Frank B. Warner Papers

Collection

Identifier: RG 30-214

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The papers of Frank B. Warner document the missionary work of Warner and his wife Maude Bowman Warner in early twentieth century China. The papers are arranged in four series: Series I. Biographical; Series II. Correspondence; Series III. Reports relating to Missionary Work; and, Series IV. Photographs.

The papers primarily consist of letters written by Frank and Maude Warner describing China, its people, and its culture. Maude’s letters illustrate the difficulties faced, and differences in Eastern and Western approaches to medicine. Frank Warner’s letters describe his travels in China and his concern for the health and safety of Maude and their children. A small number of letters date from Frank Warner’s days as a seminary student at Oberlin College (1912-14).

Series III contains Frank Warner’s reports and related correspondence concerning his missionary work in China. His reports were submitted to Oberlin College and the Shansi Memorial Association. One folder contains a report by Maude Warner in which she described the living conditions in China.

The photographs in Series IV. depict buildings and scenery in China, individuals at the Ming Hsien School, and missionaries. They include a photo album and loose photographs.

Dates

Creation: 1912 - 2001
Creation: Majority of material found within 1912 - 1923
Other: Date acquired: 1990 September 13

Creator

Warner, Frank B. (Warner, Frank Bradford) (Person)
Warner, Maude Rosamund Bowman (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted.

Biographical Sketch

Frank Bradford Warner was born in Sunderland, Massachusetts, on September 2, 1886. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College in 1908. After teaching in New Jersey for several years, he enrolled in the Oberlin Graduate School of Theology where he studied 1912-14. He was ordained as a Congregational minister at Sunderland, Massachusetts, on August 7, 1914.

During the summer of 1914, prior to leaving for China to take up missionary work, Warner enrolled in summer school in Middlebury, Vermont. There he met Maude Rosamund Bowman (1888-1991; enr. 1925-26), a graduate of Knox College in Illinois. In 1915, Maude joined him in China and they were married in a civil ceremony in Beijing on September 23, with a second ceremony in Tientsien on October 5. Frank and Maude Warner had three children: Jean (b. 1916), Constance (1917-2003; A.B. 1939), and Bradford (1921-2002; enr. 1946-50).

Frank Warner served as a missionary teacher in China with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). He served at the mission in Fenzhou, Shanxi Province, 1914-18, and at Ming Hsien, the Oberlin Shansi Memorial Schools, in Taigu, Shanxi Province, 1918-22. At Ming Hsien Warner was instrumental in developing the Christian school's Teachers' Training Department.

The Warners returned to the United States on furlough in 1922. In January 1923, they moved to Oberlin, so Frank Warner could continue his graduate work in the Oberlin Theological Seminary. Unfortunately, he was forced to drop his studies because of illness.

Frank B. Warner died of pneumonia on June 15, 1923, in Oberlin, Ohio. Following his death, Maude Bowman Warner taught English and served as dean of girls at Oberlin High School from 1923 to 1947. From 1947-52, she served as a house director for Oberlin College dormitories, leaving in 1952 to take up a similar position at the University of Southern California. She died in California in 1991.

Sources Consulted

Former student files of Frank B. Warner and Maude Bowman Warner, and former staff file of Maude Bowman Warner, in RG 28 Alumni and Development Records.

Biographical material in the Frank B. Warner Papers (RG 30/214), Series I.

Constance Warner Regli, Obituary, Oberlin News-Tribune, May 6, 2003.

Bradford Bowman Warner, “Crosses in the Oberlin Family,” Oberlin Alumni Magazine, Spring 2003.

Extent

0.80 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

The papers of Frank B. Warner were received in five accessions from Jean Warner Eaton and Constance Warner Regli, between 1990 and 2002.

Accruals and Additions

Accession Nos: 1990/094, 1995/020, 1998/079, 2001/027, 2002/38.

Related Materials

Former student files of Frank B. Warner and Maude Bowman Warner, RG 28 Alumni and Development Records.

Former staff file of Maude Bowman Warner, RG 28, Alumni and Development Records.

For additional groups containing information about missionaries in China, see the Archives' Guide to Missionary Records. See also RG 15, Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association Records.