Chapter I: Front Matter

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THE LIFE OF

ADONIRAM JUDSON

BY HIS SON

EDWARD JUDSON

NEW YORK
ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY
900 BROADWAY, COR. 20TH STREET

COPYRIGHT, 1883,
BY EDWARD JUDSON.

NEW YORK:

EDWARD O. JENKINS,
_Printer and Stereotyper_,
20 North William St.

ROBERT RUTTER,
_Binder_,
116 & 118 E. 14th St.

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TO THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES,

THE INVOLUNTARY INHERITORS

OF THEIR PARENTS’ SUFFERINGS AND REWARDS,

THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED

BY ONE OF THEIR NUMBER.

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It is not my purpose to present a theory of missions, but simply to give a clear and consecutive story of my father’s life. I have been impelled to do this by the desire that his memory should be cherished in the minds of the rising generation. Dr. Wayland’s noble and comprehensive Memoir is now out of print, and it has seemed to me that a career which may be justly said to form the main artery of all American foreign missionary endeavor, needed to be presented anew. In order to bring into bold relief my father’s social, domestic, and personal traits, I have introduced large extracts from his letters and journals, which, however, in a few places, I have taken the liberty of condensing. Free use has also been made of the valuable reminiscences contributed to Dr. Wayland’s Memoir by Mrs. Emily C. Judson.

E. J.

NEW YORK, _January, 1883_.

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CONTENTS.

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CHAPTER I.

EARLY YEARS.

1788-1809.

Birth—Precocity—Reverence for his father—Ambition
over-stimulated—His sister, Abigail—Playing church—Removal to
Wenham—His brother Elnathan—Death of a sister—Childhood
reminiscences—“Does the sun move?”—Solving hard
enigmas—Proficiency in arithmetic—“Old Virgil dug up”—Studying
Revelation—Removal to Braintree and to Plymouth—College
life—Teaching school—Publishing grammar and
arithmetic—Conversion—Early impressions—Sceptical
views—Journey—Startling incident at an inn—Entering the
Theological Institute at Andover—Self-dedication—Joining the
Church—Consecration to the ministry—Fervent piety 1

CHAPTER II.

CONSECRATION TO MISSIONARY LIFE.

1809-1812.

Buchanan’s “Star in the East”—Association with kindred missionary
spirits—Haystack monument—Obstacles—Attractions at home—Best
men needed abroad—Anticipation of dangers and
hardships—Application to Dr. Bogue—The case laid before the
_General Association_—Organization of the American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions—Failure to co-operate with
the _London Missionary Society_—Journey to England—Captured by
a French privateer—Confined in the hold—In prison at
Bayonne—Paroled—Scene at a masked ball—Reception in
England—Personal appearance—Return to America—Appointed by the
Board—Meeting with Ann Hasseltine—Incident at the table—Sketch
of Ann Hasseltine—Marriage—Parting with parents—The wayside
prayer—Ordination—Parting with sister—Embarcation 16

CHAPTER III.
VOYAGE TO BURMAH.
1812-1813.

The course—Change of views on Baptism—Arrival in
Calcutta—Announces to the Board his change of views—Appeal to
the Baptists—His baptism—Excluded from India by the East India
Company—Journey to the Isle of France—Death of Harriet
Newell—Journey to Madras—Voyage to Rangoon—Arrival—The effect
in America of his change of views—Organization of a Baptist
Missionary Society—Beneficial consequences of his becoming a
Baptist—Missionary operations widened—Consolidation and growth
of the Baptist denomination 36

CHAPTER IV.

BURMAH.

Face of the country—Animals—Inhabitants—Industrial
life—Government—Religion—History and distribution of
Buddhism—Buddhism and Brahminism contrasted—Life of
Buddha—Buddha’s Way of salvation—Point of Departure, the Goal,
and the Way—Buddha’s moral code—Buddhism and Christianity 56