Reverend Hope Masterton Waddell (14 November 1804 – 18 April 1895) was an Irish medical missionary in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and c ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The

Hope Waddell Training Institution The Hope Waddell Training Institution (HOWAD) is a school in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria founded by missionaries from the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1895. It is named after the Reverend Hope Masterton Waddell. Establishmen ...

is named after him.

Early life and training

Waddell was born in

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lette ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 14 November 1804 to Susan Hope and the son of Alexander Waddell both members of the

Presbyterian Church of Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...

. He expressed an early interest in joining the

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

however was discouraged in doing so due to a

speech impediment Speech disorders or speech impairments are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute. Speech skills are ...

. At the age of 17 he apprenticed with a

druggist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

before leaving, in 1822 ,to study for the church. He was accepted as a candidate for the

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

in 1825 by the

Scottish Missionary Society Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English * Scottish national identity, the Scottish id ...

and in 1827 entered the United Secession Hall.

Missionary work in Jamaica

Following Waddell's ordainment in 1829, he married Jessie Simpson and together they embarked on a mission to Jamaica with the Church of Scotland Mission. Here he worked with the enslaved population of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

until 1831, when the

Baptist War The Baptist War, also known as the Sam Sharp Rebellion, the Christmas Rebellion, the Christmas Uprising and the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt of 1831–32, was an eleven-day rebellion that started on 25 December 1831 and involved up to 60,000 of th ...

slave revolt broke out. Many blamed the revolt on the Christian and

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

missions due to giving the slaves ideas about equality and freedom. Waddell gives an account of this in ''Twenty-nine years in the West Indies and Central Africa: a review of missionery work and adventure. 1829-1858''. He remained in Jamaica until 1834, when owing to his wife's illness the couple left Jamaica.

Missionary work in Nigeria

He subsequently gained Church of Scotland Mission approval for a mission Nigeria in 1845, and he arrived in the village of Old Calabar in 1846 accompanied by former members of his congregation who wished to “carry the gospel to their native land". In 1847 he moved the mission to Creek Town and worked educating the local population, teaching them

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and converting them to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. He made attempts to stop the practice of infanticide in the area, building a settlement for twins and their mothers so as to isolate them from the rest of the population, and allowing them to live. In addition, he managed to procure various agreements to abolish human sacrifice in the surrounding area. He also worked to limit the spread of what was most likely yellow fever in the villages, through use of calomel. While in Nigeria he learned Efik language, Efik and built a relationship with Eyo Honesty II, King Eyo Honesty II, the ruler of the area at the time. Following a leave of absence in 1853, the relationship between Waddell and his colleagues at the mission began to become strained, a possible cause for his eventual retirement from the mission in 1858, officially due to illness.

Death and legacy

Following his return from Nigeria, Waddell established a missionary congregation and eventually retired to his home in Dublin. Days before Waddell's death on April 18, 1895, a school was founded in Duke Town, Nigeria and named the Hope Waddell Institute (later known as the

) in honour of his work. It continues to run to this day and has produced many Nigerian politicians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waddell, Hope Masterton 1804 births 1895 deaths People from Monaghan (town) Christian medical missionaries Baptist missionaries in Jamaica Irish Baptist missionaries Baptist missionaries in Nigeria Female Christian missionaries 19th-century Baptists