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The papers provide documentation of a missionary who served in varied roles in China during the turbulent period of 1929 to 1953. The later letters from Shanghai provide information about the situation in the city after the Communist takeover. Esther Tappert taught English at Ginling College, a mission-sponsored women's college in Nanking, China from 1929 to 1931 and 1933 to1937. From 1937 to 1939 she taught English at Chungking University, a Chinese government university. She returned to the U.S. in 1940 and completed her doctorate at Yale. In 1945 she returned to China, married Ralph Mortensen and lived in Shanghai until January, 1953.

Correspondence, writings, and collected material document the life and work of Eugene A. Turner, who served under the YMCA in China from 1913 to 1947. Turner was involved in student and city work for the Y.M.C.A. in China and was a keen observer of Chinese customs and political events.

This collection is comprised primarily of research materials collected by Eunice Johnson in her study of Timothy Richard (1845-1919), a Welsh Baptist missionary, statesman, and educator who spent forty-five years in China. The collected resources were used by Eunice Johnson in the writing of her Ph.D. dissertation, "Educational Reform in China, 1880-1910: Timothy Richard and his Vision for Higher Education." The collection includes photocopies and some originals of writings by and about Timothy Richard, as well as information about China during the time period when Timothy Richard was active there. The collection also includes memorabilia from the Centennial Celebration of Shanxi University (1902-2002), of which Timothy Richard was a co-founder.

Substantive correspondence with Fukien Christian University students and administrators and extensive diary entries document the operations of a Christian university and the way of life of a single woman missionary in China. Eva Asher worked as treasurer and administrative assistant at Fukien Christian University, a Protestant mission-supported university in China, from 1923 to 1950.

Letters, writings, notes, and collected material document the life and work of three generations of the Forman family. Charles William Forman was an American Presbyterian missionary in North India from 1847 to 1894. His son, Henry Forman, served as a missionary in North India from the 1880s to 1924. Charles W. Forman, son of Henry and grandson of Charles William, taught at a seminary in India for five years prior to beginning his career as professor of missions at the Yale Divinity School, where he served from 1953 to his retirement in 1987. An addendum includes information about the Frederick Marsh family, into which Douglas Forman, grandson of Charles William Forman, married.

The papers relate to missionary work in China and Thailand from 1888-1927, to educational institutions with which the Fosters were involved, and to the personal and family life of several generations of Foster family members. Correspondence mainly consists of letters received by various members of the Foster family. Of particular interest are the journals of John Marshall Foster, 1888-1916, describing life and events in China, especially the effects of the Boxer Rebellion on the American missions. The Fosters were a family of American Baptist missionaries. John Barton Foster, was a teacher, editor of Zion's Advocate, minister and professor of Greek and Latin at Colby College. His son, John Marshall Foster, helped found the Baptist Church at Vassalboro, Maine, and was a missionary to China and Thailand from 1888 to 1921. Clara Hess Foster, the wife of J. M. Foster, and their children Frank, Anna, and John Hess also served as missionaries in China. John Hess Foster was on the medical staff of Yale-in-China.

This collection includes administrative records of the FTESEA and its predecessor organization, the Board of Founders of Nanking Theological Seminary, dating from 1937 to 2011. It also includes publications of the FTESEA, photographs, financial records, and resources from the ATSSEA (Association of Theological Schools in South-East Asia/ Association for Theological Education in South East Asia). The Foundation for Theological Education in South East Asia supports Christian theological education in Southeast Asia in a variety of ways including grants to institutions and projects, scholarships, consultations, and publications. Funds initially devoted to the work of Nanking Theological Seminary were expanded to theological education institutions outside of China following the closure of China to mission work in 1949. As China has become more open to the West, FTESEA has resumed programs supporting theological education there.

This collection is a continuation of the Archives of the Foundation for Theological Education in South East Asia found in Record Group No. 180. It includes historical and administrative records related to the FTESEA dating from 1938 to 2015. It also includes publications of the FTESEA, photographs, financial records, and resources from its partners and related organizations. The Foundation for Theological Education in South East Asia supports Christian theological education in South East Asia in a variety of ways including grants to institutions and projects, scholarships, consultations, and publications. Funds initially devoted to the work of Nanking Theological Seminary were expanded to theological education institutions outside of China following the closure of China to mission work in 1949. As China become more open to the West, FTESEA resumed programs supporting theological education there.

Correspondence, notes, and writings document Porter's life and work. Frank Chamberlin Porter (1859-1946) was Winkley Professor of Biblical Theology at the Yale Divinity School from 1891 to 1927.

The papers include letters from Sanders' parents describing missionary work in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), correspondence and personal diaries of Sanders, writings, genealogical material, and photographs. There is also documentation related to Sanders' uncle, Henry Martyn Knight, who was the founder of the Connecticut School for Imbeciles. The son of ABCFM missionaries to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Frank Knight Sanders (1861-1933) taught at Jaffna College, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) from 1882 to 1886. He was on the faculty of the Yale Divinity School from 1891 to 1907, serving as Dean from 1901 to 1905. He was President of Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas from 1908 to 1914 and Director of Missionary Preparation for the Foreign Missions Conference of North America from 1914 to 1927.