Letters from Joseph J. France and A. Sims, 1892 January-August

This collection contains two letters from Jos. (Joseph?) J. France, an African student attending medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, to his benefactor Dr. Sims. There is also one letter from A. Sims to a Dr. Beckley. In the first letter from France, dated January 31, 1892, the student discusses his need for financial support and contrasts the cold reception he has received from Philadelphia's Baptist ministers with the courteous treatment from his professors. In the second letter, dated May 12, 1892, he thanks Sims for sending money and explains further his decision to leave Leonard Medical School in Raleigh, N.C., for the University of Pennsylvania. He also explains why he is attending a nearby Presbyterian church rather than a Baptist one, describing the worship at Black churches of Philadelphia and the "frigidity and indifference" he has encountered at the white Baptist churches there, and says he plans to apply for the Congo Mission of the A.B.M.U. after graduation. In the other letter, dated August 10, 1892, Sims writes from Leopoldville, the Congo Independent State, to Dr. Beckley. He praises France, calling him an "Accra African" and indicating that France was a missionary in the Congo, and asks Beckley to befriend the student in Philadelphia.