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John Clover Monsma Collection, 1919-1970

Collection Overview

Title: John Clover Monsma Collection, 1919-1970

ID: COLL/177

Creator: John Clover Monsma (1890-1970)

Extent: 5.0 Boxes

Arrangement: Folder level description

Abstract

Minister of the Christian Reformed Church, author, and publisher of the American Daily Standard, plus president of The World. The collection includes the periodical The World, manuscripts, reviews, articles, and correspondence, (of special note is a letter, directed to Abraham Kuyper with a plea for him to form a World Alliance of Calvinists, and expressing Monsma's gratitude for the influence of his teachings).

Biographical Note

John Clover Monsma was born in the Netherlands in 1890. In 1902, he immigrated to the United States and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended Calvin Seminary graduating in 1917. In the same year, he accepted the call from Summit, Illinois to become their minister. He remained at the church until 1919. He resigned from the CRC and became a pastor of PCUSA. He served the congregation of Grandville, NY, (1920-22) and First, Oostburg, WI (1922-28). In 1923, he earned his PhD at Princeton University. He was the editor of The New Reformation: A Magazine for Ministers and Other Church Workers (The Ministers' Monthly) from 1924 to1925

In 1928, Monsma decided to pursue a non-ministerial vocation as a journalist and author. He also was a radio commentator and had a weekly radio program in the Chicago area. His work as an author includes The Evidence of God in an Expanding Universe (1958), Science and Religion (1962), and Behind the Dim Unknown (1966). John Clover Monsma passed away on April 24, 1970 in Grand Rapids. His wife, Katherine and their three children survived him.


Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Manuscripts
Box 1
Folder 1: Manuscript: Behind the Dim Unknown
Folder 2: Manuscript: The President Resigns, Copy ?
Folder 3: Manuscript: The President Resigns, Copy ??
Folder 4: Manuscript: Prince Abraham, pp. 1-156
Box 2
Folder 1: Manuscript: Prince Abraham, pp. 157-293
Folder 2: Manuscript: Religion and Birth Control
Folder 3: Manuscript: Toward A Greater America, pp. 1-147
Folder 4: Manuscript: Toward A Greater America, pp. 148-280
Folder 5: Manuscript: Tulips and Stinkweed, by Peter Van Dam
Series 2: Manuscripts and Reviews
Box 3
Folder 1: Manuscript: This I Believe About Jesus Christ --- 1955
Folder 2: Manuscript: The White House Has a Guest, Copy ?
Folder 3: Manuscript: The White House Has a Guest, Copy ??
Folder 4: Reviews and correspondence on "Behind the Dim Unknown" --- 1963-1967
Folder 5: Reviews on "The Evidence of God in Our Expanding Universe" --- 1958
Folder 6: Reviews on "Religion and Birth Control" --- 1963-1965
Folder 7: Correspondence on Symposium on "Religion and Medical Ethics" --- 1962
Folder 8: Reviews on "Science and Religion" --- 1962
Folder 9: Material on Hour of Silver Trumpets, a Religious Radio Program from Chicago --- 1947
Series 3: Miscellaneous Papers
Box 4
Folder 1: The American Daily Standard --- Feb. 10 and 12, 1921
(two copies)
Folder 2: Antioch, the Beautiful. Article in Pictorial Review --- December 1929
Folder 3: Author-Publisher Agreements, G. P. Putnam's Sons
Folder 4: Book: The Evidence of God in an Expanding Universe. Arabic translation --- 1961
Folder 5: Book: Why the American Daily Standard Failed. Seymour and Muir, Grand Rapids, Michigan --- 1921
[HERH PN4899.C5 A5]
Folder 6: "Lion of the East Indies". Article rejected by the Saturday Evening Post --- March 28, 1938
Folder 7: Morrison Smith, Master Scientist. Notes on the novel
Folder 8: Press releases, book cover, radio message --- September 19, 1948
Folder 9: Stories: When the "Mountain Giant Became Real," "How Bonnie Saved Her Marriage," articles
Box 5
Folder 1: Why the American Daily Standard Failed, two copies
Folder 2: The World: An International Weekly.
(1 copy ea. Vol. 1 no. 1, no. 2, no. 4, loose)
Folder 3: The World: An International Weekly, vol. 1, #1-4 bound
Folder 4: Unfinished Autobiography Chapter 1, "Farewell to Windmills and Dikes" --- c. 1950
Folder 5: Correspondence --- undated, 1970
Folder 6: Letter to Abraham Kuyper --- 1919