The collections listed below have material within that relate to Christianity in Alaska. This is not a comprehensive listing of all collections in the archives that relate to Christianity in Alaska. It doesn't include many of the collections that only contain a few photographs or slides of various churches. Please also note that this guide does not contain any collections that relate to other religions in Alaska. For location or subject searches, please use the keyword search box on the left column to search all of the Archives' collection guides.
- Nikefor Alexan stories; 1938, circa 1957. HMC-0039. Nikefor Alexan was one of the leaders of the village of Tyonek and served as a lay priest in the Russian Orthodox Church. This collection contains 13 typed stories on the history and folklore of the Native peoples of the village of Tyonek and the Cook Inlet/Knik Region of Alaska. These stories cover a variety of topics, but some of them focus specifically on religion.
- Anchorage Governor’s Prayer Breakfast Committee records; 1983-2000. HMC-0615. The Anchorage Governor’s Prayer Breakfast is a Judeo-Christian interdenominational committee which was started in 1983. This collection contains the committee records of the Anchorage Governor’s Prayer Breakfast. The committee records include programs, invitations, meeting agendas and minutes, correspondence, financial statements, reports, lists, press releases, and biographical materials on speakers.
- John Boyd Bentley autographed letters; 1931-1947. HMC-0797. John Boyd Bentley was a priest in the Episcopal Church, and was consecrated as the Bishop of Alaska in 1931. The collection contains two letters signed by Bishop Bently. The letters include correspondence regarding the issuing of the Alaskan Churchman, the official news magazine of the Missionary District of Alaska.
- Walter J. Fitzgerald photographs; 1940. HMC-0849. Walter J. Fitzgerald was named Bishop Coadjutor of Alaska in 1939, and Catholic Bishop of Alaska in 1945. The collection contains photographs from Bishop Fitzgerald’s confirmation tour of the Lower Yukon River and Bering Sea in the spring of 1940.
- William J. Gordon, Jr. letter; 1949. HMC-0798. William J. Gordon Jr. was elected Bishop of Alaska in 1947, and then consecrated in 1948. The collection contains a letter autographed by Bishop Gordon detailing the letter’s addition to the collection of letters of bishops held by the Episcopal Theological school in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- P. Gordon Gould papers; circa 1890-1993. HMC-1328. Peter Gordon Gould was an Unangax Director of Methodist Works in Alaska in 1950. He was pivotal in fundraising for the establishment of Alaska Methodist University. This collection contains photographs and papers relating to Gould and his family including VHS tapes of an interview with Gould and a typescript draft of his unpublished manuscript titled An Alaska Fisherman's Son.
- Pat Granade photograph album; 1928-1947. HMC-0720. Gordon P. “Pat” Granade served in Alaska in the U.S Coast Guard and on Bering Sea cruises during the period of 1928 to 1939. The collection consists of the photograph album of Gordon P. Granade. The photograph album contains 99 pages worth of photographs detailing various subjects along the Aleutian Island chain. Seven of these photographs detail various Russian Orthodox Church practices and services on the Aleutian Island chain. These include a wedding ceremony, a priest in robe and crown, and church interiors.
- Larry Hibpshman Spenard research files; circa 1915-2001. HMC-1401. Larry Hibpshman arrived in Alaska in 1952 as part of a family migration to the Territory. These records are the result of his research into the history of the Spenard area of Anchorage, Alaska. There are files on seven different churches in the Spenard community.
- Indivisible: Stories of American Community Alaskan fishing communities project records; 1999-2001. HMC-0507. This large collection contains records relating to the documentary project Indivisible: Stories of American Community, Alaskan Fishing Communities as well as general records relating to the Indivisible national project. One of the audio recordings contains a Russian Orthodox blessing of the fleet ceremony for the Kodiak Crab Festival in 1999.
- Henry LeRoy Johns scrapbook; 1951-1970. HMC-1413-APU. Henry LeRoy Johns was elected as a staff member of the Methodist Church’s National Board of Missions in 1955. In that role, he was engaged in the founding of the Alaska Methodist University (AMU) in Anchorage, Alaska. This collection contains a scrapbook of materials collected and created by Henry LeRoy Johns. The scrapbook includes publications from the Methodist Church and AMU, photographs, letters, clippings, and reports. Much of it relates to national fundraising and support efforts.
- Lawrence Knight photograph album; 1943-1945. HMC-0674. Lawrence Knight served in Alaska during World War II from July 1943 to September 1944, and in the spring and summer of 1945. This collection contains the World War II photograph album of Knight. There are 64 black and white prints from the album and two souvenir fold outs of Alaska postcard views. Three of these prints detail a Russian Orthodox church at Nikolski. Two of those prints depict an Aleut Easter service at the Nikolski Church.
- Charles V. Lucier papers; 1903-2009. HMC-0165. Charles V. Lucier came to Alaska in 1942 and studied at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This collection contains a large variety of items including anthropology related papers and audio recordings of Alaska Native songs, dances, and biographies. Included in the collection is a transcript of a conversation between school children concerning a masquerade of devils taking place seven days before Orthodox Christmas. Another relgiion-related item is a letter from Gordon Marsh or Father Innocent of the Russian Orthodox Church to Lucier detailing the changes he has seen in language, culture, and the Russian Orthodox Church over time.
- Sam McClain papers; 1940-1995. HMC-0429. Sam McClain came to Alaska in the late 1940s. This collection contains Sam McClain’s personal papers, files concerning his artwork, and his original artwork. He was best known for his drawings and watercolors of Russian Orthodox churches and other historical buildings in Alaska.
- Charles B. Michael letter; 1932 March 10. HMC-0572. Charles B. Michael was likely a Moravian missionary in charge of the missionary station, radio transmitter, and light generating station in Quinhagak in the 1930s. The collection contains a single letter written by Michael to an unnamed friend in Dover, dated March 10, 1932. In the letter he describes his appreciation for the prayers of other missionaries, offers praise for the work of Brother Couillard, and how difficult the missionary work in Alaska is.
- Sally Monserud papers; 1907-1990. HMC-0179. Sarah Martha Louise “Sally” Monserud was one of the original faculty at Anchorage Community College (ACC) from 1954 to the mid 1970s. This collection contains materials relating to Sally Monserud’s life and the history of Anchorage Community College. One folder in the collection contains correspondence from Alfred Mongin regarding Russian Orthodox Church architecture.
- Annah H. Mullikin letters; 1904-1905. HMC-0742. Annah H. Mullikin lived in Sitka, Alaska in 1904 and 1905 and was a member of the Episcopal Church. The collection contains three letters on the missionary activities of Bishop Peter Trimble Rowe and hardships at the mission.
- Albert W. Newhall letters; 1915-1928. HMC-0188. Dr. Albert Warren Newhall married Agnes Sowle, superintendent of the Jesse Lee Home for orphans in Unalaska, Alaska in 1898, and worked there as a medical missionary. This collection consists of various original and copied letters detailing his life and work with the Presbyterian Board of Missions.
- Old Believers naturalization ceremonies recordings; 1975,1979. HMC-0192. The Old Believers are a religious group which fled Russia during the time of Czar Peter the Great. A group of Old Believers moved to Alaska from Oregon in 1968. The collection consists of two audiocassettes detailing the 1975 and 1979 naturalization ceremony.
- Peter Trimble Rowe letters and portraits; 1898-1920. HMC-0796. Peter Trimble Rowe was elected Bishop of the Missionary Diocese of Alaska in 1895. The collection contains three signed letters by Bishop Rowe and copies of his oil and photo portraits. The letters include various engagements with other bishops as well as correspondence with a Miss Loring.
- Eleanor Seyfer scrapbook; 1955-1956. HMC-0896. Eleanor Seyfer was the leader of a circle of the North Presbyterian Church in Denver, which supported the works of medical missionary Dr. Robert R. Starr. In 1955 and 1956, Dr. Starr was the physician for the Alaska Medical Mission in Klawock, Alaska. This collection consists of a 13 page scrapbook containing a number of letters of correspondence between Eleanor Seyfer and Robert R. Starr and various articles describing the mission.
