Edwin and Anita Low papers, 1920-2007
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Summary
- Creator:
- Low, J. Edwin, 1920-2006 and Low, Anita Summerlin, 1924-2007
- Abstract:
- Edwin and Anita Low were Southern Baptist missionaries (Edwin was a physician, Anita was a teacher) in Ogbomosho and Kontagora, Nigeria between 1950 and 1961. This collection contains family correspondence, photographs, writings, and a co-written memoir compiled of diary entries and letters about the Lows' lives and work in Nigeria.
- Extent:
- 1.5 Linear Feet (1 box)
- Language:
- Materials in English.
- Collection ID:
- RL.13139
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Collection contains personal and professional materials from Edwin and Anita Low, including correspondence, photographs, writings, and a co-written diary memoir called "Our Nigerian Adventure" which has typed excerpts of their diaries, letters, and reflections.
Contains some original letters, including updates from Nigeria, as well as writings and drafts of creative essays and theological/scriptural sermons and reflections. There are some materials from their lives pre- and post-Nigeria, as well as clippings documenting their travels, their long relationship/marriage, and their Christian faith.
Nigerian mission-related materials include some photographs; writings about their mission work at the hospital in Ogbomoso; news and updates Southern Baptist connections and Nigerian friends, patients and other local contacts; and the memoir. There is a 1959 Baptist hymnal with hymns in Yuruba. There are some certificates and travel documents detailing the family's assignments and work, as well as their movements.
- Biographical / historical:
-
J. Edwin Low was born September 17, 1920 near Campbell, Texas, the son of Joseph Solomon and Alma Davis Low. He graduated from East Texas State Teachers College, and in 1945 from Southwestern Medical College in Dallas.
Anita Summerlin Low was born March 2, 1924 in Cass County in eastern Texas, the daughter of Irwin Thomas Summerlin and Jessie Neal Erwin Summerlin. She graduated from East Texas State Teachers College in 1943, and taught at Farmersville High School the following year.
The Lows married in 1944. Upon completion of Edwin's medical residency in 1948, they moved with their two small children to Asmara, Eritrea, and were stationed there from 1948 to 1950. Dr. Low served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
From 1950 to 1961, they served as missionaries in Nigeria with the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board. Edwin Low served as a missionary doctor at the Ogbomoso Baptist Hospital, and Anita Low taught school and cared for their children (during this time their third child was born).
The Low family returned to the United States in 1961 and eventually settled in Canyon, Texas. In 1963, Edwin Low joined the Neblett Clinic in Canyon, where he worked for 27 years. Anita Low earned a master's degree in English and art from West Texas State University, and worked at the university. They lived in Canyon for 40 years before moving to Houston in 2003 to be near their children. Edwin Low died September 6, 2006 and Anita Low died August 12, 2007.
Sources:
J. Low Obituary", Houston Chronicle, 2006 Sept. 8. Accessed May 2025.
Anita Low Obituary", Houston Chronicle, 2007 August 16-18. Accessed May 2025.
- Acquisition information:
- The Edwin and Anita Low Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from the Low family in 2022.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Meghan Lyon, 2025 May
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2022-0047
- Arrangement:
-
Collection was arranged by the family according to format prior to accessioning by Rubenstein Library.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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Contents
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- Restrictions:
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Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
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- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Edwin and Anita Low Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1d74x