The Historical Mead street at Nagercoil and Some Important Former Residents of Mead Street and its Glorious Forgotten History.------ Part Final.

Rev Mead brought  Some Pioneer Christian Families to settle at Nagercoil  from Mylaudy:  
The great Church historian Mr.C.M Agur writes  that  the first settlers at the newly formed Christian village at Nagercoil  near Rev Mead's bungalow,[ Inside the present W.CC.Campus, Nagercoil ] were Mr. Mead's servants and a few mission agents and boys from Mylaudy [ CM. Agur, Church History of Travancore, Madras, 1903, p. 681]. Rev.Charles Mead stayed at Mylaudy before moving to Nagercoil  and during that period of time we can infer that Mr. Mead's domestic servants were selected from the pioneer christian families of  Mylaudy Maharasan Vethamonickam , and those domestic servants might have formerly served as domestic servants and helpers  to Mr. Ringletaube. We know Ringeltaube stayed at Mylaudy from 1806 till he left Mylaudy, India in 1816 .After having moved to the bungalow presented to him by the then British Resident Col. Munro inside the present WCC campus, Rev Charles Mead wanted to establish a new ideal  casteless christian  village at Nagercoil near  his residence.. Mr Mead helped his servants and other willing poor people from Mylaudy with financial assistance to build their houses in line with his social vision in the sites allotted to them in and around Mead Street. Mr Mead settled his Servants  in the new neat small houses built in and around the Mead street. .Mead street was formed  not at a particular date but it was formed and developed during the course of some years.  I do not get any clear clue to name the servants of Mr. Mead. who settled in around Mead street. We can say  some relatives of Mylaudy Maharasan Vethamanicakm  were the privileged pioneers to settle down in the new Christian village at Nagercoil initiated and founded by Rev. Mead.                               

Mission Agents from Mylaudy who settled in and around Mead Street, Nagercoil :
The following persons  from Mylaudy who worked as Catechists at the Nagercoil Church  , and Teachers at the Nagercoil Seminary and Composers at the Printing Press at Nagercoil  and Native Assistants to Rev. Mead and Rev. Mault namely Mr. Devavaram Biddulp[ Poet,Catechist,Nagercoil church and Teacher at the Nagercoil Seminary, Native Assistant to Rev.Charles Mead and  Mylaudy Maharasan Vethamonikam's brother's son], Mr. Christian David of Mylaudy [Teacher , Nagercoil Seminary], Mr Masillmani of Mylaudy [ Catechist, Nagercoil Church- ], Mr. Moses of Mylaudy[Catechist , Nagercoil Church and Assistant to Rev. Charles Mault and a son of Maharasan Vethamonickam], Mr.Arumainaygam writer of Mylaudy [Teacher, Nagercoil Seminary],  Mylaudy Samathanam mastry[Nagercoil LMS Mission Printing Press], were initially  brought from Mylaudy and settled in the new Christian village in and around Mead Street with their families. And also Mr Packinathan [ kanakkan or Accountant and son-in-law of Maharsan Vethamoncakm and Head Gomestha or the chief ministerial officer of the Nagercoil Court when Mr Charles Mead worked as the District Judge , Nagercoil ] and some other people  from Mylaudy or connected with Mylaudy also lived in and around Mead Street.

                              
                      Daniel Paramanandam Deacon's grandchildren and great grandchildren
 [ Dr.Schafter, [ in his military uniform] Mr.,Lamuel Peter, Mr.Chinnathmbi Peter, Mr.Nallathambi Peter and others including,Ms. Mathiabaranam, Mrs. Daya Manuel,  Mrs Josephine Retnammal ]

Some Important Descendants of the original Residents of Mead Street Nagercoil :  As C.M.Agur had written the Christians brought from Tanjore and people brought from Mylaudy mixed freely without caste discrimination, at the initiative taken by Rev. Charles Mead and his beloved wife Mrs Coelestina Horst Mead. After Vethmonikam's family lost its hold in the Mission, things started to change. As time passed the original dwellers of Mead street and the nearby area moved to other places and countries such as Trivandrum, Madras, Bangalore, Rangoon, Singapore, Malaysia , Ceylon and so on due to many social, economic, and personal reasons.  The last batch of the descendants of the original inhabitants of Mead street  were[1] Dr. Schafter and family[ Music Composer and Singer  Dr. Anand Chellappa'a maternal Grandfather],[2] Mrs.Mathiabarnam  [a daughter of Mr. Jonadab and Deivayi and mother in-law of former Methodist Bishop of Malaysia and Singapore Dr. Theodre R. Doraisamy. Mr Jonadab and Dr. Schafter were brothers  ],[3]Mrs. Josphine Retnammal Thomas [ a daughter of Mr. Jonadab, and sister of Mrs Mathiabaranam ,[4] Mr. Dharmaj[ generally called as Kutty mama, who settled in Rangoon], [5] Mr. Hawlockk, B.E [ a son of Mr . Jonadab,  and Mr Hawlockk was a qualified engineer and he worked as an engineer at the Rare Earth Company at Manavalakurichi].  Unfortunately  at present no descendants of these families live in Mead Street, Nagercoil.  Both the buildings and people are new. Only Mrs. Saro Asir, the daughter of Mrs. Josephine Retnammal Thomas lives near at Arul Nagar and at present  Ms Saro Asir and myself are attending the Calvary Lutheran Church Nagercoil .

Conclusion : Today Mead street looks so different with many new shops, bank buildings and new houses. It is pertinent to remember a historical fact that the  famous Tamil Christian Poet John Palmer who lived in Mead Street Nagercoil, resigned his Mission job supporting the cause of Rev. Charles Mead's resignation from the LMS in connection with Mr.Mead's  revolutionary marriage with Ms Luis Devaram Biddulph and moved to Trivandrum with his family . Some of John Palmer's descendants  moved to Malaysia after the death of John Palmer in Trivandrum during the last quarter of 19th century in search better job opportunities and settled in Malaysia. The descendants of John Palmer are doing very well in Malaysia and Singapore. It will be heartening to mention here that a direct descendant of Poet John Palmer Mrs Datin Alice Rajamanohari {Palmer] Samuel is the wife of the Assistant Anglican Bishop West Malaysia Dato Rt. Rev. Charles Samuel. 
                                
L to R: [1]Bishop Dato.Charles Samuel,[2] his wife Datin Alice Rajamanohari [Palmer] Samuel and {3] their daughter Ms. Miriam Samuel.

Whenevr I pass through Mead street tears of joy and sorrow brim my inner eyes. Definitely Mead street had played an indelible and historical role and the descendants of the original residents of Mead street, Nagercoil were/are shining as high profile Government officials, Educationists,  Bishops, Singers, Lawyers, Doctor, Music Composers, Pianists, Engineers and in short in all walks of life   in the diaspora , throughout the world.
By. P. Babu Manoharan, M.A,.[Rights are reserved. This Article will be enlarged, modified and corrected later if needed].  

The Historical Mead Street at Nagercoil and Its Glorious Forgotten history. Part A.

Introduction; The Mead Street that lies north east of CSI Home Church and south of Nagercoil Municpal Office is  truly one of the most important streets in Nagercoil , and it has played a very core and crucial role in the social, educational, religious and economic history of Kanyakumari District , Tamil Nadu. and India.  .
    
                                                  
                               Rev. Charles Mead [ Founder of Mead Street,Nagercoil].]

The formation of Protestant  Christian[ LMS] settlement in Nagercoil:  The construction of the LMS Home Church  [Present CSI Home Church] at Nagercoil  and the Christian settlement near and around the Church started simultaneously due to the visionary initiative taken by Rev Chrles Mead of London Missionary Society.  Immediately after having transferred the Mylaudy Mission Head Quarters from Mylaudy to Nagercoil in April 1818,  Rev Mead purchased  eight pieces of  ground adjoining his house [situated inside the present day Women's Christian College compound] at Nagercoil  to construct buildings for the Central Church, Boarding Schools, Printing Press, Orphanages, and other necessary establishments.for the Mission . Mr Mead also purchased 2 acres of land at Nagercoil near the Church [Present CSI Home Church at Nagercoil.] for settling some Christian families which he longed and planned to bring from Mylaudy and Tanjore.

The first settlers in the Christian village near the CSI Home Church [LMS] Nagercoil:  Mr Mead not only brought the  willing Christian families   to nagercoil from Tanjore and Mylaudy[ The relatives of Maharasan Vethamonickam's family members and realives]  but also he gave financial help towards the erection of  their small houses near and at the present Mead Street at Nagercoil .Poor widows  and other  such poor people were housed fully at the Mission cost.. Thus the nucleus of a small Christian village was formed The first settlers at this newly formed small Christian village were Rev. Charles Mead's servants and a few LMS Misssion agents and boys from Mylaudy

Pioneer Settlers in and around Mead Street, Nagercoil : Mr.  Charles Mead's wife Mrs  Joanna Coelestina Horst Mead brought some native Christian families from Tanjore to settle at Nagercoil in1819. Rev..J.C. Kohlhoof , a brother-in-law of Mrs Joanna Mead induced many native Christian families of Tanjore to settle in  South Travancore under the direct care and protection of Mrs Joanna Horst Mead. .When Rev Mead established the Printing Press and boarding school, he was in need of experienced teachers and  experienced workers and as Mrs Mead was connected with the Old Danish Missionary families of Tranquebar and Tanjore Mr Mead was enabled and facilitated to bring experienced workmen and teachers  to South Travancore , from Tanjore and Tranquebar regions without much difficulty.

The famous Christian Tamil poet of Tanjore Vedanaygam Sastri's cousin Arulai accompanied Mrs Joanna Mead  with her husband and Arulai's husband Mr Arulanandam was appointed as catechist of Nagercoil. This couple was given a house near what is at present called Mead Street..Mrs. Arulai Arulandam's younger brother Christian who was one of the pioneer teachers at the newly established  Seminary at Nagercoil was given a house near his sister  Arulai's house.  Because of the  inducement offered by Mr. Mead there was a regular inflow of Christians from Tanjore and Tranquebar area and chief among them were Mr.Arulanandam Pillay and  Mr.Christian Pillay from Tanjore , Rayen Pillay and David Pillay from Tranquebar and some others from other places also moved to Nagercoil such as  Mr. Nallathambi Pillay from Palayamcottai, Mr.Gnanayutham Mudali from Vadakkankulam and Savarimuthu Pillay from Kattarapuram.  The inflow of Christian emigrants from Tanjore to  the newly formed Christian village at Nagercoil continued for sometime . Revd Rhenius had also given his  testimony about the emigration  that took place from Tanjore  to Nagercoil in his diary[ CM.Agur, CHT, Madra,1903, p.682].

The people called the new street in the new Christian village at Nagercoil as Mead Street: The newly formed street at the northeast of the  central LMS Church[ CSI Home Church Nagercoil] on the two acres of land bought by Rev. Charles Mead was called  "Mead street" by the people   Charles Mead formed this new Christian Village in tune with his egalitarian ideals and according to him Christians should not be discriminated on the basis of Indian caste system . it will be really pertinent to remember CM Agur's lines, "Under the fostering care of the Missionaries and through the help of the early Christian settlers from Tanjore who freely mixed with the Travancore Christians, the Nagercoil Mission Station grew to be an exclusively Christian village the very atmosphere  was Christian. We should not, however , omit,  to note this distinction, viz.,whereas in the Tanjore Mission the demon of caste played a prominent and undesirable part, in the Nagercoil and Travnacore Mission generally it was excluded by Mr. Mead and the early missionaries. Travancore Church was a model church  in this respect ".[CM. Agur, CHT,Madras ,1903,  pp.682-683].. We can  say due to the mixing of Tanjore and Mylaudy Christians  who  were settled in and around the Mead street  a new breed of Christians came into existence and this new breed of Christians played a deciding and crucial core role in the educational,social and religious history of Travancore, Tamil Nadu and Southeast Asia countries like Singapore and Malaysia.
                                            -------------------------------
Part B.will follow soon [ Part B will deal with the Mylaudy Christians and their families who lived in Mead Street].
By P. Babu Manoharan, M.A,.[ All rights are reserved. This Article will be enlarged, modified and corrected later if needed].