Draft:Daniel Leeper Mumpower
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Daniel Leeper Mumpower (October 22, 1882 – April 1969) was the first American medical missionary sponsored by the Methodist Episcopal Church South to go to Africa.[1] He was also the first missionary from any organization to go to the Wembo-Nyama region of the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) where he served in the Otetela village in the central region. He established the mission's medical services, assisted with the mission's administrative tasks, and provided the first recorded the grammar and writing of the Otetela language.
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Early life and Family
Daniel Mumpower was born on October 22, 1882, in Fayette, Missouri, to parents Thomas Grey Mumpower and Mary L. Mumpower.
During his medical training, he married Edith Borth, who was from Doniphan, Missouri, in 1911. Shortly after graduating from medical school, his daughter Mary Elizabeth was born in 1913.[2] Dr Mumpower's extended family was heavily involved with Pleasant Grove Church, which was part of the greater Methodist Episcopal Church South branch.[1] In 1917, Dr Mumpower and Edith had a son, Daniel L. Mumpower, Jr. born in Otetela.[2]
Mumpower became a leader, Worshipful Master, in the Doniphan Masonic Lodge #369 in 1907.[3]
Education
Mumpower graduated from Central College in Fayette, Missouri in 1902 and received the 'Academy Scholarship Prize'.[4] He trained as a physician and graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1912 with his medical degree.[5]
Mission work
The mission on which Dr Mumpower and his wife served was initially established in 1910. Bishop Walter R. Lambuth and Dr John Wesley Gilbert were commissioned by the Methodist Church to explore the upper Congo basin, which was occupied by the Otetela tribe, with the intention of finding a suitable place to establish a mission. In February 1914, Bishop Walter R. Lambuth returned with Dr Mumpower, his wife, and their very young daughter, along with some other missionaries.[2][6]
Dr Mumpower's role within the mission was primarily to complete medical duties or administrative tasks.[2] Although he also provided spiritual help to the Otetela people he interacted with at the mission, he was seen as encouraging the practice of the Christian faith while also showing understanding of the clear cultural differences between Christianity and the Otetela culture.[7] On occasion, Dr Mumpower led prayer meetings, taught in the mission school, and went on "itinerations" with Reverend Bush in the nearby area.[2] [8]
Mumpower's wife, Edith, was a trained nurse, the mission photographer, and the primary caretaker for their daughter. Together, Dr Mumpower and Edith also worked to create a grammar of the Otetela language, in addition to putting it in writing.[2]
The mission settlement quickly developed under the leadership of Reverend Bush and with the help of Dr Mumpower. Within less than a year of their arrival in February 1914, a church, carpentry shop, hospital, houses, and storerooms had already been built. Dr Mumpower was heavily involved with the development of the hospital.[2]
Dr Mumpower remained at the mission until 1918, when he returned to the United States with his wife and two children. In 1920, Dr Mumpower and his family returned to the Congo until 1922, where they were forced to return again to the United States due to Edith's poor health.
Legacy & life after the mission
After returning from his mission work, Mumpower remained involved with the Methodist Church, specifically serving on the Board of Missions and the Epworth League.[2] Mumpower established his own medical practice in Nashville.[2]