I thought this postcard sent by the Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company in 1913 would make an interesting holiday-themed post. I set about to compose a paragraph or two accompany it.
Postcard, Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company, 1913, obverse
Postcard, Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company, 1913, reverse
An afternoon later I had as an exhaustive bibliography as I could manage and almost three pages of biographical notes. I would like to consult a few articles in Christian Standard and Christian-Evangelist before I publish the full biographical sketch. That will have to wait until January when I am back in the office. In the mean time here are a few scans of Scovilleiana and the bibliography.
Photograph of Charles Reign Scoville, obverse. This card was likely mass-produced, ca. late 1910s. It appears in Peters’ book.
Photograph of Charles Reign Scoville, reverse, bearing Scoville’s autograph. This card was likely mass-produced, ca. late 1910s.
Scoville was active as an evangelist throughout his career. These scans are of ephemera from his 1906 Atchison, Kansas revivals. The leaflet on baptism is from the middle-to-late 1910s and possibly circulated in response to criticism that his meetings downplayed baptism.
Invitation card, “Scoville Meetings”, Atchison Kansas, 1906, obverse
Invitation card, “Scoville Meetings”, Atchison Kansas, 1906, reverse
The Evangel, July 14, 1906, from First Christian Church, Atchison, Kansas advertising a Scoville Meeting, p. 1
The Evangel, July 14, 1906, from First Christian Church, Atchison, Kansas advertising a Scoville Meeting, p. 2
The Evangel, July 14, 1906, from First Christian Church, Atchison, Kansas advertising a Scoville Meeting, p. 3
The Evangel, July 14, 1906, from First Christian Church, Atchison, Kansas advertising a Scoville Meeting, p. 4
Invitation card, side 1, for “Women Only”, Atchison Kansas, 1906
Invitation card, side 2, for “Men Only”, Atchison Kansas, 1906
Leaflet on baptism used at Scoville meetings, ca. 1910s, obverse
Leaflet on baptism used at Scoville meetings, ca. 1910s, reverse
In 1906 he left congregational ministry in Chicago to devote his full time to evangelistic services. By 1909 he was regarded as one of the foremost national evangelists among the Disciples and exercised a leading role in the Pittsburg Centennial.
Prospectus of the 1909 Centennial Convention Report, front cover
Prospectus of the 1909 Centennial Convention Report, showing description of the climactic ‘Day of Evangelists’ moderated by Charles Reign Scoville.
From 1906-1921 he was heavily involved in hymnal publishing through the Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company, which he sold to Standard Publishing Company in 1922. His publishing interests also included the ‘Cross-Reference Bible’ which he co-edited with Harold Monser and others. First published in 1910, it was reprinted by Baker Book House as late as the 1970s.
Advertising prospectus, Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company, Chicago, ca. 1912, front cover
Advertising prospectus, Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company, Chicago, ca. 1912, title page.
Advertising prospectus, Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company, Chicago, ca. 1912, rear cover
Advertising prospectus, Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company, Chicago, ca. 1912, song specimen page, Scoville’s arrangement of Knowles Shaw’s ‘Bringing in the Sheaves’
Crowns of Rejoicing, hymnal compiled by Charles Reign Scoville, front cover.
Advertisement for Cross-Reference Bible, 1918 Yearbook of Churches of Christ (Disciples), Yearbook issue of American Home Missionary, p. 399.
Advertisement for ‘The King of Glory’ hymnal from Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company, 1918 Yearbook of Churches of Christ (Disciples), Yearbook issue of American Home Missionary, p. 365.
When H. H. Peters published this ‘authorized biography’ Scoville was at the zenith of his influence and activity among the Disciples. He meetings regularly drew immense crowds, his preaching was in constant demand, and his activity in parachurch affairs was broad. W. T. Moore included him as one of a new generation of preachers featured in his New Living Pulpit in 1918.
W. T. Moore’s biographical sketch of Charles Reign Scoville, The New Living Pulpit of the Christian Church, 1918, p. 181
W. T. Moore’s biographical sketch of Charles Reign Scoville, The New Living Pulpit of the Christian Church, 1918, p. 182
H. H. Peters, Charles Reign Scoville: The Man and His Message, front cover
H. H. Peters, Charles Reign Scoville: The Man and His Message, title page
H. H. Peters, Charles Reign Scoville: The Man and His Message, illustration placing Scoville among “the four great evangelists” with Walter Scott, Knowles Shaw, and J. V. Updike
Portion of a long photograph (18″ long) from H. H. Peters, Charles Reign Scoville: The Man and His Message, showing the Melbourne Australia meeting. Scoville standing at pulpit.
Photograph showing a Scoville Meeting. Titled “Dr. Scoville Speaking to Men,” this card was likely mass-produced ca. late 1910s. It appears, without the caption, in Peters’ book.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Acts of Apostles.
Parents: Please Read This Copy of a Letter Written by Dr. Scoville to Mr. and Mrs. Joslyn. [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [19–/]. 1 folded sheet ([3] pages).
Sermons.
Instructions for Workers in Gospel Meetings Conducted by Charles Reign Scoville. Jacksonville: Printed for the author from the Press of Henderson & DePew [1899]. 32p.
Compiled with Gabriel Charles H., J. E. Hawes, and W. E. M. Hackleman, Twentieth Century Songs, Part One, A Collection of New and Popular Sngs with Standard Hymns for Church, Sunday School, Young People’s Societies, and Special Services. Indianapolis: Hackleman Music Company, and Ada, Oklahoma: J. E. Hawes. 1900. 192p.
Evangelistic Sermons Delivered During the Great Meetings at Pittsburg and Des Moines Des Moines: Christian Union Publishing Company, 1902. 298p.
Gospel and Revival Sermons. 1904? 300p.
Calvary’s Praises, for Church, Sunday School and Gospel Meetings. Chicago: Charles Reign Scoville, n.d. [ca. 1906] 256p.
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: Paul, Ephesians iv, 5. Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Company, 1906. 52p.
Compiled with Smith, DeLoss, Songs of the King. Chicago: Scoville & Smith, 1906. 247 hymns.
The Gospel of the Helping Hand: An Address Delivered as the New Orleans Convention, 1908. St. Louis: National Benevolent Association [1908]. 15p.
Every Christian An Evangelist. Chicago: Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company, [ca. 1906]; reprinted [?] as Centennial Leaflet no. 2. [1908-1909?] 8p.
Edited with Excell, E. O., Christian Gospel Hymns, for Church, Sunday School, and Evangelistic Meetings, Contains the Cream of All the Old Songs and the Very Best of the New. Chicago: Charles Reign Scoville, 1909. 224p.
Edited with Monser, H. E., J. W. Monser and D. R. Dungan. Cross-Reference Digest of Bible References, A Topical Index of the American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible. New York: Cross-Reference Bible Company, 1910. 681p. Various printings through 1910s. Reprint Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960 and 1979 under title Monser’s Topical Index and Digest of the Bible.
Compiled with Excell, E. O., Crowns of Rejoicing, for Church, Sunday School, Evangelistic and Young People’s Meetings. Chicago: Charles Reign Scoville, 1912. 224p.
Front Rank Songs, A Very Choice Collections of the Best Standard Hymns and Gospel Songs, for Sunday-School and All Religious Services. Chicago: Charles Reign Scoville, 1913.
Sermon to Railroad Men: Also a Thesis on Hebrew Poetry. Chicago: [Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company?], [ca. 1914]. 13p.
Scoville’s Sacred Solos: Solos, Duets, and Quartettes. Chicago: Charles Reign Scoville, [ca. 1915?]. 61 hymns.
Crown Hymns for Church, Sunday School, Revival and Chorus Choirs. Chicago: Charles Reign Scoville Publishing Company, 1916. 36p.
Songs of Beulah. Chicago: Charles Reign Scoville, 1920.
Edited with Towner, D. B., King of Glory, Choice Gospel Hymns for the Church, Sunday School, and Evangelistic Meetings. Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Company, 1923.
Compiled with Hackleman, W. E. M., et al., Wonder Hymns of Faith, A New General Purpose Song-Book Compiled by Charles Reign Scoville, W. E. M. Hackleman, J. E. Sturgis, orchestration by J. C. Blaker, Responsive Readings Selected by E. E. Violette. Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Company, n.d. [ca. 1924]. 282 hymns.
Nineteenth Hundredth Anniversary of Pentecost. [ca. 1932-1933?] folder. 10p.
ESSAYS or CHAPTERS
“Introduction,” in Coombs, J. V., Christian Evangelism. Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Company, 1908, v-vii.
“Preaching of the Cross—the Power of God” in Moore, W. T., ed. The New Living Pulpit of the Christian Church. St. Louis: Christian Board of Publication, 1918, pp. 181-191. Includes portrait and biographical sketch.
PERSONAL PAPERS AND ARCHIVAL MATERIALS
Archival materials are held at Disciples of Christ Historical Society, Bethany, West Virginia. See note in Discipliana 25:5 (November 1965), 78, describing “six well-filled note books containing sermons, sermon notes, sermon outlines and clippings—all having to do with his evangelistic ministry….and a book in Dr. Scoville’s own hand in which he has alphabetized his sermon topics.”
BIOGRAHICAL AND INTERPRETIVE
Brown, L. E. Europe and the Orient: As We Saw It. Frankfort, IN: News-Banner Press, 1901. 96p.
Nichols, James Thomas. Story of the Des Moines Campaign in the Year Nineteen Hundred and Nine: With a Brief History of Our Churches in Des Moines. Des Moines: [publisher not identified], [1909?]. 78p.
Scoville Gospel Meetings: A Great Man-Making Community Uplifting, Soul-Winning Campaign, First Christian Church. Marion, IL: Republican-Leader, [1923]. 1 folded sheet ([4] pages), portraits
Peters, H. H. Charles Reign Scoville, The Man and His Message. St. Louis: Bethany Press, 1924. 401p. Illustrations.
Thornton, E. W., ed. Who’s Who in Churches of Christ, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Ministers and Other Leaders, John T. Brown. Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Company, 1929. Brief biographical sketch, with photograph, on p. 239.
Charles Reign Scoville, In Memoriam, October 14, 1869—January 23, 1938. 32p.
Horton, Roy. Visitation Evangelism. [United States] : [publisher not identified], [19–]. 96, 7 p. illustrations. Related to Scoville’s estate ‘Inspiration Point’ near Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Horton, Roy F. Inspiration Point and Its Personalities. St. Louis: Bethany Press, 1961. 96p.
Brewer, Robert Sidney, The Preaching of Charles Reign Scoville in His Evangelistic Campaign in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1912. MA Thesis. Louisiana State University, 1966. vi, 173 leaves with illustrations and facsimiles.
Shaw, Wayne E., “Charles Reign Scoville: Awakening in Anderson,” in Krause, Mark S. Essays on the Restoration Plea In Honor of Dr. Harold W. Ford. Edmonds, WA: PSCC Litho, 1986.
Gresham, Charles and Keith P. Keeran, eds. Evangelistic Preaching. Joplin: College Press Publishing Company, 1991. 367p.
McAllister, Lester G. “Just As I Lived It,” Discipliana 53:4 (Winter 1993), 128, in which McAllister remembers a Scoville meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas 1923-1924.