Rev Thomas Birch Freeman papers
Papers of and relating to Thomas Birch Freeman, comprising his journals, 1837-1845, including 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; copy of Governor William Winniett'...
| Order number: |
MMS/Special Series/Biographical/West Africa/FBN 4-7 & Box 597B |
|---|---|
| Date(s) of creation: |
1837-20th Century |
| Level: |
Sub-series |
| Format: | Archive |
| Main author: | Freeman; Thomas Birch (1809-1890); missionary and botanist |
| Subjects: |
| collection |
SOAS Archive |
|---|---|
| id |
MMS.17.02.03.10 |
| 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 4-7 & Box 597B |
| callnumber |
MMS/17/02/03/10 |
| callnumber_txt |
MMS/17/02/03/10 |
| callnumber-sort |
MMS/17/02/03/10 |
| prefix_number |
10 |
| title |
Rev Thomas Birch Freeman papers |
| scb_date_creation |
1837-20th Century |
| 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 |
5 boxes |
| author |
Freeman; Thomas Birch (1809-1890); missionary and botanist |
| author_facet |
Freeman; Thomas Birch (1809-1890); missionary and botanist |
| authorStr |
Freeman; Thomas Birch (1809-1890); missionary and botanist |
| author_letter |
Freeman; Thomas Birch (1809-1890); missionary and botanist |
| format |
Archive |
| scb_admin_history |
Born at Twyford, Hampshire, son of an English mother (Amy Birch) and Thomas ? Freeman (possibly a freed African slave), on 6th December 1809; joined the Methodists; moved to Ipswich and became a local preacher; head gardener at Orwell Park, 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 [Ghana], 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 Kumasi, 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, Benin and Togo; 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 [Ghana], farming, writing, and preaching; returned as a missionary, to Anamabu, West Africa, 1873-1879; Accra, 1879-1886; retired and settled at Accra, 1886, dying there on 12th August 1890.
Further Reading:
Birtwhistle, N A, Thomas Birch Freeman, west African pioneer (1950);
Freeman, T B, Journal of two visits to the kingdom of Ashanti, in western Africa (2nd edition, 1843);
Freeman, T B, Journal of various visits to the kingdoms of Ashanti, Aku and Dahomi, in western Africa (2nd edition, 1844);
[Freeman, T B], Missionary enterprise no fiction. A tale founded on facts (1871);
Milum, J, Thomas Birch Freeman: missionary pioneer to Ashanti, Dahomey, and Egba (?1893);
Morrison, J A, The begnnings of Methodism in Ghana and Nigeria (1835-1885), with special reference to the role of the Rev. Thomas Birch Freeman (1985);
Walker, F D, Thomas Birch Freeman, the son of an African (1929). |
| scb_custodial_history |
The material contained within Box 597B was given to the Methodist Church by Mrs H Birtwhistle of Worcester. |
| scb_acquisition |
Papers transferred with main deposit in 1978 except for Box 597B which was received by SOAS in March 2003. |
| description |
Papers of and relating to Thomas Birch Freeman, comprising his journals, 1837-1845, including 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; copy of Governor William Winniett's journal of a tour in 1850 through the recently acquired Danish territories in the Gold Coast [Ghana]; letter books, 1848-1864; correspondence with colleagues, friends and associates, in particular correspondence with Forster and Smith of London (1855) and correspondence re Beulah Gardens (1880); manuscripts recording the work of the WMMS in the Gold Coast District including Freeman's history of the rise and progress of Wesleyan missions in the Gold Coast district to 1838, and 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; manuscripts and papers on finances or the raising of funds in the Gold Coast District; copy certificate, 1928, recording Freeman's marriage to Lucinda Cowan (1840). |
| scb_related_name_code |
GB/SOASNAF/P518 GB/NNAF/P132146 GB/SOASNAF/P206 GB/SOASNAF/P899 |
| scb_related_name_relationship |
Subject of Creator of Subject of Subject of |
| scb_place_code |
2395170 7729885 2300660 2328926 2304116 7871299 |
| scb_access_status |
Open |
| scb_conditions_gov_access |
Only to be viewed on microfiche (with the exception of Box 597B). |
| scb_copyright |
Copyright probably held by Methodist Missionary Society. |
| scb_use_restrictions |
For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance |
| language |
English |
| language_search |
English |
| scb_related_material |
Also within the records of the (Wesleyan) Methodist Missionary Society is the official correspondence (with journal extracts and the odd paper) for Thomas Birch Freeman (MMS/West Africa/Correspondence/Gold Coast/FBN 9-12). Furthermore, the synod minutes will detail his work, and that of his colleagues, in the Gold Coast district (MMS/West Africa/Synod Minutes/Gold Coast/FBN 2-3). Additionally, SOAS holds a transcript of a letter from Freeman to the Wesleyan missionary Robert Brooking, 1855, describing the work of the Cape Coast mission (MS 380587). |
| scb-callnumber-first |
African diaspora African cultures Black peoples Autobiographies Dual heritage peoples Evangelism Methodism Methodists Missionaries Missionary work Protestantism Protestants Travel abroad |
| topic |
African diaspora African cultures Black peoples Autobiographies Dual heritage peoples Evangelism Methodism Methodists Missionaries Missionary work Protestantism Protestants Travel abroad |
| topic_facet |
African diaspora African cultures Black peoples Autobiographies Dual heritage peoples Evangelism Methodism Methodists Missionaries Missionary work Protestantism Protestants Travel abroad |
| hierarchy_top_id_raw |
MMS |
| hierarchy_sequence |
MMS.0017.0002.0003.0010 |