Rev Benjamin Tregaskis papers
Paper created and collected by Rev Benjamin Tregaskis comprising: List of missionaries resident in the Sierra Leone District each year between 1811 and 1877. Chronological list of missionaries who served in Sierra Leone from 1811 to 1877. List of missionaries who served in Sierra Leone which include...
| Order number: |
MMS/Special Series/Biographical/West Africa/FBN 4 (fiche 133-136) |
|---|---|
| Date(s) of creation: |
c1844-c1877 |
| Level: |
Sub-series |
| Format: | Archive |
| Main author: | Tregaskis; Benjamin (1814-1885); ordained missionary |
| collection |
SOAS Archive |
|---|---|
| id |
MMS.17.02.03.07 |
| recordtype |
archive |
| scb_item_location |
Archive & Special Collections |
| item_location |
Archive & Special Collections |
| scb_loan_type |
Reference only |
| scb_order_with |
MMS/Special Series/Biographical/West Africa/FBN 4 (fiche 133-136) |
| callnumber |
MMS/17/02/03/07 |
| callnumber_txt |
MMS/17/02/03/07 |
| callnumber-sort |
MMS/17/02/03/07 |
| prefix_number |
07 |
| title |
Rev Benjamin Tregaskis papers |
| scb_date_creation |
c1844-c1877 |
| scb_level |
Sub-series |
| level_sort |
7/Collection/Sub-Collection/Sub-Sub-Collection/Sub-Sub-Sub-Collection/Series/Sub-Series/Sub-Sub-Series/File |
| scb_extent |
27 items |
| author |
Tregaskis; Benjamin (1814-1885); ordained missionary |
| author_facet |
Tregaskis; Benjamin (1814-1885); ordained missionary |
| authorStr |
Tregaskis; Benjamin (1814-1885); ordained missionary |
| author_letter |
Tregaskis; Benjamin (1814-1885); ordained missionary |
| format |
Archive |
| scb_admin_history |
Benjamin Tregaskis was born in Penryn, Cornwall, in 1814. He was ordained in 1836 and sent to serve in the Antigua district the same year. He remained there, serving mainly on the Leeward Islands, until 1864 when he volunteered to serve in West Africa. After initial reluctance the missionary society agreed and he was appointed as superintendent of the Sierra Leone district arriving, with his wife (the daughter of James Horne) and daughter, on 11 December 1864.
Tregaskis gained a reputation fairly quickly for being a strict disciplinarian and a passionate advocate of the importance of education in the mission field. He took charge of the Institution for Training Native Teachers at King Tom's Point, Freetown, and, realising its limitations, replaced it with the Wesleyan High School and Training Institution. His autocratic approach brought him into conflict with some of his colleagues (both European and African ministers) and also lead to the expulsion of a number of worshippers for infringements of Methodist rules. The mission secretaries received complaints but choose to agree with Tregaskis. In addition to his work on education Tregaskis left his mark by his involvement with the re-building of Rawdon Street Chapel and the construction of Murray Town Church (completed in 1875). However, his most popular achievement by far was his success in campaigning against the Hut Tax (a tax of 5s on every household regardless of size or the occupant's means) which was repealed in 1872. The subsequent thanksgiving service was attended by c4,000 people.
In 1868 Tregaskis also became superintendent of the Gambia district and his style of leadership brought him into conflict with some of his colleagues there (notably Rev Quilter). This situation wasn't helped by his being based in Sierra Leone and having to supervise mainly through correspondence, with visits being infrequent. However, there was a clear improvement in the administrative competency of the Gambia district under his scrutiny.
Tregaskis resigned as superintendent of both districts in 1874 and returned to England in 1875. He worked for a while at the diposal of the mission secretaries but became a supernumerary in 1877 at Hindle-St, London. He died in London on 13th January 1885.
Further reading:
Findlay & Holdsworth, The History of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, (vols 2 & 4, 1921-1922);
Marke, C, Origin of Wesleyan Methodism in Sierra Leone and history of its missions (1913);
Prickett, B, Island base: a history of the Methodist Church in the Gambia, 1821-1969 (?1969). |
| description |
Paper created and collected by Rev Benjamin Tregaskis comprising:
List of missionaries resident in the Sierra Leone District each year between 1811 and 1877.
Chronological list of missionaries who served in Sierra Leone from 1811 to 1877.
List of missionaries who served in Sierra Leone which includes the date of their arrival and the date their residence ended, 1811-1850.
Rough list of the arrivals and departures of missionaries to Sierra Leone between 1811 and 1827.
Brief notes on the creation of the Sierra Leone District with a list of the missionaries who served there up to 1830.
Pamphlet entitled 'Notes on a "View of Sierra Leone, from the River; drawn by a Lady, and lithographed by A. la Riviere, London" (communicated by the Rev Benjamin Tregaskis, General Superintendent of the Missions in Sierra Leone and the River Gambia)', 1868x1875.
Newspaper cutting of an article by S Bannister entitled 'Suggestions for a System to Improve the British Settlements in Western Africa, to Promote the Civilisation of the Neighbouring Tribes, and to Prepare the Way to a Beneficial Emigration of Free Labourers to the West Indies'.
Copy of letter, dated 26th Nov 1844, written by D Coates at Church Missionary House [Church Missionary Society, London] to Lord Stanley re liberated Africans in the colony of Sierra Leone and the proclamation of its Lieutenant Governor William Ferguson, c1844.
Printed 'Regulations of the Sierra Leone Wesleyan-Methodist Missionary Society', c1877 (8 copies, 1 annotated slightly).
Two newspaper cuttings (one from 'The Watchman') being: the petition of 'liberated Africans and other British subjects residing at Sierra Leone' and a petition of the 'Committee of the Wesleyan Missionary Society' both regarding the ongoing problems of slavery conducted by other nations and the importance of the resident squadron, 1850.
'An Ordinance for vesting the lands on which the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was erected in Rawdon Street, Freetown, Sierra Leone, in the Reverend Benjamin Tregaskis, General Superintendent of Wesleyan Missions in Sierra Leone, in Trust', 27 November 1872.
Pamphlet entitled '"And Next?" "The Questions of the day", on "the West Coast." A Critique. By the Rev. Benjamin Tregaskis', c1873.
Printed letters by Rev Tregaskis and others with copies of public notices regarding Road [Hut] Tax in Sierra Leone and its subsequent repeal, highlighted by the case of Sarah Cooper, 1869-1872.
A copy of the Freetown 'Independent' for 8th April 1875, which contains an article on 'Unfinished Buildings' (including the Wesleyan chapel at Rawdon Street [Freetown]).
Two printed letters written by the Rev Tregaskis re an application by the Church Missionary Society for a grant of £500 from the Legislative Council and the behaviour of the Rev James Johnson, 1872.
Three exercise books of copy letters written by Rev Tregaskis to Prince Anash of Kumasi [Ghana], 22 August to 21 December 1877. |
| scb_related_name_code |
GB/SOASNAF/P902 |
| scb_related_name_relationship |
Subject of |
| scb_place_code |
2403846 2300660 7729885 2409306 |
| scb_access_status |
Open |
| scb_conditions_gov_access |
Only to be viewed on microfiche |
| language |
English |
| language_search |
English |
| scb_related_material |
Also within the records of the (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society is the official correspondence for Benjamin Tregaskis for his period in the Antigua district (MMS/West Indies/Correspondence/Antigua/FBN 21-24) and whilst working in Sierra Leone (MMS/West Africa/Sierra Leone/FBN 5-6 & 26-27). Furthermore, the synod minutes will record his work, and that of his colleagues, in the districts of Antigua (MMS/West Indies/Synod Minutes/FBN 1-5) and Sierra Leone (MMS/West Africa/Synod Minutes/Sierra Leone/FBN 7). An image of him can be found in MMS/West Indies/Photographs/Box 1200. |
| hierarchy_top_id_raw |
MMS |
| hierarchy_sequence |
MMS.0017.0002.0003.0007 |