39 – Feb. 08 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST

Missionary to the Outcasts
We are familiar with many of our great forefathers.  Frequently, however, we are unaware of some of those who assisted and worked alongside those better-known men. George Bana Boardman is such a person.  He was born in Livermore, Maine, on February 8, 1801, the son of a Baptist pastor.  He was ordained at North Yarmouth, Maine, on February 16, 1825.  With his wife, he sailed on July 16 of that same year for Calcutta, India.  There they remained until March 20, 1827, when they embarked for Amherst, Burma, to assist the well – known Adoniram Judson.  They arrived in Burma only days after the burial of Mrs. Ann Judson.
It was decided that the Boardmans should move to the province of Tavoy and establish a mission at its principal town, which was also called Tavoy.  In April 1828, they began their missionary work in that place.  The Karens, who had long been oppressed by the Burmese, held a tradition that at some time messengers from the West would bring to them a revelation from God.  They were prepared to receive our missionaries and their message.  Two converts were soon won, one of whom was Ko Thah-byu, who served as an evangelist to his own people.
Just days before George Boardmans death, he was carried by a cot on the shoulders of the Karens for a three day journey to a zayat built by faithful disciples. More than a hundred were already assembled, nearly half of whom were candidates for baptism.   At the close of the day, his cot was placed at the riverside as they gathered to witness the first baptism ever held in that region.  The Boardmans left the next day to return to Tavoy, while on the second day of the journey, February 11, 1831, George Boardman went to his eternal rest.
Dr. Dale R. Hart, adapted from:  This Day in Baptist History III (David L. Cummins), pp. 79-80.