Murder of John and Betty Stam

John Cornelius Stam (January 18, 1907 – December 8, 1934) and Elisabeth Alden Scott Stam, aka, "Betty" (February 22, 1906 – December 8, 1934) were American Christian missionaries to China, with the China Inland Mission, during the Chinese Civil War. The missionary couple was murdered by Communist Chinese soldiers in 1934.

Ransom

In 1934, John and Betty Stam were new missionaries to China, with a 3-month-old daughter, working in the small eastern town of Tsingteh, which is today called Jingdezhen. The town's magistrate came to the Stams and warned them that the Communists were coming for them. After John confirmed this, the Stams prepared to leave. However, the Communists caught up to the Stams and when the soldiers did, they demanded all the money the Stams had; and it was handed over. The Communists then arrested John and took him to their headquarters. They left Betty, their baby, Helen, the maid and the cook in the Stams' house. The soldiers later came back and took Betty and Helen. The maid and cook begged to go along, but they were threatened they would be shot if they did. Betty and Helen were taken to be with John.

That night, John Stam wrote a letter to CIM authorities, but it was never delivered. The letter was found later bundled up in some of Helen's clothes. It stated that the Stams were being held by the Communists for a ransom of $20,000. John Stam also wrote to the mission authorities of how he and his wife had been captured, then wrote, "Philippians 1:20: 'May Christ be glorified whether by life or death.'"

John, Betty and Helen were then taken to the local prison where some of the prisoners were released to make room for the Stams. In the midst of hustle and bustle, Helen started crying, and a soldier suggested that they kill her, since she was only "in their way". Then one of the prisoners who had just been released asked why they should kill the innocent baby. The soldiers turned to him and asked if he was willing to die for the foreign baby. The man was hacked to pieces for Helen in front of the Stams' eyes. Thus, Helen was allowed to live.

Martyrdom at Miaosheo

The next morning, the Stams were forced to march 12 miles with the soldiers, to the town of Miaosheo. The group stopped for a night, and Betty was allowed to tend to Helen; but in fact, Betty instead hid her daughter in the room inside a sleeping bag. The very next morning, John and Betty were being marched down the streets of Miaosheo to meet their deaths. Curious onlookers lined both sides of the streets. A Chinese shopkeeper stepped out of the crowd and talked to the Communists, trying to persuade them not to kill the Stams. The soldiers ordered the man back into the crowd, but he wouldn't step back. The soldiers then invaded his house where they found a Chinese copy of the Holy Bible and a hymnbook. He was then led alongside the Stams to be killed as well, for being a Christian. After marching for a short while longer, John was ordered to kneel, and he was beheaded. Betty and the shopkeeper were killed moments later.

Rescue and aftermath

The baby, Helen, was found two days later by a Chinese pastor who took her home and took care of her. Reverend Lo Ke-chou and his wife then took the baby girl to her maternal grandparents, Reverend Charles Ernest Scott and his wife, Clara, who were also missionaries in China. The Stams' daughter later came to the United States and was raised by her aunt and uncle, George and Helen Mahy. As for Helen's parents, a small group of Christians found their bodies and buried them on a hillside. The Stams' gravestones read:

John Cornelius Stam, January 18, 1907, "That Christ may be glorified whether by life or by death." Philippians 1:20

Elisabeth Scott Stam, February 22, 1906, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

December 8, 1934, Miaosheo, Anhui, "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life." Revelation 2:10

The story of their martyrdom was much publicized and inspired many to become missionaries.

The Red Army unit responsible for the murders

The area where the Stams worked was under the Nationalist control at the time. But it was on the path of a Red Army unit, the Red 19th Division, under commander Huaizhou Xun and political commissar Hongjun Nie. The 19th Division took the Jingde town on December 6, 1934, where they captured the Stams. They forced the Stams to march with them, until the execution on December 8. After that, the Red 19th Division turned south in order to join the main Red Army force, its 10th Army Group. However, the Red 10th Army Group was defeated on December 14th by a brigade from the Nationalist force, and commander Xun was killed in that battle. Next year, on January 27, 1935, the entire Red 10th Army Group was annihilated by the Nationalist force.

Of the officers responsible for the Stams murders, only the political commissar Nie survived. After the communist victory in China, Nie became the first deputy chairman of the Hubei province, and later deputy minister of the Department of Agriculture. Nie died in 1966.

See also

• Historical Bibliography of the China Inland Mission
• List of China Inland Mission missionaries in China

Further reading

• Broomhall, Alfred James, Hudson Taylor & China’s Open Century Volume Seven: It Is Not Death To Die, Hodder and Stoughton and Overseas Missionary Fellowship (1989)
• Huizenga, Lee S. John and Betty Stam; Martyrs. Zondervan, 1935.
• Pollock, John. Vicitms of the Long March and Other Stories. Waco, Texas.: Word Publishing, 1970.
• Taylor, Mary Geraldine (Mrs Howard Taylor), The Triumph of John and Betty Stam (1935; The China Inland Mission, Philadelphia & London)

External links

• Elisabeth Alden (Scott) and John Cornelius Stam Ephemera at Wheaton College's Billy Graham Center
• Helen Priscilla Stam's Childhood Ephemera at Wheaton College's Billy Graham Center
• The Martyrdom of John and Betty Stam - OMF
• Betty and John Stam: Young Missionaries Martyred by Christianity Today