Akaniobio Church, Old Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria, ca. 1900-1910

Tinted lantern slide showing the church at Akaniobio in Old Calabar and its large congregation of men, women and children. Some individuals wear European dress, whilst others wear traditional Calabar styles. A church was originally built in 1905 by Onoyom Iya Nya, a wealthy trader who became a Christian under the work of Mary Mitchell Slessor (1848-1915). However, the original church was flooded in 1906. Onoyam Iya Nya built a new church as the centre of a new settlement on higher ground, naming the area Obio Usiere, or "Town of the Dawn." It is unclear which church is represented in this image. This slide comes from a set on mission, culture and industry in Calabar, southeast Nigeria generated by the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland (which was incorporated with the Church of Scotland in 1929.)