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. 168 |
| Creator: | Ikenberry, Ernest 1892-1974. |
| Title: | Ernest and Olivia Ikenberry Papers, |
| Dates: | 1921-2005 |
| Physical Description: | Total archival boxes 6; total linear footage 2.75' |
| Language(s): | Materials in English. |
| Summary: | Correspondence, writings, and collected material document the Ikenberrys' work in China and the U.S. Ernest and Olivia Ikenberry were American missionaries in China from 1922-1951, serving under the Church of the Brethren. Following their return from China they served at a Church of the Brethren mission among the Navajo Indians in Lybrook, New Mexico. |
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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.168 |
| Request Materials: | To view manuscript and archival materials at the Yale Divinity Library, please submit the request form at http://www.library.yale.edu/div/request.htm. |
| 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 O. Susan Ikenberry Wilson, Ernest Ikenberry, Jr.
Information about Access
Open to qualified researchers.
Cite As
Ernest and Olivia Ikenberry Papers, Record Group No. 168, Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.
Biographical Sketch
| 1892 | Ernest LeRoy Ikenberry born. |
| 1920 | B.A. McPherson College |
| 1917 | Installed as minister, McPherson Church of the Brethren |
| 1922 | Married Olivia Dickens, went to China |
| 1922-1923 | Language study in Peking |
| 1923-1924 | Stationed in Ping Ting, Shansi |
| 1924-34 | Tai Yuan, youth work with YMCA, on loan from Church of the Brethren |
| 1927 | Evacuated due to political unrest |
| 1929 | Graduated, Yale Divinity School; Returned to YMCA work in Tai Yuan |
| 1934-40 | Evangelistic work in Ping Ting |
| 1937-40 | Children at North China American School |
| 1941 | Returned to U.S. |
| 1941-43 | Pastor, Twin Falls, Idaho |
| 1945 | Ernest returned to Shanghai, China followed by Olivia in 1946 |
| 1945-48 | National Christian Council of China and the China Office of Church World Service |
| 1948-51 | Church of the Brethren Mission Office, Shanghai |
| 1951 | Returned to USA |
| 1951-53 | Personnel Secretary for Brethren Mission Board, Elgin, Illinois |
| 1954-1957 | Re-opened Navajo Indian Mission in Lybrook, New Mexico |
| 1958 | Pastor, Brethren Church in Phoenix, Arizona |
| 1962 | Pastor, Aline, Oklahoma |
| 1964 | Wife Olivia died, Married Marguerite Berkey, former missionary to China and Japan |
| 1964 | Moved to LaVerne, California |
| 1974 | Died |
| 1896 | Olivia Dickens Ikenberry born |
| 1915-17 | Northfield Seminary |
| 1917-19 | Oberlin College |
| 1919-21 | McPherson College |
| 1921-22 | Taught at Daleville College |
| 1922 | Married Ernest Ikenberry, Went to China |
| 1922 | Went to China, taught in mission schools, worked with Chinese women |
| 1944-46 | Dean of Women, McPherson College |
| 1946 | Returned to China |
| 1946-50 | National Christian Council, Secretary, Women's Work; publicity writer: Church World Service |
| 1964 | Died |
Description of the Papers
This record group contains relatively little material related to the Ikenberrys' work in China prior to their last stint in Shanghai following the second World War. Three times in their lives as missionaries in China, Olivia and Ernest Ikenberry had to evacuate because of dangerous war situations. First in 1927 when they were living in Tai Yuan, the warlords began fighting for power in Shansi. The second time, in the winter of 1940, they had been living under Japanese occupation for three years in Ping Ting, Shansi. At this time the Ikenberrys burned all their letters, papers, and accounts to keep them out of the hands of the Japanese, afraid that some information could be used against the Chinese Christians. This collection does contain circular letters, writings, and photographs documenting the Ikenberrys' work in China as well as correspondence and other materials related to their work among Native Americans in the U.S.