David Crockett Graham Collection

Collection

Identifier: WCMss-094

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The David Crockett Graham Collection consists of journals, notebooks, correspondence and notes regarding archeological and anthropological research. This collection, which dates from 1884 through 1961, also contains reports and charts, artwork, photographs, maps and books from Graham's thirty-seven years in China. Materials include songs and stories of the Ch'uan Miao, manuscript materials relative to the customs and religion of the Ch'iang, information and manuscripts about the Lolo people and papers from and about West China Union University.

Information on the First Baptist Church's Social Action Committee, personal and family information as well as speeches, lectures and sermons by Graham are also included.

Dates

Creation: 1884-1961

Creator

Graham, David Crockett (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Biographical Note

Graham was born in 1884 in Green Forest, Arkansas. His family moved to Milton-Freewater, Oregon shortly after. The family was poor, but managed to get David and his siblings into public schools in Walla Walla, Washington. David excelled in sports, and eventually earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Whitman College in 1908.

In 1910 he married Alicia Morey, and in September of the following year they left San Francisco by steamer to serve in China with the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (ABFMS). Graham gradually shifted his focus from missionary work to anthropology, and he spent the remainder of his thirty-seven year career studying various Chinese groups and religions.

Upon retiring in 1948, he moved to Colorado where he lived until his death in September 1961.

Extent

31.5 Linear Feet (4 flat boxes, 19 record cartons, 20 manuscript boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The David Crockett Graham Collection contains ephemera related to the life and work of David Crockett Graham, who arrived in southwestern China as a missionary, in 1911, and stayed 37 years pursuing archeological, anthropological and natural history studies of the region. This collection, which dates from 1884 through 1961, consists of journals, notebooks, correspondence and notes. Also includes are artworks, reports and manuscripts from his time in China.