Mary E. Van Lennep

Mary E. Van Lennep (April 16, 1821 – September 27, 1844) was an American missionary, school founder, and memoirist. Accompanying her husband to Asia Minor, she established a school for girls in Constantinople, Turkey. Her religious writings were contained in a journal which she commenced in January 1841 and closed in June 1843, just before leaving home.

Early life and education

Mary Elizabeth Hawes was born in Hartford, Connecticut, April 16, 1821. She was the only daughter of the Rev. Joel Hawes, and Louisa Fisher Hawes. Her childhood was spent mostly in Hartford, where she enjoyed a socially-advantaged life.

Well-educated, Van Lennep was a student at the Hartford Female Seminary of Catharine Beecher and attended lectures at Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut. Besides this, the company with which she mingled in her father's house included ministers and missionaries, and she learned from them, too. Early in life, she became familiar with the Bible, which she preferred reading instead of more trivial books.

When she was ten, Van Lennep's younger brother died. At the age of twelve, Van Lennep professed religion, which she described by the expression, "I have found God." From this time, her life was one of piety. No sooner was she a member of the church than she began to feel the importance of being a laborer in this regard.

Career

Impressed with the importance of missions, she formed a society among her young friends to sew and knit for the purpose of providing clothing for the families who were abroad. For this circle, which convened from time to time, she prepared work and provided employment until a box was ready, and, under the direction of others, it was sent to Dr. Peter Parker, a medical missionary in China. She regularly attended the missionary concert, read the Missionary Herald, and provided a financial contribution. She also worked at the Sunday school.

There were two circumstances which had powerful influence upon her religious life, and which, to some extent, seemed to have given a direction to her later years. The first was a season of sickness by which Van Lennep almost died, which occurred in the summer of 1841, and it gave her time for reflection. The second circumstance was the revival which occurred in the church with which she was connected in the same year as her illness, that revival being deep, powerful, all-pervading in her view.

In 1843, Van Lennep was given the opportunity to decide upon a missionary life in Turkey. On September 4, 1843, she wed Rev. Henry J. Van Lennep. He was a missionary under the patronage of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and was destined for Turkey. After the wedding, the couple immediately went on a honeymoon. She sailed from Boston in company with her husband and father, in the barque, Stamboul, on October 11, 1843, with the missionaries well-accommodated on board. Most of the voyage was spent by Van Lennep in preparing herself for the future and in the study of those languages which she would most need. She enjoyed the passage more than any other woman on board. On November 5th, they could see the Rock of Gibraltar. About December 1, they arrived at Smyrna. By the new year, they were comfortably located in their new home, which stood near the sea shore and included a garden with fruit trees. They found her husband's former associates who were friendly to them, and soon, their residence in Smyrna became pleasant. From early on, Van Lennep took on the cultural habits of the women in Turkey.

In 1843-44, Rufus Anderson visited Levant-based missionaries and became convinced of the need for a female seminary for the Armenians in Constantinople. For this reason, the American Board transferred the Van Lenneps to Constantinople. There, Mrs. Van Lennep began the work to establish the school for girls.

Death and legacy

Early in August 1844, Van Lennep was afflicted with dysentery, which increased upon her gradually. She died in Constantinople, September 27, 1844. Henrietta Hamlin, the missionary wife of Cyrus Hamlin, also died in Constantinople and is buried next to Van Lennep.

The Memoir of Mrs. Mary E. Van Lennep : only daughter of the Rev. Joel Hawes, D.D. and wife of the Rev. Henry J. Van Lennep, Missionary in Turkey, was published in 1847, by Van Lennep's mother, Louisa Fisher Hawes.

References

Attribution

• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Eddy, Daniel Clarke (1855). Daughters of the Cross: Or, Woman's Mission (Public domain ed.). Dayton and Wentworth. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Hawes, Louisa Fisher; Lennep, Mary Elizabeth Van (1848). Memoir of Mrs. Mary E. Van Lennep: Only Daughter of the Rev. Joel Hawes, D.D. and Wife of the Rev. Henry J. Van Lennep, Missionary in Turkey (Public domain ed.). Belknap and Hamersley – via Internet Archive. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Mead, Darius (1852). The Christian Parlor Magazine. Vol. 9 (Public domain ed.). Darius Mead. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John (1889). Appleton's Cyclopædia of American Biography. Vol. 6 (Public domain ed.). D. Appleton. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Bibliography

• Robert, Dana Lee (1996). American Women in Mission: A Social History of Their Thought and Practice. Mercer University Press. ISBN 978-0-86554-549-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Works by or about Mary E. Van Lennep at the Internet Archive