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.

The DFMS archive on the American Church Institute (ACI) is largely focused on the years 1906 through 1967, although documentation on individual schools dates from 1867 (see AO-00-R0061-02-12). The collection represents a reasonably comprehensive record of ACI during its lifetime and, in most cases, a much briefer synopsis of the life of each of the individual schools, although student rosters and academic records are not present. The overall ACI administrative records consist of minutes, reports, legal and financial documents, correspondence, historical summaries, building plans, studies, surveys, publications, photographs, and ACIN's corporate seal. Records of the individual schools include copies of minutes of the boards of trustees, reports, correspondence, financial documents, institutional histories, personnel records, and publicity materials.

Records of the school include its charter (1867) and initial agreement with ACI (1906), Board of Trustees' meeting minutes and President's reports (1931, 1940, 1947-1954), and documents relating to building programs (1929, 1947). Financial records include audit reports almost complete (1936-1967), correspondence (1939-1951), and budgets and salaries (1949-1954, 1957-1958). Correspondence is present between St. Augustine's president and the Home Department director (1948-1954), as well as the ACI director's correspondence (1919-1943). This series also includes a survey report of the school by the George Peabody College for Teachers (1946). Some documents dating from 1938 to 1941 relate to the Bishop Tuttle Training School, a Christian social work and religious education institution administered by St. Augustine's from 1925, including the school's bulletin and a survey report.