Hudson Taylor-The First Foreign Women in the Far West

By Mary Vee

Year: April 1880 

Hudson Taylor: age 48

From J. Hudson Taylor's Notes

Photo Courtesy

Last time we left Mary, her husband George Nicoll, Emily, and her husband George Clarke in a terrible storm with only an umbrella. Their belongings and boxes of books from the Bible Society had been soaked and their boat had sunk to the riverbed.

Mary is here to tell you more of their adventure.

"Our husbands and the crew did manage to get the boat back to the surface and repair the hole. They finished shortly after the books and supplies had dried.

"We loaded everything back in the boat and continued up the river toward Chongqing. Everything seemed to go well and our spirits renewed. We prayed and held church services on the boat....until the hull hit something else. What, I'm not sure, but the bang nearly threw me off my feet.

Photo Courtesy

"Again the men shouted to Fanny and me to swim to shore while they rescued our luggage and the books. When they raised the boat this time, they saw the damage could not be fixed. We had to finish our journey on foot. In the mountains. With all our luggage and the eleven boxes of books.

"After crossing the last mountain, we looked down at the huge valley before us. In the center of all the greenery was Chongqing. What a beautiful sight. 

"Since the people were not used to seeing foreign women, we didn't want to cause any problems by walking into the city. We had learned that women should be hidden. Our husbands hired covered sedan chairs to carry us to the church. 

"I opened the curtain surrounding the chair and stepped out. My husband, George, took me to the apartment where he used to live as a bachelor. I hardly knew what to say. A ragged table-cloth, filthy and stained lay on top of the table. The furniture settled in odd ways. And the best part--behind the door, a week of dust had been swept into a pile as is the Chinese custom.

"Fanny and her husband left a week later to help in Guiyang, leaving me as the only foreign woman in this area. This should be interesting."


Please continue to pray for Fanny and George as they finish traveling to their new mission work. Also pray for Mary and her husband, George as they set up a new ministry for the women in Chongqing.

J. Hudson Taylor

Missionary to China--Inland China!

So Very Blessed by God

Research resources: J. Hudson Taylor, An Autobiography by J. Hudson Taylor; It is Not Death to Die, a new biography of Hudson Taylor by Jim Cromarty; Hudson Taylor Founder, China Inland Mission by Vance Christie; J. Hudson Taylor, A Man in Christ, by Roger Steer, and Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by Dr.and Mrs. Howard Taylor