| Level | Sub-sub-sub-fonds |
| Finding Number (Click this to view full catalogue structure) | CMS/B/OMS/A6 |
| Title | Nyanza mission |
| Extent | 2 boxes, 5 volumes, 25 files |
| Date | 1875-1886 |
| Description | Records compiled by the committees of the CMS Overseas (Foreign) Division, London, up to 1886.
Comprising papers under the Committee of Correspondence 1875-1880, and under the Africa (initially 'Group 3') Committee 1880-1886. Including incoming correspondence from the mission to the CMS in London 1876-1885, outgoing correspondence from the CMS in London to the mission 1876-1886, records of the Nyanza Sub-Committee (London) 1875-1880, and office copies of the incoming correspondence 1876-1880.
No précis books survive for Nyanza mission. For the years 1880-1883 and 1885, researchers looking for office summaries of the incoming correspondence 1880-1885 should consult the relevant sections of the précis books held in the general series of the records of the Overseas Division. Details are given in the 'Related Material' field below. |
| Notes | When the catalogue was created names of mission stations were standardised but there was no attempt to give present-day place names where these differ from place names in the records. The bulk of names in the sub-number references are the spellings used in the documents.
Work is underway to address outdated, discriminatory, and offensive language in finding aids used by the Cadbury Research Library, and to improve accessibility of the CMS online catalogue in line with current standards including adding present-day place names standardised according to 'The Times Atlas of the World', comprehensive edition, 2023. Copies of the original catalogues have been retained as a record. |
| Arrangement | Papers under the Committee of Correspondence are arranged as:
L: Letter-book 1876-1882 (outgoing)
M: Mission books 1876-1880 (incoming: copies)
O: Original papers 1876-1880 (incoming)
Papers under the Africa (initially Group 3) Committee are arranged as:
L: Letter-books 1882-1886 (outgoing)
O: Original papers 1880-1885 (incoming)
The letter-book of outgoing correspondence started under the Committee of Correspondence continued to be used after the day-to-day administration of the mission passed from the Committee of Correspondence to the Group Committee. Researchers interested in outgoing correspondence dating from 1881 to 1882 will need to use the letter-book held under finding number CMS/B/OMS/C A6 L1 as well as CMS/B/OMS/G3 A6 L2. |
| Access Conditions | For preservation reasons, microfilm or digital copies are made available in place of the original documents. |
| Finding Aids | Click on the Finding Number to display the full online catalogue of the Overseas Division mission series up to 1934, including the lower level entries for the Nyanza mission series 1875-1886. Alternatively, the original paper catalogues for the mission series can be seen in the Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections and CMS (Oxford). The Nyanza mission series are listed in the 'Africa (Group 3) Missions' catalogue, volume four.
For related material in the records of the CMS Overseas Division, see also the CMS 'Catalogue to the Records of the Foreign Division'. A paper copy of the catalogue is available in the Cadbury Research Library, at CMS (Oxford), and on request (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk).
Guides to the Adam Matthew microfilm and digitally published copies of the Nyanza mission papers are available online and in CMS (Oxford), Cadbury Research Library, and other subscribing institutions. |
| Access Status | Open, but subject to some access restrictions |
| Physical Description | The archive reference numbers for the pre-1880 papers have been marked in pencil on the back of each individual item, for example C A6/O 4/2. The post-1880 incoming papers are each individually marked in red ink, and this number, plus the year, comprised the archive reference for each item, for example G3 A6/1883/16. When the records were transferred to the University of Birmingham and the online copy of the catalogue was created the archive finding numbers for the records of the Overseas Division were extended: the letters CMS/B/OMS were added at the beginning of the original filing numbers (denoting records of the Church Mission Society Archive: Overseas Division: Overseas Mission Series). In addition, for the papers under the Africa (Group 3) Committee, a letter denoting the type of record (O for Original papers or L for Letter-book, etc) was added after the mission reference, for example, CMS/B/OMS/G3 A6/O 1883/16. |
| Administrative History | Established in 1876, CMS work in the Nyanza region continued until the killing of Bishop James Hannington, CMS missionary and head of the mission party to Nyanza, and his African companions in 1885. |
| Archival Note | Catalogued by H. S. Cobb, CMS 1952. Handlist revised and expanded by Rosemary Keen, CMS 1980. Copied in to the University of Birmingham online archive catalogue, 2000. Updates underway, 2024. |
| Copies | Available on microfilm and online.
Microfilm:
'Church Missionary Society Archive': Section IV: Africa Missions, parts 16 and 19.
Publisher: Marlborough: Adam Matthew Publications, 2004.
Location in the Cadbury Research Library: microfilm drawers B2 and C6.
Digital publication:
'AM Scholar - Church Missionary Society Archive': Africa Missions: Nyanza Mission
Publisher: Adam Matthew Digital.
Access: by institutional subscription: free to members of the University of Birmingham and visitors to the Cadbury Research Library and other subscribing institutions. |
| Related Material | Records of the CMS Overseas (initially 'Foreign') Division: CMS East Africa mission series (CMS/B/OMS/A5) and Nyanza mission series (CMS/B/OMS/A6); general series, including CMS/B/G1-3/P. |