Fletcher Cummings Lester Collection

This collection contains materials such as books, pamphlets, programs, photographs, correspondences, listings, legal documents, and various other forms of printed material that all pertain to the social, educational, and religious life of Fletcher Cummings Lester (F.C. Lester). Primarily, most of the materials relate to his educational experiences at Elon College during the early 1900s and 1920s. Additionally, much of the information relates to his time as a minister while serving various Congregational Christian Churches in the Southeast United States during the 1930s-1960. Within this particular manuscript collection there is not a great deal of information that cohesively paints a picture of F.C. Lester’s personal biography.

The collection is arranged alphabetically into six series by type, and then chronologically within each series. All of the books in this collection are religious texts, specifically relating to the Christian Church (1:2). In addition, copies of the religious publication The Christian Sun are included during the dates of when F.C. Lester was the editor (1:1).

The correspondence series incorporates a picture of the social, educational, and religious life of F.C. Lester. The majority of the correspondences in this series are short notes written in the 1920s to F.C. Lester from fellow female Elon College students. The female students are replying to Lester’s inquiries about whether or not they will be able to join him for company during social hours on Sunday afternoons (2:1-2:7). A woman by the name of Juanita wrote him long letters dealing with a great deal of topics including health, school, social life, home life, and religion (2:1-2:3, 2:6). Other correspondences of interest were written during the time that F.C. Lester was the minister for the Southern Christian Convention (2:8-2:10).

Of particular financial interest are four original checks found in the legal documents series. All of the checks were written in the early 1920s for an amount of less than $30.00. Two of the checks were written to the Board of Trustees at Elon College for $20.00 to be deposited into the Elon Standardization Fund (3:1). The other two checks were also written to the Board of Trustees at Elon College, but for $25.00 and to be deposited into the Elon Emergency Fund (3:2).

The listings series is one of the smaller ones in the collection, and contains two lists that pertain to Elon College students during the early 1900s and late 1920s. Of particular historical interest to Elon College is the Class of 1918 listing. This list also includes new members of the sophomore and junior classes as well as the names of the officers in each class (4:1). Moreover, the other list in this series includes names of students that received credit for the International Standard Training Courses in 1928. In addition to listing the names, the first part of the list also reports the grades each student received (4:2).

The photograph series contains photos primarily of F.C. Lester and his wife, Emily, when they are in their 70’s and/or 80’s (5:1). However, there are some negatives in this series that may possibly be of the deceased Emily Lester (5:3). There is one photograph of Elon College’s first president, William S. Long (5:2). The largest series in this collection, printed material, contains a variety of information and types of materials. Primarily, this series contains pamphlets and booklets relating to the Southern Christian Convention and publications relating to events at Elon College during the 1920s (6:1-6:13).

Additional material discovered in the Elon University Archives and Special Collections Department was added to Mss.Coll.003 in 2019. This material, attributed to Dr. F. C. Lester, consists of 9 additional series: Correspondence, 1929-1972; History, 1789-1978; Ledgers,1929-1980; Minutes, 1857-1987; Newsletters, 1953-1967; Photographs, 1950s-1980; Programs, 1916-1969; Reports,1905-1972; and Sermons, 1924-1950. These materials mostly relate to Dr. Lester's later career and service as a minister, first superintendent of the Southern Christian Convention, editor of the Christian Sun, and promoter of the missionary work of the SCC and Congregational Christian Church.