February 6, 1812, marks the day five young men were ordained for missionary service at the Tabernacle UCC Church in Salem, MA. Adoniram Judson, Samuel Newell, Samuel Nott, Gordon Hall and Luther Rice were Congregationalists. Adoniram had married Ann Hasseltine the previous day, and they sailed for India on Feburary 19. After intensive Bible study during the long voyage, the Judson’s decided to become Baptists. Denied admission to India, they went to Burma where they both ministered until their deaths, Ann in 1826, Adoniram in 1850. ABHS has Ann and Adoniram’s correspondence, and documentation of their work on Burma.
