Wilson Plumer Mills
W. Plumer Mills was born in Winnsboro, South Carolina on December 1, 1883. He received his B.A. from Davidson College in North Carolina in 1903, a B.A. from Oxford University in 1910, and a B.D. from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1912. Mills served under the YMCA in China from 1912 to 1931, and then under the Presbyterian Foreign Mission Board in Nanking from 1933 to 1949.
Mills was appointed Vice Chairman of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone when it was founded on November 22, 1937; he became Chairman after John H. D. Rabe left Nanking on February 23, 1938.
Just prior to the Japanese occupation of Nanking, Mills played an important role in efforts to bring about a truce that would allow the Chinese army to withdraw from Nanking and the Japanese army to enter the city without fighting. With approval from General Tang Sheng-chih, Mills and M. Searle Bates went to see the U.S. Consul J. Hall Paxton on board the USS Panay to transmit the truce-negotiating messages. This visit is described in the January 24, 1938 letter from Mills to his wife which is included in this volume.
Correspondence and Documents
| Reference | Description |
|---|---|
| RG 8: Box 141 Folder 11: Mills, W. Plumer - Correspondence to family Jan 3-10, 1938 | |
| NMP0291 |
January 3, 1938 "Dear Nina" Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| NMP0292 |
January 9, 1938 "Dear Nina" (2 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| NMP0293 |
January 10, 1938 "Dear Nina" (10 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| RG 8: Box 141 Folder 12: Mills, W. Plumer - Correspondence to family Jan 19 – Feb 9, 1938 | |
| NMP0294 |
January 19, 1938 "Dear Family" (9 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to Seyle family |
| NMP0295 |
January 22, 1938 "Dear Nina" (4 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| NMP0296 |
January 31, 1938 "Dear Nina" (2 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| NMP0297 |
February 3, 1938 "Dear Nina" (3 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| NMP0298 |
February 9, 1938 "Dear Nina" (4 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| RG 8: Box 141 Folder 13: Mills, W. Plumer - Correspondence to family Feb 19 - 26, 1938 | |
| NMP0299 |
February 19, 1938 "Dear Angie" (2 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his daughter, Angie |
| NMP0300 |
February 20, 1938 "Dear Mary" (4 pages) Letter from Cornelia Mills to Mary Mills |
| NMP0301 |
February 22, 1938 "Dear Nina" (2 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| NMP0302 |
February 26, 1938 "Dear Mary" Letter from Cornelia Mills to Mary Mills |
| RG 8: Box 141 Folder 14: Mills, W. Plumer - Correspondence to family March 2-3, 1938, Feb. 26, Enclosed notes of MS Bates | |
| NMP0303 |
February 26, 1938 "Dear Nina" (3 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| NMP0304 |
March 2, 1938 "Dear Nina" (2 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| NMP0305 |
March 3, 1938 "Dear Nina" (2 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| RG 8: Box 141 Folder 15: Mills, W. Plumer - Correspondence to family March 9-20, 1938 Letter of H. Maxcy Smith incl. talk by John Rabe | |
| NMP0306 |
February 28, 1938 "Tiffin – Foreign YMCA – Shanghai" (3 pages) Talk by John Rabe in Shanghai |
| NMP0307 |
March 17, 1938 "Dear Mary" Letter from H. Maxcy Smith, American Presbyterian Mission, to Mary Mills |
| NMP0308 |
March 9, 1938 "Dear Nina" (2 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| NMP0309 |
March 12, 1938 "Dear Mary" (2 pages) Letter from Cornelia Mills to Mary Mills |
| NMP0310 |
March 13, 1938 "Dear Harriet" (2 pages) Letter from Cornelia Mills to Harriet Mills |
| RG 8: Box 141 Folder 16: Mills, W. Plumer - Correspondence to family March 18, 31, 1938 | |
| NMP0311 |
March 18, 1938 "Dear Nina" (2 pages) Letter from W.P. Mills to his wife, Nina |
| NMP0312 |
March 31, 1938 "Dear Mary" (2 pages) Letter from Cornelia Mills to Mary Mills |