1900 - George, Isabella, & Kenneth McConnell

July 16, 1900

Ji Xian, Shanxi

George and Isabella McConnell.

Several miles southeast of Ji Xian, where Faithful Yen and his wife suffered so much for their faith, a number of missionaries laboured at a small village called Shantao. The village was in a lovely, peaceful location, and had become a favourite retreat for missionaries in the area. At the time of the Boxer attacks in June 1900, two families, the Youngs and the McConnells, and two single ladies, Annie King and Elizabeth Burton, were in Shantao for their summer holidays.

George McConnell was a Northern Irishman who had sailed for China in January 1890, working at Hejin in southwest Shanxi Province. In 1893 he wrote, “I have been almost three years in China. They have been blessed years, and not one thing has failed of all that our Father has promised.”[1]

Isabella Gray was a Scottish lass from Dundee. Known to her friends as ‘Belle,’ she grew up in a godly family. Three of her elder sisters were devoted workers in God’s service. Their influence rubbed off on Belle, but terrible tragedy was soon to become her lot. Each of her beloved sisters passed away, one after the other.

Her father and mother also died, leaving Belle alone with one brother. The severing of earthly ties caused Belle to give herself wholeheartedly to spiritual matters. She applied for missionary service and was accepted, sailing for the Orient in 1892. Some time later she met George McConnell and the two were married in December 1894.

Death had struck down so many of Isabella’s loved ones, and now that she was in China the same pattern continued. First,

“the crushing news came to her of the death of her only and beloved brother; and not very long after, her first child, a girl eleven months old, was cut off after a few days’ illness. These repeated heavy trials told sadly upon her, and soon her health broke down altogether, and Mr. McConnell, having obtained leave for furlough, brought her home to Scotland.”[2]

In 1898 the McConnells returned to China, with a little son, Kenneth, having joined the family. Over time the McConnells won the confidence of the local people. One of his last letters home before the Boxer trouble started told of “crowds attending the services, of three out-stations being opened, and of fifty-one persons who one evening entered their names as inquirers.”[3]

Although they were informed of the Boxer threat, the missionaries at Hejin thought their secluded spot was beyond the reach of the murderers. On July 12th the missionaries decided to travel to cross the border into Shaanxi Province. Three days later they were approached by a small band of armed men who said they were soldiers sent to escort the missionaries to safety. The following morning, “at a lonely spot on the banks of the Yellow River, the whole party of missionaries, six adults and one child, were treacherously put to death.”[4] Another more detailed account said that

“their escorts suddenly dismounted and unsheathed their swords. ‘You thought we came to protect you,’ the captain said. ‘Our orders are to kill you unless you promise to stop preaching your foreign religion.’ When the missionaries refused to so pledge, Mr. McConnell was pulled from his mule and decapitated with a quick swing of a sword. As Mrs. McConnell and their young son Kenneth hit the ground, the boy was heard to say, ‘Papa does not allow you to kill little Kennie.’ Swords flashed and two more heads rolled on the ground. The young women embraced each other as did the Youngs. Arms swung and death came quickly.”[5]

1. Broomhall, Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, 32.
2. Broomhall, Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, 33.
3. Broomhall, Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, 32.
4. Broomhall,  In Quest of God, 158.
5. Hefley, By Their Blood, 21.