Pioneer Missionary to Africa

 Mary Mortensen (Tripp) Armitage (1859–1950)

Mary Mortensen Tripp Armitage was a Bible worker, foster mother to Ellen White’s granddaughters, and pioneer missionary to Africa.

Born on April 26, 1859, in Denmark to James Jens Mortensen and Karen Olsdatter she emigrated with her family to the United States in 1865. As a young woman, she served as a Bible worker in Minneapolis and subsequently attended Battle Creek College.

In the early 1890s, while Ellen White and her son W. C. White were missionaries in Australia, she took care of Ellen’s twin granddaughters, Ella and Mabel, who affectionately referred to her as “Aunt Mary” and later recollected how they owed “much” to her “for the faithful motherly care she gave us.” 

Initially, the Foreign Mission Board considered having her go to Switzerland as a school matron. Instead, the widowed George Byron Tripp (1853-1898) was advised to find a spouse before going to Africa. Two days later, on April 2, 1895, Mary and George were married in Battle Creek, as Mary became the stepmother to his twelve-year-old son, also named George. They became pioneer missionaries in the interior of Africa.

Life was difficult for Mary Caroline during these early years in the founding of what became the Solusi Mission amid a conflict and lack of food. Tragically, her husband and stepson both died of malaria in 1898. Another missionary, Frank Benjamin Armitage also lost his wife during the same epidemic. The widowed missionaries wedded on February 22, 1899. Together they founded the Somabula Mission (later renamed the Lower Gwelo Mission). In 1901 Mary, along with her second husband, Frank, attended the 1901 General Conference session as delegates. In 1907 they transferred to the Maranatha Mission in Cape Province. They later served at Bethel, Kolo, and helped to also open the Spion Kop missions. Together they would have two daughters. In 1916 Mary suffered a severe head wound that required surgery. They remained in Africa until 1925 when her health forced them to return permanently to California. She died April 12, 1950, in Loma Linda, California, and is buried in Montecito Cemetery in nearby Colton.
Condensed from the article written by
Michael W. Campbell

Read the whole article:https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=6JB5



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Passing of a Great Woman

It has been my privilege to be involved in Women's Ministries ever since the Department was (re)created in 1995/6. I have met many wonderful and devoted women who were trailblazers and developed a ministry that makes an impact in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church around the world. So many women's lives have been enriched, and empowered and so many have been reached out to. I have been inspired by every woman who has served as Director of this department and I am deeply thankful for their example, love, and friendship. It has always been a special joy to meet these women who have devoted their lives to mentoring and sharing their expertise, experience, and spiritual insights with their sisters around the world. Women's Ministries has become a veritable sisterhood to which every woman can belong. Last October I had the opportunity to attend the North American Division conference on Adventist Women's History in Washington, DC. It was so good to see one of our pioneers, Ar
Read more

We Have Messed Up the Earth

Image
Living in a temperate climate, I have been used to having cold winters and warm summers. We never thought we would need air conditioning. But things have changed. We are in the middle of climate change and scientists are saying that we have almost passed the point of no return. The last two summers were extremely dry and hot. This summer we are having a mixture of heat and thunderstorms causing vast amounts of rain, and flooding. Hail is clogging the sewers and destroying crops. Streets are transformed into fast-flowing rivers, houses are flooded and even collapsing. Rivers and lakes overflow their banks. Rescue services are working at capacity and still, we hear of people drowning or not being accounted for. I am shocked at the news reports of calamities from all over. Many have lost everything to the flood. Even in areas that are used to flooding, people say that they have never experienced anything like this. In other parts of the world, the problem is extreme heat. When polar regi
Read more

Adventist Women Missionaries

Image
 Women’s History Month 2024 As I was browsing through the Adventist Encyclopedia, looking for women to be presented during Women’s History Month 2024, concentrating on missionaries, I found many women who had accompanied their husbands to foreign lands. Most of these women were mentioned as being part of a missionary team, working together to bring the Advent message to the area they were sent to. Both, husband and wife, were important, and both gave their all to serve God and the church they loved. Many even gave their health and life in the process. I also found single women who pioneered in unentered areas, reaching out, particularly to the women in these countries who would otherwise not have been reached. They were intrepid women who showed courage and initiative in bringing the message of salvation to the people they served. Then there were the women whose efforts were listed first, although they had a husband because their work seemed to merit special mention, like Priscil
Read more