Betsey Stockton was born into slavery in Princeton, New Jersey in 1798. Fortunately, Betsy Stockton belonged to a household that encouraged her ambitious, intelligent attitude. She was given books and even allowed to attend classes at Princeton Theological Seminary. When she expressed her interest in becoming a missionary, she was granted her freedom and in 1822, Stockton set sail for the Hawaiian Islands. Betsey believed with all her heart that it is the sacred duty of Christians to offer themselves in humble obedience to God’s call to carry out his plan of salvation through Jesus Christ for the world. She felt God’s conviction and calling to take the gospel to those who had not heard. This growing conviction shaped her prayers and eventually the rest of her life. She became the first known African American woman in Hawaii.
Up until that time, missionaries instructed Hawaiians in Christianity but had limited their educational teaching to their own children and the children of the Hawaiian chiefs. Stockton persuaded the head of the missionary group, to allow her to create a school for the common people. She learned the Hawaiian Language and established a school in Maui where she taught English, Latin, History, and Algebra.
She left Hawaii in 1825, returning to the mainland where she continued to teach Native American children in Canada. She spent the final years of her life teaching black children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and establishing the first black Presbyterian church in her hometown of Princeton, New Jersey where she died in October 1865.
She may have been born into slavery but she emerged as one of the greatest religious and academic pioneers.
Source: Revival Now