Emma Crosby’s letters to family and friends in Ontario shed light on a critical era and bear witness to the contribution of missionary wives. They mirror the hardships and isolation she faced as well as her assumptions about the supremacy of Euro-Canadian society and of Christianity. They speak to her “good intentions” and to the factors that caused them to “go awry.” The authors critically represent Emma’s sincere convictions towards mission work and the running of the Crosby Girls’ Home (later to become a residential school), while at the same time exposing them as a product of the times in which she lived. They also examine the roles of Native and mixed-race intermediaries who made possible the feats attributed to Thomas Crosby as a heroic male missionary persevering on his own against tremendous odds.

Jan Hare's profile page

Jean Barman, professor emeritus, has published more than twenty books, including On the Cusp of Contact: Gender, Space and Race in the Colonization of British Columbia (Harbour Publishing, 2020) and the winner of the 2006 City of Vancouver Book Award, Stanley Park’s Secret (Harbour Publishing, 2005). Her lifelong pursuit to enrich the history of BC has earned her such honours as a Governor General’s Award, a George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award, a Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing and a position as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She lives in Vancouver, BC.

Jean Barman's profile page

• Commended, Book Writing Competition on BC History, British Columbia Historical Federation
• Short-listed, Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Book Prize, BC Book Prizes

Good Intentions Gone Awry: Emma Crosby and the Methodist Mission on the Northwest Coast

This is a collection of letters written by the wife of missionary Thomas Crosby who worked among the Tsimshian people in 1874. While Thomas was away, Emma looked after the children, the school and the Crosby Girls’ Home, which became one of the first residential schools. Commentary from the authors provides a background to the letters. The book includes extensive endnotes.

Hare is an assistant professor at UBC. She is a member of the M’Chigeeng First Nation. Barman wrote Stanley Park’s Secret, which won the 2006 City of Vancouver Book Prize.

Caution: The letters of Emma Crosby reflect the public opinion of the time that First Nations people were not to be treated as equals to the white settlers.

Good Intentions Gone Awry: Emma Crosby and the Methodist Mission on the Northwest Coast

This is a collection of letters written by Emma Crosby, wife of Methodist missionary Thomas Crosby, who began missionary work among the Tsimshian people in 1874. While Thomas was away working among Aboriginal peoples, Emma stayed at home, looking after the children, the school and the Crosby Girls’ Home. Commentary from the authors provides a background to the letters. The book includes extensive endnotes.

Hare and Barman are professors at the University of British Columbia. Hare is a member of the M’Chigeeng First Nation. Barman is the author of Stanley Park’s Secret, which won the 2006 City of Vancouver Book Prize.

Caution: The letters reflect the opinion of the time that Aboriginal people were not to be treated as equals.