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Brief Biography:
Eli Jones (1807-1890) and his wife,Sybil Jones(1808-1873) were Quaker missionaries from Maine. During the Civil War they went to Washington, D.C. where Eli distributed food and clothing to destitute Blacks. Sybil worked in area hospitals treating the wounded. Sybil was in the city when President Lincoln was assassinated and went to the White House to console Mary Todd Lincoln. The Joneses traveled to the Holy Land in 1867 where they visited many mission schools of various denominations. While in Palestine, they agreed to support the establishment of a school for girls at Ramallah. This school is still in existence and is still supported by the American Friends Board of Missions. The two Friends schools now operating in Ramallah and Elbireh (1.5 km apart) have about 950 students and 90 staff
Brief Itinerary:
The recorded travel of the Joneses begins in Marseilles in late autumn of 1867. The travelers boarded a small vessel that took them through the Mediteranean to Greece and then to Asia Minor. They boarded a French steamer, the Godavery, at Syra following the coastline of Asia stopping briefly at several ports and finally, landing at Beyrout. They traveled on land through Lebanon, Anti-Lebanon and Damascus for several weeks. Returning to Beyrout they reboarded the Godaveryand sailed to Jaffa where they traveled overland to Jerusalem, spending many weeks visiting the attractions and village schools. They then went north through Samaria and Galilee to Haifa where they departed the Holy Land in the summer of 1868.
Brief History of the Text:
Eastern Sketches. Edinburgh: which describes the Joneses' trip, was actually written by Ellen Clare Miller who was serving as their secretary during the trip. It was published in Edinburgh by William Oliphant and Company in 1871. The Oliphant company is no longer in existence and there is no record of how many copies of the Miller book were produced. The book was reprinted in 1971 by Arno Press. After her marriage, Ellen Clare Miller (Pearson) published a book of poetry called A Dream of a Garden and Other Poems (1894).
