Gottlieb Ababio Adom (17 November 1904 – 20 June 1979) was a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, journalist,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

and

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...

who served as the Editor of the

Christian Messenger The ''Christian Messenger'' was a religious magazine established by the early Restoration Movement leader Barton W. Stone in 1826.Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church ...

from 1966 to 1970. The Christian Messenger, established in 1883 by the

Basel Mission The Basel Mission was a Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' (KEM), found ...

, is the primary newspaper of the

Presbyterian Church of Ghana The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is a mainline Protestant church denomination in Ghana. The oldest, continuously existing, established Christian Church in Ghana, it was started by the Basel missionaries on 18 December 1828. The missionaries had ...

Early life and family

Gottlieb A. Adom was born on 17 November 1904 in Osu (

Christiansborg Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

). His parents were Isaac G. Adom, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

of Osu-Adjumanko and Elisabeth Ahinee Amarteifio of Osu Amantra, ''Odartey Sro Weku'' and of Asere,

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

. Adom's parents both belonged to the

Ga people The Ga-Dangbe, Gã-Daŋbɛ, Ga-Dangme, or GaDangme are an ethnic group in Ghana, Togo and Benin. The Ga and Dangbe people are grouped respectively as part of the Ga–Dangme ethnolinguistic group. The Ga-Dangmes are one ethnic group that lives ...

of Accra. Adom hailed from one of the

royal families A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress An emper ...

of Osu, ''Nii Kwei Boadu We'' of Osu Amanfa - the then ruling house of the Osu Stool Linguist, located at Mowule. He was the grandson of Naa Botwe, the Osu Maŋtsɛ Stool Mother (Queen mother) under the Osu paramount chieftaincy. He was named after the award-winning German

ethnolinguist Ethnolinguistics (sometimes called cultural linguistics) is an area of anthropological linguistics that studies the relationship between a language and the nonlinguistic cultural behavior of the people who speak that language. __NOTOC__ Example ...

and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

Johann Gottlieb Christaller Johann Gottlieb Christaller (19 November 1827 – 16 December 1895) was a German missionary, clergyman, ethnolinguist, translator and philologist who served with the Basel Mission. He was devoted to the study of the Twi language in what was the ...

who translated the Bible into the

Twi Twi () is a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by several million people, mainly of the Akan people, the largest of the seventeen major ethnic groups in Ghana. Twi has about 17-18 million speakers in total, includ ...

language with the help of

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano languages, a language group w ...

linguists Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

David Asante David Asante (23 December 1834 – 13 October 1892) was a philologist, linguist, translator and the first Akan native missionary of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society. He was the second African to be educated in Europe by the Basel Missio ...

Theophilus Opoku Theophilus Herman Kofi Opoku (1842 – 7 July 1913) was a native Akan people, Akan Linguistics, linguist, Translation, translator, Philology, philologist, Teacher, educator and Christian mission, missionary who became the first indigenous Afric ...

, Jonathan Palmer Bekoe, and Paul Staudt Keteku. Christaller was a two-time winner (1876; 1882) of the most prestigious linguistics prize, ''The

Prix Volney The Prix Volney ( en, Volney Medal) is awarded by the Institute of France after proposition by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres to a work of comparative philology. The prize was founded by Constantin Volney in 1803 and was original ...

'', awarded since 1822, by the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

"''to recognize work in general and comparative linguistics''. ''linguistics''." His step-brother was

Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey Emmanuel Odarkwei Obetsebi-Lamptey (26 April 1902 – 29 January 1963) was a political activist in the British colony of the Gold Coast. He was one of the founding fathers of Ghana and one of the founders and leaders of the United Gold Coast Co ...

(1902–1963), the politician and lawyer, one of the founding leaders of the

United Gold Coast Convention The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was a political party founded in 1947 whose aim was to bring about Ghanaian independence from their British colonial masters after the Second World War. The United Gold Coast Convention appointed its leade ...

(UGCC) and a member of "The Big Six", the group of political activists detained by the British colonial government after the 1948 Accra riots, kicking off the struggle for the attainment of Ghana's independence in 1957.

Education and training

He attended the Basel Mission primary school at Osu. He enrolled at the middle boarding school, the Osu Salem School, graduating in 1922 with the Middle School Leaving Examination certificate. The Salem School was started in 1843 by three missionaries, Jamaican,

Alexander Worthy Clerk Alexander Worthy Clerk (4 March 1820 – 11 February 1906) was a Jamaican Moravian pioneer missionary, teacher and clergyman who arrived in 1843 in the Danish Protectorate of Christiansborg, now Osu in Accra, Ghana, then known as the Go ...

and Angolan-born Jamaican

Catherine Mulgrave Catherine Elisabeth Mulgrave also Gewe (19 November 1827 – 14 January 1891) was an Angolan-born Jamaican Moravian pioneer educator, administrator and missionary who accompanied a group of 24 Caribbean mission recruits from Jamaica and Antig ...

together with the German-trained

Americo-Liberian Americo-Liberian people or Congo people or Congau people in Liberian English,Cooper, Helene, ''The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' (United States: Simon and Schuster, 2008), p. 6 are a Liberian ethnic group of Afric ...

George Peter Thompson George Peter Thompson (1819–1889) was a Liberian-born educator, clergyman and pioneer missionary of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society of Switzerland. He was also the first African to be educated in Europe by the mission and subsequentl ...

. He was admitted for a five-year course in pedagogy and theology at the Scottish Mission Teacher Training College and now

Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong The Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong, is a co-educational teacher-training college in Akropong in the Akwapim district of the Eastern Region of Ghana. It has gone through a series of previous names, including the Presbyterian Training ...

, established in 1848 as the second oldest higher educational institution in early modern West Africa after

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-le ...

which was founded in 1827 in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

, Sierra Leone. Adom graduated as a teacher-

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

in 1928. In 1957, the year of Ghana's independence, he took an advanced course in theology and congregational management at the

Ramseyer Ramseyer may refer to: * André Ramseyer (1914–2007), Swiss sculptor * Bill Ramseyer (?–), United States football coach * Christian William Ramseyer (1875–1943), politician from the US state of Iowa * Fritz Ramseyer (1840-1914), Basel mis ...

Training Centre at

Abetifi Abetifi is a small town in south Ghana and is the capital of Kwahu East district, a district in the Eastern Region of south Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the ...

, and was ordained a church minister on 19 February 1960. He later received a scholarship for a one-year training in journalism in

Kitwe Kitwe is the third largest city in terms of infrastructure development (after Lusaka and Ndola) and second largest city in terms of size and population (after Lusaka) in Zambia. With a population of 517,543 (''2010 census provisional'') Kitwe is ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

from 1961 to 1962.

Career

Teaching

He taught in various schools in the

Greater Accra The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the second most populated region, befor ...

and Eastern Regions:

Nsawam Nsawam is a town in south Ghana and is the capital of the Nsawam-Adoagyire Municipal District, a district in the Eastern Region of south Ghana. The main ethnic group is Akan, followed by Ga and then Ewe.Osu,

Teshie Teshie is a coastal town in the Ledzokuku Municipal District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of southeastern Ghana. Teshie is the ninth most populous settlement in Ghana, with a population of 171,875 people. Politics Teshie is in the ...

, Abokobi,

Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tur ...

and

Nungua Nungua is a town in Krowor Municipal District in the Greater Accra Region of southeastern Ghana near the coast. He was also the principal of his alma mater, the Osu Salem School from 1955 to 1958 When the Osu Presbyterian Middle Day School was started in 1944, he offered to run it and work for free during the school's first year.

Journalism

The administration of the Ghanaian Presbyterian Church appointed Adom to be the Editor of the

from 1966 to 1970 for a tenure of about four and a half years. The newspaper established in 1883 by the Basel Mission. as the church's news bulletin, He was a member of the Review Committee which revised the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

in Ga and

Dangme The Dangbe language, also ''Dangbe'' or ''Adaŋgbi'', is a Kwa language spoken in south-eastern Ghana by the Dangbe People ''(Dangbeli)''. The Dangbeli are part of the larger Ga-Dangbe ethnic group. Klogbi is a variant, spoken by the Kloli (K ...

. He was also a member of the

Bible Society of Ghana The Bible Society of Ghana is a non-denominational, non-governmental Christian organization based in Ghana. The organization is registered under the Trustees Act, 1962 of the Republic of Ghana. It is the largest Bible distribution organization in G ...

Clergy activities

As a minister, he pastored Presbyterian congregations at

Central, Osu, Kaajano and finally

Adabraka Adabraka is a town in the Korley Klottey Municipal Assembly, a Municipality of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It was the first and the most posh neighborhood in Ghana during the British era. Education Adabraka was known for the O'Reilly Sen ...

(1970–1974) where he retired in August 1974 after 47 years of

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

. His ministerial work also took him to

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, Geneva,

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, London, Rome and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. In 1969, he was seconded for special service at the

All Africa Conference of Churches All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC, or CETA) is an ecumenical fellowship that represents more than 200 million African Christians in 204 national churches and regional Christian councils in 43 African Countries. AACC's head office is in ...

held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. He was the Ghanaian representative to the

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

Workshop on

Human Relations The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, USA.

Personal life

Adom was first married to Kate Nana Sapon Hyde (1918–2009), the daughter of a surveyor from Christiansborg, Accra on 17 December 1936 until 1948. On 26 December 1954, he married Sophia Esi Atswei Odamtten (1922–2006) of Ga-

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

ancestry and from La and Osu. Her father, Thomas Odamtten (1877–1961), was an administrative clerk in the Gold Coast customs division at the

Takoradi Harbour The Takoradi Harbour is in the Western region of Ghana. It is located in the industrial district of Sekondi-Takoradi and is the oldest harbour in Ghana. The Takoradi harbour and the Tema Harbour are the only harbours in Ghana. History The idea ...

and later, became one of the Heads of Customs Services in the country. Gottlieb Adom had six children: Harriet (Mrs. Boateng), Edward, George, Victor, Philip and Gloria (Mrs.

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

). Odamtten was a schoolteacher and headmistress who co-founded the body, ''Pastors’ Wives Association (PWA)'' of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (now called ''Presbyterian Ministers’ Wives’ Conference (PMWC))'' started in 1970, and was its first Secretary. The association presently has

strategic alliance A strategic alliance (also see strategic partnership) is an agreement between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon objectives needed while remaining independent organizations. The alliance is a cooperation or collaboration which ai ...

s with several sister organisations worldwide. Moreover, Sophia Odamtten was a niece of

Charles Odamtten Easmon Charles Odamtten Easmon or C. O. Easmon, popularly known as Charlie Easmon, (22 September 1913 – 19 May 1994) was a medical doctor and academic who became the first Ghanaian to formally qualify as a surgeon specialist and the first Dean of t ...

(1913 –1994), the first formally trained Ghanaian surgeon specialist whose mother, Kate Salome Odamtten and maternal uncle, Solomon Edmund Odamtten, a businessman and political activist, were her paternal grandaunt and granduncle respectively. In addition, her paternal grandfather, Koney Odamete I was of royal lineage and the first and original

Kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a royal or political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious and military means to influence the succession. Origina ...

, locally called the ''Shikitele'' of the La Maŋtsɛ Traditional Stool – the paramount chieftaincy of the Ga people of La in Accra. Odamete was also a nineteenth century fishing trawler magnate and general commodities merchant who owned a wooden barrel and distilled beverage business among other commercial activities.

Death and funeral

Adom died of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

on 20 June 1979 at the Ridge Hospital in Accra Before his remains were buried in the "Presbyterian clergy quarter (section)" of the Osu Cemetery (formerly known as Christiansborg Civil Cemetery) in Accra, a funeral service was held for him at the

Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu The Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, formerly known as the Basel Mission Church, Christiansborg, is a historic Protestant church located in the suburb of Osu in Accra, Ghana. The church was founded by the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society in 184 ...

Legacy and memorial

During its 2002 chapel building centennial, the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu, unveiled a commemorative plaque in its sanctuary in memory of Gottlieb Adom and other important citizens of Osu in recognition of their service to the church and education in the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adom, Gottlieb A. 1904 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Presbyterian ministers Ga-Adangbe people Ghanaian chaplains Ghanaian clergy Ghanaian educators Ghanaian newspaper journalists Ghanaian Presbyterians Ghanaian Protestants Heads of schools in Ghana People from Accra Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong alumni Osu Salem School alumni Osu Salem School teaching staff