Samuel Audley Rhea

Samuel Audley Rhea (1827-1865) was a 19th-century American missionary and painter. ^[1] He is known because of his missionary trips to the Middle East and his book, paintings, letters and journals.

Life

He was born on January 23, 1827, in Blountville, Tennessee. Later in 1847, he graduated from the University of East Tennessee. In 1850, he graduated Union Theological Seminary in New York. He was ordained as a minister in 1851. Soon after, he was appointed as a missionary to the Middle East. ^[2] He visited Kurdistan ^[3] and Persia, where he served for eight years. These years inspired his book The Tennesseean in Persia and Koordistan. Being the scenes and incidents in the life of Samuel Audley Rhea. Later his health deteriorated, and after being advised by his doctor to return to the United States, he went home, recovered, and returned to his mission. He later went to Oroomiah, where he worked until his death on September 2, 1865.

Legacy

Dwight Whitney Marsh wrote the book The Tennesseean in Persia and Koordistan. Being the scenes and incidents in the life of Samuel Audley Rhea about the time Rhea spent in Kurdistan and Persia. ^[4]

References

1. Blincoe, Robert (1998). Ethnic realities in the church: lessons from Kurdistan: a history of mission work, 1668-1990. Pasadena, Calif: Presbyterian Center for Mission Studies. ISBN   978-0-9652533-2-1.
2. Alexander, John Edminston (2023). A Brief History of the Synod of Tennessee From 1817 to 1887. Legare Street Press. ISBN   978-1019819845.
3. Blincoe, Robert (1998). Ethnic realities in the church: lessons from Kurdistan: a history of mission work, 1668-1990. Pasadena, Calif: Presbyterian Center for Mission Studies. ISBN   978-0-9652533-2-1.
4. Marsh, Dwight Whitney (2014). The Tennesseean in Persia and Koordistan: Being Scenes and Incidents in the Life of Samuel Audley Rhea... - Primary Source Edition. Nabu Press.