Jacob Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine, on November 14, 1803. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. He studied at Andover Theological Seminary from 1821 to 1824. Abbott taught at Amherst College from 1825-1829, before founding the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829. He also founded Abbott's Institute in 1843 and the Mount Vernon School for Boys in 1845. In addition to his work in education, Abbott was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association of the Congregational Church, and was the pastor of the Eliot Congregational Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Abbott was the author of juvenile fiction and religious books, authoring one hundred and eighty books during his career. The most popular were his "Rollo" series. Abbott married Harriet Vaughan in 1829 and had four sons: Benjamin, Edward, Austin, and Lyman. He died in Farmington, Maine, in 1879.
Claude William Black, Jr. (November 28, 1916- March 13, 2009) was one of San Antonio’s most indefatigable advocates for the equal rights of African Americans. He graduated in 1937 from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, and earned a Master Of Divinity degree at Andover Newton Theological School, Newton, MA, in 1943. He attended Trinity University in the early 1970s in order to complete graduate coursework in the Urban Studies department. Records documenting the following aspects of Reverend Black's life are included in the collection.
Ministry: In 1949, Reverend Black became pastor of the Mount Zion First Baptist Church, and served there for 49 years until 1998, after which he continued as Pastor Emeritus. He returned as interim pastor from 2005-2008. He created service organizations for the elderly, the poor, and the hungry, and started the first African American, church-owned credit union, Mount Zion Federal Credit Union. In the 1950s and 1960s, Reverend Black and other African American community members staged peaceful, civil rights protests that led to integration of lunch counters at local motels and at Joske's Department Store, theaters, parks and other public spaces. Reverend Black belonged to multiple religious organizations, such as the San Antonio Council of Churches and the San Antonio Ministers Association. One of these, the Baptist Ministers Union, was very active in church-related civil rights actions, one of which the scrapbook about the Billy Graham Evangelistic Rally (July 25, 1958) fully documents.
Politics: From 1973—1977, Black was elected City Councilman for the City of San Antonio and was appointed as the first African American Mayor Pro Tem. He was invited by President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1966 to participate in the White House Conference on Civil Rights and by President William Jefferson Clinton in 1995 to participate in the White House Conference on Aging. The scrapbooks in the collection are especially focused on Reverend Black's political campaigns and concerns.
Community: Black served on boards and committees with numerous community organizations, particularly those that would benefit the traditionally African American East side of the city. He was often invited to speak at civic and ceremonial events, as can be seen through the letters of invitation in the correspondence and letters section. Reverend Black received certificates and proclamations in his honor throughout his life that acknowledge his prolific activity.
William M. Kelly was born October 14, 1874 in Carrollton, Missouri, one of eight children. Kelly attended Trinity University in Tehuacana, Texas from 1891 through 1897. While at Trinity, Kelly was involved in the Timotheans society. He graduated from medical school at the University of Nashville in 1899, and was ordained a minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church on May 9, 1899. Rev. Kelly departed for China as a medical missionary on September 19, 1899, working under the auspices of the Cumberland Presbyterian China Mission. He married Carrie Goodrich, a missionary associated with the Foreign Christian Missionary Society, on August 22, 1900 in Shanghai. Mrs. Kelly passed away in December 1901. He again married in 1903, to Grace Miller Hill, a Methodist missionary born in Northern Ireland. Grace and William had five children; one passed away in childhood. Grace returned to the United States with their surviving children around 1922, and passed away in 1972. Rev. Kelly married his third wife, Mu Yi Chi, sometime in the 1930s. They moved to Inner Mongolia and had three children. During World War II, Rev. Kelly and his family were interned by the Japanese in Wihsien from 1943-1945. Two of Kelly's children were sent to the United States in 1948 to be raised by foster families. Despite pressure from Communist leaders, Rev. Kelly remained in Beijing, distributing bibles and operating an "underground church" until his death on June 22, 1957. He is buried at the Seven Trees Foreign Cemetery. His youngest child, Daniel Kelly, was then 16 years of age and attempted to flee China. He was stopped by border guards and was forced to serve twenty-one years in forced labor camps because he refused to renounce his American citizenship. Authorities allowed him to leave China in 1978; he arrived in America in 1979.
Reverend Chester L. Tolson was born in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and served as pastor at numerous Presbyterian churches. He also served as the Church Executive for the Presbytery of Los Angeles, the Capital Funds Director for the Presbyterian Church USA, and Development Officer for the Crystal Cathedral Ministries. Rev. Tolson taught religion at Lewis and Clark College, and was the Assistant to the President under Dr. James Laurie at Trinity University (1967-1969). He was the author of books on prayer and church fundraising. Rev. Tolson lived for many years in Apple Valley, California, with his wife Carol and four children. He passed away in 2015.