Lott Cary (First African-American Missionary to Africa)

A marker stands at the side of the road on a highway in Virginia, USA. It marks the location where Lott Cary was born, and it reads.

“A mile and a half northwest, Lott Cary was born in slavery about 1780. In 1804 his owner, John Bowry, a Methodist minister, hired him out to a Richmond tobacco firm. Cary joined the First Baptist Church in 1807. He purchased his freedom and became a Baptist minister in 1813, then founded the African Missionary Society in 1815. Cary sailed for Africa in 1821 as the continent’s first African-American missionary. He established Providence Baptist Church in Monrovia, Liberia, and several schools. As a political and military leader, Cary helped Liberia survive as a colony of free American blacks. He died there in November 1828.”

Born into slavery in 1780, Cary rose to become the first African-American missionary to Africa, a leader in a missionary movement among African-Americans, and an influence on many Christians worldwide.

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This short biography is currently being serialised in The Pastor’s Study magazine. The PDF’s attached here will be updated as each issue of the magazine appears.

Photo 1: Rev. Lott Cary

Photo 2: Road marker in Virginia, USA

Photo 3: Lott Cary House, the place of his birth.