After being detached from his parents and their church for a couple of decades he had a spiritual change of heart when he was 44 years old, at the time he lived in Chicago.
This encouraged him to set up a mission to spread the Adventist message to African American people in the southern United States.
This boat had a library, a chapel, a photography lab, a print shop, and accommodation for staff.
Schools were created at Vicksburg, Mississippi, Yazoo City, Lintonia, and Nashville, Tennessee.
[3] The mission built up to 50 schools, building an organization called Southern Missionary Society.