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Rev. Morris Officer Diaries

 Collection
Identifier: ULS-MS-037

Scope and Contents

This collection documents the activities of Rev. Morris Officer during his years as a missionary in Liberia. Included are Rev. Officer’s original diaries and typed transcripts, newspaper clippings, and correspondence relating to the collection that provides information on the collection’s provenance.

The records are arranged in 2 series:

Series 1 contains typed transcripts of Officer’s diaries

Series 2 contains the original diaries along with newspaper clippings.

Transcriptions were created by Mrs. Robert Pfaff and Mrs. Edward Koski under the direction Rev. Luther W. Slifer, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, PA. in 1949. A memo in box 1 folder 1 from Rev. Slifer notes that there were four copies of transcripts created for the following places/individuals: Gettysburg Seminary; the “Board” (unknown name, but possibly Board of Foreign Mission); the Liberian Mission; and Rev. Luther W. Slifer.

Rev. Officer kept a diary during his time at Wittenberg College dating 1848-1852 that is located in Wittenberg University’s Archives and Special Collections entitled "Scraps by the Way.” A microfilm copy of this diary is in Krauth Memorial Library, Philadelphia, United Lutheran Seminary.

Dates

  • Existence: 1852 - 1872

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research

Biographical / Historical

Rev. Morris Officer was a Lutheran clergyman, missionary to Liberia, and founder of the Muhlenberg Mission. He was born on July 21st, 1823 in Holmes County, Ohio to Thomas Officer and Elizabeth Waldorf (married 1820). He enrolled at Wittenberg College (now Wittenberg University) in spring 1846 and was appointed as a tutor and later solicited funds for the college during the summer terms.

In 1849 President Dr. Ezra Keller of Wittenberg appointment him to oversee the construction of an administration building at the age of 26. By taking on this responsibility, Rev. Officer was forced to drop his studies. Four months later he opened a successful grammar school on October 1, 1849 at the College. Although Rev. Officer did not graduate from Wittenberg, the College conferred him a Master of Arts degree.

Rev. Officer kept a series of diaries starting in 1848 while at Wittenberg. They contain his autobiography and a history of Home Missions of the Lutheran Church at that time. His call to missionary work aligns with his call to the ministry which came from frequent meditation and prayer and conversations with fellow students. In 1851 he brought forth, through The Lutheran Observer, the question whether the Lutheran Church should establish a mission on the west coast of Africa. He then proposed he would do the work himself. After initiating open correspondence with the American Missionary Association in New York, he arranged a trip to Africa with the intention of eventually establishing a Lutheran mission.

Rev. Officer’s first visit to Africa was in 1852 when he landed in Sierra Leone. After exploring the west coast, a mission named “Good Hope” was founded. Having struggled with health issues for most of his adult life, he found that the climate worsened it. After a year and a half, he returned home in 1849 with a strong conviction that the Lutheran Church should establish a mission in Liberia. While planning took place by the Lutheran Church to form this mission, Rev. Officer took charge of a church in Findlay, Ohio.

The Muhlenberg Mission was founded in 1860, after Rev. Officer and his assistant, Rev. H. Heigerd, set sail for Africa on February 23, 1860. Rev. Officer would continue his work until retiring in 1871 after struggling with sickness for many weeks. His ill-health, associated with his throat and right lung, prevented him from being able to continue public speaking, thus limiting his abilities to be involved in active ministry. He turned to farming to provide for his family, purchasing a piece of land in Kansas.

Rev. Officer was married to Susan Smith (they were married on April 20, 1852.) He died on November 1, 1874 in Topeka, KS.

Extent

0.84 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Related Materials

Works by Morris Officer in A.R. Wentz Library:

A Plea for a Lutheran Mission in Liberia. Springfield, OH: Nonpareil Office, 1855.

African Bible Pictures; or, Scripture Scenes and Customs in Africa. Philadelphia: Lutheran Board of Publications, 1859.

Home Missionary Organization in the General Synod. [United States: s.n., 1871?]

Western Africa, a Mission Field; or, The Moral and Physical Condition of Western Africa,Considered with Reference to the Founding of Mission Settlements of Colored People.Pittsburgh: W.S. Haven, 1856.

Works Relating to Morris Officer in A.R. Wentz Library

Eaton, Olney E. Morris Officer. Gettysburg, PA: Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, 1945.

Imhoff, Alex J. The Life of Rev. Morris Officer, A.M. Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1876.

Wolf, L.B., editor. Missionary Heroes of the Lutheran Church. Columbia, SC: Lutheran Board of Publication, 1911.

Morris Officer Collections in Other Institutions:

Morris, Officer. Morris Officers Diaries: [Journals, Diary, Clippings, etc.], 1848-1876,microfilm, Krauth Memorial Library, United Lutheran Seminary, Philadelphia, PA.

Morris, Officer, "Scraps by the Way,” 1848-1852. File 1, drawer 5. Archives and Special Collections, Thomas Library, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio.

Bibliography

Eaton, Olney E. Morris Officer. Gettysburg, PA: Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, 1945.

Imhoff, Alex J. The Life of Rev. Morris Officer, A.M. Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1876.

Wolf, L.B., editor. Missionary Heroes of the Lutheran Church. Columbia, SC: Lutheran Board of Publication, 1911.


Processing Information

It is unknown when this collection was deposited into the Seminary Archives, but a note inside box 1 folder 2 states that the transcripts were copied from the original manuscripts in the archives in 1949. Based off this, the diaries have been at the archives since 1949, but probably received earlier.

This collection was originally processed and resorted in 1994-1995 during a manuscripts re-housing project initiated by the help of a small grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission led by Project Manager Barbara D. Miles, Region 8 Archivist. The original arrangement has been maintained, however changes were made to folder names to provide an improved ease of access for researchers. Series were created by Archivist Sheila Joy. Specific changes and notes made are listed under the series descriptions.

Box 1 folder 7 contains a microfilm copy of Rev. Officer’s diary from 1848-1852 that is not held in the Seminary Archives. It was received from Krauth Memorial Library, Philadelphia and added to the collection in February 2019.

Title
Rev. Morris Officer Diaries
Status
In Progress
Author
Sheila Joy and Matthew Kayhart
Date
February 2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Personal Papers and Manuscripts Collection, Seminary Archives, United Lutheran Seminary Library, Gettysburg, PA Repository

Contact:
61 Seminary Ridge
Gettysburg PA 17325 United States