John F STEINER [1884-1943]

Submitted by Admin on Mon, 12/16/2013 - 16:48
Names
Title
Rev
Given
John F
Family
Steiner
Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
Born
Date
Birthplace (town, state)
Pandora, Ohio
Birthplace (country)
United States
Died
Date
Died in (town, state)
Wooster, Ohio
Died in (country)
United States
Cause of death
Suicide

A Presbyterian Missionary, he was caught in Hong Kong in 1941 when the Japanese refused permission for him to return to the mission in Hainan:

http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=S9zeSbSFIwwC&pg=PA196&lpg=PA196&dq=john+steiner+missionary+hong+kong+1941&source=bl&ots=E6BVzrtspx&sig=P2oWWObsEE4n54hTaR0fqSqHWT8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RcSuUsO3NeuNiAfrxIDQCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=john%20steiner%20missionary%20hong%20kong%201941&f=false

He appears in a photo of the "Officials of the American Community in Stanley Camp" on page 56 of Geoff Emerson's book Hong Kong Internment:

http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=n3BvnhsnOngC&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=reverend+john+steiner+hong+kong&source=bl&ots=VYdiHAbioc&sig=9m-yvKSTSrhOFQXThxU5ueWbrCo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9MWuUoyBBvG7iAe4o4HADg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%20john%20steiner%20&f=false

I've assumed he was part of the American repatriation in 1942, but I don't have a reference.

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Comments

Rev. John Frank Steiner was born on 6 October 1884 in Pandora, Ohio. Steiner and his wife, Madeline appear to have arrived in China in 1913. They served the Presbyterian Church mission in Nodoa (Nada), Hainan. His wife had later left China prior to the Japanese attack on Hong Kong.

"The Reverend John Steiner was repatriated from Hong Kong on the Asama Maru and rejoined the Hainan missionaries when they all boarded the Gripsholm." Page 209  of  Educating the Women of Hainan: The Career of Margaret Moninger in China, 1915-1942 refers. 

Suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome from his time in China, Rev. John Steiner committed suicide upon his return to the United States. He died on 4 July 1943 in Wooster, Ohio. Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, 1944 refer.

Obituary/Memorial: https://www.myheritage.com/research?s=1&formId=master&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=0&action=query&qname=Name+fn.John+ln.Steiner&qevents-event1=Event+et.birth+ey.1884&qevents-any/1event_1=Event+et.any+ep.pandora%2C%2F3ohio&qevents=List

Source

1. Gripsholm Passenger List

2.  Educating the Women of Hainan: The Career of Margaret Moninger in China, 1915-1942 by Kathleen L. Lodwick - https://web.archive.org/web/20200506163551id_/https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=upk_history_of_religion 

3. Directory of Protestant Missionaries in China 1919, Page 63: https://divinity-adhoc.library.yale.edu/directories/1919_Directory.pdf

4. Arrival on the Gripsholm - The Bluffton News, 27 August 1942. See here

5. Arrival at home - The Bluffton News, 10 September 1942. See here and here

6. How Christianity Came to China: A Brief History by Kathleen L. Lodwick, Page 39 - See here