| Order number: |
CWM/LMS/Africa/Personal/Box 4
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| Summary: |
Papers, 1819-1970, of and relating to Robert Moffat and his family, comprising letters sent by Robert Moffat to various correspondents, 1838-1883, the bulk dating from the 1870s and 1880s; notes for sermons, undated; undated sketch of a tree; autographed photograph; coloured print of the mission premises at Kuruman station, undated (used as the frontispiece of Moffat’s Missionary Labours); papers of Mary Moffat (née Smith), including manuscript journal of her journey to South Africa, 1819 (perhaps a copy), and a typescript copy, receipt signed by her, 1840, and letter, 1842; papers relating to Moffat and his family, 1890s-1970, including correspondence, typescripts, and press cuttings, and a typescript genealogy of his descendants, 1930.
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| Main author: |
Moffat; Robert (1795-1883); missionary |
| Extent: |
1 box
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| Admin history: |
Born in Ormiston, East Lothian, Scotland, 1795; moved to England, 1813; under-gardener at High Leigh, near Liverpool; came under Methodist influence; moved to the employment of James Smith, a Scottish nonconformist, near Manchester, 1815; appointed London Missionary Society (LMS) missionary, ordained at Surrey Chapel, and sailed to South Africa, 1816; arrived at Cape Town, 1817; travelled in southern Africa, 1818; gained fame for his conversion of a bandit, Jager Afrikaner, on the northern frontier; visited Cape Town and married Mary Smith (1795-1871), sister of the missionary John Smith, 1819; they worked together among the Tswana; Moffat accompanied the deputation of the Rev John Campbell on his visit to the interior, 1820-1821; travelled in southern Africa, 1823-1825; settled at Kuruman (which was to become an important mission station), 1826; visited Mzilikazi (Moselekatse), chief of the Ndebele (Matabele), 1829; visited Cape Town to publish his version of St Luke’s Gospel and elementary books in the Tswana (Sechuana/Bechuana) language, 1830; returned to Kuruman, 1831; proposed a mission among the Ndebele, 1835; visited towns on the Yellow and Kolong Rivers, 1836; attempts to print his Tswana version of the New Testament in Cape Town proved abortive and he sailed to England to publish it, 1839; a pioneering linguist, his Tswana translations – which also included Pilgrim’s Progress and hymns - were important in the growth of Christianity in southern Africa; met David Livingstone in London, 1840; returned to Kuruman, 1843; made a long tour to the interior, 1854; completed the Tswana version of the Bible, published at Kuruman, 1857; visited the Ndebele to arrange a mission, 1857; returned to Kuruman, 1858; travelled to Cape Town to meet new missionaries appointed to the interior and returned with them to Kuruman, 1858; accompanied the missionaries to Inyati in Matabeleland, 1859; the trip resulted in the establishment of an LMS mission near Bulawayo; returned to Kuruman, 1860; undertook no further long treks; with his wife, returned to England for health reasons, 1870; Doctor of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, 1872; received a testimonial, 1873; attended Livingstone’s funeral, 1874; remained active in promoting foreign missions; retired from public speaking, 1878; died at Leigh, Kent, 1883; buried in Norwood cemetery.
The Moffats’ children included Mary (1821-1862), who married the missionary David Livingstone (1813-1873) in 1844, and John Smith Moffat (1835-1918), also an LMS missionary in southern Africa, who published The Lives of Robert and Mary Moffat (1885).
See also:
Robert Moffat, Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa (1840 and subsequent editions). |
Born in Ormiston, East Lothian, Scotland, 1795; moved to England, 1813; under-gardener at High Leigh, near Liverpool; came under Methodist influence; moved to the employment of James Smith, a Scottish nonconformist, near Manchester, 1815; appointed London Missionary Society (LMS) missionary, ordained at Surrey Chapel, and sailed to South Africa, 1816; arrived at Cape Town, 1817; travelled in southern Africa, 1818; gained fame for his conversion of a bandit, Jager Afrikaner, on the northern frontier; visited Cape Town and married Mary Smith (179 ... View more |
| Custodial history: |
The papers were deposited with the London Missionary Society by various donors and form part of the special series of personal papers of individual LMS missionaries and officers. |
| Acquisition: |
Deposited on permanent loan with the records of the London Missionary Society by the Congregational Council for World Mission (later Council for World Mission) in 1973.
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| Access status: |
Open
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| Language: |
English
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| Finding aids: |
Unpublished handlist
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| Related material: |
The School of Oriental and African Studies holds the records of the London Missionary Society (Ref: CWM/LMS), including letters from individual missionaries, among them Moffat (Ref: CWM/LMS South Africa Incoming Correspondence); reports by Robert Moffat at Kuruman, 1867-1868, and by his son John, 1869, 1875-1877 (Ref: CWM/LMS South Africa Reports Box 1 Files 2-4, 10-12); various photographs of or relating to the Moffats (Ref: CWM/LMS Africa Photographs); several photographs of Robert and Mary Moffat and photographs of other portraits of Moffat (Ref: CWM/LMS Missionary Portraits Box 4); correspondence of the Moffat family with Holloway Helmore’s family (Ref: CWM/LMS Africa Personal Box 1); the Bruce Livingstone Collection, which comprises original correspondence between David Livingstone and Robert Moffat, 1844-1857 and undated (CWM/LMS Africa Miscellaneous Box 4); letters of Mary Livingstone (née Moffat), 1852-1855 (Ref: CWM/LMS Africa Miscellaneous Livingstone Wooden Box); and letters from Moffat to the missionary John Philip regarding the Kuruman mission station (Ref: GB 0102 CWM/LMS Africa Miscellaneous Boxes 12-14).
The National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division, holds Moffat's correspondence with David Livingstone, 1841-1888 and undated (Ref: MSS 10701-10780, 10997 passim).
Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections holds a file containing four letters from Moffat, c1841, 1873-1875, texts in Tswana, 1841 and [after 1870], and an autographed portrait of Robert Moffat (Ref: Gen 1732), and another letter from Moffat, 1871 (Ref: Gen 863/8/66).
Edinburgh University, New College Library, has some Moffat correspondence and other material, particularly in the James Cunningham (CM) and William Dickson (WD) collections.
Cambridge University Library holds a letter from Moffat to Thomas Sturge, 1861 (Ref: Add MS 8330 3/2/10; copy at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Ref: MS 380605), and other letters of Moffat in the British and Foreign Bible Society archive. |
The School of Oriental and African Studies holds the records of the London Missionary Society (Ref: CWM/LMS), including letters from individual missionaries, among them Moffat (Ref: CWM/LMS South Africa Incoming Correspondence); reports by Robert Moffat at Kuruman, 1867-1868, and by his son John, 1869, 1875-1877 (Ref: CWM/LMS South Africa Reports Box 1 Files 2-4, 10-12); various photographs of or relating to the Moffats (Ref: CWM/LMS Africa Photographs); several photographs of Robert and Mary Moffat and photographs of other portraits of Moffat ... View more |
| Format: |
Archive
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| Subjects: |
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