Henry Martyn Bissell

"H. M. Bissell was born among the Choctaw Indians in the Indian Territory, of missionary parents. He was a descendant of John Bissell, the emigrant, born in England in 1591, who, coming to America, became one of the founders of East Windsor, Connecticut, one of whose descendants was Israel Bissell, patriot, 'who outrode Paul Revere' in warning Americans that the British had marched on Lexington and that the war had begun. Henry Martyn Bissell and his fiancee Ella Norwood, while students in Wheaton College, decided to give their lives to preaching the gospel to those sitting in darkness. They were married in Syracuse, New York, by Rev. Dr. Lemuel N. Stratton, a brother-in-law of the bride. Bissell was ordained in 1882 and connected with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions that same year. They sailed for Vera Cruz, Mexico, and began their life work among the Mexicans – and worked in Guadalajara, La Barca, El Fuerte and other places – from the latter place Mr. Bissell held services in twenty-three villages and ranches. They have some rich fruit for their labors. Mrs. H. M. Bissell is still in active services, but now among the multitude of Mexicans in Southern California. Rev. Henry Martyn Bissell, after a brief illness, was 'called Home' in 1920 (Alumni Quarterly, July 1932, p. 5).