Mary Moffat born Mary Smith (1795 – 9 January 1871) was a
British missionary who became a role model for women involved in missionary work. She was the wife of
Robert Moffat, the mother of
Mary Moffat Livingstone
Mary Livingstone (née Moffat; 12 April 1821 – 27 April 1862) was the wife of the Scottish Congregationalist missionary David Livingstone. She was a linguist, an experienced traveller, and managed the household affairs including missionary s ...
and
David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
was her son-in-law. She was seen by Victorian Britain as an ideal missionary wife and role model for
Tswana women, but it is unproven whether Africans saw her in this role.
Life
Moffat was born in
Salford in 1795. She came from a Christian family and she met Robert Moffat whilst he was a prospective missionary working as a gardener for her father. Robert Moffat was being trained by
William Roby
William Roby (1766–1830) was an English Congregational minister.
Life
Born at Haigh, near Wigan, Lancashire on 23 March 1766, he was the half-brother of the poet John Roby; his parents belonged to the Church of England. He was educated at Wi ...
. She and Robert agreed that she should join him as a missionary but she had a strong family relationship. The engagement was put off at one point after she heard of "sexual misbehaviour" amongst missionaries in Africa.
Against the advice of the
London Missionary Society Robert Moffat set out for southern Africa in 1816. The LMS advised that missionaries should be male and married. Mary went out to join him in 1819 and they were married on 27 December at St Georges Church
[ ( St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town was not started until 1830).
]
Robert and Mary's first child, Mary, was born in a grass hut in Griquatown in 1821. They were outside Britain's Cape Colony as they created the mission to the Tswana people. Robert, Mary and little Mary moved to Kuruman in 1824 where the mission became known as the Moffat Mission. They built a church, created a water supply and raised a family. However progress was slow and five years later they had not made a single convert.[ The children were sent back to England for many years in order that they could be educated.
She and Robert were credited with creating a family of "Moffats" who carried forward the mission work.]
In 1859 her son John Smith Moffat
John Smith Moffat (1835–1918) was a British missionary and imperial agent in southern Africa, the son of missionary Robert Moffat and Mary Moffat. He was the brother-in-law of missionary explorer David Livingstone. He is known for his various p ...
began working at the mission at Inyathi
Inyathi (also known as Enyathi, Inyati, UMzinyathi, and Emhlangeni) is a village located in the Bubi District of Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe that grew from colonization by missionaries in the late 19th century. The Mission itself sits upon arou ...
where he would stay for six years. In 1860 she received Richard Price back to the mission. He and his wife had survived what they believed was a mass poisoning at their mission. His wife died and the following year Moffat's daughter Elizabeth agreed to become Price's new wife. Her daughter Ann was already married to the French missionary Jean Frédoux
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. In 1862 her eldest daughter Mary who was married to David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
died of fever and Mrs Moffat blamed Livingstone for her death.[
]
Death and legacy
Moffat and her husband returned to Britain in 1870. They lived in Brixton with Henry Vavasseur
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. She died in Brixton
Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
in 1871.[ There is a Mary Moffat Museum in Griquatown. It is named for her daughter who was born in Griquatown, but it also celebrates the mission that this Mary and her husband created in 1803.]
Moffat was held by the British as the ideal woman Protestant evangelist. She was thought to have spent her time teaching needlework and as a model for Tswana girls to follow. However, there is little evidence that she was seen in Africa in this way and their missions in Africa created few converts. She did however keep the mission running and she brought up her children to donate their time to good works. Her correspondence with people in Britain helped to foster support for the work and the letters are now an important record of life in the interior of Africa.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moffat, Mary
1795 births
1871 deaths
People from Salford
English Congregationalist missionaries
Congregationalist missionaries in South Africa