DOCSLIB.ORG

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions $

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions $ THE NINETY-NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF TH E AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS Presented at the Meeting held at Minneapolis, Minnesota October 13 -15 , iqoq $ PUBLISHED BY THE BOARD CONGREGATIONAL HOUSE BOSTON CONTENTS T h e A n n u a l M eetin g Page Minutes ..................................................................................................................................... v Corporate Members Present.............................................................................................. v Male Honorary Members Reported as Present............................................................... vi Missionaries Present ........................................................................................................... vi Organization ............................................................................................................................ vi Committees Appointed ......................................................................................................... vi-vii Annual Sermon ...................................................................................................................... vii Place and Preacher for Next Meeting........................................................................... viii Resolutions ............................................................................................................................... viii-xiv Letters of Excuse ................................................................................................................. x-xi New Members ........................................................................................................................ xi-xii Election of Officers................................................................................................................ xiii Reports of Committees at the Annual Meeting............................................................. xv Report on the Home Department...................................................................................... x v Report on the Treasurer’s Report.................................................................................... xvi H ome D epar tm en t The Year Past and*the Year to Come........................................................................... 3 The Year Past........................................................................................................................ 3 Receipts for the Year................................................................................................... 5 Missionary Reënforcements ........................................................................................ 6 Missionary Appointments ............................................................................................ 7 Publications ...................................................................................................................... 8 Administration Matters ................................ io The Year to Come ..................................................\ ........................................................... 12 A Great Missionary Year .............................................................................................. 12 In Conclusion ............................................................................. 18 The Middle District (Dr. Creegan’s Report)................................................................ 20 The Interior District (Dr. Hitchcock’s Report)............................................................ 24 The Pacific Coast District (Dr. Tenney’s Report)........................................................ 30 T h e M iss io n s West Central African Mission............................................................................................ 33 South African Mission (Rhodesian Branch)................................................................ 37 South African Mission (Zulu Branch)........................................................................... 40 European Turkey Mission ................................................................................................... 46 Western Turkey M ission ................................................................................................ • 52 Central Turkey Mission......................................................................................................... 61 Eastern Turkey Mission ..................................................................................................... 7 * Marathi Mission .................................................................................................................... Madura M ission ................................................................. 9 1 Ceylon Mission ..........................................................................................................- .......... 100 Foochow Mission .................................................................................................................. I 0 7 iii iv Contents South China Mission........................................... I u North China Mission ........................................... Il4 Shansi Mission .............................................................................................................. I27 Japan Mission ................................................................................................................ 133 Micronesian Mission .................................................................................................... Mission to the Philippine Islands................................................................................ x g 0 Mexican Mission ................................................................. I5I Mission to S p ain ............................................................................................................ i g 7 Austrian Mission .......................................................................................................... i60 S t a t i s t i c s Tabular View of the Missions of the A. B. C. F. M. for the year 19 0 8-19 0 9... 163 Report of the Treasurer for the year ending August 31, 1909............................ • 164 Pecuniary Accounts ...................................................................................................... 167 Summary of Donations ................................................................................................ 173 Receipts of the Board.................................................................................................. 178 Places of Meeting and Preachers.............................................................................. 179 Missionaries of the Board................................... 181 Corporate Members of the Board................................................................................ 186 Officers of the Board...................................................................................................... 190 Honorary Members ...................................................................................................... 192 MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING T h e American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions commenced its One Hundredth Annual Meeting in the Plymouth Church, Minneapolis, Minn.. Wednesday, October 13, 1909, at 10.30 a .m . CORPORATE MEMBERS PRESENT N ew Jersey Rev. Charles H. Richards, Montclair. Maine Galen C. Moses, Bath. Ohio Rev. Leavitt H. Hallock, Lewiston. Rev. Washington Gladden, Columbus. William W. Mills, Marietta. New Hampshire Rev. John W. Bradshaw, Oberlin. Rev. Lucius H. Thayer, Portsmouth. Rev. Irving W. Metcalf, Oberlin. Edward H. Rhoades, Toledo. Vermont Pres. Alfred T. Perry, Marietta. Rev. Henry Fairbanks, St. Johnsbury. H. Clark Ford, Cleveland. Rev. Clifford H. Smith, Pittsford. Frank H. Brooks, St. Johnsbury. District of Columbia Rev. Christopher C. St. Clare, St. Johns­ John B. Sleman, Jr., Washington. bury. Massachusetts Illinois Samuel B. Capen, Boston. Ralph Emerson, Rockford. G. Henry Whitcomb, Worcester. Rev. Edward M. Williams, Oak Park. Rev. John R. Thurston, Whitinsville. Rev. E. F. Williams, Chicago. Rev. Charles H. Daniels, So. Framingham. Edward H. Pitkin, Oak Park. Rev. James L. Barton, Newton Center. Rev. A. N. Hitchcock, Chicago. Rev. DeWitt S. Clark, Salem. Rev. Clarence A. Beckwith, Chicago. Charles A. Hopkins, Brookline. David Fales, Lake Forest. Frank H. Wiggin, Boston. Rev. Frank N. White, Chicago. Henry H. Proctor, Boston. Pres. Thomas McClelland, Galesburg. Rev. Cornelius H. Patton, Newton. Thomas C. MacMillan, Chicago. Francis O. Winslow, Norwood. Frank Kimball, Oak Park. Rev. William E. Strong, Newtonville. Rev. John C. Myers, Gridley. Rev. Albert P. Fitch, Boston. Pres. Graham Taylor, Chicago. Rev. George A. Hall, Brookline. Alfred S. Hall, Winchester. Michigan Arthur Perry, Boston. George Parsons, Watervliet. Rev. Archibald Hadden, Muskegon. Connecticut George N. Stray, Ludington. Rev. Edward N. Packard, Stratford. C. B. Stowell, Hudson. John H. Perry, Southport. Rev. Carl S. Patton, Ann Arbor. Rev. William W. McLane, New Haven. Rev. James W. Bixler, New London. Wisconsin Rev. Frank D. Sargent, Putnam. Pres. Edward D. Eaton, Beloit. Rev. Henry C. Woodruff, Bridgeport. John M. Whitehead, Janesville. Rev. Eugene G. Updike, Madison. N ew York Orrin H. Ingram, Eau Claire. Rev. Henry A. Stimson, New York City. C. S. Kitchel, Milwaukee. Rev. Charles C. Creegan, New York City. Rev. Judson Titsworth, Milwaukee. Charles A.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • This Is a Complete Transcript of the Oral History Interview with Mary Goforth Moynan (CN 189, T3) for the Billy Graham Center Archives
    This is a complete transcript of the oral history interview with Mary Goforth Moynan (CN 189, T3) for the Billy Graham Center Archives. No spoken words which were recorded are omitted. In a very few cases, the transcribers could not understand what was said, in which case [unclear] was inserted. Also, grunts and verbal hesitations such as “ah” or “um” are usually omitted. Readers of this transcript should remember that this is a transcript of spoken English, which follows a different rhythm and even rule than written English. Three dots indicate an interruption or break in the train of thought within the sentence of the speaker. Four dots indicate what the transcriber believes to be the end of an incomplete sentence. ( ) Word in parentheses are asides made by the speaker. [ ] Words in brackets are comments made by the transcriber. This transcript was created by Kate Baisley, Janyce H. Nasgowitz, and Paul Ericksen and was completed in April 2000. Please note: This oral history interview expresses the personal memories and opinions of the interviewee and does not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Billy Graham Center Archives or Wheaton College. © 2017. The Billy Graham Center Archives. All rights reserved. This transcript may be reused with the following publication credit: Used by permission of the Billy Graham Center Archives, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. BGC Archives CN 189, T3 Transcript - Page 2 Collection 189, T3. Oral history interview with Mary Goforth Moynan by Robert Van Gorder (and for a later portion of the recording by an unidentified woman, perhaps Van Gorder=s wife), recorded between March and June 1980.
    [Show full text]
  • Pacific Islands Program
    / '", ... it PACIFIC ISLANDS PROGRAM ! University of Hawaii j Miscellaneous Work Papers 1974:1 . BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE MATERIALS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII, MANOA CAMPUS Second Printing, 1979 Photocopy, Summer 1986 ,i ~ Foreword Each year the Pacific Islands Program plans to duplicate inexpensively a few work papers whose contents appear to justify a wider distribution than that of classroom contact or intra-University circulation. For the most part, they will consist of student papers submitted in academic courses and which, in their respective ways, represent a contribution to existing knowledge of the Pacific. Their subjects will be as varied as is the multi-disciplinary interests of the Program and the wealth of cooperation received from the many Pacific-interested members of the University faculty and the cooperating com­ munity. Pacific Islands Program Room 5, George Hall Annex 8 University of Hawaii • PRELIMINARY / BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE MATERIALS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII, MANOA CAMPUS Compiled by Nancy Jane Morris Verna H. F. Young Kehau Kahapea Velda Yamanaka , . • Revised 1974 Second Printing, 1979 PREFACE The Hawaiian Collection of the University of Hawaii Library is perhaps the world's largest, numbering more than 50,000 volumes. As students of the Hawaiian language, we have a particular interest in the Hawaiian language texts in the Collection. Up to now, however, there has been no single master list or file through which to gain access to all the Hawaiian language materials. This is an attempt to provide such list. We culled the bibliographical information from the Hawaiian Collection Catalog and the Library she1flists. We attempted to gather together all available materials in the Hawaiian language, on all subjects, whether imprinted on paper or microfilm, on tape or phonodisc.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline of Great Missionaries
    Timeline of Great Missionaries (and a few other well-known historical and church figures and events) Prepared by Doug Nichols, Action International Ministries August 12, 2008 Dates Name Ministry/Place of Ministry 70-155/160 Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna 354-430 Aurelius Augustine Bishop of Hippo (Africa) 1235-1315 Raymon Lull Scholar and missionary (North Africa) 1320-1384 John Wyclif Morning Star of Reformation 1373-1475 John Hus Reformer 1483-1546 Martin Luther Reformation (Germany) 1494-1536 William Tyndale Bible Translator (England) 1509-1564 John Calvin Theologian/Reformation 1513-1573 John Knox Scottish Reformer 1517 Ninety-Five Theses (nailed) Martin Luther 1605-1690 John Eliot To North American Indians 1615-1691 Richard Baxter Puritan Pastor (England) 1628-1688 John Bunyan Pilgrim’s Progress (England) 1662-1714 Matthew Henry Pastor and Bible Commentator (England) 1700-1769 Nicholaus Ludwig Zinzendorf Moravian Church Founder 1703-1758 Jonathan Edwards Theologian (America) 1703-1791 John Wesley Methodist Founder (England) 1714-1770 George Whitefield Preacher of Great Awakening 1718-1747 David Brainerd To North American Indians 1725-1760 The Great Awakening 1759-1833 William Wilberforce Abolition (England) 1761-1834 William Carey Pioneer Missionary to India 1766-1838 Christmas Evans Wales 1768-1837 Joshua Marshman Bible Translation, founded boarding schools (India) 1769-1823 William Ward Leader of the British Baptist mission (India) 1773-1828 Rev. George Liele Jamaica – One of first American (African American) missionaries 1780-1845
    [Show full text]
  • Kiribati Titles from the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau Collection
    Kiribati titles from the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau collection Compiled April 2015 Short titles and some notes only. See PMB on-line database catalogue at http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/pambu/catalogue/ for information sheets and detailed reel lists. PMB Manuscript series of Microfilms AU PMB MS 09 Title: Tapu: a tale of adventure in the South Seas (a novel) Date(s): After 1894 (Creation) Moors, Harry J. Extent and medium: 1 reel; 35mm microfilm Description: Harry J. Moors (1854-1926) was born in Detroit and died in Apia, Western Samoa. As an agent for the Hawaiian Board of Immigration, he made several voyages to the Gilbert Islands and Marshall Islands around 1880 to recruit labourers for Hawaii's sugar plantations. In 1883, he settled in Apia, Western Samoa, and became a successful trader and planter. Moors was closely associated with Robert Louis Stevenson during the novelist's five years (1889-1894) in Samoa and in 1910 he published a book of reminiscences entitled With Stevenson in Samoa. Moors stated in that book that Stevenson had once urged him to write down some of the 'wonderful stories' he had related to Stevenson about his early career. Moors acted on this encouragement, and after Stevenson died, he wrote two novels, of which Tapu: A Tale of Adventure in the South Seas is one. Neither of the novels was published. See also the Bureau's newsletter <1>Pambu, September 1968:4. The novel is based on Moors' experiences in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands as a labour recruiter for the Hawaiian Board of Immigration.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bible in the Life and Work of Prominent Missionaries of the Far
    This material has been provided by Asbury Theological Seminary in good faith of following ethical procedures in its production and end use. The Copyright law of the united States (title 17, United States code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyright material. Under certain condition specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to finish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. By using this material, you are consenting to abide by this copyright policy. Any duplication, reproduction, or modification of this material without express written consent from Asbury Theological Seminary and/or the original publisher is prohibited. Contact B.L. Fisher Library Asbury Theological Seminary 204 N. Lexington Ave. Wilmore, KY 40390 B.L. Fisher Library’s Digital Content place.asburyseminary.edu Asbury Theological Seminary 205 North Lexington Avenue 800.2ASBURY Wilmore, Kentucky 40390 asburyseminary.edu THE BIBLE IN Tm LIFE AND WORK OP PROMINENT MISSIONARIES OP THR PAR EAST A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Divinity by Jerry V. Cols ten December 1955 A THESIS Submitted to Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • A Brief Survey of Missions
    2 A Brief Survey of Missions A BRIEF SURVEY OF MISSIONS Examining the Founding, Extension, and Continuing Work of Telling the Good News, Nurturing Converts, and Planting Churches Rev. Morris McDonald, D.D. Field Representative of the Presbyterian Missionary Union an agency of the Bible Presbyterian Church, USA P O Box 160070 Nashville, TN, 37216 Email: [email protected] Ph: 615-228-4465 Far Eastern Bible College Press Singapore, 1999 3 A Brief Survey of Missions © 1999 by Morris McDonald Photos and certain quotations from 18th and 19th century missionaries taken from JERUSALEM TO IRIAN JAYA by Ruth Tucker, copyright 1983, the Zondervan Corporation. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI Published by Far Eastern Bible College Press 9A Gilstead Road, Singapore 309063 Republic of Singapore ISBN: 981-04-1458-7 Cover Design by Charles Seet. 4 A Brief Survey of Missions Preface This brief yet comprehensive survey of Missions, from the day sin came into the world to its whirling now head on into the Third Millennium is a text book prepared specially by Dr Morris McDonald for Far Eastern Bible College. It is used for instruction of her students at the annual Vacation Bible College, 1999. Dr Morris McDonald, being the Director of the Presbyterian Missionary Union of the Bible Presbyterian Church, USA, is well qualified to write this book. It serves also as a ready handbook to pastors, teachers and missionaries, and all who have an interest in missions. May the reading of this book by the general Christian public stir up both old and young, man and woman, to play some part in hastening the preaching of the Gospel to the ends of the earth before the return of our Saviour (Matthew 24:14) Even so, come Lord Jesus Timothy Tow O Zion, Haste O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling, to tell to all the world that God is Light; that He who made all nations is not willing one soul should perish, lost in shades of night.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Missionary Force Mission from the Majority World
    Vol. 11 No. 3 September–December 2016 The New Missionary Force Mission from the Majority World MCI(P)181/03/20161 Contents Mission Round Table Vol. 11 No. 3 September–December 2016 03 Editorial – Walter McConnell 04 Partnering with the Majority World in the Global Paradigm – Eldon Porter 10 The Challenge and Opportunity of Urban Ministry in China – H. P. 21 Indigenous Mission Movements in China – Steve Z. 33 Partnership with the Global Church: Implications for the Global East – An Interview with Patrick Fung 36 With Bethel in Manchuria – Leslie T. Lyall Cover Photo: The cover photos illustrate just how international mission has become. The first photo shows OMF members at the Central Thailand Field Conference in 1958. Contrast this with the second photo taken at a recent OMF Field Conference held in Thailand and it becomes clear how global OMF has become. Five continents and more than seventeen countries were represented. Nations included Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, The Netherlands, The Philippines, Uruguay, UK, and USA. Also noticeable is an increasing number of ethnic Asians joining from non-Asian countries. Archive photo source: The Millions (March 1958): 27. Photo Credits: Donations: Download: WEA p. 3, Walter McConnell If you would like to contribute to the work PDF versions of Mission Round Table can be of Mission Round Table, donations can be downloaded from www.omf.org/mrt. made to OMF International and earmarked for “Mission Round Table project.” The editorial content of Mission Round Table reflects the opinions of the various authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the views of OMF International (IHQ) Ltd.
    [Show full text]
  • "By My Spirit"
    "BY MY SPIRIT" BY THE REV. JONATHAN GOFORTH, D.D. MARSHALL, MORGAN & SCOTT, LTD. l..oNDON AND EDINBURGH Printed in Great Britain by Hunt, Barnard & Co., Ltd~, London and Aylesbury, PREFACE A MISSIONARY of the Canadian Presbyterian Church, Dr. Jonathan Goforth, has, for a long period of years, been stationed in Manchuria, China, and during his ministry there has been wonderfully used of God, not only in declaring the incomparable message of a Saviour's redeeming love, but also in the inauguration of Revival movements which have brought rich and abiding blessing upon the Church and its members. For a number of years p1essure has been brought to bear upon him to write an account of his Revival experiences in the hope that these might have a message for the whole Church of Christ and point the way to that spiritual quicken­ ing of which it is so much in need . But while realising the importance of making known to all the world the great things which the Lord has done for His people· in China, Dr. Goforth has felt that the preaching of the Gospel had first claim upon his time, and to that urgent task he devoted himself with a zeal and an energy that left no opportunity for other pursuits. Recently, 1'owever, a change of circumstances gave to him the opening for which he had been waiting. Laid aside from preaching for several months, and having his youngest son, Frederick, with him on a visit, he PREFACE dictated to him the substance of this volume, and thus at last the thrilling record of the mighty move­ ments of the Holy Spirit has been prepared for press.
    [Show full text]
  • Sybil's Bones, a Chronicle of the Three Hiram Binghams
    Sybil's Bones, a Chronicle of the Three Hiram Binghams Alfred M. Bingham I first heard about Sybil when my father took me to see her grave in the old New Haven City Burial Ground. The Grove Street Cemetery, as it was commonly called, was not far from the Yale College Chapel, where our family went on Sundays, so I suppose that it was after a service that my father walked us over to see where his grandfather and grandmother were buried. My father was not a religious man, but, as a College professor, at a time when attendance at chapel services was compulsory for all students, he may well have felt it incumbent on him, a supporter of the establishment, to attend Sunday services, when he was not off exploring in Peru, and he would have had an uneasy conscience if he had not given me and my brothers at least a grounding in the religion of his missionary ancestors. Moreover, the College invited the country's most prominent preachers, without much regard for doctrinal or denominational purity, to its pulpit, so his own skeptical theism was not offended. And he must have enjoyed the prominence of the family pew at the front of the faculty section, where his six-foot-four-inch frame, flanked by my mother and several small boys, was visible to the whole student body. It would have been a five-minute walk from the Battell Chapel steps on College Street, with its slowly melting group of departing worshipers, to the Cemetery. The setting today is unchanged from what it was then, sixty years ago.
    [Show full text]
  • Punahou School
    Resolved: That the foundation of this institution be laid with faith in God, relying upon His great and precious promises to believing parents in behalf of their children, commending it to His care and love from its commencement, and looking to Him to build it up, cherish it, and make it a blessing to the church and the world. Resolution Passed at the General Meeting of the Sandwich Islands Mission, held from May 12, till June 8, 1841 – forming what later became known as Punahou School. Punahou School On July 11, 1842, fifteen children met for the first time at Punahou School. By the end of that first year, 34- children from the Sandwich Islands and Oregon missions were enrolled; only one over 12-years old. Today, Punahou is the oldest independent school west of the Mississippi River. With 3,750 students, it is the largest single-campus private school in America. All of its graduates go on to college, with over 90- percent going to the continent for further schooling. (Scott, Punahou) Let’s look at how it got there. The story of Punahou tracks its foundation, beginning in 1808, when young ʻŌpūkahaʻia, a native Hawaiian training under his uncle to be a kahuna (priest) at Hikiʻau Heiau in Kealakekua Bay, boarded a Western ship there and sailed to the continent. On board, he developed a friendship with a Christian sailor who, using the Bible, began teaching ʻŌpūkahaʻia how to read and write. Once landed, he traveled throughout New England and continued to learn and study. At that time, the US was swept by religious revivalism and many people were converted in the wake of the newly-born religious fervor.
    [Show full text]
  • Hiram Bingham III and the Decline in Missionary Fervor Char Miller Pomona College
    Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont Pomona Faculty Publications and Research Pomona Faculty Scholarship 1-1-1981 "The orW ld Creeps In": Hiram Bingham III and the Decline in Missionary Fervor Char Miller Pomona College Recommended Citation Miller, Char. “The orldW Creeps In: Hiram Bingham III and the Decline of Missionary Fervor,” Hawaiian Journal of History, 15, 1981, 80-99. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Pomona Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pomona Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. "The World Creeps In": Hiram Bingham III and the Decline in Missionary Fervor Char Miller We live in two different worlds of thought and my philosophy does not seem good to you because it has been born and nourished under different conditions. Hiram Bingham III to Hiram Bingham, Jr. 26 December 1899 On 4 November 1929, Senator Hiram Bingham of Connecticut became only the third member of the United States Senate to be censured by his colleagues. Bingham had placed Charles Eyanson, a paid clerk of the Connecticut Manufacturers Association, on the Senate payroll, and had brought Eyanson into secret Tariff Committee meetings. During those hearings, at Bingham's behest, Eyanson helped write those aspects of the Tariff Bill affecting the prospects of Connecticut industry. The conflict of interest was clear—and Senator George W. Norris, paragon of Progressive virtue, moved that his fellow Republican be reprimanded: RESOLVED, that the action of the Senator from Connecticut ..
    [Show full text]
  • Detailed Biography of Gale
    A BIOGRAPHY OF JAMES SCARTH GALE By Richard Rutt i i Scottish Canadian boy 1863 - 1884 Korean writers count James Scarth Gale as an Englishman, though his father was a Scot and his mother came of an American Dutch family. He regarded himself as a Canadian. The colophons of the books published under his name in Korea always describe him as English because Canadians were British subjects and the Korean and Japanese languages do not distinguish the English from the British. He died in England and his second wife was English; but his first wife was American and he worked most of his life for an American mission. The final touch to his cosmopolitanism was given by his student days in Paris, so that his fellow-missionary, William M. Baird, was to describe him in an early letter as 'half Scotch, half Dutch, half French, yet completely English, and somewhat "bohemian"'. His ancestry was solidly Scots and Presbyterian. His father, John George Gale, was born in 1819 at the Mill of Logie, by the foot of Mount Morven on Deeside. James's grandfather, oppressed by money worries, died soon after John's birth, leaving his wife, Jane Esson, in severe poverty. So in 1823 John's elder brother Alexander, having graduated from Marischal College, Aberdeen, went to Canada to join his uncle, Henry Esson, who was then a presbyterian minister in Montreal. Alexander also became a minister and was living near Montreal at Lachine when thirteen-year-old John and his mother and sisters joined him in 1832. James Gale was later to recall with pleasure that his father had crossed the ocean to live at a place called 'China', for Lachine was the name wistfully given to the place by the sixteenth-century Breton voyager Jacques Cartier when he was looking for a water route to the Orient and had his hopes finally dashed by the turbulent rapids of Hochelaga.
    [Show full text]