia; West Africa