The Scudder family of missionaries in India
Encyclopedia
The Scudders in India devoted more than 1,100 combined years to Christian medical mission
service in South India
by 42 members of 4 generations of the family.
He became convinced that he was called to be a missionary. He then became thoroughly committed to serving God through medical missions of the American Board
, later of the Dutch Reformed Board
.
Scudder went to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka
) in 1819 and founded the first Western Medical Mission in Asia at Panditeripo in Jaffna District
. He served there for nineteen years in the dual capacity of clergyman and physician. He established a large hospital, of which he was physician in chief. He was especially successful in the treatment of cholera
and yellow fever
. He also founded several native schools and churches. He later became the first American medical missionary in India
, beginning more than 1,100 combined years of missionary service there by 42 members of 4 generations of the family. He and his wife Harriet had six surviving sons and two daughters, all of whom became medical missionaries and worked in South India
.
In 1836 John Scudder and Rev. Winslow started a mission at Madras to start a printing press to issue the Scriptures and tracts in the Tamil language
. Scudder settled at Chintadrepettah (Chintadripet). He was in the United States in 1842-1846. In 1847, he returned to India, where he spent two years in Madurai
providing medical aid. In 1849 Scudder returned to his mission in Madras, where he laboured till his death on January 13, 1855.,
He was an American missionary influenced in boyhood to go to India by the work of Rev. Dr. John Scudder, Sr. Scudder arrived at Madras on June 26, 1861. He was in charge of the large .station of Periyakulam
. He was admired by the Christians of the large village congregations of that station. An enthusiastic young American, his emotions overcame him when he arrived in Kodaikanal in 1862, as he recalled:
David Scudder drowned as a young man in the Vaigai River
19 November 1862 between Andipatti
& Periyakulam, 20 months after arriving in Tamilnadu. Interment was in the old Anglican Churchyard, at Kodikanal. The inscription on his headstone reads:
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
service in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
by 42 members of 4 generations of the family.
First generation
- Rev. Dr. John Scudder, Sr., M.D., D.D., born in Freehold Township, New JerseyFreehold Township, New JerseyFreehold Township is a Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 36,184. Freehold Township was first formed on October 31, 1693, and was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21,...
, September 3, 1793, was the first medical missionary in India. He graduated from Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1811, and the New York college of Physicians and Surgeons in 1813. He practised successfully in New York city.
He became convinced that he was called to be a missionary. He then became thoroughly committed to serving God through medical missions of the American Board
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
, later of the Dutch Reformed Board
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
.
Scudder went to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
) in 1819 and founded the first Western Medical Mission in Asia at Panditeripo in Jaffna District
Jaffna District
Jaffna district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Jaffna city. Parts of the district were transferred to...
. He served there for nineteen years in the dual capacity of clergyman and physician. He established a large hospital, of which he was physician in chief. He was especially successful in the treatment of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
and yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
. He also founded several native schools and churches. He later became the first American medical missionary in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, beginning more than 1,100 combined years of missionary service there by 42 members of 4 generations of the family. He and his wife Harriet had six surviving sons and two daughters, all of whom became medical missionaries and worked in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
.
In 1836 John Scudder and Rev. Winslow started a mission at Madras to start a printing press to issue the Scriptures and tracts in the Tamil language
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
. Scudder settled at Chintadrepettah (Chintadripet). He was in the United States in 1842-1846. In 1847, he returned to India, where he spent two years in Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
providing medical aid. In 1849 Scudder returned to his mission in Madras, where he laboured till his death on January 13, 1855.,
- David Coit Scudder Born on 27 October 1835 at Boston, Mass., the son of Charles and Sarah Lathrop (Coit) Scudder. He is not descended from John Scudder, but rather from a Scudder of the early days of the Massachusetts Bay ColonyMassachusetts Bay ColonyThe Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
. He married Harriet Dutton. Their children were David C. Scudder, Charles Scudder, David Scudder, Eleazer Scudder and Ebenezer Scudder.,
He was an American missionary influenced in boyhood to go to India by the work of Rev. Dr. John Scudder, Sr. Scudder arrived at Madras on June 26, 1861. He was in charge of the large .station of Periyakulam
Periyakulam
Periyakulam is a town and a Municipality in Theni district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Geography:Periyakulam is located at . It has an average elevation of 282 metres . It is located at the foothills of the Western Ghats bordering the neighbouring state of Kerala. It is one of...
. He was admired by the Christians of the large village congregations of that station. An enthusiastic young American, his emotions overcame him when he arrived in Kodaikanal in 1862, as he recalled:
"I . . . seized our United States flag, shouted out 'Long may it wave!' . . . at the English collector . . . and did other uncouth things"
David Scudder drowned as a young man in the Vaigai River
Vaigai River
The Vaigai is a river in Madurai, Tamil Nadu state of southern India. It originates in the Periyar Plateau of the Western Ghats range, and flows northeast through the Kambam Valley, which lies between the Palni Hills to the north and the Varushanad Hills to the south. The Vattaparai Falls are...
19 November 1862 between Andipatti
Andipatti
Andipatti is a town in Theni district in Tamil Nadu state in southern India. It is on the bank of vaigai river with rich flora and fauna species. Its a valley surrounded by mountains and there is a theory saying Western Ghats starts from this place. Agriculture is the main economy of the town with...
& Periyakulam, 20 months after arriving in Tamilnadu. Interment was in the old Anglican Churchyard, at Kodikanal. The inscription on his headstone reads:
"D.C.S.
Missionary of the A.B.C.F.M.American Board of Commissioners for Foreign MissionsThe American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
In Southern India.
Born in Boston, U.S.A.
Oct. 27, 1835
Landed at Madras
June 26, 1861
Drowned in the Vaigai River
Nov. 19, 1862"
A little book, much worn and old, bearing the title: Letters to Sabbath School Children, by Rev. J. Scudder, M.D., Missionary at Madras, with: "Master David Scudder, from his affectionate friend, J. Scudder, New York, August 8, 1843", written broadly across the fly leaf, was found in his library.,
The Clancy and Scudder Scholarship founded with a legacy of $300, bequeathed by Mrs. Taylor of New York State to Mrs. Washburn, and transferred by Mrs. Washburn to the Pasumalai Institution. In January 1885 the Mission accepted it as the Clancy Scholarship. But it was not put on deposit until June of that year, when an additional sum of $400 in commemoration of David Coit Scudder from David's brother Horace E. Scudder was added to it. The two donations were deposited together as the "Clancy and Scudder Scholarship". It amounted to Rs. 1,500, and continued until 1906.
Second generation
- Henry Martyn Scudder
Henry Martyn ScudderHenry Martyn Scudder was an American missionary and minister. He was born at Panditeripo, Ceylon, the son of the Rev. John Scudder, a missionary of the American Board, later of the Dutch Reformed Board...
, M.D., D.D. (1822–95) was an American missionary and minister. He was born at Panditeripo, Ceylon, the oldest child of Rev. Dr. John Scudder. He graduated from the University of the City of New YorkNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1840 and Union Theological SeminaryUnion Theological Seminary in the City of New YorkUnion Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
in 1843. The following year he went as missionary to Madurai, India, and in 1846 to Madras. He labored successively at organizing schools and churches in Madras, Arcot, Vellore, Coonoor, and Ootacamund (Udhagamandalam). In 1850 he founded the mission at Arcot for the board of the Dutch Reformed Church and in 1851 he opened the Wallajapet Dispensary. Having studied medicine, he also practised that profession. 1853 the dispensary moved to Ranipet because it was more central and strategic in location. In 1854 dispensary was closed due to serious illness of H. M. Scudder who went to the hills for recuperation.
He prepared various religious books and tracts in the Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu languages. His publications include "Liturgy of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church" (Madras, India, 1862); "The Bazaar Book, or the Vernacular Teacher's Companion" (1865); "Sweet Savors of Divine Truth," a catechism (1868) ; and "Spiritual Teaching" (1870). These are all in the Tamil language.
In 1856 Madurai united with the other American Tamil missions in appointing Henry Scudder as their representative to a convention held in Madras to adopt measures for the new Tamil Bible revision.
In 1864, his health failing in the climate of India, he returned to the United States and engaged in pastoral work for nearly 20 years. He was pastor of the Howard Presbyterian church in San Francisco, California, in 1865-'71, of the Central Congregational church in Brooklyn in 1872-'82, and from 1882 till 1887 of the Plymouth Congregational church, Chicago, from which he resigned to resume missionary work in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
till 1889.
- Rev. William Scudder born about 1826, gave twenty-two years of service to India, was then a congregational pastor for eleven years in America. When he was sixty years old he went back to India for nine years of labour, and died in 1895.
- Jared Waterbury Scudder, M.D., D.D. was born in Panditeripo, Ceylon, in 1830, was graduated from Western Reserve College
Western Reserve CollegeWestern Reserve College may refer to:* Western Reserve Academy, a private, mid-sized, coeducational boarding and day college preparatory school located in Hudson, Ohio...
in 1850, and the New Brunswick Theological SeminaryNew Brunswick Theological SeminaryNew Brunswick Theological Seminary is a professional and graduate school founded in 1784, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to educate ministers for the congregations of the Reformed Church in America...
in 1855. He was ordained a missionary to India under the Reformed Dutch church. He joined Arcott Mission in 1855 and from 1857 held native charges there. He published Tamil translations of Henry M. Scudder's Spiritual Teaching (Madras, 1870), Bazaar Book (1870), and History of the Arcot Mission (1872). He was a member of the committee for the revision of the Tamil translation of the Bible.- Silas Downer Scudder, born in Ceylon, November 6, 1833. He graduated from Rutgers University
Rutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1856, studied medicine, and was licensed to practise in New York city. Dr. Silas Downer Scudder was requested by the Arcot mission and his brothers to come and start medical work in Ranipet and in 1860 he went to India as a medical missionary and settled at Arcot. There he founded a dispensary and hospital supported by English and native residents. He also successfully treated a large native out-door practice, and obtained patients among high-caste Hindu women, who previously would not see an American doctor.
On March 17, 1866, Ranipet Hospital opened. Due to its high standard of practice, the Madras government closed the civil dispensary and "handed over its buildings ,furniture and stock in hand together with half the amount of money allowed to the dipensary", to Dr. Silas Scudder stipulating only that an annual report be submitted. At this time the dispensary and hospital were free to all and inpatients were provided with bedding, clothes and food as well as all treatment and medicines free of charge.
In 1872, Dr. John Scudder II took charge of the Ranipet Hospital and its evangelistic work from his elder brother Dr. Silas Downer Scudder because of the Arcot Mission's action. After thirteen years' labor for the American board, he returned to New York because of illness. He died in Brooklyn, New York, December 10, 1877.
- William Waterbury Scudder, born 1835 at Panditeripo, Ceylon , D.D., joined Arcott Mission 1852, retired 1894, buried at Kodaikanal in 1900..
- Joseph Scudder, M.D., D.D., joined Arcot Mission 1853, died 1860
- Ezekial Carman Scudder, M.D., D.D. Missionary, joined Arcot Mission 1855, retired 1876
- Samual Scudder, died while in college
- Harriet Scudder joined Arcot Mission 1854, retired 1856
- Louisa Scudder joined Arcot Mission 1855, retired 1861
- Rev. Dr. John Scudder Jr. M.D., D.D., was the youngest son of John Scudder Sr. He Sailed to India with his wife, Sophia Weld, in 1860. He joined Arcott Mission in 1861 and died in 1900. Three of his children, including Dr. Ida S. Scudder, became missionaries.
Child of David Coit Scudder:
- Vida Dutton Scudder
Vida Dutton ScudderVida Dutton Scudder was an American educator, writer, and welfare activist in the social gospel movement. She was one of the most prominent lesbian authors of her time.-Early life:...
(born December 15, 1861 in Madurai, India; died October 9, 1954 in Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA) was an educator, writer, and welfare activist in the social gospel movement. After the death of her father David Coit Scudder in 1862, she and her mother Harriet Louisa (Dutton) returned to the US to Boston.
Third generation
- In 1877, Dr. Henry Martyn Scudder Jr. started the Maternity Department at Ranipet. In 1880, he resigned from the Arcot Mission and departed to the United States..
- Ida Sophia Scudder
Ida S. ScudderDr. Ida Sophia Scudder was a third-generation American medical missionary in India of the Reformed Church in America. She dedicated her life to the plight of Indian women and the fight against bubonic plague, cholera and leprosy., In 1918 she started one of Asia's foremost Teaching hospitals,...
(December 9, 1870 – May 24, 1960) was a third-generation American medical missionary of the Reformed Church in AmericaReformed Church in AmericaThe Reformed Church in America is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 170,000 members, with the total declining in recent decades. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1819, it...
. Her father was Dr. John Scudder Jr. She was a granddaughter of Rev. Dr. John Scudder Sr. She dedicated her life to the fight against plague, choleraCholeraCholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
and leprosyLeprosyLeprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
and the plight of Indian women. In 1918 she started one of Asia's foremost clinic-medical schools, the Christian Medical College & HospitalChristian Medical College & HospitalChristian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore is one of the largest medical centres in India. This century-old Christian institution was founded by Ida S...
, in Vellore, India. Hear Dr. Scudder tell her own story
As a girl, her last idea was to spend her life in India, even though it might be the Scudder family tradition. As a child in India, she saw all too much famine, poverty and disease. After a Massachusetts seminary, Ida expected to get married and settle down in the U.S., but, in her early 20s, Ida Scudder went back to India to help her ailing mother at her mission bungalow at TindivanamTindivanamTindivanam is a town and a municipality in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Important roads from north to south Tamil Nadu pass through Tindivanam and similarly from west to east.-History:Tindivanam is a Selection grade Municipal Town...
. Ida Scudder took her M.D. at Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1899, then headed back to India, fortified with a $10,000 gift from a Manhattan banker. With the money, she started a tiny clinic for women at VelloreVelloreVellore It is considered one of the oldest cities in South India and lies on the banks of the Palar river on the site of Vellore Fort. The city lies between Chennai and Bangalore and the Temple towns of Thiruvannamalai and Tirupati...
, 75 miles from Madras. In two years she treated 5,000 patients.
Ida S. Scudder realized that she would be foolish to go on alone in her fight to bring better health to South India's women. So she decided to open a medical school for girls. Skeptical males said she would be lucky to get three applicants; actually she had 151 the first year (1918), and has had to turn many away ever since. At first, the Reformed Church in America was the main backer of the Vellore school, but since Dr. Scudder agreed to make it coeducational it has the support of 40 missions. Of 242 students today, 95 are men.
In 1953 at a sprightly 82 years old, Dr. Scudder sat in her bungalow Hilltop at KodaikanalKodaikanal-Climate:Kodaikanal has a monsoon-influenced subtropical highland climate . The temperatures are cool throughout the year due to the high elevation of the city.-Economy:...
, overlooking the Vellore Christian Medical College and its hospital, and opened a stack of letters and telegrams. Her name is a famous one in India. A letter once reached her addressed simply, "Dr. Ida, India." But the mail was heavier than usual because friends around the world were congratulating her on winning the Elizabeth Blackwell Citation of the New York Infirmary, as one of five outstanding women doctors of 1952. In 1960, she died at age 90, of a circulatory ailment, in Kodaikanal.,
A commemorative stamp was issued on August 12, 2000 as part of centenary celebrations of Christian Medical College, Vellore. The stamp's design depicts the college chapel, the motivating monument of the medical college and a hospital symbolising the ethos of the institution. The First-day cover portrays Dr Ida Scudder, who founded the institute in 1900, working for the medical requirements of pregnant women.
- Dr. John Scudder
John Scudder (physician)Dr. John Scudder was a medical doctor and blood transfusion specialist who developed the Plasma for Britain program during the early years of World War II. He recruited Dr. Charles Drew to help develop the organization and its processes to get the plasma supply project operational...
(1889–1971) was a medical doctor and blood transfusionBlood transfusionBlood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
specialist who worked with Dr. Charles DrewCharles R. DrewCharles Richard Drew was an American physician, surgeon and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II. This allowed medics to...
to get the Plasma for Britain wartime plasma transfusion project operational.- Lewis Rousseau Scudder and Ethel Talcott (Fisher). The Scudders were missionaries of the Reformed Church of America (RCA).
- Ethel "Beth" Talcott Scudder was born May 17, 1904 in Kodaikanal, India to Ethel Talcott (Fisher) and Lewis Rousseau Scudder. The Scudders were missionaries of the Reformed Church of America (RCA). Beth's early education through the elementary grades was at Kodaikanal School
Kodaikanal International SchoolKodaikanal International School is a co-educational independent residential school offering education for grades P-12. It is located on in Kodaikanal, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, South India. Kodaikanal is a hill station at in the Palani Hills, north-west of Madurai.Early alumni of KIS include US...
, a boarding school for missionary children in the Palani Hills of South India. She received her high school education in the United States while she was a part of her maternal uncle's family. Ethel graduated from Oberlin CollegeOberlin CollegeOberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
(class of '26) with an A.B. degree and a teaching certificate in Physical educationPhysical educationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
. She served as a short-term Reformed Church in AmericaReformed Church in AmericaThe Reformed Church in America is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 170,000 members, with the total declining in recent decades. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1819, it...
(RCA) missionary in Vellore, India.
In 1930 she married Dr. William Wells Thoms. Together they went to Jerusalem in PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
to study Arabic in preparation for RCA medical mission work in Arabia. This was the pre-petroleum era and their pioneering work was in societies very different from today. Beth and Wells served in AmarahAmarahAmarah , is a city in southeastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km from the border with Iran. It lies at the northern tip of the marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates....
IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, and KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
during the 1930s.
Most of their missionary career was spent in Muscat, OmanMuscat, OmanMuscat is the capital of Oman. It is also the seat of government and largest city in the Governorate of Muscat. As of 2008, the population of the Muscat metropolitan area was 1,090,797. The metropolitan area spans approximately and includes six provinces called wilayats...
, where they went in 1939. Beth assisted Wells in his medical work by training laboratory assistants, organizing and dispensing medical supplies, keeping hospital accounts, meeting payroll, visiting the sick, teaching hospital staff and their families to read Arabic, and accompanying Wells on medical excursions into the Arabian peninsula to treat those unable to come to the hospital. Thousands upon thousands of men, women, and children were treated - from Kings, Sultans, and Sheikhs to the least of the common people (Bedouin, farmers, and laborers). Beth and Wells retired to Stinson Lake, New HampshireStinson LakeStinson Lake is a water body located in Grafton County in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, in the town of Rumney, USA. Water from Stinson Lake flows via Stinson Brook, the Baker River, and the Pemigewasset River to the Merrimack River....
and Flint, MichiganFlint, MichiganFlint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
in 1970.
- Dr. Lewis R. Scudder (Hope College
Hope CollegeHope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
1931) and his wife Dorothy B. Scudder, a doctor and nurse respectively, served as medical missionaries with the Arabian Mission (affiliated with the Reformed Church in AmericaReformed Church in AmericaThe Reformed Church in America is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 170,000 members, with the total declining in recent decades. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1819, it...
, first, briefly, in AmarahAmarahAmarah , is a city in southeastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km from the border with Iran. It lies at the northern tip of the marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates....
, Iraq and later in KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, where they labored from 1937 until 1967 in the first hospital in Kuwait, the American Mission Hospital. In 1967, it was transferred to governmental control. However, the couple was invited by the government to continue their medical work with the government hospitals, and they stayed on. Lewis died in 1975 and is buried in Kuwait. Dorothy, after remaining active in the National Evangelical Church in Kuwait for many years after the death of her husband, died in the US 1991.
Fourth generation
- Ida Belle Scudder M.D. was a radiologist and medical missionary born in 1900 and graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1925. Ida B. Scudder trained in radiology before moving to Vellore, India for more than 30 years of service at the Christian Medical Colleges (CMC) and Hospital, founded by her aunt, Dr. Ida S. Scudder. In Vellore, Ida B. founded the diagnostic radiology and radiotherapy departments at the hospital. She was influential in CMC turbulent transition to a coeducational college and affiliation with University of Madras for teaching the first two years of its M.B., B.Ss. course to its women students. She campaigned in U.S.A. between 1941 - 1945 seeking funding for the coeducational program. In 1991 the Dr. Ida B.Scudder Radiation Therapy Block at CMC was dedicated She died in 1995. The Ida B. Scudder essay competition was instituted to perpetuate her ideals. The Prize is awarded for the best essay on any subject related to the care of the sick that illustrates that the fullest possible identification with the patient is the best way to serve him/her and meet his/her needs., The Ida Scudder Papers are available at the Schlesinger Library
Schlesinger LibraryThe Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- Dr. Marilyn Scudder born in 1939, Daughter of Lewis R. Scudder, Hope College ’31, graduated from Kodaikanal International School
Kodaikanal International SchoolKodaikanal International School is a co-educational independent residential school offering education for grades P-12. It is located on in Kodaikanal, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, South India. Kodaikanal is a hill station at in the Palani Hills, north-west of Madurai.Early alumni of KIS include US...
in 1956, Hope CollegeHope CollegeHope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
in 1960, and received M.D. from the University of MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1965. She was a medical missionary in TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
for 35 years.
Her work in Africa began in 1970 when she was head of the eye department at a hospital in Mvuni, Tanzania. She returned to Minnesota in 1971 for further study, and in 1973 joined the eye department at a medical center in Moshi, Tanzania, where she became department head in 1979. According to a longtime friend, “She felt there was plenty of medical advice in the United States. She wanted to be where she was really of use.”
She was sponsored by a German group, the Christian Blind Mission International. The eye team took medical safaris by vehicle and small plane to 30 mission and government hospitals all over Tanzania. Scudder retired from surgery in 2001 and went to live and work with the
Capuchin Sisters of MauaOrder of Friars Minor CapuchinThe Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
, on the western slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro near the village of Sanya Juu. She continued training nurses and holding eye clinics there.
Dr. Scudder received an Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology on Oct. 22, 2004, and the George Tani Humanitarian Service Award from the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology on Dec. 10, 2004. Hope College presented her with a Distinguished Alumni Award on May 7, 1988, and profiled her in a story in the August 1985 issue of news from Hope College that had previously been featured in the Kodaikanal International School’s alumni publication. She was diagnosed with primary amyloidosisAmyloidosisIn medicine, amyloidosis refers to a variety of conditions whereby the body produces "bad proteins", denoted as amyloid proteins, which are abnormally deposited in organs and/or tissues and cause harm. A protein is described as being amyloid if, due to an alteration in its secondary structure, it...
in 2002. and died of that disease on Monday, May 16, 2005, in Dar es SalaamDar es SalaamDar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
. She was buried May 21 at her home on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. She was 66 years old.
- In 1920 Dr. Galen Fisher Scudder, a graduate of Princeton University
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and the Cornell Medical School and the son of Dr. Lewis R. Scudder arrived in India and was made Medical Superintendent of the RanipetRanipetRanipet, Vellore is a locality and part of Vellore city in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. It is a medium-sized community located about 26 kilometers from the Vellore city center and 100 kilometers from Chennai, the fourth largest urban area in India...
Hospital and was given the responsibility of the building the Scudder Memorial Hospital with $25,000. funds. In 1933 to 1934, Dr. Galen F. Scudder went on furlough. He was replaced by Dr. John Scudder, F.A.C.S, the great grandson of the first Dr. John Scudder.
From 1940 to 1945, Dr. Galen Scudder was called for war service. He went to Rangoon and after the fall of Rangoon he was the District Medical Officer at CoimbatoreCoimbatoreCoimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
. He generouisly gave part of his government salary to the Ranipet Hospital. In 1947, Dr. Galen Scudder returned from furlough and resumed charge of the hospital. He brought with him useful surgical equipment and also a large castle sterilizer. By 1953, Dr. Galen Scudder added a modern X-Ray machine (200 M.A), which was a gift of Dr. Galen Scudder's Princeton University classmates who contributed $5,000. plus $6,000. from the Doris Duke Foundation. A separate wing was added to the hospital building to house the X-Ray machine and laboratory and blood bank. Four new private wards on the male side were constructed at cost of Rs 18,700.
G. F. Scudder retired on June 1, 1954 after 35 years of distinguished service in the cause of the sick and the suffering. Both Dr. and Mrs. Scudder are great grandchildren of Dr. John Scudder (who came to India in 1819), the father of the three founders of the Arcot Mission whose centenary was celebrated early in 1954. With the departure of Dr. and Mrs. G.F. Scudder, a century's continued association of the great Scudder family with the Arcot Mission came to a close.
- Rev. Lewis R. Scudder III, Hope College 1963, son of Lewis R. Scudder ’31. Missionary in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, and Cyprus.
Fifth generation
- John Scudder, son of Lewis R. Scudder III, high school: Kodaikanal International School 1985, college: College of Wooster 1989, MSc: University of Michigan
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
1985, Software Engineer, Juniper NetworksJuniper NetworksJuniper Networks is an information technology and computer networking products multinational company, founded in 1996. It is head quartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA. The company designs and sells high-performance Internet Protocol network products and services...
.- Thomas Scudder, son of Lewis R. Scudder III
- Beth Scudder, daughter of Lewis R. Scudder III, birthday - 3/13, high school: Kodaikanal International School 1994, college: Macalester 1998, MA: American University
American UniversityAmerican University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
, School of International Service 2006; job: Center for Victims of TortureCenter for Victims of TortureThe Center for Victims of Torture is a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota that provides victims of politically motivated torture with medical, psychological, and social services both in the Twin Cities and abroad....
.
