WWW.SAMUEL MORRIS

Samuel Kaboo Morris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search Samuel Kaboo Morris Samuel Kaboo Morris (1873 – May 12, 1893) was a Liberian prince who converted to Christianity around the age of 14. Around age 18, he left Liberia for the United States to achieve an education and arrived at Taylor University in December 1891. There is now a residence hall at Taylor University bearing his name. He died in 1893 from complications of a respiratory infection. Morris's life has been the subject of five novels, over a dozen biographies, a 1954 film, and a 1988 documentary. Taylor University has named numerous buildings, scholarships, and a society in his honor. His story helped to inspire other people to go to Africa to preach the gospel.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Samuel in America 3 References 4 External links Early life Samuel Morris was born in Liberia, in 1873. Little is known of his early life. When he was 14 years old, his tribe,(the Kru) was attacked by the Grebos one day and Kaboo was captured. He was used as a "pawn", meaning the Kru would have to bring the Grebos a present each month if they wanted to see their prince again. His father, the chief, came each time but what he brought was never enough. Finally, the Kru could bring no more and Kaboo was beaten every day. One night, though, during one of his beatings, there was a flash of light and a voice told Kaboo to flee. His ropes fell off and his sick body gained strength. He ran off into the jungle, where he wandered for days living off such things as snails and mangos until he came to a coffee plantation owned by a former slave. The slave had come to Liberia and was a Christian. It was for this slave that Kaboo worked with another boy from his village before coming to America. His motivation to come to America was learning more about the God whom he had encountered. Whilst living on the plantation, one of the missionaries there told him all she knew. Samuel asked who it was that taught her. She told him it was a man in New York named Stephen Merritt. He decided he would go to New York to find this man. As he walked to the shore, he prayed that there would be a boat there that could take him. There was a ship there called a tramp ship. The crew of this ship made money by trading. It was very profitable for them because natives often sold goods for useless trinkets. God told Samuel that the captain would take him to America. When Samuel asked, the captain refused at first. Later, when two of his crew members ran off leaving the captain short-handed, he accepted Samuel onboard taking him for an unemployed sailor. When he arrived on the ship, he was disliked and abused, but by the time the ship reached America, they had extended the hand of fellowship to him and were even praying and singing hymns together.

Samuel in America In America, Samuel found Stephen Merritt. Mr. Merritt had to attend a prayer meeting that night so he asked Samuel to wait for him at his mission. When Mr. Merritt came back, he found Samuel in a prayer meeting of his own with the people of the mission. On his first night in America, he had led nearly twenty men to Christ. Impressed by Samuel's anointing and confidence, Mr. Merritt invited Samuel to stay at his house, much to his wife's dismay. However, in time, Samuel won her over, as well. Not only did Samuel win over Mrs. Merritt, he also won over the people at Mr. Merritt's church. In a time when racism was commonplace, these men were colorblind. They saw that God was working in Samuel and created the Samuel Morris Missionary Society to collect money to send Samuel to college at Taylor University in Indiana so he could advance his knowledge of God and the Bible. While at Taylor University, Samuel was used by God mightily to draw people to the Lord. Students would stop by his dorm room to pray with him. People from around the world would come to hear him speak and to have him pray for them. He was known (and heard) to spend hours in prayer with God, from late at night to early in the morning. He inspired others to look at their relationship with God. Newspapers printed stories of the boy from Africa who was charging Fort Wayne with the electric power of God. He was an active member of Berry Street Methodist Episcopal Church and regularly attended East Wayne Street Methodist Episcopal Church. It was his desire to be educated in the Word of God so he could go back to his homeland of Liberia and teach Jesus to the people there. However, that was not God's plan for his life. Late in 1892, Samuel l came down with an illness (Pneumonia) that he could not shake. Though he'd been sick before and prayed for God's healing and received it, this time the illness wouldn't leave. In time, God explained to Samuel why his illness hadn't left him. He told him that his work on earth was done and that it was time for him to come home. When Samuel related this to his fellow students, they would ask about his dream of returning home to preach the Gospel. Samuel is reported to have said, “It is not my work, Dr. Read. It is His. I have finished my job. He will send others better than I to do the work in Africa.”[1] On May 12, 1893, at approximately 20 years of age, Samuel Morris, aka Prince Kaboo, died. Fellow students served as pallbearers at his funeral. After his funeral, many of them said they felt led to go to Africa to be missionaries in Samuel's place, fulfilling Samuel's prophecy. Though it was the custom in those days to bury blacks in the Negro section of the cemetery, Samuel's body was later moved to the center of the cemetery, linking blacks and whites in death like he did in life. A memorial is placed at his gravesite that reads: Samuel Morris

1873-1893 Prince Kaboo Native of West Africa Famous Christian Mystic Apostle of Simple Faith Exponent of the Spirit-filled life Student at Taylor University 1892-3 Fort Wayne, now located at Upland, Indiana. The story of his life a vital contribution to the development of Taylor University. The erection of this memorial was sponsored by the 1928 class Taylor University and funds were contributed by Fort Wayne citizens.[2] References Kjersti, Hoff Baez (1985). Samuel Morris. Barbour Publishing, Inc. ISBN 1-55748-603-4. "Gravesite". Gravesite. Taylor University. Retrieved 25 June 2011. Samuel Kaboe Morris, Missouri University. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20070206153753/http://www.taylor.edu/about/morris/. Samuel Morris. Taylor University. Samuel Morris Gravesite. Available at: http://www.taylor.edu/about/heritage/samuel-morris/samuel-morris-gravesite.shtml Baldwin, Lindley J. March of Faith Challenge of Samuel Morris. National Institute of Applied Religion, 1941. ASIN B000H866QM Baldwin, Lindley J. The March of Faith: The challenge of Samuel Morris to Undying Life and Leadership. Mary E. Baldwin, 1947. ASIN B0007EL116 Baldwin, Lindley J. The Ebony Saint: Samuel Morris's Miraculous Journey of Faith. James, 1967. ISBN 0-85305-001-5 Baldwin, Lindley J. Samuel Morris: The African Boy God Sent to Prepare an American University for Its Mission to the World Bethany Publishing House, 1921. ISBN 0-87123-950-7 Hoff Baez, Kjersti. Samuel Morris. Barbour Publishing, Inc., 1985 ISBN 1-55748-603-4 Samuel Morris. Bethany House, 1969. ISBN 0-87123-360-6 Merritt, Stephen and Reade, T.C. Samuel Morris A Spirit Filled Life. Revival Press, 2015. ISBN 978-1516881543 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samuel Kaboo Morris. Angel in Ebony - 42 minute movie about Samuel Morris's life. Streaming Windows Media format. Kubah's Gone - Documentary of a 1988 expedition to Liberia formed to uncover mysteries surrounding Morris's origins. Streaming Windows Media format. Biografía de Samuel Kabú Morris Spanish biography Authority control Edit this at Wikidata GND: 129356921ISNI: 0000 0000 2935 2932LCCN: n86108066NTA: 269107150VIAF: 57689666WorldCat Identities (via VIAF): 57689666 Categories: 1873 births1893 deathsLiberian Protestant missionariesLiberian people of Kru descentProtestant missionaries in the United StatesEvangelicalismLiberian royaltyConverts to Christianity from pagan religionsDeaths from pneumoniaTaylor University alumni