1934 CHINA MISSIONARY MARTYRS. Archive of Photos of "Miracle Baby." Parents Beheaded.

A small family-owned archive of historically significant photographs relating to the Chinese missionary martyrs, John and Betty Stam, and their "miracle" baby, Helen Priscilla. 

In December 1934, John and Betty Stam, young American missionaries serving with the China Inland Mission, were captured alongside their three-month-old daughter, Helen Priscilla, by communist forces in Jingde, Anhui Province. The soldiers marched the family to the town of Miaoshe, where they demanded a high ransom and held them overnight in a local house. Anticipating their execution, Betty secretly wrapped baby Helen in blanket layers, hidden with ten silver dollars and a pair of socks pinned to the swaddling, while praying for her safety. On the morning of December 8, John and Betty were led to a nearby hill outside the town and publicly beheaded before a crowd of local onlookers, becoming widely remembered Christian martyrs of 20th-century China.

Following the execution, the baby was left alone in the abandoned house until a Chinese evangelist named Lo Ga-zuen, who had been alerted by local villagers, carefully searched the premises. Hearing faint cries, he discovered infant Helen unharmed inside the swaddling alongside a note written by her mother. Wrapping the baby in his own garments, Pastor Lo and his wife smuggled little Helen to safety by carrying her over 100 miles through hostile territory in a rice basket, feeding her condensed milk and rice water until they reached a medical mission in Wuhu. The story of the couple's sacrifice and the survival of the "miracle baby" swept through global news outlets, profoundly inspiring a wave of foreign missionary recruitment during the 1930s.

The group includes:

1. An original 4 x 6 photograph of Helen Priscilla Stam, inscribed "Helen Priscilla Stam, Born 11 Sept. 1934 - Greets you, 11 Feb. 1935. She whom the Associated Press Corespondents call "The Miracle Babe" and whom the Chinese cal Pao Pei (like Bough Bay). i.e. Precious. From Clara and Charles Ernest Scott. Clara and Charles Ernest Scott were also missionaries in China, Betty Stam's (Scott) parents, and the grandparents of Helen Priscilla.

2. An original photograph of a Chinese shepherd with sheep in front of the Jinan house in China in which all of the children of Charles Ernest and Clara Scott grew up. c.1930's. Inscribed by Clara and Charles Ernest Scott on the rear.

3. An original postcard of Helen Priscilla Stam, dating to 1935 and originating in the family collection. Unused. Likely printed in China and sent by Charles Ernest and Clara Scott. 

4. Photograph of Bunny Stevenson [nee Scott], youngest daughter of Charles Ernest and Clara Scott, with Charles Ernest Scott holding Helen Priscilla Stam and the adopted siblings of Helen, Don and Carol as children.

5. Charles Ernest Scott on the porch of the house in Quingdao holding Helen Priscilla Stamp accompanied by adopted siblings and cousins from America. This photograph inscribed and sent later by Helen Priscilla Stam to a family member. c.1938. 

Photographs from the collection of Helen Priscilla Stam's adopted sister, Carol Roberts. Some Docketing notes by Carol on the rear of the photographs.