Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Divergent Careers of Adele Marion Fielde and Catherine Maria Ricketts

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Christianizing South China

  • 183 Accesses

Abstract

Evangelization of women in Chaoshan was largely carried out by unmarried female missionaries, missionaries’ wives, and native Biblewomen. Nie draws on unpublished letters of correspondence and diaries to discuss the divergent career paths of the American Baptist Adele Marion Fielde (1839–1916) and the English Presbyterian Catherine Maria Ricketts (1841–1907). Their ministry displayed a key value in the history of missionary women—that of empowering women and protecting their spiritual and material wellbeing. Having spent decades in Chaoshan, these two competent women ended their careers differently. While Fielde resigned from the American Baptists, Ricketts stayed in the Presbyterian Mission till her death. Because Western patriarchal values and norms deeply pervaded the institutional hierarchies of the Protestant missionary enterprises, the resentment of male dominance was a decisive factor in shaping the career strategies of these women. This comparison reveals a wide range of sociocultural and gender difficulties facing female missionaries in China.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Adele M. Fielde to the American Baptist Missionary Union (ABMU), May 20, 1889. Overseas Letters from the Corresponding Secretary of the Executive Committee of the ABMU to missionaries, 1865–1891.The American Baptist Historical Society Archives, Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia.

  2. 2.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, June 12, 1889.

  3. 3.

    J. Y. Warren to Adele M. Fielde , July 15, 1871.

  4. 4.

    William Ashmore , Sr. to J. Y. Warren, November 8, December 1, 1871; J. N. Murdock to William Ashmore , Sr., February 6, 1872.

  5. 5.

    J. N. Murdock to Adele M. Fielde , November 21, 1872.

  6. 6.

    William Ashmore , Sr. to J. Y. Warren, November 8 and December 1, 1871.

  7. 7.

    J. N. Murdock to S. B. Partridge , October 26, 1883; J. N. Murdock to William Ashmore , Sr., April 17, 1884.

  8. 8.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, May 21, 1889.

  9. 9.

    J. N. Murdock to Sophia A. Norwood, March 19, 1885.

  10. 10.

    J. N. Murdock to William Ashmore , Sr., March 20, 1885.

  11. 11.

    Adele M. Fielde to Edward J. Nolan, August 17, 1892.

  12. 12.

    J. N. Murdock to Adele M. Fielde , September 28, 1875.

  13. 13.

    National Baptist, September 28, 1875.

  14. 14.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, April 2, 1889.

  15. 15.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, December 9, 1887.

  16. 16.

    E. F. Merriam to Adele M. Fielde , July 27, 1888; E. F. Merriam to S. B. Partridge , July 27, 1888.

  17. 17.

    J. Y. Warren to William Dean, July 20, 1866; J. Y. Warren to Adele Fielde , July 20, 1866.

  18. 18.

    Adele M. Fielde to Committee, May 20, 1889.

  19. 19.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, May 21, 1889.

  20. 20.

    E. F. Merriam to Adele M. Fielde , August 2, 1886; J. N. Murdock to Adele M. Fielde , August 17, 1887; E. F. Merriam to Adele M. Fielde , July 27, 1888.

  21. 21.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, October 4, 1886.

  22. 22.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, April 30, 1887.

  23. 23.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, May 2, 1887.

  24. 24.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, December 1, 1887.

  25. 25.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, January 9, 1886.

  26. 26.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, May 2, 1888.

  27. 27.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, November 28, 1889.

  28. 28.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, November 28, 1889.

  29. 29.

    Adele M. Fielde to the Committee, May 20, 1889; June 12, 1889.

  30. 30.

    Adele M. Fielde to J. N. Murdock, May 21, 1889.

  31. 31.

    Adele M. Fielde to the Committee, May 20, 1889.

Bibilography

  • Anonymous. 1876. Fifth annual report of the Woman’s Baptist Missionary Society, with the proceedings of the annual meeting, held in Boston, April 18 & 19, 1876. Boston: Franklin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1877. Sixth annual report of the Woman’s Baptist Missionary Society, with the proceedings of the annual meeting, held in Boston, April 17 & 18, 1877. Boston: Franklin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1878. Records of the general conference of the Protestant missionaries of China, held at Shanghai, May 10–24, 1877. Shanghai: Presbyterian Mission Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1880. Ninth annual report of the Woman’s Baptist Missionary Society, with the proceedings of the annual meeting, held in Boston, April 21 & 22, 1880. Boston: G. J. Stiles.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1881a. Tenth annual report of the Woman’s Baptist Missionary Society of the West, with the proceedings of the annual meeting, held in Chicago, April 13 & 14, 1881. Chicago: James Guilbert.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1881b. Tenth annual report of the Woman’s Baptist Missionary Society, with the proceedings of the annual meeting, held in Philadelphia, April 20 & 21, 1881. Boston: G. J. Stiles.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1882. Third annual report of the Women’s Missionary Association of the Presbyterian Church of England. Our Sisters in Other Lands 1 (13): 147–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1884. Report of the second year’s work with the Biblewomen in Swatow. Our Sisters in Other Lands 2 (21): 65–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1895a. Looking back. Our Sisters in Other Lands 5 (64): 1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1895b. Sixteenth annual report of the Women’s Missionary Association of the Presbyterian Church of England. Our Sisters in Other Lands 5 (65): 13–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1898. Nineteenth annual report of the Women’s Missionary Association of the Presbyterian Church of England. Our Sisters in Other Lands 5 (77): 193–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1908a. In memoriam–Catherine Maria Ricketts, last days. Our Sisters in Other Lands 8 (117): 348.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1908b. C. M. Ricketts memorial fund. Our Sisters in Other Lands 8 (117): 348.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashmore, Lida Scott. 1920. The South China Mission of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society: A historical sketch of its cycle of sixty years. Shanghai: American Baptist Foreign Mission Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brander, J.E. 1909. Letter of J. E. Brander. Our Sisters in Other Lands 8 (118): 61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai, Ellen Xiang-Yu. 2012. Christianity and gender in South-East China: The Chaozhou missions (1849–1949). Ph.D. dissertation, Leiden University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubois, Ellen Carol. 1978. Feminism and suffrage: The emergence of an independent women’s movement in America, 1848–69. Ithaca: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fielde, Adele M. 1866. Letter from Miss Fielde, July 30, 1866. The Missionary Magazine 46 (12): 465–466.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1869. Letter from Miss Fielde. The Missionary Magazine 44 (3): 80–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1880. Training Biblewomen at Swatow, China. Chicago: James Guilbert.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1881. Correspondence of Dec. 6. The Baptist Missionary Magazine 61 (3): 70–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1885. Pagoda shadows. Boston: W. G. Corthell.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1886. Correspondence of Oct. 30. The Baptist Missionary Magazine 66 (1): 21.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1888. The Hakka people. The Baptist Missionary Magazine 68 (3): 80.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1890. The training and work of native female evangelists. In Records of the general conference of the Protestant missionaries of China, held at Shanghai, May 7–20, 1890, 244–7 and 260–8. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1893. Chinese nights’ entertainment: Forty stories told by almond-eyed folk actors in the romance of “the strayed arrow.”. New York: Knickerbocker Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1894. A corner of Cathay: Studies from life among the Chinese. New York: Macmillan & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1912. Chinese fairy tales. New York: Knickerbocker Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, John C. 1908. In memoriam–Catherine Maria Ricketts, life in China. Our Sisters in Other Lands 8 (117): 346–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giedt, Emanuel H. 1946. Early mission history of the Swatow region brought down to the present for the American Baptist Mission. Unpublished manuscript.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffiths, Valerie. 2008. Biblewomen from London to China: The transnational appropriation of a female mission idea. Women’s History Review 17 (4): 521–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Joseph Tse-Hei. 2003. The Bible and the gun: Christianity in south China (1860–1900). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann, C. 1924. Catherine Maria Ricketts of Brighton and China. London: Women’s Missionary Association of the Presbyterian Church of England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathieson, James E. 1908. In Memoriam–Catherine Maria Ricketts. Our Sisters in Other Lands 8 (117): 343–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mellis, Ms. 1882. Letter from Miss Mellis. Our Sisters in Other Lands 1 (15): 173–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merriam, Edmund F. 1899. Baptist missions in China. Boston: American Baptist Missionary Union.

    Google Scholar 

  • Overseas letters from the corresponding secretary of the executive committee of the American Baptist Missionary Union to missionaries, 1865–91. The American Baptist Historical Society, Mercer University, Atlanta, George.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricketts, Catherine M. 1882a. News from Miss Ricketts. Our Sisters in Other Lands 1 (12): 136.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1882b. News from Miss Ricketts. Our Sisters in Other Lands 1 (15): 172–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1882c. News from Miss Ricketts. Our Sisters in Other Lands 1 (13): 150–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1882d. The Kui-Tiau, or rules and regulations of the Biblewomen’s house. Our Sisters in Other Lands 1 (13): 152.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1883. News from Miss Ricketts–History of the first year of the Biblewomen’s house. Our Sisters in Other Lands 2 (17): 16–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1890. Swatow: Report of work, 1888–9. Our Sisters in Other Lands 3 (45): 174–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1891. Swatow: Report of work, 1889–90. Our Sisters in Other Lands 4 (48): 201–204.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1897. Swatow: Report of work, 1895 to October 31, 1896. Our Sisters in Other Lands 5 (74): 163–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1901. Chao-chow-fu, report for 1899 and 1900. Our Sisters in Other Lands 6 (88): 381–384.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robert, Dana L. 2009. Christian Mission: How christianity became a world religion. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, Helen N. 1918. Memorial biography of Adele M. Fielde. New York: Fielde Memorial Committee.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren, Leonard. 2002. Adele Marion Fielde: Feminist, social activist, scientist. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China

    Carol Li Nie

Authors
  1. Carol Li Nie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pace University, New York, NY, USA

    Joseph Tse-Hei Lee

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Nie, C.L. (2018). The Divergent Careers of Adele Marion Fielde and Catherine Maria Ricketts. In: Lee, JH. (eds) Christianizing South China. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72266-5_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation