Susan Strachan
Susan Strachan | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | Susan Beamish 28 April 1874 Dunmanway, County Cork, Ireland |
| Died | 6 December 1950 (aged 76) Hospital Clínica Bíblica, San José, Costa Rica |
| Resting place | General Cemetery of San José |
| Spouse |
Henry Strachan
(m. 1903; died 1945) |
| Children | 3 including, R. Kenneth Strachan |
| Education | East London Training Institute for Home and Foreign Missions |
| Other names | Susan Beamish Strachan Susana Strachan [1] |
| Occupation | Missionary |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Evangelicalism |
Susan Strachan (née Beamish; 28 April 1874 – 6 December 1950), also known as Susan Beamish Strachan, was an Irish evangelical missionary and co-founder of the Latin American Mission (LAM).[2][3]
Early life and education
[edit]Susan Beamish was born on 28 April 1874 in Dunmanway, County Cork to Richard Beamish, an accountant, and Annie Beamish (née Howe).[4][5][6][7] Beamish was the eldest of two siblings.[6]
Raised in a Church of Ireland household, Strachan converted to Methodism as a teenager.[2][6][7] In the late 1890s, Strachan attended the East London Training Institute for Home and Foreign Missions [a] at Harley House and Hulme Cliff College (present-day Cliff College).[2][3][7][9] Planning on serving as a missionary on the Congo-Balolo Mission, Strachan studied either nursing or midwifery.[3][7] Whilst at the Training Institute, Strachan meet her future husband Henry Strachan.[2][3][7]
Career
[edit]Argentina
[edit]Rejected from the Congo-Balolo Mission for health reasons, in 1901[b] Strachan was sponsored by the Regions Beyond Missionary Union (RBMU) to carry out missionary work in Argentina.[2][3][7][10] In spring 1902, Henry Strachan began missionary work in Argentina.[2][3] Initially working in Buenos Aires, the Strachans later relocated to Tandil were they established a church.[3][7]
In Tandil Strachan co-founded the League of Evangelical Women (Spanish: Liga de Mujeres Evangélicas) and the "Guía del Hogar" newspaper.[2][7][10] In 1911, the Strachans joined the Evangelical Union of South America (EUSA) (present-day Latin Link).[7][11]
Latin American Mission
[edit]In 1918, the Strachan's travelled to the United States where they attempted to gain financial support for a Latin American-wide mission.[7] Unsuccessful, the Strachan's lived for a time in New York whilst Henry Strachan worked at Hepzibah House.[7][12][13] In 1919, the Strachans left the EUSA and the following year carried out a year-long tour of Latin America starting in Guatemala and ending in Argentina.[3][7] Whilst travelling the Strachan's identified San José, Costa Rica as the optimal headquarters of their future Latin-American wide mission due to San José's Pacific and Atlantic rail network.[7]
On 21 July 1921, the Strachans founded the ecumenist Latin American Evangelization Campaign (LAEC) at the site of the future Stony Brook School.[3][7][14] In October 1921, the Strachan's relocated to San José, in order to established the headquarters of the LAEC.[15][16] The LAEC was later renamed the Latin American Mission (LAM).[14]
Within the early years of LAM, the running of headquarters was largely left to Strachan whilst Henry Strachan conducted missionary work across Latin American.[3][7] Strachan published the LAM news bulletin "The Evangelist", and later the Spanish-language paper "El Mensajero biblico" (English: The Biblical Messenger).[3] On 2 October 1922, Strachan founded the School for the Training of Young Women (Spanish: Escuela de Capacitación para Mujeres Jóvenes) (present-day Universidad Biblia Latinoamérica[c]).[3][7][14] Following the 16 April 1926 San José train crash, in which 178 pilgrims died, Strachan founded the Bible Orphanage (Spanish: Hogar Bíblico Para Niños).[3][7][14] In 1929, the Strachan's founded the Hospital Clínica Bíblica as a paediatric clinic.[3][7][14][1]
In 1937, the Strachan's co-founded the Association of Evangelical Caribbean Churches (Spanish: La Asociación de Iglesias Evangélicas del Caribe).
Following Henry Strachan's death in 1945, Strachan became joint director of LAM alongside her son Robert Kenneth Strachan in 1946.[7][14] Strachan remained the joint director until her death in 1950.[7]
Personal life
[edit]On 15 June 1903, Strachan married Henry Strachan, (1872–1945) a Canadian-born Scottish Minister and missionary, in Coronel Suárez.[3][12][7] The Strachans had three children including the missionary R. Kenneth Strachan.[2]
Strachan was a naturalised US citizen.[13]
On 6 December 1950 Strachan died at Hospital Clínica Bíblica aged 76.[3] Strachan is buried at the General Cemetery of San José (Spanish: Cementerio General de San José).[3]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Clínica Bíblica (19 June 2013). "Historia & Fundadores". Clínica Bíblica (in Spanish). San José, Costa Rica: Hospital Clínica Bíblica. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Strachan, Susan [Beamish] (1874-1950): Co-founder of the Latin American Mission (LAM)". History of Missiology. Boston, Massachusetts: School of Theology Library and the Center for Global Christianity & Mission, Boston University. 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Dayton Roberts, W. (July 1998). "The Legacy of Harry and Susan Strachan" (PDF). International Bulletin of Mission Research. 22 (3). Princeton, New Jersey: Overseas Ministries Study Center, Princeton Theological Seminary: 127–131. doi:10.1177/2396939398022003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
- ↑ "Susan Beamish". Quarterly Returns of Births in Ireland with Index to Births. 10. Dublin: General Register Office: 292. 1874.
- ↑ "Susan Beamish [Birth Index]". Ireland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1620–1911 [database on-line]. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2011.
- 1 2 3 "Residents of 7 Copley Place, Copley Street [1901 Census]". Search the Census Records. Dublin: National Archives of Ireland. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Hicks, Conrad (2011). "Susannah Beamish-Strachan: From Cork to Costa Rica (1874-1950)". Irish Migration Studies in Latin America. 7 (4). Society for Irish Latin American Studies: 299–304. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
- ↑ "Archives of The Regions Beyond Missionary Union". Archives Hub. Bristol: Jisc.
- ↑ "Archives of The Regions Beyond Missionary Union: Regions Beyond 1891-1896". Archives Hub. Bristol: Jisc.
- 1 2 Dayton Roberts, W. (1998). "Strachan, Susan (Beamish)". In Anderson, Gerald H. (ed.). Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions (1 ed.). New York, New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillian. pp. 645–646. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
- ↑ "Archives of The Evangelical Union of South America and Latin Link". Archives Hub. Bristol: Jisc.
- 1 2 "Harry Strawchan [Strachan]". Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920; New York; Fulton; Johnstown Ward 3; District 0030. Washington, D.C.: Records of the Bureau of the Census, National Archives. 1920.
- 1 2 "Susan Strawchan [Strachan]". Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920; New York; Fulton; Johnstown Ward 3; District 0030. Washington, D.C.: Records of the Bureau of the Census, National Archives. 1920.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gallagher, R.L. (2019). "Latin America Mission (LAM)". In Gooren, H. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Religions of the World. Springer, Cham. ISBN 978-3-319-27078-4.
- ↑ Koll, Karla Ann (2023). "Weaving a community of learning and care: The Latin American Biblical University Online during the pandemic". Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies. 40 (3). doi:10.1177/02653788231187071. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
- ↑ Millett, Richard L. (1970). "Protestant-Catholic Relations in Costa Rica". Journal of Church and State. 12 (1): 41–57. Retrieved 17 February 2026.