The papers in the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection span the years circa 1786-2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1870 to 1968. The collection documents the history of the American Colony in Jerusalem and its members, particularly the Spafford, Vester, and Whiting families. It covers the events that led to the founding of this cooperative Christian community in the Holy Land, the lives and philanthropic work of American Colony members, the secularization and shift toward incorporation of the religious commune, and the conflict and split between American and Swedish members. It is also a record of life in Jerusalem and Palestine as part of the Ottoman Empire, the British mandate, Jordan, and Israel. Most of the items were collected and saved by Bertha Spafford Vester, who was the daughter of American Colony founders, Horatio Gates Spafford (1828-1888) and Anna T. Spafford, and the community's primary leader following the death of her mother. Other members who fulfilled administrative roles include adopted son Jacob Spafford and son-in-law John D. Whiting. Although most of the items in the collection are written in English, there is also material in Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, and Swedish. The collection consists of three parts.

Part I

Part I of the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection is organized in two series: Topical File and Oversize. The items in Part I were gathered for a 2005 exhibit in the Library of Congress on the history and work of the American Colony in Jerusalem. They include documents significant to the lives of the colony founders and those that are representative of the activities of the group. The material is arranged according to the thematic sections of the exhibit: Family Tragedy, On to Jerusalem, In the Holy Land, The American Colony at Work, The Locust Plague, World War I, Wartime Aid, and Continuing Relief Work.

Items in Part I relating to the founders of the colony include a telegram sent by Anna T. Spafford to her husband following the sinking of the Ville du Havre, an album containing photographs of the four daughters lost in the shipwreck, Horatio Gates Spafford's hand-written lyrics to the popular hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul,” his diary for 1882, and a Bible filled with his notations. Contained in the section “In the Holy Land” are a 1906 letter to President Theodore Roosevelt from the members of the American Colony recounting their on-going conflict with the American consul in Palestine, Selah Merrill, and an article praising the colony in published in December of that year. An album of World War I photographs taken by American Colony photographers depicts the war in Palestine. Among the items pertaining to the colony's efforts to ease the suffering of the local populace during the war are correspondence with Edward F. Loud and accounts of the funds he raised in the United States to support the American Colony's soup kitchen.

Part II

Part II of the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection is organized in seven series: , Bertha Spafford Vester Diaries, American Colony Members, Business and Legal Files, Chronological File, Miscellany, Restricted, and Oversize.

The files were compiled by Bertha Spafford Vester in the preparation of her book, . The series documents her family's history and the major events in the American Colony from its founding through the 1930s. Most of the material is grouped by year in a chronological file. Files from the 1870s and 1880s include letters and other writings by Horatio and Anna Spafford, and material from 1873 includes accounts of the shipwreck and correspondence written following the tragedy. Files for the period 1893 through 1895 describe colony member Mary Whiting's dispute with family members critical of the colony's beliefs and lifestyle. The conflict over an inheritance and the custody of her children, John D. Whiting and Ruth Whiting, led to a trial in Chicago over guardianship of the children. Additional information on the Whiting trial is contained in a scrapbook of clippings on the American Colony in Part I. The file for 1896 contains a list of the Swedes who emigrated from Sweden to join the American Colony. Material from 1922 includes letters from Grace Spafford Whiting to her sister, Bertha Spafford Vester, while Bertha and her family were in the United States. They describe daily life at the colony and discuss the last illness of Anna T. Spafford. Also included are a few letters from Anna. A topic that is chronicled in the 1890s, the early 1900s, and the 1930s is the antagonism of United States consuls in Jerusalem toward the American Colony. Files from 1930 through 1934 contain material relating to the split in the colony membership that resulted in lawsuits, arbitration, and the departure of many of the Swedish members. Much of this material expresses the viewpoint of the Vesters and the Whitings, who were part of what is referred to as the “majority,” while the Swedes were the “minority.” Files from 1941 contain texts of the remarks given at the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the American Colony. A draft of is filed in Part III.

In addition to the chronological file, the series contains personal correspondence between Bertha Spafford Vester and members of her family when she was traveling in the United States. The letters complement the correspondence in the chronological file of this series and detail family news, issues of concern at the American Colony, and opinions on the people, places, and culture of the United States as compared to their life in Jerusalem. Letters from Jacob Spafford describe events such as the 1927 earthquake, Arab-Jewish violence in 1929, and the conflict among colony members in 1930.

The Bertha Spafford Vester Diaries span the years 1920 until her death in 1968. They provide a personal account of her life and work and offer Bertha's point of view on people and events. She supplemented her written entries by inserting invitations, telegrams, programs, photographs, newspaper clippings, flowers, and other memorabilia in the volumes. Loose items have been removed and are foldered next to the volume from which they were removed. Family members frequently mentioned are her husband, Frederick, and her children, Anna Grace, Horatio, Tanetta, John (“Jock”), Louise, and Frieda. Bertha's sister, Grace, and her husband, John D. Whiting, are also featured prominently. In the diaries Bertha discusses her involvement with the baby home, various health care services and charitable activities, the American Colony Store, and the tourist services provided by the American Colony for visitors staying at the hostel (later the American Colony Hotel). Diaries for 1930 and 1931 provide Bertha Vester's point of view on the split in the American Colony membership and her feelings about the actions of the Swedish members who dissented from her efforts to organize the American Colony into a formal corporation. She also discusses the care of the elderly Swedes who remained at the American Colony for the remainder of their lives. The diaries chronicle the periods of violence between Jews and Arabs in the region, particularly in the 1940s, that culminated in the Arab-Israeli War. Bertha Vester's visits to the United States and her relationship with Lowell Thomas, who assisted her in the publication of her book and helped to arrange lecture tours are also covered. An entry in January 1955 describes a meeting with President Dwight D.Eisenhower in which she offered her opinion on the problems in Jerusalem and the plight of Arab refugees.

An American Colony Members series contains files of some individual colonists. Names of members can also be found in a birthday book and register of those belonging to the colony when it was incorporated. A file on Ana Andersson contains letters from Bertha Vester's daughter, Anna Grace Lind. Information on American Colony members is located in other sections of the collection as well. Files relating to 1896 in both the series and the Chronological File series contain names of Swedes who joined the group that year. A letter of December 1926 that was inserted into Bertha Spafford Vester's diary for that year contains signatures of colony members and others who worked there. Statements by American Colony members given as part of the charitable trust lawsuit filed in the Business and Legal Files series offer information about some of the Swedish members of the American Colony who remained with the group following the schism in the membership.

The Business and Legal Files are grouped into sections pertaining to the American Colony and the Spafford family. Many of the files relate to the corporate entities and business ventures established by the American Colony and its members. In 1929 the American Colony was formally organized into a corporate body named American Colony of Jerusalem, and minutes of the meetings of the membership and the council are filed here. The litigation and arbitration leading to the formal split in membership is documented in a section called “reorganization and dissent.” Included in Vester and Company business enterprises is material on the American Colony Stores. Information on the Jerusalem store is lacking. Most material pertains to the store opened in New York City in the 1920s. Among the Spafford family legal files are those relating to litigation concerning Spafford property in Chicago and copies of the divorce papers of Horatio Gates Spafford (1778-1832) from 1811.

A Chronological File series, like the series, is arranged by year and contains information on the history of the American Colony. The early portion of this series, 1897-1908, covers conflicts between the American Colony and United States consuls for Palestine, Selah Merrill and Edwin Sherman Wallace, and focuses on problems with burial issues in the 1890s, the publication of an article in in 1906, and the subsequent libel case, Wallace v. D. Appleton & Co. The 1904 file contains letters Anna T. Spafford wrote to John D. Whiting while he was in the United States. Starting in 1910, most of the contents of this series pertains to John D. Whiting. His correspondence details his dealings with museums regarding antiquities, his work with magazine, American Colony Store business, photography orders, and family news. Letters from 1919 and 1920 include lengthy accounts of the colony's experiences during World War I and his own military service. This material supplements the John D. Whiting Papers that are also in the Manuscript Division.

Included in a Miscellany series are hymns, poems, and other writings by Horatio Gates Spafford (1828-1888). A transcript of a 2005 oral history interview with Valentine Vester, who managed the American Colony Hotel with her husband Horatio, son of Bertha Spafford Vester, is also part of this series. The audiovisual version of this interview is available along with other related oral interviews in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

Part III

Part III of the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection is organized in five series: Bertha Spafford Vester Files, John D. Whiting Files, Valentine Vester Files, Miscellany, and Oversize.

The Bertha Spafford Vester Files in Part III supplement the material found in Part II. A correspondence section includes letters from American Colony members, visitors, and individuals of prominence in Jerusalem during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. Among the family correspondence are letters Bertha wrote to her children during the years 1928-1930 while they were living in the United States. Many are written to her daughter Tanetta, who was attending Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The letters detail Bertha's activities and describe her feelings about the split among the American Colony members and the reorganization occurring at that time. Other material documents relief and charitable work during the period 1918-1921. Scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings and other items relating to her lecture tours in the United States and the work of the Spafford Children's Hospital, and texts of Bertha Spafford Vester's radio broadcasts for the Palestine Broadcasting Service detail her reminiscences of life in old Jerusalem .

The John D. Whiting Files contain additional material relating to his life and work, including catalogues of his pottery collection, permits and passes relating to his work in British military intelligence during the first World War, and writings on Jerusalem and the Holy Land including articles published in magazine.

The Valentine Vester Files are comprised of material relating to the American Colony Hotel and life in Jerusalem in the period 1989 through 2007 that were compiled by Valentine Vester. Horatio and Valentine Vester managed the American Colony Hotel from 1963 until 1980, and she continued to live there until her death in 2008. The major portion of this series consists of newspaper clippings dating from 1989-2005, including accounts of Palestinian uprisings. Correspondence from 1991 between Valentine Vester and her two sons describes the impact of the Persian Gulf War and the intifada on life at the hotel. Also included are photographs of a gathering of descendants of the Matsson, Vester, and Whiting families in 2006.

A Miscellany series contains additional material relating to the American Colony and its members. Among the items is a diary kept by American Colony member Mary Louise Adams (Sister Miriam) for the year 1931. A notebook kept by Anna Spafford contains a record of her correspondence, and a notebook kept by Jacob Spafford includes copies of letters he received. Writings about the American Colony include those that focus on Swedish members, including some that are written in Swedish.