https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Alphonse_Fran%C3%A7ois_LacroixAlphonse François Lacroix - Revision history2026-07-31T21:29:27ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Alphonse_Fran%C3%A7ois_Lacroix&diff=159984&oldid=previmported>Canterbury Tail at 16:27, 20 July 20212021-07-20T16:27:12Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Swiss Protestant missionary}}<br />
{{for|hockey player|Alphonse Lacroix}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}<br />
'''Alphonse François Lacroix''' (1799–1859) was a Swiss missionary in Bengal.<br />
[[File:Portrait of A. F. Lacroix (4673347).jpg|thumb|Portrait statement and signature of Alphonse François Lacroix]]<br />
[[File:The Tomb of Catharina Carolina Herklots & Gregorius Herklots and The Grave of Alphonse Herklots Lacroix, Dutch Cemetery, Chinsurah.jpg|thumb|The tomb of Catharina Carolina Herklots & Gregorius Herklots and the grave of Alphonse Herklots Lacroix, Dutch Cemetery, Chinsurah]]<br />
<br />
==Life==<br />
Lacroix was born in the [[canton of Neuchâtel]] on 10 May 1799. He was educated there under the care of his uncle, named Chanel, until he was 17 years of age.<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB|wstitle=Lacroix, Alphonse François|volume=31}}</ref><ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|id=15845|first=Katherine|last=Prior|title=Lacroix, Alphonse François}}</ref><br />
<br />
In 1816 Lacroix went to [[Amsterdam]] as a tutor, and while there learned of the [[French_Polynesia#Religion|Christian conversion of Tahiti]]. He offered himself as a missionary. He was first appointed an agent of the [[Netherlands Missionary Society]] at [[Chinsurah]], near [[Calcutta]] in [[British India]], but on the cession of the settlement to the [[British East India Company]] he transferred his services to the [[London Missionary Society]], and became a British subject.<ref name="DNB"/><br />
<br />
Lacroix married at Chinsurah, and stayed there until 1827, when he moved to Calcutta. While there he set up a religious movement in the villages to the south and east of the city as well as in the district of the [[Sunderbunds]]. He also preached in [[Sagar Island]], and made visits to the [[Ichamati River]] and [[Mathabhanga River]]. He devoted spare time to revising the [[Bible translations into Bengali|scriptures in Bengali]] and to training local preachers.<ref name="DNB"/><br />
<br />
During the 38 years that he was in South Asia, Lacroix paid just one visit to Europe. During 1842–3 he spent time in Switzerland, France, and England, publicising his mission work, particularly in Geneva. He pursued his pastorate in Calcutta until his death there on 8 July 1859. He was a natural preacher, spoke English well, but French and Bengali better.<ref name="DNB"/><br />
<br />
==Family==<br />
Lacroix in 1825 married Hannah Herklots. Their children included [[Hana Catherine Mullens|Hana Catherine]], who married the missionary [[Joseph Mullens]]. She grew up fluent in Bengali and did notable work in the [[zenana mission]]s to women living in seclusion.<ref name="ODNB"/><br />
<br />
==Notes==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
;Attribution<br />
{{DNB|wstitle=Lacroix, Alphonse François|volume=31}}<br />
<br />
{{commonscat|Alphonse François Lacroix}}<br />
<br />
{{authority control}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacroix, Alphonse Francois}}<br />
[[Category:1799 births]]<br />
[[Category:1859 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Swiss Protestant missionaries]]<br />
[[Category:Protestant missionaries in India]]</div>imported>Canterbury Tail