Thomas birch freeman biography
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But his 1842 journey is regarded as the beginning of Methodism in Nigeria, Benin and Togo . In 1857 he resigned from the ministry after over-spending his budget and became the civil commandant of the Accra District; but he still preached and was reinstated by the WM Conference of 1873. Freeman was a mulatoo of black and English parentage, born in 1809 in Hampshire, England.
He stayed ten days, and was released by his host, most reluctantly, for the work that awaits him in Badagry.
E. Metcalfe, Maclean of the Gold Coast (1962).
John Milum, Thomas Birch Freeman (n.d.).
This article is reproduced, with permission, from Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, copyright © 1998, by Gerald H. Anderson, W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In 1857 charges of overspending forced his resignation as general superintendent. He arrived in Kumasi on 1st April, 1839.
The Methodist Church Ghana, the Lay Movement Council @ 60; 1949- 2009, (Grail Publications, Agona Swedru, 2010), 9-10.
• Andrew F. Walls, “Freeman, Thomas Birch,” in Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, ed. In 1837 he offered himself as a missionary and was sent to the Gold Coast (now Ghana, where he found that all five of his predecessors had died within thirteen months of arrival.
Their departure was emotional. In his memoir, Freeman writes, “I shall never forget the joy which beamed in their countenances as they seized me by the hand and bade me welcome.” He preached at Sodeke’s square and presented a copy of the Bible to him. They later played great roles in the growth of the Church.
Ellingworth, “Christianity and Politics in Dahomey, 1843-1867,” Journal of African History 5 (1964): 209-220.
G. His mother was English, his father and African freed slave. He never, however, obtained the resources for the large-scale mission he envisioned.
He several times met Ghezo, the powerful king of Dahomey, and placed a preacher at Ouidah, but he could neither persuade Dahomey to abandon a slaving economy nor persuade his mission to underwrite evangelistic efforts there.
Rev. Brooking was sent to Accra and the Rev and Mrs. Mycock were sent to Cape Coast.
Allen Birtwistle, Thomas Birch Freeman, West African Pioneer (1950).
P.
He spent the Christmas of the year with Henry Townsend, who just arrived, and who was bound for Abeokuta in the interests of the Church Missionary Society.
In 1854, Freeman again visited Abeokuta, meeting Shodeke’s successor, Somoye, who gave him a piece of land promised the decade before, for the purpose of building a Mission house.
Little is known of his early life. Although he never learned an African language, he was an effective pastor and in 1877 alone baptized over 1,500 people. Freeman was limited linguistically, and as he fully recognized, financially incompetent.