Eleanor Chestnut

Eleanor Chestnut was born in 1868 in Illinois, in a family of Presbyterian background. She grew up in the Midwest and had a keen mind and a love of science. She studied at Lake Forest University, where she graduated in 1891. Following her studies, she felt a call to serve as a medical missionary. She went on to enter the Woman's Medical College in Chicago and graduated as a physician in 1893. She was one of the first women in her region to enter the profession.

In 1893 she was appointed as a missionary by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions and sent to China. She went to Lienchow, a city in the province of Guangdong, in the south. She arrived in 1894 and began to work in the mission hospital. The city was crowded and poor, and the people were suspicious of foreigners. She had to learn the language and customs. She treated patients every day and was soon known for her skill and her kindness. She opened a dispensary for women and gave medical care to those who could not afford it.

She also taught the gospel to her patients and trained Chinese women to assist her. She wrote letters home to her family and to her supporters, and they show a woman of cheerful spirit and strong faith. She spoke of her love for the Chinese people and of the joy of the work. She was frank about her fears, including the dangers of disease and the hostility of some local people. She prayed for courage.

Her work grew, and she gained the respect of the community. She also dealt with periods of ill health herself. In the heat of the summer, she suffered from the fevers of the south. She returned to the United States for rest in 1902, and then went back to China.

In October 1905, tensions were running high in the region. A wave of anti-foreign feeling had followed the Russo-Japanese War and other events, and rumors were spreading that the missionaries were harming people. On October 28, 1905, a mob attacked the mission station at Lienchow. Eleanor Chestnut and four other missionaries, among them Dr. Machle and his wife and child, and Miss Elliott, were killed. She was thirty-seven years old.

The killings caused great grief among the missionary community. The news reached the United States, and many churches mourned the loss. The Chinese authorities later punished some of those who took part and paid an indemnity. A fund was set up in memory of the victims. A hospital was later built in the city in their honor.

The story of Eleanor Chestnut is not as widely known as others, but it is part of the history of the cost of missions. She went to a distant land to serve those in need, and she gave her life. She is a witness to the courage of the many women doctors who went to the mission field in the nineteenth century and brought healing and the gospel to people who had no other help.