James Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) was an English missionary to China. Founded the China Inland Mission which at his death included 205 mission stations with over 800 missionaries, and 125,000 Chinese Christians. |
Marriage and Family:
Maria Dyer Taylor (1837-1870): Daughter of one of the first missionaries
to China, she was orphaned at the age of 10. She was a missionary to
China when she married Hudson Taylor, January 20, 1858. They had seven
children: Grace, Herbert Hudson, Frederick Howard (who would later co-author
Hudson's biography), Samuel, Maria, Charles Edward, and Noel. Being fluent
in the Ningpo dialect, she helped Hudson with translation work. They
had been married for 12 1/2 years when at 33 yrs. of age, Maria died
of cholera in 1870. She was a "tower of strength" and a comfort
to her husband. In her own words, she was "more intimately acquainted
than anyone else can be with his trials, his temptations, his conflicts,
his failures and failings, and his conquests."
Jennie Faulding Taylor (1843-1904): Another CIM missionary, she became the
second wife of Hudson Taylor in 1871. They had two children (a son, Ernest,
born in 1875 and a daughter, Amy, born in 1876), plus the four from his
previous marriage and an adopted daughter. Jennie cared for her husband
through injury and illness, edited the periodical China's Millions for
the China Inland Mission, had a special ministry among the women. In
her later years she traveled with Hudson Taylor, speaking, writing, and
organizing the work of the Mission. She died in 1904, preceding Hudson
Taylor who died in 1905.
Recommended Books:
Hudson
Taylor's Spiritual Secret (Moody Classics) by Dr. & Mrs. Howard
Taylor. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 2009. First published in 1932.
It
is Not Death to Die: A New Biography of Hudson Taylor by Jim Cromarty.
Fearn, Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2014. Reprint. First published 2001.
Hudson
Taylor by J. Hudson Taylor. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers,
1987. Autobiography. Also issued under title A Retrospect.
Recommended DVD:
Hudson Taylor: Into The Heart Of The Dragon DVD Documentary of the life of
Hudson Taylor. Produced and directed by Gary Wilkinson, ©2018.
More recommended Missionary biographies.