Honorary Members of the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions (ABCFM)

by Jeffrey Bingham Mead
Greenwich Time, Greenwich, Connecticut: June 29, 1997

For generations, it has been a tradition in town for citizens to be honored in a variety of ways. Such gestures are made even today by local organizations to individuals out of a sense of appreciation.

While perusing the 19th-century editions of The Missionary Herald, published monthly by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), I noticed that a number of town citizens were made honorary members of the ABCFM.

The 19th century was dominated by a series of religious revivals known as the Second Great Awakening. The people of Greenwich were enthusiastic supporters of foreign missions and similar agencies that took up temperance, abolition and other causes – all spearheaded by Connecticut by "awakened" Congregationalists and other religious denominations.

Men and women were eligible for honorary membership in the foreign missions commission when a donation of at least $50 was pledged in their name. The names of these distinguish individuals were published in The Missionary Herald. Honorary members were also invited to attend the annual meetings of the commission's board.

The first honorary member of the commission from Greenwich was the Rev. Dr. Isaac Lewis  (and here) of the Second Congregational Church in 1827. In subsequent years 19 other ministers were also named honorary members. These include the Rev. Chauncey Wilcox, the Rev. Joel Mann, the Rev. Platt Buffett, the Rev. S.B.S. Bissell, the Rev. Ebenezer Mead, the Rev. W. H.H. Murray and others.

Five missionaries were made honorary members of the commission by Greenwich parishes. All were associated with the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) Mission. Those from local families were Horton Knapp, his wife, Charlotte Close, and Dr. James William Smith. 

In addition, the people of the North Greenwich Congregational Church named Amos Starr Cooke and his wife, Juliet Montague (Cooke was the brother-in-law of the Rev. Chauncey Wilcox). Cooke and his wife were both teachers to the chief's and the alii (royal families) of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He co-founded Castle and Cooke, which remains as one of Hawaii's "Big Five" conglomerates today.

Twenty-one local women were instituted honorary members of the foreign missions commission. The first was Charlotte Close Knapp in 1838, followed by her mother, Sally Close, in 1841. 

Others included Letitia Ferris, Clarissa Munson, Anna S. Schofield, Amy Close, Adelia Knouse, Obadiah Mead and Martha L. Roberts.

The Rev. Joel Lindsley of the Second Congregational Church was designated a corporate member of the commission, and he represented his parish at numerous annual meetings of the American Board until his death.

Moses Christy was the superintendent of the Second Church's Sunday school. His sister, Helen, married Dr. Dauphin Osgood, and they embarked in 1869 as missionaries on board the "MorningStar" to work in China.

Honorary membership in the foreign missions commission was just one of the many ways that Greenwich residents have been honored for their work on behalf of others. For generations, the scope of their vision went far beyond the town's borders.

Jeffrey Bingham Mead is a free-lance writer and direct descendant of one of the towns founding families. He grew up the backcountry Greenwich.