JM McCaleb Papers

John Moody (J.M.) McCaleb trained as a Church of Christ preacher at the College of the Bible at Kentucky University (now Transylvania University) with the intention of preaching in Kentucky and his home state of Tennessee. In 1892, he was invited to join a group of missionaries traveling to Japan where he would go on to live and work, moving between Japan and the United States, until 1941. McCaleb and his first wife, Dorothy (Della) helped to open a Sunday school and a charity school in Japan, overseeing the Kanda Ward there until 1899. The McCaleb’s built an American-style home close to the Kanda Ward that serves as the Zoshigaya Missionary Museum today. In 1907, McCaleb opened Zoshigaya Gakuin, a boarding school for young men where English and Christianity were taught. After retiring as a missionary, McCaleb was invited to serve as professor emeritus at Pepperdine University where he taught Asian Religion Studies. 

J.M. McCaleb’s father was killed by a fellow Union Army soldier during the Civil War, right after McCaleb was born. During his career, McCaleb remained an outspoken Conscientious Objector, providing support to fellow Chrisitians who were sent to Civilian Public Service camps during WWII. 

The Digital Collection includes selections from the J. M. McCaleb Papers, highlighting his writing about and correspondence with prominent Church of Christ leaders in the United States, Church of Christ publications such as Missionary Messenger, materials related to his activism as a Conscientious Objector, and photographs and documents from his career as a missionary in Japan.