a report to the Methodist Mission in England, recommending the establishment of boarding schools to train preachers, teachers and catechists, outside the influence of the traditional animist society. He drew up a school curriculum which left out the study of native languages as well as manual labour for boys. T. B. Freeman organised missionary meetings on a frequent basis. The first event, held on 3 September 1838 at the Cape Coast Castle, was presided over by Governor George Maclean. On that day, there was a prayer meeting at 6am, a mass wedding ceremony for six couples at 7:30am, a quarterly meeting at 11am. A platform was constructed in the afternoon and an evening event began at 7:15pm. This inaugural missionary meeting was novel in that it was chaired by a secular political leader. Today, it is customary for public Methodist events in Ghana to be presided over by non-church agents. Arising from the meeting, Freeman founded a Methodist church, Wesley Cathedral in Accra, in October 1838 at the behest of Fante Methodists living in the Accra suburb of Jamestown – a hub for British merchants at the time. He also established a school near the church and appointed John Martin as its headmaster. In addition, Thomas Freeman established more missions along the coastal belt from Dixcove, 24 km (15 miles) southwest of Takoradi, to the west, to Winneba, 56 km (35 miles)) west of Accra, to the east. At Winneba, where a protégé of de Graft was serving as a missionary, twenty Christians who were mostly itinerant traders regularly met for services. On the missionary circuit, Freeman also toured Komenda, Elmina, Anomabu, Agyaa and Saltpond. Together with 15 exhorters and his probationer, William de Graft, five mission assistants, Joseph Smith, John Hagan, John Mills, John Martin and George Blankson, Thomas Freeman commissioned new chapels at Anomabu, Winneba, Saltpond, Abaasa and Komenda. Thomas Birch Freeman first ventured into Asante territory on 29 January 1839, with the intention of setting up a Wesleyan mission station there. From Cape Coast, Thomas Freeman and his mission assistants arrived at Fomena via Anomabu, an approximate midpoint between the Central Region and Ashanti Region. On the trek to Kumasi, he fell ill at a town called Domonasi. He quickly recovered and went to another town, Yankumasi where a receptive young chieftain, Asin Chibu gave him sheep and green plantains and instructed five porters to carry his