Category Archives: Periodicals

Finding Aid Round Up

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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!

Edwin Harold “Ed” Enzor, Jr. Papers, 1950-2015, MS#443 [Revised Finding Aid]
This collection includes materials created by Edwin Harold “Ed” Enzor, Jr. including documents, tapes, negatives, and binders.

James Orville Wilburn Papers, 1927-1970, MS#451 [Revised Finding Aid] 
James Orville Wilburn was born March 9, 1905 in Grove County, Kansas. He passed away on September 7, 1970 in Lubbock, Texas. He was a preacher in the Church of Christ and participated in multiple debates, including with Russellites and Jehovah’s Witnesses. He married Frances Mae on September 1, 1930. The couple worked in ministry throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, California, and Kansas. These papers include a set of sermon notes, clippings, study notes and ephemera collected by James Orville Wilburn over the course of his ministerial career.

From the James Orville Wilburn Papers, 1927-1970. Center for Restoration Studies MS#451.

Noble Festus Patterson, Jr. Papers, 1938-2013, MS#465 [Revised Finding Aid]
Noble Festus Paterson, Jr. was the editor of the Christian Journal. Terry J. Gardner and Patterson edited Foy E. Wallace, Jr.: Soldier of the Cross. This collection includes Patterson’s correspondence, topical files, church materials (e.g., bulletins, directories, etc.), sermons, photographs, 35mm slides, and cassettes. Notably, the first box includes correspondence about Foy E. Wallace, Jr. following his death, and correspondence and photos concerning Patterson’s edited work on Wallace: Foy E. Wallace, Jr.: Soldier of the Cross.

Ewell Prather Papers, 1767-1978, MS#478 [Revised Finding Aid]
Ewell Prather served as Director of Security at Abilene Christian University. The Ewell Prather Papers includes Prather family genealogical and historical information.

Hermitage Church of Christ (Nashville, TN) Records, 1967-2017, MS#499 [New Finding Aid]
Hermitage Church of Christ (Nashville, TN) was established in 1967 (formerly known as Berryville Church of Christ) and closed in 2018 (renamed New Garden Church). Two cubic foot boxes of directories, ministry information, correspondence, financial statements, audio materials on cassette, and photographs and audio materials on CDs and DVDs.

From the Hermitage Church of Christ (Nashville, TN) Records, 1967-2017. Center for Restoration Studies MS#499.

Stay tuned for more installments of Finding Aid Round Ups!

Be on the lookout: Focus Magazine

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Today a researcher inquired about our holdings of Focus Magazine. I was thrilled that he discovered our issues through the library online catalog…(cataloging unbound periodical issues has been a special focus lately). We have just three issues but we need a nice robust collection of this journal. Pictured here are scans of the covers of the issues we hold. Can you please help us build the collection?

Focus Magazine, February 2000, front cover

Focus Magazine, February 2000, front cover

Focus Magazine, April 2000, front cover

Focus Magazine, April 2000, front cover

Focus Magazine, May 2000, front cover

Special Collections and Archives receives Texas State Library and Archives Commission grant

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The Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC) recently awarded funding to Brown Library Special Collections and Archives under its TexTreasures Grant program.  The $25,000 grant will facilitate digitization of the full print run of the Christian Chronicle, a major, global newspaper serving Churches of Christ since 1943.  This project will ensure back issues of Chronicle will be available digitally by the end of summer 2021.

This project is just one of 44 made possible this year by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. “Communities in every corner of Texas will benefit from the resources that have been made available through this list of forward-thinking grant proposals,” said TSLAC Director and Librarian Mark Smith.

TSLAC awards competitive grants annually, as funding allows. For the 2020 fiscal year, which runs from September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020, TSLAC has awarded approximately $1.23 million in competitive grants. The TexTreasures Grant will provide assistance and encouragement to 12 libraries to provide access to their special or unique collections and to make information about those collections available to library users across the state, including ACU Library’s project to digitize Christian Chronicle.

“We are grateful to the Texas State Library & Archives Commission for their generous support of this digitization project,” said James Wiser, ACU Dean of Library Services & Educational Technology. “The Brown Library houses one of the preeminent archives of the Stone-Campbell Movement, a faith heritage that has contributed much to the religious tapestry of Texas history. Digitizing our tradition’s most influential newspaper allows us to preserve and disseminate this history for generations to come.”

“From the first issue, The Chronicle was globally aware,” said Mac Ice, ACU Director of Special Collections and Archives. “Each issue since has carried news and information about Churches of Christ from around the world. It is rich in information like no other source.  We will be able to write better history because this material is available.”

Front page, Christian Chronicle, October 14, 1960.

Back page, Christian Chronicle, October 14, 1960.

Back page, Christian Chronicle, October 14, 1960.

The Christian Chronicle digital archive will be available on the Portal to Texas History (www.texashistory.unt.edu) and the ACU online repository (www.digitalcommons.acu.edu).

This digital repository of The Christian Chronicle is the result of a partnership among Special Collections and Archives, Abilene Christian University (Abilene, TX), The Christian Chronicle, Oklahoma Christian University (Edmond, OK), Oklahoma Historical Society (Oklahoma City, OK), and University of North Texas (Denton, TX).