Isabella Thoburn

Isabella Thoburn was born on March 29, 1840, in St. Clairsville, Ohio. She was the sister of James Thoburn, who would become a bishop and a leader of Methodist missions in India. She grew up in a large family of Irish descent, with a stern father and a devout mother. She was educated at a local school and then at a ladies' seminary in Wheeling, Virginia. She became a teacher and taught school for several years in Ohio. She was also deeply involved in the life of the church and was devoted to her faith. She gave herself to Christian work during the Civil War years, teaching and helping the wounded.

In 1866, her brother James, who was already in India as a missionary, wrote to her about the need there. The Methodist Church had just formed the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, and it was looking for women to send overseas. She volunteered, and in 1869 she was appointed as the first missionary of the society. She sailed for India and arrived in Lucknow in January 1870. She was twenty-nine. She found a country where very few women had any education, and where the customs of seclusion kept most of them in their homes.

She began her work in a small way. She opened a school for girls in a rented room in the Lal Bagh, a former palace garden. There were six pupils at first. It was a difficult beginning, since most families in the city did not wish to send their daughters to school. She won their trust slowly. She taught reading and writing, as well as sewing and the Bible. She also visited the homes of the women and sought to show them kindness. The school grew, and in 1871 she took on a teaching staff.

She was a good organizer, and she saw that it was necessary to provide higher education for women. In 1886, she added a college department to the school, which was the first women's college in Asia. It offered courses in arts, science and teaching and prepared women to enter careers. At first it was a small body, and the early graduates were few. Yet it set a pattern. She worked to train Indian women as teachers and leaders, and she held that education was the key to the progress of the nation.

Her approach was marked by an attention to the dignity of women. She taught them to take their place in society and to have confidence. She also asked that her students be given the freedom to follow the Christian faith if they chose, and many did. She was careful not to coerce them. She worked with the families and tried to respect their customs.

She was a woman of tremendous energy, and she took on a heavy load. She was not a strong woman, and she suffered from fatigue and ill health. She had to deal with the frustrations of working in a male-dominated society and with the conflicts that arose between missionaries. She was remembered for her determination and also for her stern manner. She never married and gave herself to the school.

She died on September 1, 1901, of cholera, in Lucknow, at the age of sixty-one. She had given thirty-one years to India. The school became Isabella Thoburn College, which is still one of the leading women's colleges in India. Her life shows what can be done by a determined teacher who sees the needs of women and who acts on them.