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Thomas Cryer was born at Gilstead near Bingley, Yorkshire, on 6 April 1800. He converted to Methodism aged 20 and was accepted for the ministry in 1828 and served in Witney, Oxfordshire and Reading, Berkshire. In 1829 he was appointed to work in India and reached Madras [Chennai] in May 1830. He initially worked in Bangalore [Bengaluru] but also served in Madras [Chennai], Negapatam [Nagapattinam], Manargoody [Mannargudi] and Bangalore [Bengaluru] again before departing to England in 1839. During this period of service in India he had learnt Tamil and frequently preached in both English and Tamil. He was a strong critic of the caste system as he viewed it has hindering both his evangelical work as well as educational work. He served in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, for a couple of years and took part in a missionary deputation to Ireland in the spring of 1841 before returning to India onboard the 'General Kyd' in June 1842. With him was Mary Burton (born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, in 1811) whom he had married on 3 February 1842 in Leeds. Unfortunately within 14 months Mary died of cholera at Manargoody [Mannargudi] in December 1843. Rev Cryer continued to work at Manargoody [Mannargudi] until he transferred to Negapatam in 1847 and later Bangalore [Bengaluru] in 1849. Upon returning from a furlough to England he had taken in 1851 he became ill with cholera and died suddenly on 5th October 1852 in Madras [Chennai].
Further reading:
Barrett, A, Holy living: exemplified in the life of Mrs. Mary Cryer, wife of the Revd. Thos. Cryer, Wesleyan missionary in the south of India, with extracts from her papers and correspondence (1845);
Cryer, T, Family recollections: being a memoir of a beloved sister, with notices of other departed relatives (1843);
Findlay & Holdsworth, The History of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (vol V, 1924). |
Thomas Cryer was born at Gilstead near Bingley, Yorkshire, on 6 April 1800. He converted to Methodism aged 20 and was accepted for the ministry in 1828 and served in Witney, Oxfordshire and Reading, Berkshire. In 1829 he was appointed to work in India and reached Madras [Chennai] in May 1830. He initially worked in Bangalore [Bengaluru] but also served in Madras [Chennai], Negapatam [Nagapattinam], Manargoody [Mannargudi] and Bangalore [Bengaluru] again before departing to England in 1839. During this period of service in India he had learnt Ta ... View more |
