Mission picnic, Manchuria, 1891

“Hunter, Robertson, Carson, [Fleming?], Wylie, [?], [Mc?], [Mr D?], Inglis, [Mrs A H?], [Douglas?], Gillespie.[L to R]”Group portrait of the men, women and children of the Manchuria field sitting on blankets at the base of a tree. The group possibly includes Irish Presbyterians as well as members of the United Presbyterian Church. James Wylie (1863-1894) sits in the middle left behind the child with the straw hat. Dr Inglis sit with his hat over his chest. ❧ The United Presbyterian Mission in Manchuria had been established by John Ross (1842-1915) when he entered the region in 1872. Shenyang [Moukden] became an important station in the interior and Hospitals, Schools and Orphanages were built there. The United Presbyterian Mission unified with the Irish Presbyterian Mission in 1890 to form an indigenous Presbytery, named Kuan Tung, with Chinese as the official language. ❧ The image is from an album associated with Rev. James A Whylie (1863-1894) who was ordained to the Manchuria mission in 1887 and based in Liaoyang, 1888-1894