Missionary

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The first Englishman in India

The Jesuit missionary, Father Thomas Stevens, or Stephens, (c1549-1619) has been generally accepted as the first Englishman to arrive in India. He had studied in Rome and, having sailed on a Portuguese ship, settled in Goa 1579. There he learned the local languages and taught Christian doctrine to the local people.

As his father was a prominent merchant in London the information he sent home no doubt generated a lot of interest and raised awareness of the trading advantages in the East. In fact, it was not that long after, in 1600, that the Queen eventually granted a charter to the East India Company.

Moreover it is also documented that in 1583 Stevens sent a letter in Latin to his brother in Paris which described his missionary methods. He lived in Goa for over 40 years producing works in local languages . His masterpiece was the Christian Purana , an epic poem based on the life of Jesus, written in the local Konkani dialect of Marathi. This was all the more ingenious as he had to adapt European script to embrace Indian language.

Charter Act 1813

Missionary activity in the areas of India controlled by the East India Company was finally permitted with the passing of the Charter Act 1813, sometimes called the East India Company Act 1813, as described from page 75 of The government of India; a brief historical survey of parliamentary legislation relating to India by Sir Courtenay Ilbert 1922 Archive.org. Before that it had been forbidden by the EIC, who did not wish to wish to interfere with the religious convictions of the Indians in case the Company’s trade was jeopardised.

Prior to 1813 the most significant European Protestant missionary activity had occurred in the Danish enclaves at Tranquebar and Serampore.

Missionary Societies of the 19th Century in India and their archives

Christian missionaries were usually sponsored in India by European organisations, such as the German Lutherans or missionary societies from the United Kingdom. Of the latter, there was a wide variety from non-denominational through to Scottish Presbyterians, the Church of England societies, the Baptists, and those who now come under the United Reform Church. The archives of these missionary bodies, often rich sources of names, careers, family details and correspondence, are accessible but variously held in libraries or other repositories depending on the society. The structures of societies differ widely, but most have an archivist, and he/she may be a useful first contact. Below are some 19th century missionary societies, giving for each its current name and location and where its archives are kept. Other Indian missionary sources which may provide useful background have been added.


Baptist Missionary Society

Present title: “BMS World Mission”
PO Box 49
129 Broadway
Didcot
Oxon OX11 8XA
Tel: (01235) 517700
Archives: Tel: (01235) 517626
E-mail: slinnell@bmsworldmission.org
BMS World Mission website

Initially consult Historical Society website:

Main Archive (Angus Library) is at:
Centre for Baptist History
Regent’s Park College
Pusey Lane
Oxford
OX1 2LB
Tel: (01865) 288142
Archivist: julian.lock@regents.ox.ac.uk
Centre for Baptist History and Heritage website


Church Missionary Society (CMS)

CMS
Watlington Road
Cowley
Oxford
OX4 6BZ
http://www.cms-uk.org
Tel: (01865) 787400;
Archivist E-mail: ken.osborne@cms-uk.org

Main Archives:
Special Collections
Main Library
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
Tel: (0121) 414 5838/39
E-mail: s.j.worrall@bham.ac.uk

Post-1960 Archives:
Crowther Centre at CMS
Oxford
Tel: (01865) 787400.


Church of Scotland missions

Foreign Mission Committee formed in 1824.
First missionary commissioned to India in 1829.
In 1843 the Church of Scotland missionaries in India, with once exception, broke away and joined the Free Church of Scotland.
In 1929 the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland merged and records were consolidated. The work in India had foreshadowed this union, with most congregations uniting to form the Presbyterian Church in India in 1903.


Contact details: “Church of Scotland World Mission Council”
121 George Street
Edinburgh EH2 4YN
Tel: (0131) 225 5722
E-mail: worldmission@cofscotland.org.uk
World Mission Council web pages

Eastern Himalayan Mission

Founded in 1870 by the Church of Scotland.
see Church of Scotland missions entry above for sources.


London Missionary Society (LMS)

Present title: “Council for World Mission”
CWM
Ipalo House
32-34 Great Peter Street
London SW1P 2DB
Tel: (020) 7222 4214
E-mail: council@cwmission.org.uk http://www.cwmission.org

Archives:
School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS)
The Library (LMS Archives)
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
Tel: (020) 7898 4180
E-mail: docenquiry@soas.ac.uk
http://www.soas.ac.uk/library


Methodist Missionary Society

Lance Martin
Library (Methodist Archives)
School of Oriental & African Studies
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
Tel: (020) 7898 4148
E-mail: lm37@soas.ac.uk
http://www.methodist.org.uk


Panjab Mission

Formed in 1857 by the Church of Scotland.
see Church of Scotland missions entry above for sources.


Santal Mission

Began in 1870 by the Free Church of Scotland.
see Church of Scotland missions entry above for sources.


Scottish Churches Mission

Formed in Calcutta in 1908 incorporating the local work of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church.
see Church of Scotland missions entry above for sources.


Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG)

Present title: “USPG – Anglicans in World Mission” http://www.uspg.org.uk
200 Great Dover Street
London SE1 4YB
Tel: (020) 7378 5678
E-mail: archive@uspg.org.uk

Pre-1965 Archives: Rhodes House Library
South Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3RG
Tel: (01865) 270908 or 270911
E-mail: rhodes.house.library@bodley.ox.ac.uk;

Post-1965 Archives are at USPG, London

United Reform Church

http://www.urc.org.uk

This modern title includes English Presbyterians and Congregationalists. The latter often served with the LMS.

Archives:
English Presbyterian’s at Westminster College
Cambridge
Tel: (01223) 741084

Congregationalists’ at SOAS (see LMS above). Further information from the United Reform Church History Society at Westminster College, Cambridge; Tel: (01223) 741084.

Other Indian Missionary Sources

Indian Institute Library

Department of Oriental Collections
Bodleian Library
Oxford
OX1 3BG
Tel: (01865) 277082
E-mail: indian.institute@bodley.ox.ac.uk or gillian.evison@bodley.ox.ac.uk
http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/bodley/library/rooms/iirr

Henry Martyn (Missionary) Centre

Librarian (Jane Gregory)
Henry Martyn Centre
Westminster College
Madingley Road
Cambridge
CB3 0AA
Tel: (01223) 741088
Librarian: 07973 965430
E-mail: jg230@cam.ac.uk
http://www.martynmission.cam.ac.uk

Royal Asiatic Society

Librarian (Kathy Lazenbatt)
Royal Asiatic Society
14 Stephenson Way
London
NW1 2HD
Tel: (020) 7388 4539 E-mail: library@royalasiaticsociety.org
http://www.royalasiaticsociety.org

Mundus

A web-based guide to more than four hundred collections of overseas missionary materials held in UK. http://www.mundus.ac.uk

Missionary family stories on the web

Schools

  • Church Missionaries’ Children’s Home. This school in England was run by the Church Missionary Society for the children of missionaries. It was founded in 1850 at Highbury, London and moved in 1887 to Limpsfield, Surrey. Further details in The history of the Church Missionary Society Volume 4, page 494 by Eugene Stock 1916 Archive.org. Between the period 1907-1916 the school became known as St Michael's Limpsfield. Opening in 1887 Archiseek.com. Postcard 1907 TheWeald.com. The England and Wales censuses show the children at the school at the census dates.

Historical Books Online

  • The History of Christianity in India: from the Commencement of the Christian Era by James Hough Volume 1, 1839 Volume 2, 1839 Volume 4, 1845 Volume 5, 1860
  • The Church Missionary Atlas- Church Missionary Society published 1862. Contains a section on India, with maps from page 21, including a section on the languages of India Also includes an Appendix of missionaries’ names, with some biographical details. Google Books
  • The Church in Madras : being the History of the Ecclesiastical and Missionary Action of the East India Company in the Presidency of Madras by Rev Frank Penny 1904 Archive.org
Volume 1 In the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Volume 2 1805 to 1835 Volume 3 1835 to 1861


Other External Links

These links mention missions from Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden , Norway and America.
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