STEVENSON, WILLIAM P., 1902-1988.
William P. Stevenson papers, circa 1932-1962

Restrictions on Access

Unrestricted access.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Source

Purchase, 2014.

Citation

[after identification of item(s)], William P. Stevenson papers, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.

Processing

Processed by Sarah Quigley, January 2015.

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Biographical Note

William Preston Stevenson was born in 1902. He attended college at Lincoln University, and received graduate degrees from Union Theological Seminary in New York City and Temple University School of Theology in Philadelphia. He began his ministerial career in 1923 and was ordained deacon in Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia in 1927. He was also pastor of Jones Tabernacle A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia and during his tenure there relocated the church to Diamond Street. Stevenson was the first Conference and Episcopal District Director of Christian Education appointed in the A.M.E. Church and was also a member of the delegation that established the A.M.E. Church in Cuba. He died at the age of 85 in 1988.

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of the papers of William P. Stevenson from circa 1932-1962 and includes correspondence, financial records, photographs, and printed material. Correspondence is both personal and professional and includes letters from Stevenson's congregants and colleagues, as well as from his son William Stevenson, Jr., nicknamed "Skeeterbo." Letters from William, Jr. primarily discuss his progress in school and Pennsylvania sports teams. The majority of the correspondence dates from 1942-1944 and contains numerous mentions of World War II. There is a series of letters from a young man seeking Stevenson's support in an effort to be released from military service to return to his theological studies at Lincoln University. Other letters document the finances of Jones Tabernacle Church. Financial records are both personal and professional. Printed material includes programs and brochures relating to the A.M.E. Church, and photographs include three images of the A.M.E. delegation of bishops to Cuba.

Arrangement Note

Arranged in alphabetical order.