Thomas Davidson Christie (21 January 1843 – 25 May 1921) was an Irish-American Civil War veteran, and a missionary and educator in the Ottoman Empire from 1877 to 1920. He was born in Sion Mills, County Tyrone, Ireland, the son of James and Eliza (Reid) Christie. He married Carmelite Sarah Brewer in 1872. His wife was related to

David Josiah Brewer David Josiah Brewer (June 20, 1837 – March 28, 1910) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1890 to 1910. An appointee of President Benjamin Harrison, he supported states' righ ...

Stephen Johnson Field Stephen Johnson Field (November 4, 1816 – April 9, 1899) was an American jurist. He was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from May 20, 1863, to December 1, 1897, the second longest tenure of any justice. Prior to this ap ...

(both US Supreme Court Justices) and

David Dudley Field I David Dudley Field I (May 20, 1781 – April 15, 1867) was an American Congregational clergyman and historical writer. He was born in Madison, Connecticut, East Guilford, now Madison, Connecticut on May 20, 1781, the son of Timothy Field, an ...

. Their correspondence, diaries and papers are located at the

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...

.Brother of Mine: The Civil War Letters of Thomas & William Christie, editor Hampton Smith, Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2011, p. 3-19

Early family life

James Christie, Thomas's father, left Dundee Scotland to work in the flax mills of Ireland. James' brothers, Alexander and William, emigrated in the 1840s to the United States where they worked as machinists. During the winter season they worked in Cuba, operating machines designed by Dudley Pray of Boston, that were used in the sugar cane fields. In 1846, they sent for Christie family in Ireland and their extended family in Dundee. Eventually all settled near each other in Clyman Township, Dodge County, Wisconsi

Thomas's older brother, William Gilcrist Christie went to Minnesota. James sent Thomas there to help William with his farm.

Civil War

In October 1861, Thomas and William enlisted at

Fort Snelling Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...

MN in the

1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery The 1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery was a Minnesota USV artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The battery was mustered in at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. on November 21, 1861. The 1st Minnesota Ligh ...

. They were in the "Hornet's Nest" in the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

, the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

, and in 1864 joined Sherman's army for the

Battle of Kennesaw Mountain The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was fought on June 27, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the most significant frontal assault launched by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman against the Confederate Army of Tennes ...

. They participated in the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Uni ...

and

Sherman's March to the Sea Sherman's March to the Sea (also known as the Savannah campaign or simply Sherman's March) was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864, by William Tecumseh Sherman, major ...

. Both Thomas and William wrote to their family during their service. Thomas mustered out in 1865.

College and seminaries

After his discharge he surveyed land for the Winona and St. Peter Railroad Company near Winona, MN. In April 1866 he entered

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...

and graduated in July 1871. He met his wife at Rockford Seminary for Women where she graduated in 1871. In August 1871 he started teaching at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. He married in March 1872 and returned to Beloit College in Sept 1872 to teach and to complete work on his master's degree, which he received in 1874. He went to

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambridge. ...

for further studies and was ordained a minister in Beloi

Turkish period

In September 1877 he and his family were sent by the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

to Turkey. He taught in Marash, Turkey at the Central Turkey Theological Seminary for 16 years. From 1881-82 the Christies were in Adana. In 1883 they moved to Tarsus, Turkey where he assumed the presidency of St. Paul's Institute. Dr. Christie secured an endowment from

Elliott Fitch Shepard Elliott Fitch Shepard (July 25, 1833 – March 24, 1893) was a New York lawyer, banker, and owner of the '' Mail and Express'' newspaper, as well as a founder and president of the New York State Bar Association. Shepard was married to Marg ...

in 1885 for the college. At times Thomas was away from the college for extended periods (once for 4 years) and Carmelite acted on his behalf.

The Christies provided refuge, relief and assistance to many Armenian and Turkish people in times of trouble and peace. They were in Turkey during the massacres of 1895, 1909 and the Armenian genocide in 1915. Thomas and Miner Rogers, his son-in-law, were at a gathering of ministers and missionaries at Adana massacre, Adana in 1909. While assisting Armenian ministers, Miner was killed by Turkish irregulars. The Turkish irregulars left Adana, came to Tarsus and burned the Armenian quarter. Carmelite worked with the local Turkish government to protect the College. She opened the College to the Tarsus refugees and told the irregulars that it was American soil. This probably saved hundreds, if not thousands, of refugees from death. The irregular's suddenly left Tarsus and Thomas returned from Adana. Thomas was said to never be the same after these events. In 1915 he went to Constantinople to protest the treatment of Armenian teachers and was not allowed to return to Tarsus. Carmelite remained in Tarsus during World War I.

Thomas spent the Great War in America. He served as Chaplin at Camp Kearney in California. In January 1919 he sailed from Seattle to Hong Kong and Port Said to return to Tarsus. He arrived in April 1919 to a "royal reception", of friends of all classes and religions, French and Turkish officials and students. His health was not good. He and Carmelite returned to the United States in July 1920 and lived in Southern California.
Thomas and Carmelite are buried in the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission's plot in the Walnut Street Cemetery, Newton Massachusetts.

Children

Thomas and Carmelite had 7 children, 3 did not reach their 25th birthda

*Emerson Brewer Christie (1878–1967) was an ethnologist and linguist. He worked with the Subanun people of the Philippines Island. He worked for the State Department as a special assistant and was Chief of its Translation Bureau (1928–1944

He worked to mediated the "Chaco" boundary between Bolivia and Paraguay. He married Clara Pray, his cousin. *Mary Phelps Christie(1881–1975) was an educator. After her first husband was killed in 1915, she married Dr. William Nute. The Nutes worked in Turkey in rural health and education. *Jean Ogilvie Christie Lien (1891–1984) was an educator. She received a degree from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

, taught in Turkey,

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

and

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

at Berkeley with her husband. *Paul Theodore Christie (1883–1959) was an educator. He received his degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and taught at

St. George's School (Rhode Island) St. George's School is a private, Episcopal, coeducational boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, United States, just east of the city of Newport, on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It is a member of the Independent School League ...

in Rhode Island. He married Miriam McLoud, granddaughter of Rev. Anson McLoud, a Congregational minister (1841–1869) of Topsfield Massachusetts.

Notes

External reference links

James C. Christie Collection
brief biographies and inventory of contents at MNHS.org
Thomas D. and Carmelite Brewer Christie Collection
brief bios and inventory of contents at MNHS.org

online at MNHS.org
Summary of Thomas Christie service by Beloit CollegeExcerpt from: Beloit Daily News (May 28, 1921)

Summary of Christie's life,Missionary Review of the World, January 1922, "Forty-three Years in Turkey: An Appreciation of Thomas Davidson Christie."
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Thomas Davidson (1843-1931) 1843 births 1931 deaths American Congregationalist ministers 19th-century Congregationalist ministers Beloit College alumni American Congregationalist missionaries Congregationalist missionaries in Turkey People from County Tyrone Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) People of Minnesota in the American Civil War American expatriates in the Ottoman Empire Andover Theological Seminary alumni 19th-century American clergy