This collection is arranged as 6 series.
The John Calvin Ferguson Family papers measure 6.4 linear feet, and date from circa 1850s to 1988, with the bulk dating from 1900 to 1945. The bulk of the papers consists of John Calvin Ferguson's personal, professional, and family correspondence, and correspondence between other members of the Ferguson family. The papers also include biographical materials; sermons, speeches, and writings by Ferguson and others; printed materials, both collected and given to Ferguson; and photographs, including five photograph albums.
Biographical materials includes various business cards and professional contacts; an ink sketch portrait of Ferguson by Li Yuling; various membership documents and cards; memorial service and obituary materials for Ferguson and members of the Ferguson family; repatriation documentation and materials from the
Correspondence comprises the bulk of the collection, and is both professional and personal in nature. Much of John Calvin Ferguson's correspondence documents his activities and movements while living in China, as well as the state of the political and social climate during the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1912 and as the Second Sino-Japan War begins in 1937. His journey back to the United States aboard the
Sermons, speeches, and writings reflect Ferguson's many career interests, including his work as a minister, education administrator, and as an ambassador with the Chinese government. The collection also contains printed materials and photographs, including five photograph albums.
John Calvin Ferguson (1866-1945) was an author, collector and scholar of Chinese art, Methodist minister, university president, and Chinese government advisor, born in Napanee, Ontario.
Ferguson attended Albert College in Ontario, received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1886 from Boston University, and was ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church shortly thereafter. He received his PhD from Boston University in 1902. In 1887, he married Mary Elizabeth Wilson (1866-1938) and was sent to China as a Methodist missionary, where he spent his first year studying Chinese in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, downriver from Nanjing on the Yangzi. In Nanjing, Ferguson helped found the Methodist school, Huiwen Shuyuan (later Nanjing University), and worked to establish a western curriculum with departments of liberal arts, medicine, and theology. He was the first president of the university, as well as treasurer and then superintendent of the Central China Mission until 1897, when he left the ministry.
In 1897, Qing official Sheng Xuanhuai (1847-1916) invited Ferguson to become first president of Nanyang College at Shanghai, where he worked for five years before leaving his position to assist Sheng with his governmental duties. Ferguson then became a member of the Treaty Commission and foreign secretary to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in 1902, and chief secretary of the Imperial Chinese Railway Administration a year later until 1905. Concurrently, he was foreign advisor to the Viceroys of Nanjing and Wuchang. While in Shanghai, he was Honorary Secretary of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society and editor of the Journal from 1902 to 1911, then becoming president for a year. During his last year in Shanghai, he was Chairman of the Famine Relief Commission until moving to Beijing in 1911 to become foreign secretary to the Ministry of Posts and Communications. He remained in Beijing after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, becoming active in the Red Cross and subsequently Vice President of the Red Cross Society.
In Shanghai, Ferguson developed a popular Chinese-language daily newspaper in 1899,
He remained in his Beijing home until 1943 when he returned to the United States with his daughter, Mary, via the
This biography draws heavily from Lara Jaishree Netting's book,
Collection is open for research.
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
The John Calvin Ferguson Family Papers were donated to the Archives by Ferguson's grandson, Peter Ferguson, in 1999.
The collection was archivally processed and a finding aid prepared by Anna Rimel in 2017 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund. For this collection, minimal level processing was implemented, which included arrangement to the series, subseries and folder levels, adhering to the creator's original arrangement as much as possible. Generally, folder contents were simply verified with the original folder titles, but items within folders were not arranged further. All materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.
The collection was previously preliminarily processed by Rachael Woody and volunteer Barbara Schultz in 2011.
John Calvin Ferguson Family Papers, FSA A1999.33. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Gift of Peter Ferguson.
Biographical materials include repatriation documentation and materials from Ferguson's time aboard the
Includes collected and transcribed family correspondence.
John Calvin Ferguson is shown wearing the robes of a Chou dynasty scholar and facing left, underneath two Chinese inscriptions. The first two-column inscription was written by the artist, dated Christmas 1936, marking Dr. Ferguson's 70th birthday; the second inscription is dated New Year's Day 1937 and written by Fu Zengxiang (1872-1949). Fu Zengxiang served as the Minister of Education in China's Beiyang government from December 1917 to May 1919. Possibly made for the occasion of Ferguson's 70th birthday.
Includes membership card and pin.
This series is arranged as 3 subseries. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by sender, unless otherwise noted. Married names of women are in parentheses following their maiden names, when identified. Relationship to John Calvin Ferguson is in parenthesis following name.
The bulk of correspondence files are letters received by John Calvin Ferguson between 1943 and 1945, though earlier correspondence to and from family is also included. Personal correspondence is primarily from friends and acquaintances inquiring about his general health and prospective visits, as well as his return to the United States from China aboard the
Professional correspondence, primarily comprised of letters received, includes letters from acquaintances, colleagues, societies, and others about Ferguson's professional activities. These activities may include professional memberships, conference inquiries, consultation inquiries regarding Chinese art objects, and Ferguson's Chinese newspaper
Dean of Boston University School of Medicine
Governor of Ohio
Needham Rotary Club
Request for information on Henry Adams and John Hay.
Regarding membership. Includes letters from Ralph Beckman and Richard Lawrence.
Army Service Forces, Director of the Security and Intelligence Division
ACLS Committee on Protection of Cultural Monuments in War Areas
Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology
Regarding Christ Church forum and get-wells.
Ambassador to Japan and Department of State Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs
Regarding Belleville Chamber of Commerce talk.
Dean of Boston University Law School
Includes his "Progress Report On the Educational Motion Picture Plan for the U. N."
Director of Ministry of Information, Republic of China, New York Office. Regarding John Calvin Ferguson's offer of service to China, sent to Ferguson and Mary Esther Ferguson.
Regarding attendance to supper from Mr. or Mrs. Getty.
Manager of the Mythology Company
See also letter from C. L. Hsia, dated Dec. 11, 1944.
President of Boston University
Note of thanks to Jay C. Huston and Dr. Ferguson for shipping collection materials.
Regarding annuity.
Regarding gifts made via Mrs. Barclay Parsons. Includes official Library of Congress gifts acknowledgement.
Also from Arthur W. Wang.
Director of Oregon Museum of Art
Bishop for University of Toronto School of Chinese Studies and Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology. See also G. Howard Ferguson correspondence file.
Includes memorandum for President Theodore Roosevelt of recommended proposal for peace in China-Japan conflict.
Personal correspondence, primarily comprised of letters received, includes letters from friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. Topics are generally personal in nature, and concern Ferguson's health, friendly visits, his journey back to the United States via the
Century Association
Century Association and Ends of the Earth Society
Century Association and Ends of the Earth Society
President of the University of Nanjing
Century Association
Theta Delta Chi
American Publications Services, American Embassy
Invitation
Regarding war in China and experience as a POW.
Reverend of Tabernacle Church. Includes postcards of Belleville, Ontario.
Columbia University
Former First Lady
Bishop
In Chinese, regarding trouble getting home to Shanghai due to Pearl Harbor bombing.
Chinese Consulate General
Family correspondence is between various family members and John Calvin Ferguson, and includes letters sent and received. Topics often include social, political, and physical conditions in China; activities of various family members; and accounts of various social engagements.
Regarding return to U. S. via the
Regarding Frank and Margaret's care. Also includes other correspondents.
Related to sale of
Some letters refer to the purchase of Chinese are objects.
Includes some references to conditions caused by Japanese invasion and comments on Shanghai evacuation.
Includes many references to relationship between Japan and China.
Aug. 8, 1937: Japanese enter Beijing.
This series is arranged as 5 subseries. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by sender unless otherwise noted.
Ferguson family correspondence includes letters sent and received by other members of John Calvin Ferguson's family, including his wife, Mary Elizabeth Wilson (Ferguson), and his children: Charles John Ferguson, Florence Wilson Ferguson (Mackay), and Mary Esther Ferguson, as well as other family. Topics include personal inquiries and accounts of daily events; political and physical conditions in China; and references to activities and experiences of John Calvin Ferguson. Many activities of note have been physically flagged by archives staff and noted within the files.
Mar. 21, 1949: Reference to Shanghai becoming militarized.
Researchers may note that letters from Mary Elizabeth Wilson (Ferguson) often include accounts of military activities in China, as well as John Calvin Ferguson's activities, including with Chinese government officials, conferences, various commissions and events. Some activities of note have been physically flagged by archives staff and noted within the files.
Includes snapshots of Helen Matilda Ferguson and friends.
Oct. 29, 1915: References John Calvin Ferguson's appointment as Counselor of the Department of State at [Peking] Beijing.
April 1 and April 10, 1916: References the sale of some of John Calvin Ferguson's collection for $12,291.
Oct. 3, 1918: References Spanish flu fears; lines cut from letter.
Includes handwritten recipes.
Nov. 8, 1924: Wu Pei Fu flees fighting.
Feb. 6, 1932: References death of Peter Blair Ferguson, and Japanese attack on Shanghai.
Collected and typed correspondence, gathered by Helen Matilda Ferguson (Beaumont).
This series includes articles, notes, poems, sermons, and speeches written by John Calvin Ferguson, as well as a few writings by others. Sermons are comprised of manuscripts sent to Ferguson's children and referred to as "Sunday Morning Talks." Speeches include notes, written outlines, and written and typed speeches given by Ferguson for a number of events upon his return from China in 1943.
Includes original manuscripts sent to family by John Calvin Ferguson.
Typed, collected, and annotated by John Calvin Ferguson's daughter, Helen Matilda Ferguson (Beaumont).
Theta Delta Chi, Belleville Chamber of Commerce
Empire Club of Canada
Rotary Club, Needham
Christ Church Forum, New York City
Rotary Club, Eugene
China Society
Education Buyer's Association, First Parish Church, and Tuesday Club
Rotary Club, Boston
Boston University. Written on the
Printed materials include announcements, published articles, bulletins, clippings, periodicals, and two exhibition catalogs by Chin-San Long.
Given to John Calvin Ferguson by Derk Bodde.
Given to John Calvin Ferguson by Shih.
John Calvin Ferguson listed as patron.
FSA A1999.33 3.10.1
Catalog of 14 photographs of Lang Jingshan to commemorate the centenary of Daguerre, sponsored by l'Association Photographique de l'Université l'Aurore, Shanghai, 1939. Fourteen monochrome photographs and one color print; forward by Lang, dated October 10, 1939. Also includes brief notes of appreciation by John C. Ferguson; J. Hernault S.J.; Hsia Ching-Kwen (Xia Jingguan) and Chen Chuan-Lin (Chen Zhuanlin).
郎靜山
Lang Jingshan was a pioneering Chinese photographer active from the 1920s until his death in 1995. He is most noted for incorporating Chinese traditional painting styles and themes into his photographs. He also was noted for exploring modernist subjects and techniques such as 'composite photography' and nudes.
Admission tickets and sales profits from this 1939 exhibition were donated to purchase medical photography equipment and for refugees of the Japanese invasion of China.
Exhibition of Pictorial Photography, by Chin-san Long
Inscription by author to John Calvin Ferguson.
Article on John Calvin Ferguson page 42.
Entry on John Calvin Ferguson, translated.
Ferguson children mentioned.
Regarding 55th anniversary celebration.
Photographs include albumin prints, cabinet cards, tintypes, and black and white prints depicting John Calvin Ferguson, his family, various Chinese officials, his Peking home, and outdoor views of Shanghai. Two photograph albums include travel snapshots in China and photographs commemorating Ferguson and his wife's 50th wedding anniversary. Three photograph albums are in traditional Chinese binding, and include photographs of Ferguson's collection of paintings and objects given to Nanjing University in 1934, and photographs of styles of landscape paintings.
John Calvin Ferguson Portrait Images
Oversized photograph depicts members of the Treaty Commission, taken on the steps of 121 Bubbling Well Road, Shanghai, October 8, 1903.
Oversized photograph depicts John Calvin Ferguson with six Chinese individuals (Fu Tsêng-hsiang, Li Chia-chü, Prince Pu Ju, Grand Tutor Chen I-fan, Feng Kung-tu, Li Chü-lu), taken in his home in Beijing, April 28, 1934.
Oversized photograph of John Calvin Ferguson with eight Chinese officials (Fu Chêng-hsiang, Chou Chao-hsiang, Chien Tung, Fêng Hsü, Chu Chi-chien, Prince Pu Ju, Kuo Pao-chiang, Chiên Han-ti) taken at his home in Beijing, April 28, 1937.
City and Outdoor Views of Shanghai
Photographs taken by John Calvin Ferguson.
Note on back of one photograph reads: "The Wên Hua Tien where my collection is exhibited."
Photographs were taken by John Calvin Ferguson in Nanjing.
Includes 9 silver prints with annotations describing the photographs. Photographs were taken in Beijing, China.
Album is in traditional Chinese binding, and includes 37 silver prints with Ferguson's annotations describing the paintings.
Album is in traditional Chinese binding, and includes 80 silver prints with Ferguson's annotations describing the objects.
Album in traditional Chinese binding, and includes 12 silver prints with annotations describing the paintings.