William McClure Thomson

Background

Thomson was born on December 31, 1806 at Spring Dale, Ohio, near Cincinnati. He was son of the Rev. John Thomson.

Education

He graduated at Miami University in 1828, studied for two years, 1829-31, in Princeton Theological Seminary, and on Oct. 12, 1831, was ordained by the Presbytery of Cincinnati.

Career

On June 6, he sailed for Syria under appointment of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The Syria mission was then but ten years old. Reaching Beirut in February 1833, Thomson lived there until April 1834, when he moved to Jerusalem.

In May, while he was traveling to Jaffa, the peasants rebelled against the rule of Mohammed Ali Pasha of Egypt, who had seized Palestine, and Thomson was imprisoned as a spy.

He returned to Beirut in October 1834. In Beirut he preached and taught, opening a boys' boarding-school in 1835, the first in the Turkish Empire.

He also traveled much in the country, seeking new missionary fields. In 1843 he moved to a station which he had helped to establish at Abeih in the Lebanon. Here in 1845 there was savage fighting between the Druses and the Maronite Christians, and at risk of his life, Thomson obtained opportunity for the Maronites to escape to Beirut. Thither he, too, went in 1846. His kindliness and ability to enter into the life of the natives won the confidence of the conflicting elements of the Syrian population and brought him commanding influence. On his return to Syria in 1850 after a furlough at home, he went to live at Sidon in order to manage a station at Hasbeiyeh, where he had been a pioneer; in these places he worked until 1857.

During another visit to America he published The Land and the Book (2 vols. , 1858). In 1859 he settled at Beirut, where he lived for the remainder of his service. After the destructive war between the Druses and Maronites in 1860 he was adviser to Lord Dufferin, representative of the allied powers in the reorganization of the government of the Lebanon.

In 1870 the Syria mission was transferred to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, under which Thomson served until 1876. Thereafter, he lived for some time in New York, preparing the second edition of The Land and the Book (3 vols. , 1880 - -85). Thomson's The Land and the Book is a description of Palestine and southern Syria in the form of journals of travel, with constant reference to the Bible. The first edition had an extraordinary circulation. It was republished in England and more copies were sold than of any previous American book except Uncle Tom's Cabin. The second edition, more than twice the size of the first and much improved, at once attained great popularity.

Thomson had traveled widely and repeatedly in Palestine and Syria, and had studied the topography and the ancient buildings and sites, using the best archeological helps available. His appreciation of natural beauty and power of description were unusual; he knew the life of the people in all its aspects, and spoke their languages; he was minutely familiar with the Bible, and well read in the writers on Palestine, ancient and modern. These qualifications, with an easy graceful style, produced a book of unique appeal. It fulfilled in high degree its purpose of elucidating the Bible and greatly increased knowledge of Palestine in the English-speaking countries. Furthermore, it preserved faithful descriptions of Palestinian life while it was as yet little affected by western civilization.

In 1890 he removed to Denver, where he died.

Achievements

• William McClure Thomson published a best-selling description of what he had seen in his travels. He used his observations as a means of illustrating and illuminating passages from the Bible.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Land and the Book: Or Biblical Illustrations Drawn From the Manners and Customs, the Scenes and Scenery of the Holy Land (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from The Land and the Book: Or Biblical Illustrat...)

  • Life And Times Of The Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac And Jacob: Being A Supplement To "the Land And The Book,"

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • The Land Of Promise: Travels In Modern Palestine from The Land And The Book

    (This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)

  • Southern Palestine and Jerusalem Volume 1

    (This historic book may have numerous typos and missing te...)

Personality

He was a great source of courage, wisdom, and organizing ability.

Connections

In October 1832 he married Eliza Nelson Hanna. His wife's experiences during the violent warfare around Jerusalem resulted in her death in July, soon after her husband's release.

He returned to Beirut in October 1834, with his infant son, William Hanna Thomson, who later became a distinguished physician of New York.

On August 3, 1835 he married Mrs. Maria Abbot, widow of a British consul in Syria.

He was survived by his son and two daughters.

Father:

John Thompson

(1772–1859)

Son:

William Hanna Thomson

Spouse (2):

Maria Davitti Thomson

(1800–1873) He was a distinguished physician of New York.

Spouse (1):

Eliza Nelson Hanna

References

• The Jews in Palestine, 1800-1882 (Royal Historical Society Studies in History)
• A Winter Pilgrimage: Being an Account of Travels through Palestine, Italy, and the Island of Cyprus Accomplished in the Year 1900. Volume 1
• Fifty Three Years in Syria - Volume I
• The American University of Beirut : A Brief History of the University and the La
• The Zealous Intruders: The Western Rediscovery of Palestine