He was Talmadge Rousseau. The Rousseau family came from the Alsace region and as you know it passed between Germany and France with some frequency. The custom was the eldest for the family, the second for the army and the third for the church – so this Talmadge’s ancestor had become a French Jesuit going to China in the late 18th Century… where they remained. – Talmadge would have been born around the turn of this Century in China and by this time his father had become some sort of non-Catholic missionary and married an American missionary woman from the South. I think she was a member of some sort of Southern religion called World Missionaries and he lived with missionaries in China and HK.. I think they all left after the revolution in China to go back to the US to the south.
There were some other Rousseaus' who stayed in China from the 18th Century and were enormously successful with houses in Beijing and Shanghai and several beach and mountain houses for holidays. Most of these either returned to France in 1949 or Taiwan. One moved to Hong Kong but he probably did not even know Talmadge Rousseau the missionary as a generations had passed.
Comments
T H Rousseau
The Find A Grave website has this entry for a Talmadge Henry Rousseau, which looks like a match:
Birth:Jun. 20, 1888, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA
Death:Aug. 28, 1951, Hong Kong
Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974
Name: Talmage Henry Rousseau
Date of Birth: abt 1888
Date of Death: 28 Aug 1951
Place of Death: Hong Kong
Age at Death: 63
Family links:
Spouse:
Eva Belle Brown Rousseau (1888 - 1970)* - *Calculated relationship
Burial: Franklin Springs City Cemetery, Franklin Springs, Franklin County
Source:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=85649813
T H Rousseau overview
American missionary Talmadge Henry Rousseau and his family were closely linked with the story of the Pentecostal Holiness Church in Hong Kong.
Rousseau married Eva Belle Brown in the USA and they had four children, Morrison (1914), Elizabeth (1917), Evelyn (1923) and Sybil (1925), the latter two being born in Hong Kong.
Arriving in Hong Kong in 1919 with his family, Rousseau, alongside William Henry Turner and his family, continued a work started by Miss Anna Deane, who passed away in Hong Kong in 1918.
Rousseau devoted himself to ministering among the fishing communities. He played a pivotal role in securing the first property for the Pentecostal Holiness Church in Hong Kong and was recognised for his leadership at the inaugural session of the China Conference in April 1923, where he was appointed to oversee the work in Wanchai and Shaukiwan.
Rousseau’s commitment contributed significantly to the church’s growth, with the Shaukiwan congregation expanding to over two hundred believers within six years.
In 1924, Rousseau, together with Ms. Anna Dean Cole, organised the construction of the Gospel Boat, which became the heart of Pentecostal Holiness ministry in Hong Kong before the Second World War.
The Rousseaus owned a large bungalow on the island of Cheung Chau, House #27, and he is listed as Mr T H Rousseau in the 1938 list of European owners of Cheung Chau houses. The Rousseau's house was used as a residence rather than a pied-à-terre like other missionary houses there.
The outbreak of war brought many challenges, and most American missionaries were forced to leave Hong Kong due to evacuation orders.
Despite the war, the Rousseaus remained deeply involved in the post-war restoration of the church. They were among the first missionaries to return to Hong Kong in 1946.
Daughter Sybil Rousseau also returned, further strengthening the missionary team. Their leadership and dedication were instrumental in reviving church activities, acquiring two new properties, and gradually rebuilding the ministry. However, their renewed efforts were again interrupted by another evacuation during the Korean War.
Talmadge Rousseau’s commitment to the Pentecostal Holiness Church in Hong Kong left an enduring legacy, and today the Pentecostal Holiness Church at Ap Lei Chau bears his name.
He died in Hong Kong in 1951 at the age of 63, and was buried in the USA.
Sources:
Welcome 5th Global Assembly
Find a Grave
The Rousseaus in Rose Reiner's Diaries
[Updated 19/12/25]
Rose Reiner's diaries cover the period 1930-34.
Missionaries Albert and Rose Reiton were based in Kowloon and knew and associated with the Rousseaus. Their oldest daughter, Helen, was clearly a friend of the Rousseaus' oldest daughter, Elizabeth. They were in their mid-teens at this time and Elizabeth was younger than Helen by one year.
Elizabeth Rousseau (from Cheung Chau) would regularly visit the Reitons for a meal or a birthday party or church service and sometimes stay the night with Helen at the Reitons' house in Kowloon.
These are some of Rose Reiners' other entries which mention the Rousseaus:
Year 1930
Monday August 11th - Mrs Burtt and Esther Burtt (fellow missionaries) went to the Rousseaus' house to spend the rest of August there. (use of houses by other missionaries. The Rousseaus may have been on holiday elsewhere.)
Year 1931
Monday September 28th -The three Rousseau girls, Elizabeth, Evelyn and Sybil, joined the celebration for Esther Reiton's eighth birthday party in Kowloon. The Rousseau sisters, together with other children (Kehrs and Cranes), from the community, enjoyed the festivities and brought presents. (Some of the families in this social group)
Year 1932
Friday February 19th - Evelyn and Sybil Rousseau celebrated their birthdays with a party attended by Helen and Esther Reiton, amongst others.
Mrs Rousseau paid a visit to Rose Reiton on Thursday, 31 March.
Year 1933
The Rousseaus hosted Helen Reiton for dinner on Tuesday, 4 July, the same day she received her new piano.
Year 1934
Elizabeth and Sybil Rousseau went to dinner with the Reitons on Thursday, 26 July.
additional data Talmage H. Rousseau
Mr and Mrs Talmage H Rousseau had a fifth child, James Talmage Rousseau, who was born in Hong Kong on 07 May 1920 at Matilda Hospital. They lived at the time of James' birth at 118 Main Street, Shaukiwan. James had a long career as a consular officer with the US State Department and died 2 Feb 2010.
Talmage H Rousseau, age 63, died of heart disease at the HKG Central Hospital on 28 Aug 1951. At the time of his death, Mr. and Mrs. Rousseau resided at 7 Victory Ave, Ho Man Tin, HKG. His body was cremated and his ashes subsequently interred in the Franklin Springs City Cemetery at Franklin Springs, Georgia. His spouse Mrs. Eva B. Rousseau, son James T. Rousseau, and daughters Evelyn (Rousseau) Shealy and Sybil (Rousseau) Cates are also buried at the Franklin Springs Cemetery.