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Wilbur K. (Wilbur Kelsey) Thomas Papers

Notifications

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
RG5.149
Repository:
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Extent:
0.75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item or series here], RG5/149, Wilbur K. Thomas Papers, 1914-1933, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Date:
1914-1933 (inclusive)
Creator:
Thomas, Wilbur K. (Wilbur Kelsey), 1882-1953 and American Friends Service Committee
Abstract:
Wilbur K. Thomas (1882-1953), a Quaker born in Indiana, was executive secretary of the American Friends Service Committee from 1918 to 1929. He graduated from Friends University in 1904, served as pastor of various Quaker churches, graduated from Yale Divinity School in 1907, earned a Ph.D. from Boston University in 1914, and was a member of Boston Friends Meeting after 1909. He was director of the Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation in Philadelphia from 1930 to 1946. The collection contains biographical material, correspondence (1918-1933), speeches and writings relating to his work with the AFSC and as a pastor in Quaker communities. Topics covered include peace, civil liberties, social service, prisons, and relief activities in Russia in 1922, as well as his Ph.D. dissertation, "the Social Service of Quakerism."

Wilbur K. Thomas (1882-1953), a Quaker born in Indiana, was executive secretary of the American Friends Service Committee from 1918 to 1929. He graduated from Friends University in 1904, served as pastor of various Quaker churches, graduated from Yale Divinity School in 1907, earned a Ph.D. from Boston University in 1914, and was a member of Boston Friends Meeting after 1909. He was director of the Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation in Philadelphia from 1930 to 1946.

The collection contains biographical material, correspondence (1918-1933), speeches and writings relating to his work with the AFSC and as a pastor in Quaker communities. Topics covered include peace, civil liberties, social service, prisons, and relief activities in Russia in 1922, as well as his Ph.D. dissertation, "the Social Service of Quakerism."

The collection is divided into six series:

  1. Biographical material
  2. Correspondence
  3. Addresses and writings
  4. AFSC Archives
  5. Pictures
  6. Miscellaneous reference material

Accession information

Donor: Elizabeth Thomas, 1956

The collection was given by the widow of Wilbur K Thomas.

The papers were received unprocessed; they were sorted and arranged by FHL staff.

See also:

  1. American Friends Service Committee Archives, Philadelphia, Pa.

Subject
Place

Publisher
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Finding Aid Author
FHL staff
Finding Aid Date
1957
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research

Use Restrictions

Friends Historical Library believes all of the items in this collection to be in the Public Domain in the United States, and is not aware of any restrictions on their use. However, the user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status before reproducing. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/.

Collection Inventory

Ser. 1. Biographical Material.
Box 1

Correspondence, 1918-1933.
Box 1

"The Need for the Denominational School", 1922.
Box 1
"American Participation in European Affairs", 1923.
Box 1
"The Kellogg Treaty" (abstract), 1928.
Box 1
"World Peace and the Future", 1929.
Box 1
"The Christian and the State", 1930.
Box 1
"The Individual Responsibility for World Peace", 1933.
Box 1
"Twenty-third World Peace Congress", n.d.
Box 1
"The Strength of Passive Resistance", n.d.
Box 1
"On the Application of Christian Principles to Present Day Conditions', n.d.
Box 1
"The Social Service of Quakerism" (Ph. D. Thesis, Boston University", 1914.
Box 1
"Facts Concerning the Conscientious Objector During the World War 1917-1918", n.d.
Box 1
"Food and Friendship for the Russian People", 1922.
Box 1
"Special Training for Religious Service", n.d.
Box 1
"Why Friends are Opposed to War".
Box 1
Includes other published and unpublished writings.

AFSC Archives, sorting lists, and checklist of containers.
Ser. 5. Picture.
Box 1
Scope and Contents

Wilbur Thomas and group

Scope and Contents

Organized alphabetically by topic.

American Friends Service Committee.
Box 1
Boudinot, Elias.
Box 1
Civil Liberties.
Box 1
Conscientious Objectors.
Box 1
Germany.
Box 2
Prisons.
Box 2
Quakers.
Box 2
Russia.
Box 2
War and Peace.
Box 2

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