Jessie's brother Andrew

Mum's Uncle Athol, my grandfather Darcy Blair's brother recalls that Andrew Blair travelled to India at some point, perhaps as part of his seafaring lifestyle, and lost his hair after coming down with Yellow Fever.

Athol's brother Haddin was given a rhinocerus hide walking stick from his Uncle Andrew after one of his journeys.  This is now in Haddin's son Ian's possession, though he describes the 'stick' as being quite flexible...perhaps a whip?

I would like to learn more about Andrew Blair, as it seems he lived a very interesting life, and travelled widely.

The search for Jessie's grave...Mahabaleshwar

Undeterred by being unable to find Jessie in Pune, we decided to have a look at the now privately owned Christian Cemetery in Mahabaleshwar - just in case.  After a visit to the cemetery's owner at his hotel we obtained permission and the keys to the cemetery.  The cemetery was small, about 1/2 acre, well maintained, and sadly did not contain Jessie's grave or any other missionaries from the PIVM.

The question then is - where were these missionaries buried?  There is one other cemetery in Pune, near Dhobi Ghat that we did not get a look in.  All the other cemeteries contain war graves from the time of the British Raj.

Entrance to the Mahabaleshwar Christian Cemetery

Mum reading gravestones

The hunt for Jessie's grave...in Pune

While we were in Pune, having heard from UK sources holding Jessie's death certificate, that she died in Pune we attempted to find Jessie's grave in the St Sepulchre Cemetery in Sholapur Road.

This cemetery is divided into two parts, the Indian burials on one side of the road and European on the other, which is then also in two parts, pre 1900 and post 1900.  It was with some difficulty that we negotiated our way to the correct part of the cemetery.

Unfortunately the cemetery is in a state of disrepair with people living amongst the grave stones at the entry, and making market gardens towards the rear of the cemetery.  Many of the gravestones have collapsed and lie amongst dense foliage.  Having unsuccessfully tried to source records for the cemetery we decided to chance it and see if we could find Jessie's grave.

It was while we were scrambling through the bushes and long grass reading the gravestones that mother said "do you know if India has snakes?".  "I don't know" I replied, and we carried on.  Turns out India has 38 species of snake, 18 of them of the unpleasant variety.  Apparently they don't come out in the heat of the day, and we were searching in the heat of the day...thankfully.

Despite our best efforts, and some very interesting reading, we were unable to find Jessie, or the graves of any other missionaries.

St Sepulchre Cemetery (East) where we concentrated our efforts

Lonely sentinel

Gravestones in varying states of neglect

To hedge our bets while we were in Pune, we went to St Andrews, which in a former life was a Church of Scotland church.  We were informed that it had never had a graveyard and now belonged to the Hindustani Christian Church. They were very welcoming and let us look through the old stone church, which was being renovated inside after a catastrophic fire in November last year which destroyed the stained glass windows and the original seating, and furniture.

Situated just down the road from the PIVM headquarters at Napier Road, it is likely that Jessie would have attended some services here.

Mum, myself and Mahabaleshwar

On 10 March mum and I left NZ for Mumbai, India, where we spent a day before travelling by private car to Mahabaleshwar around 6 hours away.  There we had a local guide, Dittah, a university student who grew up in Mahabaleshwar, who showed us all the places Jessie talked about in her letter home.

I have inserted pictures along with text from Jessie's letter:

"The journey here is a very long one...[after a refreshing cup of tea at Wathai] we drove 38 miles uphill..."

""Whenever daylight appeared we roused up from our sleepy condition, and enjoyed looking on the plains below us and the hills around us..."

"When we reached Panchgani, men followed us selling strawberries and flowers..."

Roadside strawberry stall at Panchgani

"We were glad to reach our destination...where we were warmly welcomed by one of the American missionaries, who invited us to have breakfast with her in the next bungalow [Norheim]"

Unfortunately we were not permitted to photograph "Norheim" but it is almost identical to "Ilona" and only around 30 metres away, situated on the same driveway.

"We are staying at a nice little bungalow (Ilona) which belongs to some of the members of our mission.  It is situated high up in the pretty jungle trees, and from the verandah one of the prettiest views in Mahabaleshwar can be seen..."

Ilona bungalow (Norheim to the right through the trees)

Sleeping quarters - since renovated

Main dining/lounge area, kitchen at rear, bedroom areas x 4 off to sides, utility rooms off to left side

 

Small cottages next to Ilona bungalow

"About a minute's walk from the bungalow brings us to a point where we can see the lake..."

The path Jessie talks about, overgrown, but just a minute's walk to:

Where Jessie sat and enjoyed the view out over Venna Lake

"The soil is very red here, and the red roads shaded by the green trees seem to invite us out for long walks..."

"The sunsets here are magnificent, and we generally arrive at some high point to view them from.  After the sun has set we linger to see the afterglow."

Sunset at Lodwick Point

"While visiting Old Mahabaleshwar one evening - a village about two and a half miles from here, we looked into two large temples..."

Old Mahabaleshwar, taken from 'new' Mahabaleshwar

Pathway to Old Mahabaleshwar market and the two temples

"The Fountain Hotel is occupied this summer entirely by missionaries, and there twice a week at 5 pm Mr Lowe conducts a bible reading..."

Front entrance of Fountain Hotel

Entrance foyer/atrium of Fountain Hotel, usually has glass ceiling

The dining hall at the Fountain Hotel with rooms above

We were unable to visit the now privately owned bungalow that the Lowe's stayed in, "Bonne Vue" which is some distance away (10-15 minutes walk) from "Ilona".  Our guide phoned and asked permission, but this was denied.

The Fountain Hotel is currently being renovated, so our plans to lunch there, look around, and ask regarding any pictures/chattels from Jessie's time were thwarted.

On the whole incredibly satisfying to have seen with our own eyes what Jessie described in her letter, and to have 'walked where she walked'.

Blair family photograph ? late 1890's

Andrew Blair in insert.  In the back row Jack, George (my grandfather's father) and Jim.  Very dashing looking chaps.  John Blair and Martha are in the middle of the photograph and then the girls are left to right: Martha, Florence, Mary and Jessie.  This photograph was taken from the original on my cell phone, I'll upgrade it to a higher resolution picture at some point.

Updated timeline of events in Jessie's life...

Date	What we know	To follow up
1877	Jessie Dougall Blair, third daughter born to John and Martha Blair (nee Dougall), First Clerk of the Green Island Presbyterian Church Deacon’s Court, Dunedin.	Family Tree
1895 Apr 1899 à	Jessie begins to think about entering the “foreign mission field”.  She is an active member of the Christian Endeavour Society (1895-1888/9), a Sunday school teacher and later runs a bible class for “lads”. Jessie writes a letter to the Executive of the Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union in 1898 regarding her availability for missions.  Her letter intersects with a letter from the PIVM requesting an “intelligent young woman” as a missionary.  Jessie’s appointment is recommended by Professor Watts and the Rev J Spence of Clinton.  Miss Bernard of PIVM writes and accepts Jessie. 32 pounds 12s and 5d is raised for her passage by the local PWMU branches, and a portion of this is contributed from the Zenana Mission Fund. Jessie trained for a few weeks under Mrs Driver at the Missionary Training Institute, (moved to Castle Street, Dunedin 1901).  Classes given on bible study, Christian ethics, evidences of Christianity, outlines of Christian doctrine, physiology, medicine, English and music.  Mrs Driver (b 1862) previously a missionary in east Bengal (Bangladesh) 1887-1889 but had to return home due to ill health.  Settled in Dunedin 1892 and set up the MTI.  Helped establish the Baptist Women’s Missionary Union. d 1943. Brother, a doctor died in missionary service in Bangladesh of dysentery in 1905.  Mr H H Driver was General Secretary of the NZ Baptist Union and Missionary Society.
1896	The Plague (bubonic/pneumonic) epidemic started in Bombay (now Mumbai). Victims are sent to ‘detachment’ camps, their bodies burned when they die.  Also from 1896-1908 severe famine rages due the repeated failure of the monsoon.
Up until 1897	Amy Parsons (Australia) is the only woman worker at PIVM.
12 Aug 1899	Farewell at Victoria Hall, Dunedin.  Mr John Lowe (a former Engineer in Chief at NZ Railways) and his wife Charlotte and daughter Amy (they have one daughter, and six sons, including Manley and Frank who will travel with them) speak prior to their departure for India.  Jessie will be accompanying them.  Money has been raised for her passage. Their aim is to establish a resort in the hills (Mahabaleshwar Rest Station) to which missionaries engaged in teaching could retire to ‘recruit’.  Mrs Lowe was to be in charge of it, while Mr Lowe helped out with local evangelism. At this time there are 51 members of the Poona Village Mission – 32 ladies and 22 gentlemen*. (In 1895, Charles Reeve, an experienced evangelist from Tasmania, established the Poona and Indian Village Mission (PIVM) in Poona. He travelled regularly to England, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia to recruit missionaries and to raise funds.  The mission was multi-denominational).  The HQ of the PIVM was 10 Napier Road, Poona 1.	How well did Jessie know the Lowe’s?  Was Amy Lowe a friend? Who were these others?
Sep 1899	Jessie travelled Dunedin to Melbourne, leaving Melbourne on 12 September 1899 with 30 other missionaries on the SS Karlsruhe bound for Colombo.  She and the other women travel in the second class, the men travel in steerage.  At Colombo they board the B & I SS Lawada, primarily a cargo ship and travel to Bombay.	On what ship did Jessie travel Dunedin to Melbourne?
9 Oct 1899	Jessie arrived in Poona.  The usual length of service was 5 years before furlough, however most lasted just two years before they had to take a break due to ill health. New members who were part of Jessie’s party: Lucy E F Morison, L Pauline Morison, Ernest A Rimmer (-> Poona), E W Brown (-> Poona), J J Baily, Josiah A Ryburn (-> Poona), Flora Wilkes, A F Witty, J H de Carteret (-> Poona), Fred Strange (Nasarapur). The Lowe’s resided at No 8 Elphinstone Road, Poona (Lord Elphinstone was a Governor of Poona). Jessie worked as an associate missionary working with Miss Bernard and Miss Kesting in the Zenana Mission.
End 1899 or early 1900	Jessie refers in a later letter to one that she sent back to the church at this time.  Minutes of the PMWU February 1900 refer to a letter received from Jessie.	What happened to Jessie’s letters?
Dec 1899	Misses Hooper and Ford leave for NZ, both returning on doctor’s certificates. Work among Brahmins and students restarts after stopping for several months due to plague.  Misses M Steel, A Morton, K Steel, L Knights, F E Frith, R Roberts and M Sharp taking their annual holiday at Mahabaleshwar.  Staying in Norheim the temporary Mission Rest Home.
Jan 1900	Nurse Short, Misses Munnings, Simpson, Frederick, Kay, Jenkyn, Newton, Robertson and Beale to to Mahabaleshwar for a rest.  Nurse Morrison is convalescing from diptheria.
Feb 7-9 1900	Third Annual Convention of the PIVM.  Mrs Orlebar negotiating for the Fountain Hotel – her object to provide a Home where Christian workers may find spiritual fellowship and help and physical rest.
Mar 1900	Jessie’s mother, Martha travels to Scotland.  She is presented with a bible by the church before she leaves.  She is involved with a mission society in Scotland. 20th - The Lowe’s moved from Poona to “Bonne Vue” (Mahabeleshwar) for the rest of the season. Misses Harrison, Brown, Wier and Burder resting at Mahabaleshwar.
4 Apr 1900	Jessie’s LETTER to home church: Visited Paud, 20 miles from Poona, worked with 100 needy women.  (The church at Paud belonged to the Church of Scotland during the British era, now owned by Church of North India). Camp pitched in a valley surrounded by hills. Travelled overnight for 12 hours by mule and cart to Mahabaleshwar via Wathar (spelt incorrectly in the letter as Wathai) and Panchgani. Stayed at a “nice little bungalow” called “Ilona” belonging to members of the mission.  Situated high in jungle trees.  A few minutes walk from the bungalow can see the lake (Lake Venna). Sat on monument erected in memory of the late Governor of Poona. “Many missionaries from all over India are here” – the Fountain Hotel “occupied this summer entirely by missionaries”.  Mr Lowe conducts a bible reading there twice a week. Visited “old Mahabaleshwar”, saw two temples Wednesday morning’s prayer meeting at “Norheim” – neighbouring bungalow. Saturday evening’s weekly prayer meeting at American Mission Hall. Open air meetings in the bazaar. Famine “raging” in India (due to failure of the monsoon).  60 children being cared for in the orphanage. Learning the language (Marathi) with first exam due in September. Requests prayers for safety from “terrible plague”. Mr Fred Perry who has been suffering from insomnia goes to Mahabaleshwar “for a change.” PIMV holds “Soldier’s Meetings” at Evangelistic Hall.	Is Ilona still there today?  Old Mahabsleshwar 2.5 miles away.  Next door bungalow “Norheim”.  Also “Bonne Vue”. Does this still exist? Where was the orphanage?
May 1900	Messrs Irvine and Murray are recruiting at Mahabaleshwar, also Mrs Cutts (staying at Fountain Hotel) and Nurse Morrison (staying at Bonne Vue). .  Miss McGrotty of the ZBM Mission passed away May 21st – of “overwork”.
June 1900	Jessie and other members of the PIVM are photographed outside a bungalow, ? Location, but likely Poona.  Published in WATH, ? taken at PIVM convention in February.  Cholera breaks out at some of the Missions.  Most of workers have returned from Mahabaleshwar.  Half-toned block process Plant now at work – able to reproduce photographs in the newsletter.  Mrs Wilkie Brown, wife of Rev W E Wilkie Brown of the Free Church Mission in Poona “called home” after at first appearing to recover.
July 1900	The head office of PIVM is transferred to Nasarapur.  The monsoon is delayed.  Mr Reeves is unwell and having to rest.  Mr W Perry returns home to Australia, after being ordered to leave by doctor.
Aug 1900	Amy Lowe began training at the Mission Hospital for women in Poona. Miss Robertson, seriously ill for some days.  Mrs Cutts, Mrs Lowe and Miss Wilkes also unwell. From the other bungalow Messrs Low, Strutton, Wark, Ryburn and Valpy were also sick – “chiefly Malarial fever”.  Messrs Plow, Hinton and O’Farrell were also unwell at Nasarapur.
Sep 1900	15th - The Lowe’s leave India (from Bombay to Trieste) having been ‘compelled’ to by their son Frank’s ill health.  Earlier in the year their son Manley (aged 15) had died of a cholera-type illness in seven days (somewhere between April and August).  White Already to Harvest (WATH) September 1900 describes Manley as having a “buoyant disposition and gentle manners”.  He had hoped to undertake medical training and become a missionary.  He had been baptised on arrival at Poona in 1899. Missionaries resting at Mahabaleshwar:  A Morton, Miss K Steel, L Knights, SG Frith, M Sharp, R R Cuttle. 15 plague cases reported in a single day. Mrs Cutts leaves India due to her health.  Mr A H Leigh (PIVM Secretary) also to leave India on medical advice but in fact gets very sick and has to be treated in hospital then convalesce at Mahabaleshwar before he can leave. 13th – Poona Day of Prayer, YMCA rooms, East Street
Oct 1900	Increase in plague victims – 94 deaths in one day.  Miss L Simpson (from PIVM) to be in charge of Parsee Plague Hospital for a few months. 15th – Miss Glesen and Miss and Master de Carteret from NZ join PIVM. 22nd - Jessie dies of Typhoid (Salmonella typhi) in hospital in Poona (? At Sassoon Hospital).  Spread person-to-person via faecal/oral route or contaminated food/water.  Fever develops up to 60 days after infection.  Fever, headache, rash, +/- diahorrea, abdominal pain, delirium, dehydration.  Has set stages that generally take four weeks to progress through to recovery.  Death occurs when bowel perforation or septicaemia occurs.  Clearly Jessie had complications that caused her death. Inoculation for Typhoid was underway by 1910.  The fly was the usual agent of faecal-> oral transmission. Jessie’s mother got the news of her death while returning from Scotland on SS Perthshire on which her son John (from Waitana, Taranaki) was an engineer (SS Perthshire frequently travelled London>NZ (including Bluff>London). 29th – Mrs Reeve arrives in Poona for a 6-month visit.	Who cared for her?  Was her body burned or buried?
Nov 1900	Messrs Rimmer, Bartram, Strange, Duthie, Hinton, Evans, Brown and Badden are spending their holidays at Mahabaleshwar.  Miss Edith Reeve (daughter of Mr Reeve) remains unwell. Dr Watt gives a eulogy for Jessie at the morning service of the Green Island Presbyterian Church.
19 Mar 1901	At monthly prayer meeting of Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union, Jessie Blair is remembered.  Her aunt, Mrs Kirkland speaks.
	*Miss Alice Henderson (1895-1901) and Miss Helen MacGregor (1892-1901) had previously been stationed in Madras.  Miss Henderson was from Akaroa, Miss MacGregor from Oamaru, she died in 1933 after retiring in 1928).  Miss Henderson and Miss McGregor clearly came to Poona to help out (both sent quite a number of letters – MacGregor 36, Henderson 10 - back to the Presbyterian church which are held in the archives. Miss Henderson wrote several books.) Other Mission stations were at Nasarapur, Khed-Shiwapur, Lonand, Shirwal.

Condolence letter from executive of Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union to Mrs Blair

From the minutes of the March 1901 meeting of the executive:

"The committee of the PWMU have instructed me to offer their deepest sympathy with you and your family in the sorrow which has fallen upon you in the death of your beloved daughter, a sorrow in which they share.

It seems but as yesterday that she stood among them so bright and full of hope to go out to the work so dear to her heart.  How little did they think when they said good-bye that it was farewell - "Early death is early glory" to the young Christian, let this thought be your comfort.

To you it is sorrowing, yet always rejoicing while you mourn your beloved taken away at the threshold of her work, and your hearts bleed for your bereavement, the pain will pass away, but the sure hope that your dear daughter now enjoys happiness unspeakable will not pass away.

Commending you and yours to the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am yours affectionately, Jane Macdonald."

Missionary Photographs...website

The following is a link to the "International Mission Photography Archive".  There are mostly pictures of southern Indian missions, but still some good ones of day-to-day life and missionary activity that would have been similar to that in Poona.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/impa/controller/simplesearch.htm?page=75&x=1328928983664

The Poona Indian Village Mission Group 1900

This photo is reproduced in White Already to Harvest, June 1, 1900.  It may have been taken in May, or perhaps even earlier in the year.  The copy below was provided by the Presbyterian Research Centre, Dunedin.  The photo came from the personal album of Rev. Robert Middleton Ryburn.  His brother, Josiah Ryburn is in the front row holding a bible.

I wonder if Jessie is centre right with the black tie...(click on the image to enlarge it)

Jessie gives a speech at the Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union monthly meeting prior to her departure

This is taken from The Outlook, August 26 1899, p 27, provided by the Presbyterian Research Centre, Dunedin:

"The monthly prayer meeting was held in the hall of First Church on Tuesday, August 15, when there was a large attendance, the hall being quite full...

...Miss Blair who leaves very shortly for India, said that she was going not in her own strength but in that of the Master.  She felt weak and unworthy for the work, but God has said that "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."  She asked all those present to follow her with their prayers.  She was going forward to tread an unknown path, but God promised to stand by His servants, and the work will prosper if done in entire dependence on His will.  God is calling now for men and women who will love him with a self-sacrificing love, with deep yearning over dying souls that they may be wakened to a sense of their danger and brought into His kingdom.  Miss Blair said no-one can overestimate the importance of interesting children in mission work, and mentioned two incidents which had given her much pleasure, one of a little boy of seven, who having saved all his pennies for missions gave her the contents of his money box (7s); another of a little girl, who with crochet hook and cotton was able to earn money with which she could help to send the Gospel to those in heathen lands.  Miss Blair concluded by again asking for the earnest prayers of those present."

The "SS Karlsruhe" on which Jessie travelled Melbourne to Colombo departing 12 September 1899

SS Karlsruhe

She had accommodation for 44 first class passengers, 36 second class passengers (Jessie travelled in this class) and 1,955 third class passengers.  Launched in August 1889 she was scrapped in 1908.

http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=712

So what did Jessie do in her year at Mahableshwar?

It is difficult to know, other than what Jessie has described for us in her letter (April 1900) but Isabel Cutts writes in White Already to Harvest:

"HOW NEW MISSIONARIES SPEND THEIR TIME

Experienced missionaries are emphatic in telling us that the first two years of a young missionary's life in the new land of his or her adoption, are years of much importance.  This is found to be true in practical experience.  The language of the country has to be tackled under new and sometimes difficult circumstances, the heat is trying, and in numerous other ways the young missionary in a new and heathen land, has much to learn, in these first years.  It is with the idea of giving each new missionary a fair and square start, in the untried life that lies before them, that the management of the Poona and Indian Village Mission send their young women missionaries as they arrive from the home lands to the Receiving Home, which Home the readers of White Already to Harvest might like to know something about.

When one has all one's life been interested in Foreign Mission Work, and has loved and reverenced with the men and women who have served God in the past even unto death, it is wonderful for such an one, one day to realise at last she is in a heathen land, and that the opportunities and work which she has so longed and prayed for, are actually before her.

It is when our young missionary is brought face to face with men and women with whom she can hold no communication, and whose dark loveless lives she cannot touch, in the way she desires most; it is then that she understands that until she can speak to the people in their own tongue correctly and forcibly, she will be of little use.  To be able to do this will mean months of patient plodding and hard work; and those in authority have deemed that nothing shall come between the student and the aquisition of this difficult language as quickly and perfectly as possible.  The Home of which we have spoken is a large, cool bungalow with lofty roof, and spacious rooms.  Into this bungalow the last party of ladies who arrived from Australia in October were at once taken, and after having a few days to settle and to arrange their private belongings, they were introduced to Marathi and to their teachers, or pundits.  They have just taken in the situation, and knowing as they do, that only one thing is of more importance than being able to speak the language of this people, (among whom they have come to spend the rest of their lives) namely: the health of their won souls, and the abiding presence with them of the blessed Holy Spirit, they have believed that with God, all things are possible, and have gone on in simple dependence upon Him for help, nor has He failed them.

If one were to pass through the reception rooms of this Ladies Bungalow any morning, excepting Saturdays and Sundays, you would see in many corners of these rooms girls who have become children again, and have gone back to school: and as one passes on, one might hear strange sounds and if one were to go near enough, one might see strange characters on the page of the little book our student is so diligently studying with the help of her teacher.  You would be struck with the air of quiet determination on those young faces.  You would see no signs of the home-sickness one hears about in the homelands, as being endured by lonely young missionaries.  Perhaps if your visit was immediately after the delivery of the home mail you might happen to see a tear-stained face once in a while; but this sort of thing is by no means the rule, though the home ties are just as sweet and tender as ever they were, and will remain so too, please God.  Our sisters have put their hand to the plough, and they do not look back.

The girls study from between five and six hours per day; they have regular times for recreation, and each has some little household duty given them, each week; this helps to keep up the home-like feeling in the house.  The awakening bell rings at 6 am but many lamps are lit before that hour.  The dear girls have found that out that the "Morning Watch" is the bet time to meet God, to hear His voice, and to read His Word.

Mr Lowe gives a bible reading four mornings in "The Hall".  Thursday's and Saturday's are reserved exclusively for prayer.  The students have the great advantage of having the Scriptures opened up by Mr Lowe, and opened up in a wonderful way: the teaching is most helpful, and is much appreciated.  After breakfast, we have Family Prayers and a short season of united prayer, immediately after tiffin, draws the household together in the bonds of holy love and intercession.

Monday evening is reserved for mending and darning and while the garments are being mended, and the stockings are being darned, some one reads aloud, from some interesting and instructive book.  Very often Mr Strutton is the reader; and one Wednesday evening Mr Lowe came in to tea unexpectedly, and remained to the little sewing meeting.  Instead of the reading Mr Lowe gave a talk about God's wonderful works in the Heavens, the Sun, the moon and the stars-the work of His hands.  Not so much mending was done that evening: each one laying aside her work just to listen the more intently.  Saturday at the Ladies Bungalow is a rest day, no Marathi, or other work being done by the students.  In the afternoon of that day a little social gathering is held when each one can ask her friends to afternoon tea.  One feature of this home life is that no gathering is ever held (of whatever nature it may be) that God's blessing and guidance is not asked.  The party enjoys good health, and sometimes wonder when the are to meet the hardships they had heard about before leaving home.  They live in the most simple way, both as regards food and clothing; and as the days and weeks pass by every one is happy and contented.  The days are full of quiet work, and in a few months at most, those students will have gone away into the dark Bhor State, into one of the very strongholds of Satan's kingdom to be light bearers for the Master, to tell them of the redemption by the precious blood of Christ which as yet they know nothing of.  May God speedily choose and send forth others who in their turn will be sent on the same errand and with the same blessed message."

White Already to Harvest, February 1 1900.

Clearly this is where Jessie spent her first few months at Poona.  From here (most likely in April, as her letter describes the long journey) Jessie travelled to Mahableshwar, the "rest" station for missionaries in the north.  We know that Jessie's first language examination was in September of 1900.

Was Jessie more at risk of disease by virtue of living at the 'rest' station?

The newsletters of the PIVM record faithfully which missionaries went to Mahabeleshwar station for rest, many of them were suffering from ill health and went there to recuperate physcially as well as spiritually.  It is possible that this increased the risk of workers at the station contracting disease as many of these missionaries were in the convalescent or prodromal (and hence infectious) stages of illness.

Manley Lowe, youngest son of John and Charlotte Lowe dies

Charlotte (nee Cronin) and John Henry Lowe, 1900, PIVM

"Manley Lowe, the youngest son of Mr and Mrs J H Lowe, fell asleep in Jesus, August 9th 1900 in the fifteenth year of his age.  He came to Poona from New Zealand, ten months ago, and most of this time was spent in school, or in reading under a tutor.  The relaxing climate of India was unsuitable to a boy of his years, and he had not the vigour to throw off an attack of disease resembling cholera which ran its fatal course in seven days.

Manley had the blissful experience of never knowing a time when he did not love Jesus.  He was born in Dunedin, NZ, and received his early education in public schools.  He had serious thoughts of becoming a missionary, and had expressed the desire to study medicine and spend his life in the New Hebrides.  A short time after his arrival in Poona he had the joy of confession Christ publicly in baptism.  His buoyant disposition and gentle manners made him a favourite at No 8 Elphinstone Road where his mother and father presided over one of our Mission Homes; and it was felt that his bright happy ways were the expression of grace more than of nature.  His tutor said of him "Manley was a gentleman at heart" and those who knew him will recognise the truth of the remark..."

p 137, White Already to Harvest, September 1 1900.

The loss of Manley must have influenced the Lowe's decision to leave India to avoid losing another son.  Later in the same newsletter:

"Mr and Mrs J H Lowe expect to return to England September 15th via the Austrian German Lloyd line sailing from Bombay to Trieste.  The immediate occasion of their departure is the state of their son's health which makes a change of climate advisable. .." (p 139).  The newsletter does not say whether Amy Lowe remained in India, but subsequent newsletters may make this clear.

Why was Jessie's death not recorded in White Already to Harvest?

The "Our Notes" section of each monthly issue of White Already to Harvest is comprehensive in reporting who is convalescing and of what, who is 'on holiday' at Mahabeleshwar "rest" station, and who has "passed on to Glory".  Nowhere in the three issues after Jessie's death in October does it mention her death, and yet it was documented in London Missionary Society documents (which will soon be to hand).  The Lowe's feature a lot in the newsletter, as do other missionaries who are invited to contribute, but nothing from Jessie...food for thought.

First Impressions of Jessie's companions Amy Lowe and her mother Charlotte Lowe on arrival in Poona

"It seems like a dream to finally be here, and to see before one's very eyes the  heathen for whose salvation  we have so often prayed for.  One soon awakens, however, to the fact that it is no dream as one hears the strange language ad sees the curiously dressed figures with gay turbans and so many foreheads painted with the dreadful idol marks.  Everything around speaks of a foreign country, the rough native carts drawn by bullocks, the groups of beggars at corners looking so beseeching and asking for pice, and the poor sweeper women, with their little brooms made of rushes tied in a bunch, sweeping the streets in the early morning.  At times one hears a dismal piercing wail like one in pain, but it is only a hawker crying his sweetmeats!...This part of Poona is very pleasant, the streets are good and planted with avenues trees, the bungalows stand back from the road and are surrounded by pretty gardens.  In the distance we can see beautiful rugged hills looking like fortresses..."

Amy Lowe, White Already to Harvest, Nov 1 1889, p 161

"...We are rejoiced to hear on arrival that the plague is much decreased, shops and schools are being re-opened, and people returning to their homes, though we saw the segregation or health camps still in use as we approached Poona in the train....the sore distress of famine still remains, owing to the lack of rain in the past season.  All around, the country looks dry and barren.  The poor heathen in their distress seek to propitiate their gods of wood and stone by taking pilgrimage to various shrines.  The first heathen I have see was that of a poor dirty devotee who was on a pilgrimage and measured his length on the dusty road with a long pole.  He made a mark on the ground as far ahead of him as he could reach, then , getting up he walked up to his mark and lay down again, repeating the action, and so on, until he passed out of sight.  We could not tell how far he had come or where was his destination, but many have travelled the whole length of India, seeking in this way to merit salvation...How great is the responsibility of those who have the light of the glorious gospel of God shining in their hearts to carry it forth among these benighted souls!"

Charlotte A Lowe, White Already to Harvest, Nov 1 1889, p 161

Jessie's outward trip New Zealand to India

See pages 159 and 160 of "White Already to Harvest" November 1, 1899 via the SIM Archives website http://archives.sim.org/ (clickon CIGM PIVM ICF 1892-1895, then scroll down to the November issue) where Florrie Storrie describes the outward trip via Colombo in fantastic detail.

Some snippets to pique your interest:

..."We finally left Australia on September the 21st.  We ladies certainly had the best of the bargain, for we were in the second class, while the gentlemen with Mr Reeve went steerage.  It was not easy for them there with about 30 Afghans and others who did not reckon that "cleanliness is next to godliness" but as one of the party said, "It's alright, Praise the Lord!"...

...Both the captaiin and officers made our way very pleasant by their attention and sympathy, and all the passengers accepted in a kindly spirit our interest in them.  The only word we heard in the shape of an objection to the services, etc. was spoken by a facetious young fellow, who, overhearing a passenger ask if we were going to have a meeting that day, chimed in by saying "Oh yes, of course they'll be at it, they're always at it."  Well, praise the Lord we know HE was "always at it" on our account and so we reckon it is our duty and privilege to be "always at it" in the service of others"...

..."We reached Colombo on Sunday evening October 1st at 11.30...It was deemed advisable for the ladies to land at once and so amidst hurried goodbyes to the passengers we started off.  It was a wierd experience to be launched in catamarangs, in company with dark skinned Singalese, and as we listened to their unintelligible jabber, many and varied were our feelings and questionings..."

..."We stayed indoors all morning until our topies or helmets arrived, and then Mr Lover took us through his garden, where we tasted the cocoanut in all stages of its development and growth, and were much amused in watching a native climb a palm, some 50 or 60 ft high, and not a single branch until he reached the top"...

..."We seemed to be in a new world with so much to see both people and place; and the natives were a constant source of interest to us with their bare, gleaming, bronze skins, their dark liquid eyes, their odd clothing - or the lack of it - their quiet foot-falls, and their strange tongue..."

..."Mr Reeve had been successful in taking our passages in the B&I.S.S "Lawada" and we accordingly made our way to that boat...we left Colombo with the sun kissing the waters and the wind wafting a cool air around us, and once more we settled down to ship life...our journey to Bombay was very pleasant indeed"...

In the same issue is comment from Amy Lowe, and Mrs Charlotte Lowe (with whom Jessie was travelling) about their first impressions of Poona (p161).

Some information on Typhoid Fever

"After ingestion, the organisms attach to the small intestinal mucosa, penetrate it, and are transported by the lymphatics to mesenteric lymph glands.  There they multiply, and enter the bloodstream via the thoracic duct.  The main location of bacilli is within macrophages.  From this bacteraemia, which corresponds to the end of the incubation period, organisms are carried to the bone marrow, spleen, liver and gallbladder.

There is now a secondary invasion of the bowel via the infected bile...[leading to inflammation of the peyers patches in the ileum].  If the inflammation does not resolve, necrosis occurs within 7-10 days and the patches ulcerate.  Involvement of the blood vessels may lead to bleeding [typically in the third week] and if the whole thickness of the bowel is involved, perforation follows [typically in the third week].

...More diffuse organ involvement also occurs, such as cloudy swelling of hepatocytes, necrosis, degeneration and fatty infiltration of the myocardium, degenerative changes in kidney tubules, and interstitial pneumonitis.  Late in the disease there may be abcess formation...most often affecting bone, brain, liver or spleen. 

The incubation period is around 14 days on average but can vary from less than a week to more than three weeks.  The only almost constant symptoms are fever and headache.  The untreated illness normally runs its course in about three weeks but can extend to months in exceptional cases.

The onset of fever is usually gradual...fever increases day by day in the first week, often with an evening rise.  A remittent fever then continues for another week or more, then falls by lysis in the third week.  Patients with typhoid usually feel very unwell in general, with malaise, generalised aches and pains, and anorexia.  The following symptoms are also common: abdominal pain/discomfort, constipation, diarrhoea, deafness, cough.

...the maintenance of fluid and electrolyte balance is also vital to achieve good survival rates.  But the mainstay of treatment is effective antimicrobial chemotherapy."

Modern day treatment of complicated Typhoid includes surgical resection (if bowel perforates), antimicrobial therapy and IV rehydration, none of which was available to Jessie in India in 1900.   In many people the disease runs its course and they recover with a period of convalescence.  It appears that Jessie had complications which led to her death, specifically what they were we may never know.  Typhoid vaccination was introduced in India in 1910.

Chronic carriers of Typhoid carry the Typhoid infection in their gallbladders or urinary tract, and if employed in a food handling capacity can infect large numbers of people.

Bell, D R (1990) Lecture Notes on Tropical Medicine (3rd ed) Blackwell Scientific Publications: Oxford, pp 72,77