This week in Christian history: Carlos Annacondia converts, Jackson Kemper dies, George Louis Williams ordained

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, May 19, 2024

George Louis Williams ordained – May 21, 1891

George Louis Williams (1858-1900), an American missionary to China who was killed during the Boxer Rebellion. | Public Domain

This week marks the anniversary of when George Louis Williams, an American who, with his wife, was a missionary in China, was ordained a Congregational minister in Oberlin, Ohio.

Williams had attended Oberlin College and the Oberlin Theological Seminary, receiving multiple degrees from the academic institutions. Before his ordination, he served as a preacher in Jerauld County, South Dakota.

Shortly after being ordained, Williams and his wife, Alice, traveled to China through the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, where they each set up charitable work in Taigu, Shanxi Province.

“During the Williams' seven years in Taigu, George provided care for opium addicts at the local opium refuge, one of several medical clinics established by the missionaries,” according to The American Context of China's Christian Colleges project.

“Alice worked alongside Lydia Lord Davis (1867-1952), teaching Chinese women to read and developing close ties with several Chinese Christians. By 1900, the Christian community in and around Taigu included over one hundred baptized Christians and probationers.”