Ascham, John Bayne
Brief Biography:
John Bayne Ascham was born in Hawaii on February 12, 1873, received his PhD from Boston University, and spent six months in travel and study in Italy and Germany. He traveled with the American School of Oriental Research to Jerusalem in 1913 and made an extensive tour of Palestine. He had one son and one daughter. He entered the ministry becoming a Methodist pastor from 1897-1925. He was a Trustee for Ohio Wesleyan University and Ohio Methodist Children’s Home. During WWI, he served as a first lieutenant assimilated rank for the U.S. Army. He was the chaplain at Base Hospital for a seven month period in 1918. In 1919, he became the senior chaplain of a hospital center at Allery. He was the Executive Vice President of the Children’s Home in Cincinnati from 1928-1943. He was a member of the National Council for Social Work, American Sociological Society, American Academy of Political Science, American Association on Mental Deficiency, American Psychological Association, National Committee for Mental Hygiene, American Association of Social Workers, and the American Legion Republican. He was an active Mason. During his lifetime he wrote several books including: Help from the Hills, A Syrian Pilgrimage,, The Religion of Israel, and The Religion of Judah, Apostles, Fathers, and Reformers. He died in Ohio on November 14, 1950.

Brief Itinerary:
John Ascham's trip to the Holy Land described in A Syrian Pilgrimage, starts in Jerusalem. He does not include how he got there in his diary. Once there, Ascham wandered around Jerusalem on foot and found his way to a small village called Bethany where the tomb of Lazerus was located. The next day, Ascham departed from Jerusalem with a camping tour. The camping tour would last for twenty-eight days while he and members of the American School of Oriental Research traveled through numerous villages in Eastern and Northern Palestine on horseback and carriages. Their first destination was through the Jordan Valley and into the town of Jericho. The next day, they left Jericho to go to the town of Medeba. The camping tour left Medeba at 7 a.m. in route to Machaerus. From Machaerus, Ascham and the camping tour headed for what used to be the capital of the Moabite Kingdom and is now known as Dibon. He then departed from Dibon and headed to the village of Jizeh. After a brief stay at Jizeh, Ascham and the tour proceeded to Ammon, the city where Uriah the Hittite died. From Ammon, Ascham headed to Jerash and then crossed the Jordan. After crossing the Jordan, they went by the Lake of Galilee to Galilee. From Galilee they headed to Mt. Hermon. From Mt. Hernon they headed to Nazareth. From Nazareth they went to Jenin and then on to Samaria. After a brief stay at Samaria, the tour headed to Nablous where they set up camp for two nights. After a long and grueling trip, Ascham and the camping tour left Nablous to return to Jerusalem. That was the extent of Ascham's trip. A quick, yet grueling twenty-eight days of traveling on horseback and carriages through many villages of Eastern and Northern Palestine. His diary ends when they arrive back in Jerusalem. Ascham doesn't state how he got back to America.

Brief History of the Text:
A Syrian Pilgrimage written by John Bayne Ascham was published in 1914, and there is no evidence that the book was republished after the initial printing. The publisher was the Abingdon Press of New York and Cincinnati, known for publishing religious works.





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