Ashbel Green Simonton (January 20, 1833 – December 9, 1867) was an American

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister, and the first missionary to settle a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil, which translates as Presbyterian Church of Brazil.

Early life and education

Simonton was born in present-day

West Hanover Township, Pennsylvania West Hanover Township is a township (Pennsylvania), township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,696 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, an increase over the figure of 9, ...

, and spent his childhood on the family's estate, named Antigua. His parents were the doctor and politician William Simonton, who was elected twice to

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, and Mrs. Martha Davis Snodgrass (1791–1862), daughter of James Snodgrass, a Presbyterian minister, who was the pastor of the local church. Ashbel was named after

Ashbel Green Ashbel Green (July 6, 1762 – May 19, 1848) was an American Presbyterian minister and academic. Early life and education Green was born in Hanover Township, New Jersey. He served as a sergeant in the New Jersey militia during the American Revo ...

, president of New Jersey College. He was one among nine brothers and sisters. The boys, William, John, James, Thomas and Ashbel, called themselves the "quinque fratres" (five brothers). One of his brothers, James Snodgrass Simonton, four years older than Ashbel, was also a missionary to

, spending three years as a teacher in the city of Vassouras, in the state of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. One of his four sisters, Elizabeth Wiggins Simonton (1822–1879), also called Lille, married the Presbyterian minister and missionary Alexander Latimer Blackford, a colleague of Simonton in Brazil and the co-founder of the Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil. In 1846, the family moved to

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, where Simonton finished high school. He graduated from New Jersey College, which is now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Career

In 1852, he spent about a year and a half in

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, working as a teacher for young boys. Disappointed with the lack of attention by the local authorities for teaching, Simonton went back to Pennsylvania and tried to become a lawyer, although by that time many people would advise him to become a minister, something to which his mother had consecrated him at his birth. In 1855, he had a deep religious experience during a revival and went to the Princeton Seminary. In his first term, he heard in the seminary's chapel a sermon by

Charles Hodge Charles Hodge (December 27, 1797 – June 19, 1878) was a Reformed Presbyterian theologian and principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878. He was a leading exponent of the Princeton Theology, an orthodox Calvinist theo ...

, one of his teachers, which moved him to the missionary work in foreign lands. He was ordained in 1859, and arrived in

on August 12 of that year.

Ministry

On January 12, 1862, soon after organizing the

church in Brazil, Simonton vacationed in the United States, where he married Helen Murdoch, in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. They returned to Brazil in July 1863. The following year, in 1864, they became parents to Helen Murdoch Simonton, Simonton’s only daughter. Besides the Presbyterian Church, Simonton created a newspaper, ''Imprensa Evangélica'' (1864), along with a presbytery (1865) and a seminary (1867).

Death

In 1867, feeling ill, Simonton went to

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, where his sister and brother-in-law were raising his daughter. Simonton died of febre amarela on December 9, 1867.

Sources

* Shaull, M. Richard (1963). Kerr, Hugh T. (ed.) "Ashbel Green Simonton: A Calvinist in Brazil"
''Sons of the Prophets: Leaders in Protestantism from Princeton Seminary''
Princeton University Press.
archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonton, Ashbel Green 1833 births 1867 deaths American expatriates in Brazil American Presbyterian missionaries People from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Presbyterian missionaries in Brazil Princeton University alumni