The Moffats in Africa

A family tree

How successive generations of the Moffat family have served Africa

Following the article on Robert Moffat in the January issue of EN, Dr. Malcolm Moffat, the grandson of Robert Moffat's grandson (see footnote) has kindly supplied us with details of how the Moffats' descendants have contributed and still contribute to Africa today.
Dr. Malcolm Moffat worked as a paediatrician in Zambia and Uganda in a variety of roles including Makerere Medical School, before coming back to the UK National Health Service.
He is now retired and lives near Edinburgh. His brother still farms in Zambia and is involved in pioneering a Christian secondary school there. Malcolm writes:

Robert and Mary Moffat had ten children, seven of whom survived into adult life and six of whom married. Many of their progeny have lived and worked in Africa. Some still do.
Christian evangelism, agriculture and the care of the sick were three fields in which Robert Moffat laboured and left his mark in southern Africa. It is remarkable how many of his descendants have followed in his footsteps, though very few have managed to combine all three in one career as he did!

Livingstone's wife

His eldest child, Mary, married Dr. David Livingstone, and their grandson (1) and great grandson (2) were both missionary doctors in Africa. The following generation boasted at least three medical graduates.
Robert Moffat's biographer and younger son, John Smith Moffat, started his career as a missionary among Mzilikazi and the Matabele, and later entered government service in what later became Zimbabwe. In turn, two of his sons (3) had lifelong medical careers in Uganda and South Africa.
Two were Members of Parliament (4) and one (5) trained in agriculture and was later ordained by the Church of Scotland to pioneer a new mission field in Chitambo in Zambia (near to where David Livingstone died).

Bible translation

Malcolm Moffat translated the Bible into a Zambian tribal language as his grandfather had done before him for the Botswana at Kuruman.
His three sons (6) in turn spent their lives in agriculture, public service and politics. They supported the African's cause during the period leading up to Zambia's independence and the next two generations produced at least five doctors, two farmers and two ordained ministers.
Another of Robert Moffat's granddaughters (7) was the mother of a family of farmers, (8) and also of a Chief Justice (9) who resigned his post in protest during the ill-fated Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
Yet another grandson was Prime Minister of Rhodesia when it was a crown colony, and his descendants include doctors, farmers and clergy.
So today, the Christian legacy of Robert and Mary Moffat continues through those of his descendants who live and work as citizens of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and the new South Africa. And there are others . . . but there is no room to mention them all here.

Notes

1. Dr. Hubert Livingstone Wilson, Church of Scotland missionary in Malawi and Zambia.

2. Dr. David Livingstone Wilson, missionary in Zambia, subsequently Chief Medical Officer of Newcastle-on-Tyne, now retired.

3. Dr. Robert Unwin Moffat, First Chief Medical Officer in Uganda Protectorate; H. Alford Moffat, FRCS, surgeon in Cape Town.

4. Livingstone Moffat, farmer and Member of the South African Parliament; Howard Unwin Moffat, Prime Minister of Rhodesia.

5. Malcolm Moffat worked as an agricultural missionary in Malawi (then Livingstonia), and later with David Kaunda (Kenneth's father) in pioneer missionary work in Northern Rhodesia.

6. Unwin J. Moffat, agricultural officer and farmer; Sir John Moffat, Commissioner for Native Affairs and later leader of the Liberal party in Northern Rhodesia; Robert L. Moffat, MP, representing African interest in the Federal Government of Northern Rhodesia.

7. Ruth Moffat married Sir Clarkson Tredgold.

8. The Tredgold family still live in Zimbabwe.

9. Sir Robert Tredgold.

Mr Malcolm Moffat

© Evangelicals Now - June 1996

Introduction

This is my first blog.  My blog will be quite a mixture.  I hope to tell about some of my political interests, my interests in Africa, my family interests,, mathematical interests, religious interests and educational interests.  As I am a very slow writer, you may not find loads of stuff.  Here are a few things which may interest the family.

The family: The Moffat family and the Nice family.

My father, David Moffat was born on the 27th of November 1909 in Bulawayo, then the second largest city in what was Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.  He was the fourth child in a family of seven.  His father, also David Moffat, was born in Scotland and left after his first wife died in childbirth.  He left my aunt Isabel in the care of his family.

Aunt Bella as she was affectionately called married William Cumming and they had a son William who in turn married Margaret.  They had three children, Marjorie, Susan and Peter