Hannah Marshman - Revision history

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			{{Short description\|British missionary (1767–1847)}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=July 2021}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=July 2021}}
	{{Use British English\|date=May 2012}}		{{Use British English\|date=May 2012}}
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	She was the daughter of John Shepherd, a farmer, and his wife Rachel, and the granddaughter of John Clark, pastor of the Baptist church at [[Crockerton]], [[Wiltshire]].<ref>Thomas Hamilton, "Marshman, Joshua (1768–1837)", rev. Michael Laird, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18163 accessed 16 August 2007]</ref> Her mother died when she was eight. In 1791 Hannah Shepherd married [[Joshua Marshman]]. In 1794, the couple moved from [[Westbury Leigh]] in Wiltshire to Bristol, where they joined the [[Broadmead Baptist Church]]. The couple were to eventually have 12 children; of these only five were alive when Hannah Marshman died.		She was the daughter of John Shepherd, a farmer, and his wife Rachel, and the granddaughter of John Clark, pastor of the Baptist church at [[Crockerton]], [[Wiltshire]].<ref>Thomas Hamilton, "Marshman, Joshua (1768–1837)", rev. Michael Laird, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18163 accessed 16 August 2007]</ref> Her mother died when she was eight. In 1791 Hannah Shepherd married [[Joshua Marshman]]. In 1794, the couple moved from [[Westbury Leigh]] in Wiltshire to Bristol, where they joined the [[Broadmead Baptist Church]]. The couple were to eventually have 12 children; of these only five were alive when Hannah Marshman died.

	Hannah Marshman is considered to be the first woman missionary in India.<ref>~~'Hannah Marshman',~~ http://www.missionariesoftheworld.org/~~2011_07_01_archive~~.html</ref>		Hannah Marshman is considered to be the first woman missionary in India.<ref name=MISS>{{usurped\|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20140718165819/http://www.missionariesoftheworld.org/2011/07/hannah-marshman.html Missionaries of the World website, ''Hannah Marshmann'', article dated July 4, 2011]}}</ref>

	== Missionary work ==		== Missionary work ==
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	Meanwhile, the [[Church Mission Society\|Missionary Society]] had begun sending more missionaries to India. The first to arrive was John Fountain, who arrived in Mudnabatty and began a teaching school. He was followed by [[William Ward (missionary)\|William Ward]], a printer; David Brunsdon, one of Marshman's students; and William Grant, who died three weeks after his arrival.		Meanwhile, the [[Church Mission Society\|Missionary Society]] had begun sending more missionaries to India. The first to arrive was John Fountain, who arrived in Mudnabatty and began a teaching school. He was followed by [[William Ward (missionary)\|William Ward]], a printer; David Brunsdon, one of Marshman's students; and William Grant, who died three weeks after his arrival.

	The spirit of the early community's unity was somewhat broken when new missionaries arrived who were not willing to live in the communal fashion that had developed. One missionary demanded "...a separate house, stable and servants." There were also other differences, as the new missionaries found their seniors – particularly Joshua Marshman – to be somewhat dictatorial, assigning them duties which were not to their liking.		The spirit of the early community's unity was somewhat broken when new missionaries arrived who were not willing to live in the communal fashion that had developed. One missionary demanded "...a separate house, stable and servants." There were also other differences, as the new missionaries found their seniors - particularly Joshua Marshman - to be somewhat dictatorial, assigning them duties which were not to their liking.

	In 1800, when she first met them, Marshman was appalled by the neglect in which William Carey and his wife looked after his four boys; aged 4, 7, 12 and 15, they were unmannered, undisciplined, and even uneducated. Carey had not spoiled, but rather simply ignored them. Marshman, her husband and their friend the printer William Ward, took the boys in tow. Together they shaped the boys as Carey pampered his botanical specimens, performed his many missionary tasks and journeyed into Calcutta to teach at Fort William College. They offered the boys structure, instruction and companionship. To their credit – and little to Carey's – all four boys went on to useful careers.		In 1800, when she first met them, Marshman was appalled by the neglect in which William Carey and his wife looked after his four boys; aged 4, 7, 12 and 15, they were unmannered, undisciplined, and even uneducated.<ref name=MISS /> Carey had not spoiled, but rather simply ignored them. Marshman, her husband and their friend the printer William Ward, took the boys in tow. Together they shaped the boys as Carey pampered his botanical specimens, performed his many missionary tasks and journeyed into Calcutta to teach at Fort William College. They offered the boys structure, instruction and companionship. To their credit – and little to Carey's – all four boys went on to useful careers.

	At one point, Marshman wrote about Carey, "The good man saw and lamented the evil but was too mild to apply an effectual remedy."		At one point, Marshman wrote about Carey, "The good man saw and lamented the evil but was too mild to apply an effectual remedy."

	==~~Serampore College and the~~ Serampore Girls' School==		==The Serampore Girls' School and Serampore College==
	[[File:Hannah Shepherd Marshman Used Chair - Carey Museum - Serampore College - Hooghly 2017-07-06 0758.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Hannah used this chair at the Serampore College.]]		[[File:Hannah Shepherd Marshman Used Chair - Carey Museum - Serampore College - Hooghly 2017-07-06 0758.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|Hannah used this chair at the Serampore College.]]
	On 5 July 1818, [[William Carey (missionary)\|William Carey]], [[Joshua Marshman]] and [[William Ward (missionary)\|William Ward]] issued a prospectus (written by Marshman) for a proposed new "College for the instruction of Asiatic, Christian, and other youth in Eastern literature and European science". Thus was born [[Serampore College]] – which still continues to this day.

	Mrs. Marshman ~~went on~~ to ~~found the local girls' school~~.		Mrs Marshamann started a school in 1800, as well as operating two boarding schools for English children (the fees of which helped keep the Serampore mission viable).<ref>[https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/rest-of-the-serampore-trio Christian History Institute website, ''The Rest of the Serampore Trio'', article by Vinita Hampton Wright ]</ref>

			On 5 July 1818, [[William Carey (missionary)\|William Carey]], [[Joshua Marshman]] and [[William Ward (missionary)\|William Ward]] issued a prospectus (written by Marshman) for a proposed new "College for the instruction of Asiatic, Christian, and other youth in Eastern literature and European science". Thus was born [[Serampore College]] - which still continues to this day.

	==Death and memorial==		==Death and memorial==
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	[[Category:1767 births]]		[[Category:1767 births]]
	[[Category:1847 deaths]]		[[Category:1847 deaths]]
	[[Category:~~People~~ from Bristol]]		[[Category:Schoolteachers from Bristol]]
	[[Category:English Baptist missionaries]]		[[Category:English Baptist missionaries]]
	[[Category:Baptist missionaries in India]]		[[Category:Baptist missionaries in India]]
	[[Category:~~History of~~ Bengal]]		[[Category:Bengal Presidency]]
	[[Category:~~Missionary~~ educators]]		[[Category:British missionary educators]]
	[[Category:Female Christian missionaries]]		[[Category:Female Christian missionaries]]
	[[Category:19th-century Baptists]]		[[Category:19th-century Baptists]]
	[[Category:British Indologists]]		[[Category:British Indologists]]
	[[Category:British people ~~of colonial~~ India]]		[[Category:British people in British India]]
			[[Category:Scholars from West Bengal]]
			[[Category:British missionaries in India]]

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
[[File:HannahMarshman.jpg|thumb|upright|Hannah Marshman]]

'''Hannah Marshman''' (13 May 1767 – 5 March 1847) was an English [[missionary]] who founded a school at [[Serampore]], India.

She was the daughter of John Shepherd, a farmer, and his wife Rachel, and the granddaughter of John Clark, pastor of the Baptist church at [[Crockerton]], [[Wiltshire]].<ref>Thomas Hamilton, "Marshman, Joshua (1768–1837)", rev. Michael Laird, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18163 accessed 16 August 2007]</ref> Her mother died when she was eight. In 1791 Hannah Shepherd married [[Joshua Marshman]]. In 1794, the couple moved from [[Westbury Leigh]] in Wiltshire to Bristol, where they joined the [[Broadmead Baptist Church]]. The couple were to eventually have 12 children; of these only five were alive when Hannah Marshman died.

Hannah Marshman is considered to be the first woman missionary in India.<ref>'Hannah Marshman', http://www.missionariesoftheworld.org/2011_07_01_archive.html</ref>

== Missionary work ==
On 29 May 1799, Hannah, Joshua and their two children set out from [[Portsmouth]] for India, aboard the ship ''Criterion''. Although there was a threat of a French naval attack, the family landed safely at the Danish settlement of Serampore (a few miles north of Calcutta) on 13 October 1799. They had chosen to land here because the [[East India Company]] was at that time hostile to missionaries. They settled in the Danish colony and were joined there by [[William Carey (missionary)|William Carey]] on 10 January 1800.

On 1 May 1800, Joshua and Hannah Marshman opened two boarding schools at Serampore. The schools became the most popular in the Presidency and their son [[John Clark Marshman]] received his education from his parents. He was part of the growing mission family, eating at the communal table and joining with other children in mission life. As with all other mission family members, he was encouraged to become a fluent [[Bengali language|Bengali]] speaker.

Meanwhile, the [[Church Mission Society|Missionary Society]] had begun sending more missionaries to India. The first to arrive was John Fountain, who arrived in Mudnabatty and began a teaching school. He was followed by [[William Ward (missionary)|William Ward]], a printer; David Brunsdon, one of Marshman's students; and William Grant, who died three weeks after his arrival.

The spirit of the early community's unity was somewhat broken when new missionaries arrived who were not willing to live in the communal fashion that had developed. One missionary demanded "...a separate house, stable and servants." There were also other differences, as the new missionaries found their seniors – particularly Joshua Marshman – to be somewhat dictatorial, assigning them duties which were not to their liking.

In 1800, when she first met them, Marshman was appalled by the neglect in which William Carey and his wife looked after his four boys; aged 4, 7, 12 and 15, they were unmannered, undisciplined, and even uneducated. Carey had not spoiled, but rather simply ignored them. Marshman, her husband and their friend the printer William Ward, took the boys in tow. Together they shaped the boys as Carey pampered his botanical specimens, performed his many missionary tasks and journeyed into Calcutta to teach at Fort William College. They offered the boys structure, instruction and companionship. To their credit – and little to Carey's – all four boys went on to useful careers.

At one point, Marshman wrote about Carey, "The good man saw and lamented the evil but was too mild to apply an effectual remedy."

==Serampore College and the Serampore Girls' School==
[[File:Hannah Shepherd Marshman Used Chair - Carey Museum - Serampore College - Hooghly 2017-07-06 0758.jpg|thumb|upright|Hannah used this chair at the Serampore College.]]
On 5 July 1818, [[William Carey (missionary)|William Carey]], [[Joshua Marshman]] and [[William Ward (missionary)|William Ward]] issued a prospectus (written by Marshman) for a proposed new "College for the instruction of Asiatic, Christian, and other youth in Eastern literature and European science". Thus was born [[Serampore College]] – which still continues to this day.

Mrs. Marshman went on to found the local girls' school.

==Death and memorial==
[[File:Joshua Marshman grave plaque.jpg|thumb|upright|left]]
Hannah Marshman died in 1847.<ref>[http://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/obit/#hmarshmanobit Bengal Obituary] (1848)</ref>

The following inscription to her memory is placed in the Mission Chapel at Serampore: "In Memory of Hannah Marshman, widow of Joshua Marshman, D. D. the last surviving Member of the Mission Family at Serampore, she arrived in this settlement in October 1799, and opened a seminary to aid in the support of the Mission in May 1800, after having consecrated her life and property to the promotion of this sacred cause and exhibited an example of humble piety and energetic benevolence for forty-seven years. She died at the age of eighty, March 5, 1847."

The full text of her obituary in the Bengal Obituary can be found [[s:Hannah Marshman|here]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sE5GDwAAQBAJ|title=British Women Missionaries in Bengal, 1793–1861|author=Sutapa Dutta|date=November 2017|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-78308-727-3|pages=66–74}}

==External links==
*[http://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/obit/#hmarshmanobit Obituary] at [[William Carey University]]

{{Protestant missions to India}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshman, Hannah}}
[[Category:1767 births]]
[[Category:1847 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bristol]]
[[Category:English Baptist missionaries]]
[[Category:Baptist missionaries in India]]
[[Category:History of Bengal]]
[[Category:Missionary educators]]
[[Category:Female Christian missionaries]]
[[Category:19th-century Baptists]]
[[Category:British Indologists]]
[[Category:British people of colonial India]]