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It was on December 25, 1845 that David Trumbull, serving as a missionary under the auspices of the Foreign Evangelical Society and the American Seamen's Friend Society, landed at Valparaiso, Chile to begin the work of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to a largely Roman Catholic country. Trumbull officiated at a Protestant worship service held on board his ship, the “Mississippi,” in the harbor on January 4, 1846, another landmark date in the history of Protestantism in Chile. He organized the Protestant non-denominational (later Presbyterian) Union Church in Valparaiso in 1847.
Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1819, Trumbull was raised in a Presbyterian home, studied at Yale University and at Princeton Theological Seminary (known then as the College of New Jersey), and was as a young believer united to the Congregational church. His scholarly attainments are evident in the poetic and literary fragments which he copiously wrote down in his journal. His handwritten notes as a student in Samuel Miller’s class on church history, while not always easy to decipher, are also both a further witness to his learning and to his teacher’s gifts as well. In 1845, he published The Death of Capt. Nathan Hall: A Drama in Five Acts. In all, at Log College Press, we have, courtesy of Princeton Theological Seminary, some 26 volumes of Trumbull’s handwritten journals, along with another five volumes of his wife’s handwritten diary, constituting over 10,000 pages, spanning roughly 50 years, of personal notes, sermons, newspaper clippings, and more that provide fascinating insights into the American missionary who would contribute so much to Chile.
When he arrived in Valpariso, Trumbull was single, but during a return trip to the United States in 1849-1850, he married Jane W. Fitch, who accompanied him back to Chile a month after their wedding. Trumbull never again returned to the U.S., but instead embraced his adopted country Chile. Although the Chilean Constitution at the time enshrined Roman Catholicism as the state religion and forbade any other form of worship, Trumbull had a heart for the Chilean people that led to him caring for their temporal as well as spiritual needs.
Robert Elliott Speer has a chapter about Trumbull in his 1914 volume, Studies of Missionary Leadership: The Smyth Lectures for 1913, Delivered at Columbia Theological Seminary, in which he notes Trumbull’s compassion on those in Chile afflicted by a cholera outbreak. After touching on Trumbull’s strict adherence for the Lord’s Day, Speer writes (p. 205):
But hard fighter as he was for what he believed to be truth, his boundless neighborliness made it hard for anyone to cherish anger against him. A cholera plague broke out. He at once gathered all the contributions he could and gave them to the curé of San Felipe, who sent him the grateful reply: “That God, who has promised to reward the cup of cold water given in his name, may crown you with all good, is my desire.”
Speers tells another story (pp. 203-204) of Trumbull’s battle to give God the glory for sending rain in the midst of drought.
In 1863 there took place the celebrated public discussion between Dr. Trumbull and Mariano Casanova - a discussion deserving notice not so much for itself as for the results it produced. In Chile there is a Saint of Agriculture who guards the fortunes of farmers, giving them rich harvests and sending rain at the appointed times. Since the seasons are fairly regular the good offices of San Isidro are seldom required. Occasionally, however, the rains are delayed, much to the loss of the sower and the distress of the eater. At such times mild measures are used to begin with, and the saint is reminded of his duty by processions and prayers, and placated by offerings. If he still refuses to listen, his statue is banished from his church, even manacled and beaten through the streets. Such scenes take place in Santiago even in our day. In 1863 San Isidro answered the prayers of his devotees with commendable promptitude. Eighteen hours after supplication had been made at his altar rain fell in copious showers. In view of this signal blessing the archbishop called upon the faithful for contributions to repair St. Isidro’s shabby church. It was at this juncture that Dr. Trumbull entered the lists; and in an article entitled “Who gives the rain?” which was published in “La Voz de Chile,” he attacked the practice of saint worship. Casanova replied in “El Ferrocarril,” and the battle was on. Charge and countercharge followed in rapid succession. The affair got into the provincial papers and was discussed all over the country. San Isidro and rain became the question of the day; and at last Casanova withdrew from the field, routed foot and horse.
As a result of this discussion Dr. Trumbull became the acknowledged champion of Protestantism in Chile. The progressive party at once recognized in him a powerful ally; while the ultramontanes saw in him a dangerous foe. His sphere of influence now extended beyond the local church of which he was pastor to the country at large, and he took his place among the leaders of national reform.
Among his many and varied labors to contribute to the advancement of Christ’s kingdom and the good of Chile was the establishment of a Spanish-language Bible society, the founding of several schools, and newspapers which he edited and to which he contributed. In the political arena, he persuaded the government to amend the Constitution to allow at first for privately-held Protestant worship, as well as civil marriage and burial for Protestant dissenters (previously Protestants were buried at a dumping ground outside of Valparaiso, for example, or sometimes at sea). Such reforms reflected not only a desire to bring about freedom for Protestants, but also a spirit that sought to lift up all Chileans. Trumbull recounts some of these civil advances in his 1883 lecture on The Constitutional History of Chile. In 1886, he was granted citizenship by the government of Chile. He united officially with the Presbyterian Church in the early 1870s.
After his death on February 1, 1889, he was honored within Chile as a leading reformer of society, and a good and honorable man. He is buried in the Dissenters’ Cemetery in Valparaiso, where a monument marks the spot and tells of his status as both a missionary and hero of Chilean society. His legacy is remembered by the people of Chile, and especially by the Protestants who are able to assemble for public worship in part because of his efforts over a missionary ministry of forty-four years.
In a sermon preached on March 16, 1884 from Rom. 1:1 (“A servant of Jesus Christ”) titled “How to Spend Life Looking Unto Christ” (available to read on his page from the 1884 volume of his newspaper The Record), Trumbull told his hearers: “Serve Christ and your life cannot prove useless. Many feel they are doing no good in the world for themselves, nor for any one else, and it may be so; but it will not be so for any who will give their hand to Jesus to serve him.” The challenges and discouragements that he faced in a missionary field in which public Protestant worship was initially illegal and excited intense opposition must have weighed on him greatly. Change did not happen quickly, but over time, the Lord blessed his labors, and made him a useful, indeed eminent, servant of Jesus Christ. By the time he laid aside his earthly ministry, Protestants could finally worship freely, get married and be buried with respect. The Spirit of God, and His Word, working through a humble servant, and his family, and co-laborers, accomplished much in a country that was in great need.
While not all of his writings are yet available to read at Log College Press, we do have much both in his own hand and among his published works, to read. His life and career as a pioneer missionary is a testimony to service to God and to the country of Chile. We are glad to honor David Trumbull at Log College Press, and to make him more accessible to 21st century readers. To God be the glory!
