United Brethren Historical Society

11/15/2024

From 1855 to 1882, missionary labors were primarily focused within the Sherbro districts. Although the American Missionary Association transferred their “Mende Mission” to the United Brethren, many of the areas in their field of operation included only a small portion of Mendes. The majority of the population in and around the mother station, Good Hope, and the Island of Sherbro was made up of Sherbro-speaking peoples. The Mendes were a small minority group despite the name of the mission.

In 1882, when Brother Wilberforce opened a school at Gbangbaia, the first real movement into Mende-land took place. After thirteen to fifteen years, the “Village of Dan” within the station was bustling with activity as a result of the day-school and religious services. Rev. D.F. Wilberforce and his wife, Elizabeth, moved the work forward. By 1896, a two-story stone missionary dwelling, a school, a chapel, and two mud boys' dormitories had been built. The girls lived in the mission house and were cared for by Mrs. Wilberforce, who is considered the first American missionary to serve in the Mende district.

There were about 100 students registered at Danville School. Many of the students who received an education at “Old Danville” went on to become influential citizens in their respective communities. Some became merchants, ministers, teachers, or paramount chiefs. There were four outposts for religious services, including Imperreh, Monongoh, Momaligi, and Victoria.

Miss Mary B. Mullen became the first missionary to be sent to Africa by the reorganized church. She was a licensed minister and a member of the Sandusky Conference. She arrived in Sierra Leone on November 4, 1897. Miss Mullen had been assigned to the Momaligi station, but while the dwelling house there was being completed, she lived at Danville with the Wilberforce family. In February 1898, she officially moved to Momaligi.

Miss Mullen was eager to begin teaching and preaching to people within the community. However, within a few weeks after her arrival, Miss Mullen was rescued from warriors who set fire to the new Mission House. The “Up-Rising,” or “Hut-tax War,” cut Miss Mullen’s work at the Momaligi station short, and she began the journey back to America on May 6 with other missionaries who had escaped the Shengeh Mission following a similar attack.

Posting by Hayley Saxon, Historical Center Intern. Information sourced from “Trail blazers in Sierre Leone” by George Fleming.

11/12/2024

Between 1871 and 1885, the interest in missions grew stronger, and more volunteers offered their services. On April 2, 1875, the first church was dedicated and a class of sixteen charter members was organized. In 1874, Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Clark donated $5,000.00 for the construction of a Theological School, which was erected in 1877.

Then, in 1882, the American Missionary Society approached the United Brethren Board of Missions with an offer to take over their mission fields at Avery Station, Good Hope, and Kaw-mendi. The Society’s progress had slowed because they were not affiliated with a denominational group.

The transfer was consummated in December of 1882, and the United Brethren's mission work spread over more territory. The Avery Trust Fund was also transferred to the church, which amounted to $5,000.00. Alongside the fund, the church received 1,500 coffee trees and five row boats. New enthusiasm followed the merger with the Society, and by the end of the year, around one thousand converts were taken into churches.

However, while the Sherbro mission field prospered in Sierra Leone, there were arguments amongst the home church surrounding a proposed amendment to the Constitution.

On May 11, 1889, the General Conference adopted a new Constitution and Confession of Faith, which many felt violated what the early fathers of the church had stood for. On May 13, despite disagreements, the vote was declared in force by the presiding bishop, which led to the split of the United Brethren church.

The portion of the church that operated in harmony with the revised constitution kept the properties of the Sherbro and Good Hope mission fields. Meanwhile, the United Brethren in Christ (Old Constitution) was left to develop a new center of missionary activity in Sierra Leone. They eventually directed their attention to Gbangbaia.

Eight years before the division of the church, in 1881, the independent congregation of King Street in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania voted to undertake a missionary project through the Sunday School. A few years later, the Woman’s Missionary Society was organized, and they supported the Sunday School’s officers, who wrote to Mission Superintendent Rev. Joseph Gomer and Rev. D.F. Wilberforce, who was teaching at Shengeh.

In their letter, the officers asked that work be started at Gbangbaia, a Mende district, and for Rev. Wilberforce to supervise the field. They also offered to contribute $3,000 if their request was met. Their suggestion was found to be favorable, and The King Street United Brethren Mission came into being around 1882. Rev. Wilberforce continued to reside at Shengeh, but he would make frequent trips to the new field despite the difficulties of traveling to Gbangbaia.

When the division within the Church of the United Brethren took place in 1889, the new mission station at Gbangbaia under the independent Chambersburg congregation was largely unaffected. They were sympathetic to the part of the congregation that remained true to the original constitution.

After the United Brethren in Christ (Old Constitution) completed its reorganizational work and formed a new Mission Board, the Chambersburg congregation offered to give them their mission work in Sierra Leone. This was how they came to develop a new center of missionary activity in Gbangbaia.

Posting by Hayley Saxon, Historical Center Intern. Information sourced from “Trail blazers in Sierre Leone” by George Fleming.

11/01/2024

The organization of the Woman’s Missionary Association was primarily led by Miss Elizabeth Hoffman, who felt called to missionary work and was prompted to organize the women in her church for active and special work in missions. When she confided in Brother John Kemp, he met with missionary workers in Dayton, Ohio and succeeded in putting together a meeting for the women of the Miami Conference.

Rev. D.K. Flickinger, who was the missionary secretary at the time, and Rev. J.W. Hott, the treasurer, became active promotion leaders. Rev. Flickinger introduced the proposal of an association for the women of the church at a Parent Board meeting, which brought official action that recommended the organization of a women’s missionary society. On April 16, 1874, the action was officially taken at the Olive Branch Chapel in Auglaize County, Ohio.

Other auxiliary societies were formed within the Miami Conference. However, little activity was seen and many of the groups became discouraged. At one general meeting in Dayton, only six women responded. Sister Mary Ann Sowers urged women to answer the call to missions, and she helped bring attention to the cause with the help of the general board. The cause was brought to the pulpit and the press.

Around this time, Mrs. Mahala Hadley returned from Africa, and her story influenced more women of the church to answer the call to missions. On October 21, 1875, a women’s missionary convention met in Dayton. Several conferences joined the convention, appointed delegates, or sent letters of encouragement. At the convention, the previously published constitution was amended and adopted. The Woman’s Missionary Association of the United Brethren in Christ was officially organized by the election of officers.

Mrs. T.N. Sowers was elected president. Mrs. Z.A. Colestock, Mrs. M.H. Bridgeman, and Mrs. S. Haywood were elected vice presidents. Mrs. L.R. Keister was elected as the corresponding secretary, Mrs. D.L. Rike was elected as the recording secretary, and Mrs. W.J. Shuey was elected treasurer.

In 1881, at a meeting of the Board of Managers, a resolution was adopted for the formation of a paper or magazine for the Woman’s Missionary Association (W.M.A.). “The Woman’s Evangel” was formed. It began as a 16-page publication and grew into a 32-page magazine that provided useful information about the association. It quickly became the voice of the W.M.A.

At another Board of Managers meeting in 1890, prayer was offered for the outpouring of the Spirit in the Africa mission. At the same time, special prayer services were being held by missionaries in Sierra Leone, specifically Rotifunk. This saw the start of a major revival in Rotifunk that lasted four weeks, during which time Chief Pa Sourri became a Christian.

The major division within the United Brethren church forced the women to examine their frontier and foreign mission work, which had to be temporarily paused. On May 14, 1891, in Elida, Ohio, Bishop Milton Wright, on behalf of a few women in the church, called for a meeting of the Board of Managers and delegates for the purpose of reorganizing the W.M.A. The reorganization was successful, and the Woman’s Missionary Assocation, Church of the United Brethren in Christ (Constitution of 1841) began their work again.

An agreement was made where the Parent Board and the W.M.A. equally shared the work of the African mission. This cooperation officially began on June 1, 1912, in a manner that had not been possible before.

Posting by Hayley Saxon, Historical Center Intern. Information sourced from “Trail blazers in Sierre Leone” by George Fleming.

10/25/2024

In 1870, the Shengeh station was in desperate need of workers, and the mission field was still without leadership. Pastor J.H. Williams had passed away in July only a few months after Rev. Hadley. Because of these tragedies and other hinderances, there were few mission volunteers, and the home church remained reluctant to continue the foreign mission programs.

Shortly after Pastor Williams’ death, a local congregation from Cincinnati, Ohio introduced the Mission Board to Mr. and Mrs. Jospeh Gomer. They suggested that the Gomers be sent to Sierra Leone. A written application was submitted on their behalf, but the Board made a negative decision. Mr. Gomer was not a minister, and his education was meager, although he was known to be a proficient reader.

Mr. Joseph Gomer grew up near Battle Creek, Michigan on a farm. His only education had been in the “Three Rs,” which would aid him later as an exponent of the Word of God. He fought in the Civil War alongside soldiers of the North. While traveling home after the war, he met Mary, a widow from Chillicothe, Ohio. They got married in Dayton in the Third United Brethren Church, which they joined and became active leaders in. Mr. Gomer became superintendent of the Sunday school. He also served on the official board.

Later, the Cincinnati congregation urged for reconsideration, and in late 1870, the Gomers were accepted by the Board. They arrived at the Shengeh mission in January 1871. During their service, the Gomers saw a change of heart occur in Chief Caulker. He would later go on to support the missionaries. Perhaps the deaths of Rev. Hadley and Pastor Williams stirred change in the hearts of Chief Caulker and his people.

It should be noted that Joseph and Mary Gomer were African Americans, which may have led to their success where others had failed. Regardless, the movement of the Holy Spirit was seen during the Gomer's time serving in Sierra Leone. Not only did Chief Caulker convert, but sixty-three individuals were baptized, which overjoyed the Home Board and other missionaries.

Posting by Hayley Saxon, Historical Center Intern. Information sourced from “Trail blazers in Sierre Leone” by George Fleming.

10/18/2024

At the time Rev. Oliver and Mahala Hadley were commissioned, there was pressure from the home church to abandon the foreign mission program. Despite the unsympathetic backing and the hindrances the couple knew they would face, the Hadleys went faithfully to Sierra Leone. They remained on the foreign mission field for two years between 1866-1869 before Rev. Hadley’s declining health forced them back home to Indiana.

The Hadleys had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who they left in Indiana in the care of her grandmother, “Mother Brown.” Rev. Hadley wrote in his journal on October 6, 1866, “After praying and thinking over the matter I feel that it is our duty to deny ourselves for her sake.”

While in Sierra Leone, Mrs. Hadley gave birth to their second child on April 19, 1867. They named the baby girl Ida Atlanta. In his journal, Rev. Hadley details how, despite being “a very small and feeble child,” Ida appeared healthy. However, one evening Ida refused to eat, and the Hadleys woke in the middle of the night to the child crying and “in the last struggle for life.” She passed away on May 20, 1867.

In a journal entry from December 29, 1868, Rev. Hadley explains how he has been ill since preaching at the Zion chapel on Christmas Day. This was only the start of his declining health. However, despite friends urging him to come home, he writes about how he must remain in Sierra Leone, saying, “But the hour has not come, and we are content to await it. Only I am often distressed at the thought I can do little if anything towards the salvation of these people.”

On January 19, 1869, he records the birth of his and Mrs. Hadley’s son. Then, in March, the Hadleys were forced to return home because Rev. Hadley’s health was worsening. In his last entry, Rev. Hadley writes, “I believe [Christ] brought us here, and has been with us in a most peculiar and precious sense while we have been here, and will be with me to order our way to the end. Blessed be his name.”

Shortly after their arrival in Indiana, Mrs. Hadley laid her husband to rest. Ten days later, their infant son also passed away.

In spite of these hardships and sorrows, Mrs. Hadley wished to return to Africa and continue to serve the people there. She was reappointed on December 9, 1871, to the Shengeh mission. She served faithfully until June 1874 when her own declining health forced her home.

In Mrs. Amanda Billheimer’s words, the Hadleys were, “Great-hearted, devoted servants of God.”

Posting by Hayley Saxon, Historical Center Intern. Information sourced from “Trail blazers in Sierre Leone” by George Fleming.

10/11/2024

After Rev. Daniel K. Flickinger returned home from Sierra Leone in April 1856, little action was taken by the home church to continue foreign missions in Africa. Then, in the fall of 1856, eight months after Rev. Flickinger returned to the States, Rev. J. K. Billheimer and Dr. W. B. Witt volunteered to be resident missionaries in Sierra Leone. Rev. J. C. Bright, the Secretary of the Board, urged Rev. Flickinger to accompany the two men. The reverend ultimately consented to go in order to continue to meet with the Chief of Shengeh.

The three men set sail on December 5th, 1856. Shortly after their arrival in March 1857, Chief Caulker agreed to lease a 100-acre plot that connected to Shengeh on the west. It was one of the healthier sites in the area and sat midway between Freetown and Sherbro. The United Brethren Church was finally able to open its first foreign mission field.

While waiting for the rainy season to pass, the men bought supplies with their limited resources. They began making plans to clear the land when the dry season came.

Rev. Flickinger returned home in May 1857, this time satisfied and knowing that he had left the mission work in good hands. At the General Conference that month, he was elected to replace Rev. Bright as Secretary of the Board. He resigned, but later he agreed when Rev. Bright asked to be relieved. Rev. Flickinger eventually had to step down when his ailments from his travels weakened him.

Dr. Witt returned home to the States after eighteen months in the field. Rev. Billheimer stayed behind and oversaw the construction of the chapel, the first frame building put on the land. He also built the mission house before returning to the States in February 1858.

During his first term, Rev. Billheimer went to Freetown to find assistance, as he was largely left to establish the new mission site alone. In Freetown, he met a young man named Rev. J. A. Williams, who had recently graduated from Bible School. Rev. Williams’ services were a blessing to the foreign missions. He was often alone to oversee the mission site while he waited for new missionary recruits.

Rev. Billheimer’s second term lasted a year due to illness. He was forced to return home to rest. While in the States, he married Miss Amanda L. Hanby, and in September 1862, they traveled to Sierra Leone for Rev. Billheimer’s third term. Mrs. Billheimer became the first woman missionary with the United Brethren to serve on a foreign mission field. She evoked new enthusiasm. However, illness forced them to return home after only eighteen months.

Rev. Williams was left alone again, but he kept the mission work going, and it didn’t suffer in the period of missionary absenteeism due to his faithful service.

Posting by Hayley Saxon, Historical Center Intern. Information sourced from “Trail blazers in Sierre Leone” by George Fleming.

10/04/2024

Dr. D. C. Kumler, Rev. W. J. Shuey, and Rev. Daniel K. Flickinger set sail for Sierra Leone on January 23rd, 1855. During this time, the area was known as “The White Man’s Grave.” The three men would face a variety of hardships as they examined opportunities for missionary evangelism in Sierra Leone.

Dr. Kumler and Reverends Shuey and Flickinger arrived in Freetown after thirty-four days traveling at sea. They boarded a sailing vessel that took them one hundred miles down the coast to Sherbro where they were greeted by the American Missionary Society. The three men stayed briefly at the mission in Sherbro, which was known as Good Hope. From there, they traveled to Kaw-Mendi using a gig boat on a branch of the Jong River known as Little Bum. In the following weeks, with the help of George Thompson, the three men traveled along other rivers such as the Big Bum, the Kittum, and the Jong, searching for a site.

However, because of being strangers to the people and the climate conditions, the three men struggled to find a permanent location. They decided that Dr. Kumler should explore the upper Big Bum area, while Revs. Shuey and Flickinger would explore the upper Jong River, an area that extended beyond their previous journeys. With the help of guides, the reverends found Mokelli (the town’s name is now spelled Mokelleh) and deemed it “The Promised Land at Last!”

Revs. Shuey and Flickinger interviewed the tribal chiefs and set in motion the official procedure for a lease. They then returned to Good Hope to consult Dr. Kumler, who they learned had attacks of malaria. Rev. Shuey and Dr. Kumler decided to travel back home and report to the board. They arrived in New York on June 15th, 1855. At the end of their journey, they had spent a total of seventy-six days at sea and eighty-eight days in Sierra Leone.

Rev. Flickinger stayed behind to see the lease fulfilled. However, as the dry season came, the area grew inaccessible by river, and the chief of Mokelli proved to be unreliable. Rev. Flickinger was also advised that the town was too far inland for headquarters. He later learned that tribal conflicts in the area were more prevalent. With these realizations, Rev. Flickinger concluded that Mokelli had to be abandoned as a possible missionary site.

Yet, Rev. Flickinger did not give up hope. He continued to search for a permanent location, and he traveled to a nearby country, Libera. However, he returned unsuccessful to Good Hope, where he served as a pastor until he became weak after an attack of malaria.

This did not stop Rev. Flickinger from traveling to Shengeh, which had been explored as a possible site before Mokelli. However, the chief of Shengeh was reluctant to permit a mission, and Rev. Flickinger was weakened again by an attack of malaria. He decided it was best to return home. When the chief had to flee Shengeh due to tribal wars, he took refuge in Bendu, which was a few miles across the Sherbro River from Good Hope. Rev. Flickinger delayed his trip to America and visited the chief in Bendu. But their meeting proved unsuccessful.

After one year and two months, Rev. Flickinger returned home in April 1856. He felt regret at leaving Africa without a missionary to continue their search and having not found a site for missionary evangelism. He bought property in Freetown with the hope of exploring future possibilities for missions.

Posting by Hayley Saxon, Historical Center Intern. Information sourced from “Trail blazers in Sierre Leone” by George Fleming.

09/27/2024

In the early 1850s, progress was seen with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ’s home missions. Eastern churches had begun to commission circuit riders westward to states like Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. Many United Brethren families had already moved to the “wilderness” of Ohio and Indiana. The growth of the UB church in these areas led to the establishment of conferences like Sandusky, which would become one of the largest conferences in the tri-state area.

Rev. J. C. Bright, a member of the Sandusky Conference, was passionate about bringing attention to foreign missions, and, in 1853, the conference drew up resolutions that could be presented at the General Conference in Westerville, Ohio. In May, with the help of Rev. Bright and the backing of his home conference, the Board of Missions, or the “Home, Frontier and Foreign Missionary Society,” was organized by the General Assembly.

The mission board had been organized three times before in 1841, 1845, and 1849, but it remained inactive after an organizational mandate. The Resolution of Rev. Bright in 1853 made it an effective working body again. On June 1st, 1854, the Board of Missions adopted a historic resolution, which read, “Resolved, That we send one or more missionaries to Africa as soon as practicable...”

Rev. W. J. Shuey was chosen by the board to be the UB church’s missionary representative. The report reads, “Rev. W. J. Shuey, of Cincinnati, was appointed missionary to Africa, to spend one year on the Continent, life and health permitting.”
Rev. Shuey was tasked with exploring opportunities for missionary evangelism in Africa, specifically Sierra Leone. The Sherbro district where the former slaves from the Amistad had been kidnaped became the board’s main objective. Later, the Board of Missions chose physician Dr. D. C. Kumler and, despite his poor health, Rev. Daniel K. Flickinger to accompany Rev. Shuey to Africa.

On January 23rd, 1855, Dr. Kumler and Reverends Shuey and Flickinger set sail for Sierra Leone, and the first step was taken to fulfill the vision of Rev. Bright and those on the mission board.

Posting by Hayley Saxon, Historical Center Intern. Information sourced from “Trail blazers in Sierre Leone” by George Fleming.

09/19/2024

In 1837, slave traders continued to purchase and transport men and women despite the Act of 1808. Passed by Great Britain, it imposed heavy penalties on international traders. However, it did not end slavery; instead, the act only drove trade further underground.

One pirate sailing vessel with Mende and Sherbro slaves landed in Havana, Cuba. There, two West Indies merchants purchased roughly 44 of the 200 slaves from the pirate ship. They were moved to a smaller sailing vessel named the Amistad.

Once enroute, the slaves staged an insurrection and successfully captured some of the crewmen, forcing them to sail back to Sherbro shores. However, they saw an unfamiliar shoreline only a few weeks later. United States officials boarded the small sailing vessel and took those aboard into custody. The slaves were put through a trial after officials listened to their story. They were treated well by the New Englanders, who offered them food and clothing during the several months the trial took place. The slaves were then released, and news of the Amistad landing in New England began to travel slowly.

A group of Christian Americans helped the now former slaves receive an education. These Christians learned about their homeland and the needs of their people. But many of the former slaves could not survive the cold weather of the north, and in 1842, arrangements were made to bring them back to their homeland. Two missionaries, Rev. and Mrs. William Raymond, were chosen to accompany the former slaves and start a mission known as the Mende Mission. The American Missionary Society was established shortly thereafter.

As a result, in 1855, early UB missionaries established a mission site at Shengeh. George Thompson heard about the Amistad and became interested in the missionary work being done in Africa. He moved to Mende Mission shortly after Mr. Raymond died of fever and no one was left to oversee the newly established site. Another key figure was Rev. J. C. Bright, who had likely heard about the Amistad. He became passionate about bringing attention to foreign missions at the Sandusky Conference and the general church.

Twenty-six years after the Amistad landed in New England, the American Missionary Association proposed to the United Brethren Church plans to transfer their mission property to the UB Mission Board.

Posting by Hayley Saxon, Historical Center Intern. Information sourced from “Trail blazers in Sierre Leone” by George Fleming.

09/12/2024

In the early 1850s, progress was seen with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ’s home missions. Eastern churches had begun to commission circuit riders westward to states like Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. Many United Brethren families had already moved to the “wilderness” of Ohio and ...

09/11/2024

https://huntington.libguides.com/c.php?g=545503&p=6300204&t=143450

In 1837, slave traders continued to purchase and transport men and women despite the Act of 1808. Passed by Great Britain, it imposed heavy penalties on international traders. However, it did not end slavery; instead, the act only drove trade further underground.