journal

Not much is known about Samuel3 Scudder, (known hereafter as Samuel I), oldest son of John2 and grandson of Thomas1 (T).  He does not appear in the baptismal records of the Salem Church so he must have been born about 1643 in Salem, Massachusetts because his younger brother John3 was born in 1645 according to his marriage record, and his parents joined the church in 1647. His three sisters’ baptismal records are after that date.

The early immigrant Scudders and missionary-minded Scudders featured in this issue had unique opportunities to engage with people of other races, ethnicities, cultures, religions and politics that were different than their own. They moved to different countries or colonies where they were considered the strangers by those who were already present.

What does a monument to a haystack have to do with members of the Scudder family offering over a thousand years of service (in a total of combined years served) to the people of India, Hawaii, Japan, China, South Africa and Arabia?

There is much to consider about the preparation and trials that were required of the Scudder missionaries to India, and other missionaries in the family to other mission locations around the globe. Dr. John Scudder’s brother-in-law Jared Bell Waterbury and Dr. John’s son Henry Martyn Scudder have preserved some of these.

We include a separate artifacts article with newspaper clippings to show honors paid to Dr. Ida on the 100th anniversary of her birth, fifty years ago.

‘’Illay,* Amma,’ the brahmin replied proudly. ‘I would not think of having a man deliver my wife: I would rather that she should die than be seen by another man. If you cannot come, I must lose her.’ Ida had pled with the husband to let her father, Dr. John, deliver the baby, but to no avail. She had even offered to go with them and do what she could under her father’s direction, but the Brahmin was adamant. She had no medical training: she was forced to let this husband go without aid for his dying wife.

One little known story is the tender reunion of Harriet (Waterbury) Scudder with her sister Catherine (Waterbury) (Carman) Winslow who came to India as Miron Winslow’s second wife. This account also shines the spotlight on Harriet (Waterbury) Scudder whose contribution to the mission effort and to the family deserves more notice.

Dr. John Scudder sailed with his wife Harriet and their two-year old daughter, Maria, in June 1819 from Boston on the sailing vessel, Indus, bound for Calcutta, India. He was the first medical missionary sent out by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and, in fact, was the first medical missionary from any country to stay more than two years

In this issue we spotlight Dr. John and Harriet Scudder and their son Dr. Silas D. Scudder, founder of Scudder Memorial Hospital at Ranipet, India and granddaughter Dr. Ida S. Scudder, founder of Christian Medical College at Vellore.