Melvin Thomas Smith Collection

Collection

Identifier: MU-PP-0124

Staff Only

M.T. Smith Collection Finding Aid

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Scope and Contents

This collection includes personal files from Smith, files from the churches he pastored, and miscellaneous files. The miscellaneous files include a variety of topics, including evangelism, marriage, and writings by different artists.

Dates

Creation: 1930-1990

Rights Statement

To quote in print, or otherwise reproduce in whole or in part in any publication, including on the World Wide Web, any material from this collection, the researcher must obtain permission from (1) the owner of the physical property and (2) the holder of the copyright. Persons wishing to quote from this collection should consult the reference archivist to determine copyright holders for information in this collection. Reproduction of any item must contain the complete citation to the original.

Conditions Governing Use

Unrestricted access. All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Biographical / Historical

Melvin Thomas Smith was a white man born on February 27, 1907, in Jackson County, Alabama. When he was a child, he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was ordained to gospel ministry at St. Elmo Avenue Baptist Church (W. T. Callaway, pastor) on December 25, 1938. He received theological training at Columbia Bible College, South Carolina, from 1940 to 1942. In 1942, he married Cora Harris of Chattanooga, and later on that year became the associate pastor of St. Elmo Avenue Baptist Church in Chattanooga until 1943. He also became pastor at two other churches: Woodbury Baptist Church (1943-1944) and West Rome Baptist Church (1944-1968). He served in multiple denominational roles during his time as pastor and senior pastor and died in Rome, Georgia, on October 9, 1990.