Dandeson Coates Crowther

[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.

This included jobs such as secretary and chaplain[4] for his father Samuel Ajayi Crowther and Senior Pastor in Bonny, Niger Delta.

[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.

[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.

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.

[4]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.

[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.