David Jonathan East: Faith, Patience and Paradise

 

David Jonathan East was born in England in 1810.  After benefiting from ministerial training at the College at Stepney, London (now, Regent’s Park College, Oxford), he served as pastor for 15 years of Baptist churches at Leamington, Arlington and Waltham Abbey, England. During these years of his life, Mr. East’s ministry included literary works, including a small book on the Crusades for the Religious Tract Society and an abridgement of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton’s work on Western Africa and Slavery.  East’s interest in Africans was influenced by the work of William Knibb, Thomas Burchell and Buxton and, unsurprisingly, when the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS), London, invited him to commit to serve as president of the Calabar Institution in Jamaica, East consented. Together with his wife, he travelled to Jamaica, landing in St Ann’s Bay on January 13, 1852. He went to serve as pastor of the Rio Bueno Baptist Church, while Joshua Tinson completed his tenure as Calabar’s founding president.

Within a year of East’s arrival, tragedy struck as Mrs East died on April 22, 1853, leaving a widower and motherless children behind. Just imagine what that loss would have meant for the East family.

Two and a half years passed before East married again. He was united in marriage to Miss Martha Vitou, whose father had been a French Huguenot refugee in England. Miss Vitou had served from 1845-1852 as a missionary teacher in Fernando Po, West Africa, under the auspices of the BMS and the Jamaica Baptist Missionary Society in a jointly sponsored mission. At the end of her time of service, she returned to England. Her marriage to East took place in August 1855. In 1861, the union produced Ada Louisa, who became the wife of Rev. James Balfour, who was, for several years, senior tutor at Calabar College. Mrs. Martha East outlived her husband by seven years, dying in London on May 10, 1908.

When East assumed the presidency of Calabar College, the institution was training Jamaica-born students for the Christian ministry and as school teachers. By the time his service ended, East had trained “some 60 ministers and 100 teachers …scattered by their labours in this [Jamaica] and neighbouring lands and in the United States of America and Africa.”

As Calabar’s president, he bore the main responsibility for the transfer of the College from Rio Bueno to East Queen Street, Kingston. There, he was greeted by buildings that were in a sad state of disrepair. He oversaw the restoration process and fulfilled the other duties of his office as Calabar president. Meanwhile, at the insistence of the East Queen Street Church, he assumed the role of pastor of the then largest Baptist Church in Jamaica; he retired from the post in 1892.

Two resolutions are included in the record of last meeting of the Calabar College Committee meeting that took place on March 2, 1892:

 

That in reference to the resignation of the Rev. D. J. East, President of the Baptist College, Calabar, Kingston, the General Committee of the College desire to place on record an expression of the high esteem in which Mr. East is held by them and also of the great and far-reaching work he has performed in connection with our Institution for training young men for the Christian ministry, and for the work of day-school teaching.

Mr. East entered upon his tutorial duties in the year 1852, in the College then located at Rio Bueno, and continued them on its removal to Kingston in 1868 up to the present time. Thus, for the prolonged period of forty years, Mr. East has occupied the position of President, with much honour to the denomination, and having the highest esteem of the pastors and students who have been associated with him.

The growth of the influence and power of the Institution is a matter for much thankfulness to Almighty God, for when Mr. East took charge, there were but four theological students, and now there are thirty-seven young men in the theological and normal school departments, and as many as sixty ministers and 120 teachers have also passed under his tuition.

The Committee feel that this satisfactory growth is due largely to Mr. East's fostering care, prudent management, and earnest labours. The high moral tone of the Institution has been carefully maintained during Mr. East’s presidency, and by his truly godly life many of those who have passed through the College have received spiritual impressions which will abide with them during their ministry on earth.

It is with deep regret that the Committee contemplate Mr. East’s retirement, but his advanced age compels him to relinquish his duties. To a ripe old age, he has continued his labours, and now he feels that for the sake of the Institution, as well as for his own sake, he must vacate the Presidency.

The Committee pray that, in his declining years, the knowledge that he has done so much for the moral elevation and spiritual benefit of the people of Jamaica, and the assurance of the sincerest Christian love of all the pastors and churches of the denomination in the island, may prove a source of comfort and joy to him.

The Committee also remember with much affection Mrs. East, who has been a true helpmeet with Mr. East in the work of the College, and who in so many ways, especially in the domestic management, has rendered invaluable services to the Institution.

The Committee pray that their dear friends may have a safe and pleasant voyage across the ocean, when they leave Jamaica; and also pray that they may be comforted with the consolations of the Gospel, and in the time of old age experience richly the sustaining grace of God, and at last be gathered home into the reward and rest of the Divine glory.

 The second resolution read:

That the sincerest thanks of the Committee be given to the Rev. D. J. East for his valuable gift of books to the College, numbering nearly 800 volumes.

The Committee feel that this is another expression of Mr. East’s great interest in the Institution, which he has served so faithfully for forty years, and whose work in connection with it has been signally blessed of God in preparing so many of our pastors for the office of the Christian ministry, and so many teachers in the work of day-school teaching. They value this gift in an especial manner as it is presented on the eve of his departure to his native land, and they pray that God’s loving presence may be continued to him and Mrs. East, wherever in God’s all-wise providence they may be called to reside.

 In addition to his contribution to education, East gave 38 years of service as pastor of churches in JBU. As indicated earlier, the was pastor of the Rio Bueno Church. Besides this, he was acting pastor for several congregations, serving as such for his ministerial colleagues who were on furlough. He also served as interim pastor for churches that needed help to pay off a debt or build a new “chapel.” Kettering, Dry Harbour, Waldensia, Mt Carey, Shortwood are among the churches that benefited from East’s generous pastoral care.

After Calabar College was transferred to Kingston, East assumed the pastorate of the East Queen Street Baptist Church and served as such from 1868- 1890. At East’s Memorial Service held in the East Queen Street Baptist Church in March 1903, Rev. William Pratt, his successor at East Queen Street and the preacher at the service gave a summary of East’s life and ministry.

According to Pratt, East “found the [East Queen Street] church reduced and broken down in membership with hardly a name to live. He once again built it up and made it a light and power in this city.” In a resolution adopted by the East Queen Street Church, before East left Jamaica in 1892, this is what the church declared concerning their former pastor: “We feel we have great reason to esteem him very highly in love for his work’s sake” for Mr East came to the help of this church in its “low estate” and for 22 years so faithfully and, under the divine blessing, so successfully, he laboured for it that its membership grew from 50 to 500. Throughout this period, Mr East regularly, diligently and almost gratuitously fulfilled the duties of his pastorate. His wise management of the church, his able and earnest exposition of [the holy scriptures], his loving enforcement of the gospel of the grace of God were such that the members of this church had little difficulty in obeying the apostolic precepts by remembering him that had the rule over them. The holy walk, the dignified yet ever kindly bearing of the true Christian gentleman, which were the outcome of his personal faith will ever be cherished as a precious memory and a noble example.”

Needless to say, East was loved by his colleague pastors, ministerial students and members of the churches he served. East’s commitment to the work of God and his appetite for hard work are reflected in his willingness to serve on four separate occasions as JBU chairman (now, president). In addition, he found time to write for the benefit of the churches.

When BMS was marking its jubilee, East was the one who undertook to prepare the introduction to the volume on Jamaica Baptist history that was published in connection with that BMS celebration of the Mission in Jamaica. East was also the author of the section of the book on the West Indies that was written in 1792 in connection with the centenary of the [English] Baptist Missionary Society. This was East last important literary work.

In 1892, East’s failing health led him to submit his resignation as Calabar’s president and, on May 3rd 1892, he returned to his native land. He spent most of the remaining years of his life in Watford, some 30 kilometres from London, serving as a deacon in the church. For his committed service in his church congregation, his grateful pastor said that he could find no truer friend or helper. 

After the death of his son-in-law, Rev James Balfour, Mr and Mrs East went to live with their widowed daughter, Ada Louisa, in Highgate, London. The last public event Mr East performed was to propose a resolution of sympathy with the family of Dr Angus at a meeting of the Regent’s Park College in September, 1902. And one of the last acts he did was to prepare and to send a letter to the Committee of the English Baptist Missionary Society in December 1902, urging them to help to erect new Calabar College buildings.

His daughter, Ada Balfour, said that, from January 12, 1903, East was confined to his bedroom and his final illness was in many respects trying. However, she wrote: “He was most beautifully patient. Toward the end, he constantly repeated verses of hymns and passages of Scripture. His last words were “For we know that if this earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” and as the loving watchers listened to his whispers, the last words they could distinguish were “Sunshine” and “Love.”

Mr. East died on the February 3, 1903 and his mortal remains were buried in Finchley Cemetery, London, four days later.  His widow, four daughters and several grandchildren were among those who gathered at the funeral services at the house and the graveside to bid David Jonathan East farewell.

As Pratt stated at East’s Memorial Service, “Let us, one and all, “not become lazy, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (Hebrews 6:12).

Ellis Fray Jr. (1861-1922): “Pathfinder, Propagator, and Great Exemplar” II

Ellis Fray Sr. and Ann, his wife, had a son whom they named Ellis Fray, [Jr.]. He was born in St James on January 14, 1861 and studied at Cambridge University in England. After he returned to Jamaica, he was admitted to Calabar College for ministerial preparation.

When his father died in 1885, the members of the Refuge/Kettering circuit where his father had been a faithful minister, invited young Fray to succeed him. Although he had completed only six months of study at Calabar, he answered the call and assumed the pastorate of the church his father had vacated.

In December 28, 1887, two years after his father’s death, Fray became a husband. His wife, Rachel Ann Sobey, was born in Lanteglos, Cornwall, England, in 1867, and was the daughter of Elizabeth and Joshua Heath Sobey, pastor of the Second Baptist Church in Montego Bay. The union produced two children, Cicely Knibb, born in Montego Bay on October 3, 1888 and Winnifred Heath, born in Cienfuegos, Cuba January 10, 1890.

Ellis Fray answered the Jamaica Baptist Missionary Society (JBMS) call to serve as a missioner of the to Cuba. However, Fray was not to enjoy a lengthy tenure on that mission field. This was the result of the serious illness of his wife Rachel, which caused Fray and his family to return home. Mrs Fray’s death from yellow fever, when she was only 22 years old, must have been traumatic for the entire Fray family. Fray was now a widower with two daughters, Cecily and Winifred. Back in Jamaica, Fray served in an interim capacity at the Brown’s Town Baptist Church.

On July 12, 1893, Fray entered a second marital union. Rev. William Webb officiated at the marriage of Fray and Ada Louise Beckett, who was from Stewart Town. After his brief time in Brown’s Town, Fray with Ada Louise, resumed his pastorate in the Refuge/ Kettering Circuit. Fray and Ada Louise became the proud parents of four children – Annie Viola, born on June 26, 1896; Harold Ellis, born July 16, 1899; Kathleen Joyce, born February 21, 1905 and Winston Merrick, born February 2, 1906.

Ellis Fray would again have to deal with the disappointment of death in his family. In 1913, his son Winston Merrick, passed away at age seven. In 1896, his daughter Annie Viola, passed away in San Francisco, California, aged 59, and in 1948, his daughter, Kathleen Joyce died in Los Angeles, California, aged 43. Meanwhile, his first two daughters, Cicely and Winnifred outlived him. Winnifred died in 1968, aged 78, and Cicely in 1979, aged 91.

Ellis Fray spent 23 additional years in the Refuge/Kettering circuit. During this period, he found time to serve on the Trelawny Parochial Board. At the meeting of the Parochial Board of Trelawny held in Falmouth on August 16, 1906, Fray tendered his resignation from the Board. This enabled him to accept the invitation to succeed Edward Jesse Hewitt, who had assumed the role of JBMS Secretary after the death of Fray, Sr.  From 1906 to 1914, Fray, Jr. fulfilled the role of JBMS Secretary with distinction. After the 1907 earthquake that destroyed much of Kingston, Fray, as JBMS Secretary, travelled to England to raise funds for the rebuilding of the ruined churches.

With his very hectic schedule, Fray suffered a serious breakdown in his health and he decided to travel to Canada to seek medical help. He successfully underwent a critical surgical operation, following which he was well enough to preach at the Baptist church in Pembroke, approximately 400 kilometres from Toronto, Ontario. Ada Louise, his wife, wrote to inform JBU that her husband was “on the fair road to recovery.”

When Fray preached at the Pembroke Church, that church was without a pastor and they were grateful to have Fray as a substitute preacher. After meeting Fray, the church decided to extend a call to him to assume the pastorate at Pembroke, and Fray consented.

When Fray advised JBU of the development, the news was received with much sadness, but not without much appreciation for all that Fray, Jr. had contributed to the life of the Union’s affiliated churches. The people were sympathetic to Fray because in 1913, after the arrival of his family in Canada, he had lost his young son Winston Merrick on account of bronchial pneumonia.   On March 17, 1914, Fray departed Jamaica for Canada to start a new phase of his ministry. A month before his departure, however, Jamaica Baptists organized to convey their appreciation for Fray’s service among them.

Gathered in the East Queen Street Baptist Church on February, 16, 1914, the General Committee of the JBMS adopted a resolution of thanks to Mr Fray, which stated, inter alia:

 

The Committee acknowledges its great indebtedness to their brother for the efficient and valued services rendered to the Missionary Society during his occupation of the office of Secretary from the year 1906 until the present time, for the keen and intelligent interest manifested in the Society's work in particular, and the denomination in general, for the fraternal intercourse enjoyed with their brother during the many years of his lengthened service in Jamaica, and for the many qualities which distinguish him as a force in our denomination.

 

In his resignation of the position he has hitherto held in our Society, and his further severance from the work in Jamaica, this Committee prays that God's richest blessing may rest upon him and a large measure of success may attend his labours wherever God may send him.

After seven years of work in Canada, Fray retired. Soon after this, he passed away in Toronto, Ontario, on December 23, 1921.

 

When they received news of Fray’s death, the people in the Refuge/Kettering Circuit sprang to action. They organized two memorial services to celebrate Fray’s life – one to take place at Refuge on January 15, 1922 and the other at Kettering on January 20, 1922.  Rev. A. W. Meredith, pastor of the circuit, preached at both services and a longstanding deacon in the circuit, Mr W. H. Bell paid heartfelt tribute to Mr Fray.

 

That was not the last occasion when the Refuge/Kettering Circuit gathered to celebrate the Frays’ contribution to the ministry of the circuit. December 11 and 12, 1927 were declared “Fray Memorial Days.” Services took place in the Refuge and the Kettering Baptist Churches, under the leadership of their pastor, Rev. the Honourable John W. Maxwell. The people celebrated the 58 years the Fray Sr. and Fray Jr. spent in the ministry in their Circuit. The speakers included Rev George Henderson of Brown’s Town, Rev W. S. Lea, Rev. R. A. L. Knight and Rev. T. Gordon Somers. Mr Joseph Stockhausen, businessman and respected member of the Trelawny community, participated in the events. A mural tablet was erected in honour of the Frays. When Gordon Somers unveiled a mural tablet, he referred to the Frays as "pathfinders, propagators and great exemplars.”

        

Finally, to perpetuate the name of the Frays, the Frays Memorial Hall was erected in Duncans. The

Hon.  Donat Delgado, Acting Custos of Trelawny and Rev. Joswyn Leo-Rhynie, Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union were among those participating in the opening and dedication of the Hall on May 26, 1958.  Also sharing in the event were Jamaica’s Governor Sir Kenneth and Lady Blackburne. Sir Kenneth was the main speaker and Lady Blackburne opened the main door.

 

The two Ellis Frays were committed pastors and outstanding contributors to ministry in JBU. Each of them served as JBMS Secretary and as JBU Chairman. They deserve to be remembered and celebrated by all Jamaica Baptists who are alive today. 

Ellis Fray Sr. (1828 -1885) “Pathfinder, Propagator, and Great Exemplar” I

 

Refuge Baptist Church

Ellis Fray was born into enslavement in 1828 on the Orange Valley estate. This might have been the Orange Valley estate in St. Ann, whose owner, a Scotsman, was John Williams Blagrove. Sugar, rum, molasses, pimento and later, orange were the chief products of that estate. The other possibility, which appears more likely, is the large Orange Valley Estate at Salt Marsh, on the border of Trelawny and St James.  This estate dates back to 1678 and has produced sugar, rum, coffee and cattle. When Fray was born, Robert Newton Jarrett, an Englishman, was the owner of this estate.

Fray came under the influence of William Knibb who had a preaching station in a nearby village and he was baptized in 1844 and became a member of the Falmouth church. He would doubtless have heard about the so-called “Free Villages” that William Knibb had established in Trelawny – in places like Alps, Kettering, Wilberforce (now Refuge), Stewart Town, and Hoby Town (now Sherwood Content).

Ellis Fray enrolled at Calabar Theological College in 1847 where he was regarded as an outstanding student. In 1851, after successfully completing the programme of ministerial preparation at Calabar in 1850, Fray assumed the pastorate at Refuge Baptist Church in Trelawny. This church had been planted in 1831 under William Knibb’s leadership in a Free Village that Knibb had formed and named Wilberforce. Fray’s association with Refuge was to continue until his eventual death 34 years later.

In addition to his responsibilities at Refuge and at Clark’s Town Baptist Church, which was planted under Fray’s leadership in 1863, Fray gave oversight to a number of churches for relatively short periods of time as interim pastor. After 1856, Fray served as interim pastor at the Falmouth (now William Knibb) Baptist Church and the Baptist Church in Carfax (now Duncans), which had been planted in 1840. He did the same at Rio Bueno and Waldensia. Under Fray’s leadership, Kettering Baptist Church was to become a beacon of hope in the Duncans community. 

In 1855, Ellis Fray and Mary Ann Knibb, the second daughter of William Knibb, exchanged marital vows. They had eight children and sought to bring them up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Ellis and Ann were committed partners in the service of God’s people. For his part, Fray contributed significantly to the life of the Baptist family in Jamaica beyond the bounds of Trelawny and neighbouring parishes. He was the first Jamaican to be elected to serve as chairman (now president) of JBU. He served three terms in this office, viz., 1866-1867; 1878-1879, and 1881-1882.

He was also the first person to assume the important role of Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Missionary Society (JBMS), an organization he helped to found. He served as an officer of JBMS for 25 years. It was in this capacity that Fray was one of the JBMS leaders who agreed to commission the American preacher William Wood from Key West to serve as missionary to Cuba at a time when US intervention in Cuba was causing much tension and would have precluded Wood serving in Cuba at that time.

Ellis and Anne Fray had eight children, one of whom, a daughter, married Charles Sibley, who was a Baptist pastor in Portland for many years. Another, a son, who was given the name Ellis Fray, Jr. became a pastor. He will be the subject of the next blog.

The churches Fray served were not financially well-endowed and Ellis Fray and his family lived in a dilapidated mission house given them by enslaved persons who had gained their freedom. Fray and his wife experienced difficulty feeding and clothing their children. Yet, they served their congregations and communities with deep commitment and sincere dedication to God.

In the midst of poverty, Fray led the Kettering church in Duncans to commence rebuilding their place of corporate worship.  Funds were hard to come by and, although the church members gave as much as they could, the rebuilding project took 16 years to complete. Can you imagine the joy the people felt when the day set apart for the dedication of their church building drew near?  They were overjoyed.  Everyone eagerly awaited the event.

On the night before the service of dedication, catastrophe struck. A fierce hurricane swept through Jamaica and it completely destroyed the Kettering church building.  The following day, Ellis Fray and some of the church members gathered around what remained of their new church building. Taking shelter under a tree and, with tears streaming down his face, Fray said to the gathering: “Friends, we had better dry our tears and sing a hymn, “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.” Fray’s listeners knew something we need to know: Saints are people with a robust faith in God. They have the kind of faith that can conquer any temporary defeat. Instead of cursing nature and blaming God, Fray led the people to remember that the God they served was one who would never forget or desert them. Not surprisingly, six years after that fateful day when that fierce hurricane devastated the Kettering building, the people completed a new place of worship. God provided the financial help these people of faith needed.

While preaching at Kettering on Emancipation Sunday 1885, on Job 8:9, “We are but of yesterday, and we know nothing, for our days on earth are but a shadow,” Fray collapsed after suffering a stroke from which he never recovered. He died on August 18, 1885.

It is not surprising that, at his funeral which started some 25 hours after his death at the age of 42, some seven to eight thousand persons were in attendance. A giant of the faith had passed away, but not before building up a heritage that enables us to call him blessed.

In reporting on Fray’s passing, the Gleaner described the deceased as:

 

one of the most widely known and most devoted and faithful Pastors of the Baptist Body in this island; a true and outspoken lover of this his native land, and a most zealous and successful advocate of institutions for the elevation of the people. His large churches and wide circle of work, his long career in Trelawney made him beloved and most tenderly regarded far and near. He was one of the leading spirits of the Baptist Body and all their organizations. The wide spread efforts of the Jamaica Baptist Mission were largely due to his indefatigable labours and large heart and sympathies….

Most energetic and devoted as a Minister and citizen; most dear and honoured as Pastor and Father of his people; beloved in all the Churches and most exemplary as the head of a happy Christian household—we are sure his death will be heard of with regret by a large number of our readers, and a tribute of respect rise to the memory of so good a man and benefactor now no more

T. Gordon Somers, addressing those attending a memorial service for the two Ellis Frays on December 11, 1927, described the Frays as “pathfinders, propagators, and great exemplars.”

John Clarke of Jericho: Ready to Answer God's Call

                                                                   Jericho Baptist Church

In 1802, John Clarke was born in Teviotdale, 35 kilometres south east of Kelso in Scotland. Serious illness, when he was 18, influenced him to pay attention to the things of God. Soon after this, he made a personal commitment to God in response to a sermon delivered by George Thom, a Scottish Presbyterian pioneer missionary to South Africa. After his views on baptism changed, Clarke joined the Baptist Church at Berwick-on-Tweed. While he worked as a teacher, he gave himself to preparation for missionary work with the help of two pastors in churches near his community. Then, he offered himself to BMS for missionary work overseas and, on July 28, 1829, he was commissioned to serve in Jamaica.

In preparation for this, Clarke married Margaret, the eldest daughter of Alex Kirkwood, his pastor at Berwick-on-Tweed, on April 19, 1829, just prior to leaving for Jamaica where, on arrival, he commenced work as teacher at the school attached to what is now East Queen Street Baptist Church, and as pastor of a small Baptist Church in Port Royal – the same way Thomas Knibb and William Knibb started their ministry in Jamaica. In 1832, the year when the Baptist War broke out, he was serving in Spanish Town during James Phillippo’s absence from the island. The mission house in that town, which was then Jamaica’s capital, was a place of refuge for Baptist missionaries, such as Knibb, Gardiner and Dendy, and their wives, fleeing persecution in western Jamaica.

Clarke began preaching at Jericho in St Thomas in the Vale and in 1834, upon Phillippo’s return to Jamaica, he relocated to Kenmuir, and then to Jericho, where the witness grew rapidly. Several other churches, in addition to Jericho, came under Clarke’s care: the church at Moneague in St Ann, Point Hill in the parish of St John. Mt. Hermon in Hampshire and Mt Nebo, Guy’s Hill, also came under Clarke’s leadership.

The Clarkes faced several challenges while serving in Jericho. Their first two children died in childhood. Clarke also suffered a malaria attack. He barely escaped death and, upon reviving, in 1839, he and his wife and sole surviving child – a daughter – took refuge first in America and then in England, leaving the Jamaicans – Richard and Joseph Merrick – in charge of the churches that had been under his care.

In 1840, while Clarke was in England waiting for greater improvement in his health, BMS appointed him to visit West Africa to identify a suitable place where BMS could launch a mission to Africa. He set out with Dr George Kinghorn Prince, arriving in Fernando Po [Bioko, Equatorial Guinea] in January, 1841. The two men started a mission there and served the mission until February, 1842, when Clarke and Prince started their return journey to England. Their ship, Golden Spring, was so battered by a thunderstorm that it was blown off course, ending up in Demarara (Guyana). Eventually, after travelling in the eastern Caribbean mobilising people for an African mission, Clarke and Prince arrived in England in September, 1842, to present his report.

In time, BMS chartered the vessel named the Chilmark and commissioned John and Margaret Clarke, together with Alfred and Sarah Ann Saker, who sailed from England on their way to West Africa via the Caribbean, where they expected to recruit and gather settlers, teachers and pastors to join them on the mission to Africa.

On December 1, 1844, the commissioned missionaries sailed for Africa, together with 42 persons, including 18-year-old Joseph Jackson Fuller from Spanish Town. Fuller was a formerly enslaved man who had been emancipated and who later became an outstanding linguist and missionary, serving for more than 30 years in Cameroon. This, although soon after arriving in the country, he suffered the loss by death of his wife and infant child. He translated books, such as John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, into Duala. For several reasons, the mission on Fernando Po was not a success. This was not the case, however, with the work the team from England and Jamaica started in the Cameroon.

Unfortunately, Clarke again fell ill and, in 1847, he and his wife decided to return to Jamaica. Several of the Jamaicans who had accompanied him to Africa decided to join the Clarkes on their return to Jamaica.

On arriving in Jamaica, Clarke visited several churches to share news on the Baptist mission to Africa. In 1848, Clarke went to England to do the same. While there, he completed his books on Fernandian Grammar and Specimens of African Tongues. He also completed and published a translation of the Gospel according to Matthew in Fernandian (Bube). After this, Clarke pastored a church in Perth in North East Scotland for a year. Then, he received a call to serve as pastor at the Savanna-la-Mar and associated Fuller’s Field churches in western Jamaica, whose pastor, John Hutchins, had died, Clarke resigned his charge in Scotland and travelled with his wife to Jamaica in response to the call. In 1852, Mr and Mrs Clarke and their two daughters arrived in Jamaica to commence a new phase of work. Within eleven weeks, their younger daughter, who was only three years old when she arrived in Jamaica, breathed her last. Undaunted, the Clarkes continued their ministry, serving for thirteen years at Savanna-la-Mar and Sutcliffe Mount churches, after handing over Fuller’s Field to John Nisbet, a General Baptist Missionary Society agent in Jamaica.

The church in Jericho, where Clarke had served for several years, being without a pastor after the departure of BMS missionary James Hume, who was returning to England on account of ill health, decided to invite Clarke to return there as their pastor. After an absence of 26 years from Jericho, the Clarkes returned to pastor the church and served there until 1880.

It was during this period that Mrs. Clarke died. She had been sister to Mrs. Hume, the wife of Clarke’s predecessor at Jericho. Clarke informed BMS of his wife’s passing:

 

After two weeks of sore suffering, she has been released from the “body of sin and death.”  I need not tell you how I feel…. And I, now in my sixty-eighth year, may expect soon to follow her, who has been my loving helper for more than forty years…. When I think of the sufferings she has passed through in Jamaica and in Africa, on her weakly frame, from her youth up, it is wonderful that she escaped so long the shafts of death…. After more than forty years of happy companionship, I must feel the wrench of death which has parted us for a while.

John Clarke contributed in many ways to Baptist witness in Jamaica. Apart from his work in the pastorate, he was the person who established Victoria in St. Thomas-in-the-Vale as a “free village.” His contribution to the West African mission was also outstanding. We are thankful that Clarke was always ready to answer God's call.