Mary Alice Fish Moffett (April 8, 1870 – July 12, 1912) was an

American Presbyterian Presbyterianism has had a presence in the United States since colonial times and has exerted an important influence over broader American religion and culture. Throughout US History, Presbyterians have played a prominent role in society. From ...

medical missionary in Korea, with her husband Samuel A. Moffett.

Early life

Mary Alice Fish was born in

Virginia City, Nevada Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno, Nevada, Reno–Sparks, Nevada, Sparks Reno, NV Metropolitan ...

, the daughter of Charles Hull Fish and Martha Ann Warner Fish. Her father, a mining company president, was born in New York, and her mother was born in Illinois. Her father was active in Presbyterian mission work in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city in and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of th ...

, teaching Bible classes for Chinese men at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

for over twenty years. She graduated from Santa Rosa Seminary (also known as Miss Chase's Seminary) in 1890. She earned her medical degree at

Cooper Medical College The Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California, United States. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Fran ...

in San Francisco in 1895, and served her residency at the Lying-In Charity Hospital in Philadelphia.Moffett, Eileen F
"Chronology: Samuel Austin Moffett (1852-1939)"
UCLA Online Archive of Korean Christianity.

Career

Alice Fish first traveled to Korea in 1897, sponsored by her home church and the Benicia Presbyterial. She worked there as a Presbyterian medical missionary and Bible study teacher until her death in 1912, except for furloughs in 1902, 1906, 1908, and 1910. She reported about her efforts in Korea in '' Woman's Work'', an American church periodical. She married a fellow American missionary, Samuel Austin Moffett, and assisted his work in Pyongyang, as founder of a theological seminary and first president of the Presbytery of Northern Korea. On their visits to the United States, both Moffetts spoke to church groups about their work.

Personal life

Mary Alice Fish married Samuel Austin Moffett in 1899, in Seoul. She had two sons, James and Charles, who were young children when she died from

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

soon after childbirth with a stillborn daughter in 1912, aged 42 years, in Pyongyang. Moffett's widower remarried in 1915, to her first cousin, Lucia Hester Fish. Both of her sons became Presbyterian ministers, and Charles was a missionary in India for 14 years. The Moffett Korea Collection at the

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

includes correspondence involving Alice Fish Moffett.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moffett, Alice Fish 1870 births 1912 deaths American women physicians Presbyterian missionaries in Korea People from Virginia City, Nevada Deaths from dysentery