Introduction

Biography

As a teen­ag­er, Stead felt called to be a mis­sion­ary. She went to Am­er­ica around age 21, and lived for a while in Cin­cin­na­ti, Ohio. At­tend­ing a camp meet­ing in Ur­ba­na, Ohio, she felt the mis­sion­ary call­ing ev­en more strong­ly, but was un­a­ble to go to China as she want­ed due to her frail health.

She mar­ried a Mr. Stead in 1875. Tra­gic­al­ly, her hus­band died off Long Is­land, New York, while try­ing to res­cue a drown­ing boy.

Around 1880, Stead went to South Af­ri­ca, and served as a mis­sion­ary some 15 years. She re­mar­ried, to Ro­bert Wode­house of that coun­try.

She re­turned to Am­er­ica in 1895 to re­co­ver her health, but once again went in­to mis­sions in Rho­de­sia (now Zim­bab­we) in 1901. Her daugh­ter Li­ly (who sur­vived the ac­ci­dent that killed her father) mar­ried D. A. Carson and be­came a mis­sion­ary like her mo­ther.