Daniel McGilvary (1828–1911) was an American Presbyterian

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

who played an important role in the expansion of Protestantism in Northern Siam. Throughout his life, his colleagues and the general public held McGilvary in great esteem, and businesses and government offices in

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

were officially closed in

mourning Mourning is the emotional expression in response to a major life event causing grief, especially loss. It typically occurs as a result of someone's death, especially a loved one. The word is used to describe a complex of behaviors in which t ...

on the day of his death.

Biography

McGilvary was born 16 May 1828, in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States and, after a largely informal education, taught school until he entered

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 ...

in 1853. He graduated from Princeton in 1856 and returned to NC to pastor two rural churches. He was ordained in 1857. In 1858 he arrived in Thailand (then Siam) as a member of the Bangkok Station, Siam Mission,

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

in the United States of America, and in 1860 married Sophia Royce Bradley, daughter of Dan Beach Bradley. The couple had five children together, namely Catherine Emilie McGilvary, Evander Bradley McGilvary, Cornelia Harriet McGilvary, Margaret Alexandra McGilvary, and Norwood Aspinwall McGilvary. In 1861, the McGilvarys participated in the opening of the Phet Buri Station, the first Protestant missionary station outside of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. In 1867, the McGilvary family moved to

, the chief city of Thailand's northern dependencies, and founded a new Presbyterian mission, the Laos Mission. The McGilvarys worked alone for one year and were chiefly responsible for the conversion of six men by early 1869. Persecution of these Christians in September 1869 led to the execution of two, the scattering of the others, and the threatened closure of the Laos Mission. McGilvary's perseverance, however, prevented the lapse of

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 ...

work in

Northern Thailand Northern Thailand, or more specifically Lanna, is a region of Thailand. It is geographically characterized by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys that cut through them. ...

. From 1870 until roughly 1890 McGilvary was the unofficial leader of the Laos Mission and took the leading hand in expanding its work including establishing several rural Christian communities which became important Christian centers. In 1878 he played a leading role in obtaining the so-called "Proclamation of Religious Toleration" from the Thai central government, which gave certain

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

to northern Thai converts. CVK-OB89

McGilvary took a number of exploratory tours, beginning in the 1870s, going as far as the

Shan States The Shan States were a collection of minor Shan people, Shan kingdoms called ''mueang, möng'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' (''sawbwa''). In British rule in Burma, British Burma, they were analogous to the princely states of Britis ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and

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in the 1890s. Those tours inspired the Laos Mission with the vision of a greater mission to the

Tai peoples Tai peoples are the populations who speak (or formerly spoke) the Tai languages. There are a total of about 93 million people of Tai ancestry worldwide, with the largest ethnic groups being Dai people, Dai, Thai people, Thai, Isan people, Isan, ...

of China and

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

, a vision which dominated mission work until the 1920s. McGilvary supported theological training for northern Thai evangelists and pastors. He took a leading role in promoting central Thai literacy among the northern Thai and he played an important role in promoting mission school education, particularly

female education Female education is a catch-all term for a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...

. In 1878, McGilvary established Dara Academy (at that time named as American Presbyterian Girls' School) in Chiangmai Province, the Oldest school in Northern of Siam (now Thailand). In 1888 McGilvary established a school in Chiang Saen District,

Chiang Rai Province Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six Provinces of Thailand, provinces that lies in Northern Thailand#Regional classification of northern Thailand, upper northern Thailand and is Thailand's northernmost province. It is bordered ...

, that was moved to

Chiang Rai city Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai was established as a capital city in the reign of Mangrai, ...

and eventually became

Chiang Rai Witthayakhom School Chiang Rai Witthayakhom School (Royal Thai General System of Transcription, RTGS), locally spelled as Chiengrai Vidhayakhome School (), is a school in Chiang Rai city. It is the oldest school in Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand, and one of ...

. McGilvary is also credited with introducing

Western medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

into Northern Siam. He continued active evangelistic work, including visiting established Christian groups, up until his death on 22 August 1911, in Chiang Mai.

Publications

*''A Half Century Among the Siamese and the Lāo: an Autobiography'' GoodReads website, ''Daniel McGilvary''
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Notes

References

* McFarland, George B., ed. ''Historical Sketch of Protestant Missions in Siam 1828-1928''. Bangkok: Bangkok Times Press, 1928. (Reprint. Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 1999). * McGilvary, Daniel. ''A Half Century Among the Siamese and the Lao''. New York: Revell, 1912. (Reprint. Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 2001). * Herbert R. Swanson, ''Khrischak Muang Nua''. Bangkok: Chuan Press, 1984. * Zehner, Edwin. "Church Growth and Culturally Appropriate Leadership: Three Examples From the Thai Church." Unpublished paper, School of World Mission, 1987. * Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David, 'Under a Spreading Banyan Tree' in: ''Ancient Chiang Mai'' Volume 3. Chiang Mai, Cognoscenti Books, 2012. ASIN: B006IN1RNW * Dahlfred, Karl, "Daniel McGilvary: Pioneer Missionary to Northern Thailand." Kindle Edition, Amazon Digital Services, 2013. ASIN: B00BNFJ7NC

External links

Project Gutenberg website, ''A Half Century Among the Siamese and the Lāo: an Autobiography''
(online copy)
Thai Church History website, ''Map of the Journeys of Daniel McGilvary in Thailand, 1860-1898''Historical sketch of the missions in Siam
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGilvary, Daniel 1828 births 1911 deaths American Presbyterian missionaries Presbyterian missionaries in Thailand American missionaries in Thailand

Biography

Publications

See also

Notes

References

External links