To China With Love

I have been working pretty exclusively with my Stamps family for the past couple of weeks and I have come across a really interesting couple, they are Drure Fletcher Stamps and Elizabeth Camilla Belk.

Drure Fletcher Stamps was born on November 11, 1885 in Georgia (most likely Carroll County) to Fletcher Moreland Stamps and Lani Mentori Hill. On September 26, 1913, Drure married Agnes Herron. Agnes died just 4 years after she was married. This couple also lost an infant son a few months before Agnes's death. On July 29, 1920 in Montreat, Bruncombe, North Carolina, Drure married Elizabeth Camilla Belk. Elizabeth was born on September 27, 1891 to George Washington Belk and Mary Thornton Blanton.
Both Drure and Elizabeth had a love for Christ, instilled in them by their parents. Drure's father donated the land that Salem Baptist Church was built on in Carroll County, Georgia. Elizabeth's father was a Presbyterian minister. Both Drure and Elizabeth went on to college to pursue higher education. In 1911, Drure attended Mercer College, and in 1914 he went on to receive his ThM. Elizabeth received a B.A. at Peace College in Raleigh, North Carolina. When World War I broke out, Drure served as a chaplain with the U.S. Army in France. When the war was over, Drure and his wife were sent by the South Baptist Convention to serve in China, particularly in Jiangsu Province. Sometime during their service in China, Drure returned to the States to receive a ThD from the Seminary in Louisville, known today as Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Elizabeth taught school while serving as a missionary. Drure and Elizabeth would continue to serve in China until 1949. During their time in China, they had three children: Margaret Drury, George Moreland and Winston Fletcher. Margaret and Fletcher would died before the family returned to the United States. In 1972, Elizabeth wrote a book about her life as a missionary in China titled "To China with Love." I would really like to read her book to know more details about what they did and the experience they had. If anyone knows where I can obtain a copy to read, please let me know!

After their service in China, Drure and Elizabeth were then called as missionaries to the territory of Hawaii until 1954. The couple settled in Waycross, Ware, Georgia after their service to missions. Drure died on December 11, 1982 and Elizabeth died a few years later in April 1986. The couple is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in Waycross, Georgia.

Ancestry Page
Find A Grave Page


Sources
Census Records: 1900 Carroll County, Georgia
Grave Stone Photos
Marriage Record of Drure Fletcher Stamps and Elizabeth Camilla Belk
Stamps Research by Will Stamps