Scotland's missionary tapestry

It seems that the stitchers of Scotland have been very busy lately, putting together a tapestry of record-breaking length. Have a look here at Scotland's Tapestry.

In a related project, a tapestry of the Scottish diaspora is still in production. I hear there is a plan to have one or more panels concerning Scots who have been influential in Africa, and that in particular there is a discussion about who to commemorate in the former Rhodesias. A panel will probably contain a single image that is somehow linked to the life of a memorable Scot. You can see more about the Scottish diaspora tapestry project here.

Although they are not in the business of collecting lists of names, this is a quick attempt to put together some Scottish names in my part of the world.

Although most of my books don't tell where people came from, I am able to provide some missionary names, people associated with the United Free Church of Scotland (UFCS). See also Bishop Charles Mackenzie, also famous in Malawi.

The UFCS mission was proposed by Dr James Stewart (of Lovedale mission in South Africa, b. Edinburgh 1831) and Sir John Kirk in 1874, in memory of David Livingstone, shortly after he died, although it had been discussed for some years prior to this. The first mission party reached the southern shore of Lake Nyasa (Malawi) in 1875 to found a station at Cape Maclear, and later at "Livingstonia",  Stewart's suggested name. Another group of men founded a mission at the place they christened Blantyre, Malawi.

Their influence extended from the western shores of Lake Malawi into North Western Rhodesia, through Mwenzo and Kawimbe (near Abercorn) and as far as Chitambo's village (where Livingstone's heart was buried). Later their scope in NW Rhodesia was limited by other missions to this area, but they nevertheless left a great legacy. Many of the early doctors in Northern Rhodesia came from the UFCS as well as the Universities Mission to Central Africa (UMCA).

[Larger copy of map here. The underlined capitalised names are Livingstonia Mission Central Stations, the lowercase underlined names are out-stations, the dashed underlined names are, curiously, Dutch Reformed Section of Livingstonia Mission stations. Map from [1]]

A notable worker at Livingstonia was David Kaunda, who later founded Lubwa mission in Northern Rhodesia in 1908. David was the father of Kenneth, the first president of Zambia. Mission schools educated many early African leaders.

Below are some names associated with the UFCS and other missions in Northern Rhodesia, where I have been able to tell that they are Scottish, or at least born in Scotland (in some cases marked with a question mark, if not clear). I have a little more information on some of these people (and a lot on Arnot). Most of them were stationed in more than one place.

Unless stated otherwise, all names are associated with the UFCS. PB = Plymouth Brethren; LMS = London Missionary Society; PMMS = Primitive Methodist Missionary Society; SAGM = South Africa General Mission; SJ = Society of Jesus (source [2]):

Alexander, Thomas Thomson b. 1881 Penicuik. Opened Senga station 1914.

Arnot,  Frederick Stanley; b. Glasgow 1858, Katanga and NW Rhodesia (and elsewhere)  (PB)

Brown, Alexander b.1872, studied in Aberdeen
Brown, Annie ? b. 1887 possibly b. Glasgow, Mwenzo 1916
Brown, David McCullogh, b. 1880 Falkirk, d. Lubwa 1947

Campbell, Dugald, ? b  1870?, lived in Glasgow, Katanga 1893, later Nigeria
Carson, Alexander, b, 1850 Stirling, Lake Tanganyika and Central Africa Mission, Fwambo 1892
Chisholm, James A., b. 1872, ordained in Inverness, married MacGilvray; d Mwenzo 1933
Crawford, Daniel, b. 1870 Gourock, founded Luanza mission (PB)
Cunningham, Hugh ? b. 1869, lived in Kirkcaldy

Dewer, Alexander ? Mwenzo 1893

Grant, Margaret b.1892 Coatbridge, Livingstonia, Mwenzo

Halliday, Alexander b. 1887 Perceton, Livingstonia, Mwenzo, Karonga... married Janet Fulton 1921
Henderson, John Mathieson, b. 1863 Ecclefechan, married Catherine Young Riddell 1902
Howie, John Struthers ? b 1882, attended church in Greenock, married Mary Gilmour 1915 d. Dollar S.

Innes, Francis Alexander b. 1875 Skene, later west Africa, d. Alloa 1944

Lammond, William b. 1876 Glasgow, Bronze medal of Royal African Society, MBE (PB)

Laws, Dr Robert, b 1851 Aberdeen, original Livingstonia mission, d 1934
Lawson, Agnes T. ? married Charles MacKinnon, magistrate at Fife, Northern Rhodesia, 1907

McCallum, Peter ?  d. 1931 Hampshire
MacDonald, Alexander b 1879 Swordale, married Ruth Mary Livingstone Wilson 1920, d Edinburgh
McFarlane, Wilfrid, b 1878 Edinburgh, military cross WWI (LMS)
McGill, Andrew Haugh b. 1885 Dumfries (SAGM)
Mackay, James George b. 1860 Inverness, went to Madagascar, also Kambole (LMS)
MacKendrick, George b. 1869 Wishaw d. Niamkolo 1901
McMinn, Robert Donald b. 1870 Dalquharren, ordained Livingstonia 1906, Shiwa Ngandu... translated Bible into ciBemba [3], d. South Africa 1956
Martin, Jessie ? possibly from Ballgate? Mwenzo 1905
Masterson, Christina ? Lubwa 1922, married Rev. H. S. Kelp, Nigeria
Masterson, John b 1878 Edinburgh, Chikuni (SJ)
May, John b. 1866 Saltcoats, d. 1901 Kawimbe (LMS)
Meldrum, James ? d 1928, worked at Mwenzo, later Malawi
Moffat, Malcolm (son of the famous Robert Moffat) b 1870 Kuruman, South Africa; married Maria Martin Jackson b 1868, from Glasgow. Three prominent sons in Northern Rhodesia, d Kalwa 1939
Mowat, Gavin Henry b 1882 Leith; Chavuma 1923-1927; d 1950 (PB)
Murray, William M. b Sutherlandshire, married Miss Sutherland in 1905, d Scotland

Pottie, Michael, Transvaal farmer, originally from Scotland, d Kasenga 1916 (PMMS)

Scott, Robert ? Glasgow?
Service, Ruth b 1894 Paisley, MBE 1955
Smith, James ? b 1898 Attended Bible Training Institute in Glasgow, later Zambesi Industrial Mission
Stewart, James (Dr), returned Lovedale 1878


Wright, Robert Stewart b 1858 Edinburgh, lived Newcastle-upon-Tyne, d 1926 New Zealand (LMS)

Another list

Here is a further list of Livingstonia Missionaries (p.357-359), from [1], not necessarily Scottish. Date of appointment is given first in brackets:

Aitken, James H., teacher (1890) d. 1894
Aitken, George (Mrs) (1890) invalided 1898

Bain, Alexander J. (1883) d. 1889
Baker, William (1875) Royal Navy Reserve
Benzie, George, (1878) master of Ilala, d. 1880
Black, William (1875) d.1877
Boxer, Ernest, A., (1900) medical, Bandawe

Chisolm, James A. (Mrs), (1900)  medical, Mwenzo
Crooks, Thomas (1875)
Cross, Rev. D. Kerr (1885)
Cross, Mrs (the first) d. 1886

Dewar, Rev. Alex (Mrs), (1893) Karonga FRGS

Elmslie, Rev. Walter A (Mrs)., (1884) Ekwendeni

Fairley, George, (1880) master of Ilala, invalided 1882
Fleming, Miss M. J., nurse , (1900) Livingstonia
Fotheringham, Rev. D. (1890) resigned 1893
Fraser, Rev Donald, (1896) Ngoniland

Gauld, James, builder (1900) Livingstonia
Gowans, R, (1881) master of Ilala d. 1883
Gossip, Robert, bookkeeper, (1886) later A.L.Co. Glasgow
Gunn, John, agriculturalist (1875) d. 1880

Henry, Rev George (1887) d. 1893
Henderson, Rev. James (Mrs) (1895)

Henderson, Walter J., builder (1896)
Henderson, John. M., (1896) teacher Karonga
Hannington, Rev. Robert, (1881) invalided 1882, later in Constantinople
Harkess, William, (1880) engineer of Ilala, joined A.L. Co. 1882

Innes, Frank A., (1899) Karonga

Jackson, Miss Maria, nurse (1897), to be married 1900
Johnston, George, carpenter (1875)

Koyi, William, (1876) from Lovedale d. 1886

Macdonald, Roderick, carpenter (1892) invalided 1894
Macgregor, W. Duff (Mrs), carpenter  (1892)
Macgregor, John, carpenter (1899) Livingstonia
Macgregor, Donald, agriculturalist (1891), invalided 1894
Macintosh, Hugh, carpenter (1886) d. Jan 1887
Martin, Miss J., (1900) nurse  (honorary), Livingstonia
McAlpine, Rev. A. G. (1892) Bandawe
McCallum, Peter (Mrs), 1881 Bandawe
McCallum, Miss Margaret (1897), to be married 1900
McCurrie, John B. (1886)
McEwen, William O. 1884 d, 1885
McFadyen, John, engineer (1875)
McIntyre, Maurice, teacher (1886) d. 1890
Miller, Archibald C. (1876), weaver d. Zambezi
Morrison, W. (1891) recalled by 1901
Moffat, Malcolm, agriculturalist (1894)
Munro, Donald, 1881 builder
Murray, William McKay, carpenter (1888)

Ngunana, Shadrach, 1876 from Lovedale, d. 1877
Ntinitili, A. Mapas, 1876 from Lovedale, invalided 1880, d. 1897

Paterson, J.A. 1878 engineer
Prentice, Rev George, (1894) Kasungu, Mwasi's

Ramsay, Rev. J. C.  (1896) invalided 1898
Reid, William B, 1878 seaman
Riddell, Alexander, agriculturalist (1875), later Australia

Robertson, W. Govan (1891) resigned 1896, later LMS
Roby-Fletcher, A. W. (1897), d. 1898
Rollo, George A. (1885) d, Dec. 1885
Ross, Robert S., engineer (1876) left 1883

Scott, Archibald C. (1891) resigned 1896, later Port Elizabeth
Scott, Robert (1898) resigned 1900
Scott, William 1883 invalided 1886
Simpson, Allan, blacksmith (1875), later A.L.Co.
Smith, John A., 1881 teacher Blantyre
Steele, Rev. George (1890) d. 1895
Steven, Hugh, carpenter (1894) d. 1895
Stewart, James (1877) d. 1883 (another person to Dr James Stewart) FRGS
Stewart, Miss Lizzie A., teacher (1894)
Stuart, Charles teacher (1887) invalided 1900 
Sutherland, William (1900) Livingstonia
Sutherland, James, 1880 agriculturalist d. 1885


Thomson, William, printer (1889)

Waterston, Miss M.D., 1878 later Cape Town
Wauchope, Isaac Williams, 1876 from Lovedale, invalided 1877, later ordained

Williams, George, 1882 from Lovedale resigned 1888

Young, E.D.,  R.N., led first expedition (1875) d. 1896

Sources: 

[1] "Daybreak in Livingstonia", Jack James, Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier, 1901

[2]  "Christian Missionaries and the creation of Northern Rhodesia, 1880-1924", Robert Rotberg, Princeton University Press, 1965

[3] Personal Communication, Andrew Rodger 2007