Mary Eddy Kidder (January 31, 1834 – June 25, 1910) was an American missionary and educator in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. She established Ferris Women's Seminary (later
Ferris University
is a private women's college in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. It is a part of Ferris Jogakuin ( 学校法人フェリス女学院).
The predecessor of the school was founded by American Presbyterian missionaries in 1870 with the assistance of Jam ...
), the first Christian women's college in Japan.
She was born into a devoutly
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
family in
Wardsboro,
Vermont, United States, and was educated there. She taught at the Wardsboro Academy run by the
Dutch Reformed Church of America. In 1869, she became a missionary and travelled with
Samuel Robbins Brown to Japan. She was hired by the Japanese government to teach English. In 1870, she founded a small school in
Yokohama. Five years later, with the assistance of churches in the United States, a school and student residence were constructed; the school was named after
Isaac Ferris. Besides the English language, history, geography, mathematics and Christian religious instruction, students were also taught sewing, knitting, embroidery,
calligraphy
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
, Japanese history and
Confucian philosophy. Alumni included
Wakamatsu Shizuko. In 1881, she retired as administrator of the school and moved to
Tokyo, where she continued to do missionary work.
From 1888 to 1902, she worked in
Morioka. She also contributed to the monthly Christian publication ''Yorokobi no Otozure''. Kidder and her husband also worked at missionary work in
Kōchi
Kochi is a city in Kerala, India.
Kochi or Kōchi may also refer to:
People
* Kochi people, a predominantly Pashtun nomadic people of Afghanistan
* , a Japanese surname:
** Arata Kochi (born 1948 or 1949), Japanese physician and World Health Org ...
,
Nagano and
Hokkaido.
[
In 1873, she married Edward Rothesay Miller, a Presbyterian missionary who afterwards converted to the Reformed Church.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidder, Mary Eddy
1834 births
1910 deaths
Heads of schools in Japan
American Protestant missionaries
Protestant missionaries in Japan
People from Wardsboro, Vermont
Female Christian missionaries
American expatriates in Japan
University and college founders
Women founders