Identity elements
Reference Number
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1929-1965 (Creation)
Extent
.25 cu.ft. (partial box)
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The DFMS archive on the American Church Institute (ACI) is largely focused on the years 1906-1967, although documentation on individual schools dates from 1867 (see AO-00-R0061-02 through AO-00-R0061-02-12). This set includes records of the oversight of Bishop Payne Divinity School, Petersburg, Virginia. Records in this series consist mainly of correspondence, especially from the ACI Treasurer’s office concerning the school’s building fund (1932-1948, 1951), and also correspondence of the Rev. George A. Wieland, Home Department Director and later ACI Director (1929-1930, 1942-1951). Board of Trustees meeting minutes and correspondence (1938-1944, 1947-1948), financial documents (1939-1965), and two school catalogs (1945, 1946) are also present.
Arrangement
This material constitutes file series 10 of the ACI archive.
Conditions of access and use elements
Access conditions
Access to Episcopal Church records is governed by the Archives Public Access Policy. Research requests must be submitted in writing.
Technical access
Rights and permissions
The Archives is able to respond to limited requests for reproductions subject to copyright restrictions, internal policy, and the condition of the source documents.
Languages of the material
English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related records and archives
The Bishop Payne Library at Virginia Theological Seminary holds Bishop Payne Divinity School Records, 1885-1953, RG V19.
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
- Abstract: Originally called St. Stephen’s Normal and Theological School (having absorbed St. Stephen’s Normal and Industrial School), Bishop Payne Divinity School was founded in 1878 as a branch seminary of the Virginia Theological Seminary. When the school was chartered by the State of Virginia in 1884, it was renamed in honor of the Rt. Rev. John Payne, the first Bishop of Liberia, as Bishop Payne Divinity and Industrial School. The school was folded into and received support from the American Church Institute after 1906 and in 1910 it was renamed the Bishop Payne Divinity School at which time the school was given the power to confer the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. The school was closed in 1949 and in 1953 its financial assets were transferred from the DFMS to the Virginia Theological Seminary for the purpose of recruiting and educating African Americans.
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- American Church Institute (Subject)