Ephemera of William Ashley "Billy" and Helen Amelia (Thompson) Sunday - Collection 29

[Note: What follows is a description of the documents in this collection which are available for use at BGC Archives in Wheaton, Illinois, USA. The actual documents are not, in most cases, available online, only this description of them. Nor are they available for sale or rent. Some or all of this collection can be borrowed through interlibrary loan. ]

Table of Contents

Brief Description of This Collection

Title Page and Restrictions

Biographies

An Essay on the Contents of the Collection (Scope and Content)

Paper Records
Audio/Visual Materials

Other Information Which Will Be Helpful to the User of This Guide

• Partial List of the Campaigns of William Ashley Sunday
  
  
• Partial List of Sunday's Assistants
  
  

Microfilm List


Lists of Artifacts, Audio Tapes, Books, Films, Microfilm, Phonograph Records, Photographs, and Video Tapes in This Collection (Location Records)

Audio Tapes
Films
Microfilm
Negatives
Oversize Materials
Phonograph Records
Photographs
Video Tapes

List of the Contents of Boxes of Paper Records in This Collection (Container List)

Newspaper clippings, bulletins, counselor training materials, promotional pieces, correspondence, audio tapes, photographs, postcards, scrapbooks, films and other materials gathered by the Archives from varied sources, all of which relate to the Billy and/or Helen Sunday lives and evangelistic ministry.

Collection 29
[August 11, 2011]
Sunday, William Ashley; 1862-1935
Sunday, Helen Amelia Thompson; 1868-1957
Ephemera; 1907-1989; n.d.
7 Boxes (2 DC, 3 OS, 2 Flat OS), Audio Tapes, Film, Microfilm, Negative, Phonograph Record, Photographs, Video Tapes (4.94 cubic feet)

Restrictions

Folder 4-2 may not be used due to its fragile condition. Folder 4-3 contains a copy of the material in 4-2 and should be used in its place. There are no other restrictions on the use of this collection.

[NOTE: In the Scope & Content section, the notation "folder 2-5" means box 2, folder 5.]

Scope and Content

This collection consists of items about the life and ministry of Billy and Helen Sunday that were gathered together by the Archives staff. These records had no existence as a unit until they were put together by the Archives staff. Hence they are called "ephemera" as opposed to a collection of Billy and Helen Sunday materials created and maintained by the Sundays, which would be called their "papers."

Series: Paper records

Arrangement: Alphabetically by file title

Date Range: 1907-1989

Volume: 4.2 cubic feet

Boxes: 1-6

Geographic coverage: United States

Type of documents: Postcards, correspondence, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, posters, tracts, checks, sheet music, miscellaneous items

Correspondents: Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Edward Mullins, Billy Sunday, Helen Sunday

Subjects: Early twentieth century American evangelism, lives and impact of Billy and Helen Sunday, salvation, sin, American sermons, the prohibition movement

Notes: Newspaper Scrapbooks and newspaper and magazine clippings: The collection has many scrapbooks and collections of clippings for Sunday campaigns in individual cities. Usually the newspaper stories include day by day reprints of verbatim or near verbatim transcripts of Sunday's sermons as well as stories and pictures of the campaign. Sometimes the scrapbooks contain information on more than one campaign or on other subjects than the Sunday campaign. Among the campaigns are Springfield (Illinois) in 1909 (folders 5-3, 6-7), Everett (Washington) in 1910 (folder 6-9), Omaha in 1915 (folder 6-6), Philadelphia in 1915 (folders 3-2, 4-6, 5-2, OS36), Paterson (New Jersey) in 1915 (folder 5-2), Kansas City in 1916 (folder 5-1), Baltimore in 1916 (folder 6-2), Boston in 1916 (folders 2-10, 6-3), New York City in 1917 (folder 1-4: these articles tell how the 1917 New York City campaign was organized and details crusade finances, while other articles relate anti-Sunday sentiments from Catholics, accuse Sunday of coercion and religious bankruptcy, and mention Al Saunders, a "second Sunday."), Cincinnati in 1921 (folder 4-1) Bluefield (West Virginia) in 1921 (folder 1-6), Columbia (South Carolina) in 1923 (folder 6-4), Memphis in 1924 (folder 6-5), Portland (Oregon) in 1925 (folder 2-8), St. Louis in 1928 (folders 1-9 through 1-26), and Iola (Kansas) in 1928 (folder 1-7). Attached to one page of clippings (folder 6-2) are four tickets to Sunday meetings in Baltimore (1916). Folder 5-3 also contains a booklet about the 1909 Springfield campaign put out immediately afterwards. It includes excerpts from Sunday’s sermons, list of his pithy sayings, biographical data on his principal helpers, endorsements from local clergy, a statement on conversions and several photos.

Microfilm reel 2 consists of a collection from the Library of Congress of materials by William L. Daley. Daley is identified by the Library as Sunday's press agent, but if he did hold any such position, he did not hold it very long. Daley appears to have been a reporter or press agent. The microfilm contains several pages of clippings about Billy Sunday campaigns and what appear to be some notes, either of a Sunday sermon or of an article about Sunday by Daley. There are also some postcards of Billy and Helen Sunday, their associates and their evangelistic campaigns. However much, perhaps most of the material on the microfilm has no relation to Sunday, such as articles about the Teapot Dome scandal or a celebration of the anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine. Most of the Sunday materials appears to date from 1915-1917. Among the Sunday campaigns for which there is some, often very fragmentary materials, are Philadelphia (1915), Syracuse (1915), Trenton (1916), Kansas City (1916), Boston (1916-1917), Buffalo (1917), and New York City (1917).

Several scrapbook pages in folder 1-5 contains information about Sunday and other evangelists, such as Rodney "Gipsy" Smith, Charles Taylor, Percy Crawford, Bob Ingersoll (cousin of the famous orator), Laurie Taylor, and Walter Kallenback. Folder 1-5 has a clipping about Annie MacLaren, a solist during some of Sunday's meetings. Folder 6-8 has several columns of "Sundayisms," pithy sayings culled from Billy's sermons which newspapers often printed daily during his meetings.

Folder 3-1 contains a collection of Sunday's obituaries from newspapers all around the country. A booklet containing a transcript of his November 9, 1935, memorial service at Moody Church in Chicago (including the sermon by H. A. Ironside and comments by Harry Clarke and Homer Rodeheaver) is in folder 4-7.

An article by John Reed, a social activist, journalist, and the author of Ten Days That Shook the World, offered a colorful account of a Sunday crusade in Philadelphia for the Metropolitan (folder 1-3). "Ma" Sunday is portrayed as the "boss" as Reed describes her attempts to thwart an interview with Sunday. Reed also criticized the Sunday campaign as an attempt to divert the attention of the lower classes away from their problems.

Correspondence: Correspondence by or about the evangelist is found in folders 2-3 through 2-5 and 4-4. Folder 4-4 includes notes that Billy wrote to Helen, describing his preparation for the 1911 Toledo meetings. Folder 2-3 contains a letter from Sunday to a ministerial association planning a Sunday campaign which reveals some of the principles Sunday followed in his campaign planning. Folder 4-4 has xeroxes of letters from Billy Sunday to Edward Mullins on teaching evolution in schools; to Kenesaw Mountain Landis about reforming baseball; and many letters written to Sunday from well wishers in 1924 when he had to go to Mayo Clinic for treatment. The folder also contains two brief notes by Helen Sunday in the 1950s, one just a short time before her death. The other is a postcard from her to Billy Graham's business manager, George M. Wilson. One undated letter (ca. 1921) by Helen Sunday to Mrs. Amanda H. Mann thanking her for a "basketful of flowers." Folder 2-4 contains letters from W. B. Millar and folder 2-5 has miscellaneous letters with stories and information about the evangelist written after his death. There is a manuscript by Frederick Cramer about Billy's connections with Hood River, Oregon, and those of his brother Ed (Harold Edward) and Ed's grandson Harry Ashley Sunday.

Miscellaneous: The collection also includes sermons (folder 3-6) written after her husband's death by Helen Sunday, a prolific speaker and teacher in her own right. Other materials about Sunday (folder 3-3) include a ticket to a Sunday speech sponsored by a temperance society in July of 1931, a small handbill recording Sunday's endorsement of Wheaton College, a newsprint flyer, published in New Jersey, in which Sunday promotes women's suffrage circa 1915, a souvenir booklet describing in some detail the 1909 Spokane campaign, and picture postcards (in the photo file, see photograph location record). Several pages of loose-leaf sheet music, Billy Sunday's Victory March, (ca. 1913) by Herbert S. Frank are in folder 6-10.

Several folders contain publicity materials concerning Sunday and his song leader, Homer Rodeheaver. A handbill advertising the Sunday Youngstown (Ohio) campaign held in January and February, 1910, is found in folder 2-7. Promotional material for Billy Sunday: The Man and His Message by William Ellis is contained in folder 1-2. Several copies of The Y.W.C.A. Bulletin in folder 3-4 contain news of Sunday's New York campaign and folder 1-4 includes a special promotion of the New York American at the price of $1.50 for three months featuring complete coverage of the New York meetings.

Especially interesting, in view of the common criticism that Sunday did not work with converts after they had responded to his sermon, are the tracts in folder 2-2 which outline the Sunday method of evangelism, counseling, and follow-up. There is also a copy of the brochure given to converts on how to live the Christian life. The same folder contains other forms used during campaigns. For example, shares were sold during Sunday's campaigns to raise money to build the wooden tabernacle. After the meetings, the lumber would be sold and the money divided among the shareholders. One of these certificates for the Paterson, New Jersey, campaign is in the folder, as are the blank check forms that were used for the offering for Sunday which was traditionally taken at the last service of the campaign. There are also two items from the 1924 Charlotte campaign.

Series: Audio/visual materials

Arrangement: Numerically by item number assigned by the Archives

Date Range: 1920-1965; n.d.

Volume: 0.34 cubic feet

Geographic coverage: United States

Type of documents: 2 audio tapes, 1 film, 1 phonograph record, 1 video

Subjects: Life of Billy Sunday, evangelistic music

Notes: The individual items are described on their location records. The film Billy Sunday (F1, V1) is a documentary on his life and work; it contains newsreel footage of Sunday's meetings and preaching and includes an appearance by Homer Rodeheaver telling anecdotes about Sunday.

Provenance

The materials in this collection were received by the Center from various sources between 1977 and 2011, including the donation by Mr. Eugene Taylor of the Billy Sunday banner described under "Oversize." Additional information available upon request.

Several artifacts were transferred to the BGC Museum. Several books were transferred to the BGC Library (now Evangelism & Missions Collection of the Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections). A list is available upon request.

Accession 77-18, 77-23, 79-4, 79-10, 79-15, 79-16, 79-93, 79-104, 79-105, 79-108, 79-118, 79-122, 79-130, 79-135, 79-138, 79-143, 80-31, 80-48, 80-50, 80-137, 81-33, 81-36, 81-50, 84-116, 85-102, 88-31

September 16, 1977
Revised: 11/2/77, 2/7/79, 9/11/79, 2/13/80, 1/25/84
Robert Shuster
S. Short
M. Schimmels
M. Buffington
S. Kouns
J. Nasgowitz

Revised: May 8, 1981
Galen R. Wilson

Revised: May 18, 1981
Galen R. Wilson

Revised: June 9, 1987
Frances L. Brocker
J. Nasgowitz

Acc. 82-133, 84-4, 84-27, 84-57, 84-68, 84-125, 84-152, 85-102, 86-20, 87-106, 87-117, 90-70, 90-76, 91-26, 91-99, 92-35, 92-38, 92-61, 92-150, 93-17, 93-40, 93-99, 94-89, 94-91, 95-14, 95-110, 95-125, 95-160, 97-55, 97-96, 98-8, 98-49, 99-5, 99-57, 99-72, 00-22, 00-31, 00-36, 01-11
Updated August 13, 2001
Robert Shuster

Acc. 01-55
Updated: September 26, 2001
Robert Shuster

Acc. 02-43
Updated: July 8, 2002
Robert Shuster

Acc. 88-35, 93-02, 98-82, 02-26, 02-43, 03-01
Updated: March 27, 2003
Wayne D. Weber

Acc. 03-67
Updated: September 26, 2003
Bob Shuster

Acc, 04-10, 4-11
Updated: February 23, 2004
Bob Shuster

Acc. 03-26
Updated: April 21, 2004
Christian Sawyer

Acc. 82-171
Updated: February 3, 2005
Bob Shuster

Acc. 05-18, 05-20
Updated: April 7, 2005
Christian Sawyer

Acc. 06-44
Updated: November 3, 2006
Bob Shuster

Acc. 09-29
Updated June 9, 2009
Bob Shuster

Acc. 11-11
Updated March 3, 2011
Bob Shuster

Acc. 11-44
Updated August 8, 2011
Bob Shuster

Acc 11-49
Updated August 11, 2011
Bob Shuster

Microfilm List

Only reel 1 is available for inter-library loan.

Reel 1 - 35 mm, b&w. A copy of the contents of Box 4, folder 2: Scrapbook, Omaha, Nebraska meeting. September-October, 1915.

Reel 2 - 35 mm, b&w. Reel purchased from the Library of Congress. From Mss. 19,360, the William L. Daley Collection. 1915-1924.

LOCATION RECORD
Accession: None available
Type of Material: Audio Tapes
The following items are located in the AUDIO TAPE file.

T1 - William Ashley "Billy" Sunday preaching: (1) Temperance speech; n.d. (2) Reminiscences about Sunday; n.d. (3) Songs--"Sail On," "America" (same as songs #1 and #10 on T1, CN41); n.d.

T2 - Billy Sunday hymns: (1) "I Am Coming Home," (2) "If Your Heart Keeps Right," (3) "Sweeter As The Years Go By," (4) "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart," (5) "Brighten The Corner Where You Are."

LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 79-16
Type of Material: Films
The following items are located in the FILM FILE:

F1 - A copy of the 1965 film Billy Sunday; a Good News production released by Sacred Cinema. This film contains most of the available film footage of Sunday and an appearance by Homer Rodeheaver. USE V1.

LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 87-106
Type of Material: Microfilm
For each item listed below, there is one complete positive set is in the CENTER LIBRARY MICROFILM ROOM

Reel 2 - 35mm of Library of Congress Microfilm Collection, 19,360: The William L. Daley Collection, 1915-1925.

LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 94-91
Type of material: Negatives
The following items are located in the NEGATIVE FILE; request by Folder Titles (in bold) at the beginning of each entry below. All the negatives are black and white, unless otherwise noted

SUNDAY, WILLIAM ASHLEY. B&w of Billy Sunday and his half brother Leroy, probably at Hood River in Oregon. N.d.

*****

LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 06-44, 11-49
Type of material: Oversize Materials
The following items are in the OVERSIZE FILE. Request by collection number and folder location (in parentheses).

PHILADELPHIA SCRAPBOOK (OS36) A scrapbook of clippings from Sunday’s 1915 campaign in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and 1916 campaign in Trenton, New Jersey. The book was made using a wallpaper samples book. There is a very complete set of newspaper clippings from The North American, covering the Philadelphia campaign, January to March, 1915 and a much smaller amount of clippings from the Trenton campaign. There are also clippings of two sermons of evangelist William Biederwolf. There are a few clippings in the back of the book about an evangelistic campaign by Charles Weigle in Lansdale, Pennsylvania in 1916 and about the work of evangelist Henry Stough in Atlantic City, New Jersey, also in 1916.

PENNANT (OS13) Triangular cloth banner from Billy Sunday’s 1915 Philadelphia campaign. Faded pink and purple cloth, with gold letters, “Billy Sunday Revival Campaign 1915," with a balck and white photo of Billy Sunday atttached.. @8 ½ inches long, 9 ½ inches wide.
*****

LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 79-118
Type of material: Phonograph Records
The following items are located in the PHONOGRAPH RECORD FILE:

P1 - 78 rpm. Side 1 is entitled "Moody and Sankey Hymns," and includes songs sung by Bliss and Lowry. Side 2 is entitled "Billy Sunday Hymns" and includes solos by Ackley, Asher, and Gabriel. Ca. 1920.

LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 77-23, 79-15, 79-105, 79-135, 80-48, 80-137, 84-27, 85-102, 86-20, 92-61, 92-150, 93-99, 94-91, 95-110, 95-125, 98-8, 99-72, 00-31, 00-36, 02-26, 02-43, 03-26, 04-10, 04-11, 09-29
Type of material: Photographs
The following items are located in the PHOTO FILE; request by folder title (in bold) at the beginning of each entry below.

PLEDGER, CLIFTON PRYOR. Picture postcards of Clifton Pryor Pledger; 1908. 2 b&w.

RODEHEAVER, HOMER. Picture postcards of Homer Rodeheaver, some of him with B. D. Ackley; 1911-1912, n.d.. 7 b&w.

SIEBERT, FRED. Postcard of Fred Siebert, one of Billy Sunday's assistants. 1913. B&w.

SUNDAY, HELEN THOMPSON. 28 b&w. Portrait photos of Helen Thompson "Ma" Sunday, snapshots of her with Billy, postcards of her, with Billy, with their children, with the Sunday evangelistic party in Marshalltown and elsewhere, with Homer Rodeheaver; pictures from a 1948 trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts, some duplicates. 1905-ca. 1955, n.d.

SUNDAY, WILLIAM ASHLEY. 61 b &w, 6 color (not including many duplicates). Portrait photos of Sunday and informal snapshots as well as many postcards. Pictures of Sunday with his wife Helen, his children, mother Mary Jane (Corey), half brother Leroy, William Jennings Bryan. There are many postcards of Sunday preaching or striking dramatic poses. One photo of Sunday speaking into a radio microphone at the Franklin Gospel Tabernacle. Some of the portrait photos are autographed by Sunday. There are also several postcards of the Sunday's home in Winona Lake, Indiana and of the Billy Sunday Tabernacle in Winona Lake Indiana which was named in his honor. There are a few snapshots of sites around Nevada, Iowa, where Sunday spent part of his childhood. 1908-1998, n.d.

SUNDAY, BILLY (Oversize) 1 b&w. Panoramic photo of Billy and Helen Sunday with hundreds of the secretaries of the 1917 Los Angeles campaign.

SUNDAY, WILLIAM ASHLEY - CO-WORKERS. 9 b&w. Various postcards and snapshots of Sunday with one or more of his evangelistic staff, including Fred Fisher, Homer Rodeheaver, Clifton Pledger, B.D. Ackley, Grace Saxe, Virginia Asher, Francis Miller, Fred Siebert and others. 1908-1914, n.d.

SUNDAY, WILLIAM ASHLEY - TABERNACLES. 42 b&w, 3 color. Several postcards show the wooden tabernacles (mostly exteriors, but some interiors) in which meetings were held. There are pictures of tabernacles in Galesburg, Illinois (1907), Bloomington, Illinois (1907-1908), Decatur, Illinois (1908), Springfield, Illinois (1909), Lima, Ohio (1911), Toledo, Ohio (1911), Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania (1912), McKeesport, Pennsylvania (1912), South Bend, Indiana (1913), Columbus (1913), Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (1913), Scranton, Pennsylvania (1914), Elkhart, Indiana (1914), Syracuse, New York (1915), Philadelphia (1915), Paterson, New Jersey (1915), Trenton, New Jersey (1916), Kansas City (1916), New York City (1917), Chicago (1918). There are also postcards from the Billy Sunday Memorial tabernacle in Winona Lake, Indiana.

SUNDAY, WILLIAM ASHLEY. Portrait photos of Sunday and informal snapshots as well as many postcards. Pictures of Sunday with his wife Helen, with William Jennings Bryan, B. D. Ackley, with his evangelistic party. There are many postcard of Sunday preaching or striking dramatic poses. Several postcards show the wooden tabernacles (with or without crowds) in which meetings were held. There are pictures of tabernacles in Galesburg, Illinois (1907), Lima, Ohio (1911), Toledo, Ohio (1911), Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania (1912), South Bend, Indiana (1913), Columbus (1913), Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (1913), Scranton, Pennsylvania (1914), Syracuse, New York (1915), Philadelphia (1915), Paterson, New Jersey (1915), Kansas City (1916), New York City (1917) and of Sunday speaking into a radio microphone at the Franklin Gospel Tabernacle. There are several scenes of activities within the tabernacle during the Marshalltown, Iowa campaign (1909) and scenes of Sunday preaching as well as other members of his team in action, such as Clifton Pledger, Fred Fischer and Annie MacLaren (later Wright). There are two postcards of Sunday handling correspondence with B. D. Ackley. There are also several postcard of the Sunday's home in Winona Lake, Indiana and of the Billy Sunday Tabernacle in Winona Lake Indiana which was named in his honor. There are many duplicates. 1958-1951, n.d. 114 b&w, 9 color (tinted).

LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 79-16, 88-31,92-38, 94-89
Type of material: Videotape
The following items are located in the VIDEOTAPE FILE:

V1 - 3/4", U-matic video cassette and 2 VHS cassettes, 60 minutes. Copy of F1. VHS cassette produced by Beacon Video.

V2 - 3/4" U-matic video cassette, 15 minutes. Copy of a black and white film titled Billy Sunday...A Memory, ca. 1951. Producer unknown. Narrated by Bob Pierce. Contains sound footage of Sunday preaching in the 1920's against Prohibition repeal. Also contains footage of Billy Graham preaching and Pierce makes comparisons between the two men.

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