Reverend Eugene Smathers Papers
Table of Contents
The Smathers Collection is divided into two series: a regular, and a miscellaneous series. The "regular" series includes Boxes 1-39, and contains the following: 1) Smathers' incoming correspondence; 2) Smathers' outgoing correspondence; and 3) Smathers' sermons and sermon materials.
The miscellaneous series, Miscellaneous Boxes 1-22, includes the following:
1) various materials collected by Smathers, and listed according to subject;
2) articles, papers and pamphlets by Smathers, plus publications about Smathers and Big Lick;
3) Board of National Missions Monthly Reports by Smathers and by others, and miscellaneous reports on various projects;
4) pamphlets collected by Eugene Smathers, arranged by publisher
Dates
- Creation: 1932-1968
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
The physical materials from this collection may be viewed only in the reading room of Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives. Materials should be requested two to three days in advance to facilitate easier access. Contact specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu to schedule an appointment.
Biographical / Historical
Eugene Feland Smathers was born on December 4, 1907, in Bath County, Kentucky. He received his A.B. from Transylvania College in 1929 and his B.D. from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary in 1932. He married Loucile Boydston of Berrysville, Arkansas, in 1942. He served as pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church of Big Lick, Tennessee, from 1932 to 1968. From 1937 to 1938, he constructed the Warren H. Wilson House of Health, and he held interracial and interfaith work camps at Big Lick from 1940 to 1941. He served as a special lecturer in rural life and leadership at the School of Religion at Vanderbilt University from 1942 to 1945. He received an honorary D.D. degree from Centre College, Kentucky, in 1949 and was nominated Rural Pastor of the Year for Tennessee in 1950. Smathers served as the President of National Presbyterian Town and Country Fellowship, Chairman of Committee on National Missions for the Presbytery of Cumberland Mountain and of the Synod of Mid-South, Chairman of the Cumberland County Rural Health Council, a Member of the Board of Directors of Uplands Sanatorium (1950-1959), a Member of Executive Committee of National Presbyterian Rural Fellowship (1959), Chairman of Board of Cumberland County Farmers Cooperative (1967), and Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church (1967). He died in Big Lick, Tennessee, on August 18, 1968.
Full Extent
40.72 Linear Feet (39 letter Hollingers, 1 legal Hollinger, 23 Paige boxes)
- Title
- Finding Aid for the Reverend Eugene Smathers Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives Repository
Special Collections Library
1101 19th Ave. S.
Nashville TN 37212 United States
specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu
About this Site
This site contains collection guides, or finding aids, to the archival collections held by Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives, the History of Medicine Collection, and the Scarritt Bennett Center. Finding aids describe the context, arrangement, and structure of archival materials, allowing users to identify and request materials relevant to their research.
Requesting Materials
Each finding aid contains a link to request materials from the collections. Collections can also be requested by emailing the repository directly through the library website. Each repository has its own location, hours, and contact information. Please consult the repository with questions about using the materials. Collections are non-circulating and must be used in the repository’s reading room. In many cases, the collections are stored off-site and require advance notice for retrieval.