Absalom Sydenstricker


Absalom Andrew Sydenstricker was an American Presbyterian missionary to China from 1880 to 1931. The Sydenstricker log house at what later became the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace in Hillsboro, West Virginia, was Absalom's early childhood home. His sister Elizabeth Sydenstricker Hughart married and moved to Illinois, she had a daughter named Sarah Ward. Elizabeth was buried in Charleston, Illinois.
His daughter, Pearl S. Buck, became an award-winning author. The book Fighting Angel, written as a companion to her memoir of her mother, The Exile, recounts the life and work of Absalom. Her representation of her father was conflicted between respect for his steadfastness, and bitterness for his treatment of her mother. She wrote that his was
This brief summary of the family life and missionary work of Absalom and Caroline Maude "Carie" Sydenstricker shows the perseverance, under extreme hardships, of missionaries to China during this time period.
The names of the family members appear in quotes as they are given in the books The Exile and Fighting Angel. Absalom is called "Andrew", Caroline is called "Carie", Pearl is called "Comfort". Names of cities of China are given in the modern Pinyin form, with names used in the books given in parentheses.