On this day in 1825, the area which became known as Chicago, heard its first sermon in the English language. It was delivered by a man whose ministry was spent primarily among non-English-speaking people.
Despite criticisms of some of his social policies, Isaac McCoy became known as one of the great Baptist missionaries to the natives of this country. One area of censure arose when he recommended moving the eastern Indians to west of the Mississippi. While some might have had other objectives, it was McCoy’s hope that by moving them away from the white man’s liquor, it would help him in their evangelization.
McCoy traveled thousands of miles all over the west and mid-west, preaching missions to the established churches and preaching Christ to the natives. On several occasions he visited Washington, pleading for justice for the people he loved. He suffered for his faith and for his ministry – he and his wife had six children, five of whom died at different times while he was away serving the Lord. In his spare time he authored a 600 page book on the History of Baptist Indian Missions.
Almost as interesting as the life of Isaac McCoy is that of his wife Christiana, whose love for Indian missions, surprisingly, was as great as that of her husband. Christiana was the daughter of Captain E. Polk, a soldier and pioneer in the west. Prior to Christiana’s birth, her mother and three of her future siblings had been captured by the Ottawa Indians, being held prisoners for several years before Captain Polk could locate and rescue them. Despite this in her background, she married Isaac McCoy on October 6, 1803, and spent the rest of her life to supporting her husband in his pioneer missionary work among the Ottawa and other native tribes.