Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1881-04-25
SAMUEL A. PURDUE.
Return OF the Remark able Mexican
Missionary.

Samuel A. Purdie, the remarkable mis-
sionary from Matamoras, Mexico, is now
in the city, the guest of Charles F. Coffin.
He has been absent in his field of labor
for ten years, and is now here for the
purpose of meeting the Foreign Mission
airy Board of Indiana Yearly Meeting, to
consult with them about his future work.
Hewas at Friends Eighth-street church
meeting yesterday, and preached in the
morning very interesting discourse, in
which he made some illusions to his
work among those old Aztec, Spanish
and Mexican races, who have been under
the power and influence of RomanIsm
for centuries and had known but little or
nothing of Professionalism
Mr.. Purdie is q native of Columbus,
N. Y, and was brought up in the
Society of Friends. He is man in the
middle and prime of life, has wife
and three children, one their own and
two adopted. They were with him in
Mexico and have returned here with
him, and he and his family will remain
in the States until next fall, and after
the close of the next Indiana Yearly
Meeting they will go again to Matamora.
Previous to going to Mexico Mr.. Pur-
die was engaged in the service of his
church for five years in North Carolina,
but feeling a deep convection of duty to
go to Mexico as missionary, he laid the
subject before the Foreign Mission Board
of Indiana Yearly Meeting, in which
the late Timothy Harrison was an active
and Jealous worker, and who took
very deep interest in Mr.. Purdie an his
success in his new field of labor for
the Friends church. Arrangements
Of 1s7i '1 sRs1 bfd aa and in the spring
kindred and set out to seek a new home
among those whose spiritual lives were
hid in shadows and darkness with none
to teach them.
1t was providential accident that
compelled them to stop a. Matamora;
here they soon found the way opened for
work. In the first eight months they
succeeded in establishing a small church
with twenty members, and the publica-
ton of . small paper in the Spanish Ian
puage called the OiireB Branch Thework has
steadily grown to this time, and to sum up
they have monthly meeting of Friends
established with 100 members-wlth 20
members in another locality. They have
five intelligent, educated, Spanish minis
tiers, and one of these was former secre-
tary of one of the States; and most OF the
members are educated thinking
people. This is the first
church the Friends have established
among the old Latin races, except IN
France Another important feature OF
the work is the fact that the government
allows them to print text books for the
public schools which contain Protestant
views and principles, and these are hay
ing large sale, and are printed at the
Friends Printing House. of the First
Readers, ZOO copies are sold per month,
and the Olive Branch has now circula-
ton of 1000 monthly. And besides
this the books of the Bible are being
printed and circulated broadcast over the
land.
Mr.. Purdie has become thoroughly in
terested in his work, and naturalized, so
to speak, in his new home, and speaks
the Spanish better than his native tongue,
SO that he has found himself, more than
once, unconsciously, in his sermons and
prayers, here in the North, speaking In
the Spanish language.