Churches and missions reading list
- Crockford's clerical directory : a directory of the clergy of the Church of England, the Church of Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church of Ireland. London: Church House Publishing, 1858 -
This is the first source to check for information on Anglican ministers, chaplains, and ordained missionaries in India and related territories. For over 150 years this directory has been the authoritative alphabetical listing of clergymen in the Anglican and related British episcopalian churches. Each edition provides the person's address at the time, plus a concise account of their education and career wherever in the world they served. Note that it does not include information on Anglican or Episcopalian ministers who were ordained outside of the United Kingdom unless they held office in the UK. The directory also includes a section listing the bishops of dioceses for the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Research libraries and larger public libraries will hold back issues of this invaluable directory, whether as printed volumes, microfiche or on CD-ROM. The 1868 edition is available online at Google Books
For clergy active prior to 1835 check The Clergy of the Church of England Database (CCEd)
If you require information on a person active between 1835 and 1858, or are unable to access Crockford's locally for the years you require, the Lambeth Palace Library will carry out lookups for specific individuals on request. Contact: The Librarian, Lambeth Palace Library, Lambeth Palace, London SE1 7JU, United Kingdom E-mail: lpl.staff@c-of-e.org.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 1400 Fax: +44 (0)20 7928 7932
Selected editions of Crockfords for years between 1868 and 1932 can be searched at Ancestry .co.uk. For lookups in the 1885 edition FIBIS Members may email the research co-ordinator at research@fibis.orgquoting their membership number.
- Hewson, Eileen
Moravian graveyards in India and Jamaica, 1755-1971. Wem: Kabristan Archives, 2007
This contains transcripts of memorials to Moravian missionaries who travelled from Herrnhut in Germany and settled in the remote Himalayan areas of Ladakh and Lahoul. The inscriptions for colleagues who went to Jamaica to establish schools and clinics for the slaves on that island are also included.
- Hough, James
The history of Christianity in India: from the commencement of the Christian Era. 5 vols. [Online version] London: Seeley and Burnside, 1839-1860
The Church of England minister James Hough was at one time a HEIC chaplain at Madras. His stated intention is to provide a purely factual account of the spread of Christianity in India. Hough's bias against Roman Catholics (having been criticized for calling them 'papists' he refers to them as 'romanists') is rather intrusive in the earlier volumes. Volume 1 and Volume 2 cover the history of the Syrian (founded by Thomas) and Roman Catholic churches up to 1800 in India. Volume 4 published in 1845 and Volume 5, which was edited by his son and released in 1860, cover the history of Protestant churches in India. As the endeavours of missionaries and church organisations included establishing orphanages and schools this title will be of much more general interest to the researcher than may at first be thought.
- Sykes, Marjorie
Quakers in India : a forgotten century. London: Allen & Unwin, 1980
A useful and readable introduction to the history of Friends involvement in India. The extent of their influence in so many spheres may surprise some readers. Quaker beliefs brought a different perspective to areas such as commerce (the first Friends-owned merchant ship to reach Calcutta in 1815 was 'armed' against the French with wooden, replica guns), journalism, education and politics. In covering the lives of these men and women (expatriate, Anglo-Indian and Indian), Sykes includes "missed opportunities and mis-steps", as well as the positives.