Frederick Howard Taylor
Encyclopedia
Frederick Howard Taylor a.k.a F. Howard Taylor (November 25, 1862 – August 15, 1946), was a British
pioneer Protestant Christian
missionary
to China
, author, speaker and second son of James Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission
(renamed as Overseas Missionary Fellowship, OMF International http://www.omf.org/ in 1964 and based in Singapore), and Maria Jane Dyer
.
Howard Taylor was three when his father founded the China Inland Mission. He was born in London
during his parents’ first furlough in England together. In 1866 at the age of four he was taken with his parents, 3 siblings and sixteen other missionaries to China aboard the Lammermuir (clipper)
as part of the famous Lammermuir Party
. During the 4-month long voyage the ship was nearly wrecked by 2 typhoons. His sister, Grace Dyer Taylor
died of meningitis
the first year. When he was six the family was nearly killed by a rioting mob during the Yangzhou riot
in 1868. Finally in 1870 he was sent home with his surviving siblings with Emily Blatchley
to live in London, separated from his parents. His mother died in China soon after they arrived home in 1870.
Like his father, he enrolled in the Royal London Hospital
medical college, completing his diploma in 1888. Hudson Taylor lived to see his son, Howard follow in his footsteps to become a medical missionary to China. He received Doctor of Medicine from London University and subsequently became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons as well as a Member of the Royal College of Physicians. He was an extremely capable student and received three high honors in his postgraduate studies.
Howard Taylor always had a close relationship with his father. 1888 was a special year for both men. Hudson Taylor was on his first tour in North America sharing the missionary needs in China. Howard Taylor had taken three months leave to go along, having just ended his year of medical and surgical appointments. Howard Taylor showed a deep interest to go to China long term. Hearing his father speak at various meetings, particularly to young students, had a profound influence on Howard. On 15 October 1889, at a Missionary Convention organized by the Students Foreign Missionary Union more than 1500 students attended. Of these, 152 signed the pledge, “it is my earnest hope, if God permit, to engage in foreign missionary work.” The first name in the book of members reads, “ Taylor, F Howard, MD, MRCP, FRCS (England), the London Hospital.”
He later noted:
On November 3, 1889, Howard Taylor, accompanying his father Hudson Taylor, arrived at Gothenburg
, where they were met by Mr. Josef Holmgren, the Secretary of the Swedish Mission in China, who invited them over for special meetings to mobilize the Swedish Christians for China. He had arranged the whole of their tour and was their companion and interpreter throughout the trip. Twenty towns were visited, including Stockholm
, Uppsala
and Christiania
, and 50-60,000 people were addressed, even Queen Sophia invited Mr. Taylor to a private audience in Stockholm. Hudson Taylor was already 57 at that time, and no longer enjoying the same vigor as his son. Yet his insistence on traveling third class and carrying his own suitcase continued to give the young soon-to-be missionary a model of servanthood.
Howard Taylor departed for China on 23rd Jan 1890 from England as a single man. He married Mary Geraldine Guinness
on 24 April 1894, daughter of Rev. Henry Grattan Guinness
, another CIM missionary who went to China two years earlier. He was sent to Henan
and his leadership was displayed with the opening of the ministry in the province, including the significant medical work which continued into the next 30 years. Howard was the first missionary to visit Zhengzhou
in Henan
. As such, he was the only trained physician south of the Yellow River
among 20 million Chinese. In the spring of 1895 a mission station was opened as the result of the medical work for the previous three years at the invitation of Yuan Shikai
, a rising political figure who later became President of China. Yuan, from Henan himself, called Howard Taylor one day to attend to his mother, dying of cancer. In recognition of his service, Li Hongzhang
presented Howard Taylor with an honorific tablet.
Howard spoke with strong convictions about what he believed to be his calling:
In 1894 he married Mary Geraldine Guinness
, a childhood friend from his youth in Bromley-by-Bow
in the East End of London
. Her father was Henry Grattan Guinness
, the famous evangelist and preacher. Together Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor authored several books:
Howard Taylor took risks to serve the mission in China. In 1898, for nine months he was acting superintendent in Henan while suffering from intractable dysentery
. When he asked to be replaced and freed to get proper treatment, his father, Hudson Taylor, confessed that he had no one available to take over. He urged Howard to stay on and Howard Taylor did.
In 1901, when the Student Volunteer Movement
invited Dr. Howard Taylor and his wife to be the speakers among the colleges and universities.
Ten years after his service began in China, in 1900, he and his wife made a special tour of the American colleges, again at the invitation of the Student volunteer Missionary Union. This was considered one of the most notable campaigns ever conducted among North American institutions by secretaries of the Student Volunteer Movement on overseas missions. They began the mobilization tour in November 1900, continuing with some interruptions, until April 1901.
In less than 5 months, between November 1900 and April 1901, Dr Howard Taylor visited 77 different institutions of learning, including 40 medical schools, 10 theological seminaries, 21 universities and colleges, and six other schools. His aim was to present to medical students the opportunities for service on the mission field, so that only those other colleges could be visited that were in or near the largest cities. This work necessitated about 4000 miles of travel, as far north as Montreal
and Minneapolis, and as far south as Baltimore
and Nashville
. Mrs. Taylor went to the women’s colleges of the eastern states. By January they were traveling together on Canadian and western tours. In all, Mrs. Taylor visited nearly as many institutions as did her husband. Their contribution was so much appreciated that the Student Volunteer Movement invited them to become traveling speakers for a whole year in 1912.
On Saturday 3 June 1905 Howard and Geraldine were there when Hudson Taylor died at Changsha. They had been traveling with him since April visiting the different mission stations along the Yangtze, calling at various ports, to Hankow, then by rail into Henan, and finally to Changsha, the capital of Hunan. At the memorial service held at the China Inland Mission Hall in Shanghai
on June 13, Dr. Howard Taylor spoke about his father’s life, quoting from Hudson Taylor and how his father constantly challenged him,
In February 1922, Howard and his wife were kidnapped by a bandit leader in Yunnan
named Pu Shuming. They were subsequently released. Geraldine recorded the events of the ordeal in “With P’u and His Brigands”.
Howard spoke about medical missionary work in China:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pioneer Protestant Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, author, speaker and second son of James Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission
China Inland Mission
OMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
(renamed as Overseas Missionary Fellowship, OMF International http://www.omf.org/ in 1964 and based in Singapore), and Maria Jane Dyer
Maria Jane Dyer
Maria Jane Dyer was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and "Mother" of the China Inland Mission with her husband, founder James Hudson Taylor. She was a pioneer missionary and educator there for 12 years . In 1858, she married Taylor and was an invaluable assistant and influence...
.
Beginnings
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
during his parents’ first furlough in England together. In 1866 at the age of four he was taken with his parents, 3 siblings and sixteen other missionaries to China aboard the Lammermuir (clipper)
Lammermuir (clipper)
The second ship to bear the name Lammermuir was an extreme composite clipper ship built in 1864 by W. Pile & Co of West Hartlepool for John "Jock" "White Hat" Willis & Son, London...
as part of the famous Lammermuir Party
Lammermuir Party
The Lammermuir Party of 1866 was a British Protestant Christian group of missionaries to China with the China Inland Mission led by James Hudson Taylor, who were identified with the tea clipper Lammermuir which brought them to China. Mission historians have indicated that this event was a turning...
. During the 4-month long voyage the ship was nearly wrecked by 2 typhoons. His sister, Grace Dyer Taylor
Grace Dyer Taylor
Grace Dyer Taylor was the eldest surviving daughter of James Hudson Taylor and Maria Jane Dyer, Christian missionaries to China...
died of meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
the first year. When he was six the family was nearly killed by a rioting mob during the Yangzhou riot
Yangzhou riot
The Yangzhou riot of August 22–23, 1868 was a brief crisis in Anglo-Chinese relations during the late Qing Dynasty. The crisis was fomented by the gentry of Yangzhou who opposed the presence of foreign Christian missionaries in the city, who claimed that they were legally residing under the...
in 1868. Finally in 1870 he was sent home with his surviving siblings with Emily Blatchley
Emily Blatchley
Emily Blatchley was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China with the China Inland Mission. She pioneered the work of single women missionaries in China and served as personal secretary to the founder of the mission, James Hudson Taylor.-Biographical sketch:Blatchley lost her mother and...
to live in London, separated from his parents. His mother died in China soon after they arrived home in 1870.
Like his father, he enrolled in the Royal London Hospital
Royal London Hospital
The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street,...
medical college, completing his diploma in 1888. Hudson Taylor lived to see his son, Howard follow in his footsteps to become a medical missionary to China. He received Doctor of Medicine from London University and subsequently became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons as well as a Member of the Royal College of Physicians. He was an extremely capable student and received three high honors in his postgraduate studies.
Howard Taylor always had a close relationship with his father. 1888 was a special year for both men. Hudson Taylor was on his first tour in North America sharing the missionary needs in China. Howard Taylor had taken three months leave to go along, having just ended his year of medical and surgical appointments. Howard Taylor showed a deep interest to go to China long term. Hearing his father speak at various meetings, particularly to young students, had a profound influence on Howard. On 15 October 1889, at a Missionary Convention organized by the Students Foreign Missionary Union more than 1500 students attended. Of these, 152 signed the pledge, “it is my earnest hope, if God permit, to engage in foreign missionary work.” The first name in the book of members reads, “ Taylor, F Howard, MD, MRCP, FRCS (England), the London Hospital.”
He later noted:
On November 3, 1889, Howard Taylor, accompanying his father Hudson Taylor, arrived at Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, where they were met by Mr. Josef Holmgren, the Secretary of the Swedish Mission in China, who invited them over for special meetings to mobilize the Swedish Christians for China. He had arranged the whole of their tour and was their companion and interpreter throughout the trip. Twenty towns were visited, including Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
and Christiania
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, and 50-60,000 people were addressed, even Queen Sophia invited Mr. Taylor to a private audience in Stockholm. Hudson Taylor was already 57 at that time, and no longer enjoying the same vigor as his son. Yet his insistence on traveling third class and carrying his own suitcase continued to give the young soon-to-be missionary a model of servanthood.
Howard Taylor departed for China on 23rd Jan 1890 from England as a single man. He married Mary Geraldine Guinness
Mary Geraldine Guinness
Mary Geraldine Guinness a.k.a. Mrs. Howard Taylor 金樂婷, was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and author of many missionary biographies regarding the history of the China Inland Mission Mary Geraldine Guinness a.k.a. Mrs. Howard Taylor 金樂婷(25 December 1865 – 6 June 1949), was...
on 24 April 1894, daughter of Rev. Henry Grattan Guinness
Henry Grattan Guinness
Henry Grattan Guinness D. D. was an Irish Protestant Christian preacher, evangelist and author. He was the great evangelist of the Evangelical awakening and preached during the Ulster Revival of 1859 which drew thousands to hear him...
, another CIM missionary who went to China two years earlier. He was sent to Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
and his leadership was displayed with the opening of the ministry in the province, including the significant medical work which continued into the next 30 years. Howard was the first missionary to visit Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou , is the capital and largest city of Henan province in north-central China. A prefecture-level city, it also serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational centre of the province, as well as a major transportation hub for Central China...
in Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
. As such, he was the only trained physician south of the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
among 20 million Chinese. In the spring of 1895 a mission station was opened as the result of the medical work for the previous three years at the invitation of Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China , and his short-lived...
, a rising political figure who later became President of China. Yuan, from Henan himself, called Howard Taylor one day to attend to his mother, dying of cancer. In recognition of his service, Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang or Li Hung-chang , Marquis Suyi of the First Class , GCVO, was a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire...
presented Howard Taylor with an honorific tablet.
Howard spoke with strong convictions about what he believed to be his calling:
In 1894 he married Mary Geraldine Guinness
Mary Geraldine Guinness
Mary Geraldine Guinness a.k.a. Mrs. Howard Taylor 金樂婷, was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and author of many missionary biographies regarding the history of the China Inland Mission Mary Geraldine Guinness a.k.a. Mrs. Howard Taylor 金樂婷(25 December 1865 – 6 June 1949), was...
, a childhood friend from his youth in Bromley-by-Bow
Bromley-by-Bow
Bromley-by-Bow, historically and officially Bromley, is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is an inner-city district situated east north-east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
in the East End of London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
. Her father was Henry Grattan Guinness
Henry Grattan Guinness
Henry Grattan Guinness D. D. was an Irish Protestant Christian preacher, evangelist and author. He was the great evangelist of the Evangelical awakening and preached during the Ulster Revival of 1859 which drew thousands to hear him...
, the famous evangelist and preacher. Together Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor authored several books:
Published works
- These Forty Years
- Hudson Taylor and The China Inland Mission Vol. 1 Hudson Taylor in Early Years: The Growth of a Soul 1911
- Hudson Taylor and The China Inland Mission Vol. 2 The Growth of a Work of God 1918
- Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret 1932
Continued service
Mary Geraldine Guinness was a noteworthy missionary in her own right with a love of writing. She joined the CIM in 1888 and became one of the key biographers for the CIM. She served in Honan before they were married. She was already the author of a few books including “The Story of the China Inland Mission” and “In the Far East”.Howard Taylor took risks to serve the mission in China. In 1898, for nine months he was acting superintendent in Henan while suffering from intractable dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
. When he asked to be replaced and freed to get proper treatment, his father, Hudson Taylor, confessed that he had no one available to take over. He urged Howard to stay on and Howard Taylor did.
In 1901, when the Student Volunteer Movement
Student Volunteer Movement
The Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions was an organization founded in 1886 that sought to recruit college and university students in the United States for missionary service abroad. It also sought to publicize and encourage the missionary enterprise in general...
invited Dr. Howard Taylor and his wife to be the speakers among the colleges and universities.
Ten years after his service began in China, in 1900, he and his wife made a special tour of the American colleges, again at the invitation of the Student volunteer Missionary Union. This was considered one of the most notable campaigns ever conducted among North American institutions by secretaries of the Student Volunteer Movement on overseas missions. They began the mobilization tour in November 1900, continuing with some interruptions, until April 1901.
In less than 5 months, between November 1900 and April 1901, Dr Howard Taylor visited 77 different institutions of learning, including 40 medical schools, 10 theological seminaries, 21 universities and colleges, and six other schools. His aim was to present to medical students the opportunities for service on the mission field, so that only those other colleges could be visited that were in or near the largest cities. This work necessitated about 4000 miles of travel, as far north as Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and Minneapolis, and as far south as Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Mrs. Taylor went to the women’s colleges of the eastern states. By January they were traveling together on Canadian and western tours. In all, Mrs. Taylor visited nearly as many institutions as did her husband. Their contribution was so much appreciated that the Student Volunteer Movement invited them to become traveling speakers for a whole year in 1912.
On Saturday 3 June 1905 Howard and Geraldine were there when Hudson Taylor died at Changsha. They had been traveling with him since April visiting the different mission stations along the Yangtze, calling at various ports, to Hankow, then by rail into Henan, and finally to Changsha, the capital of Hunan. At the memorial service held at the China Inland Mission Hall in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
on June 13, Dr. Howard Taylor spoke about his father’s life, quoting from Hudson Taylor and how his father constantly challenged him,
In February 1922, Howard and his wife were kidnapped by a bandit leader in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
named Pu Shuming. They were subsequently released. Geraldine recorded the events of the ordeal in “With P’u and His Brigands”.
Howard spoke about medical missionary work in China: