Guide to the Langdon Cheves McCord Smythe and Mary Fletcher Smythe Papers

Descriptive Summary

Title

Langdon Cheves McCord Smythe and Mary Fletcher Smythe Papers

Inclusive Dates

1883-1972

Call Number

RG 467

Creator(s)

Smythe, Langdon Cheves McCord, 1883-1941.

Smythe, Mary Fletcher, 1890-1979.

Quantity

0.66 cubic feet (1 box)

Language

Materials in English, Japanese and German

Restrictions on Access

Open for research

Digital Content

To browse this collection's digitized materials visit Pearl.

Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not be available on Pearl or in their entirety.

Repository

Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 USA

Biographical Note / Administrative History

Biographical Note

The Smythes were Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS) missionaries to Japan from 1917 to 1939 and from 1947 to 1957. Langdon Cheves McCord Smythe, or “Cheves” as he was known to family and friends, was born February 7, 1883, scion of an established Charleston, S.C. family. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Va.), in 1904 and 1905, then spent four years as a schoolmaster in Charleston. Langdon completed a bachelor’s in Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1912, and spent the next year on a fellowship to Heidelberg University. Appointed a PCUS evangelistic missionary to Japan, he sailed for language school in Tokyo in October 1913.

Mary Fletcher was born in 1890 in Accomac, Va., and graduated from Mary Baldwin College (Staunton, Va.) in 1907. Langdon met Mary in Karuizawa, Nagano prefecture, in 1914, and they married in 1916. The Smythes served in Toyohashi, Aichi prefecture, before transferring to Kinjo Gakuin in Nagoya in 1917. Both Smythes taught classes at Kinjo and assisted with mission work in the community. Mary specialized in music and home economics classes while Langdon taught English and Bible, worked with several Nagoya churches, and went on evangelistic tours in the countryside.

In October 1918, the YMCA of Japan recruited Langdon to work in Siberia, serving as unofficial liaison and interpreter -- he spoke Japanese, German, and some Russian and French -- for prisoners of war. The Smythes taught at Kinjo from 1922 to 1939, when the creeping nationalism of Japan’s government and the enforcement of wartime restrictions led the couple to consider resigning. Ultimately, Langdon’s ill health forced the couple to return to the United States, in 1939; he died in February 1941.

In 1947, Mary returned to Nagoya where she taught at Kinjo Gakuin and helped with informal relief work among Japanese affected by World War II. She was much revered at Kinjo and in the larger community when she retired in 1957.

Collection Overview

The core of the collection is Series I, Langdon’s correspondence and photographs, which document the couple’s mission work, predominantly at Kinjo Gakuin from 1913-1939. Of particular interest are Langdon’s official papers, photographs and letters from Siberia in 1918. Additional topics of note include a description of the Tokyo earthquake of September 1, 1923; the impact of the Great Depression on remittances to missionaries; the rise of Japanese nationalism, and the war in Manchuria; and the Smythes’ preparations to resign their commission.

Series II includes photographs of many of the sites of Langdon’s evangelistic outreach, including factories, state schools, and private residences. Clippings, works of art, and other materials are primarily commemorative, collected by Mary after her return to the United States.

Photographs enclosed in correspondence have been retained alongside letters in Series I. Langdon C.M. Smythe correspondence includes typed transcriptions of original letters, created by Mary Fletcher Smythe after Langdon’s death.

Organization and Arrangement

The collection is arranged as follows:

SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE, WRITINGS AND PASTORAL REGISTER, 1913-1972
Subseries 1: Langdon C. M. Smythe, 1913-1941
Subseries 2: Mary Fletcher Smythe, 1941-1972

SERIES II: PHOTOGRAPHS, CLIPPINGS AND EPHEMERA, 1883-1971

Alternative Formats

To browse this collection's digitized materials visit Pearl.

Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not have been digitized in their entirety.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Received from Mary Fletcher Smythe between January and April 1972. Consult accession file for details.

Processing Information

Collection processed by PHS volunteer Sue Althouse; guide prepared in 2011 by David Staniunas, Records Archivist.

Preferred Citation

Langdon Cheves McCord Smythe and Mary Fletcher Smythe papers, 1883-1972, RG 467, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Catalog Headings

The following headings have been used to index the description of this collection in the society’s electronic catalog.

Personal Name Subject

Smythe, Langdon Cheves McCord, 1883-1941.

Smythe, Mary Fletcher, 1890-1979.

Corporate Subject

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Japan Mission.

Kinjåo Gakuin Daigaku.

Shimizu Presbyterian Church (Nagoya, Japan)

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Executive Committee of Foreign Missions.

Topical Subject

Missionaries--Japan--20th century.

Women missionaries--Japan--20th century.

Presbyterian Church--Missions--Japan--20th century.

Missions--Japan--20th century.

Earthquakes--Japan--Tokyo--1923.

World War, 1914-1918--Prisoners and prisons, Russian.

World War, 1914-1918--War work--Young Men's Christian associations.

Geographic Subject

Yokkaichi-shi (Japan)

Seto-shi (Japan)

Japan--Missions--20th century.

Genre-form

Photographic prints. aat

Correspondence. aat

Personal Added Name

Smythe, Langdon Cheves McCord, 1883-1941.

Smythe, Mary Fletcher, 1890-1979.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description	Alternative Formats

1	1	Guide to Record Group 467

		SERIES I: CORRESPONDENCE, WRITINGS AND PASTORAL REGISTER, 1913-1972

		Subseries 1: Langdon C.M. Smythe, 1913-1941

1	2	Correspondence, 1913-1917
1	3	Correspondence, 1918
1	4	Correspondence, 1918-1920
1	5	Correspondence, 1922-1923
1	6	Correspondence, 1924-1926
1	7	Correspondence, 1927-1933
1	8	Correspondence, 1934-1938
1	9	Correspondence, 1939-1940
1	10	Pastoral register, 1910-1939
1	11	Writings, 1932-1939

		Subseries 2: Mary Fletcher Smythe, 1941-1972

1	12	Correspondence, 1930-1941
1	13	Correspondence, 1945-1948
1	14	Correspondence, 1962-1972

		SERIES II: PHOTOGRAPHS, CLIPPINGS AND EPHEMERA, 1883-1971

1	15	Photograph, Langdon C.M. Smythe at Benham Club, Princeton Theological Seminary, 1912
1	16	Photograph, Langdon C.M. Smythe, graduating class, Princeton Theological Seminary, 1912
1	17	Photographs, Langdon C.M. Smythe, [1904-1912]
1	18	Photographs, 1914-1920
1	19	Photographs, 1920-1928
1	20	Photographs, 1930-1940
1	21	Photographs, 1948-1971	Digital
1	22	Photographs, friends and acquaintances, 1910-1970
1	23	Wedding photographs, 1923-1971
1	24	Langdon C.M. Smythe passports, birth certificate, diplomas, 1883-1922
1	25	Biographical sketch and typed transcript of Langdon C.M. Smythe letters by Mary Fletcher Smythe, [1941]
1	26	Langdon C.M. Smythe obituary clippings, memorial writings, 1941
1	27	Clippings, 1918-1969
1	28	“Souls Undaunted,” by Lois Erickson, inscribed by author, [1919]
1	29	“Kinjo College : Seventy years, 1889-1959” by Buichi Kondo, English and Japanese editions, with Mary Fletcher Smythe corrections and marginalia, 2 v., [1960]
1	30	Fabric collage made by Reformatory boys, undated
1	31	Norio Chiba shikishi to Mary Fletcher Smythe, 1957
1	32	Christmas scroll from teachers at Kinjo College, 1939

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Guide to the Langdon Cheves McCord Smythe and Mary Fletcher Smythe Papers

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