Maria Fearing

Maria Fearing (July 26, 1838 – May 23, 1937) was an American teacher and missionary, most famous for her work in the Congo Free State.

[1] Maria Fearing was born in slavery near Gainesville, Alabama in 1838, to Mary and Jesse, on the Oak Hill plantation of William O. Winston,[2] in whose home she worked as a nanny and house slave for 30 years.

Rejected by the church because of her age, she initially financed her mission primarily through funds from the sale of her home.

[6] Despite the church's skepticism, Fearing outlasted many of her colleagues in Africa and only retired from missionary service in 1915 due to age restrictions.

She taught Sunday school in Selma, Alabama, until she was 93;[4] she then lived in Sumter County until her death in 1937 at the age of 98.