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The Bird family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other materials related to members of the Bird family of East Smithfield, Pennsylvania.

The Bird family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other materials related to members of the Bird family of East Smithfield, Pennsylvania. A number of letters written between George Niles Bird and Frances Rowe depict their lengthy, occasionally difficult, courtship in the late 19th century. Letters from other friends and family members are interspersed, including a letter from Hope Rowe recounting the funeral of President James A. Garfield (October 9, 1881).

Nancy N. Bird's correspondence consists primarily of incoming personal letters. Nancy's cousins wrote many of the letters, with the family's religiosity influencing much of their writing. The Bird family papers include many of Nancy N. Bird's speeches, including a series of talks delivered to fellow members of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) between 1886 and 1912. She discussed temperance, religion, and topics of local interest, including the history of Smithfield, Pennsylvania. Nancy N. Bird's printed materials consist primarily of ephemera, programs, and newspaper clippings, largely related to her work with the WCTU and to the Bradford Baptist Association. Also present are three items written by Nancy: a short book entitled A History of the Sunday Schools in East Smithfield, PA. Since 1822, and two copies of The History of the Baptist Church of East Smithfield, PA. Other materials related to Nancy include journal pages, a photograph, and Sunday School papers.

Helen Bird's letters, written to her mother, chronicle her year at the West Chester Normal School, 1912-1913, and include frequent complaints about the atmosphere, the people, and the food.

Materials relating to George Bird consist primarily of incoming correspondence from friends and from his cousin Geraldine ("Jerry"). Jerry, who financially supported George during his time at Pennsylvania State University, also offered advice and updates on her academic life at Cornell University, while George's friend Eugene Edgar Doll discussed his experiences at the University of Chicago and his patronage of the arts. The collection also includes reports from George Bird's early studies and from his time at Pennsylvania State.

Personal letters from other members of the Niles and Bird families include early letters from Hannah Niles to her husband Samuel, and letters addressed to George N. Bird, his wife Frances, and their daughter-in-law Carrie. Two printed letters from "Robert and Bernie" in Impur, India, describe the country and their educational and missionary work; on January 7, 1921, they mentioned Gandhi's non-cooperation movement.

The collection contains diaries and journals, account books, and albums. The diaries include an 1844 unsigned journal, Hannah Minor Niles' 1866 diary, Nancy Niles Bird's 1851 diary, and Carrie M. Bird's 1921 diary. An account books tracks John Bird's expenses between 1846 and 1858, and a record book kept by Nancy Niles Bird includes the meeting minutes from the Soldiers Aid Society during the Civil War and household accounts. George Bird's autograph album covers the years 1879-1881 and Nancy Niles Bird's scrapbook, kept between 1850 and 1925, contains newspaper articles about her mother Hannah, members of the Bird family, and acquaintances from Pennsylvania and Kansas.

Other miscellaneous items include a printed map, a document related to the military chapel at Ellington Field, Texas, genealogical items, and manuscript poems.

The Church of the Covenant collection contains monthly letters composed by Christian missionaries working for the American Sunday-School Union in Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee, during and just after the Civil War. Most of the letters are addressed to the Church of the Covenant Sabbath School in New York City. The missionaries, who described their work establishing and maintaining Sunday schools throughout the South, focused on educating children and freed slaves and occasionally mentioned the effects of the Civil War.

This collection contains 149 monthly letters composed by Christian missionaries working for the American Sunday-School Union in Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee, during and just after the Civil War, as well as 8 printed items and a map. Most of the letters are addressed to the Church of the Covenant Sabbath School in New York City.

The Correspondence series, which comprises the bulk of the collection, consists primarily of letters by William Sedwick, Otis Patten, Robert Downey Blair, and other missionaries, who reported on their work establishing religious schools in Kentucky and other southern states. Many letters contain monthly reports, and the missionaries frequently shared anecdotes about local parishioners, often children.

William Sedwick commented on the effects of the Civil War on his work, including shelling and the encroachment of fighting in the missionary fields (January 20, 1863) and local residents' fears that the Confederate Army would take over Kentucky (March 24, 1863). He also reflected on the war's negative impact on his evangelistic efforts, and on local attitudes about slavery.

Others mentioned their work with freed slaves, and Isaac Emory described the jubilation felt by two elderly former slaves who could now read the Bible publicly (August 25, 1867). The poverty and social conditions of the American South, along with the plight of African Americans, were frequent topics of conversation, along with missionary efforts to win converts and oversee the development of religious education. Several groups of these letters were once bound.

The Printed items series (8 items) includes reports of the Children's Aid Society and the Try Society, financial records related to the American Sunday-School Union, and an annual report made by William Sedwick during his service with the American Sunday-School Union (July 20, 1862).

The Map series has a manuscript map of three counties in northwestern Kentucky.

The George and Emilie Archer correspondence contains personal correspondence addressed to George and his wife Emilie from family and friends. Many of the letters relate to a property dispute between George and two of his siblings.

The George Archer correspondence contains letters written to George and his wife Emilie from family and friends. George's parents wrote a majority of the early items during his time at the Centenary Collegiate Institute in Hackettstown, New Jersey. His mother usually focused on news about family members and friends in Camden. His father wrote letters of advice to George, and discussed religious matters, particularly concerning conversion.

Following George's graduation, his correspondents represented a wider range of friends and social acquaintances. The majority of the early 20th century material belonged to Emilie Archer, whose parents often provided news of family and friends in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many later items, written between 1905 and 1906, concern a property settlement between George and his siblings over lots in Barnegat City, New Jersey. Though the proceedings often named George as a party, many of these items were originally addressed directly to Emilie or to George's sister, Helen Devlin. An enclosure in one letter, addressed to Helen and dated September 12, 1905, was a copy of the deed to these lands.

The collection also includes a questionnaire filled out by George Archer for admittance into the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, a handful of invitations to formal events, and calling cards.

This volume contains the constitution and meeting minutes of the Upper Alton Presbyterian Sabbath School Society, recorded between 1842 and 1850. Minutes often included the names of teachers present and the number of students, separated by gender.

This volume (6" x 7.5", about 225 pages) contains the constitution and meeting minutes of the Upper Alton Presbyterian Sabbath School Society, recorded between January 5, 1842, and July 14, 1850. The first 2 pages are comprised of the society's constitution, along with the names of 20 members, followed by around 225 pages of weekly notes. The group's secretaries regularly recorded brief meeting minutes every Sunday with occasional gaps, most notably between April 1846 and June 1848. Meetings generally opened and closed with prayer or singing, and the minutes often include the names of teachers present and the number of students in attendance, separated by gender. Some sets of minutes, especially those composed at the beginning of each calendar year, note additional occurrences, such as officers' resignations and the results of the group's annual elections. On January 19, 1845, the society read a communication about the death of a devout Seneca Indian boy, and on January 21, 1849, the society mourned the loss of a girl who had previously attended Sabbath school meetings. The minutes dated after January 1850 refer to teachers' accounts with the group's library, and the minutes from February [1 or 7], 1850, consist of a list of Sabbath school scholars. The Upper Alton Presbyterian Sabbath School Society's secretaries between 1842 and 1850 included Benjamin Walker, Samuel H. Archer, Moses H. Long, Eliakim Thorp, E. Cunningham, and James Newman.