1900 - Millar, Christine, & Alexander Wilson

July 9, 1900

Taiyuan, Shanxi

Millar & Christine Wilson, missionary doctors at Taiyuan.

The worst massacre of missionaries in Chinese church history took place at Taiyuan on July 9, 1900. Twenty-four adults and nine children, associated with the Baptist Missionary Society of England, the China Inland Mission, and the small Shouyang Mission were cruelly put to death. Among this number were Dr. Millar Wilson, his wife Christine, and their small son Alexander.

William Millar Wilson was born in the Scottish town of Airdrie. Growing up in a distinguished and wealthy family, many people were shocked when Wilson decided to devote his life and talents to missionary service. He had found Christ in his early teens, and from that moment on the attractions of worldly wealth and reputation mattered little to him.

After Wilson married Christine, the newlyweds felt a strong call to use their gifts for the salvation of the Chinese people. They joined the China Inland Mission in the 1880s, travelling to Shanxi Province where they operated a medical clinic for opium addicts, using their own funds to finance the treatments. Hundreds of men and women benefited from the Wilsons’ sacrificial service. The nearest hospital was 200 miles (324 km) away.

At the time of the Boxer upheaval the Wilsons were due to return home on furlough. A terrible famine was plaguing north China, so they decided to stay and help famine victims. During this time Dr. Wilson was afflicted with peritonitis. His symptoms worsening, Wilson finally told the local believers that he was unable to continue his work, and preparations were made for the Wilsons’ trip home. The Christians presented him with a large satin sash, with the words ‘God’s Faithful Servant’ inscribed on it. On the way to Taiyuan, Wilson wrote to a fellow missionary: “It’s all fog, but I think, old chap, that we are on the edge of a volcano, and I fear Taiyuan is the inner edge.”[1] His prediction proved accurate.

When news that the Boxers had beheaded the Wilsons was confirmed, all of Scotland mourned. A memorial service was held at Airdrie on November 4, 1900, but the church was packed out long before the commencement and many people had to stand outside and listen through the doors and windows. One speaker recounted how Millar Wilson

“had travelled through blinding snowstorms, although warned by natives against doing so, and through summer heat—when far from well himself—that he might help those who needed him. A man of few words and undemonstrative, in deeds of kindness he abounded, and in times of trial revealed a tenderness and sympathy which only those in close contact with him could know.”[2]