EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1800; MARY SLESSOR P/76

 

In this post I will continue to share the story of an evangelical woman who lived in the first half of 1800 named Mary Slessor. She lived from 1848 - 1915. Mary eventually applied to the Foreign Mission Board of the United Presbyterian Church. In 1876, she travelled to West Africa. While there she was assigned to the Calabar region in the land of the Efik people. As a missionary, she went to other tribes as well, spreading the word of Jesus. Mary was the driving force behind the establishment of the Hope Waddell Training Institute in Calabar, which provided practical vocational training to Efiks.

It was the belief in the area that the birth of twins was considered a particularly evil curse.Consequently, the natives often abandoned these babies in clay pots to die. Mary adopted every child she found abandoned and had them live with her at the Mission House.

In 1892, Mary became vice-consul in Okoying, where she had been living since 1888, presiding over the native court. Unfortunately, she suffered intermittent fevers from the malaria she contracted during her early years in Calabar. These fevers eventually weakened her to the point that she could no longer walk long distances in the rain forest but had to be pushed along in a handcart. In early January 1915, she suffered a particularly sever fever. As a consequence, Mary died on 13 January 1915.