Martha Anna Bard was born to Mr. and Mrs. Albert G. and Effie Bard on May 18, 1907 on a farm near Mansfield, Ohio. Three months after her birth, the family moved to a farm near Corunna, Indiana. The Bards had two children after Martha, another daughter, Faith Bard Myers and a son, Spencer. Martha attended Corunna High School for three years but graduated from McIntosh High School in Auburn, Indiana in 1925. In the fall she attended Huntington College, Huntington, Indiana and took one year of normal training. She then taught in a country school near her home during the 1926-27 school year. In the fall of 1927 she returned to Huntington College as a freshman in the liberal arts department and graduated with an A. B. degree in June 1931. At college, she was involved in the Young People Mission Band and the United Brethren Christian Endeavor.

While she was at Huntington College she attended a service at College Park United Brethren Church where she was challenged by a sermon preached by Bishop W. E. Musgrave. She heard the call for special service and committed her life to full time missionary service. She was one of several other students making a decision at that service. Out of those there were six students who would serve in the Sierra Leonean United Brethren mission field.

After a short stay at her home, she accepted a call from the United Brethren Missions Board. She was consecrated on October 4, 1931 during a service held at the College Park church at which Bishop A. M. Johnson officiated. She left Huntington, Indiana on October 21, 1931 and arrived in Bonthe, Sierra Leone on November 18, 1931. There she spent two terms serving as a teacher and a matron at the Minnie Mull Memorial School for girls.

After returning home in November of 1940 Martha Anna decided to study nursing because she felt the need for health care in the tropical countries. She began her training at the Indiana University Training School for Nursing in August of 1941. She graduated in November of 1944 with her nursing degree. In December she accepted a position at Huntington College as the college nurse and as an instructor. By March 1947, however, she was back in Gbangbaia, Sierra Leone as a missionary nurse. She served there until July 1, 1965.

In the late 1940s, she and Rev. Earl Ensminger were one of the original planners of the missions hospital in Mattru, Jong, twenty-five miles from Gbangbaia. But even after the construction of the hospital at Mattru Martha remained for most of her mission service at the Gbangbaia Dispensary where she was in the presence of the people who knew her and whom she loved. She especially had a love for the women of Sierra Leone and their children. Her work at the Dispensary was widely recognized by all the people in that area of Sierra Leone and the Bonthe District.

She retired on July 1, 1965 from active missionary service in order to accept employment with Sherbro Minerals Ltd. as the company’s chief nurse. She had been working closely with the company as a visiting nurse during the previous ten years. This new service allowed her to “have close contact with a large number of our nationals and in this position [I] will have more time for counseling and encouraging them in Christian growth.” She was in contact with several Americans and Europeans from various environments and religious backgrounds so this challenged her to maintain an effective witness. On Sundays, the forty families that lived in this area gathered together for a church service and Martha assisted with the service by helping out with the children’s’ ministry.

She served at the mining company for seven years then returned to Corunna, Indiana and Auburn, Indiana where she continued to serve the Lord. Miss Bard passed away on July 3, 1996 at the age of eighty-nine. A service to celebrate her life and death was held at the Corunna United Brethren Church.

article by Carrie Reese, HM 2001
revised by R. L. Neuman, 2005

Sources:

Martha Anna Bard biographical file. United Brethren Historical Center

"Well done ..." The United Brethren 28 Apr. 1965: 9

"Journeys of a missionary" Missionary Monthly Mar. 1935.

"Miss Bard returns home" Missionary Monthly Dec. 1940: 10.

Writings:

"Home on furlough" Missionary Monthly Dec. 1940: 3