Dr. T. P. Crawford was born in Kentucky in 1821 now nearly seventy-one years ago. Mrs. Martha Foster Crawford was born in Georgia in 1830, having just now passed her sixty-second birthday. They were married in March, 1851, and started to China in November of the same year. They sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and reached Hong Kong, China, in February, 1852, after sailing for one hundred and two days. There they met Revs. Dean and Johnson of the American Baptist Missionary Union. There they found a few Chinese church members, all of whom were employed by the missionaries and kept at a distance from them. The great Mr. Goodsloff, a German missionary, had just died, and his life and work were prominent in the minds of the then very few missionaries. He employed hundreds of Chinese to preach and sell Bibles. He reported thousands of Bibles sold. Later a new man came to join Mr. G. The new comer suspected that more Bibles were reported sold than were ever scattered abroad; so he marked some of them, when the colporteurs started out, and they soon returned and reported all sold, and he sent them to the Chinese printer to purchase more. They soon returned, having the marked books, and it was discovered that they had been selling the books to the printer, then again buying the same and selling back to him until they could report thousands sold. These preachers and Bible sellers all went to the bad. This will not be wondered at when I tell you that he preached "Get the people into the church and convert them afterwards." Dr. Crawford saw and heard these things immediately on reaching China, and formed the idea that it was not healthy to hire Chinese to do religious work with foreign money, and he has never recovered from that idea yet, while many others have come to hold similar views.Dr. and Mrs. Crawford arrived at their field, Shanghai, in March, 1852, forty years ago next month. This was the field for twelve years. Mrs. C. was compelled to go to Amarios on account of health in l857, Dr. C. following a year later and they returned in 1860. When he first started Mrs. C. encountered a severe typhoon soon after leaving Shanghai, and had an almost miraculous escape. The sail vessel was stripped of all its sails and masts and of all its anchors but one. She was rapidly drifting before the terrific wind exactly toward a very dangerous rock hidden in the sea. One day at nightfall the captain told them they had only six hours till the vessel would be dashed to pieces upon the rocks. He had the sailors prepare ropes and give to each passenger with which to fasten themselves to a piece of timber when the wreck should come. Dr. and Mrs. Yates and daughter were also aboard. All tired and weary from the days of anxious waiting in the storm, the servants of God lay down to sleep. They awoke in the morning to find they had drifted safely around the rock, while the wind was subsiding. The captain, an experienced sailor, said: "You have but six hours more to live." Christ, the great Captain of our Salvation, said: "I have yet many years of service for some of you." The captain declared it to be only by a miracle that they escaped the rock. They were transferred to a Siamese Man of War, and through much difficulty returned to Shanghai in ten days.
In Shanghai, when the Crawfords first arrived, our Board had several missionaries, a few members and three chapels, one that cost $15,000. Here they did some school work and preached the gospel as they had opportunity. Mrs. C. was one of the very first women to join her husband in evangelistic work. In one of the girls' schools they gave to each girl ten cash about one cent a day to come to school. They were among the very first to do this - bribing them they now call it - and so they feel that they are capable of knowing something of its evil tendency, and have a right to fight it now. They would now sooner cut off their right hands than do such. So would I. During their sojourn in Shanghai they passed through several terrible rebellions. The city was one of those captured by the Red headed Rebels and then besieged for eighteen months by the imperial soldiers. Dr. and Mrs. C. were living in the city at the time. They had to get out to live, but continued to go into the city to their work for more than a year, running in between the firing of the guns directed against the city, with the balls falling around them.
During this twelve years in Shanghai they also passed through several severe scourges of cholera. At one time the people were dying at the rate of 1,500 a day. Dead bodies lay all around until it was loathsome. During these twelve years came also the American war, when supplies were out off from America, except very irregularly, and the missionaries were left mainly to support themselves as best they could.
Dr. and Mrs. Crawford moved to Tungebow, 500 miles north of Shanghai, in 1863, on account of being broken down in health. Messrs. Holmes and Hartwell had preceded them a short time before. They came here now nearly twenty-nine years ago. They had great difficulty in securing a house. After it was bought the neighbors decided that they should not occupy it. It had to be entered by the aid of the United States Consul and by threatening of fire arms. They would not advise others to take a house now in that way, nor would they do so now. Here they have seen, too, a very serious rebellion by the Long haired Rebels. They laid waste whole villages and towns and took a number of captives, many of whom have never yet returned home. Many Chinese committed suicide to avoid falling into their hands. The people from the surrounding villages fled to the walled cities, so that Tungebow was full of refugees. Dr. and Mrs. C. had hundreds of them at their home, attending to the sick and wounded, distributing medicine and preaching to thousands of them.
They have also passed through a very trying time during the threatened war with England in 1871, also one with Russia, the French war of 1885, and the yet the more trying ordeal of the Tien Sin massacre of 1870, when the lives of all foreigners were threatened. Several times the night was fixed in which they were to kill all the missionaries in Tungebow. They have also lived here during the trying famines in this province; and have also seen some fearful scourges of cholera and other pestilence.
Mrs. Crawfonl inducted a boys' boarding school in this city for fifteen years, in which she did most excellent work, and at the same time went from village to village in the country and from house to house, in the city telling the story of God's love to lost people.
About ten years ago, finding the school a great tax on her mental and physical strength, as well as on the mission treasury, she was brought face to face with the question as to whether this was the wisest expenditure of money and time. She saw that unless they constantly employed these educated boys educated with mission money they would go to other denominations, where they could get employment to do religious work. She thought she also saw that to so employ them - pay them to work for the Lord was to make merchandise of the gospel and disregard the call of God to men to do specially religious work. So the school was abandoned, and these years have been given to most untiring proclamation of the glad tidings of salvation. Into hundreds of villages all around have they borne, through heat and cold, in season and out of season, the tidings of peace and life. Some have believed, accepted and preceded them to glory; many have been perfectly heedless; many others have reviled and abused; but fearlessly and patently they have sown the seeds of truth by all waters, expecting the increase from God. Each of them has prepared several very useful and helpful books in Chinese.
It is now nearly forty-one years since they were set apart to their life's work at the Convention in Nashville, Tenn. Most of those who attended that Convention have entered into their reward. Most of the few who remain have gone on in the rushing, busy American life till they have almost forgotten that Dr. and Mrs. Crawford still linger on this side of the river. Of all the missionaries in China to-day - over 1,300 - not more than six are of as long standing here as they. A very few are older in the mission work, and yet they are preserved through wars, rebellions, famine, pestilence, riots, faithful and persevering in their God-given work, until He who called them here shall say, "Come up higher." The language of their hearts is, "By the grace of God we are what we are." They have made no great show to the world. Their record is on high, whither they shall go soon, when the secrets of all hearts shall be made known and where all services shall be justly rewarded. I believe that no msn is now s member of the Board who was present when they were appointed.
The Big Hatchie Association undertook their support at first, but long ago ceased to raise it. May God inspire that Association anew to undertake still greater things for him in the heathen world. May God raise up and send forth many more men and women to live as long and faithfully in China as have Dr. T. P. and Mrs. M. F. Crawford. May His richest blessings abide in their last years on earth.
Fraternally,
G. P. Bostick
Tung Chow, China, February 5, 1892.========= [From the Baptist and Reflector, March 31, 1892, p. 6, CD edition. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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