Abney, Benjamin William Arnett (1883–1982) and Celia Jane (Hart) (1883–1980)

Benjamin W. Abney was a pioneering African American Seventh-day Adventist minister, missionary, and evangelist. He and his wife and co-laborer, Celia Hart Abney, were the first Black American missionaries sent by the Seventh-day Adventist church to South Africa.

Early Years

Born on November 30, 1883, in Edgefield County, South Carolina, Benjamin was the youngest of seven children born to Milledge Henry and Delia Moore Abney.¹ His family’s history reflected the African American experience in the post-Civil War South. Benjamin’s grandfather, Henry Abney, was a former slave who became a farmer after gaining freedom and married Priscilla Abney, with whom he lived until her death.²

Benjamin’s father, Milledge Henry Abney, an African Methodist Episcopal minister, was described as “quite an aggressive fellow for the race in those days” who “held up for principles, and spoke out against the injustices that colored people had to endure.”³ This foundation of faith and social consciousness would significantly influence Benjamin’s later ministry.

Benjamin Abney’s early education took place in rural South Carolina, where educational opportunities for Black children were severely limited. He recalled that “when I was small, the school for colored ran for about four months,” from the time when the cotton was all picked around November until March when it was time to plant crops. During his childhood, life centered around the local church, which “nearly everyone attended,” providing a strong spiritual foundation despite limited formal education.⁴

Conversion, Call to Ministry, and Marriage

Originally a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church like his father, Abney became troubled by theological questions while studying at Allen College. Then, as he later explained, his religious trajectory changed dramatically in 1910: “I was about ready to concede that [the Bible] was not true, but that very year, 1910, the Lord sent Elder Sydney Scott to Columbia, South Carolina. He held a series of evangelistic meetings and answered the questions in my mind in the affirmative. ‘Yes the Bible is true.’ There has been no further question regarding the truthfulness of the Bible from that day to this.”⁵

Benjamin’s experience in attending the evangelistic meetings led him to accept Seventh-day Adventist teachings, a decision that estranged him from his Methodist family. In September 1910, following his conversion, Abney enrolled at Oakwood Manual Training School (now Oakwood University) in Huntsville, Alabama. At Oakwood, Abney developed a clearer understanding of his calling: “I didn't have any inclination for the ministry out there in the other schools. When I came to Oakwood I understood things I had never understood before. I felt that I had learned something, and I also had a desire to let someone else know about it.”⁶

During his time at Oakwood, Abney met Celia Jane Hart of Chicago, Illinois, who had her own remarkable conversion story. Born on November 23, 1883, Celia had been a devout Methodist until visiting a Seventh-day Adventist cousin in Logansport, Indiana, in 1908. Upon returning home to Muncie, Indiana, she was eager to share her newly-discovered beliefs with her devout Methodist mother, “only to discover her enthusiasm for Adventism was not shared by her mother.” With the support of white Seventh-day Adventist believers, she was able to attend Oakwood College in 1909, where she later met Benjamin.⁷ They married on October 17, 1912.⁸ Their union would become not only a loving personal relationship but also a powerful ministerial partnership. They would be blessed with two children: Benjamin, Jr. (1915-2007) and Celia Marie (1922-2003).

Ministry in the Southern United States

Abney entered the Seventh-day Adventist ministry in 1912, working initially with Elder J. F. Crichlow in Orangeburg, South Carolina, “in a tent meeting that resulted in the erection of a church.”⁹ He became an ordained minister in 1916.¹⁰

His early evangelistic efforts concentrated in the southeastern United States, particularly in the Carolinas, but also in Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. He developed a pattern of establishing churches through evangelistic campaigns and then providing leadership for their institutional development.¹¹

A significant example of his church development work occurred in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he guided the rebuilding of a church after its destruction by a tornado in 1953. The original congregation had been established in the nineteenth century following evangelistic efforts led by J. Edson White, who had traveled to Mississippi towns with his fellow workers by riverboat. Abney's work in Vicksburg demonstrated his commitment not only to evangelism but also to the physical establishment and sustainability of congregations.¹²

Historic Call to Foreign Mission Service

In 1930, at the General Conference session, a historic call was presented to Elder Abney to become the first Black North American missionary to South Africa. W. H. Branson, then president of the African Division, later president of the General Conference, had just returned from South Africa and he encouraged Abney to accept the call, telling him that “the colored people out there wanted a colored missionary.”¹³

The decision to accept this call involved significant deliberation and prayer. Abney faced multiple obstacles: concerns about leaving his elderly mother in America, uncertainty about how his children would continue their education, and questions about how his family would adapt to a foreign culture. A powerful moment of confirmation came during their sea voyage when Abney observed a rainbow while standing on the ship’s deck: “I believed it was a sign to me just like it was to Noah, and God was standing back of the promises He made. So, after that I went down to South Africa and stayed down there. Those promises carried us down there and kept us down there.”¹⁴

Missionary Work in South Africa

On July 16, 1931, the Abneys set sail for South Africa. Upon arrival, they were confronted with the disturbing realities of South Africa’s racial segregation system. “But we made up our minds to adjust to it,” Abney recalled. “I said, this has got to be our home for seven years, so we must forget all about America. So, we got along just fine there.”¹⁵

During their seven years in South Africa, the Abneys worked primarily with the “colored” (mixed-race) population. Their missionary approach recognized the complex racial dynamics in South Africa: “Humanity divides itself up into three groups over there—Europeans, colored, and native Africans,” Abney later pointed out. Though he was designated as “the Union evangelist to the colored people, the opportunity did present itself to work with the natives.”¹⁶ Elder Abney pastored, evangelized, administered, and established churches in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and other South African cities.¹⁷ His wife Celia served as a Bible instructor and worked alongside him in ministry.

Because no church school was available to them, the Abneys’ children, Benjamin, Jr. and Celia, had to attend public school. They “adjusted to their new environment and even learned to speak Afrikaans.”¹⁸

Return to America and Continued Ministry

In 1938, the Abneys returned to America, where their children continued their education at Oakwood. After a year’s furlough, Elder Abney resumed full-time ministry in 1939, working in various southern cities including Miami, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; Jackson, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; and Meridian, Mississippi.¹⁹ During this period, he continued to build and strengthen churches while mentoring younger ministers.

Later Years

In 1957, after 45 years of service, Elder Abney retired at the age of 74.²⁰ In retirement, he and Celia settled in Huntsville, Alabama, near their daughter Celia Cleveland and son-in-law, E. E. Cleveland.

Even in retirement, Abney remained active in church life. He served on the Board of Elders at the Oakwood College Church and participated in the Tuesday morning prayer band. Despite his advanced age, he maintained daily walks in his neighborhood and continued his lifelong habit of reading “books that will build character.”²¹

When asked about the secret to his long life, Abney credited his dietary practices and temperate lifestyle: “Of the sixty-six years I have been married, my wife and I have never spent sixty-six dollars on flesh foods.” The couple had practiced vegetarianism for over sixty years and limited themselves to two meals per day.²² Abney remained mentally sharp and physically active into his 90s, tending his garden and maintaining an interest in current events and church affairs.²³

After 45 years as “a co-laborer with her husband and companion of nearly sixty-eight years,” Celia Jane Hart Abney passed away on January 28, 1980, at the age of 96.²⁴ Less than two years later, Benjamin Abney went quietly to his rest on April 9, 1982 in the Riverside Adventist Hospital, Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 98.²⁵

Legacy

Throughout his long life and ministry, Benjamin William Arnett Abney was known for his unwavering faith, practical wisdom, and commitment to service. Colleagues described him as “a symbol of loyal service, sacrifice, and commitment to the Advent message” and “a source of inspiration and strength to those who have entered the Lord’s work.”²⁶ His ability to navigate the complex racial dynamics of both the American South and South Africa demonstrated remarkable resilience and diplomatic skill.

Abney’s evangelistic methodology, combining tent meetings with church establishment and development, helped create sustainable congregations that continue to this day. His mentorship of younger ministers and converts ensured that his influence extended beyond his direct ministry.

In the context of Adventist history, Abney represents the transition from the first generation of Black Adventist leaders to the generation that would advocate for change, leading to establishment of the regional conference structure. His long life allowed him to witness significant changes in both American society and the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s approach to race relations and mission.

The legacy of Benjamin and Celia Abney continues through the institutions they helped build, the ministers they mentored, and the example they set of dedicated service across cultural and racial boundaries during some of the most challenging periods of racial history in both the United States and South Africa.

Sources

“Benjamin William Abney, Sr., Obituary.” Memorial Service program, April 13, 1982. Oakwood University Archives.

“Celia Jane Hart Abney obituary.” January 31, 1980. Oakwood University Archives.

“Dedication of Vicksburg Church.” Southern Tidings, April 9, 1958.

“Elder B. W. Abney.” Oakwood University Archives.

"In Memoriam: Celia Jane Hart Abney,” January 31, 1980. Oakwood University Archives

“Portrait of a Pioneer: Elder Benjamin William Arnett Abney.” North American Regional Voice, November 1979.

Notes

1. “Benjamin William Abney, Sr., Obituary,” Memorial Service program, April 13, 1982, Oakwood University Archives.↩

2. “Portrait of a Pioneer: Elder Benjamin William Arnett Abney,” North American Regional Voice, November 1979, 2.↩

3. Ibid.↩

4. Ibid.↩

5. “Elder B.W. Abney,” Oakwood University Archives, 5.↩

6. “Portrait of a Pioneer,” 3.↩

7. “Celia Jane Hart Abney obituary,” January 31, 1980, Oakwood University Archives.↩

8. “Elder B.W. Abney,” 5.↩

9. Ibid.↩

10. “Portrait of a Pioneer,” 3.↩

11. “Elder B.W. Abney,” 5; “Benjamin William Abney, Sr., Obituary.”↩

12. “Dedication of Vicksburg Church,” Southern Tidings, April 9, 1958, 9.↩

13. “Portrait of a Pioneer,” 3.↩

14. Ibid., 3-4.↩

15. Ibid., 4.↩

16. Ibid.↩

17. “Benjamin William Abney, Sr., Obituary.”↩

18. “Portrait of a Pioneer,” 4.↩

19. Ibid, 5.↩

20. “Benjamin William Abney, Sr., Obituary.”↩

21. “Portrait of a Pioneer,” 5.↩

22. Ibid.↩

23. “Congratulations to our Nonagenarians & Centenarians,” Sabbath School program, 11-11-06, Oakwood University Archives.↩

24. "In Memoriam: Celia Jane Hart Abney," January 31, 1980, Oakwood University Archives; “Celia Jane Hart Abney Obituary.”↩

25. “Benjamin William Abney, Sr., Obituary.”↩

26. “Portrait of a Pioneer,” 5.↩