Ahoy from Amoy! (historic Xiamen, China).
Today I received an inquiry from a lady in the U.K. (letter below, with her personal info deleted). Her parents were missionaries in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, and she was inquiring about three people of the Amoy Mission: Doris Arrowsmith, Marie Smith and Rev. Ian Matheson Latto. I have very little on the three she asked about, so if you have anything to help her, please let me know. But here's what I do have:
Doris Arrowsmith A missionary in Amoy, afterwards was a social worker and taught at the Rosebery County Grammar School for Girls in Epsom, Surrey (Rosebery, by the way, still stands; it became an academy in 2011). [Source: "Our-Story; Saga of a Hungarian-American Family, by Dalma Paloczi Horvath Takacs, 2007, Xibris Corporation].
According to Chris White, (Prof. at XMU and Amoy Mission researcher), in his article, "Rescuing Chinese Slave Girls in Republican Xiamen,"
"In the mid-1930s, the Municipal Council was in full-fledged support of the Asylum. They contributed more funds than any other organization, giving up to 1,470 dollars per year to the Asylum. In addition to these monetary contributions, the Municipal Council also appointed a representative, Miss Arrowsmith, to the Asylum. Arrowsmith, a missionary with the English Presbyterian Church, who also served as headmaster at a local girls’ middle school, became quite involved in the affairs of the Society. In 1935, Miss Arrowsmith invited Mrs. Martin, the British Consul for Xiamen, to teach the students how to embroider and sew specifically for Western customers. Mrs. Martin also handled finding customers for the products produced by the students.
John Anderson, whose missionary parents were married in Fuzhou and who was born in Amoy and returned to Xiamen a few years ago to visit, wrote for one of my books, Old Gulangyu in Foreigners' Eyes, a chapter about the Japanese invasion of Xiamen in 1938. He quoted a bit about Arrowsmith from Band's book (Band, Edward, “Working His Purpose Out: The History of the English Presbyterian Mission,” Presbyterian Church of England, London, 1948--a great resource on the Amoy Mission, I have the rare original set):
"The Misses Arrowsmith and Pierce, with the staffs of the two schools and the girls, organized relief, and marvellously also continued the work of the school, (except the kindergarten)..."
Marie Smith: The only Marie Smith I have any record of is the daughter of the famous missionary, Arthur H. Smith--of North China, not Amoy, and a Marie Smith in West China who died of typhoid. Can anyone help?
Ian Matheson Latto: almost notbing! I did find some notes in Band, 1948, about his work in Yongchun (永春), which today is only two hours from Xiamen but was remote back then (I have photos of Yongchun missionaries on horseback):
Latto wrote: "In Yung-chun we are sufficiently far from the sea to feel some sense of security, and consequently the life and work of the Church has been continued under almost normal conditions. Away in the quiet of the mountains, beyond the reach of motor roads and where news is a week or two old, it was difficult to realize that the country was at-war."
Latto toured the wide districts of the field beyond Yung-chun which came under our care on the withdrawal of the Methodist Episcopal Mission."
According to Band, from 1940 to 1944, Latto "toured the wide districts of the field beyong Yong-chun which came under our care on the withdrawal of the Methodist Episcopal Mission", and all over South Fujian, including Quanzhou 泉州 (Maro Polo's port of departure, about 60 km. north of Xiamen 厦门 , Anxi 安溪 (home of Anxi tea, which sparked the Boston Tea Party, the War of Independence and the U.S.A., which has reached the point that our only choices for president last November were Clinton and Trump; so much for Anxi tea), and Zhangpu 漳浦. Latto and his colleague held conferences, retreats and short-term schools, and in 1941 Latto covered 1,600 miles: 600 miles on bicycle, 600 miles on foot and 600 miles by bus and boat. Today, we have a bullet train to most places in Fujian!
The only other mention I have of Latto is in Amoy Missionary Walter Develder's unpublished memoirs (which you can read here on my website):
"From Edinborough we went to Manchester where we spent Sunday with Ian and Joyce Latto. These dear friends who were colleagues of ours in Fukien Province in the 1930s – and 40s. Ian asked me to preach in his Church. On Monday we spent a day in the beautiful Penine Hills. That day will be remembered for its picturesque scenery, the caves, and a lunch in a cozy Tea House."
Enjoy Amoy!
Dr. Bill
P.S. If you have my Amazon eBook, Discover Xiamen (600+ pages about Xiamen and Southern Fujian), it would really help if you could leave even a 2 or 3 line review! Thanks).
Dear Amoy Bill,
I came across your website when researching the connections with my parents who were missionaries in Sri Lanka Ceylon and Zimbabwe Southern Rhodesia in the 1930s and 1940s . I do hope that you are still welcoming contacts?
I wonder if you have any records of Doris Arrowsmith who came from the UK and was a missionary in Amoy in the 1930s? I have another name, that of Marie Smith whose photo I have on a visit to my Methodist missionary parents in Colombo in 1932. She shared a house in Amoy with Doris Arrowsmith at the mission station.
Another name I have to ask you about is the Rev Ian Mattheson Latto who was a Presbyterian missionary we think in Amoy in the 1930s. His wife was Joyce and their children Janet and Stuart. He was also from the UK.
This is a brief message because I am not sure whether your work is still ongoing!
I do hope you find it interesting at the very least.
All the best to you.
J.K.C.
Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com
Today I received an inquiry from a lady in the U.K. (letter below, with her personal info deleted). Her parents were missionaries in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, and she was inquiring about three people of the Amoy Mission: Doris Arrowsmith, Marie Smith and Rev. Ian Matheson Latto. I have very little on the three she asked about, so if you have anything to help her, please let me know. But here's what I do have:
Doris Arrowsmith A missionary in Amoy, afterwards was a social worker and taught at the Rosebery County Grammar School for Girls in Epsom, Surrey (Rosebery, by the way, still stands; it became an academy in 2011). [Source: "Our-Story; Saga of a Hungarian-American Family, by Dalma Paloczi Horvath Takacs, 2007, Xibris Corporation].
According to Chris White, (Prof. at XMU and Amoy Mission researcher), in his article, "Rescuing Chinese Slave Girls in Republican Xiamen,"
"In the mid-1930s, the Municipal Council was in full-fledged support of the Asylum. They contributed more funds than any other organization, giving up to 1,470 dollars per year to the Asylum. In addition to these monetary contributions, the Municipal Council also appointed a representative, Miss Arrowsmith, to the Asylum. Arrowsmith, a missionary with the English Presbyterian Church, who also served as headmaster at a local girls’ middle school, became quite involved in the affairs of the Society. In 1935, Miss Arrowsmith invited Mrs. Martin, the British Consul for Xiamen, to teach the students how to embroider and sew specifically for Western customers. Mrs. Martin also handled finding customers for the products produced by the students.
John Anderson, whose missionary parents were married in Fuzhou and who was born in Amoy and returned to Xiamen a few years ago to visit, wrote for one of my books, Old Gulangyu in Foreigners' Eyes, a chapter about the Japanese invasion of Xiamen in 1938. He quoted a bit about Arrowsmith from Band's book (Band, Edward, “Working His Purpose Out: The History of the English Presbyterian Mission,” Presbyterian Church of England, London, 1948--a great resource on the Amoy Mission, I have the rare original set):
"The Misses Arrowsmith and Pierce, with the staffs of the two schools and the girls, organized relief, and marvellously also continued the work of the school, (except the kindergarten)..."
Marie Smith: The only Marie Smith I have any record of is the daughter of the famous missionary, Arthur H. Smith--of North China, not Amoy, and a Marie Smith in West China who died of typhoid. Can anyone help?
Ian Matheson Latto: almost notbing! I did find some notes in Band, 1948, about his work in Yongchun (永春), which today is only two hours from Xiamen but was remote back then (I have photos of Yongchun missionaries on horseback):
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Latto toured the wide districts of the field beyond Yung-chun which came under our care on the withdrawal of the Methodist Episcopal Mission."
According to Band, from 1940 to 1944, Latto "toured the wide districts of the field beyong Yong-chun which came under our care on the withdrawal of the Methodist Episcopal Mission", and all over South Fujian, including Quanzhou 泉州 (Maro Polo's port of departure, about 60 km. north of Xiamen 厦门 , Anxi 安溪 (home of Anxi tea, which sparked the Boston Tea Party, the War of Independence and the U.S.A., which has reached the point that our only choices for president last November were Clinton and Trump; so much for Anxi tea), and Zhangpu 漳浦. Latto and his colleague held conferences, retreats and short-term schools, and in 1941 Latto covered 1,600 miles: 600 miles on bicycle, 600 miles on foot and 600 miles by bus and boat. Today, we have a bullet train to most places in Fujian!
The only other mention I have of Latto is in Amoy Missionary Walter Develder's unpublished memoirs (which you can read here on my website):
"From Edinborough we went to Manchester where we spent Sunday with Ian and Joyce Latto. These dear friends who were colleagues of ours in Fukien Province in the 1930s – and 40s. Ian asked me to preach in his Church. On Monday we spent a day in the beautiful Penine Hills. That day will be remembered for its picturesque scenery, the caves, and a lunch in a cozy Tea House."
Enjoy Amoy!
Dr. Bill
P.S. If you have my Amazon eBook, Discover Xiamen (600+ pages about Xiamen and Southern Fujian), it would really help if you could leave even a 2 or 3 line review! Thanks).
Dear Amoy Bill,
I came across your website when researching the connections with my parents who were missionaries in Sri Lanka Ceylon and Zimbabwe Southern Rhodesia in the 1930s and 1940s . I do hope that you are still welcoming contacts?
I wonder if you have any records of Doris Arrowsmith who came from the UK and was a missionary in Amoy in the 1930s? I have another name, that of Marie Smith whose photo I have on a visit to my Methodist missionary parents in Colombo in 1932. She shared a house in Amoy with Doris Arrowsmith at the mission station.
Another name I have to ask you about is the Rev Ian Mattheson Latto who was a Presbyterian missionary we think in Amoy in the 1930s. His wife was Joyce and their children Janet and Stuart. He was also from the UK.
This is a brief message because I am not sure whether your work is still ongoing!
I do hope you find it interesting at the very least.
All the best to you.
J.K.C.
School of Management, Xiamen University
Amazon eBook "Discover Xiamen"
www.amoymagic.comAmazon eBook "Discover Xiamen"
Bill Brown Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com
Hi Bill. If I remember correctly there were two "Miss Arrowsmiths" for a time in Xiamen. Doris's sister, was also here, but I think this was for a shorter period. I don't remember where this information comes from, but it is stuck somewhere in the back of my head. When I was trying to track down more on the slave refuge, I found that Doris seemed to move to New Zealand after leaving China and was buried there. CW
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