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'''William Jackson Elmslie''' (29 June 1832 - 18 November 1872) was a [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] doctor working primarily in [[Kashmir]] and the [[Punjab]] region in India from 1865 to 1872. Sponsored by the [[Church Mission Society|Church Missionary Society]], Elmslie established Kashmir's first dispensary in [[Srinagar]] and later founded a small temporary hospital.

==Early life==
===Personal life===
Elmslie was born in [[Aberdeen]], [[Scotland]] on 29 June 1832 to James and Barbara Elmslie.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie|url=https://archive.org/details/b24878947|last1=Elmslie|first1=Margaret Duncan|last2=Thomson|first2=W. Burns|date=1875|publisher=James Nisbet & Co.|isbn=|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/b24878947/page/9 9]}}</ref> At the age of nine, Elmslie began learning boot closing, his father's trade, which he continued throughout his university years.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie|last=Elmslie|first=Margaret Duncan|last2=Thomson|first2=W. Burns|publisher=James Nisbet & Co.|year=1875|isbn=|location=London|pages=11–12}}</ref>

Between trips to India, on 23 February 1872, Elmslie married Margaret Duncan, the daughter of a Scottish reverend.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 201.</ref> Following his sudden death a few months after their marriage, Margaret Duncan Elmslie worked in various orphanages in [[Amritsar]], India until 1878.<ref name=":6">{{cite book|title=Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions|author1=Murray|date=1998|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|editor1-last=Anderson|editor1-first=Gerald H.|location=New York|pages=198–199|authorlink1=Jocelyn}}</ref>

Elmslie learned [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]], [[Persian language|Persian]], and [[Sanskrit]].<ref name=":1">Mufti, Gulzar (2013). ''Kashmir in Sickness and in Health''. New Delhi: Partridge. p. 47.</ref>

===Education===
In 1848, Elmslie joined the [[Aberdeen Grammar School|Grammar School of Aberdeen]].<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 14.</ref> Five years later, in 1853, he entered [[King's College, Aberdeen]], where he pursued, but never received, a degree in arts due to two failed final exams.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 19, 35.</ref>

Sponsored by the [[Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society]], Elmslie received medical training from the [[University of Edinburgh]] from 1862 to 1864.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 41.</ref> His MD thesis was entitled "The regular dislocations of the hip joint."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Elmslie|first=William Jackson|date=1864|title=The regular dislocations of the hip joint|url=https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/31934|language=en}}</ref>

In 1858, Elmslie also joined Free Church Divinity College, where he decided to become a medical missionary.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 21.</ref>

==Missionary work==
===Church Missionary Society===
In 1864, Elmslie was recruited by the [[Church Missionary Society]] (CMS) through the [[Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society]], which had sponsored his medical training at the [[University of Edinburgh]].<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 30.</ref> Although Elmslie's [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] beliefs did not align with CMS's mainly [[Evangelical Anglicanism|evangelical Anglican]] [[Clapham Sect]]-leaning beliefs, his connections in CMS persuaded the organization to make an exception for Elmslie.<ref name=":3">Mufti, Gulzar (2013). ''Kashmir in Sickness and in Health''. New Delhi: Partridge. p. 46.</ref> Elmslie received a 5-year position at CMS and was assigned to work in Srinagar, Kashmir.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 40.</ref> His communication with [[William Burns Thomson|William Thomson]] helped develop and fund the Kashmir Medical Mission through a feature in the Medical Missionary Journal.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/b21974640|title=Seedtime in Kashmir : a memoir of William Jackson Elmslie|last=Elmslie|first=William Jackson|last2=Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh|date=1875|publisher=London : J. Nisbet|others=Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh}}</ref>

===Work in Kashmir===
Due to Kashmir's ruler Maharaja [[Ranbir Singh (Maharaja)|Ranbir Singh]]’s visa restrictions prohibiting foreigners from staying in Kashmir in the winter, Elmslie's work in Kashmir was limited to just the summers of 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, and 1872.<ref>[[Jocelyn|Murray]] (1998). Anderson, Gerald H., ed. ''Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions''. New York: Macmillan Reference USA. p. 198-199.</ref>

Elmslie first arrived in Srinagar on 4 May 1865. Five days later, he opened Kashmir's first dispensary, later named Amira Kadal Mission Dispensary.<ref name=":3"/> By the end of the month, 53 patients had visited the dispensary.<ref name=":3"/> By August, the dispensary received approximately 90 patients a day.<ref name=":1" /> With this growth, Elmslie began a small hospital as well.<ref name=":3" />

In the summer of 1866, upon finding his old location occupied, Elmslie moved his dispensary to the European Quarters in Munshi Bagh, where it remained in later years.<ref name=":1"/> In addition his usual medical work, Elmslie taught medical classes to locals and [[Eye surgery|ophthalmic surgery]] to the local doctor.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 109.</ref>

In the summer of 1867, Elmslie encountered significant opposition from the local government and patient visitations decreased drastically. A major cholera outbreak also occurred this summer, starting in June and lasting until August.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 143.</ref>

The following summer, government obstruction gave way and the number of patients increased greatly. In July and August, about 2,000 total patients visited the dispensary.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 170.</ref> The next year, in 1869, this number further increased to 3,902 patients.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 180.</ref>

In the summer of 1872, Elmslie returned to Srinagar alongside his newlywed wife. From 6 May to 25 October, over 3,000 patients visited the dispensary.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 210.</ref>

Throughout his time in Kashmir, Elmslie treated a variety of medical conditions such as [[abdominal aortic aneurysm]]s, [[nasal polyp]]s, [[tuberculosis]], and [[breast cancer]]. He was also a skilled surgeon, successfully removing [[cyst]]s, [[tumors]], and [[bladder stone]]s and performing a wrist joint [[Resection (surgery)|resection]].<ref>Mufti, Gulzar (2013). ''Kashmir in Sickness and in Health''. New Delhi: Partridge. pp. 46-47.</ref>

===Work in Amritsar===
Between summers in Kashmir, Elmslie traveled to [[Amritsar]], India in the [[Punjab]] region to continue his missionary work.

With the assistance of a native doctor and 4 assistants, Elmslie began a dispensary in Amritsar.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. pp. 97-98.</ref> He found the local government less amenable to his work than he hoped, yet patient visits increased every year. Similar to his work in Kashmir, Elmslie taught [[medicine]], [[anatomy]], and [[chemistry]] classes to local students in Amritsar.<ref>Elmslie, Margaret Duncan; Thomson, W. Burns (1875). ''Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie''. London: James Nisbet & Co. p. 98.</ref>

===Missionaries impacted===
Although Elmslie was unable to establish a permanent year-round dispensary in Kashmir due to visa restrictions, his work eased the path for his successors, including Drs. [[Theodore Maxwell]], [[Arthur Neve]], and [[Ernest Frederic Neve|Ernest Neve]].<ref name=":4">Vander Werff, Lyle L. (1977). ''Christian Mission to Muslims: The record: Anglican and Reformed Approaches in India and the Near East, 1800-1938''. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.</ref> Elmslie's familiarity with the local Kashmiri people and government, and vice versa, allowed future medical missionaries to more easily establish permanent dispensaries and hospitals.

==Death==
In his later years, Elmslie suffered from poor health, including [[liver disease]].<ref name=":5">Mufti, Gulzar (2013). ''Kashmir in Sickness and in Health''. New Delhi: Partridge. p. 51.</ref> While leaving Srinagar for Amritsar due to Maharaja Ranbir Singh's orders, an already ill Elmslie became trapped in snow.<ref name=":6" /> He did not recover from this incident and died on 18 November 1872 in [[Gujarat, Pakistan|Gujrat, Pakistan]].<ref name=":6" />

==Evangelical work==
Elmslie was a deeply religious man, regularly preaching evangelical Christianity to his [[Muslim]]-majority patients. Elmslie was a firm believer in the [[Bible|Biblical]] verse “Heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”<ref name=":4" /> Before every consultation, he gave a sermon, which was then repeated aloud in Kashmiri by a local catechist.<ref name=":3"/>

Upon arriving a new village, Elmslie would make connections with local leaders and begin his evangelical work by speaking of the “Injil” and “Isa Masih,” the [[Gospel]] and [[Jesus]] in Kashmiri, respectively.<ref name=":4" /> Elmslie eventually became known to the locals as “Padre Doctor Sahib.”<ref name=":5" />

==Legacy==
Elmslie established the first dispensary in Kashmir. His dispensary was only temporary, but it laid the groundwork for future missionaries, particularly Drs. [[Theodore Maxwell]], [[Arthur Neve]], and [[Ernest Neve]].

In his paper “Scheme for Training Native Medical Missionary Evangelists,” which he presented at a CMS conference in [[Amritsar|Amrtisar]] in 1866, Elmslie argued for need to train Christian Indians in both medical and evangelical work.<ref name=":4" /> He also promoted the role of female medical missionaries, particularly newly converted Christian Indian women, in spreading Christianity through medical work.<ref name=":4" />

Elmslie also proposed a mechanism for [[Kangri cancer]] in his paper “Etiology of epithelioma among Kashmiris.”<ref>Mufti, Gulzar (2013). ''Kashmir in Sickness and in Health''. New Delhi: Partridge. p. 50.</ref>

In 1872, Elmslie published the first ever Kashmiri-English [[dictionary]], ''A Vocabulary of the Kashmiri Language''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Vocabulary of the Kashmiri Language|last=Elmslie|first=William Jackson|publisher=Church Missionary House|year=1872|isbn=|location=London|pages=}}</ref>

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmslie, William}}
[[Category:1832 births]]
[[Category:1872 deaths]]
[[Category:Scottish Presbyterian missionaries]]
[[Category:19th-century Scottish medical doctors]]
[[Category:Scottish Presbyterians]]
[[Category:People from Aberdeen]]
[[Category:Christian medical missionaries]]
[[Category:Scottish people of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Scottish lexicographers]]
[[Category:Scottish orientalists]]
[[Category:Church Mission Society missionaries]]
[[Category:University of Edinburgh Medical School alumni]]
[[Category:Missionary linguists]]

William Jackson Elmslie - Revision history

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