The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-09-27
WORK OF AMERICAN BOARD
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FAMOUS
MISSIONARY ORGANIZATION.


clearinghouse Missionary Effort
Growth from Decade to Decade,
Vice President e. w. Blatchford of the
American Board of Foreign Missions
announces that he will decline re-elec-
ton as vice president at the approach
ing meeting of the board in New Haven,
October 1915, his intention having been
communicated to the prudential COM
mittee some months since. His reasons
are similar to those of the Rev. Richard
S. Storrs, D. D., LID, of Brooklyn, in
declining the presidency. He states
that he has retained the vice presidency
at the urgent request of DR.. Storrs. He
wishes to give the board freedom in
the distribution of the two offices be-
tween the east and the west and pre-
1iminary opportunity to canvass names
for both offices. Mr.. Blatchford resides
in Chicago.
The American Board was organized at
Bradford, Massachusetts, June 20, 1910.
Prior to this, few local societies had
been formed in New England with spe-
cial reference to the needs Of the neg
lected portions of our own country, in
Guiding the Indian tribes; but no at
tempt had been made to send mis-
sionary from America to any foreign
land.
Samuel J. Mills, born April q, 1888,
entered Williams college in 1906 and
sought to awaken an interest In mis-
sions. During that first year memoir
able missionary prayer meeting was
held by the students under the shelter
of haystack, to which they were
driven by rain. The haystack has been
called the Birthplace of American Mis-
sions." Two years later QSOS), socl-
ETY. was formed in the college.
Mills, Gordon Hall, and James Rich
ards went to Andover seminary and
there met Samuel Newell Adoniram
Judson, and Samuel Mott, jr, who We're
all Of the same mind as to missions.
After consulting with their professors
at Andover, and others, particularly
with DR.. Samuel Spring of Newbury-
port, and Rev. Samuel Worcester of
Salem, Mills, Newell, Mott, and Judson
presented their request to the General
Association Of Massachusetts, which
that year C810) met at Bradford. The
association commended the motives and
plans of the young men, and under the
lead of Messrs. Spring of Worcester Or
gained the American Board for pro-
noting the spread of the gospel in
heather lands Nine commissioners
were chosen, five from Massachusetts
and four from Connecticut. Two years
later a charter was obtained from the
state of Massachusetts,.
The first annual meeting was held at
Pennington, Conn, September 5, 1910.
Five commissioners were present, with
an audience of one person. A pruden-
tial committee of three was chosen. Rev.
Samuel Worcester was chosen secretary,
which office he held for several years
in connection with his pastorate at
Salem. Until 1916 the prudential COM
mittee met from two to six times year,
as occasion might arise, at Hartford,
Boston, Newburyport, Salem, Andover,
or Charlestown. In 1916 they began to
meet quarterly. The receipts for the
first year amounted to $999.52, and, as
there was no prospect of securing suffi-
cient funds to support the applicants
for missionary service, Adoniram Judson
was dispatched to England in January,
1911 to confer with the officers of the
London Missionary society Established
1850 in reference to joint support and
direction of American missionaries. The
proposal was courteously declined.
The same year G81D, jeremiah Evarts
was chosen treasurer, and the fact was
made public that Mrs. Mary Norris of
Salem had bequeathed $4,000 for foreign
missions. The board resolved to send
out Judson, Mott, Newell, and Hall, to
ablish mission in Asia. On the
sixth Of February, 1912, these four men
and Luther Rice were ordained in the
Tabernacle church, Salem. Judson and
Newell, with their wives, sailed from
Salem, February 10; the other three,
with the wife of Mott, from Phladel-
pha, a few days later. Reaching Cal
cutta, June II, 1912, Messrs. Judson and
Newell were ordered home by the Brit
ish East India company, on the ground
that their commercial interests would be
jeopardized by an attempt to interfere
with the religious faith of the Hindus.
They went to the Isle Of France, where
Mrs. Harriet Newell died, November 80
Her spirit of conservation and her early
death produced a profound impression,
and served to awaken a deep interest
in missions. During this same year
Messrs. Judson and Rice changed their
views on the subject Of baptism, the
former going to Burma and commenc-
ing Baptist mission there. This event
led to the formation of the American
Baptist Missionary union in May, 1914.
Messrs. Hall and Mott, driven from Cal
cutta, reached Bombay February II,
1873 and, after negotiations extending
over many months, permission was
given them, December %, 1913, to re-
main, and thus, among the Marathas Of
Western India, the first mission of the
American Board in foreign lands was
established. The Ceylon Mission was
begun in 1916, in the northern island of
Jaffna, on the arrival of Daniel Poor
and four associates During the same
year a foreign mission school was es-
tablished at Cornwall Conn, with the
design of educating heather youth in
this country plan which was aban-
doned IN 1926. Mission stations were
also opened among the Indian and in
the Sandwich Islands.
In 1910 the receipts of the Board were
s241, 691.04 The total receipts for the
decade amounted to s1,843, 422.S1.
At the close of this decade the board
had 25 missions, 8 of them among In
dian tribes of North America. There
were 1874 ordained missionaries, 10 ply