Manuscripts Collection
Thomas Davidson Christie was a Congregational missionary who worked in Turkey from 1877 to 1920. He was born January 21, 1843, in Sion Mills, County Tyrone, Ireland, the son of James and Eliza (Reid) Christie. In 1846 the family immigrated to the United States and settled on a farm in Clyman Township, Dodge County, Wisconsin. Educated in country schools, he was an insatiable reader of the family's many books.
In October 1861 he, along with his brother William, enlisted in the First Minnesota Light Artillery Battery at Fort Snelling, Minnesota . They served in the First Battery until 1865. After his discharge he surveyed land for the Winona and St. Peter Railroad Company near Winona, Minnesota. In April 1866 he entered a preparatory school in Beloit, Wisconsin. In 1868 he entered Beloit (Wisconsin) College, graduating in July 1871. In August 1871 he started teaching at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. On March 14, 1872, he married Sarah Carmelite Brewer of Lee Center, Illinois. He returned to Beloit College in September to teach and to complete work on his Master of Arts degree, which he received in 1874. He then enrolled in Andover (Massachusetts) Seminary, from which he graduated in 1877, and was thereupon ordained a minister in Beloit.
In September 1877 he and his family left for Marash, Turkey, where they spent sixteen years doing missionary work. In 1893 they moved to Tarsus, Turkey, where Thomas assumed the presidency of St. Paul's Institute, a privately funded college supported by Colonel Elliott Shepard of New York City. Colonel Shepard died soon afterward and left the college without adequate funding, which obligated the Christies to continually seek funds for the school.
The Christies were in Turkey during the Armenian massacres of 1895, 1909, and 1915, and they provided refuge and relief to many Armenian people. Thomas and Carmelite Christie returned to the United States in 1920. Thomas Christie died May 25, 1921, in Pasadena, California.
Sarah Carmelite Brewer was born April 25, 1852, in Lee Center, Lee County, Illinois, the daughter of James (1821-1896) and Eliza (Pratt) Brewer (1825-1888). Her father was a minister and a farmer in Lee Center.
From 1868 to 1871 she attended Rockford (Illinois) Seminary, graduating on June 28, 1871. She taught school in Lee Center until her marriage on March 14, 1872, to Thomas D. Christie. In September 1877 the family sailed for Turkey, arriving in Alexandretta, Turkey, on October 23, 1877.
During their life in Turkey, Carmelite was often left alone with her children when Thomas visited outlying missionary stations and when he went on trips abroad. In addition to her family responsibilities, she was involved in the activities of St. Paul's Institute and the education of women. For two periods (1888-1890, 1897-1898), she returned to the United States with her children to establish a home while the children attended school.
In June 1915 Thomas went to Constantinople to ask the government not to deport teachers; he was not allowed to return to Tarsus. Carmelite remained alone in Tarsus from 1915 to 1919, at which time Thomas rejoined her. During that time she kept St. Paul's Institute open and distributed relief supplies.
In 1920 Carmelite and Thomas resigned from St. Paul's Institute and returned to the United States to live. After Thomas died in 1921, Carmelite lived with her daughter Jean in Pasadena, California. She traveled and maintained her large correspondence. Carmelite Christie died October 17, 1931, in Pasadena, California.
While on a vacation from the Philippine service in 1910, he attended Harvard Graduate School and renewed his friendship with his cousin, Clara Pray (1871-1951). On May 9, 1911, they were married in Hong Kong, China. Their two children were born in the Philippine Islands: Jean Ogilvie (February 8, 1912) and Donald (August 7, 1914).
After the family's return to the United States, Emerson taught Spanish at the
University of Michigan (1915-1916) and French at Temple University (1916-1917).
His work for the State Department began in 1918 as a special assistant and
culminated in his appointment as chief of the newly formed Translation Bureau in
1928. He received a Master of Political Science degree from American University
in 1928. Copies of some of his published articles can be found in the
biographical information. A copy of his book,
The family remained in the United States while William Nute completed medical school. During this time a second son, Cyril Haas Nute, was born on April 2, 1921. In 1924 the family returned to Turkey where William was associated with a rural medical clinic. During a furlough home, a daughter, Mary Carmelite, was born on September 21, 1927, in Pasadena, California.
Mary taught school until 1934, at which time the Turkish government ordered her to stop teaching. She then served as a receptionist for the clinic. William and Mary Nute retired from missionary work in 1959, returning to Claremont, California. Mary Nute died on September 28, 1975.
He married Miriam McLeod on January 30, 1913. They had three daughters: Eleanor (April 16, 1915), Carol (July 4, 1917), and Miriam Brewer (November 11, 1923). Paul died on November 19, 1959.
Because Agnes' health was not good, her school years were not consecutive. She entered Mount Holyoke (South Hadley, Massachusetts) in 1908. She suffered a breakdown in 1911 and returned to Turkey to recuperate. While living in Turkey, she became engaged to Kevork Damlanian, an Armenian who had been a student and a teacher at St. Paul's Institute. This engagement was broken by mutual consent. In 1915 Agnes returned to the United States and entered Forsyth Dental Infirmary for Children to receive training as a dental hygienist. She suffered another breakdown in 1916. She graduated in 1917 and worked at various offices as a dental hygienist. Plagued by ill health, Agnes became more depressed and committed suicide on December 30, 1919.
The papers consist of correspondence, printed material, newspaper clippings, transcripts, diaries, school catalogs, photographs, and bound volumes. The volumes include diaries, notebooks, guest and address books, account and record books, and three published books.
A portion of the papers, including Civil War pension files, documents Thomas Christie's Civil War service in the First Minnesota Light Artillery Battery. The remainder documents the history of a family deeply involved in missionary work in Turkey, their son Paul's and daughter Jean's teaching careers, and their son Emerson's career in the State Department.
Several broad themes run through the papers: the work of the missionaries among the many national groups in Turkey; the relationship of Thomas and Carmelite Christie; the relationship of missionary parents and their children; the separation of the children from their parents and each other during their school years; and the health of the Christie daughters.
In particular, the papers document the teaching careers of Paul and Jean Christie and the career of Emerson Christie in the U.S. State Department. The correspondence and diaries contain frequent discussions of missionary and Turkish lifestyles, particularly of Armenian and Muslim women; epidemics and famine; administration of and fund raising for St. Paul's Institute; teaching experiences of Carmelite and daughter, Mary, at the Institute among native women; and relations with the Turkish government. Family letters, essays, and diaries by Carmelite and Mary detail the sufferings of the Armenian people during the 1895, 1909, and 1915 massacres, and the missionaries' efforts to give them refuge and relief.
Some of the letters are written in Turkish, French, and German. None have been translated.
These records are organized into the following sections:
Microfilmed Civil War Reminiscences (0.4 cubic feet) are closed to general use.
Microfilmed Civil War Reminiscences. Microfilm (M542). St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1990. 1 roll positive microfilm.
Microfilm available for interlibrary loan or sale from the Minnesota Historical Society. Inquiries regarding purchases by non-Minnesota residents and institutions should be directed to LexisNexis.
The Christie Family Papers are composed of three separate collections (P1281, P1282, P1283) of letters and other papers from several generations of the Christie family. The Christie papers were originally given to the Minnesota Historical Society in 1965 by a descendent of Sarah Christie Stevens (1844-1919), and were cataloged as a single collection. As more additions were received, the single collection was divided into three: the papers of James, Thomas, and David.
Accession numbers: 9,920; 11,836; 11,904; 11,957; 11,958; 11,959; 11,962; 11,963; 11,982; 11,984; 11,985; 12,054; 12,074; 12,110; 12,121; 12,138; 12,442; 12,641; 12,731; 13,263 13,278; 14,156; 15,087; 15,310; 15,531; 16,367
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project
grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Catalog ID number: 001729315
The
The
Audio tapes of an oral history interview (1976) with Jean Christie Lien are in the Minnesota Historical Society oral history collection.
Audio tapes of an interview (1977) with Dr. William L. Nute, Sr., are available in the Minnesota Historical Society oral history collection.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the
Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics,
persons or places should
A genealogical chart tracing the Thomas D. Christie lineage from James Christie (1554-1651) of Balbenchlie.
Digital version
Includes correspondence, printed memorials, biographical sketches, news clippings, and other materials regarding Thomas and Carmelite Christie and their children. Also included are handwritten genealogical charts tracing the Christie lineage from Alwyn II, Earl of Lennox (1161-1225).
Includes printed materials, a coat of arms, correspondence, and biographical sketches tracing the Nute lineage from James Nute (Newte) who emigrated from Tiverton, England to New Hampshire in 1631.
The bulk of the correspondence begins in 1866 with an essay by Carmelite Brewer and letters written to her by former classmates now engaged in missionary work in the South and Hawaii. The correspondence between Thomas and Carmelite begins in 1871, prior to their 1872 marriage.
The period from 1872 to 1877 was spent at Beloit, Wisconsin and Andover, Massachusetts where Thomas was studying. Their correspondence concerns schools, travel, and family matters. From 1877 to 1893 the family lived at Marash, Turkey, with the exception of two years between 1888 and 1890, when Carmelite and the children lived in Beloit, Wisconsin to further the children's education. The correspondence during that period concerns missionary work in Turkey, missionary lifestyles, Armenian and Moslem women, travel, education, epidemics, and famines.
Correspondence for the years from 1893 to 1906 concerns the Armenian massacre of 1895; Turkish politics and government; missionaries, missionary work, and lifestyles; Civil War reminiscences; Armenians; schools, especially St. Paul's Institute, Tarsus, and Emerson's teaching experiences in the Philippines. There is information on various members of the Christie family and their activities.
For the years from 1907 to 1914, the same general themes continue and include more on the financial and general operation of St. Paul's Institute; the marriage of Mary Nute and (Daniel) Miner Rogers; Miner's death in the massacre of 1909; the birth of Mary and Miner's son; the Turkish government and political situation; Agnes' health and her broken engagement to Kevork Damlanian; and Armenians.
By the year 1914 the political situation in Turkey had deteriorated. The Armenian Massacre of 1915 began with deportations. Thomas Christie went to the capital to try to exclude their teachers from deportation. He was not allowed back into Tarsus (he eventually went to California), leaving Carmelite and Kevork Damlanian to run the Institute. There is much information on refugees, their conditions, and the Institute's role in sheltering the refugees. In addition to the refugees, Carmelite attempted to aid English prisoners of war imprisoned nearby. There is also information on YMCA work in France and California.
The correspondence dating 1918 to 1924 continues to describe refugees' experiences, including lists of returned exiles; YMCA activities in Constantinople; Agnes' suicide (1920); Carmelite's illness and return to the United States; Turkish politics; missionaries; Thomas' illness, death, and funeral (1921); and the return of Mary Nute's family to Turkey (1924).
From 1924 to 1931 the correspondence concerns Carmelite's life in Pasadena, California, where many Armenians settled and in Turkey, and Hawaii. Carmelite reminisces about family life in Turkey and Madison, Wisconsin. The rest of the correspondence (1932-1964) is scattered and is mainly of the Nute family in Turkey, with some letters from Emerson and Jean Lien.
The correspondence is in chronological order, with items from significant non-family correspondents placed in separate files.
This file contains correspondence, in Spanish, relating to his invention of a sugar train and pump used in the sugar cane fields in Cuba. Dudley Pray married Jennie Christie, daughter of William Christie; their daughter Clara married Emerson Christie.
This folder pertains to Dudley Pray's daughter, Clara Pray. It contains school papers and a copy of a diary (1897-1900).
Boxes 33-36 contain the Emerson Christie correspondence, an adjunct to the principal series of correspondence.
Boxes 37 and 38 contain the correspondence between Jean Christie and Elizabeth Shapleigh from 1906 to 1955.
One box of information on the "Chaco" boundary dispute between Bolivia and Paraguay, mediated by the Commission of Inquiry and Conciliation in 1929. Emerson Christie, as head of the Translation Bureau, attended the conference, as did Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh. The papers include reports, correspondence, and miscellaneous materials. A photograph of the Commission is available in Box 32 of the collection.
Among the many volumes in this collection, of particular interest are the diaries of Carmelite Christie (1915-1919), which she kept during her stay alone in Tarsus. They describe the plight of the Armenian people, her efforts to help them, her struggles to keep St. Paul's Institute open, and her relationship with the Turkish government.
Three smaller reminiscences by Thomas Christie relate his experiences in the battles of Shiloh, Iuka, and Corinth. A file of excerpts of Civil War information from official sources and biographies, compiled by Thomas Christie were probably used as source material for Civil War reminiscences. A letter (September 18, 1899) from D. W. Reed to Thomas Christie relates to Lieutenant Peebles' participation at Shiloh. Included is an article from Harper's Monthly Magazine (May 1906) with annotations by Christie.
Contains a 42-page reminiscence (page 1 missing) wherein Christie relates humorous anecdotes drawn from his experiences in the Civil War and his life in Turkey in order to illustrate various moral lessons.
An account written by William Nute of the English prisoners of war who came to Tarsus following the battle of Tysophon in April of 1916.
Reminiscences, mainly of Mary and William Nute, including newspaper clippings which contain information on Armenian massacres, obituaries, travel accounts, and articles about the YMCA There is one folder of notes by Thomas Christie.
Christie's handwritten, unfinished Civil War reminiscence (107 pages)
was drafted for his children and entitled "My Life in the Army,
1861-1865." The narrative includes Christie's recollections,
excerpts from published sources, and quotations from letters written
by him and his brother William (W.G.C.) to their father, James C.
Christie, and sister, Sarah, in Clyman Township, Dodge County,
Wisconsin. Following an introduction, the reminiscence begins with
the outbreak of war in April 1861 and continues through events of
March 31, 1862. It includes descriptions of how Christie joined a
Minnesota army unit (First Battery, Minnesota Light Artillery)
instead of one from Wisconsin; the composition (nationality, region)
of the soldiers in the battery and what happened to them in the war;
soldiers' deaths resulting from poor food and climate; the St. Louis
arsenal; the gunboat
Copies of letters written by Thomas and his brother William. The
location of the originals is unknown. These letters interfile with
original Civil War letters (1861-1865) in the
Three reminiscences by Thomas Christie, entitled "The Battle of Shiloh as I Saw It," "[The] Second Battle of Shiloh," and "The Battles of Iuka and Corinth."
Excerpts from official documents and other published sources compiled by Christie. Includes reminiscences of Shiloh by U.S. Army and Confederate Army officers which include D. C. Buell, A. S. Johnston; S. H. Lockett, and Ulysses S. Grant; three reminiscences of the Atlanta campaign by an unidentified author; and excerpts from official orders and letters (March 1862-September 1863).
Letter from D. W. Reed to Thomas Christie regarding Lieutenant Fred
E. Peebles' participation in the Battle of Shiloh. Enclosed with the
letter is a portion of an article from
These files are arranged in a roughly chronological sequence.
A hymnal kept by Thomas Christie's grandfather, William Christie.
Contains poems by Thomas Christie and other writings by various members of the family.
The printed materials (1879-1922) consist of annual reports of St. Paul's
Institute; printed letters by Thomas Christie;
Photographs of the Thomas D. and Carmelite Christie family, their children and their families, and related families including the James Brewer family, the James Christie family, William Christie, Alexander Christie, the Pray family, Elisha Pratt, and the Stevens family. Also included are views of Marash, photographs of the students, faculty, and campus of St. Paul's Institute in Tarsus, Turkey, refugees and views of Tarsus after the 1909 massacre, and English prisoners of war (1916) in Tarsus. Miscellaneous subjects include a lithograph of the Sion Mills in Ireland (1890), photographs taken while the Christie children were attending European boarding schools (1901-1902), photographs of Jean Christie's service with the Y.M.C.A. in France and Greece (1917-1919), and a photograph of the Commission of Inquiry and Conciliation responsible for settling the Chaco boundary dispute (1929).
An original and photocopy of
Alumni publication of American Board Schools of Turkey.
Photocopies of Thomas D. Christie's Civil War pension file (No. 1105646) and his wife Carmelite Christie's widow's pension file (No. 913645). The original pension files are held by the National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Data sheets prepared during cataloging contain content notes on each folder of papers. Subjects and authors are noted as well as letters of particular interest. A separate summary sheet for each box of the collection relates the family's activities during that period and lists principal subjects. Incomplete due to subsequent additions to the collection.