Jean Pierre Pellissier
Encyclopedia
Jean Pierre PellissierJean Pierre Pellissier (1808-09-28, St. Arey, France
- 1867-06-11, Bethulie
, South Africa
) was a missionary from the Paris Mission Society to Southern Africa.
He arrived in Cape Town
on 5 September 1831, where he stayed at Wamakersvallei (Wellington
) for two months, to learn Dutch, and from where he departed to Kuruman
to do mission work among the Tswana people (Zeerust). Local infighting between rival tribes caused him to move to the area north of the Orange River
in 1833, to a site where the London Mission Society had an unsuccessful attempt to start a mission station among the Khoi
people. He later named the mission station Bethulie (meaning Eloah – house of God). The land of the mission station was transferred to the Paris Mission Society in 1836.
Besides his mission work, Jean Pierre Pellissier made a great contribution towards practical education and medicine among the local people. This resulted into one of the best developed mission stations in southern Africa beyond the Orange River for that period.
In 1861 he was officially acknowledged as a medical practitioner by the local Government of the Orange Free State
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- 1867-06-11, Bethulie
Bethulie
Bethulie is a small sheep and cattle farming town in the Free State province of South Africa. The name meaning chosen by God was given by directors of a mission station in 1829 which the town formed around. The mission building is the oldest settler built building still standing in the Free State...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) was a missionary from the Paris Mission Society to Southern Africa.
He arrived in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
on 5 September 1831, where he stayed at Wamakersvallei (Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
) for two months, to learn Dutch, and from where he departed to Kuruman
Kuruman
Kuruman is a town with 12,701 inhabitants in Northern Cape province of South Africa, famous for its scenic beauty and the Eye of Kuruman, a geological feature bringing water from deep underground to the surface in the Kalahari Desert....
to do mission work among the Tswana people (Zeerust). Local infighting between rival tribes caused him to move to the area north of the Orange River
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
in 1833, to a site where the London Mission Society had an unsuccessful attempt to start a mission station among the Khoi
Khoi
Khoi may refer to:*The common name of Siamese Rough Bush, Streblus asper Lour*The Khoikhoi people*One of the Khoe languages*The Khoekhoe language*Khoy, a city in Iran*Khoy County, an administrative subdivision of Iran...
people. He later named the mission station Bethulie (meaning Eloah – house of God). The land of the mission station was transferred to the Paris Mission Society in 1836.
Besides his mission work, Jean Pierre Pellissier made a great contribution towards practical education and medicine among the local people. This resulted into one of the best developed mission stations in southern Africa beyond the Orange River for that period.
In 1861 he was officially acknowledged as a medical practitioner by the local Government of the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
.
Sources
- Elsevier, Amsterdam. (1976) Ensiklopedie van die Wereld part 8; C.F. Albertyn (Edms) Bpk, Stellenbosch. ISBN 0949948225
- Pellissier, S.H. (1956) Jean Pierre Pellissier van Bethulie; J.L. van Schaik, Bpk, Pretoria.