Guide to the Margaret Purchase Papers

Descriptive Summary

Title

Margaret Purchase Papers

Inclusive Dates

1940-2009

Bulk Dates

1956-1990s

Call Number

RG 501

Creator(s)

Purchase, Margaret, 1926-2009

Quantity

4.17 cubic feet (4 boxes and 1 oversize flat box)

Language

Materials primarily in English with some items in Arabic and French

Restrictions on Access

Open for research. Medical, educational, and psychological records of living people are closed.

Access to this collection’s digital content is indicated in the Collection Inventory section of this guide, in the Alternative Formats column. When materials are marked “Digital,” they are immediately accessible. Click on the hyperlink to view the digital content in Pearl.

When materials are marked “Digital*” with an asterisk, they are available upon request. Click on the hyperlink to contact the Reference Desk to request access. Access is provided via a temporary password-protected link.

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

Margaret Purchase, missionary for the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., served in Iraq (1956-1969) and in Lebanon (1969-1973). She was a teacher and an administrator at the American School for Girls in Baghdad (later renamed Baghdad High School in Mansour) from 1956 to 1969. She taught English, Bible and physical education, and served as the principal for several years. When Americans were forced to leave Iraq in 1969, she transferred to Beirut, Lebanon, where she directed the Christian Education Division of the Near East Council of Churches. Prior to her missionary service, Purchase was director of Christian education at the United Church (Congregational-Presbyterian) in Big Rapids, Michigan (1949-1955). After completing her missionary service, she was director of Christian education at the First Presbyterian Church in Reading, Pennsylvania (1974-1978). Under sponsorship of the Near East Foundation and as a Presbyterian Overseas Associate, Purchase then returned to Lebanon where she taught English at the Hamlin Hospital School of Nursing in Hammana (1979-1986). In addition to English, she also taught elementary psychology and sociology. Upon her retirement and return to the United States in 1986, Purchase became involved in Christian-Muslim interfaith dialogue and educating people about Islam and the Middle East through volunteer work with the Institute for Global Education in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she initiated a project on "Understanding Islam" in 1993. Concerned about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she made several mission trips to Israel and Palestinian communities in the 1990s.

Margaret Purchase was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on April 26, 1926. She majored in psychology and sociology at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1949. She studied religious education during the summers at Union Theological Seminary in New York, receiving an M.R.E. in 1953, and an M.A. in religious education in 1954, through the combined program with Teachers College, Columbia University. Beginning in 1955, Purchase spent a year studying Bible, theology and church polity at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, while doing field work with physically handicapped children at the Illinois Children's Hospital School. Other continuing education activities included a year at the University of Michigan to study Middle East Studies and Arabic in 1962-1963, and one semester at Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1967-1968. Margaret Purchase died at the Wharton Nursing Home in Pleasant Hill, Tennessee, on July 7, 2009.

Collection Overview

The collection documents Margaret Purchase's missionary service in Iraq and Lebanon, her Christian education work in the United States, and her activities in retirement. Materials in the collection also document her educational pursuits and vocational history. The papers include materials pertaining to her Christian education work at the United Church in Big Rapids, Michigan, her mission work in Iraq at the American School for Girls in Baghdad, later the Baghdad High School in Mansour, and her mission work in Lebanon with the Near East Council of Churches. There are also papers related to her Christian education work at the First Presbyterian Church in Reading, Pennsylvania, and her educational work in Lebanon, at the Hamlin Hospital, under the auspices of the Near East Foundation. The papers contain information about the Understanding Islam project and document the mission trips Purchase made to Israel and Palestinian territory to promote Middle East peace. There are also reseach materials in the collection on the history of Hamlin Hospital and Dr. Mary Pierson Eddy, a Presbyterian medical missionary to Syria.

The collection includes correspondence, 1949-1997, subject files, 1949-2002, photographs and slides, 1940s-2006, as well as audio-visual materials, 1957, 1991-1996. There are also diaries, personal and spiritual journals, and personal notebooks of meditations, spiritural reflections, and prayers. In some instances, there are photographs within subject files. Series VI, Audio-Visual Materials, contains 8 VHS tapes (in box 4, folders 13 through 20), primarily on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Series VII is comprised of 3 posters from Lebanon with anti-drug messages in English, Arabic, and French.

Organization and Arrangement

SERIES I: PERSONAL, 1940-2009

SERIES II: CORRESPONDENCE, 1949-1997

SERIES III: SUBJECT FILES, 1949-2002

SERIES IV: PHOTOGRAPHS, 1940s-2006

SERIES V: SLIDES, 1951-1992

SERIES VI: AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIAL, 1957, 1991-2003

SERIES VII: POSTERS, 1980s?

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.

Digital access copies in MP3 format are available for some folders by request (see the Collection Inventory section of this guide).

Related Material

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

These materials were donated to the Presbyterian Historical Society by Margaret Purchase and received in 2007 and 2010.

Processing Information

This collection was processed and a finding aid prepared in 2017 by Lisa Jacobson, Reference Archivist.

Preferred Citation

Margaret Purchase Papers, RG 501, 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

Purchase, Margaret, 1926-2009.

Corporate Subject

United Mission in Iraq.

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Iraq Mission.

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Syria Mission.

Near East Council of Churches.

Near East Foundation.

American School for Girls (Baghdad, Iraq)

Baghdad High School.

Hamlin Hospital (Hammana, Lebanon)

United Church (Big Rapids, Mich.)

First Presbyterian Church (Reading, Pa.)

Topical Subject

Women missionaries--Iraq--20th century.

Women missionaries--Lebanon--20th century.

Missions--Middle East--20th century.

Missions--Educational work--Iraq--20th century.

Missions--Educational work--Lebanon--20th century.

Christian education.

Christianity and other religions--Relations--Islam.

Arab-Israeli conflict.

Genre-form

Photographs. aat

Slides (photographs) aat

Sound recordings. aat

Subject files. local

Correspondence. aat

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description	Alternative Formats

		SERIES I: PERSONAL, 1940-2009

1	1	Resume and Personnel Materials, 1969-2001
1	2	Memorial Service, 2009
1	3	Church Membership, 1944, 1946, 1996, 2002
1	4	Diplomas, Certificates, Transcripts, 1943-1999
1	5	Summer Camp and Conferences, 1945-1955
1	6	My Vocation, 1950s
1	7	An Autobiography of My Devotional Life, 1951
1	8	Autobiographical Sketch, 1996
1	9	Meditations, 1955-1956
1	10	Prayer, 1991, undated
1	11	An Affirmation of Faith, 1951
1	12	Campus Directory, McCormick Theological Seminary, 1955-1956
1	13	Student Papers, 1940s
1	14	Papers, Union Theological Seminary, 1949-1953
1	15	Papers, Union Theological Seminary, "Iraq: Studies in Religion and Religious Education," 1967-1968
1	16	Paper, "Work to Live or Live to Work," 1978
1	17	Christian Education Materials, 1960s
1	18	Cross-Cultural Communication Skills, undated
1	19	Church Talk, 1959
1	20	Church Talks, 1980s
1	21	News Clips, 1982-1991
1	22	Diary, 1940-1943
1	23	Datebook Diary, 1945
1	24	Diary, 1966-1969
1	25	Diary, 1983
1	26	Diary, Mission Trips, Israel & Palestine, 1990, 1992
1	27	Personal Notes, 1943
1	28	Notebook, 1950s
1	29	Notebooks, 1951-1952, 1957
1	30	Personal Notes, 1955
1	31	Personal Notes, 1971-1975
1	32	Personal Notes, "In My Own Write," 1975-1976
1	33	Notebook, "Outline of Work Experience," 1979
1	34	Notebook, 1980s
1	35	Notebook, 1997-1999
1	36	Personal Notebook, 1999
1	37	Notebook, "Life Story," undated
1	38	Private Prayer Journal, 1977-1980
1	39	Intensive Journal, 1978
1	40	Journal, 1973, 1993-1995

2	1	Journal, 1995-1996
2	2	Journal, 1996-1999
2	3	Journal, 1998-1999
2	4	Journal, 1999-2001
2	5	Journal, 2000-2001
2	6	Reflections, 2001-2002
2	7	Passports, 1956-1984
2	8	Mailing Lists, 1972
2	9	Datebooks, 1974-1991
2	10	Datebook, 1985
2	11	Ephemera, 1954-1968, undated
2	12	Stamps (Palestine, Lebanon), undated

		Series II: CORRESPODENCE, 1949-1997

2	13	Correspondence, 1949, 1954, 1974-1983
2	14	Correspondence, 1984-1997
2	15	Correspondence with Kitty Sheidy, 1980-1986	Digital
2	16	Correspondence, "Letters to Mom," 1972-1990
2	17	Family and Friends Letters, 1963-1986
2	18	Correspondence with Iraqi Friend, 1974-1993
2	19	Correspondence, COEMAR and Program Agency, 1963-1982

		SERIES III: SUBJECT FILES, 1949-2002

2	20	Director of Christian Education, 1949-1953
2	21	American School for Girls / Baghdad High School, Mansour City, Baghdad, Iraq, 1950s-1968
2	22	Letters from Students, 1980-1981, undated
2	23	United Mission in Iraq, 1961-1962
2	24	United Mission in Iraq, Joint Committee, 1962-1963
2	25	Furlough, Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1962-1963
2	26	Near East Christian Council Conference, 1958
2	27	Near East Council of Churches, 1969-1972
2	28	Near East Christian Council, Notebook, 1970
2	29	Near East Council of Churches, Bulletin and Newsletters, 1970-1974
2	30	Near East Christian Council Study Program in Islam, "Operation Reach," 1957-1962
2	31	Middle East Seminar and Study Tour, Seminar for Women, 1973

3	1	Director of Christian education, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1974-1978
3	2	Near East Foundation, Hamlin Hospital, Lebanon, 1979-1987
3	3	English as a Second Language (ESL) Instruction, Michigan, 1980s
3	4	Hamlin Hospital, Lebanon, 1985-1986
3	5	Contact Resource Center, Lebanon, 1979
3	6	Institute for Global Education, 1990s
3	7	Friendship Service Project, Galilee, Israel, 1992	Digital
3	8	Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World, 1976, 1979
3	9	Women in Islam Paper, undated
3	10	Muslim Women, World Affairs Council Lecture, 1996
3	11	Understanding Islam, 1990s
3	12	Understanding Islam, 2000-2002
3	13	Understanding Islam, Projects, 1993-1994
3	14	Understanding Islam, Seminar, 1993
3	15	Oklahoma City Bombing Response, 1995
3	16	Open Letter to Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, 1995
3	17	Christian Peacemaker Teams, Hebron, 1995-1998
3	18	Christian Peacemaker Teams, Israel and Palestine, 1998
3	19	Hamlin Hospital History, undated
3	20	Dr. Mary Eddy Story, 1994
3	21	Research Materials, Dr. Mary Pierson Eddy

		SERIES IV: PHOTOGRAPHS, 1940s-2006

3	22	Photographs, 1940s
3	23	Photographs, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, 1956
3	24	Photographs, YWCA Trip to Jerusalem, 1957
3	25	Photographs (Jerusalem), 1958
3	26	Photographs (Iraq), 1950s
3	27	Photographs (Iraq), 1960s	Digital
3	28	Photographs, United Mission in Iraq, 1958
3	29	Photographs, 1968
3	30	Photographs (Lebanon, Cyprus, Egypt), 1969
3	31	Photographs (Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq), 1969-1970
3	32	Photographs, 1971-1982
3	33	Photographs (Pennsylvania), 1970s
3	34	Lebanon Scrapbook, "This is a Story of a Country..." undated
3	35	Photograph Album, Hamlin Hospital, Lebanon, 1970s
3	36	Photographs (Lebanon), 1980
3	37	Photographs, Hamlin Hospital, Lebanon, 1981
3	38	Photographs, Hamlin Hospital, Lebanon, 1983	Digital
3	39	Photographs, Hamlin Hospital, Lebanon, 1984
3	40	Photographs (Lebanon), 1985
3	41	Photographs (Lebanon), 1985
3	42	Photographs (Lebanon), 1986
3	43	Photographs, Farewell Party, Hamlin Hospital, Lebanon, 1986
3	44	Photographs, Home Visits, 1950s, 1980s
3	45	Photographs, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2006 and undated

		SERIES V: SLIDES, 1951-1992

4	1	Slides (New York, Michigan, Illinois), 1951-1956
4	2	Slides (New York, Spain, Azores, France, Syria), 1956
4	3	Slide Show Outline with Slides, 1957	Digital
4	4	Slides (Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt), 1956-1959
4	5	Slides (Egypt), undated
4	6	Slides (Palestine, Israel, Jordan), 1957-1970
4	7	Slides (Iran, Iraq), 1960-1963
4	8	Slides (Iraq, Iran, Lebanon), 1964-1966
4	9	Slides (Iraq, Germany, Switzerland, Lebanon), 1967-1969
4	10	Slides (Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Iran, Sudan), 1970-1973
4	11	Slides (Colombia, Peru), 1971
4	12	Slides (Lebanon, Israel, Palestine), 1983, 1992

		SERIES VI: AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS, 1957, 1991-2003

4	13	"Iraq After the Gulf War," 1991, VHS	Digital
4	14	Lucille Clifton, A Moment of Poetry; IGE TV, Jennifer Issa; Lebanon (CNN Presents) with Terry Anderson
4	15	"Egypt and Syria '94 Malone Fellows," 1994
4	16	"Seeds of War in Jerusalem: Har Homa Settlement on Abu Ghneim Mountain," Alternative Information Center, 1996
4	17	"Greetings from Iraq: A Documentary about the War and Post-War Experiences of Iraqi Children and their Families," about 1994
4	18	Margaret Purchase speaking at Worship about her personal mission, 1990s	Digital
4	19	"Dead, Buried, and Living in Hebron," Christian Peacemaker Teams, 1996
4	20	Report on Jerusalem, September 1996
4	21	Al Atrash family eviction and arrest, Hebron, 1998, Al Aan [الآن] news program, VHS	Digital
4	22	Audio tape [5"], conversation and music, Rosie Payne, 1960s [available as 2 MP3 files]	Digital*
4	23	Audio tape [7"], Slideshow, 1957	Digital
4	24	Audio cassette, Karen Henry, Big Rapids, Michigan, on Palestine, 1994 March 24	Digital
4	25	Audio cassette, Agnes Purchase, 1999
4	26	Audio cassette, Marina Riadi, November 2001
4	27	Audio cassette (2), Islam, 2001
4	28	Audio cassette, "My Life in Iraq," 2003

		SERIES VII: POSTERS, 1980s

5	1	"Drugs are Friends Who Stab You in the Back," 1980s
5	2	"La Drogue N'Est Pas Une Evasion. C'Est Une Prison Sinistre," 1980s
5	3	"Some Day It Will Be Too Late..." 1980s

Print

You are here

Guide to the Margaret Purchase Papers

Creator(s)