Presbyterian Doll of Bucyrus Ohio
The Presbyterian Church of Bucyrus Ohio was founded in 1828, seven years after Samuel and Mary Norton founded the town
of Bucyrus. Sam and Mary rented and later sold lot #220 in 1839 for a frame meeting house. This lot has its original deed and
is still being used for its original purpose. In 1861 a new brick church was built and the frame meeting house was sold to the
Catholic Church to become a parochial school. Thirty women met in the church in March of 1874 to form a missionary society
that helped mission churches in the western frontier. This mission work evolved in 1885 to make the Presbyterian Dolls to
support the building of a new church building and mission work.
Originally girl dolls were made. The dolls were made from donated cloth and stuffing included cotton, sawdust, cloth scraps and
any other material. They have mitten hands with stitched fingers and stub feet. In 1890, a bottom gusset was added to the
body to allow the doll to sit without falling over. Later dolls were signed on the gusset.
The dolls were 15-17 inches tall. Heads were made of sailcloth or muslin and the faces were painted on with oil paints and then
varnished. Later acrylic paints were used. Clothing included handmade bonnets, booties, aprons and ankle length dresses.
The funds raised from the doll sales were used to build the church in 1906.
Mrs Charlotte Finley was the leader who saved the doll patterns for future use. She gave them to Clara Wilson, a young girl in
1913 when the ladies stopped making the dolls as they were too expensive priced at $2.00 a doll. In 1956, the young girl, now
Mrs. Clara Wilson Steiger returned the patterns to the ladies group to begin making the dolls again. Mrs. Edith Miller, president
of the Doll Society from 1956-1971 captained the program remaking the dolls and supporting the Church. The work was pieced
out so that some women were in charge of various aspects of the doll making process. Alice Tupps used acrylic paint to create
over 4000 doll faces. (The second and third dolls in the picture above were painted by Alice. The darker coloring of the Amish
children was due to the use of oil paint between the 50s and the 70s. The first doll was painted by Marcia Wakeley c 1970s
based upon Alice's design.) In 1960, boy dolls were added to the dolls. Their clothing included overalls, shirts, knitted caps
and booties. If a boy girl pair were ordered the fabric for the boy's shirt was the same as that for the girl's dress. In 1961, the
dolls sold for $5.00 a piece (remember at the time, Barbie sold for $3.00). The dolls have been sold around the world. One
particular grandmother, Mrs. John Kelly of Philadelphia contributed to this world wide tour by purchasing a doll for her
granddaughter, Princess Caroline of Monaco, daughter of screen actress Grace Kelley.
The following is presented in the tour of the Presbyterian Church of Bucyrus Ohio as written by Mrs. James Miller, Chairman of
the Presbyterian Doll Society. Mrs. Miller was active with the society until her death in 1976, at the age of 95. Mrs. Miller was
born in 1881, four years before the Presbyterian Doll. These are her words:
Alice Tupps ultimately painted over 4,000 dolls. The first dolls were made in 1885. The last dolls were made in 1984.
Following is a chronology of the faces:
Edwards, Linda. Cloth Dolls from Ancient to Modern. Schiffer Pub. Atglen Pa. 1997.
Personal Communication Barbara Dolch, Doll Historian for the Church
Personal Communication Jennifer Arnold, tour guide for the Church
of Bucyrus. Sam and Mary rented and later sold lot #220 in 1839 for a frame meeting house. This lot has its original deed and
is still being used for its original purpose. In 1861 a new brick church was built and the frame meeting house was sold to the
Catholic Church to become a parochial school. Thirty women met in the church in March of 1874 to form a missionary society
that helped mission churches in the western frontier. This mission work evolved in 1885 to make the Presbyterian Dolls to
support the building of a new church building and mission work.
Originally girl dolls were made. The dolls were made from donated cloth and stuffing included cotton, sawdust, cloth scraps and
any other material. They have mitten hands with stitched fingers and stub feet. In 1890, a bottom gusset was added to the
body to allow the doll to sit without falling over. Later dolls were signed on the gusset.
The dolls were 15-17 inches tall. Heads were made of sailcloth or muslin and the faces were painted on with oil paints and then
varnished. Later acrylic paints were used. Clothing included handmade bonnets, booties, aprons and ankle length dresses.
The funds raised from the doll sales were used to build the church in 1906.
Mrs Charlotte Finley was the leader who saved the doll patterns for future use. She gave them to Clara Wilson, a young girl in
1913 when the ladies stopped making the dolls as they were too expensive priced at $2.00 a doll. In 1956, the young girl, now
Mrs. Clara Wilson Steiger returned the patterns to the ladies group to begin making the dolls again. Mrs. Edith Miller, president
of the Doll Society from 1956-1971 captained the program remaking the dolls and supporting the Church. The work was pieced
out so that some women were in charge of various aspects of the doll making process. Alice Tupps used acrylic paint to create
over 4000 doll faces. (The second and third dolls in the picture above were painted by Alice. The darker coloring of the Amish
children was due to the use of oil paint between the 50s and the 70s. The first doll was painted by Marcia Wakeley c 1970s
based upon Alice's design.) In 1960, boy dolls were added to the dolls. Their clothing included overalls, shirts, knitted caps
and booties. If a boy girl pair were ordered the fabric for the boy's shirt was the same as that for the girl's dress. In 1961, the
dolls sold for $5.00 a piece (remember at the time, Barbie sold for $3.00). The dolls have been sold around the world. One
particular grandmother, Mrs. John Kelly of Philadelphia contributed to this world wide tour by purchasing a doll for her
granddaughter, Princess Caroline of Monaco, daughter of screen actress Grace Kelley.
The following is presented in the tour of the Presbyterian Church of Bucyrus Ohio as written by Mrs. James Miller, Chairman of
the Presbyterian Doll Society. Mrs. Miller was active with the society until her death in 1976, at the age of 95. Mrs. Miller was
born in 1881, four years before the Presbyterian Doll. These are her words:
- "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 wheaher the pattern was original. It is the only cloth doll known that is made so 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 out 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 $1.00, and when the price
was raised to $2.00, it was considered expensive and sales fell off. We decided to make ten Dolls and sell them for $3.00
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 $3.00 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 or 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 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 lobe 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 apron with hand made 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 matching outfits.
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 stocking 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 story 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 through
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 picture 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 of 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 times there were orders for the fifty dolls for 1978 and we were well into the same number of Dolls for 1979."
Alice Tupps ultimately painted over 4,000 dolls. The first dolls were made in 1885. The last dolls were made in 1984.
Following is a chronology of the faces:
Edwards, Linda. Cloth Dolls from Ancient to Modern. Schiffer Pub. Atglen Pa. 1997.
Personal Communication Barbara Dolch, Doll Historian for the Church
Personal Communication Jennifer Arnold, tour guide for the Church
