Sophronia Farrington Cone (1801-1880) was a teacher, artist, and one of the first single female missionaries from America to Africa when she helped found a mission in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

in 1834. Farrington was born in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

, in 1801 and grew up in

Herkimer, New York Herkimer is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States, southeast of Utica. It is named after Nicholas Herkimer. The population was 10,175 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village also called Herkimer. Herkimer County Community ...

. She enrolled at the Cazenovia Seminary in 1825 and left in 1828 to attend the female seminary in

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

. Farrington then taught at a school in

Onondaga, New York Onondaga is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States encompassing 65 square miles. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town had a population of 22,937. The town is named after the native Onondaga tribe, part of the Iroquois Confederacy. O ...

, and the female seminary in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

. In 1843 she sailed to Liberia and became the first single female missionary to go to Africa, working with the Young Men's Missionary Society of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

at the first foreign mission established by the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

. Pastor Melville Cox arrived first and helped to found the

College of West Africa The College of West Africa is a Methodist high school in Monrovia, Liberia. The school was opened in 1839 (as the "Monrovia Seminary"), making it one of the oldest European-style schools in Africa. It has produced many of Liberia's leaders. Alumn ...

, but Cox died shortly after arriving, of the "African fever". Farrington arrived shortly after Cox and taught at the school. Farrington almost died from the fever herself but recovered, and stayed behind in Liberia after the other missionaries left. The local residents were impressed by her artwork and teaching. In 1851 Miss Farrington married Mr. George Cone, of Utica, New York. She died in 1880.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrington Cone, Sophronia Methodist missionaries in Liberia People from Utica, New York People from Concord, New Hampshire American expatriates in Liberia American Protestant missionaries Female Christian missionaries