Papers of Miss Jane Elizabeth Chadwick

This collection of personal papers of Elizabeth Chadwick relates largely to her service as a CMS missionary in Uganda. It includes the diary she kept of part of her overland journey, with the first other women missionaries, to Uganda in 1895 from Table Bay, South Africa to Kibwezi; and her manuscript reminiscences of her experiences in Uganda from 1895 until about 1918. These reminiscences are written as chapters, one of which is devoted to the rebellion amongst Nubian and Lendu soldiers in 1897 and another relates to two visits to the salt works at Kibero. This manuscript contains some accounts of her younger brother, Walter, and his mission work at Entebbe and later at Butere in Northern Kavirondo where Elizabeth joined him in 1916. There is also a series of nearly 100 letters Elizabeth wrote to her friend, Ethel Magowan of Belfast throughout the period of her missionary service and which continue during her retirement up to 1938. The collection also includes a small number of photographs and some later correspondence about Elizabeth's papers, 1956-1960.

(Jane) Elizabeth Chadwick, also known as Lisette (b. 1869) of Armagh was the daughter of George Chadwick, the Bishop of Derry. She first offered her service as a missionary to Uganda in 1892 but this was not accepted because of her youth. Her offer was renewed in 1895 and she left England in that year as a member of the first group of lady missionaries to Uganda which included Eleanor Browne, Eliza Pilgrim, Mary Thomsett and Edith Furley. She served in Mengo 1895-1901; Hoima 1903-1907; Mengo 1911-1915; and Butere 1916-1925. She retired to County Down. Her brother, Walter Chadwick, was also a Church Missionary Society missionary in Uganda.

Reference: Register of missionaries (clerical, lay & female) and native clergy from 1804 to 1904 ( Church Missionary Society, 1905 ).

This collection forms part of the Church Missionary Society Unofficial Papers. It is arranged into two series: Family Papers and Miscellaneous Papers.

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Deposited with the CMS in 1966; transferred on permanent loan to the Special Collections Department by the CMS in the 1980s.

Please see online catalogue for further details.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the University Archivist, Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

The University of Birmingham, Special Collections Department and the Orchard Learning Resources Centre hold a rich collection of archives relating to missions, charities and other religious and ecclesiastical organisations and individuals these include the official archive of the Church Missionary Society Archive (GB150 CMS), which includes papers relating to Elizabeth Chadwick's service as a CMS missionary.