Biography
Amanda Berry was born on January 23, 1837, in Long Green, Maryland, into slavery. Her father, Samuel Berry, was a slave who worked extra hours at night to earn money and in time bought freedom for himself and his family. Her mother was a devoted Christian. The family's home served as a place of rest for those escaping north along the Underground Railroad, and Amanda grew up seeing her father hide fugitives. She had very little schooling, though she learned to read.
At thirteen she was sent to work as a domestic servant in the homes of white families. She married Calvin Devine, and the couple had a daughter. Calvin joined the Union army in the Civil War and was killed. She was left a widow with a child, and she earned her living as a washerwoman. In 1854, in a Methodist meeting, she gave her life to Christ. A few years later she married James Smith, a man who held a job as a church deacon. They had several children, and only one survived to adulthood, a daughter named Mazie. The loss of her children was one of the deepest sorrows of her life.
In September 1868, in a meeting in New York City, she received what she called a clean heart. She felt that God had freed her from fear and from the burden of self, and she devoted herself to His service. She began to speak at holiness meetings and camp meetings. At first, white Christians did not welcome a Black woman in the pulpit. She was turned away from seats in churches and was insulted by those who thought she did not belong. She kept going, and her gift of speaking and singing made a deep impression. Soon she was invited to speak at the major holiness camp meetings of the day.
In 1878 she sailed to England, where she preached to large crowds and spoke at the Keswick Convention, the great gathering for deeper Christian life. She went on to India, where she worked among the missionaries and held meetings in the cities. In 1881 she went to Liberia, West Africa, where she spent eight years working with churches, preaching and caring for orphans. She was a plain woman who spoke to ordinary people about the love of God and the need for a holy life. She carried her faith through poverty, sickness and insult.
When she returned to the United States in 1890, she continued to preach and she wrote her autobiography, published in 1893. It tells the story of her life with great candor. In 1899 she founded the Amanda Smith Orphanage and Industrial Home for Abandoned and Destitute Colored Children in Harvey, Illinois, a place where Black children could receive a home and an education. She gave the earnings from her book and her singing to support it. The home operated for several years and cared for many children before a fire destroyed it in 1918.
She was not free from trials. She faced racism in every country she visited, including among those who claimed to follow Christ. She was often tired and poor, and she lived on what others gave. She struggled with bitterness and with the question of why God allowed so much suffering. She was open about her struggles and she did not claim to be above them.
She spent her last years in Florida, where a friend gave her a small house. She died on February 24, 1915, at the age of seventy-eight. Her life shows what the grace of God can do with a person that the world judged to be of no account. She became one of the most widely traveled Christian women of her century and left a witness of humility and courage.