Rev. Burr Hastings Baughman Papers

Rev. Burr Hastings Baughman (BHB) was born on October 21, 1910 in Buitzenborg, Java. He earned his baccalaureate from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in 1930 and his B.D. degree from Garrett Biblical Institute in Evanston, Illinois in 1938. In 1932-1942 BHB taught in various Methodist boys schools in Penang and Singapore and also preached in local churches on Sundays. He also worked with the Methodist mission to the Sengoi. Between 1942 and 1945, BHB was interned by the Japanese. After his release, BHB continued to work with the Sengoi mission until 1948. In 1946, he married Giam Tek Lin. After being informed that he was not allowed to build a Sengoi school or residence for himself anywhere in the Malaysian jungle, BHB transferred to Kapit, Sarawak. From 1948 until his retirement in 1975, BHB worked with the Ibans of the Rejung, traveling to preach in Iban longhouses. In 1949, BHB baptized the first group of Ibans into the Methodist Church at a mission service in Panto, Kapit. BHB also worked to promote adult literacy among the Iban. He worked with the Inter-church Committee on Bible Translation to translate several books of the Old Testament to Iban. BHB was also the author of an instructional reference text titled “Speaking Iban”. In 1964, the Governeor of Sarawak named him Honorary Pegawai Bintang Sarawak as a member of the Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak.