INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper is to relate the story of the beginning
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ghana (formerly known as the
Gold Coast) between the years 1888 to 1905. This era begins with Mr.
Francis I. U. Dolphijn's acceptance of the Seventh-day Adventist
belief in 1888, and closes with the arrival of Elder David Caldwell
Babcock, and the transfer of the Adventist headquarters in West
Africa from Cape Coast to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Our service in West Africa in Liberia (1963-1969), and Ghana
(1970-1974), has inspired the interest for this study. A page-by-page
check has been made in the Review and Herald, The General Conference
Bulletin (daily and quarterly editions), The Home Missionary, and
The Missionary Magazine between 1888 to 1905. Special gratitude is
expressed to Mrs. Louise Dederen and her staff of the Heritage Room,
and to Elder F. Donald Yost, the General Conference Archivist, who
supplied copies of The Foreign Missions Board Minutes for the period
under study.
Much valuable information was gained through contact with the
families of Elder and Mrs. D. U. Hale, and Mr. and Mrs. G. T. Kerr.
The obituary of Elder Dudley U. Hale in the May 4, 1949, Southwestern
Union Record states that his funeral was conducted by Elders L. L.
McKinley and R. R. Biloff, both listed in the current SDA Yearbook.
Through telephone conversations with Elder R. R. Biloff of Lakeport,
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