The Mennonite Church maintains an archive in two locations: the Mennonite Historical Library at Goshen College (Goshen, Indiana) and the Mennonite Library and Archives at Bethel College (North Newton, Kansas). Finding aids for all locations of the Mennonite archives can be searched at http://mac.libraryhost.com/.
These archives hold collections relating to leprosy work in India from the early 1900s as well as photographs from leprosy work in Burundi, Paraguay, and Vietnam from the 1950s.
The George Jay Lapp Papers are one of the significant collections in this archive. Lapp was a missionary to India (1905-45), and was the superintendent of the Shantipur Leper Asylum (1904). His papers indicate links to the American Mission to Lepers and the Mission to Lepers in India and the East.
The Mennonite Board of Missions (1882- ) Collection relating to India (1901-44) contains Leprosy Asylum correspondence (1904-09 and 1934-44); extensive management records of the asylum (1903-11) and (1912-28); and annual reports of the asylums managed by the Church. The personal papers of J A Ressler (who served in India from 1899-1908 and was part of the Mennonite Church initiative to people with leprosy) are also part of this repository. Correspondence of C D Esch (1917-40), J N Kaufman (1909-44), and M C Lehman (1908-45), who all worked in the asylum, is held by the archives. The secondary source John A Lapp, Mennonite Church in India, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, USA: Herald P, 1972) provides an overview of the asylum and those involved. Separate from the work of the Mennonite Church, there are also documents associated with McKean Leprosy Hospital, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The photographic collection of the Mennonite Central Committee includes photos from leprosy work in Burundi (1964-66), Paraguay – the Kilometer 81 Leprosy Mission (1955-61), and Vietnam – the Banmethuot Leprosarium (1958-61). For references to specific collections and files, and the catalogue numbers of these materials, please refer to the in-house Finding Aid on Leprosy.
Entry updated January 2016