A Guide to the Papers of J. Calvitt Clarke, 1918-1970 Clarke, J. Calvitt, Papers of 13712

A Guide to the Papers of J. Calvitt Clarke, 1918-1970

A Collection in
Special Collections
The University of Virginia Library
Accession Number 13712


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Processed by: Special Collections Staff

Repository
Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
Accession Number
13712
Title
Papers of J. Calvitt Clarke 1918-1970
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of J. Calvitt Clarke, Accession #13712, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection was purchased from Crown Collectibles by the University of Virginia Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library on September 8, 2006.

Biographical/Historical Information

Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke [1887-1970] and his wife, Helen Clarke [1890?-1967] started the Christian Children's Fund in Richmond, Virginia in [1938] when they only had a modest income for their own family. Dr. Clarke who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, attended Denison University in Ohio, and a theological seminary in Pittsburgh where he was trained as a [Presbyterian] minister. He worked at the Save the Children Federation, assisted Helen Keller, worked as a minister and interpreter to stranded Russian troops in France for the Young Men's Christian Association, (Y.M.C.A.) was the Director of the Near East Relief Organization, and the National Secretary for the Golden Rule Foundation. After witnessing the displacement of millions of children, particularly in China from the [Second] Sino-Japanese War, he founded and became the International Director of the Children's China Fund (later named the Christian Children's Fund) which helped feed and house children.

In 1965, twenty five years after Dr. Clarke and his wife started the Christian Children's Fund, their foundation reached five million dollars and was helping thirty-six thousand children in fifty countries. The Board of Directors claimed that there were complaints about Dr. Clarke from former employees, board members, and from an author named John Caldwell (who had formerly praised the Clarke's work in his book, "Children of Calamity. ") The Board of Directors forced Dr. Clarke to retire and also "fired" Helen Clarke from the very foundation that the minister and his family had brought to fruition through years of hard work. According to the Clarke's correspondence, the new director, Verbon E. Kemp along with the Board of Directors forced the Clarke's to leave the company and created highly paid positions for the friends and family of the Kemp's. Dr. Clarke wrote that the new directors travelled around the world, built houses and offices with the Christian's Children Fund's finances. The correspondence alleges that the new management of the Christian's Children Fund was changing into a coldly operated business that no longer offered the caring compassion that the family had known.

Dr. Clarke, at the age of seventy six, started a new foundation called Children Incorporated with the help of his daughter, Jeanne Clarke Wood. Children Incorporated fulfilled promises that Dr. Clarke had made to help children in Guatemala and offered another resource for colleagues and friends who were unhappy with the new management and practices of the Christian Children's Fund. Children Incorporated had one hundred children in 1965, and today in 2008, it is a successful foundation helping over sixteen thousand children.

Dr. Clarke was recognized and decorated by three foreign governments when he was awarded the Order of the Brilliant Star by the Nationalist Government of China, the Order of the Sacred Treasure by Japan, and the Order of Merit by the Republic of Korea.

Dr. and Mrs. J. Calvitt Clarke, Jr., and their two children, Jeanne Clarke Wood [1916-2006] and Richard Calvitt Clarke Jr., "Bus" [1920-2004] worked together as a team in the Christian Children's Fund. Dr. Clarke was the director and the writer for their publications. Helen Clarke was the organizer and correspondent. She was also recognized in the Who's Who of American Women . Jeanne Clarke Wood and her husband, Herman E. "Jack" Wood were the photographers and her brother Richard Calvitt Clarke, Jr. "Bus" was the attorney. Jeanne Clarke Wood was also the President of Children Incorporated.

Jeanne Clarke Wood's husband, Herman E. "Jack" Wood was a medical photographer at the University of Georgia. Their marriage suffered a significant strain in 1949 and they separated for several months while "Jack" Wood regained his confidence and financial footing. Jeanne moved in with her parents and after a few months she was able to return to her marriage, which lasted until Jack's murder while making a bank deposit, January 15, 1971. They had two children, Helen and Jackson Wood. The Clarke and Wood families were extremely close and wrote each other weekly, and sometimes daily. They used nicknames often and Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke was "Champ," "Big Champ" or "Popsickle," Helen Clarke was "Champy," "Big Champy," or "Mopsickle."

Scope and Content

This collection consists of the papers of two organizations, the Christian Children's Fund from 1938 to 1965, and Children Incorporated from 1964 to 1970 which were founded by Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke, his wife, Helen Clarke, and daughter, Jeanne Clarke Wood. It contains annual reports and budget information, board meeting minutes, correspondence, management and employee grievances, news clippings, photographs, and literature from the two organizations.

The collection also includes the personal and financial information of the Clarke's, an extraordinary family who dedicated their lives to the Christian Children's Fund and Children Incorporated. These foundations provided opportunities to sponsor and adopt orphaned and needy children from around the world. The collection spans from 1918 to 1970 in Richmond, Virginia, where the Clarke family lived, and Augusta, South Carolina where their daughter Jeanne Clarke Wood and her family lived, and Hong Kong, China where the headquarters for the Christian Children's Fund was located.

There are also original literary manuscripts written by Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke and his daughter Jeanne Clarke Wood. Dr. Clarke and his daughter were both fiction authors. Jeanne Clarke Wood had several manuscripts rejected from publishers but was published in literary magazines. There are also letters, news clippings and photographs from Edison Tesla Marshall, (1894-1967), an American author of adventure and historical fiction.

Other correspondents include Margaret Sanger, (1879-1966) founder of Planned Parenthood, and an advocate of negative eugenics; Edmund W. Janss, author of "Yankee Si, " the story of J. Calvitt Clarke; Kuruville C. Abraham, a former orphan of the Christian Children's Fund; Park Chung-Hee, Leader of the Republic of Korea (who sent a Christmas Card); and Fumihiko Togo, who sent an invitation to Dr. Clarke to attend Emperor Hirohito's birthday party.

There is also information on the [North] Augusta Philomathic Society (which was the first Women's Club in Augusta, South Carolina in 1895) and the Augusta Library Council in South Carolina. The collection contains about 2, 402 items, thirteen Hollinger boxes, and six linear feet.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into two series. Series I consists of materials about the Christian Children's Fund, Children Incorporated and the Clarke and Wood Families. Series II contains literary manuscripts and is further divided into Subseries A: Manuscripts by Dr. J. Clarke and Subseries B: Manuscripts by Jeanne Clarke Wood. The folders are organized alphabetically by topic and chronologically within each folder.

Contents List

Series 1: Christian Children's Fund, Children Incorporated and the Clarke and Wood Families
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Series II: Literary Manuscripts
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