Harrison Gray Otis Dwight (1803–1862) was an American Congregational

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

Biography

Harrison Gray Otis Dwight was born on November 22, 1803 in

Conway, Massachusetts Conway is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,761 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Conway was first settled by English colonists ...

. His father was Seth Dwight (1769–1825) and mother was Hannah Strong (1768–1813). He graduated from

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

in 1825 and went on to study

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

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. ...

where he graduated in 1828. He married Elizabeth Barker (1806–1837) on January 4, 1828. She died of Cholera in 1837 with her third son. They were both buried in the Protestant cemetery of San Stefano (now

Yeşilköy (; meaning "Green Village"; prior to 1926, San Stefano or Santo Stefano el, Άγιος Στέφανος, Ágios Stéfanos, tr, Ayastefanos) is an affluent neighbourhood ( tr, mahalle) in the district of Bakırköy, Istanbul, Turkey, on the M ...

), in Istanbul. He was ordained on July 15, 1829 as a missionary for 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 ...

. He was sent to assist in the

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n missions serving in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

for over 30 years. He wrote: ''Christianity Revived in the East'' (1850). In 1856, Dwight published a "Manual of Christian Theology" in Constantinople in association with

George Warren Wood George Warren Wood (known professionally as George W. Wood) (1814–1901) was a Presbyterian minister and missionary who became the secretary of the Congregationalist American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He was an early missio ...

and Rev. Dr. Edward Riggs. Children from his first wife were: # James Harrison Dwight was born October 9, 1830 on

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. # William Buck Dwight was born May 22, 1833 at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. # John White Dwight was born December 4, 1834 but died on June 29, 1837. # Charles Parmelee Dwight was born February 25, 1837 but died February 18, 1853. He married Mary Lane (1811–1860) on April 6, 1839. Their children were: # Mary Tappan Dwight was born August 19, 1840 but died July 5, 1847. # Henry Otis Dwight was born June 3, 1843 and died in 1917. # Cornelia Porter Dwight was born November 12, 1846, and also became a missionary to Turkey. # Sarah Hinsdale Dwight was born July 17, 1848 married Reverend Edward Riggs, the son on

Elias Riggs Elias Riggs (November 19, 1810 – January 17, 1901) was an American Presbyterian missionary and linguist. Biography Elias Riggs was born on November 19, 1810 in New Providence, New Jersey. He was the second son of Elias and Margaret (Congar ...

(1810–1901) in 1869, who also became a missionary to Turkey. # Susan Elizabeth Dwight was born February 6, 1851 and died on July 13, 1870. His older sister Harriet Dwight (1792–1870) married James Dana, and their son was geologist

James Dwight Dana James Dwight Dana Royal Society of London, FRS FRSE (February 12, 1813 – April 14, 1895) was an American geologist, mineralogist, volcanologist, and zoologist. He made pioneering studies of mountain-building, volcano, volcanic activity, and the ...

(1813–1895). He died on January 25, 1862.

References

1803 births 1862 deaths American Congregationalist missionaries Congregationalist missionaries in Turkey American theologians People from Conway, Massachusetts Hamilton College (New York) alumni American expatriates in the Ottoman Empire 19th-century American clergy {{US-Christian-clergy-stub