Hello -

I am trying to locate information about Bishop Henry Turner and the exhibit he lent to the 1895 Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta. The display was of items Bishop Turner collected while in Africa.

Where are the Bishop Turner papers or items kept from the period of 1890s? Either of the Cotton Exposition or the three trips to Africa -primarily to Liberia?

Many thanks for any insights! K. Hicks khicks1@prodigy.net

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

Answers

Please visit http://www.ghg.net/jlpayne/bishops.html. There are some resources there that might be helpful under "AME History", and Bishop Turner's brief bio as penned by Horace Talbert in 1906 is also linked (Under "Episcopal Biographies").

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

Hi Kyra! It is good to see that you are logged onto the discussion board. Two excellent places to contact are the Wilberforce University archives, http://www.wilberforce.edu. An AME institution, they have portions of their archives online via the "library" link on their website. Jacqueline Brown is one of the university librarians and has been an archivist there for a long time. If WU does not hold any of Turner's archives, Brown may have an idea who does have early papers on Turner. Another good place to contact is Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia, PA. Their website address is http://www.motherbethel.com/main.htm. They have a very active archival/preservation program of early AME materials, included those of Richard and Sarah Allen. Through their website they have a message board where you can contact them for archival inquiries. God Bless You and I will email you directly if I find our any more information.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

This may also be of interest to you and others who post to this site: The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill has an excellent online, digital archive entitled "Documenting the American South: The Church: The Church in the Southern Black Community". The website address is: http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/index.html. There are several digitized photographs of early AME Bishops, biographical information and some archival papers, including detailed information on Bishop Henry M. Turner. You can view the entire text of Bishop Turner's "African Letters, which is an account of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner's first trip to Africa in 1893 at this website: http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/turneral/summary.html. Before arriving on the African continent, Turner visits the islands of Madeira, Teneriffe, and Great Canary Island. He describes in detail the people, culture, and religious life of each. Next, Turner recounts his warm welcome at the A.M.E. church in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He writes of the good character and industriousness of the people. Finally, Bishop Turner travels to Liberia, and makes plans for continuing missions there. He expresses high hopes for the nation of Liberia and for the progress of his race, both in Africa and in America.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001