The Changemakers Series is designed to inform and inspire you with stories of ordinary people who dedicated their lives to spreading God’s Word around the world. Today, learn about Frances Snow Hamilton, the first female Bible agent in American Bible Society history.

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March is Women’s History Month, and American Bible Society celebrates the contributions of women to the Bible cause—including women who shaped our organization. As we work to help all people experience God through his Word, we praise God for the leadership, vision, and service of women throughout our two centuries of ministry.

Today, we introduce you to Frances Snow Hamilton, who served as American Bible Society’s first female Bible agent and helped bring the Word of God to the people of Mexico.

A Vision for Missions

Frances Snow Hamilton was born in Rochester, NY in 1863. She was a gifted student, graduating with high honors from the Rochester Free Academy and Oswego Normal School and soon becoming a teacher at the Oswego Normal School. During this time, Frances developed a strong interest in missions. Her passion for sharing the Word of God prompted the Presbyterian Church’s Board of Foreign Missions to appoint her as a teacher at their Girls School in Mexico. She soon learned Spanish and became well-known for her skill in acting as a translator.

While working at the school, Frances met Rev. Hiram P. Hamilton, a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City and a representative of American Bible Society. Hiram, who served as a Bible agent and oversaw the Bible distribution work of colporteurs throughout the country, had a bold vision for the impact God’s Word could have in Mexico. In his first year in Mexico, he had hired 15 new colporteurs to distribute Scripture. His colporteurs served cities like Mexico City, Guanajuato, Pachuca, and Zacatecas as well as smaller villages across Mexico. Hiram believed that the “peace and prosperity” of Mexico could be achieved through “the gentle, restless influence of the Holy Bible in the homes of the people.”

Soon after they met, Frances and Hiram married, merging their vision of bringing God’s Word to people in Mexico. Frances would continue to develop her Spanish skills, business acumen, and gift for spreading the gospel as she worked alongside Hiram.

A Trailblazer in Bible Distribution

Frances and Hiram served together until 1903, when Hiram became ill. He passed away in 1905 after serving in Mexico for 26 years. Since Frances had already taken over many of Hiram’s duties during his illness, she was the natural choice for his replacement. American Bible Society appointed her as the new Bible agent and made the unconventional decision to pay her the same salary and allowances as Hiram. At the time, she was “the only woman in the world entrusted with the full and responsible care of a Bible Society Agency.”

Because of her firsthand knowledge of the Mexico Agency and colporteurs, Frances was able to continue the work of Bible distribution with little interruption. Her responsibilities included handling the funds sent by American Bible Society in New York City along with the profits from Bible sales and gifts in Mexico. She was responsible for dealing with Mexican authorities in matters of business and legal issues. She traveled throughout Mexico to organize Bible distributions and meet with missions partners. And she supervised 32 colporteurs, who faced dangerous conditions as they carried God’s Word around the country.

At the time, the Catholic Church resisted the Mexico Agency’s Bible distribution efforts and tried to discourage people from reading the Protestant versions of Scripture offered by colporteurs. One priest went so far as to call the Protestant Bible “the book of the devil.” Priests demonized colporteurs and tried to deter people from buying the Bibles by threatening excommunication. In rural locations, colporteurs were sometimes attacked and robbed. One man was imprisoned for six days without any cause; another endured a night of terror when an angry mob trapped him and his family in their home and hurled rocks at them throughout the night.

Frances kept a careful eye on her colporteurs, tracking the movements of each person on a map of Mexico in her office. And, despite the challenges of Bible distribution, she continued to develop new plans to share God’s Word. One of her most creative ideas was an ambitious campaign to see one million Mexicans turn to Christ during the 1910 centennial celebration of Mexico’s independence from Spain. By capitalizing on this significant cultural event, Frances wanted to grow awareness of God’s Word and reach more people than ever with Scripture.

In support of Frances’s vision, American Bible Society printed special red, white, and green editions of the four Gospels for the event. These were sold at a low price, but they were also made available for free if people could not afford them. Unfortunately, just a few months after this triumphant Bible distribution campaign, Frances experienced what she called the “darkest chapter of Mexico’s history.”

A Guiding Hand in Turbulent Times

In November 1910, the Mexican Revolution began a bloody decade. When Mexican President Porfirio Díaz was replaced by revolutionary leader Francisco Madera, Frances and other representatives from the Mexico Agency presented Madera with an American Bible Society Bible as a sign of goodwill. They expressed their hope that he would lead according to God’s Word and, for a short time, Frances felt confident in Madera’s vision for Mexico. But Madera’s presidency was short-lived, and the country was soon engaged in civil war.

Throughout these turbulent times, Frances remained committed to staying in Mexico—even when American Bible Society urged her to leave. In 1911 she took a short leave of absence, after surviving a shipwreck and losing all her possessions, but she returned to Mexico that same year. She continued Bible distribution efforts and even oversaw the publication of the Gospel of John in Zapotec.

By 1914, it was too dangerous for Frances or her colporteurs to travel. Beyond this, few Mexicans could afford Bibles after several years of conflict. Frances ultimately made the difficult decision to leave Mexico when U.S. troops arrived and ordered all Americans to exit the country. She left a German colleague in charge of the Mexican Agency and returned to the United States, where she worked on several projects for American Bible Society in New York City. She passed away suddenly just one month after she arrived in New York in 1915.

In her work, Frances lived out the mission of American Bible Society as she helped thousands of people receive and experience God’s Word. Her legacy was featured in a 1912 edition of Record magazine:

It is certainly a remarkable thing that during a period of bloodshed, and when the fiercest passions are let loose, a woman’s hand should have guided our ship so successfully. . . . t is worth while to note the power of this Christian woman, a model of gentleness and modesty, to direct the activity of thirty-two colporteurs, nearly all Mexicans, and in a Roman Catholic country at that.

She also proved to be an example of the steadfast, faithful servant each Christian is called to be in 1 Corinthians 15:58 (GNT):

So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever useless.

As we look back on the life of Frances and other Changemakers who have guided our history, we thank God for the people he chose to champion the Bible cause. Today, ask yourself how you can share the transformative message of God’s Word with the people in your life and become a Changemaker for our own time!

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Sources

• Cordato, Mary. “Women’s Involvement in the Bible Cause: 1816 to the Present.” ABS Historical Working Papers Series. American Bible Society Archives. 1993.
• Fea, John. The Bible Cause: A History of the American Bible Society. Oxford University Press, 2016.