SCOTTISH MISSIONARY ARCHIVES
Part 6: Free Church of Scotland Missionary Record, united Free Church Reports and other records
The Home and Missionary Record of the Free Church of Scotland,
1846-1851, 1856-1874, 1876-1900
The Free Church of Scotland was formed by evangelicals who broke away from the Church of Scotland in 1843. In 1900 it merged with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland.
Because the established Church of Scotland controlled the divinity faculties of Scottish universities, the Free Church set up its own colleges, New College in Edinburgh in 1850 and later Christ’s College and Trinity College in 1856.
The Free Church of Scotland was very active in foreign missions. It first established itself in Africa under James Stewart and Robert Laws and then expanded its work to India in 1824 (Calcutta, Bombay, Poona and Madras), to Canada and Australia in 1836 and to Europe in 1838 where it had missions to the Jews. In the Middle East work was carried out in Constantinople and Damascus.
The Home and Missionary Record was issued on a monthly basis and contains much information on the work of the missions abroad. In 1861 it changed its title to the Free Church of Scotland Monthly Record. Topics include:
• Education
• Caste system in India
• Work with women
• Evangelical work
• Colonial churches
• Persecution of Native Christians in India
• Industrial Schools
• Kaffraria mission, South Africa
• Famine in India
• Hindooism
• Gold fields in British Columbia
• Missionary work in Central Queensland
• Female education in India
• Missionary conferences
• Indian Mutiny
• Railways in India
• Conversion of Jews in the Middle East
Home mission work was also very important to the Free Church and much can be found on this subject:
• School building fund
• New College news
• Working conditions of railway workers
• Lists of ministers
• Conditions of workers in the mining areas
• Thomas Chalmer’s mission in Edinburgh
• Highlands and Islands news
• Accommodation of the working classes in Dundee
• Edinburgh Normal Seminary
Other sections cover:
• Finance
• Recent missionary publications
• News for young readers
• Reports of annual meetings
• Reports on the Glasgow Missionary Society
• Obituaries
• Reports on the Scottish Ladies Association for the Advancement of Female Education in India
• Work of other mission societies such as The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
United Free Church of Scotland – Reports on Foreign Missions,
1900-1905, 1909, 1911-1913, 1917
These reports record the mission work abroad of the United Free Church of Scotland which was formed in 1900 when the Free Church of Scotland amalgamated with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The work of the United Free Church of Scotland continued in the same mission areas as those of the two merged societies.
The reports contain up to date news on a wide variety of topics:
• Education
• Medical work
• Famine in India
• Plague in India
• Evangelical work
• Industrial work
• Revenue
• Statistics
• Lists of missionaries
• Maps showing the mission fields
• Publications by the United Free Church
• Home administration
For 1909, 1911-1913, 1917 the following reports are also included:
• Reports of the Women’s Foreign Mission which was active in India, China, South Africa and Jamaica. Included is news on female education, zenana work, Bible women and medical work
• Reports of the Girls’ Auxiliary (part of the Women’s Foreign Mission)
• Reports of the Livingstonia Mission
Other miscellaneous reports are included:
• Bengal Rural Mission
• Santal Mission, Bihar
• In and Around Madras
• Madras Christian College
• Rajputana Presbyterian Mission
• Main Mission, South Africa
• Central Provinces of India
• Annual report of Moukden Medical College
• Lovedale Mission, South Africa
Reports of the Darjeeling Mission, 1869-1884, and Reports of the Church of Scotland Eastern-Himalayan Mission, 1891-1904, 1906-1907
The reports provide news on the Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sikkim and Darjeeling Zenana Missions.
Included are:
• Lists of missionaries and agents
• Lists of schools
• Number of doctors
• Number of colporteurs
• Lists of subscriptions
• Mission news
• Statistics
• Marriages, deaths, baptisms
• Subscriptions
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