from https://www.historicedgefield.com/other-famous-edgefieldians

Edgefield County Historical Society
Edgefield County, South Carolina


John Lake (1870-1949). Baptist preacher and missionary, John Lake devoted
many decades to ministering to the Chinese people and particularly to the
lepers of that country. Born in the Pleasant Lane section of Edgefield County,
he was baptized at age sixteen in Edgefield and joined the Village Baptist
Church. Largely educated at home, he attended the Citadel in Charleston and
then returned to Edgefield where he helped to organize the Edgefield Chapter
of the YMCA. In 1890 he began his career as a preacher, serving several rural
churches of the County. Inspired by the Rev. Dwight L. Moody, he committed
his life to mission work and in 1904 entered the mission field in South
China where he spent much of his career. Being particularly called to assist
those who suffered from leprosy, he founded the Tai-Kam Leper Colony on an
island in the South China Sea. This colony, for which he secured financial
support from all over the world, became one of the principal colonies to
serve lepers in Asia. He died in 1949 and was buried in Willowbrook Cemetery
where his grave is marked by a large rock from Tai-Kam Island.