Finding Aid Round Up

Today’s blogpost is by Sidney Irwin. Sidney is a Master’s of Library Science student at the University of North Texas who is getting a general studies degree and a graduate certificate in archival management. Sidney is an Abilene, TX native who earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Abilene Christian University.

We’ve been busy writing finding aids for recent acquisitions and revising finding aids for sets of papers already in our holdings. You can browse all of our collections on DigitalCommons. See something below that piques your interest or could be useful for your research? Get in touch and let us know what you’re thinking about; we’d love to help!


John Clayton Papers, 1977-1990, MS#208 [Revised Finding Aid]

John Clayton was originally an atheist, part of the atheist group that made Madeline Murray O’Hair famous. In his work writing a book called All the Stupidity of the Bible he became convinced of Christianity. He is a retired teacher and geologist with multiple accolades in the field of teaching. He now travels the U.S. doing lectures on “Does God Exist?” This collection consists of materials from the “Does God Exist” ministry, including correspondence, written material, DVDs, and tapes. 

“Does God Exist?” ad packet letter, John N. Clayton Papers, 1977-1990. Center for Restoration Studies MS #208. Abilene Christian University Special Collections and Archives, Brown Library. Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX.

Tom Tune Papers, 1960s-2006, MS#542 [Revised Finding Aid]

Tom Tune was a long-term missionary in Asia and the South Pacific, before which he did work in South America and the Mediterranean. He also served as The Christian Chronicle’s business manager for two years following when he and several church members acquired the publication and moved it to Tennessee. This collection consists of one reel-to-reel tape and one folder from the life and work of Tom Tune relating to Elizabeth Barnard, a Chinese missionary whom he wrote a book about. 

Michael Ervin Sadler Papers, 1970-2021, MS#580 [New Finding Aid]

Physicist Michael Ervin Sadler taught at Abilene Christian University for 40 years and was a pioneering faculty in the field. He received the American Physical Society’s Prize for Research in an Undergraduate Institution (1995), as well as two Fulbright Scholarships to conduct research in Russia (2002-03) and Bosnia (2010-11). He was fluent in Russian, which helped him to form research collaborations and connections abroad and host Russian scientists at ACU for guest research. He was a mentor for undergraduate work and also participated in community outreach organizations in a volunteer leadership capacity. This collection consists of one box of materials documenting Michael Sadler’s work as a physicist. 

George Willis Bailey Papers, 1937-2005, MS#592 [New Finding Aid]

George Willis Bailey was an influential preacher serving churches in Oklahoma, New York, New Mexico, and Texas. He also did traveling ministry work across the U.S and abroad. He was also a regular speaker on Herald of Truth radio and television for three years as well as a staff writer for three Christian publications and an author. The Bailey papers contain sermon notes and materials reflective of the breadth of his preaching career. It also contains materials collected by or presented to Bailey. Most of the materials are paper-based, but there are a number of cassette tapes and other media types. 

Kenneth Rufus Badgett Papers, 1954-1981, MS#599 [New Finding Aid]

Kenneth Rufus Badgett preached among Churches of Christ in DeQuincy, Louisiana, and Port Arthur, Texas. He was married to Lula Mae Starnes, sister of Trine Starnes. This collection contains one box of papers from Kenneth Rufus Badgett, consisting of sermon notes and notes about subjects preached or not preached.


Stay tuned for more installments of Finding Aid Round Ups!

Foldered & Finished: South Eleventh and Willis Church of Christ (Abilene, TX) Records

Today’s blogpost is by Sidney Irwin. Sidney is a Master’s of Library Science student at the University of North Texas who is getting a general studies degree and a graduate certificate in archival management. Sidney is an Abilene, TX native who earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Abilene Christian University.


The South Eleventh and Willis Church of Christ (Abilene, TX) Records are processed and ready for researchers. The finding aid is available at DigitalCommons@ACU. The records include 47 linear feet (33 boxes) of notes, correspondence, meeting minutes, financial papers, blueprints, teaching resources, distributed materials, and tapes.

Proposed budget for 1952, South Eleventh and Willis Church of Christ (Abilene, TX), 1952-2022. Center for Restoration Studies MS #600. Abilene Christian University Special Collections and Archives, Brown Library. Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX.

South Eleventh and Willis Church of Christ was founded in 1952 and closed in 2024. The majority of the collection is from the 1990s to the 2010s. These records focus mainly on the day-to-day functions and actions of the church from a leadership perspective.

“11th and Willis and Vision” presentation slides, South Eleventh and Willis Church of Christ (Abilene, TX), 1952-2022. Center for Restoration Studies MS #600. Abilene Christian University Special Collections and Archives, Brown Library. Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX.


Stay tuned for future installments of Foldered & Finished!

On the Shelf: New items added to Center for Restoration Studies collections, January 2025

In January our colleagues in Technical Services and Cataloging added 888 items to Special Collections holdings.  We added about a dozen titles to the ACU Authors Collection, another dozen hymnals to the Taylor Hymnal Collection.  The major focus was on working through a backlog of monographs and tracts for the REST Collection.  Most of the monographs were much-needed second copies while nearly all of this month’s tracts are totally new to us.

Photograph of two young women sitting on the roof of a building in chairs reading and studying. Handwritten note in the bottom margin reads, "Very studious." Ca. 1910-1920s. From Jesse P. Sewell Photograph Collection. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth597580/

Photograph of two young women sitting on the roof of a building in chairs reading and studying. Handwritten note in the bottom margin reads, “Very studious.” This was likely taken on the old campus of Abilene Christian College in downtown Abilene.  Ca. 1910-1920s. From Jesse P. Sewell Photograph Collection. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth597580/

Our goal is to build a comprehensive research-level collection of print materials by, for, and about the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement.  But beyond assembly and preservation, a collection should be discoverable by those who need the information.  Collecting and preserving is only part of our task; those objects must be described and made available.  Thanks to the close and careful work of our colleagues upstairs, who describe our holdings, these materials are now discoverable. By discoverable I mean a patron can utilize our online catalog (such as by searching by author, or title, or subject) to find these materials.

888 new items…cataloged, shelved, and ready for research:  Continue reading