Skip to main content

Rottschaefer Family. Records, 1919-2003.

 Collection
Identifier: W16-1440

Scope and Contents

The collection contains materials ranging from books and manuscripts about India and the missionaries to the diaries of Margaret Rottschaefer. In addition to newspaper clippings about Bernard, Bernice, and Margaret’s lives in India, it also includes farewell addresses to Bernard and Bernice, as well as Margaret. The collection also contains slides of India and film, as well as correspondence from the Rottschaefer family. There is also a partial record of the patients that Margaret treated. Approximately 1,126 photographs and slides are included that feature India, the missionaries in India, and the Rottschaefer family.

Dates

  • Creation: 1919 - 2003

Biography

Bernard Rottschaefer, also known as Ben in some sources, was born in the Netherlands and was a graduate of Hope College and the Western Theological Seminary. On December 9, 1908, Bernard was selected as a missionary to India. He did not leave for India until September 25, 1909, and his wife, Bernice, followed shortly in 1910. Bernard and his wife stayed in India until 1955. While there, Bernard and Bernice had five children, who attended the Kodaikanal International School.

Bernard was a builder, architect, and engineer. He was also a financier, treasurer of the Arcot Coordinating Committee (A.C.C.), Indian Church Board (I.C.B), Arcot Assembly and the Mission. He was chairman of the Western Circle, director of several electric corporations, and minister of the church of South India. Bernard was also a member of the governing body of Voorhees College, Union Mission Medical School, Union Mission Sanatorium and the Scudder Memorial Hospital Committee. He was also the founder, manager, and principal of the Katpadi Industrial Institute in Katpadi, India. Bernard helped build many missionary residences and numerous buildings of the Church of South India, which included buildings at the Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, South India. He was also the architect and builder of the Union Tuberculosis Sanitorium near Madanapalle. Bernard had a hand in building Voorhees College and the Scudder Memorial Hospital.

The one person who stood fast and strong by Bernard’s side throughout the 45 years he lived in India was his wife, Bernice. Bernice was known as a welcoming woman. She was also known for her maternal ways, especially when it came to the welfare of the women in the villages. She visited their houses and was always willing to help them in times of hardship. Bernice played the organ in church and helped maintain the school for the children of the employees who worked at the Institute. In 1955, Bernard and Bernice decided to retire and depart from India.

Dr. Margaret Rottschaefer served at seven centers throughout Wandiwash, India, treating those who had leprosy and administering the word of God. When Margaret first arrived in India with her brother in 1909, she was there as a teaching and preaching missionary. While there, she was moved by those she saw that had the “cancer of the jungle,” which consisted of feet and hands being eaten away by leprosy. She returned to the states when she was 30 to study medicine at the University of Michigan. After receiving her M.D., she went back to India in 1924. For two years, she was part of the staff at the Union Missionary Medical School at Vellore. She then spent three years in Bahrain as part of the Arabian Mission. Afterwards, she began doing pioneer work in the villages of India and set up shop in the village of Wandiwash in 1933, where her work was done almost entirely in the field. It is also important to note that Margaret was, at the time, the only missionary living in Wandiwash, South India. By the time Margaret retired, sometime after 1955 when she was well into her 70s, she had treated over 5,000 patients.

Extent

4.50 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Dutch; Flemish

Abstract

One business day required for collection retrieval – please contact archivist.

The Rottschaefer family collection focuses mainly on Rev. Dr. Bernard Rottschaefer, his wife, Bernice Rottschaefer, and his sister, Dr. Margaret Rottschaefer. They served in India through the Arcot Mission from 1909 to the 1950s, doing construction of medical buildings and schools and helping heal the bodies and souls of those with leprosy. Bernard was actively involved in the construction of many buildings in India, as well as the founder and first principal of the Katpadi Industrial Institute. Margaret’s influence could be seen throughout India within the leprosy community. The collection contains materials ranging from books and manuscripts about India and the missionaries to the diaries of Margaret Rottschaefer. In addition to newspaper clippings about Bernard, Bernice, and Margaret’s lives in India, it also includes farewell addresses to Bernard and Bernice, as well as Margaret. The collection also contains slides of India and film, as well as correspondence from the Rottschaefer family. There is also a partial record of the patients that Margaret treated. Approximately 1,126 photographs and slides are included that feature India, the missionaries in India, and the Rottschaefer family.

Photographs

1,126 images (59 slides)

Provenance

Rottschaefer family

Status
Completed
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Hope College Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Van Wylen Library
53 Graves Place
Holland Michigan 49423 United States
616-395-7798