Thomas Shadrach James
| Thomas Shadrach James | |
|---|---|
| Born |
James Peersaib September 1, 1859 Moka, Mauritius |
| Died | January 9, 1946 (aged 86) Shepparton, Australia |
| Resting place | Cummeragunja |
| Nationality | Mauritian |
| Spouse(s) | Ada Cooper |
| Children | Miriam, Priscilla, Shadrach Livingstone James, Rebecca, Garfield, Ivy, Carey |
Thomas Shadrach James (1 September 1859 – 9 January 1946) was a Methodist lay preacher, linguist and herbalist. However, it was as a teacher, first at Maloga Aboriginal Mission and later at Cummeragunja, that he is remembered in history. Through this role, he equipped and influenced generations of Aboriginal activists, including Margaret Tucker, Pastor Doug Nicholls, George Patten, Jack Patten, William Cooper and Bill Onus.
On his birth certificate, Thomas James is recorded as being "Thomas Shadrach Peersahib". His father was denoted as James Peersahib (in other documents, this name is Peersaib). And his mother was Esther née Thomas. The a couple were both Tamil, of Indian descent living in Mauritius. His father James had been raised a Muslim in Madras and had moved to Mauritius to work as an interpreter to Magistrate Edward Henry Martindale at Wilhelms Plaines. However, following some years of hardship at Black River had asked a local missionary to become a Christian and later became a catechist in the Anglican church.
As a young man, Thomas lived in Port Louis and was educated at the local school. Even as a teenager, he achieved local stature as an educator of other boys. However, in his later teens he was traumatised, first by the death of his younger brother Samson (in 1875), then the death of his mother shortly after, and by the quick remarriage of his father to Luckheea, which he saw as insensitive. With these misgivings, he decided to make a journey to Australia and began using James as his surname, presumably to honour his father, though he would never see him again. James was fluent in Tamil, French, English and probably Yorta Yorta.
His interest in medicine and preaching may have come from his mother's family back in Ceylon. His maternal uncle Manuel as well as his cousins Gamiel and William "Nesam" Paranesam were all deacons of the Anglican Church. So too was his cousin Abishegam Thomas, who was also a medial doctor. Abishegam's family remember that, even as a young teen, "Shadrach was a really brilliant student; he was not only brilliant, his English was perfect and he did very good work".
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