African American Woman’s Incredible Life as a Methodist Missionary

Susan Angeline Collins was an early trailblazer for United Methodist women. In the years following the U.S. Civil War, Collins went to college and became a successful business owner. All before answering her call to serve the Methodist Church in missions to Africa.

Collins was a remarkable woman before she ever entered the mission field. Born in Illinois in 1851, the daughter of an indentured servant, she was the first African American student to attend Upper Iowa University. Collins worked in the home of the Rev.  Jason Paine, a Methodist pastor in Iowa. She went on to own her own laundry business in Huron, Dakota.