Gottlieb Ababio Adom (17 November 1904 – 20 June 1979) was a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, journalist,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session (o ...

who served as the Editor of the Christian Messenger from 1966 to 1970. The Christian Messenger, established in 1883 by the

Basel Mission The Basel Mission is a Christianity, Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' ...

, is the primary newspaper of the

Presbyterian Church of Ghana The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is a Protestant denomination in Ghana. The denomination is considered mainstream Reformed Protestant, missions-focused and ecumenically-minded in theology, practices and traditions.The oldest, continuously exis ...

Early life and family

Gottlieb A. Adom was born on 17 November 1904 in Osu (

Christiansborg Christiansborg Palace (, ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament (), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Also, ...

). His parents were Isaac G. Adom, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

of Osu-Adjumanko and Elisabeth Ahinee Amarteifio of Osu Amantra, ''Odartey Sro Weku'' and of Asere,

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

. Adom's parents both belonged to the

Ga people The Ga-Dangbe, Ga-Dangme, Ga-Adangme or Ga-Adangbe are an ethnic group in Ghana, Togo and Benin. The Ga or Gan and Dangbe or Dangme people are grouped as part of the Ga–Dangme ethnolinguistic group. The Ga-Dangmes are one ethnic group that li ...

of Accra. Adom hailed from one of the

royal families A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while the ...

of Osu, ''Nii Kwei Boadu We'' of Osu Amanfa - the ruling house of the Osu Stool Linguist, located at Mowule. He was the grandson of Naa Botwe, the Osu Maŋtsɛ Stool Mother (Queen mother) under the Osu paramount chieftaincy. He was named after the award-winning German

ethnolinguist Ethnolinguistics (sometimes called cultural linguistics) is an area of anthropological linguistics that studies the relationship between a language or group of languages and the cultural practices of the people who speak those languages. It exam ...

and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

Johann Gottlieb Christaller Johann Gottlieb Christaller (19 November 1827 – 16 December 1895) was a German missionary, clergyman, ethnolinguist, translator and philologist who served with the Basel Mission. He was devoted to the study of the Twi language in what was th ...

who translated the Bible into the

Twi Twi (; ) is the common name of the Akan literary language of Asante and Akuapem. Effectively, it is a synonym for 'Akan' that is not used by the Fante people. It is not a linguistic grouping, but more of a common name used by inland Akans as ...

language with the help of

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

linguists Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds and equivalent gestures ...

David Asante David Asante (23 December 1834 – 13 October 1892) was a philologist, linguist, translator and the first Akan native missionary of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society. He was the second African to be educated in Europe by the Basel Miss ...

Theophilus Opoku Theophilus Herman Kofi Opoku (1842 – 7 July 1913) was a native Akan people, Akan Linguistics, linguist, Translation, translator, Philology, philologist, Teacher, educator and Christian mission, missionary who became the first indigenous Afric ...

, Jonathan Palmer Bekoe, and Paul Staudt Keteku. Christaller was a two-time winner (1876; 1882) of the most prestigious linguistics prize, ''The

Prix Volney The Prix Volney () is awarded by the Institute of France after proposition by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres to a work of comparative philology. The prize was founded in 1822 in memory of count Volney and was originally a gold ...

'', awarded since 1822, by the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

"''to recognize work in general and comparative linguistics''. ''linguistics''." His step-brother was

Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey Emmanuel Odarkwei Obetsebi-Lamptey (affectionately known as Liberty Lamptey, 26 April 1902 – 29 January 1963) was a political activist in the British colony of the Gold Coast. He was one of the founding fathers of the United Gold Coast Conve ...

(1902–1963), the politician and lawyer, one of the founding leaders of the

United Gold Coast Convention The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was an early nationalist movement British colony of the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) that sought independence after the Second World War. It was founded in August 1947 with the aim of self-government "i ...

(UGCC) and a member of "The Big Six", the group of political activists detained by the British colonial government after the

1948 Accra riots The Accra riots started on 28 February 1948 in Accra, the capital of the then British colony of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast (present-day Ghana). A protest march by unarmed ex-servicemen who were agitating for their benefits as vet ...

, kicking off the struggle for the attainment of Ghana's independence in 1957.

Education and training

He attended the Basel Mission primary school at Osu. He enrolled at the middle boarding school, the Osu Salem School, graduating in 1922 with the Middle School Leaving Examination certificate. The Salem School was started in 1843 by three missionaries, Jamaican, Alexander Worthy Clerk and Angolan-born Jamaican Catherine Mulgrave together with the German-trained

Americo-Liberian Americo-Liberian people (also known as Congo people or Congau people),Cooper, Helene, ''The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' (United States: Simon and Schuster, 2008), p. 6 are a Liberian ethnic group of African Am ...

George Peter Thompson George Peter Thompson (1819–1889) was a Liberian-born educator, clergyman and pioneer missionary of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society of Switzerland. He was also the first African to be educated in Europe by the mission and subsequent ...

. He was admitted for a five-year course in pedagogy and theology at the Scottish Mission Teacher Training College and now

Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong The Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong, is a co-educational teacher-training college in Akropong in the Akwapim North district of the Eastern Region of Ghana. It has gone through a series of previous names, including the Presbyterian Tr ...

, established in 1848 as the second oldest higher educational institution in early modern West Africa after

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-le ...

which was founded in 1827 in

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

, Sierra Leone. Adom graduated as a teacher-

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...

in 1928. In 1957, the year of Ghana's independence, he took an advanced course in theology and congregational management at the Ramseyer Training Centre at

Abetifi Abetifi is a small town in south Ghana and is the capital of Kwahu East District, Kwahu East district, a Districts of Ghana, district in the Eastern Region (Ghana), Eastern Region of south Ghana. Climate References External links

P ...

, and was ordained a church minister on 19 February 1960. He later received a scholarship for a one-year training in journalism in

Kitwe Kitwe is the third largest city in terms of infrastructure development (after Lusaka and Ndola) and second largest city in terms of size and population (after Lusaka) in Zambia. With a population of 517,543 (''2010 census provisional'') Kitwe is ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

from 1961 to 1962.

Career

Teaching

He taught in various schools in the

Greater Accra The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the most populated region, with a popul ...

and Eastern Regions:

Nsawam Nsawam is a town in south Ghana and is the capital of the Nsawam-Adoagyire Municipal District, a district in the country's Eastern Region. The town's main ethnic group is Akan, followed by Ga and then Ewe.Osu,

Teshie Teshie is a coastal town in the Ledzokuku Municipal District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of southeastern Ghana. Teshie is the ninth most populous settlement in Ghana, with a population of 171,875 people. Politics Teshie is in t ...

, Abokobi,

Ada Ada may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle'', a novel by Vladimir Nabokov Film and television * Ada, a character in 1991 movie '' Armour of God II: Operation Condor'' * '' Ada... A Way of Life'', a 2008 Bollywo ...

and

Nungua Nungua is a town in Krowor Municipal District in the Greater Accra Region of southeastern Ghana near the coast. Nungua is the eighteenth most populous settlement in Ghana, in terms of population, with a population of 84,119 people. Politic ...

. He was also the principal of his alma mater, the Osu Salem School from 1955 to 1958 When the Osu Presbyterian Middle Day School was started in 1944, he offered to run it and work for free during the school's first year.

Journalism

The administration of the Ghanaian Presbyterian Church appointed Adom to be the Editor of the Christian Messenger from 1966 to 1970 for a tenure of about four and a half years. The newspaper established in 1883 by the Basel Mission. as the church's news bulletin, He was a member of the Review Committee which revised the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

in Ga and

Dangme The Dangme language, also ''Adangme'', ''Dangbe'' or ''Adaŋgbi'', is a Kwa language spoken in south-eastern Ghana by the Dangme people ''(Dangmeli)''. They are part of the larger Ga-Dangme ethnic group. Klogbi is a variant, spoken by the Klo ...

. He was also a member of the

Bible Society of Ghana The Bible Society of Ghana is a non-denominational, non-governmental Christian organization based in Ghana. The organization is registered under the Trustees Act, 1962 of the Republic of Ghana. It is the largest Bible distribution organization in G ...

Clergy activities

As a minister, he pastored Presbyterian congregations at

Central, Osu, Kaajano and finally

Adabraka Adabraka is a town in the Korle-Klottey Municipal District, located in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It was the first affluent neighborhood in Ghana during the British era. The town's economy is dominated by trade, which includes the Adab ...

(1970–1974) where he retired in August 1974 after 47 years of

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

. His ministerial work also took him to

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Geneva,

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, London, Rome and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. In 1969, he was seconded for special service at the

All Africa Conference of Churches All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC, or CETA) is an ecumenical fellowship that represents more than 200 million African Christians in 210 national churches and regional Christian councils in 43 African Countries. AACC's head office is in ...

held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. He was the Ghanaian representative to the

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

Workshop on

Human Relations In social psychology, an interpersonal relation (or interpersonal relationship) describes a social association, connection, or affiliation between two or more people. It overlaps significantly with the concept of social relations, which ar ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, USA.

Personal life

Adom was first married to Kate Nana Sapon Hyde (1918–2009), the daughter of a surveyor from Christiansborg, Accra on 17 December 1936 until 1948. On 26 December 1954, he married Sophia Esi Atswei Odamtten (1922–2006) of Ga- Danish ancestry and from La and Osu. Her father, Thomas Odamtten (1877–1961), was an administrative clerk in the Gold Coast customs division at the

Takoradi Harbour The Takoradi Harbour is a harbour located in the Western region of Ghana. It is located in the industrial district of Sekondi-Takoradi and is the oldest harbour in Ghana. The Takoradi harbour, along with the Tema Harbour, are the only harbours in ...

and later, became one of the Heads of Customs Services in the country. Gottlieb Adom had six children: Harriet (Mrs. Boateng), Edward, George, Victor, Philip and Gloria (Mrs.

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

). Odamtten was a schoolteacher and headmistress who co-founded the body, ''Pastors’ Wives Association (PWA)'' of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (now called ''Presbyterian Ministers’ Wives’ Conference (PMWC))'' started in 1970, and was its first Secretary. The association presently has

strategic alliance A strategic alliance is an agreement between two or more Legal party, parties to pursue a set of agreed upon objectives needed while remaining independent organizations. The alliance is a cooperation or collaboration which aims for a synergy wh ...

s with several sister organisations worldwide. Moreover, Sophia Odamtten was a niece of

Charles Odamtten Easmon Charles Odamtten Easmon or C. O. Easmon, popularly known as Charlie Easmon, (22 September 1913 – 19 May 1994) was a medical doctor and academic who became the first Ghanaian to formally qualify as a surgeon specialist and the first Dean of t ...

(1913 –1994), the first formally trained Ghanaian surgeon specialist whose mother, Kate Salome Odamtten and maternal uncle, Solomon Edmund Odamtten, a businessman and political activist, were her paternal grandaunt and granduncle respectively. In addition, her paternal grandfather, Koney Odamete I was of royal lineage and the first and original

Kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a monarchy or royal in their political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious, and military means to influence the ...

, locally called the ''Shikitele'' of the La Maŋtsɛ Traditional Stool – the paramount chieftaincy of the Ga people of La in Accra. Odamete was also a nineteenth century fishing trawler magnate and general commodities merchant who owned a wooden barrel and distilled beverage business among other commercial activities.

Death and funeral

Adom died of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinc ...

on 20 June 1979 at the Ridge Hospital in Accra Before his remains were buried in the "Presbyterian clergy quarter (section)" of the Osu Cemetery (formerly known as Christiansborg Civil Cemetery) in Accra, a funeral service was held for him at the

Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu The Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, formerly known as the Basel Mission Church, Christiansborg, is a historic Protestant church located in the suburb of Osu in Accra, Ghana. The church was founded by the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society in 18 ...

Legacy and memorial

During its 2002 chapel building centennial, the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu, unveiled a commemorative plaque in its sanctuary in memory of Gottlieb Adom and other important citizens of Osu in recognition of their service to the church and education in the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adom, Gottlieb A. 1904 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Presbyterian ministers Ga-Adangbe people Ghanaian chaplains 20th-century Ghanaian clergy Ghanaian educators Ghanaian newspaper journalists Ghanaian Presbyterians Heads of schools in Ghana Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong alumni Osu Salem School alumni Teachers at Osu Salem School Clergy from Accra