Preacher, missionary, and temperance advocate
Amanda Berry was born into slavery in Maryland. Her first husband, Calvin Devine, was killed in the Civil War. She moved to Philadelphia and married her second husband, James Smith, an ordained deacon at Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He died in 1869.
The twice-widowed Amanda Berry Smith soon after began preaching and singing at holiness camp meetings. For nine years she traveled throughout the East and Midwest, preaching in churches and at camp meetings. As her popularity as a preacher grew, friends urged her to answer a call to preach in England. In 1878 she traveled to England. Her missionary work began in India and then continued to Africa where she preached primarily in Liberia and Sierra Leone, working with Methodist missionaries.
In 1890 she returned to America and went to the Chicago area where she published "An Autobiography, the Story of the Lord's Dealings with Mrs. Amanda Smith the Colored Evangelist" and continued preaching. In 1899 she opened an orphanage for African American children in Harvey, Illinois. She has also been connected to the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and to Frances Willard and the temperance movement. Her spiritual fervor and missionary work encouraged other women to take an expanded role in ministry, especially in the AME and Methodist churches. At the age of seventy-five she retired to Sebring, Florida where she spent her last days.
Her grave was unmarked and almost lost until research by the members of the Commission on the Status and Role of Women of Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist church found her burial place and placed a headstone on her grave on Sat. Mar. 30, 1991. On April 23, 1991, the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois adopted a special resolution honoring the memory of her rare achievements.
Amanda Berry was born into slavery in Maryland. Her first husband, Calvin Devine, was killed in the Civil War. She moved to Philadelphia and married her second husband, James Smith, an ordained deacon at Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He died in 1869.
The twice-widowed Amanda Berry Smith soon after began preaching and singing at holiness camp meetings. For nine years she traveled throughout the East and Midwest, preaching in churches and at camp meetings. As her popularity as a preacher grew, friends urged her to answer a call to preach in England. In 1878 she traveled to England. Her missionary work began in India and then continued to Africa where she preached primarily in Liberia and Sierra Leone, working with Methodist missionaries.
In 1890 she returned to America and went to the Chicago area where she published "An Autobiography, the Story of the Lord's Dealings with Mrs. Amanda Smith the Colored Evangelist" and continued preaching. In 1899 she opened an orphanage for African American children in Harvey, Illinois. She has also been connected to the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and to Frances Willard and the temperance movement. Her spiritual fervor and missionary work encouraged other women to take an expanded role in ministry, especially in the AME and Methodist churches. At the age of seventy-five she retired to Sebring, Florida where she spent her last days.
Her grave was unmarked and almost lost until research by the members of the Commission on the Status and Role of Women of Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist church found her burial place and placed a headstone on her grave on Sat. Mar. 30, 1991. On April 23, 1991, the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois adopted a special resolution honoring the memory of her rare achievements.
Preacher, missionary, and temperance advocate
Amanda Berry was born into slavery in Maryland. Her first husband, Calvin Devine, was killed in the Civil War. She moved to Philadelphia and married her second husband, James Smith, an ordained deacon at Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He died in 1869.
The twice-widowed Amanda Berry Smith soon after began preaching and singing at holiness camp meetings. For nine years she traveled throughout the East and Midwest, preaching in churches and at camp meetings. As her popularity as a preacher grew, friends urged her to answer a call to preach in England. In 1878 she traveled to England. Her missionary work began in India and then continued to Africa where she preached primarily in Liberia and Sierra Leone, working with Methodist missionaries.
In 1890 she returned to America and went to the Chicago area where she published "An Autobiography, the Story of the Lord's Dealings with Mrs. Amanda Smith the Colored Evangelist" and continued preaching. In 1899 she opened an orphanage for African American children in Harvey, Illinois. She has also been connected to the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and to Frances Willard and the temperance movement. Her spiritual fervor and missionary work encouraged other women to take an expanded role in ministry, especially in the AME and Methodist churches. At the age of seventy-five she retired to Sebring, Florida where she spent her last days.
Her grave was unmarked and almost lost until research by the members of the Commission on the Status and Role of Women of Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist church found her burial place and placed a headstone on her grave on Sat. Mar. 30, 1991. On April 23, 1991, the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois adopted a special resolution honoring the memory of her rare achievements.
Amanda Berry was born into slavery in Maryland. Her first husband, Calvin Devine, was killed in the Civil War. She moved to Philadelphia and married her second husband, James Smith, an ordained deacon at Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He died in 1869.
The twice-widowed Amanda Berry Smith soon after began preaching and singing at holiness camp meetings. For nine years she traveled throughout the East and Midwest, preaching in churches and at camp meetings. As her popularity as a preacher grew, friends urged her to answer a call to preach in England. In 1878 she traveled to England. Her missionary work began in India and then continued to Africa where she preached primarily in Liberia and Sierra Leone, working with Methodist missionaries.
In 1890 she returned to America and went to the Chicago area where she published "An Autobiography, the Story of the Lord's Dealings with Mrs. Amanda Smith the Colored Evangelist" and continued preaching. In 1899 she opened an orphanage for African American children in Harvey, Illinois. She has also been connected to the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and to Frances Willard and the temperance movement. Her spiritual fervor and missionary work encouraged other women to take an expanded role in ministry, especially in the AME and Methodist churches. At the age of seventy-five she retired to Sebring, Florida where she spent her last days.
Her grave was unmarked and almost lost until research by the members of the Commission on the Status and Role of Women of Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist church found her burial place and placed a headstone on her grave on Sat. Mar. 30, 1991. On April 23, 1991, the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois adopted a special resolution honoring the memory of her rare achievements.
Bio by: Rosetta
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