Staples, Martha (Long) (1862–1960)

By Godfrey K. Sang

Godfrey K. Sang is a historical researcher and writer with an interest in Adventist history. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of Eastern Africa Baraton and a number of qualifications from other universities. He is a published author. He is the co-author of the book On the Wings of a Sparrow: How the Seventh-day Adventist Church Came to Western Kenya.

First Published: January 8, 2024

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Martha Staples (born Long) was a pioneer Seventh-day Adventist in Africa – joining the faith in 1889. She was a foundational member of the Rokeby Park Seventh-day Adventist Church organized in 1889. It was one of the first Adventist churches on the continent.¹

Early Life

Martha was born on March 25, 1862, on the farm in Eschol, Salem, in the Albany district. Her parents, Jeremiah Long and Emma Richardson, came to South Africa as young children with the British settlers in 1820.² They later married and settled in the Albany District in the Eastern Cape. Martha was the youngest in a family of 13 children and grew up in the rugged days of the frontier when hardship was often the lot of the settlers. She often described times when their early home was burned by marauders.

Becoming Adventist

In the year 1885, she married Albert Warner Staples, and they made their home on the farm called “Blaauwkrantz.” In 1889, both Martha and Albert Staples accepted the Adventist faith and were baptized. It happened that late one Friday evening, two transport riders named D. F. Tarr and Albert Davies, while on a trip to Kimberley, came to the farm of Pieter Wessels and asked if they could rest their cattle there for the night.³ Wessels, who had become an Adventist in 1885, agreed and invited them to his farm only on one condition--that they would have to wait until after sunset on Saturday if they were to leave. He explained that the Sabbath required that even the “…stranger that is within thy gates…” (Exodus 20:10) should observe the Sabbath. The duo became quickly interested in the Sabbath message. On their return to the Bathurst district they came from, they created much interest in their newfound message. As a result, Elder Ira B. Hankins was sent out from America, and he was used by the Lord to bring a number of families into the truth.

Christian Service

Martha Staples was a foundational member of the Rokeby Park Seventh-day Adventist Church and served the Adventist Church in many capacities. Throughout many years, she was faithful in her Christian witness and was keenly interested in the world progress of the Adventist message. From 1889 to the time of her death, Mrs. Staples was a regular subscriber to The Review and Herald. Her reading of this periodical and other denominational publications played a great part in keeping her faithful to the message. The Sabbath School was always of great importance to her, and she did much to bring in funds for the world mission program. She spent the last few months of her life with her daughter, Emma Hurlow, in East London.

Family

Six children were born to the Staples family, and at the time of her death, five were still alive. They are Longley Warner Staples, Agnes Mary Staples (married H. M. Sparrow), Emma Staples (married W. H. Hurlow), Orville Franklin Staples, and Albert Willard Staples,⁴ who at one time was the president of the South African Union. Agnes Mary was a longtime missionary to Africa and spent much time in South Africa, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Tanganyika (now Tanzania), Kenya, and Uganda. Emma Hurlow and Pastor Albert Staples with their families contributed much to the Adventist work in the Southern African Division.

Illness and Death

After a slight stroke and a fall in which she broke her hip, Mrs. Staples was admitted to the Frere Hospital, East London, in South Africa on December 4, 1960. On December 18 that same year, she passed away quietly to her rest. She was 98. The funeral service was conducted on December 22 at the Rokeby Park Church, Bathurst District, where she first accepted the faith. Many relatives and friends were present. The services at the church and at the graveside were shared by Pastor J. B. Cooks and Pastor E. C. Webster.⁵ She was survived by five of her six children, 16 grandchildren, and 33 great grandchildren.

Sources

https://gw.geneanet.org/ (accessed October 8, 2023).

Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia. Second revised edition. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1996.

Webster, E. C. The Southern Africa Division Outlook, March 15, 1961.

Notes

Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (1996), 16.↩
E. C. Webster, The Southern Africa Division Outlook, March 15, 1961, 1.↩
Virgil E. Robinson, Third Angel over Africa, unpublished manuscript (1954), in the author’s private collection.↩
https://gw.geneanet.org/ (accessed October 8, 2023).↩
Webster, 1.↩