Silas Tertius Rand
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2014) ) |
Silas Tertius Rand | |
---|---|
Born | Hantsport , Nova Scotia | May 18, 1810
Occupation(s) | Baptist clergyman, missionary, ethnologist, linguist and translator |
Silas Tertius Rand (May 18, 1810 – October 4, 1889) was a Canadian
Life
Silas Rand was born in the community of Brooklyn Street about six miles west of
In 1833 he underwent a religious conversion. He was baptized and decided to devote his life to God. In 1834 he was ordained a Baptist minister. He took a position in
In 1846 he was offered an opportunity to travel to Burma as a missionary, but he elected instead to work among the Mi'kmaq. He obtained the support of the Protestant evangelicals of Halifax and in 1849 helped found the Micmac Missionary Society, a full-time Mi'kmaq mission. Basing his work in
After a long period of disagreement with the Baptist church, he eventually returned to the church in 1885. He died at Hantsport in 1889.
Linguist
Rand mastered many languages including Mi'kmaq,
Honours
Late in his life, Rand's work with the Mi'kmaq was recognized with honorary degrees from Queen's University (L.L.D., 1886); Acadia College (D.D, 1886); and King's College (D.C.L.).
Publications include
- The jubilee historical sketch of the Nova Scotia Baptist Association (Charlottetown, 1849)
- A short statement of facts relating to the history, manners, customs, language, and literature of the Micmac tribe of Indians, in Nova-Scotia and P.E. Island (Halifax, 1850)
- (Attributed) Ae Buk ov Samz in Mikmak (tr. The Book of Psalms) Published by the Phonetic Institute (Bath, 1854) Link large file
- A short account of the Lord’s work among the Micmac Indians . . . with some reasons for . . . seceding from the Baptist denomination (Halifax, 1873)
- A brief statement respecting the Micmac mission (1880)
- The dying Indian’s dream, a poem (Windsor, N.S., 1881)
- The Micmac mission (1882)
- Dictionary of the language of the Micmac Indians (Halifax, 1888). Online version.
- Hymni recentes latini: translationes et originales per Silam Tertium Randium (Halifa, 1888)
- Legends of the Micmacs edited and with a foreword by Helen L. Webster, (New York and London, 1893). Online version with preface by publisher Jacob Rabinowitz: Volume 1 Volume 2.
Notes
References
- Biography and archival materials from Acadia University[permanent dead link]
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry
Further reading
- Clark, Jeremiah Simpson (1899). Rand and the Micmacs. The Examiner Office.
- Lovesey, Dorothy May (1992). To be a Pilgrim: A Biography of Silas Tertius Rand. Lancelot Press.