 Mary was born in Aberdeen,
NE Scotland, UK. Her father, a shoemaker, was an alcoholic and her mother a deeply religious woman. The family moved to Dundee in 1858 where Slessor began working in the linen mills at the age of eleven. She joined the local Christian youth club and became convinced of a call to be a missionary.
In 1876, she applied to the Foreign Mission Board of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (the Scottish United Presbyterian Mission). She was briefly trained before being sent to Calabar. The trip was rigorous and Mary fell ill several times, but she made it to Calabar in good spirits. Although her spirits remained hopeful, the new missionary came to the realization that witnessing to the people of Calabar was not going to be an easy job. It took some time for the people to get use to Mary’s fire red hair and her blue eyes, but soon they were calling her the “white ma”. In the 39 years, Mary spent with the people of different regions of Calabar were filled with excitement, disappointment, horror, and joy. She shocked many missionaries by living with and as the locals. She learned to speak Efik fluently and became practised in the local customs and culture, thus assisting her missionary work and promotion of women's rights. While her insistence upon working by herself brought her into conflict with authorities, her close understanding of the Nigerians led the local Governor to offer her a position on the Itu court. She adopted a number of children including twins which were considered cursed and often sacrificed. Mary Slessor received the Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1913.
She died, at age 67, January 13th, 1915, of a jungle disease. She was buried in Nigeria after a full state funeral. She is currently depicted on the Clydesdale Bank £10 note.
Like Paul (2 Tim. 4:6-8), her life had been poured out for the sake of the
gospel. |
