Anthony Yuen Seto
Anthony Yuen Seto | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 18, 1890 Hanapepe, Kauai, Hawaii, USA |
| Died | May 6, 1957 Japan |
| Spouse(s) | Mamie Seto |
Anthony Yuen Seto (November 18, 1890 - May 6, 1957) was an American Bahá’í of Chinese descent who pioneered to Hong Kong.
Biography[edit]
Seto was born in Hanapepe, Hawaii, in 1890 into a Chinese family. In 1906 he moved to Detroit with his father where he attended Cass Technical High School and he enrolled in engineering at the University of Michigan after graduating. He completed two years of engineering and then transferred to the Detroit College of Law.[1] While studying in Detroit he met Mamie O'Connor through a friend and they got married in 1914.[2]
In 1916 he and Mamie moved to Honolulu where he practiced law as an attorney.[1] In autumn that year Mason Remey and George Jacob Augur visited Honolulu and held firesides in the city and Seto and his wife both became Bahá’ís.[1] Mamie suffered a stillbirth around this time and the Seto's received a Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in which He consoled them and they used an excerpt as the epitaph on their child's headstone.[2] In 1917 he began Army officer training at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu due to the outbreak of the First World War and he served in the military for two years.[1]
In 1932 the Seto's moved to San Francisco, California, where Seto continued practicing law.[3] In 1944 they pioneered to Prince Edward Island in Canada and took travel teaching trips across Canada's Maritime Provinces and Seto established media contacts for the Faith. They then returned to San Francisco and in 1945 they spoke on the Faith at the formation of San Francisco's United Nations organization.[4]
In 1950 Seto retired from his legal career due to a heart condition,[1] and in 1953 he expanded his Bahá’í service when he was appointed to the newly established Asia Teaching Committee responsible for coordinating efforts to establish the Faith in Asia under the Ten Year Crusade. He was appointed as the Committees publicity representative.[5]
In 1954 the Seto's pioneered to Hong Kong for the Ten Year Crusade. In 1956 his heart condition worsened and they returned to California in September however he made a recovery and they moved back to Hong Kong in February 1957.[3] They attended the first Regional Convention for North East Asia in Tokyo, Japan, in April 1957 and he passed away due to a heart attack at the airport preparing to fly back to Hong Kong.[6]
Shoghi Effendi conveyed the following message to his wife after his passing:
"Grieved sudden loss dear husband, valued consecrated, high-minded promoter Bahá’í Faith. Record his deeply appreciated services, both America Asia unforgettable. Reward great Kingdom. Assure loving, fervent prayers progress soul."[7]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 887. View as PDF.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1976). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 15 (1968-1973), Pg(s) 479. View as PDF.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 888. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1976). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 15 (1968-1973), Pg(s) 480. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1953). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 269, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 889. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 887. View as PDF.
