Coming from a humble Saline background and with the minimum amount of early education, Ebenezer Henderson became one of the most accomplished oriental and Biblical scholars in Britain. This is his story.

By John Crane

Ebenezer Henderson, The Elder 1784-1858

Ebenezer Henderson was born at Linn, near Redcraigs, in the parish of Saline on 17th November 1784, the youngest son of George Henderson, an agricultural labourer, and Jean Henderson, née Buchanan. Ebenezer Henderson the younger,1809-1879, was his nephew and is well known in Fife as the author of the Annals of Dunfermline. He was also a scientist of some renown.

Ebenezer Henderson’s father, George Henderson, was a long-time member and elder, first at the Queen Anne Street Secession Church, Dunfermline; and later at the Secession Church at Limekilns.

Ebenezer received three years of education, possibly in the Saline parish school. On leaving school he spent some time at watchmaking and also as an apprentice shoemaker.

In 1803 he joined Robert Haldane’s theological seminary, and in 1805 he was selected to accompany the Rev. John Paterson to India.

As the East Company would not, however, allow British vessels to convey missionaries to India this presented Rev. Paterson and his young companion with a problem.1

The two made their way to Denmark to await the chance of a passage to Serampur in West Bengal, then a Danish port. Being unexpectedly delayed, they began preaching in Copenhagen and they finally decided to settle in Denmark. In 1806 Henderson became the pastor at Elsinore.2

From this time until 1817 Henderson was engaged in encouraging the distribution of Bibles in the Scandinavian countries, and in the course of his labours he visited Iceland, Sweden, Lapland, mainland Denmark and Germany. During most of this period he was an agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 1818, following a visit to England, he travelled in company with Rev. Paterson through Russia but instead of settling in Astrakhan, a port on the delta of the River Volga, as was the intention, he retraced his steps. The reason for this was that he had resigned his connection with the Bible Society due to his disapproval of a translation of the Scriptures into Turkish.3

In 1822 he was invited by the Russian Prince Alexander Galytsin to assist the Russian Bible Society in translating the Scriptures into various languages spoken in the Russian Empire.

After twenty years of work abroad, Henderson returned to the UK and was appointed tutor of the Mission College, Gosport. In 1830 he succeeded Dr William Harrison as theological lecturer and professor of Oriental languages in Highbury Congregational College. He retired on a pension in 1850 but for a short while in the early 1850s he was the pastor of Sheen Vale chapel at Mortlake. Ebenezer Henderson died at Mortlake on the 17th May 1858.

Henderson was a man of great linguistic attainment. As well as the ordinary languages of scholarly accomplishment, he had learnt the languages of the various Scandinavian countries he had visited. Additionally, he was considered to be one of the most accomplished oriental and Biblical scholars in Britain and had made himself acquainted with Hebrew, Syriac, Ethiopic, Armenian, Manchu, Mongolian, Tatar, Persian, Turkish, Russian, Arabic and Coptic.

He wrote a number of books on theology, Biblical criticism and new translations of Biblical Books from the original Hebrew. Additionally he edited a new edition of Buck’s Theological Dictionary. He also wrote about the countries that he visited. One particular book about his travels in Iceland was reprinted a number of times and was a valuable contribution to knowledge of that island in the early 19th century. In yet another book he wrote about his extensive travels in Russia, where he visited many diverse tribes of people. He was appointed Honorary Secretary of the Religious Tract Society and in 1840 he was made a Doctor of Divinity by the University of Copenhagen.

Coming from a humble background and with the minimum amount of early education, Ebenezer Henderson achieved remarkable results within his chosen field. These academic and literary achievements, coupled with his linguistic skills, denote a brilliant mind.4

1 From 1805 to 1813 a bitter debate raged over the right of Christian missionaries to operate in British India. It was considered by the Establishment that their actions would disrupt the Imperial order and thus affect profits.

2 Henderson would have been in Denmark, not far from Copenhagen, in 1807, the year when the British bombarded that city from the sea. Some two thousand Danes, mostly civilians, were killed during three nights of bombardment. The object of the attack was to capture the large Danish fleet of warships to prevent them falling into the hands of Napoleon. There are indications however that during 1807, either prior to or after the bombardment, Henderson moved to Sweden.

3 Henderson published a pamphlet in 1824 entitled: - Appeal to the members of the British and Foreign Bible Society, on the subject of the Turkish New Testament, printed in Paris, in 1819. Containing a view of its history, an exposure of its errors, and palpable proofs of the necessity of its suppression.

4 The information to produce this short article comes from two sources: -

a. The Historical and Statistical Accounts of Dunfermline. Vol. 1, by Rev Peter
Charlmers. William Blackwood, Edinburgh, 1844.

Note:-

There is mention in one website of a book produced by Henderson’s daughter, Thulia S. Henderson. This book, entitled “Memoirs of Ebenezer Henderson,” is not listed in either the National Library of Scotland or the British Library catalogues. A copy of the book is, however, located in the Local History Department at Dunfermline Library and I plan an afternoon with this book as it could well provide some details of his early life in Saline parish and give me a better understanding of this extremely gifted and dedicated man.