18
January 2016 • SR
in the U.S. They provided money for missionaries to return to
the U.S. in times of political crisis or for needed furloughs. Ella
took care of Rosa’s adopted Chinese daughter, Eling, when
Rosa returned for her own surgery.
The medical journal tribute to Dr. Burdick that Rosa sent to the
Recorder
described him thus:
An omnivorous reader, a studious artist, and a wonderful
listener, Doctor Burdick accumulated an immense fund
of knowledge about men and things which, with his keen
vision, sound sense, unfailing kindness, unfaltering probity
and personal modesty, combined to make him one of the
leaders in his field, to whom all listened with respectful
attention. It is rare that a physician achieves such marked
distinction in several fields of activity and with it the devo-
tion and affection of all who have been associated with
him…whose passing is far more than a merely personal
loss to those who knew him.
8
In Dr. Palmborg’s own tribute to the lifetime friendship she
said, “I have come to appreciate more and more their kindness,
loyalty, and generosity to all their old friends as well as a host
of new ones…. They have been interested always in every helpful
work, and evidently perfectly united in their plans and cares for
others and for each other.”
9
Sadly, I discovered that our archives contain no photos of the
Burdicks. An Internet search turned up several of Alfred but
only two of Ella (
see page 16
). The first is a baby picture labeled
“mother under a shroud,” the child in billowy white dress being
propped up by an invisible black-draped adult. The note on the
back of the photo, taken by Coles of Peoria, did verify her birth
date. The other shows Mrs. Alfred S. Burdick among honored
guests at Abbott Memorial Hall dedication luncheon, University
of Chicago, 1940. That was seven years after Alfred’s death and
soon after that of her own mother whom she had cared for
until she died at age ninety-five. Fortunately, as the photo was
snapped, the man seated by her at the elegant formal table
had not raised the salt and pepper shakers completely in front
of her face, so we have this one peak at Ella Burdick as an
adult.
Upon news of Ella’s death, Evalois St. John, Historical Society
Librarian, recalled her visit to the Society in 1938: “She was
interested in each and every item and talked enthusiastically
of the Society’s future.” The actual amount of the Burdick
endowment earmarked for the Historical Society totaled
$155,000, received between 1962 and 1966. However, Ella had
responded to the first Historical Society call for capital funds
with $1,000 in 1949 and followed that up with $1,000 a year to
the general fund until her death eleven years later. An addi-
tional $10,000 bequest became the Society’s Publishing Fund
which supported printing of
Seventh Day Baptists in Europe
and America
, Volume 3, in 1972.
10
Although Dr. Alfred and Ella Burdick had no children of their
own, the blessings of their quiet, humble generosity continue
to touch many lives. In this our 100th year, the Historical Society
invites today’s Seventh Day Baptists to extend their blessings
by contributing to the new Centennial Fund endowment.
Post Script: In 2010 Google Books published a reproduction
of Alfred Stephen Burdick’s 1902 book The Standard Medical
Manual: A Handbook of Practical Medicine. It is available in
paperback, full-color cover, for $62.75.
Author note: Janet Thorngate is president of the SDB Historical
Society and a member of the Salem, WV, SDB Church.
The Search for Ella Grace Brown Burdick
continued from previous page...
1
by Chicago Medical Society, the Biographical Publishing Corp, Chicago,
1922, 432.
2
Chicago Tribune, 20 March 1962, 31. Major beneficiaries of Ella Burdick’s
will besides the SDB Memorial Fund (divided between the Missionary
Society, Historical Society, and Discretionary Fund) were Northwestern
University in Chicago and Salem College (WV), whose portion doubled its
endowment and initiated its most prosperous period (
Green and White
,
Salem College newspaper, March 1961, 2).
3
Sabbath Recorder
, 114/25 (19 June 1933) 581.
4
“Rosa Wilhelmina Palmborg, M.D. (1867-1953), S
eventh Day Baptists in
Europe and America
, vol. 3, 214.
5
Records of the Chicago SDB Church, 1882-1964, SDBHS archives.
6
China Letters
, Plainfield, N.J.: The Recorder Press, 1943. Most information
in this article, not otherwise noted, comes from this source.
7
The chapel and industrial school in Liu-ho were destroyed in 1937 during
the Japanese invasion. When Dr. Palmborg returned, she continued her
work at the main mission compound Shanghai.
8
Sabbath Recorder, 582.
9
Ibid.
10
Data on the Burdick gifts, bequests, and endowments comes from
Historical Society and Memorial Fund annual reports in the Seventh Day
Baptist Yearbook, 1949-2014.
Extend your blessings!
Contribute to the
Centennial Fund Endowment
"financial support for the
preservation and communication
of Seventh Day Baptist History."
Contact the Historical Society
3120 Kennedy Road
PO Box 1678
Janesville, WI 53547
Phone 608-752-5055
E-mail:
SR
