Rev. Samuel Austin Moffett (1864–1939, Korean: 마포삼열, Hanja: 馬布三悅) was one of the early American Presbyterian missionaries to Korea.

Samuel Austin Moffett
BornJanuary 25, 1864
Madison, Indiana, U.S.
DiedOctober 24, 1939 (aged 75)
Monrovia, California, U.S.
EducationHanover College, McCormick Theological Seminary
Spouse(s)Mary Alice Fish (1870 - 1912, married 1899), Lucia Hester Fish (1877 - 1962, married in 1915)
ChildrenJames McKee Moffett (1905 - 1986), Charles Hull Moffett (1908 - 1976), Samuel Hugh Moffett (1916 - 2015), Howard Fergus Moffett(1917 - 2013), Thomas Fish Moffett (1924 - 2018)
Parent(s)Samuel Shuman Moffett, Maria Jane McKee Moffett
Samuel Austin Moffett
Hangul
새뮤얼 오스틴 모펫
Revised Romanizationsae-myu-eol o-seu-tin mo-pet
McCune–Reischauersae-myu-ŏl o-sŭ-tin mo-p'et
MapoSamyeol
Hangul
마포삼열
Hanja
Revised Romanizationma-po sam-yeol
McCune–Reischauerma-po sam-yŏl

He studied at Hanover College, Indiana, and in 1888 at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.[1] In 1889, he was appointed a missionary to Korea by the Presbyterian Church and arrived at Seoul. He moved to Pyongyang to focus on the ministry in the northern part of Korean peninsula. In 1901 he began a theological class with two students meeting in his home. Later, the institution founded by Moffett split, and became the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary in Seoul, and the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pyongyang. Prior to the split, Moffett served as the president for 17 years and as a member of its faculty until 1935. He served for 46 years before being forced out by the Japanese occupiers who considered him as a harmful influence against their colonization policy. Moffett was also the third president of Soongsil University.[2]

He returned to the United States in 1936 and died in 1939 at his home in Monrovia, California.[3]

Family

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Moffett married Dr Alice Fish in 1899 and they had two sons; after her death, Moffett married her cousin Lucia Fish and they had three sons.[4] Moffett and Lucia were the parents of Samuel Hugh Moffett who worked as a missionary in South Korea.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Boston University website, Moffett, Samuel Austin (1864-1939):Pioneer Presbyterian Missionary to Korea, article b y Jae Guen Lee
  2. ^ Soongsil University website, SSU History
  3. ^ "Presbyterianism in the Hermit Kingdom: Presbyterian Church of Korea at 110". the Presbyterian Historical Society. March 1, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  4. ^ Mather Lodge Funeral Home website, Dr Samuel Moffett Obituary
  5. ^ Princeton Theological Seminary website, Moffett Korea Collection