Missionaries
Photograph of Harriet Newell Noyes
Harriet "Hattie" Newell Noyes
Harriet Noyes was born on March 5, 1844. She was an American Presbyterian educator, writer, and missionary for nearly 56 years. Per her letters, she was a witty individual, who while religiously conservative, was relatively socially progressive for her time. She was supportive of women's rights and education, temperance, and Chinese immigration to the States. At the same time, she does employ harmful language and is not critical of her own role in imperialism.
In late 1867, the Presbyterian Church sent her as a missionary to Guangzhou, China where she learned to speak fluent Cantonese and worked alongside her brother, Henry. By 1869, Harriet had started teaching in day schools. Then, on June 16, 1872, Harriet founded the True Light Seminary, the first women's school in Guangzhou. Harriet often accompanied her brother on trips inland to help preach the word of God. Harriet and her close friend and coworker, Electa M. Butler, were recognized for their work by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in May 1923. She spent the last few years of her life in the United States, where she died on January 14, 1924, at the age of 79.
Martha "Mattie" Noyes
Martha (Noyes) Kerr was born on June 1, 1840, in Guilford Township, Ohio to Rev. Varnum Noyes and Lois Walker Noyes and was the eldest of six sisters. She served as a missionary for 53 years. In 1873, Martha was sent by the Presbyterian Board of Missions to the True Light Seminary to help her sister, Harriet. On June 9, 1886, she married Dr. John Glasgow Kerr who was several years her senior. That year, she opened a Canton Hospital School, while still teaching at the True Light Seminary. She helped establish "The John G. Kerr Hospital for the Insane" in 1898 alongside her husband, having pivoted from teaching to medical missionary work after her marriage.
After her husband died in 1901, she served as an administrator and fundraiser for the institution she founded with her husband and was happy to celebrate the 25th anniversary. Martha was devoted to her work in China and died on August 7, 1926, at 86 years old. Like her brother Henry, she is buried in China rather than in Mound Hill Cemetery with her other siblings and her parents.
Henry Varnum Noyes
Henry Varnum Noyes was born on April 24, 1836, in Guilford Township, Ohio. He attended Vermillion Institute from 1854 to 1861. He graduated from the Western Reserve College in 1861 and the Western Technological Seminary in 1865. During this time he also helped out and preached to soldiers in camps during the Civil War.
He married Cynthia Crane on October 12, 1865, and they traveled to China together on February 3, 1866. Sadly, Cynthia died shortly after their arrival. While in China, Henry served as an American Presbyterian Missionary and Minister; he worked to translate the Bible and traveled to the country to proselytize. Henry believed that the church could never be fully established in China until it had an educated ministry. As a result, he developed a group of institutions, including an elementary school, a high school, a Bible school, and a theoretical seminary, where he served as president until his death. In February 1876, he married Arabella Anderson and they had two children, William and Richard. He died on January 21, 1914, in Guangzhou, China at the age of 77.
Reverend William Dean Noyes
William Noyes was the son of Henry Varnum Noyes and Arabella Anderson born on September 22, 1877, in Los Angeles, California. In 1900 he graduated from the College of Wooster. After his graduation, he followed in his father's footsteps and became a member of the Missionary Presbyterian Board and was Principal of the Boy's Academy. He served as a missionary in Canton for 20 years as a member of the clergy from 1902-1922. In 1907, he married Mary Emma Stevenson Noyes. They had at least four children together, including Henry Halsey Noyes, the donor of this collection. He passed away on August 1, 1958, at the age of 80 years old.
Click here to read a letter from Willie to his grandparents, 1882.
Richard Varnum Noyes
Richard Noyes was born in 1880. He attended the College of Wooster alongside his brother, William Dean, and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1901. After graduation, he returned to China to work as a missionary and teacher. Richard was unsure whether he was more interested in theological or medical missionary work, but following in his family's footsteps, he was determined to become a reverend and planned to return to the United States for further schooling. Following this decision, he fell ill with the bubonic plague and malarial fever, and succumbed rather quickly, dying on May 26, 1904. The money from his life insurance policy was used to build another building for the Canton Mission in his honor.