William Fitzjames Oldham

William Fitzjames Oldham (15 December 1854 – 27 March 1937) was a British-American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and missionary bishop for South Asia. He distinguished himself as a missionary, an author and a church official. He was the founder of Anglo Chinese School in Singapore in 1886.

Early life William was born in Bangalore, India, the son of an Irish couple, James and Mary Elizabeth Oldham. James was a British officer commanding Sepoy troops in India. William's ancestry was primarily Anglo-Irish, with some Indian blood, it was said, on his mother's side. Although he was baptized a Roman Catholic, his earliest religious contacts came from Protestant military chaplains and the headmaster of the Madras Christian College. His father, though a Catholic, had turned anti-Romanist, and Oldham had absorbed the religious teachings of the Protestants when attending Anglican schools. He recollected that as a child of six, missionaries had taught him the childs prayer, "O Lord save me, O Lord Christ convert me" which remained with him to adulthood and helped transform his faith. The young Oldham studied Paley's Evidences of Christianity so well he won a competitive prize for this subject. Oldham's keen abilities in apologetics came to the fore in Madras Christian College where non-Christians frequently presented strong counter-arguments against Christianity, although he claimed that during this time he did not yet have a true Christian faith. Interestingly, Oldham had a pet white tiger at the age of 6. This was a gift from his friendly neighbours, the Gnani family, who owned a pet tiger.

Education and conversion Oldham earned a B.A. degree from Boston University and an M.A. from Allegheny College, and became a government surveyor. He was handpicked for the Great Trigonometric Survey of India, a key 19th century survey of India and its adjoining lands.

It was in 1873, in the midst of this secular work, that Oldham was invited to the preaching tents of visiting American Daniel O. Fox. The teachings of these Methodist missionaries, led by Bishop William Taylor, were strange yet attractive to Oldham. Bishop Taylor himself had served in far-flung mission fields including the Americas and Australia, and had been brought to India through the invitation of Bishop James Thoburn. Bishop Thoburn also had a Chinese background, and he was to be an influence on Oldham's decision to serve in Southeast Asia and later to assume the mantle of the Bishopric. Oldham later compiled Thoburn's biography in a work entitled Thoburn Called of God (1918), testifying to the influence of his mentor.

After graduation in 1885 Oldham was sent to Singapore to initiate a Methodist mission. There he found access to the Chinese merchant population through schools; he established what became the first of a large number of Methodist schools in what was then British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), as well as the first Methodist Church in Singapore.

Missionary ministry

Oldham entered the Michigan Annual Conference of the M.E. Church in 1883.

In addition to founding the Anglo-Chinese School, Oldham also established the Anglo-Tamil School in September 1885 with the help of the first foreign recruit, M Gnanamuthoo, a Tamil teacher who had been a resident in Rangoon. It was, however, the education of girls that Oldham was keen to leave his mark. With strong help from Sophia Blackmore, an Australian missionary who had arrived in Singapore via India in 1887, the Fairfield Methodist Girls' School as well as the Methodist Girls' School were subsequently established. Although these schools were built as American Methodist institutions, the Englishman had good support from the British government in Malaya. In the setting up of these institutions, Oldham had also received much help from fellow missionaries and educationists such as Dr Shellabear, Rev. W. T. Cherry, Rev. G. F. Pykett and Rev. W. E. Horley. These schools extended English education to the locals and thus laid the foundation of an English-speaking workforce. Some of Oldham's noteworthy pupils included Rev Goh Hood Keng, one of the earliest local preachers.

Oldham also continued Ms Cooke's ministry for seamen, holding Sunday services on-board ships. With his fluency in Tamil, he held regular services for jailed Tamil prisoners at the Bras Basah jail. Oldham went on to appoint Benjamin Pillai to serve the Tamil community. Work amongst the Tamils grew steadily under the leadership of C. W. Underwood who had come to Singapore via Jaffna, Ceylon in 1887. Oldham was also instrumental in helping to set up the publishing industry in the Methodist church, which he did by purchasing a printing press and by sending W. G. Shellabear, a noteworthy Malay scholar, for training in printing. This eventually led to the establishment of the Methodist Publishing House (MPH). Oldham was also involved in the early beginnings of medical missions which was spearheaded by Dr B. F. West, with Oldham bringing medical supplies from India. Unfortunately, with a full day teaching at school and preaching on weekends, the work soon took its toll on Oldham who, after four years of labour, had to take leave for the United States in 1889.

During his term, Oldham also faced difficult challenges. In 1909, Nicholas Zamora, an eloquent leader in the Methodist Church in the Philippines, led an attempt to secede from the episcopacy which Oldham had been heading. The painful split in the Filipina Methodist Church was a difficult matter for the Bishop.

Ministry beyond Asia He was elected a bishop of the M.E. Church in 1916, serving until his death. His office was at 150 Fifth Avenue, New York City and his residence was in Leonia, New Jersey. He was also a trustee of the Union Missionary Institute in Brooklyn, New York. He also served as an Assistant (Corresponding) Secretary of Missions for his denomination, beginning in 1912.

Despite his popularity and success, Oldham's term as bishop in Asia came to an abrupt in 1912 when he was appointed a coordinate secretary to the Methodist Board of Foreign Missions in New York. His abilities in fundraising and networking were needed to reduce the financial crisis the Board was facing. Oldham rose to the occasion and settled the crisis in four years. Whilst in this position, he also encouraged more indigenous leadership. Oldham went on to take charge of the Methodist work as Bishop to South America in Buenos Aires in 1916. Even there, he and his wife continued to establish schools.

In Asia, Oldham saw two major losses to his missions: the Java missions was discontinued in 1928, and the Methodist Publishing House was relinquished to a secular company in 1927. The Oldhams ended their term of service in 1928 where Oldham retired to Broad Street Church in Columbus, Ohio, before returning to Bangalore in 1933.

In November 1934, Oldham and his wife returned to Singapore from Bangalore to celebrate the Golden Jubilee (50th anniversary) of the founding of the Methodist Church in Singapore which was to be held in January the following year. By this time the Oldhams had become American citizens. This was to be Oldham's last visit to Singapore. He died 27 March 1937 in Pasadena, California, at the age of 83.

Today, Oldham is remembered annually on 1 March, designated as Founder's Day at the Anglo-Chinese Schools. In memory of him, the Wesley Methodist church also erected an apse in 1957 to commemorate its 50th anniversary. The stained-glass window at the apse shows the life of Oldham and the church's milestones. Oldham Lane near Dhoby Ghaut, is named after him.

Death and burial Oldham died on 27 March 1937 in Glendale, California, United States and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Selected writings Translated from Malaysia, Charles A. Gray, pamphlet, 1889. Sketch of Thoburn, The Picket Line of Missions, 1897. The Study of Missions in Colleges, Student Missionary Appeal, 1898. Presenting the Gospel to Non-Christian Peoples, Ecumenical Missionary Conference, 1900. Addresses: What the Missionary Secretary Can Do and The Deaconess as a Missionary Worker, First General Missionary Convention, Cleveland, 1903. Malaysia, Nature's Wonderland, 1907. Address: To Advance in Foreign Missions, Militant Methodism, Downey et al., Eds., 1913. Address: The Crucial Hour of Missions in Non-Christian Lands, The Second General Missionary Conference, 1913. India, Malaysia, the Philippines, 1914. Graves Missionary Lectures, 1914. The World Task and Opportunity, New England Methodism's Convention, Ed. E.C.E. Dorion, 1915. Address in Challenge of Today, 1915. Introduction, Bishop Frank Warne's Story of His Conversion, 1915. (33 pages) Address: Book of Devotions, 1916. Thoburn - Called of God, 1918. A Doll's House, 1869