Dora Amelia Wagner (1888-1980), American Missionary, daughter of John Franklin and Helen Mardora Wagner, was born on October 10, 1888, in LaCygne County, Kansas. Wagner, who became a deaconess in the Methodist Episcopal Church, attended both Baker and Northwestern Universities for her formal education. Upon completing her higher education, the Women's Foreign Missionary Society sent Wagner to Japan and arrived in Tokyo on December 7, 1913. Wagner taught at Aoyama Jogakuin Girl's School (1913-1915), Women's Christian College (1923-1933) in Tokyo as well as Iai Jogakko Girls School in Hakodate (1915-1922, 1933-1941 and 1946-1953). Besides teaching other duties included supervising Sunday School work in the Hakodate area, YMCA, church choir and organist. During World War II, she worked with Japanese churches in Colorado. Because of her commitment to Japanese education, the government awarded her the Fifth Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1953. Wagner left Japan for good on June 30, 1953 and retired to the Robincroft Home in Pasadena, California. She died on September 22, 1980, in Lemon Grove, California
Moses Fifield (1790-1859), American minister, was born in Unity, New Hampshire on December 7, 1790. He taught school for a time. In 1816 he joined the New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Celia Knight (1786-1874) on March 5, 1820.
Fifield served the following appointments as an itinerant preacher: Sandwich Circuit, 1816; Harwich, 1817; Providence, Rhode Island, 1819; Warehouse Point, 1822; Springfield, 1820; Connecticut Circuit, 1823; Tolland circuit, 1824. By 1824, his health had deteriorated, and he could no longer fulfill his duties. He chose to leave the ministry and the conference granted him an honorable location. After that time, he moved to Centreville, Rhode Island, and engaged primarily in secular business as a banker. He continued to serve the church in a limited capacity until his death on April 19, 1859.
The Reverend James Reiley (1784-1841) was born in Somerset, Pennsylvania, on July 29, 1784, the son of Cornelius and Abigail Reiley. His parents and his wife's parents were among the early Episcopalians in Pennsylvania. He was converted in 1804, admitted in 1807, and was effective (with the exception of two years) until 1841. He was a member of the Baltimore Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church for thirty-four years. Reverend Reiley was in charge of the Saint Mary's Circuit when he died on September 28, 1841.
George W. Andrew (1896-?), American minister and educator, served in the Methodist Protestant Church. He was originally from Indiana, received his education at High Point College in North Carolina where, prior to entering the ministry, he studied to be an engineer. He was licensed to preach in the Methodist Protestant Church in 1928 in the Indiana Conference. He did not serve in the Indiana Conference, but was loaned to the Board of Missions. He and his wife were asked to teach at the Alvan Drew School in Kentucky. While teaching, he established preaching points and held services in the mountain country. They taught at the school for four years, from 1922 to 1926. Andrew left the school to complete his A.B. degree and was later ordained by the Methodist Protestant Church in the North Carolina Conference in 1928. After some illness, he accepted the pastorate of the College Church at Tehuaca, Texas and served from 1930 until 1934. He was then asked to return to the Alvan Drew School as superintendent but left in 1939 due to failing health and moved to Texas. Information about them after that date is incomplete.
Anna Smith (1876-1963) was an Evangelical United Brethren Church missionary to Sierra Leone. She attended school in Houghton, New York. Smith taught in public schools and then married William Boardman (?-1902). They went to Africa in 1902 and were Stationed at the Kunzu mission in Sierra Leone. Soon after their arrival in Africa Boardman died, but Smith carried on her work until she was furloughed in 1904. From 1904 to 1906 she was a field worker in the United States.
After returning to Africa in 1906 she married Reverend J. Hal Smith (1862-1915), and they became the first missionaries into Kono Land in the interior of Sierra Leone. Anna smith worked diligently at language study of the Kono dialect, and she successfully translated the four Gospels, as well as creating a dictionary and basic grammar book. Due to ill health she was forced to return to the United States in 1908. She remained on furlough until 1909. Smith returned to Sierra Leone later in 1909. A second furlough was taken from 1911 to 1912. From 1912 to 1914 she was again in Africa, but was forced to return to the United States due to failing health.
Unable to return to Africa, Smith began work with the Board of Foreign Missions as a fund raiser. She was elected Special Secretary in 1916 of the United Brethren Mission Board. In 1942 she retired. Soon after Smith became pastor of the Wayne Valley Evangelical United Brethren Church near Cory Pennsylvania (Erie Conference).
The Mende are one of the major ethnic groups in Sierra Leone occupying mainly the eastern and southern regions. Together with the Kono, Susu, and Yalunka ethnic groups, the Mende comprised one half of the population. The Mende language is a language of the Mende branch of the Niger-Congo family.