Maria Dyer (b. 1803, ? - d. 21 October, 1846, Penang, Malaysia), is the wife of Samuel Dyer, an agent of the London Missionary Society who devoted his life to mission work in the Straits Settlements. Evangelising the Chinese through education, Dyer established girls' schools and inculcated Christian values and behaviour in her Chinese pupils. In Singapore, she founded the earliest girls' school, the Chinese Girls' School, which is present-day St. Margaret's Primary School.
Early Life
Maria Dyer, was born Maria Tarn, and the eldest daughter of Joseph Tarn - one of the directors in the London Missionary Society. In March 1827, she married Samuel Dyer, a missionary under the charge of the London Missionary Society who was bound for the Straits Settlements.
Missionary Life in Penang and Malacca
Early Life
Maria Dyer, was born Maria Tarn, and the eldest daughter of Joseph Tarn - one of the directors in the London Missionary Society. In March 1827, she married Samuel Dyer, a missionary under the charge of the London Missionary Society who was bound for the Straits Settlements.
Missionary Life in Penang and Malacca
Leaving England shortly after their wedding, the Dyers arrived in Penang in August 1827. They were headed for the Malacca mission, but settled in Penang due to the lack of workers there. The couple worked hard to establish Chinese schools, and both learnt the Hokkien dialect in order to reach out to the boys and girls separately. Maria, in particular, had a penchant for orphaned girls. In addition, Samuel Dyer worked to produce a fount of movable Chinese metallic types for printing Chinese Christian literature. When the couple left Penang for Malacca in October 1835 after eight years of service, they handed over four Hokkien schools with a total of 79 pupils. They remained in Malacca till 1839 when Maria was taken ill, and the Dyers returned to England on furlough.
Missionary Life in Singapore
Missionary Life in Singapore
Returning to the Straits Settlements in February 1842, the Dyers resided in Singapore. They brought along Miss Buckland, who proved to be a great help to Maria in teaching the Dyer children, and later in assisting with teaching duties at the boarding school. With the approval of the London Missionary Society, Maria started a boarding school for 19 Chinese girls under agreement from their parents/guardians for differing lengths of stay. Known as the Chinese Girls' School, the school took in girls who were orphans or had fallen victim to child slavery (known in Cantonese as mui tsai). It was located in a house along North Bridge Road and upkept partly by funds raised from the closure of the Chinese mission in Penang and private contributions of Samuel Garling (then Resident Councillor of Penang). In addition to an elementary education in English, the girls were taught homemaking skills in preparation for marriage.
Following the death of her husband in 1843, Maria became a salaried missionary of the London Missionary Society and continued to work in the Chinese Girls' School and appointed Miss Grant as its first principal.
Return to Penang
With news that the Chinese ports were open to trade, the London Missionary Society withdrew their missions in the Straits Settlements and Maria moved to Penang with her children in 1844. The following year, she married Johann Georg Bausum, an independent missionary who had been granted use of the mission and chapel in Penang by the London Missionary Society. Maria died in Penang in 1846, leaving her orphaned children under the care of Bausum. She was buried at the Northam Road Cemetery in Georgetown, Penang.
Following the death of her husband in 1843, Maria became a salaried missionary of the London Missionary Society and continued to work in the Chinese Girls' School and appointed Miss Grant as its first principal.
Return to Penang
With news that the Chinese ports were open to trade, the London Missionary Society withdrew their missions in the Straits Settlements and Maria moved to Penang with her children in 1844. The following year, she married Johann Georg Bausum, an independent missionary who had been granted use of the mission and chapel in Penang by the London Missionary Society. Maria died in Penang in 1846, leaving her orphaned children under the care of Bausum. She was buried at the Northam Road Cemetery in Georgetown, Penang.
Maria and Samuel Dyer had five children during their life in the Straits: Maria Dyer (1829-1831), Samuel Dyer, Jr. (1833-1898), Burella Hunter Dyer (1835-1858), Maria Jane Dyer (1837-1870), and Ebenezer Dyer (1842-aft. Oct. 1843). Their surviving children followed in their footsteps and were involved in evangelising the Chinese in their adult years. Their youngest daughter, Maria Jane, later married Hudson Taylor, the missionary who began the China Inland Mission.
Accomplishments
Accomplishments
Many successful female teachers in the Straits Settlements were wives of missionaries. Maria Dyer was one such example. Throughout her life in the Straits Settlements, she worked relentlessly to provide education and to build schools for girls. Mission schools then aimed to instill Christian values and behaviour in their pupils, with literacy seen as a tool to enable these to read Christian literature. The Chinese Girls' School that Maria founded in 1842 is today known as St. Margaret's Primary School (after Queen Margaret of Scotland).
Author
Irene Lim
References
Davies, E. (1846). Memoir of the Rev. Samuel Dyer: Sixteen years missionary to the Chinese. Retrieved September 13, 2008, from http://www.archive.org/details/MN40270ucmf_6
Harfield, A. G. (1987). Christian cemeteries of Penang & Perak (p. 52). [London]: Published for the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia, 1987.
(Call no.: RSEA 929.5 HAR)
O'Sullivan, R.L. (1990). A history of the London Missionary Society in the Straits Settlements (c.1815-1847). London: University of London Library.
(Call no. RSEA English 266.0234105957 OSU)
O'Sullivan, L. (1984). The London Missionary Society: A written record of missionaries and printing presses in the Straits Settlements, 1815-1847, Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 57(2): 61-104.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.5 JMBRAS)
St. Margaret's School for Girls (1993). 150th anniversary 1842-1992: St. Margaret's School. Singapore: St. Margaret's School
(Call no. RSING 372.95957SAI)
Stronach, J. (1843). The blessedness of those who die in the Lord: A sermon occasioned by the death of the Rev. Samuel Dyer, missionary to the Chinese, (which took place at Macao 24th October 1843); preached in the new Mission chapel, Singapore, November 9, 1843. Singapore: printed at the Mission Press.
(Not available in NLB holdings)
Wylie, A. (1967). Memorials of Protestant missionaries to the Chinese: Giving a list of their publications and obituary notices of the deceased. With copious indexes (pp. 51-54). Taipei:Cheng Wen Publishing Company.
(Call no. RCLOS 266.40951 MEM)
The information in this article is valid as at 2008 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
(Call no. RSING 372.95957SAI)
Stronach, J. (1843). The blessedness of those who die in the Lord: A sermon occasioned by the death of the Rev. Samuel Dyer, missionary to the Chinese, (which took place at Macao 24th October 1843); preached in the new Mission chapel, Singapore, November 9, 1843. Singapore: printed at the Mission Press.
(Not available in NLB holdings)
Wylie, A. (1967). Memorials of Protestant missionaries to the Chinese: Giving a list of their publications and obituary notices of the deceased. With copious indexes (pp. 51-54). Taipei:Cheng Wen Publishing Company.
(Call no. RCLOS 266.40951 MEM)
The information in this article is valid as at 2008 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
