Louisa M.R. Stead

STEAD, Louisa M.R. b. Dover, England, ca. 1850; d. Penkridge (now Mutare), near Umtali, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), 18 January 1917. Louisa immigrated to the United States as a young woman in 1871, where she resided with friends in Cincinnati, Ohio. At a camp meeting revival in Urbana, Ohio, Louisa committed herself to missionary service, but was unable to fulfill her vow owing to poor health. After marrying a Mr Stead in 1875, she gave birth to their only child, Lily. Four years following Lily’s birth, Stead drowned off the coast of Long Island, New York, while attempting to rescue a floundering child.  Following the death of her husband, Louisa and her daughter went to South...