Claxon mss., 1947-1993
Summary Information
Repository
Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Lilly Library
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
Phone: 812-855-2452
Fax: 812-855-3143
Email: liblilly@indiana.edu
Creator
Claxon, Neville, 1915-1998
TitleClaxon mss., 1947-1993
Collection No.
LMC 1193
Extent
ca. 685 items
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
The Claxon mss., 1947-1993, consists
primarily of letters from Baptist missionaries Emma and Neville Claxon, addressed
largely to family members in Kentucky.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Biographical Note
Emma (Osborne) Claxon, 1912-2008, and her husband (William) Neville Claxon,
1915-1998, were first posted to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1948 and were later
stationed in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Dahomey (now Benin). Upon their original
departure from the United States, the Claxons were accompanied by their then
three-year-old daughter, Carol Ann; son William Neville, Jr. was born while the
family was stationed in Nigeria. In the 1970s the Claxons studied French in France
before moving to French-speaking Benin. After retirement in 1981, Emma and Neville
spent their first few months in their original home town of Russellville, Kentucky,
did some mission work in Florida, and then moved to Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, where
they lived for eleven years. In 1992 they sold their home in Kentucky and moved to
Bloomington, Indiana, where daughter Carol was a faculty member in Indiana
University’s School of Journalism.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by the following series: I. Correspondence; II.
Writings.
Scope and Content Note
The Claxon mss., 1947-1993, consist primarily of letters from Baptist missionaries
Emma and Neville Claxon, addressed largely to family members in Kentucky. The
correspondence begins in late 1947 while the Claxons awaited their ship to Africa,
and the last letters were written from the United States following the Claxons’
retirement as missionaries in 1981. The majority of the letters describe daily
activities and missionary work in West Africa over a period of more than thirty
years. The letters also include descriptions of the Claxon children’s growth and
activities, stories of the family’s interactions with the peoples of Ghana, Nigeria
and Benin, and discussions about the health and wellness of extended family.
Frequent correspondents include Neville Claxon’s mother, Frona, and sister, Eleanor,
as well as children Carol Ann and William (Bill) Neville, Jr. following their return
to the United States in pursuit of a college education.
Writings include those by Neville Claxon: brief travel narratives, summaries of
experiences in Africa, and excerpts from a journal and daily calendar. There also is
an account by an Assembly of God missionary, named McNutt, whose family lived near
the Claxons when they first arrived in Kumasi, the Gold Coast, in June 1948.
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Indexing Terms
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Names
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Claxon, Neville, 1915-1998
--Correspondence.
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Claxon, Emma, 1912-2008
--Correspondence.
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Claxon, William Neville,
1950- --Correspondence.
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Polsgrove, Carol
--Correspondence.
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Claxon, Emma,
1912-2008
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Claxon, William Neville,
1950-
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Polsgrove,
Carol
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Southern Baptist
Convention. Foreign Mission Board.
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Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Acquired: 2003
Usage RestrictionsPrior arrangements are not necessary before coming to the Library, however,
patrons from out of town are encouraged to communicate with the Library in
advance of their visits to ascertain availability of materials.
Photocopying permitted only with permission of the Curator of Manuscripts, Lilly
Library.
Preferred Citation
Claxon mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Series:
Box 1
I. Correspondence
Folder 1
1947-1948,
Aug.
Folder 2
1948,
Sept.-Dec.
Folder 3
1949
Folder 4
1950
Folder 5
1951-1953
Folder 6
1954
Folder 7
1955-1956
Folder 8
1957
Folder 9
1958
Folder 10
1959-1960
Folder 11
1962-1970
Folder 12
1971
Folder 13
1972
Folder 14
1973-1974
Folder 15
1975
Folder 16
1976
Folder 17
1977
Folder 18
1978
Folder 19
1979
Folder 20
1980
Folder 21
1981-1994,
undated
Series:
Box 1
II. Writings
Folder 22
Claxon, 1948-1976
Folder 23
McNutt, 1948