THE SIMANGOS: ~ABOUT THEM~---document-links---pictures---related pages---site navigation
Columbus Kamba Simango was born in 1890 in Mozambique, and went to the US in 1914 to study, with the help of the American board of missions. There’s a Wikipedia article about him.
He married Kathleen Mary Easmon in 1922. She has a Wikipedia article, too. Kamba and Kathleen traveled around the US fundraising for Africa in 1923. Kathleen died of appendicitis July 20, 1924, and Kamba married Christine Cousey in 1925. Christine’s country of origin was Ghana, but she had several relatives in England and was clearly quite familiar with it. I don’t know the full story there. There are quite a few letters from Christine to Sibyl that I haven’t read, as well as at least one letter from Kamba, so there is still lots to learn about them.
We have a pamphlet that I think was from the 1923 fundraising tour that Kamba and Kathleen did, though I haven’t read it yet. I think it probable that in the early 1920s Sibyl was thinking of becoming a missionary nurse, and that Kamba and Kathleen focussed her interest on Africa.
When Sibyl was first in Portugal to learn the language before going on to Africa, Kathleen sent her a postcard. This was in June 1924, the month before she died. After Kamba married Christine, they saw Sibyl in Portugal. Then after Sibyl arrived in Angola, she wrote home to her family:
Kamba asked to be remembered to you all in his last letter. He feels as if he knows you all quite well. He is looking forward to the time when he comes to Angola, and so are we. I expect he’ll bring his wife with him, although he had no definite plans when he went to Eng. Please don’t think that he has forgotten Kathleen. He cherishes her very dearly, speaks about her just as much as when she was alive. Christine his new friend, loved Kathleen very much herself and can understand Kamba’s lasting affection for Kathleen and she encourages him to remember Kathleen who meant so much to everybody that she came in contact with.
There’s a book called “Toward an African Church in Mozambique: Kamba Simango and the Protestant Community in Manica and Sofala, 1892-1945”. I haven’t read it, and at the moment it seems unlikely that I ever shall…though the Simangos keep becoming more interesting. (Everybody keeps becoming more interesting. It’s very inconvenient.)
Kamba and Christine spent some of their time as missionaries in Angola, but then they moved on to Mount Silinda in what was then called Rhodesia, but what is now called Zimbabwe. I may find out more about that. When I checked Google Maps, I found that Mount Silinda was right on the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique. (In case your knowledge of African geography is lacking: The south of Zimbabwe borders South Africa.)
When Fred and Sibyl parted ways with the Angola mission, Kamba and Christine hoped that they would come to the Rhodesia Mission, but Fred and Sibyl decided to stay in Massachusetts.
Kamba and Christine ended up in Ghana, on the west side of Africa, where Christine’s family was originally from. Ghana was also where WEB Du Bois ended up. I saw something about Kamba knowing WEB Du Bois in New York, so it seems plausible that Kamba knew Du Bois in Ghana as well.
Du Bois died in 1963 at the age of 95. Kamba was killed in a hit and run accident in 1966 at the age of about 75, which seems like cradle-robbing compared to Du Bois.
Kamba and Christine had three children. The oldest was Louis Kamba Simango, and I find that he married Henrietta (Etta) Cousey - surely some sort of a cousin. This does not seem relevant to us, but I’m throwing the information in here in case it leads to something. The second child was David Easmon Simango, born 2/5/1929. Christine reported his birth to Sibyl in her 2/20/1929 letter:
First of all let me tell you about the arrival of our second son whom we have named David Easmon. The young man had a very narrow escape from being born en route to the hospital at Silinda which is a two days journey by hammock from us. We were ready to start at dawn on Tuesday Feb. 5th but on account of the excessive rain, we delayed, hoping to start a little later in the day or early the next. About 8 a.m. I began to feel sick, from that time onwards everything happened so quickly that David was born at 11:30 a.m. the same day. The road at this time of the year is overgrown with tall grass even higher than the kind we fought our way through at Ochileso the day we went for the picnic, you know how wide the average bush path is don’t you? With the heavy rains, flooded streams and rivers and the fact that there is no such thing as a house on the way, I shudder to think what might have happened to us if we had started, never have I blessed RAIN with so much fervour.
He married Kathleen Mary Easmon in 1922. She has a Wikipedia article, too. Kamba and Kathleen traveled around the US fundraising for Africa in 1923. Kathleen died of appendicitis July 20, 1924, and Kamba married Christine Cousey in 1925. Christine’s country of origin was Ghana, but she had several relatives in England and was clearly quite familiar with it. I don’t know the full story there. There are quite a few letters from Christine to Sibyl that I haven’t read, as well as at least one letter from Kamba, so there is still lots to learn about them.
We have a pamphlet that I think was from the 1923 fundraising tour that Kamba and Kathleen did, though I haven’t read it yet. I think it probable that in the early 1920s Sibyl was thinking of becoming a missionary nurse, and that Kamba and Kathleen focussed her interest on Africa.
When Sibyl was first in Portugal to learn the language before going on to Africa, Kathleen sent her a postcard. This was in June 1924, the month before she died. After Kamba married Christine, they saw Sibyl in Portugal. Then after Sibyl arrived in Angola, she wrote home to her family:
Kamba asked to be remembered to you all in his last letter. He feels as if he knows you all quite well. He is looking forward to the time when he comes to Angola, and so are we. I expect he’ll bring his wife with him, although he had no definite plans when he went to Eng. Please don’t think that he has forgotten Kathleen. He cherishes her very dearly, speaks about her just as much as when she was alive. Christine his new friend, loved Kathleen very much herself and can understand Kamba’s lasting affection for Kathleen and she encourages him to remember Kathleen who meant so much to everybody that she came in contact with.
There’s a book called “Toward an African Church in Mozambique: Kamba Simango and the Protestant Community in Manica and Sofala, 1892-1945”. I haven’t read it, and at the moment it seems unlikely that I ever shall…though the Simangos keep becoming more interesting. (Everybody keeps becoming more interesting. It’s very inconvenient.)
Kamba and Christine spent some of their time as missionaries in Angola, but then they moved on to Mount Silinda in what was then called Rhodesia, but what is now called Zimbabwe. I may find out more about that. When I checked Google Maps, I found that Mount Silinda was right on the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique. (In case your knowledge of African geography is lacking: The south of Zimbabwe borders South Africa.)
When Fred and Sibyl parted ways with the Angola mission, Kamba and Christine hoped that they would come to the Rhodesia Mission, but Fred and Sibyl decided to stay in Massachusetts.
Kamba and Christine ended up in Ghana, on the west side of Africa, where Christine’s family was originally from. Ghana was also where WEB Du Bois ended up. I saw something about Kamba knowing WEB Du Bois in New York, so it seems plausible that Kamba knew Du Bois in Ghana as well.
Du Bois died in 1963 at the age of 95. Kamba was killed in a hit and run accident in 1966 at the age of about 75, which seems like cradle-robbing compared to Du Bois.
Kamba and Christine had three children. The oldest was Louis Kamba Simango, and I find that he married Henrietta (Etta) Cousey - surely some sort of a cousin. This does not seem relevant to us, but I’m throwing the information in here in case it leads to something. The second child was David Easmon Simango, born 2/5/1929. Christine reported his birth to Sibyl in her 2/20/1929 letter:
First of all let me tell you about the arrival of our second son whom we have named David Easmon. The young man had a very narrow escape from being born en route to the hospital at Silinda which is a two days journey by hammock from us. We were ready to start at dawn on Tuesday Feb. 5th but on account of the excessive rain, we delayed, hoping to start a little later in the day or early the next. About 8 a.m. I began to feel sick, from that time onwards everything happened so quickly that David was born at 11:30 a.m. the same day. The road at this time of the year is overgrown with tall grass even higher than the kind we fought our way through at Ochileso the day we went for the picnic, you know how wide the average bush path is don’t you? With the heavy rains, flooded streams and rivers and the fact that there is no such thing as a house on the way, I shudder to think what might have happened to us if we had started, never have I blessed RAIN with so much fervour.
THE SIMANGOS: about-them---~DOCUMENT LINKS~---pictures---related pages---site navigation
-----------------------------
- 1924-04-26 LETTER FROM SIBYL TO HOME FOLKS IN AMERICA
- 1924-06-12 POSTCARD FROM KATHLEEN SIMANGO TO SIBYL
THE SIMANGOS: about-them---document-links---~PICTURES~---related pages---site navigation

1924: Sibyl in Portugal with friends, learning Portuguese before going on to Angola in Portuguese West Africa. She was surprised to find the Simangos in Lisbon. Despite what's written below the picture, I think the correct order is Mrs. Dysart, Kamba Simango, Mary Hurlbut, Sibyl Hosking, and half of Mr. Dysart, with Donald Dysart in front.
THE SIMANGOS: about-them---document-links---pictures---~RELATED PAGES~---site navigation
THE SIMANGOS: about-them---document-links---pictures---related pages---~SITE NAVIGATION~
WHERE AM I?
WHAT ARE THE PREVIOUS PAGE AND THE NEXT PAGE?