The Andrew Wylie Family Letters - Indiana University Bloomington

We are to remain with them until our house is finished. I find them both very kind and agreeable,
indeed I’ve met with nothing but kindness since I’ve been in China. I am truly thankful there are
so many American missionaries here. They seem to be very socia ble, among each other. I know
nothing of the language yet, though I hope by the blessing of God soon to acquire it. I will do
the best I can and you know this is all that is required. Our teacher is to be here Monday when I
expect to commence in good ernest. When you write, put “direct for the overland mail” [on the]
Envelope and direct prepaid to Mr Lowrie who will forward European Packets. Letters will then
reach us in two months or little more.
P.S. Babe well and sleeping soundly he is now 5 weeks old and has never been a moment sick.
Your affectionate daughter
Mag W. Martin
Samuel Martin to Andrew and Margaret Wylie, Bloomington, Indiana
Shanghai May 25, 1850
Dear Father and Mother
Months have passed since I addressed you; changes doubtless have taken place, at home,
& amongst those we love. We often derive pleasure in imagining what they may be. And our
friends, perhaps, sometimes venture a speculation about us; & try to picture to themselves our
state, prospects, history: But instead of being perplexed & made uneasy by such things, let us
derive comfort from the promise “that all things shall work together for good to them that love
God,” and endeavor that ours may be the character to which the promise belongs.
Margaret’s letter from Hong Kong acquainted you with events up to that time. We staid
at Hong Kong 17 days; Br W & his wife spent part of this time at Canton. we chose to remain.
we found there several true & cordial friends: so that while glad to speed onward to our own
destined home, it was with feelings, not unmin gled with regret, that we saw the place of our
sojourn sinking behind the waters. On Saturday 24th Apr, 17 days after we reached HongKong,
we embarked in the “Lady Mary Wood” steamship for Shanghai; Br W & wife, & some others,
chartered a small Portugese vessle, to start on the 5th May, & stop at [Amay] & [Fu Chan], on her
way up coast. We expect to meet them at Ningpo, if they have had a prosperous passage. Our
reason for taking the steamer was not that we apprehended that Margaret’s condition required any
special haste, had that been the case we should have staid at HongKong, but because I did not
wish to expose her to the tossing of a small sail vessle, beating up against strong head winds &
Sea from which inconvenience, in a thousand ton steamer we would be comparatively free.
We had only been out two days and were just entering the channel of Formosa when an
event occurred, which we did not expect for two months later. About 4 Oclock, on Monday 29 th
April, we became the happy parents of a Son. Labour did not exceed 4 hours from the first pains;
was not severe at any time, & terminated happily in every respect, for both Mother & child.
A physician was on board, & every thing necessary to my wife’s comfort was easily procured.
The sea at the time was rough, & continued so for a day or two; which I feared might affect
her unpleasantly; but not the slightest ill consequences followed; after two days the sea became
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smooth, the weather fine, & Friday afternoon, we anchored at Shanghai. We thought prudent
to remain on board till Monday--when we were taken ashore by Bishop Boone: with whom
we found a delightful home during our stay. Margarets recovery was rapid: from the time we
went ashore, she commenced going about the house as usual. But the boy! he is well formed,
healthy handsome & intelligent to a degree seldom equaled, even by those whose advent has
been amidst more auspicious circum stances. he has firm limbs, perfectly developed form, &
vigorous constitution, all of which things corroborate the opinion of our physician, that his birth
was not premature. I fed him on arrow root the first 4 or 5 days; after that time he has drawn his
nourishment entirely from natural sources, which indeed, it required some starvation to induce
him to accept; as he had been accustomed to a more independent way of doing.
During our stay at Shanghai we became acquainted with all the missionaries; all have
wives & families: 2 are of the Meth odist, 5 Baptist, & 2 of the Episcopal Church of America, 6 of
the London M.S. & 2 of the Church Missionary Society. Except the members of the London M.
Society, who are just now feeling some what unpleasantly towards the rest, They are all labouring
to gether in harmony & love. The cause of the present unpleasant feeling of the London M.S.
men, is misunderstandings, which have arisen during the discussions, respecting the proper word,
by which to translate the words for God, in the original Scriptures. These discussions do not
interfere with the progress of the revision of the Chinese scriptures; or rather the retranslation of
the Scriptures into Chinese. Shanghai is a walled city, of perhaps 200,000 inhabitants, is a great
commercial mart, from 9,000 to 5,000 junks lie at anchor in the river, which by the canals & great
rivers, reach all parts of the interior empire; thousands of Chinamen are brought together here,
who cannot more understand each other’s language, that they can our own; It is this extensive
inland commerce, affording abundant facilities for sending the Scriptures & other religious books,
to extensive regions, & populous cities, which makes Shanghai so important a missionary field.
The immigrants from distant provinces, living in the city either for transient business puposes
or as permanent residents do not mingle permiscuously with each other or with the original
inhabitants, but segregate in particular streets-- districts the Canton men in one quarter, the Foo
Keen men in another &c. The same thing is seen in the order observed among the junks on
the river. these are anchored with perfect regularity in double rows, with spaces between, like
streets, by which the vessels passed to & from their stations. The junks from a given province
all stationed in one row, those from another province in another &c. If the missionaries could
speak the languages, they might preach to multitudes from almost every province of the empire,
who being converted, would themselves carry the gospel to their respective districts, as the 3000
converts of Pentecost & then the whole Empire might be christian ized, without foreigners visiting
another city, than those now open to them. An incipient process of this kind is even now going
on. members of the revision committee in Shanghai from Canton & Amoy preach regularly to
congregations from the same places; who cannot be understood a word, by the Shanghai people.
We hoped to get letters from home on our arrival here, but were disappointed. I hope
we have not, by coming hither, for feited the privalege of hearing from home. This morning, 3 rd
June, we begin the study of the spoken language--after acquiring enough of that to comprehend
the Teacher we will take up the written. A courier will take letters to Shanghai today, which
will be forwarded by the monthly steamer to Hong Kong thence via Europe to the U.S. we shall
endeavor to write every month but as communication between this & Shanghai is somewhat
irregular our letters may not arrive in the U.S. regularly we hope our friends at home will also
write frequently -- I have not space here to say anything but [text missing] my love & kind
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