Abbie Goodrich Chapin Explained

Abbie Goodrich Chapin
Birth Date:April 2, 1868
Birth Place:Tongzhou, China
Death Date:July 24, 1956
Death Place:Glendale, California
Occupation:Missionary

Abbie Goodrich Chapin RRC (April 2, 1868 – July 24, 1956) was an American missionary in China. In 1901 she became the first American decorated with the Royal Red Cross, for services rendered at Peking's International Hospital during the Boxer Rebellion.

Early life and education

Abbie Goodrich Chapin was born in Tongzhou, China,[1] the daughter of Lyman Dwight Chapin and Clara Labaree Evans Chapin. Her parents were American missionaries in China; her father was an ordained minister, and her mother was a teacher.[2] Her brothers Dwight and Edward were also a missionaries in China; both were ordained Presbyterian ministers.

Chapin graduated from the University of Southern California in 1892 (her older sister Louise (Lula) graduated from USC the previous year).[3] [4] [5]

Career

Under the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Chapin taught at the Mary Morrill School for Women in Paotingfu,[6] and at Tongzhou.[7] [8] Her work was funded in part by Christian Endeavor societies. In 1900, she was in Beijing,[9] and listed among "Foreigners Who Have Probably Been Slain" in a San Francisco newspaper, after she was captured in the Boxer Rebellion.[10] She and the other missionaries in her group were confirmed alive about six weeks later.[11] In 1901, she was one of four women decorated by King Edward VII with the Royal Red Cross, for services rendered at Beijing's international hospital,[12] [13] [14] the first American so honored.[15]

She visited her siblings in the United States and spoke to American church groups in 1905,[16] 1913,[17] 1921,[18] and in 1931[19] and 1932. In 1937, she was again in peril, as one of several Americans sheltering from Japanese bombings and caring for wounded soldiers at the Presbyterian Hospital in Paotingfu.[20] [21]

Personal life

Chapin worked and lived for most of her life with Mary E. Andrews (also seen as Mary E. Andrus), a fellow American teaching missionary. Andrews died at Paotingfu in 1936.[22] Chapin died in Glendale, California in 1956, aged 88 years.

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=30c1AQAAMAAJ&dq=Abbie+G.+chapin&pg=PA123 "Work for Christian Endeavor Societies"
  2. News: 1904-11-28. Memorial Services Held for Three Evans Sisters. 3. The Brooklyn Citizen. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.
  3. Book: University of Southern California. Year-book. 1892. Daily Herald Book and Job Printing House. 12. en.
  4. Web site: 2006-10-31. The Dragons of Troy. 2020-11-15. USC News. en-US.
  5. News: 1892-06-23. The University of Southern California. 8. Los Angeles Evening Express. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.
  6. News: 1932-08-05. Missionaries to Sail for Posts in China. 4. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.
  7. https://books.google.com/books?id=30c1AQAAMAAJ&dq=Abbie+G.+Chapin+China&pg=PP10 "Letter from Miss Abbie G. Chapin to Christian Endeavor Societies"
  8. November 1917. A Survey of Our Work Abroad: China. Life and Light for Woman. 47. 23.
  9. News: 1900-10-04. In the Public Eye. 6. The Atkinson Plain Dealer, Atkinson Graphic and Holt County Republican-Consolidated. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.
  10. News: July 7, 1900. Foreigners Who Have Probably Been Slain. 1. San Francisco Call. November 14, 2020. California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  11. News: 1900-08-25. Out of the Fowlers' Snare. 4. The Grenada Sentinel. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.
  12. https://books.google.com/books?id=JkEUAAAAYAAJ&dq=Abbie+G.+chapin&pg=PA313 "A Royal Red Cross Decoration"
  13. May 1901. News and Notes of the Month. The Spirit of Missions. 66. 318.
  14. News: 1901-07-30. King Edward Decorates a Chinese Missionary. 3. San Francisco Chronicle. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.
  15. News: August 2, 1956. Missionary, 88, Taken by Death. 1. San Marino Tribune. November 15, 2020. NewspaperArchive.com.
  16. News: 1905-08-05. Miss Chapin Returns to Missionary Work. 5. Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.
  17. News: 1913-12-05. Unitarian Church. 6. Springfield Reporter. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.
  18. News: 1921-04-05. Missionary Program. 5. Long Beach Press. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.
  19. News: October 29, 1931. Many Speakers at Shafter Meeting. 12. Bakersfield Californian. November 15, 2020. NewspaperArchive.com.
  20. News: Hanson. Haldore. 1937-10-10. Paotingfu Reign of Terror Told. 14. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.
  21. News: September 23, 1937. Alarm Felt for 5 U. S. Nationals Believed to be Still in Paotingfu. 8. Bradford Era. November 15, 2020. NewspaperArchive.com.
  22. News: 1936-04-25. Oldest Missionary Has Passed Away. 17. The Morning Call. 2020-11-15. Newspapers.com.

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