Overview
| Repository: |
Yale University Divinity School
Library
409 Prospect Street New Haven, CT 06511 Email: divinity.library@yale.edu Phone: (203) 432-5301 |
| Call Number: | Record Group No. 113 |
| Creator: | McCracken, Josiah Calvin, 1874-1962. |
| Title: | Josiah C. McCracken Papers, |
| Dates: | 1901-1961 |
| Physical Description: | Total archival boxes 8; total linear footage 3.5' |
| Language(s): | Materials in English. |
| Summary: | Correspondence, writings, and collected material document the work of a distinguished medical missionary and educator in China and provide information about graduates of the Medical Department of St. John's University, Shanghai. Josiah Calvin McCracken was a medical missionary and educator in China from 1906 to 1948. Sent out by the Christian Association of the University of Pennsylvania, he headed the medical department at Canton Christian College from 1907 to 1912, and at St. John's University in Shanghai from 1914-1942 |
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| Finding Aid Link: | To cite or bookmark this finding aid, use the following address: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.113 |
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| Catalog Record: | A record for this collection, including location information, may be available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog. |
Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift of Helen McCracken Fulcher and Martha McCracken.
Information about Access
Open to qualified researchers.
Cite As
Josiah C. McCracken Papers, Record Group No. 113, Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.
Biographical Sketch
| 1874 | Born in Lincoln County, Tennessee; grew up in Kansas |
| 1891-1895 | Attended Cooper College, which became Sterling College, Sterling, KS |
| 1896-1901 | Attended University of Pennsylvania Medical School; athletic star in football and track |
| 1901-1903 | YMCA secretary, Columbia University |
| 1903-1905 | Medical intern at Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia |
| 1906 | Visited China to evaluate need for medical work there for Christian Association of University of Pennsylvania |
| 1906 | Married Helen Newpher, who became the mother of their eight children. |
| 1907-1912 | Developed the University Medical School at Canton Christian College, serving under the Christian Association of the University of Pennsylvania |
| 1912-1913 | On furlough in U.S.; daughter Mary Elizabeth paralyzed by polio, but was later able to go to medical school and become a pediatrician in China. |
| 1914-1942 | Dean of the Medical School of St. John's University, associated with the University of Pennsylvania; Professor of Surgery and chief surgeon at St. Luke's Hospital; physician to Shanghai American School. |
| 1927 | Received honorary Doctor of Science degree from University of Pennsylvania |
| 1938-1942 | Head of American Red Cross Hospital for Refugees, Shanghai |
| 1942 | Repatriated on the exchange ship Gripsholm |
| 1942-1946 | Staff surgeon at hospital in Pennsylvania |
| 1944 | Helen McCracken died. |
| 1946-1948 | Returned to Shanghai to reestablished Medical School at St. John's. |
| 1948 | Returned to U.S.; retired from active professional duties but remained active in church-related activities. Provided numerous letters of reference for St. John's Medical School graduates seeking employment in the U.S. |
| 1962 | Died |
Additional biographical information available in Mission to Shanghai; the life of medical service of Josiah Calvin McCracken by Helen McCracken Fulcher.
Description of the Papers
I. Biographical Documentation
II. Correspondence
III. Writings and Collected Material
IV. Photographs
The Biographical Documentation of Series I includes articles and clippings about McCracken, memorabilia, and material compiled by his daughter Helen McCracken Fulcher. The Correspondence of Series II includes family correspondence, circular letters describing McCracken's work in China, and a valuable of collection of correspondence and documents relating to the graduates of the Medical Department of St. John's University in Shanghai. The Writings and Collected Material of Series III include articles and speeches by McCracken, other articles about China, and documentation related to the University of Pennsylvania Medical School at St. John's University. Series IV includes photographs of McCracken, his students and their families, the staff of the Medical School in Canton, and medical cases.