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. 178 |
| Creator: | DeForest, Charlotte B. (Charlotte Burgis), b. 1879. |
| Title: | Charlotte DeForest Papers, |
| Dates: | 1879-1967 |
| Physical Description: | Total archival boxes 4; total linear footage 2' |
| Language(s): | Materials in English. |
| Summary: | Correspondence, writings, and collected material in the Charlotte DeForest Papers document her work in women's higher education in Japan, her literary efforts to translate Japanese poetry and children's books, and her work with Japanese-Americans. Charlotte DeForest was the daughter of ABCFM missionaries to Japan and a graduate of Smith College. She was a missionary educator in Japan from 1903 to 1940, serving on the faculty and as president of Kobe College. During World War II she was involved in work with Japanese-American detainees. |
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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.178 |
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Administrative Information
Provenance
Received from UCBWM offices.
Information about Access
Open to qualified researchers.
Cite As
Charlotte DeForest Papers, Record Group No. 178, Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.
Biographical Sketch
| 1879 Feb 23 | Charlotte Burgis DeForest was born in Osaka, Japan, daughter of ABCFM missionaries Elizabeth Starr and John Hyde DeForest, who served in Japan from 1874 to their respective deaths in 1915 and ca. 1910. Charlotte's sister Lydia and her husband William B. Pettus were missionaries to China serving under the YMCA. |
| 1882-1883 | In America on furlough with parents |
| 1894 Feb-May | In private boarding school in Hanover, Germany |
| 1894-1897 | Attended, graduated from Newton High School, Newtonville, MA |
| 1897-1901 | B.A., Smith College |
| 1902 Sep -1903 Aug | Assistant superintendent of Missionary Home, Auburndale, MA |
| 1903 Dec | Returned to Japan as missionary serving under American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions |
| 1904 | Language study in Sendai |
| 1905 | Taught English at Kobe College, with time for language study |
| 1906 Apr-1907 Mar | Traveling to visit schools; language study |
| 1907 Apr | Returned to Kobe College: In charge of Sunday School work and later appointed as head of the Bible Department |
| 1907 | M.A., Smith College |
| 1910-1911 Oct | Acting Principal of Kobe College during absence of Miss Searle |
| 1911 Nov -1913 | On leave of absence |
| 1912 Mar-May | Studied at Hartford School of Missions |
| 1913 | Returned to teaching at Kobe: English, Bible, Music |
| 1915 | Appointed President of Kobe by Woman's Board of Missions of the Interior |
| 1920 | Studied at University of Chicago |
| 1921 | L.H.D. degree from Smith College |
| 1921-1925 | At Kobe |
| 1925 Dec - 1926 Dec | Business trip and health leave in U.S. |
| 1929 - 1934 | On Doshisha University Board of Trustees |
| 1935Jun - 1936 | On furlough in U.S. and Europe |
| 1939 | Received medal from Hyogo Prefectural Education Association |
| 1940 | Resigned presidency of Kobe; named "Honorary President"; received various citations and medals from Japanese government |
| 1941- 1943 | Worked part time in American Board Library |
| 1942 -1943 | Volunteer work for Japanese detainees at Boston Immigration Station |
| 1943-1944 | Taught nine month course in Japanese language to Army Student Training Unit at Pomona College, Claremont, CA |
| 1944 Jun - 1945 Dec | Worked as "junior counselor" in Social Welfare Department of the U.S. government at Manzanar, CA Relocation Center for Japanese evacuees from West Coast (e.g., for military hearings) |
| 1947 | Returned to Kobe College to teach and help rally alumnae |
| 1950 | On leaving Japan, receive Fourth Grade of the Order of the Sacred Treasure |
| 1951 | Retired at Pilgrim Place, Claremont, CA |
| 1960 | Invited by alumnae to attend 85th anniversary of Kobe College |
Description of the Papers
Series I, Correspondence, begins with letters written by Charlotte to her parents as she left them in Japan and began her journey to continue her education first in Germany and then in the United States. Charlotte had literary interests and wrote substantive, detailed letters throughout her life. Charlotte's letters to family members dating from 1907 to 1912 are primarily from Japan, except when she was on furlough or vacationing in Kuling, China. Circular letters written by Charlotte date from 1940 to 1951 and relate primarily to her activities at Kobe College. Also of interest in Series I are letters written to Charlotte by Kobe College alumnae who were affected by the relocation of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
Series II, Writings, provide valuable autobiographical information about Charlotte DeForest, as well her writings on a variety of Japan-related topics. Journals kept by Charlotte in Japan, when she was eleven to fourteen years old (1890-1893), provide fascinating detailed information regarding the activities and feelings of a missionary child of the era. The later diaries are of the five-year variety.
Series III, Subject Files, includes material related to Kobe College and several files relating to Charlotte's translation and publication projects. She worked with Japanese writer Tasuku Harada, who was pastor of the Kobe Jumiai Church and later president of Doshisha University of Kyoto, to versify Japanese nursery rhymes that Harada had translated into English. Correspondence and drafts relate to the publication of The Prancing Pony: Nursery Rhymes from Japan.
Series IV, Personal Items and Memorabilia, includes biographical information, photographs of Charlotte DeForest and Kobe College, and collected memorabilia. One folder of correspondence in this series relates to Charlotte's inquiries regarding familial history of the incidence of cleft (or hare) lips. The folder of biographical information regarding Charlotte's brother John includes genealogical information about the DeForest family.