Guide to the David D. and Mary Parke Thompson Family Papers

Descriptive Summary

Title

David D. and Mary Parke Thompson Family Papers

Inclusive Dates

1856-1957

Bulk Dates

1865-1925

Call Number

RG 497

Creator(s)

Thompson, David D., 1835-1915.

Thompson, Mary Calhoun Parke, 1841-1927.

Thompson, Ruth Rea, 1876-1957.

Caldwell, Grace Thompson, 1879-1971.

Quantity

2.00 cubic feet (2 boxes)

Language

Materials in English and Japanese

Restrictions on Access

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

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

David D. Thompson and Mary Calhoun Parke Thompson were Presbyterian missionaries to Japan. David, born September 21, 1835 in Harrison County, Ohio, graduated from Franklin College (New Athens, Ohio) in 1859 and from Western Theological Seminary (Pittsburgh, Pa.) in 1862. Appointed to Japan by the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Foreign Missions, he sailed for Japan in 1862, remaining in the field until his death in 1915. Mary Calhoun Parke was born September 17, 1841 in Ednahannon, Ireland, and was raised in Savannah, Ashland County, Ohio. She graduated from Xenia Female Seminary in 1866, was appointed by the Board of Foreign Missions and served in Japan from 1873 to 1922. She married David Thompson May 7, 1874; together they had three daughters, Ruth Rea Thompson (b. November 2, 1876), Grace Thompson Caldwell (b. December 31, 1879), and Mary, 1878-1887. She remained in Japan after her husband's death and her own retirement from mission work, until her death May 19, 1927.

Thompson was the first clerical missionary sent by the Board of Foreign Missions to Japan. Tasked with evangelism and church growth, Thompson believed that the church in Japan should be a union Protestant church, rather than an aggregate of separate Christian denominations, each tethered to an American church. Upon his arrival in 1863, kōsatsu, or edict boards offered rewards for turning over Christians to the government. On an official trip to the West in 1871 and 1872, Thompson appealed to governments to pressure Japan to amend the illegal status of Christianity. The kōsatsu came down in 1873.

Thompson wrote extensively on the historic illegal status of Christians in Japan, including on the 1637-1638 Shimabara Rebellion; on Japanese and United States educational systems; on the origins of the Japanese language; on early efforts at church union; and on Shinto and Buddhism.

Collection Overview

Collection consists chiefly of family correspondence, the diaries of Mary Calhoun Parke Thompson, and the notebooks of David D. Thompson. Box 1 includes David Thompson's notes on "Sacred Rhetoric," a journal of his first trip to East Asia, and an indexed volume of reflections on secular and religious topics. One notebook includes David Thompson's diary of his 1871-1872 trip to Europe as guide and interpreter for a youth delegation selected by the Japanese government. Mary Thompson's diaries span 1865 to 1924. They begin with her struggle with the call to mission work, and continue through her first trip to Japan, her language study, her marriage, and her long missionary service. Box 2 includes David Thompson's essays on social and political conditions for foreigners in Japan; on Japanese bureaucracy; on church union; on the Millenium; and other topics. Also included are Mary Parke Thompson's correspondence with women's groups in the United States, and family correspondence during their separation.

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.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Gift of Margaret C. Reiber, 719 Maiden Choice Ln, BR 313, Catonsville MD 21228. Via Reiber's great-aunt Ruth Rea Thompson; child of Mary Calhoun Parke Thompson and David D. Thompson.

Processing Information

Processed by Sue Althouse and David Staniunas, 2012-2017.

Preferred Citation

David D. and Mary Parke Thompson Family Papers, RG 497, 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

Thompson, David D., 1835-1915.

Thompson, Mary Calhoun Parke, 1841-1927.

Thompson, Ruth Rea, 1876-1957.

Caldwell, Grace Thompson, 1879-1971.

Corporate Subject

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Japan Mission.

Topical Subject

Missions--Japan.

Missionaries--Japan.

Women missionaries--Japan.

Presbyterian Church--Missions--Japan.

Geographic Subject

Japan--Missions.

Genre-form

Diaries. aat

Correspondence. aat

Photographs. aat

Clippings (information artifacts) aat

Postcards. aat

Pamphlets. aat

Lecture notes. aat

Personal Added Name

Thompson, Mary Calhoun Parke, 1841-1927.

Thompson, Ruth Rea, 1876-1957.

Caldwell, Grace Thompson, 1879-1971.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description	Alternative Formats

1	1	David D. Thompson reflections, after 1886
1	2	David D. Thompson sermon notes and anecdotes, undated
1	3	Sermon notes, 1910s
1	4	David D. Thompson notes on seminary lectures, journal of voyage to the Far East, 1862
1	5	David D. Thompson sermon notes and list of baptisms, after 1874
1	6	Observation mission to United States and Europe letters and cartes de visite, 1871	Digital
1	7	Observation mission to United States and Europe journal, 1871	Digital
1	8	Mary Parke Thompson diary, February 1865 to June 1873	Digital
1	9	Mary Parke Thompson diary, July 1873 to April 1893	Digital
1	10	Mary Parke Thompson diary, May 1893 to December 1895	Digital
1	11	Mary Parke Thompson diary, January 1896 to July 1900	Digital
1	12	Inserts to Mary Parke Thompson diary, January 1896 to July 1900	Digital
1	13	Mary Parke Thompson diary, July 1900 to April 1904
1	14	Mary Parke Thompson diary, May 1904 to March 1910
1	15	Mary Parke Thompson diary, April 1910 to October 1924
1	16	Mary Parke Thompson poems, before 1874
1	17	Mary Parke Thompson poem, 1896
1	18	Mary Parke Thompson notes toward an epic poem, 1905
1	19	Mary Parke Thompson poems copybook, after 1924
1	20	Grace Thompson photo album, 1925

2	1	David D. Thompson essays, conditions in the early days, before 1903
2	2	David D. Thompson essays, church union, against the Meiji Shrine, family trip to United States, 1874-1894
2	3	David D. Thompson essay, The Insurrection of Shimabara, undated
2	4	David D. Thompson essay, On the Millennium, 1860s
2	5	David D. Thompson article, Educational Systems of Japan and the United States, 1906
2	6	David D. Thompson Japanese folktale translation, Digging Open the Dragon's Grave, 1900
2	7	David D. Thompson sermon notes, 1890s-1914
2	8	Difficulties with Japanese government regulations, 1873-1875
2	9	Annual reports, 1911
2	10	David D. Thompson correspondence, 1871-1914
2	11	David D. Thompson correspondence, 1868-1905
2	12	David D. Thompson and Mary Parke Thompson correspondence, 1856-1902
2	13	Mary Parke Thompson correspondence, 1872-1873
2	14	Mary Parke Thompson wedding invitation, notes for talks, about 1874
2	15	David D. Thompson and Mary Parke Thompson to Ruth and Grace, 1896-1905
2	16	David D. Thompson and Mary Parke Thompson to Ruth, 1907-1915
2	17	Mary Parke Thompson correspondence, 1911-1925
2	18	Ruth and Grace Thompson correspondence, 1907-1916
2	19	Ruth Thompson correspondence, 1889-1922
2	20	Ruth Thompson typescript, Before the Meiji Era, undated
2	21	Ruth Thompson correspondence, 1926-1957
2	22	Photographs, cartes de visite, postcards, 1870s-1920s	Digital
2	23	Photographs, cartes de visite, postcards, 1870s-1920s	Digital
2	24	Photographs, cartes de visite, postcards, 1870s-1920s	Digital
2	25	David D. Thompson 50th anniversary, 1913
2	26	David D. Thompson 50th anniversary article, 1913
2	27	Obituary materials, 1915-1935
2	28	Clippings, 1874-1913
2	29	Quill pen, undated
2	30	Red Cross certificate, undated
2	31	Attaché, undated