Elizabeth was born in Metz, Ohio, a small town near Akron in northeast Ohio. At age 4, her family moved to Chetopa, Kansas, in the southeastern part of the state, where her father was a minister for a United Presbyterian Church. During this time in Kansas, her family continued to grow. By the time she was 6 years old, she had 5 younger brothers and sisters, in addition to older brother Paul. When she was 7 years old, her mother took her and younger brother Wade on a memorable train trip back to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to visit aunts, uncles, and cousins.
The location of their home in Kansas was not healthy. It was next to the Neosha River, a probable breeding ground for mosquitoes. Six in the family contracted scarlet fever while they were in Kansas. Sister Maude was seriously ill with malaria. One-year old sister Miriam died of malaria and new born brother Elmer died of whooping cough. So in 1905, when she was 10, her family moved to Gravette, Arkansas in hopes of a healthier environment. The 80 mile trip was done in one week "with one horse to pull the two seated buggy and two jersey cows driven by papa . ." Since the buggy could not carry the whole family, the older children, which included Elizabeth, had to walk.
Her father bought a farm in Gravette, and the family took up fruit and chicken farming. The fruits grown were strawberries, peaches and apples. During the 8-year period in Gravette, the family resettled for 6 months in Hobart, Oklahoma, during which time her father served as a minister. Her father wanted to get back to the ministry full-time and her mother missed her relatives, so in 1913, when she was 18, the family moved to Airville, Pennsylvania in York County. Most of her mother's relatives resided in nearby Lancaster County. Her father became the minister of a Presbyterian church, probably the Pine Grove Presbyterian Church. She was home schooled for her last year of high school.
Following high school, she taught one year of elementary school in York County followed by another year in Lancaster County. It was during the second year that she met and became engaged to Harry Neely. Harry's family lived in Airville and at the time he was a senior at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
A move by her family to West Hebron, New York in 1916 coincided with Harry beginning Princeton Seminary. She went to New York City where, for the next 3 years, she attended New York Theological Seminary, earning money by waiting tables in a restaurant.
She married Harry on September 3, 1919 in West Hebron. Her father performed the ceremony. Elizabeth and Harry decided to enter the mission field in 1920. They spent 9 months in Paris learning French. It was there that David was born.
Their first 3 years of service were at Foulassi, a Cameroon mission station. Miriam (Mim) was born during this period. In 1924, the family of four came back to the USA for their first furlough. While they waited for their ship to leave from Cameroon, baby Miriam got sick and Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary doctor and theologian, attended to her. That furlough was spent in Princeton, where Harry earned a master's degree in English.
The next two terms were spent at Bibia, a mission station where David and his family would live years later. Harry taught at the seminary. Elizabeth taught the wives of the seminarians. She was also the director of the local school for girls. Jack (in 1925), Lois (in 1928), and Ruth (in 1935) were born in the Cameroon. Josephine (Jo) was born during the furlough in Atlantic City. The next two furloughs were spent in Princeton. A final furlough, in 1936, was spent in Ventnor, New Jersey.
Back in Cameroon in 1938 (this time stationed in Foulassi), Harry began to have symptoms of what would eventually be diagnosed as brain cancer. In July 1940, after France had been invaded by Germany, the family returned to the USA, traveling with friends Bob and Martha Pierce and their sons. They first went to Dakar, Senegal, then to Rio de Janeiro. From Rio, they took the SS Argentina to New York City.
Harry received a diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumor from the doctors at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. He lived for the final three years of his life in Wooster, Ohio.
In 1945, two years following Harry's death, she returned to Cameroon with daughters Ruth and Jo. The trip, taken before WWII had ended, was lengthy and adventurous. Beginning May 22 in New York City, the family didn't arrive in Ebolowa, Cameroon until September 19. Their journey took them first to Portugal by boat; then down the coast of Africa to Matadi, Congo by boat; to Leopoldville, Congo by train; up the Congo River by river boat to Bangui, Central African Republic; and finally by bus across central Africa to Ebolowa, Cameroon.
She spent a year and a half teaching at Hope School (the school for missionary children) then moved to the small remote village of Olama on the banks of the Nlong River about 20 miles west of Mbalmayo, where she taught evangelists. In 1948, she returned to the USA and entered the College of Wooster, receiving her BA in 1951 with a French major.
After a short and unhappy job as a Youth Director in Akron, she returned to Cameroon, this time assigned to Nkol Mvolan, a mission station located east of Yaounde. After a one year furlough in 1956-57 with Ruth and Jo in Berea, Kentucky, she returned to Cameroon for one more assignment - this time in Batouri, on the eastern edge of the country.
She retired in 1960 and lived for most of her remaining years in Youngstown, Ohio, with her father and her brother, Tom. She loved the annual week-long family reunions held at Madison, Ohio on Lake Erie when she could be with her children and numerous grandchildren. In 1971, she returned to Cameroon for an extended visit with her son David and daughter-in-law Peg. Many of the older Africans fondly remembered her from when she had last lived at Bibia in the 1920s and 1930s. The last years of her life were spent in a Presbyterian retirement center in Duarte, California.
The location of their home in Kansas was not healthy. It was next to the Neosha River, a probable breeding ground for mosquitoes. Six in the family contracted scarlet fever while they were in Kansas. Sister Maude was seriously ill with malaria. One-year old sister Miriam died of malaria and new born brother Elmer died of whooping cough. So in 1905, when she was 10, her family moved to Gravette, Arkansas in hopes of a healthier environment. The 80 mile trip was done in one week "with one horse to pull the two seated buggy and two jersey cows driven by papa . ." Since the buggy could not carry the whole family, the older children, which included Elizabeth, had to walk.
Her father bought a farm in Gravette, and the family took up fruit and chicken farming. The fruits grown were strawberries, peaches and apples. During the 8-year period in Gravette, the family resettled for 6 months in Hobart, Oklahoma, during which time her father served as a minister. Her father wanted to get back to the ministry full-time and her mother missed her relatives, so in 1913, when she was 18, the family moved to Airville, Pennsylvania in York County. Most of her mother's relatives resided in nearby Lancaster County. Her father became the minister of a Presbyterian church, probably the Pine Grove Presbyterian Church. She was home schooled for her last year of high school.
Following high school, she taught one year of elementary school in York County followed by another year in Lancaster County. It was during the second year that she met and became engaged to Harry Neely. Harry's family lived in Airville and at the time he was a senior at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
A move by her family to West Hebron, New York in 1916 coincided with Harry beginning Princeton Seminary. She went to New York City where, for the next 3 years, she attended New York Theological Seminary, earning money by waiting tables in a restaurant.
She married Harry on September 3, 1919 in West Hebron. Her father performed the ceremony. Elizabeth and Harry decided to enter the mission field in 1920. They spent 9 months in Paris learning French. It was there that David was born.
Their first 3 years of service were at Foulassi, a Cameroon mission station. Miriam (Mim) was born during this period. In 1924, the family of four came back to the USA for their first furlough. While they waited for their ship to leave from Cameroon, baby Miriam got sick and Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary doctor and theologian, attended to her. That furlough was spent in Princeton, where Harry earned a master's degree in English.
The next two terms were spent at Bibia, a mission station where David and his family would live years later. Harry taught at the seminary. Elizabeth taught the wives of the seminarians. She was also the director of the local school for girls. Jack (in 1925), Lois (in 1928), and Ruth (in 1935) were born in the Cameroon. Josephine (Jo) was born during the furlough in Atlantic City. The next two furloughs were spent in Princeton. A final furlough, in 1936, was spent in Ventnor, New Jersey.
Back in Cameroon in 1938 (this time stationed in Foulassi), Harry began to have symptoms of what would eventually be diagnosed as brain cancer. In July 1940, after France had been invaded by Germany, the family returned to the USA, traveling with friends Bob and Martha Pierce and their sons. They first went to Dakar, Senegal, then to Rio de Janeiro. From Rio, they took the SS Argentina to New York City.
Harry received a diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumor from the doctors at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. He lived for the final three years of his life in Wooster, Ohio.
In 1945, two years following Harry's death, she returned to Cameroon with daughters Ruth and Jo. The trip, taken before WWII had ended, was lengthy and adventurous. Beginning May 22 in New York City, the family didn't arrive in Ebolowa, Cameroon until September 19. Their journey took them first to Portugal by boat; then down the coast of Africa to Matadi, Congo by boat; to Leopoldville, Congo by train; up the Congo River by river boat to Bangui, Central African Republic; and finally by bus across central Africa to Ebolowa, Cameroon.
She spent a year and a half teaching at Hope School (the school for missionary children) then moved to the small remote village of Olama on the banks of the Nlong River about 20 miles west of Mbalmayo, where she taught evangelists. In 1948, she returned to the USA and entered the College of Wooster, receiving her BA in 1951 with a French major.
After a short and unhappy job as a Youth Director in Akron, she returned to Cameroon, this time assigned to Nkol Mvolan, a mission station located east of Yaounde. After a one year furlough in 1956-57 with Ruth and Jo in Berea, Kentucky, she returned to Cameroon for one more assignment - this time in Batouri, on the eastern edge of the country.
She retired in 1960 and lived for most of her remaining years in Youngstown, Ohio, with her father and her brother, Tom. She loved the annual week-long family reunions held at Madison, Ohio on Lake Erie when she could be with her children and numerous grandchildren. In 1971, she returned to Cameroon for an extended visit with her son David and daughter-in-law Peg. Many of the older Africans fondly remembered her from when she had last lived at Bibia in the 1920s and 1930s. The last years of her life were spent in a Presbyterian retirement center in Duarte, California.
Elizabeth was born in Metz, Ohio, a small town near Akron in northeast Ohio. At age 4, her family moved to Chetopa, Kansas, in the southeastern part of the state, where her father was a minister for a United Presbyterian Church. During this time in Kansas, her family continued to grow. By the time she was 6 years old, she had 5 younger brothers and sisters, in addition to older brother Paul. When she was 7 years old, her mother took her and younger brother Wade on a memorable train trip back to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to visit aunts, uncles, and cousins.
The location of their home in Kansas was not healthy. It was next to the Neosha River, a probable breeding ground for mosquitoes. Six in the family contracted scarlet fever while they were in Kansas. Sister Maude was seriously ill with malaria. One-year old sister Miriam died of malaria and new born brother Elmer died of whooping cough. So in 1905, when she was 10, her family moved to Gravette, Arkansas in hopes of a healthier environment. The 80 mile trip was done in one week "with one horse to pull the two seated buggy and two jersey cows driven by papa . ." Since the buggy could not carry the whole family, the older children, which included Elizabeth, had to walk.
Her father bought a farm in Gravette, and the family took up fruit and chicken farming. The fruits grown were strawberries, peaches and apples. During the 8-year period in Gravette, the family resettled for 6 months in Hobart, Oklahoma, during which time her father served as a minister. Her father wanted to get back to the ministry full-time and her mother missed her relatives, so in 1913, when she was 18, the family moved to Airville, Pennsylvania in York County. Most of her mother's relatives resided in nearby Lancaster County. Her father became the minister of a Presbyterian church, probably the Pine Grove Presbyterian Church. She was home schooled for her last year of high school.
Following high school, she taught one year of elementary school in York County followed by another year in Lancaster County. It was during the second year that she met and became engaged to Harry Neely. Harry's family lived in Airville and at the time he was a senior at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
A move by her family to West Hebron, New York in 1916 coincided with Harry beginning Princeton Seminary. She went to New York City where, for the next 3 years, she attended New York Theological Seminary, earning money by waiting tables in a restaurant.
She married Harry on September 3, 1919 in West Hebron. Her father performed the ceremony. Elizabeth and Harry decided to enter the mission field in 1920. They spent 9 months in Paris learning French. It was there that David was born.
Their first 3 years of service were at Foulassi, a Cameroon mission station. Miriam (Mim) was born during this period. In 1924, the family of four came back to the USA for their first furlough. While they waited for their ship to leave from Cameroon, baby Miriam got sick and Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary doctor and theologian, attended to her. That furlough was spent in Princeton, where Harry earned a master's degree in English.
The next two terms were spent at Bibia, a mission station where David and his family would live years later. Harry taught at the seminary. Elizabeth taught the wives of the seminarians. She was also the director of the local school for girls. Jack (in 1925), Lois (in 1928), and Ruth (in 1935) were born in the Cameroon. Josephine (Jo) was born during the furlough in Atlantic City. The next two furloughs were spent in Princeton. A final furlough, in 1936, was spent in Ventnor, New Jersey.
Back in Cameroon in 1938 (this time stationed in Foulassi), Harry began to have symptoms of what would eventually be diagnosed as brain cancer. In July 1940, after France had been invaded by Germany, the family returned to the USA, traveling with friends Bob and Martha Pierce and their sons. They first went to Dakar, Senegal, then to Rio de Janeiro. From Rio, they took the SS Argentina to New York City.
Harry received a diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumor from the doctors at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. He lived for the final three years of his life in Wooster, Ohio.
In 1945, two years following Harry's death, she returned to Cameroon with daughters Ruth and Jo. The trip, taken before WWII had ended, was lengthy and adventurous. Beginning May 22 in New York City, the family didn't arrive in Ebolowa, Cameroon until September 19. Their journey took them first to Portugal by boat; then down the coast of Africa to Matadi, Congo by boat; to Leopoldville, Congo by train; up the Congo River by river boat to Bangui, Central African Republic; and finally by bus across central Africa to Ebolowa, Cameroon.
She spent a year and a half teaching at Hope School (the school for missionary children) then moved to the small remote village of Olama on the banks of the Nlong River about 20 miles west of Mbalmayo, where she taught evangelists. In 1948, she returned to the USA and entered the College of Wooster, receiving her BA in 1951 with a French major.
After a short and unhappy job as a Youth Director in Akron, she returned to Cameroon, this time assigned to Nkol Mvolan, a mission station located east of Yaounde. After a one year furlough in 1956-57 with Ruth and Jo in Berea, Kentucky, she returned to Cameroon for one more assignment - this time in Batouri, on the eastern edge of the country.
She retired in 1960 and lived for most of her remaining years in Youngstown, Ohio, with her father and her brother, Tom. She loved the annual week-long family reunions held at Madison, Ohio on Lake Erie when she could be with her children and numerous grandchildren. In 1971, she returned to Cameroon for an extended visit with her son David and daughter-in-law Peg. Many of the older Africans fondly remembered her from when she had last lived at Bibia in the 1920s and 1930s. The last years of her life were spent in a Presbyterian retirement center in Duarte, California.
The location of their home in Kansas was not healthy. It was next to the Neosha River, a probable breeding ground for mosquitoes. Six in the family contracted scarlet fever while they were in Kansas. Sister Maude was seriously ill with malaria. One-year old sister Miriam died of malaria and new born brother Elmer died of whooping cough. So in 1905, when she was 10, her family moved to Gravette, Arkansas in hopes of a healthier environment. The 80 mile trip was done in one week "with one horse to pull the two seated buggy and two jersey cows driven by papa . ." Since the buggy could not carry the whole family, the older children, which included Elizabeth, had to walk.
Her father bought a farm in Gravette, and the family took up fruit and chicken farming. The fruits grown were strawberries, peaches and apples. During the 8-year period in Gravette, the family resettled for 6 months in Hobart, Oklahoma, during which time her father served as a minister. Her father wanted to get back to the ministry full-time and her mother missed her relatives, so in 1913, when she was 18, the family moved to Airville, Pennsylvania in York County. Most of her mother's relatives resided in nearby Lancaster County. Her father became the minister of a Presbyterian church, probably the Pine Grove Presbyterian Church. She was home schooled for her last year of high school.
Following high school, she taught one year of elementary school in York County followed by another year in Lancaster County. It was during the second year that she met and became engaged to Harry Neely. Harry's family lived in Airville and at the time he was a senior at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
A move by her family to West Hebron, New York in 1916 coincided with Harry beginning Princeton Seminary. She went to New York City where, for the next 3 years, she attended New York Theological Seminary, earning money by waiting tables in a restaurant.
She married Harry on September 3, 1919 in West Hebron. Her father performed the ceremony. Elizabeth and Harry decided to enter the mission field in 1920. They spent 9 months in Paris learning French. It was there that David was born.
Their first 3 years of service were at Foulassi, a Cameroon mission station. Miriam (Mim) was born during this period. In 1924, the family of four came back to the USA for their first furlough. While they waited for their ship to leave from Cameroon, baby Miriam got sick and Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary doctor and theologian, attended to her. That furlough was spent in Princeton, where Harry earned a master's degree in English.
The next two terms were spent at Bibia, a mission station where David and his family would live years later. Harry taught at the seminary. Elizabeth taught the wives of the seminarians. She was also the director of the local school for girls. Jack (in 1925), Lois (in 1928), and Ruth (in 1935) were born in the Cameroon. Josephine (Jo) was born during the furlough in Atlantic City. The next two furloughs were spent in Princeton. A final furlough, in 1936, was spent in Ventnor, New Jersey.
Back in Cameroon in 1938 (this time stationed in Foulassi), Harry began to have symptoms of what would eventually be diagnosed as brain cancer. In July 1940, after France had been invaded by Germany, the family returned to the USA, traveling with friends Bob and Martha Pierce and their sons. They first went to Dakar, Senegal, then to Rio de Janeiro. From Rio, they took the SS Argentina to New York City.
Harry received a diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumor from the doctors at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. He lived for the final three years of his life in Wooster, Ohio.
In 1945, two years following Harry's death, she returned to Cameroon with daughters Ruth and Jo. The trip, taken before WWII had ended, was lengthy and adventurous. Beginning May 22 in New York City, the family didn't arrive in Ebolowa, Cameroon until September 19. Their journey took them first to Portugal by boat; then down the coast of Africa to Matadi, Congo by boat; to Leopoldville, Congo by train; up the Congo River by river boat to Bangui, Central African Republic; and finally by bus across central Africa to Ebolowa, Cameroon.
She spent a year and a half teaching at Hope School (the school for missionary children) then moved to the small remote village of Olama on the banks of the Nlong River about 20 miles west of Mbalmayo, where she taught evangelists. In 1948, she returned to the USA and entered the College of Wooster, receiving her BA in 1951 with a French major.
After a short and unhappy job as a Youth Director in Akron, she returned to Cameroon, this time assigned to Nkol Mvolan, a mission station located east of Yaounde. After a one year furlough in 1956-57 with Ruth and Jo in Berea, Kentucky, she returned to Cameroon for one more assignment - this time in Batouri, on the eastern edge of the country.
She retired in 1960 and lived for most of her remaining years in Youngstown, Ohio, with her father and her brother, Tom. She loved the annual week-long family reunions held at Madison, Ohio on Lake Erie when she could be with her children and numerous grandchildren. In 1971, she returned to Cameroon for an extended visit with her son David and daughter-in-law Peg. Many of the older Africans fondly remembered her from when she had last lived at Bibia in the 1920s and 1930s. The last years of her life were spent in a Presbyterian retirement center in Duarte, California.
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