Daughters of the Cross: or Woman's Mission

In Short

This book presents a biographical anthology detailing the lives, spiritual conversions, and far-flung labors of nineteenth-century American female missionaries. Across various Protestant denominations, these women abandon domestic security to travel to India, Burmah, Syria, and the Sandwich Islands. The narrative documents their severe trials—including tropical diseases, imprisonment, shipwreck, and the tragic deaths of their infants—alongside their unwavering religious devotion. It endures as a vivid historical record of the crucial, often grueling role played by women in the expansion of nineteenth-century global evangelical movements and the personal sacrifices required by their faith.

The Story

The narrative opens with an overarching tribute to the Christian women who abandoned domestic comfort for arduous labor in non-Christian lands, framing their spiritual sacrifices as far more heroic than those of senators or soldiers. It quickly moves into individual biographical chronicles, beginning with Harriet Newell, whose early religious awakening following her father's death leads her to marry a missionary and sail for India. Her journey ends in early tragedy as she loses her newborn infant at sea and dies shortly after of rapid consumption, becoming an early martyr for the cause.

The focus then shifts to Ann H. Judson, whose life illustrates extreme resilience. After converting to Baptist views en route to Asia, she accompanies her husband to Burmah. When war breaks out, her husband is thrown into a brutal dungeon in Ava. Mrs. Judson tirelessly petitions hostile government officials, brings food and clothing to dying foreign prisoners, and acts as a ministering angel, ultimately playing a critical role in negotiating peace before succumbing to disease herself.

Subsequent chapters trace similar arcs of intense devotion and physical hardship across diverse geographies. In the Sandwich Islands, Harriet B. Stewart assists in establishing churches where local converts labor exhaustively, hauling timber from distant mountains and diving deep into the ocean for coral to burn into mortar. In Syria, Sarah L. Smith finds momentary comfort among the ancient sights of Beyroot, yet works herself to exhaustion to spread her faith. In Burmah, Eleanor Macomber travels alone into the rugged interior, traversing rivers and mountains to establish schools and plant churches among the Karen people.

As the book nears its conclusion, it details the tragic sacrifices of Sarah D. Comstock, who bids a heartbreaking final farewell to her young children as they are shipped back to America for schooling, consoling herself with the knowledge that her agony is for her Savior. Henrietta Shuck dies young in China after establishing a home and school, while Sarah B. Judson supports her dying husband, holding her ear to his lips to catch his final questions as he baptizes native converts from a stretcher by a remote lake. Finally, Mary E. Van Lennep leaves a privileged life in Connecticut only to die of dysentery in Turkey shortly after her arrival. The book closes by asserting that as these women fall, a devoted church will continually send forth new daughters to carry on the work.

How It Unfolds

The call to sacrifice Young women in New England experience intense spiritual awakenings, often catalyzed by personal bereavements or religious revivals. They choose to marry missionaries or set out independently, willingly trading lives of domestic ease for unknown perils abroad.

The arduous passage The missionaries embark on treacherous ocean voyages lasting several months. Along the way, they endure severe seasickness, wrestle with theological reconsiderations regarding their denominational stances, and frequently suffer the devastating loss of newborn infants buried at sea.

Establishing the mission Upon reaching foreign shores—whether in Asia, the Middle East, or the Pacific Islands—the women throw themselves into relentless labor. They build homes, establish schools for native children, learn local languages, and organize the construction of rudimentary houses of worship against immense physical odds.

Trial by war and disease Political instability and harsh climates severely test the workers. During the Burmese war, women like Ann Judson brave government hostility and disease to sustain imprisoned husbands, while others succumb to fatal illnesses brought on by exhaustion and exposure.

The final triumph of faith Despite prematurely losing their health, their children, or their lives, each subject faces death with serene composure. The narrative concludes each life with a tranquil deathbed scene, framing their temporal losses as eternal gains for the global Christian church.

The People

• Harriet Newell desires to serve her faith on foreign soil; she faces a fatal case of rapid consumption and the loss of her newborn child, ending her life early as a celebrated exemplar of holy resignation.
• Ann H. Judson seeks to convert the people of Burmah; she faces the imprisonment of her husband and the horrors of war, transforming into a courageous diplomat and tireless caretaker who saves numerous lives before her own early death.
• Eleanor Macomber wants to bring Christianity to the Karen people; operating without a husband or protector, she braves rugged wilderness and harsh conditions to successfully establish a thriving native church.
• Sarah D. Comstock seeks to maintain both her mission in Arracan and her family; she is forced to permanently send her young children away to America, enduring deep heartbreak for her religious calling.
• Sarah B. Judson desires to support her husband's ministry in Tavoy; facing his impending death, she serves as his voice during native baptisms and continues missionary labors despite constant illness and grief.

In Its Own Voice

"We have in this volume brought together the names of several of our most distinguished female heroines, who have toiled and suffered on heathen soil."

The author introduces his collection of biographies, explicitly framing these nineteenth-century women as spiritual soldiers whose quiet endurances outshine worldly fame.

"She went where no person of the other sex would have dared to go, and where, to any woman of less devotion and tireless perseverance, all entrance would have been denied."

This reflection highlights the extraordinary resilience of Ann Judson as she navigated hostile governmental channels in Burmah to succor starving prisoners of war.

"She knelt and cried, as o'er the sea / Faded their forms like sunset ray, / 'O Savior, I do this for thee!' / And, sobbing, turned away."

This cited verse captures the excruciating emotional sacrifice of Sarah Comstock as she watched her young children sail back to America, never to be seen by her again.

What It's Really About

This book argues that true Christian heroines display a quiet, persistent courage that vastly exceeds the physical valor of worldly conquerors. Beneath the biographical details lies a sustained defense of woman's active role in global evangelism, asserting that female empathy, moral endurance, and capacity for self-sacrifice are essential to civilizing and converting foreign lands. The narrative repeatedly confronts the agonizing tension between natural human affection—such as a mother's love for her children or home—and the uncompromising demands of religious duty. Ultimately, it frames human suffering, grief, and early death not as tragic losses, but as necessary, sanctified contributions toward a higher, divine purpose.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers interested in nineteenth-century history, women's studies, or religious movements will find this volume a compelling primary resource. Reading it offers an unfiltered glimpse into the extreme zeal and psychological resilience that fueled early American evangelical expansion. The prose possesses a solemn, nineteenth-century dignity, rich with period hymnody, emotional deathbed scenes, and dramatic depictions of foreign lands.

However, readers should be prepared for the overt cultural biases of the era; non-Western cultures are consistently described through a harsh, ethnocentric lens typical of nineteenth-century missionary literature. The text's intense focus on infant mortality, fatal illnesses, and severe domestic separations gives the reading experience a heavy, elegiac tone. What stays with you is the sheer physical and emotional endurance of these women, who willingly traded security for incredible hardship, driven by a conviction so absolute that it reconfigured the boundaries of what nineteenth-century women were permitted to attempt.