Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-05-12

!: Rev. Robert Thomson, Samokov,
Bulgaria, whose picture is printed
above, is the missionary of the Amer
lean Board who is supported by the
Orleans county conference of Congre-
gational churches. 1t is proposed in
this article to explain the plan of his
support and to give some account of
him and of the missionary work in
Bulgaria. 1t is hoped next week to
furnish some extracts from letters
from Mr.. Thomson, descriptive of his
own work, and also picture of Mrs
Thomson and the children.
The conference voted to assume the
support of missionary, at it's annual
meeting last sumner, and afterwards
received from the Board the assign
ment of Mr.. Thomson and wife. In
taking the step the conference put
itself in line of the Forward Movement
of the denomination for more agrees
sive work for the evangeliz alton of
the world. 1t was proposed to raise
$3.50, which involved an apportion-
ment for each church on the basis of
of go cents per resident member. A
missionary secretary and committee
were appointed as follows: Secretary,
Rev. @. III. Morse, North Craftsbury;
committee, Rev. A. F. MacGregor and
Dea. @. F. Ranney, Newport, Rev. E.
P. Treat, Irasburg, and Rev. j. B.
Lyman, Barton Landing. AS the
enterprise was new, this committee
has held a number of meetings and
has carefully deliberated on every
step taken. The response of the pas
tors anG churches has been cordial,
and up to May 1 the contributions
amounted to 1922, with the promise of
several more contributions in a short
time. If all the churches shall send
their full apportionment, there will be
more than enough to make up the
balance due, since some extra sums
have been given. 1t is earnestly
hoped that the full amount may be
reported raised at the annual meeting
of the conference June and 4, so that
similar report may be made at the
state convention the week following.
The Orleans county conference is the
first in the denomination to undertake
the support of a missionary according
to the plan of the Forward Movement,
and it's success will be watched by
other conferences.
The Rev. Robert Thomson was born
in 1851 in Hass Kuey, Constantinople,
being the son of missionary in that
place. Thus in his early life he had
the advantages not only of a Christian
home but also of missionary training
and experience. His college educa-
ton was obtained in Edinburgh, Scot
land. the country of his fathers birth
His theological course was taken al
Union Theological Seminary, New
York City, where he graduated in
1881. He naturally turned to mission,
ary work in the country where his
father had labored. He was employed
for five years az secretary ant
accountant of Robert college, Con
stantinople, thus gaining still widel
preparation for missionary labor. HI
is now in charge of the Collegiate ant
Theological Institute in Samakov, one
of the principal missionary station
in Bulgaria. Before beginning mis-
sionary work he was married to Mis-
Turner of Dundee, Scotland. The.
now have family of two boys ant
three girls.
The Bulgarians are for the mos
part descendants of the ancient Slavi
race, to which belong also the Rus
slams, Poles and Bohemians, Nea
the beginning Of the Chris tian err
some Slavic tribes migrated iron
central Russia southwark across tn
Danube and settled in the Balkan
, peninsula. They became compactet