This service is intended for Wheaton College students, faculty and staff; people who live in convenient driving range to campus; or people who will be visiting Wheaton's campus. Every month, this Bulletin Board will highlight a new document or set of documents that are available in the Archives. Come on over and have a look!

April 2009: Three Siblings in Africa

In the second decade of the twentieth century three Pierson siblings went to Africa with Africa Inland Mission. Elizabeth “Betty” age 24 and Flora Pierson age 22 left for the Belgian Congo in 1916 and their younger brother Richard Floyd age 21 joined them the following year. All three were married in Africa: Betty to Frederick McKenrick in British East Africa (Kenya), Flora to Wesley Kemptner in Uganda, and Floyd to Amy Winsor in the Belgian Congo. Collection 81 - Records of Africa Inland Mission, International contains personnel files for them which document their service with AIM.

Three Young Women Sail for the Field
From Hearing and Doing, April-June 1916, page 11

The last party which sailed for the Field left San Francisco, Cal., January 8th, going by the way of Hong Kong and Bombay. This party consisted of the Misses Betty and Flora Pierson and Miss Pauline Fraas. We are able to give our readers a glimpse of the Pierson sisters but not of Miss Fraas as we have no photograph from which to make her electroplate. Both of the Pierson girls are graduates of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, of which Dr. Torrey is the Dean and our Brother Horton is the Superintendent. They reached Africa safely about March 25th.

In 1978 Betty wrote:

I sailed for Africa first in January 1916, accompanied by my sister, Flora H. Pierson. We sailed from San Francisco, Calif. via Honolulu, Japan, China, Singapore, Etc. to Mombasa, East Africa.

I went to Africa as Betty A. Pierson. On August 22, 1918, I was married to Rev. Fred H. McKenrick, Bwana C.E. Hurlburt performing the ceremony in the Kijabe A.T. Pierson Memorial Chapel.

Mr. McKenrick had three daughters, the youngest being eleven years old at that time. On June 26, 1920, Flora Irene was born to us at Githumu, Thika, East Africa.

A member of my family had been in Africa and a member of the A.I.M. since December 1905. My present representative is my niece, Betty Lou Teasdate, and her husband, Paul Teasdale, working in the N.F.D. at Gatab. My daughter, Flora Irene, was married to Cedric G. Eddings in October 1945. They went to Venezuela as missionaries in 1951 and are still serving the Lord there. It is good to have something so precious to give Him for His service.

Yours in the Joy of His Service,
(Mrs. F.H.) Betty P. McKenrick [signature]
Betty P. McKenrick

From Collection 81, box 23, folder 1.