God's candelights, Mabel Shaw

'God's Candlelights, an educational venture in Northern Rhodesia'  is another book about the first Girls' School in Zambia, at Mbereshi (see my previous post here on Children of the Chief). This one is based on Mabel Shaw's letters dating from 1916 to 1933 during her time heading the school that (in her own words)

'tells of an attempt to conserve all that is true and good in the old life and to build upon it; and so to present the Christian faith to the community and to the individual that they see it not as the white man's religion... but through the familiar ways of their own thought and belief.'

This follows closely the idea expressed at the Le Zoute 1926 missionary conference that 'everything that is good in the African's heritage should be conserved, enriched and enobled by contact with the spirit of Christ'.

The Journal of the Royal African Society said in 1934 (Vol 33 No. 132) 'During her nineteen years of missionary work ... Miss Shaw has made a name for herself and for the school she has built up in Mbereshi. God's candelights is a record full of meekness, devotion and thanksgiving, of the patient sympathy which has led to that success - in which failures and difficulties are spoken with candour and triumphs with humility. If there was an Mbereshi in every African village, there would be no need, from Africa's point of view, for the pomp, the circumstance, and the heavy hand of colonial government.'

This is a fair summary of the book.  Although initially the narrative appears rather rose-coloured, there is also later admittance of where things have gone wrong and discussion of problems in the village and failings of her own and the children's.


There is a long waiting-list to join the school. In some cases parents return for years as they move up the waiting list, with only 6-8 children being admitted a year. For some this happens until their child is too old to join.

There is mention of some local customs, including the practice of killing a chinkula baby, one who is born with their top teeth appearing first, which is a bad omen.  One such child is saved from this practice.

Other customs we hear about include how fire is taken from one village to another, and of how fires are extinguished when somebody dies, a new fire is lit and then all fires are started from this new fire. Also we are told of the sprinkling of flour on the ground for various reasons, and spitting out the first mouthful of water.  A stick is placed in the ground for protection. A game the children like to play is tying a bird on a piece of string and whizzing it around until it dies (at least, before Mabel!)

The LMS were also against polygamy, beer drinking and 'certain inheritance rites', which newly baptised Christians agreed to refrain from. The last presumably refers to inheritance by a brother of a spouse on the husband's death. But Shaw also prefers to stand back from interfering in girls' coming of age rites until invited in by the older women, who it appears later abandon their traditions in this respect. 

We are told that Sanda, or insulting somebody's appearance, is taken as a serious offence. On one occasion a girl is made to wear large paper ears for suggesting another girl has large ears. The Bemba proverb is 'she who sandas spoils her own looks' but they also say 'the mother does not throw the bad child away'.  The last rain is called kunta nsoka, which translates as 'the shaking off of the seeds'.

When Mabel first arrives the children are usually married at 14, but she extends this to 18 during her time.  There is a maternity and children's hospital alongside the school buildings and dormitories. Infant mortality is high - about 45% of first babies die.

Northern Rhodesia, 1927

Other places mentioned are: Kasembe (Kazembe's village, 10km south), Mpolokoso (Mporokoso), Kawambwa, Mbala, N'kana (mine),  and Elizabethville (now Lubumbashi, DRC).

Mbereshi is close to the Luapula River, on the western border of Zambia, and we hear of people crossing the river.

As the map included here shows (from Funk and Wagnalls Atlas of the World, New York, 1927) Lusaka doesn't really register at this time, and Elizabethville is the largest town nearby. We also hear about people coming from Lake Mweru (here Moero), Lake Tanganyika, and a visit to Kalambo Falls. You can also see Fort Roseberry here (Mansa). See also the map here.

'Is it ready yet?' Hilda Katongo and Mary Livingstone

One of the girls makes a trip to Elizabethville to experience town life, and everybody at the school wants to learn about this exciting trip. Mbereshi itself is quite wild. Post is a treat and when Christmas bags arrive only carrying Bibles from the British and Foreign Bible Society, there is great disappointment.

Shaw hears an interesting legend from an older tribesman about the awe inspiring Kalambo Falls (which is more than twice the height of Victoria Falls). The man says that two chiefs were always fighting over who owned the gorge. Eventually 'the young wife' (the chief having many wives) with her first born on her back came one dawn and threw herself over, 'thus making it ours forever'.

There is quite a lot about Chief Kasembe and how his power has dwindled during the time of the school.  It is told that the previous Kasembe punished various people by mutilation, including removal of ears, nose, fingers, tongue and lips. Victims included Katayi and Mwaba.

A particularly good tale is of how Shaw was telling some of the young children the parable of the Good Shepherd. The children are paying rapt attention. When she is finished she asks them why the shepherd was looking for the lost sheep. One girl immediately pipes up Munani! (relish!) in other words, because he wanted to eat the sheep.

Names

Sometimes it is unclear whether a person is a teacher or student, particularly since children who had passed Standard II were given teaching duties themselves during their last year. Subjects taught included geography, biology, hygeine and arithmetic (counting and money).

The abbreviated names include Dr M, Nurse R (Rebecca? A Scots midwife perhaps) , Miss B, Miss S and Miss W.

The children are given English names alongside their Bemba names.  There are some unusual names recorded, not given by the school: Trotters, Comic, Bunkum, Giotto and Giovanni.

David Livingstone is still fresh in the memory and gets a couple of mentions.

Men 

Andreya (evangelist)
Bole-Bole (trips with Shaw, day watchman)
Chakota, Nelson (evangelist)
Joshua  (evangelist)
Kakula, Paul - witchdoctor turned apostle
Kansenga (kapitao at Kawambwa store, uncle of Grace Katunansa)
Kasembe, Chief
Kasokolo, Henry (ministry training since 1927)
Mapoma, helps transport cycle during trips
Nshimba (Chief, Chilwa Island, L. Mweru, muslim)
Ntundu, John
Solo, seems to be a leader of others on trips

Girls and teachers

Mostly first names are given so some guessing is involved here.

Amelia (became teacher, fell pregnant unmarried)
Ana

Banachimumbwa
Bwalya,  Leya
Bunyan, Johnny (nickname of girl from L. Mweru who arrived as a 4 yr old) 

Chama, Phyllis (head girl)
Charity and Felicity (twins)
Chilima, Bessie (sister of evangelist brother, fell pregnant, daughter Ruth?, later married)
Chilufya, Mary

Chipampa - joined school aged 4, punished for sanda
Chipepa, Alice
Chipili

Chishimba, Lise who married 'Timorthy Crocodile'
Chitoshi (girl, died)
Chomba (her house)
Chongo, Enesi (married at 15, went to Congo)
Christina (teacher)
Christine, daughter of chief's man
Chulunoma (watchman, old)
Chungu - Kasembe offered to marry her, visited Elizabethville, later deacon of church, first marriage failed, had daughter Betty
Constance, house-mother

Duncan, Mary
Ethel
Gracie
Hilda (and her dimples), perhaps Catholic, mother wears a St Christopher's - is it a charm? The chlidren debate.

Kabanda, Fane
Kabungo, Katie (daughter of teacher in American mission in Congo)
Kabwe, Ethel * (teacher)
Kabwe, Dinah (*sisters)

Kalulu (little girl, presumably nickname)
Kaoma, Rebecca (house mother)
Kapaya, Cicely (baby, mother died)

Katongo, Hilda
Kisha, Luse (teacher)
Kwenda, Mutemwa (old)
Livingstone, Mary (there is apparently another book telling her story)
Lumanya, Josephine
Lupambo, (polygamist man)
Lupapa
Lushiya

Malita (house-mother)
Mambepa (beaten by others when she became an 'elder', for her insolence when younger)
Margaret
Masala (has a child called Leya)
Masapanshi
Margery (teacher)
Mfuta, Mary
Milika (teacher, went to Elizabethville, later Ndola where she was a cook to a protestant missionary, married Mbereshi man)
Mulenga, Maggie
Mulenga, Rachel (mother was widow of evangelist, died, children Rachel and Tabita left to Mabel Shaw; marriage problems described)
Mumbi, Emily
Mpuya
Mubanga, Isobel (house mother)
Mubanga, Jessie
Mubanga, Nakulu (last words recorded)
Mupelwa (buried baby)

Mulengo, Lise - daughter of Lupambo from Wankie (S.Rhodesia) married about 1928, husband 'Light' died about 1932, remarried his brother Sambini by inheritance, had a child by each father. She was lame, saved a chinkula baby from destruction.

Musonda, Mariya (chinkula baby saved by Lise Mulengo), daughter Priscilla died aged 1.
Mutiyampa, Fane (has child called Hilda)
Mwambwa, Mary
Mwansa
Mwenya (oldest girl? school matron? Girls' teacher at puberty, chimbusa; she was rescued from an Arab slave caravan)

Namusonda
Nellie (baby boy burial)

Ntinda, Rebecca (matron and midwife?)
Philemon, Mercy

Rachel (teacher)
Ruth (golden-haired, 'half-caste' girl)

Safila and Susan (girls who were good at weaving)
Sela
Shi-Chongo (man of the village)

Zipa

Deaths remembered on All Saints' Day

Chipola, Agnes
Chitoshi, Agnes
Kapaya
Kabesi
Malita
Mwamba, Mary and her little son Michael

Christian Missionaries and the creation of Northern Rhodesia

Previously I have posted names from this book that I could establish were Scottish, or were presumed Scottish by association with missions. I'm returning to add some other names not mentioned before, this time presumed not Scottish...

Christian Missionaries and the creation of Northern Rhodesia 1880-1924, by Robert Rotberg, published in 1964 (Princeton University Press), is a very interesting account of the early days of the church in Zambia, highlighting (as the preface has it) how

Missionaries exercised, individually and collectively, a powerful influence... over scattered villages and tribes.... The stations ... became the training grounds of indigenous leadership and, at the same time, the centres of anti-European disaffection.

Peoples of Trans-Zambezia c. 1880.
The obscured names in the centre of the page are Lamba and Lenje.

Following Livingstone's death, many evangelists found their vocation in missions in Africa, with the Free Church of Scotland being early arrivals. The UFCS established Livingstonia and Blantyre (after the town of Livingstone's birth).  The book follows the  successes and failures of the early missionaries and their influence over local politics.

The map shows territories of various tribes: Lunda, Luvale, Lozi, Mbunda, Kololo, Nkoya, Toka, Ila, Tonga, Kaonde, Lamba, Lenje, Sala, Soli, Lala, Shona, Lunda, Bemba, Lungu, Mambwe, Iwa, Bisa, Kunda, Nsenga, Cewa, Ngoni, Zimba, Tumbuka, Senga, Iwa, Namwanga and Yao.

Mission stations in 1918

The early story is one of missions concentrating on particular tribes, without much overlap. Coillard went to the Lozi. The primitive methodists (PM, apparently strongest in midlands industrial towns) went to the 'warlike Ila' also known as the Mashukulumbwe.

Ila land is described as

"the kind of place where a man might go about at first fearing he wouldn't live six months, and after that period fear he wouldn't die"

I may have more information if you ask (I got tired typing - there are some brief biographies of most of the people listed below, in this book). There are also some further people mentioned in the index.

Church at Mbereshi c. 1920

Kayambi, White Fathers' church (built about 1905)

Jeanmairet's school at Leshoma, c. 1890

Paris Mission at Kazungula c. 1892

Key

BC = Brethren in Christ
CC = Church of Christ
DRC = Dutch Reformed Church (OFS)
LMS = London Missionary Society;
NIM = Nyasa Industrial Mission
PB = Plymouth Brethren; 
PM = Primitive Methodist Missionary Society;
PMS = Paris Missionary Society
SAB = South African Baptist Missionary Society
SAGM = South Africa General Mission;
SDA = Seventh-Day Adventists
SJ = Society of Jesus
UFCS = United Free Church of Scotland.
UMCA = Universities Mission to Central Africa
WF = White Fathers
WMMS = Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society

Names

Adamson, David (UFCS), 1875-1932, carpenter/builder m. Chalmers, Annie Rodger;  Lubwa, Mwenzo, 1914, 1921-27
Allison, Grace R. (UFCS), Abderdeen; Tamanda and Chitambo 1922-25
Anderson, William Harrison (SDA) 1870-1950, b. Mexico, Ind.; Rasungu 1905-1907
Arthington, Robert, 'miser philanthropist' from Leeds

Baecher, Aloysius (SJ) 1869-1952, b. Wecsan, Germany; Katondwe 1912-15
Bailey, Albert William (SAGM), 1873-1955, New York; established Chisalala 1910, Lalafuta 1912
Baldwin, Arthur (PM)1864-1937, b. Otley, England; 1889 pioneer party
Barnes, Herbert (UMCA) 1866-1937, Likoma 1902-1904
Bartling, Irene Anna (SAGM) b.1892 America; Musonweji, Mukinge Hill 1922-1930
Bert, Charles (SJ) 1869-1952, b. Bruges, Belgium, Chikuni 1923
Bick, Charles (SJ) 1861-1939, b. Strasbourg, Alsace; Chikuni 1908-1914
Billes, Leslie Seymour (SDA) b. 1902, NR 1922-1926
Birch, Arthur Clarkson (UMCA) b.1889; Msoro 1915-17
Boisselier, Joseph (WF), 1858-1940, b. Blouere, France; Several locations, d. Kapatu
Bredenkamp, Ovid Ogden (SDA) b.1895
Buckenham, Henry (PM) 1844-1896 b. Fakenham, England; founded Nkala d. returning to Europe
Buckley, Stanley Ediwn (PM) 1888-1946 b. Scarborough, England; carpenter Kanchindu, Nambala
Bulsiewicz, Ladislaus (SJ) 1879-1919 b. Jaslo, Galicia; Katondwe 1913-1919

Carter, Herbert (WMMS) b.1887 Warminster, England
Casset, Ambrose (SJ) 1863-1928, b. Myans, France; Chikuni 1909-1920
Chapman, William (PM) 1869-1947, b. Strubly, England; founded Nanzela 1895, Nambala 1905
Chisolm, James A (UFCS) 1872-1936, served with Rhodesian forces in E. Africa 1916
Clark, Ernest Howard (LMS) b. 1878 Walthamstow; Niamkolo etc. m. Thorn, Emily Harriet nurse 1904
Cobbe, Benjamin (PM), Belfast, Katanga, Luanza 1894-1896, d. 1896
Cole, Elizabeth B. (UFCS) 1865-1938 b. Co. Monaghan; Livingstonia,  d. New Zealand
Colibault, Jean-Marie (WF) 1880-1954 b. Orouges, France; several locations in NR 1907-1945
Cooke, Christopher Crosbie (UMCA) d. 1951; Livingstone 1920-1932
Cowl, Fanny Priscila (SAGM) b. 1886; Luampa, later Durban
Curry, Wilfred Wdiwn (PM) 1896-1956, b. Thornley, England; mainly Kafue, pilot WWI
Czarlinski, Felician (SJ) 1868-1921, b. Brachnowka, Prussia; Chingombe 1914-1921

Davidson, Hannah Frances (BC) 1860-1935, b. Smithville, Ohio. Matopo, founded Macha 1906
Davoust, Donatien (WF) 1874-1958 b. Hambers, France; many locations; wrote Cibemba dictionary
Day, Gordon Philip Jodrel (UMCA) Chilikwa 1915, Livingstone 1919-1922, Gordon's Bay Cape Town
Deerr, William Ernest (UMCA) 1873-1920; several locations d. Livingstone of cancer
Delamarche, Julien (WF) 1858-1898 Kayambi, d. blackwater fever
De la Pryme, Alexander George (UMCA) 1870-1935; Fort Jameson 1910-1919
Dewer, Alexander (UFCS); Mwenzo and elsewhere... d. 1943 South Africa
Doke, Olive C. (SAB) b. 1891 Kafulafuta 1913, O.B.E.
Draper, Walter (LMS) 1861-1927 b. Hoddeson, England; Tanganyika, Kawimbe 1900-1915
Drwiega, Martin (SJ) b. 1887 Posada Olchowska, Poland; Kasisi 1923

Dupont, Bishop (WF) 1850-1930 b. Geste, France (long biog)

Edwards, Henrietta b.1885 Rhyl, Wales; Mbereshi 1915-1919 m. Capt E.K. Jordan Johannebsburg 1919
Etienne, Louis (WF) 1886-1963 b. Ploezal, France. Many locations

Faulkner, Henry J. T. (PB) b. 1892 London; Chitokoloki 1921... Later Kolwezi
Fell, John (PM) 1879-1947 b. Pontefract, founded Kafue institute, first principal Jeanes school 1927
Fisher, Walter (PB) 1867-1935 b. London; founded Kalene Hill d., m. Darling, Anna (nurse)
Foster, Charles S. (SAGM) b. 1892 St. Leonard's on Sea, England; Musonweji, Mukinge Hill
Freshwater, William (LMS) 1872-1936 b. Market Harborough; Mbereshi and elsewhere

Gerrard, Herbert S. (PM) b. 1886 Swinton; mostly Kasenga, later Kenya
Ginter, Lila Coon (BC) b. 1893 Ohio; Macha mission Choma, m. Charles Ginter 1938
Goetstowers, Corneille (WF) 1867-1897, b. Rucphen, Holland; Old Mambwe, Kayambi d. fever
Gray, S. Douglas (WMMS) 1888-1963 b. Didsbury; Chipembi 1912-1941, M.B.E.
Guille, Raoul (WF) 1866-1897 b. Sains, France. Old Mambwe, Kayambi, d.
Guilleme, Mathurin (WF) 1859-1942, b. Ste. Marie, France, d. Likuni mission
Guillerme, Louis (WF) 1874-1960 b. Bangor, France. many locations

Hankiewicz, Stanislaus (SJ) 1877-1928 b. Krysowice, Poland; Chingombe, Kasisi 1914
Hansen, Thomas (PB) b. 1883 Danish parents, Sunderland, Johannesburg, Bulawayo
Harris, Ernest Alfred Martin (SAGM) 1866-1933, England; Chisalala 1911-1918
Hewitt, George Herbert (UMCA) b. 1893 Ripon, England; NR Diocese 1920
Higgins, Bernard (UMCA) b. 1893 Hereford.
Higgins, Thomas (PB) 1877-1945 b. Queenstown, Guiana; Luanza, Koni (Congo), Mubende 1920-45
Hine, John Edward (UMCA) 1857-1934 b. Mapperley Park; various including bishop of Likoma
Hogg, Walter (PM) carpenter, NR 1901-1905, d. Sijoba 1905
Hore, Edward Coode (LMS) 1848-1922 b. London, mission steamer John Williams, d. Tasmania wife d. Sydney 
Howie, John Struthers (UFCS) 1882-1961 m. Mary Gilmour; Livingstonia 1906; Chitambo, d. Dollar, Scotland
Hume, Douglas T (PB) b. 1894 Toronto; Angola 1917, Kanganga 1923, Sudan 1928
Hurlow, Herbert John (SDA) b. 1886 Cardiff; NR 1915


Isiah (Barotseland)


Jakeman, J. W. Victor (SAGM) 1883-1942, English m. Eva Milton 1922 Florida
Jedrzejczyk, Andrew (SJ) 1858-1921 b. Maluszyn Poland; Chingombe 1921
Jewell, F. Burton (SDA) b. 1875 Ithaca
Johnson, Harry (LMS) 1868-1964 b. Market Harborough; Kambole, later New Zealand
Jones, David Picton (LMS) 1860-1936 b. New Quay Wales; founded Fwambo 1887, Kawimbe...
Jones, Percy William (LMS) b.1871 Malvern; NR 1898-1899

Jeanmairet, Dorwald (Paris mission)
Johnston, Sir

Kerswell, John Ambrose (PM) 1877-1944 b. Teignmouth; NR 1908-1937, Nambala, Namantombwa
Kodrzynsik, Leo (SJ) 1881-1951 b. Lesna, Czechoslovakia; Katondwe 1913-1951
Konigmacher, Samuel Martin (SDA) 1877-1950; NR 1917-1934
Kopec, Maxim (SJ) b. 1878 Karwina, Silesia; Katondwe, Kasisi 1919
Kraupa, Apolonius (SJ) 1871-1919, b. Kozlow, Galicia; Katondwe 1913-1919
Kupferer, Alice A. L. (SAGM) b. 1894 St. Louis Mo., nurse 1924-1933 Musonweji, Mukinge Hill


Larue, Bishop Etienne (WF) 1865-1935 b. St Christophe-en-Brionnais
Lawson, Agnes T. (UFCS) Anglican m. Charles MacKinnon Fife NR 1907; Livingstonia 1906 
Lawson, James (LMS) 1874-1903 b. Blackburn; Niamkolo 1902-3, d. Mbereshi blackwater fever
Lazarewicz, John (SJ) 1865-1930 b. Lancut, Poland; Katondwe, Chingombe 1912
Leeke, Charles Harold (UMCA) 1887-1958 b. Lincoln; Chilikwa, Broken Hill
Letort, Francois (WF) 1859-1908 b. Theil; Kayambi, Chilubula, d. East Africa
Lewis, Ernest Winbolt (LMS) b.1876 Madras
Longa, James (SJ) 1857-1937 b. Kisszalok, Hungary; Kapoche, Kasisi 1931-1937
Loveless, James H. (WMMS) 1884-1924 b. North Walsham
Lyon, John T. b.1890 Huggate Wold; Royal Army Medical Corps; Kafue Institute

Maben, Pearl Ross (SAGM) b. 1887 American; Chisalala, Musonweji
McCallum, Peter (UFCS) d. 1931
MacLennan, John Edward (UMCA) Liverpool, d. London 1916
Malin, Christian (SJ) 1877-1942 b. Satteins, Austria; Chikuni 1920
Mann, Roy Hess (BC) b. 1898 Washington Borough Pa. d. Macha 1924
Markiewicz, Vincent (SJ) 1888-1924 b. Dyon, Poland, Chingombe 1921-24
Masterson, Christina (UFCS) Lubwa 1922 m. Rev Kelp, Nigeria.
Mather, Charles Benjamin (LMS) 1858-1898 b. Tunbridge Wells; d. Fwambo
May, Alston James Weller (UMCA) 1869-1940 b. Stoke-on-Trent; bishop of NR 1914-1940
Mazurek, Stephen (SJ) 1891-1959 b. Polubicze, Poland; Chingombe, Kasisi
Meier, Francis Xavier (SJ) b. 1883 Switzerland; Chikuni 1915
Meldrum, James D. (UFCS) d. 1928.... Mwenzo, later Nyasaland
Moffat, Malcolm (UFCS) b. Kuruman m. Maria Martin Jackson, Mkushi d. Kalwa
Moffat, James Ronald (UMCA) b 1878; Mpanza, Fort Jameson ...
Molinier, Louis (WF) 1872-1910 b. St. Amans-Soult, France; various d. Lubwa
Moreau, Joseph (SJ) 1864-1949 b. La Bruffiere, France; Chikuni
Morris, Sidney Herbert (LMS) 1875-1918 b. Market Harborough; NR 1901-2
Moskopp, Gaspar (SJ) 1869-1923 b. Koblenz, Germany; Kapoche
Myers, J. Lester (BC) b. 1892 Franklin County, Pa.


Ma-Ruthi (Barotseland)
Middleton, George
Mukwae, Mulena
Mwama, chief Bemba

Nave, J. Ward (WMMS) 1885-1935 b. Willington Quay Wales; Chipembi
Nielsen, Christine L (SAGM) b abt. 1895 American, Angola, NR 1924-25
Nicot, Victor (SJ) 1858-1935 b. Champagne, France; Chikuni
Nutt, William Harwood (LMS) 1869-1942 b. Beeston, England
Nutter, Henry Cecil (LMS) b. Thwaites Brow England; Mbereshi

O'Ferrall, Ronald Stanhope More (UMCA) b. 1890
Oost, Achille van (WF) 1859-1895 b. Hontkerque, France

Pacek, Francis (SJ) 1869-1945 b. Brangkowka, Poland; Chingombe, Broken Hill
Paczka, Adalbert (SJ) 1875-1955 b. Siedleoska
Pickering, Frederick (PM) 1863-1935 b. Bridlington; Nanzela, Aliwal
Pirouet, Herbert Geffrand (SAGM) b. 1877 London
Pomeroy, Henry James (PB) 1871-1924; Luanza, Algeria, Nigeria
Pottie, Michael (PM) Transvaal, originally Scotland; Kasenga 1916
Prescott, William John (PB) b. 1897 Devon
Price, John W. (PM) b. 1878 Norwich; Nanzela
Pueth, Eugene (WF) 1874-1954 b. Sablieres, France. many locations
Pulley, Gerrard Todd (UMCA) b. 1888 Forest Hill, England.

Rand, Frederick Bacon (UMCA)  b 1882, later Truro
Ranger, Apsley Sidney Burdett (UMCA) b. 1879 Hertingfordbury; Msoro
Rhinehart, Jesse Abraham (SAGM) 1888-1944 American; Chisalala
Robertson, Christopher (SDA) b. 1880 England
Rodenbuhrer, Stephen (SJ) 1872-1948 b. Nemetker Hungary; Kapoche
Roebuck, Oliver (WMMS) b 1896 Sheffield, 17th Manchester Regiment
Rogers, Thomas Lambert (PB) d. 1916 Chitokoloki blackwater fever
Ross, James Arthur (LMS) 1877-1958 b. Skipton; Kambole
Ruck, Cecil George (UMCA) 1890-1958 Blackburn

Schoeffer, Georges (WF) 1868-1942 b. Nozay, France; d. Chilubi
Scott, John Cameron b. 1878 Manchester ; Mbereshi
Seidel, Waldemaar (SJ) 1882-1957 b. Rosdin, Czech.; Kapoche 1921

Shaw, John (PM) b. 1889 Thackley;  left school at 14. His father was a primitive methodist lay preacher. Worked in a textile factory and studied at night in Keighly. Wanted to enter business, but instead entered Hartley College in 1912. Contemplated taking a church in Canada or missionary work in China, but joined mission circuit in Orange Free State instead. Transferred to NR in 1916. Nanzela 1916-1925, Kafue 1926-1932, Lusaka 1932-1960. WWII Chaplain to NR Regiment. Awarded M.B.E.

Shaw, Mabel (LMS) b. 1888 Bilston; Mbereshi 1915-1941, O.B.E.
Shoosmith, Edith May (SAGM) b. 1891 resided Brighton; NR 1920-1952
Short, William N. (CC) b. 1895 American stone mason
Sims, Ernest Herbert (PB) b 1884 London
Sims, George (PB) b 1881 Swindon; mainly Kaleba and Mansa 1910-1960
Smith, Arthur Harry (UMCA) b 1886; various, Lusaka 1953
Smith, Edwin Williams (PM) 1876-1957 b. Aliwal m. Julia Fitch (d. 1953)
Smith, James (UFCS) b 1898
Smith, John (PM)
Sollner, Oswald (PM, killed by Ila)
Spendel, John (SJ) 1880-1945 b Stein, Czech.
Steckley, Elizabeth Engle (BC) b 1876 Lancaster Co. Pennsylvania, res. Kansas m. Lewis Steckley 1916
Stofner, Jospeh (SJ) 1865-1936 b Sarntheim, S. Tyrol; Katondwe 1913-1936
Suckling, George R. (PB) 1883-1952 resided London; NR 1911, founded Chitokoloki 1915, died there
Swann, Alfred James (LMS) 1855-1928 b. Shoreham; mariner

Tafuna,  chief Lungu
Tanguy, Francois (WF) 1886-1961 b Bannalec, Franc; d. Kasama
Taylor, Myron (BC) 1873-1931 b Lapeer County, Michigan; m Adda Engle 1909; Macha 1907-1931, killed by lion
Thomas, William (LMS) b 1859 St Clears, Wales
Thompson, Frank Elwell (SDA) b 1890 Northfield Indiana, carpenter
Torrend, Julius (SJ) 1861-1936 b Privat d'allier
Turner, Bernard Raleigh (LMS) 1878-1943 b Hackney; mainly Mbereshi

Uhlik, Francis (SJ) b 1877 Poland

Vernon, W. Roy (SAGM) b 1887 American; Musonweji

Waddell, William
Ward, Frederick (PM)
Walker, Walter W. (SDA) b 1887 Sopchoppy Florida.
Wareham, Harold Edgar (LMS) 1873-1955 b Guildford
Watney, Martyn Herbert (SAGM) b 1887 Pangbourne; Kaba Hill
Webster, William George (UMCA) d 1954, compositor
Welfele, Eugene (WF) 1877-1956 b Chatenois France; various stations
Wenger, Jesse (BC)  b 1876 Englewood, Ohio
Wheeler, Clarence Edward (SDA) b 1890 Tyro, Kansas, farmer
Wilhelm, Augustinus (SJ) 1866-1952 b Wroclaw, Poland; Kapoche, Katondwe 1919
Wilson, Augustus Albert (SAGM) b 1887 Canada, printer
Wilson, Hubert Francis (UFCS) b 1884 Kendal, Westmoreland; later Perthshire Scotland
Wilson, John Victor (SDA) 1889-1955 b Port Elizabeth; Rusangu
Wilson, Ruth Mary Livingstone (UFCS) b 1882 Kendal, Westmorland; g.d. of David Livingstone married Alexander Macdonald in 1920

Zurek, Augustinus (SJ) 1846-1917 b Lubliniec, Silesia; Katondwe

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

Children of the chief, Mabel Shaw

This one goes out to Mutepa Kamoto who wrote telling me how his grandmother was headmistress at Mabel Shaw school, and mentioned his ancestor Kawandami who also worked at Mbereshi Mission. I guess this must be the same Kawandami mentioned (just once) at the start of this book. (See also here for more on the school.)

This little book, Children of the Chief, written for children, and published by the London Missionary Society in 1921, tells the story of the beginnings of Mbereshi School for Girls (later Livingstone Memorial School) in Northern Rhodesia - the first school for girls in the colony and the main educational centre for Africans in the area at that time. At the time of writing, many people of the area remember David Livingstone fondly.

We hear of how Mabel Shaw daydreamed during her own schooling in England as the teacher spoke about the great lakes of the rift valley and then we are taken straight into the lives of the very first girls to attend the famous boarding school near Lakes Mweru, Bangwelu and Tanganyika. Based on other accounts, this must have been in 1915, when Mabel would have been about 25 years old. She was the first single woman missionary sent out by the LMS - the Mbereshi mission are waiting for her.

We hear how she went on the Llandovery Castle to Cape Town, coming down the Thames in the dark, 'for it was the days of the great war'.

From Cape Town there is a train ride to Tiger Kloof where three days are spent at the 'native institution' there. From there the journey continues by train to Mafeking, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls and ends at Ndola, where Mabel is met by missionaries from Mbereshi who have walked for 3 weeks to meet her, along with 250 carriers to carry Mabel and luggage back to Mbereshi. One must imagine tables, chairs, baths, cooking utensils, and other provisions (such as tinned food, and coffee) being carried in a long train. Mabel will go by machila, trying hard to understand and be understood as the carriers do not speak English. All education at the school will be in Bemba. The carriers will often sing as they go. There is much amusement at how Mary crosses a tree trunk bridge over a river -- sitting and shuffling herself along.

There was already a boys' school at this time and there had been calls for a girls' school to be established also. Others remained to be persuaded that girls should also be educated. We hear the story from Mabel's point of view, of the first timid students, of parents afraid to leave their children in the boarding school with the white lady, of the children's growth as Christians and of how they were viewed by other children in Mbereshi village. They are called Children of the Chief, bana ba Mfumu, the chief being God. They keep themselves somewhat apart from the other children in the village, are clothed modestly and try to keep to Christian principles. There isn't much told in this book of what they learned, but sewing is one activity and of course the girls learn to read and write, they sing hymns and doubtless are taught about the Bible and Christianity. They begin with 22 girls and later reach their full  capacity of 30 pupils.

Here is a sketch of Mbereshi village. Apparently there was a leper camp at one end of the village. There were many leopards and people feared to go out at night or enter the forests alone.

After some time the older girls are given responsibility for the younger ones, becoming their 'mothers'. The youngest children are five years old.

A great treat is a picnic two hours walk away at Chitutawila. The missionaries' children must wear pith helmets and aren't allowed to splash in the river.  Many girls suffer from malarial fevers.

During school holidays many girls walk (or if too young are carried) long distances to their home villages.

Once a year the missionaries of the area meet. For those at Mbereshi it means a 2 week journey.

It is not always clear whether first or last names are given, or who is depicted in the photographs.

Here are the names mentioned, most of which are girls who were part of the first girls' school class and boarded at the school with Mabel Shaw. You can guess the four young ones and the four older ones (who were the 'mothers'):

Beti (Betty), Chungu's baby
Chansa (five years old), one week walk to her home
Chileshye
Chiluba (cousin of Nellie, older girl)
Chipepa
Chishimba (niece of Mumba, Mporokoso / Mpolokoso)
Chulumanda (recommended girls should be taught, p17)
Chulunoma (watchman)
Chunda, Malita ('old, wrinkled, thin, tired, yet like a saint'), from Kawambwa
Chungu (older girl)
Fane (Fanny, older girl)
Gershom (baby)
Grey, Miss (Mabel Shaw's own teacher)
Kabombo (man, brings news of Sela's brother dying in Livingstone of influenza)
Kabwe, daugther of Maggie and Sumbukeni, in Chungu's group, mother lived near
Tanganyika
Kasembe's village - report of villages emptied by Arab slavers
Kayula
Kawambwa (camp on return from Kawimbe)
Kawandami (p.17) recommended girls should be taught
Kishya, aged 12, daughter of Malita
Leah (2 years old)
Lile (Lilly?)
Lisi (Lizzie)
Lutina, Mary (5 years old)
Maggie, slave girl of Mwenya Shimwango, taken to Mbereshi by missionaries
Mapoma (carrier)
Mayo (?)
Meli (from Kawimbe? brought to meet them on journey from K to Mbereshi)
Monica (daughter of doctor missionary)
Mulenga (frail, lame girl)
Mulengo, Mary (5 years old)
Mulongoti (carrier)
Mumba, uncle of Nellie
Mupelwa (helped in Mary's big house, older girl) from Kawimbe by Tanganyika
Musonda
Mutiampa (his grandfather met D Livingstone)
Mwamba (lame girl)
Mwenya, Shimwango's wife, would sleep in dormitory with girls
Nakisitu
Ndola (girl) - 1 week walk to her home
Nellie, daughter of Chulumanda, cousin of Chiluba
Nsama (niece of Mumba, from Mporokoso)
Pule
Sarah
Sela
Semba
Shimwango (headman, Lake Tanganyika somewhere)
Sumbukeni (teacher at Mbereshi), Maggie's husband
Timothy, Sela's oldest brother, from Chiengi village, went to Tiger Kloof, ran Mbereshi school for some weeks, died of influenza
Truda (younger daughter of doctor missionary, sister of Monica)

Hymns
Church goers will recognise hymns they sang:

All people that on earth do dwell
Abide with me
There is a city bright
We are all little children weak
When he cometh

References
The School of Oriental and African Studies in London has records of the LMS
JSTOR carries some relevant journals.

Brief biography of Mabel Shaw http://www.mundus.ac.uk/cats/4/915.htm

See also  http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/219137?uid=3738032&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=55958895503

An excellent article is "No girl leaves school unmarried" by Sean Morrow in the Journal of African Studies. More another day.

People of all nations...

Years ago I bought a stack of pictorial magazines in a series called "People of all Nations" (published 1922) from a second-hand shop in Coventry. They are typical of their time: romantic, risque, patronising and quaint. Occasionally there are really surprising photos, such as one of a man in Portugal wearing a raincoat apparently made out of sheaves of grass layered over one another, or of someone walking along barefoot carrying their shoes on their head, to keep them clean. From country to country one sees the traditional costumes worn and gets a sense of a slower life. Cars are mercifully rare.

On getting them out again today I noticed a section on the Rhodesias. We are told that game in Southern Rhodesia is already rare, but is plentiful up north. There is the old nonsense about the Arab kingdoms that built the stone houses whose ruins can be seen in Zimbabwe. And there is lots of colonial superiority about the indigence of the natives and their lack of ambition, as well as admiration for qualities such as honesty and intelligence.

Here is a map including some of the old place names of that time, including Elizabethville (Congo's Lubumbashi), Fort Jameson (Chipata), Abercorn (Mbala) and so on.

There was a photo of Livingstone town I hadn't remembered, which I feel I must share. The town is described as being North Rhodesia's embryo capital, replacing Fort Jameson (Chipata) as the administrative headquarters. Besides the government buildings it provides a hospital and a hotel -- the hotel is on the left in the photo below. The other buildings are apparently houses, although the one on the right looks like a store to me. I can't make out the name on the top.

Amongst the other photos (courtesy of the British South Africa Company, whose territory this was at the time) is this one of people outside the boma at Fort Jameson.

There is also this one of people getting ready to set off for the Matopos from Bulawayo in their jalopies outside the Grand Hotel.

You can see some more photos from this series here.