Susan Norris Fitkin
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Susan Norris Fitkin (March 31, 1870 – October 18, 1951) was a Canadian ordained minister, who served successively in the
Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
, the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America, and finally in the
Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism during the late 19th century. The denomination has its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas. and it ...
. Fitkin was the founder and first president of the Church of the Nazarene's Women's Foreign Missionary Society (now Nazarene Missions International) from September 1915 until her retirement in June 1948. Fitkin served twenty-four years on the General Board of the Church of the Nazarene. In 1924 Fitkin and her husband
Abram Fitkin Abram Edward Fitkin (September 18, 1878 – March 18, 1933) was an American minister, investment banker, businessman, public utilities operator, and philanthropist, who founded and ran dozens of companies, including A.E. Fitkin & Co.; the National ...
funded and founded the Fitkin Memorial Hospital in
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, and also funded and founded Nazarene Bible Training Schools in China, and
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.John W. Oliver
"Emma Brown Malone: A Mother of Feminism?"
, ''Quaker History: The Bulletin of Friends Historical Association'' 88 (Spring 1999):4–12.


Early life and family

Susanah W. "Susie" Norris was born March 31, 1870, on a farm in Ely,
Quebec, Canada Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...
,Ancestry.com. ''1900 United States Federal Census''. Census Place: Manchester, Hartford, Connecticut; Roll: T623_138; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 199."Veteran Missions Head, Rev. Susan Fitkin, Dies", ''The Sun'' (Baltimore, MD) (October 20, 1951):9. the fourth oldest of the nine children of John Norris (born June 25, 1835, in Russelltown,
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, Quebec,
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; died December 20, 1887, in East Farnham, Quebec, Canada), a farmer and the foreman of a lumber camp, and his wife, Susannah Townsend Hall (born March 16, 1834, in East Farnham, Quebec, Canada East; died March 28, 1918, in Cliftondale, Massachusetts). John Norris and Susannah Hall were married on April 10, 1855, in Farnham East. Her siblings were George Miron Norris (born July 1, 1859, in East Farnham, Quebec), Hannah Norris (born August 8, 1861, in Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton, Quebec; died August 23, 1897, in Shefford, Quebec), Annie Louise Norris (born May 2, 1865, in Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton, Quebec),Baptism Year: 1887. Baptism Location: Ely, Québec. Source Information: Ancestry.com. Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Jane "Janie" May Norris (born March 4, 1872, in Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton, Quebec),Baptism Year: 1886. Baptism Location: East Farnham, Québec. Ancestry.com. Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. John Milton "Johnny" Norris (born November 15, 1873, in Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton, Quebec), Emma Norris (born April 11, 1875, in Quebec, Canada), Charles Newel Norris (born January 29, 1877, in Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton, Quebec), Alice "Nellie" Norris (born June 15, 1880, in Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton, Quebec). By the time of the first Canadian census in April 1871, the Norris family had been living on a farm in Sainte-Cécile-de-Milton, Quebec for about eleven years, with John described as a Methodist farmer, while Susannah and their four children (including one-year-old "Suza") were described as Episcopalians. Later Norris' parents were members of the
Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
, who were active in the temperance reform movement. Her mother served once as a delegate to the
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convention in
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.Stan Ingersol
"Mother of Missions: The Evangelistic Vision of Susan Norris Fitkin"
''Herald of Holiness'' (January, 1991).
At the time of the second Canadian census in April 1881, John and Suzanne Norris and their nine children (including 11-year-old "Suza") were still living on a farm in Ely South, in
Shefford, Quebec Shefford () is a township municipality located in the province of Quebec. It is part of the Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality in the administrative area of Estrie. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 7,253. The township compl ...
, and were described as Episcopalians. However, later in 1881, the Norris family moved back to East Farnham, Quebec, where Susanna's parents George C. Hall and Hannah Hall held longstanding membership in a Quaker meeting house. The Norris family attended Quaker worship but also attended the local
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
. On February 23, 1886, five of John and Susanna's younger children were baptized by Revd John Merrick in the Church of England at Adamsville in East Farnham. On June 19, 1887, Anna Louise was baptized by Charles P. Abbott in the Church of England in Ely. On December 20, 1887, Norris' father John died in East Farnham, and was buried in quaker cemetery, Friends Cemetery East Farnham Monteregie Region, Quebec, Canada


Conversion

At the age of seventeen Norris was diagnosed with cancer, and given a prognosis of no more than two years to live. After being bedridden for the next two years, in March 1890 Norris was converted to a saving knowledge of Christ.Melodie Sides
"Rev. Mrs. Susan Norris Fitkin 1870-1951"
In her autobiography Susan Norris Fitkin wrote:
Just as everything in my life, from the human standpoint, looked blackest, a new interest was suddenly awakened. A traveling Quaker preacher held some cottage meetings in our town. I attended and began to realize that even though I was a consistent church member, I was not a Bible Christian. ... I went to the altar seeking God, but was ignorant of the way of faith and did not get through to victory, but continued to pray and search the Scriptures for light and blessing. I began now with new interest to attend the Quaker meetings in the old Meeting House, which was up on a hill almost directly across the highway from my home. My grandparents had been consistent members here all their lives. Many aged saints still gathered there and gave wonderful testimonies about knowing their sins were all forgiven and their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The Grace of conviction deepened in my heart. I found only warnings as I read my Bible. I became very miserable and knew I was a lost soul and on my way to hell. Finally I found some comfort in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, and began to realize a little of God's gracious provision for lost souls in the tragedy of the cross, portrayed by the prophet, and the goodness of God led me to repentance. I was not only sorry for the past, but gladly forsook all worldliness and sin, and continued earnestly to seek God. I had not yet learned the way of faith, but one day, when turning the pages of my Bible and praying for a message, these words seemed to stand out in raised letters: “I have blotted out thy sins as a thick cloud, and will remember them no more forever.” I wondered if it could really mean me, or how I could make it mine, when suddenly another verse in the New Testament seemed to be emphasized in the same manner. As I read “He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life,” I said: “Oh, if I just believe, I shall have it,” and as my faith looked up to God and I trusted His word, the burden rolled away and heavenly light flooded my soul. I was a new creature; everything seemed new, — the sun, the trees, the green fields, the birds, all seemed new. Old things had passed away. My heart was filled with joy and gladness. God in His great love and mercy had given me a sky-blue conversion, which the devil was never able to make me doubt. What a marvelous Grace that brings us into the family of God, and gives us victory over the world, the flesh and the devil!"Susan Norris Fitkin
''Grace Abounding''
2.
To the displeasure of some friends and family members, after her conversion Susan Norris began attending the Union Chapel, an interdenominational church in East Farnham that was strongly evangelical in emphasis, instead of the local Church of England.!" According to Nazarene historian Stan Ingersol "Each different strain of piety nourished her spiritual development. Several encounters with life-threatening illnesses, including typhoid fever, heightened her seriousness toward religion. At times, she experienced unusual dreams and saw visions." Late in the summer of 1890 Norris was stricken with
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
. In her autobiography, Fitkin described a dream she had at this time: "At the end of this valley was a gate with a beautiful heavenly light streaming through, and lighting up the entire scene. Oh, I was so happy! I said, 'It is not dark at all; death is only a shadow.' Then the Lord whispered to me, and asked if I wanted to go in. I replied, 'Whatever is Thy will; I would not turn my hand over to decide.'" When dawn broke, Norris awakened, as one who had been refreshed by hidden springs of life. She said to the family, "I am going to get well."Susan Norris Fitkin, ''Grace Abounding''. Gradually Norris recovered her health during the next few months. In December 1890 Norris had a vision of Christ's Second Coming where she was intensely happy until she realized that many people would not be going to heaven. In her autiobiography Norris described her vision of Christ: "I ran to the door to meet Him when I was startled with loud wailing cries, and looking back, I saw most of the people on their faces, crying out in fear and anguish." Norris claimed that after she woke that she became conscious of the presence of Jesus: "It was like a person standing by my bed and in an audible voice saying solemnly: 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'" Consequently, Norris believed God was calling her to be a
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 ...
preacher. However, when she offered herself as a missionary to the Toronto headquarters of the
China Inland Mission OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before 1964 the China Inland Mission) is an international and interdenominational Evangelical Christianity, Christian missionary society with an international centre in Singapore. It ...
in 1891, Norris was refused for health reasons. Norris later indicated she came across Ezekiel 3:5 and the words jumped out at her: "For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language." Norris accepted this an indication that God did not want her to go to a foreign land as a missionary.


Consecration

In April 1891 Susan Norris was employed as a dressmaker and living on her widowed mother's farm in Farnham East with her an older sister Anna, and six younger siblings. In 1891 visiting English evangelists, who were staying in her family home, led Norris into a deeper relationship with God. On the flyleaf of her Bible she wrote her
consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
creed, which "helped and steadied me many times through the coming years." This was as follows: "My Consecration -- I am willing-- To take what Thou givest; To lack what Thou withholdest; To relinquish what Thou takest; To go where Thou commandest; To be what Thou requirest; I am, O Lord, wholly and forever Thine." Soon after Norris began conducting services for youth in her community and then, at her mother's urging, in other communities. Out of this, her ministry as an evangelist began emerging around 1892. In Summer 1892 Norris was elected by her local Christian Endeavor Society to be a delegate to the first world convention of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavour at
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in New York City, where she met J. Walter Malone (born August 11, 1857, near
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; died December 30, 1935, in Cleveland Ohio), leader in the fast-growing holiness wing of the Society of Friends, who, with his wife Emma Brown Malone (born January 30, 1859, in
Pickering, Ontario Pickering (2021 Canadian census, 2021 population 99,186) is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada, immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region, Ontario, Durham Region. Beginning in the 1770s, the area was settled by primarily British colon ...
; died May 10, 1924, in Cleveland, Ohio), had founded the Christian Workers’ Training School for Bible Study and Practical Methods of Work in Cleveland, Ohio in 1892. Despite her precarious health and opposition from some of her siblings, in the fall of 1892 Norris enrolled a few weeks late in the first academic class at Malone's school, also known as Friends' Bible Institute and Training School (and now as
Malone University Malone University is a private Christian university in Canton, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1892 by Walter and Emma Malone as a small, co-educational Bible institute called Cleveland Bible College. The institution has always maintaine ...
). Among her classmates was Mary Emily Soule (born August 12, 1869, in
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, Canada; died June 26, 1943, in
Vicksburg, Michigan Vicksburg is a village in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States. The population was 3,706 at the 2020 census. The west part of the village is in Schoolcraft Township and the east part is in Brady Township. History John Vickers, the tow ...
), a fellow Canadian Quaker, who with her husband Edgar Ellyson, also became prominent leaders in the Church of the Nazarene. Shortly after joining Cleveland's Friends, Norris became "seriously ill with cancer. She was anointed and prayed for by J. Walter and Emma B. Malone, and it pleased the Lord to answer prayer and heal her." Believing that God had healed her of cancer, Norris began preaching in revivals.


Early ministry

In 1893, Norris became pastor of a church in Vermont where she had previously held
revival meeting A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Those who lead revival services are known as revivalists (or evangelists). Nineteent ...
s. Another pastorate followed in Vermont. Norris was listed as a "recorded" (or official) minister in the Friends Church.


Evangelistic ministry

In 1895, at the urging of one of the leading New York
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
, Norris returned to
evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...
. At a
camp meeting The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier ...
in the
Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...
in Clintondale, New York, Norris claimed to be entirely sanctified.Susan Norris Fitkin, ''Grace Much More Abounding: A Story of the Triumphs of Redeeming Grace During Two Score Years in the Master's Service'' (Kansas City, MO: Nazarene Publishing House, n.d. Holiness Data Ministry, 1997):12-14,Basil Miller
''Susan N. Fitkin: For God and Missions''
Digital ed. (Holiness Data Ministry, 2006):26-29.
Norris had sought the experience of entire sanctification and had previously claimed it by faith several times, and had preached often on the doctrine, but was still unsatisfied in her experience. Norris desired "to be sanctified wholly, cleansed from inherited sin, the old man cast out, the carnal nature destroyed, and to be baptized with the
Holy Ghost Most Christian denominations believe the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, to be the third divine Person of the Trinity, a triune god manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each being God. Nontrinitarian Christians, who ...
and fire." After, what she later described as a "battle with the enemy", at the conclusion of the service Norris responded to the altar call and claimed the experience despite an absence of emotion. At the camp meeting where she was sanctified entirely, Norris met
Abram Fitkin Abram Edward Fitkin (September 18, 1878 – March 18, 1933) was an American minister, investment banker, businessman, public utilities operator, and philanthropist, who founded and ran dozens of companies, including A.E. Fitkin & Co.; the National ...
, a Quaker evangelist. For the next six months Norris was teamed with Abram, pursuing an itinerant ministry in New York state; Norris borrowed books on holiness from Abram, and the pair were able to convert many to their church through their ministryall the while finding themselves falling in love.Basil Miller, ''Susan N. Fitkin: For God and Missions''. Digital ed. (Holiness Data Ministry, 2006):29, http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/2601-2700/HDM2627.pdf On May 14, 1896, Susan Norris and Abram E. Fitkin were married by Quaker minister William Thomas Willis, at his home in Clintondale.Shirley V. Anson and Laura M. Jenkins, ''Quaker History and Genealogy of the Marlborough Monthly Meeting, Ulster County, N.Y., 1804-1900+'' (Gateway Press, 1980):119, see After their wedding, the Fitkins continued to hold revival meetings throughout the
Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...
, where "hundreds were converted and many led into the experience of full salvation". A month after their marriage, their revival campaign led to a group of converts organizing the Clintondale Pentecostal Church, with future Nazarene General Superintendent Rev. Hiram F. Reynolds, then a Methodist minister, deciding to join at that time.


Pastoral ministry

In October 1896, the Fitkins rented a former
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
shop in
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, where they conducted their services, with the result that "scores were converted"; in November, sixty of the converts were organized into a church, with the Fitkins agreeing to be the pastors. At Abram Fitkin's recommendation, the church affiliated with the newly established Association of Pentecostal Churches of America (APCA), a holiness denomination led at that time by William Howard Hoople.Basil Miller, ''Susan N. Fitkin: For God and Missions''. Digital ed. (Holiness Data Ministry, 2006):32, http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/2601-2700/HDM2627.pdf Soon after, the Fitkins started another church in
Cornwall, New York Cornwall is a Town (New York), town in Orange County, New York, United States, approximately north of New York City on the western shore of the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was at 12,884. Cornwall has become a Commuter t ...
, which they also pastored. In 1898 Abram Fitkin was ordained as a minister in the APCA at Brooklyn.James Terry White, ed., ''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'', Vol. 27 (University Microfilms, 1967):142. By 1900, the Fitkins were co-pastors of the APCA church in South
Manchester, Connecticut Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713 ...
,Basil Miller, ''Susan N. Fitkin: For God and Missions''. Digital ed. (Holiness Data Ministry, 2006):36, http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/2601-2700/HDM2627.pdf where they lived in a rented house on Main Street. On April 12, 1900, Susan Fitkin was elected president of the APCA's Women's Foreign Missionary Auxiliary at its second annual meeting, held in
Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...
. During the last four months of 1900, the Fitkins devoted their efforts to traveling evangelism. As a consequence of the ongoing depressed economic circumstances caused by the
Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States. It began in February 1893 and officially ended eight months later. The Panic of 1896 followed. It was the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of ...
, Abram struggled financially while serving as a pastor and evangelist, with little financial support possible from the church. It was noted that these "were times when the food on the parsonage table had literally been prayed in by Abram and Susan", who could turn a soup bone into a week of meals. During 1903, Abram left pastoral ministry and ceased his evangelistic work to devote his attention to making sufficient income to support both his family and the couple's future ministry, believing that it was "better to be a good businessman than a poor minister." His aim was to make enough for he and Susan to be independent enough to pursue God's work, setting a goal of $500,000 (equivalent to $ million in ).Basil Miller, ''Susan N. Fitkin: For God and Missions''. Digital ed. (Holiness Data Ministry, 2006):42, http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/2601-2700/HDM2627.pdf By 1904, the Fitkins had moved to
Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Everett was the last city in the ...
, where Susan became the pastor of the APCA church.Basil Miller, ''Susan N. Fitkin: For God and Missions''. Digital ed. (Holiness Data Ministry, 2006):41, http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/2601-2700/HDM2627.pdf During their time in Massachusetts, Susan had their first two children: Raleigh (b. 1904) and Mary-Louise (b. 1907). The year Mary-Louise was born, the APCA merged with the Church of the Nazarene, which had been founded in California in October 1895 by Phineas Bresee and
Joseph Widney Joseph Pomeroy Widney, M.D. D.D. LL.D (December 26, 1841 – July 4, 1938), was an American doctor, educator, historian, and religious leader. After the American Civil War led him to medicine, he followed his brothers to California where ...
, to form the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene (simplified to
Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism during the late 19th century. The denomination has its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas. and it ...
in 1919), automatically making the Fitkins a founding family of the new denomination. By the end of 1907, the Fitkins and their two children had moved to
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, where Abram could pursue increased business activities. There, they became members of the John Wesley Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene, located at the corner of Saratoga Avenue and Sumpter Street, Brooklyn, pastored by William Howard Hoople. Their third child, Willis Carradine, named in honor of evangelist Beverly Carradine, was born in 1908. In 1909, and despite both still being in their 30s, Bresee ordained Susie Fitkin and her husband as elders of the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene. Susan appreciated the importance of the ceremony, but felt that it only confirmed the path that God had placed her on years earlier, as "He had definitely spoken these precious words to my heart, 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit.'" By April 1910, the Fitkins lived in their own home on Wallis Avenue, in
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, and in 1912 they had their fourth (and last) child, Ralph MacFarland. After a fishing trip with his father in August 1914,http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/0401-0500/HDM0417.pdf nine-year-old Raleigh was thrown from their car after its axle broke. Though he seemed uninjured, by the next day Raleigh was suffering debilitating abdominal pain. Despite an operation in a home in
Allenhurst, New Jersey Allenhurst is a borough located on the Jersey Shore, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The settlement was named after resident Abner Allen and was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 26 ...
, and the efforts of six physicians, Raleigh died on September 14, less than two weeks after his 10th birthday. Raleigh, inspired by his parents' strong belief in the religious work they were doing, had testified to becoming a Christian at age 6, and had indicated that he wanted to be a
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 ...
in Africa.


Missions, ministry, philanthropy and family life

The 1914 death of their first born child, 10-year-old Raleigh, was the primary factor in the missionary and philanthropic enterprises of the Fitkins. According to Basil Miller: "The lad Raleigh was to play an important role in the family's missionary future. ... e boy's interest in missions prompted his father Abram to build at a cost of thousands of dollars the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital in Africa". Abram Fitkin's ability to make money financed his wife's ministry,
into which her husband's generosity in the span of his life poured a fortune. For during the days of her active service, she was to cover the foreign world more extensively than any church sire or leader among the Nazarenes. All of this was made possible by Abram's
midas Midas (; ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. His father was Gordias, and his mother was Cybele. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek m ...
' touch. Traveling more than a half-million missionary miles, she did so without cost to the church she loved so deeply. Likewise she contributed through Mr. Fitkin's successes the expenses of her companion on home and foreign trips, as well as making liberal missionary donations. In the dim backdrop of this was Raleigh, whose missionary zeal and interest so touched his father's heartstrings that he could but be generous with God's work and philanthropic causes.
In partnership with General Superintendent and Foreign Missions Secretary Hiram F. Reynolds, Susan Fitkin dedicated her energies to promoting the missionary program of the
Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism during the late 19th century. The denomination has its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas. and it ...
in her capacity as the unpaid founding president of the Nazarene Women's Missionary Society for almost 33 years from September 30, 1915.Basil Miller, ''Susan N. Fitkin: For God and Missions''. Digital ed. (Holiness Data Ministry, 2006):46, http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/2601-2700/HDM2627.pdf Referring to Abram's role, Basil Miller indicates: "Throughout the years of Mrs. Fitkin's missionary travels as president of the W.F.M.S., he financed liberally all her expenses as well as those of her companions en route. In addition there were large gifts directly to missionary causes, these amounts going far over the ten thousand mark in some years".Basil Miller, ''Susan N. Fitkin: For God and Missions''. Digital ed. (Holiness Data Ministry, 2006):100, http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/2601-2700/HDM2627.pdf


Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Church of the Nazarene, Swaziland (1916)

Early in 1916 Susan Fitkin began dreaming of building a missionary chapel in Africa in memory of Raleigh. Abram Fitkin provided the funds to construct the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial church, "the first tangible memorial to that would-be child missionary, Raleigh", at
Piggs Peak Piggs Peak is a town in northwestern Eswatini. It was founded around gold prospecting in 1884, but its main industry is now forestry. The Phophonyane Falls lie near the town. Piggs Peak Casino takes its name from the area. In 2001 the 115m hig ...
,
Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...
.


Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, Piggs Peak, Swaziland (1919-1925)

In October 1916 the Fitkins advised Hiram F. Reynolds, a general superintendent of the
Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism during the late 19th century. The denomination has its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas. and it ...
and head of its foreign missionary program, that they would "provide the money for the erection of a memorial hospital in Africa." The Fitkins donated funds to build the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, a small 18-bed facility built on the Nazarene mission compound at
Piggs Peak Piggs Peak is a town in northwestern Eswatini. It was founded around gold prospecting in 1884, but its main industry is now forestry. The Phophonyane Falls lie near the town. Piggs Peak Casino takes its name from the area. In 2001 the 115m hig ...
,
Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...
, which opened in 1920.Stan Ingersol, "Ministering to Body as Well as Spirit: The Transformation of Nazarene Social Ministry, 1925-1970", paper presented at the Theological Symposium, 4th Quadrennial Compassionate Ministries Conference, Church of the Nazarene (October 29, 1998):7-8, By 1919 the Nazarene mission station at Piggs Peak, formerly known as the Camp Station, was renamed the Fitkin Memorial Station. In 1925 the Swaziland government granted 35 acres of land fifty miles further south at
Bremersdorp Manzini (formerly Bremersdorp) is a large city in Eswatini, which is also the city of Eswatini's Manzini Region. The city is the country's second largest urban center behind the capital Mbabane, with a population of 110,000 (2008). It is known a ...
to the Church of the Nazarene for a hospital closer to the population centre of the country. After the opening of the new Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital in 1927, the old hospital building was used to house a portion of the Piggs Peak Nazarene Primary School. By January 1920 the Fitkins resided at 271 Brooklyn Avenue, Brooklyn. However, by December 1926, the Fitkins and their family lived at 8 Remsen Street, Brooklyn.


Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, Bremersdorp, Swaziland (1927)

Excluding the $10,000 contributed by members of the Church of the Nazarene from 1926,J. Fred Parker, ''Mission to the World: A History of Missions in the Church of the Nazarene Through 1985'' (Kansas City, MO: Nazarene, 1988):78. the Fitkins and Mrs Ada E. Bresee were the principal donors of the substantial amount given to build the replacement 80-bed Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital (RFMH) for the
Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism during the late 19th century. The denomination has its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas. and it ...
in Bremersdorp, Swaziland. By June 1925 the first stage was dedicated, and on July 16, 1927, RFMH hospital was dedicated by Susan Norris Fitkin. That same year, the Fitkins also paid off the $50,000 mortgage of the John Wesley Church of the Nazarene, where they held their church membership since 1907, and gave $14,000 for Nazarene missions. By June 1927, the Fitkins lived at a large estate, called "Milestones", that overlooked the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
at 16 and 18 Corlies Avenue (at the corner of Ocean Avenue),
Allenhurst, New Jersey Allenhurst is a borough located on the Jersey Shore, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The settlement was named after resident Abner Allen and was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 26 ...
. After a trip to California, they relocated the original colonial house to the rear of the property,"Fitkin Sells Again", ''Time'' (June 15, 1931):50
/ref> and had a 20-room, 3-story
bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...
constructed in its place as the family residence. In June 1927, daughter Mary-Louise married Esley Foster Salsbury at "Milestones", in a ceremony conducted by her cousin, Rev. Chauncey David Norris. In October 1927, son Willis married Helen Shubert in
Ocean Grove, New Jersey Ocean Grove is an Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) that is part of Neptune Township, New Jersey, Neptune Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United State ...
.


Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Institution, New Jersey (1927)

By July 1927 Abram Fitkin bought a 160-acre farm on the south side of the county road between Colt's Neck and Scobeyville, New Jersey for $26,000, which included an apple and peach orchards, crops, livestock, farm machinery, outbuildings and a century-old fifteen room house, which the Fitkins intended to have enlarged and remodeled in order to use as an
orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...
. Later that year they donated $1,000,000 to build and endow the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Institution, a hospital and home for crippled children on the state highway, between Eatontown and
Freehold Borough, New Jersey Freehold is a borough in and the county seat of Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey., National Association of Counties. Accessed January 21, 2013. Known for its Victorian era homes and extensive colonial history, the borough is l ...
. The plans included the purchase of 200 acres to establish a self-supporting farm to fund the institute.


Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Pavilion for Children, Connecticut (1928-1930)

In 1928, the Fitkins donated $1,000,000 to
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
for the care and treatment of children in memory of their oldest son, Raleigh, with $500,000 for the study of children's diseases, and another $500,000 for the construction of a 125-bed hospital at the New Haven Hospital at 789 Howard Avenue in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
."FITKIN ADDS TO YALE GIFT.; Makes Total $1,100,000 for Children's Hospital Pavilion", Special to ''The New York Times'' (February 17, 1929):35.Society for the Advancement of Education, ''Intellect'' 29 (Society for the Advancement of Education, 1929):328. Escalating construction costs resulted in the Fitkins donating an additional $100,000 in June 1929 to build the now larger six-story 136-bed Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Pavilion for Children. The donation allowed the expansion and consolidation of pediatric inpatient facilities in a single building.Howard A. Pearson, "History of The Department of Pediatrics Yale University School of Medicine", ''Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine'' 70 (1997):205. The Fitkins dedicated the hospital on February 8, 1930, with fifty beds on two floors assigned to
pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...
, special rooms for premature babies, and the Fitkins' donations also being used to facilitate pediatric outpatient and infectious isolation wards in nearby buildings. The Fitkin wards remained the inpatient pediatric service at the hospital until the 1980s. Also in 1928, the Fitkins gave $1,000,000 to create the Ralph Fitkin Ward Unit in honor of their youngest child (then 16), for the "study and treatment of diseases of childhood".


Raleigh Fitkin-Paul Morgan Memorial Hospital, New Jersey (1930)

By May 1930, in order to further honor their deceased son, and in memory of A.E. Fitkin & Co. Vice-President Paul L. Morgan, who died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
at the age of 32, the Fitkins contributed $500,000 to the Spring Lake Hospital Society to build the Fitkin-Morgan Memorial Hospital at Corlies Avenue in
Neptune Township, New Jersey Neptune Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 28,061, an increase of 126 (+0.5%) from t ...
. The hospital, which opened in November 1931."Hospital Dedication", ''Red Bank Register'' (October 28, 1931):3. was founded as a non-profit, accessible to all "regardless of their ability to pay".''History of Township of Neptune'' (1964; Bicentennial Edition, 1976):75. In 1966, the hospital's corporate name was changed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center - Fitkin Hospital.


Later years and death

Susan Norris Fitkin died on October 18, 1951, aged 81, in
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
. She is interred in Brooklyn, New York.


Family

Abram and Susan Fitkin had four children.


Abram Raleigh Fitkin

Abram Raleigh Fitkin was born September 3, 1904, in
Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Everett was the last city in the ...
, and died September 7, 1914.


Mary-Louise Hooper

Mary-Louise Fitkin Hooper was born June 12, 1907, in
Swampscott, Massachusetts Swampscott () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts ...
, and died in
Klamath Falls, Oregon Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city ...
, on August 14, 1987. She attended Adelphi Academy in Brooklyn, and studied for a year at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
until leaving in June 1928."3 College Girls Have 171 Years Total", ''Greensburg Daily Tribune'' (June 30, 1955):19. Mary Louise was married and divorced three times, between 1928 and 1949. She first married Esley Foster Salsbury on June 14, 1928, at "Milestones", the Fitkin home in Allenhurst, New Jersey. In April 1930 the Salsburys lived with Susan Norris Fitkin in Oakland, California. They had one child, Suzanne Mary Salsbury (born 1933),"Suzanne Cogley", and they divorced sometime before August 1938. By August 1938, Mary-Louise had married Dr. Karl Josef Deissler a German physician who had fled Germany for the US in 1931 because of his liberal ideas and fears of
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
persecution. Deissler was excluded from the US western defense area from September 1942 until November 1943 as an
enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...
, During their period of separation, Mary-Louise and her daughter lived in Illinois. The Deisslers divorced in 1946, and Mary-Louise and Suzanne moved to
Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...
. In late 1947, Mary-Louise married Clifford Hooper, an
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
whom she had met while campaigning for the
NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
; they married in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
, as the laws of California did not allow inter-racial marriages. After living in
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, for a year, the Hoopers separated, and were divorced in 1949. By June 1950, a year before her mother's death, Mary-Louise had become a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
. She returned to
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 1953 to complete her degree, graduating in June 1955. She was active in helping to improve inter-racial relations, and supported the efforts in Africa to end
colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...
and
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
."Mary-Louise Hooper with the FLN underground", http://africanactivist.msu.edu/image.php?objectid=32-131-30C She migrated to South Africa in 1955, where she supported the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...
."Hooper Tells of Opposition to Apatheid", ''California Tech'' (Pasadena, CA) (February 14, 1963):1. She was arrested and ordered deported in 1957. Returning to the United States, she continued to be vocal and active in her opposition to apartheid, organizing boycotts of South African goods, and invited
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
to speak at a 1965 South Africa Benefit, where he called for economic sanctions against South Africa.


Willis Carradine Fitkin

Willis Carradine "Bud" Fitkin was born October 10, 1908, in
Hollis, New York Hollis is a residential middle class, middle-class neighborhood within the southeastern section of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Queens. While a predominantly African-American community, there are small minorities of His ...
, and died November 8, 1980, in
Meredith, New Hampshire Meredith is a New England town, town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,662 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Meredith is situated in the state's Lakes Region (New Hampshire), Lakes Region and serve ...
. He attended Adelphi Academy in Brooklyn."WILLIS C. FITKIN, 72, WAS EXECUTIVE WITH VT.'S GREEN MOUNTAIN POWER CO.", ''Boston Globe'' (November 13, 1980):1. He married Helen E. Shubert, on October 22, 1927, in
Ocean Grove, New Jersey Ocean Grove is an Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) that is part of Neptune Township, New Jersey, Neptune Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United State ...
. They had four children: Abraham Edward (born 1929), Willis C. III (born about 1931), Joyce (Pietri) (born about 1933), and Karen E. (Draper). Fitkin was a vice-president, director and stockholder in A.E. Fitkin & Co. and A.E. Fitkin & Sons from 1932; president and chairman of Michigan Gas Utilities Co from April 1953; a member of the board of directors of Tampa Electric Co. until 1979; and was a member of the board of trustees of the Fitkin Memorial Hospital in Neptune, New Jersey, from its opening in November 1931.


Ralph MacFarland Fitkin

Ralph MacFarland Fitkin (March 7, 1912 - July 16, 1962), attended Adelphi Academy in Brooklyn until 1930, attended
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 1931–1932,George Ferguson Mitchell Nellist, ''Pan-Pacific Who's Who'', (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1941):223. married Lorene Billie Hastings on February 13, 1932, in
Elkton, Maryland Elkton is a town in and the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,776 at the 2020 census, up from 15,443 in 2010. It was formerly called Head of Elk because it sits at the head of navigation on the Elk R ...
. The couple had three sons: Reed Keawaiki (born 1939), Thomas Hastings (born 1943), and Scott Norris (born 1945). Ralph was a vice-president, director and stockholder in A.E. Fitkin & Co. and A.E. Fitkin & Sons from 1932; served as a lieutenant in the
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
during World War II, working in the cable censor's office in Hawaii, before retiring from the US Navy as a lieutenant commander; and was the owner of
KHON Khon (, ) is a dance drama genre from Thailand. Khon has been performed since the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It is traditionally performed solely in the royal court by men in masks accompanied by narrators and a traditional piphat ensemble. A variati ...
in
Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
, from its founding in 1946"New Radio Company's President is Son of Man Fabulous in U. S. Finance", ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' (1946), from until at least 1952.


Legacy

The Fitkin Memorial Church of the Nazarene (recently Fitkin's Memorial Church of the Nazarene), established at 1110 38th Avenue,
Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...
, by January 1948, was one of the oldest
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
congregations in the
Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism during the late 19th century. The denomination has its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas. and it ...
. Upon the occasion of her retirement in June 1948 after almost 33 years as its unpaid general president, the Nazarene Women's Foreign Missionary Society decided to honor her by raising $50,000 to establish the Fitkin Memorial Training School on the new Nazarene mission field in
Ji'an, Jiangxi Ji'an ( zh, c=吉安 , p=Jí'ān) is a prefecture-level city situated in the central region of Jiangxi province of the People's Republic of China and bordering Hunan province to the west. It has an area of and as of the 2020 census, had a popu ...
, China. Eventually almost $75,000 was raised by members of the
Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism during the late 19th century. The denomination has its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas. and it ...
for this project. The Fitkin Memorial Bible School was opened on October 12, 1948, with 26 students. However, after the departure of Nazarene missionaries from China in May 1949, the balance of funds given for the Fitkin Memorial School in Daming were reallocated to educational projects in other countries, including $9,000 sent to
British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973
, where the Fitkin Memorial Nazarene Bible College of British Honduras was opened in
Benque Viejo del Carmen Benque Viejo del Carmen ("Benque") is the westernmost town in Belize, by road west and south of Belize City, at the Guatemalan border. San Ignacio lies 13 km to the east and Melchor de Mencos just across the border. The Mopan River runs alon ...
on June 8, 1950, but closed in 1965; Japan, where $25,000 was allocated to construct the building that housed the new Nippon Nazarene Seminary in Tokyo, which was christened the Susan N. Fitkin Memorial Building, and dedicated on April 13, 1952; and $9,000 to the Philippines, where it was used to fund the construction of the Fitkin Memorial Bible Training School (later Luzon Nazarene Bible College and now Philippine Nazarene College) in
La Trinidad, Benguet La Trinidad (), officially the Municipality of La Trinidad (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...
in July 1952, with an initial enrolment of 35 students, which was named in honor of Susan Norris Fitkin, who had died in 1951; and Lebanon, where land was purchased in the suburb of Sioufi, in the
Achrafieh Achrafieh () is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter (''quartier''). In p ...
district of east
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
, and a five-story building constructed in 1953 that housed a church and the Fitkin Memorial Nazarene Bible School, which operated from October 1954 until 1969.W.T. Purkiser
''Called Unto Holiness: The Story of the Nazarenes'', Vol. 2: ''The Second Twenty-five Years, 1933-58''
, (Kansas City, MO: Nazarene, 1983; Holiness Data Ministry, 2006):204-205.


Works

* 1927. ''A Trip to Africa''. New York. * 1928. ''A Brief History of the Woman's Missionary Society, Church of the Nazarene, 1915-1927''. Kansas City, MO: Woman's Missionary Society. * 1929. ''Under Tropical Skies''. Kansas City, MO.: Nazarene Publishing House. * 1929. ''Over in Old Mexico''. Kansas City, MO.: Nazarene Publishing House. *
''Grace Much More Abounding: A Story of the Triumphs of Redeeming Grace During Two Score Years in the Master's Service''
Kansas City, MO: Nazarene Publishing House; Holiness Data Ministry, 1997. * 1937. ________ and Emma B. Word. ''Nazarene Missions in the Orient''. Kansas City, MO.: Nazarene Publishing House. * 1940

* 1950. "Confirmed by Fifty Years of Experience". In ''The Second Work of Grace'', 51–53. Ed. D.S. Corlett. Kansas City, MO: Nazarene.


References


Further reading

* Burrow, Gerard N. ''A History of Yale's School of Medicine: Passing Torches to Others''. Yale University Press, 2002. * Cooley, Steven D. "The Call of Susan Fitkin." ''Herald of Holiness'' 74:20 (15 October 1985):9. * Cunningham, Floyd; Stan Ingersol; Harold E. Raser; and David P. Whitelaw. ''Our Watchword & Song: The Centennial History of the Church of the Nazarene''. Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2009. * Ingersol, Stan. "Fitkin, Susan Norris". In ''Historical Dictionary of the Holiness Movement'', 2nd ed., 115. Ed. William Kostlevy. Scarecrow Press, 2009. * ________

''Herald of Holiness'' 80:1 (January 1991):44. * ________

* Jones, Charles Edwin. ''The Wesleyan Holiness Movement: A Comprehensive Guide''. 2 vols. Scarecrow Press, 2005. * Laird, Rebecca. "Susan Norris Fitkin". In ''Ordained Women in the Church of the Nazarene'', 72–83. Kansas City, MO: Nazarene, 1993. * Miller, Basil
''Susan N. Fitkin: For God and Missions''
Kansas City, MO: Nazarene Publishing House, 1949. Digital ed. Holiness Data Ministry, 2006. * Parker, J. Fred. ''Mission to the World: A History of Missions in the Church of the Nazarene Through 1985''. Nazarene Publishing House, 1988. * Perkins, Phyllis. ''Women in Nazarene Missions: Embracing the Legacy''. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House, 1994. * Purkiser, W.T
''Called Unto Holiness: The Story of the Nazarenes'', Vol. 2: ''The Second Twenty-five Years, 1933-58''
. Kansas City, MO: Nazarene, 1983; Holiness Data Ministry, 2006. * Sides, Melodie

* Smith, Timothy L
''Called Unto Holiness: The Story of The Nazarenes: The Formative Years''
. Kansas City, MO: Nazarene Publishing House, 1962. Digital Edition (Holiness Data Ministry, 2006). * Stanley, Susie C. ''Holy Boldness: Women Preachers' Autobiographies''. Univ. of Tennessee Press, 2004. * York, Mark A. ''The Girl Who Wanted to Be a Missionary: The Susan N. Fitkin Story''. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House, 1985. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitkin, Susan Norris 1870 births 1951 deaths People from Allenhurst, New Jersey People from Everett, Massachusetts People from Montérégie Malone University alumni Canadian Christian religious leaders Canadian Quakers People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California