Issachar Jacox Roberts

Issachar Jacox Roberts (1802 – 1871) was an American Baptist missionary in 19th century China. Roberts was born in Sumner County, Tennessee, and graduated from Furman University, a Baptist school in Greenville, South Carolina, where he was thrown out, known for his erratic behaviour. Roberts was the only baptist known to have influenced Hong Xiuquan (洪秀全, Wade-Giles: Hung Hsiu-ch'üan) and Hong Rengan,the Hakka who "led" the Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864) against the Qing Dynasty,Hong Xiuquan commited him as the Foreign minister for Taiping 4 years, Jacox Roberts arrange some Baptists from the United States to visit Nanjing and met Hong directly.

The man was known for his erratic behaviour and "falling into difficultes with nearly everyone who worked with him", which costs his connection with Southern Baptist Convention.

References

*American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society Archives, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Issachar J. Roberts papers and correspondence
*Boardman, Eugene Powers, Christian Influence on the Ideology of the Taiping Rebellion, 1952
*Coughlin, Margaret Morgan, "Strangers in the House: J. Lewis Shuck and Issachar Roberts, First American Baptist Missionaries in China, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Virginia, 1972
*Pruden, George Blackburn Jr., "Issachar Jacox Roberts and American Diplomacy in China." Ph.D. dissertation, American University, 1977
*Teng, Yuan Chung, "Reverend Issachar Jacox Roberts and the Taiping Rebellion," "Journal of Asian Studies", 23, no. 1, (1963) 55-67. Available via JSTOR.

Persondata
NAME=Roberts, Issachar Jacox
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=missionary in China
DATE OF BIRTH=1802
PLACE OF BIRTH=Sumner County, Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH=1871
PLACE OF DEATH=