George and Alice Williams to Family, 1891 July-1898 November

Mainly includes the letters sent by George and Alice Williams to their friends and family in America during their stay (1891-99) in China. Most of the letters are written by Alice to her mother, sister, and brother-in-law in Ashland, Ohio; they provide a detailed picture of the missionaries' daily life. Included also are George's last letters to Alice (May-July 1900) and the Rev. Charles W. Price (1847-1900), just prior to the massacre. The later correspondence of Alice Williams (1935-40) includes letters (1935-37) written to her family and Oberlin friends during her second trip to China at the time of the Japanese invasion. These letters are filed as they were received, with two passports (1909, 1935) and four letters (1938-40) from the North China Mission of the American Board in Tientsin pertaining to Mrs. Williams' travel accounts.

The outgoing correspondence was maintained as it was found, arranged into three groups of correspondents: George and Alice Williams (1891-98), George Williams (1899-1900), and Alice Williams (1899-1940). As the correspondence is not interfiled, the chronological order is inexact. Within these groupings, however, correspondence is chronologically arranged.