Clinton Caldwell Boone facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Clinton Caldwell Boone
Evangelist, Physician, Dentist, Educator
Born	9 May 1872 Hertford County, North Carolina
Died	1939
Spouse(s)	Eva Roberta Coles, Rachel Allen Tharps
Children	Rachel Boone Keith

Clinton Caldwell Boone (born May 9, 1872 – died 1939) was an important African-American leader. He was a Baptist minister, doctor, dentist, and missionary. He served in the Congo Free State and Liberia in Africa.

Clinton was the son of Reverend Lemuel Washington Boone and Charlotte (Chavis) Boone. His family was from Hertford County, North Carolina. He played a big role in Africa as a missionary. He worked for the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention and the American Baptist Missionary Union. This group is now called American Baptist International Ministries.

He got married just before going to the Congo in 1901 as a missionary. Sadly, his first wife and their baby died there. Clinton returned to the United States in 1906. He then studied to become a doctor. After that, he was sent to Liberia as a medical missionary. In 1919, while visiting the US, he married again. He and his second wife traveled to Monrovia, Liberia, in 1920. Their two children were born there. The family moved back to the US for good in 1926. They settled in Richmond, Virginia. Both his son and grandson, also named Clinton C. Boone, became ministers. This continued the family's religious calling for four generations.

Early Life and Education

Family Background

Clinton Caldwell Boone was born in Hertford County, North Carolina on May 9, 1872. His parents were Charlotte (Chavis) Boone and Reverend Lemuel Washington Boone. His father was a minister. His parents were known as early African-American leaders in the Baptist church. They were very dedicated to missionary work and education.

After the Civil War, his father, Reverend Lemuel Washington Boone, started many independent Baptist churches. These were for African Americans who mostly left the Southern Baptist Convention. He also helped start the Roanoke Missionary Association. This was the state Baptist group organized by African Americans for their own churches. He was also a founding trustee of Shaw University. This is a historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Getting an Education

Clinton started school in North Carolina's public schools. His parents encouraged him to get a higher education. When he was 19, he won a scholarship to Virginia Union University. This is a historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. While there, he also studied at the Waters Normal Institute. This was for teacher training. He also attended the Richmond Theological Seminary. He graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1900.

Marriages and Family Life

While at Virginia Union University, Clinton met Eva Roberta Coles. She was a student at the nearby Hartshorn Memorial College for women. Eva graduated in 1899. She then went back to her hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia to teach. Clinton graduated a year later. They married on January 16, 1901. That same year, they traveled together to the Belgian Congo. Clinton was sent there as a missionary. Sadly, Eva died there on December 8, 1902. Their baby had also died as an infant.

Clinton, now a widower, did not marry again until 1919. He married Rachel Tharps that year. He had traveled to the United States for a break from Liberia. He had been in Liberia for almost ten years. Like his first wife, Rachel Tharps had also graduated from Hartshorn Memorial College. In 1920, they returned to Monrovia, Liberia. They were there for the 100th anniversary of his Providence Baptist Church in 1922.

Clinton and Rachel had two children while living in Monrovia. They were Clinton Caldwell Boone Jr. (born 1923 – died 2012) and Rachel H. C. Boone (born 1924 – died 2007). The Boone family permanently left Liberia with their young children in 1926. They returned to the United States and settled in Richmond, Virginia.

Missionary Work in Africa

Working in the Congo

After finishing seminary school in 1900, Clinton Boone began his missionary work. He and his wife Eva traveled to the Congo Free State in 1901 to serve. They were supported by the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention and the American Baptist Missionary Union. They arrived at the Palaballa station in the Katanga Province of the Congo on May 24, 1901. At that time, the area was ruled by the Belgian king.

In the Congo, Clinton worked as a preacher and teacher. He learned the Kongo language to preach and teach people in their own language. His wife Eva taught at a kindergarten for village children. She also started a sewing school for village women. At first, she faced challenges because men traditionally did the sewing in that culture. But after some time, she convinced some women to try it. According to Clinton's writings, the village women greatly respected Eva. They called her "Mama Bunu."

Clinton and his wife faced many difficulties in the Congo. As a religious leader, Clinton worked to prevent the Congolese from driving away missionaries. Their royal rulers had led many people to Catholicism in the 16th century. This happened after Portuguese missionaries influenced them. Catholic natives even burned down the schoolhouse built by Clinton and his followers. When the Americans asked the King's authorities for help, they said the Kongo people must decide their own faith. Most villagers chose Protestantism and slowly agreed to rebuild the school.

Medical Training in Congo

Clinton's work as a medical missionary started after his wife Eva died in December 1902. Both he and the Congolese people were very sad about her death. Clinton lived alone for a while. He was glad to be transferred from Palabala station to another station called Ikoko. He stayed at Ikoko for a short time.

He later moved to Lukunga station. There, he worked with another American evangelist, Mr. Moody and his wife. Their main job was to preach and spread the gospel. However, they often gave out simple medicines. These included castor oil, quinine, and epsom salts. The need for a hospital and medically trained missionaries became clear. So, they built a hospital and a new schoolhouse. During this time, Clinton became very interested in medical training. Mrs. Moody encouraged him.

While at Lukunga, Clinton saw and treated patients from all over the Congo. They suffered from many tropical diseases. He also treated diseases like smallpox and measles, which likely came from Europeans and Americans. He treated conditions like malaria, leprosy, tonsillitis, meningitis, pneumonia, sleeping sickness, and cancer. His first surgery was an amputation. He removed a man's leg that had a bad ulcer. Clinton wrote that his success with this surgery inspired him to return to the United States to study medicine.

After five years of service in the Congo, Clinton returned to the United States in 1906. He attended medical school at Leonard Hall at Shaw University. This is a historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Working in Liberia

After graduating from medical school at Shaw University in 1910, Clinton became a medical missionary. He worked for the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention. He was sent to the newly formed Republic of Liberia. This country was founded in the early 1800s as an American colony for free black people. He was first stationed in Brewerville.

Clinton was later transferred to the capital city, Monrovia. There, he opened a day school. He also became the pastor of Providence Baptist Church. This was Liberia's first church, founded in 1822 by Lott Carey. Clinton also served as Secretary of the American Legation for a time. He paused his medical missionary work then. But he returned to it after the secretary came back.

In Liberia, Clinton treated patients for many illnesses. These included yaws, tonsillitis, meningitis, pneumonia, smallpox, hookworm, malaria, and black water fever. Clinton also successfully performed a Caesarian section. This was on a woman whose baby was believed to be tied by a witch doctor.

More Medical Training

After nine years of medical service in Liberia, Clinton was given a break in 1919. He returned to the United States. He realized there was a great need for a dentist. The only dentist in Liberia had died from the worldwide Spanish flu epidemic. So, Clinton studied mechanical dentistry. He went to the Bodee Dental School in New York City. The Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention supported his studies. He and his second wife then returned to Liberia for some time.

Death

Clinton Caldwell Boone drowned in the James River in Richmond, Virginia in July 1939.

Legacy

Congo As I Saw It

"I do not regret a single sacrifice that I have made for the redemption of Africa and if I had ten thousand other lives I would be delighted to spend them all to lift up the fallen and care for the dying in Africa."

p. 93

This book tells about Clinton Boone's five years in the Congo. He worked there as a preacher, teacher, and missionary from 1901 to 1906. Clinton used facts and his own experiences to write about the country and its people. The book includes history and facts about the Congo. Clinton wrote about daily life, local animals and plants, and his missionary work.

Liberia As I Know It This book describes Clinton Boone's time as a pastor and medical missionary in Liberia. He was there from 1910 to 1926, after he earned his medical degree. He also wrote about Liberia’s history. It was started as a colony by the American Colonization Society to resettle free African Americans. He also described the climate, animals, plants, and the government of the time.

His son, Clinton Jr., followed his father into ministry. He was three years old when his family moved back to the US. He went to segregated schools in the South. He then earned a bachelor's degree at Houghton College in New York. He returned to Richmond for a theology degree at Virginia Union University. After moving to New York, he also earned a master's degree in education. This was from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. He taught in Copiague, New York. In May 1957, he became pastor of Union Baptist Church of Hempstead, New York. He served there for 46 years before retiring. He was elected to the Hempstead school board. He was also a leader in local religious and community groups. Clinton Jr. died at age 90. He was survived by his daughter, Evelyn Rane Boone-Franklin, and his son, Reverend Clinton C. Boone III. He also had five grandchildren.