1900 - W. T. & Emily Benyon and Children

July 9, 1900

Taiyuan, Shanxi

The Benyon family – all murdered by the Boxers.

W. T. and Emily Benyon arrived in China as members of the China Inland Mission on August 26, 1885, but in 1896 they joined the British and Foreign Bible Society. Based at Taiyuan, their lives were comprised of hard work and loving family time with their two sons Norman and Kenneth and young daughter Daisy. The Benyons were servants of the other missionaries; doing whatever was necessary to help them become more effective. This attitude was a perfect fit for the work of the Bible Society, who provided Scriptures to many different denominations and missions throughout China.

W. T. Benyon was highly regarded at home before he went to China. The Principal of Cliff College said he was “one of their best students, an excellent preacher, a true man, whole-hearted in mission work; that he was gentlemanly, most agreeable, and most obliging.”[1] The Bible Society wrote the following summary of Benyon’s ministry:

“Since the spring of 1896 he has had charge of the Bible Society’s work in the Province of Shanxi, one of the most difficult fields in China. There was little to encourage, much to depress; but Mr. Benyon’s faith never yielded, and he succeeded in organising Bible work on a sound basis and in raising it to a high level of efficiency.”[2]

In late June, 1900, the Governor of Shanxi placed a price on the heads of all foreigners and Chinese Christians in the province. On the following afternoon rowdy mobs gathered outside the mission compounds and private homes of the missionaries. They shouted abuse and accused the foreigners of causing the long drought that had brought great suffering to north China. The drought was a sure sign that the spirits were unhappy at the presence of Christianity in China, and rain would not come again until the spirits had

been placated by the deaths of the missionaries and their Chinese converts.

W. T. & Emily Benyon.

The Benyons received word to gather at the courtyard of the Lovitt family, which was at the center of the large compound and therefore thought to be the safest place. One source noted that

“Everybody—missionaries, pupils, Christian helpers, and servants—rushed there as the crowd, suddenly turning unruly, lit a bonfire at the front gate. [Ironically] it started to rain a little, which doused the fire, but someone rekindled it. The flames gradually spread from the roof of the gateway to the hospital building, the chapel, two school buildings, and the missionary houses.”[3]

By about nine o’clock the flames reached the house. Most of the missionaries retreated to the last remaining place in the compound, a small kitchen near the back wall. As the flames came nearer, they decided to try to escape. Surprisingly, they found the Boxers were occupied with looting the houses of everything of value, and the missionaries and their children, including the five members of the Benyon family, made their way out onto the street. All the missionaries except Edith Coombs escaped, but their freedom was short-lived. In early July soldiers rounded up the five members of the Benyon family and marched them to the governor’s palace, where they were beheaded on July 9th.

1. Broomhall, Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, 142.
2. Broomhall, Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, 142-143.
3. Brandt, Massacre in Shansi, 225.