Dandeson Coates Crowther

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Dandeson Coates Crowther [1]

Archdeacon Dandeson Coates Crowther (24 September 1844 - 5 January 1938) was a son of Archbishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther[2] and a leader of the Anglican Church in West Africa. He was born in Sierra Leone.[3] He was a part of the Christian Missionary Society (CMS) in 1870 and titled as "Archdeacon" of the Niger Delta in 1876.[2] He is credited with initiating the "mass movement" towards Christianity in the 1870s and ultimately the first African secession from the Anglican Church when he founded the Niger Delta Pastorate.[2]

He was ordained at Saint Mary's Parish Church by Samuel Ajayi Crowther.[3] Prior to this role, he held a few temporary roles. This included jobs such as secretary and chaplain[4] for his father Samuel Ajayi Crowther and Senior Pastor in Bonny, Niger Delta.[3]

Early life[edit]

Dandeson Coates Crowther was the youngest son of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, who was the first African Anglican Bishop in Nigeria.[2] His father, Archbishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, was born in 1807 in Osogun, Yorubaland, Nigeria.[5] He was enslaved at 13 years old and traded to Portuguese slave ships.[5] After Great Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807, Royal Navy patrols stopped Ajayi's captive ship in April 1822, transporting these newly freedmen to Freetown, Sierra Leone.[5] He was converted to the Anglican Church and adopted the name Crowther.[5] Dandeson Crowther, born in 1844, was the youngest of his children.[citation needed]

Education[edit]

Dandeson Coates Crowther was educated in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and England. He attended the Christian Missionary Society Grammar School located in Lagos, Nigeria in 1860.[4] He then relocated and attended the Christian Missionary Society College in Islington, London, graduating in 1863.[3] He received a Doctorate of Divinity in Lambeth in 1921.[4]

Dandeson, with father Samuel Ajayi Crowther

Mission[edit]

Dandeson Coates Crowther's journey as a missionary began in 1870 after he was ordained by his father.[3] On 19 June 1870, he became a deacon at Saint Mary's Parish Church in Islington, London.[3] He returned to the Niger Delta in 1871 to join the Christian Missionary Society Niger Mission. On 12 March 1871, he became a priest in Lagos, Nigeria.[3] He remained at Bonny Island, Rivers State, Nigeria until becoming Archdeacon of the Niger Delta in 1876.[4] He was Archdeacon, often called "venerable," of the Lower Niger and Delta stations, and led the Southern Nigeria Province of the Christian Missionary Society Mission.[4]

D.C. Crowther frequently travelled across continents,[4] utilizing shipping lines between Great Britain and West Africa, such as the Elder Dempster Line.[6] He constantly travelled between London and Nigeria, but when he got sick, he traveled to Freetown, Sierra Leone.[4]

Crowther struggled throughout his mission as some of the leaders of the Christian Missionary Society did not want any non-native Europeans to run the Mission. The backlash against African-born clergymen skyrocketed after the Niger Crisis of 1890[5] and even led to the death of Samuel Ajayi Crowther in 1891.[5] Today, historians possess letters written by Dandeson Coates Crowther, expressing his realization of people attempting to kick him out of the Christian Missionary Society.[7] He concluded his role as Archdeacon of the Niger Delta in 1926.[4] In 1935, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire, knighted by the King of England, and made "Sir."[4][8] He died at the age of 93 years old on 5 January 1938 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.[4]

Legacy[edit]

Archdeacon Dandeson Coates Crowther [9]

Before passing away in 1938, Crowther was involved in the Delta Revolt and often fought for Africans to run their continent without the sole reliance on Europeans.[3] The Niger Delta separated from the Christian Missionary Society after Crowther advocated for a self-governing African church, establishing the Niger Delta Pastorate in 1892.[2] To carry out this mission, he often dabbled in translating work. He translated the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, "Dusk to Dusk," into Igbo, a language of southeastern Nigeria. He also translated a portion of the book of Jeremiah of the Bible into Yoruba, a language of southwestern Nigeria.[4] Following in the footsteps of his father, who translated the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Yoruba,[5] Dandeson Coates Crowther worked to keep Africans as involved with the Church as possible, while maintaining autonomy and freedom.[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kingdon, Zachary. (2008). Reinterpreting the African Collections of the World Museum Liverpool.
  2. ^ a b c d e J, Hanciles, Jehu (1844–1938). "Crowther, Dandeson Coates (B)". Dictionary of African Christian Biography.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Hanciles, Jehu J. (October 1994). "Dandeson Coates Crowther and the Niger Delta Pastorate: Blazing Torch or Flickering Flame?". International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 18 (4): 166–172. doi:10.1177/239693939401800404. ISSN 0272-6122. S2CID 149088333.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k CMS Register 1804-1894, List III, no. 155
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Samuel Ajayi Crowther | Slavery and Remembrance". slaveryandremembrance.org.
  6. ^ UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960, Liverpool, 1933 Aug 23
  7. ^ Papers relating to Africa: Miscellaneous papers, letters and reports, 1880-1892. A3/1/1J https://www-amscholar-amdigital-co-uk.proxy.library.upenn.edu/Documents/SearchDetails/CMS_VII_Part1_Reel15_Vol1
  8. ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette" (PDF). No. 34119. The Stationery Office, National Archives UK. 28 December 1934. p. 13. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  9. ^ "The black bishop: Samuel Adjai Crowther. With preface by Eugene Stock ... with 16 illustrations and map". HathiTrust.
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