Sarah Poulton Kalley
| Sarah Poulton Kalley | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Sarah Poulton Wilson 25 May 1825 Nottingham, England |
| Died | 8 August 1907 (aged 82) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Missionary |
| Spouse(s) | Robert Reid Kalley |
| Parent(s) | William Wilson and Sarah Morley |
| Relatives | Henry Wilson (half-brother) |
Sarah Poulton Kalley or Sarah Poulton Wilson (25 May 1825 – 8 August 1907) was a British missionary to Brazil who helped create a Portuguese language hymnal still in use today. She and her husband Robert Reid Kalley are credited with founding one of the first Congregational (and Protestant) churches in Brazil. This would in time become the Union of Congregational Churches in Brazil.
Sarah Poulton Wilson was born in Nottingham in 1825 to parents who were religious Nonconformist and political Reformists. Politician Henry Wilson was her half-brother. Her father had homes in Nottingham and Torquay. Sarah was well travelled and educated and she had talents for water colour painting and languages.
She led a group studying the Bible at Abbey Road Congregational chapel in the British seaside town of Torquay where she was caring for her brother. Robert Reid Kalley and his first wife Margaret Crawford had been doing missionary work among the poor on the Portuguese island of Madeira when they, along with their supporters, were arrested and expelled by anti-Protestants, taking temporary refuge on the island of Trinidad. The Kalleys spent two years seeking Christian converts among the followers of Islam, Judaism and Nestorianism in Malta, Egypt and Palestine, where it is believed Sarah became acquainted with Kalley. Following the death of Margaret, Kalley wed Sarah in Torquay in 1852.
Meanwhile, the Protestants who had been driven out of Madeira to work in Trinidad realised that they needed a better home. 150 moved to New York with funding from the American Protestant Society. The Maderira refugees were eventually invited by the people of Springfield to make their home in Illinois. On 13 November 1849 they were met with charity and an area of the town became known as Madeira. By 1853 there were about 1,000 Portuguese in Springfield. The Kalleys went to America and they served in the Springfield Portuguese Presbyterian Church 1853–1854 in Springfield, Illinois, where Sarah oversaw the Congregational music.
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