Charlotte Burgis DeForest was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1879. Her parents were pioneer missionaries and her father, John Hyde Deforest was decorated by Emperor Meiji for efforts to promote international friendship and for relief work during the 1906 famine. Charlotte earned an A.B. (1901) and A.M. (1907) from Smith College, and received an honorary degree from Smith in 1921. In 1903, she volunteered for service with the American Board of commissioners for Foreign Missions to work in Japan . She spent ten years on the faculty at Kobe College in Nishinomya, originally a missionary school and now the oldest Christian College in Japan. In 1915 she became President of the college, a position she retained until 1940. She was awarded the Sacred Cross by Emperor Hirohito in 1940. During World War II, DeForest returned to the United States and taught Japanese at Pomona College. She was also a counselor at the Manzanar Relocation Center, a Japanese internment camp in California, 1941-45. In 1950, DeForest was decorated by the Japanese government for "services in the education of Japanese women." After her retirement in 1950, she resided in Claremont, California. She published several books, including Evolution of a Missionary (1914), a biography of her father; Poems Down the Years; The Prancing Pony (1968), a book of Japanese nursery rhymes translated to English that won the Chicago Tribune book award; and History of Kobe College, compiled for the 75th anniversary, 1950. Charlotte DeForest died in 1973.

The Charlotte Burgis DeForest Papers consist of 1.5 linear feet and include correspondence, memorabilia, photographs, clippings, awards and citations, and writings. Personal and professional correspondence includes letters from friends and colleagues in Japan, most related to her work at Kobe College. Historical material on Kobe College includes articles by DeForest; her book, History of Kobe College; and college publications such as brochures, calendars, reports, historical sketches, and handbooks (1925-50). Writings include manuscripts of her books, the paper "Some Types of Japanese Poetry" she submitted for her Master's thesis, as well as other short pieces and poems. There is also a paper entitled "Well-known Professional Women of Japan" (1960) written by Chieko Cho. Memorabilia includes a pair of sandals, Smith College Club pins, a plaque and a book of photographs regarding the 85th anniversary of Kobe College. Clippings and articles relate to DeForest's her life and activities, and details pertinent to Kobe College. Also included is one file of Charlotte's sister, Sarah DeForest Pettus with correspondence, articles, and an essay entitled "Prison conditions in Peking" (n.d.).

This collection is organized into four series:

• I. Biographical
• II. Kobe College
• III. Memorabilia
• IV. Japanese Friends and Japanese in the US
• Oversize Materials

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

The Charlotte B. DeForest Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, MA

Charlotte Burgis DeForest donated her papers to the Sophia Smith Collection in 1960.

Finding aid revised in 2002 by Christine Jedziniak, intern.