mnsss391 Annetta Thompson Mills Papers, 1857-1993 Finding Aid Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College

Northampton, MA

Finding aid exported into EAD from InMagic DB/Textworks 7.01. Encoded by Margaret Jessup. 2006-12-01 Finding aid written in English. Sophia Smith CollectionSmith College Annetta Thompson Mills Papers, 1857-1993 Finding Aid MS 455 2006

Collection Overview Mills, Annetta Thompson, 1853-1993 Annetta Thompson Mills Papers1857-1993 MS 455 1 box (1.25 linear ft.) English Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

Missionary; Teacher. Collection consists primarily of materials about the life of Annetta Thompson Mills and the history of the Yantai (Chefoo) School for the Deaf in Yantai, China. NOTE: There is no container list online for this finding aid. You may contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you want one sent to you. Biographical Note

Annetta Eugenia Thompson (Mills) was born in Portage, NY on July 20, 1853 to Robert W. Thompson and Sarah van Slyke. She had an older sister, Alletta, and a half brother, Lincoln, who was deaf. Annetta taught at the Western New York Institution for Deaf- Mutes in Rochester, NY (later the Rochester School for the Deaf), where her brother and another boy, Charles G. Mills, were students. There she met the Rev. Dr. Charles R. Mills, father of Charles G. Mills and a widowed missionary to Chefoo, China, who had come to Rochester to visit his son. She accompanied him back to China, they married in 1884, and in 1887 she founded the Chefoo School for the Deaf. They had three children, Samuel John Mills (1886-1970), Roger Sherman Mills (1889-1964), and Ruth Edna Mills (1891-1898; died of scarlet fever). Annetta administered the Chefoo School school until her retirement circa 1924; her niece Anita E. Carter succeeded her. She lived in Kuling for several years and 1926 moved to Nanking where her son, Samuel, ran the language school for new missionaries. Following the Nanking Incident in 1927, Annetta left China and lived with her son, Roger, in Chicago, until her death on April 19, 1929. As of 1989 the school still existed; the name of the school had been changed to the Yantai School for the Deaf, to reflect the name change of the town in which it was/is located.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

This collection consists primarily of materials about the life of Annetta Thompson Mills and the history of the Yantai (Chefoo) School for the Deaf in Yantai, China. Also included are documents pertaining to Anna Aschenbach's visit to China in 1987 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the school. It is a comprehensive collection consisting mostly of photocopies of documents. There are also some original photographs as well as reproductions and photocopies of images.

NOTE: There is no container list online for this finding aid. You may contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you want one sent to you.

Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.

This collection has not been fully processed and therefore may be difficult to use.

Copyright to unpublished materials may be owned by the creator, or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Annetta Thompson Mills Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

Additions to the Collection

Periodic additions to collection are expected and may not be reflected in this record.

Search Terms Mills, Annetta Thompson, 1853-1993 Mills, Charles R. Yantai School for the Deaf (Yantai, China)--History--Sources China--Description and travel--Sources Deaf education--History--Sources Missionaries--China--History--Sources Teachers of the deaf--Biography--Sources Additional Information