Ruth Elton
British-born Nigerian missionary (1933–2025)
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Ruth Elton (7 September 1933 – 30 August 2025) was a British-Nigerian Christian missionary. She was the only child of Sydney Granville and Hannah Elton, deceased British missionaries who are commonly regarded as pioneers of the Pentecostal revival movement in Nigeria.[1][2]
Early life and missionary work
Ruth Elton relocated to Nigeria along with her parents in July 1937 at about the age of 3.[3] Her father, Sydney Granville "Pa" Elton,[3] had been posted to Nigeria as an Area Superintendent of The Apostolic Church of Nigeria, which was then under Joseph Ayo Babalola.[4] She spent her younger years in Okene.[5] Her father remained in Nigeria for 50 years until his death in Ilesa in 1987.[3][6]
Like her parents, Ruth became a missionary and served in Egbe, Ebirra, Okene, Koton Karfe and other parts of present-day Kogi, Ondo, Oyo and Osun states before retiring from active missionary work and permanently settling in Ilesa.[4][5][7]
At some point in her early years, Ruth trained in sewing, handwork and arts at a technical college in the United Kingdom. Elton, who remained celibate and unmarried her whole life, was polyglot - she spoke English, Yoruba and Ebira languages fluently. In 1975, she had to renounce her British citizenship to naturalize as a Nigerian, as it was impossible then to hold a dual citizenship.[5][8][9]
Together with her missionary work, she contributed to taming infant mortality owing to poor childcare and hygiene and the practice of force-feeding, particularly in Okene, Kogi during the late colonial and early postcolonial years.[9]
Elton authored three Christian books: The Gospel of the Kingdom; Your Citizenship: Hell or the Kingdom?; and The Kingdom Has Come.[5]