Presbyterian Dolls

This is the story of a doll that helped to build a church in 1906, as told by Mrs. James W. (Edith) Miller in 1963 when she was chairperson of the Presbyterian Doll Society. (Mrs. Miller continued as chairperson until 1970 when she resigned the office but remained active in the Doll Society until her illness and death in 1976 at the age of 95.)

“This doll was first made by the Ladies Church Society of the First Presbyterian Church of Bucyrus, Ohio, and we have not been able to find out whether the pattern was original. It is the only cloth doll known that is made so that it will sit. My husband’s mother was one of the group that made them years ago. Records show that the money made was used to help build the present church: $8,000 was given by the Ladies Church Society, part of which came from the sale of these dolls. This was the largest single subscription.

“Long ago, a young girl helped an elderly lady make the doll bonnets. The elderly lady, pleased with the workmanship of the girl, said, ‘Some time, we will not be making dolls, so I am going to give you the patterns, and you must promise me to keep them and not give them to anyone because, some time, the Presbyterian women may want to make these dolls again.’

“‘The young girl kept the patterns and, in 1956, called me, saying, ‘I have the patterns for the old Presbyterian doll. Do you suppose we could sell them?’ The patterns were so fragile they had to be handled with great care, but she cut them out and brought them to me. I struggled until I got one doll made and took it to our Circle Meeting, suggesting that we make them to sell. It was voted to do so. Long ago, in the 1880’s, a completely dressed doll sold for $1, and when the price was raised to $2, it was considered expensive, and sales fell off. We decided to make ten dolls and sell them for $3 each. We have a fine artist in our church, and I finally mustered enough courage to ask her to paint the faces of the dolls. She said she would but doubted anyone would part with $3 for a rag doll. However, they went over big, and we sold about 125 that first year. Also, we made pleas for material, lace, and embroidery trims that folks might have in their sewing leftovers. People really responded! One of our workers, a farmer’s wife who wrote well, sent an article about the dolls to a national farm magazine for the women’s page. As a result, we received eighty-some orders and nylon hose from New Mexico to be used for stuffing. We still get some responses from that article. One doll seemed to sell another, but we soon found that we were having to buy more material of all types that cost so much, we had to raise the price of the doll. The dolls are more beautiful but cost more, and the demand is greater every year. Children love them, and doll collectors want them for their collections.

“Our dolls are basically the same, and we are making both girl and boy dolls. They are now stuffed with polyfill, and their features are hand-painted. The price of the girl doll varies and is determined by the clothing. The Collector Doll is the most popular and the most expensive because of the clothing with its details, such as lace-trimmed collar and cuffs and an organdy adron iiith handmade tatting. The ‘Play’ Doll’s clothing is less detailed and the least expensive. We have made some fancy dresses and, on special request, even Bride Dolls. The price of the Boy Doll does not vary. The dolls are sold separately and sometimes in pairs, dressed in machine outfits. Our dolls can also be dressed in authentic Amish clothing. The legs of the original old dolls were made of black material because everybody then wore black hose. The dolls wore booties and no stockings. The bodies are made of sturdy white chino, and the dolls now wear stockings and shoes, either black or white.

“Folks ask how we use the money we make. We decided that since the first Society helped to build the church, we would establish a fund for the enlargement of the church school. In the meantime, on one occasion, we gave $500 to the regular Mission Fund and gave scholarships to a mountain school in North Carolina. A loud speaker system was purchased, and robes were supplied for the carol choir. The enlargement of the church school was realized. Needed lighting, new carpeting, and an improved heating system were added to the church annex. A projector and screen and a Baldwin piano were also purchased for the church school. The latest project was to establish an organ fund to be used to help purchase a new pipe organ for the sanctuary, and so the work of the ‘Doll’ goes on.”

When the new organ was decided upon in 1976, the Doll Society contributed approximately $17,150 toward its purchase and future maintenance. Prior to 1960, no records can be found to show the number of dolls sold, but from 1960 to 1977, 3,250 dolls were sold for about $31,000, plus an additional $4,300 was realized from the sale of doll clothes.

In the church annex is a poster of children in foreign lands holding their Presbyterian dolls. So far, there are dolls in Mexico, Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, Japan, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, and Brazil.

In 1977, the Presbyterian Doll Society decided to disband. The United Presbyterian Women’s Association was asked if it would care to take over the “Doll Project,” and the members approved such a move. Beginning in January 1978, the work of making the dolls was assumed by the Association, following the same procedures as its predecessor. It was decided to set a goal of fifty dolls a year. Artist Alice Tupps agreed to paint this number, and we were off on our project. In a short time, there were orders for the fifty dolls for 1978, and we were well into the same number of dolls for 1979.