James Finn (1806-1872) was a British Consul in Jerusalem, in the then Ottoman Empire (1846–1863). He arrived in 1845 with his wife Elizabeth Anne Finn. Finn was a devout Christian, who belonged to the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, but who did not engage in missionary work during his years in Jerusalem.
Finn was a writer and philanthropist. He was a great believer in productivity, an ideology that was very much in vogue at the time, and in 1853 purchased for £250 Karm al-Khalil (Arabic for "Abraham's Vineyard", lit. "vineyard of the loved one", which in Hebrew became Kerem Avraham) a barren piece of land outside the walls of the Old City. Kerem Avraham was established as a training farm for Jews in agriculture and to become productive citizens. Finn employed Jewish labourers to build the first house there in 1855. Cisterns for water storage were built and a soap factory was established which produced high quality soap sold to tourists.
He helped establish the experimental farm at the village of Artas outside Bethlehem.
James Finn, 1868: Byeways in Palestine, London 482pp.James Finn: Byeways in Palestine, Adamant Media, Boston, 2002 reprint of the London 1868 original. 482pp. ISBN 1-4021-9272-XJames Finn: The Orphan Colony of Jews in China. Containing a letter received from themselves, with the latest information concerning them. London 1872.Finn, James, (1878): Stirring Times: Or Records from Jerusalem Consular Chronicles of 1853 to 1856., Edited by Elizabeth Anne Finn. vol. 1. London. The full text, archive.org, Original: Harvard. Can download PDF.alternative: Stirring Times: Or Records from Jerusalem Consular Chronicles of 1853 to 1856., Edited by Elizabeth Anne Finn. vol. 1. London. The full text, archive.org, Original: University of Michigan. Can download PDF.Finn, James, (1878): Stirring Times: Or Records from Jerusalem Consular Chronicles of 1853 to 1856., Edited by Elizabeth Anne Finn. vol. 2. London. The full text, archive.org, Original: Harvard. Can download PDF.alternative: Stirring Times: Or Records from Jerusalem Consular Chronicles of 1853 to 1856., Edited by Elizabeth Anne Finn. vol. 2. London. The full text, archive.org, Original: University of Michigan. Can download PDF.Finn, James (1843). The Jews in China London: Wertheim. -University of Hong Kong Libraries, Digital Initiatives, China Through Western EyesFinn, James (1872). The orphan colony of Jews in China London: Nisbet. -University of Hong Kong Libraries, Digital Initiatives, China Through Western EyesElizabeth Anne McCaul Finn: A Home in the Holy Land. A tale illustrating customs and incidents in modern Jerusalem. Adamant Media, Boston, 2002 reprint of the London 1866 original. ISBN 978-1-4021-1768-8Elizabeth Anne McCaul Finn: A Third Year in Jerusalem. A tale illustrating customs and incidents of modern Jerusalem; or, a sequel to "Home in the Holy Land". Adamant Media, Boston, 2002 reprint of the London 1869 original. ISBN 978-1-4021-1053-5
