Cora Oliver
Cora Oliver | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1902 |
| Died | October 23, 1997 |
| NSA member | Central America 1951 - 1953 Belize 1967 - 1973 |
Cora Oliver (1902 - October 23, 1997) was an American Bahá’í who pioneered to Central America, opening Panama to the Faith, where she served as a National Spiritual Assembly member and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for opening Belize to the Faith.
Biography[edit]
Oliver was born in 1902. Her father passed when she was one month old and her mother passed while she was in High School. She married in her youth but her husband also passed a year and a half after their wedding and she suffered depression for a time.[1]
In 1930 she boarded with the Edgecomb family, who were Bahá’ís, in Richmond, New York, and she joined the religion.[1] After declaring she moved to Washington, D.C., where she was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly. In 1939 she pioneered to Panama with Louise Caswell and her efforts contributed to the establishment of the countries first Local Spiritual Assembly in 1945. She was also elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Central America in 1951 when the body was established.[2]
In 1953 Oliver pioneered to Belize arriving in the country on September 16. She was the first pioneer to the country and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for opening it to the Faith. She was joined in the country by Shirley Warde who had independently decided to pioneer to the country and they stayed together, initially in a boarding house then renting a home together in Belize City.[2] Oliver secured work for the U.S. Mission in the city.[3]
They encountered difficulty in teaching the Faith at first, initially focusing on the upper class of the city, with the local population regarding them with suspicion but in 1957 two people declared,[4] and by 1958 the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Belize was formed with the community having eleven Bahá’ís.[3] After the Local Assembly was formed Oliver and Warde began visiting villages surrounding the city to teach the Faith.[3]
In 1963 Oliver and Warde atteneded the First Bahá’í World Congress in London, England, and after returning to Belize they began to focus their efforts on teaching in the Western District of Belize assisted by Hidáyatu’lláh Aḥmadíyyih.[3] Their efforts contributed to the expansion of the Bahá’í community of Belize and in 1967 Oliver was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of Belize, with the country having twenty-five Local Spiritual Assemblies and 1,250 Bahá’ís by 1970.[5]
In 1973 Oliver moved to Guatemala for a short time then returned to the United States.[5][6] She passed away in America in 1997.[6]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Earl Redman, The Knights of Baha'u'llah, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 305
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Earl Redman, The Knights of Baha'u'llah, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 306
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Earl Redman, The Knights of Baha'u'llah, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 309
- ↑ Earl Redman, The Knights of Baha'u'llah, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 307
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Earl Redman, The Knights of Baha'u'llah, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 310
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The American Baha'i, Vol. 28(10), p 35
