Benade, Miriam McGaw, 1895-1978

1912-1960s Presbyterian missionary in Lahere, Punjab, India.

Epithet: Presbyterian missionary in India

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001394.0x00019c

Dr. James Martin and Miriam Benade were Presbyterian missionaries in Lahore, Punjab, India (later West Pakistan) from about 1912 until the mid-1960s.

Dr. Benade was born on March 12, 1889, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to Patrick and Serena Benade. He attended Grove City College where he received a B.A. in 1911. He later attended Cornell University (1912) and Princeton University Graduate School where he received a M.A. in 1917. During his furloughs back to the United States, attended the University of Chicago.

Dr. Benade's work as a missionary began in 1912 when he began teaching physics at Forman Christian College in Lahore, India. He was appointed chairman of the physics department and remained in that position until 1915. He returned to Forman College in 1917 and again served as the chairman of the physics department until his retirement in 1958.

In addition to his teaching activities, he was involved in cosmic ray research with Dr. Arthur Compton who was later awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for this research. Dr. Benade's research was done in 1932 and 1933, and included taking readings on cosmic rays in Ceylon, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Japan, Honolulu and in the Himalayas. In 1934, he designed and built a radio instrument that recorded cosmic ray data from a balloon. This device successfully recorded information at an altitude of fifteen miles. There are accounts of this research in the Benade's annual letters and in Dr. Benade's notes.

Following his retirement from teaching in 1958, Dr. Benade worked at the Argonne National Laboratories near Chicago.

Miriam McGaw Benade was born on July 13, 1858, at Landour, Mussoorie, India, to Albert Gordon McGaw and Ella Hersman McGaw who were Presbyterian missionaries in northern India. She received her early education at home. She later attended the Preparatory School of the College of Wooster, Ohio, and received a B.A. from the College of Wooster in 1919. She later attended the University of Chicago where she received an M.A. in 1944.

Mrs. Benade's first missionary assignment was as the Head Mistress of the Mary Wanamaker High School in Allahabad, India in 1920. After the marriage of Dr. and Mrs. Benade in 1922, she moved to Lahore and assumed teaching and supervising duties at the City Primary School for Hindu girls, and later at Forman Middle School and the Forman High School for girls. She was also a lecturer at the School for Women Health Visitors and a Lecturer at the Convent of Jesus and Mary in the teacher training department.

Mrs. Benade was also involved in a number of civic and church organizations. During the 1930s and 1940s, she was on the executive committee of the All India Women's Conference on Social and Educational Reform and chairman of the Social Welfare Committee. She was also a charter member of the Progressive Education organization and a charter member of the local Library Association.

After 1947, Mrs. Benade became a charter member of the All Pakistan Women's Association. She also assumed responsibilities as an advisor to the Student Christian Movement at Forman College and was the chairman of the Social Committee of the Faculty organization.

Mrs. Benade has written and published a number of books and articles. In 1937, she wrote a script entitled The Way of the Cross which was performed before a large Presbyterian Church group. In 1942, she wrote Towards New Horizons which was a history of the three Presbyterian Indian missions. In 1967, she wrote a book on family life entitled Khandani Mussaraten (Joys of Family) which was prepared for the Christian Home Committee of the West Pakistan dealing with either home life or education.

Mrs. Benade's interests included women's education, equal civil rights and employment, and family care education. Her notes and annual letters express her thoughts and work in these areas.

The Benades had two children, Arthur Henry Benade who was born on January 2, 1925, and John Albert Benade who was born on April 8, 1927.

Also included in this collection are the papers of the Reverend Albert Gordon and Ella McGaw, Mrs. Benade's parents. Rev. and Mrs. McGaw were also missionaries in India. They began their work in the early 1890s and continued to serve for almost forty years.

Rev. McGaw was born on March 8, 1865, in Oquaka, Illinois. He graduated from Wooster University in Ohio in 1891 and later received an M.A. from McCormick Seminary in Chicago.

Ella Hersman McGaw was born on December 24, 1967, in Hersman, Illinois. She received a B.A. from Blackburn College in Illinois and also attended Iowa State University for a short period.

Rev. and Mrs. McGaw were married in 1894 and departed for India in that year. During their forty years of service, they were stationed in Fatehgarh, Etawah, and Etah, India. They both retired in 1930 due to Rev. McGaw's poor health.

The McGaws had four children, Miriam McGaw Benade, Wilbert H. McGaw M.D. (orthopedic surgeon in Cleveland, Ohio), Albert Gordon McGaw (health services in Cleveland, Ohio) and Sara Elizabeth McGaw Santantonio (Faculty, Woodstock School, Mussoorie, India, and Faculty, Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow, India).

From the guide to the Dr. James Martin and Miriam Benade papers, 1923-1975, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)