Dr. Eleanor Chesnut
Introduction
Three leaders in education, philanthropy, and religion, in 1875, united dynamism and subscribed to establish a Christian institution of higher education named Park College for Training Christian Workers in Parkville, Mo. [1] A foundational premise was that the, “best leadership of the church and state might come from those men and women who lacked financial resources ” [2] A Presbyterian church-allied institution, Park College (now Park University) selected the motto Fides et Labor (Latin for faith and work), denoting a Midwest adventure in education. [3] Furtherance of the motto was instilled in students and graduates that were, “inured to hardship, acquainted, and in sympathy with the people among whom they live and labor ” [4]
Cyrus Boyd Beckes lamented that the adventure was to provide, “ a distinctive Christian education to worthy and needy young men and women ” from across the nation and world. [5] Park students and alumni embodied the institution’s motto in domestic and foreign mission fields: “We know of no college where high Christian ideals are more faithfully presented or where better results are obtained (W)e believe that there are no educational institutions which can show a superior result in the percentage of graduates who devote themselves heart and mind and soul to self-sacrificing service and who show the evidence of true sterling character.” [6] Between 1880-1940, more than 370 Park College graduates served in foreign and home missions These missionaries espoused that, “practical sympathy can alone bridge the chasm between labor and capital practical sympathy once established and by wholesome training maintained will do far more than bridge it will abolish the chasm; it will institute in society the true community of life.” [7]
One of these graduates was Eleanor Chesnut
The Orphan
Eleanor “Nellie” Chesnut was born, a twin, on Jan. 8, 1868, to James and Ellinor (Cain) Chesnut in Waterloo, Iowa [8] James abandoned the family following Eleanor's birth to be reared, along with two older brothers and twin brothers, by their mother The Chesnut family struggled to survive, with Ellinor doing household washing and ironing as the sole source of income. [9] Records indicate that Ellinor, “had the sympathy and respect of her neighbors” during these difficult years. [10]
The family existed with the meagerness of Ellinor’s income until tragedy struck in 1872. Court documents indicate that in early February 1872, Ellinor completed her last will and testimony, citing Oliver Gable as executor and guardian to the children [11] Ellinor’s untimely death, in May 1872, was heartbreaking “In the center of a room that was already bare of furniture stood a tiny little girl. Her dark eyes seemed unusually big as they stared out into the emptiness around her. Too small yet to comprehend the fact that her mother’s death had left her alone in the world, Eleanor Chesnut, nevertheless, felt the loneliness that was ever to be a part of her life ” [12]
Ellinor’s death now orphaned her children “Then the door of the back bedroom opened, and the kind neighbor woman who had brought Eleanor back to her home, in order to gather up the child’s clothing, took the little girl by the hand ‘Come,’ the woman said, ‘ you will be my little daughter now ’ And so for the next nine years, Eleanor lived with the kind but poor neighbor.” [13] The neighbors, childless, thought an adopted daughter would fulfill their lives
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Instead, “they found her [Eleanor] a care and a problem, for she was not the sort of child who settle[d] down amiably to the fate provided for her but was fierce, wild, untamable, filled with weird ambitions, and fighting against control She felt keenly from the time of her first understanding of her desertion, her lack of mother love or of a real home” and “she was wretched and lonely and early learned to lie freely to shield herself ” [14] A friend wrote later in life that she recalled seeing Chesnut, “often shut up in the tiny yard, peering through the pickets with her fierce black eyes and flying dark hair, with a suggestion of a caged wild beast ” [15]
Chesnut’s entire youth in Waterloo focused on school and her desire for an education However, at the age of 12, her “adopted” parents felt, “she need not go to school anymore but should stay at home and help with the work ” [16]
She rebelled and again was orphaned until 1880, “At the age of twelve she was sent to Missouri to live with relatives Their living conditions were even more meager, and the slender, quiet girl rebelled inwardly against the fate of ignorance and poverty that seemed to be her lot. School was her only comfort.” [17] Life and the prospect of education seemed no better in Missouri than in Iowa. “The home was a farm in a most densely ignorant ‘backwoods’ community, where school privileges were of the most primitive sort. Also, her aunt, brothers, and cousins had no sympathy for her ambitions and there was no money to spare for education if they had.” [18]
Park College
Chesnut remained resolute to further her education no matter the influences that surrounded her. Her awareness of Park College is lost to history, but “in characteristic fashion she wrote directly to Dr. MacAfee (McAfee), telling him her longings and difficulties ” [19] A reply from McAfee welcomed her to attend Park College In the fall of 1884, Chesnut arrived and “found an entirely new and congenial environment found many warm friends among the students, her surroundings were congenial and she became a Christian and was as zealously honest as she declared she had been before unreliable ” [20]
The surroundings and environment met upon arrival at Park were meager The college was poor and weekly sought support to remain open [21] The lives of students were difficult for they “did not always have enough food or sufficient nourishment for their active lives, for they not only studied but did all the work of the institution ” [22] Chesnut, writing later in life, mentioned that “ many meals consisted of sweet potatoes and sorghum Sometimes (we) even sat down to the table with only crackers and water but prayed for food which was sure to come before the next meal ” [23]
Chesnut engaged in the daily routines of study, activities, chapel, and work as the other students Early in the fall semester of 1886, she presented a devotional exercise titled “The Unhappy Lot of Mr. Knott.” [24] She was a member of the Cheever Literary Society and provided a recitation titled “To Labor is To Pray” in 1887. [25] Her spiritedness was exhibited in a psychology class during the fall semester of 1887 when she inquired of the professor, “Prof., if it is true that the mind and soul are one, then anyone losing the mind has lost his soul also, has he not?” [26] During commencement weekend exercises, in 1888, she provided an essay “Should Utah Be Admitted as a State?” [27] She remained in the Parkville area following graduation, where she had published in The Kansas City Times a story titled “The Border Ballads” and represented the Women’s Missionary Society during the ordination services of the Rev. Hugh Taylor and Rev. Frank Lonsdale. [28]
Chesnut’s time remained tough even though she participated in daily routines She received some financial assistance from her eldest brother, while clothing was provided to her by Anna McAfee The reliance upon others was “ a charity which she never could receive in any spirit of gratitude but which she accepted of necessity and with bitter resentment ” [29] The experiences of Chesnut’s young life “made her in afterlife full of understanding, gentleness, and tact for others who were poor and forlorn and proud ” [30] Chesnut’s four years at Park College had transformed her “miraculously from the silent, resentful girl to a young woman, still quiet and reserved, but with a determined purpose in life to erase from the lives of others the sorrow she had known ” [31]
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“No One Needed Her Here”
During her senior year at Park, Chesnut decided that her life calling was service to others through the practice of medicine and missionary work “saying sadly that no one needed her here ” [32] She petitioned the Board of Missions of the Northwest and, being accepted, was selected to further her education as a medical missionary at the Woman’s Hospital Medical College in Chicago. [33] A posting in the Sept. 15, 1888, Park College Record mentioned “Miss Nellie Chesnut of the class of ’88 is well settled in Chicago, pursuing her medical course She writes of the pleasant manner in which she is received and treated ” [34] Her life changed dramatically from residing in a rural farm community of fewer than 500 residents to the fourth largest city in the U S , with more than 500,000 people Chesnut’s first year in Chicago was challenging in that, “she lived in an attic, cooked her own meals and almost starved ” [35]
Woman’s Medical College of Chicago
Source: Alumnae of the Woman’s Medical College of Chicago 1859-1896 (Chicago: H G Cutler, Publishers, 1896, 47)
Class Photograph of 1888 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
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Following her first year at the Woman’s Hospital Medical College, the Board sent Chesnut to the Illinois Training School for Nurses for additional medical training. [36] Her two years here were trying. She “always resented authority which hampered her own methods, also she was rather careless and inexact in her ways, and training school discipline was a continual thorn in her flesh ” [37]
Source: https://drloihjournal blogspot com/2019/03/illinois-training-school-for-nurses-cook-county-hospital-chicago html
Katharine DeWitt, her roommate and classmate at Illinois Training School, described Chesnut’s engagement with patients. “She loved the poor and suffering who were under her care and was tender and untiring in her care, faithful to the last detail where essentials were concerned She felt no sympathy for the rich who lay in bed and let themselves be waited upon Her own spirit was so indefatigable even in illness that she never could be anything but impatient with those who did not exert themselves to the utmost ” [38] Chesnut’s carving for motherly affection was noted by DeWitt saying “she was adopted as almost another daughter by my mother whose love and care were very precious to her starved heart. She always spent her half days and parts of Sunday at my home and grew to think of it as her home too.” [39]
After graduating from Illinois Training School in 1891, Chesnut resumed full-time studies at the Woman’s Hospital Medical College, where, unfortunately, the Medical College’s financial concerns affected her level of education “The medical college which had been an excellent one at first, was at that time slowly going downhill she did not have as good medical equipment as she should have had.” [40] Though she deplored the technical rigor of the curriculum, the opportunity furnished a revenue source, to provide care for patients, such as Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, when the Medical College was closed for summer breaks [41] Graduating from the Woman’s Hospital Medical College in 1893, Chesnut took an opportunity to assist the lead physician at Sherborn Reformatory for Women in Framingham, Mass , that was “ a very useful and happy experience ” She simultaneously enrolled in a short course of study at Moody Bible Institute, Chicago [42]
The old Cook County Hospital Student Room
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Sherborn
In the summer of 1894, Chesnut returned to Chicago to attend Moody Bible Institute. [43] Her financial means to attend Moody was described as “ we have heard that Dr Eleanor Chesnut, who is to have the use for two or three months of Mrs Keop’s scholarship is to start for Chicago next week and will be ready to go to the institute by the last of the week I want to ask if she is expected to bring anything in the way of room furnishings, sheets, towels, table napkins, etc.? I hope not, for she has no supply of such things, but if it is necessary, we will have to make some arrangement for her to have them.” [44]
Chesnut, for some unknown reason, was delayed returning to Chicago “I had expected she (Chesnut) would be here by this time, but her plans have changed and she will not reach Chicago before the latter part of next week; but I think you may confidently count upon her being with you by Friday or Saturday, May 11th, or 12th, that is, this is her plan.” [45]
Notations in Chesnut’s Institute records described her as “ very attractive. Fine mind. Needs deeper experiences.”
[46] The indication of needing other experiences was explained, “I had meant to speak to you about a plan for Dr Chesnut doing some work this summer at the Eye and Ear Infirmary She will explain to you what the plan in mind is, but I wanted to say that of course what is in mind in her being at the Bible Institute is that these next few months should be spent in such a way as to best help her in her foreign work, and so we have thought that the arrangement which she will explain to you, might be made in connection with her duties at the Bible Institute proving a great help to her in her foreign medical work.” [47]
Reformatory for Women, Framingham, Massachusetts
Source: https://www prisonpro com/content/mci-framingham
153 Institute Place
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Source: Moody Bible Institute Crowell Library Archives
Turmoil in China and America
Chinese internal and external affairs were in turmoil when Chesnut arrived in China. The Qing dynasty (1644-1912) was forced to accept foreign economic control following the Opium Wars (1839-42 and 1856-60) and the SinoJapanese War (1894-95)
By the late 1890s, the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists, a Chinese secret organization, had carried out attacks on foreigners and Chinese Christians Chesnut and another missionary, Jean Richardson Lingle, as described by Lingle, were attacked in April 1896 by Chinese ruffians “Dr Eleanor Chesnut, my husband and I started on our second trip to the province of Hunan When we reached Lin Wu a soldier was sent ahead to announce to the official that we were near the city and would like accommodation That night our door was almost broken in The streets were full of men armed with spears and tridents We stayed a week A great many stones were thrown at the house day and night One day Dr Chesnut and I were stoned Immediately after we left Lin Wu the crowd demolished our building and then went to the Christians’ houses, drove them out, stole their things and dismantled their homes ” [48]
The Chinese government’s continued concessions of territory and commercial rights to foreigners angered peasants and others, leading to the Boxer movement. Members of the Boxers blamed foreigners for their low standard of living. In early summer 1900, the Boxers took to Peking streets, killing Chinese Christians and Christian missionaries, destroying churches, and burning railroad stations and other property. On June 20, 1900, the Boxers laid siege to Peking’s foreign legation district, commencing the Boxer Rebellion (1900-01). In support of the Boxers, on June 21, 1900, Qing Empress Dowager Tzu’u Hzi declared war on foreign countries with diplomatic relations with China.
Western powers and Japan organized a multinational force in reaction to their diplomatic stations and personnel’s siege. [49] While the multinational force was organized, the Boxers and others continued laying siege, denying foreigners food and other accommodations and killing several hundred foreigners and thousands of Chinese Christians On Aug 14, 1900, the multinational force arrived in Peking with approximately 20,000 troops Over the next year, the multinational force battled the Boxers until finally, on Sept 7, 1901, all parties signed the Boxer Protocol [50]
Shortly after the Empress’s declaration, Chesnut wrote on July 30, 1900, “I cannot tell you what influence the political situation will have upon our little corner of the empire We trust we will be able to carry on the work as usual The council has urged me to go to the coast Our hearts are very sad over the afflictions that have befallen our fellow workers in the North, the persecution of the native converts and the destruction of mission property Our only comfort is that all we hear might not be true ” [51]
The Boxer Rebellion forced an evacuation of Lien Chow as described by Chesnut:
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"None of us have felt of late like writing, as there seems to be no prospect of an immediate termination of this time of waiting and indecision The Machles and I left Lien Cehow the last week in August (1900) We did have great difficulty in deciding upon the right course Even now our hearts are divided It seemed so cruel to leave the poor Christians in their time of extremity We felt, however, that in case of an uprising of the Triad Society in Hunan we would be as straws against the wind, and would only increase the peril of the native Christians, since they would certainly risk their lives to save ours Then too, if we tried to procure a boat in time of disturbance, we might be obliged to pay a fabulous price The anxiety of our friends at the coast was great, and their frequent letters of warning kept us awake to our danger After nearly two months of resistance we left
The last letter from Lien Cehow pronounced the mission building intact, though Boxer placards were being hawked through the markets by men beating gongs to attract attention. While we have hopes that nothing serious will occur, nothing would surprise us in this time of lawlessness when men ’ s passions seem to have engulfed all their better judgment.” [52]
The internal and foreign policies of the U. S. should not overlook the causes of internal Chinese issues and perceptions. Chinese workers began migrating to the U. S. in the 1850s to work in gold mines, agriculture, and garment factories. Following the American Civil War, Chinese migrates were instrumental in the construction of transcontinental railroads. However, due to economic recessions, depressions, and loss of jobs, anti-Chinese sentiment grew among American workers who believed the Chinese migrates were being employed at lower wages, denying them employment opportunities Others in the U S believed that Chinese migrates “lowered the cultural and moral standards of American society and expressed concern about the integrity of American racial composition ” [53]
Based on continued social tensions and anti-Chinese sentiments, advocates of immigration restrictions finally pressured the U S Congress, in 1882, to enact the Chinese Exclusion Act, which suspended Chinese laborer’s immigration for 10 years and required Chinese laborers, scholars, diplomats and merchants to have a certificate of identification Congress enacted further restrictions, in 1888, with the Scott Act, which forbid reentry into the U S following a visit to China, even for legal residents In 1892 and 1902, Congress renewed the Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese government protested all of these actions, and Chinese merchants reacted by organizing boycotts of American products
President William McKinley's administration was not going to be outdone by Congress. In 1899, Secretary of State John Hay proposed what was known as the Open Door Policy. The policy articulated the rights of nations to trade equally and freely with China in coastal trading ports or commercial markets, and avoidance of having to pay harbor or railroad fees.
News of these American actions was sent back to China in letters and other correspondences from Chinese residing in the U.S., which led to further resentment and objections from the Chinese government and people. Chesnut’s work and life interweaved within these cultural, economic, and political entanglements. [54]
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The Sam-kong Mission Post (1894-1898)
The completion of Chesnut’s education and medical service found her submitting an application to the Presbyterian Mission Board for an appointment expressing “Am willing to be sent to whatever location may be deemed fittest. But having asked if I had a preference, my thoughts turned to Siam. It is a specially interesting field to me since I have always had throughout the country friends and correspondents I do not, however, set my heart on any one place, but rather pray that wherever it may be it will be the appointed one, that what powers I possess may be used to the best advantage ” [55] On Aug 7, 1893, she received an assignment as medical missionary in South China and sailed, in the fall of 1894, from San Francisco to Hong Kong aboard the steamship Oceanic.
“To Fight Back,” San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), 25 June 1894 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
Reaching Hong Kong, Chesnut made her way to Canton, China, and then inland to Sam-kong Ella May Wood Machle described her arrival “Dr Chesnut arrived here on Saturday afternoon with our new missionary Miss Patterson we had been inquiring all week of the boats arriving whether their boat had been seen and where as we did not wish them to come in on us unawares ” [56] Chesnut remarked upon arrival, “The mission station consisted of one family, one self-supporting single woman and one single man There were a girls’ boarding-school, three churches and wards for the medical care of women and men, thought these were very inadequate.” [57]
Immediately, Chesnut began the task of establishing a women ’ s hospital and wrote, “The little hospital is nearly finished. I look out upon it with admiring eyes and fancy myself within it administering ‘yarbs’ and ‘ essences ’ at a great rate Being able to talk so little, I do not get as clear a history as I might at home Another obstacle is the scarcity of drugs. When I want one it never seems to be in the dispensary; and when it is, sometimes I can’t find it because many of the bottles are labeled in Chinese. The horrid tin cans instead of bottles!” [58] The hospital was not completed until June 1, 1896 [59]
The state of medical care and to further her study, Chesnut wrote in 1896 “I desired to spend a few months in Canton studying the methods of the Canton Hospital and the diseases common to Southern China I stayed in Canton from July to November and gained much useful experience.” [60]
Three years into Chesnut’s work at Sam-kong, she wrote “The dispensary practice is relatively larger than the in-practice This, owing to several reasons; the first of which is popular prejudice, another the difficulty of leaving home and its cares and the work which must be done in order to provide the necessary rice. Of our patients, many are afflicted with chronic diseases bronchitis, asthma, rheumatism, malaria and diseases of the eye and skin Rarely are we able to detain a woman as long as she should stay She must go home because of the sickness, death or marriage or to plant the rice or hoe the sweet potatoes or dig the peanuts ” [61]
The Oceanic
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Dispensary Day back at Sam Kong, September 1905
Dr Chesnut and Elda Patterson with their ponies Brownie and Billy
Source: Woman’s Work, August 1906, 179 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
The language barrier overcame when “Immediately upon my arrival in Samkong I began the study of the dialect recommended by the Station, which was southern Mandarin I devoted my time faithfully to the Southern Mandarin until last February (1897) and do not regret having done so as I will doubtless to able to use it. The majority of the women here however understand but a few words of it, and I was not satisfied with a dialect which brought me nearer to these people I accordingly, began the study then of the Samkong colloquial dialect which is Hakka I found after having learned the tones and the changes in the vowel sounds that it was very easy to derive from the Mandarin Thus far it has given me more pleasure than the Mandarin and I have been enabled to work in fields where I could not have gone without it ” [62] She further commented that “One of its (treatment of women patients) most interesting features is the number of dialects and districts represented by the patients. Hunanese, Hakka, Samkongese, Sa tz Kang, and Cantonese mingle together on the sick list.” [63] DeWitt recalled that “Dr Chesnut never lost her love of study She learned more of Chinese than was expected or required, reading the classics from her interest in them and learning to talk in the local dialect that she might not have to approach her patients through an interpreter She did a good deal of translating One of her latest employments was a phrasebook she was compiling She was also translating a textbook on nursing from English into Chinese ” [64]
.
Patients in Samkong Hospital
(1) Spoke Hunanese (2) Spoke Hakka (3) Spoke Cantonese (4) Spoke Sam Kongese and (5) Spoke Sa tz Kang
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Source: Eleanor Chestnut, “Woman’s Medical Department at Sam Kong, S China,” Woman’s Work for Woman, October 1897, 271 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
The Lien Chow Mission Post (1898-1905)
Chesnut spent four years at Sam-kong Mission before being permanently transferred to Lien Chow in March 1898. [65] She was familiar with the small mission and medical facilities at Lien Chow due to her association with the Machle family and traveling to the mission on occasion. In 1883, Rev. Joseph C. Thomson and family established a dispensary and a school for boys at Lien Chow but soon departed due to Chinese fears and anti-foreign hostility Returning in 1889, Dr Edward C Machle established a permanent medical practice and reopened a dispensary in 1891 [66]
Following another trip to Canton in April 1897, Chesnut returned to Sam-kong to have the “pleasure of seeing the deeds to the Lien Chow property stamped.” [67] Knowing that her time at Sam-kong was drawing to a close, she "began to wonder what would become of these poor women of Sam-kong and neighboring villages many of whom have learned to rely upon a foreign doctor ” [68]
Empathy for these women pulled at her heart, and she decided, along with Machle “to have a dispensary in Samkong and two native physicians, a man, and a woman. Then arose the question of where we could get another woman physician. The problem was solved by the willingness of one of the young Christian women to study medicine ” [69] Before she departed from Sam-kong, Machle had purchased another piece of land at Lien Chow for a woman ’ s hospital He had commenced seeking funds, saying “I hope the Board will find it possible to grant this, not only for the sake of the medical but also the educational work The girls’ school is overcrowded into two or three tiny rooms and no more boarding quarters They are now packed in like sardines in a box The present hospital will make a very pleasant school building and the educators are gazing upon it with envious eyes. As regards the medical work, it will doubtless develop much more rapidly in Lien Chow than here (Sam-kong) being in a much more central position We think three thousand dollars is not too much ” [70]
Chesnut, writing in the fall of 1898, said “We did not get an appropriation for a woman ’ s hospital All we did get was a cut of thirty-three and third per cent Just now work in the Lien Chow Hospital is on the increase The patients are mostly men the poor coolie class. The patients sprawl around in every uncouth position. The space underneath their beds is a wilderness of pots, kettles, vegetables, wood, and etc. When I first came to China, I had stricter ideas of order, but now I think there is positively no use in warring against the inevitable crocks and saucepans ” [71]
Map
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Source: B Waugh, “John Rogers Peale, 1879-1905,” Presbyterians of the Past Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
A year following her arrival in Lien Chow, Chesnut wrote, “If you had received all the letters I have planned to write you, you would have been overwhelmed, as would the Society and the waste basket. I am at heart an excellent correspondent I am a living parable to the Chinese women, for I often point the illustration of the body as a garment, fresh, half worn or wholly worn out as the case may be The women who have been in the hospital this year are very teachable. The best evidence of their appreciation of western medicine is the small building they have erected It contains three rooms, one used as a meeting room and the other two as wards The entire cost of the building was something more than two hundred dollars, Mexican This money was contributed by the Chinese, excepting $10, presented by an English tourist.” [72]
Her Christian modesty may have had her admit that, “It is simply a one-story ward which, with another put up by Dr. Chesnut at her own expense, affords the only accommodation there for sick women and children.” [73] Rev William H Lingle further described “They thronged about the doctor and she (Eleanor Chesnut) could not bear to turn them off with mere dispensary treatment, so she herself built a ward for them the other side of the yard. It was soon full to overflow, and then the Chinese out of gratitude put up another small building. These quarters are only temporary. A hospital is necessary in order that Dr. Chesnut carry on her ministry to the sick suitably, efficiently, or with comfort to herself ” [74]
Source: International Mission Photography Archive, ca 1860-ca 1960, Historical Photographs from the Basel Mission http://cdm15799 contentdm oclc org/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll123/id/7229
The building on the far right may be the structure built by Dr Chesnut
Source: “What is Needed at Lienchow?”, Woman’s Work for Woman, February 1900, 34. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
Three American missionary lady doctors in Canton, with their pupils
Women’s Hospital Ward at Lien Chow
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In 1900, Dr Machle and his family returned to the U S for an extended furlough, leaving Chesnut in charge of medical treatments and the hospital Lingle related a story of his visit “I went to Lien Chow upon Dr Chesnut’s invitation, to assist in an unprofessional way in the amputation of a young man ’ s leg. It was amputated just below the knee I did not hesitate to let doctor wield the knife, but when it came to sawing the bone, I offered to do that for her, as that requires muscle as well as courage But, no, she was the doctor and I only a layman in this business, so all I could do was the holding, while she did the rest. The leg had to come off or the young man would die ” [75]
The medical profession consumed Chesnut’s daily routine, but she also was a Christian and a missionary espousing compassion as told by her:
“Noticeable among the regular attendants of the Lien Chow church for many years was Shan Yun Fuk His pallid countenance, silver hair and flowing beard made him a striking contrast to the dusky background of faces about him. It was therefore easy to miss him from his accustomed place on Sunday morning When two Sabbaths had gone by and he did not appear, we became anxious and the elder determined to visit him next day and ascertain the reason of his absence. He did not need to go, however, for early Monday morning a nephew came running, breathless and tearful, to tell us that Shan Yun Fuk had passed away during the previous night He had been ailing with what his relatives deemed some slight complaint. It was not till he failed to rise at the accustomed hour and open the door of his little cabin that they became alarmed They called, but no response came, so, forcing the bolt, they entered and found him lifelike but lifeless; not traces of suffering upon his face, only a radiant smile
As his village was distant, the pastor thought best to have the burial service at the house We reached it just at sunset In the open air under fragrant pines the coffin was placed, where the departing sun lighted the placid features with a last glow.
He was never married, but lived by himself in a tiny hut across the way from a brother’s house. He was by trade a tailor, but as his eyesight failed with advancing years he opened a small booth on a public highway where he sold refreshments to passersby He held no office in the church and was never in employ of the mission, but he was the source through whom more than thirteen members of the Lien Chow Church received their first knowledge of Christianity So poor was he that his coffin had to be provided by friends, his burial garments were a gift Quietly, they bore him to his tomb on the mountain side. None of the cheap and gaudy pomp of heathen rites was there to mare the scene; none of the wild wailing that follows the heathen bier ” [76]
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A different story of her missionary work was written:
“She (Mrs. Lai) and some other former patients invited me into an open court to speak to the women who came flocking in from every direction. I could not imagine how so diminutive a village could contain so many; the number of children was still more surprising They crowded up to me, felt my clothing with their sticky little fingers, and peered into my face as if they had never seen before such a curiosity Amid the din of mingled conversation in an elevated key, and the crying of babies we started a hymn When we had finished I asked the children if they would like to learn some hymns.I then asked them if they would promise to study the words during the week, if I would come each Sunday afternoon and teach them the tunes They indicated their willingness The next Sunday found me at the village with a dozen giggling little urchins perched on some bed-boards before me Our place of meeting has been a small covered alley-way between two houses ” [77]
Chesnut’s dream of a completed woman ’ s hospital was noted in a letter to Dr. Frank Field Ellinwood “Though I have certainly been dilatory in acknowledging the appropriation of two thousand dollars for the Woman’s hospital, I was not so in disposing of it Before I was sure that it had been granted, I had begun building with the three hundred Mexican previously appropriated All that was necessary then was to enlarge the plan and continue the work already commenced The cost of building has increased considerably during the past year, yet by the employment of old bricks and other available secondhand materials to cheapen the cost, a very substantial and satisfactory building has been erected.” [78]
Woman’s Hospital – Lien Chow First Floor
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Eleanor Chesnut to Dr [Frank Field] Ellinwood, 30 July 1900, Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
Woman’s Hospital – Lien Chow
Second Floor
Eleanor Chesnut to Dr [Frank Field] Ellinwood, 30 July 1900, Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
Woman’s Hospital – Lien Chow
Mrs G W Marshall, “Progress of Woman’s Work in Yeung Kong,” Woman’s Work for Woman, February 1902, 38 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
Furlough Back to America
Following the completion of the women ’ s hospital at Lien Chow, Chesnut returned to the U.S. for a long-awaited leave, arriving in New York City on Sept. 6, 1902. [79] Her furlough included a European trip with DeWitt “Where during her first furlough we were in England together, I had to make her let me keep her money, for the beggars on the street wrung her heart and she wished to give to them all The disagreeable and undeserving appealed to her even more than others in need She would say: ‘It is so dreadful to be so disagreeable that no one loves you ’ All her actions were based not on common sense but on a yearning to help those who needed help” DeWitt said [80]
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Chesnut also visited family in Missouri and friends at Park College, but within weeks was on the lecture circuit, “Dr Eleanor Chesnut, of Lieu Chow, China, will deliver an address on her medical missionary experience Thursday evening at 7:30 o ’clock in the Juniata Presbyterian Church.” [81] She spent her time impressing everyone “with her merry wit as well as her earnest devotion,” attending “post-graduate medical work, in caring for a friend, in raising money for a chapel in China” and back in Chicago, “in further study at Moody Institute.” [82] Her schedule so worried some women in New York City that they “generously threw their whole annual meeting offering into her lap, thus giving her respite and a great joy ” [83]
During her leave, an old friend gave her a personal gift to be used for purchasing a silk dress with “ruching around the neck and tastefully puffed sleeves. The bodice and skirt were cleverly designed, fancifully decorated with ruffles.” [84] Chesnut may have reflected on the elegance of the dress to her earlier experiences of having to borrow clothing from the donation bag for poor students while attending Park College
Chesnut’s year-long furlough concluded on Aug. 8, 1903, when she departed San Francisco. [85] Three months following her return to Lien Chow, she wrote “When at home, I felt very tired and not much like a person who was having a furlough, but now I feel all its beneficial effects and am convinced that furloughs are not a delusion and snare but all they should be Mine was an eminent success in regard to what I derived from it I am only sorry that I could not be more to other people After reaching Canton I waited some time I started up the river October 1 and reached Lien Chow the 16th. When (we) neared Lien Chow, two boats (were) coming toward us flying American and Chinese flags. Then we knew that rain and wind had not kept the missionaries and Chinese Christians from coming to meet us Oh, it was such fun! Wasn’t I glad to be back again?” [86]
Dr Eleanor Chesnut in her silk dress
“The Martyr Band at Lienchow, China,” Woman’s Work, January 1906, 6 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 21
Chesnut’s furlough provided opportunities to raise donations for a chapel at Lien Chow “A letter from Lien Chow, China, desires that thanks of the Station, and of the Chinese who are to be benefited by the new church, be publicly expressed to all friends in America who, through Dr. Chesnut’s appeals, contributed funds towards its erection.” Also stated “While at home on furlough, Dr. Eleanor Chesnut had labored zealously to secure funds, and many self-denying friends gave liberally to its erection.” [87]
Unfortunately, toward the conclusion of the chapel’s construction, “Last mail from South China reports Dr Eleanor Chesnut of Lien Chow very ill with malarial fever Dr Mary Niles had come down and, on Dec 27 (1904), was starting back to Canton with the patient ” [88] Further communications indicated that Chesnut was “recuperating at Macao (China).” [89] Although ill, Chesnut wrote at the end of January 1905 “I hear that an organ has come for the Lien Chow chapel. I have not seen it, but Mrs. Noyes says it is not a ‘baby,’ and she thinks from the size of the box that it must be full sized I am very grateful for it The new chapel is completed Dr Niles pronounced it a ‘little gem ’ I never imagined that we could have such a pretty and commodious church The seating capacity is seven hundred ” [90] Chesnut further wrote “The chapel is finished, dedicated, and occupied Several officials were present at the dedicatory service of the new church The church is well filled on Sundays Christians constitute a considerable part of the audience, and there are some outsiders who are favorably inclined to Christianity.” [91]
The Lien Chow Massacre
Returning to Lien Chow in the fall of 1903, Chesnut sent two letters to the Board requesting the construction of a boys’ boarding school and an appeal for an additional doctor The request for the school was denied, but on the evening of Oct 27, 1905, the Machles returned from a two-month absence coinciding with the closing events of the Chinese celebration of Ta Tain (All Souls’ Day). [92]
The Church at Lien Chow, China Dedication Ceremony on March 1, 1905
Source: Rees F Edwards, “Lienchow Church and Schools,” Woman’s Work, January 1906, 10 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 22
Chinese officials had erected a mat shed on mission property, which had also occurred the previous year During conversations the previous year, village elders had agreed that it was the wrong location and promised that the error would not happen again. Finding the mat shed on mission property, Dr. Machle retrieved three of six small toy cannons and took them to the men ’ s hospital. The retrieval of the canons was a customary Chinese means of indicating that Machle desired to confer. The elders arrived when Machle reminded them of their previous agreement One elder commented, “This is our last day In the afternoon we have our great feast, and then we will take the shed down and not put it up again hereafter on mission property ” [93]
After the conference, a mob carrying weapons approached the elders The elders informed the crowd that there was a resolution, but the group desired trouble. The mob attacked the hospital by throwing stones through the windows, smashing doors, removing anatomical and pathological specimens and burning down the hospital. During the conversation between the elders and Machle, Chesnut arrived on the scene She decided to inform Chinese authorities, and might have escaped forthcoming events, but returned to the Machle’s residence, stating, “If they are to be slaughtered, I shall go and die with them ” [94]
When local Chinese authorities arrived, they were unable to control the mob. Noticing the increased mob and that authorities could not dismiss the group, Chesnut and the others fled out the residence’s back door. Fleeing to the river, a local ferryman refused to carry them across the river as the mob approached Around noon, the missionaries sought refuge in a Buddhist temple, where they hid in a cave opening in the temple’s back [95]
Source: https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/NSUDCXSSNJPHG8A
Source:
Dayun gusi (Big Cloud Ancient Temple)
A limestone cave in back of the Dayun gusi (Big Cloud Ancient Temple)
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 23
https://digital library wisc edu/1711 dl/6ZZFLOFSMRYH58Q
Locating four of the six missionaries, the mob dragged them out The four initially were placed at the foot of a tree Chesnut pleaded for the lives of a recently arrived couple “If we have ever done you harm, kill us, but don’t kill these new missionaries, for they have never done anything to you. ” [96] Accounts describe that Chesnut was stripped naked and flung into the river, then speared with a pitchfork. [97]
An eyewitness described the scene:
“I arrived at the temple just in time to see the mob bringing Dr Chesnut down the temple steps to the foot of a large tree Some young fellows then went up to her and hit her with a piece of wood Four ruffians then dragged her from the tree, and pushed her down the steep bank leading to the river and threw her into the water. Then one of the men jumped into the river and stabbed her once in the neck, once in the breast, and once in the lower part of the abdomen.
The last service she rendered the Chinese was under this tree, when she noticed a boy who had an ugly gash in his head Dr Chesnut called him to her, tore off a portion of her dress and bound up the wound. It was her last patient.” [98]
The river in which Chesnut was killed Source: Rev Arthur J Brown, “The Story of the Lien-Chou Martyrdom” The Missionary Review of the World, February 1906, 88 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 24
Chesnut’s Last Patient Pan Fuk Lin, 17 years old
Source: “A Memorial to the Martyrs of Lien-chou, China,” Woman’s Work, August 1907, 176 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
The Chinese government, following the massacre, established an official commission to investigate The commission ultimately determined the number of causes where the finding of anatomical and pathological specimens in the hospital, anti-foreign feeling of the American boycott and the purchase of land for the erection of foreign buildings, the local Viceroy’s instituting a new form of lottery, the failure of authorities to arrest or punish individuals of the premise year, and the general antagonization against foreigners [99] Commission
Source: https://digital library wisc edu/1711 dl/C3TS7OYQFNLOP8K
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 25
The mission buildings destroyed included two residences, a reception hall, a church and both hospitals [100] Reports indicated that the total cost of the destruction was more than $26,000 [101]
Ruins of the Women’s Hospital
Source: https://digital.library.wisc.edu/
Ruins of the Men's Hospital
Source: https://search.library.wisc.edu/ 1711 dl/3IZCZHL3T56XP9D digital/AE5I5YDPKCP4LZ8P
The Woman’s Hall
Source: Rev Arthur J Brown, “The Story of the Lien-Chou Martyrdom” The Missionary Review of the World, February 1906, 89 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 26
Source: https://digital library wisc edu/1711 dl/SWRLMSLKCG7OX9E
Conclusion
Women missionaries and their pioneering movements of evangelism and ecumenical spirit were an essential part of China’s missionary effort During Chesnut’s Park College memorial service, eulogizers commented that “She loved the loveless She befriended the friendless She sought out the lonely and gave them the companionship they longed for.” [102] Records indicate that in 1905 alone, she treated 5,479 patients. [103]
Chesnut embodied in life and death her alma mater’s motto of Fides et Labor (faith and labor). Students of the Canton Christian College wrote within weeks of the massacre, “This is a shame to our people, a shame to our race! It is a sad and melancholy spectacle to see our people become so degraded and debased mentally; for there is no excuse whatever for their savagery and brutality ” [104]
Source:
http://catalog history pcusa org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail pl?biblionumbe
Ruins of the Lien Chow Church
Tombstone of Dr Eleanor Chesnut at the Missionary Cemetery at Lien Chow
Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, PA
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 27
END NOTES
[1] The three individuals were Rev John A McAfee, D D , of Highland, Kan ; George S Park of Magnolia, Ill ; and Rev Elisha B Sherwood of St Joseph, Mo
[2] Susan M Yohn, A Contest of Faiths: Missionary Women and Pluralism in the American Southwest (Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, 1995), 89 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[3] Joseph Ernest McAfee A Mid-West Adventure in Education (Kansas City, Mo : Alumni Parkana Committee, 1937) Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections McAfee was the son of Dr John A McAfee, one of the founders of Park College
[4] Susan M Yohn, A Contest of Faiths: Missionary Women and Pluralism in the American Southwest (Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, 1995), 89 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[5] Cyrus Boyd Beckes. “Park College and Missions,” The Missionary Review of the World, XXI, No. 9 (September 1908): 684. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections. Beckes was an 1893 graduate of Park College.
[6] “Park College Graduates.“ The Missionary Review of the World, XXI, NJo. 9 (September 1908): 701. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[7] Susan M. Yohn, A Contest of Faiths: Missionary Women and Pluralism in the American Southwest (Ithaca, NY.: Cornell University Press, 1995), 89-90. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections. The number of Park College graduates between 1880 and 1940 that served in foreign or home missions was 374 or more than 6 per graduating year. Graduates in foreign missions served: Africa, Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Bogota, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Columbia, Guatemala, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Missionary to Jews, Persia, Philippines, Siam, and Syria Graduated in home missions served: Alaska, City Missions, Cuba, Freedmen, Hawaii, Hispanic Americans, Mountaineers, Native Americans, Puerto Rico, and Utah
[8] Records indicate that the family resided on Lower Franklin Street “Iowa Girl in China,” The Courier (Waterloo, IA), June 20, 1900 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections Franklin Street is five blocks from the Cedar River and data denotes that this area of Waterloo remains one of the lowest income neighborhoods in America https://www neighborhoodscout com/ia/waterloo/franklin-st
[9]
1870 Federal Census
[10] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library DeWitt (1867-1963), acclaimed author, nurse, and businesswoman who worked for the American Red Cross, American Journal of Nursing, and American National Nursing Association Attending Illinois Training School for Nursing with Chesnut and graduating in 1891 together, the women became lifelong friends and confidants At the time of Chesnut's death, DeWitt held a collection of personal letters sent during Chesnut's missionary work in China. DeWitt could relate to many of Chesnut’s arduous circumstances-Abner DeWitt, Katharine’s father, had been a prominent preacher in New York until his untimely death in 1877, leaving his wife, Mary, to care for five children. Katharine, not unlike Chesnut, became a trailblazer for women in American professional health. She organized the Lakeside Hospital School of Nursing 1898, later the Western Reserve University School of Nursing (Cleveland) and Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in 1903.
[11] Ellinor Chesnut, will dated Feb. 4, 1872, proved May 10, 1872, Vol I, 1867-81, Black Hawk County Registry of Probate, Waterloo, Iowa. The last will and testimony indicates that Oliver Gable (1833-1900) was a local railroad station agent.
[12] “Doctor Courageous,” The Girl’s Companion, Dec. 24, 1944, 2. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 28
[13] Ibid
The neighbor family was that of Edwin (1834-1929) and Sarah (Brown) (1838-94) Merwin The 1880 Federal Census notes that Edwin was a seller of marble works and that Sarah had a disability, while Chesnut was listed as a servant Sarah appeared to suffer from regular bouts of "illness" before her passing; Edwin remarried in 1898 and moved to Los Angeles, California before his passing They had no children and appeared to be suitable foster parents for Chesnut, whom they expected to assist on the property Chesnut lived in the Merwin household from 1872 to 80, when she would join her twin brother James and older brother Henry Edward at their aunt and uncle’s farm in Callaway County, Mo
In correspondence from DeWitt to Speer in 1908, DeWitt noted that following Ellinor’s death in 1872, the three brothers were sent to her sister, Ann (Cain-Cannell) Moore (1827-97) in Callaway County Ann and her husband Edward (1831-1909), were born and raised in Braddock, Isle of Man, and moved to the U S in 1854 They would live briefly in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa before settling in the Liberty-Hatton, Mo., area between 1870-80. The couple had six children, five of whom were still at home by the time Chesnut joined in 1880. Research finds some confusion of actual locations related to Liberty and Hatton. Federal census reports indicate Liberty, while general histories denoted Hatton. The difference between Liberty and Hatton is less than one mile.
The eldest Chesnut child, Henry Edward (1863-1944), by 1900, had married and settled in Fountain Creek, Ill., where he worked as a farmer. Though not formally educated past the third grade, Henry worked as a Pastor from 1907-40, passing away in Sedro Wooley, Skagit, Wash/, in 1944. He had no children.
Second-eldest George Chesnut (1866-1909) is shown in the 1880 Federal Census, as living in Fountain Creek as a laborer. It is assumed he made his way to the Moores in Missouri by 1893, as he marries in Mexico, Mo. In 1900, George was a patient at State Lunatic Asylum No 1 (now Fulton [Mo ] State Hospital) for an unknown ailment, but is released before his death in 1909 in Mexico He and his wife had two children
Eleanor’s twin, James David (1868-1935), was sent to the Moore’s in 1872, as is listed on the 1880 Census as a household member Joined by Eleanor briefly before her first term at Park College, James moves to Lavaca, Harris County, Texas, between 1880 and 1890 There he married in 1898, working for the railroad and as a carpenter According to James’ grandchildren, the family left Texas during the depression and moved back to Callaway County “He bought a farm near the people there who had taken him in as a child and raised him up ” (Charlene Chesnut, September 6, 1994), where he would live until he died in Columbia, Missouri in 1935 He and his wife had two children
[14] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library
[15] Ibid
[16] Ibid The work adopted is used in this context as unofficial because the legal adoption of Chesnut by the Merwin’s was not pursued via the Iowa court system. According to the 1880 Federal Census, Sarah Moore had a disability that may have influenced her desire for Chesnut to remain at home. DeWitt, in correspondence with Speer, mentioned that Chesnut remained in communications with the Merwin’s after departing and even sent some financial assistance from her missionary salary to assist Edwin following Sarah's death.
[17] “Doctor Courageous,” The Girl’s Companion, Dec. 24, 1944, 2. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections. The 1880 Federal Census has Chesnut still residing with the Merwin’s. Later in 1880, Chesnut moved to relatives named Edward and Ann Moore, farmers, in Liberty, Callaway County, Mo. Ann was Chesnut’s aunt. Previous research had Chesnut residing in Hatton, Mo., but based on federal census reports, Liberty is less than one mile from Hatton. [Editor note: not Liberty, in Clay County, Mo.]
[18] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library [19] Ibid
[20] Ibid
END NOTES
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 29
END NOTES
[21] Bill Beck, Fides et Labor: 140 Years of Pioneering Education The Story of Park University (Virginia Beach, VA : The Donning Company Publishers, 2015), 20 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[22] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library
[23] Ibid
[24] The Park College Record (Parkville, Mo ), Sept 11, 1886 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[25] Literary Monthly, June 1887, 47 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections The formation of literary societies was a critical aspect of student life The co-educational Cheever Literary Society was formed in 1877, named after Dr William M Cheever Cheever was a member of Park College’s Board of Trustees and pastor for Second Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Mo The literary societies met weekly on Friday evenings for devotional exercises, essay and poetry readings, debates, and orations. Between 1885-90, two literary societies Park and Cheever jointly published Literary Monthly, which contained original literary efforts and news.
[26] Literary Monthly, October 1887, 60. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[27] “Park College Commencement: The Essays Read by the Graduating Class at Parkville Yesterday,” The Kansas City (Mo.) Times, June 8, 1888. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[28] “The Border Ballads,” The Kansas City (Mo.) Times, July 16, 1888, and “Parkville,” The Kansas City (Mo.) Times, August 8, 1888 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[29] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library
[30] Ibid
[31] “Doctor Courageous,” The Girl’s Companion, Dec 24, 1944, 2 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[32] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library
[33] The Woman’s Hospital Medical College of Chicago was founded in 1870 by Mary H Thompson and Dr William Heath Byford to furnish equal educational opportunities for female medical students In 1879, the name changed to the Woman’s Medical College of Chicago, and in 1892, the College was taken over by Northwestern University and renamed the Northwestern University Woman’s Medical School Due to financial difficulties, the College was closed in 1902
[34] The Park College Record (Parkville, Mo.), Sept. 15, 1888. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[35] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E. Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library.
[36] Eleanor entered on May 2, 1889 and graduated May 21, 1891. Her course work included medical and surgical procedures, gynecology, obstetrical procedures, and nurse supervision. Eleanor Chesnut File
[CCSN 01 0022 0511 0291 and CCSN 04 0033 Chestnut], Illinois Training School for Nurses records, Special Collections and University Archives, University Library, The University of Illinois at Chicago.
[37] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E. Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library
[38] Ibid
[39] Ibid
[40] Ibid Also see, Grace Fay Schryver, A History of the Illinois Training School for Nurses, 1880-1929 (Chicago: The Board of Directors of the Illinois Training School for Nurses, 1930), 205 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 30
END NOTES
[41] Robert E Speer, Eleanor Chesnut A Servant of the King (n c : Young Peoples’ Missionary Movement of the United States and Canada, 1909), 6 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[42] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library Also see, Marie J Mergler, Alumnae of the Woman’s Medical College of Chicago, 1859-1896 (Chicago: H G Cutler, Publisher, 1896), 115 and 141 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[43] Enrollment Card, Eleanor Chesnut Student Record, Crowell Library Archives, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago
Actual dates of attendance were May 15, 1894 to August 31, 1894 Records indicate that Chesnut appreciated her experience at the institute because she visited during her return to the U S in 1902-03
[44] Ellen Ward to Mrs Capron, April 28, [1894], Crowell Library Archives, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago Ward may have operated a boarding house and had some association with Chesnut because Chesnut lists Ward as a reference on her admission record to attend the Institute. Ward served as a missionary in China starting in 1906.
[45] Ellen Ward to Miss Strong, undated, Crowell Library Archives, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois.
[46] Student Identification Card, undated, Crowell Library Archives, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois.
[47] Ellen Ward to Miss Strong, undated, Crowell Library Archives, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois.
[48] Jean Richardson Lingle, “Entrance into Hunan Disputed and Re-established,” Woman’s Work for Women, March 1897, 74. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections. Jean Richardson Lingle was the wife of Rev. William Hill Lingle, and both were Presbyterian missionaries. No documentation exists that proves Chesnut’s party was attacked by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists, but other Chinese gangs did exist to threaten foreigners and Chinese Christians
[49] The Western powers included Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the U S
[50] “Boxer Rebellion” https://www history com/topics/china/boxer-rebellion
[51] Eleanor Chesnut to Dr [Frank Field] Ellinwood, July 30, 1900, Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections Ellinwood (1826-1908) was the corresponding secretary for the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions between 1871-1906
[52] Eleanor Chesnut, “China,” Woman’s Work for Woman, February 1901, 50 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[53] “Chinese Immigration and the Chinese Exclusion Acts” https://history state gov/milestones/18661898/chinese-immigration
[54] Other vital events related to Chinese-American relations: 1854: The California Supreme Court decision, People v Hall, ruled that Chinese cannot testify in court; 1858: California legally prohibits Chinese and “Mongolian” immigration; 1870: Congress approves the Naturalization Act, barring Chinese from obtaining U.S. citizenship. The Act also prevents the immigration of Chinese women who have marital partners in the U.S. Chinese and Japanese men must show evidence in support of a woman ’ s moral character in the case of prospective and actual wives of Chinese and Japanese descent; 1880: The U.S. and China sign a treaty that allows the U.S. to limit Chinese immigration; 1889: The U.S. Supreme Court decision, Chae Chan Ping v. United States, upholds Chinese Exclusion laws’ constitutionality; 1893: In Fong Yue Ting v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that Congress has the power to expel the Chinese; 1904: Congress makes the Chinese Exclusion acts indefinite. Law enforcement officials arrest 250 allegedly illegal Chinese immigrants without search warrants; 1905: California’s Civil Code forbids intermarriage between Whites and “Mongolians”; 1924: The Asian Exclusion Act, which is part of the Immigration Act of 1924, excludes all Asian laborer immigrants from entering into the U S ; and 1943: Congress repeals all Chinese exclusion laws and grants Chinese the right to become naturalized citizens
[55] Robert E Speer, Eleanor Chesnut A Servant of the King (n c : Young Peoples’ Missionary Movement of the United States and Canada, 1909), 7-8 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections Chesnut’s passport of June 19, 1904, noted that she was 5’ 3 ½” tall, eyes were light brown, and hair was dark brown
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 31
END NOTES
[56] Georgene Searfoss, Longings of the Heart: The Story of Elsie Machle White (n c : Georgene Searfoss, 2019), 63 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections Ella May Machle was the wife of Dr Edward Machle, medical missionary at Sam-kong Their 10-year old daughter Amy accompanied her parents Elda G Patterson was a nurse missionary Ella May and daughter Amy were killed with Chesnut at the Lien Chow massacre on Oct 29, 1905
[57] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library
[58] Ibid
[59] “1896-1987”, Eleanor Chesnut to an unknown addressee Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[60] Ibid
[61] Eleanor Chestnut, “Woman’s Medical Department at Sam Kong, S. China,” Woman’s Work for Woman, October 1897, 271. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[62] “1896-1987”, Eleanor Chesnut to unknown addressee. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[63] Eleanor Chestnut, “Woman’s Medical Department at Sam Kong, S. China,” Woman’s Work for Woman, October 1897, 271. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[64] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E. Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library.
[65] John F. Piper, Jr., Robert E. Speer: Prophet of the American Church (Louisville, Ky.: Geneva Press, 2000), 231. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections The month of Chesnut’s arrival in Lien Chow is mentioned in a column Woman’s Work for Woman, July 1899, 180 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[66] Guangqiu Xu, American Doctors in Canton: Modernization in China, 1835-1935 (New Brunswick, NJ : Transaction Publishers, 2011), 31 Local Chinese resistance to foreign missionaries remained a concern In 1895, Rev Walter H Lingle, who had settled in Lien Chow, was threatened Three Chinese accompanying Lingle were seized, imprisoned and beaten 500 blows each Woman’s Work for Woman, July 1899, 179 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections Also see, “What is Needed at Lienchow,” Woman’s Work for Woman, February 1900, 34 “Lienchow officials were anti-foreign in those days Even so recently as four years ago, Rev W H Lingle was roughly handled there ” Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[67] “1896-1987”, Eleanor Chesnut to unknown addressee Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[68] Ibid.
[69] Ibid.
[70] Ibid.
[71] Eleanor Chesnut, “A Glimpse of the Doctors Life in South China,” Woman’s Work for Woman, October 1898, 273. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections. In the article, Chesnut mentioned her routine: Hospital patients, 7-9 a.m.; breakfast and prayers; operations; study letters; dinner; medical student recites; hospital rounds, 4 p.m.; dispensary patients; spend one day at Sam Kong dispensary; two afternoons teaching English; and one afternoon in school.
[72] Lien Chow, China, March 9th, 1899. Eleanor Chesnut to unknown addressee. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections Also see, “China,” Woman’s Work for Woman, February 1900, 45 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[73] Woman’s Work for Woman, July 1899, 179 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[74] “What is Needed at Lienchow,” Woman’s Work for Woman, February 1900, 35 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 32
END NOTES
[75] Ibid , 34
[76] Eleanor Chesnut, “A Lienchow Christian,” Woman’s Work for Woman, July 1900, 182 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[77] Eleanor Chesnut, “An Infinitesimal Success,” Woman’s Work for Woman, February 1902, 35-37 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[78] Eleanor Chesnut to Dr [Frank Field] Ellinwood, July 30, 1900, Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[79] “Since Last Month,” Woman’s Work for Woman, October 1902, 307 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[80] Katharine Dewitt to Robert E Speer, undated, Robert Elliott Speer Manuscript Collection, Princeton
Theological Seminary Library
[81] “A Coming Lecture,” Altoona (Pa.) Tribune, Oct. 8, 1902. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections. The lecture occurred on Oct. 9, 1902.
[82] “The Martyr Band at Lienchow, China,” Woman’s Work, January 1906, 6-7. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[83] Ibid.
[84] Charlene Chesnut, Eleanor’s Book (Houston, Charlene Chesnut, 2014), 225. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[85] “Since Last Month,” Woman’s Work for Woman, September 1903, 217. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[86] Eleanor Chesnut, “Back After First Furlough,” Woman’s Work for Woman, February 1904, 39-40 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[87] Woman’s Work for Woman, April 1904, 74 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections Also see Rees F Edwards, “Lienchow Church and Schools,” Woman’s Work, January 1906, 9 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[88] Woman’s Work, March 1905, 57 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[89] Woman’s Work, May 1905, 120 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[90] Eleanor Chesnut, “New Church at Lienchow,” Woman’s Work May 1905, 120 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections The church was designed similar to the one at Wei Hien The young women at the Forty-first Street Church in Chicago funded the organ Chesnut had spent some time during her leave at the church
[91] “Everything is Encouraging,” The Missionary Review of the World, April 1906, 303. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[92] Robert E. Speer, Servants of the King (New York: Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada, 1913), 107. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[93] Rev. Arthur J. Brown, The Lien-Chou Martyrdom: The Cross is Still Upheld at Lien-Chou (New York: Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, n.c.), n.p. Also see Robert E. Speer, Servants of the King (New York: Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada, 1913), 107; Woman’s Work January 1906, 1; and “The Martyr Band of Lienchow, China,” Woman’s Work, January 1906, 3. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[94] Rev Arthur J Brown, The Lien-Chou Martyrdom: The Cross is Still Upheld at Lien-Chou (New York: Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, n c ), n p Also see Robert E Speer, Servants of the King (New York: Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada, 1913), 107-108; Woman’s Work, January 1906, 1; “The Martyr Band of Lienchow, China,” Woman’s Work, January 1906, 3; and Rev Arthur J Brown, “The Story of the Lien-Chou Martyrdom” The Missionary Review of the World, February 1906, 87-92 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 33
END NOTES
[95] Robert E. Speer, Servants of the King (New York: Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada, 1913), 108 and Woman’s Work, January 1906, 4. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[96] “The Martyr Band of Lienchow, China,” Woman’s Work, January 1906, 4 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[97] Helen Barrett Montgomery, Western Women in Eastern Lands (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1910), 199
Also see Rev Arthur J Brown, The Lien-Chou Martyrdom: The Cross is Still Upheld at Lien-Chou (New York: Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, n.c.), n.p.; “Some More of the Lien Chow Atrocity,” Dawson Daily News, Nov. 9, 1905; and “The Courage of Their Cultural Convictions: Women Missionaries in China,” https://womenofeverycomplexionandcomplexity weebly com/the-courage-of-theircultural-convictions---women-missionaries-in-china html Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[98] Robert E Speer, Servants of the King (New York: Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada, 1913), 109. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[99] Rev. Arthur J. Brown, The Lien-Chou Martyrdom: The Cross is Still Upheld at Lien-Chou (New York: Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, n c ), n p , and Woman’s Work, January 1906, 1 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[100] Woman’s Work January 1906, 1 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[101] Rev. Arthur J. Brown, The Lien-Chou Martyrdom: The Cross is Still Upheld at Lien-Chou (New York: Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, n.c.), n.p. Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[102] Park College Record, November 1905 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
[103] Woman’s Work, January 1906, 7 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections.
[104] Robert E. Speer, Servants of the King (New York: Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada, 1913), 110 Eleanor Chesnut Manuscript Collection, Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections
All rights reserved The material contained herein has been created and designed for the purpose of information and are owned solely by the Frances Fishburn Archives and Special Collections, Park University No part of these materials may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by an means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, social media, or otherwise with the permission of the Fishburn Archives and Special Collections The reader of this material is responsible for adhering to copyright laws of the U S Title 17, (U S Code)
Date: August 2023
By: Dr Timothy C Westcott
Professor
of History, Associate University Archivist, and Director, George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War at Park University.
THE ARCHIVES MAGAZINE PAGE 34
Drawing of Original Design
c Unknown
c. Unknown
c. Unknown
c Unknown McCormick Chapel is to the left
c After 1902 The old Alumni Hall is to the right
c. 1903
c Unknown
c. 1911. Student room.
President Hawley and Spencer Cave and Laddie Laddie in front of Laddie Alumni Hall
