Pitts Theology Library
Archives and Manuscripts Department

Sadie Maude Moore
Papers, 1927-1982

Descriptive Summary

Administrative Information

Biographical Note

The daughter of Samuel Loundes and Mary Little (Edenfield) Moore, Sadie Maude Moore was born in Statesville, Georgia, on January 8, 1899. She received her B.A. degree from Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, in 1922 and continued her education at the Scarritt Bible and Training School in Nashville, Tennessee.  She received her L.H.D. from Ewha Woman's University in 1924.

In 1924, Moore began serving as a Methodist missionary in Korea with the Women's Division Christian Service of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Church.  In 1953 she was appointed to the faculty of the Methodist Theological Seminary of Seoul, Korea, and in the same year, also began serving as English secretary to the Board of Trustees of the Ewha Woman's University.

In Korea, Moore contributed articles on missionary work to Methodist periodicals.  She also recorded many lectures and addresses which she delivered throughout her career.  The missionary corresponded with a wide circle of friends and former associates, and she regularly wrote newsletters at holidays and for two "round robin" groups. Moore received awards from the government of Korea and the Korean Methodist Church. In 1961 she received an honorary doctorate from Ewha Woman's University upon the seventy-fifth anniversary of the foundation of the institution. Moore retired to the United States in 1969, and settled in Atlanta, Georgia, where she died on August 19, 1982.

Scope and Content Note

Sadie Maude Moore was a prolific letter writer. She participated in two "round robin" groups, the South Methodist Korea Round Robin and the EWHA Round Robin. The members of the round robins, friends and former associates living throughout the United States and abroad, would circulate newsletters about themselves. When the packet of newsletters arrived, each participant or "robin" would read the newsletters, add her own newsletter, and remove her previous newsletter, which had by that time been read by all the "robins." The packet of newsletters was then sent on to the next "robin."

The letters bear two numbering sequences. The flight number (Flight 1, 2, 3, etc.) indicates the number of full rounds that the packet of newsletters had made. Each "robin" also had a number (Letter 1, 2, 3, etc.) which indicated her order within the group. The round robins were occasionally reorganized as new members joined or members dropped out. Lists of members and their addresses appear in the files. As the new group formed, the numbering sequence (flight number) of the letters was started anew, and members were assigned new letter numbers. Both round robins have been arranged according to "flight sequence" or chronologically.

Moore's newsletters, as well as occasional correspondence with others, are included in her papers. Newspaper clippings of articles about mutual acquaintances were often included with letters. The newspaper clippings remain enclosed with the letters. The newsletters have been arranged chronlogically. However, correspondence relating to Moore's return trip to Korea in 1976 remains with the "Korea Tour, 1976" materials.

Approximately 200 of Moore's speeches, lessons and worship services, and other writings are included also in her papers. Arranged alphabetically by title, most of these items relate to lessons from the Bible for Koreans and her experiences as a missionary in Korea. Most appear to have been written during the 1960's and a few are written in Korean. Addresses delivered by Moore during the International Prayer Fellowship in 1976 are included with the "International Prayer Fellowship" materials. See the box and folder list for a listing of titles subdivided under speeches, worship services, and writings.

Seven photograph albums and about 670 photographs are included in the papers of Sadie Maude Moore. Moore probably took most of these images while she was a missionary in Korea. Most of the photoes are in black-and-white and appear to have taken between 1950 and 1969 (see the box/folder list for arrangement). Among the photographs which may interest researchers are the pictures of Bishop Lee (see photographs 387-388); the International Prayer Fellowship of 1966 (see photographs 106b-107a); the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul (see photographs 648-650); and, the Methodist Theological Seminary in Pusan (see photographs 651-655).

There also are a few pictures of the Methodist Mission in India taken during the early 1960's, which were sent to Moore by a fellow missionary (see photographs 658-665). Perhaps the earliest picture is a black-and-white photograph of the Belly River Highway, looking west to the junction of Caraston and Pircher Creek Highways, in the Waterton Lakes Park, Alberta, Canada (see photographs 638). Among the most recent are pictures taken during Moore's return trip to Korea in 1976 for the 90th anniversary celebration of Ewha University (see box 8, folder 6).

The Sadie Maude Moore Papers also include 368 color slides. Most of these images document her friendships and experiences in Korea, especially at Ewha University and High School, and the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul, Korea. A few slides are of Dr. Helen Kim, longtime president of Ewha University. Among the slides are pictures of participants of the Woman's Society Conference, held at Taejon, Korea in 1969; students and classrooms of the Mae Hyang Girls School; and Christian Home Mission activities. Many slides are of people and historic sites taken while Moore toured Seoul and the countryside of Korea. Twelve slides of a wedding were given to Moore by a friend in Georgia. Few of the slides are dated, but appear to have been taken between 1959 and 1969. The slides seemed to have been arranged around significant events and people. An attempt has been made to restore and retain Moore's own arrangement of her slides.

Among the artifacts are a small Korean teapot, pictures and wall hangings, and decorative plates. Other memorabilia include a phonograph recording of the Pai Wha Girl's High School Chorus, scrapbooks containing Christmas newsletters, and a few volumes with personal inscriptions to Moore.

Container List

Last Modified: July 13, 2015 (bcw)