Guide to the Hoisington Family Papers

Herbert (1882-1943) and Eunice (1885-1976) Hoisington served the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as lay foreign missionaries in Cameroun, West Africa. Herbert Alton was born in Illinois in 1882 and received his B.A. from Wheaton College in 1905. He received additional training in business at the Institute and Training School for Employed Officers of the Y.M.C.A. and in divinity at the McCormick Theological Seminary. In 1910 he married Eunice Julia Kingsbury, also a native of Illinois. Their only child -- Horace Edwin -- was born in 1918.

After receiving their appointment in 1910, the Hoisingtons arrived in Batanga, West Africa, in 1911. Because of his training as a businessman, Herbert was primarily responsible for receiving and distributing mission supplies from other parts of the world. In 1922 the Hoisingtons were stationed in Metet, where besides handling supplies, Herbert became more deeply involved in educational and evangelistic work. After an assignment at Olama Station, the Hoisingtons left on furlough to the United States and returned to West Africa in 1941. Herbert died of a heart attack at Nkol Mvolan station in 1943.

Eunice Hoisington's career as a missionary was primarily devoted to educational and evangelistic work among women and girls. When she was not conducting Bible and Sunday School classes, she assisted her husband in distributing medical and school supplies. She retired in 1950, after 39 years of service, and died in 1976.