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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], National Association of Ministers' Wives Handbill, undated, Ms2022-086, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

This collection was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 2015.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the National Association of Ministers' Wives Handbill was completed in December 2022.

Administrative History and Biographical Note

The National Association of Ministers' Wives was founded to provide training for ministers' wives, with the first conference taking place in 1941. The organization is now known as the International Association of Ministers' Wives and Ministers' Widows, Inc.

The founder and first president of the association was Elizabeth Coles Bouey. She was born around 1890 in Liberia to American missionaries, Reverend John J. Coles and Lucy Anne Henry Coles. She came to Virginia in 1893, and graduated from Armstrong High School in Richmond as the class valedictorian. She studied at the Armstrong Normal School, attended the theological seminary at Virginia Union University, and earned a master's degree from Columbia University. In 1920, Elizabeth married Edward H. Bouey (1890-1956), also the son of missionary parents who had lived in Africa. The pair traveled to Liberia for a mission lasting nearly five years, where they had three children and built the Carrie Dyer Hospital in Monrovia. Upon returning to the United States, Bouey worked as a school teacher, and also continued to lead Bible classes at Mt. Cavalry Baptist Church, where her husband served as paster from 1931-1956, in Richmond. She spoke in radio broadcasts and to various groups nationally.

In 1941, Bouey founded the National Association of Ministers' Wives. She served as the association's first president from its founding until her death in 1957. During her teure, ministers' wives from the United States, West Africa, and eight denominations joined the organization. The organization also started the Ministers' Wives' Herald , Prayer Group Certificates, and several awards.

The secretary of the National Association of Ministers' Wives was Mrs. W. L. Ransome, who was likely Mary M. Ransome, who attended the first meeting with Bouey to discuss potentially founding the association in 1940. She is likely Mary M. Ransome, born to Harry and Nannie (Williams) Cobbs on December 24, 1899, in Richmond, Virginia. She married Dr. William Lee Ransome (1879-1975), the pastor of First Baptist Church in South Richmond from 1920-1971. Mary Ransome died on January 13, 1968, and is buried alongside her husband in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Richmond.

External Sources:

"Dr. Elizabeth Coles Bouey," International Association of Ministers' Wives and Ministers' Widows, https://www.iamwmw.org/founder , accessed December 6, 2022.

"Elizabeth Coles Bouey," Virginia Changemakers, https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/items/show/40 , accessed December 7, 2022.

"Elizabeth A. Coles Bouey," Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178427203/elizabeth-a-bouey , accessed October 4, 2023.

"Mary M. Cobbs Ransome," Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/218401585/mary-m-ransome , accessed October 4, 2023.

"Mary M Ransome" in the Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/1708432:9278 , accessed October 4, 2023.

"Rev William Lee Ransome," Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8584510/william-lee-ransome , accessed October 4, 2023.

Scope and Content

This collection contains an undated fundraising handbill for the National Association of Ministers' Wives. The bill has a rhyme about collecting dimes for the association and lists Mrs. E. C. Bouey as president and Mrs. W. L. Ransome as secretary.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• African Americans -- History
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Religion

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the National Association of Ministers' Wives Handbill by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).