• General Notes

  [3991.ftw]
  
  [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 1, Ed. 1, Tree #3991, Date of Import: Oct 25, 1998]
  
  Fannie Madorah Strong (1858-1948) was the sixth child of Addison Strong and his wife Madorah Janett Elder, and she was born in Monroe, Michigan.  No doubt her early interest in foreign mission work was largely due to her Aunt Corinth (sister of her mother's, and widow of Azariah Smith, a former missionary to Turkey) who made her home with them for some time.
  
  From Fannie's brief autobiography, we find that as a small child her favorite play was teaching.  Fannie taught a country school in the spring of 1882, and enjoyed "boarding around".  In September, 1882, she sailed for China, arriving in Shanghai.  From there on a small steamer to Tientsin, from there up river in a native houseboat, and the last twelve miles in a jinrikisha to Peking, her destination which she reached in November.  The next four years were spent in teaching at the girl's boarding school.
  
  When she passed through Shanghai on her way to Peking, she met John Nicolas Bailhache Smith, and spent much of the ten days she was in Shanghai in his company.  The two of them corresponded after she left Shanghai, and in 1884, John made a trip to Peking, ostensibly on missionary business, but in reality it appears he wanted to see Fannie again.  He proposed marriage to her either at their meeting in Peking, or soon afterward in the mail, and she accepted his proposal in September of 1884.  They established a date for the marriage of March 12, 1885, but weather delayed John's trip from Shanghai so the wedding was performed on March 14, 1885.
  
  Fannie immediately took up some of the duties for which John was responsible, and she seemed to enjoy it very much.  The two of them produced six children at Shanghai, and two more after moving on to Ningpo.  They made one furlough trip back to the United States in mid 1890, with the six children they had at that time.  They returned to Shanghai in September, 1891, a little over a year later, and resumed the missionary work.
  
  During the years the family was in China, there were always servants to perform the menial housekeeping tasks, do much of the shopping, and prepare most of the meals.  There was also an "Amah" to care for the youngest of the children, and at least one guard at the entrance to the compound to keep unwanted persons outside.
  
  In 1899, the Boxer Rebellion was in full swing, and most non Chinese people were looked upon with suspicion, and were at some risk of injury or even death in some parts of China.  For that reason, and perhaps other reasons too, John decided that it would be best if the family left China, so he submitted his resignation at the annual meeting in Shanghai that year.  The resignation was accepted, and the family soon left for the United States.
  
  The family toured about, visiting various relatives and friends for awhile, and then settled in Carlinville, Illinois, the home of Blackburn University which is the institution from which John had graduated some years before.
  
  Eventually, John gained a church calling in Courtenay, North Dakota, and so in November, 1901, the family moved again.  The church was very small, as was the town, and housing was a problem for such a large family as the Smiths were.
  
  Over the next several years, John moved the family from one small town to another as he was transferred from one church (or rather series of churches, since each of his postings included at least one other, sometimes three other churches) to another.  The family lived in Illinois, several towns in North Dakota, and finally Volga City, Iowa.
  
  John died in March, 1910, presumably as a result of an illness following an accident he had with the horses and buggy he used for travel from one church to another.
  
  The remaining members of the family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where Fannie found work at the Sunshine Mission, where she continued to work for many years following the move.  Fannie died in 1948.
  [phelps.FTW]
  
  [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 1, Ed. 1, Tree #3991, Date of Import: Oct 25, 1998]
  
  Fannie Madorah Strong (1858-1948) was the sixth child of Addison Strong and his wife Madorah Janett Elder, and she was born in Monroe, Michigan.  No doubt her early interest in foreign mission work was largely due to her Aunt Corinth (sister of her mother's, and widow of Azariah Smith, a former missionary to Turkey) who made her home with them for some time.
  
  From Fannie's brief autobiography, we find that as a small child her favorite play was teaching.  Fannie taught a country school in the spring of 1882, and enjoyed "boarding around".  In September, 1882, she sailed for China, arriving in Shanghai.  From there on a small steamer to Tientsin, from there up river in a native houseboat, and the last twelve miles in a jinrikisha to Peking, her destination which she reached in November.  The next four years were spent in teaching at the girl's boarding school.
  
  When she passed through Shanghai on her way to Peking, she met John Nicolas Bailhache Smith, and spent much of the ten days she was in Shanghai in his company.  The two of them corresponded after she left Shanghai, and in 1884, John made a trip to Peking, ostensibly on missionary business, but in reality it appears he wanted to see Fannie again.  He proposed marriage to her either at their meeting in Peking, or soon afterward in the mail, and she accepted his proposal in September of 1884.  They established a date for the marriage of March 12, 1885, but weather delayed John's trip from Shanghai so the wedding was performed on March 14, 1885.
  
  Fannie immediately took up some of the duties for which John was responsible, and she seemed to enjoy it very much.  The two of them produced six children at Shanghai, and two more after moving on to Ningpo.  They made one furlough trip back to the United States in mid 1890, with the six children they had at that time.  They returned to Shanghai in September, 1891, a little over a year later, and resumed the missionary work.
  
  During the years the family was in China, there were always servants to perform the menial housekeeping tasks, do much of the shopping, and prepare most of the meals.  There was also an "Amah" to care for the youngest of the children, and at least one guard at the entrance to the compound to keep unwanted persons outside.
  
  In 1899, the Boxer Rebellion was in full swing, and most non Chinese people were looked upon with suspicion, and were at some risk of injury or even death in some parts of China.  For that reason, and perhaps other reasons too, John decided that it would be best if the family left China, so he submitted his resignation at the annual meeting in Shanghai that year.  The resignation was accepted, and the family soon left for the United States.
  
  The family toured about, visiting various relatives and friends for awhile, and then settled in Carlinville, Illinois, the home of Blackburn University which is the institution from which John had graduated some years before.
  
  Eventually, John gained a church calling in Courtenay, North Dakota, and so in November, 1901, the family moved again.  The church was very small, as was the town, and housing was a problem for such a large family as the Smiths were.
  
  Over the next several years, John moved the family from one small town to another as he was transferred from one church (or rather series of churches, since each of his postings included at least one other, sometimes three other churches) to another.  The family lived in Illinois, several towns in North Dakota, and finally Volga City, Iowa.
  
  John died in March, 1910, presumably as a result of an illness following an accident he had with the horses and buggy he used for travel from one church to another.
  
  The remaining members of the family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where Fannie found work at the Sunshine Mission, where she continued to work for many years following the move.  Fannie died in 1948.

Details of Fannie Madorah's family with John Nicolas Bailhache Smith