Birthdays on December 22

Demetrius Gallitzin (1770 to 1840)

Roman Church

Apostle to the Alleghenies

Demetrius Gallitzin was born on this day in 1770 in the Netherlands. He became a priest. Arriving in America in 1792, he spent his remaining years as a frontier missionary, building up the Catholic church in parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. He became known as the "Apostle to the Alleghenies."

Ann Hasseltine (1789 to 1826)

Baptist

Ann Wore Herself to Death for Adoniram

Ann Hasseltine was born at Bradford, Massachusetts. Converted at 15, she married Adonirum Judson in 1812, and they shortly afterward sailed for India. Knowing they would work with Baptists, they spent the time during their voyage studying baptism from the Bible, and upon arriving in India withdrew from their supporting mission board and were baptized by immersion. In India they found no welcome and sailed to Burma. While her husband diligently studied the national languages, he was arrested in the war between the British and the Indians, and the latter, not recognizing any difference between the English and Americans, the government of India imprisoned him for 17 months amid terrible conditions. Ann visited him daily, bringing him food and consolation. Their children all died in infancy; her health was broken, and when finally released from prison, Judson found her in a semi-coma. In July 1926, she saw her husband for the last time as he left to face trial; she died October 24, 1826.