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

Jessie's letter home 4 April 1900 - page 2/2 (published in The Outlook, held by Presbyterian Reseach Centre, Dunedin)

Jessie's letter home 4 April 1900 - page 1/2 (published in The Outlook, held by Presbyterian Reseach Centre, Dunedin)

Link to the monthly newsletter of the PIVM "White Already to Harvest" on SIM website

The name of the newsletter comes from John 4:35 in the King James version of the bible:
"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."

Click on this link for access to downloadable pdf's of the monthly newsletters:

http://archives.sim.org/

Then click on "CIGM PIVM ICF 1892-1989", and then on "Already White to Harvest PIVM".  These newsletters give a fascinating insight into happenings at PIVM and many detailed stories of how they helped various people, along with bible teaching, notes from the various mission stations, contributions from the various missionaries, deaths, a children's page and pictures.  The pictures in the issues around 1900 of famine victims are particularly heartbreaking.

Some links to information about PIVM on Papers Past, website of Archives NZ

John Blair marries Martha Dougall, http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=BH18650302.2.8&srpos=2&e=-------10--1----0Married+John+Blair--

Famine in India, http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=HNS19000526.2.5&srpos=5&e=-------10--1----0Famine+and+Plague+in+India+1900--

Miss Waller's address re the work of PIVM, http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=FS18990519.2.19&srpos=1&e=-------10--1----0Miss+Waller%27s+Address--

The Lowe family leaves India, http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19001020.2.20&srpos=4&e=-------10--1----0Lowe+family+leaves+India+1900--

Bookmark from Jessie's bible with card from her memorial service

The only remaining pages from Jessie's bible

Jessie's memorial, held in the Presbyterian Archives Research Centre, Dunedin

Eulogy for Jessie by Dr Watt, Green Island Presbyterian Church, December 1900

Eulogy for Jessie at Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union Meeting March 1901

A summary of gleanings so far...

Jessie was born in 1877, the third daughter of John and Martha Blair.  John was the First Clerk of the Green Island Presbyterian Church Deacon's Court, Dunedin.  She also had four brothers, including George, James and John.

In 1895 Jessie began to think about entering the "foreign mission field".  She was an active member of the Christian Endeavour Society, a Sunday School teacher and later ran a bible class for "lads".

She trained for a short while under Mrs H. H Driver at the Missionary Training Institute.  Classes were given on Bible study, Christian ethics, Evidences of Christianity, Outlines of Christian Doctrine, Physiology, Medicine, English and Music.  Mrs Driver (b 1862) was herself previously a missionary in East Bengal (now Bangladesh) 1887-1889 but had to return home due to ill health.  She settled in Dunedin in 1892 and with her husband set up the Missionary Training Institute.  She also helped establish the Baptist Women's Missionary Union.  She died in 1943.  Her brother, a doctor, died in missionary service in Bangladesh of dysentery in 1905.

In 1896 the Plague (bubonic/pneumonic) epidemic started in Bombay (now Mumbai).  In 1896 through to 1908 India also experienced a severe famine.

Up until 1897 Amy Parsons, an Australian, was the only female missionary at Poona Indian Village Mission.

On 12 August 1899 Jessie and the Lowe family - Mr John Lowe (a former Engineer in Chief at NZ Railways) and his wife Charlotte and daughter Amy (they had one daughter, six sons, including Frank and Manley who would travel to India with them) speak prior to their departure for India at a farewell at Victoria Hall, Dunedin.  Money was raised for Jessie's passage.

Their aim was to establish a resort in the hills at Mahabeleshwar to which missionaries engaged in teaching could retire to recoup.  Mrs Lowe was to be in charge of it while Mr Lowe helped out with local evangelism.

At this time there were 51 members of the Poona Indian 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 multidenominational).

On the 4 April 1900 Jessie wrote a letter home to the church in Dunedin.  In summary:
* She had visited Paud, 20 miles from Poona and worked with 100 needy women
* Camp was pitched in a valley surrounded by hills
* They travelled overnight for 12 hours by mule and cart to Mahabeleshwar via Wathar and Panchgani
* She stayed at a "nice little bungalow" called Iona belonging to members of the mission.  It was situated high in the jungle trees, a few minutes walk from the bungalow they could see Lake Venna
* She sat on the monument erected in memory of the late Governor of Poona
*"Many missionaries from all over India are here" - the Fountain Hotel was "occupied this summer entirely by missionaries".  Mr Lowe conducts a bible reading there twice a week
* She visited Old Mahabeleshwar and saw two temples
* Wednesday mornings there was a prayer meeting at "Norheim" a neighbouring bungalow
* Saturday evenings there was a weekly prayer meeting at the American Mission Hall
* Open air meetings in the bazaar
* Famine was raging in India (due to failure of the monsoon).  60 children were being cared for in the orphanage.
* She was learning the language - Marathi - with her first exam due in September
* She requested prayers for safety from the "terrible plague"

On 22 October 1900 Jessie died of Typhoid (Salmonella typhi).  This is spread person to person via the faecal/oral route (usually by flies) or contaminated food or water.  Fever develops up to 60 days after infection.  Fever, rash, +/- diahorrea, abdo pain, delirium and dehydration are common.  Typhoid has set stages that generally take four weeks to progress through to recovery (if one recovers).  Innoculation for Typhoid in India was underway by by 1910.

Jessie's mother, Martha, got the news of her death while returning from Glasgow on the SS Perthshire on which her son, Jessie's brother John, was an engineer.  The SS Perthshire frequently travelled London to NZ and return.

Also published in the Otago Daily times on this date is notice that the Lowe’s will be leaving India for England, which they actually did on September 15^th 1900 (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.  White Already to Harvest (WATH), the PIVM monthly newsletter for  September 1900 describes Manley as having had 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.  From March 1900 the Lowe’s had been at “Bonne Vue” (Mahabeleshwar) "for the rest of the season", and I suspect that this was soon after Manley's death.

In August of 1900 Amy Lowe had begun training at the Mission Hospital in Poona. 

 
On 19 March 1901 at the monthly prayer meeting Jessie was remembered.  Her aunt Mrs Kirkland spoke, and this was also published in The Outlook.

How it all started...

At the 2008 Blair Family Reunion in Nelson my mother's cousins Pat McPhail and Pam Smith spoke about Great Aunt Jessie who was a missionary in India.  They had two pages from her bible and a copy of the card from her memorial service along with a cross-shaped bookmark.  They only knew a little about Jessie, that she had left home at 23 years of age, and had died of Typhoid on the mission field in Poona, India.  I recall being quite taken by the story and determined to try and find out more.  What had she looked like?  What had motivated her to leave New Zealand for India? What kind of person was she? I obtained a letter published in The Outlook that Jessie had written home in April 1900, and a eulogy at a prayer meeting also published in The Outlook after her death from the Presbyterian Archive in Dunedin.  I then trawled through Papers Past for any reference to Jessie and the Otago Blairs and was pleased to find further material to feed what was then bordering on an obsession - to 'find' Jessie Blair.