GB 0102 MMS/Special Series/Biographical/West Africa/FBN 4-7 (Boxes 594-597) - Freeman, Thomas Birch

4 boxes

The papers were deposited with the Methodist Missionary Society and form part of the special series of biographical papers of individual missionaries.
GB 0102 MMS/Special Series/Biographical/West Africa/FBN 4-7 (Boxes 594-597) 1837-1928 Collection (fonds) 4 boxes Freeman , Thomas Birch , 1809-1890 , missionary
Born at Twyford, Hampshire, England, son of an English mother and a freed African slave, Thomas Freeman, 1809; joined the Methodists; moved to Ipswich and became a preacher; head gardener on a Suffolk estate, but lost his position owing to his Methodist activism; accepted by the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, 1837; sailed to the Gold Coast, west Africa, 1837-1838; missionary on the Cape Coast (where an indigenous Methodist church had been tenuously supported by a succession of English missionaries), 1838-1857; visited Kusami, the Ashanti capital; married, for the second time, Lucinda Cowan (d 1841) at Bedminster, Somerset, 1840; visited England to appeal for funds and recruits, 1841; the publication of his journals made him a celebrity; his pioneering work in founding many mission stations and chapels in the area underpinned later Methodist success in Ghana, western Nigeria, and Benin; married for the third time, 1854; financial controversy and other difficulties caused him to retire from missionary work, 1857; civil commandant of Accra, 1857-1860; remained in the Gold Coast, farming, writing, and preaching; returned as a missionary, to Anamabu, west Africa, 1873-1879; Accra, 1879-1886; retired and settled at Accra, 1886; died, 1890. Publication: Journal of Various Visits to the Kingdoms of Ashanti, Aku and Dahomi ... with an historical introduction by the Rev J Beecham (2nd edition, 1844); Missionary Enterprise No Fiction (1871), a semi-autobiographical novel [by Thomas Birch Freeman].

The papers were deposited with the Methodist Missionary Society and form part of the special series of biographical papers of individual missionaries.

Deposited on permanent loan with the records of the Methodist Missionary Society from 1978.

Papers, 1837-1928, of and relating to Thomas Birch Freeman, comprising journals, 1837-1845, including his life and work in Africa; a manuscript account of a journey from Badagry to Dahomey, 1842-1843, perhaps prepared for publication, with a letter, 1843, from George Maclean concerning the manuscript; letterbooks, 1848-1857, containing copy letters from Freeman; Freeman's manuscript history of the rise and progress of Wesleyan missions in the Gold Coast to 1838 [after 1838], with later, undated manuscript transcript; typed transcript [20th century], lacking chapters I-II, of Freeman's reminiscences [1884] of the Gold and Slave Coasts, including his extensive travels in the region, and microfilm negative of the typescript; typed transcript [20th century] of two letters to Annie Goulstone (1849); copy certificate, 1928, recording Freeman's marriage to Lucinda Cowan (1840).

Unrestricted, but only to be viewed on microfiche.

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.
English
Some damage by bookworm.

Unpublished handlist.

Published on microfiche by IDC Publishers.

The School of Oriental and African Studies holds the records of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (Ref: MMS/WMMS), including letters from individual missionaries, among them Freeman (Ref: MMS/WMMS West Africa Correspondence). SOAS also holds a transcript of a letter from Freeman to the Wesleyan missionary Robert Brooking, 1855, describing the work of the Cape Coast mission (Ref: MS 380587).

Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project. Sources: Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, ed Gerald H Anderson (1998); Alphabetical Arrangement of Wesleyan Methodist Ministers (1847, 1888 editions); Wesleyan Methodist Church Minutes of Conference (1891), pp 66-7; British Library OPAC. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Feb 2002 Africa African cultures Ancient religions Autobiographies Badagry Benin Christianity Christians Dahomey Diaries Documents Evangelistic missionaries Evangelistic missionary work Freeman , Lucinda , d 1841 , née Cowan , second wife of Thomas Birch Freeman x Cowan , Lucinda Freeman , Thomas Birch , 1809-1890 , missionary Ghana Goulstone , Annie , fl 1849 , sweetheart of Thomas Birch Freeman Information sources Literary forms and genres Literature Maclean , George , fl 1843 Methodism Methodists Missionaries Missionary work National cultures Nigeria Nonfiction Primary documents Prose Protestantism Protestant nonconformists Protestant nonconformity Protestants Religions Religious activities Religious groups Religious institutions Religious movements Travel Travel abroad Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society West Africa Nonconformists Nonconformity

Deposited on permanent loan with the records of the Methodist Missionary Society from 1978.

Papers, 1837-1928, of and relating to Thomas Birch Freeman, comprising journals, 1837-1845, including his life and work in Africa; a manuscript account of a journey from Badagry to Dahomey, 1842-1843, perhaps prepared for publication, with a letter, 1843, from George Maclean concerning the manuscript; letterbooks, 1848-1857, containing copy letters from Freeman; Freeman's manuscript history of the rise and progress of Wesleyan missions in the Gold Coast to 1838 [after 1838], with later, undated manuscript transcript; typed transcript [20th century], lacking chapters I-II, of Freeman's reminiscences [1884] of the Gold and Slave Coasts, including his extensive travels in the region, and microfilm negative of the typescript; typed transcript [20th century] of two letters to Annie Goulstone (1849); copy certificate, 1928, recording Freeman's marriage to Lucinda Cowan (1840).

Unrestricted, but only to be viewed on microfiche.

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.

• English

• Latin

English

The School of Oriental and African Studies holds the records of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (Ref: MMS/WMMS), including letters from individual missionaries, among them Freeman (Ref: MMS/WMMS West Africa Correspondence). SOAS also holds a transcript of a letter from Freeman to the Wesleyan missionary Robert Brooking, 1855, describing the work of the Cape Coast mission (Ref: MS 380587).

Unpublished handlist.

Published on microfiche by IDC Publishers.

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

• English