Mamie Martin
British missionary active in Nyasaland (1891–1928)
Mary "Mamie" Evelyn Martin (née Telfer; 7 July 1891 – 24 September 1928), also known as Nyankhutowa, was a British missionary active in Nyasaland (present-day Malawi). Her life and letters inspired the establishment of the Mamie Martin Fund, a Scottish charity dedicated to improving girls' education in Malawi, and her letters have formed the basis of two books.
Life
Martin was born Mary Evelyn Telfer on 7 July 1891 in Calcutta, British India (present-day Kolkata, India) to Alexander Prentice Telfer and Margaret Thomson Telfer (née Lennox). Both of her parents worked as missionaries in Calcutta. The family returned to Scotland in 1897, when she was five, after her father was asked to lead Tarbet United Free Presbyterian Church. He led that church for 28 years, settling in Tarbet on the side of Loch Lomond. Martin gained three younger sisters while in Tarbet.
She met Jack Martin at a family picnic in 1911. They soon discovered they were both set to study arts at the University of Edinburgh. During their enrolment there, she would write to him three times a week.
The public source identifies “Mamie Martin” as british missionary active in Nyasaland (1891–1928). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Mamie, Martin and British.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Mamie Martin”, the useful work is to connect “british missionary active in Nyasaland (1891–1928)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q113796425. VIAF identifies the subject as 47825955. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1891, 1928, 1897 and 1911.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Mamie Martin”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Mamie Martin primary sources, Mamie Martin archive and Mamie research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mamie Martin”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Mamie Martin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.