Eugenio Kincaid[1] (10 January 1797 – 3 April 1883) was an American Baptist missionary who labored for two periods in Burma (now known as Myanmar).
[2] In 1822 he graduated from the Literary and Theological Institution (later renamed Madison and then Colgate University) at Hamilton New York.
[2] He was strongly inclined to preach for the salvation of the people in Burma after hearing a sermon from Luther Rice, a fellow missionary of Adoniram Judson.
After four years, he then went to Susquehanna valley, a more destitute place, and founded the First Baptist Church in Milton, Pennsylvania[2] starting with nine members.
[7] In 1828, he was appointed as a travelling preacher by the Board of the Baptist General Association of Pennsylvania for Missionary Purposes.
After serving in that position for two years, he was appointed by the Executive Committee of the Baptist Mission Union to be posted to Burma together with Francis Mason.
The assignment for Kincaid and Mason was to continue the pioneering mission work of Adoniram Judson that was started in 1813.
The Kincaids and the Masons sailed from Boston in 1830 and after four months they reached Moulmain (now known as Mawlamyaing) which was under British rule following the First Anglo-Burmese War.
In 1833, the year of his stay in Rangoon, he married Barbara McBain,[6] daughter of a Scottish officer of the East India Company.
Kincaid met many Shan merchants in Ava and he made a plan to visit and learn the habits and characters of these people and other ethnic nationalities.
Since it was impossible to procure men and provisions needed for further excursion, Kincaid decided to return to Ava.
Kincaid and his disciples were robbed repeatedly but miraculously he was able to escape on foot through the mountains of the Shan State.
On his arrival in Ava, he found out King Bagyidaw was dethroned by his brother Prince Tharawaddy[11] and many had lost their lives.
He saw countless number of tracks of rhinoceros, elephant, tiger, monkey, wild hog, and deer.
Laboring in the city of Akyab (now known as Sittwe, he made many excursions to all the accessible points to preach the gospel.
During that long leave of absence, Kincaid travelled to nearly every state of the union raising funds to support the missions and preaching very effective sermons.
Against Rev Kincaid strong objection, the leader of the British delegation insisted on riding their horses into the governor's compound, which was considered an insult according to Burmese custom.
Kincaid went to Prome (now known as Pyay) and made many excursions to the surrounding area and many Burmese and Karens were baptized.
In 1857, Kincaid carried the royal letter, enclosed in an ivory box lined with crimson velvet, and proceeded to Washington, DC to present it to President James Buchanan.
[15] In response, the president prepared a respectful and appropriate reply and entrusted Kincaid with a large number of valuable national publications as gifts.
In failing health, Kincaid returned to the United States in 1866, retiring first as a supply preacher in Philadelphia and later in Girard Kansas; he died there on April 3, 1883.
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