| Author: | Covington, Hallie |
| Date Range: | 1837-1976; bulk, 1896-1974 |
| Extent: | 8.75 linear ft. |
| Location: | Annex (Materials stored offsite; advance notification required). |
| Background: | Native of Marion, S.C.; Presbyterian missionary to Korea; school teacher; social worker. |
| 1887 Dec. 24 | Born Marion, S.C., daughter of Francis Frederick Covington (1852-1935) and Susan Lenora Aycock (1858-1925) | |
| 1907 | B.A., College for Women, Columbia, S.C. | |
| 1910-1912 | Teacher, Belton High School, Belton, S.C. | |
| 1912-1914 | Home Mission Work, Glade Valley High School, Glade Valley, N.C. | |
| 1914-1915 | Bible Teacher's Training Course, Dr. White's Bible School (later The Biblical Seminary), New York, N.Y. | |
| 1915-1917 | Teacher, High School Department, Mitchell College, Statesville, N.C. | |
| 1917-1923 | Foreign missionary, Syenchun, Korea | |
| 1923-1924 | American furlough; studies at The Biblical Seminary, New York, N.Y. | |
| 1924-1930 | Foreign missionary, Syenchun, Korea; principal, Women's Bible Institute | |
| 1930-1931 | American furlough; studies at The Biblical Seminary, New York, N.Y. | |
| 1935-1936 | Graduate studies, The Biblical Seminary, New York, N.Y.; master's degree, Religious Education | |
| 1937-1941 | Foreign missionary, Chairyung, Korea; principal, Women's Bible Institute and Provincial Class | |
| 1943-1944 | Bible teacher, New Hanover High School, Wilmington, N.C. | |
| 1946-1956 | Case worker, Public Welfare Department, Sanford, N.C. | |
| 1973 Sept. 25 | Died, Darlington, S.C. |
A native of Marion, S.C., Hallie Covington graduated in 1907 from the College for Women, Columbia, S.C., and received a master's degree in religious education from the Biblical Seminary of New York in 1936. Between 1917 and 1941 she served as a foreign missionary to Korea under sponsorship of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, with the exception of two furloughs when she returned to the United States. After retiring from mission work, Miss Covington taught religion in the public schools of Wilmington, N.C., and starting in 1946 was associated as a case worker with the Sanford, N.C., Public Welfare Department. In 1956, she retired to Darlington, S.C., where she lived with her sister, Mrs. Daniel S. DuBose, until her death on 25 Sept. 1973.
The bulk of the collection is comprised of letters to Hallie Covington. However, there is a small but significant component of letters written by Covington while stationed in Korea and on board ship while en route to and from the mission field. A series of personal reports detail her missionary endeavors at Syenchun and Chairyung, Korea. Published materials further document Presbyterian mission work in Korea during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection also contains photographs, post cards, and other visual materials, primarily Korean in origin.
Among the earliest items are letters of Hallie Covington's great-uncle, Harrison W. Covington, written from Connecticut in 1837, to his brother, Col. John W. Covington, and to Charles W.H. Meehan. Also present is the text of an address by Mary Ann Harlee upon the presentation of a flag to the Cheraw Light Infantry, 22 Feb. 1840, and a series of letters, 1846-1849, from Hallie Covington's grandfather, Benjamin Hamilton Covington (1812-1866), to Mary Ann Harlee (d. 1876), whom he married in 1847. In addition to family and household news, these letters relate news of B.H. Covington's trip to Alabama and refer to family servant Rosa, who is further represented by three letters, 1886-1890.
The collection contains no Civil War documents. Family correspondence continues after the war with letters, 1881-1887, between Covington brothers David, Francis Frederick, and Ted. Also present is Aycock family correspondence, including a series of letters, 1885-1895, between Lenora Aycock Covington and her mother, Elizabeth Aycock, brother W.J. Aycock, and sister H.S. Aycock. Particularly noteworthy are three letters, 25 Nov. 1886, 26 Sept. 188[?], and 8 Sept. 1890, from former slave Rosa Covington to her former master, F.F. Covington.
Hallie Covington first appears as a correspondent in Mar. 1896 with letters to her brother and parents. Her letters continue during her student years at Columbia's College for Women, 1901-1905. Hallie's circle of family correspondents was wide. Included are letters from the following family members: her mother, Susan Lenora Aycock Covington; her father, Francis Frederick Covington; her brother, Frank Covington, Jr., and his wife, Flora Covington; her sisters, Elizabeth Fullwood Covington DuBose and Henrietta Aycock Covington Townsend; her nephews, David Stuart Covington, D. Earle Townsend, Jr., and Frank C. Townsend; and her niece, Lenora Townsend Hadley. Beyond the realm of family members, correspondents include other Korean missionaries and officials of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions, and the Biblical Seminary in N.Y.
Hallie Covington's involvement in foreign mission work dates from the pivotal period between the close of World War I and the outbreak of World War II hostilities in the Pacific. She was appointed by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. on 15 Aug. 1917 and left for the mission field on 11 Oct. 1917, sailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, aboard the S.S. Empress of Japan. Assigned to Syenchun, Korea, Covington remained there until 1923, when she returned to the United States on furlough and pursued studies at the Biblical Seminary, New York City. Returning to Syenchun in 1924, she remained in Korea until 1930. Upon her return to the United States on furlough, she continued her studies at the Biblical Seminary, New York City.
Between 1931 and 1935 Hallie Covington was detained at home on account of the illness of her father; however, in 1935 she was once again in New York and in 1936 received her master's degree in religious education from The Biblical Seminary. She was reappointed by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. on 16 Dec. 1935 and in 1937 returned to Korea, stationed at Chairyung as principal of the Women's Bible Institute until her repatriation in 1941.
In Mar. 1941 Hallie Covington, along with a number of other mission workers attached to the Chosen mission, was arrested on charges of engaging in an anti-war campaign throughout the Korean peninsula, an allegation which grew out of their distribution of World Day of Prayer literature. Though not imprisoned, she and her fellow detainees were subject to call, and the Japanese de facto government indicated its intention to bring them to trial unless they left the country. By Sept. 1941 Hallie Covington was in Shanghai, China. She sailed aboard the French liner D'Artaganan for Manila, Philippines, 29 Oct. 1941, and left there, 27 Nov. 1941, aboard the S.S. President Coolidge, bound for Honolulu, Hawaii. While en route to Hawaii, Japan declared war on the United States. In the final leg of her return voyage, Hallie Covington sailed from Honolulu, 19 Dec. 1941. She reached the San Francisco, Ca., on 26 Dec. 1941.
| Box 1 | Biographical Including vitae, obituary notices, newspaper clippings, and other biographical materials documenting the life of Hallie Covington. Also containing genealogical information on the Covington and allied families. | |
| Boxes 1-4 | Personal/Family Papers, 1837-1976 and undated Consisting of family and personal correspondence representing several generations of the Covington, Aycock, and Harlee families. Early items include letters of Harrison W. Covington, an address by Mary Ann Harlee upon the presentation of a flag to the Cheraw Light Infantry, and letters from Benjamin Hamilton Covington to Mary Ann Harlee. The collection includes no Civil War documents. Family correspondence resumes with letters exchanged by brothers David, F.F., and Ted Covington and Lenora Aycock Covington and her mother, Elizabeth Aycock, her brother, W.J. Aycock, and her sister, H.S. Aycock. Also present are letters from former slave Rosa Covington to her former master, F.F. Covington. Hallie Covington's correspondence begins in 1896, continues during her years at the College for Women, Columbia, S.C., and dominates the remainder of the collection. Her circle of correspondents included the following family members: her mother, Susan Lenora Aycock Covington; her father, Francis Frederick Covington; her brother, Frank Covington, Jr., and his wife, Flora Covington; her sisters, Elizabeth Fullwood Covington DuBose and Henrietta Aycock Covington Townsend; her nephews, David Stuart Covington, D. Earle Townsend, Jr., and Frank C. Townsend; and her niece, Lenora Townsend Hadley. The bulk of the series is comprised of letters to Hallie Covington. There is, however, a small but significant group of letters written by Hallie Covington as a missionary in Korea, including letters written on board ship while en route to and from the mission field. | |
| Box 5 | Mission Reports, 1917-1967 Consisting of personal reports of Hallie Covington, 1917-1930, 1937-1938, and 1941, and fellow Korean missionaries, Charles Allen Clark and Henry W. Lampe, as well as newsletters reporting on Presbyterian mission work in Korea. | |
| Box 5 | Newspapers, 1944-1950 Including specimen copies of miscellaneous Korean-language newspapers and newsclippings and four issues of The Voice of Korea, an English-Korean language newspaper published in Los Angeles, Ca. | |
| Boxes 5-6 | Photographs Subdivided into photographs, postcards, and Korean greeting cards, this series includes images of members of the Covington family and allied families, as well as visual materials relating to mission work in Korea. | |
| Boxes 6-7 | Manuscript Volumes, 1881-1929 and undated Consisting of account books, diaries, prayer calendars, and religion notebooks of Hallie Covington, with miscellaneous volumes of her father, F.F. Covington, and her sister, Elizabeth Fullwood Covington DuBose. | |
| Box 7 | Published Volumes Assorted books, serial publications, and pamphlets relating to Korea and the mission work of the Presbyterian Church there. |
Box 1 Biographical Information Folders 1-57Personal/Family Papers 13 Mar. 1837 - Dec. 1939
Box 2 Personal/Family Papers Folders 58-110 Jan. 1940 - Apr. 1959
Box 3 Personal/Family Papers Folders 111-152 May 1959 - Aug. 1971
Box 4 Personal/Family Papers Folders 153-186 Sept. 1971 - 1976, n.d.
Box 5 Mission Reports Folders 187-214 Charles Allen Clark, 1942-1943 Hallie Covington, 1917-1930, 1937- 1938, 1941 Chosen Mission, 1921-1929 The Korea Klipper, 1938, 1946, 1958, 1959, 1967 Korea Sunday School Association, Feb. 1925 The Korean Open Letter, Mar. 1946 Henry W. Lampe, 1932 Pyengyang News, 1934 The Voice of Korea, 1943-1962
Newspapers Korean Independence, 1944-1950 Miscellaneous (Korean)
Photographs (see also oversize) Family Korea Identified Unidentified
Box 6 Photographs Folders 215-224 Korea Unidentified Negatives Postcards China Korea United States Greeting Cards (Korean)
Manuscript Volumes Elizabeth Fullwood Covington [DuBose] Diary, Jan. - Mar. 1917 Notebook, 1921-1922 Minute books (3 volumes), 1952-1959, Wildflower Club, Darlington, S.C. Francis Frederick Covington Account book, Jan. 1881 Bank book, with notes of Hallie Covington, 1916-1917 Hallie Covington Korea diary, Dec. 1917-Dec. 1918 Korea diary/notebook, Dec. 1917 - Feb. 1920 Prayer calendar, 1921, Korea diary Account book, 1921, record of household expenses in Korea Itenerating account book, 1921-1928, record of expenses in Korea Prayer calendar, 1922, with record of expenses in Korea Account book, 1924, record of expenses while in New York City Prayer calendar, 1926, Korea diary with record of expenses Korea diary, Sept. 1928 - Oct. 1929 Prayer calendar, 1929, Korea diary with record of expenses Prayer calendar, 1930, Korea diary with record of expenses Account book, 1930-1931, record of expenses during American furlough Account book, 1931-1932, record of household expenses, Marion, S.C. Account book, 1933, inventory of personal possessions Account book, 1935-1936, record of expenses in New York Account book, 1936, with notes on religion Prayer calendar, 1940, Korea Prayer calendar, 1941, Korea Account book, 1941, record of expenses on return to San Francisco Notebook, May 1943, notes on religion, Biblical Seminary of New York Notebook, 1948, school notes, notes on social work Automobile mileage records (6 volumes), Jan. 1949 - July 1953 Notebook, 1959, notes on religion Memorandum book, n.d. (ca. early 1900s) Account book, n.d. Account book, n.d., inventory of personal possessions Mission account book/religion notebook, n.d. Notebook, n.d., notes in Korean Notebook, n.d., notes on religion Notebook, n.d., notes on religion Memorandum book, n.d. Music book, n.d., Korean
Box 7 Published Volumes
Annual Report of Seoul Station of the Chosen Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1932-1933 Bible Classes for Women in the Taiku District Bible Society Record July 1952 (vol. 97, no. 6) Board of Missionary Preparation, The Missionary Furlough (1921) Broadcasts From Korea (3 copies) Bulletin of the Pyengyang Foreign School, Pyengyang, Korea, 1923-24 Campbell, Arch. The Christ of the Korean Heart (1954) Department of State, Korea 1945 to 1948, A Report on Political Developments and Economic Resources with Selected Documents Elliott, Helen. Through a Far East Window Being Impressions of Korea The 50th Anniversary of the Chosen Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., June 30 - July 3, 1934, at Seoul, Korea (Chosen) Hopkirk, C.C. Korean Lepers (1925) Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions, The Independent Board Bulletin Feb. 1935 June 1935 International Missionary Council and World Council of Churches, The Church in East Asia, Findings of the East Asian Christian Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, December 3-11, 1949 The Korea Mission Field Jan. 1921 (vol. 17, no. 1) Jan. 1932 (vol. 28, no. 1) Sept. 1935 (vol. 31, no. 9) Korean Research Council, Korean Research Bulletin Sept. 1943 (vol. 1, no. 2) Mackay, John A. "East Asia Under God." Reprinted from Theology Today by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America Manual of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (1933) Minutes and Reports of the Sixty-third Annual Meeting of the Korea Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., Seoul, Korea, June 24 - July 1, 1957 Monsen, Marie. Resting in God's Faithfulness During Twenty Three Days Amongst Pirates (1929) Morris, Harriett. Korean Recipes (1945) Presbyterian Church in the U.S., Korea, Laymen's Missionary Movement Presbyterian Church in the U.S., Board of World Missions, Korea (1960) Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. The Findings of the Lakeville Conference of June 20-30, 1931 Yearbook of Prayer for Missions, 1933, 1937 New Map Talk Series Korea Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., Board of Foreign Missions Speer, Robert E. Foreign Missions Are Going On (1933) Hanzsche, William Thomson. And They Went Forth (1937) Now in Korea Report of Syenchun Station of the Chosen Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1933-1934 Rhodes, Harry A., ed. History of the Korea Mission Presbyterian Church U.S.A. 1884-1934 Sauer, Charles A., comp. The Story of Seoul Union Church, 1886-1961 Whittemore, Maud Wellesley Parsons. Poems (1951) Woman's Work, A Foreign Missions Magazine Feb. 1924 (vol. 39, no. 2) Nov. 1923 (vol. 38, no. 11) Women and Missions Feb. 1932 (vol. 8, no. 11) Apr. 1939 (vol. 16, no. 1) July 1937 (vol. 14, no. 4) Apr. 1933 (vol. 10, no. 1)