Schauffler College of Religious and Social Work Records

The records (1887-1980) of the Schauffler College of Religious and Social Work (1886-1957) consist of annual reports of missionaries, correspondence, photographs, and printed materials relating to Henry A. Schauffler's missionary work among  Slavic populations in Cleveland which led to the formation in 1886 of the Slavic Bible Readers' Home (School), subsequently named the Schauffler Missionary Training School and later Schauffler College. The collection is divided into three series: I. Cleveland Missionary Activity of Henry A. Schauffler; II. Schauffler College Administrative Records; and III. Historical Accounts of Schauffler College.

In spite of its title, this collection does not contain substantive administrative records for the period 1920 to 1950. Lacking are budgetary records, institutional annual reports, and administrative correspondence from the school's founder, its deans, or other administrators. Some of these materials may be held by Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio. Series II, Schauffler College Administrative Records, contains a variety of printed leaflets of a religious, commemorative or official nature which collectively summarize Schauffler's evolving mission from its inception to its transfer to Oberlin College in 1954.  More recent correspondence from Gertrude Jacob (1908-89) to Schauffler alumnae relates to the school's transfer in 1967 to Defiance College.  Other administrative materials include library accession books, clippings, student data cards, and photographs.

Of particular interest to the student of the history of Christian missions to the immigrant Slovak, Czech, Polish, and Hungarian populations of the Northeast and northern Midwest are two complete series of annual reports from missionaries(1888-1903) housed in Series I, Cleveland Missionary Activity of Henry A. Schauffler. The unsigned annual reports of the Cleveland Slavic Mission were most likely prepared by its Superintendent, Henry A. Schauffler, for the Congregational Home Missionary Society. These reports discuss mission work in Cleveland at the turn of the century; activities at Bethlehem Congregational Church (the center of missionary activity among Bohemian immigrants); and the training of Slavic missionaries by Oberlin Theological Seminary's Slavic Department and the Bible Reader's School in Cleveland. A second series of annual reports, those of the Slavic Department of the Congregational Home Missionary Society, were prepared by field missionaries working among immigrant communities in Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Their accounts describe the level of learning and spiritual sophistication among their congregations, church attendance, and various religious programs initiated by the missionaries.

Also housed in Series I are conversion stories (1894-ca. 1890) of students in the Slavic Department at Oberlin Theological Seminary recruited as missionaries by Henry A. Schauffler. Some of Schauffler's own writings, recounting the history of his work in Cleveland, are contained in three issues of The Home Missionary. The three monographs in Series III, Fields of the Lord (1957), The Schauffler Missionary Training School (1915), and Schauffler College of Religious and Social Work, 1886-1986 (1986) offer complete historical accounts of the Schauffler School.  The brochure for the 100th anniversary celebration of the Schauffler School (included in this series) contains historical information.