"Bestsey-Stockton" (1798-1865)

She was born into childhood slavery in Princeton New Jersey.The

identity of her parents are unknown.She belonged to Robert Stockton,a local attorney,and his wife Elizabeth.Betsy subsequently was "given to the cuple's daughter and son-law,the Reverend Ashbel Green,who was the president of the college of New Jersey now known as Princeton University.Betsey worked as domestic slave in their household.
Betsey proved her commitment to Christianity so sufficiently that at some point in the two years following 1816,she was baptized around age 19.The Greens were progressive thinkers who supported the abolitionist movement,they gave Betsey her freedom on the occasion of her baptism,even though it wouldn't be until 1825 that a law requiring the gradual emanicipation of slaves would go into affect.Betsey attended evening classes at Princeton Theological Seminary while the Greens tutored her and granted her use of their extensive library to further her own education.They kept her on as a paid domestic servant,and eventually accepted her as one of the family.

As Betsey religious fervor and academic interest grew,she expressed a desire to go to Africa as a missionary,but an opportunity to go to Hawaii presented itself instead.The Greens introduced her to a man named  Charles S.Stewart,a new Princeton Seminary graduate who was about to take a missionary journey to the Sandwhich Islands (known today as Hawaii).His trek was sponsored by the American Board of Commissions for Foreign Missions (ABCFM).Betsey showed great interest in joining him and and a small group of others in order to preach and educate the islands residents.Because of her race and social position,she required letters of recommendation to be presented to the ABCFM.Ashbel wrote favorably on both Betsey and Charles behalf.He commented exemplary domestic skills and her knowledge of literature and religious writings.Her Sabbath schoolteacher,Michael Osborn,also praised her abilities in referral letter,commenting on her intellect,piousness,knowledge of scripture,and her likeliness to excel as a teacher.

The ABCFM accepted her as a member of the mission,and on November 22,1822,about age 24,Betsey,become part of the second missionary group to be sent to the Hawaiian Islands.The agreement drawn up between Ashbel,the Stewarts,and ABCFM stated that Betsey would continue to work in domestic capacity for the Stewarts,she was not to be assigned menial work.Charles wife,Harriet,was expecting a baby,and Betsey was to assist with that birth,and not partake in domestic duties beyond those of the other missionaries.It was the first voyage to Hawaii by an African American woman missionary.

The five-month journey began in New Haven Connecticut,where the group set sail to for Honolulu.Betsey,along with some others,kept a journal of the voyage.Her early writings spoke of how pleased she was that she being treated respectfully.Her later throughs reffected on her uneasy inner spiritual life,amazement with the sea's inhabitants,and her satisfaction at helping deliver the Stewarts' boy who was born at sea.The ship arrived in Honolulu in April 1823.

Her first glimpse of the Hawaiian men who came to greet the ship frightened her,she soon embraced her natural instincts as a missionary and became more at ease around them.Betsey was assigned to a mission and became more at ease around them.She was assigned to a mission in Lahaina,Maui.Prior to this visit,the missionaries only schooled Hawaiians in Christianty,Betsey persuaded Charles to allow her to create a general school for the maka'ainana,the common people on the Island.In the past,missionaries had not been allowed by local chiefs to teach the commers,in August 1824,the Hawiian rulers decided to allow it.Betsey learned their language and opened a school in Maui where she taught history,English,Latin,and algerbia.Her diary speaks of her visit with the Hawiian when he came to Maui on June 29,823.One the King's son asked Betsey to teach him English,which prompted her to establish a special language school where English and Hawaiian were taught side by side.

In 1825,Betsey left Hawaii when Mrs.Stewartgot sick.They returned to the United States while the school  that Betsey had developed in Maui thrived.By 1826,Hawaiians had received an education as a result of her initial efforts.Mrs.Stewart died in 1930,and teaching became her the focal point of Betsey's life.She taught first at an inflant school in Philadelphia,Pennsylvani,and then went on onto found a school for Native American children in Grape Island,Canada.

For the three decades between 1835 & 1865,she taught at various schools in the African America areas surrounding Princeton.In 1848,Betsey  helped the first African American Presbyterian Church in Princeton,which eventually became the Whiterspoon Street Presbyterian Church.She later established a night school called the Whiterspoon Street Colored School,and persuaded seminary students to teach African American History,English,literature, and math there.Betsey died in Princeton.