Maria Fearing (1838-1937) was born enslaved in Sumter County and went on to become an educator in Calhoun and Talladega Counties. At the age of 56, she became a Presbyterian missionary in the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) during one of its most turbulent and brutal periods. She served as a missionary until she was 78.
Maria Fearing
![](https://bunny-wp-pullzone-5vqgtgkbhi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/m-7033.jpg)
Courtesy of the Courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History
Appears In
![](https://bunny-wp-pullzone-5vqgtgkbhi.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/m-7033.jpg)