John Geddie (10 April 1815 – 14 December 1872) was a Scots-Canadian missionary who was known as "the father of Presbyterian missions in the South Seas."Eugene Myers Harrison, John Geddie: Messenger of the Love of Christ in Eastern Melanesia. Chicago, Ill.: Scripture Press Book Division, 1949. Summarised in the following website: http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/bgeddie.html He pioneered missionary work in the New Hebrides islands, now known as Vanuatu. He became Doctor of Divinity in 1866. On December 14, 1872, he died in Geelong, Australia.
Early life John Geddie (1815–1872) was born in Banff, Scotland, April 10, 1815. His father, a watch and clock maker, was a devout member of the Presbyterian Church. In 1816, his family emigrated and settled in Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada. After completing education at grammar school and later the Pictou Academy, he entered upon the study of theology. When his health failed he faced the prospect of having to give up the ministry, but he vowed to commit himself to missionary work if his health recovered. On March 13, 1838, he was ordained as pastor of a congregation at Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, and in 1846 he was sent as a missionary to New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), where he served for over twenty years. He married Charlotte McDonald (spellings vary) in 1839; they had five children who survived to adulthood – four daughters and a son (see section "Family").
Missionary work
Beginnings Geddie studied the work of the London Missionary Society (LMS) and he was ambitious to become a foreign missionary. He promoted the idea within the Church, and the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions eventually agreed to support such a venture. However, some of the elders felt that Geddie was not a suitable candidate; they were concerned about his lack of physique and also his lack of experience. He managed to convince them that he was capable and his appointment was eventually agreed together with that of an assistant – Isaac A. Archibald – a layman who was a teacher.
After much discussion, consultation and prayer the location of the first mission was selected to be in the New Hebrides in the South Sea. The two missionaries with their wives and children sailed from Halifax on 30 November 1846 to Boston, where they changed ships. On October 17, 1847, after a journey of more than 20,000 miles, they sailed into the harbor of Pango-pango (Pago Pago) Samoa. They were met by members of the LMS who knew nothing of their coming, but extended their hospitality. It was agreed that two of the LMS missionaries would accompany Geddie and Archibald to the New Hebrides and help them establish a mission. Whilst on Samoa awaiting transport, Geddie stayed with one of those who had volunteered – Thomas Bullen – who was a missionary with seven years experience in Samoa. He acted as mentor and provided guidance on the customs of the indigenous people, their language and the treatment of illnesses and diseases that they may encounter. In March 1848 Bullen became ill and died at the age of 32. Another missionary, Thomas Powell, was selected to replace Bullen and on May 27, 1848, the LMS barque, John Williams arrived in Samoa to take the group to the New Hebrides. The final party included Geddie, Archibald, Powell, their families, Samoan servants and another LMS missionary named James Nisbet. Geddie and his wife left behind their eldest daughter, Charlotte, so that she could be sent to England for her education. On July 29, 1848, the John Williams reached the island of Aneiteum (Aneityum), in the New Hebrides group. The island was small and because of this it was agreed that James Nisbet could return to Samoa when the John Williams sailed. The party unloaded their belongings and equipment and were housed in the dwellings of the Samoan teachers Pita and Simeona who had been resident on the island since 1846. The John Williams left the island on August 6, 1848.
The existing French Catholic mission on the island was disbanded shortly after Geddie and his colleagues arrived due to sickness amongst the priests.
Learning about the inhabitants Geddie and Powell were soon engrossed in learning the Aneiteumese tongue so that they could hold regular church services. Some years later Geddie discovered that their early attempts at preaching in the Aneityum language had not been understood by the congregation, but they had been too polite to point this out. Geddie had brought a printing press from Canada and this was initially used to print hymns written by Powell and later for literature used in the schools on the island.
The indigenous people on the South Sea Islands had become suspicious of outsiders due to the violence of ruthless traders and to the practice of blackbirding. This was where native peoples were either tricked into leaving the islands or were kidnapped and put into slavery on plantations. Outsiders also brought diseases to the islands that could decimate populations due to their lack of natural resistance. Outsiders, like missionaries, had little understanding of the islanders’ culture and dangerous misunderstandings could occur over what seemed to be innocuous incidents. Geddie and Powell found this out very soon after they arrived. They had made some progress in building up their congregation, but suddenly this stopped. Some of the pigs that the missionaries had brought with them were speared and eaten by the islanders. The two men also learnt that they were in danger of being burnt out and driven off the island. Eventually they were informed that their "crime" had been threefold: first they had cropped coconuts during a period when this was prohibited; they had also removed coral from the sea to burn for lime and their worst offence was attempting to build a chapel on a sacred path. They apologised to the elders for the offence that they had given, their conciliatory approach was welcomed and this helped to improve relationships between the two communities.
When Geddie first reached Aneiteum, there were two Samoan teachers, Simeona and Pita, on the island but they had not been able to make a single convert. Geddie worked to convert the islanders in the hope of eliminating some of their practises such as cannibalism, infanticide and the sacrifice of the wives after the death of their husbands.
Loss of Powell and Archibald Isaac Archibald had been sent to another area on the island to work whilst Geddie and Powell remained together. During this period Archibald "had fallen into sin with a native woman". Archibald agreed with Geddie to write to the Board in Canada and resign, but not to tell them of his relationship with the woman. Geddie also agreed to write to the Board but again, not disclose the matter. His letter indicated that Archibald would stay on and help with the missionary work, and at some later period move to Australia. At this same time, Thomas Powell let it be known that he wanted to leave the island and return to Samoa. He had been ill and he appeared to have lost his will to continue the work on the island. This left Geddie isolated, and worse was to come. Archibald started working for a boat builder and one day he was seen removing his property from Geddie's house without discussing the matter. This coincided with an attempted arson attack on the property; Geddie concluded that Archibald was removing his items because he knew about the impending attack, but gave no warning to Geddie or his family. Geddie confronted the boat builder and was told that the islanders who carried out the attack had been incited to do so by traders who resented him interfering in their business. The boat builder, a man named William Underwood, worked for the proprietor of the island's sandalwood trade, Captain James Paddon. He had initially been of great help to the missionaries when they first arrived, placing boats at their disposal plus providing timber for their homes and for the chapel. However, as time went on Geddie started to preach against the traders and in particular their "licentious" association with the native women. In 1851 an arson attack on the mission buildings led to a confrontation between Geddie, Paddon and their supporters. Paddon, armed and in a rage, made accusations against Geddie and his wife. The confrontation lasted for about an hour and consisted mainly of verbal abuse before Paddon eventually withdrew. Geddie learnt afterwards that his supports would have stepped in if Paddon had raised his gun.
Unbeknown to Geddie, Isaac Archibald had sent a second letter to the Canadian Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions withdrawing his resignation. Because of this the Board did not arrange for his replacement. A misunderstanding developed between Geddie and the Board in Canada, exacerbated by the time delay in getting correspondence between the two parties. It was resolved with the arrival of the Rev. John Inglis (missionary) and his wife on July 1, 1852. Inglis was a member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland and he took up residence as a missionary on the north side of the island. In his first year Inglis opened eight new schools and had 550 scholars over the age of six.
Arrival of additional missionaries Later other missionaries arrived, the first in 1857 being Canadian, Rev. George Nicol Gordon, and his British wife, Ellen Catherine Powell. They were destined for the adjacent island of Tanna, but due to unrest there went to Erromango. Four years later they were murdered on the island. Gordon's brother James took over the mission but in 1872 he was also murdered. Next missionary to arrive at Aneityum on July 8, 1858, was Canadian Rev. J. W. Matheson and his wife Mary, who was a niece of Rev. Geddie. Other missionaries that followed included Rev. John G. Paton, the Rev Joseph Copeland (both of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland) plus Rev. Samuel Fulton Johnston, from Canada. Matheson, Paton and Johnston worked on the island of Tanna to the north of Aneityum but illness and disease took its toll of this group. Johnson died in January 1861; March of the following year Mary Matheson died and in June the Rev. Matheson died. Paton had also been very ill but recovered, however his wife and child died from the sickness.
Deadly epidemic This terrible loss was not in isolation, in late 1860 a measles epidemic began on Aneityum and it killed over one thousand of the indigenous islanders – almost a third of the population. The epidemic was almost certainly brought in by traders and spread to Tanna and Erromango with similar devastating loss of life. However, the missionaries inadvertently spread the measles epidemic to the small island of Aniwa on their boat John Knox, when they returned an islander who had been infected. Several of Geddie's teachers and two of his church elders died in the epidemic including Simeona, the Samoan who had greeted him on his first day on the island and who had become an elder. Charlotte Geddie, who helped teach the children and women on the island, mourned the loss of many including one girl she called Mary, whom she had come to regard as a daughter. Other epidemics occurred in later years, reducing the population even further and by 1910 it was estimated that less than 400 islanders survived on Aneityum
Death of widows The missionaries were horrified to learn of the custom on the island of killing newly widowed women in the belief that they would join their husbands in the after life. In the early days, both Powell and Geddie tried and failed to save women from this fate. When Geddie eventually did save the life of a widow she responded by threatening to take her own life. Geddie wrote that by 1854 the killing of widows on the island had been abolished.
Converting the islanders