ABUNDANT IN LABOURS TO THE END
After her return to the United States, Mrs. House became the center of a strong influence in behalf of Siam among the women of the Church at home, especially as an advocate for female education. In 1878 she was elected president of the Woman’s Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions of the Synod of Albany and served five years in that capacity. When the several small synods within New York were united into the present Synod of New York, in 1883, Mrs. House was a member of the committee that planned for the consolidation of the several women’s societies into the Woman’s Presbyterian Foreign Missionary Society of New York Synod, and became the first president of the consolidated organisation. As a motto for the united society she proposed the ideal “Every Woman in Every Church Working for Jesus”—a motto that reads quite fresh to date. To Mrs. House is due the credit of originating the series of “Questions and Answers in Mission Fields,” beginning with a catechism on the work in Siam for children’s mission bands. This method of disseminating missionary information may possibly be the germ from which has developed the current system of mission study.
In the church at Waterford Mrs. House was accepted as the natural leader in the foreign missionary society of the women. She so developed interest in the work that the society maintained a very high standard of giving and of activities for many years. She was particularly interested in cultivating an interest in missions among the children and it was for her own mission band that the series of questions and answers were originally devised. Mrs. House had the joyous satisfaction of seeing Boon Itt ready for work in Siam. But before the time came for his departure she was called upon to take leave of him for eternity. On July 12, 1893, she passed to her rich reward in Heaven.
With return to America, Dr. House continued his activities in behalf of the Gospel at home and of missions abroad. He embraced frequent opportunities to preach, and especially responded with pleasure to invitations for addresses on Siam. He had accumulated a large collection of curios from Siam, China and Japan, which he used with good effect to illustrate his talks and interest his hearers. This collection he left to the people of Waterford, and it is in custody of the Presbyterian Church. In the home church he took an active part, serving for many years as trustee, and also as clerk and treasurer of the board of trustees. He was honoured by the community with election as President of the village, an office which he held at the time of his death.