Identity elements
referentie code
Name and location of repository
Beschrijvingsniveau
Titel
Datum(s)
- 1929-1965 (Vervaardig)
Omvang
.25 cu.ft. (partial box)
Naam van de archiefvormer
Institutionele geschiedenis
Originally called St. Stephen’s Normal and Theological School, Bishop Payne Divinity School (Petersburg, Virginia) was founded in 1878 as a branch seminary of the Virginia Theological Seminary. Its first graduate was James S. Russell, who went on to found St. Paul’s Normal and Industrial School in nearby Lawrenceville. When the school was chartered by the State of Virginia in 1884, it was renamed Bishop Payne Divinity and Industrial School in honor of the Rt. Rev. John Payne, the first Bishop of Liberia.
Enrollment decreased dramatically in the 1890s following several canonical actions by the church that marginalized their African American congregations. The name was changed again in 1910 to Bishop Payne Divinity School when the school was given the power to confer the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. Maintaining an adequate budget to operate and improve the school and competing with white seminaries which began to admit black students were constant challenges that led to the decision to close the school in 1949. Its assets were transferred in 1953 to the Virginia Theological Seminary for the purpose of recruiting and educating African Americans.
Content and structure elements
Bereik en inhoud
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.
Ordeningstelsel
This material constitutes file series 10 of the ACI archive.
Conditions of access and use elements
Voorwaarden voor raadpleging
Access to Episcopal Church records is governed by the Archives Public Access Policy. Research requests must be submitted in writing.
Technical access
Voorwaarden voor reproductie
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
- Engels
Scripts of the material
Taal en schrift aantekeningen
Toegangen
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Geschiedenis beheer
Aanvullingen
Related materials elements
Bestaan en verblifplaats van originelen
Bestaan en verblijfplaats van kopieën
Related archival materials
The Bishop Payne Library at Virginia Theological Seminary holds Bishop Payne Divinity School Records, 1885-1953, RG V19.
Related descriptions
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Trefwoorden
Onderwerp trefwoord
Geografische trefwoorden
Naam ontsluitingsterm
- American Church Institute (Onderwerp)