Mary Slessor (2 December 1848 – 13 January 1915) was a Scottish, United Presbyterian missionary who went to work in what is now known as Nigeria in 1876 with the Calabar Mission.
Mary Slessor rescued Atim Eso in 1882. The baby’s twin brother had been kidnapped and killed by their mother. Slessor was therefore very protective of her and decided to adopt her.
In April 1883, she brought the baby – now six months old – to Britain. She renamed her Janie. Janie was very intelligent and apparently charmed the Scottish congregations.
She was taken along to all Slessor’s speaking engagements.
Janie got married to a local man named Akibu Eyo in 1899. They had a child who died shortly afterwards. She then adopted a orphan baby boy called Daniel. In 1918, she became a victim of the global influenza epidemic and died aged 36.
(Source: tellingourstoriesexeter website)
