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Eleanor Chesnut (January 8, 1868 — October 29, 1905), sometimes written as Eleanor Chestnut, was an American Christian medical missionary and translator who worked in China from 1894 until her murder in 1905.
"Where Our Graduates Go"
''The Assembly Herald'' (April 1906): 204-205. She was a twin, and her mother died soon after her birth; she was raised by neighbors named Merwin, and later by relatives in Hatton, Missouri. She attended Park College, a Presbyterian school in Missouri. She graduated from the college in 1888, and attended Women's Medical College, the Illinois Training School for Nurses, and Moody Bible Institute, in her preparation for becoming a medical missionary.Robert Elliott Speer
''Servants of the King''
(Board of Foreign Missions 1909): 91-113.
Eleanor Chesnut worked briefly as a physician at the women's reformatory in Framingham, Massachusetts. She sailed from San Francisco for China as a missionary in 1894. She worked in
''Western Women in Eastern Lands: An Outline Study of Fifty Years of Woman's Work in Foreign Missions''
(Macmillan 1910): 196-200.
"Letters concerning Eleanor Chestnut, 1905-1908"
from the Robert Elliot Speer Manuscript Collection; Series II: Correspondence; Box 24, File 24:1. Digitized manuscript letters to author Robert Speer. * Arthur Judson Brown
''The Lien-Chou martyrdom : the cross is still upheld at Lien-Chou''
(Presbyterian Church U. S. A., Board of Foreign Missions 1906). {{DEFAULTSORT:Chesnut, Eleanor 1868 births 1905 deaths American Christian missionaries People from Waterloo, Iowa American people murdered abroad People murdered in China Christian missionaries in China American expatriates in China Female Christian missionaries
Eleanor Chesnut (January 8, 1868 — October 29, 1905), sometimes written as Eleanor Chestnut, was an American Christian medical missionary and translator who worked in China from 1894 until her murder in 1905.
Early life
Eleanor "Nell" E. Chesnut was born inWaterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...
.James Stuart Dickson"Where Our Graduates Go"
''The Assembly Herald'' (April 1906): 204-205. She was a twin, and her mother died soon after her birth; she was raised by neighbors named Merwin, and later by relatives in Hatton, Missouri. She attended Park College, a Presbyterian school in Missouri. She graduated from the college in 1888, and attended Women's Medical College, the Illinois Training School for Nurses, and Moody Bible Institute, in her preparation for becoming a medical missionary.Robert Elliott Speer
''Servants of the King''
(Board of Foreign Missions 1909): 91-113.
Mission work in China
Eleanor Chesnut worked briefly as a physician at the women's reformatory in Framingham, Massachusetts. She sailed from San Francisco for China as a missionary in 1894. She worked in Lianzhou
Lianzhou (), formerly Lian County or Lianxian ( postal: Linhsien; ), is a county-level city in northern Guangdong Province, China, and is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Qingyuan. It is known as the host cit ...
, where she ran a women's hospital, traveled by horseback to hold clinics in small villages, and trained local women as nurses. She advocated for the building of schools and public health measures. She also translated books into the Lianzhou dialect, including the Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...
and a nursing textbook. In a letter, she wrote, "I don't think we are in any danger, but if we are, we might as well die suddenly in God's work as by some long-drawn-out illness at home."
During a furlough in the United States from 1902 to 1903, Chesnut gave lectures and raised funds for her work. "I do not feel that I am spiritual enough to be a missionary," she told a friend during this visit. In October 1905, she and three other Americans, and one child, were killed by a mob stirred to violence by her removal of a ceremonial structure.
Memorials
In 1907, a brass plaque naming Chesnut as one of the five "Missionary Martyrs" was installed at the Presbyterian Foreign Mission Board headquarters in New York City. Her story was presented (and continues to be presented) as an example of Christian sacrifice in church educational materials.Helen Barrett Montgomery''Western Women in Eastern Lands: An Outline Study of Fifty Years of Woman's Work in Foreign Missions''
(Macmillan 1910): 196-200.
References
External links
"Letters concerning Eleanor Chestnut, 1905-1908"
from the Robert Elliot Speer Manuscript Collection; Series II: Correspondence; Box 24, File 24:1. Digitized manuscript letters to author Robert Speer. * Arthur Judson Brown
''The Lien-Chou martyrdom : the cross is still upheld at Lien-Chou''
(Presbyterian Church U. S. A., Board of Foreign Missions 1906). {{DEFAULTSORT:Chesnut, Eleanor 1868 births 1905 deaths American Christian missionaries People from Waterloo, Iowa American people murdered abroad People murdered in China Christian missionaries in China American expatriates in China Female Christian missionaries