MARSHALL, STEPHEN: Westminster divine; b. at Godmanchester in Huntingdonshire; England, at an unknown date; educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge; became minister at Wethersfield, and then at Finchingfield in Essex, where he was silenced for non-conformity. In 1640 he was made lecturer at St. Margaret's, Westminster. He was one of the chiefs in the SMWtymnuan controversy (see Calamy, Edmund) with Bishop Hall in 1641; was made member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines in 1643. He was the greatest preacher of his times and the most popular speaker. He was an active man, and a judicious adviser in all ecclesiastical affairs. He preached before Parliament, the Lord Mayor, and the Assembly, more frequently than many others combined. He was the most influential member of the Westminster Assembly in ecclesiastical affairs. He represented the English Parliament in Scotland in 1643; attended the commissioners sent to the king at Newcastle for the accommodation of peace in 1646; Attended the commissioners at the treaty of the Isle of Wight in 1647. He was a moderate and judicious Presbyterian under Cromwell's administration, and as an acknowledged chief was appointed one of the committee to draw up a catalogue of fundamentals as a basis of toleration, to be presented to .the House of Commons in 1654, and became one of the Tryers. He died in November, 1655; and his remains were interred in Westminster Abbey, but were shamefully dug up at the Restoration.
Large numbers of his sermons on special occasions were published. These, notwithstanding the faults in method and style characteristic of the times, are models of eloquence and fervor. Among these may be mentioned: A Peace-Offering to God, Sept. 7, 1641; Reformation and Desolation, Dec. 22, 1641; Meroz cursed, Feb. 23, 1641 (2); Song of Moses the Servant of God, and the Song of the Lamb, June 15, 1643; Sacred Panegyricks, 1644; Sermon of the Baptising of Infants, 1644; Right Understanding of the Times, Dec. 30, 1646; Unity of the Saints with Christ the Head, April, 1652. The only systematic work he published was A Defence of Infant Baptism against John Tombes, London, 1646, 4to, pp. 256.
MARSHMAN, JOSHUA: English Baptist missionary; b. at Westbury Leigh (21 m. n.w. of Salisbury), Wiltshire, Apr. 20, 1768; d. at Serampur (12 m. n. of Calcutta), India, Dec. 5, 1837. He had almost no schooling as a boy, but was a weaver like his father till he was twenty-six years old. By diligent and persistent private study he fitted himself to take in 1794 the position of master of a school in Bristol, while he studied Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac at the Bristol Academy. He was led by reading about the labors of W. Carey in India to offer himself for that work, and in May, 1799, he sailed for India together with W. Ward, arriving at Serampur Oct. 13, 1799, and was soon afterward joined there by Carey. He was not allowed to enter British territory, so he and his companions remained in Serampur, which at that time was under Danish rule, and established their mission there. Marshman and his wife opened two boarding-schools for European children, which met with great success and with the income derived from them he maintained his mission. His relations with the Baptist, missionary Society in England soon became much strained and in 1826 he returned to England to settle matters, but not succeeding in his purpose in 1827 the Serampur mission was separated from the others. In 1823 Ward died, and in 1834 when Carey died Marshman was left alone. In 1818 he started a newspaper in Bengali; the Sumachar-Durpun or "Mirior of News." Marshman was learned not only in Bengali and other Indian tongues, but had also made a deep study of Chinese. He not only, translated parts of the Bible intp several languages, including Bengali, Telinga, and Chinese, but also wrote much original matter. Among his chief works may be mentioned: A Dissertation on the Characters and Sounds of the Chinese Language (Serampur, 1809); and Clavis Sinica (1814). He also translated the works of Confucius (1809) and in connection with Carey the Ramayana (1806).
Bibliography: J. C. Marshman, Life and Times of Carey, Marshman, and Ward, Embracing the History of the Serampore Mission, 2 vols., London, 1869 abridged ed., 1864, New York, 1870; DNB, xxvi, 255-256.
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