Elmer Talmadge Clark (September 9, 1886 in Arkansas – August 29, 1966) was an American writer, editor and denominational executive for the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

and supporting groups related to the Methodist Church. Most of his writings are interpretative of the religion and promotional booklets.

Education

He attended

Hendrix College Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled, mostly undergraduates. While affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the college offers a secular curriculum and has a stude ...

and Birmingham-Southern College, which awarded him a B.A. degree. He received an M.A. from George Peabody College for Teachers, then attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

where he earned a B.D. and Th.D. He was later awarded honorary degrees by

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

(LL.D.) and

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

(Litt.D.)

Career

Clark served the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

(MECS) and the Methodist Church for a total of 58 years until his retirement in 1952. He worked for the St. Louis Conference and at denominational headquarters in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

and New York City."Ten Texas Bishops:Elmer T. Clark"
, Southern Methodist University He was a historian of the denomination, serving as leader of the Association of Methodist Historical Societies for two decades, and was a prolific writer of books and tracts. From 1939 until 1952 he served as editor of ''World Outlook'' (now ''New World Outlook''). He was a frequent correspondent of

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

President

William Preston Few William Preston Few (December 29, 1867 – October 16, 1940) was the first president of Duke University and the fifth president of its predecessor, Trinity College. Early life Few received his Bachelor of Arts, B.A. from Wofford College, Class of ...

. The Elmer T. Clark Papers were received by the Duke University Archives as a transfer in 1973, 1986.

Bibliography

This is only a few of the many titles Elmer T. Clark wrote and published: ''Social Studies of the War'' 1919, (reprint from Kessinger Publishing 2010) ''The Chiangs of China'' New York : Abingdon-Cokesbury Press; 1st Edition 1943 (ASIN: B0006AQ7CE Amazon Standard Identification Number) ''Healing Ourselves: The First Task Of The Church In America'' Cokesbury Press 1924 (Reprint: Kessinger Publishing 2010) Healing Ourselves
/ref> ''The Small Sects in America''. Nashville, TN: Cokesbury Press, 1937. ''The Small Sects in America''. Revised edition. New York, NY: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1949. ''The Small Sects in America'' – Originally published in 1937. Reprint date: 7/1/1999 DIANE Publishing Company.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Elmer Talmage American Methodists 1886 births 1966 deaths Southern Methodists Place of birth missing Place of death missing