Helen G. Moore Papers

1933–1940
Manuscript Collection #1239
Creator(s)
Moore, Helen G., 1903-
Physical description
0.01 Cubic Feet, 1 archival folder, consisting of correspondence, photographs, and stamps
Preferred Citation
Helen G. Moore Papers (#1239), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Repository
ECU Manuscript Collection
Access
No restrictions

This collection contains three letters (1933, 1940) written by Methodist Episcopal missionary Helen G. Moore who was stationed at Nagasaki, Japan, a Christmas card containing photographs of two unidentified Japanese children, and Japanese stamps. The letters were written as she traveled through Seoul, Korea, and Peking, China, in 1933, and from Nagasaki in 1940 when she described a recent visit to Shanghai, China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War.


Biographical/historical information

Helen G. Moore was a native of Albany, New York born in 1903. As a missionary for the Methodist Episcopal Church, she travelled to Japan in 1931 to teach at the Kwassui Girls School in Nagasaki. After four years she returned to New York, where she taught school for two years. Moore then returned to Japan in 1937 and remained there until evacuated to the Philippines in March 1940. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines she was interned and for 72 days she was imprisoned at Santiago Prison in Manila. In 1945 she was liberated and returned to the U.S. She once more returned to Nagasaki in 1947 where she resumed her missionary work for the Methodist Church.


Scope and arrangement

The Helen G. Moore Papers contains three letters written by Methodist Episcopal missionary Helen G. Moore who was stationed at Nagasaki, Japan. The letters were written to Miriam as Moore traveled through Seoul, Korea, and Peking, China in 1933, and from Nagasaki in 1940. The earliest letter is from Seoul, Korea on 25 April 1933. Moore describes the cherry blossoms that are in bloom, the city's history, and the clothing of the local men and women. The next letter of 23 July 1933 was sent from Peking, China, written on stationery decorated with a stamp of purple bamboo and a red butterfly. Moore's letter from Nagasaki was written on 21 April 1940. In it, she described a recent visit to Shanghai, China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and Moore comments on the current refugee situation, particularly in regards to the German Jewish immigrants. She also discusses the new stamps issued by the Japanese government and stamp collecting, and she describes the new clothing she has ordered. The collection also includes a selection of stamps from Greece and Japan, a note from Moore describing stamps recently issued by the Japanese government, a postcard of "The Famous Place of Hoke", and a Christmas card with two small photos of unidentified Asian children.


Administrative information
Custodial History

November 5, 2014, 0.01 cu. ft.; This collection contains three letters (1933, 1940) written by Methodist Episcopal missionary Helen G. Moore who was stationed at Nagasaki, Japan, a Christmas card containing photographs of two unidentified Japanese children, and Japanese stamps. The letters were written as she traveled through Seoul, Korea, and Peking, China, in 1933, and from Nagasaki in 1940 when she described a recent visit to Shanghai, China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Purchased with state funds from Between The Covers Rare Books, Gloucester City, N.J.

Source of acquisition

Purchased from Between The Covers Rare Books

Processing information

Processed by Allison N. Miller, January 2015.

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.


Related material

Helen G. Moore Oral History Interview (#OH0045), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.


Key terms
Personal Names
Moore, Helen G., 1903-
Corporate Names
Methodist Episcopal Church--Missions--China
Methodist Episcopal Church--Missions--Japan
Methodist Episcopal Church--Missions--Korea
Topical
Children--Asia
Missionaries--China
Missionaries--Japan--Nagasaki-shi
Missionaries--Korea (South)--Seoul
Missionaries--New York (State)--Albany
Missionaries--North Carolina
Postage stamps--Japan
Teachers--New York (State)--Albany
World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Japanese