John Clark Collection
Robert Moffat (1795-1883) was one of the great names in the field of African mission work. He was the father-in-law of David Livingstone and served the London Missionary Society. By 1824 he had settled at Kuruman which became his home for 49 years. A constant traveler, he visited many African tribes. Being a fluent speaker of Tswana, he translated the entire Bible into that language (1830). It was he who saw the potential in Livingstone and advised him to go north where the people were as yet unvisited by any missionary. He instructed his own people in better methods of agriculture and crop irrigation. His wife Mary shared 50 years of his missionary work. Even more than Livingstone, Moffat created standards for missionary activity that were followed by most of the Natal missionaries.