Mrs. E.H. Gates, Mrs. J.I. Tay, E.H. Gates, J.I. Tay, and A.J. Cudney Photo courtesy of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Archives.

Gates, Edward Harmon (1855–1940)

MILTON HOOK

Milton Hook, Ed.D. (Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, the United States). Hook retired in 1997 as a minister in the Greater Sydney Conference, Australia. An Australian by birth Hook has served the Church as a teacher at the elementary, academy and college levels, a missionary in Papua New Guinea, and as a local church pastor. In retirement he is a conjoint senior lecturer at Avondale College of Higher Education. He has authoredFlames Over Battle Creek, Avondale: Experiment on the Dora, Desmond Ford: Reformist Theologian, Gospel Revivalist, the Seventh-day Adventist Heritage Series, and many magazine articles. He is married to Noeleen and has two sons and three grandchildren.

Edward H. Gates was a prominent leader in early Seventh-day Adventist mission work in the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. Early Life and Ministry Edward Harmon Gates was born on April 1, 1855, in the rural village of Munson, east of Cleveland, Ohio. He joined the Seventh-day Adventist church when he was approximately nineteen years of age as a result of reading various tracts and the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. He began preaching in Ohio and was ordained in 1879. To improve his understanding of Scripture he attended Battle Creek College1 where he met Ida Ellen Sharpe.2 They married in Battle Creek on February 22, 1881, Uriah Smith conducting the service.3 On completion of his studies Gates resumed his service with the Ohio Conference and was elected president of the Ohio Sabbath School Association with Ida elected as secretary.4 In 1883 he served in the role of president of the Ohio Tract and Missionary Society.5 He then worked as a pastor in three different localities, Clyde (1884-1885),6 Columbus (1886)7 and Toledo (1887).8 From 1888 to 1890 Gates served as president of the Colorado Conference.9 In this capacity he was the sole Colorado delegate representing the 316 members of his conference at the 1889 General Conference Session. At that session he was elected superintendent of District 5 comprising Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico and Wyoming, and as such an ex-officio member of the General Conference Executive Committee.10 In the South Seas In July 1890 the Foreign Mission Board at church headquarters selected Gates as the man with organizational abilities to spearhead the activities of a group of missionaries who would sail to the South Pacific aboard the “Pitcairn.” 11 Three couples, the Gates’, Albert and Hattie Read, and John and Hannah Tay departed from the San Francisco Bay on October 20, 1890. Only John Tay had any tested aptitude for seafaring. The vessel arrived safely at Pitcairn Island on November 25. After Tay’s earlier visit with them and his promise to return the Pitcairners were delighted to see him again. The missionaries stayed for three weeks, Gates and Read baptizing eighty-two islanders and organizing them into a functioning church.12 Leaving Pitcairn Island the missionaries sailed west to Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea and Huahine Islands, selling books to Europeans at each landing.13 The group pressed on to Rurutu Island then Mangaia, Rarotonga and Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, followed by American Samoa and Apia, the capital of Samoa, selling many more books.14 Their next stop was the kingdom of Tonga, canvassing in the Vava’u, Ha’apai and Tongatapu groups.15 Reaching Fiji the group separated, the Reads and Tays left to canvass Ovalau Island and the Gates going on to Vanua Levu and Taviuni Islands. The Tays remained in Fiji16 and the “Pitcairn” then proceeded to Norfolk Island where the Reads located for a few months.17 The “Pitcairn” continued to Auckland, New Zealand, where it was re-fitted as a brigantine. During the interval Gates and his wife sailed to Melbourne, Australia18 and then travelled to Adelaide19 and south to Tasmania, fulfilling speaking appointments.20 They were the first live missionaries the church members had seen and all were thrilled to hear of their epic voyage. Returning to Napier21 and then Auckland they readied to board the “Pitcairn” again and sail to Pitcairn Island.22 The little vessel departed Auckland for home on June 27, 1892, reaching Pitcairn Island July 31. Gates was not enjoying robust health, the travelling, canvassing and speaking appointments taking their toll. Recuperation while ministering to the islanders was overdue.23 Gates and his wife remained on Pitcairn Island for approximately eighteen months. During that time typhoid fever was contracted from a group of rescued sailors and it spread among the islanders, taking the lives of twelve individuals. Edward and Ida did their best to nurse the sick, but the experience brought them great anguish as they witnessed the loss of life. Edward yearned for their return to California where they planned to admit themselves to the Rural Health Retreat in St. Helena.24 On the “Pitcairn’s” second voyage, during its return trip, the Gates joined the vessel and arrived back in San Francisco on March 31, 1894.25 Australasian Mission Department Superintendent Edward and Ida slowly regained their health. When plans were being made in 1898 for a final supply run with the “Pitcairn,” Edward was asked to lead the group once again. He hesitated but finally agreed, specifying certain conditions. Those requests were not recorded but subsequent events suggest they included sailing only as far as Fiji to deliver a marquee to J.E. Fulton and then boarding a steamer to Australia from where he would direct mission activities. Ida would sail separately by steamer later. The Foreign Mission Board agreed to the conditions and nominated Gates as superintendent of the Polynesian Mission field and gave him $500 for the ship’s expenses.26 The vessel departed San Francisco on January 23, 1899, sailing via Pitcairn Island, Tahiti, Rarotonga, Samoa, Tongatapu and on to Fiji.27 He arrived in Australia in time to attend the Australasian Union Conference Session at Cooranbong, New South Wales, in July 1899.28 After the meetings he remained on campus at the Avondale School for Christian Workers, instructing trainee missionaries.29 Initially, Gates was instructed by the Foreign Mission Board30 but communication channels were slow and he soon found himself as superintendent of a new Mission Department under the auspices of the Australasian Union Conference.31 For a decade he travelled from his base in Australia to the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia, all countries included at the time in Australasia’s mission field. He made a trip across the Pacific Ocean as far as Tahiti in 1900, visiting established mission stations.32 In December 1901 he made an exploratory trip to Singapore via New Guinea33 and the Molucca Islands,34 thinking to capitalize on the work of some canvassers from America and India. On return in 1902 he, together with Ida and their friend from Ohio days, Hattie Andre, sailed to Norfolk Island to spend some months encouraging the young church in that outpost.35 Hearing of Robert Caldwell’s canvassing success in the Philippines, Gates made a trip in 1905 to assess possibilities of opening another station.36 He made a second trip in 1906 that included visits to missionaries in Sumatra and Singapore,37 extending to the Philippines to strengthen a newly established mission base.38 On his final voyage to Southeast Asia, in 1907, Ida accompanied him together with two female missionaries, one to be stationed in Java and another in Singapore.39 Edward and Ida remained in Singapore for a few months before returning to Australia where they located at the Sydney Sanitarium in order to be near church headquarters. Edward had been assigned a new role as a member of the Island Book Committee to specialize in the production of foreign language publications for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.40 His term as mission superintendent had seen the extension of missions in the Pacific region, including New Guinea, the establishment of a training school and printing press in Singapore, and the prolific production of Malay and Pacific Island literature.41 After working with the Island Book Committee for three years he served as president of the Victoria-Tasmania Conference (1912-1913).42 This position was followed by the presidency of the New South Wales Conference (1913- 1916).43 Retirement Edward and Ida returned to Oakland, California, in 1917.44 They spent most of their retirement years in Monrovia, east of Los Angeles, assisting in the local churches.45 In 1923, Edward published a book, In Coral Isles, about their overseas experiences. Finally, they moved to National City near Paradise Valley Sanitarium.46 Edward passed away in that institution on May 21, 1940.47 Ida was cared for by the nurses until her passing on March 12, 1946. They rest beside each other in a nearby Paradise Valley cemetery.48 They had no children.

SOURCES “A telegram from Oakland, California…” ARH, April 3, 1894. Daniells, A[rthur] G. “Auckland, New Zealand.” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, June 1, 1892. District of Michigan, Calhoun County. Marriage Certificates. Michigan Vital Records Office, Lansing. Michigan. “E.H. Gates of the missionary ship…” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, February 1, 1892. Foreign Mission Board Minutes. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland. Fulton, J[ohn] E. “Edward Harmon Gates.” ARH, June 27, 1940. Gates, E[dward] H. Gates, “Arrival in Manilla.” Union Conference Record, January 15, 1906. Gates, E[dward] H. “Beginnings in Singapore.” Union Conference Record, December 21, 1908. Gates, E[dward] H. “From the “Pitcairn.” ARH, October 20, 1891. Gates, E[dward] H. “From the “Pitcairn.” ARH, November 10, 1891. Gates, E[dward] H. “From the “Pitcairn.” ARH, December 15, 1891. Gates, E[dward] H. “From the “Pitcairn.” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, January 1, 1892. Gates, E[dward] H. In Coral Isles. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1923. Gates, E[dward] H. “Last Cruise of the Pitcairn.” Union Conference Record, July 12, 1899. Gates, E[dward] H. “Manilla, Philippine Islands.” Union Conference Record, January 28, 1907. Gates, E[dward] H. “News from the Pitcairn.” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, May 15, 1891. Gates, E[dward] H. “News from the Pitcairn.” ARH, May 12, 1891. Gates, E[dward] H. “News from the Pitcairn.” ARH, June 23, 1891. Gates, E[dward] H. “Ohio S.S. Association.” ARH, May 3, 1881. Gates, E[dward] H. “Report of the Mission Secretary.” Union Conference Record, September 7, 1908. Gates, E[dward] H. “Sickness and Death in Pitcairn, Island.” Bible Echo, April 23, 1894. Gates, E[dward] H. “The Island Work.” Union Conference Record, July 26, 1901. “Ida Ellen (Sharpe) Gates.” ARH, May 30, 1946. “Items of Interest.” Union Conference Record, November 1, 1899. Mc Cullagh, S[tephen]. “Notes from New Zealand,” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, May 15, 1892. “On October 1, Pastor Gates…” Union Conference Record, October 14, 1907. “Pastor E.H. Gates and wife…” Bible Echo, October 13, 1902. Read, A[lbert] J. “The Work in the Islands.” Bible Echo, December 1, 1892. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbooks. Battle Creek, Michigan: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing House, 1883-1886. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbooks. Battle Creek, Michigan: Review and Herald Publishing House, 1887-1890. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbooks. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1904-1940. “The Conference in Melbourne was followed…” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, January 15, 1892. “Visitors.” Union Conference Record, July 10, 1899.

NOTES 1. J[ohn] E. Fulton, “Edward Harmon Gates,” ARH, June 27, 1940, 23.? 2. Ida Ellen (Sharpe) Gates,” ARH, May 30, 1946, 20.? 3. District of Michigan, Calhoun County, Certificate of Marriage no. 4372 (1881), Michigan Vital Records Office, Lansing, Michigan.? 4. “Ohio S.S. Association,” ARH, September 30, 1880, 231; E[dward] H. Gates, “Ohio S.S. Association,” ARH, May 3, 1881, 282-283.? 5. “Ohio,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Michigan: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing House, 1883), 15.? 6. “Ohio,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Michigan: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing House, 1884), 21.? 7. “Ohio,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Michigan: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing House, 1886), 9.? 8. “Ohio,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Michigan: Review and Herald Publishing House, 1887), 8.? 9. “Colorado,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Michigan: Review and Herald Publishing House, 1889), 28; Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 2nd rev. ed. (1996), s.v. “Gates, Edward Harmon.”? 10. “General Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Battle Creek, Michigan: Review and Herald Publishing House, 1890), 19, 41-59.? 11. Foreign Mission Board Minutes, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, July 28, 1890.? 12. E[dward] H. Gates, “News from the Pitcairn,” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, May 15, 1892, 157-159.? 13. E[dward] H. Gates, “News from the Pitcairn,” ARH, May 12, 1891, 298.? 14. E[dward] H. Gates, “News from the Pitcairn,” ARH, June 23, 1891, 394.? 15. E[dward] H. Gates, “From the Pitcairn,” ARH, October 20, 1891, 646.? 16. E[dward] H. Gates, “From the Pitcairn,” ARH, November 10, 1891, 694.? 17. E[dward] H. Gates, “From the Pitcairn,” ARH, December 15, 1891, 774.? 18. E[dward] H. Gates, “From the Pitcairn,” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, January 1, 1892, 16.? 19. “The Conference in Melbourne was followed…” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, January 15, 1892, 32.? 20. “E.H. Gates of the missionary ship…” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, February 1, 1892, 48.? 21. S[tephen] McCullagh, “Notes from New Zealand,” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, May 15, 1892, 156.? 22. A[rthur] G. Daniells, “Auckland, New Zealand,” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, June 1, 1892, 176.? 23. A[lbert] J. Read, “The Work in the Islands,” Bible Echo, December 1, 1892, 364.? 24. E[dward] H. Gates, “Sickness and Death in Pitcairn Island,” Bible Echo, April 23, 1894, 126.? 25. “A telegram from Oakland, California…” ARH, April 3, 1894, 224.? 26. Foreign Mission Board Minutes, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, November 15, 1898, January 6, 1899.? 27. E[dward] H. Gates, “Last Cruise of the “Pitcairn,” Union Conference Record, July 12, 1899, 2-3.? 28. “Visitors,” Union Conference Record, July 10, 1899, 10.? 29. “Items of Interest,” Union Conference Record, November 1, 1899, 9.? 30. Foreign Mission Board Minutes, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, February 21, 1901.? 31. E.g., “Australasian Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1904), 80. ? 32. E[dward] H. Gates, “The Island Work,” Union Conference Record, July 26, 1901, 51-52.? 33. E[dward] H. Gates, “Beginnings in Singapore,” Union Conference Record, December 21, 1908, 5.? 34. E[dward] H. Gates, “Report of the Mission Secretary,” Union Conference Record, September 7, 1908, 4-5.? 35. “Pastor E.H. Gates and wife…” Bible Echo, October 13, 1902, 335.? 36. E[ward] H. Gates, “Arrival in Manilla,” Union Conference Record, January 15, 1906, 7.? 37. E[dward] H. Gates, “Report of the Mission Secretary,” Union Conference Record, September 7, 1908, 4-5.? 38. E[dward] H. Gates, “Manilla, Philippine Islands,” Union Conference Record, January 28, 1907, 3.? 39. “On October 1, Pastor Gates…” Union Conference Record, October 14, 1907, 7.? 40. E.g., “Australasian Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1909), 92-95.? 41. E[dward] H. Gates, “Report of the Mission Secretary,” Union Conference Record, September 7, 1908, 4-5.? 42. E.g., “Victoria-Tasmania Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1912), 95- 96.? 43. E.g., “New South Wales Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1914), 133.? 44. E.g., “Ministerial Directory,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1918), 275.? 45. E.g., “Ministerial Directory,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1935), 343.? 46. “Ministerial Directory,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1940), 389.? 47. J[ohn] E. Fulton, “Edward Harmon Gates,” ARH, June 27, 1940, 23.? 48. “Ida Ellen (Sharpe) Gates,” ARH, May 30, 1946, 20.?

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