Title: Frank B. Warner Papers, 1912-2001

ID: RG 30/214

Extent: 0.8 Linear Feet

Predominant Dates: 1912-23

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 W. Regli (nee Warner), Obituary, Oberlin News-Tribune, May 6, 2003.

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

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Administrative Information

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 the isolation from basic services, especially proper medical care. 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.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series I. Biographical File, 1923, 2001

Consists of biographical information concerning Frank and Maude (Bowman) Warner provided by their daughters, Constance Regli and Jean Eaton in 2001. Also included are handwritten notes concerning Frank Warner’s life and a memorial service for him in Taigu, China, in 1923.

Series II. Correspondence, 1912-22

This series is divided into two subseries. Subseries 1 contains the letters (handwritten and typed) of Frank Warner to family members, including Maude Warner. Subseries 2. consists of originals and transcriptions of letters written by Maude (Bowman) Warner to family members. The letters contained in both subseries concern missionary work and life in China. A small amount of letters concern Frank Warner's student days at Oberlin College, 1912-14.

Series III. Reports and Correspondence relating to Missionary Work, 1914-1922

Reports and correspondence relating to missionary work in Taiku, Shansi Province, China from 1914 to1922. Includes four folders of reports (and related correspondence) submitted by Frank Warner to the Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association and The International Missionary Union. A fifth folder contains printed matter, including a report by Maude Warner concerning the living conditions in China.

Series IV. Photographs, 1915-1923

This series consist of photographs of the Ming Hsien School, individuals, buildings and missionaries in China, 1915 to 1922. Includes a photo album titled “Taiku – Its Surroundings and People,” c. 1922-23, and loose photographs of individuals, buildings, and scenery.

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