Page:The part taken by women in American history.djvu/554

Rh fashionable life, she decided to engage in some Christian work. First she became a teacher in a young ladies' seminary, then the call came for her to enter the missionary field, through Mrs. Hill of Athens and the Protestant Episcopal Society. Being a friend of Mrs. Hill, she decided to accept this call, and went into the work in Greece. Dr. and Mrs. Hill were American missionaries who had established a school, and Miss Baldwin joined them as an assistant in this work. She took entire charge of the domestic department, teaching fine sewing and other useful arts. She became so beloved that she was known among her scholars and the people as "Good Lady Mary." Not only did she train these young Greek girls in the domestic arts, but she Christianized them and taught them to be good daughters, wives and mothers. In 1866 when the Christians of Crete revolted against the Turkish government, many impoverished and destitute Cretans fled to Athens. Among these poor people, Miss Baldwin labored with great success. She opened day schools and Sunday schools, feeding them and providing the women and girls with work. For forty-two years she labored among these people. She was buried on a bluff overlooking the Jordan Valley, and these loving people placed over her a tombstone of Greek marble.

Born in Crooked Tree, Noble County, Ohio, at the age of sixteen years, she entered the missionary field, offering her service to the Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This was accepted, and she was sent to India by the Cincinnati Branch. On her arrival in India, she was sent to the work in Cawnpore. After four years of successful labor in this field, she was sent to the girls' boarding school in Gonda, but here her health completely broke down, and she was obliged to return home. While convalescing, she noticed a peculiar spot on her cheek, and insisted on having medical books brought to her wherein she could study up her case, and became convinced that she was a victim of leprosy. She insisted on returning to India, and that her mother should not be told of her fatal malady. She hastened to the mission among the lepers in India. At Chandag, she was put in charge of one of the leper asylums, and here she has worked diligently and faithfully among these outcasts, receiving treatment herself. The life she lives among these poor isolated creatures emphasizes the sweet faith she teaches.

Mrs. Day was born June 10, 1853, m Philadelphia, and died August 10, 1804, near Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Her mother died when she was quite an infant, and she was reared by an aunt. In 1874, she was married to Rev. D. A. Day of the Lutheran Mission of Africa for the Evangelical Lutheran Church. On the establishment of their home in Africa, she took upon herself, as her part of her husband's work, the training of the children, and in a short time many of these naked little heathens were transformed into civilized creatures able to take part in the household duties of a Christian home. Being of a peculiarly cheerful and happy disposition, Mrs. Day met with great success in her work among these little