Notes for HENRY MARTYN SCUDDER, DR:

Son of Dr John and Harriet (Waterbury) Scudder.
Born: February 1822 in Panditeripo, Northern Province, Sri Lanka.
Died: 1895 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
Married: Fanny Lewis 1844 in Ulster County, New York.

The Scudders in India devoted more than 1,100 combined years to Christian medical mission service in South India by 42 members of 4 generations of the family.

Henry Martyn Scudder, M.D., D.D. (1822-95) was an American missionary and minister. He was born at Panditeripo, Ceylon, the oldest child of Rev. Dr. John Scudder. He graduated from the University of the City of New York in 1840 and Union Theological Seminary in 1843. The following year he went as missionary to Madura, India, and in 1846 to Madras. He labored successively at organizing schools and churches in Madras, Arcot, Vellore, Coonoor, and Ootacamund (Udhagamandalam). In 1850 he founded the mission at Arcot for the board of the Dutch Reformed Church and established a dispensary there. Having studied medicine, he also practised that profession.

He prepared various religious books and tracts in the Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu languages. His publications include "Liturgy of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church" (Madras, India, 1862); "The Bazaar Book, or the Vernacular Teacher's Companion" (1865); "Sweet Savors of Divine Truth," a catechism (1868) ; and "Spiritual Teaching" (1870). These are all in the Tamil language.

In 1856 Madura united with the other American Tamil missions in appointing Henry Scudder as their representative to a convention held in Madras to adopt measures for the new Tamil Bible revision.

In 1864, his health failing in the climate of India, he returned to the United States and engaged in pastoral work for nearly 20 years. He was pastor of the Howard Presbyterian church in San Francisco, California, in 1865-'71, of the Central Congregational church in Brooklyn in 1872-'82, and from 1882 till 1887 of the Plymouth Congregational church, Chicago, from which he resigned to resume missionary work in Japan till 1889.