Theodore L. Gardiner, President of Salem College, Diaries and Other Material, 1867/1923, bulk 1870/1910

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

No special access restriction applies.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Theodore L. Gardiner, President of Salem College, Diaries and Other Material, A&M 4130, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
1.1 Linear Feet 1 ft. 1/2 in. (2 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 document case, 2 1/2 in.)
Creator:
Gardiner, Theodore L., 1844-1938
Abstract:
Papers of Theodore L. Gardiner, a clergyman for the Seventh-Day Baptist church and former President of Salem College (now Salem International University). The papers, including diaries and other material, range from 1867 until 1928, the bulk of which date from 1870-1910. Prominent topics include the relationships and daily activities of Gardiner, the Seventh-Day Baptist church, and his time as President of Salem College, among other subjects. The collection also includes the personal and financial records of Gardiner from ca. 1870-1928. See scope and content note for detailed information.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Theodore L. Gardiner, President of Salem College, Diaries and Other Material, A&M 4130, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Papers of Theodore L. Gardiner, a clergyman for the Seventh-Day Baptist church and former President of Salem College (now Salem International University). The collection includes diaries and other papers.

The diaries range from 1867 until 1923, the bulk of which date from 1870-1910. Prominent topics include family life and activities, finances (personal and professional), the South-Eastern Association of the Seventh-Day Baptist Church, and his activities as President of Salem College (including teaching, expansion, fundraising), among other subjects. The diaries in box 1, folder 1, document his life as a student at Alfred University in Alfred, New York.

The collection also includes papers related to Gardiner's role as a clergyman of the Seventh-Day Baptist Church, and as a Temperance Movement activist. There are also financial and academic records related to his role as President of Salem College.

This series contains 22 diaries authored by Theodore Gardiner documenting his life as a student at Alfred University, as an emerging and active member of the Seventh-Day Baptist Church and the Eastern Association, and as President of Salem College. Most diary entries date from circa 1870-1910. The diaries also include information about his family, and his time spent living in Westerly, Rhode Island (RI), Greenmanville, Connecticut (CT), and Shiloh, New Jersey (NJ). There are various items (receipts, notes) inserted into the diaries.

Subjects include: Alfred University (Box 1, Folder 1); Temperance -- United States (1885 September 14, 1885 November 14, 1890 July 10); Prohibition -- United States (1885 November 03, 1902 November 10); Salem College (Salem, W. Va.) (Box 1, Folders 6-7); Seventh-Day Baptists -- West Virginia (Box 1, Folder 6-7); Seventh-Day Baptist Conferences (1885 May 05, 1889 February 02, 1906 August 22, 1907 June 13); and West Virginia University (1897 October 12). Principle family members mentioned in the diaries include: Gardiner, Emily I. (Place) (1848-1888) [first wife]; Gardiner, Hannah G. (Barnes) (1852-1902) [second wife]; Gardiner, Alice Clawson (1861-1919) [third wife]; Gardiner, Effie Gertrude (1871-1957) [daughter]; and Gardiner, Emily Theodora (1877-1905) [daughter].

Principle contemporaries mentioned in the diaries include: Huffman, John Livingston (1837-1897) [One of the founders of Salem College and fellow Seventh-Day Baptist]; Stillman, Horace (1840-1911) [Friend and fellow Seventh-Day Baptist]; and Randolph, Lester C. (1864-1918) [Evangelist and Seventh-Day Baptist].

This series contains notes, sermons, and information regarding duties as pastor at various Seventh-Day Baptist Churches in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

This series includes 297 local death records collected by Gardiner during his time as Pastor of churches in Plainfield, New Jersey, and Salem, West Virginia.

This series contains eight numbered ledgers that include yearly expenses and accounts for Salem College. Other topics mentioned in the ledgers include fundraising, upkeep, and building expansion. Diaries also served as grade books for Gardiner during academic years 1892-1897. One of the ledgers in folder 4 documents personal as well as professional expenses.

This series contains two ledgers detailing the personal finances of Theodore Gardiner.

Biographical / historical:

Theodore Livingston Gardiner (April 15, 1844 - July 3, 1938) was born in Little Genesee, Allegany County, New York. He graduated from Alfred University in 1874 with a degree in theology, which was also the same year he accepted his first pastorship for the church. He worked as a pastor in Seventh-Day Baptist Churches in Westerly, Rhode Island and Greenmanville, Connecticut for a number of years before accepting a position at the New Salem Church in Salem, WV in 1890. In 1892 he became the President of Salem College, where he presided until 1906. After leaving Salem College Gardner and his family lived briefly in North Loup, Nebraska until he accepted the position of Editor of the Sabbath Recorder. In 1909 Gardiner wrote the biography of Rev. Abram Herbert Lewis, a notable Seventh-Day Baptist. He resigned from the Sabbath Recorder in 1931, but continued to be active as an elder within the Seventh-Day Baptist Church. Reverend Gardner was passionate about the Temperance and Prohibition movements, and spent decades preaching across the east coast. Gardiner died in 1938 in Plainfield, NJ. He survived three of his wives, Emily, Hannah, and Alice, and had two children, Gertrude (Effie Gertrude) and Dora (Emily Theodora).

The Seventh-Day Baptist Church was founded in England in the mid-seventeenth century. An evangelical denomination, its members observe the Sabbath on a Saturday. By 1671 the first American church was founded in Newport, Rhode Island. In the late eighteenth century Seventh-Day Baptists arrived in Western Virginia. By the nineteenth century the church would be actively involved in the Temperance and Prohibition movements.

Salem College was founded in 1888 by the Seventh Day Baptist Educational Society in Salem, West Virginia. Originally Salem Academy until January 1889, the college served the needs of young Seventh-Day Baptists and also non-members of the church. After becoming President in 1892, Theodore Gardiner oversaw the expansion of the college and worked to alleviate institutional debt until his resignation in 1906. In the 20th century the college underwent a large expansion, and in 1989 formed an alliance with Teikyo University of Tokyo, Japan. This alliance ended in 2000 after the college was purchased by Chinese investors and became Salem International University.

Acquisition information:
Acquired from Unknown, 2015/08/24
Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: West Virginia & Regional History Center
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard