Maud Sisley Boyd
was the first woman missionary

sent by the Seventh-day Adventist
Church’s Foreign Mission Board.

Maud Sisley was born in 1851,
in Kent, England.

After her father died,

her family went to the United States

where they learned about
the Adventist message.

A visit by James and Ellen White
convinced them

to relocate to church headquarters
at Battle Creek, Michigan.

Maud was an Adventist member
for 10 years

when she was called to serve
as a missionary.

In 1877, she left for Europe

where she eventually served
in Switzerland and England.

After several years in Europe,

Maud returned to the United States

in time to attend

the second annual session
of the General Sabbath School Association

held in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Here she met another participant,
the widower Charles L. Boyd.

The couple wed in 1879
and had two daughters.

The Boyds went as part of the first group
of Adventist missionaries

to Cape Town, South Africa.

Tragically, their youngest daughter, Ethel,
died at age three and a half in Africa.

The family remained in Africa
for about four years

before returning to the United States.