Ann Hasseltine Judson (December 22, 1789 – October 24, 1826) was one of the first female American foreign missionaries.

Biography

Ann attended the Bradford Academy and during a revival there read ''Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education'' by

Hannah More Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at a ...

, which led her to "seek a life of 'usefulness'". Born in Bradford, Massachusetts a teacher from graduation until marriage. Her father, John Hasseltine, was a deacon at the church that hosted the gathering that, in 1810, founded the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

and, according to Ann's sister Ann, the family first met her husband Adoniram Judson at that time. She married Adoniram in 1812, and two weeks later they embarked on their mission trip to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The following year, they moved on to

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. She had three pregnancies. The first ended in a miscarriage while moving from India to Burma; their son Roger was born in 1815 and died at eight months of age, and their third child, Maria, lived for only six months after her mother's death. While in Burma, the couple's first undertaking was to acquire the language of the locals. Missionary efforts followed, with the first local converting to Christianity in 1819. Due to liver problems, Ann returned to the United States briefly in 1822–23. During the

first Anglo-Burmese war The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...

(1824–26), her husband was imprisoned for 17 months under suspicion of being an English spy, and Ann moved into a shack outside the prison gates so as to support her husband. She lobbied vigorously for months to convince the authorities to release her husband and his fellow prisoners, but her efforts were unsuccessful. She also sent food and sleeping mats to the prisoners to help their time in prison to be more bearable. During this time, Ann wrote stories of life on the mission field and the struggles she faced. She wrote tragic descriptions of child marriages, female infanticide, and the trials of the Burmese women who had no rights except for the ones their husbands gave them. Ann's health was fragile by the time her husband was released. Her efforts to be near him when he was moved to a new location, all while she was nursing a newborn child, had involved strenuous travel and living conditions that may have contributed to her illness. After her husband's release they both remained in Burma to continue their work. Ann died at Amherst, Lower Burma, of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

in 1826. She wrote a catechism in Burmese, and translated the books of Daniel and

Jonah Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' Ben (Hebrew), son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria ...

into Burmese. She was the first

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

to translate any of the scriptures into Thai when in 1819 she translated the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

. Her letters home were published in periodicals such as ''The American Baptist Magazine'' and republished after her death as devotional writings, making both her and Adoniram celebrities in America. Her work and writings made "the role of missionary wife as a 'calling'" legitimate for nineteenth-century Americans. There have been at least sixteen biographies of Judson published, the most famous having a new edition printed almost every year from 1830 to 1856, and was described by Unitarian Lydia Maria Child as "a book so universally known that it scarcely need be mentioned."

Publications

* Knowles, ''Life'' (Boston, 1829) New International Encyclopedia

Namesake colleges

* Judson College (Alabama)

References

External links

Biography at Wholesome WordsE-text of an 1829 BiographyGoogle E-text of an 1829 Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judson, Ann Hasseltine 1789 births 1826 deaths People from Haverhill, Massachusetts People of the First Anglo-Burmese War Baptist missionaries from the United States Baptist missionaries in Myanmar Baptist missionaries in India Translators of the Bible into Burmese Deaths from smallpox Female Christian missionaries Infectious disease deaths in Myanmar Women in 19th-century warfare Women in war in Southeast Asia American expatriates in India American expatriates in Myanmar American evangelicals Translators to Thai People from Bradford, Massachusetts 19th-century translators 19th-century Baptists Missionary linguists Female Bible Translators