Thomas Gajetan Ragland, a household name today in Christian homes in Sivakasi district, served as a Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionary between 1854 to 1858 in the region. Ragland, a spiritual giant and a pioneer, was the first Englishman to initiate itinerant mission work. Although he lived to be only 43, his life and work had a lasting impact. Not surprisingly, Ragland's watchword was taken from John 12:24, the essence of which he grasped so beautifully, when he said, “Of all plans for ensuring success, the most certain is Christ 's own, of becoming a corn of wheat, falling into the ground and dying”. Ragland indeed bore the marks of the death of the Lord Jesus.

Ragland, of English and Italian ancestry had a noble lineage on his English grandfather’s side and his middle name Gajetan, was taken from his Italian grandmother, Gajetani. Orphaned at a young age, he was moved to Lancashire, to be with his uncle, where his older cousin also lived, who would become like a mother to him. It was somewhere between childhood and boyhood that he chose to follow Christ, details of which he never shared with any human. He studied at the Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he won the silver cup every year for four years and to top it all, he was the fourth wrangler in the Mathematics tripos (stood fourth in his class at the final qualifying examination).

Ragland, deservedly, was soon elected as a fellow of his college, for which he had to take up either administrative or teaching duties. Shortly after, he became a curate (assistant to the vicar) at Barnwell, Cambridge. It was at this time that Henry Venn, the Hon. Secretary of the CMS was received by Ragland at Cambridge (incidentally, Venn’s son, John, was the one after whom the eponymous Venn diagrams are named). The outcome of Venn’s talk was such that the erudite Ragland was shaken to the core by the powerful Word and he who was pleased with a respectable life in Cambridge and hated foreign travel, gave himself up for the work abroad shortly thereafter. It must be noted that being a missionary was on a lower level than being a chaplain, and  Ragland went  a step lower. He chose to become an itinerant missionary - a mere nobody in the sight of the committees in London.

Ragland was 30 years old when he sailed for Madras on November 20, 1845. The committee wanted to eventually make him the secretary of the CMS at Madras and so he was sent shortly thereafter to the south to get acquainted with the work and the missionaries in the south. At Madras, as the secretary, Ragland was in for a shock as he was quite unprepared for the harsh realities facing a missionary. He had entered the mission field expecting a repetition of the signs and wonders recorded in the book of Acts, but he was soon forced to come to terms with the fact that things were not all rosy. In addition to this, he did not like to live in luxury in a large bungalow with its many attendants. He only wanted to share the good news with the Tamil people by living in a small house or a tent that would enable him to mingle freely with the native people. 

It was during such a period, when he was pondering about his future, Ragland’s duties as a secretary took him further south, he spent about 9 months in a year travelling to different mission stations of the CMS. While passing through the northern part of the most southern district that was under the CMS, he saw the unevangelized masses and was wondering what could be done for them. This germinated a new thought within him - that missionaries, English man and native, should camp in a tent, move from one village to another, as the Lord leads and provides, and preach the good news as they go. This radically new proposal for an itinerant work, sent after much time in prayer, was, wholeheartedly endorsed by the committees (at Madras, and at London). Greatly delighted as he was, God, however, had other plans for Ragland for the present. Just as this radical plan was approved, he suffered a major health setback - a sudden haemorrhage from his lungs. This was a huge disappointment for Ragland, but he held on to God’s love, centred on this conversation with his Lord, “Thou art sore pained in mind for India; lovest thou that people better than He that made them?” To this Ragland had nothing else to say but, “No, Lord”, and quietly acquiesced. 

To try and recover his health, Ragland was recommended by his doctors to move abroad where the weather would be pleasant. Ragland, however, chose to go to England to take time to pray, study, and revive the work in Cambridge. Prior to this, in line with his vision, Ragland had written to Venn asking him to give out a call for men who would be humble and willing to be his co-workers for the itinerant work. Two Cambridge men, David Fenn and R R Meadows, responded to the call. These two were on their way to sail for India when he reached England. After a little under  two years, knowing that he was needed back, Ragland returned to Chennai in December 1853 despite knowing that he had not fully recovered. He took a gamble with his life and he reached Madras, where he was received by these two young men, who had by now made good progress in Tamil.

Shortly thereafter, on January 18,1854, Ragland and his co-workers began the bullock-cart journey to the northern part of the then Tinnevelly district. The company first camped at Sri-vilai-puthur (Srivilliputhur), where another temporary upheaval awaited them. After a week of work in the field, Fenn contracted typhoid, and Ragland, all by himself, had to nurse him as Meadows had to go to the hills, which was another month’s journey. And so yet again, a break was forced upon Ragland’s work and they had to travel to the North with Fenn still ill, simply to find a physician. It was another fifteen months before the three could get together again. But sickness and difficulties aside, they went about their witness and the supernatural joy on their faces spoke to the people around  them who had not yet experienced this joy for themselves. There was a constant stream of curious visitors about the tent door during the hot hours of the day and again in the evening. 

The conversions came, not in large masses, but a small number, a scholar here and a poor peasant there. But still, seeing the response to the work and to shepherd the incoming converts, the CMS sent help.  A fine young man, Charles Every, who was making quick progress in the Tamil language, was sent to strengthen the church in that region. But in eleven months, cholera struck him and he died. Another fine man (a married German missionary who had been working in the south for more than a decade) was sent to take his place - Barenbrock - and he too, sadly, passed away of the disease in another seven months. At this time, Ragland’s co-worker Fenn, too, was very ill, but like Paul of old, the Lord had mercy on Ragland and Fenn survived. After about five years of itinerant work, Ragland’s health was badly affected and so was Meadows’. Meadows meanwhile decided to travel north to consult with the doctors but Ragland thought that food and rest was all he needed as medical treatment of that day involved leeches and blisters! The band had moved to a small roofed house with solid walls in Pannaivilai and soon Ragland got on to the work of taking care of the letters and the administrative work while Fenn and the other co-workers went preaching. 

As he went about his work, on October 22, 1858, he suddenly fell ill and was asked to be laid down on a cot. As a young boy who peeked into the window testified, the dying Ragland said something the boy could not understand and then the man looked upward. The boy could, however, recognize only one word - Jesus - and so Ragland was in glory. Moses was dead but the Joshuas continued the work resulting in the remarkable Christian testimony established in that part of Tamil Nadu today.

Ragland’s prayers – captured in notes that he scribbled on paper to prevent visitors from disturbing his prayer time while at the CMS bungalow in Madras – show what a man of prayer he was. To him, even the ordinary interactions with his usually lethargic servants were meant to be sanctified. Regarding this, Ragland writes - 'How I sin in clamour! Cannot I make them understand when I talk in a low tone, and without impatient gestures? The tendency to fret over trifles: Let it be seen that I have not my heart so set on the little things about me as to be ruffled by slight derangements. Oh do not allow me to go on lamenting, but slothful and unimproving. Give me meekness out of Christ's meekness”. Such prayers did not certainly go unanswered as he was recognized by all, both young and old, as a person who loved everyone without limits. His co-worker Meadows testified that Ragland’s way with the Hindus was most impressive and tender, he would put his two hands on their shoulders and plead with them – some of whose descendents are still active Christians today;  fruits that came from the corn that fell into the ground and died.^[1] [2]