William Jones Boone (father)

Life

Boone was born in Walterboro, South Carolina, graduated from the College of South Carolina in 1829 and was admitted to the bar in 1833. He then attended Virginia Theological Seminary and was ordained deacon on 18 September 1836 and priest on 3 March 1837.

Missionary work in China

Under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church Mission, Boone was appointed a missionary to China on 17 January 1837. Accompanied by his wife Amelia he commenced his journey to China from Boston on 8 July 1837 reaching Batavia on 22 October the same year. In Batavia he studied alongside the priests Henry Lockwood and Francis Hanson to gain a degree of fluency in the Chinese language.

Prior to the conclusion of the First Opium War Boone relocated to Macau. In February 1842 conditions in China were considered secure enough for Boone to relocate his missionary work to Kulang-see, a small island half a mile from the recently opened treaty port of Amoy,

On a return visit the United States Boone was consecrated at St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia on 26 October 1844 as the first Anglican missionary bishop of Shanghai. Influenced by British CMS missionary George Smith he chose to relocate the center of his mission work to Shanghai in 1845 where he served until his death in 1864.

Boone was responsible for the recruitment of numerous missionaries; notably Emma Jones, Henry M. Parker and Channing Moore Williams his eventual successor as Bishop of Shanghai. Boone with others is credited with the translation of the Book of Common Prayer into Chinese and also contributed to a Chinese translation of the Bible.

Family

Married Sarah Amelia deSaussure. Died at Amoy in 1842. Second marriage to Phobe Caroline Elliott

Boone's son, also named William Jones Boone, also served as a bishop of Shanghai in the Episcopal Church.

Consecrators

William Jones Boone was the 45th bishop consecrated for the Episcopal Church.