John Ince (August 20, 1795 – April 24, 1825) was an early

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Christian

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to the

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at Penang and Malacca with the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...

.Wylie (1867), p. 42–43

Missionary career

Ince studied divinity under

David Bogue David Bogue (18 February 175025 October 1825) was a British nonconformist religious leader. Life He was born at Hallydown Farm, in the parish of Coldingham, Berwickshire, Scotland, the son of John Bogue, farmer, and his wife, Margaret Swanston. ...

at Gosport. He was ordained along with two other men, Robert Fleming and Mercer, at the Union Chapel, Islington,

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on January 22, 1818. On February 17 he and his wife, Joanna née Barr, left England aboard the “General Graham”. They arrived at Malacca (now Malaysia) on September 14. On October 3, their daughter, Matilda was born. At Malacca, Ince studied the

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at the Anglo-Chinese College founded by Robert Morrison and the first principal, William Milne. In 1819 he took his family to Penang, arriving on June 28. There he established schools for Chinese children, with the patronage and assistance of the government of the

British Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Com ...

. In 1821 Ince and fellow missionary, Thomas Beighton toured the coast of Queda on the Malay Peninsula, first visiting Queda Muda, so that they could distribute copies of the Bible in Chinese as well as Gospel tracts while engaging in personal evangelism. At Pulu Tega, they had an interview with the

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h, who gave them permission to visit Queda. Later in 1821 he took his family to Malacca, on account of their health. The following year, his wife died. She was buried along with her infant son in the Protestant Cemetery at Penang with two of their infant daughters who had died previously. Their daughter, Matilda survived. A chapel was built in 1824 at Malacca, with generous donations from the inhabitants of the settlement. Ince became ill during the same year and suffered until his death in April of the following year. He was buried in the Protestant Cemetery at Penang alongside his wife.

Works

* “School Book”, Malacca (1824)

References

* *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ince, John 1795 births 1825 deaths Protestant missionaries in China English Protestant missionaries Protestant missionaries in Malaysia