William Jackson Elmslie

William Jackson Elmslie (29 June 1832 – 18 November 1872) was a Scottish Presbyterian doctor working primarily in Kashmir and the Punjab region in India from 1865 to 1872. Sponsored by the Church Missionary Society, Elmslie established Kashmir's first dispensary in Srinagar and later founded a small temporary hospital.

Early life Personal life Elmslie was born in Aberdeen, Scotland on 29 June 1832 to James and Barbara Elmslie. At the age of nine, Elmslie began learning boot closing, his father's trade, which he continued throughout his university years.

Between trips to India, on 23 February 1872, Elmslie married Margaret Duncan, the daughter of a Scottish reverend. Following his sudden death a few months after their marriage, Margaret Duncan Elmslie worked in various orphanages in Amritsar, India until 1878.

Elmslie learned Kashmiri, Persian, and Sanskrit.

Education In 1848, Elmslie joined the Grammar School of Aberdeen. Five years later, in 1853, he entered King's College, Aberdeen, where he pursued, but never received, a degree in arts due to two failed final exams.

Sponsored by the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society, Elmslie received medical training from the University of Edinburgh from 1862 to 1864 His MD thesis was entitled "The regular dislocations of the hip joint."

In 1858, Elmslie also joined Free Church Divinity College, where he decided to become a medical missionary.

Missionary work Church Missionary Society In 1864, Elmslie was recruited by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) through the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society, which had sponsored his medical training at the University of Edinburgh. Although Elmslie's Presbyterian beliefs did not align with CMS's mainly evangelical Anglican Clapham Sect-leaning beliefs, his connections in CMS persuaded the organization to make an exception for Elmslie. Elmslie received a 5-year position at CMS and was assigned to work in Srinagar, Kashmir. His communication with William Thomson helped develop and fund the Kashmir Medical Mission through a feature in the Medical Missionary Journal.

Work in Kashmir Due to Kashmir's ruler Maharaja Ranbir Singh’s visa restrictions prohibiting foreigners from staying in Kashmir in the winter, Elmslie's work in Kashmir was limited to just the summers of 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, and 1872. Elmslie's familiarity with the local Kashmiri people and government, and vice versa, allowed future medical missionaries to more easily establish permanent dispensaries and hospitals.

Death In his later years, Elmslie suffered from poor health, including liver disease. While leaving Srinagar for Amritsar due to Maharaja Ranbir Singh's orders, an already ill Elmslie became trapped in snow.