Jules Louis Prevost
{{Short description|American missionary and translator (1863–1937)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jules Louis Prevost
| image = File:Jules Louis Prevost Life Summary 219 ENGLISH (page 2 crop).jpg
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = June 20, 1863
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York
| death_date = September 2, 1937
| death_place = Pughtown, Pennsylvania
| other_names =
| occupation = Missionary, translator
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Jules Louis Prevost (June 20, 1863 – September 2, 1937) was an American Episcopal missionary to Alaska, a linguist and translator, and a professor of the history of medicine at the Temple University School of Medicine.
Early life and education
Prevost was born on June 20, 1863 in Brooklyn, New York. His mother died at an early age, and he spent a few years in an orphanage.
Prevost studied at the Philadelphia Divinity School, receiving his B.D. degree in 1890. He was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Ozi W. Whitaker. Prevost studied Arabic for two years in anticipation of traveling to Algeria to proselytize, but became interested in Alaska after meeting William Duncan.{{cite book |last1=Struck |first1=Hudson |title=The Alaskan Missions of the Episcopal Church |date=1920 |publisher=New York: Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society |location=New York, N.Y. |url=https://archive.org/details/alaskanmissionso0000huds |access-date=29 January 2025}}
Alaskan missionary
After ordination to the priesthood in 1891, Prevost traveled to Fort Adams on the Yukon River in Alaska, arriving in August 1891.
Prevost published the first newspaper of Interior Alaska, the Yukon Press, with Gordon Bettles in 1894.{{NPS|source={{cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=William R. |title=Golden Places: The History of Alaska-Yukon Mining|date=1990 |publisher=National Park Service|location=Anchorage, Alaska|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/yuch/golden_places/chap11.htm |access-date=26 January 2025|chapter=Chapter 11: Gates of the Arctic}}}} On furlough to the United States in 1894, he married Anna Louise Demonet and studied at the New York School of Pharmacy. They returned to Tanana. He translated portions of the Book of Common Prayer into the Upper Koyukon language, along with hymns and other texts.
Beginning in 1898, Prevost served as US postmaster at Tanana under John Clum. By 1900, Prevost moved to Nome, before leaving for Brooklyn by way of Seattle, Washington to fundraise for the Alaskan missions. He returned to Tanana in 1901.
Educational career
In 1906 he left Alaska permanently, returning with his family to Philadelphia. He served as rector of St. Ambrose's Church. He also earned a degree in medicine from Temple University School of Medicine, graduating in 1909.
He continued as a lecturer in medical history at Temple University until 1929. That year he accepted a call to St. Andrew's Church, Panama City, Florida. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1933.
Personal life and death
Prevost married Anna Louise Demonet at St. John's Church (Episcopal), Brooklyn, Kings, New York on 18 December 1894. The couple had four children.{{cite book |last1=Prevost |first1=Gary Rene |title=Jules L. Prevost: A Comprehensive Chronological Time-Lined Summary |date=29 January 2023 |pages=415 |edition=Second |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jules_Louis_Prevost_Life_Summary_219_ENGLISH.pdf |access-date=28 January 2025}}
Prevost died of heart disease at his home in Pughtown, Pennsylvania on September 2, 1937.
"Magic lantern"
During his stops at various locations, it is likely that Prevost gave presentations using his "magic lantern", a type of early image projector. He used this projector to show images of Alaska during his lectures for fundraising and providing status to the church.
{{Gallery
| title = Slides from Prevost's collection
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| File:B01.s01.fia.jpg
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Notes
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References
- Obituary: Jules Louis Prevost, Journal of the American Medical Association, December 11, 1937
- The Spirit of Missions, May 1905, pp. 252–254.
- Hudson Stuck, "The Passing of a Veteran," in The Alaskan Churchman, Nov. 1906.
External links
- [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1892/koyukon.html Service Book in the Dialect of the Qlīyukuwhūtana Indians: Portions of the Book of Common Prayer in Upper Koyukon (1908)], translated by Prevost, digitized by Richard Mammana
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Category:19th-century American Episcopal priests
Category:20th-century American Episcopal priests
Category:Clergy from Philadelphia