Years ago, I discovered the family journal that has come down through my father's side of the family. It traces my ancestors through three generations of missionaries to India in the 19th century and on back to some Puritans who founded towns in Massachusetts. It's a fascinating journal and one that impressed upon me the spiritual heritage that I have received.
One of the main characters, if you will, of this journal is Augusta Dean. She's my triple great-grandmother. I wrote a bit about her story in the concluding chapter of Radical Womanhood. But just a few weeks ago, I discovered we have a photograph of her. This was a priceless discovery to me, which I'm sharing with you. Here's my tribute to her from my book:
I would like to take you back to those heady moments in the 19th century when women were being included in church life and social reform was a pressing matter. As the first wave of feminism was gaining momentum, there were small bands of Christians who looked at injustice, inequity, and poverty and decided to meet these problems head on with the gospel. They were Christians who went out as part of the first American missionary wave to other nations—sent by the fledgling organization, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM).
My ancestors were among them. At age 22, Amos Abbott and Anstice Wilson were married in Wilton, New Hampshire. He was a graduate of Andover Theological Seminary with an assignment to teach at a mission school in Amednugger, India. Eleven days after their wedding, they sailed for India. Their journey from Boston to Bombay required about four months of ocean travel through rough waters. A civil war was in progress when the Abbotts reached India, but they persevered.
For the next twenty years, the Abbotts ministered in India and raised six children. Anstice Abbott started a school for her children and the children of other missionaries, too. Eventually the family returned to America in order to provide their children with a good education and allow Amos to get a medical degree. While they were back home in the United States, Augusta met one of the students her father was tutoring in the Marathi Indian dialect—Samuel Dean. After a brief courtship, Samuel asked Augusta to join him in India to continue the family’s work. Just like her mother, Augusta was married and put out to sea in a matter of days. In those days, families said a final goodbye to each other, not knowing when or if they would see each other again. So her parents wished Augusta goodbye and sent their daughter back to India.
Samuel proved to be an effective preacher and church-planter. In addition to conducting regular preaching services and organizing new churches near his own home, Samuel often journeyed into the remote sections of India where people had never heard the name of Christ—and Augusta often went with him. Sometimes they camped for days, with snakes and bubonic plague an ever-present danger. Eventually this hard work wore down Samuel, and the family returned to America in 1867 so Samuel could recover his health. He went on to be a church-planter in Nebraska for the next dozen or so years before he died.
So in 1889, Augusta found herself a widow in a changing world. Many controversies were shaking the nation and the church, but Augusta decided to go back to India. She wanted to work with her sister, Annie, who ran a home for young widows. Because the girls would marry very young in India, many of the widows were practically children. Since the widows were considered disgraceful in India culture, these young girls were shunned by society and their own families. The home that Annie ran protected these widows, gave them a basic education, and schooled them in a marketable craft. The older widows who attained sufficient proficiency in reading were known as the “Bible Women”—a point of controversy in the Hindu culture.
The Dean and Abbott influence was felt in this section of India. When Augusta returned a second time to India, she was greeted shortly thereafter by an Indian man who had searched for her, hearing that the widow of the great preacher, Samuel Dean, was nearby. He wanted to tell her how fruitful Samuel’s preaching was that day, for now there were several churches in the region that sprung from his preaching. And he wanted to pay his respects to the widow of the great Samuel Dean.
August spent nearly five years working with the “Bible Women” there, before she returned home. In an age when transoceanic travel was hard work, she made the trip to India twice to face down Hindu intimidation and teach important life skills to abandoned widows.
Augusta was a very fruitful woman, spiritually. All of her children became Christians, and she left a rich spiritual heritage to them. She was a fearless helpmate to her husband, working with him to found churches in two nations. She ran her own home, educated many children (including her own), and still served women from another culture who were wrongfully discarded within their own society. Augusta’s letters indicate a bright, headstrong, and outspoken woman. She could have pushed through many things for herself, but she deferred to her husband’s gifting and helped him be as successful as possible.
I often wonder about her, my ancestor and sister in the Lord. She could have been influenced by first-wave feminism, but she chose another path. She saw inequity and injustice in India, and chose to meet that need through the gospel. She could have enjoyed her retirement in relative ease in the U.S., but she chose to give away her life to those who desperately needed it. And when she returned to India, she received the good news of the fruit of her co-labors with her husband. Together, they accomplished much—and by all accounts, stayed true to the glorious gospel.
It’s my joy to honor her memory. Augusta was truly a radical woman, whose feminine expression of faith stood the test of time in a feminist world.
My ancestors were among them. At age 22, Amos Abbott and Anstice Wilson were married in Wilton, New Hampshire. He was a graduate of Andover Theological Seminary with an assignment to teach at a mission school in Amednugger, India. Eleven days after their wedding, they sailed for India. Their journey from Boston to Bombay required about four months of ocean travel through rough waters. A civil war was in progress when the Abbotts reached India, but they persevered.
For the next twenty years, the Abbotts ministered in India and raised six children. Anstice Abbott started a school for her children and the children of other missionaries, too. Eventually the family returned to America in order to provide their children with a good education and allow Amos to get a medical degree. While they were back home in the United States, Augusta met one of the students her father was tutoring in the Marathi Indian dialect—Samuel Dean. After a brief courtship, Samuel asked Augusta to join him in India to continue the family’s work. Just like her mother, Augusta was married and put out to sea in a matter of days. In those days, families said a final goodbye to each other, not knowing when or if they would see each other again. So her parents wished Augusta goodbye and sent their daughter back to India.
Samuel proved to be an effective preacher and church-planter. In addition to conducting regular preaching services and organizing new churches near his own home, Samuel often journeyed into the remote sections of India where people had never heard the name of Christ—and Augusta often went with him. Sometimes they camped for days, with snakes and bubonic plague an ever-present danger. Eventually this hard work wore down Samuel, and the family returned to America in 1867 so Samuel could recover his health. He went on to be a church-planter in Nebraska for the next dozen or so years before he died.
So in 1889, Augusta found herself a widow in a changing world. Many controversies were shaking the nation and the church, but Augusta decided to go back to India. She wanted to work with her sister, Annie, who ran a home for young widows. Because the girls would marry very young in India, many of the widows were practically children. Since the widows were considered disgraceful in India culture, these young girls were shunned by society and their own families. The home that Annie ran protected these widows, gave them a basic education, and schooled them in a marketable craft. The older widows who attained sufficient proficiency in reading were known as the “Bible Women”—a point of controversy in the Hindu culture.
The Dean and Abbott influence was felt in this section of India. When Augusta returned a second time to India, she was greeted shortly thereafter by an Indian man who had searched for her, hearing that the widow of the great preacher, Samuel Dean, was nearby. He wanted to tell her how fruitful Samuel’s preaching was that day, for now there were several churches in the region that sprung from his preaching. And he wanted to pay his respects to the widow of the great Samuel Dean.
August spent nearly five years working with the “Bible Women” there, before she returned home. In an age when transoceanic travel was hard work, she made the trip to India twice to face down Hindu intimidation and teach important life skills to abandoned widows.
Augusta was a very fruitful woman, spiritually. All of her children became Christians, and she left a rich spiritual heritage to them. She was a fearless helpmate to her husband, working with him to found churches in two nations. She ran her own home, educated many children (including her own), and still served women from another culture who were wrongfully discarded within their own society. Augusta’s letters indicate a bright, headstrong, and outspoken woman. She could have pushed through many things for herself, but she deferred to her husband’s gifting and helped him be as successful as possible.
I often wonder about her, my ancestor and sister in the Lord. She could have been influenced by first-wave feminism, but she chose another path. She saw inequity and injustice in India, and chose to meet that need through the gospel. She could have enjoyed her retirement in relative ease in the U.S., but she chose to give away her life to those who desperately needed it. And when she returned to India, she received the good news of the fruit of her co-labors with her husband. Together, they accomplished much—and by all accounts, stayed true to the glorious gospel.
It’s my joy to honor her memory. Augusta was truly a radical woman, whose feminine expression of faith stood the test of time in a feminist world.
It's always a blessing when you can find some family history.
My real fascination with this post is,.........where in Nebraska were churches planted by Samuel Dean?
Nebraska native.
Posted by: Fritz | October 29, 2008 at 04:27 PM
What a wonderful story -- and wonderful heritage of faith and faithfulness.
Posted by: EM | October 29, 2008 at 09:56 PM
That is a stunning and rich story. What an example of Christ in these men and women.
Like Fritz, I want to know where in Nebraska Samuel planted churches.
Another Nebraska native.
Posted by: Keturah | October 30, 2008 at 08:31 AM
Hi Carolyn,
It's so interesting that you posted this yesterday. After running into lots of obstables with the whole ecofeminism thing I have change the direction of my thesis research and am now focusing on the role of women in the early Southern Baptist missions movement. I'm finding so much cool stuff and it's so neat to know that your great great great grandmother was part of that whole movement!
Blessings,
Marci
Posted by: Marci | October 30, 2008 at 10:10 AM
Good questions, friends! I don't know where these churches were planted in Nebraska. I'm sure it's in the family journal, but I'll have to wait until I next get my hands on it to look up this information. Much appreciate your interest, though!
Posted by: Carolyn McCulley | October 30, 2008 at 06:06 PM
Thanks so much for sharing your family history.
My own Mom and Dad gave their lives in the Lord's service, and I am writing up their memoirs. I was a widow with a small son when my parents were serving in Hong Kong. They were about to come back to the states when my Dad contracted leukemia. So their return to the states was in order for my Dad to go to be with the Lord. He was on a ventilator for the last few days of his life, but he was able to write his last thought for my Mom. "I am rejoicing", he wrote. My Mom went back to hong Kong periodically, and I still have communication with some of their "Chinese children". Unfortunately, my Mom got Alzheimers about 7 years before her death so her autobiography has some holes in it. Urge your readers to be proactive about collecting information on living relatives.
It is so important to pass it on to others. We constantly hear about people such as Judson, Mueller and even Harriet Beecher as if they were the only people who ever gave their whole lives to the Lord. In reality, that is how we all should live. There are examples and mentors all around us if we would just open our eyes.
SN
Posted by: susan neely | October 31, 2008 at 09:22 AM
As a single widow in that era, traveling to India and living and ministering there as a missionary, she WAS a feminist for her times. She went against all traditional cultural and moral values in her decision. I thank God for these women who continue to buck traditional Christian expectations for women and leave home to serve God alone in foreign countries.
Posted by: Jael | October 31, 2008 at 02:29 PM