Mary Slessor

Mary Slessor was born on December 2, 1848 in Aberdeen, Scotland to Robert & Mary Slessor, a poor working class family.  Robert was an alcoholic and was unable to keep up his work as a shoemaker.  The family moved to Dundee so Robert could work in the mill—which he never fulfilled because of his drunkenness. Mary’s mother began working at the jute mill and asked Mary to go to work at the age of 11.  Mary worked half of the day and attended the factory’s school the other half.  

Mary’s mother was a devout Presbyterian and read the Missionary Record each month.  Mary loved reading of David Livingtone’s adventures in Africa in the magazine and upon learning of his death, she wanted to follow in his footsteps.  At the age of 27, she applied to become a missionary and was appointed to Calabar, Nigeria—the very place David Livingstone had served!   She was elated.  

Upon arriving in Calabar, she was assigned to the mission station there.  She was told no one had gone more than 5 miles into the interior because it was too dangerous.  Tribes were at war with one another.  But Mary chafed at having to spend her money to support the lifestyle of entertaining, imported foods, and fine living at the mission station.  She wanted to go inland.  She began making appeals to the Foreign Mission Board of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland.  She was finally permitted to move further into Nigeria.  She met King Eyo Honesty VII whom she’d read about in Livingstone’s journals. He became a protector and helper as Mary moved further down the river.  The people were frightened of Mary at first because of her white skin and red hair—they thought she had fire on her head.  

People began to bring babies to Mary’s doorstep—they either considered the child cursed or couldn’t feed it. The first child she adopted was Janie.  When Mary contracted malaria and went back to Scotland to recuperate, she took Janie.  People loved hearing Mary’s stories of Africa and seeing her African child.  Money began to flow into the mission board for her work in Calabar.  

Mary finally made it to inland Nigeria upon her return.  She found a very superstitious people who followed witchcraft and practiced human sacrifices and slaughtering of twins and mothers—considering them a curse.  Many men had up to 30 wives and if he died, all of his wives were killed and buried with him.  Mary intervened many times with the chief when he was about to pour hot oil on a person for punishment.  Mary was fearless.  She intervened in tribal wars convincing chiefs to sit and talk to one another.  

Because of her relationship with many chiefs of the area, she was asked to become the British vice-consul and judge the people. She agreed to be vice-consul with the understanding that evangelism was her main focus.  Mary would knit as she listened to the disagreements of men and then give fair judgments. She was soon revered and called the “white ma” and later, “The Mother of Us All.”  

Mary suffered from several bouts of severe malaria and eventually developed rheumatism.  Her daughter, Janie, helped her in her work. Not only did many people come to Christ, but Mary single-handedly stopped the practices of human sacrifices, killing twins and their mothers, capturing slaves, and many of the other pagan practices.  She started churches and schools in many villages. Mary died of malaria January 13, 1915. Drums beat the news from one village to another that The Mother of Us All had died.  Mary had served God in Nigeria for 39 years.