imported>Penny Richards added photograph and infobox |
m basic reworked article to improve readability and cleaned formatting |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|American missionary (1840–1901)}} | |||
{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| name = Isabella Thoburn | | name = Isabella Thoburn | ||
| image = IsabellaThoburn1901.png | | image = IsabellaThoburn1901.png | ||
| alt = A white woman with her dark hair center-parted and swept up in back; she is wearing a uniform-like plain dark jacket with buttons down the front, and a high collar | | alt = A white woman missionary with her dark hair center-parted and swept up in back; she is wearing a uniform-like plain dark jacket with buttons down the front, and a high collar | ||
| caption = Isabella Thoburn, from a 1901 publication | | caption = Isabella Thoburn, missionary and educator, from a 1901 publication | ||
| birth_date = March 29, 1840 | | birth_date = March 29, 1840 | ||
| birth_place = Ohio, US | | birth_place = Ohio, US | ||
| Line 11: | Line 12: | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Isabella Thoburn''' (March 29, 1840 – Sept. 1, 1901) was an | '''Isabella Thoburn''' (March 29, 1840 – Sept. 1, 1901) was an American [[Christians|Christian]] [[missionary]] of the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] best known for her establishment of educational institutions and [[Mission (Christian)|missionary work]] in [[North India]], subsequent to the [[East India Company]]'s relinquishment of power to the British government in India. | ||
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
Isabella Thoburn was born in 1840 near [[St. Clairsville, Ohio]]. She attended local schools and the Wheeling Female Seminary in [[Wheeling Creek (West Virginia)|Wheeling]], Virginia (now in West Virginia). | Isabella Thoburn was born in 1840 near [[St. Clairsville, Ohio]]. She attended local schools and the [[Wheeling Female Seminary]] in [[Wheeling Creek (West Virginia)|Wheeling]], Virginia (now in West Virginia). | ||
Thoburn was invited to [[Cincinnati]] to train [[Christian mission]]aries and [[deaconess]]es to serve, resulting in the formation of [[The Christ Hospital]].<ref name="Oldham1902">{{cite book |last1=Oldham |first1=William Fitzjames |title=Isabella Thoburn |date=1902 |publisher=Jennings & Pye |page=34 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
In India, Thoburn's work culminated in the founding of an important woman's college, [[Isabella Thoburn College]] in [[Lucknow]] (1870), as well as a [[Methodist High School, Kanpur|Methodist High School]] in [[Kanpur]]. These two educational establishments were among the first in [[colonial India]], catering to the educational and religious needs of an emergent [[Anglo Indian]] population in [[Awadh]]. | In 1866, after she had taught for several years, Isabella was invited by her brother [[James Mills Thoburn]], a Methodist Episcopal missionary in India, to assist him in his educational and missionary work in India. She delayed her departure until 1869 when the formation of the [[Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church|Women's Foreign Missionary Society]] of the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] enabled her to undertake missionary work under denominational affiliation and auspices.<ref name=thoburn418-420>[[#thoburn1903|Thoburn, 1903]], pp. 418-420</ref> | ||
In India, Thoburn's work culminated in the founding of an important woman's college, [[Isabella Thoburn College]] in [[Lucknow]] (1870), as well as a [[Methodist High School, Kanpur|Methodist High School]] in [[Kanpur]]. These two educational establishments were among the first in [[colonial India]], catering to the educational and religious needs of an emergent [[Anglo Indian]] population in [[Awadh]].<ref name=thoburn418-420/> | |||
Thoburn returned to the United States for a period to study at [[Lucy Rider Meyer]]'s [[Chicago Training School for Home and Foreign Missions|Chicago Training School for City, Home, and Foreign Missions]] in Illinois. In 1887, Meyer appointed her as the first house mother and superintendent of the school's new Methodist Deaconess Home for training female deacons.<ref name=keller>Keller, Rosemary Skinner, Rosemary Radford Ruether, and Marie Cantlon. ''Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America: Women and religion: methods of study and reflection''. Vol. 1. Indiana University Press, 2006, pp. 824-38.</ref> | Thoburn returned to the United States for a period to study at [[Lucy Rider Meyer]]'s [[Chicago Training School for Home and Foreign Missions|Chicago Training School for City, Home, and Foreign Missions]] in Illinois. In 1887, Meyer appointed her as the first house mother and superintendent of the school's new Methodist Deaconess Home for training female deacons.<ref name=keller>Keller, Rosemary Skinner, Rosemary Radford Ruether, and Marie Cantlon. ''Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America: Women and religion: methods of study and reflection''. Vol. 1. Indiana University Press, 2006, pp. 824-38.</ref> | ||
She died in 1901 in Lucknow, [[India]]. | She died in 1901 in Lucknow, [[India]], at the age of 61. | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*[[List of | *[[List of bishops of the United Methodist Church]] | ||
== | ==Citations== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
===Sources=== | |||
* {{cite book |last=Buck |first=Oscar MacMillan |editor=[[Dumas Malone|Malone, Dumas]] |title=Dictionary of American biography: Thoburn |volume=XVIII |publisher=New York: Charles Scribner's Sons |author-mask= |year=1936 |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofamer18amer/page/n5/mode/2up |pages=418–420 |ref=malone18}} | |||
*Methodism: Ohio Area (1812–1962), edited by John M. Versteeg, Litt.D., D.D. (Ohio Area Sesquicentennial Committee, 1962). | *Methodism: Ohio Area (1812–1962), edited by John M. Versteeg, Litt.D., D.D. (Ohio Area Sesquicentennial Committee, 1962). | ||
*{{cite book |title=Life of Isabella Thoburn | *{{cite book |title=Life of Isabella Thoburn |last=Thoburn |first=J. M. |author-link=James Mills Thoburn |year=1903 |publisher=Jenkins and Graham |location=Cincinnati, OH | ||
|last=Thoburn |first=J. M. | |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeisabellatho00thobgoog |ref=thoburn1903 }} | ||
|author-link=James Mills Thoburn |year=1903 | |||
|publisher=Jenkins and Graham |location=Cincinnati, OH | |||
|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeisabellatho00thobgoog }} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| Line 46: | Line 49: | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thoburn, Isabella}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Thoburn, Isabella}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Methodists from Ohio]] | ||
[[Category:People from St. Clairsville, Ohio]] | [[Category:People from St. Clairsville, Ohio]] | ||
[[Category:1840 births]] | [[Category:1840 births]] | ||
[[Category:1901 deaths]] | [[Category:1901 deaths]] | ||
[[Category:Methodist missionaries in India]] | [[Category:Methodist missionaries in India]] | ||
[[Category:American biographers]] | [[Category:American biographers]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:American missionary educators]] | ||
[[Category:Founders of Indian schools and colleges]] | [[Category:Founders of Indian schools and colleges]] | ||
[[Category:Female Christian missionaries]] | [[Category:Female Christian missionaries]] | ||
[[Category:19th-century American philanthropists]] | [[Category:19th-century American philanthropists]] | ||
[[Category:Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church]] | |||
[[Category:19th-century American women philanthropists]] | |||
[[Category:American missionaries in India]] | |||
Latest revision as of 00:34, 4 March 2026
Isabella Thoburn | |
|---|---|
 Isabella Thoburn, missionary and educator, from a 1901 publication | |
| Born | March 29, 1840 Ohio, US |
| Died | September 1, 1901 Lucknow, India |
| Occupation | Missionary educator, college administrato |
Isabella Thoburn (March 29, 1840 – Sept. 1, 1901) was an American Christian missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church best known for her establishment of educational institutions and missionary work in North India, subsequent to the East India Company's relinquishment of power to the British government in India.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Isabella Thoburn was born in 1840 near St. Clairsville, Ohio. She attended local schools and the Wheeling Female Seminary in Wheeling, Virginia (now in West Virginia).
Thoburn was invited to Cincinnati to train Christian missionaries and deaconesses to serve, resulting in the formation of The Christ Hospital.[1]
In 1866, after she had taught for several years, Isabella was invited by her brother James Mills Thoburn, a Methodist Episcopal missionary in India, to assist him in his educational and missionary work in India. She delayed her departure until 1869 when the formation of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church enabled her to undertake missionary work under denominational affiliation and auspices.[2]
In India, Thoburn's work culminated in the founding of an important woman's college, Isabella Thoburn College in Lucknow (1870), as well as a Methodist High School in Kanpur. These two educational establishments were among the first in colonial India, catering to the educational and religious needs of an emergent Anglo Indian population in Awadh.[2]
Thoburn returned to the United States for a period to study at Lucy Rider Meyer's Chicago Training School for City, Home, and Foreign Missions in Illinois. In 1887, Meyer appointed her as the first house mother and superintendent of the school's new Methodist Deaconess Home for training female deacons.[3]
She died in 1901 in Lucknow, India, at the age of 61.
See also[edit | edit source]
Citations[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Oldham, William Fitzjames (1902). Isabella Thoburn. Jennings & Pye. p. 34.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Thoburn, 1903, pp. 418-420
- ↑ Keller, Rosemary Skinner, Rosemary Radford Ruether, and Marie Cantlon. Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America: Women and religion: methods of study and reflection. Vol. 1. Indiana University Press, 2006, pp. 824-38.
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Buck, Oscar MacMillan (1936). Malone, Dumas (ed.). Dictionary of American biography: Thoburn. Vol. XVIII. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 418–420.
- Methodism: Ohio Area (1812–1962), edited by John M. Versteeg, Litt.D., D.D. (Ohio Area Sesquicentennial Committee, 1962).
- Thoburn, J. M. (1903). Life of Isabella Thoburn. Cincinnati, OH: Jenkins and Graham.
External links[edit | edit source]
| Library resources about Isabella Thoburn |
| By Isabella Thoburn |
|---|