An All-Eureka History Two-fer It is very unusual to find an item on Ebay that is so-connected to the rich history of Eureka College, but this is the most recent find. The 1907 Eureka College baseball team is pictured on the card. The quality of the image is especially good and we hope to be able to identify most of the individuals who are pictured. [Note: The photo may include Job Harry Bullock (Class of 1907) of Gloucester, England, not the first, but one of our earliest international students to graduate from Eureka College.] The card was mailed on May 29, 1907, and the message on the back states: “We got word today that Ella Ewing died of African fever on May 17. It is a terrible shock to all. Bro. Taylor broke the news to her mother.” Ella Campbell Ewing (Class of 1905) of Eureka, Illinois, had prepared to be a Christian missionary. Upon her graduation in June 1905 she departed to travel to the mission station at Bolenge, where the equator transects the Congo River, in what was then the Belgian Congo of King Leopold II. The mission station had initially been established by American Baptists, but the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) acquired the site in 1899. Ella Campbell Ewing was one of the first Eureka College graduates who would travel to Africa to do missionary work there, and many others would follow. We have a bronze plaque on the wall in Burgess Hall that is identical to the one that was eventually placed at her gravesite in Africa. Those familiar with the history of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will recognize the significance of the “Campbell” and “Ewing” portions of this young woman’s name. In short, she came from “noble stock” representing some of the prominent families that were associated with the founding of the religious movement. By the way, the “Bro. Taylor” who is referenced in the note is Rev. Alva Wilmot Taylor (1871-1957) who was the pastor of Eureka Christian Church at the time and also served as the librarian at Eureka College. Rev. Taylor would eventually become one of the leading figures of the Social Gospel movement in the United States during the twentieth century.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 23:12:15 +0000
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