Moninger, Mary Margaret, 1891-1950

Mary Margaret Moninger was born near Marshalltown, Iowa on September 23, 1892 to two farmers, William Ringland Moninger and Mary Helen Kellogg. Moninger graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Grinnell College in 1913. She received her M.A. from Grinnell in 1922. She left for Hainan, China in 1915 as a member of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. Her duties included teaching and acting as a principal at several girls' schools throughout the island of Hainan. She served as secretary, treasurer, and agent of her missionary organization. Moninger was a prolific writer with a keen eye for the unique culture of Hainan. She compiled an unpublished dictionary of the Hainese colloquial dialect. She wrote articles for religious publications and newspapers in the United States and anthropological essays for scientific organizations. Moninger edited her community's publication, The Hainan newsletter. While in China, Moninger experienced periods of civil unrest. She witnessed the military actions of the Nationalist party in the 1920s, communist and anti-Christian uprisings, and struggles between Hainese tribes. Her missionary service ended when the United States entered World War II. Moninger died March 21, 1950 in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Mary Margaret Moninger was born near Marshalltown, Iowa September 23, 1892 to two farmers, William Ringland Moninger and Mary Helen Kellogg. Moninger graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Grinnell College in 1913. She received her M.A. from Grinnell in 1922. She left for Hainan, China in 1915 as a member of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. Her duties included teaching and acting as a principal at several girls' schools throughout the island of Hainan. She served as secretary, treasurer, and agent of her missionary organization. Moninger was a prolific writer with a keen eye for the unique culture of Hainan. She compiled an unpublished dictionary of the Hainese colloquial dialect. She wrote articles for religious publications and newspapers in the United States and anthropological essays for scientific organizations. Moninger edited her community's publication, The Hainan newsletter. While in China, Moninger experienced periods of civil unrest. She witnessed the military actions of the Nationalist party in the 1920s, communist and anti-Christian uprisings, and struggles between Hainese tribes. Her missionary service ended when the United States entered World War II. Moninger died March 21, 1950 in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Mary Margaret Moninger was born near Marshalltown, Iowa on September 23, 1892 to two farmers, William Ringland Moninger and Mary Helen Kellogg. Moninger graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Grinnell College in 1913. She received her M.A. from Grinnell in 1922. She was a teacher for two years in New Providence, Iowa until leaving for Hainan, China in 1915 as a member of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. Her regular duties as a missionary were teaching and acting as a principal at several girls’ schools throughout the island of Hainan. She served as secretary, treasurer and agent of her missionary organization.

Moninger was a prolific writer with an keen eye for the unique culture of Hainan. She compiled an immense, unpublished dictionary of the Hainese colloquial dialect. She also penned a mission publication, The Isle of Palms: Sketches of Hainan, in 1919. Moninger wrote several casual articles for religious publications, and newspapers in the United States. She also wrote anthropological essays for the benefit of scientific organizations. She edited her community’s publication, the Hainan Newsletter . According to her biographer, Kathleen Lodwick, Moninger also was interested in botany and her Hainese specimens can today be found at Harvard, Iowa State University, and the national arboretum of the Philippines.

During Moninger's stay in China, the country experienced periods of civil unrest. She witnessed the military actions of the Nationalist party in the 1920’s, communist and anti-Christian uprisings during the 1930’s, and old struggles between Hainese tribes. In 1937, the Japanese invaded Hainan, a part of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Moninger saw the affected Chinese and later encountered the war first hand and faced house arrest during the Japanese occupation. Her missionary service was cut short by the United States’ entrance into World War II. She returned to Iowa to live with her father and sister in 1942 and taught for two years until she had a stroke. She died March 21, 1950 in Marshalltown.