It’s time for another look inside the 14 collections that are a part of the Robert W. Woodruff Library’s NEH sponsored Spreading the Word project. This collection illustrates the life of a phenomenal African American woman.

“Not for ourselves, but for others” was her motto. Anna E. Hall, affectionately known as “Mamma Hall”, was a Methodist pioneer. This tall, stately woman born in Bainbridge, GA in 1870 and raised by a single mother, helped to pave the way for African American women in missionary work and the Christianization of Liberia. A graduate of Clark University (now Clark Atlanta University), Hall became the first African American woman to attend the New England Deaconess Training School in Boston Massachusetts. She would later become a lead missionary in Liberia for 25 years.

Inside the Anna E. Hall collection scholars can view correspondence to Miss Anna E. Hall and other writings dating her arrival in Liberia to 1906. These writings express the love and trust she received from her students and the community. Exemplifying this trust, a mother writes to Miss Hall revealing that she bore a child out of wedlock with a Methodist minister, and has never revealed his name to anyone besides her. There are also several correspondences within the collection from the Liberian community, including former students and ministers expressing their friendship and prayers to Mamma Hall. Government correspondences and invitations from Liberia (including a 1956 invitation to the presidential inauguration and ball) illustrate her significance in the country.

Finally the collection includes Gammon Theological Seminary’s 1954 and 1963 publications of its magazine, The Foundation which references the naming of a dormitory in Anna E. Hall’s honor. The magazine also describes how Mamma Hall would rarely miss Chapel services. Within these magazines are images and information related to the Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, GA) past presidents, students and faculty.
The Anna E. Hall collection with its many photographs, publications and writings is another rich source for African, African American, Methodist and Georgia history. The collection is also a valuable source of research about women in ministry and missionary work. The AUC Woodruff Library is excited to have the collection of this phenomenal woman. Follow this link to view the finding aid: http://findingaid.auctr.edu/arc/view?docId=ead/auctr.edu/anna_hall.xml

The photographs within this collection have been scanned and will be made accessible to the public in the near future. We hope you will continue to follow our progress as we continue to update our findings within the 14 collections that are a part of the Spreading the Word project. See ya’ll next time!