SUPPIRAMANIAM (JORDAN LODGE.)

by Rev D.T.Niles.

Among the first eight students at the day school in Tellipallai was not only the boy who was baptized Nathaniel Niles,but also a another lad who was baptized Jordan Lodge. Mrs Winslow speaks of them  both baptized on the same day, 21st April  1821, as the "First

Tellipallai House The old house occupied the rear section which was later restored and extended by J.W.B-K’s sons ,Gate Mudaliar Kanaganayagam Barr-Kumarakulasinghe and Richard Rasanayagam Barr-Kumarakulasinghe. The frontage was again altered in 1956. There were two large Teak trees on either side of the entrance (not seen),and another very large tree in the centre called in Tamil a Mahilla Maram.The central enclosure and two more on the sides ,had several varieties of multi coloured Crotons. The drive around these enclosures was covered with a deep layer of white sea sand.

fruits of the Mission", meaning they were the first Christian converts in Jaffna from Hinduism, after Dutch times.

The name Jordan Lodge before baptism was Suppiramaniam, and he came from the village of Tellipallai. Nathaniel Niles was my father's grandfather and Jordan Lodge was my mother's great-grandfather.

In the history of the American Ceylon Mission,written by Rev C.D.Vellupillai the following account is given of the baptism of Jordan Lodge.

"When the mother of Jordan Lodge heard the news that he was intending to become a Christian,she came one Saturday morning wailing along the road ,to the house of the missionary.She said"Should my son be baptized ,all our friends and relations will not have anything to do with us after that. I cannot give my consent The missionary called the boy and said to him" You must decide". Whereupon  he took his mother aside and comforted her, and said "I belong to Jesus Christ" The mother went away sorrowing, saying to the son "You will not be able to come to our house again: I have lost you." The father of Jordan Lodge however gave his consent to the baptism .

Jordan Lodge studied for one year at the Batticotta seminary, after which he became a clerk at  the Mission.

One day as Dr Poor the missionary at Tellipallai, was on one of his walks, he happened to go to the village of North Erlalai. He saw a mother with seven children, all girls sitting outside a little hut drinking gruel.  It was a very poor family. Dr Poor sat down to talk with them,and when he found out about their situation, he asked the mother whether she would be willing to allow the eldest of the girls to go with him to be educated  at the Uduvil Girls School, and to be  looked after by the Church. The mother consented. The story is told in our family, of how when the missionary called for the girl she went murmuring which was an appeal to her God to deliver her fro

Tellipallai House

m this stranger.  There is an entry in Mrs Winslow's memoirs dated June 29 1822, which reads,

"This morning a little girl was brought us to be received into our family. This is a wonderful circumstance, and we hardly know how to understand it."

The girl was educated at Uduvil,and proved to be an excellent student, with a beautiful singing voice.  She was also very pretty.  She was baptized when still at school.

Jordan Lodge in his capacity as clerk to the mission, used to carry letters from Tellipallai and back. He saw this girl in Uduvil, fell in love, and persuaded her to run away with him.  These two became the parents of a good Christian home.  They had three children,the eldest of whom was Joseph William Appucuddy.  Appucuddy was also given the name Barr, which was the name of his benefactor in America, who paid for his education.  Barr Appucuddy became Interpreter Mudaliar, and Secretary of the Mallakam Courts. He married Sivakamipillai the daughter of a very orthodox Hindu home in Uduvil.  They had nine children of whom the eldest was my mother's mother.