John Boyd Bentley Papers
Scope and Contents
Personal and professional papers, 1896-1987, of Bishop John Boyd Bentley, Bishop of Alaska and Director of Overseas Missions for the Protestant Episcopal Church and personal papers, 1895-1983, of his wife Elvira Carr Bentley.
Includes comprehensive records of his ministerial career including records of his official acts and texts of sermons and invocations. There is some correspondence relating to Bentley's career, including letters from W. A. R. Goodwin (1869-1939), Rector of Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia; Peter Trimble Rowe (1856-1941), Bishop of Alaska; and Henry Knox Sherrill (1890-1980), President Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
There is material relating to Bentley's work in Alaska, including a series of letters to his wife, 1930-1937, describing his travels on the Alaskan frontier. The collection also includes a photograph collection as well as diaries, correspondence, and photographs which chronicle his tours of the Far East in 1949; a world tour, 1959-1960; and tours of Latin America, 1960-1961. There are audio-cassettes of his autobiography.
Dates
- Creation: 1895-1987
Creator
- Bentley, John Boyd, 1896-1989 (Person)
- Bentley, Elvira Carr, d. 1983 (Person)
- Goodwin, William Archer Rutherfoord, 1869-1939 (Person)
- Sherrill, Henry Knox, Bp., 1890- (Person)
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access:
Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
Conditions Governing Use:
Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.
Biographical Information:
John Boyd Bentley was born in Hampton, Virginia 9 February 1896. He attended the College of William and Mary and served in the U. S. Field Artillery in World War I. Bentley attended the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia He served as an Episcopal clergyman in Alaska and in Williamsburg. He then served as Suffragan Bishop and Bishop of Alaska. From 1947 to 1964, Bentley was Director of Overseas Missions of the Episcopal Church. He died 12 June 1989.
Biography Timeline
1896, February 9 Born, Hampton, Virginia,son of Charles Headley Bentleyand Susan Elizabeth (Cake) Bentley
1915 Entered College of William and Mary(attended 1915-1916 and 1920-1921 but did not graduate)
1917 Entered service in U.S. Field Artillery
1921, May 28 Married Elvira Wentworth Carr(died, 1983)
1921 Attended Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia
1921-1925 Episcopal clergyman in Alaska
1926-1930 Episcopal clergyman in Williamsburg, Virginia
1931 Ordained Bishop in Denver, Colorado
1931-1942 Suffragan Bishop of Alaska
1942-1947 Bishop in charge of Alaska
1947-1964 Director of Overseas Missions of Episcopal Church
1964 Retired and moved to Hampton, Virginia
1964-1989 Episcopal minister in Diocese of Southern Virginia
1989, June 12 Died, Hampton, Virginia. Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: .
Extent
2.50 Linear Feet
Arrangement of Materials:
Organization: This collection is organized into 7 series. Series 1 contains papers and correspondence; Series 2 contains bound volumes and other related material; Series 3 contains photographs; Series 4 contains oversized material; Series 5 contains artifacts; Series 6 contains audio tapes; Series 7 contains the addition to the collection. Arrangement: This collection is arranged by chronologically by date. Series 1: Papers and Correspondence, is further divided into the following subseries: genealogical material, the papers of John Boyd Bentley, and the papers of Elvira Carr Bentley.
Folder for Series 7 (addition 1994.90) filed as Box 3, Folder 23.
Acquisition Information:
Gift: Acc. No. 82-36; 5 items, 10/2/1982.Gift: Acc. No. 82-39; 310 items, 10/17/1982.Gift: Acc. No. 83-22; 350 items, 4/16/1983.Gift: Acc. No. 84-8; 15 items, 2/9/1984.Gift: Acc. No. 85-52; 350 items, 11/18/1985.Gift: Acc. No. 88-10; 2 items, 2/17/1988.Gift: Acc. No. 88-16; 9 items, 4/26/1988.Transferred: Acc. No. 94-90; 1 item, 12/21/1994.
Separated Materials:
Artifacts transferred to the Manuscripts Artifact Collection (Mss. 1.03) include Alaskan Landscape Painting (82B44.A11)
All audiovisual material from this collection has been moved to the Manuscripts Audiovisual Collection.
Physical Description
1042 items.
General
Other Information:
Additional information may be found at http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/wm/viw00058.frame
Processing Information:
Processed by John Coski in 1987.
Subject
- Bruton Parish Church (Williamsburg, Va.) (Organization)
- College of William and Mary--Alumni and alumnae (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the John Boyd Bentley Papers
- Author
- Finding Aid Authors: John Coski.
- Date
- 2007-06-11
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- The collection description/finding aid is written in English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Research Center Repository