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I  t 


W.M.  J.   SIMMONS. 


MEN  OF  MARK: 


\  ■ 


Eminent,   Prog^ressive    and    Rising^. 


BY  REV.  WILLIAM  J.  SIMMONS^  D.  D., 
President  of  the  State  University,  Louisville,  Kentucky. 


WITH    AN   INTRODUCTORY   SKETCH    OF   THE    AUTHOR    BY   REV.  HENRY   U. 
TURNER,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  BISHOP    A.   M.   E.  CHURCH. 


flluatrated. 


CLEVELAND,  OHIO ! 

GEO.     M.     REWELL    &     CO. 

1887. 


i 


/;C^''^'-^'  •-''^^,. 


COPYRIGHT 
OBO.  M.  REWBLL  ft  CO. 

1887. 


vO 


PSB88  OP  W.  W.  WILLIAMS,  CLBTELAND,  O. 


MURRAY  ft  HBISS,  ENGRAYBR8. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  SOLD  BXCLUSIYBLY  BY  SUBSCRIPTION,  AND  IS  ROT 

FOR  SALE  IN  BOOK  STORES. 


i 


1 

\ 


THIS  YOLUMB  IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED 

TO 

THE  WOMEN  OF  OUR  RACE, 

AND 

ESPECIALLY  TO  THE  DEYOTED,  SELF-SACRIFICING 

MOTHERS 

WHO    MOULDED   THE   LIYES   OF   THE    SUBJECTS 

OF  THESE  SKETCHES,  LABORING   AND   PRAYING 

FOR   THEIR   SUCCESS.      IT  IS  SENT  FORTH  WITH 

THE    EARNEST    HOPE   THAT    FUTURE    MOTHERS 

WILL  BE  INSPIRED  TO  GIVE  SPECIAL  ATTENTION 

TO   THE    TRAINING    OF    THEIR    CHILDREN,    AND 

THEREBY   FIT   THEM   FOR    HONORABLE,    HAPPY 

AND  USEFUL  UYES. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


TO  PRESUME  to  multiply  books  in  this  day  of  excellent 
writers  and  learned  book-makers  is  a  rash  thing  per- 
haps for  a  novice.  It  may  even  be  a  presumption  that  shall 
be  met  by  the  production  itself  being  driven  from  the  market 
by  the  keen,  searching  criticism  of  not  only  the  reviewers, 
but  less  noted  objectors.  And  yet  there  are  books  that 
meet  a  ready  sale  because  they  seem  like  **Ishmaelites*' — 
against  everybody  and  everybody  against  them.  Whether 
this  work  shall  ever  accomplish  the  design  of  the  author 
may  not  at  all  be  determined  by  its  sale.  While  I  hope  to 
secure  some  pecuniary  gain  that  I  may  accompany  it  with 
a  companion  illustrating  what  our  women  have  done,  yet 
by  no  means  do  I  send  it  forth  with  the  sordid  idea  of 
gain.  I  would  rather  it  would  do  some  good  than  make 
a  single  dollar,  and  I  echo  the  wish  of  **  Abou  Ben  Adhem," 
in  that  sweet  poem  of  that  name,  written  by  Leigh  Hunt. 
The  angel  was  writing  at  the  table,  in  his  vision, 

Th€  names  of  those  who  love  the  Lord. 

Abou  wanted  to  know  if  his  w^as  there — and  the  angel  said 
''No.''    Said  Abou, 

I  pray  thee,  then,  write  me  as  one  that  loves  his  fellow-men. 


6  PREFACE. 

That  is  what  I  ask  to  be  recorded  of  me. 

The  angel  wrote  and  vanished.    The  next  night 

It  came  again,  with  a  great  awakening  light, 

And  showed  the  names  whom  love  of  God  had  blessed. 

And  lo !  Ben  Adhem*s  name  led  all  the  rest. 

I  desire  that  the  book  shall  be  a  help  to  students,  male 
and  female,  in  the  way  of  information  concerning  our 
great  names. 

I  have  noticed  in  my  long  experience  as  a  teacher,  that 
m€my  of  my  students  were  wofuUy  ignorant  of  the  work 
of  our  great  colored  men — even  ignorant  of  their  names. 
If  they  knew  their  names,  it  was  some  indefinable  some- 
thing they  had  done— just  what,  they  could  not  tell.  If  in 
a  slight  degree  I  shall  here  furnish  the  data  for  that  class 
of  rising  men  and  women,  I  shall  feel  much  pleased.  Here- 
in will  be  found  many  who  had  severe  trials  in  making 
their  way  through  schools  of  different  grades.  It  is  a 
suitable  book,  it  is  hoped,  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  intel- 
ligent, aspiring  young  people  everywhere,  that  they  might 
see  the  means  and  manners  of  men's  elevation,  and  by  this 
be  led  to  undertake  the  task  of  going  through  high  schools 
€md  colleges.  If  the  persons  herein  mentioned  could  rise 
to  the  exalted  stations  which  they  have  and  do  now  hold, 
what  is  there  to  prevent  any  young  man  or  woman  from 
achieving  gfreatness?  Many,  yea,  nearly  all  these  came 
fi-om  the  loins  of  slave  fathers,  and  were  the  babes  of 
women  in  bondage,  and  themselves  felt  the  leaden  hand  of 
slavery  on  their  own  bodies ;  but  whether  slaves  or  not, 
they  suffered  with  their  brethren  because  of  color.  That 
"sum  of  human  villainies*'  did  not  crush  out  the  life  and 


PREFACE.  7 

manhood  of  the  race.  I  wish  the  book  to  show  to  the 
world— to  our  oppressors  and  even  our  friends— that  the 
Negro  race  is  still  alive,  and  must  possess  more  intellectual 
vigor  them  any  other  section  of  the  humcm  family,  or  else 
how  could  they  be  crushed  as  slaves  in  all  these  years  since 
1620,  and  yet  to-day  stand  side  by  side  with  the  best 
blood  in  America,  in  white  institutions,  grappling  with 
abstruse  problems  in  Euclid  and  difficult  classics,  €md  mas- 
ter them  ?  Was  ever  such  a  thing  seen  in  another  people  ? 
Whence  these  lawyers,  doctors,  authors,  editors,  divines, 
lecturers,  linguists,  scientists,  college  presidents  and  such, 
in  one  quarter  of  a  century  ? 

Another  thing  I  would  have  them  notice,  that  the  spirit- 
uality of  this  race  was  not  diminished  in  slavery.  While  in 
bondage,  it  may  have  been  somewhat  objectionable,  as  seen 
in  the  practices  of  our  race,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
they  copied  much  from  their  owners — ^they  never  descended 
to  the  level  of  brutes,  and  were  kind,  loving  and  faithful. 
They  patiently  waited  till  God  broke  their  chains.  There 
was  more  statesmanship  in  the  Negro  slaves  than  in  their 
masters.  Thousands  firmly  believed  they  would  live  to  be 
free,  but  their  masters  could  not  be  persuaded  to  volunta- 
rily accept  pay  from  the  government,  and  thus  save  the 
loss  they  afterwards  bore  through  the  ** Emancipation." 
They  went  to  war  and  fought  **the  God  of  battles,'*  but 
the  slaves  waited,  humbly  feeding  the  wives  and  children 
of  those  who  went  to  battle  to  rivet  their  chains.  To  my 
mind,  one  of  the  most  sublime  points  in  our  history  is 
right  here.  We  never  harmed  one  of  these  helpless  women 
and  children — ^they  testified  of  that  themselves.    And  yet 


8  PREFACE. 

they  tell  stale  lies  of  ravishing  now,  when  the  war  is  over, 
and  freedom  gained,  and  when  the  men  are  all  home. 
No,  God  has  permitted  us  to  triumph  and  through  Him .  He 
implanted  in  us  a  vigorous  spiritual  tree,  and  since  free- 
dom, how  has  this  been  growing?  Untrammelled,  we 
have,  out  of  our  ignorance  and  penury,  built  thousands  of 
churches,  started  thousands  of  schools,  educated  millions 
of  children,  supported  thousands  of  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel, organized  societies  for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  the 
burying  of  the  dead.  This  spirituality  and  love  of  oflF- 
spring  are  indubitable  evidences  that  slavery,  though  long 
and  protracted,  met  in  our  race  a  vigorous,  vital,  God-like 
spirituality,  which  like  the  palm  tree  flourishes  and  climbs 
upward  through  opposition. 

Again,  I  admire  these  men.  I  have  faith  in  my  people. 
I  wish  to  exalt  them ;  I  want  their  lives  snatched  from  ob- 
scurity to  become  household  matter  for  conversation.  I 
have  made  copious  extracts  from  their  speeches,  sermons, 
addresses,  correspondence  and  other  writings,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  showing  their  skill  in  handling  the  English  lan- 
guage, and  to  show  the  range  of  the  thoughts  of  the 
American  Negro.  I  wish  also  to  furnish  specimens  of  Negro 
eloquence,  that  young  men  might  find  them  handy  for 
declamations  and  apt  quotations.  It  was  hard  to  draw 
the  line  in  making  many  selections,  and  I  do  not  claim 
that  a  better  selection  might  not  be  made.  Indeed  I  am 
aware  that  many  are  entitled  to  a  place  here,  and  the 
reader  may  think  I  did  wrong  in  selecting  some  of  my  sub- 
jects ;  but  I  ask  no  pardon  for  the  names  I  present.  They 
may  be  the  judgment  of  a  faulty  brain,  and  yet  there  is 


PRBFACE.  9 

tntich  to  admire  in  all.  The  extent  of  our  country  makes 
it  impossible  to  secure  all  who  may  be  '^  eminent,  progres- 
sive and  rising."  I  trust  I  have  presented  a  representative 
of  many  classes  o(  those  who  labor.  The  book  may  there- 
fore be  a  suggestion  for  some  one  to  do  better. 

The  illustrations  are  many,  and  have  been  presented  so 
that  the  reader  may  see  the  characters  face  to  face.  This 
writing  has  been  a  labor  of  love,  a  real  pleasure.  I  feel 
better  for  the  good  words  I  have  said  of  these  gentlemen. 
There  is  no  great  literary  attempt  made.  I  have  not  tried 
to  play  the  part  of  a  scholar,  but  a  narrator  of  facts  with 
here  and  there  a  line  of  eulogy.  The  book  is  full ;  and  has 
already  passed  the  limit  of  first  intentions.  I  am  in  debt 
to  many  gentlemen  for  their  kindness— especially  to  Rev. 
Alexander  Crummell,  D.  D.,  for  the  use  of  books;  Hon. 
James  M.  Trotter  for  the  loan  of  cuts  taken  from  his  work 
'Music  and  Some  Highly  Musical  People;'  Rev.  R.  De 
Baptiste  for  assistance  in  securing  sketches;  Rev.  B.  W. 
Amett,  D.  D.,  loan  of  books;  Hon.  John  H.  Smythe  for 
assistance  in  sketches  and  pictures  of  E.  W.  Blyden  and 
President  W.  W.  Johnson ;  General  T.  Morris  Chester,  for 
picture  of  Ira  Aldridge  and  facts  on  his  life ;  Professor  W. 
S. Scarborough  for  many  kind  helps;  Rev.  J.  H.  Greene,  for 
cut  of  Augustus  Tolton  and  facts  in  his  life ;  William  C. 
Chase,  John  W.  Cromwell,  T.  McCants  Stewart,  Hon.  D. 
A.  Straker,  Marshall  W.  Taylor,  D.  D.,  Hon.  P.  B.  S.  Pinch- 
back,  Hon.  H.  O.  Wagoner,  Rev.  Rufus  L.  Perry  and  many 
others,  and  pre-eminently  do  I  feel  grateful  to  Bishop  H.  M. 
Turner,  my  distinguished  friend,  who  trusts  his  own  good 
name  by  associating  it  with  this  poor  effort.    May  God 


10  PREFACE. 

bless  him  for  this  kind  act  to  a  beginner  in  book-making. 

This  book  goes  out  on  the  wing  of  a  prayer  that  it  will 

do  great  good. 

WiLUAM  J.  Simmons. 
May,  1887. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  /  "™ 


<^ 


HoK  Frederick  Douglass.  LL.  D. 
Magnetic  Orator— Anti-Slavery  Editor— Marshal  of  the  District  of 
Colnmbia— First  Citizen  of  America— Eminent  Patriot  and  Dia- 
tingnished  Republican 6& 

CHAPTER  II. 

Rev.  W.  B.  Derrick,  D.  D. 
Minister  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— Pulpit  Orator S9 

CHAPTER  III. 

Philip  H.  Murry,  Esq. 
Phrenologist— Editor— Philosopher 97 

CHAPTER  IV. 

1 

Crispcs  Attucks. 
First  Martyr  of  the  Revolutionary  War— A  Negro  whose  Blood 

was  given  for  Liberty— Blood  the  Price  of  Liberty 103 

CHAPTER  V. 

Granville  T.  Woods,  Esq/ 
Sectridan— Mechanical  Engineer— Manufacturer  of  Tdephonea^ 

Telegraph  and  Electrical  Instruments ^^'^ 


12  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI.  PAOB 

Hon.  Jbrbioah  A.  Brown. 
Legislator— Carpenter  and  Joiner— Clerk— Duputy  Sheriff— Tom- 
key— Letter  Carrier 113 

CHAPTER  VII. 

William  Calyin  Chase,  Esq. 
Editor  of  the  Washington  Bee— A  Vigorous  and  Antagonistic 

Writer— Politician— Agitator 118  (/^ 

CHAPTER  VIII.  V 

Rbv.  James  W.  Hood,  D.  D. 
Bishop  Of  the  A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church— Church  Organizer  and  Builder 
—Assistant  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction— His  many 
Contests  for  Civil  Rights  on  Steamboats  and  Cars 133 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Hon.  Samuel  R.  Lowery. 
Silk  Culturist— Lawyer— Editor 144 

CHAPTER  X.         '    • 

William  Still,  Esq.          "^ 
\  Philanthropist— Coal  Dealei^-Twenty  Years  Owner  of  the  largest 
^  Public  Hall  Owned  by  a  Colored  Man— Author 149 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Professor  J.  W.  Morris,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  LL.  B. 
President  of  Allen  University,  Columbia,  S.  C— Professor  of  Lan- 
guages    162    '^ 

CHAPTER  XU.  ^ 

Hon.  Robert  Smalls. 
Congressman— Pilot  and  Captain  of  the  Steamer  "  Planter." 165 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Henry  Ossawa  Tanner. 
A  Rising  Artist— Exhibitor  of  Paintings  in  the  Art  Galleries— Illtts- 
trator  of  Magazines 180 


/ 


CONTENTS.  13 

CHAPTER  XIV.  PAGR 

Rby.  Andsbw  Hbatbl 
A  Minister  of  the  Gospel,  Eminent  for  liis  Piety ^  18& 

CHAPTER  XV. 

H.  C.  Smith,  Esq.. 
Prominent  Editor— Pirst-Class  Musician— Deputy  Oil  Inspector  of 
Oluo— Song  Writer— Leader  of  Bands— Cometist 194 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Rbv.  John  Bunyan  Rbsyb,  A.  B.,  D.  D. 
DistingQished  Presbyterian  Divine— Professor  of  Howard  Univer- 

sitj  Theological  Department I99.  \y^ 

CHAPTER  ;XVII. 

Thomas  J.  Bowsss,  Esq. 
Tlic  American  ''  Mario  "—Tenor  Vocalist. 202 

CHAPTER  XVin. 

Rbt.  Nicholas  Pranklin  Roberts,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 
Professor  of  Mathematics— President  of  the  Baptist  State  Conven- 
tion of  North  Carolina— Moderator  of  One  Hundred  Thousand 
Baptists 206    ^'"'^^^ 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Hon.  Theophile  T.  Allain. 
State  Senator  of  Lotiisiana— Agitator  of  Educational  Measures 

and  Internal  Improvement— Contractor  for  Repairing  Levees...  2O8    t.-^ 

CHAPTER  XX.    , 

Denmark  Veazib.       ^ 
••Black  John  Brown  "—Martyr. 231 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Professor  J.  E.  Jones,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Professor  of  Homiletics  and  Greek  in  the  Theological  Seminary, 
Richmond,  Va.  —  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Baptist 
Foreign  Mission  Convention 234   ^^ 


% 


14  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXII.  PAGE 

JOHK  WSflLBT  TBKST,  EsQ. 

Poreman  of  the  Ironing  and  Pitting  Department  of  the  ChicBgo 
West  Division  Street  Car  Company— Director  and  Treasurer  of 
the  Chicago  Co-operative  Packing  and  Provision  Company— 
Director  of  the  Central  Park  Building  and  Loan  Association 240  «/^' 

CHAPTER  XXni. 

William  E.  Matthews,  LL.  B. 

Broker— Real  Estate  Agent— Financier  and  Lawyer 246 

% 
CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Ret.  James  Alfred  Dukn  Podd. 
Superintendent  of  Schools— Editor— Brilliant  Pastor 252 

CHAPTER  XXY. 

Hon.  Hensy  Wilkhcb  Chandler,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 
Member  of  the  State  Senate,  Florida— Capitalist— La w^ci'    City 

Clerk  and  Alderman 257  y^ 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Rev.  Theodore  Doughty  Miller,  D.  D. 
The  Eloquent  Pastor  of  Cherry  Street  Baptist  Church,  Pliiladd* 

phia.  Pa.— A  Veteran  Divine  Distinguished  For  Long  Service 260    "^ 

CHAPTER  XXVIL 

J.  D.  Baltimore,  Esq. 
Chief  Engineer  and  Mechanician  at  the  Freedmen's  Hospital— Ba-  * 

gineer— Machinist— ^Inventor 267 

CHAPTER  XXVin. 

J.  R.  Clifford,  Esq. 
.Editor— Lawyer— Teacher— Orator 273 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Wiley  Jones,  Esj2- 
The  Owner  of  a  Street  Car  Railroad,  a  Race  Track  and  a  Park<-A 

Capitalist  Worth  $125,000 278 


CONTENTS.  15 

CHAPTER  XXX.  paob 

PftOPB880R  John  H.  Burros,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Pmtdent  of  Akom  UmTerritj— Professor  of  Mental  and  Moral 
Pliflosophj  and  Constitutional  Law— Tciacher  of  Political 
Bcooomy,  Literature  and  Chemistry— Attorney  at  Law 281  y^ 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Hbnrt  F.  WiLLuuis,  Esq. 
Composer— Violinist  and  Cometist— Band  Instructor 286 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Rbt.  Edmund  Kblly. 
Christian  Letter-Writer— Lecturer  and  Author 291 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Rbt.  Prbston  Taylor.  x 

Pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Disciples,  Nashville,  Tennessee— General 

Financial  Agent  of  the  College— Big  Contractor 296   ^^ 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Solomon  G.  Brown. 

Distinguished  Scientist— Lecturer— Chief  Clerk  of  the  Transporta- 
tion Department  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  Washington, 
D.  C. — Entomologist— Taxidermist— Lecturer  on  "  Insects"  and 
"Geology." 302 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

John  Mitchell,  Jr. 

The  Gamest  Negro  Editor  on  the  Continent— A  Man  of  Grit  and 
Iron  Nerve— A  Natural  Bom  Artist 314 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Rev.  London  Ferrill. 

Pastor  of  a  Church  Incorporated  by  a  State  Legislature— An  Old 
Time  Preacher— Hired  by  Town  Trustees  to  Preach  to  Colored 
People 321 


* 


> 


/ 


16  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 

FAGB 
PROPBSSOft  RiCHAKD  ThBODOSB  GftBBNBS,  A.  B.,  LL.  B.,  LL.  D. 

Cliief  Civil  Service  Bxaminer— Lawyer— Metaphyndan,  Logidaa 

and  Orator— 'Prise  BBsayist— Dean  of  the  Law  Department  of  . 

Howard  University 327  >r 

CHAPTER  XXXVni. 

Captain  Paul  Cuffbb. 

Sea  Captain—Wealthy  Slup  Owner— Petitions  to  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature  against  "Taxation  without  Representation*' 
Petition  Granted , 33^ 

CHAPTER  XXXIX.     ^        - 

Rbt.  Alexander  Walters. 
Financier  and  Pulpit  Orator ^   340 

CHAPTER  XL. 

BsitjAMiN  Bannee:er.- 
Astronomer— Philosopher— Inventor— Philanthropist 344  K 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

Rev.  Richard  DeBaptistb,  D.  D. 
Corresponding  Secretary  and  Beloved  Disciple 352 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

Hon.  George  French  Ecton. 
Representative  from  the  Third  Senatorial  District,  Chicago— From 
the  Plowhandles  to  the  Legislature— From  the  Capacity  of  a 
Waiter  to  that  of  Legislator 358 

CHAPTER  XLUI. 

Professor  Newell  Houston  Ensley. 
Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Sciences— Hebraist— Musician 361 

CHAPTER  XLIV.         \     / 

Rev.  Christopher  H.  Pavnb. 
Preacher,  Editor  and  Soliciting  Agent •  368 


• 

> 


.^ 


CONTENTS.  17 

CHAPTER  X.LV.  pag» 

Propbssor  Pbtbr  Humphries  Clark,  A.  M. 
Educator— Editor  and  Agitator 374 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 

Justin  Holland,  Esq. 

Musical  Author  and  Arrangei^Performer  on  the  Guitar,  Flute  and 

the  Piano  Forte 384 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 

Professor  William  Hooper  Council. 

President  State  Normal  and  Industrial  School,  Huntsville,  Alabama 

—Editor  and  Lawyer 390  "C*^ 

CHAPTER  XLVni. 

Rev.  James  Poindbxtbs,  D.  D. 

Advocate  of  Human  Rights— Minister  of  the  Gospel  and  Agitator- 
Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry — Member  of , the  Board  of 
Education  of  the  City  of  Colimibus,  Ohio 394  ^^^^ 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

Richard  Mason  Hancock,  Esq. 

Foreman  of  the  Pattern  Shops  of  the  Eagle  Works  Manufacturing 
Company,*  Chicago,  Illinois— Mathematician,  Draughtsman, 
Carpenter — Foreman  of  the  Liberty  Iron  Works  Pattern  Shops..  4-05  v^ 

CHAPTER  L. 

Professor  W.  S.  Scarborough,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  LL.  D. 

Author  of  a  Greek  Text  Book — Scientist— Lecturer — Scholar — Stu- 
dent of  Sanscrit,  Zend,  Gothicand  Luthanian  Languages 410 

CHAPTER  LI.    ./ii83doiO— iaifiiloi'/ofo;? 

Rev.  Solomon  T.  CLA)^^<j;t..  A.  B.,  B.  D. 

Instructor  of  Mathematics — Secretary  of  the  American  National 

,aDHir4  .J  sjTvIhah!)  .vhH    .         , ,.      . 
Baptist  Convention— Agent  of  the  American  Baptist  Publication 
g^  .  BmBdcIA  ,Aml38  ,xii8tt>vin'J  nm\^  lo  :tnobt?J^'^9 


18  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  LIl.  „,^„ 

PAGE 

Prof.  John  O.  Crosby,  A.  M.,  B.  B. 
Principal  State  Normal  School,  North  Carolina •••..•  422  ^f 

CHAPTER  Lin. 
Hon.  Francis  L.  Cardoza. 


Secretary  of  State— Treasurer  of  State— Professor  of  Languagec^— 

Principal  of  the  High  School,  Washington,  D.  C 428   /^ 


CHAPTER  LIY. 


Hon.  John  S.  Lbary,  LL.  B. 
Attorney  at  Law— Legislator— U.  S.  Deputy  Collector 43ft 

CHAPTER  LV. 

E.  S.  Porter,  A.  B.,  M.  D. 

Physician  on  the  Sanitary  Force  of  Louisville,  Kentucky— Medical 

Attendant  at  the  Orphans'  Home  and  the  State  University— Lee-  . 

turer 436    ^ 

ff 

CHAPTER  LYI. 

Rev.  Augustus  Tolton. 

The  first  and  only  Native  American  Catholic  Priest  of  African  De-  ^ 

scent,  through  both  Parents,  on  the  Continent 43$ 

CHAPTER  LYIL 

WiiLrLiAM  Wells  Brown,  Esq. 

Authoi^-Lecturer— Historian  of  the  Negro  Race— Foreign  Traveler 
—Medical  Doctor , 447 

CHAPTER  LVIII. 

Prof.  Walter  F.  Craig. 
Solo  Yiolinist— Orchestra  Conductor ••••  451 

CHAPTER  LIX. 

Rev.  Charles  L.  Purge,  A.  B. 
President  of  Selma  University,  Selma,  Alabama •  454  y 


y/ 


CONTENTS.  19 

CHAPTER  LX.  page 

Albxandbk  Dumas. 

Disttnguished  Pxench  Negro— Dramatist  and  Novelist— Voluminoits 

Writer 457 

CHAPTER  LXI. 

Rbv.  William  Reuben  Pbttiford. 
A  Successfid  Pastor— Trustee  of  Selma  Universitj »  460 

CHAPTER  LXn. 

Hon.  Robert  B.  Elliott. 

Congressmau— Eloquent  Oratoi^— Distinguished  Disciple  of  Black- 
stone 466 

CHAPTER  LXin. 

Professor  Inman  Edward  Page,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Principal  of  Lincoln  Institute — Oratorical  Prize  Winner  at  Brown 
University,  Providence,  Rhode  Island 474 

CHAPTER  LXIV. 

Rev.  E.  K.  Love. 

From  the  Ditch  to  the  Pastorate  of  5000  Christians— Editor  of  the 
Centennial  Record  of  Georgia— Associate  Editor^Honored  of 
God 481    ^ 

CHAPTER  LXV. 

J.  A.  Arneaux,  Esq. 

Professional  Tragedian,  '*  Black  Booth  "-Editor— Poet— Graduate 
of  two  French  Institutions  of  Learning 484 

CHAPTER  LXVI. 

Rev.  Richard  Allen.  \^y^ 

First  Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— An  Eminent  Preacher— A 
Devout  Man 491 


? 


/ 


20  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  LXVII.  page 

Hon.  Samuel  Allen  McElwee,  A.  B.,  LL.  B. 
Lawyer— Lcgislatoi^-President  of  the  Tennessee  Fair  Association 

—Orator— Speech  in  the  Legislature  on  Mobs 49g   t^ 

CHAPTER  LXVIII. 

Rev.  Lott  Carey. 
First  American  Missionary  to  Africa 506     v 

CHAPTER  LXIX. 
Hon.  John  Mercer  Langston,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  LL.  D. 
Lawyer— Minister  Resident  and  Consul-General— Charge  de  Affaires 

/ 


— ^President  of  the  Virginia  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute- 
Formerly  Dean  and  Professor  of  Law  in  Howard  University 510 


CHAPTER  LXX. 


Rev.  William  H.  McAlpine. 
Baptist  Divine— President  of  a  College— Editor  of  a  Weekly  Journal.  524  \J 


? 


CHAPTER  LXXL 

Rev.  Alexander  Cruhmell,  A.  B.,  D.  D. 

Rector  of  St.  Lake's  Church,  Washington,  D.  C— Professor  of 
Mental  and  Moral  Science  in  the  College  of  Liberia— Author 530 

CHAPTER  LXXII. 
Hon.  George  H.  White. 


y 


K  Member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Only  Colored 

State  Solicitor  and  Prosecuting  Attorney 536    \^ 


CHAPTER  LXXm. 

Hon.  Josiah  T.  Settle,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  LL.  B. 

Eminent  Lawyer— Assistant  Attorney-General  of  Shelby  County, 

Tennessee— Eloquent  Orator— Legislator 538 


^ 


\ 


\ 


CONTENTS.  21 

CHAPTER  LXXIV.  page 

WnxiAM  H.  Gibson,  Esq. 

School  Teacher  in  Slavery  Daj»— Musician— Mail  Agent— Revenue  y 

Agent— Grand  Master  U.  B.  of  Friendship 545     ^ 

CHAPTER  LXXV.      ,^ 

Hon.  Gborgb  W.  Williams,  LL.D. 

"The  Most  Eminent  Negro  Historian  in  the  World— Author  of 
World  Wide  Reputation— Legislatoiv-Jndge-Advocate  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic— Novelist — Scholar— Magnetic  Ora- 
tor—Editor—Soldier—Preacher—Traveler—Minister to  Hayti...   549 

CHAPTER  LXXVI. 

Prop.  Willum  Evb  Holmbs,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 
Hebrew,  German  and  French  Scholar— Professor  in  the  Atlanta 

Baptist  Seminary 567  ^ 

CHAPTER  LXXVII. 

Rev.  Randall  Bartholomew  Vandervall,  D.  D. 
A  Self-Made  Man — A  Graduate  From  the  School  of  Adversity 57i* 


CHAPTER  LXXYIII. 

Rev.  Elijah  P.  Marrs. 
Preacher — Soldier — Treasurer 579 


cX^ 


CHAPTER  LXXIX. 

Rev.  Daniel  Jones. 
Presiding  Elder  of  the  M.  E.  Church — His  Hair-breadth  Escapes....  5HIU^ 

CHAPTER  LXXX. 

Rev.  Henry  N.Jeter. 
Baptist  Preacher 5SS 

CHAPTER  LXXXI. 

Rev.  J.  T.  White. 
Divine — Editor — State  Senator— Commissioner  Public  of  Works S\)\)  y 


22  CONT^TS. 

CHAPTER  LXXXn.  „,^„ 

PAGE 

Rev.  G.  W.  Gatlbs. 

The  last  Colored  State  Senator  in  the  Mississippi  Legislature^ 
Moderator  of  the  State  Convention— Member  of  the  Board  of 
Police - 594  {/ 

CHAPTER  LXXXIII. 

Hon.  Mifflin  Wister  Gibbs. 

Attorney  at  Law— The  first  Colored  Judge  in  the  United  States,  and 
an  active  Politician- An  Advocate  of  Industrial  Education- 
Contractor  and  Builder 597  ^^ 

CHAPTER  LXXXIV. 

Wn^LiAM  H.  Steward,  Esq. 
Grand  Master— Secretary— Business  Manager— Letter  Carrier 603^  ^ 

CHAPTER  LXXXV. 

Rev.  Frank  J.  Grimke,  A.  B. 

Learned  and  Eloquent  Presbyterian  Divine— Touching  Memorial 

on  leaving  Washington,  D.C 608  ^ 

CHAPTER  LXXX  VI. 

Hon.  Robert  Harlan. 

Legislator- A  Fugitive  from  Prejudice— Resident  in  England  Ten 

Years 613  v/ 

CHAPTER  LXXXVII. 

Dr.  Anthony  William  Amo. 

A  Learned  Negro— Student  at  Halle— Skilled  in  Latin  and  Greek- 
Philosophical  Lecturer— Received  Doctorate  from  the  University 
of  Wittenberg,  and  Counselor  of  State  by  the  Count  of  Berlin..   617  j/ 

CHAPTER  LXXXVIU. 

Rev.  Rufus  L.  Perry  ,  Ph.  D. 

Editor— Ethnologist— Essajrist— Logician— Profound    Student    of 

Negro  History— Scholar  in  the  Greek,  Latin  and  Hebrew  Lan-  y 

guages 620  yy 


CONTENTS.  23 

CHAPTER  LXXXIX.  p^^jg 

Rby.  Baktlett  Taylor. 
Financier  andChtircli  Btiilder— Christian  Pioneer 626 

CHAPTER  XC. 

Professor  Jambs  M.  Gregory,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 
Bean  of  the  College  Department  of  Howard  University— Linguist.. »    631 

CHAPTER  XCI. 

Rey.  Daniel  Abraham  Gaddie,  D.  D. 
From  thfi  Blacksmith  Shop  to  the  Pulpit— Temperance  AdYOcate— 

Moderator  of  Fifty  Thousand  Baptists 647  1^ 

CHAPTER  XCII. 

W.  Q.  Atwood,  Esq. 
Irmnber  Merchant  and  Capitalist — Orator— 

661^ 

CHAPTER  XCIII. 

Rey.  Henry  Highland  Garnet,  D.  D. 
Minister  Resident  of  Liberia — Distinguished  Minister  of  the  Gospel,        \^ 
and  a  Brilliant  Orator 656 

CHAPTER  XCIV. 

Rey.  Leonard  A.  Grimes. 
Imprisoned  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  for  Assisting  Fugitive  Slaves  ^^ 

to  Escape  from  Slavery — A  Lovely  Disciple 062 

CHAPTER  XCV. 

Rev.  James  H.  Holmes. 
Pastor  of  a  Flourishing  Church  in  Richmond,  Virginia 666 

CHAPTER  XCVI. 

General  T.  Morris  Chester. 
General — Phonographer  and  Typewriter— Lawyer 671  ^/^ 

CHAPTER  XCVII. 

Rev.  Lemuel  Havnes,  A.  M. 
A  Disringuished  Theologian 677 


« 


24  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XCVIII.  i*aoe 

Hon.  H.  O.  Wagonbr. 
Compositor— Deputy  Sheriff— Clerk  of  the  Legislature 679^  ^ 

CHAPTER  XCIX. 

Rev.  Makcus  Daub. 
Shrewd  Financier  and  General  Manager— Business  Capacity  Shown.  ^^ 

CHAPTER  C. 

Charles  B.  Purvis,  A.  M.,  M.  D. 

Secretary  and  Treasurer— Professor  of  Obstetrics  and  Diseases  oi 
Women  and  Children — Surgeon  in  Chai^  of  Preedman's  Hospi- 
tal   690  ^ 

CHAPTER  CI. 

Professor  W.  H.  Crogman,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 
Professor  of  Classics  in  Clark  University 694  ^ 

CHAPTER  CII. 

Hon.  Blanche  K.  Bruce. 
United  States  Senator— Register  of  the  United  States  Treasury 699     •^ 

CHAPTER  CHI. 

J.  Dallas  Bowser,  Esq. 

Editor  of  the  Gate  City  Press — Grain  and  Coal  Merchant— Princi- 

pal  Lincoln  School 704.     ^ 

CHAPTER  CIV. 

Rev.  Jesse  Freeman  Boulden. 

Member  of  the  Lower  House  of  the  Legislature  of  Mississippi  in  Re- 
construction Times — Agent  of  the  American  Baptist  Publication 
Society 707    \/ 

CHAPTER  CV. 

Rev.  William  T.  Dixon. 
Veteran  Pastor  of  Concord  Baptist  Church,  Brooklyn,  New  York...  713    // 


CONTENTS.  25 

I 

CHAPTER  CVI.  PAOB 

Rbv.  Matthew  Campbell. 

One  of  God's  Srrvanta,  Pull  of  Years  and  Work  for  Christ— A  Thirty 

Years*  Pastorate— Married  2000  Couples 719 

CHAPTER  CVH. 

Rev.  C.  C.  Vaughn. 

^tate  Grand  Chief  of  I.  O.  Good  Samaritans  and  Daughters  of  Sa^ 

maria— Preacher  and  Teacher 723 

CHAPTER  CVin. 

Rev.  Harvey  Johnson. 

Bminent   Baltimore  Pastor— Prominent   in  the  Conndls  of  his 

Chnrch 720 

CHAPTER  CIX. 

Ira  ALDRIDGEr 

The  African  Tragedian— The  *'  African Roscius" 733 

CHAPTER  ex. 

Hon.  George  L.  Ruffin,  LL.  B. 

Judge  of  the  Charlestown  District,  Massachusetts— From  the  Bar- 
ber's Chair  to  the  Bench 740    \y 


• 


CHAPTER  CXI. 

Professor  D.  Augustus  Straker,  LL.  B.,  LL.  D. 
Dean  of  Law  Department — Lawyer — Orator  and  Stenographer 744  *^ 

CHAPTER  CXII. 

Rev.  John  Hudson  RroDiCK. 
Preacher— Councilman— Deputy  Marshal 752 

CHAPTER  CXIII. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Price,  A.  B. 
President  Livingstone  College — Great  Temperance  Orator 754 


1 

A 


26  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  CXIV.  V  page 

Hon.  Pincknby  Bbnton  Stbwakt  Pinchback. 

Governor— Lieutenant-Governor— United  States  Senator— Lrawyer 

— Hi8  Daring  ''Railroad  Race  "—Eminent  Politician— Wealthy  ^ 

Gentleman 759    ^ 

CHAPTER  CXV. 

Alexander  Pbtion. 
President  of  Hayti— Skillful  Engineer— Educated  at  the  Militaiy 

School  of  France 782     / 

CHAPTER  CXVI. 

Timothy  Thomas  Portunb,  Esq.  . 

Bditor—Author— Pamphleteer— Agitator 786  \/ 

CHAPTER  CXVn. 

Troy  Porter,  Esq. 

Plumber,  Gas  and  Steam  Fitter— Superintendent  of  Waterworks  / 

and  Town  Clerk 792-  ^ 

CHAPTER  CXVIII. 

Blind  Tom.    (Thomas  Bethune.)  . 

A  Remarkable  Musician— The  Negro  Pianist 794  \J 

CHAPTER  CXIX. 

Rev.  Henry  Adams.  \ 

A  Faithful  Pastor— A  Good  Man 798    ^ 

CHAPTER  CXX. 

J.  C.  Farley,  Esq. 
Photographer  and  Prominent  Citizen  of  Richmond,  Virginia 801    ^ 

CHAPTER  CX^I. 

Rev.  Henry  McNeal  Turner,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

Bishop  of  A.  M.  E.  Church— Philosopher— Politician  and  Orator 
—Eminent  Lecturer— Author— Intense  Race  Man— United  States 
Chaplain SOS^ 


CONTENTS.  27 

« 

CHAPTER  CXXII.  p^^^ 

Rbv.  John  W.  Stephenson,  M.  D. 
Chmxh  Buildciv-Financiciv-Drtiggist— His  Methods 820 

CHAPTER  CXXin. 

Professor  Joseph  Carter  Corbin,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction—Linguist— Master  of 
Latin,  Greek,  French,  Spanish,  Italian,  German,  Hebrew  and 
Danish— Profound  Mathematician    and    Musician— Organist, 
Pianist,  Flutist :. 829^ 

CHAPTER  CXXIV. 

Hon.  James  M.  Trotter. 
Recorder  of  Deeds— Author  of    Music  and  Some  Highly  Musical 
People.'     Assistant  Superintendent  of  the  Register  Letter  De^ 
partment,  Boston,  Massachusetts— Lieutenant  in  the  Army 833 

CHAPTER  CXXV. 

Rev.  Allen  Allbnsworth,  A.  M. 
The  Great  Children's  Preacher  of   the  Gospel — Chaplain  of  the 
Twenty-Fourth  Infantry  of  the  U.  S.— Presidential  Elector- 
Agent  of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society 843v.*^ 

CHAPTER  CXXVI. 

Rev.  George  Washington  Dupee. 
Eminent  Minister — Moderator  of  the  General  Association — Editor 
—Preacher  of  12000  Funeral  Sermons— Baptizer  of  8000  Can- 
didates    847 

CHAPTER  CXXVII. 

Samuel  C.  Watson,  M.  D. 
Druggist— Doctor— Member  of  City  Council— First  Colored  Clerk  of 
a  Steamboat  Owned  by  a  Colored  Man 860 

CHAPTER  CXXVIII. 

Rt.  Rev.  Richard  Harvey  Cain,  D.  D. 
Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— Congressman — Senator  in  the  . 

South  Carolina  Legislature — President  of  Paul  Quinn  College...    866    K^^ 


/ 


28  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  CXXIX.  p^^g 

Hon.  John  H.  Smythe,  LL.  B.,  LL.  D. 

United   States   Minister— Resident    Minister — Consul-General   to  /^ 

Liberia— Attorney  at  Law 87^ 

CHAPTER  CXXX. 

J.J.  Durham,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  M.  D. 

Valedictorian  in  the  Medical  School— A  Vigorous,  Convincing  De-  J 

bater— Preacher 878 

CHAPTER  CXXXI. 

Rev.  Benjamin  W.  Arnett,  D.  D. 

Financial  Secretary  of  the  A.M.  E.  Church— The  Statistician  of  his 
Church— Author— Editor  of  the  Budget— Legislator— Author  of 
.  the  bill  wiping  out  the  "  Black  Laws  '*  of  Ohio 883  \/ 

CHAPTER  CXXXn. 

Olandah  Equiano,  or  Gustavus  Vassa. 

A  Virginia  Slave— Purchases  His  Freedom — Sails  for  London — ^Pre-  . 

sents  a  Petition  to  the  Queen 892    V 

CHAPTER  CXXXin. 

John  W.  Cromwell,  Esy. 

Editor— Distinguished  English  Scholar— Lawyer— President  of  the 
Bethel  Literary  Society-,  Washington,  D.  C. — Examiner  and 
Register  of  Money  Order  Accounts 898  ^ 

CHAPTER  CXXXIV. 

Rev.  E.  M.  Brawlev,  D.  I). 

Editor  Baptist  Tribune — President  of  Selnia  University— Sunday 

School  Agent  of  South  Carolina 908  ^ 

CHAPTER  CXXXV.   -. 

James  W.  C.  Pennington,  D.  D.  > 

Able  Presbyterian  Divine— Greek,  Latin  and  German  Scholar 913 


CONTENTS.  29 

CHAPTER  CXXXVI.  paob 

Hon.  Edward  Wilmot  Blyden,  LL.  D. 

Llngtiist— Oriental  Scholar— Arabic  Professor— Magazine  Writer- 
Minister  Plenipotentiary— President  of  Liberia  College WS 

CHAPTER  CXXXVII. 

Rev.  B.  F.  Leb,  D.  D. 

Editor  of  the  Christian  Recorder— President  of  Wilberforce  Univer- 
sity for  Many  Years 922  vr 

CHAPTER  CXXXVIII. 

Hon.  J.  J.  Spelman. 
State  Senatoi>— Temperance  Orator— Eminent  Baptist  La3rman ®28 

CHAPTER  CXXXIX. 

Rev.  Marshall  W.  Taylor,  D.D, 
Editor  of  the  Southwestern  Advocate— Brilliant  Writer 933  ^^-^ 

CHAPTER  CXL. 

Toussaint  L'Ouverture. 
The  Negro  Soldier,  Statesman  and  Martyr 936^V^  ^ 

CHAPTER  CXLl. 

Hon.  Hisam  R.  Revels. 

United  States  Senator— A.  M.  E.  Preacher — President  of  the  Alcorn  . 

Universitv— Planter 948   >^ 

CHAPTER  CXLII. 

Rev.  Harrison  N.  Bouey. 
Missionary  to  Africa — Agent  American  Baptist  Publication  Society 

—District  Secretary 951  %X 

CHAPTER  CXLIII. 

Colonel  James  Lewis. 

Surveyor-General— Colonel  of  the  Second  Regiment  State  MUitia— 
Collector  of  the  New  Orleans  Port— Naval  Officer— Superintend- 
ent of  the  United  States  Bonded  Warehouses ^54 


30  COXTEXTS. 

CHAPTER  CXLIV.  p^oB 

Rbt.  B.  H.  Lifscoubb,  A.  B.,A.  M. 
Prerident  of  tbe  Wntcm  Union  Institnte — Professor  of  Rbetoric 

and  Mora]   PMosopb; — Preacbcr— Editor  of  tbe  Monntain  , 

Gkaaer 959    ^ 

CHAPTER  CXLV. 
Hon.  James  C.  Matthbw*. 
La'wycr  and  Recorder  of  Deeds.  Washington,  D.  C 964    '^ 

CHAPTER  CXLVI. 
Pkopessok  Wiluam  Howard  Dav.  D.D. 
Able  and  Forcible  Orator— Practical  Printer^  Veteran  Editor— 

PhnaDtbropist—AgiUtor—Progrcsgire  Race  Man 978  "^ 

;  ■                                                                                CHAPTER  CXLVII. 

I  Rbt.  Bekjauin  Tucker  Taknbr.  A.  M.,  D.  D. 

''  •                                    Editor  A.  M.  E.  Review— Twenty  Years  an  Editor— For  Manj 

h  Yearv  Editor  of  the  Christian  Recorder— Author  of  Ecdenas-              . 

'  tical  Works 966^ 

CHAPTER  CXLVIH. 

Gboffrbt  L 'Islet. 

Correspondent  of  the  French  Academy  of  ScicnAs— Versed  in  the   • 


Sciences  of  Botany,  Natural   Philosopby,  Zoology  and   As- 
tronomy   989 


y 


CHAPTER  CXUX. 
R.  C.  O.  Bbnjamin.  Esq. 


/ 


Lawyer— Antboi^Editor— Champion  of  tbe  Race M] 

CHAPTER  CL. 

HOK.  JOHK  J,  IRTNB. 

Clerk  oftbe  Circuit  Court  of  Chattanooga,  Tennessee 995  (z' 


CONTENTS.  81 

CHAPTER  CLI.  PAOE 

George  T.  Downing,  Esq. 

Aggressive  Politician— An  Intimate  Friend  of  Charles  Sumner— An 
Old  Time  Warrior  for  Free  Speech  and  Human  Rights— A  Man 
of  Pronounced  Convictions 1008 

CHAPTER  CUI.    \ 

Major  Martin  R.  DbLanet,  M.  D. 

Scientist— Ethnologist— Lecturer— Discoverer— Member  of  the  In- 
ternational Statistical  Conference 1007 

CHAPTER  CLIII. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Fields. 
An  Able,  Eloquent  Baptist  Divine— Popular  Historian— Lectureiv- 
The  Annihilator  of  Ingersollism 1016 

CHAPTER  CLIV. 

Robert  Pelham,  Jr. 

The  Able  Editor  of  the  Detroit  Plaindealer— A  Vigorous  Writer— An 

Active  Politician 1022  i/^ 

CHAPTER  CLV. 

Professor  B.  T.  Washington. 
Principal  of  the  Tuskegee  Normal  School — A  Successful  Career — 
A  Wonderful  Institution— Industrial  Education 1027 

CHAPTER  CLVI. 

Rev.  J.  P.  Campbell,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— The  Theologian  of  the  Denomi- 
nation  lOSl 

CHAPTER  CLVII. 

Nat.  Turner.  \y 

Insurrectionist 1086 

CHAPTER  CLVIII. 

Hon.  Hilery  Richard  Wright  Johnson. 
President   of   Liberia — An    Accomplished   English   and   Classical  . 

Scholar— A  Master  of  German,  French  and  Mathematics 1040  t/ 


32  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  CLIX.      V-  pagb. 

Hon.  John  R.  Lynch. 

Prominent  Politician— Orator— Lawyer — Congressman— Presided 

at  the  National  Republican  Convention 1042  \y 

CHAPTER  CLX. 
Rev.  p.  H.  A.  Braxton. 


/ 


Pastor  of  the  Calvary  Baptist  Church,  Baltimore,  Maryland— 

Writer— Speaker 1046 

CHAPTER  CLXL 

Professor  T.  McCants  Stewart,  A.  B.,  LL.  B. 
Attorney  at  Law— Professor  and  Author 1052 

CHAPTER  CLXn. 

Hon.  E.  p.  McCabe.  j 

Auditor  of  Kansas-County  Clerk-Successfttl  Politician 106&  u 

CHAPTER  CLXin. 

Rev.  Charles  Henry  Parrish,  A.  B. 

A  Rising  Young  Man— From  the  Position  of  Janitor  to  the  Secretary-  y^ 

ship  of  a  University 1059^  ^ 

CHAPTER  CLXIV. 

Rev.  John  Jasper. 
"The  Sun  Do  Move" 1064 

CHAPTER  CLXV. 


\/ 


James  E.J.  Capitein. 

A  Negro  Bom  in  Africa— Taken  to  Europe— Educated  in  Holland—  y 

Latin  Poet lOTa  v 

CHAPTER  CLXVL 

Rev.  D.  a.  Payne,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

Senior  Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— Educator  and  Author— 

The  Scholar  of  the  Denomination 1078 


CONTENTS.  33 

CHAPTER  CLXVII.  p^^^ 

Rev.  I.  M.  Burgan,  B.  D. 
President  of  Paul  Quinn  College— Educator— Pioneer 1086    ^ 

CHAPTER  CLXVUI. 

Rev.  W.J.  White. 
Editor  of  the  Georgia  Baptist 1095 

CHAPTER  CLXIX. 

Hon.  Alexander  Clark. 
Eminent  Mason— Lrawyei^Editor 1097 

CHAPTER  CLXX. 

Hon.  John  C.  Dancy. 

Editor  of  the  Star  of  Zion— Eminent  Layman  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Zion 

Church— Recorder  ofDceds  of  Edgecombe  Co-,  North  Carolina HOI  l/^ 

CHAPTER  CLXXI. 

Professor  Charles  L.  Reason. 
A  Veteran  New  York  School  Teacher— European  Traveler — One  of 


the  Giants  in  Anti-Slavery  Days 1105 

CHAPTER  CLXXn. 

Rev.  John  M.  Brown,  D.  D.,  D.  C.  L. 
An  Active  Bishop  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Church 1113  ^ 

CHAPTER  CLXXIII. 

Professor  David  Abner,  Jr. 

A  Rising  Young  Professor  in  Bishop  College,  Texas— Editor— Lee-  y 

turer 1119*^ 

CHAPTER  CLXXIV. 

Rev.  a.  a.  Whitman. 

Author  of  a  Book  of  Poems,  entitled,  *  Not  a  Man,  and  Yet  a  Man,' 

with  Miscellaneous  Poems 1122 


34  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  CLXXV. 

E.  M.  Bannister,  Esq.  pag^ 

An  Artist  Photographer— The  Gifted  Painter  of  Providence,  who 
.     was  Inspired  to  Paint  Pictures  by  a  Slur  in  the  New  York  ^ 

Herald  Twenty  Years  Ago .1127  ^ 

CHAPTER  CLXXVI. 

Hon.  C.  C.  Antoine. 

Lieutenant-Govemor  of  Louisiana— State  Senator— Prominent  Pol- 
itician  1132  V^ 

CHAPTER  CLXXVII. 

Jamxs  Matthew  Townsend,  D.  D. 

Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Parent  Home  and  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— A  Man  of  Perseverance  and 
Sound  Judgment IISS^^ 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


1  W.J.Simmons 

2  Frederick  Douglass.. 

3  Henry  M.  Turner 

4  W.B.  Derrick 

5  G.T.Woods 

6  Jere  A.  Brown 

7  W.  C.  Chase 

8  Samuel  R.  Lowery... 

9  William  Still 

10  Robert  Smalls 

11  H.  C.  Smith 

12  Thomas  J.  Bowers... 

13  Theophile  T.  Allain. 

14  J.E.Jones 

15  W.  E.  Matthews 

16  J.  D.  Baltimore 

17  J.  R.  Clifford 

18  Wiley  Jones 

19  J.  H.  Burrus 

20  Henry  F.  Williams... 

2 1  Preston  Taylor 

22  John  Mitchell,  Jr 

23  Richard  T.  Greener.. 
24-  Alexander  Walters... 
25  Richard  DeBaptiste. 


36  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

26  N.  H.  Ensley 

27  Justin  Holland 

28  James  Poindexler 

29  W.  S.  Scarborough 

30  JohnO.  Crosby 

31  Francis  L.  Cardoza 

32  JohnS.  Leary 

33  E.  S.  Porter 

34  Augustus  Tolton 

35  Charles  L.  Puree 

36  W.  R.  Pettiford 

37  InmanE.  Page 

38  J.  A.  Ameaux 

39  Samuel  A.  McElwee 

40  John  M.  Langston 

41  Alexander  Crummell 

42  J.  T.  Settle 

43  George  W.  Williams 

44  R.  B.  Vandervall 

45  Daniel  Jones 

46  H.  N.Jeter 

47  J.  T.  White 

48  G.  W.  Gayles 

49  M.  W.  Gibbs 

50  W.  H.Steward 

51  Robert  Harlan 

52  Rufus  L.  Perry 

63    James  M.  Gregory 

54  Daniel  A.  Gaddie 

55  W.  Q.  Atwood 

56  Henry  Highland  Garnet 

57  Leonard  A.  Grimes 

58  H.  O.  Wagoner 

59  Charles  B.Purvis 

60  B.  K.  Bruce 

61  Jesse  F.  Boulden 

62  W.  T.  Dixon 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  37 


63  Matthew  Campbell 

64  C.  C.  Vaughn 

65  Harvey  Johnson 

66  Ira  Aldridge 

67  D.  Augustus  Straker 

68  J.  C.  Price 

69  P.  B.  S.  Pinchback 

70  T.  T.  Fortune 

71  Blind  Tom 

72  J.  C.  Farley 

73  J.  C.  Corbin 

74  James  M.  Trotter 

75  Allen  AUensworth 

76  George  W.  Dupee 

77  Richard  H.  Cain 

78  John  H.  Smythe 

79  B.  W.  Amett 

80  Gustavus  Vassa.. 

81  John  W.  Cromwell 

82  E.  M.  Brawlev 

83  E.  W.  Blvden 

84  J.  J.  Spelman 

85  Toussaint  L  'Ouverture. 

86  H.  N.  Bouey 

87  James  Lewis 

88  J.  C.  Matthews 

89  B.  T.  Tanner 

90  John  J.  Irvine 

91  Martin  R.  DeLaney 

92  J.  B.  Fields 

93  Robert  Pelham,  Jr 

94  B.  T.  Washington 

95  J.  P.  Campbell 

96  John  R.  Lynch 

97  T.  McCants  Stewart 

98  E.  P.McCabc 

99  Charles  H.  Parrish 


38  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

100  P.  H.  A.  Braxton 

101  John  Jasper 

102  D.  A.  Pajme 

103  I.  M.  Burgan 

104?    Alexander  Clark 

105  Charles  L.  Reason 

106  David  Abner,  Jr 


>••• 


INTRODUCTION. 


ACCOMPANIED  BY  A  SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  REV.  W.  J.  ^ 

SIMMONS,  A.B.,  A.M.,  D.  D. 

IT  IS  a  historic  fact  that  Virginia  soil  has  been  rife  with 
Presidents,  but  truly  South  Carolina  has  given  to  the 
world  more  men  of  note  than  any  other  State  in  the  Union. 
In  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  June  29,  1849,  Edward 
and  Esther  Simmons,  two  slaves,  added  to  their  fortune 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  though  bom  in  poverty, 
shrouded  by  obscurity,  was  destined  to  make  for  himself  a 
aame  honored  among  men.  At  an  early  period  in  his  life, 
interested  parties  hurried  the  mother  with  three  small 
children  northward,  without  the  protection  of  a  husband 
and  father,  to  begin  a  long  siege  with  poverty.  When  the 
steamer  landed  at  Philadelphia  they  were  met  by  an  uncle, 
Alexander  Tardiff,  who  left  the  south  some  time  before. 
This  uncle,  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  displayed  the  virtues  of 
a  generous  nature  in  caring  for  the  mother,  William,  Eme- 
line  and  Anna  as  well  as  he  could,  with  prejudice  to  fight. 
These  w^ere  days  of  hardships  and  anxieties  so  keen  for  the 
little  family  that  even  now  the  survivors  speak  of  them 
in  hushed  tones  and  with  misty  eyes.    While  in  Philadel- 


40  INTRODUCTION. 

phia  they  were  harassed  by  slave  traders  who  seemed 
determined  to  burrow  them  out  of  their  hiding  place.  At 
this  time  disease  laid  his  hand  upon  them. 

Disasters  come  not  singly ; 
But  as  if  they  watched  and  waited, 

Scanning  one  another's  motions. 
When  the  first  descends,  the  others 

Follow,  follow,  gathering  flock-wise 
Round  their  victim,  sick  and  wounded. 

First  a  shadow,  then  a  sorrow, 
Till  the  air  is  dark  with  anguish. 

Huddled  together  in  the  garret  of  the  three-story  brick 
house  where  they  lived,  stricken  with  the  small-pox,  al- 
most destitute  of  food,  and  fearing  to  call  in  medical 
attendance  lest  by  attracting  attention  they  would  be 
carried  back  into  slavery ;  while  death  stared  them  in  the 
face,  fugitive  slave  hunters  rapped  at  the  door  of  the  front 
room  which  the  uncle  used  as  a  workshop.  These  beasts 
inhuman  flesh,  after  many  inquiries  and  cross-questionings 
were  so  misled  by  the  shrewd  uncle  that  they  went  away. 
Shortly  after,  the  uncle  finding  it  impossible  to  earn  a  liv- 
ing at  his  trade,  decided  to  go  to  sea.  The  family  was  left 
at  Roxbury,  Pennsylvania.  Here  for  two  years  the  faith- 
ful mother  toiled  morning,  noon  and  night,  at  washing 
and  other  hard  work  to  support  the  children  and  keep 
them  together.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time  the  uncle 
returned  and  carried  them  to  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  was  able  to  do  a  good  business;  but  the  same  old 
trouble  arose.  The  slave  traders  were  on  their  track 
again!  The  family  was  smuggled  away  to  Philadelphia 
and  remained  long  enough  for  the  uncle  to  secure  employ- 


INTRODUCTION.  41 

ment,  by  answering  an  advertisement  inserted  in  the 
papers  by  George  and  Arthur  Stowell,  Bordentown,  New 
Jersey,  for  a  journeyman  shoemaker.  At  this  place  it  was 
a  daily  contest  with  poverty  and  a  struggle  for  bread ; 
however,  the  children  were  kept  together,  and  none  were 
ever  hired  out.  During  the  entire  boyhood  of  William,  so 
hard  pressed  were  they  because  of  sickness,  dull  seasons  of 
work  and  other  difficulties,  that  never  a  toy,  so  dear  to 
childhood,  brightened  his  life ;  and  for  days  and  weeks, 
milk  and  mush  was  his  onlv  food.  He  never  attended  a 
public  school  in  his  whole  school  life.  The  uncle  having 
attended  school  in  Charleston  under  D.  A.  Payne,  now 
Bishop  Payne  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church,  was  a  fair  scholar 
and  undertook  the  education  of  "the  children,  laying  a 
foundation  so  broad  and  exact,  that  in  after  years  college 
studies  for  the  boy  were  comparatively  easy. 

William  was  by  no  means  a  good  **  Sabbath-keeping- 
bo  j'  "  such  as  we  read  of  in  books.  He  gave  considerable 
trouble  at  home  and  abroad.  In  1862  he  was  apprenticed 
to  Dr.  Leo  H.  DeLange,  a  dentist  in  Bordentown,  New  Jer- 
sey. So  far  as  giving  him  necessar}^  instruction,  the  doctor 
was  kind  to  him.  William  had  learned  so  thoroughly  all 
there  was  to  be  learned  in  the  profession,  that  when  the 
doctor  was  absent  he  was  able  to  do  a  large  part  of  the 
work.  Though  often  rebuffed  by  white  patients,  he  oper- 
ated on  some  of  the  best  families  in  the  city.  He  endeav- 
ored to  enter  a  dental  college  in  Philadelphia,  and  was 
refbsed  largely  on  account  of  color.  Unwilling  to  enter 
the  profession  without  a  thorough  knowledge,  such  as 
could  be  given  only  in  a  training  school,  he  decided  to 


42  INTRODUCTION. 

abandon  the  profession,  but  remained  with  the  doctor 
until  September  16,  1864,  at  which  time,  becoming  dis- 
gusted at  the  treatment  received  at  the  hands  of  the  doc- 
tor, he  ran  away  and  enlisted  in  the  Forty-first  United 
States  colored  troops. 

His  army  life  was  not  uneventful ;  he  took  part  in  bat- 
tles around  Petersburg,  Hatches  Run,  Appomattox  Court 
House,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Lee,  the  crisis 
out  of  which  our  own  happier  cycle  of  years  has  been 
evolved.  He  was  discharged  September  13,  1865,  and  in 
1866  and  1867  worked  as  journeyman  at  his  trade  for  Dr. 
William  H.  Longfellow,  a  colored  dentist  of  Philadelphia, 
after  which  he  returned  to  Dr.  DeLange. 

He  was  convierted  in  1867  and  joined  the  white  Baptist 
church  in  Bordentown,  pastored  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Custis,  a 
brilliant  man,  under  whose  influence  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  had  joined  the  church  that  spring. 

Although  the  only  colored  man  in  the  church,  he  was 
treated  with  much  kindness ;  and  when  his  call  to  the  Gos- 
pel ministry  was  made  known,  they  rallied  to  his  support, 
defraying  his  school  expenses  three  years.  The  New  Jersey 
State  Educational  Society  aided  him  to  attend  Madison 
University  of  New  York,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1868,  taking  the  academic  course.  Both  students  and 
teachers  were  his  warm  friends  and  are  to-day.  The  dark 
skinned  youth,  though  alone,  never  felt  the  sting  of  injus- 
tice at  their  hands.  September,  1868,  found  him  matricu- 
lated at  Rochester  University,  having  been  led  to  make  the 
change  by  an  ofier  of  additional  aid  by  laboring  in  a  small 
Baptist  church  in  Rochester,  and  because  there  he  found 


INTRODUCTION.  43 

colored  people  among  whom  he  could  associate  and  do 
missionary  work.  At  this  early  date  we  see  cropping  out 
the  love  for  the  race  which  in  after  years  became  one  of 
the  ruling  passions  of  his  life. 

One  pleasant  year  slipped  by,  and  the  freshman  year 
completed,  when  his  eyes  became  seriously  afiected.  The 
trouble  was  brought  on  by  continuous  night  study  of 
Greek  during  his  academic  year.  This  prevented  school 
attendance  until  the  year  1871  when  he  entered  Howard 
University,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  gradu- 
ated as  an  A.  B.  in  1873.  His  graduating  oration  treat- 
ing of  the  Darwinian  theory,  a  subject  then  very  popular 
in  literary  circles,  attracted  much  attention  and  news- 
paper comments.  Extracts  were  printed  in  a  paper  in 
England  devoted  to  science  and  literature. 

At  many  periods,  his  school  life  was  a  sequel  to  the  days 
of  deprivation  of  childhood.  Time  and  again  he  would  be 
forced  to  stay  indoors  while  having  his  only  shirt  laun- 
dried.  Poor  shoes  and  patched  clothes  were  the  rule,  not 
the  exception.  During  his  entire  course  he  did  not  have  a 
whole  suit  until  reaching  the  senior  year.  Once  he  ate 
cheese  and  crackers  three  weeks.  During  the  senior  year, 
September,  1872,  to  June,  1873,  he  walked  seven  miles  a 
day,  and  taught  school ;  came  home  and  drilled  the  cadet 
company  from  four  to  five ;  recited  at  night,  and  gradu- 
ated with  the  salutatory  of  the  class.  That  was  a  happy 
day;  by  frugality  he  had  saved  three  hundred  dollars. 
Commencement  day  for  him  ended  many  deprivations  and 
sacrifices  in  one  sense.  Both  have  come  since,  but  of  a  dif- 
fijrent  character  and  easier  to  bear.    In  the  world  one  can 


44  INTRODUCTION. 

find  means  of  replenishing  his  purse,  and  many  opportuni- 
ties of  changing  his  circumstances  ;  but  with  a  student  it 
is  different.  He  must  in  a  degree  be  stationary,  and  can- 
not move  around  for  the  purpose  of  getting  benefits. 

During  these  years  his  mother  lavished  on  him  the  devo- 
tion and  pride  of  a  loving  heart.  She  washed,  ironed  and 
labored  in  other  ways  .to  help  him.  In  this  she  was 
greatly  assisted  by  one  Bunting  Hankins  and  his  devoted 
wife  of  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  in  whose  family  she 
labored.  General  O.  O.  Howard,  president  of  Howard 
University,  and  General  E.  Whittlesey,  dean  of  the  college 
department,  showed  him  many  kindnesses  during  and 
after  college  days.  While  a  student,  he  showed  such  apt- 
ness to  teach  in  conducting  a  school  at  a  place  called 
Bunker's  Hill,  rebuilding  it  almost  fi-om  nothing,  that  the 
school-board  promoted  him  to  the  principalship  of  a  much 
larger  building,  with  several  hundred  scholars.  This  was 
the  Hillsdale  Public  school,  District  of  Columbia.  Here 
he  boarded  in  the  house  of  Hon.  Solomon  G.  Brown,  one 
of  the  ablest  scientists  in  this  country. 

Immediately  after  graduating,  he  took  Horace  Greeley's 
advice,  and  went  west,  to  Arkansas,  with  the  idea  of 
making  it  his  home;  was  examined  and  secured  a  State 
certificate  fi-om  the  Honorable  Superintendent  of  Educa- 
tion, J.  C.  Corbin,  but  soon  returned  to  Washington  and 
taught  at  Hillsdale  until  June,  1874. 

After  marrying  Josephine  A.,  the  daughter  of  John  and 
Caroline  Silence,  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia, 
August  25,  1874,  he  went  south.  By  this  union  they 
have  had   the   following    children:    Josephine   Lavinia, 


INTRODUCTION.  45 

William  Johnson,  Maud  Marie,  Amanda  Moss,  Mary 
Beatrice,  John  Thomas  and  Gussie  Lewis.  Desiring  to 
better  his  financial  condition  he  went  to  Florida,  Septem- 
ber, 1874,  and  invested  in  lands  and  oranges,  but  the  in- 
vestment did  not  prove  a  paying  one.  While  in  Ocala  (in 
1879)  he  was  ordained  a  deacon,  and  was  licensed  to 
preach  without  asking  for  it.  Pastored  at  a  small  station 
a  year  before  ordination,  after  which  time,  he  was  or- 
dained the  night  before  leaving  the  State. 

He  was  principal  of  Howard  Academy,  deputy  county 
clerk  and  county  commissioner.  Here,  too,  his  political 
tendencies  received  an  impetus.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
county  campaign  committee,  and  a  member  of  the  district 
congressional  committee.  Stumped  the  county  for  Hayes 
and  Wheeler,  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  State 
went  only  147  majority  for  Hayes,  it  is  quite  a  mate- 
rial thing  that  the  county  in  which  he  lived  raised  its 
quota  from  525  Republican  majority  to  986.  After  this 
he  returned  to  Washington  and  taught  public  school  until 
1879,  when  he  left  to  accept  the  pastorate  of  the  First 
Baptist  church,  Lexington,  Kentucky.  To  do  great  work, 
God  raises  up  great  men. 

September,  1880,  he  was  called  to  the  presidency  of  the 
Normal  and  Theological  institution  (as  it  was  then 
called),  a  school  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  Gen- 
eral Association  of  Colored  Baptists  of  Kentucky.  At  that 
time  the  school  had  but  thirteen  pupils,  two  teachers  and 
an  empty  treasury.  Says  The  Bowling  Green  Watchmen, 
a  State  paper  edited  by  Rev.  Eugene  Evans : 


46  INTRODUCTION. 

Few  men  of  Professor  Simmons'  ability  and  standing  would  have 
been  willing  to  risk  their  future  in  an  enterprise  like  the  Normal  and 
Theological  Institution;  an  enterprise  without  capital  and  but  a  few 
friends.  But  it  can  be  truly  said  of  Professor  Simmons,  that  he  has 
proven  himself  master  ot  the  situation.  The  school  had  been  talked  of 
for  nearly  twenty  years'  but  no  one  ever  dreamed  of  its  being  a  possibil- 
ity. When  he  was  elected  president,  every  cloud  vanished,  and  the  sun- 
shine of  success  could  be  seen  on  every  side.  Some  of  his  students  already 
rank  among  the  foremost  preachers,  teachers'  and  orators  of  the  State. 

As  an  educator,  he  has  likely  no  superiors.  Discarding 
specialism  in  education,  he  claims  that  ideal  manhood  and 
womanhood  cannot  be  narrowed  down  to  any  one  sphere 
of  action,  but  that  the  whole  being — every  faculty  with 
which  we  are  endowed — ^must  receive  proper  development. 
No  boy  or  girl  comes  under  his  influence  without  feeling  a 
desire  to  become  useful  and  great.  He  infuses  inspiration 
into  the  least  ambitious.  He  has  a  knack  of  "drawing 
out"  all  there  is  within.  No  flower  within  his  reach 
**  wastes  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air."  If  there  are  ele- 
ments of  usefulness  in  those  around  him,  he  trains  and 
utilizes  them.  As  a  president,  his  executive  ability  is  excel- 
lent. Students  admire,  respect  and  stand  in  awe  of  him; 
his  teachers  are  proud  of  him,  trust  his  judgment  and 
abide  by  his  decisions.  For  poor  students  he  has  the  ten- 
derest  sympathy,  especially  for  those  who  most  desire  an 
education  and  struggle  hardest  for  it.  He  rewards  those 
who  are  faithful  in  discharge  of  duty,  and  for  those  who 
.accomplish  something  he  has  words  of  cheer,  but  for  idlers 
nothing. 

September  29,  1882,  he  was  elected  editor  of  the  Ameri- 
can Baptist,  and  at  this  time  is  President  of  the  American 


48  INTRODUCTION. 

all  children  alike  ?  By  petition  of  our  own  and  by  favor  of  Democrats,  even 
when  put  to  a  popular  vote,  and  by  the  act  of  a  Democratic  legislature- 
Is  it  not  queer,  too,  that  we  never  thought  to  demand  of  our  party  that 
they  made  the  fight  for  us  ?  The  answer  is,  the  colored  man  is  such  a 
slave  to  party  that  his  blind  obedience  has  befogged  his  reason  so  that  he 
has  fought  the  white  man's  battles,  secured  office  for  him,  and  fought  for 
his  own  rights  unaided  in  "Negro  Conventions.'*  White  men  would  have 
made  a  broad  open  fight  and  demanded  the  Negro  votes.  After  the  con- 
vention was  over  the  Negroes  would  petition  the  very  legislature  mem- 
bers whom  they  had  fought  and  voted  against  in  every  county.  Negroes 
attempt  to  do  in  convention  what  they  ought  to  do  with  their  votes, 
and  are  driven  to  it  by  the  policy  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  South. 
We  should  change  this  thing." 

Dr.  Simmons'  activities  are  prominently  identified  with 
the  most  important  affairs  of  the  race.  Several  years  he 
has  been  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
"State  Convention  of  Colored  Men  of  Kentucky."  At  the 
meeting  in  Lexington,  November  26,  1875,  he  was  re- 
elected. The  call  of  the  said  meeting,  a  document  enumer- 
ating in  a  few  words  the  long  catalogue  of  injustices  prac- 
ticed upon  the  colored  citizens  of  the  State,  shows  a  high 
degree  of  statesmanship.    It  begins  thus : 

Fellow-citizens: — When  a  free  people,  living  in  a  body  politic,  feel 
that  the  laws  are  unjustly  administered  to  them ;  that  discriminations 
are  openly  made;  that  Various  subterfuges  and  legal  technicalities  are 
constantly  used  to  deprive  tljem  of  the  enjoyment  of  those  rights  and 
immunities  belonging  to  the  humblest  citizen ;  when  the  courts  become 
no  refuge  for  the  outraged,  and  when  a  sentiment  is  not  found  sufficient 
to  do  them  justice,  it  becomes  their  bounden  duty  to  protest  against  such 
a  state  of  affairs.  To  do  less  than  vigorously  and  earnestly  enter  our  pro- 
test is  to  cringe  like  hounds  before  masters,  and  to  show  that  we  are 
not  fit  for  freedom.  We  are  robbed  by  some  of  the  railroad  companies 
who  take  our  first-class  fares  and  then  we  are  dnvcn  into  smoking  cars, 
and,  if  we  demur,  ar^  cursed  and  roughly  handled.    Our  women  have 


INTRODUCTION.  49 

been  beaten  by  brutal  brakemen,  and  in  man\  cases  left  to  ride  on  the 
platforms  at  the  risk  of  life  and  limb. 

We  are  tried  in  courts  controlled  entirely  by  white  men,  and  no  col- 
ored man  sits  on  a  Kentucky  jury.  This  seems  no  mere  accident,  but  a 
determined  effort  to  exclude  us  from  fair  trials  and  put  us  at  the  mercy 
of  our  enemies,  from  the  judge  down  to  the  vilest  suborned  witness. 

When  charged  with  grave  ofienses,  the  jail  is  mobbed,  and  the  accused 
taken  out  and  hanged ;  and  out  of  the  hundreds  of  such  cases  since  the 
war,  not  a  single  high-handed  murderer  has  been  ever  brought  before  a 
court  to  answer.  Colored  men  have  been  deliberately  murdered,  and  few 
if  any  murderers  have  been  punished  by  the  law.  Indecent  haste  to  free 
the  criminal  in  such  cases  has  made  the  trial  a  farce  too  ridiculous  to  be 
called  more  than  a  puppet  show. 

The  penitentiary  is  full  of  our  race,  who  are  sent  there  by  wicked  and 
malicious  persecutors,  and  unjust  sentences  dealt  out  by  judges,  who  deem 
a  colored  criminal  fit  only  for  the  severest  and  longest  sentences  for  trivial 
oficnses. 

In  all  departments  of  the  State  we  are  systematically  deprived  of 
recognition,  except  in  menial  positions.  In  our  metropolitan  city,  and 
even  cities  of  lesser  note,  we  are  not  considered  in  the  appointments  in 
fire  companies,  police  force,  notary  public,  etc.  In  fact,  we  are  the  ruled 
class  and  have  no  share  in  the  government. 

Dr.  Simmons  was  chairman  of  the  committee  appointed 
by  the  convention  to  lay  before  the  Legislature  the  griev- 
ances of  the  271,481  colored  citizens.  His  speech  on  this 
occasion  was  a  masterpiece.  Says  the  Soldiers^  Reunion, 
a  paper  published  at  Lexington : 

The  speech  of  Rev.  W.  J.  Simmons,  D.  D.,  before  the  Kentucky  Legis- 
lature, was  one  of  the  ablest  efforts  ever  made  in  the  interests  of  the  col- 
ored people.  They  (the  Legislature)  have  ordered  two  thousand  copies 
printed. 

Said  he : 

Only  the  history  of  the  two  races  in  our  beautiful  cotyitry  could  give 
birth  to  such  a  scene  as  this.    That  we,  bom  Americans,  finding  distinc- 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

tions  in  law,  should  be  driyen  to  appeal  to  a  portion  of  the  same  body 
politic  for  rights  and  equalities;  and  though  American  sovereigns  our- 
selves, because  too  weak,  bend  the  suppliant  knee,  craving  that  we  might 
be  given  that  which  appears  rightly  ours  without  contest.  We  feel  some 
pride,  and  are  consequently  jealous  of  the  good  name  of  the  State  and  of 
the  United  States.  We  also  feel  humiliated  that  a  foreigner  who  has  never 
felled  a  tree«  built  a  cabin,  or  laid  a  line  of  railway,  seems  more  welcome 
to  this  shore,  and  is  accorded  every  facility  for  himself  and  children  to  make 
the  most  of  themselves,  even  before  naturalization  ;  while  we,  seeing 
them  happy  in  a  new-found  asylum,  and  knowing  you  from  our  youth 
up — our  mothers  washed  your  linen  and  nursed  you,  our  fathers  made 
the  soil  feed  you,  and  kept  the  fire  burning  in  your  grate — are  com- 
pelled to  beg,  in  the  zenith  hour  of  1886,  your  favors.  Two  generations 
are  before  you ;  the  one  bom  in  the  cradle  of  slavery,  the  other  bom  in 
the  cradle  of  liberty ;  the  one  saw  the  light  mid  the  discussions  of  your 
fathers ;  the  other  mingled  their  infant's  voice  with  the  retreating  sound 
of  the  cannon.  We  belong  to  the  South — the  "New  South."  Your  own 
progress  in  the  questions  of  human  liberty  and  our  own  thirst  for 
draughts  from  higher  fountains,  and,  indeed,  in  obedience  to  the  demands 
of  our  constituents,  we  venture  to  lay  before  you  in  a  manly,  honorable 
way,  the  complaints  of  271,481  as  true  hearted  Kentuckians  as  ever 
came  from  the  loin  of  the  bravest,  truest  and  most  honored  of  women, 
sired  by  the  most  distinguished  fathers.  As  Kentuckians  we  meet  you 
with  the  feelings  and  aspirations,  common  and  peculiar  to  those  bom 
and  surrounded  by  the  greatness  of  your  history,  the  fertility  of  your  soil, 
the  nobility  of  your  men  and  the  beauty  of  your  women.  We  come,  plain 
of  speech,  in  order  to  prove  that  we  are  men  of  judgment,  meeting  men 
who  are  really  desirous  of  knowing  our  wants. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Colored  Press  convention  in  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  July  13,  1883,  he  was  nominated  for  its 
president,  but  was  beaten  by  Hon.  W.  A.  Pledger  of 
Georgia  by  one  vote.  When  said  convention  met  in  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  July  8,  1885,  he  was  made  chairman  of 
the  executive  committee  and  at  the  next  meeting,  August 
3,  1886,  Atlantic  City,  New  Jersey,  he  was  elected  presi- 


INTRODUCTION.  *  51 

dent  by  a  majority  of  four  over  Mr.  T.  T.  Fortune,  editor 
of  The  Freeman, 

Dr.  Simmons  is  very  much  interested  in  the  education  of 
the  hand.  He  has  written  a  pamphlet  on  **  Industrie 
Education"  which  has  had' a  wide  circulation.  A  sample 
of  it  will  be  seen  below. 

If  the  industrial  craze  be  not  watched,  our  literary  institutions  will  be 
turned  into  workshops  and  our  scholars  into  servants  and  journeymen. 
Keep  the  literary  and  industrial  apart.  Let  the  former  be  stamped  deeply 
so  it  win  not  be  mistaken.    We  need  scholars.    All  men  are  not  workers 
in  the  trades,  and  never  will  be.    If  we  cripple  the  schools  established,  by 
diverting  them  largely  from  their  original  plan,  we  shall  have  no  lawyers, 
doctors,  professors,  authors,  etc.    And  again,  the  money  in  the  schools 
yniXi  be  divided  and  neither  end  will  be  reached ;  we  will  be  like  clowns 
trying  to  ride  two  horses,  and  as  they  get  wider  apart,  we  drop  in  a 
ditch,  and  our  horses  run  away  from  us  and  break  their  own  necks. 
Keep  these  schools  apart,  and  attempt  not  the  task  of  grinding  scholars 
out  of  industrial,  nor  finished  workmen  from  literar>'  schools.    Each  has 
a  legitimate  sphere  and  let  each  stick  to  it.    In  the  colleges,  universities 
and  higher  schools  of  the  South,  not  less  than  a  thousand  whrte  men  are 
teaching  our  youth ;  it  is  not  intended  that  they  will  do  so  forever.    I 
would,  therefore,  prepare  the  professors  to  take  their  places  in  the  same 
m£inner  that  they  were  prepared — in  literary  institutions.     In  plainer 
words,  let  the  student  be  free  from  industrial  trade  work  when  he  has 
made  certain  grades  in  his  classes.    We  want  good  workmen  and  good 
scholars,  not  deluded  smatterers  in  either  department.  Gingerbread  work, 
fiddling  with  tools,  frittering  away  time,  is  not  seriously  making  a 
mechanic.     Industrial  work  as  a  sentiment  must  be  crystallized  into 
a  profitable  reality. 

Hence,  this  feeble  effort  in  Southern  schools  will  only  l)e  the  means  of 
deceiving  many  into  the  notion  that  they  are  *'  workmen,"  when  they 
are  only  botches,  and  will  frimish  another  poor  class  of  mechanics  to 
supplement  a  class  of  which  we  now  complain.  It  would  be  wiser  to 
spend  ten  thousand  dollars  on  a  single  school  per  year,  and  make  a  first 
class  industrial  department,  than  two  thousand  dollars  on  each  of  five 
schools.    Many  will  learn  to  do  things  for  which  they  can  give  no  reason. 


52  INTRODUCTION. 

The  people,  the  masses,  the  boys,  the  girls,  the  rank  and  file,  must  be 
taken  through  a  thorough  English  course  and  made  master  of  a  trade. 
I  said  this  school  was  needed  as  a  corrective ;  that  is,  to  teach  the  dignity 
of  labor.  They  must  learn  the  gospel  of  manual  labor :  not  simply  as  a 
means  of  bread  and  butter,  but  an  honorable  calling  and  duty.  Let  the 
buzz  of  the  saw,  the  ring  of  the  hammer,  the  whisle  of  the  engine,  the 
spinning  of  the  wheel,  the  low  of  the  ox,  the  bleating  of  the  lamb,  the 
crow  of  the  rooster,  all  be  music  and  inspiration  to  the  rising  race. 
Labor  is  honorable,  but  it  is  fast  becoming  unfashionable  for  the  colored 
boy  or  girl  to  seek  manual  labor,  and  rather  than  work,  many  become 
loafers,  dissipates  and  wrecks.  Let  us  start  a  current  large  enough  to 
meet  the  mental  tide  and  mingling,  find  the  happy  medium.  Parents 
must  give  their  children  trades.  Teachers  and  preachers  must  see  to  this 
matter. 

This  school  should  have  a  large  farm  attached,  where  agriculture  in 
every  form  should  be  taught,,  and  by  means  of  which  living  could  be  made 
cheap  to  poor  students.  To  sum  up  the  words  of  another,  here  in  this 
school,  the  farmer  should  be  cducatetl  in  science,  elementary  engineering, 
mechanics  and  agriculture ;  the  miner,  mineralogy,  geolog^s  chemistry, 
and  his  own  work;  the  merchant  in  geography,  history,  foreign  language, 
political  economy  and  laws ;  the  machinist  must  master  all  the  known 
powers  of  ma\erial  nature — heat  and  cold,  weight  and  impulse;  matter 
in  all  conditions — ^liquid,  solid  and  gaseous,  standing  or  running,  condensed 
or  rare,  adamantine  or  plastic — all  must  be  seen  through  and  compre- 
hended by  the  master  of  modem  mechanics.  Architects,  engineers,  teach- 
ers and  all  classes  of  workers  retjuire  a  technical  education. 

I  mean  to  take  the  female  along  too.  They  must  Ije  taught  domestic 
economy,  household  ethics,  home  architecture.  cooker3',  telegraphy,  pho- 
tography, printing,  editorial  work,  dressmaking,  tailoring,  knitting, 
•fancy  work,  nursing,  dairying,  horticulture,  apiaculturc,  sericulture, 
poultry  raising,  stenography,  type-writing,  practical  designs,  painting, 
repoussf  work,  etc.,  etc.,  for  if  men  must  make  money,  the  women  must 
know  best  how  to  save  it,  or  what  is  better,  help  to  get  it.  A  saving 
wife  is  worth  her  weight  in  gold  and  earns  her  own  board  and  is  entitled 
to  have  her  washing  done  from  home. 

Before  I  leave  this  subject,  let  me  say  that  it  may  prove  the  best  thing 
after  all  that  our  youth  cannot  gict  into  the  workshops  and  factories  a» 


INTRODUCTION.  53 

• 
readily  as  white  youths.    The  latter  class  have  the  blessings  of  good 

faoxnes  and  the  amenities  of  a  social  life  be^'ond  that  of  a  colored  child. 
Every  library,  lecture  hall  and  art  gallery  is  o|)en,  and  the  finest  music, 
«cnlpture,  books,  magazines  and  journals  fall  as  thick  around  them  as 
autumn  leaves.  But  our  youths  need  to  have  the  moral  training  which 
comes  from  the  school-room  as  well  as  the  skill  that  comes  from  the 
^Rrorkshop.  They  need  practical  drill  in  habits  of  industry,  care  in  busi- 
ness, punctuality  in  dealing  with  the  world,  and,  in  fact,  they  need  the 
moral  bracing  up  that  makes  good  citizens  and  square  business  men  and 
women.  Perhai>s  Providence  has  so  hedged  us  that  out  of  trials  and 
darkness  may  come  pleasure  and  light.  So  now  we  are  driven  to  do  per- 
haps the  best  thing  for  our  race  b^' putting  our  children  wherehead,  hand, 
eye,  ear,  and  in  fact  the  whole  man,  must  be  trained. 

The  great  National  Convention  of  colored  men  held  at 
Louisville,  September,  1883,  enrolled  him  as  a  member. 
His  love  for  the  people  is  shown  in  the  following  little  inci- 
dent. While  serving  as  a  member  of  the  committee  on  edu- 
cation and  labor,  a  proposition  was  made  to  ask  Congress 
to  pass  a  bill  giving  the  monies  which  had  been  left  in  the 
treasury  from  the  unclaimed  bounties  of  colored  soldiers  to 
the  high  schools  of  the  South,  which  would  of  course  have 
included  the  denominational,  and  excluded  the  public 
schools.  #\gainst  this  he  protested,  notwithstanding  he 
was  at  the  head  of  the  denominationalschool  which  would 
have  received  benefits,  on  the  grounds  that  the  masses 
should  be  aided  and  not  the  few,  and  because  it  was  a  lack 
of  statesmanship  and  knowledge  of  the  laws  governing  the 
land  to  ask  aid  for  denominational  schools.  The  commit- 
tee voted  him  down  solidly,  but  when  the  matter  was 
called  up  in  the  convention,  he  took  the  platform  and  made 
a  speech  so  convincing  that  the  chairman,  Hon.  D.  A. 
Straker,  LL.  D.,  of  South  Carolina,  was  called  upon  to 


54  INTRODUCTION. 

change  the  report,  which  was  done  with'  good  grace.  At 
'  the  convention  of  the  Knights  of  Wise  Men,  held  in  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations.  He 
has  delivered  several  addresses  before  the  American  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society.  At  the  fiftieth  anniversary  held  in 
New  York,  May  24,  1872,  his  oration,  **What  are  the 
Colored  People  Doing?'' was  much  spoken  of  and  published 
in  the  Jubilee  Volume.  He  delivered  another  before  the  same 
body.  May  26-27,  1885,  at  Saratoga,  and  has  been  invited 
to  address  the  next  meeting,  May  29,  1887,  at  Minne- 
apolis. In  1884,  he  was  appointed  by  Hon.  B.  K.  Bruce 
commissioner  for  the  State  of  Kentucky  in  the  colored  de- 
partment of  the  World's  Industrial  and  Cotton  Exposition 
held  at  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  and  succeeded  in  giving  a 
splendid  representation,  thereby  reflecting  credit  on  the 
State.  The  school  over  which  he  presided  made  a  credit- 
able exhibit.  The  trustee  board,  in  making  the  annual  re- 
port to  the  General  Association  of  Colored  Baptists,  said : 

At  the  suggestion  of  our  worthy  president,  who  was  also  the  com- 
missioner for  Kentucky  for  the  World's  Exposition  at  New  Orleans,  an 
exhibition  of  our  University,  of  both  the  literary  and  industrial  work,  was 
sent  to  the  Exposition.  To  say  that  the  display  was  complete  and  satis- 
factory is  but  to  state  it  mildly.  It  has  done  much  to  advertise  our  Uni- 
versity, and  shows  the  capacity  of  our  people  for  both  education  and 
industrial  pursuits. 

In  September,  1883,  Dr.  Simmons  called  together  and 
organized  the  Baptist  women  into  a  convention,  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  money  for  the  educational  work  of  the 
denomination  in  the  State.  The  body  known  as  the  **  Bap- 
tist Women's  Educational  Convention''  has  met  every 


INTRODUCTION.  55 

jear  since,  and  has  and  is  doing  a  noble  work  in  paying 
oflF  the  indebtedness  of  the  State  University. 

Were  you  to  ask  me  Dr.  Simmons'  motto,  I  would  say, 
"God,  my  race  and  denomination."  While  holding  tenac- 
iously his  own  religious  views,  he  is  willing  for  other  men 
to  hold  theirs.  Among  his  strongest  friends  are  eminent 
preachers,  scholars  and  laymen  of  every  denomination  in 
the  United  States  with  which  colored  people  are  allied. 
The  fact  that  the  Wilberforce  University  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  D.  D.  is  ample  evidence  of  the  friendliness 
existing  between  him  and  the  brethren  of  that  faith.  The 
faculty  of  said  school  ranks  with  the  most  eminent  men  of 
America,  among  whom  are  Rev.  B.  W.  Amett,  D.  D.,  Pro- 
fessor W.  S.  ^arborough,  LL.  D.,  Bishops  D.  A.  Payne, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  John  M.  Brown,  D.  D.,  D.  C.  L.,  and  others 
of  like  grace  and  eminence. 

Being  impressed  with  the  idea  that  colored  Baptists 
were  not  doing  what  they  should  for  the  support  and  influ- 
ence of  their  peculiar  views,  he  suggested,  through  the 
American  Baptist,  April  5,  1886,  that  a  convention  be 
held.  This  suggestion  was  heartily  endorsed  by  Baptists 
throughout  the  United  States.  He  issued  the  call  at  their 
suggestion,  and  the  result  was  the  organization  of  the 
American  National  Baptist  Convention,  which  met,  August 
25,  1886,  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  of  which  he  was  unani- 
mously elected  president,  and  chairman  of  the  executive 
committee.  He  preached  the  denominational  sermon 
which  was  published  in  the  minutes.  It  was  rich  in 
statistics  and  history,  pregnant  with  the  faith  as  handed 
down  from  the  Apostles.    He  concluded  by  saying : 


56  INTRODUCTION. 

The  work  of  the  colored  Baptists  is  marvelous,  aye,  stupendous.  Whea 
we  remember  our  elevation  to-day,  it  is  not  with  undue  pride ;  no !  no ! 
no !  with  thanksgiving  and  humiliation,  with  self-abasement  and  lowli- 
ness, and  with  an  earnest  prayer  for  more  faith,  we  lift  our  eyes  to  the 
Great  Father  of  souls  and  pray  His  righteous  benediction,  that  we  bow 
our  heads  because  we  have  been  unprofitable  servants.  Yet  it  is  with 
astonishment  that  we  have  reached  such  lofty  heights,  and  with  remark- 
able pleasure  do  we  look  back  upon  the  depths  from  which  we  came. 
Driven  out,  Hagar-like,  we  have,  Ishmael-like,  still  become  a  people  and 
dwell  in  the  presence  of  our  brethren,  and  to-day,  in  figures  bright  and 
glowing  in  the  ending  of  the  nineteenth  century,  we  count  fully  1,071,000 — 
every  sign  of  progress.  It  might  be  remarked,  if  we  can  rise  to  this  point 
with  few  learned  men,  what  shall  be  the  result  in  the  next  twenty  years  ? 
Books,  papers,  magazines  and  pamphlets  shall  be  as  plentiful  as  the 
maple  leaves  in  full  blown  spring. 

The  Baptist  host  is  like  a  cube ;  throw  them  aside  and  they  always 
land  on  an  equal  side,  and  3'ou  need  never  despair  when  in  your  trials 
and  doubts  in  your  several  churches ;  remember  the  God  of  battles  is  oh 
your  side  and  that  the  ages  have  only  increased  His  glory. 

His  knowledge  of  the  tenets  of  the  denomination  with 
which  he  is  identified  is  marvelous.  In  this  direction  his 
research  has  been  thorough  and  extensive  as  is  shown  in  an 
article  on  ** Baptism'*  published  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Review, 
October.  1886,  in  reply  to  Rev.  B.  W.  Williams. 

As  an  orator  Dr.  Simmons  is  pleasing  to  his  audience. 
A  quick  thinker,  and  possessing  a  rich  and  read)-  flow  of 
choice  language,  a  figure  that  can  be  seen,  and  a  voice 
that  can  be  heard  at  a  distance.  At  times,  in  the  heat  of 
debate,  the  whole  grandeur  of  his  soul  is  transfused  into 
his  countenance;  and  his  hearers  are  electrified  as  only 
true  eloquence  can  electrify. 

He  was  invited  to  address  the  students  of  three  different 
colleges  in  one  j'ear.    At  Selma  I 'niversity,  May  28,  1885, 


INTRODUCTION.  57 

lis  subject  was  **True  Manliness."  The  Baptist  Pioneer 
commented  as  follows : 

For  neariy  an  hour  and  a  half  the  speaker  held  the  large  audience 
^pellbomid.  He  was  eloquent  and  inspiring.  Rarely  have  we  listened  to 
a  more  practical  oration.  At  times  the  audience  was  convulsed  with 
laughter  at  the  wit,  and  then  immediately  made  to  reflect  under  the 
tsolid  words  of  wisdom  which  fell  from  the  speaker's  lips. 

His  address  before  the  Berea  College  students,  subject 
**The  Great  Text-Book  of  the  Ages,"  received  much  com- 
ment. June  18,  1885,  after  delivering  an  oration  before 
the  Wilberforce  Literary  Society,  subject  ''Leaders  and 
Followers, "he  had  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  D.  D.,  by 
that  venerable  institution.  In  1881,  he  had  received  the 
degree  of  A.  M.,  from  Howard  University.  During  the 
educational  movement  in  Kentucky,  in  1885,  I  think,  Dr. 
Simmons  delivered  a  speech  before  the  Inter-State  Educa- 
tional Convention,  which  was  held  in  the  white  Baptist 
church,  subject  *'The  Education  of  the  Negro  Race."  In 
this  convention  were  found  the  most  eminent  educators, 
State  superintendents  and  the  most  noted  thinkers  in 
America.  Favorable  criticism  was  made  by  the  ATew  York 
Journal  of  Education^  the  Courier-Journal  of  Louisville, 
and  other  State  papers. 

He  delivered  an  oration  at  the  Lexington  Emancipation 
celebration,  January  1,  1887.  Urging  the  hearers  to 
greater  efforts,  he  said : 

The  warm  blood  of  the  Negro  that  haunts  the  channels  of  his  veins 
with  ancient  Egyptian  and  Ethiopian  fires  has  been  tempered  in  the  cli- 
mate of  the  South  and  reduced  to  that  proportion  which  robs  it  of  its 
sluggishness,  subdues  it  of  wild  passion  and  holds  it  by  reason,  while  the 


58  INTRODUCTION. 

trials  of  tbe  past  have  been  the  friction  that  brightens,  the  winds  that 
toughen,  and  the  frosts  that  ripen.  No  great  song,  or  poem,  or  book, 
or  invention  has  yet  seen  birth  south  of  the' '  Mason  and  Dixon  Line."  It 
has  been  reserved  for  us.  The  only  American  music  was  bom  on  the 
plantations  and  wrung  from  aching  hearts  as  wine  from  the  luscious  grape. 
It  has  touched  the  heart  of  the  learned  and  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
scientific  musician.  As  the  Indian  faded  in  the  North,  before  the  white 
man,  so  the  white  man  of  the  South  must  yield  to  us,  without,  however, 
a  bloody  conflict.  We  shall  gather  wealth,  learning  and  manhood,  and 
occupy  the  land.  This  is  the  asylum  of  the  world ;  and  the  tramp  of 
hurrying  nations  warns  us  that  this  is  the  "  Valley  of  Decision.*'  On  this 
soil  are  settled  the  great  questions  of  the  earth.  Already  the  march  of 
empire  has  bathed  its  weary  feet  in  the  Pacific,  and  with  the  exception 
of  watery  waste  has  arrived  at  its  home,  and  it  is  possible  that  He  who 
made  all  nations  of  one  blood,  will  here  in  our  land,  marry  and  inter- 
marry, and  reduce  this  conglomerate  mass  to  one  distinct  nationality, 
with  all  the  blood  made  one,  and  the  highest  type  of  consecrated  man- 
hood being  realized,  reduced  back  to  the  Adamic  color  through  us ;  or  He 
may  out  of  the  aggregate  develop  each  to  its  highest  type,  and  let  them 
Kve  to  the  end  of  time,  carrying  out  His  divine  plans,  and  unerringly 
accomplishing  His  decrees.  Here  in  this  new  South  the  Negro  shall  shine 
in  the  constellation  of  the  nations,  and  by  his  words  and  deeds  hand 
down  to  unborn  ages  the  glittering  pages  of  our  history.  We  shall  in 
some  prominent  way  mount  the  ladder  of  difficulties,  scale  the  cliff  of  prej- 
udices and  hide  our  heads  among  the  stars. 

Dr.  Simmons,  in  his  modesty,  does  not  claim  for  this 
work  any  special  literary  excellence,  but  his  aim  is  simply 
to  embalm  in  some  place  the  lives  of  these  men  for  future 
historians,  who  may  take  isolated  cases  and  do  justice  to 
each.  He  also  wishes  to  inspire  the  youth  of  the  land, 
giving  the  many  trials  through  which  these  men  have  had 
to  pass,  and  have  them  further  influenced  by  the  great 
degree  of  promotion  which  has  been  granted  to  them. 
His  talents,  developed  by  cultivation,  are  also  enriched  by 


INTRODUCTION.  59 

the  love  of  God  and  man  which  reaches  beyond  the  boys 
of  tchday  who  are  trying  to  be  somebody,  to  the  boys  of 
the  future,  who  will  inquire  into  the  deeds  and  achieve- 
ments of  their  fathers.  As  a  man.  Dr.  Simmons  is  loyal  to 
his  convictions,  sympathetic,  independent,  far  sighted, 
therefore  a  wise  counselor,  methodical  and  liberal.  He 
regards  money  as  a  trust  from  God,  to  be  invested  in 
every  cause  relative  to  bettering  the  condition  of  his  fellow 
men  and  advancing  the  cause  of  Christ.  His  hand  is  shut 
when  those  who  do  not  want,  come  to  him ;  but  when 
the  really  needy  and  friendless  come  to  him,  it  is  like  a 
strainer  frill  of  holes,  letting  all  he  possesses  pass  through. 
To  friends  he  is  faithful ;  to  enemies  he  shows  a  steady 
resistance,  but  no  aggressiveness. 

Thus  far,  I  have  sketched  a  few  of  the  prominent  phases 
in  the  life  of  the  doctor,  more  in  a  biographical  outline 
than  in  analysis  of  his  true  worth,  reserving  for  the  con- 
clusion a  few  facts  adumbrated  in  the  preceding  remarks. 

I  regard  Dr.  Simmons  as  one  of  the  most  replete  scholars 
to  his  age  in  the  country,  for  all  the  invincibility  that  at- 
tached to  his  boyhood  and  youthful  days,  enabling  him  to 
triumph  over  every  obstacle  that  confronted  him,  still 
incites  him  to  literary  research,  so  that  almost  every  sub- 
ject within  the  circle  of  learning  has  been  pierced  by  his 
intellectual  prowess.  Yet  it  could  not  be  expected  that  a 
man  of  his  age  could  be  the  master  of  every  branch,  for 
such  exalted  attainments  only  come  by  years  of  laborious 
application,  which  a  young  man  has  not  had  time  to  ac- 
complish. The  doctor  has  a  large,  symmetrically  developed 
head,  elevated  in  the  centre  at  the  organ  of  veneration, 


60  INTRODUCTION. 

with  a  brain  texture  of  the  highest  type,  a 
ous  powers,  when,  even  in  many  instan 
oblong,  but  infinitely  more  so  when  righ' 
giving  the  doctor  giant  powers  to  use 
in  ferreting  out  the  deep  things  of  science, 
theology,  which  will,  if  the  doctor  lives  fij 
nate  in  making  him  one  of  the  most  mif 
race  U)>on  the  globe. 

As  has  Ijeen  said  of  liberty,  vigilant  •' 
price  of  profound  scholarship ;  and  this  1 
his  life,  nothing  but  premature  death 
many  of  our  young  men  after  reaching       I 
forget  the  rock  from  whence  they  w 
their  lives  in  endeavoring  to  become 
worshiping  white  gods.    But  this  ( 
against  the  doctor.    He  is  as  true  ' 
to  the  pole,  and  no  stronger  erid' 
work  that  will  contain  these  A< 
men.    The  fiiture  historian  will  * 
their  contents  as  he  traces  the 
wonder  at  the  achievements  t 
of  So  many  environments  tt 
Negro  j^ants  now  sleeping  in 
come  forth  an  Amiada  thai 
trample  colored  prgudice 
and  immortality  itself  «' 
thunders  at  race  < 


INTRODUCTION.  61 

try,  and  present  them  before  earth  and  heaven  as  no  one 
no\v  ever  dream. 

When  that  time  comes,  as  it  will,  unless  God  ceases  to 
reign,  this  work  of  Dr.  Simmons' will  form  the  foot-base  of 
the  mighty  superstructure  that  will  be  reared  with  chancel, 
dome,  spire  and  minaret,  to  the  undying  worth,  merits  and 
fame  of  the  Negro.  The  abominable  heresies  set  adrift  by 
pseudo-philosophers,  pseudo-scientists,  and  other  figure- 
heads as  ignorant  as  they  were  mean  and  low,  that  the 
Negro  race  were  naturally  inferior,  and  nothing  great  could 
ever  be  evolved  from  them,  will  be  remembered  in  the  grand 
hereafter  as  the  overflowing  slag  or  dross  which  precedes 
the  incandescent  rocks  dashed  from  the  volcano's  fiery  jaws, 
while  hurtled  thunders  shook  the  ground  as  though  the 
gods  were  in  battle  arrayed.  The  Indian  represents  the 
past,  the  white  man  the  present,  but  the  Negro  the  future. 
The  Indian  is  old,  decayed  and  worn  out ;  the  whites  are 
in  the  prime  of  life  and  vigor ;  but  the  Negro  is  a  boy,  a 
youth  at  school,  a  mere  apprentice  learning  his  trade. 
When  the  white  race  reaches  decrepitude,  as  races  are  peri- 
odical as  well  as  worlds,  the  Negro  will  have  reached  his 
prime,  and  being  in  possession  of  all  he  has  and  will  acquire 
from  the  whites,  and  his  own  genius  and  industry  to  man- 
ufacture more  and  lift  him  to  a  higher  civilization,  he  will 
stand  out  the  wonder  of  the  ages.  The  earth  will  tremble 
beneath  his  tread,  while  nature  opens  her  bosom  and  pours 
into  his  lap  her  richest  treasures.  With  mystic  keys  he 
will  unlock  her  cofiers,  and  her  very  arcana  will  divulge  the 
secrets  which  she  never  whispered  before  into  inquiring 
cars.    Then,  if  not  before,  the  name  of  Dr.  Simmons  will 


INTRODUCTION.  63 

be  proud  of  their  color,  their  hair,  their  origin  and  their 

Henry  M.  Turner. 


N 


I. 

HON.  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS,  LL.  D. 

Magnetic  Orator — Anti-slavery  Editor — Marshal  of  the  District  of 
Colombia— Recorder  of  Deeds  of  the  District  of  Columbia — First  Citi- 
zen of  America — Eminent  Patriot  and  Distinguished  Republican. 

WHO  can  write  the  life  of  this  great  man  and  do  him 
justice  ?  His  life  is  an  epitome  ofthe  eflForts  of  a  noble 
soul  to  be  what  God  intended,  despite  the  laws,  customs 
and  prejudices.  That  such  a  soul  as  Douglass'  could  be 
found  with  the  galling  bonds  of  slavery  is  the  blackest 
spot  in  the  realm  of  thought  and  fact  in  the  whole  history 
of  this  government.  But  such  a  man  as  he  would  not 
remain  in  slavery,  could  not  do  so.  Aye!  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  fetter  him  and  keep  him  there.  He  was  a  man.  He 
was  not  going  to  remain  bound  while  his  legs  could  carry 
him  off,  and,  as  he  facetiously  remarked,  he  praj^ed  for 
freedom,  but  when  he  made  his  legs  pray,  then  he  got  free. 
He  shows  himself  a  man  of  works  as  well  as  faith.  And 
these  go  together.  But  eulogy  is  wasted  on  such  a  man. 
His  life  speaks,  and,  when  he  is  dead,  his  orations  will  keep 
his  memory  fresh,  and  his  name  will  stand  side  by  side 
with  Webster,  Sumner  and  Clay. 

Frederick  Douglass  was^om  about  the  year  1817,  in 
Tuckahoe,  a  barren  little  district  upon  the  eastern  shore  of 


66  MEN  OF  MARK. 

MarylandJ  best  known  for  the  wretchedness,  poverty, 
slovenliness  and  dissipation  of  its  inhabitants.  Of  his 
mother  he  knew  very  little,  having  seen  her  only  a  few 
times  in  his  life,  as  she  was  employed  on  a  plantation  some 
distance  from  the  place  where  he  was  raised.  His  master 
was  supposed  to  be  his  father. 

No  man  perhaps  has  had  a  more  varied  experience  than 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  During  his  early  childhood  he 
was  beaten  and  starved,  often  fighting  with  the  dogs  for 
the  bones  that  were  thrown  to  them.  As  he  grew  older 
and  could  work  he  was  given  very  little  to  eat,  over- 
worked and  much  beaten.  As  the  boy  grew  older  still,  and 
realized  the  misery  and  horror  of  his  surroundings,  his  very 
soul  revolted,  and  a  determination  was  formed  to  be  free 
or  to  die  attempting  it. 

At  the  age  of  ten  years  he  was  sent  to  Baltimore  to  Mrs. 
Sophia  Auld,  as  a  house  servant.  She  became  very  much 
interested  in  him,  and  immediately  began  teaching  him  his 
letters.  He  was  very  apt,  and  was  soon  able  to  read.  The 
husband  of  his  mistress,  finding  it  out,  was  very  angry  and 
put  a  stop  to  it. 

This  prohibition  served  only  to  check  the  instruction 
from  his  mistress,  but  had  no  effect  on  the  ambition,  the 
craving  for  more  light,  that  was  within  the  boy,  and  the 
more  obstacles  he  met  with  the  stronger  became  his  deter- 
mination to  overcome  them.  He  carried  his  spelling  book 
in  his  bosom  and  would  snatch  a  minute  now  and  then  to 
pursue  his  studies.  The  first  money  he  made  he  invested  in 
a  ** Columbian  Orator."  In  this  work  he  read  "The  Fa- 
naticism of  Liberty"  and  the  "Declaration  of  Independ- 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS,  LL.  D.  67 

ence."  After  reading  this  book  he  realized  that  there  was 
a  better  life  waiting  for  him,  if  he  would  take  it,  and  so  he 
ran  away. 

He  settled  in  New  Bedford  with  his  wife,  who,  a  free 
woman  in  the  South,  being  engaged  to  Douglass  before  his 
escape,  followed  him  to  New  York,  where  they  were  mar- 
ried. She  was  a  worthy,  affectionate,  industrious  and  in- 
valuable helpmate  to  the  great  Douglass.  She  ever  stood 
side  by  side  with  him  in  all  his  struggles  to  establish  a 
home,  helped  him  and  encouraged  him  while  he  climbed 
the  ladder  of  knowledge  and  fame,  together  with  him 
oflfered  the  hand  of  welcome  and  a  shelter  to  all  who  were 
fortunate  enough  to  escape  from  bondage  and  reach  their 
hospitable  shelter;  and  never,  while  loving  mention  is  made 
of  Frederick  Douglass,  may  the  name  of  his  wife  '*  Anna" 
be  forgotten. 

In  New  Bedford  he  sawed  wood,  dug  cellars,  shovelled 
coal,  and  did  any  other  work  by  which  he  could  turn  an 
honest  penny,  having  the  incentive  that  he  was  working 
for  himself  and  his  family,  and  that  there  was  no  master 
waiting  for  his  wages.  Here  several  of  their  children  were 
bom. 

He  began  to  read  the  Liberator^  for  which  he  subscribed, 
and  other  papers,  and  works  of  the  best  authors.  [He  was 
charmed  by  Scott's  '*Lady  of  the  Lake, "and  reading  it  he 
adopted  the  name  of  **  Frederick  Douglass. "J  He  began  to 
take  an  interest  in  all  public  matters,  often  speaking  at  the 
gatherings  among  the  colored  people.  In  1841  he  addressed 
a  large  convention  at  Nantucket.  After  this  he  was  era- 
ployed  as  an  agent  of  the  American  Antislavery  Society, 


68  MEN  OP  MARK. 

which  really  marks  the  beginning  of  his  grand  struggle  for 
the  freedom  and  elevation  of  his  race.  He  lectured  all 
through  the  North,  notwithstanding  he  was  in  constant 
danger  of  being  recaptured  and  sent  to  the  far  South  as  a 
slave.  After  a  time  it  was  deemed  best  that  he  should  for 
a  while  go  to  England.  Here  he  met  a  cordial  welcome. 
John  Bright  established  him  in  his  house,  and  thus  he  was 
brought  in  contact  with  the  best  minds  and  made  ac- 
quainted with  some  of  England's  most  distinguished  men. 
His  relation  of  the  wrongs  and  sufferings  of  his  enslaved 
brethren  excited  their  deepest  sympathy ;  and  their  admir- 
ation forhis  ability  was  so  profound,  their  wonder  so  great,, 
that  there  should  be  any  fear  of  such  a  man  being  re- 
turned to  slavery,  that  they  immediately  Subscribed  the 
amount  necessary  to  purchase  his  freedom,  made  him  a 
present  of  his  manumission  papersHand  sent  him  home  to 
tell  his  people  that 

Slaves  cannot  breathe  in  England ; 

If  their  lungs  receive  our  air,  that  moment  they  are  free; 

They  touch  our  country,  and  their  shackles  fall. 

•  Returning  to  America  he  settled  in  Rochester,  New  York, 
and  Established  a  paper  called  the  North  Star,  afterwards 
changed  to  Fred  Douglass^  Paper,  also  Douglass*  MonthljrJ 
These  were  all  published  in  his  own  office,  and  two  of  his 
sons  were  the  principal  assistants  in  setting  up  the  work, 
and  attending  to  the  business  generally. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  speculation  as  to  what 
connection  Frederick  Douglpss  had  with  the  John  Bro'Wi 
raid.  The  two  great  men  met,  and  Brown  became  ac* 
quainted  with  Douglass'  history.  They  became  fast  ftiendg. 


PRBDBRICK  DOUGLASS,  LL.  D.  69 

They  were  singularly  adapted  to  each  other  as  co-workers, 
both  being  deeply  imbued  with  the  belief  that  it  was  their 
duty  to  devote  their  lives  and  means  to  the  cause  of  eman- 
cipation.  They  lived  frugally  at  home  that  they  might 
have  the  more  to  give.  Their  families  caught  their  inspira- 
tion, and  their  lives  were  all  influenced  by  the  one  motive^ 
power — ^the  cause  of  freedom.  Many  men  and  women  who 
successfidly  escaped  into  Canada,  and  thence  to  other 
places,  will  tell  how,  after  they  had  been  well  fed,  nourished 
and  made  comfortable  by  the  mother,  one  of  Fred  Doug- 
lass* boys  had  carried  them  across  the  line  and  seen  them 
to  a  place  of  safety.  When  other  boys  were  enjo3ring  all 
the  comforts  and  pleasures  their  parents  could  provide  for 
them,  Douglass' sons  were  made  to  feel  that  there  was  only 
one  path  for  them  to  walk  in  until  the  great  end  for  which 
they  were  working  had  been  attained. 

Brown's  first  plan  was  to  run  slaves  off,  and  in  this 
Douglass  heartily  joined  him;  but  when  he  found  Brown 
had  decided  to  attempt  the  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry,  he 
went  to  him  at  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  a  short  time 
before  the  raid,  and  used  every  argument  he  could  to 
induce  him  to  change  his  plans.  Brown  had  enlisted  a 
body  of  men  to  accompany  him  who  felt  as  he  felt,  that 
their  lives  were  nothing  as  weighed  against  the  lives  and 
liberties  of  so  many  who  were  sufiering  in  bondage.  His 
arms  and  ammunition  were  ready,  his  plans  were  all  laid, 
and  to  Douglass'  argument  he  answered:  j^'If  we  attack 
Harper's  Ferry,  as  we  have  now  arranged,  the  country 
will  be  aroused,  and  the  Negroes  will  see  the  way  clear  to 
liberation.  We'll  hold  the  citizens  of  the  town  as  hostages. 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.  71 

[Confidential.] 

Richmond.  Virginia,  Noyember  13, 1859. 
To  His  Excellency,  James  Buchanan,  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  the  Honorable  Postmaster-General  of  the  United  States— 
Gbntlemen  : — I  have  information  snch  as  has  cansed  me,  npon  proper 
affidavits,  to  make  requisition  npon  the  Executive  of  Michigan  for  the 
delivery  up  of  the  person  of  Frederick  Douglass,  a  Negro  man,  supposed 
now  to  be  in  Michigan,  charged  with  murder,  robbery  and  inciting  servile 
insurrection  in  the  State  of  Virginia.  My  agents  for  the  arrest  and  reclama- 
tion of  the  person  so  charged  are  Benjamin  M .  Morris  and  William  N.  Kelly. 
The  latter  has  the  requisition  and  will  wait  on  you  to  the^nd  of  obtaining 
nominal  authority  as  postofiice  agents.  They  need  to  be  very  secretive 
in  this  matter,  and  some  pretext  of  traveling  through  the  dangerous  sec- 
tion for  the  execution  of  the  laws  in  this  behalf,  and  some  protection 
against  obtrusive,  unruly  or  lawless  violence.  If  it  be  proper  so  to  do, 
will  the  Postmaster-General  be  pleased  to  give  Mr.  Kelly  for  each  of 
these  men  a  permit  and  authority  to  act  as  detectives  for  the  postoffice 
department  without  pay,  but  to  pass  and  repass  without  question,  de- 
lay or  hindrance  ? 

Respectfiilly  submitted  by  your 

Obedient  Servant, 
"  Henry  A.  WiSE.l 

Mr.  Douglass  did  not  feel  it  necessary  to  hasten  his 
return  on  account  of  this  interesting  document,  and  so  re- 
mained abroad  till  it  was  safe  for  him  to  come  home.  This 
adventure  did  not  in  the  least  dampen  his  ardor  in  the 
great  cause.  Wherever  and  whenever  he  could  do  or  say 
anjrthing  for  it,  he  never  failed  to  do  so.  When  the  first 
gun  was  fired  at  Sumter,  he  was  among  the  foremost  to 
insist  upon  the  enrollment  of  colored  soldiers,  fin  1863  he, 
with  others,  succeeded  in  raising  two  regiments  of  colored 
troops,  which  were  known  as  Massachusetts  regiments. 
Two  of  his  sons  were  among  the  first  to  enlist.  His  next 
move  was  to  obtain  the  same  pay  for  them  that  the  white 


72  MBN  OP  MARK. 

soldiers  received,  and  to  have  them  exchanged  as  prisoners  of 
war ;  in  fact,  that  there  should  be  no  difference  made  between 
them  and  other  soldiet^  His  work  did  not  end  with  the 
war.  He  recognized  the  fact  that  a  new  life  had  begun  for 
the  former  slaves ;  that  a  great  work  was  to  be  done  for 
them  and  with  them,  and  he  was  ever  to  be  found  in  the 
foremost  ranks  of  those  who  were  willing  to  put  their 
shoulders  to  the  wheel.  His  means,  as  well  as  his  time,  he 
largely  gavetto  the  cause.  He  was  one  of  the  most  inde- 
fatigable workers  for  the  passage  of  the  amendments  to 
the  Constitution,  granting  the  same  rights  to  all  classes  of 
citizens,  regardless  of  race  and  color.  JHe  attended  the 
''Loyalists'  Convention,"  held  in  Philadelphia,  in  1867, 
being  elected  a  delegate  from  Rochestei:^  Some  feared  his 
presence  would  do  more  harm  than  good,  knowing  how 
radical  he  was ;  but  he  felt  that  it  was  his  duty  to  go,  and 
nothing  could  change  him.  Qt  has  be^  conceded  that  it 
was  due  principally  to  his  persistent  work  in  that  conven- 
tion, that  resolutions  favoring  universal  suffrage  were 
passedj  A  little  incident  in  connection  with  this  conven- 
tion shows  the  value  of  his  work  in  that  meeting,  by  dis- 
closing the  feeling  of  the  men  he  had  to  deal  with.  As  the 
members  assembled  proceeded  to  fall  in  line,  on  their  way 
to  the  place  of  meeting,  every  one  seemed  to  avoid  walking 
beside  a  colored  delegate.  As  soon  as  Theodore  Tilton 
noticed  it,  he  stepped  to  Douglass'  side,  and  arm  in  arm 
they  entered  the  chamber.  This  act  has  made  them  life- 
long friends,  and  these  two  are  both  brotherly  in  their  de- 
voted friendship.    In  Mr.  Douglass'  recent  visit  to  France, 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 


73 


he  met  Mr.  Tilton,  who  resides  in  Paris,  and  had  a  glorious 
time. 

Qle  established  the  New  National  Era  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  in  1870.  This  paper  was  edited  and  published  prin- 
cipally by  him  and  his  sons,  and  devoted  to  the  cause  of 
the  race  and  the  Republican  party.  In  1872  he  took  his 
family  to  reside  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  In  1871 
President  Grant  appointed  him  to  the  Territorial  Legis- 
lature of  the  District  of  Columbia.  In  1872  he  was  chosen 
one  of  the  Presidential  electors-at-large  for  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  was  the  elector  selected  to  deliver  a  cer- 
tified statement  of  the  votes  to  the  president  of  the  Senate. 

He  was  appointed  to  accompany  the  commissioners  on 
their  trip  to  Santo  Domingo,  pending  the  consideration 
of  the  annexation  of  that  island  to  the  United  States.' 
President  Grant  in  January,  1877,  appointed  him  a  police 
commissioner  for  the  District  of  Columbia.  In  March  of  the 
same  year  President  Hayes  commissioned  him  United 
States  marshal  for  the  District  of  Columbia.  President' 
Garfield,  in  1881,  appointed  him  recorder  of  deeds  for  the 
District  of  ColumbiaTj  This  last  position  he  held  till  about  \ 
May,  1886,  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  after  the  ascendancy 
to  the  national  administration  of  the  Democratic  party. 

No  man  has  begun  where  Frederick  Douglass  did  and 
attained  to  the  same  giddy  heights  of  fame.  Bom  in  a 
mere  hovel,  a  creature  of  accident,  with  no  mother  to 
cherish  and  nurture  him,  no  kindly  hand  to  point  out  the 
good  worthy  of  emulation  and  the  evil  to  be  shunned,  no 
teacher  to  make  smooth  the  rough  and  thorny  paths  lead-y 
ing  to  knowledge.     His  only  compass  was  an  abidii 


74  MEN.  OF  liARK. 

faith  in  God,  and  an  innate  consciousness  of  \ds  own  abil- 
ity and  power  of  perseverance. 

Harriet  Bcecher  Stowe,  in  her  book  entitled  '  Men  of  Ottr 
Times/  says:  ** Frederick  Douglass  had  as  far  to  dimb  to 
get  to  the  spot  where  the  poorest  white  boy  is  bom,  as 
that  white  boy  has  to  climb  to  be  President  of  the  nation, 
and  take  rank  with  kings  and  judges  of  the  earth." 
Again,  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  in  a  recent  im- 
portant case  under  consideration,  the  following  statement 
formed  part  of  a  resolution  submitted  by  that  body  in 
reply  to  the  President  of  the  United  States:  "Without 
doubt  Frederick  Douglass  is  the  most  distinguished  repre- 
sentative of  the  colored  race,  not  only  in  this  country,  but 
in  the  world."  To-day  he  stands  the  acknowledged  peer 
in  intellect,  culture  and  refinement  of  the  greatest  men  of 
our  age,  or  any  age ;  in  this  country,  or  any  country.  His 
name  has  never  been  written  on  the  register  of  any  school 
or  college,  yet  it  will  ever  be  written  on  the  pages  of  all 
fiiture  history,  wherever  the  names  of  the  ablest  men  of 
our  times  appear,  side  by  side  with  those  of  the  more 
favored  race.  His  relations  with  such  men  as  John  G. 
Whittier,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  Wendell  Phillips,  Wil- 
liam Lloyd  Garrison;  and  such  women  as  Lydia  Maria 
Child,  Grace  Greenwood,  and  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  have 
ever  been  cordial  and  pleasant.  Some  men  who  never 
graduate  from  a  college  have  more  sense  in  five  min- 
utes than  many  a  conceited  graduate  who  has  all  his 
knowledge  duly  accredited  by  a  sheepskin,  but  is  not  the 
real  possessor  of  an  education.  The  trustees  of  Howard 
titoiversity  honored  themselves  and  their  institution,  more 

\ 

\ 

V 

\ 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.  75 

than  they  did  Mr.  Douglass,  when  they  conferred  upon 
liim  the  title  of  LL.  D.,  and  when  also  they  gave  him  a 
seat  in  their  board.  ' 

Mr.  Douglass  in  'His  Life/  written  by  himself,  gives  the 
following  account  of  his  visit  to  his  old  home : 

The  first  of  these  events  occurred  four  years  ago,  when,  after  a  period 
of  more  than  forty  years,  I  Tisited  and  had  an  interview  with  Captain 
Thomas  Anld  at  St.  Michaels,  Talbot  county,  Maryland.  It  will  be 
xemembered  by  those  who  have  followed  the  thread  of  my  story  that  St. 
Michaels  was  at  one  time  the  place  of  my  home  and  the  scene  of  some  of 
mj  ^addest  experiences  of  slave  life,  and  that  I  left  there,  or  rather  was 
compdled  to  leave  there,  becanse  it  was  believed  that  I  had  written  pas- 
ses for  several  slaves  to  enable  them  to  escape  from  slavery,  and  that 
prominent  slaveholders  in  that  neighborhood  had,  for  this  alleged  of- 
fense, threatened  to  shoot  me  on  sight,  and  to  prevent  the  execution  of 
this  threat  my  master  had  sent  me  to  Baltimore. 

My  return,  therefore,  to  this  place  in  peace,  among  the  same  people, 
was  strange  enough  in  itself;  but  that  I  should,  when  there,  be  formally 
invited  by  Captain  Thomas  Auld,  then  over  eighty  years  old,  to  come  to 
the  side  of  his  dying  bed,  evidently  with  a  view  to  a  friendly  talk  over 
our  past  rdations,  was  a  fact  still  more  strange,  and  one  which,  until  its 
occurrence,  I  could  never  have  thought  possible.  To  me  Captain  Auld 
had  sustained  the  relation  of  master— a  relation  which  I  had  held  in  ex- 
treme abhorrence,  and  which  for  forty  years  I  had  denounced  in  all 
bitterness  of  spirit  and  fierceness  of  speech.  He  had  struck  down  my  pet^ 
sonaHty,  had  subjected  me  to  his  will,  made  property  of  my  body  and 
soul,  reduced  me  to  a  chattel,  hired  me  out  to  a  noted  slave  breaker  to 
be  worked  like  a  beast  and  flogged  into  submission ;  he  had  taken  my 
hard  earnings,  sent  me  to  prison,  offered  me  for  sale,  broken  up  my 
Sunday-school,  forbidden  me  to  teach  my  feUow-slaves  to  read  on  pain  of 
nine  and  thirty  lashes  on  my  bare  back;  he  had  sold  my  body  to  his 
brother  Hugh  and  pocketed  the  price  of  my  flesh  and  blood  without  any 
apparent  disturbance  of  his  conscience.  I,  on  my  part,  had  traveled 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  this  country  and  of  England,  holding 
up  this  conduct  of  his,  in  common  with  that  of  other  slaveholders,  to 
the  reprobation  of  all  men  who  would  listen  to  my  words.  I  had  made  his 


76  MEN  OF  MARK. 

name  and  his  deeds  familiar  to  the  world  by  my  writings  in  four  different 
languages;  yet  here  we  were,  after  four  decades,  once  more  face  to  face 
— ^he  on  his  bed,  aged  and  tremulous,  drawing  near  the  sunset  of  life,  and 
I,  his  former  slave,  United  States  marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
holding  his  hand  and  in  friendly  conversation  with  him  in  his  sort  of  final 
settlement  of  past  differences  preparatory  to  his  stepping  into  his  grave, 
where  all  distinctions  are  at  an  end,  and  where  the  great  and  the  small, 
the  slave  and  his  master,  are  reduced  to  the  same  level.  Had  I  been 
asked  in  the  days  of  slavery  to  visit  this  man,  I  should  have  regarded  the 
mvitation  as  one  to  put  fetters  on  my  ankles  and  handcuffs  on  my 
wrists.  It  would  have  been  an  invitation  to  the  auction  block  and  the 
slave  whip.  I  had  no  business  with  this  man  under  the  old  regime  but 
to  keep  out  of  his  way.  But  now  that  slavery  was  destroyed,  and  the 
slave  and  the  master  stood  upon  equal  ground,  I  was  not  only  willing  to 
meet  him  but  was  very  glad  to  do  so.  The  conditions  were/avorable  for 
remembrance  of  all  his  good  deeds  and  generous  extenuation  of  all  his 
evil  ones.  He  was  to  me  no  longer  a  slaveholder  either  in  fact  or  in 
spirit,  and  I  regarded  him  as  I  did  myself,  a  victim  of  the  circumstances 
of  birth,  education,  law  and  custom. 

Our  courses  had  been  determined  for  us,  not  by  us.  We  had  both  been 
flung,  by  powers  that  did  not  ask  our  consent,  upon  a  mighty  current  of 
life,  which  we  could  neither  resist  nor  control.  By  this  current  he  was  a 
master,  and  I  a  slave ;  but  now  our  lives  were  verging  towards  the  point 
-where  differences  disappeared,  where  even  the  constancy  of  hate  breaks 
down,  where  the  clouds  of  pride,  passion  and  selfishness  vanish  before  the 
■brightness  of  Infinite  light.  At  such  a  time  and  in  such  a  place,  when 
man  is  about  closing  his  eyes  on  this  world  and  ready  to  step  into  the 
eternal  unknown,  no  word  of  reproach  or  bitterness  should  reach  him  or 
^Edl  from  his  lips ;  and  on  this  occasion  there  was  to  this  rule  no  trans- 
gression  on  either  side. 

As  this  visit  to  Captain  Auld  had  been  made  the  subject  of  mirth  by 
heartless  triflers,  and  regretted  as  a  weakening  of  my  lifelong  testimony 
against  slavery  by  serious  minded  men,  and  as  the  report  of  it,  published 
in  the  papers  immediately  after  it  occurred,  was  in  some  respects  defective 
ahd  colored,  it  may  be  proper  to  state  exactly  what  was  said  and  done 
at  this  interview. 

It  should  in  the  first  place  be  understood  that  I  did  not  go  to  St. 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.  77 

Michaels  upon  Captain  Auld's  invitation,  but  upon  that  of  my  colored 
friend,  Charles  Caldwell ;  but  when  once  there,  Captain  Auld  sent  Mr. 
Green,  a  man  in  constant  attendance  upon  him  during  his  sickness,  to  telt' 
me  that  he  would  be  very  glad  to  see  me,  and  wished  me  to  accompany  Green 
to  his  house,  with  which  request  I  complied.    On  reaching  the  house  I 
was  met  by  Mr.  William  H.  Bruff,  a  son-in-law  of  Captain  Auld*s,  and 
Mrs.  Louisa  Bruff,  his  daughter,  and  was  conducted  by  them  immedi- 
ately to  the  bedroom  of  Captain  Auld.    We  addressed  each  other  simul- 
taneously, he  calling  me  "  Marshal  Douglass,"  and  I,  as  I  had  always  called' 
him,  **  Captain  Auld."   Hearing  my  self  called  by  him  '*  Marshal  Douglass," 
I  instantly  broke  up  the  formal  nature  of  the  meeting  by  saying,  "  Not  Mar- 
shal, but  Frederick  to  you  as  formerly.  * '  We  shook  hands  cordially,  and  in 
the  act  of  doing  so  he,  having  been  long  stricken  with  palsy,  shed  tears  as 
men  thus  afflicted  will  do  when  excited  by  any  deep  emotion.    The  sight  of 
him,  the  changes  which  time  had  wrought  in  him,  his  tremulous  hands 
constantly  in  motion,  and  all  the  circumstances  of  his  condition  affected 
me  deeply,  and  for  a  time  choked  my  voice  and  made  me  speechless.    We 
both,  however,  got  the  better  of  our  feelings  and  conversed  freely  about 
the  past. 

Though  broken  by  age  and  palsy,  the  mind  of  Captain  Auld  was 
remarkably  clear  and  strong.  After  he  had  become  composed  I  asked 
him  what  he  thought  of  ray  conduct  in  running  away  and  going  to  the 
North.  He  hesitated  a  moment  as  if  to  properly  formulate  his  reply,  and 
said :  "  Frederick,  I  always  knew  you  were  too  smart  to  be  a  slave,  and 
had  I  been  in  your  place  I  should  have  done  as  you  did."  I  said,  **  Captain 
Auld,  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  this.  I  did  not  run  away  from  you,  but 
from  slavery;  it  was  not  that  I  loved  Caesar  less,  but  Rome  more."  I 
told  him  that  I  had  made  a  mistake  in  my  narrative,  a  copy  of  which  I 
had  sent  him,  in  attributing  to  him  ungrateful  and  cruel  treatment  of  tny 
grandmother ;  that  I  had  done  so  on  the  supposition  that  in  the  division 
of  the  property  of  my  old  master,  Mr.  Aaron  Anthony,  my  grandmother 
had  fallen  to  him,  and  that  he  had  left  her  in  her  old  age,  when  she  could 
be  no  longer  of  service  to  him,  to  pick  up  her  living  in  solitude  with  none 
to  help  her;  or  in  other  words,  had  turned  her  out  to  die  like  an  old  horse. 
"  Ah,"  said  he,  "that  was  a  mistake;  I  never  owned  your  grandmother; 
she,  in  the  division  of  the  slaves,  was  awarded  to  my  brother-in-law, 
Andrew  Anthony ;  but,"  he  added  quickly,  **  I  brotight  her  down  here  and 


78  MBN  OP  MARK.. 

took  care  of  her  as  long  as  she  lived."  The  fact  is,  that  after  writing  mj 
narrative,  describing  the  condition  of  my  grandmother,  Captain  Auld's 
attention  being  thus  called  to  it,  he  rescued  her  from  destitution.  I  told 
him  that  this  mistake  of  mine  was  corrected  as  soon  as  I  discovered  it, 
and  that  I  had  at  no  time  any  wish  to  do  him  injustice,  and  that  I 
regarded  both  of  us  as  victims  of  a  system.  "  Oh,  I  never  liked  slavery," 
he  said,  **  and  I  meant  to  emancipate  all  my  slaves  when  they  reached  the 
age  of  twenty-five  years."  I  told  him  I  had  always  been  curious  to  know 
how  old  I  was,  that  it  had  been  a  serious  trouble  to  me  not  to  know 
when  was  my  birthday.  He  said  he  could  not  tell  me  that,  but  he 
thought  I  was  bom  in  February,  1818.  This  date  made  me  one  year 
younger  than  I  had  supposed  myself,  from  what  was  told  me  by  Mistress 
Lucretia,  Captain  Auld's  former  wife,  when  I  left  Lloyd's  for  Baltimore 
in  the  spring  of  1825 ;  she  having  then  said  that  I  was  eight,  going  on 
nine.  I  know  that  it  was  in  the  year  1825  that  I  went  to  Baltimore,  be' 
cause  it  was  in  that  year  that  Mr.  James  Beacham  built  a  large  frigate 
at  the  foot  of  Alliceana  street,  for  one  of  the  South  American  governments. 
Judging  from  this,  and  from  certain  events  which  transpired  at  Colonel 
Lloyd's,  such  as  a  boy  without  any  knowledge  of  books  under  eight  years 
old  would  hardly  take  cognizance  of,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  Mrs.  XfU- 
cretia  was  nearer  right  as  to  my  age  than  her  husband. 

Before  I  left  his  bedside.  Captain  Auld  spoke  with  a  cheerful  confidence 
of  the  great  change  that  awaited  him,  and  felt  himself  about  to  depart  in 
peace.  Seeing  his  extreme  weakness  I  did  not  protract  my  visit.  The 
whole  interview  did  not  last  more  than  twenty  minutes,  and  we  parted 
to  meet  no  more.  His  death  was  soon  after  announced  in  the  papers, 
and  the  fact  that  he  had  once  owned  me  as  a  slave  was  cited  as  rendering 
that  event  noteworthy. 

His  life  has  been  marked  by  a  purity  of  purpose  from  its 
beginning.  He  has  filled  many  offices  of  trust,  yet  in  not  one 
position  has  he  ever  betrayed  his  trust.  He  has  been  largely, 
deeply  engaged  in  politics,  yet  has  been  no  politician.  That 
is,  he  understood  and  practiced  none  of  the  tricks  of  politi- 
cians. His  work  has  always  been  honest  and  conscientious, 
because  he  believed  in  whatever  cause  he  worked  for,  and 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.  79 

did  not,  as  most  of  our  public  men,  have  an  eye  to  a  per- 
sonal reward.  All  the  recompense  he  sought  was  a  con- 
scioiisness  of  having  accomplished  some  good.  Whatever 
lias  been  given  him  in  the  way  of  oflSce  has  been  unsolicited 
by  him.  Some  of  our  public  men  have  wavered  in  their 
fidelity  to  the  Republican  party,  when  after  long  waiting 
they  fail  to  see  a  substantial  reward  laid  at  their  feet ;  but 
not  so  with  Mr.  Douglass.  Qle  believed  implicitly  in  the 
Republican  party  and  realized  that  being  composed  of 
human  beings  it  might  sometimes  err;  but  he  would  say, 
"The  Republican  party  is  the  deck  and  all  outside  is  the 
sea."  Another  sa3ring  of  his  is,  "I  would  rather  be  with 
the  Republican  party  in  defeat,  than  with  the  Democratic 
party  in  victory.'^  By  such  expressions  may  be  seen  his 
faithful  adherence  to  what  he  believed  to  be  right. 

He  is  generous  and  forgiving,  almost  to  a  fault.  On  the 
friendliest  terms  with  Lincoln,  Grant,  Sumner  and  many 
of  their  compeers,  his  opinions  on  public  matters  were  al- 
ways heard  with  deference  and  often  adopted.  His  clear, 
forcible,  yet  persuasive  way  of  presenting  facts,  always 
carry  conviction  with  it. 

And  now,  after  a  long  and  well  fought  battle  of  seventy 
years,  we  find  him  still  erect  and  strong,  bearing  gracefully 
and  unassumingly  the  laurels  he  has  so  nobly  won.  No 
one  who  visits  him  in  his  beautiful  home  at  Cedar  Cottage 
conies  away  without  being  richer  by  some  gem  of  thought, 
dropped  by  the  genial  host. 

(a  few  years  ago  Fred  Douglass  married  a  white  lady, 
who  was  a  clerk  in  his  office  while  recorder  of  deedsj  This 
was  much  objected  to  by  many  of  his  race,  but  on  mature 


80  MEN  OF  MARK. 

reflection,  it  has  been  about  decided  that  he  was  no  slave 
to  take  a  wife  as  in  slave  times  on  a  plantation — accord- 
ing to  some  master^s  wish— but  that  it  was  his  own  busi- 
ness, and  he  was  only  responsible  to  God.  He  has  been 
invited  to  the  President's  levees  and  he  and  his  wife  shown 
every  mark  of  consideration.  His  travel  in  foreign  coun- 
tries has  in  no  way  been  embarrassed  by  this  act.  If  any 
one  thought  he  was  so  foohsh  as  to  not  know  what  would 
be  said  of  his  marriage,  they  have  mistaken  the  man.  But 
Douglass  did  as  he  thought  was  right  as  he  understood  it. 
It  showed  he  had  the  courage  to  brave  popular  opinion  as 
he  had  done  on  other  occasions. 

Frederick  Douglass  enjoys  a  joke  as  well  as  any  man  I 
know.  I  was  traveling  with  him  recently  from  Atlantic 
City,  New  Jersey,  to  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 
We  had  been  traveling  on  the  territory  of  Maryland.  Near 
Harve  de  Grace,  a  rather  officious  white  gentleman  was 
particularly  attentive  to  Mr.  Douglass,  and  after  intro- 
ducing himself  to  the  eminent  orator  stood  up  and  called 
out  to  the  people  in  the  car :  **  Gentlemen  and  ladies,  this 
is  Frederick  Douglass,  the  greatest  colored  man  in  the 
United  States."  The  people  flocked  around  him  for  an 
introduction.  One  white  gentleman  who  was  a  Mary- 
lander,  said  "Let  me  see,  Mr.  Douglass,  you  ran  away 
from  Maryland,  did  you  not,  somewhere  in  this  neighbor- 
hood, I  believe?''  "No,"  said  Mr.  Douglass,  with  that 
grand  air  and  good  humored  laugh  which  is  his  own  prop- 
erty, "Oh,  no  sir,  I  did  not  run  away  from  Maryland,  I 
ran  away  from  slavery." 
[There  are  three  great  orators  in  this  country,  Frederick 


FRED^UCK  DOUGLASS.  81 

Douglass,  John  M.  Langston  and  George  W.  Williams, 
the  first  two  are  a  couplet  of  as  magnificent  speakers  as 
ever  heard  on  an  American  platform ;  the  last  Is  a  gifted 
star  ascending  the  zenith.  Douglass  and  Langston  are  ripe 
iwith  age  and  mellow  with  experience.  The  young  man  is 
now  vigorous  and  fiill  of  strength  and  handles  the  less  ex- 
citing subjects  of  the  day.  The  older  men  had  the  subjects 
of  slavery  and  reconstruction;  two  greater  themes,  can 
and  may  never  engage  our  minds  in  this  broad  land  of 
swift  passing  events.  They  showed  their  zeal  and  inspira- 
tion against  wrong;  Williams  shows  his  learning,  research, 
and  Imlliant  oratorjrj 

God  grant,  when  in  the  course  of  nature  the  mantle 
shall  fall  fi'om  his  shoulders,  that  one  may  spring  up  to 
wear  it,  to  guard  it  as  vigilantly  as  he  has,  and  as  lov- 
ingly and  carefiilly  protect  its  folds  fi-om  pollution. 

If  the  extracts  here  given  should  be  long,  let  it  be  re- 
membered that  Mr.  Douglass,  by  length  of  service,  by  pre- 
eminence in  public  office,  by  his  standing  not  only  in 
America,  but  in  the  world,  is  entitled  to  large  space.  I 
want  the  young  people  also  to  declaim  these  extracts.  I 
am  tired  of  hearing  every  man's  good  works  repeated  and 
no  Negro's  eloquence  chain  an  audience  when,  too,  there  are 
such  elegant  specimens. 

The  following  is  taken  from  his  great  speech  in  the 
Ulational  Convention  of  Colored  Men  held  in  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  September  25,  18837] 

The  speaker  addressed  the  greater  part  of  his  remarks  to 
the  white  citizens  of  the  country  in  the  nature  of  a  rebuke 
for  their  shortcomings  towards  the  colored  race,  and  said : 


82  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Bom  on  American  soil,  in  common  with  yourselves,  deriving  oar 
bodies  and  our  minds  from  its  dust ;  centuries  having  passed  away  since 
our  ancestors  were  torn  from  the  shores  of  Africa,  we,  like  yourselves, 
hold  ourselves  to  be  in  every  sense  Apiericans.  Having  watered  your 
soil  with  our  tears,  enriched  it  with  our  blood,  performed  its  roughest 
labor  in  time  of  peace,  defended  it  agtiinst  enemies  in  time  of  war,  and 
having  at  all  times  been  loyal  and  true  to  its  highest  interests,  we 
deem  it  no  arrogance  or  presumption  to  manifest  now  a  common  con- 
cern with  you  for  its  welfare,  prosperity,  honor  and  glory. 

WHAT  THE  NEGROES  WANT. 

Referring  to  the  antagonism  experienced  in  calling  the 
convention,  he  said : 

Prom  the  day  the  call  for  this  convention  went  forth,  the  seeming  in- 
congruity and  contradiction  of  holding  it  has  been  brought  to  our  atten- 
tion. From  one  quarter  and  another,  sometimes  with  argument  and 
sometimes  without  argument;  sometimes  with  seeming  pity  for  our 
ignorance,  and  at  other  times  with  fierce  censure  for  our  depravity,  these 
questions  have  met  us.  With  apparent  surprise,  astonishment  and  im- 
patience, we  have  been  asked :  '*  What  more  do  the  colored  people  of  this 
country  want  than  they  now  have,  and  what  more  is  possible  for  them  ?" 
It  is  said  they  were  once  slaves,  they  are  now  free ;  they  were  once  sub- 
jects, they  are  now  sovereigns ;  they  were  once  outside  of  all  American 
institutions,  they  are  now  inside  of  all,  and  a  recognized  part  of  the 
whole  American  people.  Why,  then,  do  they  hold  colored  national  con- 
ventions, and  thus  insist  upon  keeping  up  the  color  line  between  them- 
selves and  their  white  fellow-countrymen  ?" 

Mr.  Douglass  then  proceeded  to  answer  these  questions 
categorically,  and  took  occasion  to  administer  a  basting 
to  those  of  his  people  who  were  too  mean,  servile  and  cow- 
ardly  to  assert  the  true  dignity  of  their  manhood  and  their 
race,  and  referred  the  existence  of  such  creatures  to  the 
lingering  remains  of  slave  caste  and  oppression. 


FRKDERICK  DOUGLASS.  83 

To  the  question  'tJVliy  are  we  here  in  this  National  Con- 
Tcntion  ?"  he  answered : 

Because  the  voice  of  a  whole  people,  oppressed  by  a  common  injustice, 
is  fiu*  more  likely  to  command  attention  and  exert  an  influence  on  the 
public  mind  than  the  voice  of  simple  individuals  and  isolated  organiza- 
tions :  because  we  may  thus  have  a  more  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
the  general  situation  and  conceive  more  clearly  and  express  more  fully 
and  wisely  the  policy  it  may  be  necessary  for  them  to  pursued  If  held  for 
good  cause,  and  by  wise,  sober  and  earnest  men,  the  result  will  be  salu- 
tary. The  objection  to  a  "  colored  "  convention  lies  more  in  sound  than 
substance.  No  reasonable  man  will  ever  object  to  white  men  holding 
conventions  in  their  own  interest  when  they  are  once  in  our  condition 
and  we  in  theirs :  when  they  are  the  oppressed  and  we  the  oppressors. 

In  point  of  fact,  however,  white  men  are  already  in  convention  against 
08  in  various  ways,  and  at  many  important  points ;  and  ^e  practical 
structure  of  American  life  is  in  convention  against  usT7  Human  law  may 
know  no  distinction  between  men  in  respect  of  rights,  but  human  prac- 
tice may.  Examples  are  painfully  abundant.  The  border  men  hate  the 
Indians;  the  Califomian,  the  Chinaman ;  the  Mohametan, the  Christian, 
and  vice  versa,  and  in  spite  of  a  common  nature  and  the  equality  framed 
into  law,  this  hate  works  injustice,  of  which  each  in  their  own  name  and 
under  their  own  color  may  complain. 

The  apology  for  observing  the  color  line  in  the  composi- 
tion of  our  State  and  National  conventions  is  in  its  neces- 
sity, and  because  we  must  do  this  or  nothing. 

CIVIL  RIGBTS  OBSTRUCTIONS. 

In  vindication  of  the  convention  and  its  cause,  the  speaker 
continued : 

It  is  our  lot  to  live  among  a  people  whose  laws,  traditions  and  preju- 
dices have  been  against  us  for  centuries,  and  from  these  they  are  not  yet 
free.  To  assume  that  they  are  free  from  these  evils,  simply  because  they 
have  changed  their  laws,  is  to  assume  what  is  utterly  unreasonable  and 


84  MEN  OF  MARK. 

contrary  to  facts.  Large  bodies  move  slowly ;  individuals  may  be  con- 
verted on  the  instant  and  change  the  whole  course  of^ife ;  nations  never. 
[Not  even  the  character  of  a  g^at  political  organization  can  be 
changed  by  a  new  platform.  It  will  be  the  same  old  snake,  though  in  a 
new  skinl  Though  we  have  had  war,  reconstruction  and  abolition  as  a 
nation,  we  s'till  linger  in  the  shadow  and  blight  of  an  extinct  institution. 
Though  the  colored  man  is  no  longer  subject  to  barter  and  sale,  he  is 
surrounded  by  an  adverse  settlement  which  fetters  all  his  movements.  In 
his  downward  course  he  meets  with  no  resistance,  but  his  course  upward  is 
resented  and  resisted  at  every  step  of  his  prog^ss.  If  he  comes  in  ignor- 
ance, rags  and  wretchedness,  he  conforms  to  the  popular  belief  of  bis 
character,  and  in  that  character  he  is  welcome ;  but  if  he  shall  come  as  a 
gentleman,  a  scholar  and  a  statesman,  he  is  hailed  as  a  contradiction  to 
the  national  faith  concerning  his  race,  and  his  coming  is  resented  as  impn* 
dence.  In  the  one  case  he  may  provoke  contempt  and  derision,  but  in  the 
other  he  is  an  affront  to  pride  and  provokes  malice.  Let  him  do  what  he 
will,  there  is  at  present  no  escape  for  him.  The  color  line  meets  him  every- 
where, and  in  a  measure,  shuts  him  out  from  all  respectable  and  profitable 
trades  and  callings.  In  spite  of  all  your  religion  and  laws,  he  is  a  rejected 
man.  Not  even  our  churches,  whose  members  profess  to  follow  the  despised 
Nazarine,  whose  home  when  on  earth  was  among  the  lowly  and  despised, 
have  yet  conquered  the  feeling  of  color  madness ;  and  what  is  true  of  our 
churches  is  also  true  of  our  courts  of  law.  Neither  is  free  from  this  all- 
pervading  atmosphere  of  color  hate.  The  one  describes  the  Deity  as  im- 
partial and  "no  respecter  of  persons,"  and  the  other  shows  the  Goddess 
of  Justice  as  blindfolded,  with  a  sword  by  her  side  and  scales  in  her 
hand  held  evenly  balanced  between  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  white 
and  black,  but  both  are  images  of  American  imagination,  rather  than  of 
American  practice.  Taking  advantage  of  the  general  disposition  in  this 
cotmtry  to  impute  crime  to  color,  white  men  color  their  faces  to  commit 
crime,  and  wash  off  the  hated  color  to  escape  punishment. 

Speaking  of  lynch  law  for  the  black  man,  he  says : 

A  man  accused,  surprised,  frightened  and  captured  by  a  motley  cro^nrd,. 
dragged  with  a  rope  around  his  neck  in  midnight  darkness  to  the  nearest 
tree,  and  told  in  terms  of  coarsest  profanity  to  prepare  for  death,  would 
be  more  than  biunan  if  he  did  not  in  his  terror-stricken  appearance  mor^ 


FRBDBRICK  DOUGLASS.  85 

confirm  tbe  snspidoii  of  his  guilt  than  the  contraty.  Worse  still ;  in  the 
presence  ofsnch  hell-black  outrages  the  pulpit  is  usually  dumb,  and  the 
press  in  the  neighborhood  is  silent,  or  openly  takes  sides  with  the  mob. 
There  are  occasional  cases  in  which  white  men  are  lynched,  but  one 
sw^allow  does  not  make  a  summer.  Every  one  knows  that  what  is 
called  lynch  law  is  peculiarly  the  law  for  colored  people  cmd  tor  nobody 


He  next  referred  to  the  continuation  of  Ku-klux  outrages, 
and  said  generally  this  condition  of  things  is  too  flagrant 
and  notorious  to  require  specification  or  proof  "Thus  in 
all  the  relations  of  life  and  death  we  are  met  by  the  color 
line.  We  cannot  ignore  it  if  we  would,  and  ought  not  if 
\^e  could.  It  hunts  us  at  midnight,  it  denies  us  accommo- 
dation in  hotels  and  justice  in  the  courts;  excludes  our 
children  fi*om  schools ;  refuses  6ur  sons  the  chance  to  learn 
trades,  and  compels  us  to  pursue  such  labor  as  will  bring 
tis  the  least  reward.  While  we  recognize  the  color  line  as 
a  hurtful  force -a  mountain  barrier  to  our  progress, 
wounding  our  bleeding  feet  with  its  flinty  rocks  at  everj^ 
step — we  do  not  despair.  We  are  a  hopeful  people.  This 
convention  is  a  proof  of  our  faith  in  you,  in  reason,  in 
truth  and  justice,  and  of  our  belief  that  prejudice,  with  all 
its  malign  accompaniments,  may  yet  be  removed  by  peace- 
ful means.  When  this  shall  come,  the  color  line  will  onlv 
be  used  as  it  should  be,  to  distingush  one  variety  of  the 
human  family  from  another." 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTV'S  ATTITUDE. 

Our  meeting  here  was  opposed  by  some  of  our  number,  because  it 
"wotild  disturb  the  peace  of  the  Republican  party.  The  suggestion  came 
from  coward  lips  and  misapprehends  the  character  of  that  party.  |lf  the 
Republican  party  cannot  stand  a  demand  for  justice  and  fair  play,  it 


86  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ought  to  go  downT]  We  were  men  before  that  party  was  bom,  and  our 
manhood  is  more  sacred  than  any  party  can  be.  Parties  were  made  for 
men,  not  men  for  parties.  This  hat  (pointing  to  his  big  white  sombrero 
lying  on  the  table  before  him),  was  made  for  my  head ;  not  my  head  for 
the  hat.  ( Applause.  )Qf  the  six  million  of  colored  people  in  this  country, 
armed  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  with  a  million  votes 
of  their  own  to  lean  upon,  and  millions  of  white  men  at  their  backs 
whose  hearts  are  responsive  to  the  claims  of  humanity,  have  not  sufficient 
spirit  and  wisdom  to  organize  and  combine  to  defend  themselves  from 
outrage,  discrimination  and  oppression,  it  will  be  idle  for  them  to  expect 
that  the  Republican  party  or  any  other  political  party  will  organize  and 
combine  for  them,  or  care  what  becomes  of  them] 

The  following  is  taken  from  an  anti-slavery  speech  de- 
livered many  years  ago : 

A  PERTINENT  QUESTION. 

BY  FREDERICK  DOUGLASS. 

Is  it  not  astonishing  that  while  we  are  plowing,  planting,  and  reap- 
ing, using  all  kinds  of  mechanical  tools,  erecting  houses  and  constructing 
bridges,  building  ships,  working  in  metals  of  brass,  iron  and  copper,  sil- 
ver and  gold ;  that  while  we  are  reading,  writing  and  ciphering,  acting 
as  clerks,  merchants  and  secretaries,  having  among  us  lawyers,  doctors, 

m 

ministers,  poets,  authors,  editors,  orators  and  teachers ;  that  while  we 
are  engaged  in  all  manner  of  enterprises  common  to  other  men,  digging 
gold  in  California,  capturing  the  whale  in  the  Pacific,  breeding  cattle 
and  sheep  on  the  hillside;  living,  moving,  acting,  thinking,  planning; 
living  in  families  as  husbands,  wives  and  children ;  and,  above  all,  con- 
fessing and  worshiping  the  Christian's  God,  and  looking  hopefully  for 
immortal  life  beyond  the  grave ;  is  it  not  astonishing,  I  say,  that  we  are 
called  upon  to  prove  that  we  are  men  ? 

In  the  Negro,  a  monthly  magazine,  published  in  Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts,  of  date  August,  1886,  under  the  head 
of 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS.  87 

**  MISNOMER," 

Mr.  Douglass  wrote  as  follows : 

Allow  me  to  say  tbat  what  is  called  the  Negro  problem  seems  to  me  a 
misnomer.  The  real  problem  which  this  nation  has  to  solve,  and  the 
solution  of  which  it  will  have  to  answer  for  in  history,  were  better  de- 
scribed as  the  white  man*s  problem.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  greater 
mclndes  the  less.  What  is  called  the  Negro  problem  is  swallowed  up  by 
the  Caucasian  problem.  \^he  question  is  whether  the  white  man  can 
ever  be  elevated  to  that  plane  of  justice,  humanity  and  Christian  civili- 
zation which  win  permit  Negroes,  Indians  and  Chinamen,  and  other 
darker  colored  races  to  enjoy  an  equal  chance  in  the  race  of  life.  It  is 
not  so  much  whether  these  races  can  be  made  Christians  as  whether 
white  people  can  be  made  Christians^  The  Negro  is  few,  the  white  man 
is  many.  The  Negro  is  weak,  the  white  man  is  strong.  In  the  problem 
of  the  Negro's  future,  the  white  man  is  therefore  the  chief  factor.  He  is 
the  potter ;  the  Negro  is  the  clay.  It  is  for  him  to  say  whether  the  Negro 
shall  become  a  well  rotmded,  symmetrical  man,  or  be  cramped,  deformed 
and  dwarfed.  A  plant  deprived  of  warmth,  moisture  and  sunlight  cannot 
Hve  and  grow.  And  a  people  deprived  of  the  means  of  an  honest  liveli- 
hood must  wither  and  die.  All  1  ask  for  the  Negro  is  fair  play.  Give 
him  this,  and  I  have  no  fear  for  his  future.  The  great  mass  ot  the  col- 
ored people  in  this  country  are  now,  and  must  continue  to  be  in,  the 
South ;  and  there,  if  anywhere,  they  must  survive  or  perish. 

It  is  idle  to  suppose  these  people  can  make  any  large  degree  of  progress 
in  morals,  religion  and  material  conditions,  while  their  persons  are  un- 
protected, their  rights  unsecured,  their  labor  defrauded,  and  they  are 
kept  only  a  little  beyond  the  starving  point. 

Of  course  I  rejoice  that  efforts  are  being  made  byxbenevolent  and 
Christian  people  at  the  North  in  the  interest  of  religion  and  education ; 
but  I  cannot  conceal  from  myself  that  much  of  this  must  seem  a  mock- 
ery and  a  delusion  to  the  colored  people  there,  while  they  are  left  at  the 
mercy  of  anarchy  and  lawless  violence.  It  is  something  to  g^ve  the 
Negro  religion  (he  could  have  that  in  time  of  slavery):  it  is  more  to  give 
him  justice.  It  is  something  to  give  him  the  Bible;  it  is  more  to  give 
him  the  ballot.  It  is  something  to  tell  him  that  there  is  a  place  for  him 
in  the  Christian's  heaven;  it  is  more  to  allow  him  a  peacful  dwelling, 
place  in  this  Christian  country.  Frederick  Douglass. 


88  HEN  OF  MASK. 


n. 

REV.  W.  B.  DERRICK,  D.  D. 

Minister  of  the  African  M.  E.  Church— Pulpit  Orator. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  on  the  Island  of  An- 
tigua, in  the  British  West  Indies,  Jul}"  27, 1843.  Nine- 
teen years  after  the  boon  of  emancipation  was  conferred 
on  those  islands  by  the  British  Parliament,  in  1834,  An- 
tigua, his  native  land,  was  the  first  island  in  the  British 
West  Indies  which  had  the  courage  to  ameliorate  her 
slave  laws,  by  affording  the  accused  the  benefit  of  a  trial 
by  jury ;  and  an  act  of  the  assembly,  February  13, 1834, 
decreed  the  emancipation  of  every  slave  without  requiring 
a  period  of  apprenticeship  prescribed  by  the  British  Parlia- 
ment. She  refused  to  believe  in  the  virtues  of  apprentice- 
ship to  prepare  her  bondsmen  for  freedom ;  if  they  were  to 
be  liberated,  why  not  at  once?  And  she  has  never  had 
occasion  to  repent  it. 

His  father,  Thomas  J.  Derrick,  belonged  to  the  highly 
respectable  family  of  Derricks  who  were  large  plantefs  in 
the  islands  of  Antigua  and  Anguila.  His  mother,  Eliza, 
was  of  medium  height,  with  regular  features  always 
lighted  up  with  smiles,  of  genial  disposition,  and  a  mind 
well  stored  with  witty  and  original  thoughts,  which  ren- 
dered her  conversation  interesting,  animating  and  devoid 


W.  B.  DERRICK. 


W.  B.  DERRICK.  89 

of  monotony.  Both  parents  are  now*  slumbering,  the 
former  in  the  cemetery  of  the  village  church,  the  latter 
beneath  the  pendant  branches  of  the  mahogany  tree  in  the 
public  cemetery  of  the  metropolis  of  the  island.  Mr.  Der- 
rick when  very  young  was  sent  to  a  private  school,  and  at 
the  end  of  two  years  was  admitted  in  the  public  school  at 
Gracefield,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Moravians,  and  regu- 
larly attended  from  1848  until  the  spring  of  1856,  when 
the  head  master  of  said  school  was  removed  to  another 
•charge.  During  these  eight  years,  his  progress  at  every 
stage  in  his  studies  was  rapid  and  substantial,  as  if  he  had 
adopted  for  his  motto  "7  will  excel.**  His  natural  talent, 
especially  for  oratory,  elicited  general  applause  at  the 
annual  examinations,  largely  attended  by  the  elite  of  the 
neighborhood,  who  took  special  interest  in  the  cause  of 
education.  In  his  class,  conspicuous  for  his  uncommonly 
large  head,  high  forehead  and  penetrating  eyes,  he  stood 
among-  the  lew  who  could  manfully  grapple  with  the  diffi- 
cult questions  put  by  the  tutor.  In  the  spring  of  1856,  he 
was  sent  to  a  select  private  high  school  in  the  metropolis, 
under  the  tutorship  of  J.  Wilson,  Esquire,  a  fine  classical 
scholar,  but  a  great  disciplinarian.  Here  he  remained 
three  years.  He  was  afterward  sent  to  learn  the  trade  of 
a  blacksmith.  His  parents  finally  consented  to  let  him  go 
to  sea,  under  the  care  of  Captain  Crane,  with  the  under- 
standing that  he  was  to  be  taught  the  science  of  navi- 
gation, and  at  the  end  of  two  or  three  years  to  return 
home  and  embark  in  business.  On  the  sixth  of  May,  1860, 
he  was  on  his  first  voyage  to  the  United  States.  The  ship 
was  soon  enveloped  in  a  violent  storm,  and  driven  ashore 


90  MEN  OP  MARK. 

at  Turk's  Island,  bnt  saved  from  becoming  a  total  wreck-^ 
She  took  in  her  cargo,  however,  and  sailed  to  New  York. 
After  a  voyage  of  fourteen  days,  the  merchantman  reached 
the  back-waters  and  continued  to  glide  until  she  reached 
Sandy  Hook.  On  coming  along  the  Jersey  coast,  some 
altercations,  on  the  term  "nigger"  being  applied  to  him, 
took  place  between  an  Irishman  and  himself,  which  ended 
in  his  convincing  the  young  Irishman,  pugilistically,  that 
his  complexion  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  manhood.  He 
did  considerable  sailing  around  in  ships,  visiting  the  coast 
of  Massachusetts  and  other  places,  and  finally  came  ta 
Boston.  On  this  trip  he  met  with  a  serious  accident,, 
namely,  the  breaking  of  his  leg  in  two  places.  The  case 
was  aggravated  by  not  having  a  surgeon  on  the  spot  for 
treatment.  After  making  several  trips  and  being  ship- 
wrecked, he  volunteered  in  the  service  of  the  United  States 
government  for  three  years,  and  was  assigned  to  the 
flagship  Minnesota^  of  the  North  Atlantic  squadron.  He 
was  thrown  among  five  hundred  other  sailors,  of  all  na- 
tionalities, who,  like  himself,  were  enlisted  on  the  side  of 
right.  War  absorbed  his  whole  soul,  yet  with  all  this  he 
could  not  repress  the  old  idea,  or  smother  the  returning 
voice  of  the  spirit  which  seemed  to  haunt  him,  urging  him 
to  enter  the  Christian  ministry.  When  he  met  with  the 
accident  previously  alluded  to,  he  had  had  serious  thoughts 
concerning  this  matter.  Like  a  nail  driven  in  a  sure  place 
by  "the  master  of  assemblies,"  there  was  no  getting 
away  from  him  who  was  determined  to  be  heard  amid  the 
din  and  roar  of  artillery  and  the  shrieks  of  shells.  The 
hand  of  the  Lord  was  upon  him.    He -.was  formally  en- 


W.  B.  DERRICK.  91 

rolled  in  the  list  of  sailors  from  1861  to  1864  and  contrib- 
uted  his  quota  to  the  gallant  exploits  and  glorious- 
achievements,  and  shared  in  the  trials  and  triumphs  of 
those  brave  ones  in  their  struggles  and  conquests  in  the 
civil  war. 

Many  incidents  transpired  while  he  remained  on  board 
his  floating  home,  many  of  which  beggar  description,  as, 
in  the  conflict  between  the  Merrimac  and  Monitor y  and  in 
the  heartrending  scenes  of  carnage  and  blood.  He  was  an 
American  citizen  now,  and  having  been  dismissed  from  the 
United  States  navy,  took  two  steps,  one  in  leading  to  the 
altar  of  matrimony  Miss  Mary  E.  White,  the  only 
daughter  of  Edwin  White,  Esq.,  of  Norfolk,  Virginia,  and 
the  other  to  take  the  initiatory  to  enter  theministry  of  the 
African  M.E.  Church  by  joiningthe  church  at  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev. ,  [now} 
Bishop  J.  M.  Brown,  who,  after  the  usual  preliminaries, 
licensed  him  to  preach  and  at  the  same  time  to  act  as  mip  • 
sionary  agent,  both  of  which  offices  he  held  until  1867. 
He  was  then  admitted  to  the  regular  traveling  connection,, 
appointed  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  D.  A.  Payne,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  to 
Mt.  Pisgah  chapel,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  where 
he  labored  for  one  year  as  preacher  and  teacher.  In  the 
year  1868  he  was  ordained  deacon,  and  transferred  to  the 
Virginia  conference,  which  closed  before  he  arrived.  His 
only  alternative  was  to  accept  one  of  the  most  impover- 
ished missions  in  the  district,  situated  in  the  Alleghany 
mountains,  almost  on  the  border  of  the  Tennessee  line.  At 
the  annual  conference  at  Portsmouth,  he  was  elected  elder 
and  was  ordained  by  Bishop  J.  P.*  Campbell,  D.  D.,LL.  D., 


*92  MBN  OP  MARK. 

after  which  he  was  appointed  pastor  and  presiding  elder  of 
the  Staunton  church  and  district.  Prom  this  time  he  may 
be  said  to  be  firmly  established  in  the  Christian  ministry. 
He  was  reappointed  presiding  elder,  pastor  and  conference 
secretary  at  the  annual  conference  held  in  Norfolk  in  1870 
Staunton,  1871;  Richmond,  1872;  Portsmouth,  1873 
Danville,  1874;  Richmond,  1875;  Portsmouth,  1876 
Wytheville,  1877 ;  Parmville,  1878 ;  and  Hampton,  1879 
as  a  delegate  to  the  general  conference  held  in  Nashville, 
1872,  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  1876,  and  at  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, 1884,  serving  on  all  important  committees  in  the  ses- 
sions. In  politics  he  has  taken  an  active  part.  In  Virginia, 
when  the  question  of  readjusting  the  State  was  agitating 
the  country,  and  was  submitted  to  the  people  to  be  voted 
upon  in  the  November  elections  of  1879,  he  took  sides  with 
the  party  that  was  in  favor  of  papngthe  debt  as  had  been 
contracted.  This  party  was  known  as  the  "Funders." 
His  attitude  was  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  platform 
of  the  National  Republican  party  insomuch  that  the  admin- 
istration at  Washington  sanctioned  his  course  again.  As 
the  colored  people  were  considered  dangerous  and  willing 
tools  in  the  hands  of  ambitious  men,  who  were  unscrupu- 
lous and  always  ready  to  make  use  of  them  in  furthering 
their  own  ends,  regardless  of  consequences,  he  publicly  de- 
nounced the  faction  known  as  "Readjusters,"  who  repu- 
•diated  the  payment  of  an  honest  debt.  This  controversy 
w^as  considered  the  most  vindictive  political  war  ever 
waged  in  that  section,  and  lasted  several  months,  termin- 
ating in  the  triumph  of  the  "Readjusters.'*  Mr.  Derrick 
was  disgusted,  and  knowing  full  well  that  as  leader  of  the 


k 


W.  B.  DERRICK.  93^' 

opposite  faction  he  would  have  to  suiBfer,  he  resigned  his 
charge,  left  the  South  again,  and  took  a  trip  to  the  West 
Indies  in  company  with  his  wife.  In  this  tour  he  traveled 
in  the  Bermudas,  Jamaica,  St.  Thomas  and  Antigua,  his 
native  land.  After  twenty  years  absence  he  first  visited 
the  home  of  his  oldest  sister;  then  the  graves  of  his  de- 
parted parents  and  other  members  of  the  family.  He 
preached  and  lectured  to  almost  all  the  churches,  on  popu- 
lar subjects.  Returning  to  the  United  States,  he  resumed 
his  ministerial  duties.  He  has  since  served  churches  in 
Salem,  New  Jersey ;  Albany,  New  York,  and  Sullivan  street 
church.  New  York  City,  where  he  continues  to  enjoy  the 
confidence  of  the  members  of  his  church  and  the  commu- 
nity at  large. 

The  doctor  has  many  personal  admirers  and  they  will 
read  with  interest  a  book  of  over  three  hundred  pages,  in 
press  at  this  writing,  which  will  contain  a  "Tribute  to 
the  Life  and  Labors  of  Rev.  W.  B.  Derrick,  D.  D.,  Minister 
of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church."  The  contents  will  be  about  as 
follows : 

Preface;  Dedication  to  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Liberty  in  the  United 
States  and  the  West  Indies;  Recommendatory  Letters  from  Bishop  H. 
M.  Turner,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Dr.  B.  T.  Tanner,  Rev.  J.  A.  Handy,  D.  D.,  Profes- 
sor T.  McCants  Stewart,  LL.  B.,  Rev.  W.  H.  Thomas,  A.  M.,  Rev.  T.  T. 
B.  Reid,  B.  A.;  Outline  History  of  Antigua,  Dr.  Derrick's  native  land; 
Notices  of  some  of  the  leading  men  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— the  whole 
-work  of  his  life  covering  four  periods,  viz : 

Period  I. — His  Childhood  and  Youth. 

Period  IL — Life  Abroad ;  or.  The  Young  Man  from  Home. 

Period  IIL — In  the  American  Navy  during  the  Civil  War. 

Period  IY. — ^Twenty-three  years  in  the   Ministry  of  the  A.  M.  B.. 
Cbarcb ;  Sermons  and  Orations  and  Contributions  to  the  Press. 


94  MEN  OF  MARK. 

His  sermons,  addresses  and  speeches  are  noticed  in  the 
New  York  Tribune^  Sun^  Herald^  Times^  the  Evening  Tele- 
gram,  the  Christian  Recorder  and  the  leading  colored 
journals  in  this  country,  such  as  the  New  York  Freeman 
and  the  Boston  Advocate.  He  is  a  staunch  Republican  in 
politics,  a  progressive  and  evangelical  preacher  of  the  gos- 
pel, filled  with  the  broad  benevolence  of  Heaven  and  un- 
wearied  in  his  eflForts  to  save  immortal  souls.  The  Wilber- 
force  University  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  D.  D.,  in 
1885.  He  is  an  honorary  member  of  the  I.  O.  G.  Tern- 
plars,  the  Masonic  Body,  Odd-Fellows  and  Good  Samari- 
tans, the  Publication  Board  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  and 
trustee  of  Wilberforce  University.  He  has  succeeded  in 
accumulating  about  five  thousand  dollars  worth  of  prop- 
erty, and  was  also  the  executor  of  the  late  lamented 
Bishop  R.  H.  Cain,  D.  D.,  who  died  at  his  residence  in 
New  York  City.  He  has  paid  an  elaborate  tribute  to  the 
virtues  of  the  deceased  in  that  city  recently.  He  has  been 
oflFered  the  superintendency  of  the  church  work  in  the  West 
Indies,  but  respectfully  declined.  He  is  a  diligent  student 
of  the  Bible  and  as  a  pastor  is  ever  solicitous  that  his 
flock  should  be  fed  with  the  **  bread  of  life."  His  chtut^h  is 
justly  proud  of  his  works,  which  show  wisdom  and  care  on 
his  part.  No  man  has  a  higher  standing  in  this  country, 
for  his  power  is  felt  among  all  classes.  His  rich  voice  and 
personal  magnetism  make  him  powerful  in  the  field  of 
oratory.  His  qualities  of  head  and  heart,  his  sound  patri- 
otism and  sturdy  manhood  mark  him  a  progressive  man 
of  the  age. 

The  Evening  Telegram^  New  York,  gave  **  Sketches  of 


W.  B.  DERRICK.  95 

Some  of  the  Prominent  Divines,  "had  the  following,  among 
other  good  things,  to  say  of  Rev.  Dr.  Derrick : 

After  leaving  Albany,  Dr.  Derrick  became  pastor  of  the  Sullivan  Street 
Chnrch,  which  is  situated  in  the  heart  of  the  largest  colored  colony  in  this 
great  metropolis.  His  church  is  a  low-browed  and  plain  brick  structure, 
hut  it  is  roomy  inside,  and  is  generally  well  filled  with  a  class  of  worship- 
ers much  more  devout  than  are  to  be  found  in  manv  churches  frequented 
liy  white  persons.  Dr.  Derrick  is  a  short,  stout,  full  and  smooth-faced 
man  of  light  color,  with  great  command  of  language  and  ^exceeding 
fidicitv  of  illustration  to  suit  the  plain  understanding  and  comprehension 
of  the  people  with  whom  he  labors.  Outside  of  the  pulpit,  he  exercises  a 
shrewd  business  supervision  of  the  personal  affairs  of  his  flock,  and  serves 
them  as  legal  adviser  and  political  leader.    He  is  an  ardent  Republican. 

As  presiding  elder,  his  district  embraces  Fleet  Street  Church,  Brooklyn, 
and  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  churches  at  Williamsburg,  Flushing, 
Melrose,  Albany,  Chatham,  Kinderhook,  Catskill,  Coxsackle,  White 
Plains  and  Harlem  Mission.  The  church  which  Dr.  Derrick  has  charge  of 
is  valued  at  $80,000,  and  the  adjoining  parsonage  is  worth  $10,000 
more.  He  is  paid  $2,000  per  annum,  a  furnished  house  included.  They 
also  support  a  paid  choir,  under  Professor  Savage,  one  of  the  best  musi- 
cians of  the  race.  The  church  membership  is  1,000,  and  the  seating 
capacity  of  the  building  1,500,  but  frequently  more  than  2,000  wor- 
shipers stand  within  its  walls  and  listen  to  the  eloquent  appeals  of  its 
pastor  in  behalf  of  human  progress. 

In  June,  1884,  he  was  nominated  as  a  Presidential  elect or-at-large  by 
the  Republican  State  Committee,  at  the  instance  of  Fire  Commissioner 
Van  Cott.  There  was  considerable  opposition  among  his  own  race  to 
the  nomination.  It  was  headed  by  John  J.  Freeman,  the  theneditor  of  the 
Progressive  American.  The  opposition  alleged  that  Dr.  Derrick  was  not 
a  citizen,  and,  therefore,  could  not  serve  as  an  elector.  W.  H.  Johnson, 
ex-janitor  of  the  State  Senate,  made  affidavit  that  once  after  a  ward 
meeting,  in  Albany,  which  Dr.  Derrick  had  attended,  he  asked  why  Dr. 
Derrick  did  not  vote,  and  that  Dr.  Derrick  said  he  was  not  a  citizen, 
having  been  born  in  the  West  Indies,  and  never  having  taken  out 
naturalization  papers.  When  asked  whj'  he  had  not  been  naturalized, 
he   replied    that   he  did   not   wish  to  give   up  his  allegiance  to  Her 


96  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Gracious  Msgestj,  the  Queen,  as  he  had  intended  to  stay  in  this  cotintrjr 
only  until  he  had  amassed  sufficient  means  to  live  like  a  gentleman  at 
home,  where  living  was  cheap. 

A  CITIZEN. 

On  July  1  Dr.  Derrick  declined  the  nomination.  He  took  this  action^ 
however,  before  he  knew  of  the  Albany  affidavits,  his  reason  being  that 
he  had  been  chosen  by  his  church  to  assist  in  arranging  for  the  centennial 
celebration  of  American  Methodism,  and,  therefore,  had  not  time  to  be- 
an elector.  This  was  the  first  time  his  citizenship  was  called  in  question, 
although  he  had  exercised  his  rights  and  privileges  as  a  citizen.  He 
proved  af  the  time  that  he  had  come  to  this  country  when  he  was- 
seventeen  vears  old,  and  that  when  he  enlisted  in  the  navy  he  had  taken 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 


PHnjP  H.  ICURRY. 


m. 

PHILIP  H.  MURRY,  ESQ. 

Phrenologist—Editor  aua  Philosopher. 

ONE  of  the  brightest  and  most  gifted  men  among  the 
editors  is  P.  H.  Murry.  He  was  bom  in  Reading, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1842.  His  parents,  Samuel  and  Sarah 
Murry,  were  anxious  that  their  boy  should  have  opportuni- 
ties to  make  a  man  of  himself.  His  father  was  bom  on 
the  eastern  shores  of  Maryland,  in  Kent  county,  and 
living  in  a  slave  State,  found  that  he  would  not  be  able  to 
place  such  advantages  before  his  son.  He  never  was  a 
slave,  but  as  far  back  as  he  could  trace  the  genealogical 
tree,  his  ancestors  were  pure,  unadulterated  Negroes,  who 
came  from  Africa  to  America  through  the  British  West 
Indies.  The  mother  is  a  mixed  Negro,  Indian  and  Irish. 
On  the  paternal  side  of  his  mother's  ancestry,  the  grand- 
father half  Negro  and  Indian,  bought,  during  the  colonial 
times,  an  Irish  woman  for  her  passage  and  made  her  his 
wife.  It  will  be  remembered  in  the  history  of  the  Virginia 
colonists  that  many  women  were  sent  over  for  wives  to 
the  fortune  seekers,  and  they  were  purchased  for  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  of  tobacco  apiece.  She  was  bom  in 
Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  Jack,  her  husband, 
was  free  bom.    On  account  of  the  inferiority  of  colored 


9^1  MEN  OF  MAJRK. 

schools  in  Reading,  at  the  time  of  his  youth,  his  father 
only  permitted  him  to  attend  school  about  a  week.  After- 
wards he  was  placed  under  Father  Patrick  Keevil  for  priv- 
ate instruction.  Father  Keevil  was  at  this  time  a  casta- 
way, but  was  nevertheless  a  scholar,  having  graduated 
at  Minonth  College,  England.  After  passing  through  the 
rudiments  young  Philip  entered  into  a  series  of  scientific 
and  philosophical  studies,  embracing  natural  science, 
natural  philosophy  and  the  more  liberal  works  on  theol- 
ogy, especially  physiology,  and  the  brain  as  a  physical 
instrument  of  thought  and  feeling.  This  was  when  he 
was  about  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  these  studies  no  doubt 
laid  the  basis  of  his  future  investigations.  He  has  studied 
the  whole  realm  of  science  and  philosophy,  going  deeper 
than  the  surface,  inquiring  into  the  **whys"  and  "where- 
fores" with  patient  zeal  and  unremitting  toil.  One  can 
scarcely  converse  with  him  without  seeing  and  feeling 
that  his  thoughts  are  drawn  from  a  deep  well  and  that 
the  fountain  is  pure.  Later  on  he  was  absorbed  in  the 
abolition  movement,  and  was  an  attendant  and  promoter 
of  the  movements  which  were  prevalent  before  the  war. 
He  came  frequently  in  contact  with  Douglass,  Garnet, 
H.  Ford,  the  Shadds  and  Watkins,  Bishop  Payne,  Rogers, 
the  Negro  Historian,  Wolf  and  Hamilton,  the  Journalists, 
and  other  leading  Negroes,  including  Dr.  Martin  R.  Delan- 
cy,  who  then  were  foremost  in  that  work.  He  delivered  a 
series  of  able,  comprehensive  and  learned  lectures  on 
** Cerebral  Physiology''  throughout  New  England,  and 
made  some  useful  and  important  investigations,  experi- 
ments and  discoveries  on  the  temperaments,  and  the  era- 


PHIUP  H.  MURRY.  99 

nium  as  a  continuation  of  the  spinal  deyelopment.  As  a 
phrenologist  he  is  a  perfect  success.  The  writer  remem- 
bers when  quite  a  boy  he  met  Mr.  Murry  in  the  city  of 
Burlington,  New  Jersey.  At  that  time  examining  his  head, 
he  accurately  told  the  characteristics  so  plain  to  him,  but 
at  that  time  so  undeveloped  and  unknown  to  the  writer 
that  he  has  been  astonished  in  later  years  to  find  that  the 
very  things  he  predicted  would  be  developed,  were  devel- 
oped unconsciously,  and  are  recognized  as  a  verification 
of  his  deductions.  In  1864  he  was  a  delegate  to  the 
famous  Negro  convention  which  met  at  Syracuse,  New 
York,  and  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  Pennsylvania  dele- 
gation. When  Lee  first  invaded  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Murry, 
anxious  to  serve  his  country  in  the  capacity  which 
would  do  the  most  good,  organized  a  company  of  soldiers 
and  offered  their  services  to  Governor  Curtin,  but  was 
refused  because  Negroes  were  not  then  needed  to  suppress 
the  rebellion.  But  in  after  days  when  the  Southern  armies 
had  shattered  the  Northern  forces,  and  doubt  was  over- 
hanging the  country  as  to  which  side  would  win,  the 
government  found  out  that  a  Negro  could  stop  a  bullet  as 
well  as  a  white  man.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  bought 
the  homestead  of  which  his  father  was  about  being  de- 
prived, and  deeded  it  to  his  mother ;  said  property  being 
w^orth  about  three  thousand  dollars.  In  conjunction 
with  J.  P.  Sampson,  he  published  the  first  colored  jour- 
nal in  Kentucky  The  Colored  Kentuckian.  He  taught 
3chool  in  Pennsylvania,  Kentucky,  Virginia  and  Missouri, 
and  took  conspicuous  and  active  parts  in  securing  colored 
teachers  for  the  colored  schools  in  St.  Louis  and  through- 


100  MEN  OP  MARK. 

out  Missouri.  This  idea  was  projected  by  him  in  a  con- 
vention of  teachers  which  met  at  Jefferson  City,  Missouri^ 
in  1876,  and  for  which  he  made  speeches  in  St.  Louis, 
which  were  published  in  all  the  dailies  verbatim,  and  drew 
editorial  comments  as  well  as  universal  discussion  among^ 
the  citizens  of  the  city  and  State.  He  published  the 
Colored  Citizen  at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia, 
in  1872,  and  held  the  inspectorship  of  public  improve- 
ments under  a  board  of  public  improvement  at  the  same 
time.  During  the  war  he  traveled  in  the  South  and  corres- 
ponded for  several  Northern  journals.  In  1880,  Mr. 
Murry  established  the  St.  Louis  Advance^  and  this  paper 
has  for  its  primal  mission  the  industrial  education  of  the 
Negro.  He  was  for  several  years  clerk  in  the  Money 
Order  Department  of  the  St.  Louis  Post  Office,  also  held 
positions  of  trust  and  honor  in  the  comptroller's  office  of 
St.  Louis.  He  has  been  a  delegate  to  the  various  State 
and  National  conventions  during  the  nine  years  he  has 
lived  in  that  city.  He  is  now  chairman  of  the  Colored 
State  Committee,  Missouri.  In  1879,  he  organized  the  St. 
Louis  Colored  Men's  Land  Association,  which  is  now  a 
success.  As  a  writer,' Mr.  Murry  is  one  of  the  most  bril- 
liant in  the  country.  His  editorials  are  always  fresh, 
vigorous,  far-seeing  and  progressive ;  bristling  with  argu- 
ment and  backed  with  facts.'  His  aim  in  life  is  to  press 
home  the  importance  of  industrial  education.  His  re- 
marks on  the  subject  at  the  National  Press  convention, 
Atlantic  City,  July,  1886,  are  wortny  to  be  kept,  and  as. 
many  may  read  this  book  we  give  here  a  few  of  the  seik- 


PHILIP  H.  MURRY.  101 

tences  which   ought  to  be  read  by  every  colored  man, 
inroman  and  child.    Said  he  : 

'*  I  would  rather  see  a  colored  man  on  'change  than  a  colored  man  in 
Congress.    We  have  produced  a  Fred  Douglass,  now  we  want  a  James 
B.  Bads.    We  are  in  a  large  degree  a  landless,  a  tradeless  and  a  homeless 
race.    We  are  too  much  absorbed  by  politics;  the  best  talent  of  the 
Negro  is  engaged  in  political  machinations,  scheming  to  elect  some  white 
man  to  office,  or  praying  for  the  **  New  Jerusalem  **  to  descend  down  out 
of  Heaven.     Emigrants  from  the  most  fecund  blood    of  Europe   are 
inarching  by  our  doors  in  platoons  of  ten  thousand  deep,  to  the  posses- 
sion of  the  fertile  lands  of  the  West.    They  create  a  "New  Jerusalem" 
for  themselves,  but  the  **  New  Jerusalem  **  for  the  Negro  never  comes. 
We  loiter  about  in  the  big  cities,  living  on  the  offals  of  the  wealthy  that 
overawes  and  overshadows  us  at  every  turn.    But  we  stay  until  some 
^reat  city  springs  up  in  the  West  and  the  trains  are  burdened  with  the 
commerce  of  the  new  lands,  then  we  go  West  with  the  broom  and  white 
jacket.    We  should  have  gone  West  with  the  hoe  and  the  plow.    This  is 
the  age  of  material  progress ;  the  engineer  has  replaced  the  scholar ;  the 
mathematician  instead  of  puzzling  his  brain  over  the  problems  of  Euclid, 
is  wrestling  with  the  "Bulls  and  Bears  on  'change.*'    The  Greek  gram- 
marian has  been  supplanted  by  the  machinist,  and  the  man  who  would 
hunt  for  a  hundred  years  to  find  out  the  meaning  of  a  Hebrew  dot  only 
illustrates  the  intellectual  fool  of  our  modem  times.    Railroads,  big  farms, 
manufactories,  steam  engines, electric  lights, cable  cars  and  the  telegraph, 
arc  the  text  books  of  to-day ;  and  if  the  Negro  will  not  stud\'  to  under- 
stand, control  and  take  possession  of  these,  he  cannot  keep  pace  with 
the  progress  of  the  age. 

On  the  subject  of  emigration  he  said : 

Stop  this  crying  of  emigration ;  lay  hold  where  you  are ;  get  together, 
put  your  dollars  together  like  you  put  your  votes  and  see  if  the  result 
"win  not  bring  more  lands,  houses,  and  offices  too,  for  the  enjoyment  of 
the  colored  people.  Financial  unity  will  establish  that  bond  of  interest 
that  brings  better  social,  personal  and  political  harmony  and  power. 
Our  oath-bound  organization  may  be  a  strong  tie,  but  an  organization 
bound  together  by  "Dollars,'*  welded  by  business*  girded  by  houses, 


102  MBN  OP  MARK. 

trades,  lands  and  mannfactories,  forms  a  bond  of  general,  political  and 
personal,  as  well  as  financial  union  to  which  the  obligations  of  secret 
organizations  appear  bat  as  a  rope  of  sand. 

In  a  recent  editorial  upon  the  same  subject  he  has  said : 

Aside  from  all  political  considerations,  whether  the  Negro  should  be 
Democrat,  Republican  or  Independent  or  become  equally  divided  among^ 
all  factions  seeking  to  elevate  the  national  policy  or  control  government, 
the  great  need  of  the  race  to-day  is  a  thorough  knowledge  and  the  skill- 
ful training  in  the  various  fields  of  mechanism  and  labor.  If  the  energies 
wasted  among  the  Negroes  in  tr3ring  to  reach  great  political  prominence, 
were  directed  toward  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  necessary  and  useful 
arts,  th«»  next  generation  of  American  Negroes  would  come  forth  full- 
fledged  and  equipped  as  artisans,  and  thrifty  business  men,  skilled  car- 
vers in  wood,  iron  and  stone  structures,  and  whatever  enters  into  the 
convenience,  comfort  and  facilities  of  our  organization. 

Such  doctrines  as  these  are  calculated  to  be  of  immense 
value  to  the  people.  He  has  vigorously  taught  and  in- 
sisted on  industrial  institutions,  and  his  paper  is  sound  on 
all  questions  touching  the  progress  of  the  race  and  up- 
building of  waste  places. 

He  has  a  wife  and  four  children,  one  dead,  and  his  pos- 
sessions are  valued  at  about  five  thousand  dollars. 


k 


CRISPU8  ATTUCKS.  103 


IV. 

CRISPUS  ATTUCKS. 

First  Martyr  of  the  Revolutionary  War— A  Negro  Whose  Blood  was 
Given  for  Liberty—"  Blood  the  Price  of  Liberty." 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  in  slavery  in  1723, 
and  died  in  1770.  He  ran  away  from  his  master, 
William  Brown  of  Farmingham,  Massachusetts,  on  the 
thirtieth  of  September,  1750,  at  the  age  of  27.  He  was  a 
mulatto,  six  feet  and  two  inches  high.  His  master  adver- 
tised for  him  in  the  following  description:  **Short,  curly 
hair,  his  knees  nearer  together  than  common;  had  on  a 
light  colored  bearskin  coat,  plain  brown  fustian  jacket,  or 
a  brown  wool  one,  new  buckskin  breeches,  blue  yam  stock- 
ings and  a  checked  woolen  shirt.  Whoever  shall  take  up 
said  runaway,  convey  him  to  above  said  master,  shall 
receive  ten  pounds,  old  tenor  reward,  and  all  necessary 
charges  paid.  And  all  masters  of  vessels,  or  others,  are 
hereby  cautioned  against  concealing  or  carrying  off  said 
servant  on  penalty  of  the  law.    October  2,  1750.'* 

Only  after  much  meditation  and  thought,  he  had  broken 
away  from  the  cruel  chains  that  bound  him,  and  was  de- 
termined to  be  a  free  American  citizen.  He  learned  to  read 
at  odd  times,  and  he  used  this  accomplishment  in  under- 
standing the  fundamental  principles  that  underlie  all  regu- 


104  MEN  OF  MilRK. 

lated  forms  of  governments.  A  fiery  patriotism  burned 
in  his  breast.  He  was  anxious  to  avenge  oppression  in 
every  form,  not  by  fighting  alone,  but  by  the  sacrifice  of 
life,  if  necessary.  Twenty  years  later,  Crispus'  name  once 
more  appeared  in  the  journals  of  Boston.  This  time  he 
was  not  advertised  as  a  slave  who  had  run  away,  nor  was 
there  a  reward  for  his  apprehension.  His  soul  and  body 
were  beyond  the  cruel  touch  of  master.  The  press  had 
paused  to  announce  his  death  and  write  the  name  of  the 
Negro  patriot,  soldier  and  martyr  to  the  ripening  cause  of 
the  American  Revolution,  in  fadeless  letters  of  gold. 

On  March  5,  1770,  the  Boston  massacre  occurred.  The 
people  had  been  oppressed  by  British  tyranny,  they  had 
been  treated  as  inferiors ;  they  were  taxed  without  repre- 
sentation and  their  souls  galled  until  they  were  maddened. 
When  British  troops,  to  add  insult  to  injury,  encamped 
upon  their  grounds,  they  could  withhold  no  longer.  They 
were  greatly  exasperated;  they  formed  themselves  into 
clubs  and  resolved  to  avenge  themselves  and  gain  their 
rights.  They  ran  toward  King  street  crying  **  Let  us  drive 
out  the  ribalds.  They  have  no  business  here."  The  rioters 
rushed  fearlessly  towards  the  custom  house.  They  ap- 
proached the  sentinel  crying,  **  Kill  him !  Kill  him !  *'  It  has 
been  said  that  Crispus  Attucks  led  one  of  these  clubs, 
which  has  not  been  denied,  but  rather  assented  to.  Botta 
speaking  of  it  says:  ** There  was  a  band  of  the  populace 
led  by  a  mulatto  named  Attucks,  who  brandished  their 
clubs  and  pelted  them  with  snowballs."  The  scene  was 
horrible.  The  populace  advanced  to  the  points  of  their 
bayonets.    The  soldiers  appeared  like  statues.    The  howl- 


CRI8PU8  ATTUCKS.  105 

ings  and  violent  din  of  bells  still  sounding  the  alarm, 
increased  the  confusion  and  the  horrors  of  these  moments. 
At  length  the  mulatto  and  twelve  of  his  companions  press- 
ing forward  environed  the  soldiers,  striking  their  muskets 
-with  their  clubs,  cried  to  the  multitude,  **Be  not  afraid, 
they  dare  not  fire.  Why  do  you  hesitate?  Why  do  you 
not  kill  them  ?    Why  not  crush  them  at  once  ?" 

Inspired  by  his  words,  his  followers  rushed  madly  on,  and 
the  soldiers,  incensed  by  this  act  of  insolence,  answered 
the  war-like  cry  by  discharging  their  guns.  Attucks  had 
lifted  his  arm  against  Captain  Preston  and  fell  a  victim  to 
the  mortal  fire.  Three  were  killed  and  five  were  severely 
wounded.  The  cry  of  bloodshed  spread  like  wild-fire. 
People  crowded  the  street,  white  with  rage ;  the  bells  rang 
out  with  alarm,  and  the  whole  country  was  aroused  to 
battle.  Attucks  was  buried  from  Fanueil  Hall  with  great 
honor.  He  had  led  the  people  and  made  the  attack.  He 
was  the  first  to  resist  and  the  first  slain.  His  patriotism 
was  the  declaration  of  war.  It  was  liberty  to  the  op- 
pressed; it  opened  the  way  to  modern  civilization  and  in- 
dependence. It  has  blessed  and  will  continue  to  bless 
generations  yet  unborn.  He  is  rightly  claimed  as  the 
savior  of  his  country.  No  monument  has  ever  been  reared 
to  his  name.  Repeated  efforts  have  been  made  before  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature,  and  notwithstanding  the  vari- 
ous testimonies  and  the  histories  going  to  show  that  he 
w^as  entitled  to  the  honor  we  have  here  accorded  him, 
upon  a  flimsy  testimony  the  honor  has  been  given  to  one 
Isaac  Davis  of  Concord,  a  white  man.    George  Williams, 


106  MBN  OP  MARK. 

the  historian  of  the  race,  in  his  very  excellent  work,  uses 
these  words  in  regard  to  Crispns  Attucks : 

Attuckb  bad  addressed  a  letter  to  one  Thomas  Hutchinson,  who  was 
the  Tory  governor  of  the  province,  in  which  he  had  used  these  words : 
'*  Sir,  you  will  hear  from  us  with  astonishment.  You  ought  to  hear  from- 
us  with  horror.  You  are  chargeable  before  God  and  man  with  our  blood. 
The  soldiers  are  but  passive  instruments,  mere  machines,  neither  moral 
nor  voluntary  agents  in  our  destruction,  more  than  the  leaden  pellets 
with  which  we  were  wounded. 

**  You  were  a  free  agent ;  you  acted  coolly,  deliberately,  with  all  that  pre- 
meditated malice,  not  against  us  in  particular,  but  against  the  people  in 
general,  which,  in  sight  of  the  law,  is  an  ingredient  in  the  composition  o£ 
murder.    You  will  hear  from  us  further  hereafter. 

**Crispus  Attucks." 

This  letter  is  taken  from  *  Adams'  Works/  Volume  II,  page 
322.    Said  Williams : 

This  was  the  declaration  of  war  and  it  was  fulfilled.  The  world  has 
heard  from  him,  and  more,  the  English  speaking  world  will  never  forget 
the  noble  daring,  the  excusable  rashness  of  Attucks  in  the  holy  cause  of 
liberty.  Eighteen  centuries  before  He  was  saluted  by  death  and  kissed  by 
immortality,  another  Negro  bore  the  cross  of  Christ  to  Calvary  for  Him. 
And  when  the  colonists  were  struggling  wearily  under  their  cross  of  woe». 
a  Negro  came  to  the  front  and  bore  that  cross  to  the  victory  of  glorious 
martyrdom ! 

A  sketch  also  will  be  fotmd  of  his  life  in  the  *  American 
Encyclopedia '  and  in  William  C.  Nell's  books  on  the  colored 
patriots  of  the  Revolution. 


I 


\ 

1 


GPANVILLE  T.  WOODS. 


GRANVILLE  T.  WOOD6.  107 


V. 

GRANVILLE  T.  WOODS,  ESQ. 

Hlectridaii-Mechaiiical-Bii^giiieer^Maniifacttirer  of  Telephone,  Telegraph 
and  Electrical  Instruments. 

4  4  ^^  OME  men  are  bom  great ;  some  have  greatness  thrust 
*<-^  upon  them;  and  some  achieve  greatness."  To  the 
last  class  belongs  G.  T.  Woods,  who  was  bom  in  Columbus, 
Ohio,  April  23, 1856.  He  attended  school  until  he  was  ten 
years  of  age,  when  he  was  placed  in  a  machine  shop  where 
he  learned  the  machinist  and  blacksmith  trades.  In  the 
meantime  he  took  private  lessons  and  attended  night  school, 
and  exhibited  great  pluck  and  perseverance  in  fitting  himself 
for  the  work  he  desired  to  undertake.  He  pursued  with  assi- 
duity every  study  which  promoted  that  end.  November, 
1872,  he  left  for  the  West,  where  he  obtained  work  as  a  fire- 
man and  afterwards  as  an  engineer  on  one  of  the  Iron  Moun- 
tain Railroads  of  Missouri .  While  in  the  employ  of  the  rail- 
road company  he  had  a  great  deal  of  leisure,  and  as 
saloons  had  no  attractions  for  him,  he  took  up  the  study 
of  electricity  as  a  pastime.  In  December,  1874,  he  went  to 
Springfield,  Illinois,  where  he  was  employed  in  a  rolling- 
mill.  Early  in  1876  he  left  for  the  East,  where  he  received 
two  years  special  training  in  electrical  and  mechanical  en- 


108  MBN  OF  MARK. 

gineering  at  college.    While  obtaining  his  special  instruc- 
tions, he  worked  six  half  days  in  each  week  in  a  machine 
shop,  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  each  day  being  spent  in 
school.     February  6,  1878,  he  went  to  sea  in  the  capacity 
of  engineer  on  board  the  Ironsides^  a  British  steamer. 
While  a  sailor,  he  visited  nearly  every  country  on  the  globe. 
During  1880  he  handled  a  locomotive  on  the  D.  &  S.  Rail- 
road. Since  then  he  has  spent  the  major  portion  of  his  time 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  has  established  a  factory  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  business,  as  indicated  at  the 
head  of  this  sketch.    A  company  has  been  fcTrmed  recently 
for  the  purpose  of  placing  Mr.  Woods*  Electrical  Rail- 
way Telegraph  on  the  market.    Mr.  Woods  says  that  he 
has  been  frequently  refused  work  because  of  the  previous 
condition  of  his  race,  but  he  has  had  great  determination 
and  will  and  never  despaired  because  of  disappointments. 
He  always  carried  his  point  by  persistent  efforts.    He  says 
the  day  is  past  when  the  colored  boys  will  be  refused  work 
only  because  of  race  prejudice.    There  are  other  causes. 
First,  the  boy  has  not  the  nerve  to  apply  for  work  after 
being  refused  at  two  or  three  places.    Second,  the  boy 
should  have  some  knowledge  of  mechanics.    The  latter 
could  be  gained  at  technical  schools,  which   should  be 
founded  for  the  purpose.    In  this  respect  he  shows  good 
sense  and  really  prophesies  the  future  of  the  race,  and 
these  schools  must  sooner  or  later  be  established,  and 
thereby  we  shall  be  enabled  to  put  into  the  hands  of  our 
boys. and  girls  the  actual  means  for  a  livelihood.    He  is 
the  inventor  of  the  **  Induction  Telegraph,**  a  system  for 
communicating  to  and  from  moving  trains,  and  is  intended 


\ 


GRANVILLE  T.  WOODS.  109* 

to  diminish  the  loss  of  life  and  property,  and  produce  a 
maximum  of  safety  to  travelers.  In  the  United  States 
patent  office,  in  the  case  of-  Woods  vs.  Phelps^  Railway 
Telegraph  Interference — ^L.  M.  Hosea,  attorney  for  Woods, 
and  W.  D.  Baldwin,  attorney  for  Phelps — it  will  be  shown 
that  the  patent  office  has  decided  that  Mr.  Woods  was  the 
prior  inventor  of  this  system.  His  rights  having  been  ques- 
tioned, he  secures  this  verdict  which  gives  him  triumphal 
possession  of  a  great  discovery.  The  following  is  taken 
from  the  Scienti£c  American : 

The  public  prints  give  as  almost  daily  accotints  of  railway  collisions  in- 
one  section  of  the  country  or  another.  Every  effort  has  been  made  to 
avert  these.  The  general  introduction  of  the  telegraph  has  unquestion- 
ably done  much  in  this  direction ;  but  in  thick  weather  the  operatives  at 
the  railway  stations  could  scarcely  be  looked  to  to  guard  x>oints  of  the 
road  beyond  their  ken,  and  the  railway  switchman  or  signalman,  as  in 
other  w^alks  of  life,  is  fallible.  If  railway  signalmen  could  be  found  who 
require  neither  sleep  nor  rest,  who  are  not  subject  to  fits  or  spasms  or 
spirituous  excesses,,  and,  above  all,  having  eyes  to  pierce  the  fog,  then 
railroad  travel  would  indeed  be  divested  of  its  greatest  terrors.  But, 
taking  human  nature  as  we  find  it,  we  learn  that  so  grave  a  re- 
sponsibility as  the  care  of  human  life  should  never  be  thrust  upon  the 
shoulders  of  a  single  man. 

The  •* Block  System"  recently  introduced  would,  it  was  believed, 
prove  a  reliable  means  of  preventing  accidents  on  the  rail,  and  it  is  but 
fair  to  say  that  it  has  made  an  excellent  record ;  but  that  it  is  not,  under 
all  conditions  and  circumstances,  to  be  relied  upon,  there  is  abundant 
evidence.  Only  last  week  it  failed  to  prevent  a  collision  between  two 
freight  trains  at  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey',  on  the  line  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad,  in  which  two  lives  were  lost  and  property  to  the  value  of 
half  a  million  dollars  destroyed.  It  was  of  course  only  by  mere  chance 
that  these  trains  were  not  carrying  passengers.  From  this  it  may  be  in- 
ferred how  pressing  is  the  demand  for  some  system  in  which  the  safety  of 
the  traveling  public  is  not  made  to  rely  on  an  vmthinking  and  not 


110  MEN  OF  MARK. 

always  reliable  atttomaton,  or,  still  worse,  upon  the  actioti  of  an  over- 
"worked  and  irresponsible  employee,  whose  perception  of  colors  may  be 
defective. 

Many  able  electricians  have  believed  the  solution  of  this  problem  to  lie 
within  the  domains  of  the  electrical  science;  and  those  who  have  fol- 
lowed the  drift  of  recent  electrical  endeavors  are  aware  of  the  con- 
trivances, all  looking  towards  the  same  goal,  that  have  made  their 
appearance.  The  general  principle  on  which  all  these  have  been  based 
was  electrical  communications  between  all  trains,  while  en  route,  and 
the  train  despatcher;  most  of  these  systems  have  shown  a  certain  degree 
of  efficiency  when  tested  under  favorable  conditions,  but  the  best  of  them 
were  subject  to  interruptions,  and  this,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  work 
they  were  called  upon  to  perform,  has  been  rendered  more  or  less  uncer- 
tain, owing  to  the  fact  that  they  relied  upon  a  direct  contact  with  the 
conductor,  either  by  a  wire,  wheel  or  brush. 

Now  comes  forward  a  practical  system  of  train  signaling,  which  does 
not  rely  upon  contact  at  all;  the  electrical  induction  coil  upon  the 
moving  train  being  distant  from  the  conductor,  lying  between  the  track 
at  least  seven  inches. 

The  future  possibilities  of  these  new  inventions  appear  to  be  very 
great ;  jupt  how  far  the  system  can  be  extended  and  applied  it  is  impos- 
sible to  foretell.  But  this  appears  to  be  certain ;  the  risk  of  disaster  on 
railways  will  be  greatly  reduced  from  this  time  onward. 

Mr.  Woods  claims  that  his  invention  is  for  the  purpose 
of  averting  accidents  by  keeping  each  train  informed  of  the 
whereabouts  of  the  one  immediately  ahead  or  following 
it ;  in  intercepting  criminals ;  in  communicating  with  sta- 
tions  from  moving  trains;    and  in  promoting   general, 

social   and  commercial  intercourse.     The   following  ap- 

» 

peared  in  the  Cincinnati  Sun : 

Granville  T.  Woods,  a  young  colored  man  of  this  city,  has  invented  a 
new  system  of  electrical  motor,  for  street  railroads.  He  has  invented 
also  a  number  of  other  electrical  appliances,  and  the  syndicate  controlling 
his  inventions  think  they  have  found  Edison*s  successor. 


GRANVILLE  T.  WOODS.  Ill 

The  Cincinnati  Colored  Citizen,  in  its  issue  of  January 
29,  1887,  says : 

We  take  great  pleasure  in  congratulating  Mr.  G.  T.  Woods  on  his  suc- 
cess in  becoming  so  prominent  that  his  skill  and  knowledge  of  his  chosen 
art  compare  with  that  of  any  one  of  our  best  known  electricians  of  the 
day. 

The  Catholic  Tribune,  January  14, 1886,  said  of  him: 

Granville  T.  Woods,  the  greatest  colored  inventor  in  the  history  of  the 
race,  and  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  inventor  in  the  country,  is  destined 
to  revolutionize  the  mode  of  street  car  transit.  The  results  of  his  experi- 
ments are  no  longer  a  question  of  doubt.  He  has  excelled  in  every  pos- 
sible way  in  all  his  inventions.  He  is  master  of  the  situation,  and  his 
name  will  be  handed  down  to  coming  generations  as  one  of  the  greatest 
inventors  of  his  time.  He  has  not  only  elevated  himself  to  the  highest 
position  among  inventors,  but  he  has  shown  beyond  doubt  the  possi- 
bility of  a  colored  man  inventing  as  well  as  one  of  any  other  race. 

The  following  appeared  in  the  American  Catholic  Tri- 
bune, April  1,  1887  (Cincinnati,  Ohio): 

Mr.  Woods,  who  is  the  greatest  electrician  in  the  world,  still  continues 
to  add  to  his  long  list  of  electrical  inventions. 

The  latest  device  he  invented  is  the  Synchronous  Multiplex  Railway 
Telegraph.  By  means  of  this  system,  the  railway  despatcher  can  note 
the  position  of  any  train  on  the  route  at  a  glance.  The  system  also  pro- 
vides means  for  telegraphing  to  and  from  the  train  while  in  motion. 
The  same  lines  may  also  be  used  for  local  message  without  interference 
with  the  regular  train  signals. 

This  system  may  be  used  for  other  purposes.  In  fact,  two  hundred 
operators  may  use  a  single  wire  at  the  same  time.  Although  the  messages 
may  be  passing  in  opposite  directions,  they  will  not  conflict  with  each 
other. 

In  using  the  devices  there  is  no  possibility  of  collisions  between  trains, 
as  each  train  can  always  be  informed  of  the  position  of  the  other  while 
in  motion.  Mr.  Woods  has  all  the  patent  office  drawings  for  these  de- 
vices, as  your  correspondent  witnessed. 


112  M^  OF  MARK. 

The  patent  office  has  twice  declared  Mr.  Woods  prior  inventor  of  the 
induction  railway  telegraph  as  against  Mr.  Edison,  who  claims  to  be  the- 
prior  inventor.  The  Edison  &  Phelps  company  are  now  negotiating  a 
consolidation  with  the  Wood's  Railway  Telegraph  company. 

It  is  recorded  that  a  very  distinguished  preacher  said: 
''If  everything  the  Negro  had  invented  was  sunk  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,  the  world  would  not  miss  them,  and 
would  move  on  as  before."  This  was  not  true  then,  is  not 
true  now,  and  will  be  less  so  in  the  future.  Hundreds  of 
slaves  invented  instruments  which  have  been  taken  by 
their  masters  and  patented,  and  many  others  for  want  of 
means  to  put  their  inventions  through  the  patent  office  and 
manufacture  them,  have  sold  their  knowledge  for  almost 
a  "mess  of  pottage."  The  future  will  bring  forthmen  who 
will  yet  astonish  the  world  with  inventions  of  labor- 
saving  character,  and  add  materially  to  the  wealth  of  the 
nation,  by  producing  those  instruments  which  will  decrease 
manual  labor,  multiply  articles  more  rapidly,  facilitate- 
communication  and  benefit  mankind. 


Jeremiah  a.  brown.  11 


o 


CHAPTER  VI. 
HON.  JEREMIAH  A.  BROWN. 

^tor-Carpenter  and  Joiner— Clerk— Deputy  Sheriff— Turnkey  and 
^'rtter-Carrier. 

rON.  JEREMIAH  A.  BROWN,  or  as  he  is  familiarly 
L  called  ** Jere,"  was  the^  first  child  of  Thomas  A.  and 
ces  J.  Brown,  Pittsburgh,  Allegheny  county,  Pennsyl- 
u  In  that  city  on  the  fourteenth  of  November,  1841, 
ibject  of  our  sketch  first  saw  the  light  of  day.  His 
jer  days  were  spent  in  that  city  where  he  attended 
1,  having  among  his  classmates  such  men  as  the  Rev. 
min  T.  iTanner,  D.  D.,  Hon.  T.  Morris  Chester,  James 
Etdfbrd  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  many  other  dis- 
ished  men,  who  are  now  prominently  before  the  peo- 
3c  continued  in  the  pursuits  of  knowledge  with  these 
about  his  thirteenth  year,  when  he  accompanied  his 
:  as  a^teamboatman  on  our  Western  rivers.  This 
Ltion  engaged  his  attention  until  his  seventeenth  year, 
he  became  very  much  imbued  with  the  importance  of 
Ivancementof  himself  in  such  a  particular  as  to  secure 
n  the  possibilities  of  a  livelihood.  To  this  end  he 
td  a  trade,  choosing  that  of  a  carpenter  and  joiner, 
e  close  of  his  seventeenth  year  he  entered  the  shop  of 
$  H.  McClelland,  Esq.,  as  an  apprentice.  This  gentle- 
was  the  foremost  builder  in  that  city  at  the  time, 


Jeremiah  a.  brown.  113 


CHAPTER  VI. 
HON.  JEREMIAH  A.  BROWN. 

Legislator— Carpenter  and  Joiner— Clerk— Deputy  Sheriff— Turnkey  and 
Lctter-Carricr. 

HON.  JEREMIAH  A.  BROWN,  or  as  he  is  familiarly 
called  **Jere,*'  was  the^  first  child  of  Thomas  A.  and 
Frances  J.  Brown,  Pittsburgh,  Allegheny  county,  Pennsyl- 
Tania.  In  that  city  on  the  fourteenth  of  November,  1841, 
the  subject  of  our  sketch  first  saw  the  light  of  day.  His 
younger  days  were  spent  in  that  city  where  he  attended 
school,  having  among  his  classmates  such  men  as  the  Rev. 
Benjamin  T.  Tanner,  D.  D.,  Hon.  T.  Morris  Chester,  James 
T.  Bradford  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  many  other  dis- 
tinguished men,  who  are  now  prominently  before  the  peo- 
ple. He  continued  in  the  pursuits  of  knowledge  with  these 
until  about  his  thirteenth  year,  when  he  accompanied  his 
father  as  a^teamboatman  on  our  Western  rivers.  This 
avocation  engaged  his  attention  until  his  seventeenth  year, 
when  he  became  very  much  imbued  with  the  importance  of 
the  advancementof  himself  in  such  a  particular  as  to  secure 
to  him  the  possibilities  of  a  livelihood.  To  this  end  he 
learned  a  trade,  choosing  that  of  a  carpenter  and  joiner. 
At  the  close  of  his  seventeenth  year  he  entered  the  shop  of 
James  H.  McClelland,  Esq.,  as  an  apprentice.  This  gentle- 
man was  the  foremost  builder  in  that  city  at  the  time, 


114*  MEN  OF  MARK. 

and  a  gentleman  known  far  and  wide  for  his  interest  in 
the  advancement  of  the  colored  people.  Upon  his  entrance 
into  this  shop,  it  was  the  immediate  signal  for  a  number 
of  the  employees  quitting  work,  stich  was  the  prejudice  ex- 
isting against  a  colored  boy  entering  upon  any  of  the 
trades;  but  Mr.  McClelland  promptly  filled  their  places, 
with  the  remark:  '*that  that  boy  will  stay  in  this  shop 
until  he  learns  the  trade,  if  I  have  to  fill  it  with  black 
mechanics  fi-om  the  South.'*  Thus  was  the  backbone  of 
prejudice  broken  by  this  bold  stand,  and  our  young  man 
remained  and  finished  his  trade  with  honor  to  himself, 
his  race,  and  his  fi*iendly  employer.  After  finishing  his 
apprenticeship,  his  parents  decided  to  remove  to  Canada 
West,  believing  that  it  would  be  beneficial  to  the  children, 
of  whohi  they  had  six,  to  be  under  a  government  that  did 
not  sanction  human  slavery.  They  desired  to  take  their 
children  away  from  its  bUghting  and  withering  efiects; 
not  as  practiced  in  its  enormities,  but  as  sanctioned  by 
the  laws  of  Ohio,  which  were  then  known  as  the  ''black 
laws,"  and  against  which  he  has  had  an  opportunity  to 
battle  in  the  Legislature  of  Ohio.  These  black  laws  were 
very  obnoxious  to  the  colored  citizens  and  have  con- 
stantly provoked  unlimited  antagonism  from  them  and 
their  ardent  white  fi*iends.  Young  Brown  accompanied 
them  to  Canada  and  settled  near  Chatham,  Ontario.  Upon 
the  inauguration  of  the  Civil  War  he  returned  to  the 
United  States  and  located  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and 
again  returned  to  steamboating,  but  firom  time  to  time 
paid  visits  to  his  parents. 
January  17,  1864,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A. 


JBRElflAH  A.  BROWN.  115 

Wheeler,  of  Chatham,  Ontario,  a  sister  of  Hon.  Lloyd 
G.  Wheeler,    of  Chicago   Illinois,   and  the    Rev.    Robert 
F.  Wheeler,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut.     Returning  to  St. 
Louis,  he  remained  there  a  short  time  and  then  he  decided 
to  settle  in  the  State  of  Ohio.    With  that  end  in  view  he 
went  there  in  1869  or  1870,  stopping  at  Wilberforce,  Ohio, 
to  which  place  his  parents  had  removed  for  the  purpose  of 
educating  their  youngest  children.     After  prospecting  in 
several  cities  in  the  southern  part  of  Ohio,  he  determined 
npon  Cleveland  as  the  place  where  he  would  locate  and  lay 
the  foundation  for  a  useful  and  happy  life ;  and  here  he 
has  remained  ever  since.    A  few  years'  residence  found  him 
an  active  participant  in  the  political  field.    His  first  po- 
litical position  was  a  bailiff  of  the  probate  court  of  that 
county ;  then  he  was  deputy  sheriff  and  turnkey  of  the 
county  prison  for  four  years,  and  clerk  of  the  **  City  Boards 
of  Equalization  and  Revision/*    Then  he  obtained  a  posi- 
tion in  the  postoffice  as  letter-carrier  and  remained  in  the 
employ  of  the  general  government  until  the  fall  of  1885, 
when  he  secured  the  nomination  on  the  Republican  ticket 
as  representative  in  the  Ohio  Legislature  from  Cuyahoga 
county,  being  elected  by  nearly  three  thousand  majority 
over  the  highest  competitor  on  the  Democratic  ticket — an 
honor  bv  no  means  small.    His  career  has  been  short,  and 
yet  long  enough  to  show  that  he  has  made  due  effort  to 
wipe  out  those  prescriptive  laws  of  the  State  which  we 
have  spoken  of  above.    He  made  a  telling  speech  on  the 
subject  Marcli  10,  1886,  a  bill  having  been  introduced  by 
the  Hon.  Benjamin  W.  Amett.    Said  he: 


116  MEN  OF  MARK. 

All  the  colored  man  desires,  Mr.  Speaker,  is  that  he  be  given  the  same 
legislation  that  is  accorded  to  other  men.  No  man  can  deny  that  we- 
have  proven  ourselves  other  than  tnie,  patriotic  and  honorable  citizens. 
Going  back  to  the  early  days  of  the  history  of  our  country,  where  the 
picture  is  presented  of  the  black  man,  in  person  of  Crispus  Attucks  shedding 
his  blood,  the  first  spilt  in  the  great  American  war  for  freedom,  we  are 
forced  to  stand  appalled  at  that  country's  ingratitude.  When,  again,  I 
bring  in  this  galaxy  of  bright  lights,  Benjamin  Banneker,  the  great  mathe- 
matician, and  those  brave  men  of  my  race  who  fought,  bled  and  died  for 
my  country  in  the  War  of  1812, 1  ask  you,  gentlemen,  is  such  ostracism  the 
reward  for  that  heroism  and  devotion  ?  But  when  I  contemplate  the  ac- 
tions of  the  American  Negro  on  the  battlefield  of  the  South — at  the  many 
scenes  of  carnage  in  which  he  was  engaged  during  the  late  War  of  the 
Rebellion — with  what  heroism  he  performed  deeds  of  valor,  showing  and 
demonstrating  his  ability  even  at  the  cannon's  mouth,  my  very  heart 
bleeds  for  the  foul  blot  heaped  upon  the  countless  thousands  of  black 
men,  who  laid  their  lives  upon  their  country's  altar  tor  the  establishment 
and  the  perpetuity  of  this  government.  In  that  Southland  my  race  put 
on  the  blue,  shouldered  their  muskets,  and  to-day  their  bones  lie  bleach- 
ing on  dozens  of  battlefields,  where  they  were  massacred  by  those  who 
sought  to  destroy  this  fair  land.    What,  gentlemen,  I  ask  you,  is  the 

t 

reward  Ohio  gives  those  of  her  black  sons  whose  bones  are  scattered 
there? 

Further  on,  in  reference  to  these  black  laws,  he  says : 

Repeal  them,  and  to  your  ensign  will  cluster  the  friendship  of  my  race — 
redress  our  g^evances  with  that  power  delegated  to  every  American 
citizen.  Defeat  this  bill,  and  the  wrath  of  the  colored  voters  will  bury 
you  beneath  their  ballots  cast  by  as  loyal  citizens  as  the  sun  of  Heaven 
looks  down  upon.  Repeal  them,  and  in  after  years  when  we  show  our 
children  these  obnoxious  and  pernicious  laws,  explaining  to  them  the  dis- 
advantages we  were  subjected  to,  by  and  under  them,  we  can  teach  them 
to  love  and  venerate  the  memories  of  those  who  were  instrumental  in 
giving  us  equal  facilities  with  our  more  than  favored  brethren. 

Mr.  Brown  is  connected  with  the  Masonic  fraternity  of 
Ohio,  by  whom  he  is  highly  honored  and  respected,  as  is. 


JEREMIAH  A.  BROWN.  117 

readily  shown  by  the  numerous  positions  he  has  held.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  has  held,  and  is  at  this  time  holding, 
the  grand  secretaryship  of  the  Grand  Lodge  F.  A.  A.  M.  of 
the  Grand  Chapter  R.  A.  M. ;  Grand  Recorder  of  the  Grand 
Commandery  of  Knights  Templars  and  of  the  order  of 
High  Priesthood ;  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  Carpenters' 
and  Joiners'  Brotherhood  of  America;  believing  that  or- 
ganization, if  good  for  white  men,  is  equally,  if  not  more, 
beneficial  to  the  black  men.  His  early  education  was  ac- 
quired in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  State,  with  a 
short  course  in  the  Avery  College  of  Allegheny,  Pennsyl- 
vania. At  that  time  the  facilities  and  opportunities  for 
-acquiring  an  education  were  far  below  what  are  now  in 
vogue.  There  were  no  opportunities  for  black  men  other 
than  situations  of  a  menial  and  degrading  character  to  be 
obtained ;  but  he,  imbued  with  the  firm  determination  to 
enter  the  race  of  life,  succeeded  in  arriving  at  a  point 
where  he  can  be  called  a  successful  man,  and  has  indeed 
risen  from  the  carpenter's  bench,  and  a  common  laborer  on 
a  steamboat,  to  the  distinguished  position  of  a  lawmaker 
of  the  State  of  Ohio.  His  religious  training  was  under 
the  A.  M.  E.  Church  while  a  youth,  but  he  is  not  connected 
with  any  denomination  now,  but  attends  the  Congre- 
gational Church,  the  Sabbath  school  of  which  is  and  has 
been  under  the  superintendency  of  his  wife  for  about  eight 
years.  In  financial  affairs  he  has  succeeded  moderately, 
being  worth  probably  five  thousand  dollars.  Ma)-  his  life 
and  success  be  some  encouragement  for  those  who  find  life 
hard  and  labor  become  unprofitable. 


118  HEN  OF  MARK. 


VII. 

WILLIAM  CALVIN  CHASE,  ESQ. 

Editor  of  the  Washin^on  Bee — Vigorous  and  Antagonistic  Writer — 
Politician — Agitator. 

WHATEVER  maybe  said  for  or  against  Mr.  Chase,  it 
can  well  be  remarked  that  he  is  a  true  friend,  an  untir- 
ing  enemy,  a  defender  of  his  race,  and  a  lover  of  his  home. 
Mistakes  he  has  made,  no  doubt,  and  yet  they  were  in  be- 
half of  his  convictions  or  when  he  has  been  mistaken  as  to 
the  justice  of  the  cause*which  promoted  him  to  act.  He 
has  led  a  life  of  agitation,  turmoil  and  combats,  and  has 
taken  and  given  many  blows,  and,  like  the  **  Black  Knight  *' 
of  Scott's  matchless  *Ivanhoe,'  he  has  unhorsed  many  a 
Front-de-Boeny  and  Atheist ane — using  both  sword  and 
battle-axe.  Relying  as  I  do  on  his  written  views,  news- 
paper articles  and  other  material  before  me,  I  have 
attempted  to  famish  the  facts  with  little  comment.  But 
let  it  now  be  said  that  while  Mr.  Chase  may  differ  from  any 
one,  yet  he  is  a  pleasant  and  agreeable  companion  at  any 
time,  and  those  from  whom  he  has  differed  are  all  distin- 
guished friends  of  his.  His  paper  has  a  motto  which 
greatly  interprets  the  man,  viz:  ** Honey  for  friends  and 
stings  for  enemies."  The  next  birthday  of  Mr.  Chase  will 
occur  on  February  2,  1888,  when  he  will  be  thirty-four 
years  of  age.    He  is  still  a  very  young  man.    His  father, 


"T^n.Sfinf^  i 


WILLIAM  CALVIN  CHASE.  1 19 

William  H.  Chase,  was  a  blacksmith,  and  one  of  the  lead- 
ing citizens  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  during 
his  day.  He  was  shot  by  a  man  named  Charles  Posey,  in 
1863,  who  called  at  his  place  of  business,  pretending  that 
he  wanted  him  to  examine  a  revolver,  claiming  that  it  was 
the  one  that  was  used  by  a  man  who  killed  a  woman  in 
the  southern  section  of  the  city.  Posey  said  the  revolver 
was  not  loaded ;  but  as  soon  as  Mr.  Chase  was  handed,  he 
refused  it,  and  told  him  to  take  it  away,  it  might  do 
harm,  and  before  he  had  finished  this  remark  the  deadly 
weapon  went  off  and  he  was  shot  through  the  heart.  His 
owTi  brother  (Chase's)  immediately  asserted  that  it 
i^as  an  accident.  Very  soon  after  his  death,  and  before 
any  of  Mr.  Chase's  immediate  family  arrived,  he  was 
robbed  of  every  cent  he  had  in  his  pockets.  The  death  of 
Mr.  Chase  left  his  widow  with  six  small  children.  Young 
Chase  being  the  only  boy,  had  many  hardships  to  encoun- 
ter, as  will  be  seen  in  the  history  of  his  life.  His  mother 
-was  a  Lucinda  Seaton  of  Virginia,  a  daughter  of  one  of 
the  most  aristocratic  colored  families  of  that  State,  and 
who  is  at  this  time  one  of  the  leading  citis^ens  of  Washing- 
ton. She  is  a  woman  of  determined  will,  who  has  suc- 
ceeded in  educating  her  children.  One  is  married  to  Rev. 
E.  W.  Williams,  principal  of  Ferguson's  Academy,  which 
she  established,  and  lives  in  Abbeville,  South  Carolina; 
two  are  teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  Washington ;  an- 
other is  employed  in  the  government  printing  office  at 
Washington,  and  has  the  reputation  of  having  excelled  a 
steam  folding  machine  in  folding  papers. 
During  the  struggle  of  Mrs.  Chase  to  educate  her  chil- 


1  20  MEN  OP  MARK. 

dren,  she  met  with  opposition  on  all  sides,  mainly  from  her 
husband's  relatives,  some  of  whom  brought  suits,  aggre- 
gating eight  thousand  dollars,  against  her.  William  H. 
Chase  was  also  a  musician,  and  it  is  said  that  he  performed 
skillfully  on  the  violin  and  bass  violin,  the  latter  of  which 
was  the  cause  of  a  lawsuit  in  the  Orphan's  court.  The 
instrument  was  left  to  his  son,  and.  at  the  time  of  the  death 
of  Mr.  Chase,  his  nephew  had  it  in  his  possession,  and  de- 
clined to  give  it  up  until  forced  to  do  so  by  order  of  the 
court.  Young  Chase  did  not  take  to  music ;  his  ambition 
was  journalism.  To  be  successful  in  that,  he  knew  that  it 
was  necessary  to  acquire  a  good  education.  He  was  only 
ten  years  old  at  the  death  of  his  father,  and  knowing  that 
his  mother  had  a  heavy  responsibility  on  her,  he  began  to 
sell  newspapers.  The  prejudice  against  colored  newsboys 
was  so  great  that  they  were  not  allowed  by  the  white 
newsboys  to  come  where  they  were.  Chase  managed  to 
receive  his  papers  through  a  colored  gentleman  who  was 
employed  by  the  Star  Publishing  Company,  by  the  name 
of  George  Johnson,  who  did  all  in  his  power  to  aid  him. 
Young  Chase  always  knew  how  to  ingratiate  himself  in 
the  good  graces  of  those  who  had  charge  of  newspapers, 
so  much  so  that  he  succeeded  when  others  failed.  He  was 
well  known  around  every  newspaper  office  of  any  promi- 
nence in  Washington,  and  became  one  of  the  most  popular 
newsboys  in  the  city.  Before  the  death  of  his  father,  he 
attended  the  private  school  of  John  F.  Cook,  present  col- 
lector of  taxes  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Leaving  this 
school  after  the  death  of  his  father,  he  began  his  noted 
career  as  a  newsboy.    He  would  sell  papers  before  school 


WILLIAM  CALVIN  CHASE.  121 

in  the  morning,  and  after  it  in  the  afternoon.  While  so 
doing,  he  met  a  white  lady  who  became  impressed  with  his 
manners,  and  she  asked  him  if  he  did  not  want  a  place; 
he  said  he  did.  She  gave  him  her  card  and  requested  him 
to  call  at  her  boarding  place  the  next  day.  Calling  as  re- 
quested, he  was  given  a  pen  and  ink  to  write  his  name ;  he 
coTild  not  do  so,  but  in  less  than  three  days  he  accom- 
plished the  task.  He  was  but  eleven  years  old  then.  Still 
more  impressed  was  the  lady;  she  secured  him  a  place 
with  HoUey  &  Brother,  wholesale  hat  manufacturers  in 
Methuen,  Massachusetts.  Not  caring  much  for  the  busi- 
ness, he  attended  a  white  school  taught  by  a  lady  named 
Mrs.  Swan.  He  remained  there  some  time,  and  finally 
"wrote  to  his  mother  to  allow  him  to  come  home.  So  ap- 
pealing was  his  letter  that  his  mother  consented.  It  was 
in  this  tow^n  that  Chase  conceived  the  importance  of  an 
education ;  there,  too,  he  got  an  idea  of  the  printing  busi- 
ness, and  his  ambition  continued  to  force  him  to  get  an 
education  to  enable  him  \o  become  a  useful  man.  He 
declared  when  a  boy,  that  he  would  some  day  become 
an  editor. 

On  returning  home  he  took  up  selling  papers  again,  making 
himself  a  kind  of  utility  boy  around  newspaper  offices,  and 
got  a  good  idea  of  newspaper  business.  He  left  the  public 
school  and  entered  the  Howard  University  Model  School, 
*'B"  class,  and  remained  in  that  department  two  years, 
passed  a  successful  examination,  and  was  recommended  by 
his  teacher  as  qualified  to  enter  the  preparatory  department. 
During  his  stay  in  Howard  University  I  was  his  teacher 
for  a  short  while,  and  found  him  one  of  the  brightest  in  the 


122  MBN  OF  MARK. 

class.  His  wife  was  also  a  pupil  of  mine.  Just  as  he  was* 
about  to  enter  college  he  received  an  appointment  in  the 
government  printing  office,  at  which  place  he  remained  two 
years.  He  did  not  get  the  place  promised  by  the  public 
printer ;  for  this,  and  injustice  to  the  colored  employees  in 
the  office,  he  assigned  as  good  reasons  for  denouncing  the 
public  printer,  which  he  did.  This  wto  his  first  public 
act,  although  prior  to  this  he  had  made  himself  prominent 
in  politics  and  was  recommended  for  a  consulship,  having; 
been  endorsed  by  the  most  prominent  Republican  cam- 
paign organizations  in  the  dty,  by  members  of  Congress^ 
and  Senator  Thomas  W.  Ferry  of  Michigan.  After  leav- 
ing the  government  printing  office  he  filed  charges  with  the 
President  against  the  public  printer,  A.  M.  Clapp,  and  in- 
troduced a  resolution  in  the  Hayes  and  Wheeler  campaign 
club,  of  which  he  was  secretary.  Colored  men  under  Clapp 
called  a  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  denouncing  Chase  and 
refuting  his  charges  against  Clapp ;  but  Chase  arrived  at 
the  hall  just  as  the  resolution  was  about  to  pass,  and  told 
them  that  if  such  a  resolution  was  adopted  he  would  ex- 
pose all  those  who  had  urged  him  to  denounce  Mr.  Clapp- 
on  account  of  his  injustice  to  the  Negro.  The  resolution 
did  not  pass.  He  gives  the  following  account  of  the 
rupture  between  himself  and  Mr.  Douglass : 

Mr.  Frederick  Douglass,  who  had  been  appointed  United  States  marshal 
by  President  Hayes,  heard  that  I  was  to  begiven  an  appointment,  said  to 
me  that  he  would  like  to  have  me  in  his  office, ' '  and  as  the  President  is  to  give 
you  an  appointment,"  said  Douglass, "  tell  him  if  he  ( President  Hayes)  will 
send  me  a  letter,  I  will  appoint  you."  I  called  on  President  Hayes  and 
informed  him  of  what  Mr.  Douglass  had  said.  The  President,  after  looking 
over  my  papers,  wrote  a  personal  letter  to  Mr.  Douglass.  The  letter  was. 


WILLIAM  CALVIN  CHASE.  123 

handed  to  him  by  me.  The  ''  Old  Man  Eloquent "  said,  *'  Ah !  Mr.  Chase, 
joa  have  caught  me  on  the  fly.  Come  in  and  I  will  see  what  I  can  do  for 
yon."  After  entering  Mr.  Douglass'  office,  he  said,  *' Chase,  call  in,  in  a 
few  days;  I  am  going  to  discharge  a  man  and  put  you  on.*'  In  the  mean- 
time Mr.  Clapp,  who  had  \)ctn  requested  to  resign  his  office,  wrote  to 
Mr.  Douglass  and  informed  him  that  he  had  heard  that  the  President  had 
recommended  me  to  him  for  an  appointment ;  that  the  charges  I  made 
against  him  were  false.  In  reply  Mr.  Douglass  wrote  to  Mr  Clapp  and 
said :  "  Although  the  President  has  requested  me  to  appoint  Mr.  Chase, 
I  don't  know  whether  I  shall  do  it  or  not."  I  was  informed  of  the  letter 
of  Mr.  Douglass  by  a  colored  man  and  a  friend  of  his,  employed  in  the 
press  room  of  the  government  printing  office,  to  whom  Mr.  Clapp  read 
the  letter.  I  called  on  Mr.  Douglass  and  informed  him  of  the  letter  writ- 
ten to  Mr.  Clapp,  and  before  Mr.  Douglass  replied,  his  son  Lewis,  then 
deputy  marshal,  denied  it.  I  said  that  such  a  letter  was  written,  and 
any  one  who  attempted  to  deny  it  was  a  liar.  L.  Douglass  said:  "I 
iRron't  appoint  you  now,  any  way."  I  said  it  made  no  difference  to  me, 
and  demanded  that  the  letter  sent  to  Mr.  Douglass  by  the  President  be 
returned  to  me,  and  said  that  I  would  inform  the  President  that  he  refused 
to  appoint  me,  after  having  promised.  Mr.  Douglass  said  "no,  as  the 
President's  letter  was  a  personal  one  to  him."  I  then  asked  for  a 
copy  of  the  letter,  at  the  request  of  ex-mayor  Bowen.  Mr.  Douglass 
declined.  I  had  become  somewhat  noted  as  a  newspaper  correspondent, 
and  in  every  letter  to  the  Boston  Observer  I  remembered  Mr.  Douglass, 
and  'would  paragraph  him  in  the  most  pointed  manner,  and  they  would 
appear  weekly,  greatly  to  the  discomfort  of  Mr.  Douglass  and  much  to 
my  gratification.  I  returned  to  President  Hayes,  but  before  seeing  him 
talked  with  his  private  secretary,  Mr.  W.  K.  Rodgers.  I  was  given  a  card 
to  the  President  and  related  to  him  the  actions  of  Mr.  Douglass.  The 
President  seemed  to  be  somewhat  indignant,  and  said  that  Mr.  Douglass 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  action  of  the  Invincible  Club  against  Mr. 
Clapp.  He  gave  me  a  letter  to  the  postmaster-general.  Six  months 
later  Mr.  Douglass  met  me  in  the  presence  of  Captain  O.  S.  B.  Wall,  and 
seemed  to  be  greatly  aggrieved  at  the  letters  written  by  me  to  the  Bos- 
ton Observer,  and  asked  me  what  I  was  doing.  I  told  him ;  whereupon 
be  invited  me  to  call  and  see  him.  I  called  and  told  Mr.  Douglass  that 
the  President  had  given  me  a  letter  to  Postmaster-General  Key.    Doug 


124  MEN  OF  MARK. 

lass  Yoluntsered  ito  'ondocse  the  President's  recommendation.  While  mjr 
.appointment  was  pending,  some  of  my  enemies  heard  that  the  postmaster 
.intended  to  appoint  me  to  an  important  position.  To  defeat  this,  an 
.anonymous  letter,  denouncing  the  President's  "Southern  Policy,"  was 
written  and  the  name  of  the  secretary  of  the  Hayes  and  Wheeler  Invinci- 
ible  Club  signed.  The  letter  stated  that  I  denounced  the  President's  policy 
•and  was  organizing  a  new  African  party,  which  would  prove  detrimental 
to  the  President  and  the  Republican  party.  This  letter  was  sent  to  the 
postmaster,  and  I  failed  to  get  the  appointment. 

Although  the  Boston  Observer  had  suspended,  a  new 
paper  had  been  started,  known  as  the  Washington  Plains- 
dealer,  edited  by  Dr.  King,  a  West  Indian.  Mr.  Chase 
was  made  reporter  and  the  "  Chit-Chat "  editor.  He  was 
considered  a  valuable  news  and  society,  editor.  Not  being 
satisfied  with  the  policy  of  the  paper,  he  resigned  and 
turned  his  interest  over  to  A.  St.  A.  Smith  and  A.  W.  De 
Leon.  Mr.  Douglass  became  a  supporter  of  the  Plain- 
dealer,  Mr.  Chase  turned  his  attention  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  public  schools  and  endeavored  to  reform  them. 
He  claimed  to  know  of  immorality  existing  in  the  schools 
and  prepared  several  specifications  of  charges  against  cer- 
tain trustees.  Commissioner  Dent  requested  the  trustees, 
a^gainst  whom  these  charges  were  made  to  answer  them. 
They  were  all  denied,  but  were  proven  by  Mr.  Chase. 
One  of  the  trustees  was  removed,  but  the  other  was  re- 
tained, owing  to  some  doubt  on  the  part  of  the  commis- 
sioners, as  this  trustee  had  offered  the  Colored  Normal 
School  bill  which  would  have  benefited  the  colored  peo- 
ple. Chase  called  a  public  meeting  and  charged  these  men 
openly  with  ha\nng  corrupted  the  schools.  The  meeting 
w^as  packed  by  the  friends  of  the  trustees  with  society 


WILLIAM  CALVIN  CHASB.  125 

friends.  These  were  charged  by  Mr.  Chase  with  attempt- 
ing to  hide  corruption  and  keeping  a  set  of  corrupt  men  in 
office.  The  meeting  was  taken  from  Mr.  Chase  and  his 
friends,  and  resolutions  adopted  endorsing  the  trustees. 
Notwithstanding  this,  Mr.  Chase  filed  his  charges  and 
proved  them.  Previous  to  this  Mr.  Douglass  had  made 
up  with  Mr.  Chase,  but  Mr.  Douglass  had  been  informed 
by  one  of  the  trustees  that  Mr.  Chase  was  using  the  letter 
sent  by  Mr.  Douglass  to  Postmaster-General  Key  in  con- 
nection with  the  charges  against  the  trustees.  Mr.  Doug- 
lass came  out  in  the  following  card  in  the  National  Repub- 
lican of  Washington : 

Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  September  25, 1876. 

To  iivhom  it  may  concern : 

Wliereas,  one  William  C.  Chase,  is  using  a  letter  of  mine  in  connection 

-with  certain  charges  against  the  tmstees  of  the  public  schools,  I  desire 

to  say  that  I  have  lost  confidence  in  said  Chase  and  withdraw  my  letter 

ofendorsementof  him. 

Very  Respectfully,  etc. 

Frederick  Douglass. 

Mr.  Chase  said  in  a  public  speech  **that  Mr.  Douglass 
knew  that  he  was  using  no  letter  of  his."  The  letter  re- 
ferred to  was  on  file  in  the  postoffice  department,  and  was 

• 

not  withdrawn  until  after  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Douglass' 
card,  which  was  certified  to  by  General  0.  P.  Bumside,the 
disbursing  officer  of  that  department.  During  this  fight 
President  Hayes  had  given  Mr.  Chase  another  letter,  this 
time  to  the  district  commissioners,  for  an  appointment. 
Captain  Phelps,  one  of  the  commissioners,  opposed  Mr. 
Chase's  appointment  on  representations  made  to  him  by 
the  friends  of  the  trustees,  while  Commissioner  J.  Dent 


126  MEN  OF  MARK. 

favored  it  and  would  listen  to  nothing  said  by  his 
Mr.  Chase,  however,  did    not  secure   the  appointment. 
Presuming  that  he  would  give  the  President  a  rest  for  a 
while,  he  accepted  the  editorship  of  the  Argus,  ivhich  vras 
offered  him.  at  that  time  edited  by  Charles  N.  Otey,  one  of 
brainiest  men  known  to  the  colored  race.  The  Argus  was  the 
controlled  by  a  board  of  directors.    Mr.  Otey  retired  and 
Mr.  Chase  appointed  to  succeed  him,  with  Captain  G.  W. 
Graham,  business  manager.    He  changed  the  name  of  the 
paper  to  that  of  the  Free  Lance.    The  change  of  the  name 
excited  great  feeling  among  the  people,  as  they  knew  of  the 
vindictiveness  and  determination  of  Mr.  Chase  to  expose 
fraud  and  get  even  with  those  whom  he  considered  enemies. 
Nor  did  he  disappoint  them.  His  first  attack  was  made  on 
Senator  John  Sherman,  then  the  secretary  of  the  treasury; 
**  the  schools,"  **  police  force,"  and  the  National  Republican 
committee  for  not  appointing  colored  men  in  the  cam- 
paign.   So  great  was  the  feeling  of  the  Republicans  against 
him,  that  the  board  of  directors,  who  were  all  office- 
holders, while  they  dared  not  remove  Mr.  Chase,  sold  out 
the  ])aper  to  L.  H.  Douglass,  H.Johnson,  M.  M.  Holland, 

and  others,  office-holders,  claimed  by  Mr.  Chase  to  be  his 

• 

enemies.  The  sell  out  of  the  Argus  Publishing  Company 
greatly  pleased  his  opposers,  for  the  name  of  Chase  was 
becoming  a  household  word,  and  notwithstanding  his 
manv  defeats,  he  conceived  the  idea  that  he  would  sink  or 
swim  in  his  next  attempt. 

He  went  to  the  President  and  asked  for  another  appoint- 
ment ;  this  time  the  President  jmt  him  off;  he  left,  got 
additional  endorsements  from  prominent  Republicans  in 


WILLIAM  CALVIN  CHASE.  127 

Virginia,  among  whom  was  one  of  Colonel  Sampson  P. 
Bailey,  in  whose  interest  he  canvassed  the  IJighth  Con- 
gressional District,  Colonel  John  F.  Lewis  and  many 
others.  He  returned  to  him  and  presented  a  letter  which 
w^as  referred  to  his  private  secretary,  who  was  very  favor- 
ably disposed  towards  Mr.  Chase.  When  asked  where  he 
wanted  to  go,  Mr.  Chase  replied,  '*Back  to  the  govern- 
ment printing  office;  foreman  of  the  lower  paper  ware- 
house," a  position  then  held  by  a  white  man.  Mr.  Chase 
called  on  Mr.  John  D.  Defrees  whose  nomination  was 
pending.  He  promised  to  appoint  Mr.  Chase,  but  as  soon 
as  it  became  known  that  Mr.  Chase  was  to  return  to  that 
office,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clapp  commenced  to  work  on  Mr. 
Defrees'  prejudice.  After  his  confirmation  by  the  United 
States  Senate,  a  minor  place  was  offered  him,  which  he 
declined.  At  this  time  an  investigation  against  Defrees, 
and  Clapp  was  instigated  by  Hon.  Ebenezer  B.  Finley  of 
Ohio,  chairman  of  the  sub-committee  on  expenditures. 
Mr.  Chase  was  subpoenaed  by  that  committee,  which  be- 
came known  at  the  government  printing  office ;  he  was 
sent  for  by  H.  Robert,  foreman  of  the  bindery.  After  this 
subpcena  he  was  appointed  in  the  government  printing 
office,  but  remained  only  one  week,  as  the  place  was  not 
w^hat  he  desired.  Before  Douglass  was  transferred  from 
the  marshalship  to  recorder  of  deeds,  a  public  meeting 
w^as  called  by  the  friends  of  John  T.  Johnson  to  endorse 
him  for  the  place  of  Douglass.  Mr.  Chase  opposed  the 
resolution,  and  asked  that  Douglass  be  retained  and  John- 
son be  endorsed  for  recorder  of  deeds,  to  which  Mr.  Doug- 
lass was  subsequently  appointed. 


128  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Although  Mr.  Douglass  had  been  requested  not  to  ap- 
point Mr.  Chase  in  his  office,  he  did  so  eventually.  This 
was  considered  a  victory  for  Mr.  Chase  after  the  publica- 
tion of  Mr.  Douglass'  card.  While  in  this  office  Mr.  Chase 
wrote  a  severe  criticism  on  the  *  History  of  the  Negro 
Race '  by  Colonel  G.  W.  Williams,  of  which  Mr.  Douglass 
was  accused;  it  was  in  this  office  that  Mr.  Chase  was 
accused  of  being  inspired  to  criticise  and  condemn  the 
political  course  of  Hon.  R.  Purvis.  He  was  editing  the 
Bee  at  the  time.  He  denied  all  accusations  against  Mr. 
Douglass.  A  /heated  correspondence  passed  between 
Messrs.  Douglass  and  Purvis.  Mr.  Purvis  requested 
the  discharge  of  Mr.  Chase,  but  Mr.  Douglass  refused  to 
comply,  and  suggested  that  Mr.  Purvis  meet  him  on  equal 
grounds  and  not  ask  him  to  do  that  which  would  not  be 
honorable.  Mr.  Purvis  became  very  indignant  at  this,  and 
instigated  a  criminal  libel  suit  against  Mr.  Chase,  which 
was  subsequently  withdrawn. 

Mr.  Chase  was  not  satisfied  with  the  position  in  Mr.  Doug- 
lass' office,  and  Hon.  B.  K.  Bruce,  who  was  a  statmchMend 
of  his,  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Douglass  to  see  the  secre- 
tary of  war,  Hon.  R.  T.  Lincoln,  to  obtain  a  better  place. 
It  is  said  that  instead  of  Mr.  Douglass  recommending  Mr. 
Chase,  he  recommended  some  one  else,  which  greatly  em- 
barrassed Mr.  Bruce,  who  requested  Mr.  Chase  to  go  with 
him  to  see  Mr.  Lincoln.  Two  weeks  later  Mr.  Chase  was 
notified  to  appear  in  examination,  after  which  he  received 
a  probationary  appointment  for  four  months,  at  the  end 
of  which,  his  appointment  was  made  permanent.  Then  his 
thoughts  were  turned  to  the  law  department  of  Howard 


WILLIAM  CALVIN  CHASE.  123 

University,  where  he  remained  one  year,  when  he  was  asked 
to  enter  the  Virginia  Republican  canvass,  which  he  did, 
and  which  necessarily  compelled  him  to  give  up  the  study 
of  law.    He  took  an  active  part  in  the  campaign  of  '84, 
both  in  person  and  with  his  paper,  the  Bee,    In  1885,  he 
went  as  one  of  the  delegates  from  the  convention  of  colored 
citizens  to  President  Cleveland,  to  request  him  to  review 
the  Emancipation  Day  parade.    At  the  conclusion  of  re- 
marks by  Mr.  Chase,  the  President  produced  a  copy  of  the 
Bee  containing  the  following  article : 

BfURDER  AND  ASSASSINATION. 

We  are  constrained  to  say  that  the  time  has  come  when  murder  and 
^  assassination  of  black  Republicans  in  the  South  must  cease.  The 
"Hie  has  come  for  the  Negroes  and  loyal  white  people  of  this  country  to 
Aow  to  the  world  that  there  is  purity  in  American  politics.  In  the  State 
w  Louisiana,  a  few  days  ago,  the  most  cowardly  and  bloody  murders 
"'*''  committed.  Innocent  colored  Republicans  were  shot  down  by 
**™ocrats  like  dogs.  The  same  was  a  repetition  of  the  past  brutalities, 
when  helpless  colored  female  virgins  and  babes  were  snatched  from  their 
°^s  and  murdered.  The  scene  in  the  South  on  last  Tuesday  has 
raised  the  indignation  of  over  five  millions  of  true  black  American  citi- 
2^s.  It  is  time  for  every  American  Negro  in  the  South  to  make  an  appeal 
to  arms  and  fire  everA'  Democratic  home  where  Negro-killers  live,  from  a 
P^^  to  a  hut,  in  retaliation  for  the  foul  and  dastardly  murders  that 
'^^  committed  in  the  South.  We  speak  without  fear  and  in  de- 
fense of  the  helpless  Negro.  It  is  far  more  noble  to  die  the  death  of  a 
"^^^^n  than  an  ignominious  slave.  The  hundred  and  fifty-three  elec- 
toral votes  from  the  South  were  obtained  through  theft  and  assassination ; 
*Cu«nes  of  the  most  outrageous  character  were  resorted  to ;  Negroes 
murdered;  ballot  boxes  stuffed;  peaceable  citizens  were  imprisoned 
to  prevent  them  frqm  exercising  the  rights  of  elective  franchise.  Under 
^floe  circumstances  it  will  cost  the  lives  of  millions  to  inaugurate  Grovcr 
Cleveland. 

Mr.  Chase  informed  the  President  that  he  was  the  author 


130  MEN  OF  MARK. 

of  the  article;  that  it  was  written  in  the  heat  of  the  Presi- 
dential campaign ;  that  the  Copiah,  Danville,  and  Louisiana 
massacres  were  the  causes  of  the  publication  of  the  article; 
but  since  it  was  decided  that  he  was  the  legally  elected 
President,  no  paper  had  been  as  conservative  as  the  Bee. 
Mr.  Cleveland  said  that  his  life  was  in  danger  when  the 
article  appeared ;  he  condemned  it  and  called  upon  all  other 
citizens  to  do  likewise.  Nearly  every  paper  in  the  country 
had  something  to  say.  The  Democratic  papers  were  loud 
in  their  condemnation  of  Mr.  Chase,  and  in  all  directions  of 
the  city,  groups  of  persons  could  be  seen  discussing  **  Chase 
and  the  President.'' 

Many  Republicans  who  knew  that  what  Chase  said 
was  true,  were  among  those  who  condemned  him.  At 
the  request  of  the  President,  Mr.  Chase  sent  him  different 
copies  of  his  paper,  and  it  was  thought  that  this  would 
tend  to  appease  him,  as  Mr.  Chase  had  supported  him 
after  his  inaugural  address,  which  contained  some  kind 
words  in  behalf  of  the  Negro.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  April, 
about  ten  days  after  Mr.  Chase  had  called  on  the  Presi- 
dent,  he  received  his  discharge  from  the  War  Department, 
by  order  of  the  President  and  W.  C.  Endicott,  secretary 
of  war.  Long  before  the  ascendency  of  the  Democratic 
party,  attempts  had  been  made  to  have  Mr.  Chase  dis- 
charged. These  charges  had  no  effect  with  Secretary  Lin- 
coln as  Senator  Bruce  frustrated  them.  Mr.  Chase  was 
elected  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  Louisville  conven- 
tion,  and  was  first  to  nominate  Rev.  W.  J.  Simmons,  presi- 
dent of  the  National  Press  convention,  to  which  he  was 
elected,  and  was  himself  elected  historian  of  said  association. 


i 


WILLIAM  CALVIN  CHASE.  131 

August  4»  1886.  General  Logan  said  that  ''Mr.  Chase 
was  one  of  the  brightest  young  men  he  knew,  and  one 
who  will  succeed."  Mr.  Chase  has  been  indicted  for  libel 
five  times  and  convicted  once,  the  fine  being  fifty  dollars. 
He  was  married  January  28,  1886,  to  Miss  Arabella  Y. 
McCabe,  a  very  accomplished  lady  in  music  and  literature. 
His  wedding  was  one  of  the  grandest  that  ever  took  place 
in  Washington.  Presents  were  received  fi-om  all  parts  of 
the  country.  He  is  now  editor  of  the  Washington  Bee, 
which  is  flourishing.  His  office  is  fitted  up  in  style,  all  the 
material  of  which  is  his  own.  Although  the  fights  be- 
tw^een  Messrs.  Chase  and  Douglass  were  bitter,  they  sub- 
sequently became  fiiends,  and  for  three  successive  years 
Mr.  Douglass  was  elected  Emancipation  orator  through 
the  influence  of  Mr.  Chase.  He  had  become  so  popular 
that  a  young  lady,  Miss  Susie  Brown,  named  her  school 
for  him.  On  account  of  his  great  height  and  massive 
form,  he  is  often  called  a  **long,  narrow,  slender  slice  of 
night.**  This  name  was  given  him  by  the  Sunday  Capital. 
In  the  press  convention  of  1880,  held  in  Washington,  he 
was  .the  only  editor  North  who  read  a  paper  favoring 
separate  schools;  when  he  had  finished,  his  address  was 
endorsed  by  the  entire  Southern  presS;  without  one  ex- 
ception. 

His  report  at  the  Press  convention,  on  Southern  out- 
rages, was  highly  commended  by  the  Philadelphia  Press. 
Mr.  Chase  is  a  determined  man  and  has  an  undaunted  dis- 
position, and  will  never  give  up  as  long  as  there  is  a  fight- 
ing chance.  He  delights  to  have  a  broil  on  hand ,  and  seems 
never  happier  than  when  he  hears  the  shouts  of  battle 


132  MEN  OP  MARK. 

and  the  clash  of  arms.  The  Bee  was  foremost  in  the  fight 
concerning  the  Matthews-Recorder-of-Deeds-muddle.  Mr. 
Chase  made  ^  gallant  fight,  which,  while  it  did  not  secure 
the  nomination  of  Mr.  Matthews,  whipped  the  Senatorial 
children  soundly  and  compelled  them  to  confirm  Mr.  Trot- 
ter. They  did  not  dare  fiimish  the  occasion  for  another 
battle.  They  dared  not  go  home  with  the  Bee  behind  them . 
They  had  felt  its  sting  already  and  did  not  care  to  con- 
tinue to  need  it  further.  A  full  statement  of  the  case  will 
be  found  under  the  name  of  Mr.  J.  C.  Matthews.  Truly 
did  he  furnish  **  stings  for  the  enemies  "  of  the  race. 


4 


JAMBS  W.  HOOD.  133 


VIII. 

REV.  JAMES  W.  HOOD. 

Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church— Church  Organicer  and  Builder— 
Aasistant  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction— His  Many  Contests 
For  Civil  Rights  on  Steamboats  and  Cars. 

ONE  of  the  most  influential  men  in  this  country  is 
Bishop  Hood.  His  labors  have  been  crowned  with 
abundant  success,  and  his  acknowledged  ability  marks  him 
as  a  special  favorite.  He  has  a  large  amount  of  what  is 
called  character.  He  is  the  son  of  a  preacher,  and  his  life 
shows  that  all  **  preachers'  sons  *'  are  not  bad.  The  names 
of  his  parents  deserve  to  be  mentioned.  The  family  con- 
stituted one  of  the  thirteen  families  who  founded  the 
separate  Methodist  church  in  Wilmington,  Delaware.  He 
^vas  born  in  Kennett  township,  Chester  county,  Pennsj^l- 
vania.  May  30,  1831.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five,  being 
converted,  he  felt  a  call  to  preach  the  gospel.  In  1859  he 
was  received  on  trial  in  the  New  England  conference  of  the 
A.  M.  E.  Zion  church.  In  1860  he  was  ordained  deacon 
and  sent  to  Nova  Scotia  missions.  The  year  1863  found 
him  stationed  at  Bridgeport,  Connecticut.  This  same 
vear  he  was  sent  to  North  Carolina,  where  he  now  lives 
**as  the  first  of  his  race  appointed  as  a  regular  missionary 
to  the  Freedmen  in  the  South.'' 
He  has  founded  in  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and 


134  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Virginia  over  six  hundred  churches,  and  erected  under  his 
supervision  about  five  hundred  church  buildings.  He  was 
elected  bishop  of  the  General  Conference  which  held  its 
session  inNorth Carolina,  in  1872.  He  was  elected  amem- 
ber  of  the  Ecumenical  Conference,  in  London,  in  1881. 
He  has  published  a  volume  of  sermons,  to  which  Rev.  At- 
ticus  G.  Haygood,  agent  of  the  Slater  fand,  has  written  a 
complimentary  introduction  in  which  he  says : 

These  sermons  speak  for  themselves ;  their  naturalness,  their  clearness, 
their  force  and  their  general  soundness  of  doctrine  and  wholesomeness  of 
sentiment,  commend  them  to  sensible  and  pious  people.  I  have  found 
them  as  useful  as  interesting.  Those  who  still  question  whether  the 
Neg^o  in  this  country  is  capable  of  education  and  refinement,  will  modifj 
their  opinion  when  they  read  these  sermons,  or  else  they  will  conclude 
that  their  author  is  a  very  striking  exception  to  what  they  assume  is  a 
general  rule.  Bishop  Hood  entertains  many  broad  and  important  views- 
as  to  the  wants,  duties  and  future  of  his  p>eople.  He  believes  that  their 
best  interests  are  to  be  conserved  in  preserving  the  race  from  admixture 
with  other  bloods.  They  should,  he  thinks,  hang  together,  and  he  is  per- 
suaded that  if  his  p>eople  are  to  succeed  permanently  and  broadly  in  this 
country,  they  must  largely  work  out  their  own  salvation. 

He  has  twenty-one  very  able  and  comprehensive  sermons 
in  the  book,  well  worth  the  reading.  Besides  peculiarly 
striking  sermons  by  Bishops  S.J.Jones,  J.J.  Moore, J.  P. 
Thompson,  Thomas  H.  Lomax,  some  of  the  themes 
treated  in  Bishop  Hood's  book,  are  **The  Claims  of  the 
Gospel  Message ;  "  *  *  Personal  Consecration ; ' '  *  *  Divine 
Sonship;''  ** The  Sequence  of  Wondrous  Love;'*  **WTiy 
was  the  Rich  Man  in  Torment?'*  **The  Streams  which 
Gladden  God's  City ;  "  **The  Glory  Revealed  in  the  Chris- 
tian Character;  "  ** David's  Root  and  Offspring,  or  Venus 
in  the  Apocalypse." 


JAMES  W    HOOD.  135 

Bishop  Hood  went  to  North  Carolina  in  January  •1864. 
At  Newbem,  during  that  year,  in  the  absence  of  the  chapH 
lain,  he  preached  to  the  colored  troops  and  was  often 
called  "chaplain,"  but  he  never  held  the  commission  as 
such.  He  went  there  as  missionary,  under  General  Butler's 
invitation  to  the  churches  to  send  missionaries  into  his 
department.  Newbem  was  twice  attacked  after  he  went 
there,  so  that  he  understands  what  it  is  to  be  under  Con- 
federate fire.  Among  the  ** first*'  conventions,  if  not  the 
first  of  them  all,  of  colored  men  in  the  South,  was  the  one 
in  October,  1865,  in  Raleigh.  In  this  meeting  he  was 
elected  president  as  the  "dark  horse."  Three  other  candi- 
dates had  packed  delegations  as  it  appears,  and  thus  de- 
feated each  other.  The  opening  speech  in  that  convention 
was  the  subject  of  much  comment  fi-om  the  press,  some 
not  very  complimentary  to  the  speaker.  He  was  reminded 
"that  hemp  grew  in  that  part  of  the  State."  It  was  the 
first  time  that  a  black  man  had  so  publicly  stated  that  the 
Negro  was  among  those  who  came  from  one  blood,  and 
among  those  whom  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in- 
cluded as  endowed  with  inalienable  rights,  liberty  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness;  a  right  to  the  jury-box,  cartridge 
box,  and  ballot  box,  were  among  the  demands  which  he 
said  the  colored  people  would  contend  for,  and  that  with 
the  help  of  God.  He  was  reminded  in  some  of  the  bitter 
papers  at  the  time  that  he  would  get  all  these  in  one  box. 
In  1868  he  demanded  and  obtained  cabin  passage  on  the 
Cape  Fear  steamers.  The  agents  told  him  that  nothing 
but  the  fact  that  the  city  was  under  military  authority 
caused  the  company  to  yield  to  his  demand.    He  advised 


]  36  MEN  OP  MARK. 

the  bishop  not  to  attempt  to  take  advantage  of  this,  as  it 
would  be  the  worse  for  him  when  the  military  was  with- 
drawn. The  answer  was  characteristic  of  the  man.  He 
said  he  would  enjoy  it  while  he  could,  and  trust  the  Lord 
for  the  balance.  His  right,  however,  has  never  been  ques- 
tioned on  that  river  since.  This  proves  what  we  have 
often  said,  that,  if  colored  men  would  demand  what  be- 
longs to  them  they  could  very  many  times  get  it,  but  be- 
cause of  their  indifference  and  littleness  of  soul,  they  are 
often  shoved  into  places  where  it  is  a  disgrace  to  go.  He 
also  broke  the  ice  on  the  railroads  in  that  early  day,  and  in 
this  respect  stood  foremost  in  the  Southern  States.  To 
go  a  little  back,  he  says : 

I  have  been  contending  for  my  rights  in  public  conveyances  from  boy- 
hood. Time  and  again,  between  '48  and  *63  did  conductors  try  to  put 
me  out  of  the  first  class  cars  on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  but  they 
never  did  it.  Once  I  think  they  would  have  done  it,  but  a  Quaket  lady 
called  on  the  passengers  to  interfere  in  my  behalf.  1  was  carried  out  of 
the  street  cars  five  times  in  one  night  in  1857,  and,  after  all,  rode  from 
the  comer  of  Church  and  Leonard  streets  up  to  28th  street  in  time  to 
preach,  but  of  course  I  was  a  little  late.  I  could  give  many  instances  in 
which  I  had  to  contend,  but  generally  made  ray  trip  in  the  car.  A  thirty- 
eight  years'  fight  with  railroad  conductors  seems  like  a  long  contest, 
from  which  1  have  come  forth  without  a  scar. 

Bishop  Hood  has  alwaj^s  been  a  traveler,  more  or  less, 
and  has  traveled  15,000  miles  a  vcar.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  any  man  living  has  had  so  many  railroad  con- 
tests. He  is  getting  tired  and  worn  out,  and  avoids  the 
far  South  as  much  as  possible  on  this  account,  but  never- 
theless he  has  opened  the  way  and  smoothed  the  path  in 
these  years  for  others,  and  has  opened  up  to  the  traveling 


JAMES  W.  HOOD.  137 

public  better  accommodations.  In  1867  he  was  elected 
as  a  delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  the  State 
of  North  Carolina,  and  took  such  a  prominent  part  that 
the  Democrats  called  the  constitution  adopted  **  Hood's 
Constitution"  until  they  amended  it  slightly  about  1875. 
In  this  convention  he  made  a  speech  which  was  full  of 
sarcasm  and  ridicule  of  his  opponent,  a  gentleman  who 
had  opposed  some  measure  in  which  he  was  interested. 
He  says: 

After  all  I  am  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  I  feel  myself  to  be  under 
some  obligation  to  the  secessionists.  1  am  comp>elled  to  acknowledge 
that  to  their  folly,  in  a  great  measure,  we  owe  our  present  enfranchisement. 
The  gentleman  from  Orange  remarked  last  night  that  his  race  has  always 
fxrcupied  a  position  more  elevated  than  the  rest  of  mankind.  I  am 
astonished  at  that  young  man  that  he  has  no  more  regard  for  his  repu- 
tation as  a  historian  than  to  assert  such  a  ridiculous  fallacy  in  the  hear- 
mg  of  intelligent  gentlemen  in  the  noonday  splendor  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Does  he  not  know  that  his  ancestors,  the  ancient  Britons, 
were  in  bondage  in  ancient  Rome,  in  the  days  of  Julius  Ctcsar,  and  ever 
since  that  day  ?  Mr.  Chairman,  the  worst  that  has  ever  been  said  of  my 
people  was  that  they  were  too  ignorant  to  be  anything  but  slaves ;  but 
of  the  Britons  it  was  said  that  they  were  too  ignorant  even  to  be  slaves. 
A  friend  of  Julius  Cafsar,  writing  to  him,  urged  him  not  to  bring  slaves  from 
Britain,  for  they  were  so  ignorant  that  they  could  not  be  taught  music. 
Xow  I  have  never  heard  it  said  of  colored  people  that  they  were  too  ignor- 
ant to  sing.  I  admit  that  this  is  not  very  flattering  to  the  ancestors  of  the 
gentleman  from  Cleveland  and  Orange.  Ancestry' is  something  that  they 
should  not  go  back  into,  except  with  their  mouths  in  the  dust ;  but  I  don't 
blame  them  for  this.  It  is  something  they  cannot  help.  I  am  sorry  for 
them,  but  I  don't  blame  them  for  springing  from  such  a  low  origin.  I 
only  think  hard  of  them  for  making  mouths  at  me. 

This  speech  was  considered  so  valuable  that  it  was  used 
as  a  campaign  document.    It  is  full  of  such  passages,  and 


138  MBN  OP  MARK. 

the  comment  of. the  press  was  very  favorable,  though  the 
information  was  easily  gained  by  any  one  who  would  take 
the  pains  to  read,  yet  it  was  considered  wonderfiil  because 
a  colored  man  showed  such  an  acquaintance  with  the 
history  of  his  race  and  turned  with  such  grace  and 
dignity  and  delivered  such  a  clever  shot  into  the  ranks  of 
his  opponents.  ' 

The  homestead  and  public  schools  in  this  convention 
claimed  his'especial  attention,  and  he  was  allowed  to  have 
his  own  way  pretty  much  in  regard  to  these  measures.  He 
believed  that  a  good  homestead  law  would  secure  the  rat- 
ification of  the  constitution,  and  he  was  not  mistaken.  It 
proved  to  be  a  very  popular  measure,  and  he  used  it  for  all 
it  was  worth  in  canvassing.  The  school  law  was  f5ree  from 
any  hint  of  condition  on  account  of  color.  He  canvassed 
at  the  time  fourteen  counties  and  carried  them  all  for  this 
constitution,  although  all  but  two  were  regarded  as  doubt- 
ful. He  was  associated  with  others,  of  course,  in  this  can- 
vass, but  heenjoyed  thelion's  share  of  attention.  Returning 
home  from  a  meeting  during  the  Presidential  campaign  in 
1868,  he  received  a  commission  as  agent  of  the  State  Board 
of  Education  and  assistant  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction. This  appointment  was  made  without  solicita- 
tion from  himself  and  friends  and  without  his  knowl- 
edge. The  State  Board  of  Education  was  composed  of 
the  governor  and  other  State  officers,  and  created  the  office 
and  made  the  appointment,  and  the  first  information  he 
had  of  it  was  the  receipt  of  the  commission,  and  an  accom- 
pan3ring  letter  asking  him  to  indicate  at  what  time  he 
could  enter  upon  the  duties  of  the  office.    His  salary  was. 


JAMBS  W.  HOOD.  139 

fixed  at  $1,500  a  year.  He  filled  this  position  for  three 
years,  haying  his  headquarters  at  Raleigh,  and  at  the  same 
time,  with  the  assistance  of  a  subordinate  preacher,  built 
tip  a  strong  church  at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  out  of 
livhich  four  others  have  been  formed.  He  would  leave 
Raleigh  Saturday  afternoon  and  go  to  Charlotte, 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  away,  preach  three 
times  a  day  and  be  back  to  Raleigh  Monday  morning. 
Sometimes  he  would  not  have  his  boots  off  from  Saturday 
morning  until  Monday  night.  He  generally  filled  the  pulpit 
three  Sabbaths  in  the  month.  One  Sabbath  in  the  month 
he  would  remain  at  Raleigh  and  divide  the  time  among 
Methodist  and  Baptist  congregations.  There  was  no 
church  of  his  branch  of  Methodists  in  Raleigh  at  that  time, 
and  he  thought  it  was  not  fair  to  use  the  power  of  his 
ofiSce  to  establish  one.  During  the  time  he  was  in  office,  he 
visited  the  greater  portion  of  the  State,  lecturing  and  or- 
ganizing schools.  He  received,  unsolicited,  a  commission 
from  General  0.  0.  Howard,  as  assistant  superintendent 
under  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  without  pay,  except  that 
he  was  allowed  three  dollars  a  day,  when  traveling  in  the 
interest  of  the  Bureau,  to  cover  expenses.  In  1870  he  had 
forty-nine  thousand  colored  children  in  the  schools,  and 
had  a  colored  department  established  for  the  deaf,  dumb 
and  blind,  and  about  sixt}'  of  those  unfortunates,  under 
care  and  instruction,  gathered  from  all  parts  of  the 
State.  Sometimes  he  had  hard  work  to  get  parents  to 
send  their  children.  One  blind  boy,  that  he  had  to  go  for 
several  times  and  who  would  hide  when  he  heard  that  the 
bishop  was  in  town,  is  now  making  his  living  traveling  aa 


14*0  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Professor  Simmons,  the  blind  organist.  The  department 
formed  at  that  early  day  has  now  a  brick  building  worth 
$20,000,  heated  by  steam  and  has  every  necessary  conveni- 
ence. It  is  the  best  institution  for  deaf  mutes  and  blind  of  the 
colored  people  in  this  country,  and  yet  there  is  only  about 
the  same  number  in  the  institution  that  he  left  when  he 
gave  up  the  office,  while  the  statistics  show  about  eight 
hundred  in  the  State.  He  was  about  to  establish  a  State 
University  when  the  Democrats  got  control  of  the  Legisla- 
ture and  legislated  him  out  of  office. 

The  only  office  he  held  under  the  State  and  National 
government  was  magistrate  under  a  provisional  govern- 
ment, and  deputy  collector  for  a  few  months.  The  latter 
position  he  resigned.  He  was  the  choice  of  the  colored 
delegates  for  Secretary  of  State  at  the  Republican  State 
convention  in  1872,  as  unanimously  declared  by  the 
caucus,  and  declining  it  he  was  allowed  to  name  a  man 
who  was  nominated  and  elected.  This  gentleman  prom- 
ised to  appoint  a  colored  man  as  chief  clerk  and  he  did  so. 
He  never  desired  a  purely  secular  office  and  did  not  regard 
his  educational  position  in  that  Ught.  He  was  made  tem- 
porary chairman  of  the  Republican  State  convention  in 
1876,  and  gave  such  satisfaction  that  the  gentleman  who 
was  selected  for  permanent  chairman  wanted  to  decline  in 
his  favor.  He  was  a  delegate  for  the  State-at-large  to  the 
National  convention  in  1872,  which  nominated  Grant 
for  his  second  term.  He  was  Grand  Master  of  the  Masons 
in  his  State  for  fourteen  years,  and  has  twice  declined 
unanimous  election  since.  He  was  elected  and  re-elected 
Most  Eminent  Grand  Patron  of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern 


JAHBS  W.  HOOD.  141 

Star,  until  he  quit  attending  the  annual  meetings.  Besides- 
he  held  very  many  minor  offices.  He  has  been  High  Priest, 
D.  S.  H.  P.  and  D.,  inspector  of  the  Thirty-third  degree. 
At  the  great  Centennial  gathering  of  all  branches  of  the 
Methodist  church,  black  and  white,  held  in  Baltimore, 
1885,  he  was  elected  to  preside  the  first  day.  This  body 
was  presided  over  by  one  State  governor,  and  one  lieuten- 
ant-governor and  a  number  of  bishops  in  turn.  He  was 
elected  to  preside,  but  as  he  was  not  present,  they  sent  a 
telegram  for  him,  but  he  could  not  reach  there  in  time. 
He  was  informed  that  an  effort  was  made  to  get  another 
colored  man  appointed,  but  a  white  bishop  was  finally 
selected.  Notwithstanding  his  absence,  when  called  for, 
another  appointment  was  made  for  him,  which  he  filled. 
Early  in  the  day  a  couple  of  smart  black  men  gave  him  an 
opportunity  to  show  what  he  knew  about  parliamentary 
usage.  His  rulings  were  cheered  and  for  the  balance  of 
the  session  both  white  and  black  tried  to  keep  within  the 
rules,  and  only  made  points  of  order  when  somebody  was 
out  of  order. 

He  has  been  married  three  times.  First,  in  his  twenty- 
second  year,  he  married  Miss  Hannah  L.  Ralph  of  Lan- 
caster City,  Pennsylvania,  who  died  of  consumption  in 
1855.  In  his  twenty-seventh  year  he  married  Miss  Sophia 
J.  Nugent  of  Washington  City.  By  that  marriage  he  had 
seven  children,  four  of  whom  are  living,  aged  respectively 
fourteen,  sixteen,  eighteen  and  twenty.  Three  younger 
ones  are  at  Zion  Wesley  College.  His  last  marriage  was 
celebrated  in  June,  1877,  to  Mrs.  K.  P.  McKoy  of  Wil- 
mington, North  Carolina.    By  this  marriage  he  had  three 


142  MEN  OF  MARK. 

children,^  two  living,  one  five  and  one  seven,  and  the 
youngest  one  dead.  The  bishop  is  a  very  liberal  man,  and  in 
the  building  of  the  many  churches  over  which  he  has  had 
the  oversight  in  the  last  twenty  years,  he  has  given  over 
one  hundred  dollars  to  a  single  church  and  says  he  has  no 
idea  of  the  number  of  churches  to  which  he  has  given  the 
sum  of  twenty-five  dollars  and  upwards.  The  bishop  is  a 
strict  temperance  man.  From  boyhood  he  has  been  an 
opponent  of  the  liquor  traffic,  and  has  ever  been  ready  to 
oppose  intemperance  and  slavery.  He  says :  **  I  have  been 
called  crazy  on  the  subject  of  tobacco  and  whiskey.  I  have 
been  able  in  some  of  the  conferences  over  which  I  have  pre- 
sided to  influence  men  who  were  not  teetotalers  to  be- 
come such,  and  large  numbers  have  discontinued  the  use 
of  tobacco.  Rev.  Jacob  Adams,  leadingminister  of  the  New 
York  conference,  visited  the  Central  North  conference  at 
its  last  session  and  said :  **  That  for  intelligence  and  sobri- 
ety, as  well  as  in  many  other  respects  this  conference  was 
the  banner  conference  of  the  church,  as  he  knew  that  this 
was  regarded  especially  as  *  Bishop  Hood's  Conference.' 
It  ha\nng  been  said  that  if  he  winked,  the  men  in  it  would 
nod,  it  can  be  readily  seen  that  he  was  paying  a  high 
compliment  to  said  conference ;  and  that  being  a  leading 
member  of  the  oldest  conference,  he  knew^ome  of  its  his- 
tory, and  it  was  indeed  a  compliment  that  he  should 
declare  in  open  conference  the  superiority  of  this  recently 
built  up  Southern  work.'*  The  Bishop  has  been  connected 
with  many  temperance  societies,  the  most  noted  of  these 
is  the  Good  Templars,  in  a  lodge  of  which  he  accepted  a 
position  of  outside  guard  to  encourage  others  to  accept 


JAMES  W.  HOOD.  143 

minor  places.  He  was  at  the  same  time  holding  the  posi- 
tion of  Grand  Worthy  Chief  Templar  of  the  State,  and 
Right  Worthy  Grand  Chaplain  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
world.  While  in  England  he  delivered  many  temperance 
speeches  and  received  many  notices  of  value  from  the  tem- 
perance press.  He  has  taken  part  in  every  temperance 
-contest  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Bishop  Hood  is  a  big  man,  and  has  nerves  of  iron  and 
back-bone  of  steel ;  and,  it  may  be  well  added,  a  face  of  flint 
which  he  constantly  sets  against  error  and  wrong.  May 
lie  live  many  years  to  continue  his  arduous  labors  for  the 
bettering  of  his  race. 


144  MEN  OF  MARK. 


IX. 

HON.  SAMUEL  R.  LOWERY. 

Silk  Culturist— Lawyer  and  Editor. 

NO  man  in  our  broad  country  has  exhibited  more  per- 
severance and  pluck  than  this  patient  toiler.  On  De- 
cember 9, 1886,  he  was  fifty-six  years  old.  A  hard  worker 
and  earnest  investigator  and  a  courteous  gentleman,  he 
excites  my  admiration  and  challenges  my  good  judgment, 
even  when  I  think  he  has  suffered  enough  privation  and 
sacrifice  to  make  him  abandon  his  project.  Nashville, 
Tennessee,  has  no  other  man  exhibiting  such  a  large 
amount  of  that  self-sacrificing  spirit  as  shown  by  Mr. 
Lower}'.  His  mother  was  a  free  woman,  a  Cherokee 
Indian,  and  his  father  a  slave,  living  twelve  miles  from 
the  said  city,  and  was  purchased  by  his  wife ;  God  bless 
the  woman.  The  old  gentleman  still  lives  in  Nashville, 
aged  seventy-six.  Mr.  Lowery  lost  his  mother  when  only 
eight  years  old.  The  young  man  tried  to  get  learning  by 
working  at  Franklin  College  and  studying  privately  un- 
der the  Rev.  Talbot  Fanning,  a  famous  Christian  preacher, 
and  who  is  of  blessed  memory  now  to  Mr.  Lowery.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen,  our  subject  taught  a  school  for  the  first 
time  and  had  wonderful  success  for  four  years.  In  1849  he 
united  with  the  church  of  the  Disciples  and  began  preaching 
and  continued  till  1857.    One  year  after  this  he  pastoitd 


S.  R.  LOWERY. 


SAMUBL  R.  LOWBRY.  145 

the  Harrison  Street  church  of  that  faith  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  He  married  in  1858,  and  becoming  displeased  with 
the  country,  went  to  Canada  where  he  remained  for  three 
years,  when  he  retnmed  to  this  country,  settling  on  a 
&rm  mrhich  was  given  him  by  his  father  in  Payette  county, 
Ohio,  near  West  Lancaster.  In  1863,  when  Abraham 
Lincoln's  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  issued,  he  went 
to  Nashville,  preaching  to  the  freedmen  and  colored  sol- 
diers, commanded  by  Colonel  R.  K.  Crawford,  of  the 
Fortieth  United  States  Colored  troops.  Not  getting  his 
commission  as  chaplain,  he  was  transferred  to  the  Ninth 
United  States  heavy  artillery  as  chaplain,  appointed  by 
the  officers,  where  he  remained  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
Then  he  moved  his  family  from  Ohio  to  Tennessee,  where 
he  began  preaching  and  teaching  school.  He  commenced 
about  this  time  the  study  of  law  in  Rutherford  county, 
Tennessee.  Political  excitement  was  running  very  high  at 
that  time,  and  his  school  was  broken  up  by  the  Ku  Klux, 
and  his  affairs  much  disturbed.  Being  admitted  to  the  bar 
he  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Nashville,  Tennessee.  In 
1875  he  moved  to  Huntsville,  Alabama,  and  continued 
practicing  law  and  preaching.  He  also  practices  before 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  having  been  admitted 
on  the  motion  of  Belva  V.  Lockwood.  His  daughter  Ruth, 
then  a  girl  fifteen  years  of  age,  living  in  Nashville,  vis- 
ited with  her  father  and  sister,  Annie  L.  Lowery,  ten  years 
of  age,  an  exhibition,  of  silkworms,  given  by  one  Mr. 
Theobald,  and  she  persuaded  her  father  to  purchase  her 
some  silk-worm  eggs,  which  he  did.  She  hatched  them  in 
Huntsville,  Alabama,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  leaves  of  the 


148  MEN  OP  MARK. 

he  has  nothing.  In  conversation  with  me  he  said :  ''Mj 
dear  sir,  I  am  very  poor.  I  have  not  yet  struck  a  bonanza, 
but  I  still  hope  for  a  competency  yet  ahead.  Hope  is  a 
large  faculty  in  my  organization.  I  have  tried  to  abandon 
it  and  become  indifferent  to  its  inviting  fields.  When  I  do, 
I  am  really  not  myself;  yet  I  know  I  do  not  hope  vainly  or 
recklessly."  Lef  us  pray  that  he  will  yet  realize  his  hopes, 
and  that  his  cherished  plans  may  be  the  means  of  furnish- 
ing to  the  race  the  sure  road  to  wealth  and  refinement. 
When  success  shall  fiilly  crown  his  labors,  may  the  trade- 
mark of  the  firm  be  his  daughter  Ruth's  picture,  as  an 
honor  to  the  humble  girl,  who  died  and  did  not  live  to  see 
the  success  of  her  plans.    She  is  worthy  of  this  distinction. 


WILLIAM  STILL. 


WILLIAM  STILL.  l49 


X. 

WILLIAM  STILL. 

Philauthropist— Coal  Dealer,  and  Twenty  Years  Owner  of  the  Largest 
Public  Hall  Owned  by  a  Colored  Man. 

THIS  distinguished  gentleman,  who  made  himself  prom- 
inent during  the  dark  days  of  slavery,  by  helping 
escaped  fugitives  at  the  peril  of  his  own  life,  was  bom 
October  7,  1821,  in  Shamong,  County  of  Burlington,  New 
Jersey.  He  was  the  youngest  of  eighteen  children  of  Levin 
and  Charity  Still.  Mr.  Still  worked  at  farming  and  wood 
chopping  until  he  was  twenty-three  years  old,  at  which 
time  he  left  New  Jersey,  the  home  of  his  birth,  to  stem  the 
current  of  life  alone.  He  had  no  education  except  what 
he  had  acquired  when  the  weather  prevented  his  working 
out  of  doors,  and  what  he  could  pick  up  here  and  there 
from  observation,  conversation  and  other  odd  means. 

Being  a  stranger,  he  was  thrown  wholly  on  his  own 
resources,  as  he  entered  the  city  of  Philadelphia  with  less 
than  five  dollars  in  his  pocket.  This  was  in  1844.  While 
quite  a  boy  he  had  pledged  with  himself  never  to  touch 
intoxicating  liquors,  which  pledge  he  ever  kept;  and  it 
was,  no  doubt,  the  comer  stone  of  his  prosperity,  and  the 
means  by  which  he  has  made  a  man  of  himself,  thereby  set 


150  MEN  OP  MARK. 

an  example  for  many  of  those  fast  young  men  who  hope 
to  succeed  in  life,  and  yet  indulge  in  intoxicating  drinks 
and  riotous  living. 

He  professed  Christ  many  years  after.  In  1847  he  ob- 
tained a  clerkship  in  the  office  of  the  Pennsylvania  Anti- 
slavery  societ}',  and  occupied  this  position  for  fourteen 
years.  He  had  seen  so  much  of  the  cruelties  of  slavery 
that  his  heart  was  full  of  sympathy  for  the  oppressed,  and 
he  determined  to  spend  his  time  and  his  life  in  securing 
liberty  for  all  over  whom  his  influence  might  be  exerted. 
His  house  was  known  as  a  safe  and  convenient  refuge  for 
all  who  were  making  their  way  to  a  land  of  liberty.  Two 
of  his  brothers  were  left  in  bondage  by  the  flight  of  their 
mother,  and  were  lost  to  their  parents  for  forty  years.  This 
seemed  to  have  deepened  his  interest  in  the  slaves,  and 
yearly  hundreds  of  escaped  bondsmen  found  in  himafriend. 
He  was  chairman  and  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
Philadelphia  branch  of  the  **  Underground  Railroad  "for 
the  last  decade  of  slavery.  He  wrote  out  hundreds  of 
narratives  from  the  lips  of  fleeing  fugitives  and  kept  them 
secreted  in  the  loft  of  the  Lebanon  Seminary  till  emanci- 
pation, when  privacy  was  no  longer  a  necessity.  These 
same  narrations  make  up  his  famous  book,  which  bears 
the  name  of  the  corporation  for  which  he  labored.  He, 
alone,  of  all  the  thousands  who  aided  the  fugitives,  suc- 
ceeded in  preserving  anything  like  a  full  account  of  the 
workings  of  the  **  Underground  Railroad,"  asitwascalledr 
before  emancipation. 

His  book,  **The  Underground  Railroad,"  which  is  well 
known  by  all  readers,  was  published  in  1873.    This  vol- 


WILLIAM  STILL.  151 

ome  of  eight  hundred  and  fifty  pages,  was  highly  com- 
mended by  the  leading  men  of  the  nation  and  reviewers  of 
the  country.    It  had  a  large  sale  and  will  continue  to  sell 
for  many  years  to  come.    It  is  a  valuable  book,  and  every 
colored  man  ought  to  have  it  in  his  library.    We  cannot 
do  better  than  frequently  recur  to  its  pages  for  the  purpose 
of  measuring  our  present  greatness  by  looking  back  on 
the  path  through  which  we  have  come,  filled  with  thorns 
and  precipices.     It  might  not  be  out   of  place  here  to 
give  one  of  the  narratives  which  he  has  recorded  in  his 
book.    It  will  show  the  character  of  the  work,  and  revive 
in  some  measure  the  memories  of  those  days  of  bitter  per- 
secutions and  trials.    The  narration  which  is  here  selected 
is  that  of  prominent  personages  whose  history  is  largely 
familiar  to  the  older  people,  and  cannot  fail  to  be  interest- 
ing to  the  younger  ones. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  William  and  Ellen  Craft  were  slaves  in  the 
State  of  Georgia.  With  them,  as  with  thousands  of  others,  the  desire  to 
be  free  was  very  strong.  For  this  jewel  they  were  willing  to  make  any 
sacrifice,  or  to  endure  any  amount  of  suffering.  In  this  s^te  of  mind 
they  commenced  planning.  After  thinking  of  various  ways  that  might  be 
tried,  it  occurred  to  William  and  Ellen  that  one  might  act  the  part  of 
master  and  the  other  the  part  of  servant. 

Ellen  being  fair  enough  to  pass  for  white,  of  necessity  would  have  to 
be  transformed  into  a  young  planter  for  the  time  being.  All  that  was 
needed,  however,  to  make  this  important  change  was  that  she  should  be 
dressed  elegantly  in  a  fashionable  suit  of  male  attire,  and  have  her  hair 
cut  in  the  style  usually  worn  by  young  planters.  Her  profusion  of  dark 
hair  offered  a  fine  opportunity  for  the  change.  So  far  this  plan  looked 
▼ery  tempting.  But  it  occurred  to  them  that  Ellen  was  beardless. 
After  some  mature  reflection,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  diffi- 
culty could  be  very  readily  obviated  by  having  the  face  muffled  up  as 
though    the    young    planter    was   suffering    badly    with   the    tooth- 


1  52  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ache;  thus  thej'  got  rid  of  this  trouble.  Straightway,  upon  further 
reflection,  several  other  very  serious  difficulties  stared  them  in  the  face. 
For  instance,  in  traveling,  they  knew  they  would  be  under  the  necessity 
of  stopping  repeatedly  at  hotels,  and  that  the  custom  of  registering 
would  have  to  be  conformed  to,  unless  some  very  good  excuse  could  be 
given  for  not  doing  so. 

Here  they  again  thought  much  over  the  matter,  and  wiady  condnded 
that  the  yoimg  man  had  better  assume  the  attitude  of  a  gentleman 
very  much  indisposed.  He  must  have  his  right  arm  placed  very  carefully 
in  a  sling ;  that  would  be  a  sufficient  excuse  for  not  registering,  etc.  Then 

he  must  be  a  little  lame,  with  a  nice  cane  in  his  left  hand ;  he  must  haTe 
large  green  spectacles  over  his  eyes,  and  withal  he  must  be  very  hard  of 
hearing  and  dependent  on  his  faithful  servant  (as  was  no  uncommon 
thing  with  slaveholders)  to  look  afler  all  his  wants. 

William  was  just  the  man  to  act  this  part.  To  begin  with,  he  was 
very  "likely  looking,**  smart,  active  and  exceedingly  attentive  to  his 
young  master — indeed,  he  was  almost  eyes,  ears,  hands  and  feet  for  him. 
William  knew  that  this  would  please  the  slaveholders.  The  young 
planter  would  have  nothing  to  do  but  hold  himself  subject  to  his  ailments 
and  put  on  a  bold  air  of  superiority.  He  was  not  to  deign  to  notice  any- 
body. If,  while  traveling,  gentlemen,  either  politely  or  rudely,  should 
venture  to  scrape  acquaintance  with  the  young  planter,  in  his  deafness 
he  was  to  remain  mute ;  his  servant  was  to  explain.  In  every  instance 
when  this  occurred,  as  it  actually  did,  the  servant  was  fully  equal  to 
the  emergency — none  dreaming  of  the  disguises  in  which  the  undergroimd 
railroad  passengers  were  traveling. 

They  stopped  at  a  first-class  hotel  in  Charleston,  where  the  young 
planter  and  his  body-servant  were  treated  as  the  house  was  wont  to 
treat  chivalry.  They  stopped  also  at  a  similar  hotel  in  Richmond,  and 
with  like  results. 

They  knew  that  they  must  pass  through  Baltimore,  but  they  did  not 
know  the  obstacles  that  they  would  have  to  surmount  in  the  "  Monu- 
mental City."  They  proceeded  to  the  depot  in  the  usual  manner,  and  the 
servant  asked  for  tickets  for  his  master  and  self.  Of  course  the  master 
could  have  a  ticket,  but  *' bonds  will  have  to  be  entered  before  you  can 
get  a  ticket,"  said  the  ticket  master.  '*  It  is  the  rule  of  this  office  to  re- 
quire bonds  for  all  negroes  applying  for  tickets  to  go  North,  and  none 


WILLIAM  STILL.  153 

•Imt  gentlemen  of  wdl  known  responsibility  will  be  taken.'*  farther  ez- 
-plamed  the  ticket  master. 

The  servant  replied  that  he  knew  **  nothing  about  that " — ^that  he  was 
**  simply  tra^ding  with  his  yonng  master  to  take  care  of  him,  he  being  in 
A  Tery  delicate  state  of  health,  so  much  so  that  fears  were  entertained 
that  he  might  not  be  able  to  hold  out  to  reach  Philadelphia,  where  he 
was  hastening  for  medical  treatment;*'  and  ended  his  reply  by  sayii^, 
""My  master  can't  be  detained."  Without  farther  parley  the  ticket 
master  very  obligingly  waived  the  old  *'  rule  "  and  famished  the  requisite 
tickets.  The  mountain  being  thus  removed,  the  younff  planter  and  his 
^thfnl  servant  were  safely  ia  the  cars  for  the  city  of  Brotherly  Love. 

Scarcely  had  they  arrived  on  free  soil  when  the  rheumatism  departed, 
the  right  hand  was  unslung,  the  toothache  was  gone,  the  beardless  face 
'was  unmuffled,  the  deaf  heard  and  spoke,  the  blind  and  the  lame  leaped 
as  a  hart,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  few  astonished  friends  of  the  slaves, 
the  facts  of  this  unparalleled  underground  railroad  feat  were  fully  estab- 
lished by  the  most  unquestionable  evidence. 

The  constant  strain  and  pressure  on  Ellen's  nerves,  however,  had  tried 
her  severely,  so  much  so,  that  for  days  afterwards  she  was  principally 
ver>'  much  prostrated,  although  J03'  and  gladness  beamed  from  her  eyes, 
which  bespoke  inexpressible  delight  within. 

Never  can  the  writer  forget  the  impression  made  by  their  arrival.  Even 
now  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  it  is  easy  to  picture 
them  in  a  private  room,  surrounded  by  a  few  friends — Ellen  in  her  fine 
suit  of  black,  with  her  cloak  and  high  heeled  boots,  looking,  in  every 
respect,  like  a  young  gentleman ;  in  an  hour  after  having  dropped  her 
male  attire  and  assumed  the  habiliments  of  her  sex.  the  feminine  was 
only  visible  in  every  line  and  feature  of  her  structure. 

Her  husband,  William,  was  thoroughly  colored,  but  was  a  man  of 
marked  natural  abilities,  of  good  manners,  and  full  of  pluck,  and  pos- 
sessed of  perceptive  faculties  very  large. 

It  was  necessary,  however,  in  those  days,  that  they  should  seek  a  per- 
manent residence,  where  their  freedom  would  be  more  secure  than  in 
Philadelphia;  therefore  they  were  advised  to  go  to  headquarters, 
directly  to  Boston.  There  they  would  be  safe,  it  was  supixjsed,  as  it  had 
then  been  about  a  generation  since  a  fugitive  had  been  taken  back  from 
^he  old  Bay  State,  and  through  the  incessant  labors  of  William  Lloyd 


154  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Garrison,  the  great  pioneer,  and  his  faithful  coadjutors,  it  was  conceded' 
that  another  fugitive  slave  case  would  never  be  tolerated  on  the  free  soil 
of  Massachusetts.    So  they  went  to  Boston. 

On  arriving,  the  warm  hearts  of  Abolitionists  welcomed  them  heartily, 
and  greeted  and  cheered  them  without  let  or  hinderance.  They  did  not 
pretend  to  keep  their  coming  a  secret  or  hide  it  under  a  bushel ;  the  story 
of  their  escape  was  heralded  broadcast  over  the  country— North  and 
South,  and  indeed  over  the  civilized  world.  For  two  years  or  more  not 
the  slightest  fear  was  entertained  that  they  were  not  just  as  safe  in  Bos- 
ton as  if  they  had  gone  to  Canada.  But  the  day  the  Fugitive  Bill  passed, 
even  the  bravest  Abolitionist  began  to  fear  that  a  fugitive  slave  was  no 
longer  safe  anywhere  under  the  stars  and  stripes,  North  or  South,  and 
that  William  and  Ellen  Craft  were  liable  to  be  captured  at  any  moment 
by  Georgia  slave  hunters.  Many  Abolitionists  counseled  resistance  to 
the  death  at  all  hazards.  Instead  of  running  to  Canada,  fugitives  gen- 
erally armed  themselves  and  thus  said:  "Give  me  liberty  or  give  me 
death.'* 

William  and  Ellen  Craft  believed  that  it  was  their  duty  as  citizens  of 
Massachusetts  to  observe  a  more  legal  and  civilized  mode  of  conforming^ 
to  the  marriage  rite  than  had  been  permitted  them  in  slavery,  and  as  Theo- 
dore Parker  had  shown  himself  a  very  warm  fnend  of  theirs,  they  agreed 
to  have  their  wedding  over  again  according  to  the  laws  of  a  free  State. 
After  performing  the  ceremony,  the  renowned  and  fearless  advocate  of 
equal  rights  (Theodore  P£u*ker),  presented  William  with  a  revolver  and 
dirk  knife,  counseling  him  to  use  them  manfully  in  the  defense  of  his  wife 
and  himself,  if  ever  an  attempt  should  be  made  by  his  owners,  or  any- 
body else,  to  re-enslave  them. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  the  published  declarations  made  by  the  Abo- 
litionists and  fugitives,  to  the  effect  that  slaveholders  and  slave  catchers 
in  visiting  Massachusetts  in  pursuit  of  their  runaway  property  would 
be  met  by  just  such  weapons  as  Theodore  Parker  presented  William  with, 
to  the  surprise  of  all  Boston,  the  owners  of  William  and  Ellen  actually 
had  the  effrontery  to  attempt  their  recapture  under  the  Fugitive  Slave 
laws. 

His  reasons  for  writing  this  book  are  given  in  the  pre- 
face of  the  edition  of  1886,  and  I  cannot  but  give  his  own 


WILLIAM  STILL.  155 

mrords  as  his  apology  for  placing  such  a  book  before  the 
reading  people.  There  are  many  of  our  people  who  are  so 
foolish  as  to  desire  to  rub  out  all  the  traces  of  our  past 
history,  and  would  do  away  with  all  emancipation 
celebrations  and  everything  that  reminds  us  of  a  past, 
which  though  painful  and  full  of  bitterness,  cannot  yet  but 
be  remembered  with  praise  to  God  that  he  has  permitted 
us  to  pass  through  these  trials  and  come  out  more  than 
conqueror.  He  very  happily  refers  to  the  fact  in  this  pre- 
face that  the  bondage  and  deliverance  of  the  children  of 
Israel  will  never  be  allowed  to  sink  into  oblivion.  The 
world  stands,  and  the  Jews  do  not  hang  their  heads  in 
shame  because  of  their  bondage,  but  tell  it  with  some 
pride,  that  God,  though  they  were  in  bondage,  did  not 
forget  them,  but  finally  brought  them  forth  and  made  a 
people  of  them.  Quotations  are  here  given  because  it  is 
in  the  line  of  instruction  that  is  badly  needed  and  which 
should  be  heeded  by  our  people,  and  he  does  well  to  send 
these  thoughts  through  the  country  in  each  of  his  books, 
that  they  might  influence  at  least  the  readers  of  that  sec- 
tion in  which  he  says : 

Well  conducted  shops,  stores,  lands  acquired,  good  farms  managed  in 
a  manner  to  compete  with  any  other,  valuable  books  produced  and  pub- 
liflbed  on  interesting  subjects — these  are  some  of  the  fruits  which  the  race 
arc  expected  to  exhibit  from  their  newly  gained  privileges. 

This  gains  our  highest  approval.  It  is  the  very  thing 
for  our  people  to  consider.  But  let  me  without  further 
elaboration  give  a  passage  in  this  preface,  which  one,  in 
the  reading,  will  find  full  of  truth  and  instruction. 


156  MEN  OF  MARK. 

And  in  looking  back  now  over  these  strange  and  eventful  providences, 
"in  the  light  of  the  wonderful  changes  wrought  by  emancipation,  I  am 
more  and  more  constrained  to  believe  that  the  reasons  which  years  ago 
led  me  to  aid  the  bondmen  and  preserve  the  record  of  his  sufferings,  are 
to-da^'  quite  as  potent  in  convincing  me  that  the  necessity  of  the  times 
requires  this  testimony. 

And  since  the  first  advent  of  my  book,  wherever  reviewed  or  read  by 
leading  friends  of  freedom,  the  press,  or  the  race  more  deeply  represented 
by  it,  the  expressions  of  approval  and  encouragement  have  been  hearty 
and  unanimous,  and  the  thousands  of  volumes  which  have  been  sold  by 
me  on  the  subscription  plan,  with  hardly  any  facilities  for  the  work, 
makes  it  obvious  that  it  would,  in  the  hands  of  a  competent  publisher, 
have  a  wide  circulation. 

And  here  I  may  frankly  state  that  but  for  the  hope  I  have  always  cher- 
ished, that  this  work  would  encourage  the  race  in  efforts  for  self-eleva- 
tion, its  pubUcation  would  never  have  been  undertaken  by  me.' 

The  race  must  not  forget  the  rock  from  whence  they  were  hewn,  nor 
the  pit  from  whence  they  were  digged. 

Like  other  races,  this  newly  emancipated  people  will  need  all  the 
knowledge  of  their  past  condition  which  they  can  get. 

Those  scenes  of  suffering  and  martyrdom,  millions  of  Christians  were 
called  upon  to  pass  through  in  the  days  of  the  Inquisition,  are  still  sub- 
jects of  study  and  have  unabated  interest  for  all  enlightened  minds. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  history  of  this  country.  The  struggles  of  the 
pioneer  fathers  are  preserved,  produced  and  reproduced,  and  cherished 
•with  undying  interest  by  all  Americans,  and  the  day  will  not  arrive  while 
the  Republic  exists  when  these  histories  will  not  be  found  in  every 
library. 

While  the  grand  little  army  of  Abolitionists  was  waging  its  untiring 
warfare  for  freedom  prior  to  the  rebellion,  no  agency  encouraged  them 
like  the  heroism  of  the  fugitives.  The  pulse  of  the  four  million  of  slaves 
and  their  desire  for  freedom  was  better  felt  through  '*  The  Underground 
Railroad  "  than  through  any  other  channel. 

Frederick  Douglass,  Henry  Bibb;  William  Wells  Brown,  Rev.  J.  W. 
Logan  and  others,  gave  unmistakable  evidence  that  the  race  had  no 
more  eloquent  advocates  than  its  own  self-emancipated  champions. 

Bvery  irtep  they  took  to  rid  themselves  of  their  fetters,  or  to  gain  edu- 


WILLIAM  STILL.  157 

cation,  or  in  pleading  the  cause  of  their  fellow-bondsmen  in  the  lecture 
room,  or  with  their  pens,  met  with  applause  on  every  hand,  and  the 
▼eiy  argument  needed  was  thus  furnished  in  a  large  measure.  In  those 
dark  days  previous  to  emancipation,  such  testimony  was  indispensable. 
The  finee  colored  men  are  as  imperatively  required  now  to  furnish  the 
same  manly  testimony  in  the  support  of  the  ability  of  the  race  to  sur- 
mount the  remaining  obstacles  growing  out  of  oppression,  ignorance 
and  poverty. 

The  angels  have  recorded  the  deeds  of  this  noble-hearted 
man,  and  God  will  reward  him.  It  is  impossible  to  do  jus- 
tice to  those  men  and  women  who  held  their  lives  as  noth- 
ing when  the  cries  of  the  slaves  reached  their  ears.  There 
w^as  never  greater  heroism  than  that  shown  by  William 
Still.  Think,  reader,  of  the  pain  his  heart  has  undergone. 
Think  of  the  moments  of  intense  agony  he  bore.  Think  of 
a  life  of  care,  suffering  and  prayer ;  then  tell  me  we  are  des- 
titute of  the  finest  feelings  held  by  any  other  race. 

They  said  we  were  not  men,  but  if  not  men  then  we 
have  been  angels.  For  indeed  the  history  of  our  sufferings 
and  the  manner  in  which  we  have  borne  them  without  rev- 
olution and  bloodshed,  without  falling  to  the  depths  of 
infidelity,  but  still  holding  to  a  trust  in  God,  mark  our 
career  as  more  than  marvelous. 

Is  it  not  a  wonder  that  in  all  these  dark  shadows  we  did 
not  lose  our  faith  in  God  and  cry  out,  **  There  is  no  God  '*  ? 
Is  it  not  a  wonder  that  in  all  these  years  there  was  not 
stamped  out  of  us  every  feeling  of  mercy,  generosity  and 
manhood? 

What  could  have  been  expected  of  a  race  that  was  deep  in 
the  well  of  ignorance,  hidden  from  the  light  of  day  ?  What 
could  have  been  expected  of  us  and  our  children,  except 


158  MEN  OP  MARK. 

that  we  would  be  brutalized  and  destitute  of  all  the  finer 
feelings  of  our  nature. 

It  does  seem  as  if  we  were  made  of  finer  material  than 
others,  that  even  so  many  good  men,  philanthropists, 
strong  Christian  men,  preachers  and  faithful  workers  in 
every  missionary  department  of  life,  could  have  been 
gotten  out  of  this  race  so  cruelly  treated,  so  badly  de- 
spised. Here  is  an  example  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Still  worthy 
of  record.  In  the  *  Book  of  Ages '  how  many  look  back  and 
thank  him  for  succor,  for  comfort,  for  food,  for  clothing, 
for  money,  and  for  liberty?  This  is  a  wonderful  record. 
The  deeds  which  were  done  in  his  office,  the  acts  of  charity, 
would  almost  form,  as  it  would  seem,  a  special  volume 
among  the  records  of  Heaven. 

O  God !  We  thank  Thee  for  such  a  man  as  William  Still. 
Men  who,  like  their  Master,  went  about  doing  good.  Men 
who  fulfilled  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures  and  who  shall 
be  on  the  right  hand  and  hear  these  words:  **Come,  ye 
blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  For  I  was  an  hungred, 
and  \'c  gave  me  meat :  I  was  thirstj'  and  ye  gave  me  drink : 
I  was  a  stranger  and  ye  took  me  in :  naked  and  ye  clothed 
me :  I  was  sick  and  ye  visited  me :  I  was  in  prison  and  ye 
came  unto  me.  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  him  say- 
ing, Lord  when  saw  we  Thee  an  hungred  and  fed  Thee  ?  or 
thirsty  and  gave  Thee  drink?  when  saw  we  Thee  a 
stranger  and  took  Thee  in  ?  or  naked  and  clothed  Thee  ? 
or  when  saw  we  Thee  sick  or  in  prison  and  came  unto 
Thee?  And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto. them: 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto 


WILLIAM  STILL.  159 

one  of  the  least  of  these,  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto 


99 


Mr.  Still's  name  should  be  in  the  mouths  of  all  lovers  of 
philanthropic  deeds,  and  his  name  is  fittingly  placed  here 
that  he  might  be  known  by  the  rising  generation.  His 
work  is  no  less  eminent  than  those  who  were  partners 
in  the  labor  of  love,  and  yet  extreme  danger,  namely, 
Abagail  Goodwin,  Thomas  Garrett,  Daniel  Gibbons,  Lu- 
xretia  Mott,  J.  Miller  McKim,  H.  Fumess,  William  Lloyd 
Garrison,  Lewis  Tappan,  William  Wright,  Elijah  F.  Penny- 
packer,  Dr.  Bartholomew  Fussell;  Robert  Purvis,  John 
Hunn,  Samuel  Rhoades,  William  Whipper,  Samuel  D.  Bur- 
ris,  Charles  D.  Cleveland,  Grace  Anne  Lewis,  Frances  Ellen 
W.  Harper  and  John  Needles. 

In    1859,  when  old  John  Brown  with  one  bold  dash 

opened    fire    for   freedom    at    Harper's    Ferry,  Virginia, 

several  of  his  officers  who  were  with  him  in  the  hottest 

battle  at  the  Ferry,  escaped  with  heavy  rewards  hanging 

^ver  their  heads,   and  sought  shelter  under  the  roof,  of 

*^iJJiam  Still,  who  kindly  received  them.     He  also  com- 

^'ted  and  ministered  unto  the  wife,  daughter  and  sons  of 

'"Own  who  had  come,  utter  strangers,  to  Philadelphia 

^^^^  the  old  hero  was  in  prison  waiting  his  execution. 

•All 

*     t:his  was  cheerfully  done  while  conscious  of  the  fact 

^'^  his  deeds  of  charity  were  imperiling  his  own  life.    In 

^O  he  recognized  one  of  his  brothers  who  had  been 

^^P^^rated  by  slavery   from    his   mother,    when    a   child 

^^    ^nly  six  years.     In  1860  he  left  the  antislavery  office 

'^'^tli  the  most   hearty  s^nnpathy  and  confidence  of  his 

dXVtislavery  friends  and  at  once  turned  his  attention  to 


160  MEN  OF  MARK. 

business  of  his  own.     Having  some  knowledge  of  the^ 
stove  business,  he  opened  a  new  and  second  hand  stove- 
store.    In  less  than  three  years  he  was  well  established 
and    quite   successful.     In   the   meantime,  the  civil  war 
broke  out  and  the  curse  of  slavery  ended  unexpectedlj'. 
The  secretary  of  war  furnished  him  with  a  post  sutler's 
commission  at  Camp  William  Penn,  at  which  point  col- 
ored soldiers  were  stationed  for  Pennsylvania.    In  1865- 
he   purchased  a  large  lot,  built   an    ofiice   and   entered 
the  coal  business,    and  for   over   twenty  years  he   has 
successfully  conducted  this  branch  of  business,  amassing^ 
quite  a  fortune.    He  is  the  owner  of  Liberty  Hall,  the 
largest  public  hall  in  the  country  owned  by  a  colored  man ; 
and  to  the  credit  of  the  race,  be  it  said,  that  it  is  well 
patronized. 

He  still  keeps  up  his  philanthropic  work ;  always  ready 
to  help  the  needy  and  to  contribute  of  the  world's  goods 
which  God  has  given  him  in  order  that  others  might  have 
their  suffering  lessened.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Aid  Union  and  Commission,  organized  at  the  close 
of  the  war  by  the  leading  philanthropists  of  the  country 
to  prosecute  educational  work  and  aid  the  newly  emanci- 
pated generally. 

For  many  years  he  has  been  vice-president  and  chair- 
man of  the  board  of  managers  of  the  **Home  for  the  Aged 
and  Infirm  Colored  Persons '  *  in  Philadelphia ;  also  for  many 
years  he  has  served  as  a  member  on  the  board  of  trustees 
for  the  ** Soldiers  and  Sailors  Orphan  Home"  and  ''Home 
for  the  Destitute  Colored  Children.'*  His  interest  in  the 
educational  work  has  been  so  manifest  that  he  has  been. 


WILLIAM  STILL.  lux 

selected^  and  has  served  for  many  years,  as  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  Storer  College.  He  has  served  as  an 
elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  which  position  he  has 
held  for  quite  a  while,  and  was  sent  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia  as  commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  at 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  which  convened  in  1885.  He  was  one 
of  the  original  stockholders  to  the  amount  of  one  thou- 
sand dollars  in  the  stock  company  of  the  Nation^  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trade  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
and  the  corresponding  sectary  to  the  **  Social  and  Civil 
Statistical  Association'*  of  Philadelphia.  His  literary 
labors  have  not  been  confined  to  the  underground  rail- 
road. He  has  also  published  a  pamphlet  entitled  **  Voting 
and  Laboring,*'  and  another  **The  Struggles  for  the 
Rights  of  the  Colored  People"  of  Philadelphia.  In  1884 
the  centennial  and  general  conference  of  the  M.  E.  church 
which  convened  in  his  city,  honored  him  with  a  vote  of 
thanks  for  entertaining  the  colored  delegates  from  the 
South. 

He  still  lives  in  Philadelphia,  a  quiet  and  honored  citi- 
zen, an  upright  business  man  and  a  devoted  friend  of  his 
race.  May  his  last  years  be  crowned  with  honor,  and 
may  he  go  down  to  his  grave  with  the  best  wishes  of  the 
nation  on  account  of  the  manner  in  which  he  has  lived 
and  served  his  God  and  his  people. 


]  62  MEN  OP  MARK. 


XI. 

PROFESSOR  J.  W.  MORRIS,  A.  B.,  A.M.,  LL.B. 

President  of  Allen  University,  Columbia,  South  CaroUna — Professor  of 
Languages. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  in  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  August  26, 1850.  His  parents  were 
John  B.  Morris  and  Grace  Morris.  He  was  bom  of  free 
parents  and  enjoyed  early  advantages  for  education.  In 
early  childhood  he  was  sent  to  a  private  school  taught  by 
Simeon  Beard,  then  a  distinguished  teacher  in  the  city  of 
Charleston.  After  the  close  of  the  late  war  he  entered  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  city,  passing  through  the  vari- 
Ou.  grades  of  the  same,  until  he  left  the  high  school,  to 
take  a  collegiate  course  at  Howard  University.  While  at- 
tending the  public  schools  he  was  sent  in  the  afternoons  to 
learn  the  printing  trade,  which  he  completed  under  that 
celebrated  scholar  and  printer,  the  late  Hon.  R.  B.  Elliott, 
who  was  at  that  time  editor  of  the  Charleston  Leader. 
Afterwards  this  paper  was  merged  into  the  Missionary 
Record,  edited  by  the  late  Bishop  R.  H.  Cain.  He  was 
elected  principal  of  a  parochial  school,  and  while  in  this  ca- 
pacity he  worked  as  a  compositor  on  the  Missionary  Record^ 
which  was  a  weekly  paper. 


J.  W.  MORRIS.  163 

While  a  pupil  of  the  Normal  school  of  Charleston  he  was 
twice  awarded  a  prize  *for  proficiency  in  Latin  by  that 
eminent  scholar  and  instructor,  Professor  F.  L.  Cardoza, 
now  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia.  Young  Morris 
evincing,  in  early  life,  so  great  a  tact  and  aptitude  for  learn- 
ing, was  sent  to  Howard  University,  which  institution  he 
entered  in  the  fall  of  1868.  After  spending  six  years  at  the 
uniYcrsity,  he  graduated  in  June,  1875.  While  at  the 
famous  seat  of  learning  he  was  regarded  as  an  excellent 
student.  At  the  Junior  exhibition  of  1874,  he  took  the  first 
prize  awarded  his  class  for  oratory. 

After  graduation  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Charleston, 
South  Carolina.  In  the  fall  of  1875  he  entered  the  law 
department  of  the  South  Carolina  University,  Columbia, 
South  Carolina,  under  the  tuition  of  that  celebrated  judge 
and  jurist,  Chief-Justice  F.  J.  Moses.  He  graduated  with 
distinction  from  this  department,  December,  1876.  He 
applied  for  admission  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  his  native 
State,  and,  after  passing  a  most  critical  and  searching 
examination,  was  admitted  to  practice  in  all  the  courts  of 
the  State.  His  first  case  was  an  interesting  and  promi- 
nent one;  he  won  it.  He  was  elected  in  1876  one  of  the 
commissioners  of  public  schools  for  the  city  of  Charles- 
ton, but  as  this  office  would  interfere  with  his  law  studies, 
'le refused  to  accept  the  position.  He  also  received  in  the 
<^untv  convention  of  Charleston,  the  nomination  for  the 
legislature,  but,  again  for  the  same  reasons,  refused  to 
accept. 

After  much  persuasion  and  the  earnest  solicitation  of 
personal  firiends,  he  was  induced  to  abandon  what  prom- 


164  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ised  to  be  to  him  a  very  lucrative  4)ractice,  to  accept  the 
principalship  of  Payne  Institute,  the  educational  work  of 
the  A.  M.  E.  church  in  the  State.  He  served  for  four 
years  as  principal  of  this  institution,  until  it  was  merged 
into  Allen  University,  a  demand  being  made  for  a  more 
central  location  for  the  work.  While  principal  of  Payne 
Institute,  he  was  a  lay  delegate  to  the  Ecumenical  Council, 
which  met  in  London,  England.  While  in  Europe  he  vis- 
ited Paris  and  Geneva,  Sw^itzerland. 

He  was  now  elected  professor  of  mathematics  and 
ancient  languages,  principal  of  Normal  and  Preparatory 
departments,  also  secretary  and  instructor  of  the  law 
department  of  the  Allen  University,  which  positions  he 
held  until  elected  president — the  position  he  now  holds. 
The  writer  was  impressed  with  the  quiet  unassuming 
manners  of  President  Morris  while  in  college  at  Howard 
University.  His  position  is  only  the  reward  of  faithful 
toil  and  well  directed  effort.  He  was  always  in  earnest ; 
he  enjoys  fun  as  well  as  any  man,  but  his  **  Lite  is  real ;  life 
is  earnest."  He  is  a  fine  student,  a  gifted  writer  and  a 
man  of  high  standing. 


ROIiKRT  SMALLS. 


ROBERT  SMALLS.  165 


XII. 


HON.  ROBERT  SMALLS. 

Congressman— Pilot  and  Captain  of  the  Steamer  Planter. 

THIS  daring  and  cool  headed  man  was  bom  in  Bean- 
fort,  Sonth  Carolina,  April  5,  1839;  and  being  a 
slave  was  of  conrse  limited  in  the  opportunities  for  gain- 
ing book  knowledge ;  but  some  men  can  no  more  be  bound 
than  the  waves  of  the  ocean,  and  despite  all  opposition  he 
learned  to  read  and  write.  **  Where  there's  a  will  there's  a 
wav.**  In  1851  he  moved  to  Charleston,  where  he  worked 
as  a  ** rigger"  and  thus  became  familiar  with  ships  and 
the  life  of  a  sailor  by  actual  experience.  He  first  became 
connected  with  the  Planter,  a  steamer  plying  in  the 
harbor  of  Charleston  as  a  transport  in  1861.  His  further 
connection  with  the  steamer  is  given  in  the  following, 
taken  from  the  record  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
Forty-seventh  Congress,  second  session,  Report  No.  1887. 
The  document  was  a  **Bill  authorizing  the  President  to 
place  Robert  Smalls  on  the  Retired  List  of  the  Navy  :'* 


166  MEN  OF  MARK. 

JANUARY  23,  1883.^RECOMMITTED  TO  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  NAVAL  APPAIBS 

AND  ORDERED  TO  BE  PRINTED. 

MR.  DEZENDORP,  FROM   THE    COMMITTEE  ON    NAVAL  AFFAIRS,  SUBMITTBl^ 

THE  FOLLOWING 

REPORT : 
[To  accompany  bill,  H.  R.  7059.] 

The  Committee  on  Naval  AfTairs,  to  whom  was  referred  the  bill  to  retiiT 
Robert  Smalls  as  captain  of  the  Navy,  beg  leave  to  report  as  follows: 

This  claim  is  rested  upon  the  very  valuable  services  rendered  by  Robert 
Smalls  to  the  country  during  the  late  war.  The  record  of  these  has- 
been  very  carefully  investigated,  and  portions  of  it  are  appended,  as- 
exhibits,  to  this  report.  They  show  a  degree  of  courage,  well  directed  by 
intelligence  and  patriotism,  of  which  the  nation  may  well  be  proud,  but 
which  for  twenty  years  has  been  wholly  unrecognized  by  it.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  succinct  statement  and  outline  of  them : 

On  May  13, 1862,  the  Confederate  steamboat  Planter^  the  special  dis- 
patch boat  of  General  Ripley,  the  Confederate  post  commander  at  Char- 
leston,  South  Carolina,  was  taken  by  Robert  Smalls  under  the  following 
circumstances  from  the  wharf  at  which  she  was  lying,  carried  safely 
out  of  Charleston  Harbor,  and  delivered  to  one  of  the  vessels  of  the 
Federal  fleet  then  blockading  that  port : 

On  the  day  previous,  May  12,  the  Planter^  which  had  for  two  weeks- 
been  engaged  in  removing  guns  from  Cole's  Island  to  James  Island, 
returned  to  Charleston.  That  night  all  the  officers  went  ashore  and  slept 
in  the  city,  leaving  on  board  a  crew  of  eight  men,  all  colored.  Among' 
them  was  Robert  Smalls,  who  was 'virtually  the  pilot  of  the  boat,  al- 
though he  was  only  called  a  wheelman,  because  at  that  time  no  colored 
man  could  have,  in  fact,  been  made  a  pilot..  For  some  time  previous  he 
had  been  watching  for  an  opportunity  to  carry  into  execution  a  plan  he 
had  conceived  to  take  the  Planter  to  the  Federal  fleet.  This,  he  saw,  was 
about  as  good  a  chance  as  he  would  ever  have  to  do  so,  and  therefore  he 
determined  not  to  lose  it.  Consulting  with  the  balance  of  the  crew 
Smalls  found  that  they  were  willing  to  co-o|)eratc  with  him,  although 
two  of  them  afterwards  concluded  to  remain  behind.  The  design  wa» 
hazardous  in  the  extreme.  The  boat  would  have  to  pass  beneath  the 
guns  of  the  forts  in  the  harbor.    Failure  and  detection  wotdd  have  been. 


ROBERT  SMALLS.  167 

certain  deatli.  Pearfttl  was  the  venture,  but  it  was  made.  The  daring 
resolution  had  been  formed,  and  under  command  of  Robert  Smalls,  wood 
was  taken  aboard,  steam  was  put  on,  and  with  her  valuable  cargo  of 
guns  and  ammunition,  intended  for  F<)rt  Ripley,  a  new  fortification  just 
constructed  in  the  harbor,  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Planter 
silently  moved  off  iirom  her  dock,  steamed  up  to  North  Atlantic  wharf, 
where  Smalls*  wife  and  two  children,  together  with  four  other  women 
and  one  other  child,  and  also  three  men,  were  waiting  to  embark.  All 
these  were  taken  on  board,  and  then,  at  3:25  a.  m..  May  13,  the 
Planter  started  on  her  perilous  adventure,  carrying  nine  men, 
^^e  women  and  three  children.  Passing  Fort  Johnson  the  Planter's 
steam-whistle  blew  the  usual  salute  and  she  proceeded  down  the  bay. 
Approaching  Port  Sumter,  Smalls  stood  in  the  pilot-house  leaning  out  of 
the  window  with  his  arms  folded  across  his  breast,  after  the  manner  of 
Captain  Relay,  the  commander  of  the  boat,  and  his  head  covered  with 
the  huge  straw  hat  which  Captain  Relay  commonly  wore  on  such  occa- 
sions. 

The  signal  required  to  be  given  by  all  steamers  passing  out,  was  blown 
as  coolly  as  if  General  Ripley  was  on  board,  going  out  on  a  tour  of  inspec- 
tion. Sumter  answered  by  signal,  "all  right,"  and  the  Planter  headed 
toward  Morris  Island,  then  occupied  by  Hatch's  light  artillerj',  and 
passed  beyond  the  range  of  Sumter's  guns  l)efore  anybody  suspected  any- 
thing was  wrong.  When  at  last  the  P/anter  was  obviously  going  toward 
the  Federal  fleet  off"  the  bar,  Sumter  signaled  toward  Morris  Island  to 
stop  her.  But  it  was  too  late.  As  the  Planter  api)roached  the  Federal 
fleet,  a  white  flag  was  displayed,  but  this  was  not  at  first  discovered,  and 
the  Federal  steamers,  supposing  the  Confederate  rams  were  coming  to 
attack  them,  stood  out  to  deep  water.  But  the  ship  Onward,  Captain 
Nichols,  which  was  not  a  steamer,  remained,  opened  her  ports,  and  was 
about  to  fire  into  the  Planter  ^  when  she  noticed  the  flag  of  .truce.  As 
soon  as  the  vessels  came  within  hailing  distance  of  each  other,  the  Plan- 
ter's errand  was  explained.  Captain  Nichols  then  boarded  her,  and 
Smalls  delivered  the  Planter  to  him.  From  the  Planter,  Smalls  was 
transferred  to  the  Augusta,  the  flagship  off"  the  bar,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Parrott,  by  whom  the  Planter  with  Smalls  and  her  crew  were 
sent  to  Port  Royal  to  Rear  Admiral  DuPont,  then  in  command  of  the 
Southern  squadron. 


168  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Captain  Pairott's  official  letter  to  Flag  Officer  DuPont,  and  Admiral 
DuPont's  letter  to  the  secretary  of  the  navy  are  appended  hereto* 

Captain  Smalls  was  soon  afterwards  ordered  to  Edisto  to  join  the 
gunboat  Crusader^  Captain  Rhind.  He  then  proceeded  in  the  Crusader^ 
piloting  her  and  followed  by  the  Planter  to  Simmons*  Bluff,  on  Wadma- 
law  Sound,  where  a  sharp  battle  was  fought  between  these  boats  and  a 
Confederate  light  battery  and  some  infantry.  The  Confederates  were 
driven  out  of  their  works,  and  the  troops  on  the  P/a/iter  landed  and  cap- 
tured all  the  tents  and  provisions  of  the  enemy.  This  occurred  some  time 
in  June,  1862. 

Captain  Smalls  continued  to  act  as  pilot  on  board  the  Planter  and  the 
Crusadest  and  as  blockading  pilot  between  Charleston  and  Beaufort. 
He  made  repeated  trips  up  and  along  the  rivers  near  the  coast,  pointing 
out  and  removing  the  torpedoes  which  he  himself  had  assisted  in  sinking 
and  putting  in  position.  During  these  trips  he  was  present  in  several 
fights  at  Adams'  Rum  on  the  Dawho  river,  where  the  Planter  was  hotly 
and  severely  fired  upon ;  also  at  Rock ville,  John's  Island,  and  other  places. 
Afterwards  he  was  ordered  back  to  Port  Royal,  whence  he  piloted  the 
fleet  up  Broad  river  to  Pocotaligo,  where  a  very  severe  battle  ensued. 
Captain  Smalls  was  the  pilot  of  the  monitor  Keokuk,  Captain  Ryan,  in 
the  memorable  attack  on  Fort  Sumter,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  seventh  of 
April,  1863.  In  this  attack  the  Keokuk  was  struck  ninety-six  times, 
nineteen  shots  passing  through  her.  She  retired  from  the  engagement 
only  to  sink  on  the  next  morning,  near  Light  House  Inlet.  Captain  Smalls 
left  her  just  before  she  went  down,  and  was  taken  with  the  remainder  of 
the  crew  on  board  of  the  Ironside.  The  next  day  the  fleet  returned  to 
Hilton  Head. 

When  General  Gillmore  took  command.  Smalls  became  pilot  in  the 
<|uartermaster's  department  in  the  expedition  on  Morris  Island.  He  was 
then  stationed  as  pilot  of  the  Stono,  where  he  remained  until  the  United 
States  trOops  took  possession  of  the  south  end  of  Morris  Island,  when  he 
was  put  in  charge  of  Light  House  Inlet  as  pilot. 

Upon  one  occasion,  in  December,  1863,  while  the  Planter,  then  under 
command  of  Captain  Nickerson,  was  sailing  through  Folly  Island  Creek^ 
the  Confederate  batteries  at  Secessionville  opened  a  very  hot  fire  upon 
her.  Captain  Nickerson  became  demoralized,  and  left  the  pilot-house  and 
secured  himself  in  the  coal-bunker.    Smalls  was  on  the  deck,  and  finding 


ROBERT  SMALLS.  169 

^ovt  tJiat  tbe  captom  had  deserted  his  post,  entered  the  pilot-house,  took 
'CCmimaiid  of  the  boat,  and  carried  her  safely  out  of  the  reach  of  the  guns. 
For  this  conduct  he  was  promoted  by  order  of  General  Gillmore,  com- 
manding the  Department  of  the  South,  to  the  rank  of  captain,  and  was 
•ordered  to  act  as  captain  of  the  Planter^  which  was  used  as  a  supply-boat 
akmg  the  coast  until  the  end  of  the  war.  In  September,  1866,  he  carried 
Ins  boat  to  Baltimore,  where  she  was  put  out  of  commission  and  sold. 

Besides  the  daring  enterprise  of  Captain  Smalls,  in  bringing  out  the 
Pianter,  his  gallant  conduct  in  rescuing  her  a  second  time,  for  which  he 
was  made  captain  of  her,  and  his  invaluable  services  to  the  army  and 
navy  as  a  pilot  in  waters  where  he  perfectly  knew  not  only  every  bank 
and  bar  but  also  where  every  torpedo  was  situated,  there  are  still  other 
dements  to  be  considered  in  estimating  the  value  of  Captain  Smalls'  serv- 
ices to  tbe  country.  The  Planter,  on  the  thirteenth  of  May,  1862,  was  a 
most  useful  and  important  vessel  to  the  enemy.  The  loss  of  her  was  a 
ac'veie  blow  to  the  enemy's  service  in  carrying  supplies  and  troops  to 
*diflerent  points  of  the  harbor  and  river  fortifications.  At  the  very  time 
'Of  the  seizure  she  had  on  board  the  armament  for  Fort  Ripley.  Tbe 
Pianter  was  taken  by  the  government  at  a  valuation  of  $9,000,  one-half 
of  which  was  paid  to  the  caiitain  and  crew,  the  captain  recei^Hng  one- 
third  of  ohe-half,  or  $1,500.  Upon  what  principle  the  government  claimed 
- one»half  of  this  capture  cannot  be  divined,  nor  yet  how  this  disposition 
could  have  been  made  of  her  without  any  judicial  proceeding.  That 
$9,0O0  was  an  absurdly  low  valuation  for  the  Planter  is  abundantly 
shown  by  facts  stated  in  the  affidavits  of  Charles  H.Campbell  and  £.  M. 
Baldwin,  which  are  appended.  In  addition  thereto  their  sworn  average 
valuation  of  the  Planter  was  $67,500.  The  report  of  Montgomery 
Sicard,  commander  and  inspector  of  ordinance,  to  Commodore  Patter- 
son, navy-yard  commandant,  shows  that  the  cargo  of  the  Planter ,  as  raw 
material,  was  worth  $3,043.05 ;  that  at  anti-bellum  prices  it  was  worth 
$7,163.35,  and  at  war  prices  $10,290.60.  For  this  cargo  the  government 
has  never  paid  one  dollar.  It  is  a  severe  comment  on  the  justice  as  well 
as  the  boasted  generosity  of  the  government,  that,  whilst  it  had  received 
$60,000  to  $70,000  worth  of  property  at  the  hands  of  Captain 
Smalls,  it  has  paid  him  the  trifling  amount  of  $1,500,  and  for  twenty 
yc&TS  his  gallant  daring  and  distinguished  and  valuable  services  which 
-be  has  rendered  to  the  £Ountr>'  have  been  wholly  unrecognized. 


170  MEN  OF  MARK. 

The  following  is  the  testimony  in  proof  of  the  facts  al- 
leged in  the  bill : 

REPORT  OF  FLAG  OFFICER  DUPONT. 

Flag-Ship  Wabasb, 
Port  Royal  Harbor,  South  Carolina,  May  14, 1862. 

Sir  :  I  inclose  a  copy  of  a  report  from  Commander  E.  G.  Parrott^ 
brought  here  last  night  by  the  late  rebel  steam-tug  Planter,  in  char^ge 
of  an  officer  and  crew  from  the  Au^sta.  She  was  the  armed  dispatch 
and  transportation  steamer  attached  to  the  engineer  department  at 
Charleston,  under  Brigadier-General  Ripley,  whose  bai^,  a  short  time 
since,  was  brought  out  to  the  blockading  fleet  by  several  contrabands. 

The  bringing  out  of  this  steamer,  under  all  the  circumstances,  would 
have  done  credit  to  any  one.  At  four  o^clock  in  the  morning,  in  the  absence 
of  the  captain,  who  was  on  shore,  she  left  her  wharf  close  to  the  govern- 
ment office  and  headquarters,  with  Palmetto  and  Confederate  flags  fly- 
ing, passed  the  successive  forts,  saluting  as  usual  by  blowing  her  steam- 
whistle.  Af^er  getting  beyond  the  range  of  the  last  gun,  she  quickly 
hauled  down  the  rebel  flags  and  hoisted  a  white  one. 

The  On  ware/ was  the  inside  ship  of  the  blockading  fleet  in  the  main 
channel,  and  was  preparing  to  fire  when  her  commander  made  out  the 
white  flag.  The  armament  of  the  steamer  is  a  32-pounder,  or  pivot,  and 
a  fine  24^pounder  howitzer.  She  has,  besides,  on  her  deck,  four  other 
guns,  one  7-inch  rifled,  which  were  to  have  been  taken  the  morning  of 
the  escape  to  the  new  fort  on  the  middle  ground.  One  of  the  four  be- 
longed to  Port  Sumter,  and  had  been  struck  in  the  rebel  attack  on  the 
fort  on  the  muzzle.  Robert,  the  intelligent  slave  and  pilot  of  the  boat, 
who  performed  this  bold  feat  so  skillfully,  informed  me  of  this  fact,  pre- 
suming it  would  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  us  to  have  possession  of  this 
gun.  This  man,  Robert  Smalls,  is  superior  to  any  who  have  come  into 
our  lines— intelligent  as  many  of  them  have  been.  His  information  has 
been  most  interesting,  and  portions  of  it  of  the  utmost  importance. 

The  steamer  is  quite  an  acquisition  to  the  squadron  by  her  good  ma- 
chinery and  very  light  draught.     The  officer  in  charge  brought  her 
through  Saint  Helena  Sound,  and  by  the  inland  passage  down  Beaufort, 
river,  arriving  here  at  ten  o'clock  last  night. 


ROBERT  SMALLS.  171 

On  board  the  steamer  when  she  left  Charleston  were  eight  men,  fiye 
women  and  three  children. 

I  shall  continue  to  employ  Robert  as  a  pilot  on  board  the  Planter  for 
the  inland  waters,  with  which  he  appears  to  be  very  familiar.  I  do  not 
know  whether,  in  the  views  of  the  government,  the  vessel  will  be  consid- 
ered a  prize;  but,  if  so,  I  respectfully  submit  to  the  department  the  claims 
of  this  man  Robert  and  his  associates. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  F.  DuPoNT, 

Flag  Officer,  Commanding,  &Cr 
Hon.  GrosoN  Wbixbs, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington,  D.  C. 


United  Statbs  Steamship  Augusta, 
Off  Charleston,  May  13, 1862. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  rebel  armed  steamer 
Plaoter  was  brought  out  to  us  this  morning  from  Charleston,  by  eight 
contrabands,  and  delivered  up  to  the  squadron.  Five  colored  women 
&od  three  children  are  also  on  board.  She  carried  one  32-pounder,  and 
^'nc  24-pounder  howitzer,  and  has  also  on  board  four  large  guns,  which 
•ic  vras  engaged  in  transporting. 

^  send  her  to  Port  Royal  at  once,  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  the 
^^'^sent  good  weather.    I  send  Charleston  papers  of  the  12th,  and  the 
^■^  intelligent  cgntraband  who  was  in  charge  will  give  you  the  informa- 
^^"Xi  which  he  has  brought  off. 
"^   have  the  honor  to  request  that  you  will  send  back,  as  soon  as  cou- 
rt, the  officer  and  crew  sent  on  board.  • 
I  am  respectfully,  &c.,  your  obedient  servant, 

E.  G.  Parrott, 

Commander,  and  Senior  Officer  present. 
X^ag  Officer  S.  F.  DuPont, 

Commanding  South  Atlantic  Blockading  Squadron. 


War  Department, 
Quartermaster-General's  Office, 

Washington,  D.  C,  January  3, 1883. 
Sn :  Your  communication  of  the  twenty-sixth  ultimo,  in  relation  to  yomr 


172  MEN  OF  MARK. 

services  on  the  steamer  Planter  during  the  rebellion,  and  requestingcopies 
of  any  letters  from  General  Gillmore  and  other  officers  on  the  subject,  has 
been  received. 

The  records  of  this  office  show  that  the  name  of  Robert  Smalls  is  re- 
ported by  Lieutenant-Colonel  J.  J.  El  well,  Hilton  Head,  South  Carolina, 
as  a  pilot,  at  $50  per  month,  from  March  1,  1863,  to  September  80, 
1863;  and  from  October  1,  1863.  to  November  20,  1863,  at  $75  per 
month. 

He  was  then  transferred  to  Captain  J.  L.  Kelly,  assistant  quarter- 
master, November  20, 1863,  by  whom  he  was  reported  as  pilot  from  No- 
vember 21  to  November  30,  1863.  He  is  reported  by  that  officer  in  same 
capacity  from  December  1, 1863,  until  February  29,  1864,  at  $150  per 
month. 

The  name  of  Robert  Smalls  is  then  reported  by  Captain  Kelly  as  cap- 
tain of  the  steamer  P/anter,  at  $150  per  month,  from  March  1,  1864, 
until  May  15, 1864,  when  transferred  to  the  quartermaster  in  Philadel- 
phia. 

He  is  reported  by  Captains  C.  D.  Schmidt,  G.  R.  Orme,  W.  W.  VanNess, 
and  John  R.  Jennings,  assistant  quartermasters  at  Philadelphia,  as  cap- 
tain of  the  Planter,  at  $150  per  month,  from  June  20,  1864,  to 
December  16,  1864,  when  transferred  to  Captain  J.  L.  Kelly,  assistant 
quartermaster,  Hilton  Head,  South  Carolina,  by  whom  he  is  reported  to 
January  31,  1865. 

From  February  1,  1865,  he  is  reported  as  a  **  contractor,  victualing 
and  manning  the  steamer  Planter.'' 

I  respectfully  inclose  herewith  a  copy  of  a  letter,  dated  September  10, 

1862,  from  Captain  J.  J.  Elwell,  chief  quartermaster.  Department  of  the 

Souths  in  relation  to  the  capture  of  the  steamer  P/ajiter,  which  is  the  only 

one  found  on  file  in  this  office  on  the  subject. 

Verj'  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

Alex.  J.  Perry, 

Deputy  Quartermaster-General,  U.  S.  A., 

Acting  Quartermaster-General. 
Hon.  Robert  Smalls, 

Member  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Office  of  the  Chief  Quartermaster, 
Hilton  Head,  South  Carolina,  September  10, 1862. 

Gbneral:    I  have  this  day  taken  a  transfer  of  the  small  steamer 


ROBERT  SMALLS.  173 

Planter^  of  the  navy.  This  is  the  Confederate  steamer  which  Robert 
Smalls,  a  contraband,  brought  out  of  Charleston  on  the  thirteenth 
of  May  last.  The  Navy  Department,  through  Rear-Admiral  DuPont, 
transfers  her,  and  I  receipt  for  her  just  as  she  was  received  from  Charles- 
ton. Her  machinery  is  not  in  very  good  order,  and  will  require  some 
repairs,  etc.;  but  this  I  can  have  done  here.  She  will  be  of  much  service 
to  us,  as  we  have  comparatively  no  vessels  of  light  draft.  I  shall  have 
her  employed  at  Fort  Pulaski,  where  I  am  obliged  to  keep  a  steamer. 

Please  find  enclosed  a  copy  of  the  letter  of  Rear-Admiral  DuPont  to 
General  Brannan  in  regard  to  the  matter. 

I  am,  general,  very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

J.  J.  El  WELL. 

Captain  and  Assistant  Quartermaster. 
J.  6.  Chandler, 

Deputy  Quartermaster-General,  U.  S.  A. 


Personally  appeared  before  me  Charles  H.  Campbell,  of  the  city, 
bounty,  and  State  of  New  York,  who,  bein^  by  me  duly  sworn  according 
t fj  law,  deposes  and  says  as  follows : 

That  during  the  year  1862,  and  from  that  time  up  to  and  including  the 
^ear  1866,  he  was  doing  service  in  the  department  of  the  South,  head- 
quarters at  Hilton  Head,  South  Carolina;  that  he  knows  Hon.  Robert 
Smalls,  of  Beaufort,  South  Carolina;  that  he  was  present  when  the 
steamer  Planter,  of  the  city  of  Charleston,  came  into  Hilton  Head  on  or 
about  the  thirteenth  of  May,  1862;  that  he  went  on  board  the  Planter 
and  made  a  personal  examination  of  her  condition,  and  found  she  was 
built  of  live  oak  and  red  cedar,  and  a  first-class  coastwise  steamer,  well 
famished  and  complete   in  every  respect;    that  he  was,  and  is,  well 
acquainted  with  the  value  of  steamers,  and  has  been  engaged  in  the 
business  of  steamboating,  both  as  captain  and  owner,  for  the  last  fifteen 
years;  that  the  steamer  Planter  was  fully  worth,  at  the  time  she  came 
into  Hilton  Head,  the  sum  of  $60,000  in  cash  for  the  boat  alone ;  that 
the  United  States  government  was  paying  at  that  time  for  steamers  of 
her  class  $400  per  day  under  a  charter-party  agreement  with  the  chief 
quartermaster  at  that  place,  the  government  finding  both  wood  and 
coal;  that  he  chartered  to  the  United  States  government  at  or  about 


174  MEN  OF  MARK. 

that  time  the  steamer  George  Washington  for  $350  per  day,  which  wa» 
only  about  half  the  size  of  the  Planter,  and  not  more  than  half  her  valae; 
that  he  executed  seven  charters  for  steamers  with  the  government,  and 
also  had  a  valuation  set  on  them  in  case  of  loss,  and  the  above  state- 
ment is  made  in  accordance  with  the  prices  paid  by  the  government  at 
Hilton  Head  and  elsewhere  during  the  time  the  Planter  was  in  the  ser- 
vibe ;  that,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  while  the  Planter  was  laying  up 
in  Charleston  and  in  a  very  bad  condition  from  the  nature  of  her  past 
services,  I  was  commissioned  by  her  former  owner.  Captain  Ferguson, 
to  purchase  the  Planter  from  the  government  for  the  sum  of  $25,000, 
which  sum  I  did  offer,  and  the  same  was  refused  ^n  the  part  of  the  gov* 
emment  of  the  United  States ;  that  the  steamer  Planter  was  an  extra 
strong  built  boat,  her  frame  was  live  oak  and  red  cedar,  and  built  as 
strong  as  possible ;  she  was  built  expressly  for  the  coastwise  trade,  and 
she  is  running  out  of  the  city  of  Charleston  to-day,  and  is  considered  by 
steamboat  men  one  of  the  strongest  and  best  built  steamboats  in  the 

South. 

Charles  H.  Campbell. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  the  twenty-third  day  of  March, 

1876. 

[official  seal.]  James  A.  Tait, 

Notary  Public. 


Personally  appeared  before  me,  a  notary  public.  E.  M.  Baldwin,  of  the 
city  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  who  was  by  me  duly  sworn 
according  to  law,  deposes  and  says : 

That  during  the  year  A.  D.,  1862,  and  afterwards  was  doing  service 
for  the  Navy  r>epartment  at  Hilton  Head,  South  Carolina,  in  the  South. 
Atlantic  blockading  w|uadron ;  that  he  was  captain  of  the  steam-tug 
Mercury,  and  was  one  of  the  first  persons  that  boarded  the  Planter  at 
Hilton  Head  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  May,  A.  D.,  1862. 

That  he  has  been  for  years,  and  is  now,  engaged  in  the  steamboat 
business  as  an  officer  and  owner,  and  is  familiar  with  the  prices  paid  fox 
charters  by  the  quartermaster  at  Hilton  Head,  and  the  value  of  steam- 
boats generally  at  that  time  and  since ;  that  he  examined  the  Plantet 
when  she  came  into  said  harbor  at  Hilton  Head,  and  found  her  a  first- 
class  steamboat,  built  of  live  oak  and  red  cedar,  and  her  outfit  and 


ROBERT  SMALLS.  175 

findings  complete  in  every  particular ;  that  she  could  have  been  readily 

sold  at  the  time  she  arrived  at  Hilton  Head  for  $75,000  in  cash  for  the 

steamboat  alone,  or  could  have  been  chartered  to  the  government  for 

$400  per  day,  which  at  that  rate  would  have  paid  the  purchase  money 

at  the  price  aforesaid  in  less  than  one  year,  and  would  have  left  a  laige 

surplus  to  the  purchaser ;  that  she  was  considered  by  both  the  officers  of 

the  Army  and  Navy,  on  account  of  her  light  draft  and  great  strength,  by 

£bu*  the  best  steamer  for  that  coast  service  in  the  Department  of  the 

South. 

E.  M.  Baldwin. 

Sworn  to  before  me  and  subscribed  by  him  in  my  presence  this  twenty- 

fifth  day  of  March,  A.  D.,  1876. 

[official  seal.]  James  A.  Tait, 

Notaiy  Public. 


376 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


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ROBERT  SMALLS.  177 

For  the  services  Mr.  Smalls  ought  to  have  been  re- 
warded. The  bill  did  not  pass  on  the  ground  that  there 
was  no  precedent  for  placing  a  civilian  on  the  retired  list  of 
the  navy,  but  some  other  reward  should  be  granted.  This 
record  is  preserved  in  foil  for  the  benefit  of  history. 

After  the  Planter  was  put  out  of  commission  in  1866, 
Captain  Smalls  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Consti- 
tutional convention.  He  was  of  course  the  hero  of  an  im- 
portant act  in  the  drama  of  the  late  war,  and  his  people 
always  delighted  to  hear  him  tell,  in  his  own  style, 
the  story  of  the  capture.  His  zeal,  good  sense  and  pure 
disinterestedness,  easily  made  him  the  idol  of  his  people, 
whose  faith  in  him  was  unbounded.  Indeed,  even  to  this 
day  he  is  very  popular.  It  was  recently  reported  in  the 
papers  that  two  colored  men,  partisans  of  his,  were  talk- 
ing on  the  comers.  Said  one  to  the  other  **I  tell  you, 
Smalls  is  the  greatest  man  in  the  world.'*  The  other  said, 
*•  Y-e-s,  he's  great,  but  not  the  greatest  man.''  ** Pshaw, 
man,"  replied  the  first  speaker,  **Wlio  is  greater  than 
Smalls?  "  Said  No.  2,  **\Vhy,  Jesus  Christ."  "O,"  said  No. 
1,  "Smalls  is  young  yet.  " 

This,  though  it  may  be  only  a  joke  on  the  general,  illus- 
trates his  popularity  with  the  masses.  At  the  general  elec- 
tion in  1868,  he  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives of  the  State  and  signalized  his  efforts  by  the 
introduction  of  the  Homestead  Act,  and  introduced  and  se- 
cured the  passage  of  the  Civil  Rights  bill.  He  continued  in 
this  capacity  until  Judge  Wright  was  elected  as  associate 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  when  he  was 
elected  to  fill  his  unexpired  time  in  the  Senate  in  1870,  and, 


178  MBN  OF  MARK. 

at  the  election  in  1872  he  was  elected  Senator,  defeating^ 
General  W.  J.  Whipper.  His  record  here  was  brilliant^ 
consistent,  and  indeed  he  led  in  all  the  most  prominent 
measures.  His  debating  qualities  were  tested,  and  he  was 
acknowledged  a  superior  and  powerful  talker.  He  was  on 
the  ** Committee  on  Finance,'*  chairman  of  the  "Commit- 
tee  on  Public  Printing,"  and  a  member  of  many  other 
leading  committees.    An  old  sketch  says  of  him : 

His  character  is  made  up  of  some  of  the  best  traits  of  human  nature. 
He  is  generous,  daring  and  true.  His  mental  faculties  are  acute,  sen- 
sitive and  progressive.  He  is,  in  fine,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  his  race,  and  may  justly  be  deemed  one  of  its  representative  men. 

Taking  much  interest  in  the  military  affairs  of  his  State, 
he  was  appointed  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Third  regi- 
ment, South  Carolina  State  militia,  in  1873.  Afterwards 
he  was  promoted  to  brigadier-general  of  the  Second 
brigade,  South  Carolina  militia,  and  later  major-geyieral 
of  the  Second  division.  South  Carolina  State  militia, 
which  position  he  held  until  the  Democrats  came  into 
power,  in  1877. 

He  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Republican  conven- 
tion at  Philadelphia,  in  1872,  which  nominated  Grant  and 
Wilson,  and  also  to  the  National  Republican  convention, 
which  met  at  Cincinnati,  in  1876,  and  nominated  Hayes 
and  Wheeler;  also  delegate  to  the  National  Republican 
convention  which  met  at  Chicago  and  nominated  Blaine 
and  Logan ;  was  elected  to  the  Forty-seventh  and  Forty- 
eighth  Congresses,  and  was  re-elected  to  the  Forty-ninth 
Congress  as  a  Republican,  receiving  8,419  votes  against 
4,584  votes  for  Elliott,  Democrat,  and  235  votes  scatter- 


ROBERT  SMALLS.  179 

mg.  He  was  also  a  candidate  at  the  last  election  but  was 
counted  out,  not  beaten,  by  the  Democracy.  He  will  con- 
test the  seat  of  the  man  holding  the  certificate.  The  gen- 
eral affiliates  with  the  Baptist  church,  and  is  of  a  high 
spiritual  tendency,  and  can  be  seen  attending  the  Berean 
Baptist  church,  Washington,  D.  C,  every  Sabbath  mpm- 
ing.  His  mother,  wife  and  daughters  are  all  members  of 
the  same  faith. 


180  MEN  OF  MARK. 


XTII. 

HENRY  OvSSAWA  TANNER.  ESQ. 

A  Rising  Artist— Exhibitor  of  Paintings  in  the  Art  Galleries— Illustrator 
of  Magazines. 

THE  story  goes  that  many  artists  die  in  garrets,  poor, 
desolate  and  friendless ;  that  unborn  generations  do 
justice  to  their  works  and  j)aY  high  prices  for  their  master- 
pieces; the  merest  daubs  lx?come  highest  slx^cimens  of  art, 
and  people  go  into  rhapsodies  over  those  j)ictures  which  are 
no  better  in  after  da  vs  than  thev  were  in  the  days  thevwere 
made.  The  poor  artist,  jxjrhaps,  died  for  want  of  a  meal, 
and  was  unable  to  get  the  necessary  comforts  for  the  sus- 
tenance of  life.  But  in  these  days  of  activity,  enterj)rise 
and  sfx^culation,  meritorious  work  of  every  character 
secures  good  prices,  and  the  man  who  has  lived  to  make  a 
good  thing  need  not  go  far  to  find  a  market. 
Says  a  distinguished  writer : 

The  true  artist  does  ncjt  iK'gin  his  jMcture  or  statue  as  one  does  the 
briek  wall  of  a  house,  laying  it  out  by  metes  and  bounds  and  erecting  it 
with  line  and  plummet,  according  to  fixed  mathematical  rules;  but,  in 
the  dream  of  the  artist  or  artisan,  a  iMriiutiful  dome  with  all  its  elegant 
finish,  is  instantly  brought  int<^  King  and  spanned  above  his  head.  A 
statue  or  picture  comes  to  him  like  a  dream,  and  the  secret  of  art  iM>wer 


HENRY  06SAWA  TANNER.  181 

« to  hold  those  models  in  the  memory  until  the  faculties  of  constnictive- 
neas,  form,  size  and  order  have  wrought  out  and  fixed  the  image  in 
material  form. 

• 

This  is  very  largely  true  of  this  young  man.  His  whole 
nature  and  temperament  bespeak  the  artist.  While  by  no 
means  he  is  afiected  in  his  manner,  yet  his  thoughts  are  of 
the  finest  character,  and  are  delicately  expressed  on  the 
canvas  before  him.  His  taste  is  somewhat  on  the  order  of 
that  of  Landseer  and  Bonheur,  who  love  animals.  These 
.artists  did  not  look  upon  them  simply  as  so  many  bones, 
with  hide,  horns  and  other  necessary  parts  thrown  in,  but 
they  delighted  to  portray  their  nature,  habits,  afiections, 
symmetry  and  beauty.  This  is  indeed  an  exaltation  of 
their  Maker  and  the  dignifying  of  God  on  canvas,  by  em- 
ploying their  genius  in  portrajnng  the  characteristics 
mentioned. 

These  and  other  thoughts  engage  the  mind  of  the  true 
artist.  Pictures  are  to  them  the  solidifying  of  the  imagina- 
tion, anembellishmenlof  anidea,  a  thought  made  tangible. 
Indeed  a  picture  is  the  impression  of  one's  thoughts  upon 
-canvas  in  such  a  way  that  it  leaves  the  thought  fixed 
thereon  and  becomes  a  means  of  communication  to  others. 
Often  so  delicately  expressed,  and  so  verj'  carefiilly  pre- 
sented, that  pictures  are  sometimes  said  to  almost  speak, 
so  faithfiiUy  do  they  convey  the  idea  of  the  painter.  It  can 
be  readily  seen  how,  in  ancient  times,  hieroglyphics  were 
used  for  writing,  and  surely  they  were  nothing  more  than 
pictures.  Pictures  are  to  the  eyes,  then,  what  the  type  is  in 
the  book  to  the  same  organ — a  vehicle  of  thought,  though 
of  a  much  higher  grade  than  writing. 


182  MEN  OP  MARK. 

''B08S  Tweed"  used  to  say,  ** Print  what  you  please 
about  me  but  spare  me  from  the  pictures  of  Tom  Nast." 
So  powerfully  did  his  pictures  portray  the  stealings  and 
yillanies  of  that  New  York  alderman. 

Abraham  Lincoln  told  Nast,  ''transfer  your  talents  to 
me  and  you  can  take  my  place.'*  It  can  readily  be  seen 
what  power  is  in  the  hands  of  the  man  who  controls  the 
pen,  pencil  or  brush. 

This  young  man,  then,  will  gain  a  widespread  influence 
if  he  continues  to  supply  illustrations  to  Harper  Brothers, 
for  the  Harper's  Young  People  and  for  Judge  Tourgee's 
paper  Our  Continent  as  he  has  done.  The  firm  of 
Harper  &  Brother  does  much  to  encourage  colored  men, 
and  in  emplo3ring  Mr.  Tanner,  deserves  here  to  be  men- 
tioned. 

His  services  rendered  in  this  capacity  for  so  old  and  well 
established  a  firm,  show  that  he  is  a  talented  young  man 
and  that  brains  will  win  every  time.  Young  men  need 
not  mope  around,  smoking  cigars,  carousing,  and  whining 
about  prejudice  and  proscription.  Let  them  go  to  work; 
let  them  do  something. 

Mr.  Tanner  is  the  son  of  the  well  known  Rev.  B.  T.  Tan- 
ner, D.  D.,  and  has  his  father's  talent  and  progressiveness. 
He  was  bom  June  21,  1859,  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania. 
His  school  advantages  have  been  good,  and  he  is  fairly 
fitted  for  life's  work.  He  studied  art  at  the  Pennsylvania 
Academy  of  Pine  Arts,  in  Philadelphia^^  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  has  lived  for  many  years.  His  pictures  take 
high  rank.  No  favoritism  is  shown  in  the  selection  to 
enter  the  academies  and  galleries  of  this  country.    Bach 


HBNRY  OSSAWA  TANNER.  183 


lt.«MMI(«4l 


mtist  pass  the  committee  of  eminent  men,  who 
are  art  critics  of  long  standing.  This  is  stated  lest  many 
might  think  he  is  patronized  by  rich  men  or  through  the 
influence  of  his  father,  or  because  some  one  takes  pity  on 
him,  trying  to  help  a  colored  man  to  rise.  No!  It  is 
merit;  let  that  be  understood  at  once.  Perseverance, 
pluck  and  brains  is  any  young  man's  capital.  Let  him 
use  them. 

He  has  exhibited  pictures,  as  has  been  said,  at  several 
gralleiies.  He  exhibited  **The  Lions  at  Home"  in  1885, 
and  "Back  from  the  Beach*'  in  1886,  at  the  National 
Academy  of  Design  and  at  the  Pennsylvania  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts.  This  first  named  picture  was  sold  at  the 
National  Academy  of  Design,  New  York  City.  He  also 
exhibited  "Dusty  Road  "  at  the  Lydia  Art  gallery,  at  Chi- 
cago, where  it  was  sold.  Exhibited  picture  "The  Elk 
Attacked  by  Wolves"  at  the  International  Exposition  at 
New  Orleans,  in  the  department  for  the  colored  people. 
Being  commissioner  from  Kentucky,  I  remember  this  pic- 
ture very  well.  It  attracted  my  attention  at  the  time  on 
account  of  its  size  and  naturalness.  He  has  also  exhibited 
pictures  at  Washington  and  Louisville.  At  the  last  named 
place  he  exhibited  "Point  Judith."  This  picture  I  also 
remember  and  was  very  much  pleased  with  it,  though  I 
did  not  know  at  the  time  that  it  was  the  work  of  a  col- 
ored artist. 

He  is  constantly  engaged  in  furnishing  work  upon 
special  orders.  I  visited  his  gallery  and  was  shown  quite 
a  number  of  his  pictures ;  especially  was  I  pleased  with  one 
of  a  lion  in  his  den,  where  it  was  shown  that  he  was  eat- 


184  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ing  bloody  meat.  It  was  truly  life-like  and  the  lion's  head 
with  all  its  fierceness,  seemed  so  natural  that  one  would 
almost  feel  like  looking  toward  the  door  for  egress.  The 
bloody  meat,  as  it  lay  before  him,  seemed  as  if  it  lay  upon 
the  floor.  Let  me  explain  here  that  the  picture  was  out 
of  its  frame  and  was  standing  upon  its  edge  upon  the 
floor,  leaning  against  the  easel.  The  lion's  massive  paw, 
seemed  as  if  he  were  about  to  lift  it  and  reach  out  for  the 
meat,  just  before  him. 

Indeed,  it  was  true  and  life-like  as  I  have  said.  This 
artist  has  been  encouraged  by  many  of  the  leading  men  of 
his  profession  in  the  city,  and  his  future  seems  brilliant. 

I  earnestly  hope  that  those  of  our  race  who  deal  in 
pictures  will  not  forget  to  encourage  such  men  as  Mr. 
Tanner.  Mention  is  made  of  him  not  simply  that  the 
book  might  be  filled  and  space  employed,  but  that  knowl- 
edge of  him  may  extend  throughout  the  country  and  he  be 
encouraged  by  those  who  read  of  his  ability.  Be  satisfied 
that  the  statements  here  made  are  true  and  his  work  as 
described. 


ANDREW  HEATH.  185 


XIV. 

REV.  ANDREW  HEATH. 

A  Minister  of  the  Gospel,  Eminent  for  his  Piety. 

REV.  ANDREW  HEATH,  after  a  long  illness,  has  gone 
where  there  is  neither  sorrow,  pain  nor  death.  He 
-was  bom  in  Henderson  county,  Kentucky,  February  20, 
1832,  and  died  February  19,  1887,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five 
years.  At  an  early  period  in  life  he  became  a  Christian, 
.:and  spent  forty  of  the  best  years  of  his  life  in  working  for 
the  Master.  In  1851  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lucy  Ham- 
ilton, who  has  worked  bravely  by  his  side.  In  1867  a 
icouncil,  composed  of  Revs.  Henry  Adams,  William  Troy, 
*R.  DeBaptiste,  R.  T.  W.  James  and  Professor  Green,  or- 
dained him  to  the  Gospel  ministry.  In  1868  he  became 
assistant  pastor  of  Fifth  Street  Baptist  church,  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  and  in  1872,  on  the  death  of  Rev.  Henry 
Adams,  became  its  pastor.  The  first  Baptist  convention 
ever  held  in  the  State,  in  1863,  enrolled  him  as  a  member, 
and  in  all  the  years  since  he  has  never  withheld  his  hand 
from  any  work  that  would  advance  the  interest  of  the  race 
and  the  denomination.  He  has  served  the  General  Associa- 
tion in  being  a  member  of  the  Executive  board  and  chair- 
man of  the  same  about  sixteen  years.    During  his  pastor- 


186  MBN  OF  MARK. 

ate  about  fifteen  hundred  persons  have  been  baptized  by 
him.  We  may  safely  say  that  no  minister  in  the  State  held, 
a  higher  place  in  the  estimation  of  the  people  who  knew 
him.  Every  charitable  cause  found  a  ready  helper  in  him, 
the  orphans  a  father  and  the  Christian  church  a  true 
leader.  His  character  was  pure ;  his  reputation  never  re- 
ceived a  h]fxr  in  all  the  years  of  his  ministry. 

His  death,  though  he  had  been  ill  a  long  time,  was  un- 
expected and  created  general  and  profound  regret.  The 
church  appointed  the  assistant  pastor,  Rev.  J.  H.  Frank, 
Deacons  Thomas  Parker,  Shelton  Guest,  Q.  B.  Jones,. 
Moses  Lawson,  Horace  Crutcher,  R.  M.  Hightower,  R. 
Hamilton,  and  Messrs., William  H.  Steward,  W.  L.  Gibson 
and  George  W.  Talbott  a  committee  to  arrange  for  the 
funeral,  and  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  F.  and  A.  Masons,  ap- 
pointed Messrs.  E.  W.  Marshall,  Felix  Sweeney,  Edwdrd 
Caldwell,  Matthew  Goodall  and  Enoch  Maney.  During 
Saturday,  Sunday  and  Monday,  thousands  of  people  who- 
had  admired  this  noble  man  in  life  called  at  his  late  resi- 
dence to  view  his  remains  and  tender  sympathy  to  the 
bereaved  family.  Sunday  at  the  church  was  a  sad  day. 
The  heavily  draped  building  was  a  silent  reminder  of  the 
mournful  event.  Monday  morning  the  several  meetings 
of  the  city  pastors  and  the  students  of  the  State  University 
passed .  suitable  resolutions  and  agreed  to  attend  the 
(ianeral  services  in  a  body. 

Tuesday  morning,  long  before  the  hour  for  the  opening 
of  the  church,  the  street  was  literally  packed  with  a  mass 
of  humanity,  and  when  the  doors  were  opened  the  church 
was  instantly  filled.    So  eager  were  the  people  to  witnesa 


ANDRBW  HBATH.  187 

the  ceremony  that  hundreds  stood  patiently  for  hours. 
Whik  this  interest  was  being  shown  at  the  church,  sad  and 
heartrending  scenes  were  occurring  in  the  home  of  sorr6w, 
from  iBvhich  his  body  was  soon  to  be  borne.  A  few.  minutes 
before  eleven  o'clock  the  funeral  cortege  started  for  the 
church.  So  dense  was  the  crowd  that  it  was  almost  im- 
possible to  force  an  entrance.  The  funeral  requiem  on  the 
great  organ,  in  deep  and  solemn  tones,  announced  the  pro- 
cession. No  evidence  more  convincing  of  the  love  and 
esteem  of  this  people  for  their  lamented  pastor  could  have 
been  given  than  the  spontaneous  and  unfeigned  expressions 
of  grief  when  the  body  entered  the  church  in  charge  of 
the  following  pall-bearers :  Revs.  E.  P.  Marrs,  A.  Stratton 
and  W.  P.  Churchill,  Messrs.  Q.  B.  Jones,  Wm.  Morton, 
Shelton  Guest,  Isaac  Morton  and  Willis  Adams.  About 
two  hundred  ministers,  representing  the  several  ministers' 
meetings  and  associations,  were  present.  The  white  Bap- 
tist clergy  being  represented  by  Rev.  J.  A.  Broadus,  J.  P. 
Boyce  and  W.  H.  Whitsitt  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  and  Revs.  T.  T.  Eaton,  H.  Allen  Tupper, 
C.  M.  Thompson  and  A.  C.  Caperton ;  also  the  presence  of 
a  large  number  of  ministers  from  abroad,  including  Revs. 
6.  W.  Bowling  of  Elizabethtown;  E.  J.Anderson  of  Georg- 
town;  S.  P.  Young  of  Lexington;  E.  Evans  of  Bowling 
Green;  M.  Allen  of  Shelby ville ;  R.  Reynolds  of  Pee  Wee 
Valley;  M.  Bassett  of  New  Albany,  Indiana;  Willis  John- 
son of  Bloomfield;  J.  Jacobs  of  Harrodscreek;  J.  W.  Carr 
of  San  Antonio,  Texas;  Wm.  Miller  of  Jacksonville,  In- 
diana; J.  M.  Washington  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana;  and 
B.  T.  Thomas  of  Clarksville,  Tennessee.    The  large  audi- 


188  BffEN  OF  MARK. 

ence,  despite  the  uncomfortable  surroundings, 
attentively  and  eagerly.  Rer.  J.  H.  Frank  opened  the 
services  with  a  short  introductory  address,  paying  a  de- 
served tribute  to  the  deceased.  Rev.  H.  Allen  Tupper, 
pastor  of  Broadway  Baptist  church,  read  the  favored 
hymn :  "  Is  my  name  written  there  ?'*  which  was  sung  with 
much  feeling  by  the  choir  of  the  church;  Professor  J.  M. 
Maxwell  read  an  appropriate  scripture  lesson  and  Rev. 
Lee  Y.  Evans,  pastor  of  Quinn  chapel,  offered  a  fervent 
prayer. 

The  old  familiar  hymn— **  Why  Should  We  Start  and 
Fear  to  Die  ?"— was  lined  by  Rev.  G.  E.  Scott,  pastor  of 
Zion  Baptist  church. 

Resolutions  of  different  organizations  and  telegrams  of 
regret  from  friends  and  fellow  ministers  were  read  by 
Revs.  C.  H.  Parrish,  S.  P.  Young,  R.  Harper  and  Mr. 
William  H.  Nelson. 

Mr.  M.  Lawson  made  a  statement  expressing  the  views 
of  the  deceased  as  related  to  him  a  few  weeks  prior  to  his 
death,  bearing  expressly  upon  the  relative  importance  of 
masonry  and  the  church. 

Rev.  William  J.  Simmons,  D.  D.,  then  preached  the 
funeral  sermon  from  Acts,  20:  24-27.  **  But  none  of  these 
things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself) 
so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  minis- 
try which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify 
the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  And  now  behold,  I  know 
that  ye  all,  among  whom  I  have  gone  preaching  the 
kingdom  of  God,  shall  see  my  face  no  more.  Where- 
fore I  take  you  to  record  this  day,  that  I  am  pure  from 


ANDBBW  HBATH.  189* 

the  blood  of  all  men.    For  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare 
unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God/' 

The  sermon  was  a  warm  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a 
good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  and  found  a  response  in  the 
heart  of  every  person  present. 

At  the  close  of  the  sermon,  remarks  were  made  by  Revs. 
G.  W.  Ward  and  A.  Barry  by  request  of  the  family,  and  by 
Revs.  A.  C.  Caperton  repesenting  the  Baptist  Ministers' 
meeting  (white),  by  Rev.  C.  C.  Bates,  representing  the 
Executive  Board,  and  Rev.  D.  A.  Gaddie  representing  the 
General  Association. 

Rev.  T.  T.  Eaton,  pastor  of  the  Walnut  Street  Baptist 
church,  gave  out  the  hymn  **  Asleep  in  Jesus." 

When  the  hymn  was  concluded  the  benediction  was 
announced  by  Rev.  Spencer  Snell,  pastor  of  the  Plymouth 
Congregational  church. 

The  floral  offerings,  which  were  profuse  and  beautiful, 
were  removed  from  the  casket  and  the  march  for  the  ceme- 
tery begun. 

The  streets  were  lined  with  people  who,  being  unable  to 
get  into  the  church,  waited  patiently  to  pay  the  last  trib- 
ute of  respect  to  a  faithful  minister. 

The  procession,  which  was  as  large  as  ever  followed  a 
man  to  his  last  resting  place  in  this  city,  reached  the  ceme- 
terj^  about  four  o'clock.  The  funeral  service  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity  was  rendered  by  William  H.  Steward,  the 
Grand  Master  of  the  State,  in  the  presence  of  an  immense 
number  of  people,  when  the  body  was  placed  in  the  vault. 

The  following  resolutions  were  passed  by  the  church  of 


190  MEN  OP  MARK. 

which  he  had  been  pastor  and  by  the  Ministers'  and  Dea- 
cons' conference  of  this  city. 

CHURCH  RESOLUTIONS. 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  the  Ruler  of  the  universe,  the  great  Head  of  the 
church,  the  Disposer  of  all  things,  to  call,  February  19,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord,  1887,  at  7:53  A.  M.,  our  dearly  beloved  and  worthy  pastor,  the 
most  faithful  and  wonderfully  wrought  workman  of  the  gospel  ministry' 
ofourcommtuiity,  and 

Whereas,  But  a  few  have,  with  such  exemplary  fidelity,  exerted  an 
influence  for  good  in  the  Master's  vineyard.  A  man  of  fair  literary 
attainments,  acquired  utlder  many  disadvantages,  strong,  spiritual  in- 
clinations, sound  and  conservative  doctrine,  ardent  and  unostentatioua 
in  piety,  spotless  in  character,  unblemished  in  reputation,  dignified  in 
appearance  and  ''faithful  in  his  house;'*  therefore  be  it 

Resolvedt  That  we,  the  members  of  the  Fiflh  Street  Baptist  church, 
believe  he  was  truly  a  bishop  of  the  description  of  1st  Timothy  3, 
*'  blameless,  the  husband  of  one  wife,  vigilant,  sober,  of  good  behaviour, 
given  to  hospitality,  apt  to  teach ;  not  given  to  wine,  no  striker,  not 
greedy  of  filthy  lucre,  but  patient,  not  a  brawler,  not  covetous ;  one  that 
ruled  well  his  own  house,  not  Kfled  up  with  pride  and  having  a  good 
report  of  them  which  are  without."  The  church  has  indeed  lost  a  good 
pastor,  the  Sunday  school  a  strong  support,  his  wife  a  kind  husband, 
the  children  a  devoted  father,  the  widows  and  orphans  a  fnend,  the  poor 
and  needy  a  comforter,  and  missions  an  advocate.  We  mourn  his  death 
yet  it  is  a  consolation  to  know  that  our  great  loss  is  his  eternal  gain. 
We  extend  our  sympathy  to  the  bereaved  family  and  a  helping  hand  in 
time  of  need. 

Resolved,  That  in  token  of  our  respect  and  esteem,  the  church  be 
draped  in  mourning  for  thirty  days,  and  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be 
presented  to  the  stricken  family,  spread  upon  the  records  of  the  church 
and  published  in  the  city  papers. 

John  H.  Frank, 
George  W.  Talbott, 
Q.  B.  Jones, 
MO6B8  Lawson, 
William  H.  Steward. 
Committee. 


ANDRBW  HBATH.  191 

MINUTBKS'  AMD  DBACOKS*  COKFBSBMCB. 

The  Fifth  Street  church  and  the  Baptist  denomination  of  this  vicinitj 
and  State  have  met  with  a  great  loss  in  the  death  of  Rev.  Andrew  Heath, 
^rhich  occurred  in  this  city  the  nineteenth  inst.  We  feel  desirous  of  ex- 
pressing ourselves  as  follows : 

He  was  a  devout  Christian  for  nearly  forty  years,  connected  with  the 
General  Association  since  its  origin,  for  fourteen  3rears  pastor  of  the  Fifth 
Street  Baptist  church  of  this  city  and  also  a  former  member  and  ex* 
chairman  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  General  Association.  He  has 
long  resided  in  our  midst,  and  here  in  this  city  achieved  his  honorable  and 
noble  success  as  a  Christian  pastor.  With  comparatively  limited  means 
and  opportunity,  he  has  woven  his  name  into  the  inmost  soul  of  this 
community.  With  a  liberal  heart  he  has  promoted  all  the  true  interest 
of  society  and  religion.  A  nobk,  honest  and  true  man,  an  humble  and 
consistent  Christian  has  fallen.  His  counsel,  kind  and  fair;  integrity, 
dear;  and  fidelity,  beyond  reproach.  In  his  home  he  was  the  modd 
Christian,  husband  and  father.    Therefore  be  it 

Resolved^  That  we  sincerely  deplore  his  death,  for  in  it  we  have  lost  a 
true  minister  and  exemplary  Christian. 

That  in  honor  of  his  great  worth,  a  memorial  meeting  be  held  at  Fifth 
Street  church  next  Sunday  afternoon  at  three  o'clock ;  that  said  meet- 
ing include  all  the  ministers  of  the  city,  and  such  visiting  ministers  as 
may  be  present,  of  all  denominations. 

That  our  fullest  and  tenderest  sympathies  are  hereby  extended  to  hii^ 
afflicted  family  and  church. 
That  we  attend  his  funeral  in  a  body. 
That  we  wear  a  memorial  badge  for  thirty  days. 
That  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  family,  spread  upon  our  minute* 
and  published  in  the  city  papers. 

D.  A.  Caddie, 

T.  M.  Falkner, 

W.  Johnson, 

G.  W.  Ward, 

G.  E.  Scott. 

J.  W.  Lewis, 

C.  H.  Parrish,  Secretary. 

Committee. 


192  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Resolutions  were  also  passed  by  the  choir  of  the  Fiftir 
Street  Baptist  church,  and  by  the  State  University^  of 
which  he  was  a  former  pupil,  by  the  Lexington  ministers 
and  deacons  in  assembled  meeting,  by  the  Junior  class  of 
the  State  University,  of  which  a  daughter  is  a  member, 
and  by  the  Louisville  Ministerial  Association,  composed, 
of  brethren  of  other  denominations. 

Telegrams  were  received  from  the  following  persons  ex- 
pressing grief  and  sympathy:  E.  W.  Green,  Maysville,. 
Kentucky ;  G.  W.  Dupee,  Paducah,  Kentucky ;  R.  Bassett^ 
Indianapolis,  Indiana;  J.  K.  Polk,  Versailles,  Kentucky; 
O.  Durrett,  Clinton,  Kentucky;  Mrs.  A. V.  Nelson,  Lexing- 
ton, Kentucky;  R.  H.  L.  Mitchem,  Springfield,  Kentucky;. 
James  Aliens  worth,  Hopkins  ville,  Kentucky;  Peter  Lewis^ 
Louisville,  Kentucky;  M.Harding,  Owensboro, Kentucky. 
All  of  these  testified  to  his  high  standing  as  a  Christian 
gentleman,  a  man  of  many  virtues,  of  varied  graces, 
and  who  seemed  to  have  no  enemies.  Sunday,  February 
27,  the  memorial  services,  in  honor  of  Rev.  A.  Heath,  at 
Fifth  street,  were  held  and  largely  attended. 

Rev.  D.  A.  Gad  die  presided  and  made  the  introductory 
address.  The  choir  sang  several  appropriate  anthems  and 
hymns.  Rev.  W.  J.  Simmons,  D.  D.,  read  the  Scripture  les- 
sons. Revs.  B.  Taylor  and  J.  Mitchell  offered  prayer;  Rev. 
G.  W.  Ward  portrayed  him  '*  as  a  preacher/'  and  Rev.  E.  P. 
Afarrs,  **as  a  pastor." 

Remarks  were  made  by  Revs.  B.  Taylor,  M.  F.  Robinson, 
R.  Hatchett,  J.  W.  Lewis,  and  Messrs.  Thomas  Parker,  Q. 
B.  Jones,  Albert  Mack  and  Albert  White.  At  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  addresses,  a  committee,  which  had  been  previ- 


ANDRBW  HEATH.  19%^ 

otisly  appointed,  submitted  a  tribute  of  respect  which  was 
approved  as  the  sentiment  of  the  meeting. 

A  touching  tribute  to  this  truly  good  man  is  given  by  J. 
C.  Corbin,  Pine  Bluff,  Arkansas,  who  was  an  associate  with 
Elder  Heath  in  his  early  life.  He  writes :  *  *  Elder  Heath  was 
modest,  teachable  and  unassuming;  that  he  succeeded  was 
not  due  to  extraordinary  gifts  of  eloquence,  scholarship  or 
other  talents.  It  must  have  been  the  result  of  his  earnest 
piety,  pure  character  and  entire  consecration  to  the  work 
of  his  ministry.  These  secured  for  him  the  favor  of  Al- 
mighty God." 

He  was  the  "architect  of  his  own  fortune,"  and  now  he 
rests  from  his  labors  andliis  works  do  follow  him. 
"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 

I  might  have  said  more  in  way  of  eulogy  from  my  own 
standpoint,  but  I  felt  that  his  death  brought  forth  the  testi- 
mony sufficient  to  show  how  he  lived,  and  this  chorus  of 
praise  is  far  more  telling  than  my  own  feeble  utterances. 


194  MEN  OP  MASK. 


XV. 

H.  C.  SMITH,  ESQ. 

Prominent  Editor— First-class  Musician— Deputy  Oil  Inspector  of  Ohio- 
Song  Writer— Leader  of  Bands— Cometist. 

MR.  SMITH  is  what  we  might  call  a  self-made  man, 
as  it  is  largely  through  his  own  energies  that  he 
has  reached  his  present  station  in  life ;  but  he  says  he  owes 
his  education  and  training  to  the  devotion  of  a  faithful 
mother,  assisted  by  his  sister.  He  was  bom  in  Clarksburg^ 
West  Virginia,  January  20,  1863.  His  parents  were 
named  John  and  Sarah  Smith.  It  was  twenty-eight  days 
after  the  issuing  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  by 
"Old  Abe.'*  He  went  to  Cleveland  with  his  widowed 
mother  in  1865  or  1866,  and  there  his  mother  and  sister 
toiled  very  hard  to  educate  him.  After  leaving  the  gram- 
mar schools  of  Cleveland,  with  the  aid  of  his  oomet, 
which  he  had  learned  to  play  without  a  teacher,  having 
secured  the  rudiments  of  his  musical  education  in  the 
schools  of  Cleveland,  he  made  much  of  the  money  so 
earned,  by  which  he  secured  advantages.  He  was  con- 
stantly employed  in  playing  in  orchestras  and  brass  bands ; 
by  this  means  also  he  was  able  to  assist  in  the  support  of 
his  mother  and  sister.    He  attended  the  Cleveland  Central 


H.  C.  SMITH.  195 

High  School,  entering  in  1878,  and  finished  a  four  3rears 
course  of  what  was  ■  known  as  the  Latin  and  English 
course.  In  1882,  while  at  the  high  school,  he  corresponded 
for  papers  in  Indianapolis,  Cincinnati  and  Springfield ;  and 
at  difierent  times  during  the  last  3rear  and  a  half  he  wrote 
for  a  weekly  paper  called  the  Cleveland  Sun — ^a  white 
journal.  After  leaving  school  he  followed  music  as  a  pro- 
fission  for  about  a  year  and  a  half,  directing  a  colored 
band  and  orchestral  and  vocal  organization,  at  different 
times.  The  summers  of  1881  and  1882,  he  spent  at  Lake^ 
wood, Chautauqua  Lake,  New  York,  playing  thecomet  in 
the  orchestra.  He  was  director  of  the  Amphion  male  quar- 
tet ;  director  of  Freeman  and  Boston's  orchestra,  a  well 
kno^^m  organization  in  the  northern  part  of  Ohio,  for  two  or 
three  years;  was  president  and  director  of  the  First  M.  E. 
and  Central  High  School  orchestras — white  organizations, 
and  leader  of  the  famous  Excelsior  reed  band  of  the  city  of 
Cleveland,  and  captain  of  several  athletic  organizations, 
the  members  of  which  were  white  persons,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  himself.  ^  While  at  High  School,  in  August,  1883,  he 
was  one  of  a  company  of  four  that  started  the  Cleveland 
Gazette.  He  was  general  manager  and  editor,  having  a 
one-fourth  interest  in  the  venture.  He  soon  bought  out 
each  of  his  partners  and  is  now  sole  proprietor.  His  views, 
as  expressed  in  the  Gazette,  are  clear,  concise  and  easily 
comprehended.  He  never  fails  to  speak  most  earnestly  for 
the  race  and  its  representatives. 

Having  been  brought  up  in  the  mixed  schools  of  the 
city,  he  has  always  antagonized  the  color  line  in  the  most 
fearless  manner.    Says  Professor  W.  S.  Scarborough : 


196  M£N  OF  MARK. 

Mr.  Smith  has  always  wielded  a  fearless  and  able  pen  for  right  and 
truth.  He  has  fought  squarely  in  behalf  of  his  race,  demanding  recogni- 
tion wherever  denied.  No  other  proof  of  this  is  needed  than  the  Gaiette 
itself;  though  at  times  he  has  been  severely  criticised,  he  has  never 
wavered  from  what  he  considered  his  duty.  He  believes  that  the  Repub- 
lican party  can  serve  best  the  interests  of  the  Negro,  and  thereupon 
he  becomes  its  able  and  active  defender.  He  also  believes  that  mixed 
schools  are  best  for  all  concerned,  and  especially  for  the  Negro,  as  separ- 
ate schools  simply  imply  race  prejudice  and  race  inferiority,  and,  there- 
fore, he  becomes  a  relentless  antagonist  to  the  color  line  in  the  schools. 

Read  what  that  eminent  colored  divine,  Rev.  J.  W.  Gaza- 
way  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  has  to  say  of 

THE  CLEVELAND  GAZETTE. 

The  most  healthful  signs  of  life  and  a  highly  useful  career  are  indicated 
in  the  existence  of  the  above  named  paper.  That  it  is  a  paper  of  brain 
and  culttue  cannot  be  doubted  when  the  fact  is  remembered  that  in  its 
columns  are  found  communications  from  the  wisest  and  best  minds  of 
our  race.  It  is  a  paper  for  the  people  it  represents,  and  it  can  be  relied 
on  as  a  friend  of  every  colored  man,  though  his  face  may  be  of  ebony  hue. 
The  Gazette  is  a  practical  demonstration  of  what  can  be  done  by  the 
young  men  of  our  race.  The  editor  is  a  j'oung  man,  who,  by  dint  of  in- 
dustry and  economy  and  fair  dealing,  has  succeeded  in  giving  to  the 
colored  people  of  Ohio  and  the  country  a  paper  wortfiy  the  patronage  of 
all.  Having  been  a  reader  of  the  Gazette  since  its  first  appearance,  and 
having  watched  its  course,  I  feel  that,  injustice  to  the  paper,  the  editor 
and  the  race,  I  should  urge  upon  the  people  generally  to  support  the 
paper  that  is  practically  identified  with  the  colored  people,  and  is  in 
harmony  with  the  interests  and  success  of  all  without  regard  to 
complexion. 

His  paper  is  now  in  its  fourth  year,  and  is  one  of  the 
newsiest  and  most  successful  in  the  United  States.  He 
claims  that  it  is  not  only  paying  its  way  but  is  actually 
making  money;  thiscan  be  said  of  but  few  colored  journals 


H.  C.  SMITH.  197 

m  the  Utiited  States,  and  marks  his  paper  as  popular  and 
in  demand.  He  h^ts  given  constant  attention  to  the  qnes* 
tions  which  have  arisen  in  Ohio.  Besides  being  editor  of 
Had  ptDtninent  journal,  which  had  steadily  assumed  A 
porw^cttal  iiiterest  and  influence,  he  is  oneof  the  two  colored 
clerks  who  secured  appointments  in  the  city,  haring  beed 
appointed  by  a  .non-partisan  board  of  dectors ;  hi»  ap^ 
jk>intment  in  the  Thirteenth  ward  wa$  a  compUment  to 
Ills  journal,  to  himself  and  a  recognition  of  his  worths 
Through  the  agency  of  Governor  Foraker  he  was  also  ap- 
pointed Deputy  State  Oil  Inspector  at  a  handsome  salary. 
He  not  only  is  fitted  to  fill  this  position  but  he  is  thereby 
recognized  as  one  of  the  factors  in  holding  the  party  to- 
gcther,  and  he  is  especially  deserving  of  it  because  of  the 
noble  manner  in  which  he  championed  Governor  Foraker's 
•cause  in  the  canvass.  No  other  colored  man  holds  a  sim- 
ilar position  in  the  State,  and  never  has  held  such. 

It  should  be  mentioned  here  that  as  a  musician  he  has 
taken  very  high  rank,  as  has  been  shown  by  what  has  been 
written  above.  He  has  written  several  songs  which  are 
deservedly  popular  and  can  be  found  upon  the  pianos  of 
thousands  of  homes.  Among  the  most  popular  is  the  song, 
"  Be  true,  bright  eyes." 

He  is  one  of  whom  the  race  is  justly  proud  and  fi-om 
whom  we  shall  hear  much  in  the  future.  Already  he  has 
been  mentioned  as  a  possible  candidate  for  legislative 
honors,  and  he  will  be  deserving  of  all  the  honors  that 
might  be  thrust  upon  him.  He  is  by  no  means  one  of  those 
who  seek  to  reap  that  which  he  has  not  sown,  but  is 
xnodest  and  retiring.    His  intellectual  qualities,  his  good- 


Ik 


198  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ness  of  heart  and  generous  nature  always  bring  him  to  the 
front  among  his  friends,  who  are  loyal  and  true  to  him. 
He  is  manly  and  in  every  way  shows  his  superiority  over 
the  common  man.  May  he  continue  to  prosper  in  worldly 
goods  and  honors  as  he  is  now  prospering.  He  has  at- 
tained some  wealth  and  delights  to  use  it  as  a  slight  con- 
tribution to  the  loved  ones  at  home,  his  mother  and  sister^ 
who  labored  so  hard  to  give  him  the  opportunities  to 
make  the  most  of  himself. 


JOHN  BUNYAN  REBYB.  199 


X\I. 

REV.  JOHN  BXJNYAN  REEVE,  A.  B.,  D.  D. 

IMsttngtiished  Presbyterian   Divine— Professor  of  Howard   UniYersity, 
Theological  Department. 

IN  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  lives  one  of  the  oldest 
and  mostrespected  Presbyterian  preachers  in  America. 
One  whose  virtues  and  long  life  of  devotion  to  the  precious 
Gospel  are  known  far  and  wide.  A  worthy  nobleman  of 
feeling  so  tender  and  sympathetic,  that  while  he  ever 
listens  to  you  with  deep  and  lasting  interest,  it  pains  you 
to  see  how  keenly  a  tale  of  sorrow  affects  him.  He  is  a 
man  of  large  physique,  commanding  stature,  and  impresses 
one  as  a  gentleman  of  strong  convictions  and  earnest 
purpose. 

He  was  bom  October  29,  1831,  at  Mattatuck,  Suffolk 
county,  New  York.  His  parents  and  grandparents  had 
long  lived  in  that  neighborhood,  and  in  this  place  he  had 
hi»home  until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age.  He  attended 
district  schools  while  young,  and  worked  on  a  farm. 
From  1848  till  1852  or  1853,  he  lived  and  worked  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  during  which  time  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  theShiloh  Presbyterian  church,  during  the  pastorate 
of  the  Rev.  J.  W.  C.  Pennington,  D.  D.    His  parents  were 


200  MEN  OP  MAKK. 

Presb3rterians,  and  his  mother  had  early  dedicated  him  to 
the  ministry.  A  mother's  prayers,  personal  conviction, 
and  the  pastor's  cotmsel  prevailed  over  him,  and  in  1853, 
after  having  taught  school  for  a  few  months  at  Ne^v 
Tower,  Long  Island,  and  having  been  received  tmder  the 
care  of  the  Third  Presbytery  of  New  York  city,  as  a  candi- 
date for  the  Gospel  ministry,  he  entered  the  preparatory 
department  of  the  New  York  Central  CoUegCi  then  at 
McGawsville,  New  York,  where  he  spent  one  year  in  the 
preparatory  and  graduated  from  the  college  department 
in  June,  1858.  He  then  entered  in  September,  1858,  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary  of  New  York  city,  from  whicli 
he  was  graduated  in  April,  1861,  and  the  same  monm 
was  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel  by  the  Third  Presbytery 
of  New  York  city,  and  was  then  dismissed  to  the  Fourtb 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  June  14, 1861, 
he  was  ordained  by  the  latter  body  and  installed  pastor 
of  the  Lombard  Street  Central  Presbyterian  church,  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  remained  until  September,  1871.  Then 
he  resigned  his  pastorate  to  accept  the  invitation  of  Gen- 
eral O.  O.  Howard,  and  the  appointment  of  the  Americati 
Missionary  Association,  to  organize  a  theological  depart- 
ment in  Howard  University,  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia  and  teach  therein. 

He  remained  in  this  work,  faithfully  serving  the  institti- 
tion  until  June,  1875,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  a  recalf 
to  the  pastorate  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  reinstalled 
pastor  of  this  church  in  September,  1875,  where  a  kind 
Providence  still  permits  him  to  serve. 

He  has  never  sought  any  high  honors,  and  with  exttcnUH 


JOHir  BCirVAN  RBBTE.  301 

modesty  and  dignified  deportment,  he  has  gone  through 
life  thinking  that  his  ''highest  honor  was  that  of  having 
had  Godly  parents ;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pennington,  when  in  his 
prime,  as  the  pastor  and  guide  of  his  youth,  and  the  late 
Hon.  William  E.  Dodge  and  the  Rev.  Asa  D.  Smith,  D.  D., 
then  his  pastor,  and  later  president  of  Dartmouth  College, 
for  his  patrons  when  a  poor  student.''  He  was  made 
moderator  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  in  1865,  and 
a  commissioner  to  several  assemblies  the  same  year. 

His  talents  being  of  such  a  high  order,  his  personal 
popularity  so  well  known,  and  the  purity  of  his  life  px> 
marked,  that  Lincoln  University,  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1870, 
honored  herself  in  conferring  upon  him  the  degree  of  D.  D. . 
He  is  betoved  by  his  congregation,  which  he  has  served  for 
many  years,  and  with  whom  it  is  presumed  he  will  end 
his  labors  and  go  to  the  haven  of  rest  prepared  for  the 
people  of  God ;  and  his  lasting  influence  over  the  lives  of 
those  to  whom  he  has  ministered  will  be  as  a  grateful 
incense  ascending  to  God. 


202  MBN  OP  MARK* 


xvn. 

THOMAS  J.  BOWERS. 

The  American  "  Mario,"  Tenor  Vocaluit. 


THE  American  ''Mario"  was  bom  in  Philadelphia  ht 
1836.    In  childhood  he  was  very  fond  of  mnsicy  and 
exhibited  rare  talent  in  that  direction.    His  father,  a  man 
of  considerable  intelligence,  and  filled  with  anxiety  to  have 
his  children  learn  this  fine  accomplishment  procured  a 
piano  and  a  competent  instructor  for  his  oldest  son,  John 
C.  Bowers,  thinking  if  he  became  proficient  he  should 
teach  the  others.    This  purpose  was  accomplished,  and 
our  subject  was  instructed  by  his  brother  to  perform  upon 
the  piano  forte  and  on  the  organ.    In  a  short  time  he 
became  a  master  of  the  art  and  succeeded  his  brother  as 
organist  of  St.  Thomas  church,  in  Philadelphia.    He  was 
restricted  fi-om  becoming  a  public  performer  for  a  long 
time  because  of  his  parents.    As  a  tenor  vocalist  he  at- 
tracted the  attention  and  excited  the  admiration  of  many 
persons.    His  voice  was  extraordinary  in  its  power,  mel- 
lowness and  sweetness.    At  Samson  Street  Hall,  in  Phila- 
delphia, in  1854,  he  was  induced  to  appear  with  the  Black 
Swan  as  her  pupil.    It  was  not  on  this  occasion  that  he 
made  his  fame,  yet  the  Press  of  Philadelphia  spoke  of  hia 


THOMAS  J.  BOWJSR8.  *  203 

performance  in  flattering  terms  and  called  for  a  repetition 
of  the  concert.  After  this  repetition,  a  critic,  commenting 
Upon  the  voice  of  Mr,  Bowers,  styl^  him  the  "Colored 
Mario."  Colonel  Woods,  once  manager  of  the  Cincinnati 
mnsenm,  hearing  of  the  remarkable  singing  qualities  of 
Mr.  Bowers,  came  to  Philadelphia  to  hear  him.  He  was 
delighted  and  entered  into  an  engagement  with  him  to 
make  a  concert  tour  of  New  York  and  the  Canadas.  Mr* 
Bowers  was  accompanied  by  Miss  Sarah  Taylor  Green- 
field, the  famous  songstress.  They  were  highly  applauded, 
and  met  with  great  success  wherever  they  appeared* 
Daring  this  tour.  Colonel  Wood  urged  that  he  should  ap- 
pear under  the  name  of  '* Indian  Mario,"  and  again  under 
that  of ''African  Mario."  He  hesitated  for  quite  a  while 
before  he  would  accept  either,  but  at  last  he  consented  to 
that  of  "Mario."  As  a  lover  of  his  .race,  Mr.  Bowers  en- 
gaged in  public  performances  more  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
couraging colored  persons  to  take  rank  in  music  with  the 
more  highly  cultured  of  the  fairer  race,  than  for  that  of 
making  a  display  of  his  rare  abilities,  also  for  the  enjoy- 
ment which  he  derived  from  it.  Writing  to  a  friend,  he 
says: 

What  induced  me  more  than  anything  else  to  appear  in  public  wa» 
to  give  the  lie  to  Negro  serenaders  (minstrels),  and  to  show  to 
the  world  that  colored  men  and  women  could  sing  classical  music 
as  wen  as  members  of  the  other  race,  by  whom  they  had  been  so  ter- 
ribly YiHified. 

A  love  of  filthy  lucre  nor  his  care  for  fame  ever  caused 
him  to  yield  to  that  vulgar  prejudice  that  compelled  the 
colored  persons  to  take  back  seats  or  go  to  the  galleries. 


1204'  MBNOPBCAHK. 

If  they  did  not  receive  the  same  treiitmeiit  as  the  Whites 
he  refused  so  sing,  which  was  manly  to  say  the  least.  He 
had  an  occasion  to  talce  this  step  ^nd  stood  firm,  and 
thereby  broke  down  the  prejudice  that  many  encourage. 

Mr.  Bowers  sang  in  many  of  the  States,  and  even  iit- 
viaded  the  slavery  cursed  regions  of  Maryland.  Many 
very  favorable  comments  had  he  from  diflerent  papers. 
He  was  ranked  among  the  tnost  cultured  of  his  day,  knd 
et^  SL  tenor  vocalist  surpassed  all  of  his  contemporaries.  Ai 
Mr.  Bowers  is  ^ad,  and  we  were  unable  to  secure  material 
fbr  this  sketch,  we  are  largely  indebted  to  'MUsic  and 
Some  Highly  Musical  People '  for  much  of  the  above,  and 
^o  for  permission  from  the  author  to  use  the  same. 


NICHOLAS  FRANKUN  KOBERT8.  206- 


xvin. 

REV.  NICHOLAS  FRANKLIN  ROBERTS,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Professor  of  Mathematics— President  of  the  Baptist  State  Convention  of 
North  Carolina— Moderator  of  100,000  Colored  Baptists. 

AMONG  the  rising  young  men  of  the  old  "Tar  Heel 
State ' '  is  the  one  whose  name  is  at  the  head  of  this  ar- 
tide.  He  has  reflected  honor  upon  the  State  that  gave  him 
birth ;  he  is  a  young  man  who  has  risen  from  the  drudgery 
of  farm  life  to  the  prominence  of  a  professor  in  a  university, 
and  is  therefore  a  representative  of  his  people.  There  are 
many  older  persons,  of  course,  who  might  be  selected,  and 
some  may  bring  the  charge  of  **  young  men  '*  against  some 
of  the  characters  in  this  book,  but  if  in  early  life  they  have 
placed  themselves  at  the  head  of  great  enterprises,  it  seems 
fitting  that  they  should  be  noticed  for  the  encouragement 
of  others  who  come  behind  them.  Then  the  depths  from 
which  some  people  rise,  and  the  heights  to  which  they 
climb,  is  worthy  of  notice.  Now  is  there  reason  for  the 
farmer  boy  who  reads  this  sketch  to  be  discouraged  be- 
cause he  has  hard  work,  plowing,  cutting  and  hauling 
wood,  caring  for  the  pigs,  feeding  the  cows,  and  other  la- 
borious work?  It  seems  not  to  me.  The  advantages  of 
a  farm  life  are  many,  though  there  may  be  rough  spots  and 


206  MBN  OF  MARK. 

difficult  passages.  Indeed,  the  days  of  a  farmer  are  well 
spent  in  being  influenced  by  nature  and  thus  being  led  up 
to  nature's  God.  Boys  in  the  country  have  their  minds 
measurably  kept  pure  and  untainted  by  the  things  that 
destroy  the  purity  of  the  mind,  and  many  of  these  **  young 
men ''  referred  to  are  mentioned  as  a  means  of  encourage- 
ment to  those  who  still  are  behind  in  the  race  of  life. 

He  was  bom  near  Seaboard,  North  Hampton  county, 
North  Carolina,  October  13,  1849.  At  the  age  of  twelve 
years  he  relates  that  he  had  a  thirst  for  learning,  which 
made  him  apply  himself  to  his  books  very  diligently. 
He  would  study  very  late  at  night,  often  all  night.  The 
young  man  was  especially  apt  with  figures,  easily  leading 
the  other  boys,  with  whom  he  was  associated,  in  all  efforts 
at  mathematical  calculation.  With  ease  every  problem 
was  solved  by  him  in  common  school  mathematics  before 
he  ever  attended  school.  His  mathematical  mind  was  the 
subject  of  much  comment,  and  he  has  only  accomplished 
in  that  sphere  what  was  prophesied  for  him.  October  10, 
1871,  he  entered  Shaw  University,  then  known  as  the 
Shaw  Collegiate  Institute.  Here  he  pursued  an  eminently 
satisfactory  life,  entering  the  lowest  grade  and  passing  up 
the  line  through  a  college  course,  eliciting  the  praise  and 
commendation  of  the  president  and  faculty.  May,  1878, 
he  graduated  with  much  honor  and  received  the  applause 
of  his  fellow-students  and  the  congratulations  of  his 
friends. 

Having  been  converted  March,  1872,  and  feeling  a  call  to 
the  ministry,  he  was  ordained  to  the  work  of  a  gospel 
minister  May  20,  1877.    Rev.  Roberts*  ability  as  a  math- 


NICHOLrAS  PRANKUN  ROBERTS.  201 

ematician  has  steadily  promoted  him  in  this  department  of 
educational  work,  and  the  professorship  of.  mathematics 
has  been  held  by  him  in  his  alma  mater  ever  since  gradua- 
tion, except  one  year  when  he  labored  as  general  mission- 
ary for  North  Carolina,  under  the  auspices  of  the  American 
Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  of  New  York,  and  the  Bap- 
tist State  Convention  of  North  Carolina.  God  has  thus 
given  him  an  extended  field  of  usefulness  where  he  might 
develop  into  a  powerful  man.  Blotmt  Street  Baptist 
church,  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  called  for  him  to  serve 
them  as  their  pastor  on  July  2,  1882.  This  pastoral 
^work  has  been  done  in  connection  with  his  work  as  profes- 
sor, and  they  have  been  of  mutual  help  to  each  other. 
There  is  great  love  existing  between  the  pastor  and  the 
people,  and  the  church  has  prospered,  adding  year  by  year 
to  their  numbers  ''such  as  shall  be  saved.''  Asa  Sabboth- 
school  worker,  earnestness  and  love  to  God  has  character- 
ized his  life.  From  1873  to  1883,  a  period  of  ten  consecu- 
tive years,  he  has  held  the  positionof  president  of  the  State 
Sunday  School  convention,  and  in  October,  1885,  he  was 
unanimously  elected  president  of  the  State  Baptist  con- 
vention, which  position  he  now  holds,  esteemed  by  all 
the  brethren  of  the  State.  His  position  makes  him  the 
representative  of  100,000  colored  Baptists,  and  as  su^ch  he 
is  recognized  and  respected.  His  position  in  the  university 
gives  him  prestige  among  the  educated,  and  his  indorse- 
ment by  the  convention  shows  the  people  are  in  favor  of 
education. 


208  MBN  OF  MARK. 


XIX. 

HON.  THEOPHILE  T.  AIXAIN. 

8iaie  Senator  of  Louisiana— Agitator  of  Educational  Measures  and  In- 
ternal Improvements— Contractor  for  Repairing  Levees. 

AFTER  the  battle  at  Salamis,  the  generals  of  the  diflFer- 
ent  Greek  states  met  in  council  to  vote  to  each  other 
prizes  for  distinguished  individual  merit.  Were  the  task 
mine  to  pick  from  the  ranks  of  Louisiana's  sons  those  who 
have  in  the  face  of  opposition  towered  head  and  shoulders 
above  their. fellow  men,  shedding  lustre  on  the  name  of  the 
sons  of  Ham,  the  subject  of  my  sketch  would  take  front 
rank.  Having  passed  through  forty-one  years  of  the 
most  eventful  period  of  the  Nation's  history,  it  is  but  nat- 
ural that  he  shotdd  have  from  boyhood  thought  on  flt?d 
traced  the  struggles  to  which  the  race  has  been  subject, 
and  that  his  heart  would  be  stirred  with  that  patriotic 
devotion  which  sacrifices  luxurious  idleness  on  the  shrine 
of  duty.  Opposition  calls  forth  resistance,  and  it  may  be 
well  that  the  Africo-American  has  prejudice  to  fight, 
otherwise  Mr.  Allain,  with  scores  of  other  noble  men, 
would  be  quietly  performing  personal  duties,  letting  the 
world  surge  in  at  their  windows,  but  never  going  out  to 

• 

meet  it.    October  1,  1846,  on  the  Australian  Plantation 


T.  T.  ALLAIN. 


THEOPHILE  T.  ALLAIN.  209 

Parish  of  West  Baton  Rouge,  was  bom  Theophile,  a  boy 
who  evinced  at  an  early  age  those  signs  which  point  to 
ftiture  usefulness.  His  mother,  **a  pretty  brown  woman," 
possessing  all  the  taste  and  attractions  found  among 
those  of  more  fortunate  circumstances  than  falls  to  the 
lot  of  a  slave,  attracted  the  attention  and  affection  of  her 
master,  a  millionaire  of  culture,  who  was  the  father  of 
this  son.  Mr.  Sosthene  Allain,  in  the  prime  of  life,  was 
surrounded  by  all  the  comforts  which  taste  and  a  princely 
income  can  give.  Setting  at  naught  the  sentiments  of  the 
land,  he  shared  these  comforts  with  the  mother  and  his 
dear  "Soulouque,"  ofben  refusing  to  take  his  meals  unless 
the  boy  ate  with  him.  Mr.  Allain  always  spent  his  simi- 
mers  North  or  in  Europe,  but  not  without  taking  Theo- 
phile, who  received  the  same  accommodations.  When  he 
was  ten  years  old  his  father,  who  was  in  Paris,  sent  for 
him,  and  he  was  sent  in  charge  of  Madam  Boudousquic,  an 
accomplished  actress,  who  treated  him  with  love  and  kind- 
ness. When  the  ship  landed  at  Havre,  ten  thousand  people 
were  there  to  welcome  the  Emperor  Soulouque  of  Haji:i, 
but  instead  it  was  the  **  Soulouque ''  of  our  sketch.  These 
yearly  visits,  the  contact  with  other  customs,  was  a  more 
liberal  education  to  the  observing  boy  than  could  have 
been  acquired  by  years  of  application  to  books.  He  was 
present  at  the  christening  of  the  Prince  Imperial  at  the 
church  of  Notre  Dame  de  Paris,  attended  bathing  school 
and  accompanied  his  father  everywhere  he  went.  Return- 
ing to  America  he  entered  school  in  1859  under  Professor 
Abadie,  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  and  in  1868  entered  a 
private  school  in  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey.    In  1869 


210  MBN  OP  MARK. 

he  returned  home  and  went  into  the  grocery  business  in 
West  Baton  Rouge  and  Iberville  and  remained  until  1873, 
when  he  invested  largely  in  sugar  and  rice  cultivation. 
Genius  in  one  man  may  run  in  the  line  of  literature,  in 
another,  art,  but  in  this  man  business  seems  to  be  the 
ruling  passion.  For  twenty  years  he  has  been  a  success- 
ful shipper  of  sugar,  syrup,  molasses  and  rice,  and  every 
day  brings  him  in  business  contact  with  the  leading  com- 
mercial men  of  the  South.  Every  Exchange  in  the  city  of 
New  Orleans  is  open  to  him.  In  1883  the  total  crop  on 
his  plantation  was  estimated  at  four  hundred  barrels  of 
syrup.  Although  living  in  competency,  his  Sjrmpathies 
are  all  with  the  laboring  class.  At  the  Sugar  Planters' 
convention  which  met  in  New  Orleans,  August  20,  1884, 
a  resolution  was  oflFered  for  the  appointment  of  a  commit- 
tee to  collect  **data  as  to  the  cost  of  land,  labor,  food, 
stock,  fuel,  etc.,  with  the  idea  of  producing  cheaper  sugar. 
Hon.  Allain  opposed  it  on  the  ground  that  it  meant 
simply  the  cutting  down  of  wages  for  the  laborer."  At 
another  time  in  the  Legislature,  he  said :  **  I  tell  you,  gen- 
tlemen, that  when  you  cultivate  any  spirit  of  animosity 
between  the  tillers  of  the  soil  on  one  hand  and  the  proprie- 
tors on  the  other,  you  cut  your  own  throats.  Nature  and 
nature's  God  have  so  arranged  it,  that  labor  and  capital  are 
mutually  dependent  upon  each  other."  Besides  this  busi- 
ness he  is  giving  work  to  more  laborers  than  any  colored 
man  in  the  *  *  public  works  of  the  country, '  *  being  under  bond 
and  contract  with  the  State  of  Louisiana  to  put  up  within 
three  years  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  yards  of  levee. 
When  the  levees  of  the  Mississippi  were  in  a  deplorable 


THBOPHILB  T.  ALLAIN.  211 

condition,  the  Republican  Executive  and  Financial  com- 
mittee of  the  Third  Congressional  District  of  Louisiana, 
of  which  Hon.  L.  A.  Martinet  was  secretary,  met  April 
8,  1882,  and  adopted  the  following  resolutions.  We  give 
the  full  statement  and  all  the  immediate  outgrowth 
thereof.  Mr.  Allain  counts  the  following  as  the  champion 
record  of  his  life.  He  desires  this  record  handed  down  to 
his  children.. 

RECORD. 

The  credentials  below  were  furnished  him  in  Louisiana, 
and  he  went  to  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and 
appeared  before  the  committee  on  commerce : 

Mr.  Allain,  upon  being  introduced  by  the  Hon.  R.  L.  Gibson  of  Louis^ 
iana,  presented  to  the  committee  the  following  credentials : 

Resolved,  That  Hons.  T.  T.  Allain  and  George  Drury  be  appointed  a 
committee  to  proceed  to  Washington  to  lay  before  the  President  and 
those  in  authority,  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  Mississippi  levees,  and 
urge  the  necessity  on  the  part  of  the  National  Government  of  taking 
early  action  toward  building  and  maintaining  the  same,  and  also  to  ask 
a  continuance  of  government  aid  to  the  sufferers  from  the  present  over- 
flow. 

Resolved  further,  That  the  said  committee  is  hereby  authorized  to 
present  to  the  President  the  condition  of  political  affairs  in  this  State,  so 
far  as  the  Third  Congressional  district  is  concerned. 

New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  April  8, 1882. 
To  all  whom  it  may  concern : 

I  hereby  certif>'  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy/of  resolutions  adopted 
at  a  meeting  of  the  executive  and  finance  committee  of  the  Third  Con- 
gressional district  of  this  State,  held  in  this  city  March  27,  1882. 

L.  A.  Martinet, 
Secretary  Republican  Executive  and  Finance  Committee, 
Third  Congressional  District,  Louisiana. 


212  MEN  OP  MARK. 

New  Orleans,  April  5, 1882. 
To  the  honorable  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress  from  the 
State  of  Louisiana : 

The  undersigned  Republicans  and  Federal  officials  here  regard  with 
great  pleasure  the  selection  and  appointment  of  Hon.  T.  T.  AUain,  a 
sugar  planter,  and  representative  Republican  of  the  parish%of  IberviUe, 
by  the  Republican  committee  of  the  Third  Congressional  district  of 
Louisiana,  to  proceed  to  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  en- 
deavor to  enlist  the  ser\'ices  of  our  Representatives  and  Senators  and  the 
National  administration  for  the  purpose  of  rebuilding  and  maintaining^ 
of  the  levees  of  the  Mississippi  river  by  the  National  Government,  and  wc 
commend  him  to  the  attention  of  the  authorities,  and  trust  his  mission 
may  be  eminently  successful. 

Very  respectfully, 

Don.  a.  Pardee. 

Edward  C.  Billings. 

a.j.  dumont. 

T.  B.  Stamp. 

M.  V.  Davis. 

A.  S.  Badger. 

Jack  Wharton. 

P.  B.  S.  PiNCHBACK. 

Sam'l  Wakefield. 
James  Lewis. 
L.  A.  Martinet. 

ROBT.  F.  GUICHARD. 

New  Orleans,  April  8, 1882. 
To  the  Senate  and  House  Committees  on  the  Improvement  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River : 

Mr.  T.  T.  Allain  having  informed  me  of  his  intention  to  visit  Washing- 
ton, and  as  a  sugar-planter  interested  in  the  reparation  and  maintenance 
of  the  levees  in  this  State,  and  as  a  Representative  of  the  colored  people 
of  this  State,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  indorse  and  recommend  his  mission 
as  one  of  much  importance. 

I  regard  the  colored  laborer  as  well  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of 
sugar  and  to  the  diseases  of  this  climate,  and  should  consider  it  as  a 


THEOPHILE  T.  ALLAIN.  213 

fortime  if  it  should  be  discouraged  and  driven  away  by  the  inability  of 
the  planter  to  restore  the  levees. 

0 

Congress,  in  protecting  the  great  American  interest  of  sugar,  may  in- 
cidentally provide  employment  for  a  great  number  of  her  colored  race, 
estimated  at  more  than  one  hundred  thousand. 

Mr.  Allain  deserves  approval  for  his  public  spirit  in  urging  upon  Con- 
gress the  importance  of  promptly  assuming  charge  of  the  levees  of 
Louisiana,  and  will  be  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  the  planters  and 
laborers  for  any  influence  he  may  exercise  in  securing  the  adoption  of  a 
SjTStcm  which  will  prevent  Louisiana  from  the  calamity  of  an  overflow, 
and  the  public  from  the  abandonment,  and  possibly  the  destruction  of 
the  sugar  crop,  which  now  retains  at  home  more  than  $25,000,000, 
otberwise  exported  for  the  purchase  of  foreign  sugar. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

R.  S.  Howard, 
President  Chamber  of  Commerce. 


New  Orleans  Cotton  Exchange, 

New  Orleans,  April  6, 1882. 
Hon.  T.  T.  Allsun,  Louisiana  State  representative,  is  entitled  to  full 
encouragement  and  assistance  from  our  Senators  and  Representatives  in 
Congress,  as  a  delegate  from  the  suffering  people  of  the  overflowed  sec- 
tion of  Louisiana. 

We  therefore  recommend  him  to  their  good  offices,  and  earnestly 
request  that  he  be  granted  such  hearing  as  the  importance  of  his 
mission  warrants,  which  mission  is  to  show  fully  the  dire  necessities  of 
our  people  and  their  claims  upon  the  general  government  for  assistance 
in  protecting  themselves  from  a  recurrence  of  the  terrible  disasters 
trough  which  they  are  now  suffering, 

Very  respectfully, 

Thomas  L.  Airev, 
President  New  Orleans  Cotton  Exchange. 


New  Orleans  Stock  Exchange, 

New  Orleans,  April  8,  1882. 
The  New  Orleans  Stock  Exchange  cordially  indorses  the  mission  as 
lepixacnted  by  Hon,  T-  T.  Allain  to  succor  the  distressed  sufferers  from 


212 


MKN  OF  MARK. 


New  0' 

To  the  honorable  Senators  and  Kepresentativ 

State  of  Louisiiina : 

The   undersigned  Republicans  iind  Federa' 
great   i)leasure   the  selection  and   appoint i 
sugar  i)lanter,  iiiid  representative  Republ- 
!)Y  the  Republican   committee  of  the  T 
Louisiana,  to  proceed  to  Washingtor 
deavor  to  enlist  the  services  of  our  Re] 
National  administration  for  the  pur 
of  the  levees  of  the  Mississippi  river  * 
commend  him  to  the  attention  of 
may  lie  eminently  successful. 

W 


.ive  * 
.:".»ia,  hy 
:  Louisiana^ 
nd  maintaining 


::i  accomplishing  this 
:  and  individual  effort  in 


To  the  Scnal 
sissippi  Ri 
Mr.  T.  T 
ton,  and  ; 
of  the  It' 
9f  this 
itont- 

I    T . 


"k.  =:..rv  Kxecutive  Committee. 
.:•   J  rresixmding  Secretary. 

.-  -^:  '» ux.  Acting  President. 

^-  -.-...TV  Amcricus  Club. 

7  -.   < •  .-XT  Anericus  Club. 
V.  •^:4  \\x-?n.*ident. 
«      •  •     .. • . 

-  — ..".  :•  vtv'.iti ve  Committee^ 
v.- -.-,:.:>  Club. 

S  .    •  K-:  -.  nn 


•ppi&Co., 

MON  Mekchakts, 

April  6, 1883. 

lative  of  the 

.intera  and  htm- 

-iigtMi.to  intercede 

.nB,  in  aaking  tbe  Na- 

vwe  of  tb;  MiwiMipiM 

,im  on  and  for  making  his 

,u  yeara,  all  of  wUch  lie  has 

iueudiflg  Mr.  Allain  to  our  ddega- 
'lablc  coOMdemtioa  for  the  canee  he 


Vary  iwp«ctfldlT, 

C.  A.  Phiupfi  &  Co. 

OvncB  OF  RsNBBAW,  Cahhack  &  Co., 
N  um  SinuK  Factoks,  No.  32  Pbkdioo  Stkbbt, 
Nbw  Oblbaks,  Louisiana,  March  28, 1882. 


inajn 

"-'  had  bnsncM  TCtatJona  with  the  Hon.  T.  T.  Allain,  of  Iberville 
.)  dtniqg  aeveral  jeaia,   and  feel  satisfied  that  anj  statement  he 
•htmafagan^g^jogtlig  eoQJition  ofthelerees  and  the  consequent 
AoftteTtrerptuiabetma;  be  confidently  relied  on. 
t  eiy  fcipectnuy I 

RxNSHAw.  Cammack  ft  Co. 
Ar.  Mittbkb&rosr  &  Pollock. 
E.  B.  Whbelock. 
Stauffbr  Mackbadv  &  Co. 
Hanbeu.  ft  Wbbstbb. 

J.  W.  BURBBIDGE. 

Jff  And  deedbQr  indofae  all  that  is  said  above,  and  commend  Ur. 
a  to  the  LoidnaDa  dekgntion  in  Congress,  and  respectful!;  request 


214  MEN  OF  MARK. 

the  overflow,  and  trusts  that  his  efibrts  to  bring  influence  to  rebuild 

our  levees  will  be  successful. 

T.  S.  Barton, 

President. 
A.  A.  Brjnsmadb,  Secretary. 

New  Orleans,  April  6, 1882. 
To  Hon.  W.  P.  Kellogg,  U.  S.  Senator  from  Louisiana,  and  Hon.  C.  B- 
Darrall,  Representative   Third    Congressional  District  of  Louisiana, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Gentlemen  :  The  undersigned,  members  of  the  Americus  Club  of  this 
city,  beg  to  commend  to  your  favorable  attention  Hon.  T.  T.  Allain, 
representative  from  Iberville  Parish  in  our  present  State  Legislature, 
who  has  been  app>ointed  to  visit  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  by 
the  Third  Congressional  District  Committee  of  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
with  the  view  of  obtaining  National  aid  in  rebuilding  and  maintaining^ 
the  levees  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

We  ask  that  your  aid  and  influence  be  given  him  in  accomplishing  this 
desirable  object-,  and  thanking  you  for  your  joint  and  individual  effort  in 
behalf  of  these  interests,  subscribe  ourselves, 

Yours  respectfully, 

Wm.  a.  Halston, 

Secretary  Executive  Committee. 
P.  Landry, Corresponding  Secretary. 
Jas.  E.  Porter, 

First  Vice,  Acting  President. 
Geo.  H.  Walker, 

Secretary  Americus  Club. 
Fred.  Simms, 

Treasurer  Americus  Club. 
F.  Moss,  Vice-President. 
F.  M.  Ward, 

Chairman  Executive  Committee* 
Americus  Club. 
Thomas  J.  Bos  well. 
A.  P.  Williams. 
Geo.  G.  Johnson. 
W.  Silverthorn. 
J.  E.  Martinez. 
W.  S.  Wilson. 
James  D.  Macary.. 


THBOPHILB  T.  AL.LAIN.  215 

C.  A.  Philippi  &  Co., 
Cotton  Factors  and  Commission  Merchants, 
No.  48  Union  Street,  New  Orleans,  April  6, 1882. 

To  our  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress : 

Gbxtuembm:  Hon.  T.  T.  Allain,  a  ptomi^ent  representative  of  the 
parish  of  Iberville,  is  delegated  by  a  large  number  of  planters  and  busi- 
ness men  of  Iberville  and  this  city  to  proceed  to  Washington,  to  intercede 
with  our  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress,  in  asking  the  Na- 
tional  government  to  build  and  maintain  the  levees  of  the  Mississippi 
rrver.  We  desire  to  state  that  we  furnished  him  on  and  for  making  his 
sugar  crop  about  $4,000  within  the  last  two  years,  all  of  which  he  has 
paid. 

We  therefore  take  pleasure  in  recommending  Mr.  Allain  to  our  delega- 
tion in  Congress,  and  ask  a  favorable  consideration  for  the  cause  he 
advocates,  and  commend  his  statements. 

Very  respectfully, 

C.  A.  Phiuppi  &  Co. 


Office  of  Renshaw,  Cammack  &  Co., 
Cotton  and  Sugar  Factors,  No.  32  Perdido  Street, 
New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  March  28, 1882. 

To  w^hom  it  may  concern : 

We  have  had  business  relations  with  the  Hon.  T.  T.  Allain,  of  Iberville 

parish  during  several  years,   and  feel  satisfied  that  any  statement  he 

might  make  concerning  the  condition  of  the  Icvccs  and  the  consequent 

needs  of  the  river  parishes  may  be  confidently  relied  on. 

Very  respectfully, 

Renshaw.  Cammack  &  Co. 

Ar.  Mittenberger  &  Pollock. 

E.  B.  Wheelock. 

Stauffer  Macready  &  Co. 

Hansell  &  Webster. 

J.  W.  Bur  BRIDGE. 

I  fully  and  cheerfully  indorse  all  that  is  said  above,  and  commend  Mr. 

Allain  to  the  Louisiana  delegation  in  Congress,  and  respectfully  request 

their  thorough  co-operation  in  his  patriotic  purpose. 

I.  N.  Marks. 


216  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Citizens'  Bank  of  Louisiana, 
Baj«king  Department, 
New  Orleans,  April  8. 188! 
To  the  Hon.  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Louisiana 

Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. : 

Gentlemen:  The' bearer,  the  Hon.  T.  T.  Allain,  a  sugar  plantei 
excellent  repute,  from  parish  Iberville,  in  our  State,  and  no  do 
known  to  most  of  you,  comes  to  Washington  accredited  as  a  deleg 
from  his  parish  and  district,  to  intercede  with  members  of  Congress 
an  early  and  ample  appropriation  toward  rebuilding  the  Missisa 
river  levees  for  the  future  protection  of  agricultural  interests  agains 
repetition  of  the  disastrous  and  ruinous  flood  which  has  this  year  d( 
la  ted  so  large  a  portion  of  our  State. 

We  earnestly  solicit  from  yourselves  and  associates  in  both  house 

favorable  consideration  and  prompt  action  to'ward  the  desired  end,nK 

so  indispensable  as  now. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

E.  L.  Carriers, 

Presiden 
J  AS.  J.  Tarlbton. 
Cashie 


Office  of  Tertrou  &  Pugh, 
Cotton  and  Sugar  Factors, 
New  Orleans,  March  28, 188: 
Hon.  R.  L.  Gibson,  Washington: 

Dear  Sir  :  We  take  pleasure  in  introducing  to  your  acquaintance  H 
T.  T.  Allain,  a  prominent  planter  of  the  parish  of  Iberville,  in  this  Sti 
being  a  neighbor  to  a  plantation  whose  owners  are  in  Paris,  and 
whom  we  are  the  agents.  Mr.  Allain  is  from  a  parish  in  which  are  mj 
large  plantations  and  wealthy  planters,  and  is  personally  known  to 
He  intends  visiting  Washington  for  and  on  account  of  levee  purposes. 

We  therefore  recommend  him  to  your  consideration  and  any  aid  or 

formation  which  he  may  need,  and  extend  to  him,  will  be  appreciated 

Yours  respectfully, 

Tertrou  &  Pugf 

I  cordially  indorse  Hon.  T.  T.  Allain  as  worthy  and  intelligent.    / 

courtesy  extended  him  will  be  appreciated. 

Respectfully. 

Cyrus  Bussed 


THEOPHILE  T.  ALLAIN.  217 

Oppicb  of  the  Manhattan  Life  Insurance  Company, 
1S6  AND  158  Broadway,  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  March  28, 1882. 
Hon.  B.  P.  Jonas,  Washington.  D.  C. : 

Dear  Sib  :  Hon.  T.  T.  Allain,  of  Iberville  parish,  visits  Washington  in 
the  interest  of  levee  protection  for  the  State  at  large,  an4  has  the  influ- 
ence of  our  best  citizens  to  aid  his  mission.  As  Mr.  Allain  represents  the 
combined  political  elements  of  his  parish,  doubtless  his  visit  will  result  in 
great  benefit,  just  at.this  condition  of  distress  arising  from  present  high 
water. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  respectfully,  etc., 

H.  M.  Isaacson. 

THE  SPEECH. 

Mr.  Allain  saiA 

Mr.  Chairman:  The  papeis  and  documents  which  I  have  had  the 
honor  to  present  to  you  from  the  New  Orleans  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
the  Cotton  Exchange,  and  a  number  of  prominent,  wealthy,  and  deeply 
interested  merchants  and  other  business  men  of  that  city,  together  with 
the  indorsement  and  recommendations  of  the  Republican  committee  of 
the  Third  Congressional  district  of  Louisiana,  arc  the  sanctions  of  author- 
ity and  the  credentials  on  which  I  venture  to  appear  before  you ;  not, 
however,  without  a  profound  sense  of  my  inability  to  do  full  justice  to  a 
subject  of  such  vast  importance  as  the  preservation  of  the  levees  of  the 
Mississippi  river  by  the  National  government,  the  advocacy  of  which  I 
am  charged  with. 

And,  cheerfully  as  I  respond  to  the  obligations  thus  imposed,  my  diffi- 
dence is  not  at  all  diminished,  and  especially,  when  I  remember  how  fre- 
quently, fully,  forcibly— and,  we  had  hoped,  conclusively— it  has  been 
shown  by  facts,  figures,  arguments,  and  demonstrations  that  it  was — 
and  as  it  now  is — the  interest  and  the  duty  of  the  National  government  to 
huild  and  keep  in  repair  the  levees  of  its  mighty  river,  the  Mississippi. 

It  is  mine  to-day,  sir,  to  once  more  tread  this  beaten  path,  and  if  it  be 
true  that  there  is  no  evil  without  its  corresponding  good,  it  is  mine  to 
seize  the  lamentable  opportunity,  the  moment  when  millions  of  acres  of 
cultivable  and  cultivated  cotton,  sugar,  and  rice  lands  are  many  feet 
under  water;  when  thousands  of  families  are  flooded  out  of  their  homes, 
are  taking  refuge  everywhere,  an v where  from  the  angry  flood;  when  a 


218  MEN  OP  MARK. 

hundred  thousand  laborers,  driven  by  the  waters,  have  fled  in  eveiy  di- 
rection, to  the  utter  demoralization  of  labor;  when  horses,  mules,  oxen,. 
and  innumerable,  but  valuable  lesser  animals  are  de8tro3red  or  sacrificed 
in  one  way  or  the  other ;  I  sa3'  that  at  this  moment  of  our  deepest  afflictioii 
I  am  commissioned  to  come  here  and  appeal  to  you  and  to  the  government 
to  use  every  exertion,  to  relax  no  effort  to  save  our  section  (as  far  as 
human  agency  and  human  effort  can  rescue  us)  from  the  periodic  recur- 
rence of  these  calamitous  overflows. 

I  may  state,  as  an  absolute  fact,  that  the  States  whose  lands  are  peri- 
odically overflowed  by  the  Mississippi  river  are  utterly  unable  to  build 
and  maintain  the  levees  to  meet  these  occasional  emergencies. 

This  argument  in  itself  would  not,  I  know,  constitute  any  valid  basis- 
for  our  claim  that  the  National  government  should  therefore  assume  the- 
task  of  cfRciently  providing  against  the  disasters.  ^ 

I  have,  therefore,  been  at  some  pains  to  prepare  my  statements  to  for- 
tify the  position  I  now  assume,  and  that  is,  that  it  is  the  interest  and  the 
duty  of  the  United  States  Government  to  construct  and  maintain  an  effi- 
cient system  of  levees  along  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  that 
upon  it  must  rest  the  enormous  moral  responsibility,  at  least,  of  the- 
incalculable  suffering  and  losses  which  are  entailed  by  the  overflows. 

It  is  not  necessary-  for  me  to  labor  to  show  you  that  the  United  States 
possessing  and  exercising  the  powers  and  prerogatives  of  absolute  own- 
ership of  this  mighty  inland  sea,  is  placed  thereby  under  obligation  to^ 
adopt  every  necessary  precaution  to  keep  it  within  bounds. 

I  take  it  that  this  branch  of  the  subject  having  been  so  well  and  so  fine* 
quently  set  before  the  government  I  need  not  dwell  on  it  here. 

I  cannot  resist  the  temptation,  however,  to  quote  the  following  forci- 
ble language  from  the  speech  of  Hon.  James  B.  Eustis,  late  United  States 
Senator  from  my  State : 

'•  We  know,  Mr.  President,  that  the  jurisdictional  authority  of  the 
United  States  Government  is  exclusive  over  that  river  throughout  its 
length,  and  we  know  how  that  jurisdictional  authority  was  acquired. 
It  was  acquired  by  the  statutes  of  the  United  States  and  by  the  decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court.  In  the  early  period  of  our  history  there  was  a 
conflict  going  on  between  the  Federal  authority  and  the  State  govern- 
ments, with  reference  to  the  jurisdiction  over  navigable  streams,  a  con* 
troversy  which  was  as  acrimonious  upon  the  Ixjnch  of  the  Supreme  Court 


THEOPHILE  T.  ALLAIN.  219 

as  was  the  slavery  question.  It  was  finally  determined,  after  twenty-five 
years  of  contest,  that  the  maritime  and  admiralty  jurisdiction  over  those 
streams  was  exclusively  vested  in  the  Federal  government ;  and  only  a 
short  time  ago,  as  high  up  as  Shreveport,  on  Red  river,  it  was  decided 
that  the  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction  over  that  stream  was  ex- 
clusively vested  in  the  United  States  Government.  Thatjurisdictionisan 
exhaustive  jurisdiction.  It  denies  to  the  States  any  authority,  or  any 
po^ver,  or  any  responsibility,  or  any  obligation  whatsoever  touching  the 
Mississippi  river.  The  United  States  Government  can  bridge  it;  the 
United  States  Government  can  determine  what  commerce  shall  be  carried 
on  that  river,  what  shall  be  the  means  of  transportation  on  that  river, 
who  shall  have  the  privilege  of  navigating  that  river ;  and  it  is  even  said 
in  one  of  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  that  it  has  the  authority  to 
change  the  channel  of  that  river. 

"  Now,  I  ask,  Mr.  President,  why  is  it,  if  every  individual  in  this  land, 
every  corporation,  is  obliged  to  discharge  the  obligations  and  the  re- 
sponsibilities and  the  duties  arising  from  the  mere  tutorship  or  control 
of  property — I  ask  up>on  what  ground  can  the  United  States  absolve 
Itself  from  that  obligation  and  from  that  responsibility,  particularly 
when  vfc  consider  the  immense  loss  and  devastation  and  ruin  which 
result  from  omitting  to  discharge  that  obligation  ?  And  I  do  not  under- 
stand that  there  is  any  such  thing  as  degree  in  national  duties  and 
national  obligations.  If  I  can  convince  the  Senate  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  United  States  Government,  that  it  is  an  obligation  of  the  United 
States  Government,  it  then  follows  that  it  is  as  much  a  question  of 
national  faith  to  discharge  that  duty,  to  discharge  that  obligation,  as 
for  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  pay  the  interest  on  its  public 
debt.** 

Passing  from  this  branch  of  the  subject  to  the  ability  of  the  govern- 
ment, I  presume  that  there  is  not  one  well-informed  citizen  of  this  great 
Republic  that  raises  this  question. 

Then,  if  all  these  things  be  true,  the  only  essential  lacking  is  the  willing- 
ness  of  the  government  to  recognize  the  propriety,  the  Justice^  and  the 
obligation  to  undertake  this  work. 

And  I  hold  that  it  is  as  much  to  the  interest  as  it  is  the  duty  of  gov- 
ernment to  undertake  the  task  of  protecting  the  lands  on  both  sides  of" 
its  river  from  incursions  by  its  occasionally  turbulent  stream. 


220 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


It  is  the  interest  of  the  National  Government  because  of  the  enormous 
revenue — the  support— which  it  derives  from  the  section  of  country  which 
■suffers  from  overflows. 

I  am  aware  that  this  is  an  appeal  to  the  Nation  on  the  lowest  plane — 
the  sordid  motive  of  self-interest,  but  the  argument  I  hold  is  sound  and 
the  conclusions  I  shall  draw  most  just. 

Taking  Louisiana  as  the  illustration,  look  at  our  production  and  the 
revenue  which  the  National  Government  derives  as  the  necessary  direct 
result  of  our  agricultural  products. 

Not  to  be  tedions,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  will  offer  the  tabulated  statement 
of  Hon.  R.  L.  Gibson,  one  of  our  congressmen,  in  his  recent  speech  on  the 
Hawaian  treaty  and  sugar. 

I  give  you  our  production  of  sugar  from  1870  to  1880,  and  rice  from 
1877  to  1880: 


Year. 


1869-*70 
1870-'71 
1871-'72 
1872-'73 
1873-'74 
1874-75 
1875-70 
187G-'77 
1877-'78 
1878-'79 
1879-'80 


Sugar. 


Hogsheads, 
87,090 
144.881 
128,461 
108,520 
89,498 
116,867 
144,146 
169,331 
127,753 
213,221 
169,972 


Pounds. 
99,452,946 
168.878,592 
146,906,125 
125.346,493 
103,241,119 
134.504,691 
163,418,070 
190,672,570 
147,101,941 
239,478,753 
198,962,278 


Molasses. 


Gallons. 

5,724,256 
10,281,419 
10,019,958 

8,898,640 

8,203,944 
11,516,828 
10,870,546 
12,024,108 
14.237.280 
13,218,404 
12,189,190 


Rice. 


Pounds. 


35,080,520 
36,592,310 

20,728,520 


In  the  matter  of  cotton  it  is  as  important  as  it  is  interesting  to  note  a 
hw  particulars. 

The  Southern  country  produced  in  1880  the  enormous  amount  of 
2,770.000,000  (two  billions  seven  hundred  and  seventy  millions)  of 
pounds  of  raw  cotton,  which  is  nearly  four-fifths  of  the  entire  cotton  crop 
of  the  world. 

During  the  war  we  had  no  production  to  speak  of;  but  after  that 
dreary  period,  and  when  we  had  resumed  cultivation  under  the  new  and 
improved  order  of  things,  the  increase  in  the  production  of  this  staple 
became  marked. 


\ 


THEOPHILB  T.  ALLAIN. 


221 


Ercry  year  since  1866-*67,  except  in  overflow  years,  we  have  increased 
onr  cotton  production  nntil  1880,  when  we  reached  the  magnificent 
fi^^res  of  6,611,000  bales,  as  will  be  more  fiiUy  seen  by  the  following 
extract  from  the  report  of  "Louisiana  Products,"  by  Commissioner  W» 
H.  Harris,  to  the  Legislature  of  188^ : 

COTTON  CROP  OF  THE  SOUTH. 


Year. 

Crop. 

Year. 

Crop. 

1872-*73 

3,930,508 
4,185,534 
3,832,991 
4,669,283 
4,485,423 

1877-78 

4.773.765 

1873-'74 

1878-79 

5,074,155 
5,761,252 
6.611.000 

1874-*75 

1879-'80 

1875-'76 

1880-'81 

1876-'77 

The  value,  sir,  of  these  staple  productions  of  our  lands,  which  are 
largnely  subject  to  overflow,  make  an  aggregate  value  that  to  me,  at 
least,  is  perfectly  bewildering. 

I  have  heard  it  declared  the  conception  of  a  million  was  an  overtax  on 
an  ordinary  mind.  But,  sir,  when  we  figure  up  the  annual  value  of  our 
sugar,  cotton,  and  rice  crops,  we  cannot  but  be  astounded  to  find  that 
"wc  run  up  into  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars. 

This  year,  sir,  unfortunately  we  shall  find  no  diflficulty  in  computing 
and  comprehending  the  value  of  our  production. 

But  when  it  is  taken  into  account  that  we  pay  cheerfully  into  the 
National  treasury  our  proportion  of  the  taxes  for  the  support  of 
government,  and  that  from  such  an  exhibit,  brief  and  incomplete 
as  it  is,  it  can  be  readily  seen  that  in  this  matter  we  are  not  paupers,  and 
that  we  need  feel  no  hesitancy  in  coming  up  here  urging  and  demanding 
that  the  National  Government,  which  so  generoush',  but  not  always 
'Wisely,  donates  millions  upon  millions  to  railroads,  should  return  to  us  a 
modicum  of  our  contributions  in  the  shape  of  the  preservation  of  the 
levees  of  the  great  Father  of  Waters. 

The  loss  in  revenue  to  the  United  States  Government  this  year  will  be 
greater  than  the  few  millions  we  are  asking  and  which  we  deserve  to 
have. 


222  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Again,  the  expenditure  of  over  a  million  of  dollars  in  raitions,  which 
have  been  hurried  to  our  rescue  so  promptly  and  so  cheerfully,  is  an  ex- 
penditure that  might  have  been  better  utilized. 

Build  the  levees  and  keep  them  in  order,  and  then  we  shall  not  need  to 
appeal  for  bread  and  meat,  and  tents  and  medicines. 

Demoralizing  as  we  know  these  things  to  be,  wc  earnestly  desire  to 
dispense  forever  with  the  reliance  on  charity  fOr  food  and  shelter.  But 
driven  by  our  extremities,  we  have  l^ecn  compelled  to  once  more  tolerate 
the  call  for  and  dependence  on  "  rations." 

It  seems  to  me,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  where  so  many  important  channels 
of  profit  are  neglected  that  there  must  be  some  duty  in  the  matter,  and 
hence  I  say  that  it  is  the  daty  of  the  National  Government  to  undertake 
without  further  delay  the  construction  and  keeping  in  order  an  efficient 
system  of  levees  along  the  Mississippi  banks. 

For  years  we  have  had  river  committees,  and  river  conventions,  and 
Mississippi  Valley  conventions,  and  public  meetings,  and  public  speeches, 
and  monster  petitions,  all  in  the  direction  of  urging  on  Congress  the 
duty  of  undertaking  this  work,  but  up  to  this  date  all  of  our  appeals  have 
been  unavailing. 

I  say,  sir,  that  we  hold  it  to  be  the  constitutional  prerogative  and  duty 
of  Congress  to  provide  *'  for  the  welfare  of  the  United  States." 

We  form,  in  the  relations  we  have  alluded  to,  no  inconsiderable  portion 
of  the  United  States,  and  our  welfare  is  materially  injured  by  the  trespass 
of  the  river,  and  when  we  observe  Congress  recognizing  the  loud  and  just 
clamor  raised  against  the  imprisonment  abroad  of  American  citizens, 
and  dealing  with  the  the  question  as  suits  a  free  republic ;  when  we  see 
the  interest  taken  in  projedls  to  check  the  influx  of  Chinese,  even  to  the 
practical  abrogation  of  a  solemn  treaty  writh  China,  without  the  con- 
sent of*'  the  other  party ;"  when  we  see  Congress  undertaking  the  lauda- 
ble, if  gigantic,  task  of  even  regulating  the  polygamists  of  Utah;  when 
we  see,  last,  but  not  least,  the  beneficent  propositions  seriously  made  by 
a  revered  Senator  to  provide  for  the  education  of  the  aboriginal  Indians 
of  our  country,  and  I  rcfle<5l  that  the  warrant  and  the  authority  for  the 
accomplishment  of  these  diversified  objects,  and  that  these  all  are  re- 
garded as  duties  of  the  United  States  Government,  I  wonder  whether  the 
iaperests  of  a  million  of  people  in  Lousiana,  a  people  who  fed  that  by 


THBOPHILB  T.  ALLAIN.  223 

«vefy  jmt  and  patriotic  consideration  should — are  entitled  to  have  their 
**'  welfore**  considered  by  the  govemment  to  the  extent  we  are  seeking. 

A  continued  neglect  of  the  performance  of  the  duty  cannot  but  result 
in  permanent  disaster  to  the  sections  periodically  overflowed,  and  the 
responsibility  for  the  decay,  the  ruin,  the  bankruptcies,  and  the  neglected 
fields  will  rest  on  the  shoulders,  on  the  only  proper,  the  only  competent, 
and  the  only  efficient  power  to  avert  them— the  Govemment  of  the  United 


I  present  you  the  following  statement,  made  by  one  of  the  best  informed 
men  in  the  State,  on  the  overflow,  Major  £.  A.  Burke,  who  has  person- 
ally visited  and  inspected  the  crevasses,  the  condition  of  the  levees,  river, 
and  the  cost  that  the  State  would  incur  in  rebuilding  the  levees.  He 
says: 

"  Eighty-one  crevasses  in  State,  from  300  to  1,500  feet  each.    Say  an 
an  avei^ge  of  900  feet  in  length  of  each  levee  washed  away,  making  a 
mnning  length  of  72,900  feet,  or  say  1,043,000  yards  of  levee  swept 
away— costing  $260,750.    To  reconstruct  the  same  levees,  owing  to  the 
effect  of  the  crevasses  on  the  land  requiring  extra  wings  to  gulches,  etc., 
would  requite  earthwork  of  at  least  double  that  quantity,  or  say  an  ex- 
penditure in  Louisiana  of  $521,500,  as  a  result  of  the  flood  of  1882,  and 
without  estimating  the  crevasses  previously  in  existence.    Those  crevas- 
ses were  the  Bonnet  Carrfi,  in  Saint  John  Parish,  Morganza,  in  Pointe 
Coupee,  Diamond  Island,  in  Tensas,  and  Ashton,  in  East  Carroll,  all 
large  crevasses  broken  a  length  of  about  nine  miles  of  extra  large  levees, 
seventeen  and  eighteen  feet  in  height,  or  1,800,000  cubic  yards.  Owing  to 
the  great  height  of  levees,  the  cost  of  rebuilding  would  be  fully  fifty  cents  per 
cnbic  yard,  or  $900,000  to  reconstruct  old  levees.    Thus  we  find  that  it 
would  cost  over  ^,400,000  to  reconstruct  the  levees  broken  by  crevasses 
in  Louisiana,  a  sum  utterly  beyond  our  ability." 
Add  loss  cotton,  sugar,  miscellaneous,  fences,  stock. 
I  speak  of  demoralization,  scattering  of  people,  rising  of  water,  under 
the  head  of  crevasses. 

But,  sir,  my  vocabulary  is  too  limited  to  express  to  you  what  **  crevas* 
tea"  in  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  mean.  I  will  therefore  again  borrow 
from  the  speech  of  Mr.  Eustis.    He  says : 

"Now,  sir,  a  crevasse  in  the  levees  of  the  Mississippi  river  is  something 
of  which  the  imagination,  unaided  by  observation,  can  scarcely  form  any 


224  MBN  OF  HARK. 

accttrate  conception.  At  first  [it  may  be  but  a  slender  thread  of  wator- 
percolating  through  a  crawfish  hole,  or  a  slight  abrasion  in  the  upper- 
surface  caused  by  the  waves  set  in  motion  by  a  passing  steamer  or  by  a 
sudden  storm,  but  in  a  few  hours  the  seemingly  innocent  rill  is  swollen  to 
a  resistless  torrent,  the  great  wall  of  earth  has  given  way  before  the  tre- 
mendous pressure  of  the  mighty  river,  ana  the  waters  rush  through  the 
opening  with  a  force  which  soon  excavates  it  to  adepthof  thirty  or  forty 
feet,  with  a  roar  which  rivals  the  voice  of  Niagara  and  with  a  velocitj 
which  is  great  enough  to  draw  an  incautious  steamer  into  the  boiling 
vortex.  i 

**  The  effect  is  not  simply  that  of  an  overflow,  which  may  subside  in  a 
day  or  two.  The  level  of  the  river,  at  its  flood,  is  above  that  of  the  sur- 
rounding country ;  and,  consequently,  when  the  embankments  break,  it 
is  as  if  an  ocean  were  turned  upon  the  land.  In  a  short  time  the  neigh- 
boring country  is  converted  into  a  sea.  Cattle  and  horses  are  swept 
away  and  drowned,  or  forced  to  seek  refuge  on  the  few  dry  spots  which 
remain  among  the  seething  waters ;  the  crops  are  destroyed,  and  the  peo|^- 
in  many  cases  are  forced  to  abandon  their  homes.  Sometimes,  indeed, 
the  land  itself  is  greatly  injured  by  these  inundations;  for,  while  the  floods 
which  come  from  the  Red  river,  or  the  Ohio,  or  even  the  Arkansas,  bring 
some  compensation  in  the  fertilizing  character  of  the  deposits  which  they 
leave  behind,  those  of  the  Missouii,  being  charged  with  sand  and  alkaline- 
earths  swept  down  from  the  great  deserts  of  the  west,  have  a  pernicious 
and  sometimes  even  a  ruinous  effect  on  the  lands  which  they  invade. 

**  In  the  year  1874,  the  phenomena  which  I  have  feebly  described  oc- 
curred on  so  extensive  a  scale  that  the  catastrophe  may  well  be  regarded 
as  a  national  calamity.  Through  the  thirty  Louisiana  crevasses  and  the 
permanent  openings  in  Arkansas,  and  through  the  f^aks  on  the  left 
bank  a  vast  body  of  water  overspread  a  district  of  country  more  than 
three  hundred  miles  in  extent  from  the  north  to  the  south,  and  averaging 
fifty  miles  from  east  to  west.  I  take  no  account,  sir,  in  this  statement, 
of  the  vast  tracts  inundated  by  the  overflows  of  tributary  rivers.  I 
limit  myself  to  the  direct  influence  of  the  Mississippi  waters  from  the 
Arkansas  southward,  and  within  this  region,  more  than  three  hundred 
miles  in  length  by  fifty  miles  in  width,  as  I  have  said,  about  22,000  square 
miles,  much  of  it  arable  and  cultivated  land,  much  of  it  the  most  produce 
tive  portion  of  the  southwest,  was  Inid  under  water  for  many  weeks." 


THEOPHILE  T.  ALLAIN.  225. 

Xnd   strong  and  pointed  and  forcible  as  is  this  description,  it  is  but  a 
ftjtit  xie-prcscntation  of  the  present  condition  of  affairs  in  Louisiana.    I 
Yiaxe  lacre,  sir,  a  map  of  the  State  showing  the  overflowed  districts  of 
1882. 
Tberc  are  a  million  of  acres  of  the  richest  and  most  productive  sugar, 
cotton  and  rice  lands  under  water. 
There  are  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  human  beings  driven  from 
ther  homes  to  seek  shelter  anywhere  from  the  ravages  of  the  flood. 

Conjure  up  the  jricture,  sir,  if  you  can ;  look  down  the  river  as  far  as 
thcfyccan  reach,  every  curve,  every  bend  straightened ;  look  on  the  right 
hand  and  then  on  the  left  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  and  see  the  vast 
and  apparently  illimitable  ocean  of  water. 

Water,  water  everywhere. 

Remember,  now  that  underneath  this  vast  body,  this  "crevasse,**  lay 
bnriedthc  seed  cane,  the  cotton-seed,  the  rice,  the  cereals,  the  homes,  the 
aH  of  over  one  hundred  thousand  people. 

The  picture  of  calamity  can  not  be  depicted  by  human  pen  or  tongue. 
And  remembering  that  thesft  dire  afflictions  are  of  periodical  recurrence, 
I  am  the  more  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  using  every  legitimate 
appeal  to  the  justice,  and  philanthropy,  if  you  please,  of  this  g^at  Nation 
to  come  to  our  rescue. 

And  I  cannot  let  this  opportune  moment  escape  me,  as  the  representa- 
tireofaclass  who,  bom  and  held  in  bondage  until  the  utterance  of  the 
ever-living,  ever-abiding  decree  of  the  immortal  Lincoln  gave  them  un- 
conditional libert}',  to  specially  invite  consideration  to  an  irajjortant 
feature  of  this  question. 

By  this  overflow,  for  the  third  time  since  freedom,  our  country  has 
iKcn  flooded  and  desolated. 

For  the  third  time  a  hundred  thousand  stalwarts,  yeomen,  to  the  manor 
horn,  inured  to  toil,  and  living  and  laboring  equally  safe  in  the  burning 
suns  of  August,  the  epidemic  period  of  September,  or  the  genial  season 
of  March  and  April. 

For  the  third  time,  sir,  this  large,  this  necessary,  this  indispensable  class, 
starting  with  nothing  of  this  world's  goods,  but  with  "heart  within  and 
God  o'erhead,**  assumed  their  new  relations,  determined  to  justify  the 
act  of  their  enfranchisement,  determined  to  vindicate  their  title  to  the 
exalted  position  of  equal  citizenship  in  our  great  country,  determined  to 


f 


226  MEN  OF  MARK. 

erect  homes,  acquire  property,  build  up  their  families,  establish  churches, 
support  schools,  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace,  and  so  rise  in  the  scale  of  hu- 
manity, and  all  the  while  contributing  to  the  material  prosperity  of  the 
section  in  which  they  reside. 

But  they  cannot  continue  living  and  laboring  under  the  apprehension 
of  having  their  all  remorselessly  swallowed  up  every  four  or  ^ve  years. 

It  requires  no  gift  of  prophecy  to  foretell  that  if  this  goyemment  per- 
sists in  its  refusal  to  keep  its  river  confined  to  its  regular  channel  (and 
we  don*t  care  how  you  do  it)  and  thus  prevent  these  overflows,  there  will 
be  an  exodus,  a  serious  and  permanent  diange  of  abode  by  a  vast 
number  of  our  laboring  population,  who  cannot  continue  to  endure  the 
losses  entailed  by  the  disastrous  overflows. 

And  in  these  days  of  railroads  and  enterprise,  of  openings  up  of  sections  of 
our  common  country  not  subject  to  overflow,  and  with  climates  as  genial 
for  us  as  our  own,  the  danger  of  the  loss  of  this  element  is  considerably 
increased. 

So  speaking  for  this  element,  I  say  to  the  representatives  of  that  glorious 
party  which  enacted  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  amendments 
to  theConstitution  of  the  United  States,  come  once  more  to  our  rescue  and 
save  us  from  the  necessity  of  abandoning  our  homes,  the  land  of  our 
birth,  the  clime  and  the  products  to  which  we  are  suited  and  which  are 
suited  to  us,  and  the  sympathy  and  increased  loyalty  of  every  black 
man,  woman  and  child  in  Louisiana,  yes,  and  in  the  United  States,  will 
be  cordially  given  to  you  for  this  act  of  justice  and  humanity. 

We  are  all,  in  Lousiana,  "without  regard  to  race,  color,  or  previous 
condition,*'  solicitous  to  avert  the  damages  from  overflow,  and  hence  the 
unanimity  among  the  representatives  of  the  business  and  the  wealth  of 
our  State,  and  of  the  two  great  parties,  with  which  I  have  been  authenti- 
cated to  you,  to  all  of  whom  I  extend  my  humble  and  heartfelt  thanks. 

Finall3',  sincerely  thanking  you  for  the  patience  and  attention  with 
which  you  have  honored  me,  I  have  but  to  saythat  if  you  keep  the  Missis- 
sippi out  of  our  lands  and  homes  we  will  in  the  near  future  turn  7,000,000 
bales  of  cotton ;  we  will  send  to  market  250,000  hogsheads  of  sugar, 
20,000,000  gallons  of  molasses,  25,000,000  pounds  of  rice,  and  develop 
a  new  industry'  dawning  upon  us ;  we  will  send  to  the  North  in  March 
our  early  cereals,  our  spring  poultry,  and  Southern  home  products,  while 
th«!  snow  and  the  ice  of  winter  remain  on  your  lands  and  fields. 


THEOPHILE  T.  ALLAIN.  227 

Sir,  we  make  three  appeals  for  protection. 

We  appeal  against  the  ravages  of  the  mighty  waters  of  the  Mississippi; 
we  appeal  against  the  admission  of  foreign  sugars  to  our  markets  free  of 
dntj ;  and,  thirdly,  we,  the  Negroes  of  the  South  appeal  to  you  to  pro- 
tect US,  our  properties,  and  our  lives  against  the  annual  overflows  of  the 
great  riTcr,  in  order  that  we  may  enjoy  the  benefits  of  liber£y,  husband 
the  fruits  of  our  industry,  educate  our  children,  and  continue  to  increase 
our  productions,  and  protect  the  fruits  of  our  labor,  which  now  is  two- 
thtrds  of  the  cotton  crops,  four-fiflhs  of  the  sugar  crops,  and  very  near 
all  the  rice  crops. 

We  appeal  to  the  National  Government,  which,  in  the  name  of  Almighty 
God,  we  thank  for  all  that  we  have,  to  take  charge  of  the  levees  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  and  undef  the  direction  and  supervision  of  officers  of 
the  government  to  maintain  them. 

Finally,  again  thanking  those  who  commissioned,  and  3'ou  who  so  pa- 
tiently listened  to  me,  I  rejoice  above  them  in  the  proud  reflection  that, 
in  the  sublime  language  of  Frederick  Douglass,  I  appear  here  "in  the 
more  elevated  character  of  an  American  citizen." 

This  speech  was  made  Tuesday,  April  18, 1882,  at  eleven 
A.  M.,  before  the  following  committee  on  commerce :  Hon. 
Horace  F.  Page,  of  California,  Chairman ;  David  P.  Rich- 
ardson, of  New  York ;  Amos  Townsend,  of  Ohio;  Roswell  G. 
Horr,  of  Michigan;  William  D.  Washburn,  of  Minnesota; 
John  W.  Candler,  of  Massachusetts;  William  Ward,  of  Penn- 
sylvania; John  D.White,  of  Kentucky  Melvm  C.  George, 
of  Oregon;  Richard  Guenther,  of  Wisconsin;  John  H.  Rea- 
gan, of  Texas;  Robert  M.McLane,  of  Maryland;  Randall 
L.  Gibson,  of  Louisiana;  Miles  Ross,  of  New  Jersey; 
Thomas  H.  Hemdon,  of  Alabama. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  question  of  levees  affected 
more  directly  the  prosperity  of  the  State  than  all  the 

others  combined.  It  is  not  a  small  matter  that  this  colored 

man  should  be  selected  by  the  most  prominent  business 


228  MBN  OF  MARK. 

men  of  the  section.  President  Arthur  said :  **  No  man  can 
present  papers  from  any  part  of  the  country  that  could 
say  more."  He  pleaded  well  for  his  constituents,  telling* 
the  true  state  of  affairs  and  giving  a  reason  for  every 
demand  made.  Hon.  Allain  possesses  a  large  amount  of 
perseverance.  Ten  years  before  this,  1872—74,  while  serv- 
ing his  first  term  in  the  Legislature  he  agitated  this  ques- 
tion. In  1875  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  and 
remained  until  1878.  1879  finds  him  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  convention,  and  from  '79  to  '86  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  again.  Sixteen  years  of  public 
life  is  no  short  time  for  one  who  is  still  j'oung.  Hon. 
Allain  is  a  strong  advocate  of  popular  education,  and  is 
second  to  no  man  in  the  State  when  it  comes  to  educa- 
tional matters  for  the  colored  people.  He  was  the  first 
man  after  the  war  to  organize  public  schools  in  West 
Baton  Rouge  for  both  the  white  and  colored  children. 
In  1886,  Mr.  Allain  introduced  a  bill  in  the  Legislature 
asking  for  an  appropriation  of  twenty  thousand  dollars 
and  secured  fourteen  thousand  dollars  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  the  College  buildings  of  the  **  Southern  University." 
In  a  speech  at  the  laying  of  the  ** comer  stone"  he  said: 
**I  look  forward  to  a  period  not  far  distant,  when  Louis- 
iana will  be  able  to  have  a  white  and  colored  school-house 
dotting  every  nook  and  comer  in  the  State  of  our  birth, 
the  home  of  our  choice,  with  a  public  sentiment  advocat- 
ing for  high  and  low,  for  white  and  colored  popular 
education.''  January  27,  1877,  he  offered  at  the  ** Farm- 
ers' State  Association,"  a  resolution  requesting  the  asso- 
ciation  to  recommend   the   passage   of  an  act   by  the 


THEOPHILE  T.  ALLAIN.  229 

legislature  to  establish  an  Industrial  school  for  the  educa- 
tion of  colored  people.  Under  the  caption  **A  Good 
Move,"  January  15,  1887,  the  Weekly  Iberville  South 
quotes  from  the  Louisiana  Standard: 

Hon.  T.  T.  Allain  has  succeeded  in  having  designated  as  Depositories  for 
Public  Records  the  four  institutions  in  our  city  which  are  attended 
almost  exclusively  by  colored  children,  viz:  Straight,  Southern,  Leland, 
and  New  Orleans  universities.  Mr.  Allain  deserves  credit  for  the  inter- 
est he  takes  in  educational  affairs,  and  as  a  business  man  is  a  success. 
WTiile  a  member  of  the  Republican  party,  he  has  always  advocated 
unification  between  the  two  races. 

The  Terrebonne  Times  in  the  September  18,  1886,  issue, 
accused  him  of  drawing  the  color  line,  to  which  he  replied : 

I  propose  to  issue  a  plan  for  '* Unification''  in  1888,  and  will  ask  the 
colored  people  in  each  of  the  fifty-eight  parishes  of  Louisiana — ^including 
the  city  of  New  Orleans — to  stand  solid  and  support  the  nominees  of  the 
National  Republican   party  for  President,  Vice-President,   and  for  the 
members  of  Congress,  but  when  it  comes  to  State  and  local  offices  the 
colored  man  in   Louisiana  must  not  allow  himself  to  be  bulldozed  by 
newspaper  *'  Scare-crows."    We  know,  much  better  than  you  can  tell  us, 
Mr.  Editor,  as  to  who  among  the  "  white  Republicans"  in  *'  Louisiana '' 
that   have  been  "pure"  and  "true"  to  us — and   God  knows  that  the 
graves  of  thousands  of  our  "best  "  men  in  the  South,  l)ecause  of  our  sup- 
port to  *•  white  Republican  "  candidates,  should  settle  and  put  at  rest 
forever  the  question  of ''gratitude."    We  must  look  to  the  peace,  quiet 
and    wellbeing  of  our  people.      We  must  have  Normal  and  Industrial 
schools  for  our  children,  and  more  public  schools  in  the  parishes  of  the 
State,  and  we  will  go  in  and  vote  for  the  white  men  of  Louisiana  in 
1888,  w^ho  have  the  moral  courage  to  give  to  their  colored  fellow-citizens 
a  fair  living  chance,  and  the  "enjoyment  "  of"  full  American  citizenship." 

Hon.  Allain  is  an  acute  thinker,  a  man  of  sympathetic 
and  benevolent  nature  and  large  culture.    He  is  known  as 


230  MEN  OF  HARK. 

one  of  the  ''Colored  Creoles"  of  Louisiana,  and  speaks 
French  fluently,  better  than  English.  He  has  six  childtien ; 
the  family  affiliates  with  the  Catholic  church;  the  chil- 
dren are  being  educated  for  future  usefulness  at  Straight 
University. 


DENMARK  VEAZIB.  231 


XX. 

DENMARK  VEAZIE. 

"  Black  John  Brown  "—Martyr. 

NINETEEN  years  before  the  opening  of  this  century, 
on  the  island  of  St.  Thomas,  was  bom  a  child  who 
was  destined  to  become  a  martyr  for  his  race.  Men  may 
differ  as  to  what  makes  a  martyr,  and  believe  it  comes 
through  the  flesh  or  the  wicked  one;  but  martyrs  are 
made  of  such  material  as  fit  men  to  attempt  great  things 
for  what  they  believe  to  be  right.  Denmark  was  pur- 
chased by  a  man  named  Veazie,  after  whom  he  takes  his 
name.  He  was  fourteen  years  old  when  he  was  purchased. 
In  1800  he  drew  a  prize  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  in  a 
lottery.  Of  course  we  do  not  approve  of  his  playing 
lottery  by  any  means,  but  he  made  good  use  of  six  hundred 
dollars  of  the  money,  securing  his  freedom  thereby.  He 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  was  the  admired  of  all  his 
companions,  because  of  his  strength  and  activity.  Twenty- 
two  years  later  he  formed  a  plan  to  liberate  the  slaves  of 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.  His  plan  was  to  put  the 
whole  city  to  fire  and  the  sword  on  June  16.  He  had  par- 
ticularly objected  to  any  slave  joining  the  conspiracy  who 


232  MBN  OF  HARK. 

was  of  that  class  of  waiting  men  who  received  presents  of 
old  coats,  etc.,  from  their  masters,  as  such  slaves  would 
]ye  likely  to  betray  them.  At  10  o'clock  at  night,  the 
governor  having  been  informed  of  the  conspiracy  by  the 
treachery  of  some  of  the  Negroes,  had  military  companies 
thrown  around  the  city,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  pass 
in  or  out. 

The  slaves  who  were  to  come  from  Thomas  Island,  and 
land  on  the  South  bay,  and  seize  the  arsenal  and  guard- 
house, failed  to  do  so.  Another  body  that  was  to  seize 
the  arsenal  on  the  Neck,  was  also  thwarted  in  its  plans. 
All  the  conspirators,  finding  the  town  so  well  protected, 
did  not  attempt  that  which  they  intended.  On  Sunday 
afternoon,  Denmark  Veazie,  for  the  purpose  of  making  pre- 
liminary arrangements,  had  a  meeting  and  dispatched  a 
courier  to  inform  the  country  Negroes  what  to  do,  but  the 
courier  could  not  get  out  of  the  city,  and  thus  the  project' 
was  a  failure,  but  the  leader  died  a  martyr  upon  the 
gallows,  and  the  slave  who  had  betrayed  him  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Legislature,  thus  putting  a  premium  upon 
the  betrayal  of  any  one  who  should  attempt  an  insurrec- 
tion of  this  kind.  From  William  C.  Nell's  'History  of  the 
Colored  Patriots  of  the  American  Revolution,' we  take  the 
following: 

The  number  of  blacks  arrested  was  131 ;  of  these  35  were  executed, 
41  acquitted,  and  the  rest  sentenced  to  be  transported.  Many  a  brave 
hero  fell,  but  historj',  faithful  to  her  high  trust,  will  engrave  the  name  of 
Denmark  on  the  same  monument  with  Moses,  Hampden,  Tell,  Bruce, 
Wallace,  Toussaint  L'Ouverture,  La  Fayette  and  Washington. 


s 


DENMARK  VBAZIE.  233 

I  have  stood  in  the  arsenal  yard  and  seen  the  place 
"where  these  men  were  executed,  and  the  memory  of  their 
attempt  will  never  fade  from  the  history  of  the  Negroes  of 
South  Carolina. 


234  MEN  OF  HARK. 


XXI. 

PROFESSOR  J.  E.  JONES,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Professor  of  Homdetics  and  Greek  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  Ri^- 
mond,  Virginia — Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Foreiga 
Mission  Convention. 

PROFESSOR  J.  E.  JONES  was  born  of  slave  parents  in 
the  city  of  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  October  15,  1850. 
He  remained  a  slave  until  the  surrender.  Against  the 
earnest  protestations  of  his  mother  he  was  put  to  work  in 
a  tobacco  factory  when  not  more  than  six  years  of  age. 
This  was  in  that  period  of  the  country's  history  when  the 
question  of  human  slavery  was  agitating  the  minds  of  the 
people  from  Maine  to  the  Gulf  Then,  when  the  feeUngs 
of  the  people  of  both  sections  of  the  country  had  almost 
reached  their  limits,  the  Southern  States  deemed  it  ex- 
pedient to  enact  some  very  stringent  laws  with  respect  to 
the  Negro.  Therefore,  the  State  of  Virginia  passed  laws 
that  prohibited  anyone  from  teaching  Negroes  how  to 
read  and  write,  and  if  anyone  was  caught  violating  this 
law  he  would  be  imprisoned.  Young  Jones*  mother  be- 
lieved, with  all  her  heart,  that  the  time  would  come  when 
the  colored  people  would  be  liberated.  She  did  not 
hesitate  to  express  that  belief;  she  not  only  expressed  it 
to  her  colored  friends,  but,  on  one  occasion,  went  so  far  as. 


].  E.  JONl-S- 


J.  E.  JONES.  235 

to  tcU  her  owners  the  same  thing.  ,  They  regarded  this  as 
simply  madness ;  but  the  idea  took  such  hold  on  her  that 
she,  though  ignorant  herself,  determined  that  she  would 
have  her  son  taught  to  read  and  write.  At  once  she 
secured  the  services  of  a  man  who  was  owned  by  the  same 
family  as  herself.  This  man  agreed  to  come  several  nights 
each  week  to  give  this  boy  lessons.  At  this  time — during 
the  year  1864r-things  were  getting  to  a  desperate  state  in 
the  South.  Soon,  Joseph's  teacher  began  to  think  that  he 
was  running  too  much  risk  in  giving  these  lessons  at  the 
boy's  home.  He  decided  that  he  could  not  continue.  How- 
ever, after  some  reflection  another  plan  was  tried.  It  was 
arranged  that  the  pupil  should  go  once  a  week  to  the 
room  of  his  teacher.  The  time  chosen  was  Sunday 
morning  between  the  hours  of  ten  and  twelve  o'clock. 
It  was  selected  because  the  white  people  usually  spent 
this  time  at  church,  praying(?)  for  the  success  of  the  Con- 
federacy and  the  continuance  of  human  slavery.  Toward 
the  close  of  the  war,  the  master  of  the  teacher  discovered 
that  he  could  read  and  write,  and  sold  him.  But  this  did 
not  discourage  the  mother,  she  was  determined,  more 
than  ever,  to  have  her  boy  taught.  After  some  time  she 
succeeded  in  getting  a  sick  Confederate  soldier  to  teach 
him.  She  paid  this  man  by  giving  him  something  to  eat. 
The  instruction  by  this  man  was  cut  short  after  several 
months  by  the  surrender  of  General  Lee.  Immediately 
after  the  surrender,  young  Jones'  mother  placed  him  in  a 
private  school  that  had  been  opened  by  his  first  teacher, 
the  late  Robert  A.  Perkins.  Up  to  this  time,  while  the 
boy  had  made  some  progress,  it  could  not  be  said  to  have 


236  MEN  OF  MARK. 

been  satisfactory.  His  was  of  a  fun-loving,  mischievous  dis- 
position. On  account  of  this  fact,  combined  with  the 
irregularity  of  his  lessons  and  other  circumstances,  he  had 
not  been  impressed  very  seriously  of  the  importance  of 
an  education.  But  when  he  commenced  going  to  school 
after  the  surrender,  his  progress  was  more  marked.  He 
continued  in  this  school  for  two  years.  The  most  of  this 
period  he  stood  head  in  his  classes.  The  winter  following 
he  spent  as  a  pupil  in  a  private  school  taught  by  James 
M.  Gregory,  now  a  professor  in  Howard  University, 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia.  He  was  one  of  the 
best  scholars  in  this  school.    In  the  spring  of  1868,  Joseph 

was  baptized  and  connected  himself  with  the  Court  Street 

• 

Baptist  church  of  the  city  of  Lynchburg,  Virginia. 

In  October  of  the  same  year,  he  entered  the  Richmond 
Institute  now  Richmond  Theological  Seminary,  with  a 
view  of  preparing  himself  for  the  gospel  ministry.  He 
spent  three  years  there,  taking  the  academic  and  theologi- 
cal studies  then  taught.  In  April,  1871,  he  left  Virginia 
for  Hamilton,  New  York,  and  entered  the  preparatory 
department  of  Madison  University,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  1872.  The  following  fall  he  entered  the  university'' 
and  after  a  successful  course  of  study,  graduated  June, 
1876.  The  same  year  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mis- 
sion Society  of  New  York  appointed  him  instructor  in  the 
Richmond  institute,  and  entrusted  him  with  the  branches 
of  language  and  philosophy.  In  1877  he  was  ordained  to 
the  ministry.  In  1879,  his  alma  mater  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  **in  course.*'  For  two 
years  Professor  Jones  has  occupied  the  chair  of  Homeletics 


J.  E.  JONES.  237 

and  Greek  in  the  Richmond  Theological  Seminary.  He  has 
not  only  performed  well  his  work  in  the  class  room,  but 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  all  the  denominational  move- 
ments as  well  as  other  questions  relating  to  the  welfare  of 
his  people.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Educational  Board  of 
the  Virginia  Baptist  State  convention.  November,  1883, 
Professor  Jones  was  elected  corresponding  secretary  of 
the  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Convention  of  the  United 
States  of  America.  This  convention  has  grown  consider- 
ably since  he  has  occupied  this  position.  The  Religious 
Herald  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  speaking  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  says : 

Professor  Jones  is  one  of  the  most  gifted  colored  men  in  America. 
Besides  being  professor  in  Richmond  Theological  seminary,  he  is  corre- 
sponding secretary  of  the  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  convention.  He  has 
the  ear  and  heart  of  his  people,  and  fills  with  distinction  the  high  position 
to  which  his  brethren  North  and  South  have  called  him. 

Professor  Jones  has  constant  demands  made  upon  him 
both  to  speak  and  to  preach.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
getting  colored  teachers  into  schools,  both  in  his  native 
city  and  the  city  of  his  adoption.  He  has  corresponded 
considerably  for  newspapers,  and  at  one  time  was  one  of 
the  editors  of  the  Baptist  Companion  of  Virginia.  He  was 
six  years  president  of  the  Virginia  Baptist  Sunday  School 
convention.  In  June,  1880,  he  was  requested  by  the  cor- 
responding secretary  of  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mis- 
sion Society  of  New  York,  to  deliver  an  address  at  the 
society's  anniversary  at  Saratoga,  New  York.  His  sub- 
ject was,  **The  Need  and  Desire  of  the  Colored  People  for 
these  Schools.*'    He  spoke  in  the  public  hall  to  a  vast 


238  MEN  OF  MARK. 

audience  which  seemed  to/be  perfectly  spellbound  as  he 
told  the  tale  of  the  Negro's  condition  and  surroundings. 
The  Examiner  of  New  York,  in  commenting  on  the  address 
said: 

Mr.  Jones  is  a  young  colored  man,  prepossessing  in  appearance  and 
manners,  and  his  address  would  have  been  creditable  to  any  white 
graduate  of  any  Northern  college.    It  was  sensible,  witty  and  eloquent. 

The  Watchman  of  Boston,  in  speaking  of  the  same  ad- 
dress, said : 

The  speech  of  the  evening  was  that  of  Professor  Jones,  a  colored 
man.  His  manly,  strong,  and  sensible  address  made  a  stronger 
appeal  for  the  education  of  his  race  than  the  words  of  the  most  eloquent 
advocate. 

Two  years  later,  on  the  twenty-first  of  June,  Professor 
Jones  was  married  to  Miss  Rosa  D.  Kinckle  of  Ljmchburg, 
Virginia,  a  graduate  fi-om  the  Normal  department  of 
Howard  University,  and  was  then  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  of  her  city.  This  young  man  is  doing  a  most  ex- 
cellent work  for  the  general  advancement  of  his  race.  He 
is  very  hopeful  as  to  the  fiiture  of  the  race.  He  holds, 
however,  no  Utopian  ideas  respecting  them.  He  believes, 
he  says,  **  If  the  race  would  rise  in  the  scale  of  being,  they 
must  comply  with  the  same  laws  that  conQitionate  the 
rise  and  development  of  other  people."  He  points  with 
pride  to  not  a  few  of  the  young  men  who  have  gone  out 
from  the  Institute  since  he  has  been  connected  with  it. 
Some  of  them  are  succeeding  admirably  well  as  doctors, 
lawyers,  teachers,  and  ministers  of  the  gospel.  Dr.  Cath- 
cart,  in  the  '  Baptist  Encyclopaedia,  *  says : 


J.  B.  JONES.  239 

Profeasor  Jones  is  an  efficient  teacher,  a  popular  and  in9tru<5liv€ 
preacher,  and  a  forcible  writer.  In  1878  he  held  a  newspaper  contro- 
▼ersj  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  Keane  of  Richmond,  in  which  the 
bishop,  in  the  estimation  of  many  most  competent  to  judge,  was 
worsted.  Professor  Jones  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  promising  of 
the  young  colored  qku  of  the  South. 

In  following  the  career  of  Professor  Joseph  Bndom 
Jones,  and  observing  and  marking  the  changes  in  it,  we 
can  but  say  that  it  was  simply  marvelous^t  must  have 
been  divinely  ordered  and  superintended.  In  his  manners 
he  is  princely  and  attractive.  He  is  never  excited,  and, 
while  an  enthusiast  in  his  work,  is  never  more  careful  than 
when  discussing  or  planning  the  preparatory  part  thereof. 
Nothing  overthrows  him.  With  great  consideration,  care- 
ful and  accurate  information,  he  seldom  makes  a  mistake. 
It  might  seem  to  one  that  his  interest  might  be  lacking  in 
any  given  affair— for  he  can  sit  all  day  and  show  no  desire 
to  speak,  and  when  all  are  through  he  will  pointedly  show 
that  no  thought  was  wasted  on  him,  but  that  he  had 
given  strict  attention  to  the  whole  matter.  Such  is  the 
man. 


?40  MEN  OF  MARK. 


xxn. 

TOHN  WESLEY  TERRY,  ESQ. 

p€>reman  of  the  Ironing  and  Pitting  Department  of  the  Chicago  West 
Division  Street  Car  Company— Director  and  Treasurer  of  the  Chi- 
cago Co-operative  Packing  and  Provision  Company — Director  of  the 
Central  Park  Building  and  Loan  Association. 

T  OHN  WESLEY  TERRY  is  only  about  forty-one  years 
I  of  age,  having,  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  seen  the 
light  of  day  in  Murry  county,  Tennessee,  in  1846,  and 
began  life  a  poor,  miserable  slave,  owned  by  William  Pick- 
ard  till  emancipated  by  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  His 
mother's  name  was  Mary,  and  his  father's  name  was 
Hayward  Terry.  When  he  was  but  a  crawling  babe,  and 
needed  a  mother's  tender  care,  he  with  his  dear  brother, 
but  little  older  than  himself,  were  put  into  a  pen  that  had 
been  fenced  off  in  one  comer  of  the  lot,  and  there,  on  the 
bare  ground  with  no  covering  or  shelter,  had  to  crawl 
around  on  the  ground,  unattended  from  early  morning, 
when  his  mother  had  to  go  out  into  the  field  to  work,  till 
it  was  too  late  to  continue,  when  she  had  to  come  to  the 
house  and  spin  **ten  cuts"  of  yarn  or  cotton  before  she 
was  permitted  to  go  to  her  children  and  take  them  from 
the  pen.    The  only  attention  they  received  through  the 


JOHN  WESLEY  TERRY.  241 

day  was  a  pan  of  food  placed  in  the  pen  by  their  mother 
to  which  they  could  go  and  eat. 

In  1863,  while  the  Federal  army  was  in  possession  of 
Columbia,  Tennessee,  his  mother  took  him  and  his  brother 
and  started  for  the  Union  lines.  She  succeeded  and  found 
protection  for  herself  and  her  two  boys.  Henry,  the 
older,  being  of  sufficient  age,  enlisted  in  the  army,  leaving 
his  mother  and  brother  at  Columbia.  John  remained 
with  his  mother  till  a  Colonel  Myers  was  placed  in  com- 
mand at  that  point,  and  who  delivered  all  slaves  in  his 
lines  to  their  masters  when  they  came  for  them.  John 
and  his  mother  were  unfortunate  in  being  carried  back  to 
Murry  county  by  their  old  master,  who  came  in  search  of 
them.  Colonel  Myers  had  been  superseded  in  com- 
mand at  Columbia,  and  the  Union  forces  had  advanced 
and  taken  possession  in  Murry  county,  at  which  time 
John  says:  '*I  proclaimed  to  the  old  master,  Pickard,  my 
freedom,  and  at  the  same  time  threatened  him  with  the 
Union  army  for  harboring  and  feeding  *  Rebel  soldiers' 
as  he  had  threatened  me  with  the  Secession  armv  for 
attempting  to  gain  my  freedom.'*  The  old  man  begged 
him  not  to  inform  them  against  him  and  proposed  to  hire 
him  for  wages  if  he  would  not  leave  him.  He  worked  two 
years  for  the  old  man  for  wages,  who  said  he  thought  it 
w^as  "hard  to  have  to  pay  wages  to  a  *nigger*  he  had 
owned."  After  this  he  worked  one  year  with  his  father 
on  the  "Terry  farm,"  on  Tennessee  pike,  near  Sandy 
Hook.  The  latter  part  of  1866  he  went  to  Nashville, 
Tennessee,  to  look  for  his  mother,  who  had  made  her 
second  attempt  of  escape  before  the  Union  army  took  pos- 


242  MEN  OF  MARK. 

session  of  the  country  around  the  old  farm  in  Murr} 
county.  Finding  her,  he  worked  on  the  steamboat  ii 
1867,  during  which  time  his  mother  kept  house  for  him. 

In  1868  he  took  charge  of  the  farm  department  knowt 
as  the  **  Younglove  Fruit  Farm,"  on  "Paradise  Hill,"  and 
remained  till  1869.  Returning  to  Nashville,  he  and  his 
brother  Henry  opened  a  "Tailor,  Dye  and  Repair  shop," 
and  worked  at  it  for  about  one  year ;  then  he  entered  the 
employ  of  P.  J.  Sexton,  contractor  and  builder.  Remained 
at  the  trade  with  him  in  Nashville  till  he  went  with  him  to 
Chicago,  in  1872— the  year  after  "the  great  fire."  In  1873 
he  professed  a  hope  in  Christ,  united  with  the  Olivet 
Baptist  church,  in  Chicago,  and  was  baptized  into  its 
fellowship  by  the  pastor.  Rev.  R.  DeBaptiste.  March  11, 
1873,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Catharine  Brown 
of  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in  Olivet  Baptist  church.  Rev.  De- 
Baptiste officiating.  In  1875  he  entered  the  employment 
of  the  Chicago  West  Division  Street  Car  company,  in  their 
"car  shops,"  and  worked  with  them  for  two  years,  pur- 
chased a  house,  but  leased  the  ground.  Having  a  neatly, 
though  not  a  costly,  furnished  little  cottage  home,  he 
began  torefleft  upon  his  duty  to  the  Saviour  and  perishing 
souls.  He  soon  decided  to  enter  some  institution  of  learn- 
ing and  take  a  higher  and  more  extended  course  of  studies 
than  had  before  been  his  privilege.  His  faithful  wife  con- 
sented to  go  with  him  and  aid  him  in  the  accomplishment 
of  his  noble  aspirations  so  far  as  she  was  able.  They 
"stored"  their  furniture,  broke  up  housekeeping,  rented 
their  house,  and,  in  1877,  entered  Wayland  Seminary, 
Washington,    D.    C.      He    remaiiled    there    four    years, 


JOHN  WESLEY  TERRY.  243 

finished  the  normal  course  and  received  his  diploma 
He  took  the  theological  course  of  studies  there,  and  re 
ttmied  to  his  home,  in  Chicago,  1881,  and  was  ordained 
to  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry  by  a  council  composed 
of  pastors  and  delegates  from  the  churches  of  the  city  and 
vicinity,  called  by  the  Olivet  Baptist  church.  Having  con- 
tracted some  debts  in  the  prosecution  of  his  studies,  and 
his  house  having  been  sold  to  meet  a  part  of  this  indebted- 
ness, and  not  obtaining  a  support  from  his  ministerial 
work,  he  sought  and  very  readily  obtained  employment 
again  in  the  shops  of  the  West  Division  Street  Car 
company. 

-After  one  year  he  was  promoted  to  be  foreman  of  the 
ironing  and  fitting  department.  He  was  the  only  colored 
man  in  this  department,  or  indeed  in  the  shops,  and  he  had 
from  seven  to  twelve  mechanics  under  him  and  subject  to 
his  orders — all  of  them  whites,  of  various  nationalities. 

The  superintendent  and  master  mechanic  of  the  shops  said 
to  him  :  **  You  have  attained  your  position  in  these  shops 
bv  vour  merit,  and  not  from  havinof  anv  individual  influ- 
ence  or  backing,  or  from  any  consideration  of  sympathy. 
Your  color  is  not  considered  here,  but  yourskill  and  ability, 
and  if  any  of  the  men  of  your  department  refuse  to  respect 
and  obey  your  orders,  send  them  to  the  office."  He  had 
no  occasion  to  do  this,  for  the  men  of  the  shop  respected 
him  and  stood  ready  to  resent  any  indignity  that  might 
be  offered  him  on  account  of  his  color.  Some  one  was 
heard  once  to  say  something  about  him  and  used  the  word 
** nigger"  in  the  shops,  and  there  was  raised  in  all  the 
shops  such  a  feeling  of  indignation,  and  the  inquiry  from 


244  MEN  OF  MARK. 

one  to  another,  **Who  said  it?*'  that  whoever  it  was 
that  used  it  was  considerate  enough  not  to  let  himself  be 
known. 

He  united  with  the  Knights  of  Labor  in  1866,  and  was 
chosen  by  the  men  of  the  shops  to  represent  them  on  the 
committee  to  settle  the  great  Chicago  strike  of  that  year 
at  the  ** stock  yards,"  and  was  elected  judge-advocate  of 
the  Charter  Oak  Assembly  of  Knights  of  Labor,  March 
29,  1886.  Being  the  only  colored  man  in  the  organization, 
he  was  elected  only  because  of  his  ability,  and  was  re- 
elected at  the  end  of  the  year.  During  the  stock  yard 
strike  he  was  one  of  those  who  suggested  the  formation  of 
the  **  Chicago  Co-operative  Packing  and  Provision  Com- 
pany,'' which  held  its  first  successful  meeting  January  2» 
1887,  and  he  was  elected  a  director  of  the  same.  In  Feb- 
ruary he  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  organization  and 
gave  up  his  position  in  the  car  vshop.  This  organization 
has  in  running  now  a  main  office  and  a  wholesale  depart- 
ment, and  several  flourishing  markets  in  different  parts  of 
the  city.  In  1886  he  was  elected  a  director  of  the  Central 
Park  Building  and  Loan  association.  December,  1886,  he 
was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  Cook  County  Political  As- 
sembly of  the  United  Labor  party ;  at  the  first  assembly 
of  the  same,  was  chosen  one  of  the  executive  committee. 
Was  a  delegate  to  the  city  convention  of  the  United  Labor 
party  which  met  February  26,  1887,  and  was  then  put  in 
nomination  for  alderman  for  the  Thirteenth  ward,  to  be 
voted  for  in  the  spring  election. 

I  am  proud  of  such  men.    What  a  hellish  curse  was  slav- 
ery that  a  mind  so  strong,  so  ingenious  as  his  should  be 


JOHN  WESLEY  TERRY.  245 

Stunted  and  crippled  by  such  treatment  as  was  dealt  out 
to  the  infant  Terry,  penned  like  a  hog,  neglected  all  day 
by  a  mother  who  labored  in  the  field  with  an  aching  heart. 
Let  the  boys  and  girls  of  to-day  thank  God  that  slavery 
has  been  wiped  from  thefaceof  our  country  and  condemned 
by  our  statutes. 


246  MBN  OP  MARK. 


XXIII. 

WILLIAM  E.  MATTHEWS,  LL.  B. 

Broker— Real  Estate  Agent — Financier  and  Lawyer. 

MR.  WILLIAM  E.  MATTHEWS,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  bom  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  July, 
1845.  His  father  died  when  he  was  a  boy  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  and  he  at  once  assumed  the  responsibilities  which 
devolved  upon  him  as  filling  the  place  of  a  father.  Whik  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore  he  was  a  prominent  member  of  the 
literary  institutions,  especially  the  Gailbraith  Lyceum, 
which  wielded  a  wonderful  influence  at  times.  He  was  the 
agent  of  this  society  which  had  been  organized  by  the 
loyalists  of  Maryland,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  in  the 
education  and  training  of  the  colored  people  of  the  South, 
and  especially  of  that  State.  As  such,  he  traveled  through 
the  State,  organizing  schools  and  addressing  the  people  on 
all  questions  which  were  intended  to  improve  their  morals, 
and  encourage  them  to  establish  homes  and  enlighten 
them  upon  the  duties  of  the  new  citizenship,  which  they 
had  just  received.  In  1867  he  became  the  agent  of  another 
body  which  was  organized  by  Bishop  D.  A.  Payne  and 
others  for  the  purpose  of  founding  schools  and  building 
churches  in  the  South  among  the  freedmen.    This  work  he 


WILLIAM  E.  MATTHEWS.  247 

continued  for  three  years,  being  engaged  most  diligently, 
speaking  in  many  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  refined 
churches  in  the  East,  such  as  Dr.  Bellows',  Dr.  Chapin*s, 
Rev.  Dr.  Adams',  Mr.  Frothingham's  and  Dr.  Vincent's  and 
others  of  New  York,  and  Drs.  Cuyler,  Storrs  and  the 
Plymouth  church  in  Brooklyn.  At  Mr.  Beecher's  church 
on  one  occasion,  aflter  speaking  a  few  minutes  he  c>ecured 
fourteen  hundred  dollars.  His  subscription  book  contained 
the  names  of  such  men  as  Henry  W.  Long^Uow,  James 
Russell  Lowell,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  William  Cullen 
Bryant,  James  G.  Whittier,  which  show  to  a  great  extent 
the  appreciation  of  his  efforts.  In  1870  he  severed  his 
connection  with  the  society  and  was  appointed  to  a 
clerkship  in  the  post  oflSce  department  by  Hon.  J.  A.  Cress- 
well.  He  is  the  first  colored  gentleman  ever  appointed  in 
that  department.  In  1873  he  graduated  from  the  Law 
Department  of  Howard  University.  Previous  to  this  he 
had  devoted  much  of  his  spare  time  after  office  hours  to 
business  in  real  estate,  mortgages,  loans,  bonds,  etc., 
amassing  considerable  wealth,  and  gaining  a  great  exper- 
ience which  befitted  him  for  larger  operations  which  he 
undertook  in  after  years.  He  is  a  prominent  man  in  the 
community,  being  one  of  the  most  liberal  supporters  of 
the  15th  Street  Presbyterian  church,  and  has  been  a  long 
time  chairman  of  its  board  of  trustees.  Mr.  Matthews  is 
a  gentleman  of  pleasing  address  and  entertaining  manners 
— a  leading  man,  whose  opinions  weigh,  and  are  always 
sincerely  sought  for  in  the  interest  of  right.  His  devotion 
to  the  race  is  shown  in  his  liberality  and  earnest  efforts  to 
improve  their  condition,  and  benefit  the  poor  in  any  and 


248  KIEN  OF  MARK. 

every  way.  Few  things  are  discussed  or  attempted  for 
good  that  they  do  not  receive  his  cognizance.  It  is  said 
that  his  first  effort  as  a  speaker  was  made  when  he  was 
quite  a  boy,  at  a  great  meeting  of  the  State  loyalists  held 
at  the  Front  Street  theatre,  Baltimore,  1863,  to  discuss 
the  question  of  abolition  in  the  border  States,  Hon.  John 
Minor  Botts  of  Maryland,  presiding.  On  the  stage  were  a 
large  number  of  leading  Republicans  of  the  South,  includ- 
ing Hon.  Horace  Maynardof  Tennessee ;  Thomas  H.  Settle 
of  North  Carolina ;  J.  A.  Cresswell,  Judge  Bond  and  others 
of  Maryland.  The  theatre  is  said  to  have  been  packed  by 
an  audience  of  three  thousand.  When  Mr.  Matthews  was 
called  on  to  speak,  he  carried  the  house  with  a  brief  but 
enthusiastic  speech,  which  was  noted  for  the  boisterous 
andenthiisiastic  manner  in  which  it  was  received.    He  has 

• 

some  distinction  as  an  orator,  though  of  later  j'-ears  he 
has  done  very  little  speaking.  In  1880  he  was  invited  by 
a  prominent  gentleman  of  Boston  to  deliver  a  eulogy  on 
the  life  and  character  of  the  Rev.  John  F.  W.  Ware,  an 
cmitient  Unitarian  preacher  (white).  He  was  pastor  of  the 
cfiurch  in  Baltimore  during  the  war,  and  did  much  by  his 
sterling  work  and  great  ability  to  strengthen  the  new 
cause  and  aid  the  colored  people  in  emancipation  and  edu- 
cation. On  this  occasion  the  meeting  was  presided  over 
by  the  Hon.  John  D.  Long,  Governor  of  the  State.  The 
audience  was  a  notable  one,  including  Edward  Everett 
Hale,  James  Freeman  Clark  and  Dr.  Rufus'  Ellis,  Dr.  Foote 
of  King's  Chapel,  and  thelate  Judge  George  L.  Ruffin.  An  ex- 
cerpt from  that  speech  will  show  his  estimate  of  this  gentle- 
man and  also  his  style  as  a  writer  and  speaker.    Said  he: 


\V.  li.  MAl'lll-" 


I 

i 


WILLIAM  E.  MATTHEWS.  249 

Yoa  know  of  his  patriotic  work  for  the  soldiers  in  tent,  field  and  hos- 
pital ;  of  his  sermons  at  our  beautifiil  Druid  Hill  Park,  where  thousands 
of  all  climes,  tongues,  colors  and  conditions  would  hang  on  his  words  as 
be  outlined  some  grand  thought  in  a  way  which  was  charming  and  capti- 
vating to  the  simple  as  to  the  educated,  on  noble  living,  high  thinking, 
tw  passionate  devotion  to  one's  country;  of  his  theatre  preaching  on 
'winter  nights,  when  he  would,  week  after  week,  hold  his  audiences  of 
t^vo  thousand  spellbound,  from  the  newsboys  and  shoeblacks  who  sat  in 
the  gallery  of  the  gods,  to  the  solid  merchant  or  eminent  judge  who  sat 
in  orchestra  chairs.  All  this  you  know,  but  I  am  not  so  certain  that  you 
know  that  to  the  colored  people  of  the  city  and  State  he  was  our  William 
Lloyd  Garrison,  because  he  was  our  emancipator;  our  Horace  Mann, 
because  he  was  our  educator ;  our  Dr.  Howe,  because  a  philanthropist ; 
our  Father  Taylor,  because  a  simple  preacher  of  righteousnes;  and  our 
John  A .  Andrew,  because  of  his  inflexible  patriotism.  All  this  he  was, 
and,  I  might  also  add  the  Charles  Sumner,  for  statesman  he  was  also, 
braver  and  greater  than  many  who  held  seats  in  the  great  hall  at  Wash- 
ington. 

This  Speech  was  put  in  pamphlet  form  by  a  vote  of  that 
meeting.  In  1881jthe  private  business  of  Mr.  Matthews 
grew  to  such  proportions  that  he  severed  his  connections 
with  the  post  office  department,  in  which  service  he  had 
been  for  eleven  years,  and  opened  a  real  estate  and  bro- 
ker's office  in  Le  Droit  Building,  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia,  in  which  business  he  has  met  with  great  suc- 
cess. Few  men  among  us  understand  so  well  as  Mr. 
Matthews  the  true  handling  of  money  and  the  way  to 
make  it  pay,  as  was  shown  in  his  able  article  in  the  A.  M. 
E.  Church  Review  for  April,  1885,  which  the  editor,  Dr.  B. 
T.  Tanner,  declares  the  most  finished  and  exhaustive  arti- 
cle on  economic  subjects  that  has  ever  yet  apj^eared.  The 
subject  treated  was,  **  Money  as  a  Factor  in  the  Human 
Prog^ress.*'    The  business  integrity  of  Mr.  Matthews  is 


250     .  MEN  OF  MARK. 

one  of  which  any  man  might  be  proud.  His  best  indorse- 
ment is,  that  his  check  is  good  for  ten  thousand  dollars  at 
any  banking  house  in  the  city  of  Washington.  Since  he 
has  been  in  btisiness  he  has  handlec^one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  belonging  to  colored  gentlemen,  among  whom* 
might  be  named  Hon.  Frederick  Douglass,  Bishop  D.  A. 
Payne,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  James  T.  Bradford,  Dr.  C.  B.  Purvis, 
Dr.  Samuel  L.  Cook,  Dr.  William  R.  Francis,  T.  J.  Minton 
and  Bishop  Brown.  Mr.  Douglass  on  his  recent  departure 
for  Europe  closed  his  account  with  Mr.  Matthews.  It 
was  then  shown  that  he  had  handled  over  forty-nine 
thousand  dollars  of  Mr.  Douglass*  money.  As  an  evidence 
of  his  appreciation  of  his  business  talent  and  strict  hon- 
esty, he  writes  in  these  words : 

William  E.  Matthews,  Esq. 

My  Dear  Sir:  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  inform  you  and  all  others,  that 
in  all  the  pecuniary  transactions  in  which  you  have  handled  my  money, 
you  have  given  entire  satisfaction,  and  I  take  pleasure  in  commending 
you  to  all  my  friends  who  may  have  occasion  to  loan  money  through 
your  agency. 

Verv  trulv  vours, 

Frederick  Douglass. 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  September  3,  1886. 

The  office  of  this  gentleman  is  visited  by  all  persons  of 
national  celebrity  who  sojourn  in  Washington,  and  as  he 
himself  is  widely  known,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
the  future  has  much  in  store  for  the  man  who  began  with- 
out a  penny  and  to-day  can  be  considered  one  of  our 
wealthiest  men,  and  besides  this  he  has  never  been  known 
to  enter  into  a  questionable  business  transaction  of  any 


WILLIAM  E.  MATTHEWS.  251 

kind,  maintaining  his  integrity,  though  many  men  have 
fallen  far  short  of  the  expectations  of  their  friends. 

He  is  a  natural  financier,  easily  understanding  all  finan- 
cial combinations;  and  were  he  a  white  man  he  would 
readily  be  classed  with  Sherman  of  America  and  Roths- 
childs of  England.  It  is  indeed  gratifjring  to  have  the 
name  of  so  distinguished  a  financier  and  broker,  with 
such  eminent  abilities  as  a  business  man,  to  present  to  our 
readers.  Success  in  business  has  not  marked  the  pathway 
of  many  colored  men,  for  lack  of  training  while  young. 
Had  he  depended  on  this,  he  too  would  have  fallen  by  the 
wayside.  In  this  respect  we  claim  that  his  ability  is  nat- 
ural more  than  acquired.  It  is  refreshing  to  notice  the 
high  grade  of  intellect  he  possesses  in  this  department  of 
life. 


^52  MEN  OF  MARK. 


XXIV. 

REV.  JAMES  ALFRED  DUNN  PODD. 

Superintendent  of  Schools— Editor— Brilliant  Pastor. 

REV.  JAMES  ALFRED  DUNN  PODD  was  a  native  of 
Nevis,  a  West  India  island  belonging  to  Great 
Britain,  lea  ward  group,  latitude  17  degrees,  10  minutes 
North,  longitude  62  degrees,  40  minutes  West.  It  is  a 
little  one,  area  20,000  square  miles,  separated  from  the 
south  end  of  St.  Christopher's  by  a  channel  two  miles 
across.  Its  population  about  the  time  of  his  birth  was 
10,200  souls.  He  was  bom  March  16,  1855.  His 
parents  moved  to  the  island  of  St.  Christopher  when  he 
was  yet  quite  young.  His  father,  a  leading  minister  of  the 
gospel  in  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  church,  in  addition  to  a 
careful  home  training,  endeavored  to  give  him  a  liberal 
education.  He  was  given  the  advantage  of  the  best 
schools  in  the  island  where  he  was  born  and  raised.  In 
St.  Kitts  he  pursued  a  preparatory  course,  graduating 
from  his  academic  course  quite  young,  and  gave  promise 
at  a  very  early  period  of  becoming  a  brilliant  scholar. 

With  the  view  of  preparing  himself  for  the  ministry  in 
the  Episcopal  church,  he  went  to  England  to  take  a  more 


JAMES  ALFRED  DUNN  PODD.  253: 

extended  course  of  studies  in  the  venerable  and  highly 
cultured  educational  centers  of  the  mother  country. 
Being  admitted  into  a  collegiate  school  under  the  patron- 
age and  management  of  the  Church  of  England,  he  re- 
ceived a  literary  and  classical  education  that  shone  bril- 
liantly in  his  life  as  a  scholar,  and  adorned  so  beautifully 
the  w'ork  he  did  in  the  pulpit  and  on  the  platform.  He 
was  strongly  attached  to  the  institutions  and  forms  of 
service  in  the  Episcopal  church  (from  cultivation,  no 
doubt,  while  pursuing  his  studies  in  the  institutions  of 
learning  under  the  Church  of  England,  and  from  being  in 
constant  attendance  upon  its  services),  and  this  would 
assert  itself  often  in  his  manner  of  conducting  his  pulpit 
services,  even  after  he  had  connected  himself  with  a  church 
whose  simpler  rites  and  plainer  forms  of  service  showed 
such  a  marked  contrast. 

Leaving  England  he  returned  to  his  home  in  the  West 
Indies,  seeking  a  field  for  his  future  labors.    He  was  ten- 
dered and  accepted  of  appointments  under  the  civil  govem- 
^t:tientof  his  island  home,  in  connection  with  the  department 
^Df  education,  being  at  one  time  superintendent  of  schools 
Cor  the  island.    His  inclination  and  taste  for  literary  work 
induced  him  to  accept  of  the  editorship  of  a  journal  that 
was  published  on  the  island  in  the  interest  of  education, 
literature  and  religion.    In    these  various   capacities  he 
showed  aptitude  and  ability,  and  gave  to  the  interests  of 
his  people,  the  islanders,  the  vigilance  and  care  his  talents 
and  education  so  well  fitted  him  to  do. 

However  useful  he  may  have  been  in  thece  spheres  of 
service,  God  had  a  higher  calling  for  him,  and  so  ordered 


254  M£N  OP  MARK. 

his  providence  toward  him  that  he  should  find  that  to 
**go  preach  the  gospel  **  was  for  him  the  life  work. 

The  death  of  his  mother,  and  other  unfortunate  occurr- 
ences in  his  home  life,  so  completely  upset  all  his  cherished 
plans  that  he  could  no  longer  content  himself  to  remain  at 
home  in  the  West  Indies.  Thus  unsettled,  he  turned  his  eyes 
toward  the  continent  of  North  America,  and  leaving  his 
island  home  and  the  scenes  and  associations  so  familiar  and 
dear  to  him,  he  came  to  Canada.  There  he  connected  him- 
self with  the  British  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  en- 
tered its  ministry,  served  in  the  pastorates  of  several  of  its 
congregations. 

Ha\'ing  undergone  a  change  of  view  upon  the  ordinance  of 
baptism,  he  united  with  the  Baptist  church  at  St.  Cathe- 
rines, Ontario,  and  received  from  the  church  a  call  to  its 
pastorate.  Having  served  that  church  for  a  short  time,  his 
talents  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  other  churches,  and 
the  Baptist  church  of  London,  Ontario,  was  the  next  to 
extend  him  a  call.  Having  been  previously  recognized  as 
a  minister  of  the  Baptist  denomination  by  a  regularly  con- 
stituted council  called  for  the  purpose,  he  accepted  the  call 
to  the  pastorate  of  the  London  church,  and  served  it  two 
years.  December,  1881,  he  received  a  call  from  the  Olivet 
Baptist  church,  Chicago,  Illinois,  which  he  accepted  on 
February  1,  1882.  The  Bethesda  Baptist  church  having 
been  organized  in  the  south  part  of  the  city,  a  new  field 
and  a  new  congregation  was  opened  for  him,  and  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1883,  he  took  charge  of  the  congregation  that  had 
been  organized  for  him.  Under  his  leadership  its  member* 
ship  commenced  immediately  to  increase,  and  his  preaching 


JAMES  ALFRED  DUNN  PODD.  255 

attracted  large  congregations  to  its  services.  His  pulpit 
ministrations  were  of  marked  ability.  The  increased  inter- 
est in  his  ministry,  and  the  growth  of  his  congregations 
occasioned  several  changes  of  location  and  removal  to 
more  spacious  quarters  for  accommodations  to  meet  their 
demands,  for  his  preaching,  polished  in  literary  finish  as  it 
was,  was  yet  clear  and  forcible  in  its  presentations  of  the 
truths  of  the  Bible,  and  continued  to  increase  in  popular 
favor. 

The  financial  strain  occasioned  by  the  expensiveness  of 
the  temporary  occupancies,  determined  the  pastor  and  his 
little  flock  to  begin  the  purchase  of  property  and  the  erec- 
tion or  purchase  of  a  house  for  a  permanent  church  home. 
This  enterprise  drew  out  and  put  into  exercise  his  fine  pas- 
toral qualities  as  an  organizer,  and  resulted,  after  an 
heroic  struggle,  in  the  settlement  of  the  church  in  its  neat 
and  well  furnished  quarters,  in  the  pretty  little  chapel  at 
the  comer  of  34th  and  Butterfield  streets. 

The  strain  on  both  pastor  and  flock  was  very  severe, 
and  hastened  his  death.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  was  at 
the  Baptist  National  convention,  where  he  read  a  paper  on 
the  subject  of  African  mission.  It  was  evident  that  his 
heart  was  filled  full  of  the  work,  and  indeed  his  remarks 
impressed  the  convention,  because  of  his  earnestness  and 
zeal  in  this  department  of  Christian  labor.  At  the  close  of 
his  remarks  he  made  a  very  strong  appeal  to  the  conven- 
tion to  contribute  to  the  cause  through  Rev.  T.  L.  John- 
son, the  missionary.  Mr.  Podd  would  impress  one  as  in- 
tellectual fi-om  his  personal  appearance.  His  classic 
countenance  was  interesting,  and  his  health  being  at  the 


256  MEN  OF  MARK. 

time  very  feeble,  he  gave  one  the  impression  of  a  man  able 
to  meet  the  demands  of  any  occasion  when  in  full  health.  It 
could  be  seen  then  that  he  was  near  the  end  of  life,  and  his 
words  for  this  reason  had  the  more  weight  and  secured 
careful  attention. 

He  was  not  narrow  in  the  exercise  of  his  gifts  and  tal- 
ents, but  with  a  large  heart  and  generous  nature,  he  laid 
his  hand  to  every  good  work  for  the  uplifting  of  his  race 
and  the  cause  of  humanity. 

Death  cut  short  his  earthly  labors  at  Jacksonville,  Flor* 
ida,  on  Thursday,  December  23,  1886,  in  the  thirty-second 
year  of  his  life. 


i 


HENRY  WU^KINS  CUANDLBR.  257 


XXV. 

HON.  HENRY  WILKINS  CHANDLER,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Member  of  the  State  Senate  of  Florida— Capitalist— Lawyer— City  Clerk 
and  Alderman. 

OCALA,  Florida,  is  proud  of  the  Hon.  H.  W.  Chandler, 
whom  she  honors  so  often  in  sending  him  to  the 
State  Senate. 

Reared  in  a  State  in  which  there  was  little  or  no 
discrimination,  he  enjoyed  excellent  school  advantages. 
His  father  has  been  for  many  years  a  deacon  in  a  white 
Baptist  church  and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school ; 
it  can  be  seen,  therefore,  that  he  has  had  little  of  the  em- 
barrassments of  life  which  go  to  make  difficulties  for  young 
colored  men. 

He  was  bom  in  Bath,  Sagadahock  county,  Maine,  Sep- 
tember 22,  1852.  He  pursued  the  usual  course  of  studies 
in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  city,  graduating  from 
the  College  Preparatory  Department  of  the  High  school  in 
June,  1870,  and  the  foUo'^ing  September  entered  Bates' 
College,  Lewiston,  Maine,  where  he  graduated,  in  1874, 
with  the  title  of  A.  B.  September,  1874,  he  entered  the 
Law  Department  of  Howard  University,  Washington, 
D.  C,  and  at  the  same  time  became  instructor  in  the 


258  MENOFM\PK. 

Normal  Department  of  the  same  institution.  He  pursued 
his  law  studies  at  the  university  and  privately  till  June, 
1876.  He  went  to  Ocala,  Marion  county,  Florida,  in 
October  of  the  same  j^ear  and  engaged  in  teaching.  In 
1878  he  was  on,  examination,  admitted  to  the  practice  of 
law.  In  1880,  was  nominated  and  elected  State  Senator 
for  the  Nineteenth  Senatorial  district,  comprising  the 
county  of  Marion.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term,  in  1884, 
he  was  renominated  and  elected  for  a  term  of  four  years. 

Mr.  Chandler  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  National 
convention  in  1 884,  and  has  been  prominently  connected 
with  the  Republican  State  and  Congressional  committees. 
Since  he  entered  politics,  in  1878,  he  has  held  various  posi- 
tions of  honor  and  trust — clerk  and  alderman  of  his 
adopted  city,  Ocala ;  delegate  to  the  recent  State  Constitu- 
tional convention,  in  1885. 

October  2,  1884,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Annie  M. 
Onley,  a  teacher  in  the  Staunton  Grammar  school,  Jackson- 
ville, Florida,  and  the  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Onley,  a 
prominent  contractor  and  builder  in  that  city. 

Mr.  Chandler  still  resides  in  Ocala,  Florida,  where 
wields  a  very  large  and  powerful  influence,  politically  an 
socially'.    He  is  deacon  of  the    Mount    Moriah  Bapti 
church  of  that  city,  and  was  baptized  by  Rev.  Samuel 
Smalls,  now  deceased. 

He  had  the  good  fortune  of  •meeting  true  and  staunch 
friends   in   the   i>ersons    of  Watson    Murphy,  F.   C.   W- 
Williams,  Reuben  S.  Mitchell  and  others,  who  have  always 
been  devoted  to  his  interests.    The  writer  was  a  residenit:- 
of  Florida,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  Mr.  Chand — - 


HENRY  WILKINS  CHANDLER.  259 

ler's  settlement  in  that  State.  Having  gone  there  first,  he 
invited  Mr.  Chandler,  with  another  friend,  to  make  their 
homes  in  that  State,  and  here,  in  this  volume,  I  wish  to 
testify  to  the  generosit}%  the  whole-souled  respect,  which 
these  gentlemen  have  shown,  not  only  to  Mr.  Chandler 
but  to  himself,  as  they  are  men  made  in  uncommon 
moulds.  No  better  men  live ;  thev  are  as  true  to  a  friend  as 
the  needle  to  the  pole,  and  can  only  be  spoken  of  with 
tenderness  and  love. 

Mr.  Chandler  had  only  two  dollars  and  one-half  in  his 
pocket  when  he  settled  in  Florida,  but  by  hard  work, 
honest  methods  and  kind  treatment  to  all  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact,  he  has  been  enabled  to  secure  a  vast 
amount  of  property,  and  to-day  his  real  estate  is  worth 
probably  twenty  thousand  dollars. 

Senator  Chandler  is  a  man  of  fine  scholastic  taste,  dis- 
criminating in  his  choice  of  books  and  of  the  subjects  which 
he  treats.  He  is  already  a  successful  lawyer.  As  a  poli- 
tician he  is  shrewd,  calculating  and  far-seeing.  His 
speeches  are  specimens  of  eloquence,  rhetoric  and  polish; 
in  every  case  a  subject  is  exhausted  by  him  before  dropped. 
He  generally  anticipates  his  opponent's  argument,  and  so 
presents  them  that  he  would  be  ashamed  to  use  them 
afterwards.  His  style  is  both  analytical  and  synthetical. 
His  life  is  an  inspiration  for  those  who  come  after  him. 


260  MEN  OP  MARK. 


XXVI. 

REV.  THEODORE  DOUGHTY  MILLER,  D.  D. 

The  Eloquent  Pastor  of  Cherry  Street  Baptist  Church,  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania — A  Veteran  Divine,  Distinguished  for  Long  Service. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  of  Henry  and 
Sarah  Miller,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  September  19, 
1835.  He  was  a  very  bright  and  active  boy,  whose  win- 
ning ways  won  him  many  friends,  who  have  maintained 
their  pleasant  relations  for  many  long  years.  When  he 
began  studying  he  was  a  pupil  of  the  well  known  teacher, 
John  Patterson,  of  colored  school  No.  1,  where  he  remained 
for  ten  years  and  secured  an  excellent  common  school  edu- 
cation. In  July,  1849,  he  was  examined,  passed  and  re- 
ceived a  certificate  as  a  teacher,  and  at  once  entered  upon 
his  profession,  becoming  first  assistant  in  the  Public  High 
school.  He  was  brought  up  in  the  Episcopal  church  (St. 
Phillips),  was  confirmed  and  became  a  member  of  the  choir 
for  many  years.  Though  privileged,  he  was  conscientiously 
opposed  to  accepting  communion,  and  left  that  organiza- 
tion to  form  a  part  of  the  newly  organized  church  of  the 
Messiah,  also  Episcopal,  under  the  rectorship  of  Alexander 
Crummel,  D.  D.,  who  is  now  rector  in  the  City  of  Washing- 
ton, District  of  Columbia.    His  father  died  when  he  was 


THEODORE  DOUGHTY  Mn^LBR.  261 

an  infant,  and  his  mother  was  very  suddenly  called  away 
w^hen  he  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  leaving  him  alone 
in  the  world  to  fight  the  battle  of  life.  He  had  an  older 
brother,  but  he  had  gone  many  years  before  to  California 
when  the  popular  rage  for  gold  was  at  its  height,  and 
never  returned,  being  lost  in  the  wreck  of  the  steamer 
Golden  Gate. 

From  1849  to  1851  he  spent  his  evenings  and  Saturdays 
as  a  pupil  of  the  St.  Augustine  Institute  in  the  study  of 
the  classics,  determined  to  thoroughly  equip  himself  to 
make  a  mark  in  life.  During  a  revival  of  religion  at  the 
Baptist  church  he  was  converted  and  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Though  uniting  with 
no  church,  not  being  able  then  to  reconcile  the  Baptist 
▼icws  of  baptism  and  church  fellowship  with  his  own,  he 
determined  to  study  all  the  creeds  and  compare  them  with 
the  Bible  so  as  to  stand  on  a  Bible  platform  and  defend 
himself  in  his  religious  views  against  all  encroachments 
and  entreaties  from  the  many  who  were  seeking  his  ser- 
vices, both  in  the  church  and  Sunday-school.  In  the  year 
1851  he  left  New  York  City  to  assume  charge -of  the  public 
school  in  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  which  he  held  for  years, 
during  which  time  he  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Eliza- 
beth P.  Wood  of  that  cit}'.  He  made  himself  useful  in  the 
formation  of  a  young  men's  association,  and  in  the  choir 
and  Sunday-school  of  the  Mt.  Zion  A.  M.  E.  church,  his 
Teligion  being  of  that  liberal  nature  which  constrained 
him,  regardless  of  their  names,  to  aid  in  any  way  the  on- 
ward march  to  Christ.  In  the  year  1856  he  left  Trenton, 
Kew  Jersey,  and  took  charge  of  the  public  school  at  New- 


262  MEN  OP  MARK. 

burgh,  New  York,  during  which  time,  as  a  result  of  much 
study  and  prayer,  he  decided  to  accept  the  views  of  the 
Baptists,  believing  them  to  be  in  accordance  with  the 
Bible ;  and  his  wife,  also  having  just  been  brought  to  a  sav- 
ing knowledge  of  Christ,  accepted  the  same  views,  and  they 
were,  both  baptized  February  22,  1857,  in  the  Hudson 
river.  He  at  once  felt  impressed  to  do  something  to  advance 
the  interests  of  his  Master's  kingdom.  Having  felt  keenly 
the  loss  of  several  years  service  in  a  decision  as  to  Bible 
views,  he  joined  the  Shiloh  Baptist  church,  but  they  having  a 
white  pastor,  and  hebeingnaturally  jealous  of  his  abilities, 
which  were  noticed  and  which  led  to  frequent  invitations 
to  participate  publicly  in  their  services,  every  obstacle  ta 
advancement  was  put  in  his  way.  But  despite  the  pastor's 
opposition  he  was  chosen  as  a  teacher,  then  superintend- 
ent of  the  Sabbath-school,  then  a  trustee  of  the  church,  then 
a  deacon  of  the  church.  But  here  the  pastor  determined 
must  be  the  limit ;  he  was  rising  too  fast.  But  Mr.  Miller 
w^as  determined  not  to  be  outdone.  He  opened  his  own 
house  Sabbath  afternoons  and  preached  each  Sunday  night, 
or  rather  exhorted,  for  they  had  refused  to  license  him.  He 
was  sent  by  the  church  as  its  messenger  to  the  American 
Baptist  Missionary  convention,  held  at  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  with  the  request  that  they  hear  him  preach, 
and  if  they  approved,  license  him.  They  gave  him  a  hear- 
ing, which  was  highly  satisfactory.  It  being  out  of  their 
province  to  license  him,  they  sent  back  a  unanimous  recom- 
mendation to  that  church  to  at  once  grant  him  the  license, 
and  stated  to  the  candidate  that  if  they  refused  to  so  do, 
that  he  should  sever  his  connection  and  unite  with  the 


THEODORE  DOUGHTY  MILLER.  263 

First  Baptist  church  (white),  who,  knowing  his  abilities 
and  prospects  of  usefulness,  had  promised  to  give  him  a 
license.  Fearing  to  rebel,  they  granted  the  license.  He  con- 
tinned  speaking  and  teaching  in  all  the  churches  until  1858, 
when  he  received  a  call  from  the  Zion  Baptist  church  of 
New  Haven,  Connecticut,  which  he  accepted.  He  was  or- 
dained to  the  gospel  ministry  January  19,  1859,  at  the 
Concord  Street  church,  Brooklyn,  New  York,  by  the  unan- 
imous decision  of  a  large  council,  composed  of  many  white 
men,  who  sought,  though  vainly,  to  retard  the  progress 
of  the  rising  young  colored  man.  His  fame  spreading, 
reached  Albany,  where  the  field  being  barren  and  long  a 
desert,  they  desired  an  active  young  man;  so  they  extended 
him  a  call,  which  after  deliberation  and  prayer  he  accepted. 
Bringing  the  church  up  by  gracious  revivals,  he  remained 
qver  five  years,  a  longer  period  than  any  preceding  pastor 
for  twenty  years,  and  leaving  only  against  a  strong  and 
united  protest  and  tears.  During  this  time  he  fortified 
himself  with  a  full  course  of  theological  studies,  under  the 
tutelage  of  that  noted  scholar  and  preacher,  Dr.  E.  L.  Ma- 
goon,  whose  pulpit,  with  those  of  severalothers  (all  white), 
he  often  occupied,  often  exchanging  pulpits. 

In   1864  he  was  invited  to  visit  Oak  Street    Baptist 
church,  West  Philadelphia,  with  a  view  to  their  pastor- 
ate.   While  there  the  Pearl  Street  church,  the  old  mother 
* 

church  organized  in  1809,  which  has  had  but  four  regular 
pastors,  situated  on  Cherry  street,  also  invited  him  to 
spend  a  Sabbath  with  them  w^th  the  same  view,  after 
which  calls  were  extended  to  him  from  both  churches, 
and  he  accepted  that  of  the  latter,  beginning  services  with 


264  MEN  OP  MARK. 

them  August  1,  1864,  in  whose  service  he  still  remainSt 
the  oldest  pastor  in  continued  service  in  the  city,  but  one. 
During  his  pastorate,  the  membership  has  been  quad- 
rupled, he  having  baptized  over  six  hundred  in  the  succes- 
sive revivals,  the  largest  of  which,  in  the  history  of  the 
church,  occurred  in  the  spring  of  1886,  in  his  twenty-second 
year  of  service,  among  whom  were  two  of  his  own  child- 
ren, a  son  and  daughter  having  previously  been  baptized, 
making  four  of  his  children  in  the  church,  a  blessing 
accorded  to  but  few  pastors.  His  oldest  son  is  a  very 
eminent  musician  and  is  the  organist  of  the  church,  and 
also  clerk  in  Wanamaker's  great  clothing  establishment, 
his  oldest  daughter  being  accomplished  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  fancy  hair  work  and  a  dressmaker,  while  the  other 
two  are  fitting  themselves  for  positions  of  usefulness. 
During  his  long  pastorate  many  calls  have  been  extendejl 
to  him,  some  with  larger  salaries,  among  them  the  Nine- 
teenth Street  Baptist  church  and  a  position  in  the  How- 
ard Theological  Seminary,  all  of  which  he  declined.  His 
progress  has  been  really  wonderful  and  crowned  with  suc- 
cess. Crowded  audiences  greet  him  every  Sabbath  morn- 
ing to  catch  inspiration  from  his  thoroughly  prepared 
discourses.  The  other  many  offices  he  has  filled  prove  the 
just  appreciation  of  his  gifts.  He  was  for  many  years 
corresponding  secretary  of  the  American  Baptist  Mission- 
ary  convention  and  is  now  recording  secretary  of  the 
New  England  Baptist  Missionary  convention.  On  every 
occasion  of  note  his  services  and  voice  have  always  been 
demanded.  He  has  occupied  more  white  pulpits  than  any 
other  colored  pastor  in  the  city,  and  the  first  and  only 


THBODORB  I>OUGHTY  Mfl^I^BR.  265 

colored  man  that  by  their  own  appointment  was  priy- 
ileged  to  occupy  the  high  position  of  preaching  the  intro- 
ductory sermon  for  the  Philadelphia  Baptist  Association 

ft 

—the  oldest  in  the  country,  three  years  ago.  By  the 
united  request  of  the  Sunday  school  and  church,  he 
assumed,  though  reluctantly,  owing  to  his  own  pastoral 
duties,  the  charge  of  the  Sunday  school.  The  wisdom  of 
the  choice  was  manifested  in  the  large  revival  breaking 
out  in  the  school,  from  which  over  ninety  were  baptized 
and  united  with  the  church.  He  has  also  organized  a 
church  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  and  has  a  branch  of  his 
own  church  at  Germantown,  and  rendered  them  valuable 
assistance. 

During  his  pastoral  duties  he  has  licensed  and  sent  forth 
to  the  work  of  Christian  ministry,  Milford  D.  Hemdon, 
missionary  to  Africa,  Benjamin  T.  Moore,  Ananias  Brown, 
James  Banks,  Henry  H.  Mitchell,  Benjamin  Jackson  and 
others.  Our  subject  is  admired  by  his  flock,  and  faithfully 
upholds  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Who  can 
count  the  good  of  this  man's  life;  twenty-two  years  of 
true  teachings  has  not  failed  to  bless  both  teacher  and 
pupils.  The  w^riter  remembers  a  sermon  which  he  heard 
bim  preach  in  1870.  The  text  was  **God  is  Faithful/' 
and  to  this  day  it  is  just  as  distinct  in  his  mind  as  it  was 
the  day  he  heard  it.  He  is  a  man  of  oratorical  powers,  a 
clear  reasoner,  forcible  writer  and  elegant  talker ;  a  man 
highly  respected  for  scholarly  attainments,  strictest  integ- 
rity, honor  and  common  sense. 

Recognizing  the  good  qualities  in  him,  a  university  con- 
ferred on  him  the  title  of  D.  D.    A  sketch  of  his  life  appears 


266  MEN  OF  MARK. 

in  the '  Baptist  Encyclopedia '  by  Cathcart,  which  pays  him 
the  following  compliment : 

Mr.  Miller  was  appointed  to  preach  the  introductory  sermon  before 
the  Philadelphia  Baptist  Association  in  1879,  the  first  colored  man  that 
ever  occupied  that  position,  and  he  was  not  placed  in  it  by  political 
power,  but  as  a  simple  recognition  of  his  Christian  work.  His  sermon 
showed  the  propriety  of  the  choice.         , 

Mr.  Miller  is  a  man  of  scholarly  taste.  He  is  one  of  the 
best  colored  preachers  located  in  Philadelphia,  and  his 
piety  is  of  a  high  order.  May  he  ever  live  to  proclaim  the 
riches  of  **His  mercy**  and  the  truth  of  that  Saviour  of 
souls  and  bring  to  his  kingdom  those  who  have  wandered 
away. 


J.  D.  BALTIMOSB.  267 


XXVII. 
J.  D.  BALTIMORE,  ESQ. 

Chief  Engineer  and  Mechanician  at  the  Preedmen's  Hospital — Engineer — 
Machinist — Inventor. 

JEREMIAH  DANIEL  BALTIMORfe  first  saw  light  in 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  April  15,  1852. 
His  parents,  Thomas  and  Hannah  Baltimore,  were  free, 
the  former  a  Catholic  and  the  latter  a  Methodist.  The 
boy,  following  the  goodly  walks  of  his  mother,  adopted 
the  same  faith,  joining  the  Wesley  Zion  church  and  filling 
every  position  in  the  Sabbath  school,  from  pupil  to  sujjer- 
intendent ;  also  secretary  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
church,  having  united  with  it  in  18G6.  He  was  a  scholar 
in  Enoch  Ambush's  school  for  quite  a  while,  but  when  he 
left  could  neither  s|x?ll  nor  write  his  own  name.  He  then 
attended  the  district  public  school.  Prior  to  this  he  spent 
most  of  his  time  planting  old  tin  cans  and  coffee  pots  in  the 
ground  for  steam  boilers.  He  would  make  so  much  steam 
and  smoke  that  his  mother  would  often  Ix?  com|)ellcd  to 
shut  herself  up  in  the  house.  After  he  had  worked  with 
the  tins  for  a  year  or  longer,  he  weighted  the  tea-kettle  lid 
down  with  a  flatiron,  and  succeeded  in  generating  sufficient 
steam  to  raise  the  lid  and  produce  a  noise  by  its  escape 


268  MEN  OF  MARK. 

that  caused  everybody  in  the  house  to  predict  that  he 
would  soon  blow  his  head  off,  if  he  didn't  stop  such  danger- 
ous pranks. 

One  day  he  told  his  mother  that  he  would  get  to  be  an 
engineer,  but  she  said,  **No,  my  son,  it  takes  a  smart  man 
to  fill  that  position.  I  am  sure  there  is  no  way  for  us  to 
get  you  through^school."  He  said  he  could  go  through, 
though  his  skin  was  dark. 

His  further  experiments  consisted  of  a  piece  of  stove  pipe 
and  old  brass  bucket  hoops,  etc.  With  these  he  made  a 
steam  boiler,  to  which  he  attached  an  engine  that  he  had 
constructed,  but  it  would  not  work.  It  was  highly  spoken 
of  by  all  who  s'aw  it.  The  Rev.  William  P.  Ryder  placed  it 
upon  exhibition  in  the  Wesley  Zion  Sabbath  school.  It 
was  then  placed  on  exhibition  in  the  United  States 
Treasury  department,  and  was  examined  by  the  officers 
^nd  employees,  who  pronounced  it  the  work  of  a  genius. 
This  so  encouraged  him,  he  tried  to  make  a  better  one ;  he 
took  a  piece  of  soft  brick,  cut  the  shape  of  the  wheel  and 
of  other  details  deep  enough  to  hold  the  molten  metal. 
Then  taking  an  old  flower  pot  and  lining  it  thickly  with 
clay,  he  thus  succeeded  in  melting  his  brass  with  an  ordi- 
nary fire  in  the  kitchen  stove.  With  the  aid  of  a  file,  a 
pair  of  old  shears  and  an  old  knife  used  for  a  saw,  he 
finished  his  engine,  which  was  a  horizontal  high  pressure 
one  with  a  tubular  boiler.  The  engine  was  first  placed  on 
exhibition  in  the  public  school,  in  the  room  of  which  he 
was  then  a  pupil.  It  w»as  carried  to  the  patent  office,  and 
by  the  aid  of  Anthony  Bowen,  a  very  distinguished  colored 
member  of  the  City  Council  of  Washington,  the  attention 


"^  J.  D.  BALTIMORB,  269 

of  the  public  and  the  press  was  called  to  it.  One  morning 
soon  after,  an  article  appeared  in  the  Sunday  Chronicle, 
headed  like  this:  "Extraordinary  Mechanical  Genius  of  a 
Colored  Boy."  This  boy  desired  to  do  something  to 
further  his  own  cause,  and  one  day  seeing  the  people  going 
into  the  President's  house,  he  was  bold  enough  to  send  the 
paper  with  the  sketch  in  it  to  the  President.  When  the 
usher  retu^ed  he  announced  that,  as  it  was  ''Cabinet 
day,"  the  President  could  not  be  seen.  Not  having  any 
idea  that  -the  President  would  become  interested  in  the 
matter,  the  boy  had  started  out  with  the  crowd.  Soon, 
however,  the  usher  called  him  and  said:  ''The  President 

• 

inrants  to  see  you,  young  man."  He  went  in  and  found 
General  Grant  with  his  feet  on  the  desk  and  a  cigar  in  his 
mouth.  He  turned  to  him  and  inquired  if  he  was  the 
young  man  of  whom  he  had  just  been  reading.  To  this 
the  boy,  being  put  at  his  ease  by  the  kindly  manner  of  the 
general,  replied,  "I  am,  sir."  The  general  said:  ''You 
must  have  a  trade,"  and  handed  him  a  card  with  these 
words  on  it : 

Will  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  please  see  the  bearer,  J.  D.  Baltimore. 
I  think  it  would  be  well  to  give  him  emploj'tnent  in  one  of  the  United 
States  Navy  yards,  where  he  can  be  employed  on  machinery'.  Please  see 
statements  of  what  he  has  done  without  instruction. 

U.  S.  Grant. 

This  card  he  presented  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and 
was  immediately  appointed  as  an  apprentice  in  the  depart- 
ment of  steam  engineering  at  the  Washington  Navy  yard, 
where  the  prejudice  was  very  strong,  and  after  standing  it 
a  few  months,  he  complained  of  his  treatment,  and  Pro* 


270  MEN  OF  MARK. 

fessor  John  M.  Langston  interviewed  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  who  said  to  him:  **  Young  Baltimore  shall  go  to 
another  navy  yard  if  you  desire  it."  He  was  transferred 
to  the  Navy  yard  at  Philadelphia,  where  he  studied  very 
hard.  He  was  ostracized  by  the  men,  who  told  him  that 
the  President  might  send  him  there,  but  couldn't  make 
them  show  him  anything ;  and  there  were  very  few  of  the 
men  who  would  have  any  friendly  dealings  with  him.  But 
he  would  arise  at  4  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  study  until 
it  was  time  to  go  to  work.  He  would  study  all  the  dinner 
hour  and  late  at  night.    He  was  admitted  to  the  Franklin 

Institute  at  Philadelphia,  being  the  second  colored  man 

• 

enjoying  that  privilege.  The  chief  assistant  engineer 
noticed  his  close  application  to  the  duties  of  the  shop  and 
scientific  studies,  and  on  one  occasion,  when  lecturing  to  the 
apprentice  boys.  Chief  Engineer  Thompson  of  the  depart- 
ment of  steam  engineering,  asked  this  question.  **How 
many  of  you  can  tell  the  strength  of  a  steam  boiler  by 
mathematical  computation?  Can  you,  Baltimore ? "  He 
answered  **  Yes,  sir,"  and  from  that  moment  the  hatred  of 
the  men  and  boys  increased.  They  would  nail  his  coat  to 
the  wall,  steal  his  tools  and  destroy  his  books,  and  do 
everything  that  would  make  it  unpleasant  for  him,  but  he 
still  held  out.  He  graduated  from  this  department  ob- 
taining his  certificate,  which  contained  these  words :        / 

United  States  Navy  Yard. 
To  all  whom  it  may  concern : 

This  certifies  that  Jeremiah  D.  Baltimore  of  Washington,  District  of 

Columbia,  has  served  as    an  apprentice  to  the  United  States  in  the 

Machinists*  Department  at  the  Navy  yard  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 

for  the  term  of  three  years  and  six  months,  and  until  he  had  arrived  at 


J.  D.  BALTIMORE.  271 

the  age  of  twenty -one  years.    During  that  time  his  general  character  has 

been  Tcrygood.    His  proficiency  in  both  trades  very  good.    His  term  of 

apprentkesliip  is  hereby  honorably  closed. 

James  W.  Thompson,  Jr. 

Chief  Engineer. 

Given  at  the  Navy  yard  at  Philapelphia,  this  fourth  day  of  December, 

1873. 

G.  P.  E.  Emmons,  Commandant. 

J.  W.  Kino,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Steam  Engineering. 
September  6, 1873. 

He  was  then  detailed  to  go  to  the  Naval  station  at 
League  Island  on  the  Delaware  river,  to  assist  in  repair- 
ing four  of  the  United  States  monitors.    When  it  became 

necessary  to  reduce  the  force,  he  was  placed  in  the  front 

• 

ranks.    He  then  took  a  position  in  charge  of  a  large  mill, 
receiving  twenty-seven  dollars  per  week,  but  after  awhile 
the  work  was  stopped,  and  the  firm  paid  him  ten  dollars 
per  \veek,  which  he  accepted  for  a  few  weeks  and  then  con- 
cluded to  seek  employment  in  one  of  the  machine  tool 
manufacturing  establishments  in  Philadelphia.     He  tried 
Cramp  &  Sons,  who  did  a  great  deal  of  work  for  the  gov- 
ernment.   They  said,  **Mr.  Baltimore,  we  have  heard  of 
you  and  would  like  to  employ  you,  but  if  we  do,  all  of  our 
men  will  leave  us,  as  they  refuse  to  work  with  colored 
mechanics."    It  can  be  seen  that  prejudice  existed  in  the 
North  as  well  as  in  the  South,  for  a  colored  man  can  find 
Work  in  the  South.     He  then  went  to  Sellers  &  Brother 
six  times,  and  five  times  he  was  put  off  with  all  sorts  of 
excuses.    The  sixth  time  he  was  refused  at  first,  but  in- 
sisted that  he  wanted  work,  not  because  he  was  a  colored 
man,  but  because  he  could  do  the  work.    After  some  delib- 
eration they  concluded  to  give  him  employment.    He  held 


272  MEN  OP  MARK. 

this  position  until  he  resigned  on  account  of  ill  health. 
Returning  to  Washington,  May  29,  1872,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Ella  V.  Waters,  to  whom  he  owes  much  of  his  suc- 
cess. In  a  private  letter  to  a  friend  he  said  once :  "She  is 
to  me  what  the  governor  is  to  a  steam  engine,  or  the 
helm  to  the  ship."  After  he  was  married  he  opened  a 
general  repair  shop,  which  he  carried  on  for  twelve  years. 
He  has  been  employed  as  engineer  of  the  United  States 
Coast  Survey  at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and 
at  this  writing  holds  the  position  of  chief  engineer  and 
mechanician  at  the  Freedmen's  Hospital,  Department  of 
the  Interior,  Washington,  having  been  appointed  August 
2, 1880. 

Mr.  Baltimore  has  realized  from  his  labors  about  five  thou- 
sand dollars.  He  is  the  inventor  of  a  pyrometer,  which  was 
on  exhibition  in  the  colored  department  of  the  New  Orleans 
Exposition.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Mechanics'  Union  in 
Washington,  and  at  a  recent  meeting,  the  two  bodies 
came  together,  one  which  has  only  white  members,  and 
the  other  which  has  both.  Mr.  Baltimore  at  this  meeting 
made  a  speech  and  criticised  very  severely  the  white  class, 
which  forced  the  president  to  say  that  one  year  from  now 
the  constitution  of  his  Union  would  not  have  that  clause 
in  it.  Mr.  Baltimore  is  interested  in  every  subject  that 
touches  his  race,  and  has  lectured  very  frequently  for  the 
benefit  of  churches,  upon  the  subject  of  heat,  steam,  and 
other  scientific  subjects.  His  triumphal  success  over  many 
severe  difficulties  marks  him  as  a  man  of  genius,  firmness 
and  talent. 


J.  S.  CUFFOKD.  2V3 


xxvin. 

J.  R.  CLIFFORD,  ESQ. 

Editor— La  wyei^Teacher— Orator. 

THERE  are  but  few  names  in  West  Virginia  well 
known  to  the  public;  but  among  these  stand 
prominent  Editor  CliflFord.  He  is  progressive,  independ- 
ent and  ambitious.  He  is  a  native  of  the  State,  having 
been  bom  at  Williamsport,  Grant  county,  West  Virginia, 
September  13,  1849.  When  quite  a  lad  he  was  taken  to 
Chicago,  by  the  Hon.  J.  J.  Healy,  and  given  a  rudi- 
mentarv  education.  In  earlv  life  he  followed  the 
barber's  trade,  and  not  being  satisfied  with  a  little 
learning  he  received  in  Chicago,  he  went  to  Zcno,  Musk- 
ingum county,  where  his  uncle  dwelt,  who  sent  him  to 
a  school  taught  by  one  Miss  Effic  McKnight.  In  this 
place  he  attended  a  writing  school  taught  by  Profes- 
sor D.  A.  White,  from  which  he  took  a  diploma  in  that 
art.  In  1870  he  went  to  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  and 
conducted  a  large  writing  school  with  nearly  one  hundred 
attendants;  in  the  years  1871,  '72  and  '73  he  taught  a 
similar  school  at  Martin's  Ferry,  Ohio.  Not  yet  satisfied 
^th   his   attainments,  he   attended   Storer   College,  at 


C74  MBN  OP  MARK. 

Harper's  Ferry,  graduating  in  1878.  He  was  called  to  the 
principalship  of  the  public  school  at  Martinsburg,  West 
Virginia,  which  he  held  for  ten  consecutive  years,  and  only 
resigned  to  give  attention  to  the  Pioneer  Press,  a  vigor- 
ous, influential  journal  which  he  so  ably,  fearlessly  and 
consistently  edits.  The  Republican  party  has  had  a  strong 
firiend  in  him.  Being  delegate  to  the  State  convention  in 
1884,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  Chicago  by  a  majority 
of  fifteen,  and  the  white  delegates  went  around  to  the 
several  delegations  and  persuaded  them  to  withdraw  their 
votes  from  him  after  the  vote  had  been  cast  and  counted, 
thus  defeating  him.  This  outrage  was  not  forgotten,  and 
the  metal  of  the  man  is  shown,  who,  when  he  had  an 
opportunity,  paid  these  men  back  in  their  own  coin.  Mn 
N.  H.  W.  Flick,  a  white  Republican,  was  leader  in  the 
defeat  of  Mr.  Clifford,  and  in  the  last  congressional  election 
he  was  nominated  by  the  Republican  party,  but  was  bitterly 
opposed  by  the  Pioneer  Press^  which  defeated  him.  They 
have  indeed  cause  to  fear  such  a  man,  who  not  only  has 
power  and  influence  to  back  him,  but  who  will  stand  up 
for  his  rights  and  accept  nothing  which  reflects  upon  his 
race.  As  a  delegate  to  all  the  conventions  of  "the  State,  he 
has  many  opportunities  to  give  as  well  as  to  take  defeats. 
I  first  made  the  acquaintance  of  this  gentleman  in  the 
Knights  of  Wise  Men  Convention,  held  at  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  where  he  delivered  the  oration  of  the  day.  In 
that  body  were  Hon.  F.  L.  Cardoza,  Bishop  H.  M.  Turner, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Hon.  Richard  Gleaves,  J.  W.  Cromwell,  the 
eloquent  R.  P.  Brooks,  now  dead,  and  some  of  the  most 
gifted  men  of  the  country.    Mr.  Clifford  was  but  littk 


f 


J.  R.  CUPFORD.  275 

Imown  to  many  of  us.  On  the  cars  going  from  Nashville, 
Mr.  Brooks  said  to  Mr.  Cromwell,  "Who  is  that  over 
there  ?'*  pointing  to  Mr.  CliflFord.  Mr.  Cromwell  answered 
it  was  the  orator.  Brooks  laughed  in  his  hearty  way  and 
replied  it  would  be  a  hard  oration,  and  he  wanted  to  be 
absent  when  it  took  place.  Brooks  himself  was  totally 
unassuming,  however,  and  was  also  one  of  the  most 
polished  orators  of  the  Old  Dominion,  yet  when  the  speech 
was  heard,  the  house  was  electrified,  and  Brooks  led  the 
movement  in  securing  a  contribution  to  present  Mr. 
Clifford  with  a  gold-heiaded  cane,  which  was  presented  in 
the  State  house  by  Lawyer  William  H.  Young  of  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee,  in  a  very  elaborate  and  complimentary 
tspeech.  Mr.  Clifford  has  delivered  many  orations  since. 
As  honorary  commissioner  of  the  colored  department  of 
the  New  Orleans  Exposition  he  served  his  State  faithfully 
and  did  all  in  his  power  to  aid  the  general  work.  When 
only  sixteen  years  of  age  he  enlisted  in  the  United  States 
heavy  artillery  (Kentucky),  Company  F,  and  served  as  a 
corporal,  but  finally  appointed  nurse  in  a  hospital,  serving 
there  until  the  war  ended,  when  he  was  mustered  out  at 
Louisville,  Kentucky.  He  studied  law  under  J.  Nelson 
Wimer,  in  the  city  of  Martinsburg,  and  has  had  some 
success  as  a  lawyer.  Fortunate  in  his  marriage,  he  is  now 
on  the  road  to  success,  and  has  accumulated  a  little 
capital  as  a  basis  for  competency.  One  John  T.  Riley  of 
Martinsburg,  West  Virginia,  editor  of  the  Herald^  and 
w^ho  is  described  by  the  Independent  as  **a  young  man 
with  a  downcast  look  and  a  pusillanimous  nature,'*  and 
having  **a  mean,  uneasy  countenance, "saw  fit  >:o  make  an 


276  MEN  OP  MARK. 

attack  on  Mr.  Clifford.  Some  comic  writer  has  said :  *'It 
pays  to  have  a  few  redhot  enemies,  as  it  always  devdopa 
a  few  redhot  friends. '*  It  proved  true  in  this  case,  as  the 
following,  taken  from  the  columns  of  the  Independent^. 
July,  25, 1885,  conclusively  proves: 

Riley  is  envious  of  the  good  reputation  and  high  standing  of  Professor 
J.  R.  Clifford,  the  brainy  and  intelligent  principal  of  the  colored  schools; 
and  for  several  years,  through  running  a  Republican  organ,  has  en- 
deavored to  asperse  his  character  and  discharge  him  from  his  position. 
In  every  effort  he  has  been  defeated,  although  we  are  reliably  informed, 
in  the  last  proceeding,  his  associate,  Tolliver  Evans,  threatened  never  to 
vote  again  for  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Education,  which  is  amusing. 
The  truth  is,  Clifford's  standing  in  the  community  is  in  advance  of  either 
Riley  or  Evans.  Intellectually,  and  in  the  point  of  education,  they  will 
never  reach  his  standard.  Therefore,  they  envy  this  colored  man  and  try 
to  down  him.  It  cannot  be  accomplished.  His  moral  standing  and  his 
friendship  with  the  leading  men,  best  thinkers  and  most  respected  citizens 
cannot  be  assailed.  We  doubt  if  any  man  living  in  our  midst  can  present 
a  better  certificate  of  character  than  the  following,  which,  when  handed 
the  Board  of  Education,  put  to  flight  his  accusers,  viz.: 

To  THE  Board  op  Education  of  Martinsburg: 

Gentiemen  .—The  undersigned  bear  willing  and  cheerful  testimony  to 
the  good  character,  correct  habits  and  unquestioned  moral  standing  and 
quiet,  law-abiding  qualities  of  Mr.  J.  R.  Clifford,  as  a  man  and  citizen. 
On  none  of  these  essentials  can  he  be  successfully  impeached. 

Charles  P.  Matthaei,  Joseph  E.  Berry, 

C.  R.  O'Neal,  Z.  T.  Grove, 

William  Gerhardt,  Wm.  McKee, 

J.  Nelson  Wisner,  Henry  Wilen, 

John  N.  A  bell,  Robt.  Douglass  Rollbr» 

F.  M.  Woods,  A.  R.  McQuilkin, 

J.  A.  HOFFHEINS,  J.  S.  BoAK, 

R.  H.  Pitt,  E.  C.  Williams,  Jr. 

A.  S.  Hank,  R.  A.  Blondbll, 

R.  C.  UOIJUMD,  WiLUAM  WiLBN, 


J.  R.  CLIFFORD. 


277 


^.  N.  Myers, 

J.  W.  McSherry, 

J.  H.  Bristor, 

C.  W.  Doll, 

Jno.  a.  Boycr, 

S.  H.  Martin, 

Blackburn  Hughes, 

Geo.  S.  Hill, 

W.  L.  Jones, 

Lee  M.  Bender, 

H.  A.  Frazbr, 

C.  W.  Wisner, 

C.  O.  Lambert, 

George  Knapp, 


KiNSEY  Creque, 
Cyrus  H.  Wayble, 
N.  D.  Baker, 

S.  L.  DODD, 

$ 
George  W.  Feidt, 

G.  A.  Crisman, 

J.  T.  Picking, 

Wm.  S.  Henshaw, 

John  C.  Hutslbr, 

I.  L.  Bender, 

J.  W.  Bishop, 

W.  H.  Keedy, 

J.  W.  PiTZER, 
W.  A.  PiTZER, 

Wm.  H.  Criswell. 


J.  H.  Gettinger, 

The  above  list  has  the  names  of  the  ministers  of  the  Protestart 
•diiirches,  the  magistrates  of  the  town,  the  mayor,  sergeant,  constable, 
president  of  the  county  court,  president  and  cashier  of  the  National 
bank,  physicians,  lawyers,  superintendent  of  the  town  schools,  ex-county 
superintendent,  teachers,  teller  of  People's  National  bank,  ex-sherifF, 
clerks  of  the  county  courts,  and  leading  merchants.  Such  a  certificate 
cannot  be  beaten  in  this  town.  The  man  who  merits  the  esteem  of  such 
citizens  is  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Ycnomous  pen  of  John  T.  Riley  or  his 
^abettors. 


278  MEN  OF  MARK. 


XXIX. 

WILEY  JONES,  ESQ. 

Tbe  Owner  of  a  Street-car  Railroad,  a  Race  Track  and  a  Park— A  Cap- 
italist Worth  About  $125,000. 

THE  amount  of  enterprise  shown  in  the  life  of  the  gentle- 
man of  whom  I  now  write,  is  worthy  of  commenda- 
tion. That  an  uneducated  slave-boy  should  amass  sach 
wealth,  is  a  surprise  to  many.  His  business  tact  and  steady 
perseverance  is  marvelous.  There  are  those  who  believe  in 
luck,  but  sometimes  no  such  thing  can  be  seen  in  our  lives; 
strive  we  ever  so  hard,  live  we  ever  so  honest,  labor  we  ever 
so  faithfully,  we  do  not  seem  to  have  that  good  fortune 
which  many  term  **good  luck."  Of  course  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  luck ;  all  success  is  the  result  of  qualities 
within,  labor  expended  or  fortuitous  circumstances, 
brought  about,  perhaps,  by  what  might  seem  to  be  an 
accident,  or  because  of  circumstances  over  which  we  have 
littleor  nocontrol.  Mr.  Jones  can  content  himself  with  the 
thought  that  an  over-ruling  power  has  thrown  this  money 
into  his  hands  that  he  may  do  some  great  and  lasting  good 
with  it.  Surely  his  name  could  live  long  after  he  is  dead  if 
he  would  contribute  to  the  special  aid  of  his  race  in  some 
direct  manner. 


WILrBY  JONB8.  279 

His  yonnglife  began  in  that  State  which  had  such  severe 
regulations  for  Negroes  in  slavery  days,  that  it  was  consid- 
ered the  place  where  they  should  be  sent  when  they  were 
refractory.  He  was  bom  in  Madison  county,  Georgia, 
July  14,  1848.  His  parents,  George  and  Ann  Jones,  are 
both  dead.  At  five  years  of  age  he  was  taken  to  Arkansas. 
and  waited  on  his  master,  Pitz  Yell,  and  performed  the 
duties  of  a  houseboy,  and  drove  the  family  carriage.  This 
he  did  for  two  years  or  more.  Then  he  followed  his  master 
into  the  Federal  army  during  the  war.  After  that  he  went 
to  Waco,  Texas,  and  drove  a  wagon  from  the  Brazos  river 
to  San  Antonio,  hauling  cotton  to  the  frontiers.  After  a 
while  he  returned  to  Arkansas  and  worked  on  a  farm  at 
twenty  dollars  a  month.  By  this  time  it  was  1868,  when 
he  began  working  at  the  barber's  chair,  and  continued 
thereat  until  1881,  when  he  went  into  the  tobacco,  cigar 
and  other  businesses,  which  realized  him  this  very  large 
fortune  of  which  he  is  now  possessed.  His  brother,  who  is 
faithful  to  his  interests,  managed  the  business  for  the  first 
two  years,  while  he  was  working  at  his  trade.  Mr.  Jones 
had  no  school  training,  and  consequently  his  education 
w^as  very  limited.  He  had  to  rely  entirely  on  what  he 
could  pick  up  through  life,  as  he  came  in  contact  with  men 
and  things. 

This  school  of  adversity  is  often  the  best  teacher  for 
some  men,  for  really  good  men  arc  often  spoiled  by  trying 
to  give  them  what  is  vulgarly  called  education,  and 
the  truth  of  the  matter  is  they  would  be  much  better 
and  more  properly  educated  if  they  felt  the  conflicts  which 
come  to  those  who  battle  with  the  world   against  the 


280  MEN  OP  MARK. 

many  adversities  common  to  life.  He  extended  his  opera- 
tions by  securing  the  charter  for  the  street  car  line  in  the 
city  of  Pine  Bluff,  where  he  now  lives.  This  was  secured 
August,  1886,  and  he  had  one  and  one-quarter  miles  com- 
pleted and  ran  the  first  car  on  October  19,  1886,  the  first 
da}'  of  the  annual  fair  of  the  Colored  Industrial  and  Pair 
Association,  of  which  he  is  also  treasurer.  He  is  also  the 
sole  owner  of  the  grounds  the  fair  was  held  on,  and  of  the 
race  track  and  park  which  covers  fifty-five  acres,  located 
one  mile  fi-om  Main  street.  The  street  car  stables,  which 
cover  forty  by  one  hundred  feet,  are  also  located  on  the 
grounds. 

He  carries  a  stock  of  eoods  in  his  business  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  estimates  his  wealth  at  a  figure  not  be- 
low one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  which 
consists  of  his  business,  real  estate  and  cash.  He  is  also 
a  great  fancier  of  fine  blooded  stock,  and  owns  a  herd  of 
Durham  and  Holstein  cattle,  and  is  also  breeding  trotting 
stock,  the  best  of  which  is  the  noted  stallion  **  Executor," 
that  has  made  a  record  of  2.24V4.  On  his  farm  he  has 
about  twelve  choicely  bred  mares,  and  hires  a  professional 
driver  to  handle  them,  which  insures  him  first-class  hand- 
ling and  develops  their  speed  to  perfection. 

Mr.  Jones  can  be  accounted  as  one  of  our  most  success- 
ful business  men,  and  the  only  hope  is  that  he  will  use  his 
wealth  wisely,  and  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  God.  He 
has  not  yet  seen  fit  to  marry,  and  therefore  has  no  one  to 
whom  he  may  look  as  the  heir  of  the  large  property  which 
be  has  accumulated. 


M 


WILKY  JONKS. 


JOHN  H.  BURRUS.  281 


XXX. 
PROFESSOR  JOHN  H.  BURRUS,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Acsidcnt  of  the' Alcorn  University — Professor  of  Mental  and  Moral  Phi- 
,  *     ICMopfay  and  Constitutional  Law— Teacher  of  Political  Economy, 
.    litemtiizeand.Cheniistry— Attorney  at  Law. 

PTER  many  struggles  as  a  waiter  in  hotels  and  at 
L    other  hard  work,  Professor  Burrus  has  attained 
ftfommenoe  among  men,  and  has  been  called  to  the  head 
'"  of  a  very  flourishing  institution.    This  gives  him  the  en- 
'^  ^ddmetnent  of  the  State  officers  of  Mississippi.    Regardless 
'Apolitical  bias,  he  has  maintained  his  position  from  year 
to -year  under  the  scrutinizing  eye  of  a  Etemocratic  Legisla- 
'  ture.    These  things  show  that  worth  is  being  recognized 
wherever  found.    The  surrender  of  1865  found  James  B., 
John  H.,  and  Preston  R.  Burrus  with  their  mother  in  Mar- 
shall, Texas,  with  the  remnant  of  Bragg's  Mississippi 
Confederate  army.     They  were  brought  to  Shrevcport, 
Louisiana,  thence  to  New   Orleans,  and  afterwards   to 
Memphis,  Tennessee.    Here  John  H.,  then  a  boy,  found 
work  as  acook  on  a  stem-wheel  boat.    When  opportunity 
presented  itself  for  better  things,  he  took  advantage  of  it. 
About  1866  he  removed  to  Nashville,  where  he  worked 
hard  as  a  hotel  waiter,  studying  much  of  the  time  at  night 


282  HBNOFMARK. 

with  the  Misses  Shadwell  and  Jameson,  boarders  at  the 
hotel  where  he  worked.  Very  zealous  was  he  for  an  edu- 
cation, and  every  energy  was  devoted  to  this  one  purpose. 
The  frugality  and  care  of  the  mother  was  manifest  in  the  son, 
for  never  did  he  indulge  in  the  many  extravagances  of  youth 
-n  dress  or  pleasing  seeking,  but  every  cent  was  carefully 
laid  aside  until  the  summer  of  1867,  when  three  hundred 
dollars  had  been  saved,  which  was  spent  for  school  advan- 
tages at  Pisk  University.  While  in  school  no  time  was 
wasted ;  extra  hours  were  spent  in  work  and  study,  while 
the  vacations  were  used  for  school  teaching,  until  his  eyes 
failed  him  from  overwork,  then  he  could  study  only  by 
hearing  others  read  his  lessons  to  him.  Thus  he  continued 
in  school  until  1873,  when,  being  unable  to  teach,  he  bought 
a  religious  panorama,  with  which  he  traveled  through 
parts  of  1873  and  1874.  ' 

During  the  first  year  in  Fisk  University  he  was  converted 
and  united  with  the  Congregational  church  of  the  univer- 
sity, of  which  church  he  is  still  a  member.  The  president 
often  related  how  he  economized  and  struggled  to  keep  in 
school.  He  is  an  illustration  of  **  where  there's  a  w^ill 
there's  a  way.*'  J.  H.  Burrus  was  engaged  as  teacher  in  a 
graded  school  in  the  suburbs  of  Nashville  for  the  school 
year  following  his  graduation,  but  was  made  principal  be- 
fore his  year  was  out. 

Before  his  school  closed  in  1876,  he  was  selected  by  the 
Republican  State  committee  as  one  of  the  delegates  from 
the  Sixth  Tennessee  Congressional  district  to  the  National 
convention.  There  he  voted  five  consecutive  times  for  Sen- 
ator O.  P.  Morton  for  President,  but  when  that  distin- 


JOHN  H.  BURRUS.  283 

gnished  son  of  Indiana  was  withdrawn,  he  voted  for 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  who  was  nominated  on  the  seventh 
ballot. 

After  the  convention  he  visited  Harper's  Ferry,  Wash- 
ington, District  of  Columbia ;  Niagara,  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  Oberlin,  and  many  other  places.  Not  long  after, 
returning  to  Nashville,  he  accepted  the  principalship  of  the 
Yazoo  city  school,  of  Yazoo,  Mississippi.  He  was  re 
elected  to  the  principalship  of  this  school  soon  after  closing 
in  June,  1877,  and  he  was  also  offered  the  position  of  in- 
structor of  mathematics  in  his  alma  mater  in  place  of  his 
brother,  who  had  resigned.  After  due  consideration  he 
finally  accepted  this  position  and  taught  two  years  in  Fisk 
University,  till  1879,  when  he  received  the  degree  of  A.  M. 
During  this  year  he  resigned  this  position  in  favor  of  his 
younger  brother,  who  had  just  graduated  from  this  place. 

Professor  Burrus,  who  had  been  reading  law  to  some  ex- 
tent, now  gave  himself  to  that  study  under  legal  advisers, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  early  in  1881.  For  the  first 
year  he  did  not  make  bread  out  of  his  law  practice,  but 
besides  making  use  of  his  leisure  to  get  more  legal  knowl- 
edge, he  corresponded  for  several  newspapers,  getting  some 
work  looking  up  titles  to  property,  and  being  enabled 
on  several  occasions  to  point  out  serious  involvements  of 
property  where  even  the  owner  thought  none  existed.  He 
made  some  reputation  for  that  kind  of  work  which  prom- 
ised to  bring  him  handsome  returns.  At  this  time  he  was 
offered  the  presidency  of  Alcorn  Agricultural  and  Mechan- 
ical College,  in  Rodney,  Mississippi,  in  August,  1883.    This 


284  BCEN  OP  MARK. 

will  be  remembered  as  the  college  where  Hon.  Hiram  R. 
Revels  presided  for  several  years. 

He  was  elected  permanent  secretary  of  the  Tennessee 
Republican  State  convention  in  1878;  was  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  State  executive  committee,  for  two  years; 
he  was  also  chosen  alternate  from  the  State-at-Iarge  to 
the  National  Republican  convention  which  met  in  Janu- 
ary, 1 880,  and  was  independent  candidate  for  reg^ter  in 
Davidson  county,  Tennessee,  August,  1882,  and  a  candi- 
date on  the  Republican  ticket  for  the  Lower  House  of  the 
Legislature  in  the  following  November.  The  people  in  his 
district  in  the  edge  of  Nashville,  Tennessee,  elected  him  one 
of  their  school  directors  in  1878.  When  his  term  of  three 
years  expired  in  1881,  he  was  re-elected,  beating  both  of  his 
competitors,  a  colored  and  a  white  man,  although  a  ma- 
jority of  the  citizens  were  white.  Brains  and  character 
will  win,  no  matter  what  the  color  of  his  face  may  be. 
There  are  many  sitting  down  complaining  about  their 
color  keeping  them  down  in  life  and  preventing  them  from 
succeeding.  Ninety-nine  times  out  of  a  hundred  it  is  the 
man's  lack  of  brains  and  character.  There  were  then 
seventeen  teachers  in  the  district,  of  whom  nine  weiie 
white  and  eight  were  colored.  The  other  two  directors 
were  white,  still  Mr.  Burrus  served  as  chairman  of  the 
board,  in  which  capacity  it  was  his  especial  duty  to  look 
after  all  the  schools  and  see  that  the  teaching  was  prop- 
erly and  faithfully  done.  Yet  when  he  resigned  the  chair- 
manship of  the  board,  upon  his  acceptance  of  his  present 
position,  he  was  on  the  pleasantest  terms  with  both  col- 
leagues and  teachers.    While  a  member  of  the  board  he 


JOHN  H.  BURRUS.  283 

had  succeeded  in  equalizing  salaries  of  white  and  colored 
teachers,  and  efiected  some  other  measures  of  a  progres- 
sive nature.  He  took  part  in  the  municipal  elections  of 
Nashville,  and  discussed  the  injustice  of  not  employing 
competent  colored  teachers  in  the  public  schools,  and  for 
not  furnishing  enough  school  facilities  for  the  colored 
children.  This  election  was  followed  not  many  months 
after  by  an  additional  colored  school,  and  for  the  first 
time  a  corps  of  colored  teachers.  He  read  a  paper  before 
the  State  Teachers'  Institute,  held  in  Nashville  in  1880,  in 
which  he  spoke  of  all  the  Congressional  script  from  the 
act  of  1862,  belonging  to  Tennessee,  having  then  been 
given  to  the  East  Tennessee  University,  and  of  the  colored 
people  of  the  State  getting  no  benefit  therefrom,  although 
their  numbers  entitled  them  to  more  than  six  thousand 
dollars  of  the  nearly  twenty-four  thousand  dollars  yearly 
interest.  At  the  close  of  the  paper  he  moved  that  the 
institute  appoint  a  committee  to  meet  the  Legislature  to 
convene  January,  1881,  and  call  the  attention  of  that 
body  to  the  wrong  and  ask  that  the  injustice  be  remedied. 
A  committee  was  appointed  consisting  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Burrus, 
Dr.  John  Braden,  Central  Tennessee  College,  and  Professor 
L.  B.  Teft,  of  what  is  now  Roger  Williams  University, 
Professor  H.  S.  Bennett  of  Fisk  University  and  several 
others.  Mr.  Burrus  was  made  chairman,  and  the  commit- 
tee had  several  interviews  with  the  Legislature  educa- 
tional committee.  The  result  was  the  Legislature  passed 
an  act  appropriating  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  annu- 
ally for  the  next  two  years  to  be  used  as  follows :  Each 
of  the  State's  twenty-five  senators  was  authorized  to 


286  HEN  OF  MARK. 

select  two  colored  persons,  male  or  female^  of  suitable  age 
and  scholarship,  who  might  be  sent  to  any  one  of  the  five 
institutions  specified  and  receive  from  the  State  fifty  dol- 
lars a  3rear,  the  board  to  pay  his  or  her  expenses.  A  number 
of  the  Republicans  of  the  same  Legislature  were  induced 
to  appoint  a  number  of  young  colored  men  as  cadets  to 
the  University  of  Tennessee,  who  thereby  for  several  yeans 
got  their  tuition  in  Pisk  University  paid  by  the  aforesaid 
University  of  Tennessee. 

Mf.  Burrus  quietly  but  firmly  holds  that  the  people 
ought  to  take  as  much  pride  in  their  respective  States  as 
do  other  citizens,  that  they  may  condemn  the  policy  of 
the  ruling  party  as  do  other  citizens.  He  also  holds  that 
they  ought  to  keep  wide  awake  as  to  their  rights,  and 
demand  their  fair  and  just  portion  as  American  citizens 
of  all  public  monies  spent  for  educational  purposes,  and 
that  wherever  they  are  denied  or  defrauded  out  of  the 
same,  they  shall  unceasingly  protest  against  the  un- 
American,  unpatriotic  and  unjust  discrimination  until  the 
wrong  is  righted.  Upon  his  urgent  recommendation,  the 
first  Legislature  of  his  adopted  State  that  was  elected 
after  his  acceptance  of  the  Alcorn  A.  M.  College,  Rodney, 
Mississippi,  appropriated  in  addition  to  the  usual  amount 
for  running  expenses  eleven  thousand  dollars  for  additions 
to  the  library  and  apparatus,  and  for  greatly  needed 
repairs. 

With  the  aid  of  his  co-workers  the  attendance  at  the 
college  has  steadily  increased  until  it  is  now  shown  by  the 
catalogue  to  be  two  hundred  and  sixteen,  about  double 
what  it  was  before  his  connection  with  the  institution. 


JOHN  H.  BURRU8.  2S7 

President  Burrus  has  a  large  heart  and  is  ever  full  of  plans 
for  the  benefit  of  his  students.  His  duties  are  discharged 
^-ith  singular  ability  and  extreme  conscientiousness.  His 
rough  road  in  early  life  is  having  a  fruitful  end  as  well  as 
a,  peaceful  one.  He  knows  how  to  extend  sympathy  to 
those  who  are  climbing  the  educational  ladder;  he  has 
been  over  the  whole  road  and  knows  every  foot  of  the 
way.  His  attachment  for  his  brothers  is  really  pleasant 
to  behold.  He  is  loving  and  affectionate,  and  he  has  very 
tenderly  cared  for  his  mother. 


288  MEN  OP  MASK. 


XXXI. 

HENRY  F.  WILLIAMS,  ESQ. 

Composer— Violinist  and  Cometist — Band  Instructor. 

MR.  WILLIAMS  forced  his  way  upward  in  the  face  of 
all  those  difficulties,  against  which  the  Negro  has 
to  contend.  The  singular  excellence  which  he  reached  in 
this  art  was  mainly  the  result  of  careful  study.  He  had 
the  gift,  which  he  faithfully  cultivated.  His  aim  was  to 
become  master  of- the  situation,  and  he  did  this.  -At  the 
Colliseum  of  Boston  he  figured  conspicuously  amongp 
voices,  accompanied  by  an  orchestra  of  two  thousand 
musicians;  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  F.  E,  Lewis,. he  was 
the  only  colored  performer.  He  was  dignified  and  grace- 
ful,  and  his  manly  appearance  caused  much  comment.  His 
talent  was  put  to  a  severe  test,  by  bis  being  required  to 
execute  on  the  double  bass  a  very  difficult  piece — Wagner's 
Tannhauser.  This  was  done,  not  because  his  ability  was 
doubted,  but  for  a  protection  to  his  color  should  objec- 
tions to  him  arise.  The  gentleman  who  gave  the  test  said 
he  wanted  to  be  able  to  point  to  his  excellent  results. 

So  proficient  was  Mr.  Williams  that  men  forgot  his 
color  and  thought  only  of  his  excellent  music.  No  man 
took  offense  because  the  orchestra  contained  a  sable  son 


*   il 


I    ! 


HENRY  F.  WILLIAMS. 


HENRY  P.  WILLIAMS.  289 

of  Ham,  but  all  was  union  and  harmony.  He  was  far 
superior  to  many  of  the  fairer  performers.  He  could  look 
back  with  pride  on  thirty  years  of  very  persevering  energy, 
which  was  ripe  with  experience.  He  felt  as  did  Beethoven, 
the  barriers  are  not  erected,  which  can  say  to  aspiring 
talent  and  industry,  "thus  far  and  no  farther."  The  way 
he  did  not  find  he  made. 

There  are  many  who  persevere  in  life,  but  continue  only 
for  a  season,  and  then  sit  down  discouraged  and  disgusted, 
because  they  have  not  reached  the  giddy  heights  of  fame. 
Men  must  remember  there  is  no  royal  road  to  learning; 
that  fame  must  be  attained  by  severe  self-denials  of  many 
pleasures,  and  in  this  way  only  can  man  hope  to  achieve 
those  exalted  positions  and  tmdying  fame  which  are  so 
much  cherished  by  noble  souls. 

Mr.  Williams  was  bom  in  Boston,  August  13, 1813.  He 
began  his  studies  when  he  was  seven  years  old,  mainly  by 
his  own  efforts.  He  pulled  himself  up  to  the  pinnacle  of 
fame  from  obscurity  and  a  very  humble  position.  What 
he  has  done,  others  can  do.  His  soul  was  filled  with 
melody,  ^nd  his  hand  was  skil^d  with  such  an  infinite 
touch  that  he  made  his  instrument  a  part  of  himself;  it 
onl}^  caught  the  harmony  within  and  gave  utterance  of 
love  and  vocalization  with  the  insensible  matter  of  which 
his  instrument  was  made.  I  said  insensible;  but  truly, 
nothing  can  be  insensible  to  so  delicate  a  touch  and 
sjrmpathetic  nature.  All  things  were  finends  to  him  that 
had  music  in  them. 

He  is  a  skillful  performer  on  the  violin,  double  bass  and 
comet ;  and  is  also  able  to  play  the  violincello,  baritone 


290  MEN  OP  HARK. 

trombone  and  piano-forte.  He  is  also  a  skillful  arranger 
of  music  for  these  instruments.  As  a  composer,  his  music 
is  attractive,  soothing  and  captivating,  and  he  has  thereby 
secured  the  recognition  of  eminent  publishers.  Persons 
who  so  bitterly  opposed  him  among  the  white,  from  the 
selfish  prejudice  of  their  nattu'es,  became  his  warm  ad- 
mirers. 

His  favorite  instruments  seem  to  be  the  violin  and  comet. 
Upon  these  he  produces  charming  music,  which  is  quite 
varied,  from  the  fantastic  to  the  gravest.  He  gave  much 
time  to  the  formation  and  instruction  of  bands,  and  was 
often  employed  by  the  celebrated  P.  S.  Gilmore.  He  is  the 
author  of  many  pieces,  such  as  **Come  Love,  and  List 
Awhile;"  **It  was  by  Chance  we  Met;"  **IWouldI  had 
Never  met  Thee,"  etc.  His  productions  have  had  good 
sales,  from  which  he  has  realized  a  handsome  profit. 
Many  doubted  his  authorship,  but  were  soon  made  to 
acknowledge  his  rare  ability  by  the  unmistakable  powers 
of  his  genius. 

Such  a  brief  outline  of  the  career  of  a  master,  an  almost 
self-taught  musician,  whose  life  affords  but  another  illus- 
tration of  the  power  and  force  of  courage  and  industry  in 
enabling  a  man  to  surmount  and  overcome  difficulties  and 
obstacles  of  no  ordinary  character,  is  given  here  as  a 
light  to  guide  aspiring  young  musicians.  A  fuller  sketch  of 
him  will  be  found  in  *  Music  and  Some  Highly  Musical 
People,'  by  James  M.  Trotter,  through  whose  kindness  we 
have  been  permitted  to  use  the  cut  which  accompanies  this 
sketch. 


BOliUND  KELLY.  291 


XXXII. 

REV.  EDMUND  KELLY. 

Christian  Letter-Writer— Lecturer  and  Author. 

THIS  good  man  was  bom  May  23,  1818.  He  is  the 
son  of  a  slave  woman  and  Edmund  Kelly,  an  emi- 
grant from  Ireland,  who  in  early  manhood  settled  in  Ten- 
nessee. As  the  father  was  unable  to  purchase  his  family, 
the  children  all  followed  the  condition  of  the  mother  and 
remained  slaves.  When  young  Edmund  Kelly  was  but  six 
3'ears  old,  his  mother  was  sold  from  her  little  ones  and  he 
with  his  sister  were  left  to  the  mercies  of  the  slave- 
holders. In  1833  Mr.  Kelly  was  hired  to  a  very  well  to  do 
primary  school-master,  where  he  served  as  a  table  waiter, 
errand  boy,  and  in  whatever  work  he  could  be  useful.  He 
was  always  desirous  of  an  education,  and  the  opportuni- 
ties offered  the  slave  for  mental  improvement  were  scanty, 
generally  none.  In  this  family,  however,  young  Kelly 
thought  he  could  take  advantage  of  little  children  who 
came  to  the  house  to  attend  school,  and  for  a  speller  and  a 
few  lessons  he  gave  the  scholars  bon  bons  from  his  master's 
table. 

All  this  was  a  secret,  as  no  one  was  allowed  to  teach  the 
slave  under  penalty  of  the  law.    Mr.  Kelly  managed  in 


292  MEN  OF  MARK. 

this  way.  During  the  day  he  kept  steadily  at  work  and 
all  his  books  were  carefully  hidden.  Early  each  night  he  re- 
tired with  a  prayer  that  God  would  guide  and  direct  him  and 
wake  him  at  eleven  p.  m.;  thus  he  first  learned  how  to  pray. 

At  the  appointed  hour  he  awoke  and  studied  and  wrote 
until  one  a.  m.  For  some  time  this  was  done  entirely  un- 
known  to  every  one  save  the  teacher  and  the  taught,  but  at 
last  the  watchful  eye  of  his  mistress  discovered  some  books 
in  which  was  legibly  Written  *  *  Edmund  Kelly. ' '  After  some 
questioning  and  finding  out  that  all  concerned  were  minors, 
she  gave  up  the  investigation  and  did  nothing  against  it. 
In  the  above  way  Mr.  Kelly  laid  the  foundation  for  after 
study,  for  he  never  had  the  privilege  of  attending  school  in 
his  life. 

In  April,  1837,  Edmund  Kelly  gave  his  heart  to  Him 
who  had  blessed  him  above  many  of  his  fellow  slaves,  and 
the  first  of  May  that  same  year,  at  Columbus,  Tennessee, 
he  was  baptized  and  joined  a  Baptist  missionary  church 
in  that  place,  composed  of  both  white  and  colored  mem- 
bers. This  brother  was  a  convert  from  the  Catholic  faith 
of  his  father  to  the  Baptist  principles,  by  private  study  of 
the  New  Testament,  consequently  his  open  declaration  of 
a  new  faith  created  not  a  little  stir  and  many  persons 
witnessed  his  immersion. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  May,  1842,  he  was  licensed  by  the 
church  of  which  he  was  a  member  to  preach  the  gospel 
without  an  application  for  this  privilege,  and  October  1, 
the  same  year,  after  a  unanimous  vote  had  shown  the  ap- 
proval of  the  church  and  congregation.  Rev.  R.  B.  C.  Har- 
vdl,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  church  (white),  of 


EDMUND   KELLY.  293 

a 

Nashville,  Teimessee,  ordained  this  brother  to  the  Christian 
ministry  as  an  evangelist.  His  first  subsequent  labor  was 
the  organization  of  the  Mt.  Lebanon  Baptist  church,  in 
1843,  with  only  six  members. 

As  Rev.  Kelly  always  felt  it  his  duty  to  lead  men  in  the 
straight  and  narrow  path,  he  never  accepted  any  civil 
positions  nor  titles,  though  many  have  been  offered  him. 
With  ardent  soul  has  he  worked  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
hlessed  influence  of  gospel  knowledge — 

First,  By  introducing  missions  into  the  Southern  plan- 
tations by  the  aid  of  zealous,  humble  Christian  men  and 
women. 

Second.  By  writing  letters  on  simple  gospel  themes  to 
be  read  to  the  unconverted  for  their  salvation,  and  for 
encouragement  to  the  converted. 

We  were  furnished  by  this  brother  with  a  little  book 

vvritten  by  himself  showing  the  course  he  pursued  in  Bible 

study.    This  contains  many  questions  and  answers  quoted 

"from  the  divine  word,  which  are  to  be  committed  bv  the 

X^ersons  taught.    In  this  way  he  conducted  Sunday  school 

^LTid  Bible  readings. 

Said  Rev.  Daniel  A.  Payne,  Washington,  D.  C,  once,  in 
speaking  of  this  brother's  method : 

I  have  had  the  happiness  of  being  present  at  one  of  his  exhibi- 
tions, and  am,  therefore,  prepared  to  recommend  it  to  \ou  as  one  of 
the  best  I  ever  witnessed.  The  cause  of  our  common  Christianity  and 
our  common  humanity  will  be  greatly  promoted  b3'  furnishing  him  with 
opportunities  of  demonstrating  the  utility  and  beautj-  of  his  method 
before  your  congregations. 

He  had  the  interests  of  the  Negro  at  heart,  and  for  forty 


294  MEN  OF  MARK. 

years  he  steadily  plead  for  and  defended  the  cause  of  this 
deeply  wronged  race,  and  as  an  outgrowth  of  experience 
in  mission  work  the  following  subjects  were  written  on 
and  sent  to  any  one  desiring  them:  1.  ''Edmund  Kelly's 
Key  to  the  Work  Among  the  Colored  People  of  the 
South."  2.  "The  Colored  People  from  the  Flood,  from  a 
Bible  Standpoint,  Including  Africa's  quota  to  the  Ameri- 
can Nation."  3.  "The  Three  Amendments  to  the  National 
Constitution,  with  their  Historic  Sketches."  4.  "The 
Colored  Race  as  Slaves  in  this  Country  from  1620,  Com- 
mencing with  Twenty  Slaves  and  Ending  with  Six 
Millions,  all  Free  now."  5.  "A  Light  that  is  not  Clear 
nor  Dark."  6.  " Indispensableness  of  Colored  Organiza- 
tions in  this  Country,  in  Order  to  their  Full  Development 
as  a  Part  of  One  Great  Whole." 

As  a  temperance  worker,  too,  for  over  thirty  years 
throughout  the  North  and  South  has  this  consecrated 
soldier  upheld  the  banner  of  the  Lord,  and  anywhere  he 
may  be  called  to  do  any  labor  for  his  Master  he  gladly 
goes. 

During  his  life  he  has  always  been  a  successful  minister,, 
pastor  and  evangelist,  and  has  accumulated  much,  though 
it  has  generously  been  expended  in  mission  work  and  for 
the  education  of  his  family,  which  he  bought  from  slavery, 
paying  for  a  wife  and  four  children  twenty-eight  hundred 
dollars.  With  these  he  went  North,  where  his  children 
were  educated,  among  whom  are  Professor  J.  H.  Kelly  of 
Columbia  and  W.  D.  Kelly,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts  regiment. 

This  aged  soldier  for  Christ,  though  worn  with  many 


EDMUND  KELrLY.  295 

years  of  service,  is  still  active  and  vigorous,  writing  for  the 
benefit  of  mankind  the  results  of  his  careful  lifelong  Bible 
study. 

Many  of  his  children  have  died  and  his  companion  is  a 
constant  sufferer,  besides  being  deprived  of  her  eyesight ; 
but  in  all  these  afflictions  he  leans  upon  God  and  praises 
him  for  his  goodness  and  love.  He  is  an  honored  and 
faithful  minister  of  the  gospel  in  the  city  of  New  Bedford, 
Massachusetts. 


296  HEN  OF  MARK. 


XXXIII. 

REV.  PRESTON  TAYLOR. 

Pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Disciples,  Nashville,  Tennessee — General 
Financial  Agent  of  a  College — Big  Contractor. 

OUR  subject  is  the  leading  minister  of  the  Church  of 
the  Disciples.  He  was  bom  in  Shreveport,  Louis- 
iana, November  7,  1849.  He  was  bom  in  slavery;  his 
parents  were  Zed  and  Betty  Taylor.  He  was  carried  to 
Kentucky  when  a  year  old ;  he  was  a  promising  boy  and 
shed  sunshine  wherever  he  was.  At  the  age  of  four  years 
he  heard  his  first  sermon  on  the  spot  where  the  First 
Baptist  church  now  stands,  in  the  city  of  Lexington,  Ken- 
tucky, and  afterw^ards  told  his  mother  that  he  would  be  a 
preacher  some  day ;  so  deep  was  the  impression  made  on 
his  young  mind  that  years  have  not  been  able  to  eradicate 
it.  He  was  affectionately  cared  for,  and  he  grew  up  as 
Samuel  of  old — ripe  for  the  duties  of  his  life.  When  the  war 
broke  out  he  saw  the  soldiers  marching,  and  determined  to 
join  them  at  the  first  opportunity,  and  so  he  enlisted  in 
Company  G,  One  Hundred  and  Sixteenth  United  States  in- 
fantry, in  1864,  as  a  drummer,  and  was  at  the  siege  of  Rich- 
mond, Petersburg,  and  the  surrender  of  Lee.  His  regiment 
also  did  crarrison  duty  in  Texas,  then  returned  to  New  Or- 


PRLblUN    1  WI.OR. 


PRBSTON  TAYLOR.  297 

leans,  where  they  did  garrison  duty  until  mustered  out  of 
the  service.  He  then  learned  the  stonecutter's  trade  and 
became  skilful  in  monument  work  and  also  in  engraving 
•on  marbk.  He  went  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  in  the 
leading  marble  yards  found  plenty  of  work,  but  the  white 
men  refused  to  work  with  him  because  of  his  color.  He 
wasoffered  a  situation  asatrain  porter  on  the  L.&C.  rail- 
road, and  for  four  years  he  was  known  as  one  of  the  best 
railroad  men  in  the  service,  and  when  he  resigned  he  was 
requested  to  remain  with  a  promotion  to  assistant  bag- 
gage-master ;  but  as  he  could  be  no  longer  retained,  the 
ofiicers  gave  him  a  strong  recommendation  and  a  pass 
over  all  the  roads  for  an  extensive  trip,  which  he  took 
through  the  North.  He  accepted,  on  his  return,  a  call  to 
the  pastorate  of  the  Christian  church  at  Mt.  Sterling, 
Kentucky.  He  remained  there  fifteen  years,  and  the  Lord 
prospered  him  in  building  up  the  largest  congregation  in 
the  State  among  those  of  his  faith,  besides  building  them 
the  finest  brick  edifice,  as  a  place  for  the  worship  of  God, 
in  that  section  of  the  State.  During  these  fifteen  years  he 
became  known  as  the  leading  minister  of  his  church  in  the 
United  States.  Not  only  in  Kentucky  has  he  been  instru- 
mental in  organizing  and  building  both  congregations  and 
meeting-houses,  but  he  was  unanimously  chosen  the  gen- 
eral evangelist  of  the  United  States,  which  position  he  now 
holds,  besides  assisting  in  the  educational  work  of  his  race. 
He  very  recently  purchased  the  large,  spacious  college 
property  at  New  Castle,  Kentucky,  which  originally  cost 
eighteen  thousand  dollars,  e-vclusive  of  the  grounds,  and  at 
once  began  the  task  of  paying  for  it.    The  school  is  in 


298  MEN  OP  HARK. 

operation  with  a  corps  of  teachers,  and  has  a  bright  futiste 
before  it.  He  is  still  one  of  the  trustees,  and  the  financial 
agent  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  *'  Christian  Bible  Col- 
lege,"  at  New  Castle.  Some  idea  can  be  given  of  this  man 
of  push  and  iron  nerve  and  bold  undertakings  by  giving  a 
passage  in  his  life.  When  the  Big  Sandy  railroad  was 
under  contract  to  be  completed  from  Mt.  Sterling  to  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  the  contractors  refused  to  hire  colored  men 
to  work  on  it,  preferring  Irish  labor.  He  at  once  made  a 
bid  for  Sections  3  and  4,  and  was  successful  in  his  bid ;  he 
then  erected  a  large  commissary  and  quarters  for  his  men, 
bought  seventy-five  head  of  mules  and  horses,  carts,, 
wagons,  cans  and  all  the  necessary  implements  and  tools, 
and,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  colored  men,  he  led  the  way. 
In  fourteen  months  he  completed  the  two  miles  of  -the 
most  difficult  part  of  this  great  trunk  line  at  a  cost  of 
about  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 

The  president  of  the  road,  Mr.  C.  B.  Huntington,  said  he 
had  built  thousands  of  miles  of  road,  but  he  never  saw  a 
contractor  who  finished  his  contract  in  advance ;  and  so 
he  then  was  requested  by  the  chief  engineer  of  the  works 
to  move  his  force  to  another  county  and  help  out  some  of 
the  white  contractors ;  this  he  did  not  do.  Afterwards  he 
was  offered  other  important  contracts,  but  declined.  A 
syndicate  in  Nebraska  offered  him  the  position  of  superin- 
tendent of  their  coal  mines,  but  knowing  it  would  take 
him  away  from  his  chosen  calling,  he  declined  the  offer. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  was  editor  of  **Oiir  Colored 
Brethren, "  a  department  in  the  Christum  Standard^  a 
newspaper  published  as  the  organ  of  his  denomination  at 


PKB8TON  TAYLOR.  299 

Cincinnati,  Ohio,  with  a  circulation  of  50,000  copies  a 
week.  He  has  written  for  many  books  and  periodicals. 
He  is  a  member  of  both  Masonic  and  Oddfellow  lodges 
and  was  State  Grand  Chaplain  of  the  former  and  State 
Grand  Master  of  the  latter,  and  held  that  position  for 
three  years  and  traveled  all  over  the  State,  speaking  and 
lecturing.  Especially  do  the  Oddfellows  owe  much  to  him 
for  their  rise  and  progress  in  the  State  of  Kentucky,  and 
the  order  conferred  upon  him  as  a  mark  of  honor,  all  the 
degrees  of  the  ancient  institution.  He  has  represented  his 
lodge  in  many  of  the  National  conventions  of  the  B.  M.  C, 
preaching  the  annual  sermons  for  a  number  of  years.  His 
headquarters  are  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  and  he  lives  in 
considerable  style,  with  a  handsome  office  and  library 
worth  one  thousand  dollars.  The  pastoral  oversight  of 
the  Gay  Street  church  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  increases  his 
labors.  This  is  one  of  the  largest,  wealthiest  and  most  in- 
fluential congregations  in  the  city.  I  will  give  another 
incident  that  will  show  the  character  of  the  man,  how  he 
loves  his  race,  and  with  what  respect  he  treats  them. 
While  ser^-ing  the  church  in  Nashville,  in  188G,  the  choir 
of  the  church  gained  great  reputation  by  taking  a  prize 
over  every  other  church  choir  in  the  city,  in  a  musical  con- 
test.  The  Nashville  American  gave  a  very  flattering 
account  of  the  results  which  caused  forty-two  leading  citi- 
zens of  the  white  race  to  petition  through  the  pastor  of 
the  church,  for  a  concert  to  be  given  in  the  opera  house  for 
the  special  benefit  of  their  friends.  When  Mr.  Taylor  met* 
this  committee,  they  informed  him  that  oA  the  night  of 
the  concert  the  colored  people  would  be  expected  to  take 


300  MEN  OP  MARK. 

the  gallery  as  usual.  Mr.  Taylor  refused  deliberately  to 
have  an3rthing  further  to  do  with  the  matter  and  publicly 
denounced  the  whole  crowd  in  his  church,  which  was  very 
satisfactory  to  the  colored  citizens  who  urged  him  to  give 
a  concert  nevertheless,  and  he  consented.  On  the  night  of 
the  concert  there  was  scarcely  standing  room  for  the 
people,  who  said  they  desired  to  show  their  appreciation 
of  this  manly  stand  in  resenting  such  overtures,  and  the 
result  was  an  increase  to  the  treasury  of  over  two  hundred 
^lollars.  He  is  one  of  the  leading  men  in  the  commtmity 
where  he  lives,  commanding  the  respect  of  all  who  know 
him.  A  slight  idea  may  be  given  of  his  popularity  by 
stating  that  once  when  a  gold  cane  was  voted  for  in  some 
entertainment  in  the  city  of  Nashville,  his  name  was  sub- 
mitted by  his  friends  to  be  voted  for.  He  opposed  the 
suggestion,  but,  nevertheless,  when  the  votes  were  counted, 
out  of  the  three  thousand  votes  in  that  large  city,  he  got 
over  two-thirds  of  the  number.  A  quotation  from  the 
Christian  Standard^  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  March  3,  1886,  will 
give  some  estimate  of  how  he  is  held  by  the  editor  of  that 
paper.  A  grand  party  was  given  for  his  benefit,  and  the 
editor  used  these  words  in  reference  to  his  absence. 

We  have  just  received  an  invitation  to  a  tea  party  at  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee, to  be  given  in  honor  of  Ed.  Preston  Taylor.  We  would  go  all 
that  distance,  were  it  possible,  to  show  our  respect  for  the  zeal,  atnKty 
and  untiring  energy  of  Preston  Taylor.  As  we  cannot  go,  we  take  this 
method  of  atoning  for  our  absence. 

Mr.  Taylor  is  a  man  who  will  impress  you  when  you 
meet  him  as  thoroughly  in  earnest.     He  is  never  idle, 


PRBSTON  TAYLOR.  301 

always  with  new  plans,  warm  hearted,  generous,  sympa- 
thetic and  a  true  brother  to  all  men  who  deserve  the  cog- 
nizance of  earnest,  faithful  workers  for  Christ. 


302  MEN  OF  MARK. 


XXXIV. 

HON.  SOLOMON  G.  BROWN. 

Distingnished  Scientist— Lecturci^-Chicf  Clerk  of  the  Transportation 
Department  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia— Entomologist— Taxidermist— Lecturer  on  "  Insects  '*  and 
"Geology." 

SOLOMON  G.  BROWN  was  the  fourth  son  of  Isaac  and 
Rachel  Brown.  He  was  bom  of  free  parents  in  the 
city  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  February  14, 
1829.  He  was  deprived  of  the  common  school  education 
by  the  loss  of  his  father  in  1833,  when  his  mother  was 
left  a  widow,  and  had  at  that  time  six  children.  They 
were  very  poor.  His  father's  property  was  seized  for  pre- 
tended debts  in  1834,  leaving  the  family  penniless  and  home- 
less. Solomon  was  early  placed  under  the  care  of  a  Mr. 
Lambert  Tree,  assistant  postmaster  in  the  city  post-office. 
He  received  an  appointment  under  Mr.  Tree  in  one  of  ther 
departments  in  the  post-office  in  1844,  from  which  he  wa^ 
detailed  to  assist  Professor  Joseph  Henry,  Professor  Sam- 
uel F.  Morse  and  Mr.  Alfred  Vail  in  putting  the  new  mag- 
netic telegraph  system  in  operation  in  1845,  and  he 
remained  with  them  until  the  enterprise  was  purchased  by 
the  Morse  Telegraph  company,  when  he  accepted  a  situa- 


SOLOMON  G.  BROWN.  303 

tion  as  battery  tender  from  the  new  company,  and  served 
until  appointed  assistant  packer  to  Gillman  &  Bros,  man- 
ufactory, in  their  chemical  laboratory. 

This  is  quite  an  incident  in  Mr.  Brown's  history,  for  he 
was  present  when  the  first  wire  was  laid  from  Baltimore 
to  Washington.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Morse 
had  conceived  the  idea  of  a  magnetic  telegraph  system  in 
1 832,  and  had  exhibited  it  to  the  Congress  in  1837,  and 
had  vainly  attempted  to  get  a  patent  in  England,  as  Pro- 
fessor Wheatstone  in  England  had  claimed  a  prior  inven- 
tion over  the  American.  He  struggled  on  with  scanty 
means  until  1843,  and  just  as  he  wa^  about  to  give  up  the 
whole  matter  Congress,  at  midnight  in  the  last  moment 
of  the  session,  appropriated  thirty  thousand  dollars  for 
the  purpose  of  making  an  experiment  with  the  line  between 
Baltimore  and  Washington.  After  the  success  of  this  line 
Mr.  Morse  was  voted  testimonials,  orders  of  nobility, 
honors  and  wealth,  but  the  Negro  who  assisted  materially 
has  been  almost  forgotten.  Mr.  Brown  was  a  natural 
scientist,  and  coming  in  contact  with  these  learned  men 
only  increased  his  thirst  for  knowledge.  He  is  a  man  of 
rare  scientific  acquirements,  very  unassumingin his  appear- 
ance, and  yet  his  intelligence  would  astonish  one  on  mak- 
ing his  acquaintance.  Mr.  Brown  is  very  handy  with  the 
brush,  for  while  he  was  in  this  chemical  laboratory  he 
mounted  and  colored  maps  for  the  general  land  office  as 
well  as  prepared  colors  in  the  Gideon  company's  book- 
binding establishment,  where  he  remained  until  1852,  when 
he  was  appointed  to  the  foreign  exchange  division  of  the 
then  new  Smithsonian  Institute  where  he  has  remained  until 


304  MEN  OF  MARK. 

this  time,  filling  acceptably  all  positions  that  he  has  been 
honored  with.  Few  men  in  the  city  of  Washington  are 
better  known,  and  certainly  none  stand  higher  in  the  esti* 
mation  of  the  people.  He  has  filled  very  many  honorary  posi- 
tions and  has  done  great  good  for  his  race.  He  has  been  a 
trustee  of  Wilberforce  University,  and  trustee  of  the 
15th  Street  Presbyterian  church,  superintendent  of  the 
North  Washington  Mission  Sunday  school,  and  active 
member  of  the  Freedmen's  Relief  association.  He  was  elec- 
ted to  the  legislature  for  the  District  of  Columbia  in  1871, 
and  re-elected  twice,  overcoming  at  one  time  four  candi- 
dates. He  was  trustee  of  the  public  schools,  grand  secre- 
tary of  the  District  Grand  Lodge  of  Masons,  commissioner 
for  the  poor  in  the  County  of  Washington,  and  one  of  the 
assistant  honorary  commissioners  of  the  colored  depart- 
ment of  the  New  Orleans  Exposition  for  the  District  of 
Columbia.  In  1866  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent of  the  National  Union  League;  was  a  member  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  Emancipation  Monument 
erectors,  and  honorary  membe  rof  the  Galbraith  Lyceum ; 
corresponding  member  of  the  St.  Paul  Lyceum,  Baltimore; 
director  of  the  Industrial  Saving  and  Building  Association 
of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia;  Washington  corres- 
pondent of  the  Anglo-African  Christian  Recorder  when  it 
was  under  the  management  of  Bishop  H.  M.  Turner;  also 
assistant  in  the  organization  of  the  Pioneer  Sunday  school 
association,  Hillsdale,  District  of  Columbia,  presiding  as 
superintendent  from  1868  to  1887,  and  is  again  re- 
elected to  serve  another  year.  He  is  also  editor  of  the 
''Sunday  school  Circle  *'  of  the  Christian  Index,  at  Jackson^ 


SOLOMON  G.  BROWN.  305 

Tennessee,  and  a  frequent  lecturer  on  scientific  questions 
before  scientific  societies  in  Baltimore,  Alexandria  and 
Washington.  Mr.  Brown's  connection  with  the  Pioneer 
association  deserves  to  be  especially  mentioned. 

In  early  days«  directly  after  the  war,  when  General  0.  O. 
Howard  had  charge  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  through 
it,  in  some  way,  a  little  town  now  known  as  Hillsdale 
was  pnrchased  and  many  families  secured  homes  for  them- 
selves in  that  neighborhood.  Mr.  Brown  was  one  of 
these,  and  through  his  direction,  encouragement  and 
advice  many  happy  homes  have  been  established,  to  which 
the  Pioneer  association  with  its  very  large  Sunday  school 
work,  its  brilliant  concerts,  its  Bible  readings,  lectures 
and  other  entertainments,  has  added  materially  to  the 
moral,  spiritual  and  intellectual  and  financial  condition 
of  the  people.  Only  judgment  day  will  be  able  to  tell  the 
good  that  Solomon  G.  Brown  has  accomplished  in  that 
neighborhood.  Personally  acquainted  with  him,  living  in 
his  house  for  several  years,  I  can  speak  from  knowledge. 
His  whole  life  seems  devoted  to  the  people.  He  spends 
his  money  freely  in  providing  those  things  for  the  intel- 
lectual culture  and  the  moral  training  of  the  Sunday 
school  attendants,  male  and  female,  young  and  old,  and 
he  was  never  weary  in  well-doing.  No  period  of  my  life 
was  more  pleasantly  spent  than  in  his  house.  Sur- 
rounded as  he  is  with  musical  people,  with  the  choicest 
library,  pictures  and  other  evidences  of  culture,  one  could 
not  but  enjoy  life.  His  home  is  indeed  a  pleasant  one,  be- 
cause his  amiable  wife,  whom  he  married  June  16, 1864,  has 
been  to  him  truly  a  helpmeet  and  has  contributed  largely 


306  MEN  OF  MARK. 

to  the  carrying  out  of  his  plans.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  poet, 
and  has  in  press  a  book  of  poems  which  will  show  to 
some  extent  his  genius  and  literary  taste.  Never  having 
been  blessed  with  children  of  his  own,  he  has  adopted  sev- 
eral and  trained  them  to  useful  womanhood. 

Solomon  G.  Brown  began  his  public  lecturing  on  the 
sciences  about  the  year  1855.  His  first  lecture  was  deliv- 
ered January  10,  1855,  before  the  Young  Peoples'  Literary 
society  and  lyceum,  at  Israel  church,  Washington,  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  south  of  the  Capitol  building,  to  a 
large,  fashionable  audience ;  this  lecture  was  called  out  by 
the  request  of  several  prominent  citizens  of  Washington, 
as  will  be  shown  from  the  following  letter : 

Mr.  Solomon  G.  Brown. 

Dear  Sir :  A  number  of  your  personal  friends  who  were  present  at  the 
last  meeting  of  the  Young  Peoples*  Club,  at  Israel  (prided  over  by  Dr. 
Enoch  Ambush),  were  somewhat  surprised  at  certain  pleasing  and  in- 
structiye  remarks,  made  by  you  in  explanation  of  society,  especiallj 
when  you  so  graphically  described  the  social  habits  of  insects,  etc.,  and 
in  order  that  we  may  hear  you  more  fully,  we  beg  to  request  that  you 
will  at  some  early  date  consent  to  give  us  a  lecture  on  insects,  at  such 
place  as  you  may  select. 

We  are  yours  very  truly, 

Sampson  Nutter. 
Anthony  Bo  wen. 
Andrew  Foote. 
W11.1.IAM  Sladb. 
Alfred  Kiger. 
James  Wright. 
Andrew  B.  Tdcnet. 
James  Wormlby. 
Alfred  Barbour. 

Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  November  24, 1854. 


80L0H0N  G.  BROWN.  307 

■ 

A  reply  was  made  and  forwarded,  and  January  10,  was 
named  as  the  time.  Mr.  Brown  was  introduced  by  Mr. 
Enoch  Ambush.  He  was  greeted  by  a  large,  intelligent 
audience,  among  whom  were  several  white  citizens. 

The  lecturer,  after  thanking  the  audience  for  their  flatter 
ing  ovation  and  Dr.  Ambush  for  his  fine  introduction, 
said  that  we  are  now  introduced  as  a  race  to  a  new  and 
rich  field  of  thought,  quite  different  fi-om  that  in  which  we 
have  been  accustomed  to  engage,  for  from  all  the  facts 
that  he  could  gather,  he,  S.  G.  Brown,  was  the  first  to 
enter  the  field  as  a  lecturer  and  student  of  natural  science, 
and  more  especially  zoologj',  and  for  that  reason  he 
begged  of  the  hearers  a  patient  sympathy  in  his  feeble 
efforts.    He  then  began  thus : 

But  before  I  proceed,  and  1  cannot  consent  to  do  so  without  first  pay- 
ing a  living  compliment  to  those  profound,  eminent  thinkers  who  have, 
after  years  of  lalx)r,  study,  investigation  and  research,  added  so  much 
to  our  stock  of  knowledge,  in  that  dcpcirtmcnt  of  zoolog\'  called  insects. 

The  scientists  I  will  name  in  the  order  that  they  have  fixed  themselves 
in  my  mind  as  follows:  Say,  Melsheimer,  Harris,  Fitch,  LeConte  (father 
and  son),  Randall,  Haldman,  Ziegler  and  othejs,  who  have  for  years 
pursued  industrioush'  the  study  of  entomology,  and  have  many  of  them, 
departed  and  left  their  labors  on  record  in  so  many  scientific  memoirs  as 
a  record.  And  I  am  here  to-night  to  say,  that  to  them  the  world  owes 
much  for  our  present  stock  of  knowledge  of  these  little  animated  crea- 
tures, both  as  a  l)enefit  and  rare  benefit  to  human  economy. 

The  word  "  Insect "  is  derived  f'-om  the  Greek  and  means  cut  into.  A 
living  creature  whose  form  is  articulated,  having  a  sensitive  body  com- 
posed of  three  distinct  parts;  the  head,  the  thorax  and  the  abdomen' 
Legs,  six  in  number;  the  first  two  act  as  maxillary ;  the  second  two  as 
super-maxillary;  the  third  two  as  lifters  or  props  to  an  overhanging 
oblongated  abdomen.  Two,  and  sometimes  four  wings,  attached  to 
the  thorax  and  abdomen.    Along  the  sides  are  openings  or  spiracules 


308  MEN  OF  MARK. 

lined  with  ferm^nons  hairs,  through  which  they  breathe  or  carry  on 
respiration. 

The  word  **  Insect "  is  sometimes  used  in  a  sense  of  derision,  as  some- 
thing small,  insignificant,  mean,  low  and  contemptible.  This  we  think 
is  a  grave  error,  for  in  nothing  created  (except  man)  has  God  in  His 
infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  displayed  so  much  grandeur  and  wonder 
as  is  found  in  these  minute,  delicate  and  wonderful  creatures.  And  we 
do  this  evening  come  to  the  defense  of  the  insect  and  claim  for  it  a  high 
place  in  the  great  kingdom  of  zoology,  and  class  it  as  the  head  of  the 
articulates,  forming  a  distinct  branch,  yet  a  zoological  unit,  and  a 
thing  worthy  of  the  best  and  most  costly  investigation  and  thought,  for 
no  man  can  boast  of  a  complete  knowledge  of  zoology  without  at  least 
some  acquaintance  with  entomology. 

I  am  truly  proud  to  say  that  among  the  branches  studied  to  inclose  a 
liberal  education  now  encouraged,  that  natural  history  is  incorporated, 
and  some  attention  and  even  respect  is  being  paid  to  the  study  of  ento- 
mology ;  and  the  most  flattering  demonstration  of  that  fact  is  this  gath* 
ering  to-night. 

The  earlier  students  have  carefully  collected  and  arranged  all  known 
families  of  insects  into  groups,  families,  varieties,  genus  and  species^ 
naming  each  class  according  to  some  well-defined  characteristic.  Then 
again  subdividing  them  into  two  grand  roots:  First,  insects  which  are 
beneficial;  second,  insects  which  are  injurious  to  man. 

A  further  investigation  was  found  necessary  when  it  was  discoTered 
that  the  identical  species  were  not  found  all  over  the  globe.  Then  a 
geographical  distribution  was  fixed ;  this  and  many  other  difficulties 
were  met  with,  among  the  earliest  naturalists,  and  after  a  systematic 
^ study  of  food,  habitation,  habits,  arrival,  departure  and  climatic  situa- 
tions considered,  they  finally  arrived  at  a  proper  philosophical  data. 

The  lecturer  dwelt  for  some  time,  and  spoke  of  many 
amusing  incidents  of  superstition  and  of  association,  in- 
dustries, union,  affections,  offenses  and  defenses,  deceptions 
and  profanations,  their  mode  of  communications,  their 
Bong  and  language,  their  destructiveness,  friendship  and 
enmity  to  man,  their  presence  and  absence  at  various  sea-  • 


SOLOMON  G.  BROWN.  309 

sons  of  the  year,  their  Providence,  unity,  obedience  to 
anthoritv  and  communism.  He  then  named  those  which 
benefited  man,  such  as  bees,  silk-worms,  house-flj'  and 
numerous  others ;  and  among  those  which  injured  man,  he 
named  fleas,  chigoes,  ticks,  bed-bugs,  horse-flies,  wasps, 
hornets,  mosquitoes,  lice,  ants,  scorpions,  etc. 

In  the  concluding  portion  of  the  lecture,  the  social  ordei 
of  insects  was  again  referred  to  at  some  length,  and  it 
was  proven  very  clearly  and  logically,  as  well  as  wittily, 
that  insects  in  very  many  cases  had  been  men's  closest 
and  nearest  companions,  more  so  than  any  other  known 
animal,  following  him  through  all  departments  of  life,  at 
times  even  his  bed-fellow  and  constant  bosom  friends. 

The  lecturer  was  applauded  very  heartily  at  the  conclu- 
sion, and,  indeed  it  was  a  decided  success,  as  may  be 
judged  from  the  many  times  this  lecture  has  been  repeated 
—each  time  by  request. 

This  lecture  was  fully  illustrated  by  forty-nine  large 
drawings  or  diagrams,  and  was  repeated  in  Georgetown, 
District  of  Columbia,  for  Rev.  W.  H.  Hunter,  Alexandria, 
Virginia;  Rev.  Clement  Robertson,  Baltimore,  Maryland. 
Three  times  at  different  places:  at  Zion,  Wesley,  South 
Washington.  The  following  lectures  followed  this; 
**Geolog>-,''  "Water,"  *^Air/'  **Food,"  "Coal,''  "Miner- 
xilogy,''  "Telegraph,"  "Fungus,"  "Embryo  Plants," 
** Man's  Relations  to  the  Earth,"  "Straight  Lines,  its  Pro- 
duct, Circles  and  its  Waste,"  "God's  Providence  to  Man," 
**  Early  Educators  of  D.  C,"  and  six  others. 

In  connection  with  his  own  diagram,  Mr.  Brown  has 
prepared  or  assisted  in  preparing  nearly  all  the  important 


310  MEN  OF  MARK. 

diagrams  for  the  grand  scientific  lectures  which  have  been 
delivered  in  the  famous  Smithsonian  course  for  the  past 
thirty-five  years. 

The  following  is  an  outline  of  a  lecture  by  the  Hon. 
Solomon  G.  Brown,  and  shows  in  a  great  measure  his  in- 
terest in  these  matters. 

The  first  lecture  on  geology  before  the  annual  conference 
of  the  A.  M.  E.  church,  Bethel  church,  Baltimore,  April, 
1863,  by  special  invitation  of  a  committee.  The  immense 
building  was  filled  when  Rev.  Henry  M.  Turner  [now 
Bishop]  introduced  the  lecturer.  After  being  introduced  to 
the  vast  audience,  the  lecturer  began  by  saying  that  the 
selection  of  the  subject  to  be  discussed  was  not  left  to  him, 
but  had  been  called  out  by  an  invitation  fi-om  a  special 
committee  appointed  by  the  conference.  Then  he  pro- 
ceeded by  saying  that  geology  is  the  science  which  treats 
of  the  constitutional  crust  of  the  earth;  its  object  is  to 
describe  the  mineral  matter  and  its  organic  remains,  both 
animal  and  vegetable,  that  have  lived  and  hela  a  place 
upon  the  globe,  many  of  which  are  now  extinct.  It  also 
marks  the  successive  changes  that  have  passed  over  with 
time,  also  the  laws  that  have  governed  these  changes. 

Geology  is  divided  into  three  distinct  departments,  as  follows: 

1.  Descriptive  geolog>'. 

2.  Theoretical  geolog>'. 

3.  Practical  geologj'. 

The  descriptive  exhibits  the  facts  of  science, 
The  theoretical  attempts  to  account  for  them ;  and  the 
Pratical  shows  their  practical  application  to  practical  purposes. 
Subservient  to  geology  is  chemistr}',  which  treats  of  the  ultimate  parts 
of  matter  and  their  modes  of  combination ;   mineralogy,,  which  char- 


SOLOMON  G.  BROWN.  311 

acteriaes  and  classifies  the  various  rocks  and  minerals  of  which  the  earth 
is  composed ;  botany  and  zoology,  which  describes  plants  and  animals , 
and  physical  geography,  which  relates  the  facts  concerning  the  general 
distribution  of  matter  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  form  and  extent  of 
continents  and  islands,  rivers  and  mountain  systems,  together  with  the 
changes  now  occurring  in  them.  And  in  order  to  get  a  more  complete 
knowledge  of  geology  we  will  necessarily  have  to  consider  the  chemistry 
of  the  earth.  In  doing  this  we  recognize  sixty  elements  or  simple  bodies 
which  combine  to  produce  all  the  varieties  of  matter  with  which  we  are 
acquainted.  Many  of  them  occur  in  small  quantities  and  are  rarely  seen. 
Fifteen  or  sixteen  of  these  elements  enter  largely  into  the  compositions  of 
rocks. 

These  substances,  however,  very  rarely  present  themselves  in  their  ele- 
mentary state:  but  combined  with  each  other  they  make  the  greater 
portion  pf  the  earth's  crust. 

The  most  prevalent  of  these  is  oxygen,  which  forms  eight-ninths  of 
water,  one-fifth  of  the  atmosphere,  and  constitutes  one-half  of  all  the 
matter  known  to  us. 

With  silicon  it  forms  silica;  with  potassium  it  forms  potassia;  with 
iron,  the  oxide  of  iron,  etc.  There  are  but  few  minerals  or  fossils  that 
<lo  not  contain  oxygen. 

Hydrogen  forms  a  portion  of  minerals,  especially  bituminous  coal, 
and  enters  into  the  composition  of  water. 

Nitrogen  is  not  so  abundant,  but  is  found  in  the  bones  of  animals,  liv- 
ing and  fossils,  in  vegetables  and  in  the  atmosphere. 

Carbon  is  the  most  abundant  ingredient  in  coal,  and  enters  into  the 
composition  of  limestone,  which  is  carbonate  of  lime. 

Sulphur  exists  in  the  sulphurets  of  the  metals ;  sulphuret  of  iron,  iron 
pyrites,  sulphuret  of  lead,  galena  or  lead  ore ;  also  in  sulphates,  as  sul- 
phate of  lime,  gypsum  or  plaster  of  pans. 

It  is  thrown  out  extensively  bj'  volcanoes.  Chlorine  is  one  of  the  con- 
stituents of  rock  salt  (chloride  of  sodium)  and  is  widely  diffused  in  the 
ocean. 

Fluorine  occurs  in  fluoride  of  calcium  (fluor  spar)  and  other  minerals. 

Phosphorus  enters  into  the  composition  of  many  minerals  and  of  ani- 
mal bones,  as  the  phosphate  of  lime. 

Silicon  exists  in  most  of  the  rocks,  combined  with  oxygen,  as  silica 


312  ^rEN  OF  MARK. 

quartz,  which  constitutes  about  fortj'-five  ptr  cent,  of  the  crust  of  the 
earth,  and  form  the  walls  of  nearly  all  vegetable  matter. 

Oxide  of  Aluminum. — Aluminia  forms  one-fifth  of  the  mineral  feldspar, 
and  abounds  in  clay  and  slate  rocks ;  it  is  estimated  at  ten  per  cent,  of  aU 
the  rocks. 

The  oxide  of  potassium  also  enters  largelj'  into  feldspar  and  clay. 

Sodium  forms  a  part  of  rock  salt  and  other  minerals. 

The  oxide  calcium  (lime)  occurs  chiefly  in  carbonates  (limestone,  mar- 
ble), which  is  estimated  to  form  one-fourteenth  part  of  the  globe's  crust. 

Magnesia. — The  oxide  of  magnesia  enters  into  the  composition  of  many 
rocks,  and  abounds  in  niagnesium  limestone. 

Iron  is  very  widely  diffused  in  the  various  forms  of  its  ores,  oxide,  car- 
buret, sulphuret,  etc.,  and  by  these  the  geologist  is  enabled  to  discover 
the  various  changes  that  have  taken  place  by  the  agency  of  chemical 
affinity  for  many  thousands  of  ages. 

The  lecturer  then  took  up  at  length  the  following  agen- 
cies which  had  modified,  reduced  and  changed  the  surface 
of  the  earth  from  away  back  into  millions  of  years,  as 
follows : 

Atmospheric,  aqueous,  igneous  and  organic.  The  lec- 
turer then  concluded  with  practical  geology. 

The  lecture  was  illustrated  by  twenty-nine  large,  well 
executed  diagrams.  No.  1  of  the  set  showed  the  geological 
formations  of  stratas  in  their  geological  order.  All  the 
other  twenty-eight  were  fully  explained. 

*' WORTHY  THE  LAMB  THAT  WAS  SLAIN." 

BY  HON.  SOLOMO.N  G.  BROWN. 

On  the  mountain  tops  the  beacon  lights  are  kindled 

By  the  rosy  flush  that  tells  the  day  is  bom ; 
Height  to  height  replies  as  up  the  waiting  heavens 

Comes  the  rising  sun  that  heralds  Easter  morn ; 


SOLOMON  G.  BROWN.  313 

Smiles  the  earth  arrayed  in  robes  of  living  verdnre, 
Sing  the  birds  on  leafy  bough  a  joyous  strain, 

Nature  joins  with  man  in  praise  and  adoration, 
Saying :  Worthy  is  the  lamb  that  was  slain ! 

In  their  channels  leap  the  streams  with  throbbing  pulses, 

Life  renewed  is  in  each  whisper  of  the  breeze, 
All  the  little  twigs  and  shoots  are  stirring  softly 

With  the  life  that  animates  the  waving  trees ; 
Overhead  the  cloudless  sky  is  brightly  bending, 

Sunbeams  rest  alike  on  grassy  hill  and  plain, 
Earth  and  heaven  are  lighting  up  their  glad  thanksgiving, 

Saying :  Worthy  is  the  lamb  that  once  was  slain ! 

Bring  no  spices  to  anoi  nt  the  dead,  ye  mourners, 

From  the  grave  the  stone  of  grief  is  rolled  away ; 
Over  death  and  hell  the  Saviour  rose  triumphant 

On  the  morning  of  the  Resurrection  day ; 
Seek  him  not  within  the  tomb  for  he  is  risen ; 

Jesus  is  not  here,  behold  where  he  has  lain ! 
Look  above  while  angels  swell  the  joyous  anthem, 

Saying :  Worthy  is  the  lamb  that  once  was  slain ! 

Hallelujah !  for  the  cruc  ified  is  risen. 

Let  the  earth  rejoice,  the  mountains  clap  their  hands, 
Let  the  floods  be  glad  and  offer  up  thanksgiving, 

Hallelujah !  oh,  be  joyful  all  ye  lands, 
Sing  aloud  for  joy  all  nations  and  all  people. 

Angels  and  archangels  swell  the  loud  refrain. 
With  the  blood- bought  millions  cast  your  crown  before  him. 

Saying :  Worthy  is  the  lamb  that  once  was  slain ! 


314  HBN  OF  UASK. 


XXXV. 

JOHN  MITCHELL,  JR. 

The  Gatnest  Negro  Editor  on  the  Continent— A  Man  of  Grit  and  Iron 
Nerve — A  Natural  Bom  Artist. 

MEN  are  brave  often  from  experience  with  arms  and 
the  scenes  of  war,  others  because  of  a  recklessness 
of  life  and  a  dare-devil  spirit,  and  still  others  are  bom  for 
deeds  of  bravery  and  glide  as  easily  to  places  of  danger  as 
if  led  by  unerring  instinct ;  they  are  bold,  aggressive,  de- 
termined and  venturesome.  Such  a  man  as  the  last  is 
John  Mitchell,  jr.,  and  it  remains  yet  for  history  to  say  for 
certainty  what  good  July  11,  1863,  had  in  store  for  the 
Nation,  for  on  this  day  he  first  raised  his  infant  voice.  It 
was  when  his  parents  lived  in  Henrico  county ;  they  w^ere 
slaves.  His  mother  was  a  seamstress  and  his  father  was 
a  coachman.  From  the  day  of  his  birth  it  will  be  observed 
that  he,  too,  was  a  slave.  But  little  does  he  know  of 
those  dark  and  ** cruel  slavery  days.'*  The  sound  of  can- 
non, the  roar  of  musketry,  the  hissing  of  grape  and  can- 
ister did  not  go  unheeded  by  his  infant  ears.  At  this 
time  the  **Fall  of  Richmond,"  the  Union  sentinels  passing 
back  and  forward  on  the  streets  of  the  city  did  not  sligbtljr 
attract  his  attention.    Little  fellow  that  he  was,  their 


JOHN  MITCHELL  JR.  315 

presence  had  as  much  terror  for  him  as  they  had  for  the 
rebels.  The  "blue  coats '  *'  mission,  however,  he  could  not 
then  understand.  His  mother  taught  him  his  a,  b,  c's, 
a-b  ab's  and  e-b  eb's  and  the  other  monosyllabic  begin- 
nings, in  that  old  antiquated  method,  now  a  long  time 
out  of  date.  Many  times  has  he  felt  the  full  force  of  her 
hand  on  his  young  face  to  enable  him  to  have  a  better 
appreciation  of  his  lessons.  As  he  grew  older,  he  coupled 
with  his  school  duties  that  of  the  duties  of  a  newsboy, 
peddling  the  evening  daily  papers  on  the  streets  of  the 
city,  with  all  the  strength  of  his  young  life  crying  out 
''State  Journal^  here's  your  State  JoumaV  He  soon 
became  carriage  boy  for  James  Lyons,  a  rich,  aristocrat 
lawyer;  he  was  a  typical  Southerner  who  had  owned 
young  Mitchell's  parents  before  the  war,  and  consequently 
had  been  his  '*marster."  The  boy  often  accompanied  him 
to  his  farm  in  Henrico  county. 

It  was  this  Southerner  who  tried  to  instil  in  him  the 
idea  that  there  were  no  colored  gentlemen,  the  same  hav- 
ing been  told  him  when,  upon  answering  the  door  bell,  he 
would  inform  Mr.  Lyons  that  a  colored  gentleman  wished 
to  see  him.  His  mother  had  so  taught  him,  and  it  could 
be  readily  seen  that  she  had  different  ideas  from  that  of 
the  **blue  blood"  on  that  score.  It  was  here  he  had  the 
recollection  of  seeing  Jefferson  Davis,  the  ex- President  of 
the  Confederate  States,  and  he  was  reminded  that  he  had 
a  glass  eye,  a  thing  that  remains  fresh  in  his  mind  to  the 
present  day.  He  also  waited  on  the  table  at  Mr.  Lyons' 
residence  on  the  comer  of  Sixth  and  Gray  streets,  the 


316  MEN  OF  MARK. 

place  now  being  the  palatial  quarters  of  the  Westmore- 
land Club. 

He  bitterly  opposed  young  Mitchell's  being  educated, 
but  despite  all  this  his  mother  kept  him  at  school,  taught 
by  Rev.  A.  Binga,  jr.,  now  of  Manchester,  Virginia.    What 
ability  he  had,  if  any  existed  at  that  time,  seemed  latent 
wnthin  him.    In  1876  he  entered  the  Richmond  Normal 
High  School.    In  1877  he  received  the  silver  medal  for 
having  stood  the  highest  in  a  class  of  thirty  pupils.    This 
so  encouraged  him  that  he  was  successful  ever  after  in  this 
direction  for  years.    A  competition  in  map  drawing  at 
the  Fair  Grounds  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  at 
Richmond,  took  place,  and  a  gold  medal  was  offered  for 
the  best  map  of  Virginia,  and  he  lost,  though  he  tried  very 
hard.    He  thought  that  he  lost  unjustly.    He  was  carefiil 
as  to  details  and  was  sure  if  accuracy  was  called  in  ques- 
tion he  would  win. 

This  defeat  but  spurred  him  on  to  greater  efforts ;  he  felt 
convinced  that  he  could  win,  and  he  was  determined  to 
make  others  have  the  same  opinion.  January  1,  1881,  he 
brought  into  the  school-room  a  map  of  Virginia,  on  which 
he  had  spent  his  Christmas  holidays  to  make  it  ornamen- 
tal as  well  as  accurate.  His  surprise  was  great  when 
teachers  and  pupils  gathered  round  and  gazed  in  wonder- 
ment upon  the  production.  This  he  donated  to  the  school 
upon  the  suggestion  of  the  principal,  and  then  proceeded  to 
draw  another  which  would  render  insignificant  the  work 
they  had  taken  the  pains  to  praise. 

In  May,  1871,  this  production  was  exhibited.  Crowds 
of  pupils  gazed  thereon;    it  was  taken  from  him  and  he 


JOHN  MITCHELL,  JR.  31T 

heard  nothing  more  of  it  until  at  the  graduation  exercises, 
Hon.  A.  M.  Riky,  who  was  minister  to  Austria,  and  now 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  the  Khedive  of  Egypt, 
saw  it  and  said  it  was  worthy  of  a  special  gold  medal,  and 
he  would  be  the  one  to  present  it.  This  he  did  June  5, 
1881,  stating  that  it  was  the  best  production  ever  exe- 
cuted by  any  pupil,  white  or  black,  in  the  State. 

Young  Mitchell  stood  at  the  head  of  his  class  and  won  a 
gold  medal  offered  for  that  accomplishment.  In  1881  he 
won  another  gold  medal  in  an  oratorical  contest  in  which 
there  were  five  competitors.  He  has  since  drawn  a  map 
of  Yorktown,  surrounded  by  dignitaries  of  the  Revolution- 
€iry  War.  All  this  was  done  with  lead  pencils  which  usu- 
ally cost  two  cents  each.  The  work  resembles  the  finest 
steel  engraving,  and  would  be  readily  taken  for  such.  Mr. 
Mitchell  has  never  received  any  lessons  in  the  work  and 
this  makes  it  the  more  surprising.  So  imbued  were  his 
firiends  with  the  fine  character  of  the  work  that  they  en- 
deavored to  secure  for  him  an  apprenticeship  in  the  Bureau 
of  Engraving  and  Printing  at  Washington,  District  of  Co- 
lumbia. 

Addressing  Mr.  M.  E.  Bell,  supervising  architect  at 
Washington,  Senator  William  Mahone,  of  Virginia,  said : 
**  I  wish  you  would  give  a  moment  to  this  young  colored 
man.  See  his  drawings,  they  will  interest  you.  There  is 
talent  here  which  ought  to  be  encouraged.'* 

Hon.  B.  K.  Bruce,  then  register  of  the  treasury  depart- 
ment, wrote :  **  I  cordially  concur  with  the  sentiments  ex- 
pressed by  Senator  Mahone,  and  hope  Mr.  Mitchell  may 
receive  the  encouragement  he  so  richly  deserves.*' 


318  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Senator  John  A.  Logan  wrote,  after  seeing  the  drawings : 
'*I  most  cordially  concur  in  what  has  been  said  of  Mr. 
Mitchell.    He  is  a  wonderful  young  man  in  his  line." 

August  15,  1881,  when  Hon.  Pred  Douglass  wrote  to 
Mr.  J.  W.  Cromwell,  by  whom  Mitchell  had  been  sent :  "I 
am  much  obliged  to  you ;  I  am  glad  to  have  the  evidence 
of  the  talent  and  skill  aflForded  in  the  map  of  Viginia  by 
your  young  friend,  John  Mitchell,  jr.,  with  the  industry, 
patience  and  perseverance  which  he  has  shown  in  this  virork, 
I  have  no  fear  but  that  young  Mitchell  will  make  his  way 
in  the  world  and  be  a  credit  to  our  race.'* 

In  May,  1878,  young  Mitchell  professed  religion  and 
joined  the  First  Baptist  church,  Richmond.  He  became  an 
active  member  of  the  Sunday  school,  and  was  made  chair- 
man of  the  executive  board  of  the  Virginia  Baptist  State 
Sunday  school  convention.  In  1883  and  1884  he  was  the 
Richmond  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Freeman.  De- 
cember 5,  1884,  he  assumed  the  editorial  charge  of  the 
Richmond  Planet,  since  which  time  the  journal  has  become 
the  most  influential  in  the  State. 

Mr.  Mitchell  is  a  bold  and  fearless  writer,  carrying  out 
to  the  letter  all  he  says  he  will.  He  has  given  his  attention 
particularly  to  Southern  outrages  of  the  colored  people. 
His  exposure  of  the  murder  of  Banks,  a  colored  man,  by 
Officer  Priddy  (white)  attracted  wide-spread  attention. 
The  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  that  the  deceased  came  to 
his  death  by  some  unknown  disease  and  no  one  was  to 
blame.  Mr.  Mitchell  condemned  the  crime  and  declared 
the  officer  guilty  of  murder.  He  was  summoned  before  the 
grand  jury,  an  attempt  being  made  to  indict  him  for  mak- 


JOHN  MITCHELL,  JR.  319 

ing  such  a  charge.  The  case  was  dropped.  He  discovered 
that  the  man  had  been  unmercifully  clubbed  by  the  oflSicer ; 
so  he  consulted  four  colored  physicians  in  order  to  have 
the  body  exhumed  and  the  head  examined.  After  much 
inquiry,  he  discovered  that  the  body  had  been  sent  to  the 
dead-house,  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  Charlottesville. 
He  boarded  a  train  for  that  place  and  went  into  the  dead- 
house;  he  saw  portions  of  a  body  which  were  covered 
over  as  he  entered.  He  did  not  know  the  victim.  He  was 
locked  in  the  dead-house  himself,  by  parties  present,  but 
got  out,  and  after  hunting  for  the  physician  in  charge 
-without  success,  hurried  back  to  Richmond  to  appear  at 
court  the  next  morning.  The  officer  was  never  punished ; 
this  was  a  specimen  of  Southern  justice. 

The  lynching  of  Richard  Walker,  in  Charlotte  county, 
demonstrated  Mr.  Mitchell's  courage  again.  This  colored 
man  was  lynched  by  a  mob  of  white  men  at  Smithville, 
about  eighty-six  miles  from  Richmond,  Virginia.  Mr. 
Mitchell  condemned  the  affair  and  declared  that  his  mur- 
derers should  be  dangled  from  a  rope's  end.  This  occurred 
in  May,  1886.  The  editorial  appeared  on  a  Saturday,  and 
on  the  following  Monday  he  received  a  letter  containing  a 
piece  of  hemp,  abusing  him  and  declaring  they  would  hang 
him,  should  he  put  his  foot  in  the  county.  Mr.  Mitchell 
replied  that  he  would  visit  the  county,  adding:  **  There  are 
no  terrors,  Cassius,  in  your  threats,  for  I  am  armed  so 
strong  in  honesty  that  they  pass  me  by  like  the  idle  winds, 
which  I  respect  not." 

Later  on  he  armed  himself  wnth  a  brace  of  Smith  & 
Wesson  revolvers,  went  to  the  scene  of  the  murder,  which 


320  MEN  OF  MARK. 

was  five  miles  from*  any  railroad  station,  and  was  locked? 
in  the  jail  for  the  purpose  of  inspecting  the  place  w^her^ 
Walker  had  been  found,  and  then  returned  to  Richmond^ 
and  published  an  account  of  his  trip. 

A  short  account  of  him  appeared  lately  in  the  New  Yon 
World  February  22,  1887,  where  these  words  depic 
clearly  his  character.    Said  this  journal : 

One  of  the  most  daring  and  vigorous  Negro  editors,  is  John  MitcheL-l» 
jr.,  editor  of  the  Richmond  Planet.    The  fact  that  he  is  a  Negro 
lives  in  Richmond,  does  not  prevent  him  from  being  coarageons  almo: 
to  a  fault. 

He  is  a  man  who  would  walk  into  the  jaws  of  death  t<^- 
serve  his  race ;  and  his  courage  is  a  thing  to  be  admired* 
Mr.  Mitchell  is  one  of  the  intensest  lovers  of  his  race.    Hi^ 
pen  seems   dipped  in  vitriol  and  his  words  are   hurleiL 
with  the  force  of  Milton's  Satan,  whom  we  find  described — 
as  having  such  strength  **that  his  spear,  to  equal  which^* 
the  tallest  pine  hewn  on  Norwegian  hills  to  be  the  mast  ol 
some  great  admiral,  were  but  a  wand." 


JOHN  MITCHELL,  JR. 


LOUDON  ferrhx.  321 


XXXVI. 
REV.  LOUDON  FERRILL. 

of  a  Church  Incorporated  by  a  State  Legislattire— An  Old-Time 
•l^reacher— Hired    by  Town  Trustees    to  .Preach  to  the  Colored 


ONE  of  the  most  wonderful  men  who  ever  lived  on  the 
soil  of  Kentucky  was  the  second  pastor  of  what  is 
hnown  as  the  First  Baptist  church  in  Lexington.  He 
^e  slave  of  Mrs.  Anna  Winston,  in  Hanover  county, 
^^^Siiiia-  His  youth  was  spent  about  as  boys  usually 
•P^^^ixt  their  time;  but  at  eleven  years  of  age  a  singular 
^'Vig  happened  to  him,  which  made  him  think  of  a  future 
He  was  bathing  with  a  companion  and  they  were 
^^^ed  from  drowning  only  by  the  help  of  a  woman,  who 
^^iight  them  by  the  hair  of  the  head  and  drew  them  ashore. 
After  recovering,  he  received  severe  punishment  and  strict 
orders  were  given  him  to  keep  away  from  the  river.  In  a 
slcftch  written  at  the  time  of  his  death,  it  is  said  that  both 
of  the  boys  were  of  the  opinion  that  had  they  died  they 
would  have  gone  to  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone ;  they 
covenanted  together  that  henceforth  they  would  serve  God 
only. 
He  served  an  apprenticeship  as  a  house-joiner.     Ferrill 


322  MEN  OP  MARK. 

was  faithful  to  his  promise,  while  his  partner  was  recreant 
throughout.  After  baptism  he  felt  that  he  was  called  to 
preach  the  gospel,  but  he  was  disobedient  to  the  prompt- 
ings of  his  heart.  At  that  time  no  slave  was  permitted  to 
be  ordained.  Ferril!  was  permitted,  however,  by  his 
brethren,  to  preach,  so  far  as  their  power  extended,  in  these 
words:  **To  go  forth  and  preach  ,the  gospel  wherever 
the  Lord  might  cast  his  lot,  and  the  door  should  be  open 
to  him."  Fifty  persons  were  soon  converts  under  his 
ministry.  When  his  old  master  died  he  became  free,  an 
he  and  his  wife  (for  at  this  time  he  was  married)  came  t 
Kentucky  in  search  of  a  new  field  of  labor. 

When  he  arrived  at  Lexington  he  found  a  preacher  know 
as  ''Old  Captain*'  laboring  among  the  people;  however 
his  days  were  numbered  and  the  people  desired  Ferrill  t< 
preach  to  them,  which  he  refused  to  do  because  of  the  oi 


ganization  not  being  in  fellowship  with  the  Baptist  d^^"- 
nomination,  although  they  held   the  faith  and   geners^J 
practice  of  Baptists ;    but  he  entered  into  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  First  Baptist  church  (white)  in  1817.     The 
colored  people  then  applied  to  the  white  church  for  his 
services.    The  church  being  in  doubt  as  to  what  to  do,  pro- 
posed to  the  Elkhom  association,  in  1821,  the  following 
queries :    First.   **  Can  persons  baptized  on  a  confession  of 
faith  by  an  administrator  not  ordained  be  received  into 
our  churches  under  any  circumstances  whatever  without 
being  again  baptized  ?"    Second.    **  Is  it  admissible  for  the 
association  to  ordain  free  men  of  color  ministers  of  the 
gospel  ?''    The  queries  were  taken  up  by  a  committee,  con- 
sisting of  Jeremiah  Vardeman,  James  Fishback,  John  Ed- 


LOUDON  PERRILL.  323 

ivards,  Edmund  Waller  and  Jacob  Creath,  who  were 
appointed  to  consider  the  matter.  They  reported,  first, 
that  it  is  not  regular  to  receive  such  members;  second, 
that  they  knew  no  reason  why  free  men  of  color  could  not 
be  ordained  ministers  of  the  gospel,  the  gospel  qualification 
being  possessed  by  them.  This  first  resolution  referred  to 
those  colored  people  who  had  been  baptized  by  **01d  Cap- 
tain," and  the  second  to  Ferriirs  ordination.  However, 
they  were  all  received  without  re-baptism,  and  Ferrill  was 
ordained.  Ferrill  took  regular  charge  of  the  church  and 
served  it  thirty-two  years,  during  which  time  it  increased 
from  280  to  1820  members,  and  became  the  largest  church 
in  Kentucky.  Ferrill  was  a  remarkable  man;  he  was 
descended  fi-om  a  royal  line  of  Africans .  Dr.  William  Bright, 
a  white  pastor  in  the  State,  said  of  him:  **He  had  the 
manner  of  authority  and  command,  and  was  respected 
by  the  whole  population  of  Lexington,  and  his  influence 
was  m6re  potent  to  keep  order  among  the  blacks  than  the 
police  force  of  the  city." 

In  1833,  when  the  cholera  was  raging  in  Lexington,  he 
was  the  only  minister  that  remained  faithful ;  nursing  his 
wife,  who  died  at  this  time,  and  at  whose  funeral  the 
largest  number  attended,  which  was  thirteen,  of  any  of 
the  funerals  of  that  dreadful  day. 

There  has  been  many  a  dispute  as  to  the  length  of  time 
it  takes  to  baptize  any  number  of  candidates.  It  is  re- 
corded in  *  Spencer's  History  of  the  Baptists,'  fi-om  whence 
we  get  many  valuable  facts,  that  he  baptized  at  one  time 
220  persons  in  85  minutes,  and  at  another  time  60  in  45 
minutes. 


324  MEN  OF  MARK. 

So  popular  was  Loudon  Ferrill  that  tne  tnjstees  of  the 
town  of  Lexington  employed  him  to  preach  tQ  the  colored 
people.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  all  good  niet\  ^ave  ene- 
mies, and  his  endeavored  to  destroy  his  church.  Splomon 
Walker,  his  oldest  deacon,  advised  him  to  discontinue  his. 
meetings,  but  Ferrill  said :  No,  by  the  help  of  the  Lord 
he  was  going  on  and  believed  that  he  would  see  so  many 
people  there  that  the  house  would  not  hold  them. 
And  this  vision  was  fully  realized,  for  under  his  preaching 
the  attendance  at  his  church  was  always  a  very  large, 
one,  frequently  his  church  was  filled  to  overflowing. 

Harry  Quills,  **  whose  heart  was  said  to  have  been  as 
black  as  his  face,"  spread  a  report  that  Ferrill's  character* 
was  not  good  in  Virginia,  but  upon  some  of  the  white 
elders  writing  to  persons  living  in  the  neighborhood  in 
which  he  was  bom  and  raised,  they  were  informed  that 
his  character  was  unspotted.  He  made  another  attempt 
to  injure  Ferrill ;  knowing  that  the  law  was  such  that  no 
free  colored  person  could  remain  in  this  State  over  thirty 
days,  unless  a  native  of  the  State,  thought  he  would  drive 
Ferrill  away  in  this  manner.  He  had  warrants  gotten 
out ;  a  number  of  free  people  were  sold  and  a  number  went 
away.  The  white  people  got  Dr.  Fishback  to  draw  up  a 
petition  to  the  Legislature  to  give  Ferrill  permission  to 
stay  in  the  State,  which  was  granted,  and  his  church  at 
length  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  under  the. 
name  of  the  **01d  Apostolic  Church.'* 

In  his  will  he  left  his  property  to  his  two  adopted  child- 
ren, and  left  the  following  prayer,  also,  as  a  legacy  for 
Kentucky : 


^ 


LOUDON  FERRILL.  325 

O !  Great  Father  of  Heaven  and  earth,  bless  the  citizens  of  Richmond, 

Virginia,  for  their  kindness  toward  me  in  my  youthful  days ;  but  more 

I>articularly,  O  Lord,  be  merciful  to  the  citizens  of  Lexington,  Kentucky, 

and  may  it  please  Thee  to  bless,  preserve  and  keep  them  from  sin.    Guide 

them  in  all  their  walks,  make  them  peaceable,  happy  and  truly  righteous ; 

and  when  they  come  to  lie  down  on  the  bed  of  death,  may  thy  good 

spirit  hover  around  ready  to  waft  their  ransomed  souls  to  Thy  good 

presence.     Lord,  grant  this  for  Christ's  sake;  and,  Q!  God,  bless  the 

thurch  of  which  I  am  pastor,  and  govern  it  with  Thy  imerring  wisdom, 

m    and   keep  it  the  church  as  long  as  time  shall  last ;  and  O,  my  Maker, 

choose,  when  I  am  gone,  some  pastor  for  them,  who  may  be  enabled  to 

labor  with  more  zeal  than  your  humble  petitioner  has  ever  done,  and 

.gri'ant  that  it  may  continue  to  prosper  and  do  good  among  the  colored 

race.   O,  merciful  Father,  bless  the  white  people,  who  have  always  treated 

xne  as  though  I  was  a  white  man.   And  bless,  I  pray  Thee,  all  those  who 

'^larough  envy  or  malice  have  mistreated  me,  and  save  them,  is  my  prayer. 

.fc^less  the  Church  of  Christ,  everywhere;  bless  the  Christiansen  every 

J.^nd.    Bless,  O  Lord,  my  two  adopted  children  and  keep  them  in  Thy 

"^ay.    Bring  all  sinners  m  all  countries  to  feel  their  need  of  a  Saviour, 

nd  pardon  all  their  sins,  and  when  they  come  to  die,  take  them  unto 

Thyself,  and  the  glory  shall  be  to  the  Father  and  Son  and  the  Holy 

ihost  forever  and  ever.    Amen. 


The  author  of  this  book  feels  grateful  that  he  shares 
^especially  in  this  prayer,  as  he  pastored  this  same  church 
o  nobly  established  by  this  servant  of  the  Most  High.  At 
i:lie  death  of  Mr.  Ferrill,  October  12,  1854,  the  Lexing- 
ton Observer  said  '*that  he  rests  from  his  labors  and  his 
works  do  follow  him.'*  He  had  justly  acquired  an  im- 
mense influence  among  the  colored  people  of  this  city  and 
surrounding  country,  and  he  always  exercised  this  influ- 
ence with  prudence  and  for  the  furtherance  of  good  morals 
and  religion. 

The  Kentucky  Gazette,  March  6,  1878,  speaking  of  his 
death,  said : 


326  MEN  OF  BiARK. 

The  colored  people  of  Lexington  are  tinder  a  lasting  debt  and  obliga- 
tion to  Brother  Ferrill ;  for  he  did  more  for  their  elevation  and  instruc- 
tion than  all  other  agencies  combined,  and  we  know  that  the  masters  of 
his  people  regarded  him  as  a  most  useful  and  valuable  assistant  in  gov- 
erning and  controlling  them,  and  often  averted  harsher  means.  It  i» 
well  to  familiarize  the  generation  that  has  sprung  up  since  his  death 
with  the  history  of  his  blameless  and  useful  life,  for  the  lessons  that  it 
teaches  can  hardly  be  lost  upon  them.  This  good  man  is  remembered  by 
persons  now  living  in  Lexington,  who  worshiped  him  almost  as  a  saint, 
and  are  never  weary  of  telling  of  his  good  deeds.  It  is  said,  that  in  * 
marrying  slaves  he  used  a  very  sensible  ceremony.  He  pronounced  them 
"  united  until  death  or  distance  do  them  part."  Long  may  he  be  remem- 
bered, and  his  example  of  holiness  and  faithfidness  be  an  inspiration  to 
the  rising  generation. 


\ 


HICHAIU)  THEODORE  GREENER.  327 


XXXVII. 

PROFESSOR  RICHARD  THEODORE  GREENER, 

A.  B.,  LL.  B.,  LL.  D. 

Chief  Civil  Service  Examiner— Lawyer— Metaphysician,  Logician  and 
Orator— Prize  Essayist— Dean  of  the  Law  Department  of  Howard 
University. 

WITHOUT  doubt  the  gentleman  whose  name  stands 
at  the  head  of  this  page  is  one  of  the  most  accom- 
plished scholars  in  polite  literature  among  us.  In  this 
statement  not  an  adjective  is  wasted,  nor  is  it  misused.  His 
studies  range  over  a  vast  field  of  learning.  His  taste  is 
gesthetical,  and  can  be  compared  to  the  eagle  in  its  flights. 
He  was  never  known  to  produce  a  poor  article  froifthispen. 
He  is  an  orator  of  the  finest  kind,  differing  fi-om  Douglass 
and  Langston  only  in  the  degree  in  which  they  differ  from 
each  other.  As  w^e  shall  show  his  career,  it  can  easilv  be 
seen  that  he  has  spent  his  life  among  books  and  has  had 
the  good  judgment  to  use  Bacon^s  advice  when  writing 
of  studies:  **Some  books  are  to  be  tasted,  others  to  be 
swallowed  and  some  few  to  be  read  and  digested ;  that  is 
some  books  are  to  be  read  only  in  parts,  others  to  be  read 
b?it  not  curiously,  and  some  few  to  be  read  wholly  and 
wnth  diligence    and    attention.     Reading   maketh  a  full 


328  MEN  OP  MARK. 

man,  conference  a  ready  man,  writing  an  exact  man." 
All  three  of  these  characteristics  belong  to  Mr.  Greener, 
who  has  risen  to  his  present  status  from  a  poor  boy,  for 
he  supported  a  widowed  mother  by  working  as  a  porter 
while  quite  a  lad.  He  was  bom  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  lived  in  Boston  from  the  time  he  was  five  years 
of  age.  He  was  educated  at  the  grammar  school  of  Cam- 
bridge, and  then  spent  two  years  preparing  for  college  at 
Oberlin,  Ohio,  and  finished  his  preparations  at  Phillips 
Academy,  Andover,  Massachusetts,  the  oldest  in  this 
country.  He  graduated  from  Harvard  University  as  a 
Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1870,  when  he  was  about  twenty-six 
years  old,  and  was  immediately  made  principal  in  the 
male  department  of  the  institute  for  the  colored  youth  in 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  from  September,  1870,  to 
December,  1872.  He  followed  in  this  position  the  highly 
cultured  and  distinguished  Octavius  V.  Catto,  who  was 
shot  in  a  riot  in  1871.  Mr.  Greener  was  the  first  one  to  be 
with  him  after  his  assassination.  From  January  1  to 
July  1,  J  873,  he  was  principal  of  the  Sumner  High  School, 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  was  also  associate 
editor  of  the  New  National  Era,  frpm  April  to  October  of 
that  same  year.  September,  1873,  found  him  at  work  in 
the  office  of  the  United  States  attorney  for  the  District  of 
Columbia.  Two  months  later,  in  the  same  year,  he  was 
elected  professor  of  metaphysics  and  logic  in  the  Univers- 
ity of  South  Carolina  at  Columbia,  which  chair  he  ac- 
cepted and  filled  with  great  credit  until  March,  1877, 
when  the  university  was  closed  by  the  Hampton  Legisla- 
ture.    While  he  was  a  professor   in  this   universitv    He 


K.  T.  GKEENER. 


RICHARD  THEODORE  GREENER.  329 

assisted  in  the  departments  of  Latin  and  Greek,  and  also 
taught  classes  in  International  law  and  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  He  was  active  in  politics,  though 
he  never  held  a  political  office.  At  the  same  time  he  was 
librarian  of  the  university  from  May  14  to  October  31, 
1875,  when  he  rearranged  the  thirty  thousand  volumes 
and  prepared  a  catalogue.  He  also  wrote  an  interesting 
monograph  on  the  rare  books  of  the  library,  which  he 
read  before  the  American  Philological  Association,  in  June, 
1877,  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land. For  his  labors  at  the  librarv  even  the  Charleston 
News  and  Courier  found  words  of  praise.  In  1875  also  he 
was  chosen  by  a  concurrent  resolution  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  South  Carolina  a  member  of  a  commission 
whose  duty  it  was  to  revise  the  school  system  of  the 
State.  In  this  commission  he  was  the  only  one  who  had 
not  been  the  president  of  the  college.  He  also  found  time 
to  complete  his  law  studies,  which  he  had  begun  in  Phila- 
delphia and  had  continued  in  the  office  of  the  attorney  for 
the  District  of  Columbia,  by  graduating  from  the  law 
school  of  the  South  Carolina  University,  under  Judge 
Moses,  at  the  head  of  his  class,  and  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  the  Supreme  Court  of  South  Carolina,  December 
20,  1876,  and  the  Bar  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  April 
14,  1877.  In  1877  he  became  instructor  in  the  Law  De- 
partment in  Howard  University,  and  on  the  death  of  John 
II.  Cooke,  esq.,  in  1879,  he  was  elected  dean.  September, 
1880,  he  resigned  the  deanship  and  became  a  law  clerk  of 
the  first  comptroller  of  the  United  States  treasury,  Hon. 
William  Lawrence  of  Ohio,  which  position  he  held  until 


330  MEN  OF  MARK. 

February  28, 1882,  and  then  begun  the  active  practice  of 
law.  He  was  an  associate  counsel  with  A.  K.  Brown^ 
esq.,  in  the  defense  of  J.  M.  W.  Stone,  indicted  for  wife 
murder,  and  made  the  opening  speech  for  the  defense  in 
the  argument  for  a  new  trial,  and  assisted  in  the  general 
conduct  of  the  case.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Stone's 
head  was  cut  off  by  the  rope,  clean  from  his  neck,  when 
he  was  hung,  one  of  the  few  instances  of  the  kind  on 
record.  In  the  preparation  of  his  law  cases,  Mr.  Greener 
is  as  careful  as  he  would  be  in  the  preparation  of  an  ora- 
tion on  any  literary  subject.  His  researches  are  indicative 
of  his  breadth  of  learning  and  acquaintance  with  text 
books  in  the  matter  at  hand. 

He  was  associate  counsel  with  Hon.  Jeremiah  Wilson  in 
the  famous  extradition  case  of  Samuel  L.  Perry,  one  of 
those  who  had  been  originally  exodized  from  North  Care- 
Una,  and  whose  extradition  was  demanded  by  Governor 
Jarvis  on  the  trumped  up  charge  of  forgery.  Mr.  Greener 
made  the  argument  before  Justice  Wiley,  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  on  the  habeas  corpus 
hearing,  going  over  all  the  cases  of  extradition  from  1791 
down  to  the  present  time.  In  this  argument  he  was  opn 
posed  to  Hon.  R.  T.  Merrick,  Tilden's  counsel  in  the  elec- 
torial  commission,  and  counsel  for  the  Government  in  the 
Star  Route  cases.  Mr.  Greener  won  the  case  and  Perrv 
was  released  from  custody.  He  was  also  associated  with 
Hon.  Martin  I.Townsend.United  States  district  attomev, 
in  the  Whittaker  court  of  inquiry,  in  April  and  May,  1880, 
and  made  the  legal  argument  before  the  secretary  of  war, 
Hon.  Alex.  Ramsey,  for  the  release  of  Whittaker  and  the 


HICHARD  THEODORE  GREENER.  331 

granting  of  a  court-martial.  Whittaker  was  the  colored 
student  noted  at  West  Point  as  the  one  whose  ears  were 
mutilated,  and  it  was  charged  that  he  had  tied  himself  and 
then  mutilated  his  own  ears,  which  seems  to  have  been  im- 
possible. The  result  of  his  argument  was  that  indefinite 
leave  was  immediately  granted  and  a  court-martial  was 
ordered  by  President  Hayes,  December  28,  1880.  He  was 
also  associated  as  counsel  with  ex-Governor  Daniel  H. 
Chamberlin,  from  January  20  to  June  15,  1881,  in  defense 
of  Cadet  Whittaker  during  the  court-martial.  Mr.  Greener 
was  also  secretary  of  the  original  exodus  committee,  with 
Senator  Windom  president,  and  was  chairman  of  the  first 
delegation  that  waited  on  Senator  Windom  afiber  his 
speech,  and  stated  the  grievances  of  the  colored  people. 
He  debated  the  exodus  question  with  Hon.  Fred  Douglass. 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  at  the  Social 
Science  congress,  at  Saratoga,  New  York,  September  13, 
1879.  In  that  year,  also,  he  lectured  all  through  the 
Western  States  and  wrote  many  articles  to  the  newspapers 
on  the  different  phases  of  the  movement.  Professor 
Greener  has  had  a  large  experience  in  political  speaking, 
and  has  done  a  great  deal  of  political  work.  In  1876  he 
also  canvassed  the  Third  Congressional  district  of  South 
Carolina  for  Haves  and  Wheeler  and  Chamberlin.  His  ex- 
perience  is  enrolled  on  the  Senate  miscellaneous  documents, 
Number  48,  Senator  Cameron's  (Wisconsin)  report,  pages 
223  to  228,  volume  1,  and  he  was  the  only  man  who  made 
the  entire  circuit  of  the  district  and  spoke  at  every  adver- 
tised place.  After  the  overthrow  of  the  Republican  govern- 
^ment  in  that  State,  he  returned  to  Washington  and  has 


332  MEN  OF  MARK. 

attended  to  his  profession  ever  since.  In  every  campaign 
his  services  have  been  in  active  demand,  and  he  has  spoken 
since  1877  in  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  Ohio  and  New  York. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Republican  conference  of  one 
hmidred,  held  in  New  York  City,  August  4,  1880,  and  rep- 
resented South  Carolina.  He  has  represented  that  State 
in  the  Union  League  of  America  from  1876  to  1879,  and  is 
at  present  president  of  the  South  Carolina  Republican  as- 
sociation, Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

This  charming  talker  took  an  active  part  in  the  Republi- 
can campaign  of  1884,  speaking  in  seven  States  for  Blaine 
and  Logan.  July,  1885,  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the 
Grant  Memorial  association,  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  October  9, 1885,  he  was  appointed  chief  examiner  of  the 
municipal  civil  service  of  New  York  City  by  Mayor  Grace. 
He  now  holds  both  positions,  having  been  re-appointed  to 
the  latter  by  Mayor  Hewitt.  Mr.  Greener  has  filled  a  very 
large  place  in  the  afiTairs  of  this  country,  and  has  risen  so 
fast  in  the  minds  of  the  people  that  his  name  is  linked  with 
the  names  of  Douglass  and  Langston,  though  a  much 
younger  man  than  either  of  them .  In  Masonic  circles  he  has 
been  active  for  the  union  of  the  colored  Masonic  bodies. 
He  was  initiated,  passed,  and  raised,  in  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1872. 

He  has  served  as  E.  C,  Gethsemene  Commandery  of 
Knights  Templars,  District  of  Columbia,  1873,  and  Grand 
Commander  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  Ancient  Accepted 
Scottish  Right,  33d  degree,  South  and  Western  jurisdic- 
tion.   He  was  one  of  the  committee  of  thirty  on  the  inaug- 


HICHARD  THEODORE  GREENER.  333 

oral  ceremonies  of  Garfield  and  Arthur.  The  title  of  LL.  D 
was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  College  of  Liberia,  Mon- 
rovia, West  Africa,  January  13,  1873.  We  furnish  here  a 
list  of  the  subjects  of  the  many  addresses  which  Dr.  Greener 
has  delivered,  and  which  will  in  some  measure  show  the 
range  of  his  mind  as  well  as  the  variety  of  subjects  over 
^which  he  roamed  with  such  ease.  The  elegance  and  charm 
of  their  diction,  together  with  the  profound  reasoning  and 
extensive  research  have  made  them  ever  pleasing  to  those 
who  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  hear  them. 

We  have  briefly  portrayed  in  some  feeble  way  the  rise  and 
progress  of  Professor  Greener,  but  we  cannot  do  justice  to 
the  brilliant  career  he  has  so  far  had,  nor  can  we  predict 
how  large  a  place  he  will  yet  fill  in  the  affairs  of  his  race. 
Though  bom  fi-ee,  he  has  met  the  same  difficulties  which 
others  have  met  who  were  bom  slaves,  because  he  was 
identified  with  that  downcast  and  humble  race  which  suf- 
fered because  of  their  color  and  their  condition. 

Mr.  Greener  is  a  gentleman  of  much  literary  taste,  and 
has  the  knack  of  getting  hold  of  many  relics — some  of 
great  value.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned  *  Banneker's 
Almanac,'  1792;  fac  simile  copy  of  his  letter  to  Thomas 
Jefferson,  which  sold  at  a  recent  sale  in  New  York  for  $18. 
'Walker's  Appeal,'  (Garnet  edition) ;  an  original  bill  of  the 
sale  of  a  slave;  'Gregorie's  Histo  de  la  litt.  des  Negres,' 
presented  to  Angelina  Grimke  by  John  Rankin ;  a  copy  of 
the  Freedom* s  Journal^  published  in  New  York  City,  1827 
—8,  the  first  colored  paper  in  the  United  States ;  very  many- 
rare  papers  on  colonization;  * Negromania/ by  Campbell^ 


334  MEN  OF  MARK. 

of  Philadelphia ;  the  lisl  of  the  original  documents  for  the 
abolition  of  slave-trade,  etc. 

I  append  here  a  list  of  the  subjects  of  his  best  orations. 
They  can  be  judged  from  their  titles,  and  show  that  his 
reading  has  been  over  a  very  wide  range,  and  that  he  has 
the  taste  of  an  exceedingly  high  and  cultivated  mind : 

1.  "  Fifteenth  Amendment  Celebration,"  at  Troy,  New  York,  April  28, 
1870. 

2.  Celebration  of  Emancipation  in  the  District  of  Colmnbia,  April  15, 
1873. 

3.  "  Charles  Sumner,  the  Idealist,  Statesman  and  Scholar,'*  an  ina^g 
nral  address,  University  of  South  Carolina,  Columbia,  June  24,1874. 

4.  "  The  Public  Life  and  Political  Writings  of  John  Milton/*  a  lectim 
at  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  Maxx:h,  1874. 

5.  An  oration  pronounced  at  the  celebration  of  Saint  John  the  Baptist, 
June  24, 1876,  at  Savannah,  Georgia. 

6.  "  The  Library  of  the  University  of  South  Carolina,  its  Rare  and 
Curious  Books,"  prepared  for  the  American  Philological  Association, 
June  11, 1877. 

7.  **  The  Missionary  Work  of  Education  among  the  Colored  People  of 
the  South,'*  an  address  delivered  at  the  dedication  of  St.  Maiy's  Protests 
ant  Episcopal  Academy,  Baltimore,  Maryland,  September  17, 1877. 

8.  "The  Great  Pyramid,  its  Age,  Builders,  and  Purpose,**  a  lectuir; 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  April  29, 1878. 

9.  Address  at  the  emancipation  celebration,  Washington,  District  oi 
Columbia,  January  1,1879:  "The  Political  Condition  of  the  Colored 
PeopJe  of  the  South.** 

10.  "  The  Academic  Life,"  an  address  before  the  students  of  the  Atpbm, 
Phi  Society,  Howard  University,  November  26, 1878. 

11.  "The  Life  and  Services  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison."  a  eulogy  be- 
fore the  colored  citizens  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  June  19, 1879. 

12.  A  Masonic  address  in  honor  of  the  union  of  the  craft  in  Maryland 
and  Virginia;  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  June  24,  1878. 

13.  "Socrates  as  a  Teacher,**  a  lecture  delivered  at  Washington,  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  April  5, 1880. 


> 


RICHARD  THEODORE  GREENER.  335 

14.  "The  Intellectual  Position  of  the  Negro,"  (a  reply  to  James  Par- 
ton),  National  Qnarterly  Review  (New  York  City),  Jnly,  1880. 

15.  Decoration  Day  address  before  Lincoln  Post  No.  7, 0.  A.  R.,  Depart- 
ment of  Maryland,  May  30, 1880. 

16.  *  *  The  Educational  and  Industrial  Progress  of  the  Colored  People,  *  * 
an  address  before  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania;  Musical 
Fond  hall,  January  4, 1881. 

17.  An  address  at  dedication  of  Lincoln  statue.  Prospect  Park,  Brook* 
lyn,  New  York,  at  invitation  of  Devins  Post  No.  148,  G.  A.  R.,  Department 
of  New  York,  May  30, 1881. 

18.  Celebration  of  the  fifteenth  amendment  by  the  colored  citizens  of 
Fftdenck,  Maryland,  August  24, 1881. 

19.  An  address  before  the  students  of  the  Garnet  Literary  association, 
Lincoln  University,  Oxford,  Pennsylvania,  June  6, 1881. 

20.  **  Success,  a  Duty,"  at  Bethel  church,  New  York  City,  a  lecture, 
December  28, 1880. 

21.  Masonic  address  at  la3ring  of  comer-stone  of  Calvary  Baptist 
church,  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  December  14, 1875. 

22.  **  The  Gospel  of  Work,"  a  lecture  before  the  Progressive  Working- 
men's  club,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  December  1, 1881. 

23.  **  Free  Speech  in  Ireland,**  address  at  the  Irish  Land  League,  Wash- 
ington, District  of  Columbia,  October  28,  1882. 

24.  ''Benjamin  Banneker,  the  Negro  Astronomer,"  a  lecture,  Wash- 
ington, District  of  Columbia,  February  1,  1882. 

25.  The  twentieth  anniversary  of  emancipation  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  April  17, 1882. 

26.  *' Henry  Highland  Garnet,*'  a  eulogy  delivered  at  Cooper  Insti- 
tute, New  York,  at  the  request  of  the  colored  citizens  of  New  York  City, 
May  10,  1882. 

27.  '*  The  African  Roscius,"  an  essa}'  on  Ira  Aldridge,  the  Negro  Amer- 
ican tragedian,  read  at  the  closing  exercises  of  the  Monday  Night  Liter- 
ary club,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  June  9, 1882. 

28.  Address  at  Tuskegee  Normal  school,  Tuskegee,  Alabama,  June  29, 
1884. 


336  MEN  OF  MARK^ 


xxxvin. 

CAPTAIN  PAUL  CUPPEE. 

Sea  Captain— Wealthy  Ship  Owner— Petitions  to  the  Massachusetts  Leg- 
islature against  ''Taxation  Without  Representation"— Petition 
Granted. 

IT  takes  recognized  skill  for  a  man  to  be  commander  of 
a  vessel.  Ship  owners  seldom  run  the  risk  of  ignorant 
management,  for  they  cannot  well  afford  the  losses  which 
would  probably  follow  such  a  line  of  conduct,  but  in  this 
case  the  son  of  a  slave  became  the  captain  and  owner  of 
his  own  vessel.  His  boldness  is,  therefore,  remarkable,  and 
yet  not  so  when  we  remember  that  he  is  the  son  of  a 
native  African  on  his  father's  side  and  of  Indian  blood  on 
his  mother's  side.  He  inherited,  from  his  father,  some 
land  and  other  property  which  was  not  profitable,  but  he 
determined  to  make  a  man  of  himself,  and  to  that  end  was 
diligent  and  industrious.  He  became  efficient  in  mathe- 
matics and  navigation.  His  intellect  was  very  vigorous 
and  the  power  of  concentration  was  so  great  that  his 
knowledge  of  the  latter  subject  was  gained  in  two  weeks, 
and  with  it  he  commanded  Negro  crews  for  many  years, 
in  his  voyages  to  England,  Russia,  West  Indies,  Africa  and 
the  whole  coast  of  North  America,  especially  its  eastern 


PAUL  CUFFEE.  337 

coast.  He  was  only  fourteen  when  his  father  died.  He 
-was  bom  in  1759,  in  Cutterhnnker,  one  of  the  Elizabeth 
islands,  near  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  he  w^as  a  deck-hand  on  a  vessel  destined  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico ;  his  second  voyage  was  to  the  West  Indies. 
On  his  third  voyage  he  was  captured  by  the  British,  and 
detained  in  prison  in  New  York  three  months.  At  this 
time  the  Revolutionary  War  was  in  progress.  Paul  and 
his  brother  John  having  been  called  on  to  pay  personal 
taxes  by  the  collector,  they  both  refused  to  do  so.  They 
w^cre  given  so  much  trouble  about  it,  that  finally  they 
agreed,  in  the  language  of  Oliver  Goldsmith,  **  to  stoop  to 
conquer."  They  paid  the  taxes,  as  it  was  a  trifling  sum, 
and  determined  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature,  believing  in  the  doctrine  that  they  had  heard 
all  of  their  lives,  that  there  should  be  **no  taxation  with- 
out representation.*' 

In  defiance  of  the  prejudice  of  the  times,  their  appeal  was 
heard  and  a  law^  was  enacted  by  the  Legislature  rendering 
all  free  persons  of  color  liable  to  taxation  according  to  the 
ratio  established  for  the  white  men,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
granting  to  them  full  privileges  that  belonged  to  any 
other  citizen  of  Massachusetts. 

What  a  glorious  result !  See  what  a  strong  man  can  do 
by  using  that  power  which  he  has.  Let  us  emulate  his 
example.  The  right  of  petition  is  still  ours.  There  are 
still  many  rights  denied  us  which  we  could  get  by  simply 
reaching  out  our  hands  to  take  them.  Let  the  colored 
people  of  that  State  honor  this  grand  man ;  and  we  trUvSt 
that  yet  some  testimonial  to  his  memory  shall  be  reared. 


338  MBN  OF  MARK. 

It  is  with  this  hope  that  we  have  given  him  a  place  in  this 
book.  Let  no  one  despise  youth.  We  are  so  apt  to  think 
that  young  men  are  extravagant  and  indiscreet  when  they 
are  bold  enough  to  oppose  what  might  seem,  or  what  is, 
"popidar  opinion.**  Do  right  if  you  stand  alone,  remem- 
bering there  are  blows  to  take  as  well  as  to  give.  There 
were  many  colored  people  at  that  time  who  thought  these 
colored  men  were  fools,  and  said  they  were  violating  the 
law  because  they  didn't  obey  what  was  an  unjust  law. 
Be  discreet  and  attempt  much,  if  but  little  be  gained.  There 
is  honor  even  in  a  righteous  effort. 

Paul  was  only  about  twenty-one  years  old  when  he 
accomplished  this  result,  scarcely  able  to  vote  when  the 
privilege  was  granted.  He  made  many  trips  with  his  vessel 
to  Connecticut  and  traded  all  along  her  coast ;  sailed  as 
far  as  the  Banks  of  St.  George,  and  secured  large  cargoes  of 
codfish,  opening  up  an  extensive  fish  trade,  which  gave 
employment  to  great  numbers.  In  1797  Paul  tried  to 
establish  a  school,  but  the  people  quarreled  over  the 
location  and  many  other  things,  and  he  finally  built  a 
school-house  at  his  own  expense  on  his  own  grounds,  and 
allowed  everybody  to  attend  that  desired,  thus  establish- 
ing a  "public  school"  in  Massachusetts.  He  owned  sev- 
eral vessels,  of  12,  18,  25,  42  and  60  tons  burden,  respec- 
tively. The  last  one  was  called  the  Ranger,  He  had  a 
half  interest  in  one  of  162  tons  burden,  and  th^-ee-fourths 
interest  in  one  of  268 ;  this  was  called  the  Alpha^  which 
was  built  in  1806.  He  had  a  half  interest  in  one  called  the. 
Traveler ^  of  109  tons  burden. 


PAUL  CUFFBB.  339 

A  book  written  by  William  C.  Nell,  a  colored  man,  in 
1855,  gives  the  following  description  of  Cuffee : 

He  was  tall,  well-formed  and  athletic ;  his  deportment  conciliating  yet 
dignified  and  prepossessing;  his  countenance  blending  gravity  with 
modesty  and  sweetness,  and  firmness  with  gentleness  and  humanity.  In 
speech  and  habit,  plain  and  unostentatious.  His  whole  exterior  indi- 
cated a  man  of  respectability  and  piety,  and  such  would  a  stranger  have 
supposed  him  to  be,  at  first  sight.  He  was  a  Quaker  in  his  religious 
views.  He  carefully  maintained  a  strict  integrity  and  uprightness  in  all  his 
transactions  in  trade,  believing  himself  to  be  accountable  to  God  for  the 
mode  of  using  and  acquiring  his  possessions.  On  these  grounds  he  would 
not  deal  in  intoxicating  liquors  or  slaves,  though  he  might  have  done 
cither  without  violating  the  laws  of  his  country,  and  with  great  pros- 
pects of  pecuniary  gain. 

The  'American  Encyclopedia  *  has  this  to  say  of  him  : 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  Cuffee  encouraged  the  emigration  of  free 
people  to  Sierra  Leone.  He  corresponded  with  prominent  friends  of  this 
enterprise  in  Great  Britain  and  Africa,  and  in  1811  visited  the  colony  in 
bis  own  vessel  to  determine  for  himself  its '  advantages.  In  1815  he 
carried  out  to  Sierra  Leone  thirty-eight  colored  persons  as  emigrants, 
thirty  of  them  at  his  own  expense,  and  on  his  arrival  furnishing  them 
with  the  means  of  subsistence,  spending  in  this  enterprise  nearly  four 
thousand  dollars. 

This  good  man  terminated  his  labors  and  his  life  ended 
in  the  seventh  day  of  the  ninth  month,  1817. 


340  MEN  OF  MARK. 


XXXIX. 

REV.  ALEXANDER  WALTERS. 

Financier  and  Pulpit  Orator. 

HE  is  the  oldest  son  of  Henry  and  Harriet  Walters. 
His  birthplace  was  Bardstown,  Nelson  county^ 
Kentucky,  August  1,  1858.  Early  in  life  he  showed  signs 
of  piety,  and  was  afterwards  heard  to  say,  "I  was  bom 
to  preach  the  gospel."  This  was  the  constant  theme  of 
his  youthful  days,  and  is  the  business  of  his  present  life. 
He  entered  a  private  school  taught  by  Mrs.  Amanda 
Hines,  at  Bardstown,  Kentucky,  in  1866,  where  he  re- 
mained about  eighteen  months.  The  following  year  Mr. 
William  Lawrence,  a  more  efficient  teacher,  opened  a  pay 
school,  which  Alexander  entered  at  once  and  continued 
in  it  until  1869.  This  teacher  was  succeeded  by  Miss 
Addie  Miller  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  who,  teaching  for  a 
short  time  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Rowan  WicklifTe  of  Lex- 
ington, Kentucky.  Soon  after  he  took  charge  of  the  school 
he  made  a  proposition  to  the  Methodist  and  Baptist 
churches  (they  being  the  only  two  colored  churches  in  the 
town)  to  teach  a  young  man  of  each  congregation  free  of 
charge.    This  proposition  was  accepted  by  the  officers  of 


ALEXANDER  WALTERS. 


ALEXANDER  WALTERS.  341 

eacb  congregation,  and  the  officials  ot  the  A.  M.  E.  church 
chose  Alexander  Walters,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He 
remained  in  this  school  for  two  years,  and,  in  the  fall  of 
1870,  having  professed  a  hope  in  Christ,  he  united  with 
the  A.  M.  E.  Zion  church,  Bardstown,  Kentucky. 

In  1871  he  left  his  home  for  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  for 
two  or  three  years  was  employed  as  a  waiter  in  private 
families,  hotels  and  on  steamboats.  In  1876  he  went  to 
Indianapolis,  Indiana,  and  here  he  began  the  study  of  the- 
ology under  the  Rev.  D.  P.  Seaton  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church, 
and  was  licensed  to  preach  by  Rev.  Anthony  Bunch  of  the 
A.  M.  E.  Zion  church,  May,  1877. 

He  married  Miss  Katie  Knox  of  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
August  28,  1877.  Joined  the  Kentucky  annual  conference 
of  the  A.  M.  E.  Zion  church,  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana, 
September  8,  1878,  and  was  sent  to  the  Corydon  circuit, 
Cory  don,  Kentucky,  by  the  same  conference,  and  remained 
there  two  years.  He  taught  the  public  school  the  last  year 
of  his  pastorate,  and  was  ordained  deacon  at  St.  Louis, 
July  10,  1879.  He  was  then  sent  to  Cloverport  circuit, 
Cloverport,  Kentucky,  April  10,  1880,  and  remained  there 
sixteen  months ;  he  also  taught  school  at  this  point  during 
his  stay.  He  was  stationed  at  the  5th  Street  church, 
Louisville,  Kentucky-,  in  1881,  and  was  ordained  elder  at 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  September  8,  1882.  Then  he  was 
transferred  to  the  California  conference,  and  was  stationed 
at  San  Francisco,  California,  in  1883. 

The  church  here  was  built  at  a  cost  of  eighty  thousand 
dollars,  and  is  considered  the  finest  and  largest  church  in 
the  Zion  connection. 


342  MBN  OF  MARK. 

Rev.  Walters  has  a  fine  open  face,  and  by  his  pen  and 
upright  moral  life  made  his  mark— for  he  has  ever  been 
considered  one  of  the  brightest  stars  of  the  Zion  connection. 
He  was  sent  by  this  church  as  a  delegate  to  the  general 
conference  of  the  Zion  connection,  which  met  in  New  York 
City,  May  3,  1884.  He  was  elected  first  assistant  secre- 
tary of  the  general  conference.  While  east  he  visited 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  had  an  interview  with  President 
Arthur,  also  Governor  Patterson  of  Pennsylvania.  It 
was  by  his  aid  and  influence  that  Professor  J.  C.  Price^ 
President  of  Zion  Wesley  College  was  enabled  to  raise, 
while  on  the  Pacific  slope,  in  1885,  eighty-six  hundred 

dollars. 
While  West  he  was  made  a  member  of  several  white 

associations  (notable  among  them  were  a  Biblical  class, 
taught  by  Professor  J.  P.  Ferguson  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church,  which  was  taught  daily  at  the  Adelphia 
theatre,  on  California  street,  near  Kearney),  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  and  a  class  which  met  every 
Saturday  for  the  study  of  Sabbath  school  lessons;  this 
class  was  taught  by  Rev.  M.  M.  Gibson,  D.  D.  He  w^as 
also  elected  a  member  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Min- 
isterial Union,  San  Francisco,  California,  being  the  only 
colored  member  of  the  board. 

He  was  transferred  to  the  Tennessee  conference  in  1886, 
and  is  now  stationed  in  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  in  charge 
of  one  of  the  finest  churches  in  the  South.  Elder  Walters 
bears  a  spotless  reputation,  and  is  honored  and  loved  by 
all  who  know  him.  He  is  a  close  student,  an  indefatiga- 
ble worker  for  the  upbuilding  of  his  race.    As  an  orator^ 


ALEXANDER  WALTERS.  343 

he  is  superior  to  most  of  the  young  men,  and  even  the  old 
ones  in  his  church.  He  is  affable,  kind  and  gentlemanly, 
ivinning  by  his  elegant  manner  all  those  who  come  in  con- 
tact with  him.  His  habits  of  life  are  plain,  his  methods 
of  TYork  practical,  and  his  success  is  always  of  the  highest 
order.  His  plan  has  always  been  in  entering  a  new  work, 
to  secure  at  once  a  first-class  instructor  to  help  him  in  his 
studies,  and  thereby  he  has  become  familiar  with  the 
classics  and  the  realm  of  ancient  literature.  As  a  histo- 
rian, he  deals  largely  in  those  phrases  which  lead  toward 
the  cultivation  of  race-pride,  and  the  demonstration  of 
those  facts  and  principles  which  go  to  encourage  enter- 
prise and  self-pride  among  his  own  people.  He  has  won- 
derful faith  in  the  future  of  the  race,  being  by  no  means 
discouraged  on  account  of  present  difficulties,  and  pro- 
motes with  most  earnest  zeal  every  effort  made  in  his 
church  and  community  that  looks  toward  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  condition  of  colored  people.  As  a  pastor, 
revivalist  and  a  church  financier,  he  has  had  great  success. 
To  such  young  men  the  future  looks  for  great  things. 


344 


MBN  OF  HAKK. 


I 


XL. 
•    BENJAMIN  BANNEKER. 

Astronomer— Philosopher— Inventor— Philanthropist. 

N  the  darkness  there  was  light,  and  the  fire  of  his  intel- 
lect attracted  universal  attention  to  himself  and  made- 
for  him  undying  and  imperishable  fame.  This  remarkable 
genius  and  devoted  son  was  bom  in  Baltimore  county, 
Maryland,  November  9,  1731,  near  the  village  of  Ellicott's 
Mills .  It  is  thought  that  his  parents  were  full  blooded  Afric- 
ans, but  George  W.  Williams,  the  historian,  says  his  grand- 
mother was  a  white  emigrant  who  married  a  Negro  whose 
freedom  she  purchased ;  and  of  the  four  children  bom  to 
them,  one  was  a  girl  who  married  Robert  Banneker,  of 
whom  Benjamin  was  the  only  child. 

His  parents  accumulated  sufficient  means  to  buy  a  few 
acres  and  build  a  small  cabin.  The  son  was  sent  to  school 
in  the  neighborhood,  where  he  learned  reading,  writing  and 
arithmetic.  When  Benjamin  reached  a  suitable  age  he  was 
compelled  to  assist  his  aged  parents  in  their  labors,  but 
every  spare  moment  found  him  ** ciphering**  and  storing 
his  mind  with  useful  knowledge.  His  mother  was  active 
enough  to  do  the  work  of  the  house,  and  when  seventy 
years  old  caught  her  chickens  by  running  them  do wn  with- 


BENJAMIN  BANNBKBR.  345 

out  apparent  fatigue.  The  place  of  his  location  was  thickly 
^lettled ;  though  he  was  known  as  a  boy  of  intelligence,  yet 
bis  neighbors  took  but  little  notice  of  him.    He  w^as  deter- 
niined  to  acquire  knowledge,  and  while  his  hands  worked 
liard,  his  brain  was  planning  and  solving  problems  in 
arithmetic.    His  observation  extended  to  all  around  him, 
and  his  memory  was  retentive  and  he  lost  nothing.    But  the 
little  education  he  had  acquired  was  all  his  parents,  who 
were  poor,  could  give  him.    Yet  little  by  little  he  stored  it 
^11  up,  and  in  the  course  of  time  became  superior  to  most 
of  his  white  neighbors,  who  had  more  favorable  opportuni- 
ties £uid  werein  better  circumstances  than  he  was.  His  fame 
h^id  spread  so  rapidly  that  they  beganto  say  to  one  another : 
**  Tliat  black  Ben  is  a  smart  fellow.  He  can  make  anything 
lie  sets  out  to ;  and  how  much  he  knows !    I  wonder  where 
^^  Flicked  it  all  up?' 

^^*^  1770  he  made  a  clock  which  was  an  excellent  time- 
^^'^^-     He  had  never  seen  a  clock,  as  such  a  thing  was  un- 
^-^"^v^n  in  the  region  in  which  he  lived,  but  he  had  seen  a 
^^^^li   which   so   attracted    his   attention   that   he   as- 
™    ^^   to  make  something  like  it.     His  greatest  difficulty 
"^^   xn  makmg  the  hour  and  minute  hands  correspond  in 
^   ^^T-  motion,  but  by  perseverance  he  succeeded,  though  he 
»^^^    never  read  the  Latin  motto,  '"  Perse verentia  omnia 
^^^<^et,"  yet  he  did  persevere  and  succeeded.    This  was  the 
*^^t  clock  ever  made  in  this  countrv,  and  it  excited  much 
attention,  especially  because  it  was  made  by  a  Xegro.  Mr. 
Ellicott,  the  owner  of  the  mills,  became  ver^'  much  inter- 
ested in  the  self-taught  machinist,  and  let  him  have  many 
books,  among  which  was  one  on  astronomy.    This  new 


346  MEN  OF  MARK. 

supply  of  knowledge  so  interested  Banneker  that  he 
thought  of  nothing  else.  This  kind  gentleman,  who  had 
allowed  him  to  use  his  books,  for  some  reason  failed  to  ex- 
plain the  subject  of  the  books  when  h^  gave  them  to  him, 
but  when  he  met  him  again  he  was  surprised  to  find  Ban- 
neker independent  of  all  instruction.    He  had  mastered  all 

the  difficult  problems  contained  in  them. 

« 

From  this  time  the  study  of  astronomy  became  the  great 
object  of  his  life.  Soon  he  could  calculate  when  the  sun 
or  moon  should  be  eclipsed,  and  at  what  time  every  star 
would  rise.  In  this  he  was  so  accurate  that  mistakes  were 
never  found.  In  order  to  pursue  his  studies  he  sold  hi& 
land  his  parents  had  left  him  and  bought  an  annuity  on 
which  he  lived,  in  the  little  cabin  of  his  birth.  As  he  was 
never  seen  tilling  the  soil,  his  ignorant  neighbors  began 
to  abuse  him.  They  called  him  lazy  when  they  peeped  into 
his  cabin  and  saw  him  asleep  in  the  day-time.  They  were 
ignorant  of  the  fact  of  his  watching  the  stars  all  night 
and  ciphering  out  his  calculation.  Banneker,  instead  of 
resenting  all  this  bad  feeling,  endeavored  to  live  in  such  a 
way  as  to  demand  their  respect.  His  generous  heart  made 
him  always  kind  and  ready  to  oblige  everybody. 

A  sketch  of  his  life  is  found  in  the  *  History  of  the  Negro 
Race  in  America,'  by  the  Hon.  George  W.  Williams,  from 
which  the  following  extract  is  taken : 

The  following?  question  was  propounded  by  Banneker  to  Mr.  Geoi^ 
BUicott,  and  was  solved  by  Benjamin  Hollo  well  of  Alexandria : 

A  cooper  and  vintner  sat  down  for  a  talk, 
Both  being  so  groggy  that  neither  could  walk. 
Says  cooper  to  vintner,  "  I  am  the  first  of  my  trade, 


BBNJAION  BANNBKER.  34T 

There  is  no  kind  of  vessel  but  what  I  have  made 

And  of  any  shape,  sir— just  what  you  will— 

And  of  any  size,  sir,  from  a  ton  to  a  gill !" 

''Then,*'  says  the  vintner,  *'you  are  the  man  for  me; 

Make  me  a  vessel,  if  we  can  agree. 

The  top  and  the  bottom  diameter  define, 

To  bear  that  proportion  as  fifteen  to  nine ; 

Thirty-five  inches  are  just  what  I- crave, 

No  more  and  no  less,  in  the  depth  will  I  have ; 

Just  thirty-nine  gallons  this  vessel  must  hold— 

Then  I  will  reward  you  with  silver  and  gold — 

Give  me  your  promise,  my  honest  old  friend  ?** 

"Ill  make  it  tomorrow,  that  you  may  depend !*' 

So  the  next  day  the  cooper,  his  work  to  discharge, 

Soon  made  a  new  vessel,  but  made  it  too  large ; 

He  took  out  some  staves,  which  made  it  too  small, 

And  then  cursed  the  vessel,  the  vintner  and  all. 

He  beat  on  his  breast ;  "  By  the  powers/'  he  swore. 

He  never  would  work  at  his  trade  any  more ! 

Now  my  worthy  friend,  find  out  if  you  can, 

The  vessel's  dimensions  and  comfort  the  man. 

(Signed)  Benjamin  Bannekbr. 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  as  follows :  The  greater 
diameter  of  Banneker*s  tub  must  be  24. 746  inches,  and  the 
lesser  diameter  14.8476  inches. 

In  1792,  though  limited  in  means  and  scanty  education, 
he  prepared  an  excellent  almanac,  which  was  published  by 
Goddard  &  Angell  of  Baltimore.  In  the  preface  they  ex- 
pressed themselves  as  highly  gratified  with  the  opportu- 
nity of  presenting  to  the  public  such  an  extraordinary 
effort  of  genius  calculated  by  a  sable  son  of  Africa.  This 
was  the  first  almanac  ever  published  in  this  country.  Be- 
sides astronomical  calculations,  it  contained  much  useful 
knowledge  of  a  general  nature  and  interesting  selections  of 


348  MBN  OF  MARK. 

prose  and  verse.  Professor  R.  T.  Greener  owns  a  copy  of 
this  almanac.  Banneker  sent  a  manuscript  copy  in  his  own 
handwriting  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  then  secretary  of  state 
and  afterwards  President  of  the  United  States.  In  address- 
ing him  he  said : 

Those  of  my  complexion  have  long  been  considered  rather  brutish  than 
human — scarcely  capable  of  mental  endowments.  But,  in  consequence  of 
the  reports  that  have  reached  me,  I  hope  I  may  safely  admit  that  you 
are  measurably  friendly  and  well  disposed  toward  us.  I  trust  that  you 
will  agree  with  me  in  thinking  that  one  universal  Father  hath  given 
being  to  us  all ;  that  he  has  not  only  made  us  all  of  one  flesh,  but  haa 
also,  without  partiality,  afforded  us  all  the  same  sensations  and  endowed 
us  all  with  the  same  faculties ;  and  that,  however  various  we  may  be  in 
society  or  religion,  however  diversified  in  situation  or  color,  we  are  all  of 
the  same  family  and  all  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  Him.  Now,  sir,  if 
this  is  founded  in  truth,  I  apprehend  you  will  readily  embrace  every  op- 
portunity to  eradicate  the  absurd  and  false  ideas  and  opinions  which  so 
generally  prevail  with  respect  to  us. 

Suffer  me,  sir,  to  recall  to  your  mind  that  when  the  tjrranny  of  the 
British  crown  was  exerted  to  reduce  you  to  servitude,  your  abhorrence 
thereof  was  so  excited  that  you  publicly  held  forth  this  true  and  invalua- 
ble doctrine,  worthy  to  be  recorded  and  remembered  in  all  succeeding 
ages:  *'We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  art 
created  equal,  and  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain 
inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.'* 

Your  tender  feelings  for  yourselves  engaged  you  thus  to  declare.  Yon 
were  then  impressed  with  proper  ideas  of  the  great  value  of  liberty,  and 
the  free  possession  of  those  blessings  to  which  you  are  entitled  by  na- 
ture. But,  sir,  how  pitiable  it  is  to  reflect  that,  although  you  are  so  fully 
convinced  of  the  benevolence  of  the  Father  of  mankind,  and  of  his  equal 
and  impartial  distribution  of  those  rights  and  privileges  which  He  had 
conferred  upon  them,  that  you  should  at  the  same  time  counteract  His 
mercies  in  detaining,  by  fraud  and  violence,  so  numerous  a  part  of  my 
brethren  under  groaning  captivity  and  cruel  oppression ;  that  you  should 


BB^AMIN  BANNEKBR.  34*9 

at  the  same  time  be  found  guilt^f  of  that  most  criminal  act  which  you 
detested  in  others  with  respect  to  yonradves. 

Sir,  I  freely  and  most  cheerfrilly  acknowledge  that  I  am  of  the  African 
race ;  and  in  that  color -which  is  natural  to  them  I  am  of  the  deepest  dye. 
But,  with  a  sense  of  the  most  profound  gratitude  to  the  Supreme  Ruler 
of  the  uniYerse,  I  confess  that  I  am  not  under  that  state  of  t3rrannical 
thraldom  and  inhuman  captirity  to  which  so  many  of  my  brethren  are 
doomed.  I  have  abundantly  tasted  of  those  blessings  which  proceed 
from  that  free  and  unequaled  liberty  with  which  you  are  favored. 

Sir,  I  suppose  your  knowledge  of  the  situation  of  my  brethren  is  too 
extensiTC  for  it  to  need  a  recital  here.  Neither  shall  I  presume  to  pre- 
scribe methods  by  which  they  may  be  relieved,  otherwise  than  by  recom- 
mending to  you  and  others  to  wean  yourselves  from  those  narrow 
prejudices  you  have  imbibed  with  respect  to  them,  and  to  do  as  Job  pro- 
posed to  his  friends— "put  your  souls  in  their  souls'  stead."  Thus  shall 
your  hearts  be  enlarged  with  kindness  and  benevolence  toward  them,, 
and  you  will  need  neither  the  direction  of  myself  or  others  in  what  man- 
ner to  proceed. 

I  took  up  my  pen  to  direct  to  you,  as  a  present,  a  copy  of  an  Almanac 
I  have  calculated  for  the  succeeding  year.  I  ardently  hope  that  your 
candor  and  generosity  will  plead  with  you  in  ray  behalf.  S3rmpathy 
and  affection  for  my  brethren  has  caused  my  enlargement  thus  far;  it 
was  not  originally  my  design. 

The  Almanac  is  a  production  of  my  arduous  study.  I  have  long  had 
unbounded  desires  to  become  acquainted  with  the  secrets  of  nature,  and 
I  have  had  to  gratify  my  curiousity  herein  through  my  own  assiduous 
application  to  astronomical  study,  in  which  I  need  not  recount  to  you 
the  many  difficulties  and  disadvantages  I  have  had  to  encounter.  I  con- 
clude by  subscribing  myself,  with  the  most  profound  respect,  your  most 

humble  servant, 

B.  Bannbkbr. 

To  this  letter  Jefferson  made  the  following  reply : 

Sit ,  I  thank  you  sincerely  for  your  letter,  and  for  the  Almanac  it  con- 
tained. Nobody  wishes  more  than  1  do  to  sec  such  proofs  as  you  exhibit 
that  nature  has  given  to  our  black  brethren  talents  equal  to  those  of 
the  other  colors  of  men,  and  that  the  appearance  of  a  want  of  them  is 


350  MEN  OP  MARK. 

owing  only  to  the  degraded  condition  of  their  existence  both  in 
and  America.  I  can  add,  with  truth,  that  no  one  wishes  more  ardently 
to  see  a  good  system  commenced  for  raising  the  condition,  both  of  their 
body  and  mind,  to  what  it  ought  be,  as  fast  a»  the  imbecility  of  their 
present  existence,  and  other  drcmnstances  which  cannot  be  neglected, 
will  admit.  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  sending  yonr  Almanac  to  Mon* 
sienr  Condorcet,  Secretary  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris,  and  to 
members  of  the  Philanthropic  Society,  because  I  considered  it  a  docu- 
ment to  which  your  whole  color  had  a  right,  for  their  justificatioo 
against  the  doubts  which  have  been  entertained  of  them.    I  am,  with 

great  esteem,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

Thomas  Jbppbrson. 

In  1803  Mr.  Jefferson  invited  the  astronomer  to  visit 
him  at  Monticello,  but  the  increasing  infirmities  of 
age  made  it  imprudent  to  undertake  the  journey.  His 
almanacs  sold  well  for  ten  years,  and  the  income,  added 
to  his  annuity,  gave  him  a  very  comfortable  support; 
and,  what  was  a  still  greater  satisfaction  to  him,  was 
the  consciousness  of  doing  something  to  help  the  cause 
of  his  oppressed  people  by  proving  to  the  world  that 
nature  had  endowed  them  with  good  capacities. 

After  1802  he  found  himself  too  old  to  calculate  any 
more  almanacs,  but  as  long  as  he  lived  he  continued  to  be 
deeply  interested  in  his  various  studies. 

He  died  in  1804,  in  his  seventy-second  year;  his  remains 
were  buried  near  the  dwelling  that  he  had  occupied  during 
his  life.  Hismodeoflife  was  regular  and  retired.  He  was 
kind  and  generous  to  all  around  him ;  his  head  was  cov- 
ered with  thick  white  hair,  which  gave  him  a  venerable 
appearance;  his  dress  was  uniformly  superfine  drab  broad- 
cloth, made  in  the  old,  plain  style,  coat  with  straight 
collar,  a  long  waist  and  a  broad-brimmed  hat.    His  color 


BBNfAMIN  BANNBKBR.  351 

liiras  not  quite  black,  but  decidedly  Negro.  In  his  personal 
appearance  he  is  said  to  have  borne  a  striking  resemblance 
to  the  statue  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  at  the  library  at 
Philadelphia. 

Banneker's  abilities  have  often  been  brought  forward  as 
ail  argument  against  the  enslavement  of  his  race,  and  ever 
since  he  has  been  quoted  as  a  proof  of  the  mental  capacity 
of  Africans.  Surely  the  smoldering  embers  of  the  latent 
fires  of  their  ancient  greatness  was  awakened  in  him,  and 
the  thousands  of  camp-fires  of  an  intellectual  revival  can 
be  seen  now  on  the  highest  hilltop,  climbing  the  moun- 
tains, at  its  base,  down  the  valley  and  in  its  darkest 
shade. 


352 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


XLI. 


REV.  RICHARD  DeBAPTISTE,  D.  D. 


Corresponding  Secretary  and  Beloved  Disciple. 

ONE  of  the  humblest  and  most  devoted  Christians 
I  ever  knew  is  Rev.  R.  DfeBaptiste.  A  very  unosten- 
tatious servant  of  God  is  the  man  of  whom  I  now  write. 
Many  have  enjoyed  the  sunshine  of  his  life  and  yet  failed 
to  recognize  the  cause  of  their  growth  and  prosperity. 
Personally,  I  can  bear  testimony  to  his  interest  in  young 
men,  and  his  fatherly,  tender  advice  to  even  the  "stranger 
within  his  gate."  Of  Old  Virginia's  sons,  none  have  given 
to  the  West  a  better  life  of  honest  toil  for  the  people 
than  he.  Fredericksburg  may  well  be  proud  of  him.  He 
was  bom  November  11,  1831.  William  and  Eliza  DeBap- 
tiste  sought  to  educate  their  children,  and  though  they 
had  many  difficulties  to  encounter,  they  nevertheless  suc- 
ceeded In  giving  them  a  fair  education,  in  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia, under  the  regime  of  slavery.  The  father  made  his 
own  residence  a  school-house,  his  own  children  and  a  few 
of  those  of  his  relatives  were  pupils,  first  taught  by  a  col- 
ored man  and  then  by  an  educated  Scotch-Irishman,  wh 
had  been  a  teacher  in  Scotland,  the  police  oflicers  o 


K-  BtliAPnsTE. 


I 


RICHARD  «DKBAPTISTE.  353 

watching  the  premises  to  detect  some  incidents  leading  to 
evidence  that  a  Negro  school  was  being  conducted  there. 
Fines  and  imprisonment  would  have  followed  the  dis- 
covery. Mr.  DeBaptiste  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in 
the  Baptist  denomination  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Ohio,  by  a 
council  called  by  the  Union  Baptist  church,  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  of  the  First  and  Ninth  streets  white  churches,  and 
the  Union  and  Ziori  colored  churches  of  Cincinnati,  and 
the  church  at  Lockland  were  represented  in  the  council. 
He  taught  the  public  schools  for  colored  youth  and  chil- 
dren of  Springfield  township,  at  Mount  Pleasant,  three 
years.  He  organized  and  pastored  the  colored  Baptist 
church  at  this  place  from  1860  to  1863;  baptized  twelve 
converts  as  constituent  members,  took  pastoral  charge  of 
Olivet  Baptist  church,  Chicago,  August,  1863;  held  it 
continuously  till  Februarj^  1882.  In  the  meanwhile,  pur- 
chasing two  building  sites  at  a  cost  of  $16,000,  built  two 
church  edifices,  both  brick,  with  a  seating  capacity,  the 
one  of  800  and  the  other  of  1200,  costing  respectively,  $15- 
000  and  $18,000.  Received  over  seventeen  hundred  persons 
to  membership — about  forty-eight  per  cent,  by  baptism. 
The  net  increase  for  the  first  five  years  averaged  one  hun- 
dred per  year,  and  over  fifty  per  cent,  of  that  number  by 
baptism.  He  was  elected  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
Wood  River  association  in  1864;  has  held  it  ever  since, 
being  re-elected  every  year,  though  absent  at  three  or  four 
sessions.  He  was  also  elected  recording  secretary  of  the 
Northwestern  and  Southern  Baptist  convention  at  its  or- 
ganization in  St.  Louis  in  1865 ;  was  elected  corresponding 
secretary  at  the  annual  meeting,  1866.     He  was  elected 


354  MEN  OP  M^RK. 

president  of  the  consolidated  American  Baptist  Missionary 
convention  at  its  first  meeting,  held  in  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see; was  re-elected  every  year  successively  for  four  years. 
At  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  in  1870,  he  was  not  pres- 
ent,   but  was,    nevertheless,    re-elected.     In  1871,  being 
absent  from  the  meeting  at  Brooklyn,  New  York,  he  was 
not  re-elected.    In  1872  was  again  elected  president  aiid 
held  the  office  by  re-election  at  every  meeting  till  1877  at 
Richmond,  Virginia,  and  was  then  elected  corresponding- 
secretary  of  the  Foreign  Mission  department  of  this  work^, 
continued  in  that  office  until  the  meeting  in  Cincinnati  _ 
1879,  but  it  was  no  longer  a  consolidation. 

In  1870  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Baptist  Fre^ 
Mission  society  (white)  at  its  anniversary  meeting  in  Cinar 
cinnati,  Ohio,  and  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Americar-, 
Baptist  National  convention,  which  met  August  25  t  _^ 
29,  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  at  which  time  he  read  a  pap^^ 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  denomination.  Tlrz£ 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society  of  Philadelphia,  i  -i 
its  annual  year  book,  has  hitherto  enumerated  o 
eight  hundred  thousand  colored  Baptists  for  the  Unit 
States,  but  it  was  left  for  Richard  DeBaptiste  to  give  t 
larger  final  results.  It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  he:^ 
the  remarkable  statistics  which  he  furnished,  though, 
course,  much  condensed :  **  Three  hundred  and  eleven  ass- 
ciations,  9,097  churches  in  255  associations,  ordaine 
ministers  4,590  in  218  associations,  with  a  total 
shipof  l,071,902colored  Baptists, "without  any  baptui 
having  been  gathered  for  that '  year  from  the  States 
West  Virginia,  New  York,  California,  Colorado,  Delaw 


RICHARD  DBBAPTISTB.  355 

Maryland,  Minnesota,  Nebraska,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Ala- 
bama, Arkansas,  Georgia,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  South 
Carolina,  Tennessee  and  Virginia. 

During  his  lifetime  he  has  been  a  frequent  contributot 
both  to  religious  and  secular  journals,  white  and  colored, 
and  held  the  positionof  editor  of  one  secular  and  one  religi- 
ous journal,  and  corresponding  editor  of  two  others.    He 
held  the  first  position  conjointly  with  Rev.  G.  C.  Booth, 
on  the  Conservator  of  Chicago,  for  a  year  or  nearly  that 
time,  the  second  or  third  year  after  it  started,  and  on  the 
Western  Herald  from  September,  1884,  to  December,  1^85. 
He  was  corresponding  editor  of  the  Monitor,  a  short-lived 
paper  started  by  the  Rev.  H.  H.  White  of  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri, and  for  several  years  on  the  National  Monitor  o{ 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  Rev.  R.  L.  Perry,  editor. 

Having  had  only  an  English  education  in  his  youth,  he 
lias  not  failed  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunities  pre- 
sented him  for  a  thorough  knowledge  in  the  many  branches 
of  learning.    He  attended  school  about  three  years  after 
x-emoving  from    Virginia  to  Michigan,  receiving  in  this 
school  only  instruction  in  English  branches.    The   first 
'teacher  he  had  was  Richard  Dillingham,  a  Quaker,  who 
was  afterwards  apprehended  for  helping  several  families  to 
escape  ft-om  slavery.    He  received  such  rough  and  cruel 
treatment  that  he  died  fi-om  the  effects  of  it  in  prison,  at 
Nashville,  Tennessee.    His  second  teacher  was  Rev.  Samuel 
H.  Davis,  the  pastor  of  the  Second  Baptist  church  of 
Detroit.    In  this  city  he  also  studied   German,  French, 
Latin,  Greek  and  theology.    He  attended  the  lectures  at 


!b 


356  MEN  OF  MARK. 

the  University  of  Chicago  during  the  first  two  years,  at 

what  is  now  known  as  the  Morgan  Park  Theological 

Seminary.    He  was  married  in  the  fall  of  1855  to  Miss 

Georgiana  Brische  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  who  died  Novem-  |  ajr- 

ber  2,  1872.    He  was  married  again  August,  1885,  and 

this  wife  died  April,  1886.    He  has  three  children,  two  of  I  ise^ 

them  members  of  the  church  and  very  proficient  in  music.  ■  g^- 

None  of  them  are  very  healthy,  which  has  caused  him  much  ■   ]*2 

grief  and  sorrow;  "truly  he  is  a  man  afflidled  with  sorrows  ^  I  ^ 

and  acquainted  with  grief." 

This  man  has  devoted  his  lile  to  the  ministry.  In  a 
priiftate  letter  to  the  author  he  once  said : 

Beginning  my  manhood  in  a  mercantile  business,  I  had  a  fair  prospect  of 
success,  carrrying  on  the  business  of  bricklayer  and  plasterer's  trade. 
This  mode  of  living  I  inherited  from  my  father  and  uncles,  William  an<l 
Edward  DeBaptiste,  they  being  in  their  days  the  largest  contractors  and 
builders  of  the  city  of  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  and  the  surrounding 
country;  but  I  unreservedly  gave  up  all  my  worldly  prospects  and 
projects  in  obedience  to  the  call  of  my  Master  to  enter  his  vineyard,  to 
•*  occupy  till  he  comes."  He  has  said :  **  He  that  forsaketh  homes,  lands, 
brothers  and  sisters  for  my  sake  and  the  gospel's,  shall  have  homes^ 
lands,  brothers  and  sisters." 

With  very  little  worldly  goods  he  is  still  cheerful  and 
willing  to  spend  and  be  spent  for  the  Master's  cause. 
At  this  writing  he  is  pastor  of  a  small  church,  declining 
many  larger  fields  that  he  might  secure  a  home  and  better 
prospects  for  the  fiiture  of  his  children.    It  might  be  well 
to  say  that  Mr.  DeBaptiste  comes  of  a  historic  family.^ 
There  has  been  a  representative  of  his  family  in  each  of  th 
great  wars  of  this  country.    His  grandfather,  John 
Baptiste,  was  in  the  Revolutionary  war ;  his  uncle  G 


RICHARD  DEBAPTISTE.  357 

in  the  War  of  1812;  and  two  brothers,  George  and  Ben- 
jamin, in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion. 

The  Rev.  R.  DeBaptiste  is  a  man  of  whom  the  denomina- 
tion is  proud,  and  the  State  University,  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, recognizing  his  great  services  to  the  cause  of 
Christ,  as  well  as  his  many  gifts  and  attainments,  con- 
ferred on  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  May  17, 
1887,  an  honor  he  will  wear  with  dignity. 

The  name  of  Richard  DeBaptiste  will  always  linger  in 
the  memory  of  those  who  know  him  as  a  man  of  Chester- 
fieldian  manners  and  rare  attainments  in  literary  affairs, 
and  a  man  "full  of  the  Hcly  Ghost." 


358  MBN  OF  MARK. 


XLII. 

HON.  GEORGE  FRENCH  ECTON. 

Representative  from  the  Third  Senatorial  District,  Chicago.  Cook 
County,  Illinois— From  the  Plowhandles  to  the  Legislature— From 
the  Capacity  of  a  Waiter  to  that  of  a  Legislator. 

IN  presenting  this  sketch  we  have  given  some  of  the 
events  which  have  taken  place  in  the  life  of  the  Illinois 
colored  Legislator.  His  position,  from  that  of  slave  to 
public  office  holder,  was  not  attained  by  a  single  jump, 
but  by  a  series  of  repeated  struggles  and  endeavors  to 
remove  hindering  causes  to  become  a  respected  man  and 
public-spirited  citizen.  He  first  saw  the  rays  of  light  at 
Winchester,  Clark  county,  Kentucky,  in  1846,  and  is  the 
eldest  of  three  living  children.  His  father's  name  was 
Antonio  Ecton,  and  his  mother's,  Martha  George.  His 
childhood  and  youth  were  spent  in  slavery.  When  yet  a 
mere  babe  he  was  sent  with  other  boys  of  his  age,  and 
older,  to  weed  the  crops.  As  he  grew  older  he  became  a 
full  hand  at  the  plow  and  any  other  laborious  tasks  he 
was  called  upon  to  do.  No  matter  what  his  occupation, 
he  prided  himself  on  doing  whatever  he  did  well,  and 
herein  lies  his  success.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  the 
war  came  and  his  native  State  was  soon  made  a  thor- 


GEORGE  FRENCH  ECTON.  359 

oughfare  for  the  contending  armies.    At  the  close  of  the 
-war,  about  Jtine,  1865,  George  and  a  friend  <}etermined  to 
•'make  way  for  liberty,"  having  received  a  set  of  "free 
I)apers,*'  written  for  them  by  a  white  Abolitionist,  which 
even  at  that  late  date  were  necessary  to  every  traveling 
Negro  to  insure  recognition  of  freedom^  as  slaves  in  Ken- 
tucky were  not  liberated  until  some   months  after  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation.    With  the  amount  of  thirty 
or  forty  dollars  which  they  had  saved  up,  they  started. 
The  nearest  railroad  station  being  Paris,  Kentucky,  they 
reached  it    after  walking  nearly  the   entire  distance  of 
eighteen  miles.     The  sight  of  a  steam  car  was  novel  to 
them,  and  their  astonishment  can  well  be  imagined.    They 
boarded  a  train  bound  for  Cincinnati  Ohio,  and  here  found 
tfieir  **free  papers"  necessary,  as  on  entering  a  car  the 
white  passengers  demanded  a  sight  of  their  passes.    Arriv 
ing  at  their  destination  they  were  taken  as  deck  hands  on 
the  steam  packet  Sherman,  plying  in  the  pig-iron  and  salt 
^'*^<3e  between  that  port  and  Wheeling,  West  Virginia, 
^eoi-ge  left  this  work  after  one  trip,  and  on  the  return  of 
^  packet  to  Cincinnati  he  found  employment  at  the  old 
^^^^dway  House,  where  he  worked  and  saved  one  hun- 
^^^    dollars.     He  afterwards  worked    at  the  **  Walnut 
^^^et  House,*'  the  '* Burnett  House,"  and  the  **Spencer 
^^Use."    While  at  the  **  Walnut  Street  House ''  he  became 
^>^ct:im  to  small-pox.    He  speedil}-  recovered,  however, 
^^mg  to  kindness  from  one  of  his  nurses.    On  returning. 
^  Aivork  he  began  to  attend  night  school,  taught  by  Miss 
"^^^11^1  Brown,  who  teaches  at  present  on  the  suburbs  of 
oinnati.    He  made  rapid  progress,  and  what  learning 


360  MEN  OF  MARK. 

he  acquired  he  has*  been  adding  to  ever  since.  On  leaving 
Cincinnati,  October  28,  1873,  he  went  to  Chicago  and 
took  charge  of  a  dining  room  at  the  ** Hotel  WoodruflF," 
where  he  remained  up  to  his  nomination  and  election  to  a 
seat  in  the  Thirty-fifth  General  Assembly.  As  a  legislator 
he  will  reflect  credit  upon  his  constituency.  Mr.  Ecton  is 
no  orator,  but  as  a  good  listener,  intelligent  voter  and 
close  student  he  has  few  to  surpass  him.  By  strict  appli- 
cation to  business  and  economy  that  marked  his  earlier 
'  days,  he  has  saved  sufficient  to  purchase  property  worth 
ten  thousand  dollars.  He  wedded  Miss  Patti  R.  Allen  of 
Winchester,  Kentucky.  Their  union  is  childless,  but  their 
home  is  thronged  by  a  brilliant  set  of  intelligent  people,  and 
both  he  and  his  wife  take  a  great  interest  in  passing 
events.  He  is  a  member  of  Bethesda  Baptist  church,  and 
is  identified  with  the  Prudence  Crandall  Club,  and  has 
taken  **  master  '*  degree  in  masonry.  If  his  word  be  given, 
he  can  be  relied  upon  to  do  as  he  says.  He  will  win  for 
himself  the  credit  in  the  Legislature  that  he  has  hitherto 
won. 


N.  H.  ENSLEY. 


KBWBLL  HOUSTON  ENSLBY.  361 


XLIII. 

PROFESSOR  NEWELL  HOUSTON  ENSLEY,  A.  M. 

Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Sciences — Hebraist — Musician. 

ONE  of  the  bright  lights  that  beamed  forth  from  the 
State  of  Tennessee  and  first  shed  its  rays  into  a  little 
Negro  cabin  in  Nashville,  August  23,  1852,  was  when  a 
son  was  bom  to  George  and  Clara  Ensley. 

The  chains  of  slavery  held  this  child,  and  although  its 
grasp  was  not  so  painful  as  in  many  cases,  yet  he  was  a 
victim  to  its  cruelty.  His  maternal  grandsire  was  his 
master,  and  he  desired  his  slaves  to  read  and  write,  and  at 
one  time  he  purchased  books  and  employed  a  man  to  teach 
the  slave  children  to  read. 

Mr.  Ensley  does  not  remember  when  he  could  not  read 
the  Bible,  and  both  his  parents  were  good  readers.  When 
he  was  old  enough  he  became  body  servant  and  buggy 
boy  for  the  reserved,  dignified  old  man,  with  snow  white 
locks,  who  owned  him.  To  Mr.  Ensley  it  was  always  a 
a  problem  how  he  could  be  a  grandchild  with  his  white 
playmates,  who  too  were  grandchildren  of  the  same  old 
man,  and  be  treated  so  differently,  and  why  he  must  say 
**01d  Mass'*  while  his  mates  said  lovingly  ** grandpa.'* 
Notwithstanding  all  this,  Mr.  Ensley  was  treated  remark- 


362  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ably  well  for  a  slave  lad,  and  often  was  he  commended  for 
his  capabilities.  On  one  occasion  he  was  ordered  to  water 
his  master's  cows  in  the  pasture  till  noon.  This  command 
he  disobeyed  and  for  his  disobedience  his  master  attempted 
to  whip  him,  but  he  ran  away  to  the  Yankee  camps  hard 
by,  and  remained  hidden  under  empty  cracker  boxes  for 
some  time  until  the  old  man  had  abandoned  the  search. 
He  remained  in  camp  until  the  division  moved  away  to 
Murfreesboro  and  advised  him  to  return  home  to  his 
mother. 

He  went  home  secretly  and  hid  in  his  mother's  room 
under  the  bed,  where  his  master  found  him  and  gfave  him 
the  whipping  he  had  escaped  so  long,  and  exacted  from. 
him  the  promise  never  to  run  away  again.    His  master 
owned  large  estates,  and  to  this  lad  was  given  the  respon- 
sibility of  collecting  rents  and  depositing  the  same  in  the 
bank .  Thus  Mr.  Ensley  worked  on  as  a  slave  until  the  South- 
em  cause  was  lost.    Then  he  continued  in  the  employ  of 
the  same  old  gentleman,  who  paid  the  young  man  and  all 
his  slaves  for  the  service  rendered  him ;  besides,  he  gave  to  -  ^ 
each  of  his  men  employees  two  fine  young  mules  and  a  cow  ^^ 
and  a  calf    The  cow  and  calf  were  taken  home,  and  th< 
mules  left  on  the  plantation.    Soon  the  old  man  died  ani 
his  estate  went  to  his  son,  and  the  Negroes  who  had  beei 
in  his  employ  were  left  poor.    Mr.  Ensley  attributes  hij 
fame  now  and  all  he  is  to  his  devoted  Christian  mother 
whom  his  grandsire  had  settled  on  an  excellent  estate 
thirty  acres  and  left  comfortably  fixed.    This  was  in  186( 
At  this  time  the  free  schools  opened  about  four  miles  froi 
Mr.  Ensley 's  home,  and  a  happy  day  it  was  for  this  la( 


NEWELL  HOUSTON  ENSLBY.  363 

\elio  now  had  a  slight  opportunity  to  slake  his  insatiable 
thirst  for  learning ;  but  this  was  for  a  short  time  only.  His 
mother  married  and  his  step-father  would  not  let  him  at- 
tend school  and  live  at  home.  Because  young  Ensley  went 
to  school  one  day  against  his  step-father's  will,  he  was 
sent  from  home,  notwithstanding  the  tears  and  pleadings 
of  a  loving  mother.  After  he  left,  his  mother  sought  and 
fairought  him  home,  where  he  was  obliged  to  work  for  this 
new  master  and  go  to  school  with  his  permit  when  he  had 
nothing  else  to  do. 

*' Notwithstanding  all  this,"  said  Mr.  Ensley,  "I  worked 
and  studied,  and  not  only  kept  up  with  my  classes  but 
ahead  of  them."  Benjamin  Holmes,  one  of  the  original 
famous  jubilee  singers,  was  his  teacher,  and,  when  he 
resigned  to  go  on  his  mission  of  song,  Mr.  Ensley  was 
installed  as  his  successor.  But  the  labors  as  teacher, 
where  only  yesterday  he  was  a  pupil,  were  hard.  The 
children  left  school,  and  only  by  indefatigable  labor  in  the 
Sunday  school  and  day  school  did  he  succeed,  but  the 
success  was  indeed  a  victory  wonderful  and  worthy  of 
note.  The  day  school  grew  to  its  former  size,  and  the 
Sunday  school  never  was  so  large  before.  Soon  Mr. 
Ensley^  professed  a  hope  in  Jesus,  and  was  baptized  and 
joined  the  church,  where  he  was  made  deacon,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  for  several  years.  Although  in  earlier  years 
he  had  felt  called  to  the  ministry,  he  feared  he  might  be 
mistaken,  but  his  doubts  were  not  confirmed  bv  the  words 
of  a  good  brother  who  now  dwells  above.  This  brother 
laid  the  matter  before  the  brethren,  and  the  church  sent  a 
committee  to  tell  him  that  he  ought    to  preach.     Mr. 


364  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Ensley  felt  the  need  of  preparation,  and  in  February,  1871, 
entered  Roger  Williams  University,  under  the  guardian 
ship  of  that  venerable  man.  Dr.  Phillips,  where,  with  his 
usual  application,  he  toiled  and  toiled  until  he  was  almost 
a  physical  wreck  and  his  future  was  less  bright.  Quite  to 
his  surprise  he  learned  that  his  church  had  licensed  him  to 
preach.  Mr.  Ensley  was  filled  with  ambition  and  a  bum* 
ing  desire  to  be  a  man  worthy  of  the  love  of  God  and  the 
respect  of  his  fellowmen. 

Music  had  a  charm  for  him  and  he  had  devoted  much 
time  to  this  art.  He  always  had  a  love  for  oratory,  and, 
though  he  has  never  given  himself  to  this,  yet  he  has  been 
very  successful  in  his  many  lectures  throughout  the  country, 
where  the  musicof  his  voice  and  his  graphic  style  have  held 
audiences  spell-bound.'  Many  letters  of  appreciation  are 
in  his  possession  from  friends  and  hearers  who  have 
listened  to  his  instructive  words.  With  Dr.  Phillips  he 
made  his  first  tour  to  the  North,  where  he,  with  this  good 
man,  represented  the  work  in  the  Home  Mission  schools, 
and  in  that  visit  the  centennial  at  Philadelphia  attracted 
his  attention.  In  June,  1878,  he  graduated  fi-om  Roger 
Williams  University,  third  in  his  class,  and  immediately 
went  North,  where  he  entered  Newton  Theological  Semin- 
€iry,  Newton  Centre,  Massachusetts.  After  three  years, 
toil  he  graduated,  one  of  the  favored  seven  fi-om  a  large 
class  to  give  an  oration  graduation  day,  and  he  was  the 
only  colored  one.  After  graduating,  Mr.  Ensley  was 
ofiered  many  situations  and  the  chosen  one  was  Raleigh, 
North  Carolina,  where  he  was  professor  of  theology  and 
Latin. 


NBWELL  HOUSTON  ENSLEY.  365 

After  a  year  he  went  to  Howard  University,  at  a  salary 
of  one  thousand  dollars,  where  he  enjoyed  his  work  very 
mnch.  At  this  time  he  was  married  to  an  estimable  and 
most  accomplished  young  woman,  who  has  supported  him 
in  every  work  to  which  he  has  devoted  his  time.  Alcorn 
University  now  called  him,  and  there  he  and  his  family 
removed,  and  to  him  was  assigned  the  honorable  position 
of  professor  of  rhetoric,  natural  sciences  and  vocal  music. 
This  young  man  is  a  scholarly  Hebrew  student,  and  has  a 
brilliant  future  before  him,  and  well  may  the  race  be  proud 
of  Newell  Houston  Ensley. 

The  professor  is  a  man  of  many  fine  traits  of  character. 
His  manners  are  polished,  his  whole  demeanor  dignified 
and  courtly,  and  his  conversation  witty,  even  brilliant. 
In  his  lectures  he  does  not  follow  old  stereotyped  phrases 
nor  hackneyed  expressions,  but  his  humor  bubbles  up  like 
a  pure  rill  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain.  His  voice  is  musical, 
his  gestures  graceful  and  his  whole  appearance  captivating. 
An  audience  is  at  once  taken  with  his  earnestness,  breadth 
and  depth  of  thought,  the  extended  reach  after  truth,  and 
the  skilful  presentation  of  his  facts  and  arguments. 
Among  the  themes  he  delights  to  dwell  upon  are  **Tous- 
saint  L'Ouverture,''  ** Pluck  versus  Luck,**  *^The  Rights  of 
Women,'*  ** Temperance**  and  **The  Rights  of  the  Negro.*' 
In  his  advocacy  of  women,  he  insists  that  they  arc  entitled 
to  '*Life,  Liberty  and  the  Pursuit  of  Happiness,*'  and  he 
would  brush  away  every  custom  and  barrier  that  prevents 
the  gaining  of  these  objects.  In  this  I  certainly  agree 
with  him.  Yet  he  is  very  cautious  that  he  does  not  appear 
ridiculous,  but  advances  solid  argument  for  all  he  claims 


366  MEN  OF  MARK. 

for  them.    In  this  respect  he  is  at  once  progressive  and 

aggressive,  for  this  is  a  subject  that  is  gaining  more  and 

more  attention — while  it  has  its  antagonists  even  among 

women. 
The  professor  has  a  funny  way  of  putting  some  things, 

and  so  I  end  this  sketch  with  an  extract  from  a  speech 

made  in  St.  Albans,  Vermont,  in  1880.    It  has  an  amusing 

turn  which  for  quaintness  and  point  rather  causes  a  smile 

when  read. 

"the  benefit  of  the  negro's  color." 

He  denied  the  statement  that  the  Negroes  were  not  an  original  race; 
they  were  largely  imitative,  he  admitted,  bat  there  were  three  of  the 
white  men's  vices  which  his  people  did  not  imitate — they  were  not  skep- 
tics, they  were  not  infidels,  and  they  did  not  commit  suicide.  Then  he 
quoted  a  certain  bit  of  philosophy,  illustrating  the  advantages  the  race 
had  on  this  question  of  suicide,  namely :  White  reflects  light,  and  there- 
fore the  face  of  the  white  man  rejects  the  light,  and  he  goes  through  life 
a  melancholy  creature ;  while  the  face  of  the  black  man  absorbs  light, 
which  penetrates  to  his  soul  and  makes  him  a  glad,  careless,  jolly  crea- 
ture. Just  here  Mr.  Ensley  applied  this  same  bit  of  philosophy  to  Whit- 
taker,  the  West  Point  cadet.  Now  Whittaker,  says  the  speaker,  is  three 
parts  white  and  two  parts  black ;  if  he  had  been  a  black  man,  he  would 
never  have  injured  himself— as  the  court,  you  remember,  decided  that  he 
did  mutilate  himself;  if  he  had  been  a  white  man,  he  would  have  hung 
himself;  but  as  he  was  neither  white  nor  black,  why  he  hurt  himself  just 
a  little. 

The  professor  aspires  to  the  poet's  chair,  and  communes 
occasionally  with  the  muses.  I  give  here  a  short  poem, 
simply  to  show  the  trend  of  his  mind.  It  was  written  for 
the  Roger  Williams*  Record,  April,  1886. 


NEWELL  HOUSTON  ENSLEY.  867 

WRITE  THY  NAME. 

Write  your  name  upon  the  sand, 

The  waves  will  wash  it  out  again. 

Trace  it  on  the  crystal  foam. 

No  sooner  is  it  writ  than  gone. 

Carve  it  in  the  solid  oak, 

'Tis  shattered  by  the  lightning's  stroke. 

Chisel  it  in  marble  deep, 

'Twill  crumble  down— it  cannot  keep. 

Seeker  for  the  sweets  of  fame, 
On  things  so  frail,  write  not  thy  name. 
With  thee  'twill  wither,  die,  rot ; 
On  things  so  frail,  then,  write  it  not. 
Would'st  thou  have  thy  name  endure  ? 
Go,  write  it  in  the  Book  of  Life, 
Engrnve  it  on  the  hearts  of  men. 
By  humble  deeds  performed  in  love. 


368  MBN  OF  MARK. 


R 


XLIV. 
REV.  CHRISTOPHER  H.  PAYNE. 

Preacher— Editor  and  Soliciting  Agent. 

EV.  CHRISTOPHER  H.  PAYNE  was  born  near  the 


Red  Sulphur  Springs,  Monroe  county,  Virginia,  now 
West  Virginia,  September  7,  1848.  His  parents  were  free. 
His  father  was  free-born,  and  his  mother,  who  had  been 
brought  up  a  slave,  was  set  free  by  her  old  master,  James 
Ellison.  After  her  freedom  she  was  married  to  Thomas 
Payne.  These  two  persons  were  among  the  first  colored 
people  whow^ere  lawfully  married  in  the  county  of  Monroe. 
The  subject  of  tliis  sketch  was  the  only  child  bom  to  their 
union.  When  he  was  very  young  his  father  went  to  Bal- 
timore, Maryland,  with  a  drove  of  cattle,  caught  the  small- 
pox and  died,  leaving  his  wife  a  widow,  and  his  little  son 
fatherless.  Mrs.  Payne  finding  herself  alone  in  the  world, 
with  none  to  comfort  her  but  her  aged  mother  and  her  in- 
fant son,  decided  to  devote  her  entire  time  to  the  rearing 
and  training  of  the  boy  who  was  the  idol  of  her  life.  Hav- 
ing received  the  rudiments  of  an  English  education  at  the 
hands  of  her  old  master,  who  is  supposed  to  have  been  her 
father,  she  set  about  teaching  the  little  boy,  and  so  zealous 


CHRISTOPHER  H.  PAYNE.  369 

was  she  in  her  work  that  he  does  not  remember  when  he 
could  first  read.  When  he  was  quite  young  the  war  began, 
and  because  he  was  a  free  Negro,  and  his  mother  having 
no  protection,  she  had  to  see  the  little  child  go  into  the 
army  as  a  servant.  Here  he  remained,  except  when  at  home 
on  a  pass,  until  1864,  when  he  left  the  service  and  went 
down  on  New  river,  in  the  southern  part  of  Monroe  county 
(now  Summers  county),  and  obtained  employment  from  a 
Mr.  Vincent  Swinney,  where  he  remained  until  the  Confed- 
eracy was  broken  up  by  the  victorious  armies  of  the 
United  States. 

It  was  at  this  place  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Miss 
Ann  Hargro,  whom  he  married  while  yet  a  mere  boy.  This 
union  has  been  a  very  peaceful  one.  In  1866  he  left  home 
and  walked  through  the  mountains  to  Charleston,  on  the 
Kanawha  river,  where  he  took  a  steamboat  and  went  to 
Ohio  and  spent  some  time  traveling  in  that  State  and  in 
the  State  of  Kentucky.  Finally  he  returned  to  Charleston 
and  he  remained  for  more  than  a  year,  working  in  the 
day  and  attending  school  at  night.  After  an  absence  of 
about  fifteen  months  he  returned  to  his  home  and  began 
teaching  in  Monroe,  Mercer  and  Sumner  counties  in  the 
winter,  and  farming  in  the  summer.  In  1875  he  was  con- 
verted and  baptized  in  Indian  creek,  near  where  he  was 
bom,  on  the  fourteenth  of  October,  by  Rev.  G.  W.  Des- 
kins.  On  the  twenty-second  of  February,  1876,  he  was 
licensed  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  on  the  twenty-ninth  of 
May,  1877,  aftera  very  rigid  examination,  he  was  ordained 
to  the  full  work  of  the  gospel  ministry  by  a  council  com- 


370  MEN  OF  MARK. 

posed  of  five  of  the  most  intelligent  and  influential  brethren 
who  belonged  to  the  Greenbrier  association. 

In  September,  1877,  he  entered  the  Richmond  Institute 
in  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  began  a  course  of  study.  Pass- 
ing the  examinations  in  many  of  the  primary  studies,  he 
entered  the  senior  class  in  the  Preparatory  Department, 
and  pursued  his  studies  with  such  energy  and  success  that 
he  soon  gained  the  confidence  and  respect  of  all  his  teachers 
and  fellow  students.  At  the  close  of  the  session,  in  the 
spring  of  1878,  he  went  back  to  his  field  of  labor  in  West 
Virginia,  and  found  the  Baptist  cause  in  such  a  bad  condi- 
tion that  he  remained  out  of  school,  working,  preaching, 
and  organizing  churches  and  Sunday  schools  until  the  fall 
of  1880,  when  he  returned  to  school  at  Richmond,  Virginia, 
and  remained  three  j'cars.  Soon  after  entering  school  he 
accepted  a  call  to  the  Moore  Street  Baptist  church,  and 
preached  Sunday,  after  doing  his  class  work  all  the  week. 
Notwithstanding  this  double  work,  he  maintained  a  very 
respectable  standing  in  all  his  classes,  and  succeeded  in 
giving  satisfaction  to  his  congregation,  which  steadily  in- 
creased during  the  entire  time  of  his  pastorate. 

He  is  regarded  as  possibly  the  best  preacher  the  school 
ever  turned  out.  He  is  a  fine  speaker,  pointed  and  logical ; 
possessing  a  fine  flow  of  language,  he  never  fails  to  im- 
press his  hearers  favorably.  He  was  appointed  by  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society  of  Philadelphia  as 
Sunday  school  missionary  for  the  Eastern  district  of 
Virginia,  and  after  his  graduation  he  attended  the  anni- 
versaries of  the  denomination,  which  were  held  i|i  May, 
1883,  at  Saratoga  Springs,  New  York,  and  there  delivered 


k. 


CHRISTOPHSR  H.  PAYNE.  371 

and  address  before  the  Publication  Society  which  was 
highly  praised  by  many  of  the  leading  journals  of  the 
land,  both  religious  and  secular.  As  soon  as  the  meeting 
closed,  he  returned  to  Virginia  and  entered  upon  his  work. 
His  district  embraced  all  the  largest  cities  in  the  State, 
and  the  most  densely  populated  counties,  and  for  nine 
months  he  labored  most  earnestly  among  the  people, 
preaching,  lecturing  and  delivering  Sunday  school  ad- 
dresses, organizing  Sunday  schools  and  Sunday  school 
unions,  until  from  Staunton  to  Norfolk,  and  from  Alexan- 
dria to  Danville,  Sunday  schools,  churches,  associations 
and  individuals  became  familiar  with  his  labor  and  suc- 
cess. Many  persons  were  led  to  Christ  by  his  efforts,  but 
in  January,  1884,  on  account  of  failing  health,  caused  by 
overwork,  he  tendered  his  resignation  to  the  society  which 
was  accepted  to  take  effect  the  first  of  March.  After 
winding  up  his  affairs  with  the  societ}"^  he  returned  to  his 
native  State,  West  Virginia,  and  in  April,  1884,  took 
charge  of  the  First  Baptist  church  of  Coal  Valley.  Since 
he  has  become  pastor,  the  church  has  added  about  one 
hundred  to  its  membership,  and  is  now  one  of  the  most 
prosperous  in  the  State.  It  was  chiefly  through  his  efforts 
that  the  West  Virginia  Baptist  State  convention  was 
organized,  and  he  was  made  its  first  president.  For  manj^ 
years  he  was  moderator  of  the  only  association  of  the 
State.  He  has  been  among  the  principal  leaders  of  all  the 
w^ork  of  the  denominaton  in  the  State.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  West  Virginia  EnterprisCy  the  only  weekly 
newspaper  published  by  colored  men  in  the  State.  H 
conceived  a  plan  last  year  for  putting  on  foot  a  school  c 


372  MEN  OF  MARK. 

higher  grade  in  the  State  with  an  industrial  department 
attached ;  and  now  his  energy  is  being  bent  in  that  direc- 
tion, having  been  appointed  by  the  Executive  Board  of 
the  West  Virginia  Baptist  State  convention,  correspond- 
ing  secretary  and  agent.  The  work  of  raising  means, 
securing  the  property  and  starting  the  school  rests  largely 
upon  him,  so  that  he  is  now  preacher,  editor  and  soliciting 
agent. 

About  five  hundred  persons  have  been  converted  through 
his  efforts,  about  three  hundred  of  whom  he  has  baptized. 
Nine  churches  and  two  Sunday  schools  have  been  organ- 
ized by  him,  and  in  his  eleven  years  of  ministerial  labors 
he  has  preached  more  than  fifteen  hundred  sermons,  deliv- 
ered more  than  five  hundred  lectures  and  addresses,  and 
during  all  his  struggles  and  labors  he  has  come  out  more 
than  conqueror.  His  noble  wife  has  stood  by  him  in 
every  effort,  and  by  her  energj%  pluck  and  discretion,  ren- 
dered him  such  aid  as  only  a  true  wife  can. 

He  feels  a  deep  sense  of  gratitude  towards  Rev.  C.  li^ 
Corey,  D.  D.,  president  of  the  Richmond  Institute, 
Charles  J.  Pickford  of  Lynn,  Massachusetts,   and  ma 
others  for  aid  and  encouragement  given  him  in  times 
his  great  need  and  severe  struggles.    For  it  was  indeei 
struggle  for  a  man  to  spend  four  years  in  school,  with^ 
wife  and  five  children,  an  aged  mother  and  grandm 
dependent  upon  him,  and  as  he  now  expresses  it,  G- 
alone  led  and  raised  him  up  to  do  the  great  work  and  ha. 
at  the  same  time  raised  up  the  means  whereby  he  co 
accomplish  it.    Difficulties  only  brightened  him,  and  w^ 


CHHISTOPHER  H.  PAYNE.  3T3 

a  strong  hold  on  the  affections  of  the  people  much  more 
may  be  expected  of  him. 

His  virtues  are  many  and  can  never  be  forgotten,  and 
his  word  is  his  bond.  He  is  a  vigorous  and  pointed  writer, 
as  is.  evidenced  by  his  efforts  through  the  paper.  His  ag- 
gressiveness is  in  the  right  direction  and  in  behalf  of  his 
race  and  denomination. 


874  HEN  OP  MAKK. 


XLV. 
PROFESSOR  PETER  HUMPHRIES  CLARK,  A.  M. 

Educator— Editor  and  Agitator. 

FEW  men  are  better  known  than  Professor  Peter  H. 
Clark,  who  began  life  March,  1829.    He  has  accom- 
plished very  much  in  his  career,  and  is  a  real  student,  with 
vigorous  intelledl  and  constitutionally  well  prepared  for  a 
great  amount  of  mental  labor.    Until  1844  Cincinnati 
furnished  him  a  very  poor  chance  for  education,  but  Rev. 
Hiram  S.  Gilmore  opened  a  high  school  this  year  and  he 
entered  as  one  of  the  pupils.    By  the  correctness  of  hi^^ 
habits,  industry  in   his   lessons    and   faithfulness    in  a^^ 
things,  he  was  given  an  assistant's  place  in  the  school, 
at  the  same  time  he  continued  his  own  studies  in  t1 
highest  branches.    Leaving  school  in  1848,  he  refused 
take  employment    with  his  father,   who  was  a  barl 
because  it  would  make  him  move  around  at  the  dicta.^ 
of  every  class  of  white  men.    He  apprenticed  himself  t' 
liberal  artisan,  Thomas  Vamey,  to  learn  stereotyping, 
was  strange  at  this  day  that  a  white  man  should  tak< 
colored  boy,  but  Mr.  Clark  gives  some  prominent  reas^ 
for  this  line  of  conduct :    First,  he  advanced  two  hundi 


PETBR  HUMPHRIES  CLARK.  375 

dollars  to  Mr.  Vamey  to  assist  him  in  his  business; 
second,  Mr.  Vamey's  wife  was  a  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Tribune* and  they  were  both  naturally  affected 
with  the  spirit  of  that  paper,  which  Horace  Greeley  edited 
with  so  much  ability;  and  in  the  same  building  was 
Stanley  Matthews,  who  was  editor  of  the  Herald,  a  Free- 
soil  paper.  Just  about  the  time  Mr.  Clark  was  able  to  do 
the  work  of  a  stereotyper,  his  employer  sold  out  and  went 
to  California,  and  his  successor  in  the  business  had  no  use 
for  a  colored  man.  In  1849  the  Ohio  Legislature  passed  a 
law  allowing  the  colored  people  to  organize  schools  and 
control  them,  which  they  did.  Mr.  Clark  was  employed 
as  teacher.  After  three  months  the  Council  refused  to  pay 
him  on  the  ground  that  the  colored  people,  not  being 
citizens  and  voters,  could  not  be  trustees,  and  their  em. 
ploying  teachers  was  not  legal.  After  a  contest  in  the 
lower  courts,  the  Supreme  Court  declared  the  law  sound 
and  the  colored  trustees  were  sustained.  He  was  work- 
ing in  the  barber  shop  when  he  was  examined  and 
appointed  as  a  teacher.  After  his  father  died  he  had 
charge  of  the  shop.  He  quarrelled  one  day  with  a  white 
customer  who  wanted  him  to  introduce  him  (the  white 
man)  to  colored  ladies  at  a  fair.  The  white  man  being 
refused,  declared  he  would  not  shave  with  him  any  more 
as  he  shaved  **  niggers.'*  This  shows  that  he  was  then  run 
ning  a  civil  rights  barber  shop.  Mr.  Clark  threw  the  cup 
on  the  floor  in  rage  and  disgust,  and  declared  he  would  never 
shave  another  white  man,  and,  if  he  did,  he  would  cut  his 
throat. 
In  1850  he  started  for  Africa,  disgusted  as  he  was  by  the 


376  MEN  OF  MARK. 

bitter  prejudice  of  the  times.  But  henever  went  anyfurther 
than  New  Orleans.  He  returned  to  Cincinnati  in  a  short  time 
and  in  1852  took  an  aftive  part  in  tha  State  ponvention  in 
which  the  *  *  emigration  movement ' '  was  discussed.  He  ad- 
vocated that  America  was  the  home  of  those  who  were 
bom  here.  In  1853  we  find  him  secretary  of  the  National 
convention  of  colored  men,  held  in  Rochester,  New  York. 
The  same  year  he  had  trouble  with  the  school  board, 
which  now  had  no  colored  men  on  it.  They  charged  that 
he  commented  on  the  scriptures  contrary  to  law,  because 
h**  selected  diflFerent  passages  in  reading  the  morning 
lessons.  Mr.  Clark  is  Unitarian  in  his  religious  convic- 
tions, and  has  been  for  many  years.  He  has  often  been 
misunderstood  as  to  his  religious  views,  and  it  may  be^ 

because  many  do  not  understand  the  Unitarian  religion 

The  advocates  of  Unitarianism  hold  that  each  individual 
is  responsible  to  God  for  the  opinions  which  he  entertains—- 
and  that  where  there  is  responsibility  there  must  of  necessitjj^ 
be  perfedl  freedom  of  thinking  and  adling.  Neither  primL^ 
tive  fathers  nor  ecclesiastic  councils,  nor  synods,  nor  estab^ 
lished  creeds  possess  any  absolute  authority  for  theng. 
They  hold  to  the  absolute  unity  of  the  Supreme  Beings 
thus  necessarily  denying  the  dodlrine  of  the  trinity  or  thr 
persons  in  one  God.  They  teach  that  Christ  was  the  fi 
and  greatest  of  all  created  beings ;  that  he  was  the  wise 
and  best  personage  who  ever  existed  on  the  earth ;  that 
mission  was  divine,  being  what  He  Himself  declared  it 
be,  sent  by  God  '*  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth ;"  that  tr 
Holy  Spirit  is  not  a  separate  personal  entity,  but 
inducnce  which  the  Creator  exercises  upon  the  minds 


PETER  HUMPHRIES  CLARK.  377 

nien  under  such  circumstances  as  may  comport  with  His 
^11  and  ptu^oses.  See  statement  of  dodlrines  of  this 
<^hurch  in  'History  of  all  Religions,'  by  Schmucker,  page 
167. 

He  lost  his  place,  however,  and  went  clerking.    He  fin- 
ely opened  a  grocery  store  for  himself    In  1855  he  tried 
'the  tempestuous  life  of  an  editor,  by  publishing  the  Herald 
of  Freedom.    It  died  early,  but  was,  when  alive,  a  very 
efficient  organ,  filled  with  vigorous  matter.    He  was  next 
<^alled  to  fill  the  editorial  chair  on  a  Free-soil  paper,  printed 
^t  Newport,  Kentucky.    At  this  time  it  was  unlawful  for 
^  Ireed  colored  person  to  enter  the  **dark  and  bloody 
ground,"  but  no  one  disturbed  him  though  he  worked  at 
iis  desk  for  several  months;  but  William  S.  Bailey, who 
was  the  owner  of  the  paper,  was  often  mobbed  for  its  sen- 
timents.    In  1856  he  was  on  the  staff  of  Fred  Douglass' 
paper-    In  1857  he  was  recalled  to  the  public  schools,  to 
which  was  added  later  a  high  school  known  as  **  Gaines' 
High  School,"  of  which  he  was  principal  for  thirty  years, 
being  relieved  last  year  by  the  Republican  board  as  pay- 
ment, perhaps,  for  his  independence  in  voting  for  the  Dem- 
ooratic  party  and  sustaining  its  principles.  To  his  humanity 
^^Kid  tender  heart  are  due  the  laws  which  provided  for  the 
^ot  tie  colored  paupers  and  insane  of  the  State.    He 
^P  tile  petition  and  personally  visited  the  law-mak- 


^j  ^^'^mbus,  urging  its  passage.    In  1853  the  Na- 

:J  ^  ^      ^^'^"V'ention  of  colored  men  met  in  Syracuse.    He 

t^^  ^      Constitution  of  the    ** National  Equal  Rights 

3enT>i     '    "^^*liich  did  so  much  to  instruct  and  control  our 
"Pie. 


378  MEN  OF  MARK. 

As  a  politician  he  has  had  the  varying  fortunes  incident 
to  such  a  life.  At  Syracuse,  New  York,  the  Liberal  party 
held  their  convention,  and  he  then  declared  his  faith  in  the 
Republican  party,  and  from  that  date,  sometime  in  1856, 
to  1872  he  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  party.  No  man 
could  be  more  sincere  and  consecrated  to  his  principles 
than  he;  and  his  brilliant  talents  as  an  orator  and 
an  organizer  were  felt  in  the  movements  in  several  cam- 
paigns.  He  was  an  important  factor  in  the  city,  county, 
State  and  National  affairs.  Two  years  later  he  joined 
what  was  known  as  the  **new  departure,"  in  company 
with  such  men  as  Hon.  George  Hoadly,  Stanley  Mat- 
thews, and  others.  Their  principles  were  **  universal  suf- 
frage and  universal  amnesty." 

Mr.  Clark  is  a  man  of  great  and  liberal  ideas.  He  believes 
that  the  colored  man  has  not  had  his  dues  from  the  Re- 
publican party.  Sure  it  is  he  has  never  received  from  any 
party,  neither  Republican  nor  Democrat,  what  his  services 
merit.  In  1878  he  was  a  candidate  for  State  school  com- 
missioner on  the  Workingman's  ticket,  receiving  fifteen 
thousand  votes.  He  is  also  trustee  in  the  State  University, 
appointed  by  Governor  Hoadly,  a  Democrat.  In  1882 
he  aided  the  Democrats  in  the  county  and  State  elections, 
and  as  soon  as  the  Legislature  was  organized,  being  Dem- 
ocratic by  his  aid,  they  drew  up  and  submitted  to  him  the 
civil  rights  bill,  which  he  approved.  It  was  passed  and 
signed  by  the  governor.  Many  have  judged  him  severeK- 
for  tne  stand  he  has  taken  at  times,  but  as  he  is  so  honest 
and  manly,  and  labored  for  his  race,  why  should  free  men 
find  fault  in  a  free  countrv  with  a  free  man  ?    No  one  ever 


PETER  HUMPHRIES  CLARK.  379 

charged  him  with  corruption;  no  one  ever  appealed  to  him 
for  aid  that  did  not  get  it.  Mr.  Clark  deserves  credit  for 
following  his  convictions.  He  is  no  trickster  nor  sneaking 
slave.  If  more  colored  men  would  refuse  and  resent  the 
slights  put  upon  them,  and  the  kicks  also,  the  race  would 
be  recognized  more  in  party  councils.  Mr.  Clark  suffered 
more  for  his  politics  from  his  colored  brethren  than  from 
the  whites.  He  certainly  made  it  possible  for  colored  men 
now  in  position  to  get  the  honors  they  have.  Had  Mr. 
Clark  been  silent.  Republicans  would  not  have  been  so 
ready  to  accord  honor  to  colored  men,  at  least  not  in  dis- 
tinguished positions ;  had  he  submitted,  the  others  would 
still  be  slaves  with  their  noses  on  the  grindstone,  or  holding 
little  petty  positions  as  "ward  bummers.'*  And  many 
that  bask  in  the  sunshine  that  he  prepared  have  spit  upon 
him.  He  has  frequently  had  small  offices  offered  him,  which 
he  has  declined.  He  will  be  no  man's  servant,  to  run  at  his 
beck  and  call.  Without  patronage  to  bestow,  he  would 
have  to  suffer  many  indignities  which  he  would  not  take, 
hence  his  refusal.  A  white  man  of  his  ability  and  learning 
-would  be  president  of  a  State  college  or  governor  of  the 
State. 

We  had  already  written  this  sketch  when  the  following 
letter  appeared  in  the  New  York  Freeman,  of  March  29, 
1887.  It  can  only  be  fair  to  produce  it  here  as  his  opinion 
touching  the  subject,  especially  «ince  it  rather  harmonizes 
with  my  own.  Of  course  there  were  others  contending  for 
recognition,  but  they  made  their  fights  in  the  ranks,  and 
when  denied  stayed  there.  It  took  nerve  for  such  men  as 
Clark,  Matthews,  Trotter  and  Downing,  to  break  away 


380  MEN  OF  MARK. 

from  the  lash  of  white  men  and  the  ahal  aha!  aha!  of 
black  men.  Men  admire  pluck  even  in  bad  men.  They 
always  applaud  a  deed  that  marks  one  as  especially  val- 
orous—who does  not  admire  Napoleon  though  his  crimes 
were  many  ?  It  is  alleged  that  Milton  so  dignified  Satan 
that,  instead  of  hating  him  for  his  wicked  rebellion,  we 
sympathize  with  him  and  bemoan  his  fall.  I  confess  to 
some  of  the  spirit  that  delights  in  boldness,  daring,  pluck, 
and  though  not  exactly  in  harmony  with  Mr.  Clark's  line 
of  procedure,  he  has  my  respect  for  the  manly  stand  he 
took  in  these  matters.  It  is  now  becoming  very  fashion- 
able, aye,  popular,  and  he  will  cease  to  be  lonesome.  But 
here  is  the  letter.  His  advice  is  good,  and  the  Ohio  pre- 
scription might  serve  as  a  remedy  for  National  affairs. 

WHO  INSPIRED  THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  BLACK  LAWS. 

HAVING  FORCED  THE  REPUBLICANS  TO  DO  THEIR  DUTY,  BY  SUPPORTING  A 
DEMOCRAT  FOR  GOVERNOR,  MR.  CLARK  THINKS  THE  TACTICS  SHOULD 
BE  TRIED  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  NATIONAL  POLITICS— THE  NEGROWUMP  AS  A 
POWER. 

To  the  Editor  of  The  New  York  Freeman  : 

Frequently  after  a  successful  hunt  the  question  is  asked,  "Who  killed 
the  bear?"  In  like  spirit  the  question  is  being  asked,  **Who  destroyed 
the  Black  Laws  of  Ohio,  the  *  knuckle  close '  colored  Republicans  or  the 
'kickers'?'*  A  brief  look  at  history  will  help  us  answer  that  question. 
For  more  than  twenty  years  of  Republican  rule,  beginning  with  John 
Brough  and  ending  w^ith  Charles  Foster,  no  governor  of  that  party  ever 
suggested  the  propriety  of  repealing  those  laws.  And  the  colored  peo- 
ple, by  a  strange  neglect,  scarcely  seemed  to  be  conscious  of  their  exist- 
ence and  seldom  asked  for  their  repeal.  There  was  a  sort  of  notion 
prevalent  that  to  ask  the  Republicans  of  Ohio  to  do  justice  to  her 
colored  citizens  would  embarrass  the  party  in  its  alleged  fight  against 
wrong  in  the  South.    It  is  true  that  the  resolutions  of  the  Chillicothe 


PETER  HUMPHRIES  CLARK.  381 

GonTcntioii,  bdd  in  1873,  demanded  the  abrogation  of  all  such  laws,  trat 
most  of  the  participants  in  that  convention  were  soon  whipped  back 
into  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party.    Others,  more  stem  in  spirit, 
were  so  hounded  bj  partisans,  white  and  black,  that  they  took  refuge  in 
the  opposing  party.    In  the  course  of  that  twenty  years,  colored  voters 
of  Ohio  were  rallied  time  and  again  to  the  support  of  the  Republican 
party  in  the  name  of  ** Political  and  Civil  Equality"  for  the  colored 
people  of  the  South;  but  oddly  enough,  the  ** Political  and  Civil"  in- 
equality of  her  own  people  was  unnoticed. 
But  in  1883  there  came  into  the  governor's  office,  aided  thereto  by  the 
otcs  of  sundry  thousands  of  colored  "kickers,"  a  man  who,  remember- 
ing the  Scriptural  injunction,  "first  cast  out  the  beam  out  of  thine  own 
eye,  and  then  thou  shalt  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote  of  thy  brother's 
eye,"  wasted  no  space  in  bewailing  the  condition  of  our  brethren  in  the 
South,  a  condition  beyond  the  control  of  the  Ohio  Legislature,  but  said 
concerning  the  laws  which  oppressed  the  colored  people  of  his  own 
State,  "  The  existing  legal  discriminations  on  **ocount  of  color  are  not 
based  on  character  or  conduct  and  have  no  relation  to  mental  or  moral 
fitness  for  civil  usefulness,  but  are  rather  relics  of  prejudice  which  had  its 
origin  in  slavery.    I  recommend  their  total  repeal."    That  governor  was 
George  Hoadly  and  the  thousands  of  colored  men  who,  throwing  off 
party  shackles,  had  voted  for  him,  found  their  reward  in  these  noble 
words,  so  earnestly  and  honestly  spoken  in  their  behalf.    Prompted  by 
these  words,  there  came  a  shower  of  p)etitions  from  colored  men  asking 
for  civil  equalitj'  in  Ohio.    The  majority  of  these  were  honest  petitions, 
but  many  were  sent  for  the  purpose  of  emphasizing  what  the  senders 
supposed  was  difference  of  opinion  between  the  governor  and  the  Demo- 
crat Legislature  that  was  elected  with  him.    But  the  Legislature  listened 
to  the  governor  and  enacted  a  law  to  guard  the  civil  rights  of  all. 

Thus  challenged,  the  Republican  managers  did  not  dare  to  go  into 
another  election  without  bringing  back  those  colored  voters  whose 
defection  had  given  the  State  to  the  Democracy.  They  gave  out  political 
patronage  with  a  free  hand,  they  nominated  three  colored  men  to  seats 
in  the  Legislature  and  were  profuse  in  their  promises  that  all  laws 
making  distinctions  on  account  of  color  should  be  abolished,  if  colored 
men  would  again  come  unitedly  to  the  aid  of  the  party.  The  result  was 
the  election  of  Foraker.    Hoadly  in  going  out,  and  Foraker  in  coming 


382  MSN  OF  MARK. 

in,  advised  that  the  remnant  of  the  Black  Laws  should  be  abolished. 
And  they  were.  If  you  ask  the  question  of  any  ''kicker/'  "who  abol- 
ished the  Black  Laws  ?'*  he  will  slap  himself  upon  the  breast  and  say  **  I 
did  it,  with  my  free  ballot."  The  "kickers"  of  Ohio  are  satisfied  with 
the  results  of  their  plan  and  are  prepared  to  recommend  it  to  their 
brethren  in  other  States.  Indeed,  some  of  them  are  asking  if  there  is  not 
a  chance  for  the  use  of  their  tactics  on  the  broad  field  of  National 

politics. 

Peter  H.  Clark. 
Cincinnati,  March.  16.  1887. 

The  Wilberforce  University  has  conferred  on  him  the  title 
of  A.  M.,  and  well  does  he  deserve  it.  He  is  the  leading 
Negro  educator  in  America. 

Mr.  Clark  has  reared  several  children.  His  oldest  daugh- 
ter, Ernestine,  is  the  wife  of  J.  Street  Nesbit,  a  letter- 
carrier  ;  she  graduated  from  the  **  Gaines'  High  School  "and 
afterwards  from  the  Cincinnati  Normal  school,  being  the 
first  colored  girl  who,  without  denying  her  race,  was 
admitted  to  that  institution.  Afterward  obtaining  the 
highest  grade  certificate  granted  to  women,  she  taught 
for  three  years  in  the  ** Gaines'  High  School;"  she  is  pro- 
ficient in  vocal  and  instrumental  music  and  drawing.  His 
second  daughter,  Consuelo  Clark,  graduated  from  the 
McMicken  School  of  Art ;  she  took  a  high  school  certifi- 
cate, and  also  a  certificate  in  drawing,  and  then  studied 
medicine  for  four  years,  graduating  at  last  from  the 
"School  of  Medicine  of  the  Boston  University."  She  is 
now  practicing  her  profession  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati. 
His  son  Herbert  is  a  graduate  from  the  **  Gaines'  High 
School,"  and  taught  for  three  years  at  Alcorn,  Mississippi. 
Was  also  deputy  sheriff  for  two  years,  and  ganger  in  the 
-first  Ohio  collection  district.    It  can  be  very  well  seen  that 


PBTER  HUMPHRIES  CI^ARK.  383 

there  is  talent  of  a  high  order  in  the  family,  and  in  his  old 
age  may  he  have  the  blessing  and  comfort  of  his  children. 
He  has  saved  but  little,  and  can  well  reflect  that  he  has 
spent  his  money  judiciously  in  the  education  of  his  family 
^nd  fitting  them  to  take  their  places  in  the  world. 


3845  MEN  OF  MARK. 


XLVI. 

JUSTIN  HOLLAND,  ESQ. 

Musical  Author  and   Arranger^Performer  on  the  Guitar,  Flute   and: 
Piano  Forte.  ^ 

Music  hath  charms  to  soothe  the  savage  breast, 
To  soften  rocks  or  bend  the  knotted  oak. 

—Congreve. 

His  very  foot  hath  music  in  it. 

— Mkklc. 

IT  SO  happens  that  the  history  of  music  furnishes  some 
of  the  most  remarkable  talents  found  in  the  biogra- 
phy of  art.  Some  of  its  greatest  results  are  usually  at- 
tained by  simple  means,  and  the  exercise  of  ordinary 
qualities.  Excellence  in  the  art,  as  in  everything  else,  can 
only  be  achieved  by  dint  of  painstaking  labor.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  is  a  good  example  of  what  can  be  done 
by  steady  application. 

Mr.  Holland  was  bom  in  Norfolk,  Virginia,  in  1819. 
His  father  was  a  farmer.  In  childhood  his  talent  bespoke 
so  much  of  a  bright  future,  that  he  was  determined  to  cul- 
tivate it.  In  a  dense  forest  shut  out  from  the  noise  and 
bustle  of  a  busy  town,  he  was  afforded  but  few  opportu- 
nities for  either  hearing  or  learning  music.     Yet  nature 


N 


JUSTIN  noi.i.ANn. 


il 


JUSTIN  HOLLAND.  385 

taught  him  the  purity  of  her  tones,  by  the  songs  of  the 
birds,  and  no  doubt  better  fitted  him  for  the  greatness  he 
achieved.  He  grasped  every  opportunity  that  came  in  his 
way,  and  used  it  to  an  advantage.  When  less  than  four- 
teen, he  walked  on  Sunday  to  a  log  meeting-house,  five 
miles  away,  to  listen  to,  and  also  mingle  his  voice  in  such 
music  as  the  place  and  people  were  able  to  produce.  He 
often  delighted  himself  with  an  old  song  book  that  came 
into  his  possession,  and  the  tunes  he  gave  them,  while 
formed  by  himself,  far  surpassed  those  which  really  be- 
longed to  them.  When  fourteen  he  left  the  home  of  his 
birth  and  went  to  Boston  from  which  he  made  his  way  to 
Chelsea,  Massachusetts.  At  this  place  he  earnestly  began 
the  study  of  music.  He  became  acquainted  with  a  distin- 
guished musician,  Signor  Mariam  Perez,  whose  perform- 
ance upon  the  guitar  he  enjoyed  very  much.  So  charmed 
was  he  by  the  sweetness,  tone  and  fine  expressions  which 
were  brought  from  this  instrument,  by  its  skilled  per- 
former, that  he  determined  to  give  his  whole  attention  to 
the  study,  not  that  he  thought  of  being  looked  upon  as  a 
master  performer,  as  was  Perez,  but  chiefly  for  his 
own  amusement. 

Mr.  Simon  Knaebel,  an  arranger  of  music,  was  his  first 
teacher;  he  also  took  lessons  from  Mr.  William  Shubert, 
who  was  known  as  an  expert  in  music  on  the  guitar.  Mr. 
Holland,  in  his  eagerness  to  learn,  made  rapid  progress 
and  became  a  favorite  pupil,  on  account  of  his  ability  to 
play  duets  with  his  instructor.  He  also  evinced  much 
skill  with  the  eight  keyed  flute,  taking  lessons  on  this  in- 
strument from  Mr.  Pollock,  a  Scotch  gentleman.     Mr. 


386  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Holland  was  poor,  but  poverty  was  no  hindrance  to  his 
talents.  He  worked  hard  to  defray  his  expenses,  which 
were  quite  heavy,  and  the  only  time  he  had  to  practice, 
was  part  of  his  hours  for  sleep. 

In  1841,  he  entered  Oberlin  College,  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  a  better  education,  where  he  diligently  pursued 
his  studies,  and  made  rapid  advancement.  In  the  same 
year  he  was  the  author  of  a  book  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty-four  pages,  on  the  subject  of  **  Choral  Reform." 
In  1845,  he  went  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  while  looking 
for  something  to  do,  his  fame  as  a  musician  brought  him 
applications,  requesting  him  to  teach  music  to  the  best 
people  of  the  place. 

James  M.  Trotter,  in  *  Music  and  Some  Highly  Musical 
People,'  a  work  of  considerable  merit  and  worthy  to  be  in 
the  hands  of  all  intelligent  people,  says : 

His  character  had  now  become  finely  formed,  he  being  quite  noticeable 
for  his  gentlemanly',  scholarly  qualities,  and  for  the  close  attention  he 
gave  to  the  subjedl  of  music  and  with  all  that  concerned  the  true 
advancement  in  the  profession,  in  which  he  now  resolved  to  remain 
for  life. 

As  illustrating  the  principles  by  which  he  was  guided, 
the  following  extradl  from  a  letter  written  to  a  friend  will 
help  to  define  some  of  his  inner  motives : 

I  adopted  as  a  rule  of  guidance  for  myself  that  I  would  do  justice  to 
the  learner  in  ray  efforts  to  impart  tohimagood  knowledge  of  the elcment- 
arj'  principles  of  music  and  a  corre<5l  system  of  fingering  ( on  the  guitar),  as 
practiced  by  and  taught  in  the  works  by  the  best  masters  of  Europe.  I 
also  decided  that  in  my  intercourse  as  a  teacher  I  would  preserve  a  most 
cautious,  circum8pe<Sl  demeanor,  considering  the  relation  a  mere  busincas 
one,  which  gave  me  no  claims  upon  my  pupils'  attention  or  hospitality 


V 


JUSTIN  HOLLAND.  387 

bejond  what  any  ordinary  business  matter  would-  give.  .  I  am  not 
aware,  therefore,  that  anyone  has  ever  had  cause  to  complain  of  my 
demeanor  or  that  I  have  been  in  any  case  presumptuous. 

He  headed  the  profession  in  the  city,  in  which  he  was  a 
proficient  instrudlor ;  and,  to  make  himself  more  perfedl,  he 
applied  himself  to  the  study  of  French,  Spanish  and 
Italian,  in  order  to  be  able  to  read  the  systems  of  foreign 
musicians  in  their  native  tongue.  By  his  persistent 
energy  he  found  himself  able  to  use  the  above  mentioned 
languages  with  much  self-complacency,  and  which  were 
£l\so  of  great  benefit  to  him  in  his  profession.  His  success 
was  due  to  common  sense  application  and  unremitting 
perseverance.  His  gift  came  by  nature,  but  he  perfedled  it 
by  selfnnilture.  He  took  up  a  subjedl  and  pursued  it  with 
tinflagging  energy ;  he  could  not  rest  until  he  had  reached 
the  goal  of  his  ambition.  He  did  much  in  making  the 
musical  compositions  of  others  for  other  instruments  suit- 
able for  guitar  practice  by  his  skilful  arrangement.  In 
this  country  he  was  without  equal,  and  stood  on  a  level 
with  the  best  foreign  performers. 

In  1848  he  published  many  arrangements  for  the  guitar, 
which  were  eagerly  purchased  by  guitar  students.  It  is 
said  that  most  all  of  the  music  for  that  instrument  has 
under  it  the  name  of  Holland.  He  also  wrote  instruction 
books  for  the  guitar,  which  were  highly  valued  because  of 
the  simple  methods  and  clearness  of  explanations,  and  are 
considered  the  best  ever  published.  In  1876  Mr.  Brainard, 
publisher,  issued  a  volume  known  as  *  Holland's  Method 
for  the  Guitar.' 

All  these  years  his  pecuniary  circumstances  were  em- 


388  MEN  OF  MARK. 


t 


barrassing.  Often  he  had  not  the  means  to  buy  food  to 
sustain  his  body.  At  one  time  when  this  was  the  case  he 
had  some  work  to  do  for  which  he  was  to  receive  a  good 
little  sum.  It  was  Sunday,  and  he  began  work  at  7  p.  m. 
and  continued  till  8  a.  m.  the  next  morning.  He  took  the 
work  and  delivered  it  to  his  customer  and  returned  with  a 
light  heart,  for  he  had  been  well  paid  for  his  services. 

His  gentlemanly  demeanor  and  true  politeness  towards 
his  pupils  caused  them  to  entertain  for  him  the  deepest 
feelings  of  respeft  and  the  highest  admiration. 

Besides  being  a  skillful  guitarist,  Mr.  Holland  was  also 
regarded  as  a  fine  pianist  and  flutist.  As  a  man  of  modest 
pretensions,  he  never  sought  public  applause.  He  has 
very  seldom  appeared  in  public,  and  seemed  to  prefer  a 
quieter  and  more  sequestered  life.  His  chief  work  is  *  Hol- 
land's Comprehensive  Method  for  the  Guitar/  written 
for  and  published  by  J.  L.  Peters  &  Company  of  New 
York,  in  1874.  It  is  noticeable  that  of  all  the  musical 
firms  for  whom  he  has  written,  only  one  knew  him  per- 
sonally, though  he  has  written  for  J.  L.  Peters  &  Compan\% 
G.  W.  Brainard,  D.  P.  Faulds  of  Louisville,  Kentuck\% 
and  John  Church  of  Cincinnati. 

He  was  a  distinguished  Mason,  and  held  many  impor- 
tant offices  in  this  order.  He  was  the  representative  in  this 
country  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of  France  and  Peru,  each 
appointment  being  considered  a  very  rare  distinction.  The 
Ohio  Lodge  presented  him  with  a  gold  watch,  as  a  token 
of  their  appreciation.  Many  such  a  noble  life,  full  of  good 
and  earnest  labor,  inspires  others  of  the  race  to  strive  for 
higher  things,  and  to  overcome  difiiculties  to  attain  such. 


V 


JUSTIN  HOLLAND.  389 

He  died  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans  very  recently  and  the 
Cleveland  Plain  Dealer  said  of  him : 

The  many  friends  and  pupils  of  Professor  Justin  Holland  will  learn 
vrith  great  sorrow  of  his  death  in  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  on  Thurs- 
day, March  24.  For  several  years  he  had  been  in  delicate  health,  and 
liite  last  fall  went  South  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  cure  by  change  of  cli- 
mate. But  congestion  of  the  brain,  the  result  of  a  slight  cold,  set  in,  and  in 
his  exhausted  physical  condition,  soon  ended  his  life.  He  was  sixty-seven 
years  and  eight  months  of  age.  Professor  Holland  has  made  Cleveland 
his  home  for  years,  and  sought  in  this  city  to  create  and  maintain  a  love 
for  the  guitar  and  guitar  music  such  as  had  never  been  here  before.  Time 
can  tell  how  great  was  his  success,  but  he  stood  foremost  among  the 
xnembers  of  his  profession,  as  his  name  is  more  widely  known  than  any 
other  American  guitarist.  As  a  man,  when  one  came  to  know  him,  the 
old  professor  possessed  a  heart  flowing  over  with  love  for  his  pupils,  and 
no  favor  was  too  great  to  be  asked.  He  will  be  sadly  missed  in  musical 
circles  here,  and  it  will  be  many  years  before  Cleveland  possesses  another 
g^tarist  so  gifted,  so  educated  and  so  able  to  arouse  a  love  for  one  of 
the  noblest  musical  instruments. 


390 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


XLvn. 

PROFESSOR  WILLIAM  HOOPER  COUNCIL. 

President  State  Normal  and  Indastrial  School,  HuntsviUe,  Alabanub^ 

Editor  and  Lawyer. 

WILLIAM  HOOPER  COUNCIL  was  bommPayette- 
ville,  Cumberland  county,  North  Carolina,  July 
12,  1849,  of  slave  parents.  His  father  escaped  to  Canada 
in  1854,  and  made  several  unsuccessfiil  attempts  to  pro- 
cure the  freedom  of  his  family.  The  subjedl  of  this  sketch, 
with  all  the  other  children,  took  the  maiden  name  of  their 
mother,  who  belonged  to  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
influential  families  of  the  town.  The  family  had  never 
been  separated,  and,  in  1857,  when  the  two  brothers  were 
sent  to  distant  parts  of  the  South  to  be  heard  of  no  more, 
and  the  mother,  with  William  and  the  younger  brother, 
sold  in  the  Richmond  market,  almost  unbearable  grief  fell 
upon  all  hearts.  This  undermined  the  health  of  the  mother 
and  no  other  trader  wanted  her.  It  seemed  that  the  two 
boys  must  be  separated  from  her;  but  by  some  understand- 
ing no  separation  could  take  place  without  the  consent  of 
the  two,  and  it  was  thought  this  could  be  easily  obtained. 
So  the  boys  were  summoned  to  the  office  of  the  trader  la 
Richmond,  who  offered  them  handfuls  of  gold  and  made 


ar 


id 


^^ 

fl 

ir. 

Hie 


■"»>j 


WILLIAM  HOOPER  COUNCIL.  391 

many  fair  promises  of  a  charming  **Hfe  out  west"  if  they 
w^ould    consent    to   leave    their    mother,    who,   it   was 
promised,  should  join  them'  later.    Without  any  knowl- 
edge or  warning  of  what  was  going  on  except  such  as  only 
a  mother's  heart  could  know,  at  this  juncture  she  mysteri- 
ously appeared  upon  the  scene,  and,  seen  only  by  the 
boys,  was  enabled  to  warn  them  by  the  expression  on  her 
face  (for  not  a  word  was  spoken)  that  told  that  the 
promises  were  of  no  account,  and  that  the  gold  would  be 
taken  from  them  after  they  consented ;  consequently,  alj 
were  sold  and  carried  into  Alabama  together,  where  they 
remained   until   the  close  of  the  war,  when   the  death 
of  the  younger  brother  was  soon  followed  by  that  of 
the  mother,  and  William  was  left  alone.    In  1863,  when 
the  Federal  armies  invaded  north  Alabama,  the  boys  were 
carried  into  the  back  hills  to  keep  them  from  the**  Yankees.'* 
The  mother  was  left  in  the  city  of  Hunts ville,  thinking  that 
her  children  would  hold  her,  but  she  escaped  with  the  army 
and  sent  back  for  the  children,  who,  by  the  perfedl  system 
of  grape- vine  telegraphy  well  known  to  the  colored  people, 
and  so  long  carried  on  while  they  were  in  slavery,  learned 
of  all  these  things,  and  were  ever  seeking  an  opportunity 
to  be  united  vnth  her.    Finally  the  hour  came,  and,  leaving 
home  one  Sunday  afternoon,  met  each  other  in  the  forests, 
and,  through  swamps,  over  mountains,  and  wading  tw^o 
rivers,  that  Sunday  night  they  reached  the  Federal  lines, 
twenty-five   miles   away,    and    were   united    with   their 
mother,    to   whom   they    yvere   fondly   attached.     They 
entered  the  Freedmen*s  school  at  Stevenson,  Alabama. 
Cicero  soon  died.    When  the  war  closed  William  waited  on 


392  MEN  OF  MARK. 

an  oflBcer  for  a  year's  food,  clothing  and  schooling.  How- 
ever incredible  it  may  appear,  in  1866,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  years,  he  took  charge  of  a  county  school,  being 
the  first  to  teach  a  colored  school  outside  of  a  city  in 
North  Alabama. 

His  trials  with  the  Ku  Klux  would  require  too  much 
space  for  the  relation,  but  he  had  many  and  severe  difficul- 
ties. Closing  his  first  session,  he  spent  the  following 
summer  at  service  in  a  hotel  on  top  of  Lookout  mountain, 
where  he  earned  enough  to  defray  his  expenses  in  school 
the  next  session.  He  next  worked  in  a  restaurant  in  Nash- 
ville by  day  and  attended  night  school.  Afterwards  he  did 
night  service  at  a  restaurant  and  attended  day  school.  He 
then  undertook  the  task  of  teaching  regularly,  in  which  he 
has  given  abundant  satisfaction,  made  much  progress  and 
developed  into  a  professor.  Desiring  to  advance,  he  pro- 
cured chemical  and  philosophical  instruments  and  walked 
eight  miles  once  a  week,  paying  one  dollar,  to  hear  a 
lecture  on  these  branches.  He  also  paid  six  dollars  per 
month  for  private  instrudlion  in  Latin  and  the  higher 
mathematics.  Unfortunately  he  took  part  in  politics;  he 
was  enrolling  clerk  in  the  Alabama  I-/egislatureinl872and 
'74,  and  was  associate  editor  of  the  Negro  Watchman  in 
the  year  1874;  also  he  was  a  nominee  of  the  Republican 
party  for  the  Legislature.  In  1875  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Grant  receiver  of  public  monies  for  the  northern 
district  of  Alabama,  which  position  he  declined,  to  accept 
a  position  as  principal  of  the  city  school  of  Huntsville,  to 
which  he  had  been  eleAed  without  solicitation.  He 
was  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Colored  National  Civil 


)■- 


WILUAM  HOOPER  COUNCIL.  393 

Sights  conTention,  which  met  in  Washington  in  1873.  He 
was  dedled  president  of  the  State  Normal  and  Industrial 
school,  and  professor  of  sciences  and  pedagogics  in  1876, 
which  position  he  now  holds.  He  has  made  of  this  school 
all  that  it  is. 

He  has  been  highly  honored  by  various  societies  of  which 
he  is  a  member ;  was  appointed  a  notary  public  by  Gover- 
nor Cobb  in  1882;  he  was  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Hun tsville Herald  from  1878  until  1883,  and  was  admitted 
to  practice  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  Alabama- in  1883. 
He  is  a  minister  in  the  A.  M.  E.  church  and  a  great  Sunday 
school  worker;  for  push  and  energy  he  has  but  few  equals, 
^nd  will  surely  accomplish  more  in  his  life. 

In  1884  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Maria  H. 
^hecden  of  Huntsville,  since  which  time  he  has  lived  a 
pleasant  and  profitable  life.  He  is  highly  respedled  by  all 
ijvho  kbow  him.  His  school  has  been  a  great  success  and 
receives  the  yearly  commendation  from  the  commissioners, 
Hon.  A.  S.  Fletcher,  Hon.  J.  R.  Mayhew  and  J.  D.  Brandon. 
As  a  disciplinarian,  he  easily  ranks  among  the  most  suc- 
cessful ;  for  the  students  catch  the  spirit  of  the  teacher  and 
go  forth  into  life  filled  with  the  high  notions  which  ought 
to  occupy  the  attention  of  the  youth  of  this  da3\  From 
the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  he  is  a  self-made  man, 
who  wrung  success  from  doubtful  circumstances  and 
brought  himself  into  prominence.  And  he  feels  proud  of 
his  graduation  from  what  he  facetiously  calls  the  **Pine 
Knot  College.**  What  men  have  done,  others  can  do. 
Reader,  take  courage,  go  forward ;  you  can  and  will  win. 


394  MEN  OF  MARK. 


XLVIII. 

REV.  JAMES  POINDEXTER,  D.  D. 

Advocate 'of  Human  Rights— Minister  of  the  Gospel  and  Agitator — Di- 
rector of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry — Member  of  the  Board  of  Education 
of  the  City  of  Columbus,  Ohio. 

THE  State  of  Ohio  has  had  within  its  borders  one  of  the 
strongest  men  in  the  United  States,  a  man  whose 
soul  has  been  on  fire  on  account  of  the  outrages  perpe- 
trated against  colored  people,  and  who  never  lost  an. 
opportunity  to  speak  and  write  with  vigor  against  aK 
species  of  outrages  and  to  ally  himself  persistently  with 
those  elements  that  look  toward  the  bettering  of  the  con- 
dition of  those  for  whom  he  advocated.  His  philanthro- 
phy  has  not,  however,  confined  itself  to  his  owti  race;  but 
those  who  know  him  have  always  done  him  the  justice  to 
say  that  his  interest  extended  to  all  classes  who  are  op- 
pressed and  downtrodden. 

He  was  bom  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  A.  D.,  1817.  He 
attended  school  from  the  time  he  learned  to  talk  and  was 
instructed  in  common  branches  until  he  reached  his  tenth 
year,  when  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  barber's  business. 
His  boss  was  barber  for  the  most  aristocratic  class  of  citi- 
zens of  Richmond,  and  he  improved  every  opportunity 


\ 


JAMES  POINDEXTER.  395 

afforded  him  for  cultivating  his  mind  by  conversation  and 
association  with  the  customers.  He  was  always  ready  to 
accept  instruction  from  any  who  would  take  the  pains  to 
impart  it  to  him. 

After  settling  in  Ohio  he  received  private  instruction 
from  an   Englishman,  one  of  the  ablest  educators  and 
ripest  scholars  in  the  city  where  he  lived.    As  long  as  he 
continued  the  barber's  business  he  had  the  good  fortune  to 
have  as  customers  the  cream  of  the  intelligent  people  in  the 
city  of  Columbus.    His  patrons  comprised  statesmen,  sci- 
entists, men  of  all  professions,  professors  of  colleges,  phy- 
sicians, lawyers,  merchants  and  capitalists.    This  sort  of 
education  is  often  more  valuable  than  college  training;  it 
gives  one  the  practical  experience  of  life.    Theory  from 
books  may  assist  in  many  enterprises  in  life,  but  to  pursue 
life  itself  unto  a  successful  end  takes  practical  every-day 
experience — not  only  that  which  we  ourselves  gain,  but 
through  observation  and  contact  with  others.    At  the 
age  of  twelve  he  settled  in  the  city  of  Columbus,  where  he 
now  resides.    He  embraced  religion  and  was  baptized  into 
the  communion  of  the  Second  Baptist  church  of  Columbus, 
Ohio,  by  Elder  Wallace  Shelton,  in  the  spring  of  1840.     He 
was  ordained  an  elder  in  1849  and  was  chosen  pastor  of 
^aid  church  in  1862,  and  here  he  has  labored  continuously 
until  the  present  time.    He  has  served  as  trustee  of  the 
**.  Institute  for  the  Blind ''  of  Ohio  by  appointment  of  Gov- 
ernor Charles  Foster  for  four  years.     He  was  appointed 
trustee  of  the  Athens  University  of  Ohio  by  ex-Governor 
George  Hoadly,  but  was  rejected  by  a  Democratic  Senate 
because  they  regarded  him  as  an  ultra-Republican.     He 


396  MEN  OF  MARK. 

lias  served  four  years  as  member  of  the  City  Council  of 
Columbus,  and  was  chosen  vice-president  of  that  body. 
He  was  unanimously  appointed  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education  to  fill  the  vacancy  on  the  board.  And  at  the 
next  election  thereof  was  elected  a  member,  which  position 
he  now  holds. 

He  has  just  been  re-elected  to  the  position  on  the  School 
Board  by  a  majority  of  512  votes  over  a  Democratic  op- 
ponent. This  is  very  indicative  of  his  standing  in  that 
city,  for  the  issue  of  the  daily  Ohio  State  Journal^  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  April  5,  1887,  says : 

The  result  of  yesterday*s  Section  shows  the  success  of  the  entire  Deni* 
ocratic  city  ticket  by  m^orities  ranging  from  4O0  to  800.  When  it  is 
remembered  that  he  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  his  election  is  a  subject  of 
•congratulation. 

The  following  letter  also  shows  a  new  appointment 
made  by  the  governor  of  that  State : 

State  of  Ohio,  Executive  Department, 
Office  of  the  Governor,  Columbus,  March  3, 1887. 
Hon.  Jambs  Poindexter,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Dear  Sir :  I  am  directed  by  the  governor  to  notify  you  that  he  has 
.appointed  you  to  be  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  State 
Forestry  Bureau  for  the  term  of  six  years,  commencing  April  28,  1887, 
And  to  say  that  a  commission  has  been  forwarded  to  you  according^ly 
Ijy  this  day's  mail.  1  enclose  herewith  an  official  oath — which  you  mrill 
please  execute  and  return  to  this  office. 

Very  respectfully, 

C.E.  Prior,  Ex-Clerk.- 

In  the  early  days  of  colored  men's  freedom  he  was  the 
first  colored  man  in  Ohio  nominated  by  the  Republican 
party  to  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  but  was 


\ 


JAMBS  POINDEXTER.  397 

defeated  at  the  polls.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pastors' 
Union,  where  the  ministers  are  all  white  except  himself; 
nevertheless,  he  was  president?  of  said  union.  He  was 
empanelled  asa  jnror  on  the  petit  jury  of  the  United  States 
court  at  its  last  session  and  was  unanimously  chosen 
foreman  of  said  jury,  though,  with  the  exception  of  himself, 
it  was  composed  of  white  men  taken  from  the  best  citizens 
of  the  State.  He  has  the  honor  of  being  the  only  colored 
man  in  the  State  of  Ohio  who  has  been  a  foreman  of  a  jury 
in  a  United  States  court.  This  may  seem  a  small  matter 
to  mention  in  a  man's  life,  and  yet,  because  of  existing 
prejudices,  even  such  small  honors  have  been  withheld 
from  colored  men,  and  it  is  here  related  in  order  that  those 
who  read  may  see  that  character,  honor  and  veracity  will 
gain  credence  among  all  classes  of  people  and  a  man  be 
respedled  for  what  he  is  worth,  that  the  color  of  the  skin 
will  not  prevent  men  from  rising  mid  the  direst  circum- 
stances if  they  will  be  true  to  themselves.  Rev.  James 
Poindexter  has  been  president  of  the  society  known  as  the 
"Sons  of  Protedlion''  for  thirty  years  of  its  forty  three 
years  existence.  The  term  of  office  when  organized  was 
only  six  months,  but  for  the  last  twenty-five  years  the 
term  has  been  twelve  months.  Thus  he  has  been  in 
many  ways  made  the  recipient  of  much  confidence  and 
esteem  by  his  fellow-citizens  of  all  colors,  nationalities  and 
conditions.  As  regards  his  aggressiveness,  he  might  be 
called  aggressiveness  itself,  but  facfls  speak  louder  than 
\%'ords.  No  man  in  Ohio,  even  a  regular  employee  of  a 
daily  paper,  has  contributed  to  the  press  or  made  more 
speeches  on  all  matters  relating  to  the  rights,  freedom, 


398  MEN  OP  MARK. 

enfranchisement  and  elevation  of  our  race,  or  on  matters 
relating  to  the  public  welfare,  than  Mr.  Poindexter.  If  he 
should  be  asked  why  he  has  not  been  further  recognized  by 
appointments  to  office,  the  answer  could  be  readily  given 
that  he  has  esteemed  his  position  as  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  and  the  pastor  of  a  kind-hearted,  faithful  member- 
ship of  much  more  importance  than  official  positions. 
Then,  too,  in  his  defense  of  an  oppressed  people,  and  in  the 
utterances  of  such  opinions  as  are  even  ahead  of  the  times, 
I  have  no  doubt  he  has  played  the  part  of  a  patriot,  of  a 
race  defender,  rather  than  a  suppliant  for  small  favors  at 
the  hands  of  petty  politicians,  who  know  not  how  to 
honor  a  man  who  is  true  to  himself  and  the  people.  He 
never  took  his  opinions  from  any  man.  His  inspiration 
has  l)een  drawn  from  the  word  of  God  and  his  life  has  com- 
ported with  his  teachings,  and  thereby  made  him  a  power 
among  men  and  one  of  the  most  vehement  writers  upon 
the  subjedls  heretofore  referred  to.  Specimens  of  his 
manner  and  style  of  speaking  can  be  given  and  will 
verifv  the  statement  we  have  made.  The  Columbus 
Capital  and  Dispatch  very  frequently  reports  his  addresses 
and  sermons  in  full.  On  the  subject  of  **  Pulpit  and 
Politics,*'  delivered  before  the  Pastors'  Union,  he  spoke  as 
follows : 

Nor  can  the  preacher  more  than  any  other  citizen  plead  his  religious 
work  or  the  sacrcdness  of  that  work  as  an  exemption  from  duty.  Going 
to  the  Bible  to  learn  the  relation  of  the  pulpit  to  politics,  and  accepting 
the  prophets,  Christ,  and  the  apostles  and  the  pulpit  of  their  times,  and 
their  precepts  and  examples  as  the  guide  of  the  pulpit  to-day,  I  think 
that  the  conclusion  will  be  that  wherever  that  is  a  sin  to  be  rebuked,  no 
matter  by  whom  committed,  and  ill  to  be  averted  or  good  to  be  achieved 


JAMES  POINDEXTER.  399 

bj  our  conntiy  or  mankind,  there  is  a  place  for  the  pulpit  to  make  itself 
ielt  and  heard.  The  truth  is,  all  the  help  the  preachers  and  all  other 
good  and  worthy  citizens  can  give  by  taking  hold  of  politics  is  needed  in 
order  to  keep  the  goTemment  out  of  bad  hands  and  seotre  the  ends  for 
which  goYemmcnts  are  formed. 

Speaking  about  the  pulpit  in  connection  with  slavery  he 
said  some  very  keen  things.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
the  Northern  pulpit  was  often  silent  on  the  question  of 
slavery;  holding  off  with  hypocrisy  rather  than  respect 
for  the  proprieties  of  the  pulpit;  keeping  their  mouths 
closed  for  fear  of  losing  their  positions,  rather  than  declar- 
ing the  word  of  God.  While  on  the  other  hand  the  South 
was  preaching  "  Servants  obey  your  masters  *'  and  holding 
the  colored  people  in  slavery  and  taking  their  earnings 
for  themselves.  It  left  the  Negro  at  the  mercy  of  those 
who  bound  them  in  slavery.  Even  the  best,  or  what  was 
supposed  to  be  the  best,  element  in  the  world,  was  either 
silent  or  against  him.    Said  he : 

Now  it  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection  that  objections  to 
preachers  holding  with  politics  generally  comes  from  the  thing  assailed. 
Advocates  of  slavery  never  objected  to  the  preachers  who,  in  or  out  of 
the  pulpit,  maintained  that  the  Bible  sanctions  slavery,  or  preached 
oflen  from  the  text  "iiervants  be  obedient  to  your  masters."  Men  who 
gave  their  sympathy  to  the  rebellion  never  scolded  the  preacher  who 
argued  that  the  Constitution  conferred  no  authority  on  the  government 
to  coerce  a  State  or  one  who  justified  the  legislator  who  said,  "not  a 
dollar  and  not  a  man  to  whip  the  South,"  nor  would  man  pecuniarih' 
interested  in  the  whiskey  and  beer  traffic  utter  a  note  of  dissent  if  all 
preachers  would  unite  in  denouncing  legislative  intervention  to  control 
that  traffic  as  a  sumptuary  legislation.  It  will  not  be  denied  that  some 
good  persons  deprecate  the  presence  of  the  pulpit  in  politics;  that  it  is  so 
unclean  a  thing  that  it  cannot  be  touched  without  taint,  unfitting  one 
for  spiritual  usefulness.    Such  persons  are  deceived,  as  a  careful  perusal 


400  MEN  OF  MARK. 

of  the  Bible  with  careful  inspection  of  the  lives,  priyate  and  public,  of  the 
preachers  referred  to,  will  show. 

As  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  every  subject  within  the 
range  of  human  interest  has  received  his  attention.  In  a 
letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Ohio  State  Journal  he  shows 
how  he  has  trained  his  people.  This  is  a  lesson  to  young 
ministers  who  have  congregations  and  who  desire  their 
people  to  be  profited  and  made  strong  in  earthly  things- 
as  well  as  heavenly.    He  says : 

The  colored  people  are  a  reading  people ;  my  charge  comprises  families 
of  all  grades  of  financial  standing,  and  I  visit  the  whole  of  them,  eyery 
family,  and  where  I  find  little  else  I  find  a  newspaper;  many  of  my  peo- 
ple take  firom  three  to  four  dailies,  Ohio  State  Journal  Eycniag  JHa- 
patch.  Commercial  Gazette  and  not  unfrequently  Cincinnati  Inqnirer  or 
the  Columbus  Times;  and  nearly  every  family  one  or  more  Sunday 
morning  papers,  and  appear,  as  they  are,  a  reading  people ;  and  as  pas- 
tor of  a  church  it  is  part  of  my  religion  to  inculcate  in  all  the  rising. 
generation  the  duty  of  making  themselves  as  familiar  with  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States  and  laws  of  their  country  as  these  relate  to- 
the  rights  and  duties  of  the  citizens,  as  with  the  Bible. 

October  5,  1885,  the  Ohio  State  Journal  gives  a  sermon 
in  full  which  he  preached  to  his  congregation  on  ^*  The 
Crime  of  Buying  and  Selling  Votes."  He  thundei^  from 
his  pulpit  in  most  vehement  and  powerful  language 
against  the  crime  of  selling  votes,  and  held  up  to  scorn 
and  ridicule  those  who  bought  them  as  well  as  those  who* 
sold;  and  declared  among  other  things,  **that  our  votes 
are  not  ours  in  any  such  sense  that  we  may  dispose  of 
them  as  we  choose  for  our  own  pleasure  or  profit,  as  we 
may  any  other  kind  of  property.  They  belong  to  the 
whole  people ;  they  are  ours  in  trust  to  be  conscientiously 


f'fe'l 


JAMES  I'OiNDEXTER. 


I 


JAMBS  POINDEXTBR.  401 

itsed  by  us  to  promote  the  safetj',  peace  and  prosperity  o^ 
the  whole.    The  trust  itself  is  the  highest,  most  important, 
most  sacred  ever  vouchsafed  by  the  Almighty  God  to  a 
free  self-governing  people ;  in  the  exercise  of  it,  it  is  the  pri- 
mary duty  of  the  voter  to  see  to  it  that  the  individual  for 
whom  he  votes  is  an  honest,  capable  man,  one  who  knows 
bow  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office  and  has  the  integ- 
rity to  discharge  those  duties  in  the  light  of  an  all-wise 
God. "    How  much  better  our  people  would  vote  and  what 
better  rulers  would  be  selected  all  over  the  country  if  the 
preachers  would  take  the  opportunity  of  telling  them  how 
to  live  as  well  as  talking  about  the  **  Gold-paved  streets  of 
the  New  Jerusalem '  *  so  much .    Some  are  content  in  preach- 
ing if  they  can  get  up  a  shout  of  hallelujah,  and  constantly 
keep  men's  minds  off  the  transitory  things  of  life,  as  they 
choose  to  call  it,  and  turn  their  attention  entirely  above. 
Thousands  on  top  of  thousands  are  made  to  think  of 
heaven  and  are  never  directed  how  to  live  within  the  four 
walls  of  their  own  rooms ;  and  they  delight  to  deal  in  the 
rhapsodies  and  joys  of  the  eternal  world  and  are  emi- 
nently careless  about  showing  them  how  to  get  there. 

Mr.  Poindextcr  further  referred  to  the  fact  that  there 
are  colored  men  mean  enough  to  sell  their  votes,  but  not 
many  of  them ;  and  that  there  are  white  men  mean  enough 
to  sell  their  votes  as  well  as  black  ones ;  and  worse  than 
all.  that  there  are  white  men  recreant  enough  to  buy  the 
votes  of  both  white  and  black.    He  says : 

When  the  bad  men  of  the  South  wanted  to  defeat  all  the  results  of  the 
war,  they  brought  to  bear  on  the  colored  people  the  persuasiveness  of 
the  revolver,  bowie  knife,  shotgun  and  halter,  and  when  the  world  stood 


40:2  MEN  OF  MARK. 

aghast  and  cried  shame,  shame,  the  South  responded,  *'No,no,  not  at  afl, 
not  at  all ;  if  the  North  was  in  our  place  it  would  do  as  we  do ;  it  would 
be  compelled  to  do  as  we  do.  The  Neg^o  is  ignorant  and  as  a  conse- 
quence he  is  vicious,  cannot  tell  the  truth,  steals  everj'thing  he  puts  his 
hands  upon,  and  must  be  scourged  to  his  work,  is  insulting  to  white 
people;  our  women  shudder  when  they  meet  him  on  the  highway  and 
have  a  right  to ;  and  above  all  and  worse  than  all,  he  won't  vote  with 
his  old  masters.*' 

And  then  with  all  the  vigor  of  his  soul,  with  all  his 
wrath  aroused,  he  continued  his  sermon  with  this  vigorous 
question : 

This  self-evident  damning  lie  was  exhibited  as  a  true  bill  against  the 
Southern  people  by  too  many  good  people  of  the  North,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence they  were  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  men  whom  they  had 
helped  to  defeat  in  their  cherished  object,  and  that  to  destroy  the  only 
free  government  on  the  earth.  I  denounce  this  charge  against  the  colored 
people  of  the  South.  A  self-evident  lie,  because  the  men  most  entitled  to 
be  believed — men.  who,  when  the  fight  was  over,  accepted  the  situation 
and  went  to  work  to  rebuild  their  prostrate  States — say  it  is  a  lie:  say 
the  Negro  is  a  good  citizen :  saj'  that  when  the  strong  men  of  the  Con- 
federacy were  in  the  army,  their  women  and  chiklren  were  undisturbed 
and  safein  the  hands  of  the  Negro,  and  no  single  case  of  tlie  outrages  now 
so  lavishly  attributed  to  them,  and  so  readily  l)elieved  in  the  North,  was 
known  to  occur.  I  denounce  the  charge  as  a  damning  lie  on  the  colored 
man,  because  it  docs  not  present  him  as  he  is,  but  does  present  him  as  the 
monster  two  and  a  half  centuries  of  barbarous,  oppression  would  seem 
calculated  to  make  him,  and  thus  obtained  that  credence  in  the  North, 
which,  to  its  shame,  leaves  the  poor  creature  in  a  condition  worse  than 
-when  he  was  a  slave. 

These  extracts  can  better  epitomize  the  life  and  character 
of  Mr.  Poindexter  than  any  words  of  comment  which 
might  here  be  given.  To  show  the  estimation  in  which  he 
is  held  by  the  citizens  of  Columbus,  the  following  letter  is 
given.     The  writer  was  solicited  by  Mr.  Poindexter  to 


JAMES  POINDBXTER.  403 

accept  the  position  on  the  bench  of  the  Stipreme  Court  of 
the  State,  which  had  been  tendered  by  Governor  Foraker, 
and  to  this  solicitation  he  replied  in  the  following  words : 

Rev.  James  Poindextbr, 

My  Dear  S/r:— Yotu*  fiivor  of  yesterday  came  to  my  hand  in  the 
evening. 

I  received  many  letters  and  telegrams  urging  me  to  accept  the  appoint- 
ment ten^dered  by  the  governor,  but  I  assure  you  in  all  sincerity  that  none 
of  them  had  the  persuasive  influence  on  my  judgment  which  your  favor 
'would  have  had  if  it  had  been  received  before  I  determined,  and  had  com- 
municated my  determination  to  the  governor.  The  considerations  you 
urge  upon  my  attention  are  very  cogent,  and  the  sentiment  and  tone  of 
your  entire  letter  show  that  you  have  a  just  appreciation  of  the  judicial 
office.  When  I  may  happen  to  meet  you  I  will  communicate  to  you  the 
reason  which  influenced  my  mind  in  declining  to  accept,  as  they  relate 

to  my  personal  affairs. 

With  great  respect, 

Richard  A.  Harrison. 

Mr.  Poindexter  has  succeeded  in  surrounding  himself 
with  many  comforts:  he  has  a  good  home  and  a  fine 
library,  and  many  other  comforts  which  go  to  make  a 
home  happy,  and  he  dwells,  as  we  have  said,  with  a  people 
who  know  how  to  appreciate  his  years  of  hard  service  for 
Christ  and  the  race.  No  man  is  better  known  and  hon- 
ored. In  the  United  States  he  has  been  a  wall  of  fire 
against  wrong,  a  generous  supporter  to  every  cause  that 
needs  assistance. 

Faithful  to  every  trust,  careful,  painstaking,  and  noble- 
hearted,  though  obliged  to  disagree  with  many,  he  has  yet 
maintained  fi-iendly  relations  with  all  classes  who  respect 
manhood  wherever  it  is  possessed.  If  this  sketch  preserves 
a.  little  of  the  history  of  his  life,  we  trust  that  it  will  in- 


404  MEN  OF  MARK. 

spire  some  other  to  give  a  more  extended  history  of  this 
man  whose  deeds  have  entered  into  the  affairs  of  the  last 
half  century. 

Much  has  been  said  about  the  black  laws  of  the  States 
Mr.  Poindexter  has  been  fighting  that  mountain  of  iniquity 
all  his  life,  and  younger  men  have  arisen,  and  the  opportu- 
•  nity  having  been  presented,  brought  about  largely  by  just 
such  men  as  Mr.  Poindexter,  who  were  pioneers  in  these 
matters,  they  have  had  the  opportunity  by  position  and 
learning  to  do  much  which  he  could  not  accomplish.  Had 
Mr.  Poindexter  lived  in  a  Republican  county,  things  which 
have  existed  could  not  have  possibly  remained  to  this  day, 
for  he  would  have  been  in  the  Legislature  warring  against 
these  things  years  ago.  No  man  has  done  more  in  the 
State  to  arouse  the  feeling  and  popular  sentiment  against 
the  outrages  of  these  laws  than  Mr.  Poindexter,  and  that 
finally  through  the  Ely-Amett  bill  his  past  labors  will  be  a 
fitting  reward.  No  matter  who  may  have  a  place  against 
men,  he  must  not  be  forgotten. 

This  eminent  agitator.  Rev.  James  Poindexter,  delivered 
the  baccalaureate  sermon  before  the  graduating  class  of  the 
State  University,  Louisville,  Kentucky,  May  15,  1887. 
The  old  veteran  of  sixty  years*  service  thrilled  every  heart, 
and  the  vast  congregation  in  the  Calvary  Baptist  church 
—Rev.  C.  H.  Parrish,  pastor— felt  the  powerful  effects  of 
his  arguments,  and  were  stirred  to  do  greater  works  for 
Christ.  On  Tuesday  night.  May  17,  1887,  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  on  him. 


RICHARD  MASON  HANCOCK.  405 


XLIX. 

RICHARD  MASON  HANCOCK,  ESQ. 

Foreman  of  the  Pattern  Shops  of  the  Eagle  Works  Manufacturing  Com- 
]iany,  Chicago,  Illinois.  Mathematician— Carpenter — Draughtsman 
—Foreman  of  the  Liberty  Iron  Works  Pattern  Shop. 

TO  Speak  of  one  who  has  made  a  success  in  this  depart- 
ment is  indeed  a  pleasure,  for  in  this  work  he  has  had  the 
honor  of  showing  Negro  talent  and  also  overcoming  those 
obstacles  that  defeat  success  in  many  men.  It  used  to  be 
that  only  white  men  could  do  the  **  bossing/'  but  the  bot- 
tom rail  is  on  the  top,  and  Mr.  Hancock  is  now  doing 
such  work  as  guides  over  seven  hundred  white  employees 
and  gives  satisfaction  to  his  generous  employers.  We  have 
said  elsewhere  that  brains  will  tell,  and  here  is  an  indisput- 
able evidence.  Do  you  think  he  would  be  employed  if  he 
could  not  do  the  work  ?  No,  indeed,  not  a  bit  of  it.  He  is 
competent,  and  that  indeed  is  the  reason.  Why  should  the 
firm  trust  him  with  the  disposition  of  their  thousands  un- 
less he  could  make  them  thousands  ?  The  truth  is  they  do 
not  know  his  superior,  and  hence  employ  him.  It  is  a 
praiseworthy  thing  that  his  employers  could  see  the  man, 
the  artist,  the  draughtsman,  and  be  influenced  neither  by 
the  color  of  his  skin  nor  the  drops  of  blood  that  may  be 


40f>  MEN  OF  MARK. 

in  his  veins  attributable  to  black  parents.  I  am  indebted 
to  a  sketch,  which  appeared  in  the  columns  of  the  Detroit 
PJaindealer,  May  14,  1886,  for  many  of  the  facts  which 
appear  here. 

Mr.  Hancock  was  bom  of  free  parents  at  Ne^wrbeme, 
North  Carolina,  November  22,  1832.    His  fatlier,  William 
H.  Hancock,  is  a  hale  old  gentleman,  still  alive,  residing 
at  Chicago,  Illinois.    At  an  early  age  Richard  was  sent  to 
a  private  school  in  his  native  town,  the  public  schools  of 
which,  and  indeed  the  laws  of  the  "Old  North  State,  "beings 
then  opposed  to  the  education  of  Negro  children.    Here  he- 
mastered  the  rudiments  of  a  common  school  course,  and. 
when  thirteen  years  old  began  as  a  carpenter's  apprentice 
under  his  father.    He  worked  nine  years  at  the  bench ;  by 
that  time  having  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
trade,  and  attained  his  majority,  he  left  North  Carolina 
and  went  to  New  Haven,  Connecticut.    He  soon  found 
employment  at  his  trade  with  Messrs]  Atwater  &  Treat 
and  Doolittle  &  Company,  two  white  firms  that  were  not 
slow  in  recognizing  him  as  an  efficient  workman.    **  Join- 
ering*'  was  the  particular  branch  of  the  trade  at  which  he 
had  been  engaged  up  to  this  time. 

He  finally  drifted  to  Lockport,  New  York,  where  he  fol- 
lowed ship  carpentry  two  years,  building  canal  boats, 
after  which  he  was  taken  into  the  employ  of  the  Holly 
Manufacturing  Company,  with  whom  he  remained  four 
years.  While  with  them  he  learned  pattern-making,  a 
branch  of  the  trade  that  requires  first  of  all  a  complete 
mastery  of  carpentry,  besides  an  acquaintance  with  higher 
mathematics,  a  knowledge  of  draughting  and  the  constant 


RICHARD  MASON  HANCOCK.  407 

exercise  of  the  very  best  judgment.  For  four  years  he 
worked  and  studied  to  make  himself  proficient,  and  at  the 
end  of  that  period  had  mastered  all  the  theory  and  much  of 
the  practical  details  of  that  branch  of  the  trade. 

In  1862  he  came  to  Chicago,  and  shortly  after  was  given 
employment  as  a  pattern-maker  in  the  shops  of  the  Eagle 
Works  Manufacturing  Company,  whose  president,  Mr.  P. 
W.  Gates,  was  a  true  and  tried  friend  of  the  Negro,  when  all 
the  law  and  nearly  all  the  public  sentiment  of  the  land 
was  in  favor  of  keeping  him  in  slavery.  At  that  time  this 
company  had  the  largest  machine  and  boiler  shops  and 
foundry  that  was  in  operation  in  the  West. 

After  working  as  a  journeyman  .two  years,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  foremanship  of  the  pattern  department,  and 
had  in  his  charge  fourteen  men,  all  of  whom  were  white. 
To  serve  under  a  Negro  foreman,  no  matter  if  he  did  know 
more  about  the  business  than  they  did,  was  too  much  for 
their  Northern  blood,  so  they  ** struck."  For  three  days 
Mr.  Hancock  was  "monarch  of  all  he  surveyed.'*  But  the 
prospect  was  not  a  pleasing  one,  for  the  shop  was  crowded 
with  orders  and  there  was  more  work  to  get  out  than  he 
could  perform  unaided.  So  fearing  that  its  delayed  execu- 
tion might  injure  him  with  his  employers,  he  went  before 
the  president  and  tendered  his  resignation.  After  hearing 
him  through,  Mr.  Gates  quietly  said:  **0h!  go  back  to 
work.  It  will  all  come  right  in  an  hundred  years."  He 
obeyed.  Other  pattern-makers  to  fill  the  places  of  the 
strikers  were  soon  engaged,  and  ten  years  subsequent 
service  with  the  same  firm  showed  that  less  than  a  century 
could  make  all  things  right. 


408  MEN  OF  MARK. 

While  with  the  Eagle  Works  Company,  he  was  instru- 
mental in  teaching  two  colored  young  men  trades — ^Mr. 
Beverly  Meeks  as  a  machinist,  and  Mr.  John  Johnson  as  a 
pattern-maker.  The  former  is  now  in  the  employ  of  the 
C.  &  N.  W.  Railroad  Company  at  their  shops  in  Detroit, 
while  the  latter  is  plying  his  trade  at  Denver,  Colorado. 
He  also  used  his  influence  with  good  eflect  to  secure  work 
at  their  trades  for  other  colored  men  in  the  foundry  and 
blacksmith  shops  of  the  works. 

In  1873  the  firm  for  which  he  worked  went  out  of  busi- 
ness, and  a  new  firm,  composed  of  two  of  his  former  super- 
intendents, Messrs.  Eraser  and  Chalmers,  started  the 
Liberty  Iron  Works  in -this  city.  They  showed  their  confi- 
dence in  his  ability  by  immediately  placing  him  at  the  head 
of  their  pattern  shops.  Their  business  soon  reached  large 
proportions,  requiring  now  the  constant  services  of  over 
seven  hundred  skilled  employees,  fifteen  of  whom  are  kept 
busy  making  patterns.  The  firm  makes  a  specialty  of 
manufacturing  intricate  mining  machinery,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  year  gets  out  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  inde- 
scribable work,  for  most  of  which  new  patterns  have  to  be 
made.  All  of  the  work  must  conform  strictly  to  the  draw- 
ings in  every  particular.  This  will  show  the  importance 
of  the  position  held  by  Mr.  Hancock  in  the  second  largest 
establishment  of  the  kind  in  this  country.  He  has  been 
with  his  present  employers  fifteen  years,  commands  a  good 
salary,  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  them  and  his  fellow- 
workmen.  In  the  same  shop  with  him  is  his  son  George, 
who  is  also  regarded  as  an  efficient  pattern-maker. 

In  private  life  Mr.  Hancock  is  a  public-spirited  and  pro- 


RICHARD  MASON  HANCOCK.  469 

gressive  citizen ;  a  member  of  several  societies,  in  some  of 
which  he  holds  a  high  rank,  notably  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity; a  vestryman  of  St.  Thomas*  Episcopal  church,  and 
an  interesting  talker  at  the  literary  sessions  of  the  Pru- 
dence Crandall  circle.  He  has  a  cosy  home  on  Fulton  street, 
where,  assisted  by  his  wife,  an  amiable  and  intelligent 
ladv,  his  many  friends  are  msde  welcome. 


/^ 


410  MBN  OP  MAfiK. 


PROFESSOR  W.  S.  SCARBOROUGH,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  LL.D. 

Author  of  a  Greek  Text  Book — Scientist— Lecturer — Scholar— Stndcnt  of 
Sanscrit,  Zend,  Gothic  and  Luthanian  Languages. 

THE  names  of  the  parents  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
were  Jesse  and  Frances  Scarborough.  His  father 
was  set  free  by  his  old  master  about  fifteen  years  before 
the  war  began,  and  three  thousand  dollars  were  left  in  the 
hands  of  his  guardian,  so  that  if  he  should  desire  to  leave  the 
South,  he  might  do  so.  Further,  it  was  stipulated  with 
the  railroad  authorities,  in  whose  employ  he  was  for  forty 
years,  that  half  of  the  money  he  received  as  wages  should 
be  given  him  and  the  other  retained  by  them  to  meet  his 
doctor's  bills  and  other  demands,  should  he  get  sick.  If 
he  left  the  South,  the  half  retained  by  them  or  as  much  of 
it  as  was  not  spent  should  be  given  to  him.  He  remained 
in  Georgia,  as  his  wife  was  nominally  a  slave  and  could 
not  accompany  him  if  he  went  North.  The  conditions 
above  stated  were  never  fulfilled  and  he  received  none  of 
the  money. 

Young  Scarborough  was  bom,  February  16,  1852,  in 
Macon,  Bibb  county,  Georgia.  Of  course,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances stated,  he  was  nominally  a  slave,  and  his  early 


W.  S.  SCARBOROUGH.  411 

days  were  spent  in  Macon,  where  he  began  to  go  to  school 
as  early  as  six  years  of  age.  He  would  go  out  day  after 
day,  ostensibly  to  play,  but  with  his  books  concealed 
under  his  arm.  He  spent  six  or  eight  hours  each  day  in 
school  till  he  could  read  well,  and  had  gathered  a  good 
knowledge  of  geography,  grammar  and  arithmetic.  At  the 
age  of  ten  he  took  regular  lessons  in  writing  under  an  old 
South  Carolinian  and  rebel  of  the  bitterest  type ;  despite 
the  strict  laws  then  existing  against  Negro  education,  it 
mras  miraculous  that  a  man  hating  the  Negroes  as  this 
white  man  did,  would  take  such  an  interest  in  a  colored 
youth,  and  would  even  go  to  the  extent  of  teaching  him  the 
art  of  penmanship.  But  **  God  works  in  a  mysterious  way 
his  wonders  to  perform."  This  man's  name  was  J.  C. 
Thomas,  and  he  is  now  dead ;  it  would  be  a  pleasure  in- 
deed if  he  were  living  to  see  his  young  pupil  so  distin- 
guished for  his  learning,  and  so  prominent  in  the  educa- 
tional councils  of  the  Nation. 

Young  Scarborough  was  also  taught  by  his  playmates, 
who  were  white  boys,  receiving  much  instruction  directly 
and  indirectly.  His  parents  having  had  a  common  school 
education  were  able  to  assist  him  very  much  by  way  of 
direction  in  his  studies,  in  secret,  until  the  war  closed. 
He  was  put  to  the  study  of  books  by  his  parents  as  soon 
as  they  were  able  to  do  so. 

He  remembers  one  or  two  narrow  escapes  he  had  during 
his  early  life,  which,  when  seen  in  the  light  of  his  present 
career,  shows  that  God  preserves  those  for  whom  he  has 
special  work.  He  was  eight  years  old,  on  a  fourth  of  July 
dav.    When  he  was  returning  from  seeing  a  military  pa- 


412  MEN  OF  MARK. 

r^de,  he  had  to  pass  through  a  long  bridge ;  here  he  met 
two  men  very  drunk,  who  seized  him  and  held  him  through 
the  window  over  the  rushing  waters  below,  from  which 
terrible  fate  he  was  rescued  by  passers-by.  During  the 
war,  friends  would  come  to  see  the  family  without  passes. 
Though  a  boy,  he  used  to  give  them  a  safe  permit  home, 
signing  their  master's  name.  Many  colored  people  would 
run  the  gauntlet  with  no  other  passport  than  that  given 
by  him.  He  began  the  study  of  music  when  he  was  twelve 
years  old,  and  as  there  was  no  law  against  this,  he  used  to 
practice  twice  a  week  openly.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  had 
been  elected  secretary  of  one  of  the  most  prominent  organ- 
izations among  the  colored  people  in  Macon,  Georgia. 
Such  meetings  were  allowed  during  the  war  by  the  whites, 
provided  the  members  got  a  permit.  He  received  a  slight 
fee  for  such  services.  During  this  period  when  not  en- 
gaged  in  study,  he  worked  at  the  shoemaker's  trade,  and 
just  before  the  war  closed  he  spent  one  year  at  the  trade 
as  a  regular  apprentice.  Even  in  those  days  his  intellect 
gave  him  advantages  over  many,  and  his  services  were 
always  in  demand,  for  he  was  called  on  to  read  the  papers 
every  morning  by  the  men  at  work,  and  talk  about  and 
explain  the  movements  of  the  two  contending  armies. 
When  the  war  closed  he  passed  from  grade  to  grade  in  the 
schools,  until  1867,  when  he  entered  the  Lewis  High 
School  and  finished  in  1869.  With  this  preparation,  and 
with  studious  habits,  a  lad  of  seventeen  he  entered  the 
Atlanta  University,  to  prepare  for  Yale  College.  He  re- 
mained at  this  institution  two  years  and  then  entered 
Oberlin  College,  in  Ohio,  and  graduated  in  1875.    Immedi- 


W.  S.  SCARBOROUGH.  413 

ateiy  after  graduation  he  returned  to  Macon  and  accepted 
a  position  offered  by  the  American  Missionary  Society  to 
teach  Latin,  Greek  and  mathematics  in  the  Lewis  High 
School ;  but  in  September  he  returned  to  Oberlin,  and  gave 
several  months  study  to  theology  in  the  seminary,  devot- 
ing himself  especially  to  Hellenistic,  Greek  and  Hebrew. 
During  the  winter  he  was  called  to  the  principalship  of 
Payne  Institute,  located  at  Cokesburg,  South  Carolina, 
now  merged  into  the  Allen  University  of  Columbia,  South 
CaK>lina. 

While  he  was  studying,  he  always  taught  during  the 
summers  to  aid  in  his  support,  having  positions  at  Albany 
Enterprise  Academy,  Albany,  Ohio,  and  district  school  at 
Blooraingburg,  Ohio,  Howard  Normal  school  at  Cuthbert, 
Georgia,  and  two  selected  schools  at  Macon,  Georgia. 

He  was  called  to  his  present  position  in  the  fall  of  1877, 
and  established  the  post-office  at  Wilberforce,  Ohio,  and 
\vas  commissioned  its  first  postmaster  in  1879.  Here  he 
organized  the  first  reading-room  for  young  men,  and  was 
its  president  until  he  resigned  in  1881.  He  assisted  J.  W. 
Fitch  in  editing  the  Authors*  Review  and  Scrap-book, 
printed  in  Pittsburgh.  His  duties  were  such  that  he  could 
not  do  justice  to  his  work,  so  he  sold  out  his  share  in  the 
firm.  This  periodical  succeeded  well  in  its  intent — to  fill  a 
need  in  the  school-room. 

Professor  Scarborough  is  one  of  the  brightest  lights  in 
the  colored  race.  He  has  a  masterly  mind  and  a  compre- 
hensive grasp  of  all  subjects  which  he  investigates.  His 
fort  is  the  classics,  more  particularly  Greek.  He  has  been 
acknowledged  as  a  scholar,  more  by  his  authorship  of  a 


414  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Greek  text-book  and  on  account  of  his  associations  in  caA- 
nent  scientific  societies  and  his  association  with  learned 
men,  than  perhaps  any  other  thing.  He  has  read  several 
papers  before  the  Philological  Association  on  the  themotic 
vowel  in  the  Greek  verb,  in  Homer  and  Virgil,  etc.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  American  Philological  association,  elected 
at  Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  July, 
1882,  and  also  a  member  of  the  American  Spelling  Reform 
Association,  elected  at  Dartmouth  College,  July,  1883,  Han- 
over, New  Hampshire.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Alodem 
Language  Association  of  America,  elected  at  Johns  Hop- 
kins University,  Baltimore,  Maryland,  December,  1884;  a 
member  of  the  American  Social  Science  Association,  elected 
at  Saratoga,  New  York,  September  1, 1885 ;  member  of  the 
American  Foreign  Antislavery  Society,  elected  jn  1883.  in 
New  York;  amemberofthel.O.  Good  Templars.  Heisalso 
connected  with  the  A.  M.  E.  church.  Was  brought  up  in 
part  a  Presbjrterian,  and  his  mother  is  still  a  Presbyterian, 
while  his  father  when  living  was  an  African  Methodist. 

This  church  is  justly  proud  of  this  eminent  and  progres- 
sive scholar,  and  there  seems  to  }ye  no  jealousy  among  the 
older  members  that  this  young  man  should  take  such  a 
prominent  stand  in  the  literary  affairs  of  the  times.  He 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Centennial  of  Methodism  at  Balti- 
more, December,  1884,  and  was  very  useful  in  said  meeting. 
He  has  held  various  positions  in  his  church,  that  always 
delights  to  honor  him.  He  has  been  trustee  and 
Sunday  school  superintendent  several  times,  and  at  this 
writing  fills  both  positions.  He  is  in  constant  demand  to 
deliver  orations  and  lectures  upon  various  subjects.    He 


W.  S.  SCARBOROUGH.  415 

-vras  invited  to  read  a  paper  upon  ''Industrial  Schools," 
before  the  colored  teachers  convention  in  Missouri ;  had  a 
similar  invitation  to  read  a  paper  on  the  **  Sphere  of  the 
Colored  Teacher, ' '  before  the  colored  teachers  of  Springfield , 
Ohio ;  read  a  paper  before  the  Georgia  Colored  Teachers' 
Association  on  "The  Importance  of  Union  in  Works  of 
the  Colored  People  of  the  Country."  He  has  lectured  on 
various  topics  at  various  places.  Many  of  these  lectures 
have  been  published.  He  has  written  much  for  the  press, 
and  his  articles  are  always  acceptable. 

After  the  death  of  Professor  Wiley  Lane  of  Howard  Uni- 
versity, he  was  prominently  spoken  of  as  his  successor  in 
the  chair  of  Greek  at  said  university.  In  the  trustee  board 
he  was  beaten  by  the  votes  of  the  white  men  who  voted 
for  a  white  man,  while  the  colored  men  voted  for  him.  He 
"was  the  choice  of  Frederick  Douglass,  Francis  J.  Grimke, 
William  Waring,  Bishop  John  M.  Brown,  and  Mr.  Cook, 
who  were  trustees  at  the  time.  This  was  in  April,  1885. 
Letters  of  indorsement  were  sent  him  from  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Boston,  Chicago,  Washington  and  Baltimore, 
in  fact  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  This  proved  that  he 
was  recognized  as  a  specialist  in  the  department  of  Greek 
by  the  leading  colored  people  of  the  United  States,  espec- 
ially the  scholars  of  them.  He  has  been  invited  to  take  a 
position  in  the  Brooklyn  school,  but  did  not  accept.  After 
graduation  he  was  solicited  to  go  to  Africa  and  engage  in 
literary  pursuits,  that  of  learning  and  translating  the  lan- 
guages, with  a  salary  of  $1,800.  This  he  refused,  preferr- 
ing to  make  his  mark  in  this  country.  He  was  invited  to 
give,  in  the  form  of  a  paper,  his  views  on  the  study  of 


4-16  MEN  OP  MARK. 

the  cla43sic  languages  in  a  course  of  liberal  education  be- 
fore the  convention  of  teachers  in  the  State  of  New  York^ 
in  1884. 

His  career  has  been  unusually  brilliant,  and  should  he 
live  long  will  leave  behind  him  a  course  of  life  worthy  of 
emulation.    He  received  the  degree  of  A.  B.  from  the  Depart- 
ment of  Philosophy  and  the  Arts  at  Oberlin  College  in  1875 ; 
his  degree  of  A.  M.,  in  course  in  1878,  and  the  degree  of 
LL.  D.  from  Liberia  College,  West  Africa,  1882. 

In  1881,  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Company  of  New  York,  placed 
upon  the  market  his  'First  Lessons  in  Greek,'  of  which 
Professor  Greener  said :  **  It  is  no  small  degree  of  praise  to 
say  that  he  has  done  just  what  he  undertook.  Amid 
the  number  of  books  of  this  class  there  is  none  more  ac- 
curate or  complete."  Professor  Gregory  of  Howard  Uni- 
versity said :  **  He  has  succeeded  in  avoiding  the  mistake 
made  by  so  many  authors  of  presenting  many  unnecessary 
complications  in  a  first  book,  which  serve  to  mislead  and 
confuse  the  beginner.*'  Professor  Alexander  Kerr  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  said:  Professor  Scarborough 
has  shown  good  taste  and  good  judgment  in  avoiding 
long  and  complex  sentences  for  translation,  and  in  hold- 
ing himself  to  a  clear  and  concise  statement  of  the  nidi- 
mentary  forms  of  the  language.''  He  sent  a  copy  of  his 
book  to  John  F.  Slater,  who  gave  a  million  dollars  to 
educate  the  colored  race,  and  received  the  following  reply : 

Norwich,  Connecticut,  June  28, 1882. 
Professor  Wblliam  S.  Scarborough. 

Dear  Sir: — Your  book  entitled  'First  Lessons  in  Greek,'  has  been  duly 
received  by  me.     If  I  may  hope  that  what  I  h.ivc  tried  to  do  for  the 


W.  S.  SCARBOROUGH. 


W.  S.  SCARBOROUGH.  417 

promtii^tion  of  education  among  your  race  should  result  in  any  more 
snch  publications  I  shall  feel  that  my  efforts  have  been  amply  rewarded. 

Very  truly  yours, 

John  F.  Slater. 

He  has   also  published  several  pamphlets,  one  called 
"Our  Civil  Status,"  forty  pages,  in  1884.    This  was  read 
at   the   Inter-State   convention  of  colored  men  held  at 
Pittsburgh,  in  April  of  that  year.    Another  thirty-six  page 
pamphlet  on  the  "Birds  of  Aristophanes:  A  Theory  of 
Interpretation,"  published  by  D.  C.  Heath  &  Company  of 
Boston.     This  was  a  paper   read  before   the  American 
Philological   Association  at   Cornell  University,  Ithaca^ 
New  York,  July,  1886.    He  also  has  in  manuscript,  "Ques- 
tions on  the  Latin  Language  with  Appendix;"  also  the 
tw^entj'^-first  and  twenty-second  books  of  Livy,  based  on 
the  German  editions  of  *  Weissenbom '  and  *061fflin.'     It 
Ai%411  probablj'  be  published  in  1887  by  the  University  Pub- 
lication  Company  of  New  York.    He  is  also  preparing 
c:>ther  Latin  and  Greek  works  which  will  be  revised  and 
^^nnotated  by  Professor  W.  B.  Frost  of  Oberlin  college,  as 
^^oon  as  readv. 

Professor  Scarborough's  range  of  studies  is  very  wide, 
i  Ticluding  a  knowledge  of  the  modem  languages,  also  San- 
:,  Zend,  Gothic,  Luthanian,  Old  Slavonic,  which  he  uses 
aids  in  his  special  labors.    He  is  at  home  in  all  kindred 
studies.     While  giving  much  attention  to  these  matters, 
lie  has  several  times  been  elected  to  various  positions  in 
Ills  county  and  State.    Was  one  of  the  signers  of  a  call  for 
«i  convention  which  met  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  December, 
1883,  to  consider  the  civil  status  of  the  colored  men  in 


418  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Ohio.  He  was  appointed  by  the  State  Central  committee 
to  organize  ''Equal  Rights  Leagues,"  in  the  Seventh  dia- 
trict  of  Ohio. 

In  1883  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  C.  Bierce.  She 
is  a  very  intelligent  woman  and  cultivated  writer,  who 
secures  opportunities  for  exercising  her  gifts  at  good  pay. 
She  is  a  graduate  of  the  Oswego  Normal  school  of  New 
York,  and  filled  a  principalship  of  the  Normal  department 
of  Wilberforce  for  three  years.  The  ceremony  was  per- 
formed by  the  lamented  Bishop  W.  F.  Dickerson. 

xn  worldly  goods  Professor  Scarborough  is  worth  any- 
where fron?  seven  to  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  his  fame 
and  fortune  are  both  on  the  increase. 


SOLOMON  T.  CLANTON,  JK.  419 


LI. 

REV.  SOLOMON  T.  CLANTON,  JR.,  A.  B.,  B.  D. 

Instructor  of  Mathematics— Secretary  of  the  American  National  Baptist 
Convention — Agent  of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society.  • 

THE  secretary  is  a  native  of  the  ** Pelican"  State;  his 
parents  lived  at  Cypremore,  St.  Mary's  Parish, 
Louisiana.  Their  names  were  S.  T.  and  Mary  Clanton. 
They  rejoiced  at  the  birth  of  S.  T.  Clanton,  jr.,  March  27, 
1857.  The  parents  were  anxious  for  the  boy  to  be  edu- 
cated, and  he  labored  faithfully  to  assist  them  by  obedi- 
ence and  closely  following  their  advice.  In  order  to 
further  accomplish  their  desires,  the  boy  was  sent  to  New 
Orleans,  where  he  attended  the  Government  school  in 
1862,  when  he  was  only  about  five  years  old. 

When  he  passed  the  examinatioii  for  the  High  school, 
he  could  not  go  to  the  white  school,  and  there  were  none 
for  the  colored,  so  he  entered  the  New  Orleans  University 
and  graduated  in  li878  with  the  usual  title  of  A.  B.  In 
December  of  the  same  year  he  was  appointed  instructor  of 
mathematics  in  Leland  University  of  New  Orleans.  He 
resigned  this  position  in  May,  1880,  that  he  might  enter 
in  the  next  September  upon  a  course  of  theology  in  the 
Baptist  Union  Theological  Seminary  at  Morgan  Park, 


420  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Illinois,  from  which  in  May,  1883,  he  graduated  -with  the 
degree  of  B.  D. 

In  June,  1883,  he  was  eledled  Sunday-school  missionary 
of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  and  has  been 
in  that  position  ever  since.  He  had,  however,  labored  on 
several  occasions  for  this  same  society  and  this  perma- 
nent appointment  was  only  the  result  of  great  confidence 
in  him  when  he  labored  for  them  on  previous  occasions, 
in  the  summers  of  1877,  1879  and  1880,  in  Louisiana 
fend  Illinois.  In  the  summers  of  1881  and  1882  he  alsb 
labored  faithfully  in  their  employ. 

He  married  one  of  the  most  discreet,  amiable  and  ac- 
complished women  in  the  country,  June  6,  1883,  at  the 
residence  of  her  parents,  John  and  Rebecca  Bird,  in  Deca- 
tur, Illinois.  She  was  then  Miss  Olive  Bird,  and  educated 
in  the  Public  and  High  school  of  her  native  citj\  Mr. 
Clanton  began  life  as  a  brickla^'er,  and  has  made  remark- 
able progress  in  this  short  time ;  he  bids  fair  to  accomplish 
much,  being  a  man  of  perseverance  and  tact.  In  the  coun- 
cils of  his  brethren,  his  opinion  has  great  weight.  His 
father  dying  when  he  was  about  nine  years  old,  left  him 
and  his  sisters  to  the  care  of  a  hardworking,  loving 
mother,  who  with  her  own  hands,  unaided,  was  enabled 
to  educate  three  children — Solomon,  of  whom  we  write 
especially ;  Elvina  A.  Clanton,  graduated  from  the  Leland 
University,  from  the  scientific  course  with  the  title  of  B.  S., 
and  P.  A.  Clanton,  who  graduated  from  the  same  school 
in  classified  course  with  the  title  of  A.  B.  What  a  monu- 
ment to  one  pair  of  hands !  What  a  blessing  is  a  good 
mother ! 


^ 


SOLOMON  T.  CLANTON,  JR.  421 

Secretary  Clanton  has  filled  one  term  as  secretary  of  the 
American  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  convention,  which  is 
doing  work  in  Africa,  sustaining  missionaries  there ;  and 
was  eledled  August  25,  1886,  as  secretary  of  the  American 
Baptist  National  convention.  As  a  writer  he  is  fluent  and 
yet  cogent,  smooth  yet  forcible,  graceful  and  yet  vigor- 
ous.   He  has  accumulated  some  property  and  lives  com- 


422  MEN  OF  KAKK. 


Ln. 

PROFESSOR  JOHN  0.  CROSBY,  A.M.,  B.  E. 

Principal  State  Normal  School,  North  Carolina. 

IN  the  little  village  of  Crosbyville,  Fairfield  county. 
South  Carolina,  on  the  twenty-second  of  December, 
1850,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Rev.  John  Oliver  Crosby, 
was  bom  in  slavery.  His  mother's  name  was  Sylvia.  She 
came  from  Richmond,  Virginia,  when  she  was  only  twelve 
years  old,  having  been  sold  to  a  speculator  at  the  sale  of 
John  Tinsley  to  satisfy  his  creditors.  His  father  was 
Thomas  Crosby.  At  a  very  early  age  John  Oliver  'was 
apprenticed  to  the  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  learned  so 
rapidly  that  at  the  age  of  twelve  he  was  made  foreman  and 
superintended  the  building  of  numerous  small  houses  of 
from  two  to  ten  rooms  each.  In  1860  Thomas  Crosby 
died,  and  the  same  year  the  Crosby  estate  was  sold.  Mary 
Q.  Crosby  bought  the  young  carpenter  for  $1260.  His 
apprenticeship  ending,  he  moved  to  Shelton's  Depot  and 
became  the  slave  of  William  Stanton,  who  had  married  his 
young  mistress,  Miss  Crosby.  In  1864  Mr.  Stanton  was 
drafted  into  the  Confederate  service  and  sent  to  Florence, 
South  Carolina,  to  guard  Federal  prisoners.    In  the  stun- 


JOHN  O.  CROSBY.  423 

mcr  Mr.  Stanton  came  home  on  a  furlough,  and  on  his 
return  took  the  boy  John  along  as  a  servant.  At  Colum- 
bia,  Stanton  and  all  other  reserved  soldiers  returning  to 
their  commands  were  stopped  by  order  of  the  govern- 
ment and  put  on  duty  as  a  guard  at  a  prison  containing 
about  fourteen  htmdred  Federal  prisoners.  This  prison 
was  about  three  miles  west  of  Columbia,  across  the  Con- 
garee  river,  and  about  half  a  mile  from  the  Saluda  river. 
General  Means  was  in  command,  and  being  an  intimate 
friend  of  Stanton's,  Stanton  was  appointed  by  him  sutler 
to  the  prisoners.  Prom  this  time  he  made  his  headquart- 
ers in  Columbia.  John  Oliver  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  at  the  headquarters  of  General  Means,  where  he  made 
himself  useful  as  a  servant,  and  occasionally  acting  as 
drummer,  beating  the  reveille  and  other  signals. 

The  boy  despised  slavery,  and  had  always  studiously  and 
artfully  avoided  addressing  his  owners  as  **  master."  He 
therefore  resolved  to  assist  the  prisoners  in  every  way 
possible.  There  were  three  ways  in  which  this  could  be 
done.  First,  some  of  the  prisoners  were  allowed  to  go  out 
on  parol  to  get  wood,  and  as  John  was  well  known  at 
the  camp  and  allowed  to  go  everywhere  he  pleased,  he 
w^ould  occasionally  furnish  a  prisoner  with  sufficient  pro- 
visions to  last  two  or  three  days.  In  this  way  the  pris- 
oner could  spend  several  days  in  accomplishing  his  escape 
from  the  neighborhood.  Secondly,  he  could  furnish  some 
of  the  prisoners  with  an  occasional  newspaper,  giving  the 
Confederate  movements.  But  the  greatest  services  were 
rendered  in  a  very  different  way.  At  the  headquarters,  in  a 
tent  next  to  the  one  occupied  by  General  Means  himself, 


424  MEN  OF  MARK. 

and  to  which  John  Oliver  had  free  access  at  all  times,  vrcre 
two  large  baskets.  These  baskets  were  the  recipients  of 
all  the  mail  brought  from  the  "prison  post-office"  to  be 
forwarded  to  wives  and  friends  in  the  North.  Three  young 
men  were  daily  occupied  reading  these  letters ;  those  deemed 
fit  to  be  sent  on  were  put  into  one  basket,  and  those  con- 
taining any  objectionable  matter  were  thrown  into  the 
other  basket.  More  than  two-thirds  of  the  letters  were 
thus  rejected  and  went  to  the  flames.  John  Oliver  conceived 
a  plan  by  which  some  of  the  ** refused  letters"  could  be 
forwarded  to  their  destination.  The  mail  would  leave  the 
camp  at  eleven  o'clock  daily,  and  as  all  the  letters  exam- 
ined betw^een  this  time  and  the  next  day  were  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  basket,  he  would  transfer  from  twenty  to 
thirty  letters  daily  from  the  rejected  basket  to  the  one  con- 
taining the  "approved  letters." 

After  the  war  he  went  to  live  with  his  mother  on  a  farm 
in  Chester  county.  He  remained  there  about  one  year; 
but  he  and  his  stepfather  could  never  agree,  as  the  "old 
man"  despised  ** laming"  and  said  it  was  "spilin"  all  the 
boys  on  the  place.  John  was  also  pretty  expert  at  figures 
up  to  division,  and  could  read  well  in  the  second  reader. 
He  was  to  the  boys  on  the  plantation  what  *  Webster*© 
Dictionary'  is  to  the  learned,  and,  notwithstanding  his 
ragged  condition,  was  a  favorite  with  all  the  old  people. 
His  mother  was  a  woman  of  fine  sense,  her  greatest 
blunder  being  the  seleAion  of  a  husband.  This  is  a 
common  blunder  with  women  who  have  children.  Ho^w 
many  yotmg  men  would  become  usefiil  but  for  this  very 
thing;  they  are  hedged  in  on  all  sides  by  men  of  bhmt 


JOHN  O.  CROSBY.  426 

feelings,  of  roagii  natures  and  of  a  lack  of  appreciation  that  . 
ought  to  be  given  to  the  aspiring  hopes  of  children.  With 
his  mother's  advice,  he  resolved  to  make  his  escape  from 
this  paternal  slavery  far  worse  than  the  other.  Promising 
to  return  to  his  mother  in  due  time,  he  started  from  home  late 
one  afternoon,  carrying  with  him  a  smaller  brother.  They 
had  no  money  and  only  a  pound  of  bacon  and  a  com  ash 
cake.  Their  mother  was  not  a  Christian,  but  they  felt 
while  on  their  journey  that  their  mother  was  praying  for 
them.  Aft;er  some  hardships  the  boys  reached  Winnsboro, 
a  town  of  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  thirty-five  miles 
distant.  Being  poorly  clad,  they  found  some  difficulty  in 
getting  employment.  On  the  second  day,  however,  he  got 
a  place  for  himself  and  his  brother.  He  was  at  this  time 
in  good  circumstances,  and  completing  a  course  in  music 
at  one  of  our  leading  colleges,  Mr.  Crosby  entered  school, 
working  at  odd  times  for  support  and  paying  for  tuition 
by  ringing  a  school  bell.  He  soon  got  to  be  president  of  a 
debating  club  and  teacher  of  the  only  colored  Sunday 
school  in  town.  Having  joined  the  Union  league,  and  be- 
coming prominent  in  the  county  politics,  he  was  appointed 
in  the  spring  of  1869,  by  Governor  R.  H.  Scott,  the  census 
taker  for  Fairfield  county.  He  entered  Biddle  University  in 
the  fall  of  1869  and  the  Shaw  University  in  1870,  grad- 
uating fi-om  the  latter  in  1874.  He  has  since  graduated 
fi*om  the  National  School  of  Elocution  and  Oratory,  being 
the  first  colored  man  whoever  graduated  fi-om  this  famous 
institution.  Mr.  Crosby  resolved  to  enter  the  ministry; 
his  first  work  in  this  line  was  done  in  the  summer  of  1872 
as  a  student  missionary  under  the  auspices  of  the  Amen- 


426  MEN  OP  MARK. 

can  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  of  New  York.  He 
was  assigned  Mecklenburg  county  as  a  field  of  labor. 
During  the  four  months  after  the  commission  was  girtst 
him  he  raised  two  hundred  dollars  for  the  FiiBt  Baptist 
church  of  Charlotte  and  eighty  dollars  for  Shaw  Univav 
sity,  besides  organizing  a  churchy  at  West  Holly,  Nortb 
Carolina,  which  has  now  a  large  and  flourishing  congrega* 
tion.  In  1874  he  was  ordained  and  took  charge  of  the 
first  Colored  Baptist  church  of  Warrington,  North  Caro- 
lina. In  1875  Mr.  Crosby  was  elected  delegate  fi-om 
Warren  county  to  the  State  Constitutional  convention, 
which  fi*amed  the  present  constitution  of  the  State.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  and  vigorously 
opposed  by  speeches  and  vote  every  ordinance  aimed 
directly  or  indirectly  at  his  race.  In  1880  he  was  called  to 
the  Dixonville  Baptist  church  of  Salisbury,  and  during  the 
same  year  became  principal  of  the  State  Colored  Normal 
school,  located  at  the  same  place.  These  two  important 
positions  he  still  holds.  He  has  also  been  moderator  of 
one  of  the  largest  Baptist  associations  in  North  Carolina 
since  1881.  He  is  chairman  of  the  Home  Mission  board  of 
the  North  Carolina  State  convention  and  editor  of  the 
Golddust,  the  organ  of  the  colored  Baptists  of  the  State. 
He  is  connected  with  numerous  other  positions,  boards 
and  business  enterprises. 

To  name  and  give  an  account  of  all  the  honors  conferred 
and  positions  bestowed  upon  this  worthy  son  of  the  old 
North  State  would  occupy  more  space  than  can  be  allowed 
in  a  book  of  this  size.  He  has  baptized  more  than  twelve 
hundred  persons.    Mr.  Crosby  occupies  a  place  in  the  firont 


^ 


JOHN  O.  CROSBY.  427 

rank  as  a  preacher.  He  is  one  of  the  most  popular  and 
successful  men  in  his  denomination,  which  mmibers  more 
than  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  in  this  State.  Not- 
withstanding his  charitable  habits,  he  is  worth  more  than 
four  thousand  dollars— the  fruits  of  his  own  toil.  He  has 
risen  by  degrees  from  poverty  and  obscurity  to  one  of  the 
most  honorable  stations  in  the  State. 


-428  MEN  OF  MASK. 


LIU. 

HON.  FRANCIS  L.  CARDOZA. 

Secretary  of  State — State  Treasurer— Professor  of  Languages— Principal 
of  the  High  School,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

HE  was  born  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  Janu- 
ary 1,  1837,  and  was  sent  to  school  at  five  years 
of  age,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  twelve.  He  was 
then  apprenticed  to  the  carpenter's  trade  for  five  years, 
after  which  he  worked  as  journeyman  for  four  years. 
When  he  was  twenty-one  years  old  he  left  the  bench  and 
with  one  thousand  dollars,  which  he  had  saved  as  a  jour- 
neyman, started-  for  Glasgow,  Scotland,  to  obtain  a  colle- 
giate education,  to  which  he  aspired.  His  ultimate  aim 
was  to  prepare  for  the  ministry.  He  studied  four  years  at 
the  University  at  Glasgow,  and  three  years  at  the  Presby- 
terian seminaries  at  Edinburgh  and  London.  The  cost  of 
his  education  was  about  three  thousand  dollars,  in  addi- 
tion to  one  thousand  dollars,  which  he  had  saved  before 
starting.  Notwithstanding  he  was  pursuing  these  courses, 
he  worked  during  vacations  at  his  trade  and  other  em-' 
ployments,  making  about  one  thousand  dollars.  In  a 
competitive  examination  among  the  graduates  of  four 
colleges,  he  won  a  scholarship  of  one  thousand  dollars. 


FRANCIS  L.  CASDOZA.  429* 

and  then  removed  to  London,  England,  and  finished  the 
remaining  two  years  of  his  course.    This  was  a  very  re- 
markable feat,  and  in  this  respeA  I  think  he  stands  ahnost 
alone.    But  this  was  not  all.    While  at  the  university  at 
Glasgow,  he  won  the  fifth  prize  in  Latin,  among  two  hun- 
dred students  in  his  class,  and  the  seventh  in  Greek  among 
one  hundred  and  fifty  students.    He  returned  to  the  United 
States  in  the  summer  of  1864,  and  was  settled  as  pastor 
of  the   Temple   Street    Congregational  church  in   New 
Haven,  Connecticut,  August  1, 1864.    The  American  Mis- 
sionary Association  of  New  York  requested  him  to  estab- 
lish and  take  charge  of  a  Normal  school  of  colored  pupils 
in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  August  1,  1865,  which  he 
accepted  and  presided  over  for  three  years.    In  this  time 
he  was  noted  as  a  scholar  of  rare  attainments,  and  though 
a  very  quiet,  unassuming  man,  he  was  not  negledled  or 
overlooked  by  his  friends,  who  eledled  him  a  member  of 
the  Constitutional  convention  of  South  Carolina  in  Janu- 
ary,   1868,  established   under   the   reconstruction    acts. 
August  the  first,  of  the  same  year,  he  was  eledled  secretary 
of  State   and   served  four   years.      Now  while   he  was 
serving  his  first  term  as  secretary  of  State,  he  was  eledled 
professor  of  Latin  at  Howard  University.    He  resigned 
the  position  of  secretary  and  accepted  the  professorship. 
The  governor  of  South  Carolina  protested  against  his 
^resignation,  and  suggested  that  he  retain  the  office  and 
appoint  a  deputy  secretary  of  State.    As  Mr.  Cardoza 
^'ad  only  fourteen  months  to  serve,  this  was  finally  agreed 
^pon.    He  then  taught  at  Howard  until  March,  1872, 
^^  '^turned  to  South  Carolina  at  the  earnest  solicitatioui 


430  MEN  OF  MARK. 

of  his  fiHiends,  to  accept  the  position  of  State  treasttrery  to 
which  he  was  eledled  August  1, 1872. 

After  he  had  served  out  the  first  term  of  the  treasurer- 
ship,  he  was  re-eleAed  in  1876,  but  the  downfall  of  Repub- 
licanism at  that  time  prevented  the  exercises  of  the  duties 
of  the  office.  The  transfer  of  the  Republican  State  govern- 
ment of  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana  to  the  Democrats 
by  a  coup  c/'  etat  is  perfeAly  familiar  to  all.  During  his 
ti^asurership  he  handled  between  six  and  seven  milUon 
dollars  and  eight  million  in  bonds  and  stocks.  His  books 
were  carefully  and  thoroughly  examined  by  a  committee 
of  the  Democratic  Legislature  after  his  term  of  office  ex- 
pired, with  an  expert  accountant,  and  they  reported  his 
books  correct.  He  was  appointed  to  a  clerkship  in  the 
Treasury  Department  at  Washington,  District  of  Co- 
Itmibia,  by  Secretary  John  Sherman,  in  1878,  and  remained 
for  six  years,  when  he  was  appointed  principal  of  the  Col- 
ored High  School  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia, 
which  position  he  now  holds.  The  school  has  an  enroll- 
ment of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  pupils — two  hundred 
females  and  fifty  males,  nearly  all.  of  whom  are  preparing 
for  teachers.  The  work  is  of  very  great  importance;  is 
far-reaching  in  its  influence,  as  these  shall  go  out  fi-ont  his 
care  to  manage  schools  in  the  several  sections  of  this 
country.  Mr.  Cardoza  was  married  to  Miss  Catherine 
Romena  Howell  of  New  Haven,  Connedlicut,  December, 
1864.  They  have  been  blessed  with  six  children— four 
boys  and  two  girls,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Cardoza  is  an  educator  of  very  fine  talent ;  is  very  digni- 
fied in  bearing,  and  polished  in  his  manner.    He  was  my 


FRANCIS  L.  CABDOZA.  431 

professor  in  Latin  while  a  junior  in  college,  and  I  remem- 
ber him  as  a  courtly  gentleman  who  treated  his  classes 
with  the  greatest  of  kindness.  It  never  occurred  to  me 
that  I  might  publicly  thank  him  for  his  kindness  and  pa- 
tience with  two  fun-loving  students,  especially  one. 


432  MEN  OF  HARK. 


LIV. 

HON.  JOHN  S.  LEARY.  LL.  B. 

Attorney  at  Law— Legislator— United  States  Deputy  Collector. 

NORTH  CAROLINA  is  well  represented  by  the  intelli- 
gent, progressive  and  popular  John  S.  Leary,  wha 
was  bom  at  Fayetteville  in  that  State,  August  17,  1845. 
His  parents  were  named  Matthew  and  Julia  Leary.  His 
father  was  bom  in  North  Carolina  in  1797;  his  grand- 
father was  Aaron  Revels,  who  was  a  free  colored  man  and 
a  Revolutionary  soldier  in  the  American  army.  His  mother 
was  bom  in  France,  and  was  six  years  old  when  her  j 
parents  came  to  this  country  in  1810.  Mr.  Leary  had  a.  ^ 
brother  by  the  name  of  Louis  Sheridan  Leary,  who  was 
with  John  Brown  at  Harper's  Ferry  and  was  killed  there 
October  17,  1859. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  school  in  his  native 
town  for  a  period  of  eight  years  prior  to  the  civil  war. , 
During  the  time  he  was  under  the  care  and  instruction  of 
six  different  teachers,  five  of  whom  were  white  persons,  and 
one  a  colored  woman.  After  quitting  school  he  learned 
the  trade  of  a  saddler  and  harness-maker  in  his  father's 
shop,  who  was  a  manufacturer,  and  carried  on  that  busi- 


E.  S.   PORTER, 


i 


'■■.\ 


•  i 


:  I 


<ll 


JOHN  8.  LBARY.  433 

S8  for  fijfty  years  in  Fayetteville.  The  steady  habits  and 
isiness  qualities  of  Mr.  Leary,  combined  with  strict  hon- 
ty,  purity  of  life  and  fidelity  to  trusts,  made  him  a  very 
>pular  man  among  all  classes  of  citizens ;  and  in  the  year 
J68  he  was  elected,  from  Cumberland  county,  a  member 
*  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina.  Having 
rved  with  satisfaction  to  all  his  friends  for  two  years, 
id  having  the  good  will  of  the  opposing  party,  showing 
"eat  intelligence  and  deep  foresight  into  the  laws,  and 
omptly  attending  to  every  duty  connected  with  the 
Bee,  made  him  a  very  strong  candidate  for  the  second 
rm,  to  which  he  was  elected  and  served  with  singular 
>ility  until  the  close  of  the  session.  In  1871  he  went  to 
ashington.  District  of  Columbia,  and  entered  the  Law 
apartment  of  Howard  University,  from  which  he  grad- 
Lted  with  the  title  of  LL.  B.  Here  he  was  a  favorite  with 
e  members  of  every  department  of  the  institution ;  his 
ntlemanly  manners,  his  politeness  and  high  intellectual 
tainments  gave  him  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all. 
le  writer  remembers  him  at  this  period,  being  at  that 
ne  a  member  of  the  university.  After  graduation,  he 
turned  home  and  was  examined  by  the  State  Supreme 
Durt,  and  admitted  to  practice  in  all  the  courts  of  the 
ate,  since  which  time  he  has  continued  in  his  profession. 
e  was  alderman  in  the  town  of  Fayetteville  for  two 
ars,  namely,  1876—7.  He  was  school  committeeman  for 
period  of  four  years,  both  for  white  and  colored  schools 
the  town,  namely,  1878-79-80-81.  He  has  attended  as 
delegate  fi"om  Cumberland  county  every  Republican 
ate  convention  since  the  year  1867;  was  alternate  dele- 


434  MEN  OP  MARK. 

gate  to  the  National  Republican  convention  held  at 
Chicago  in  1880,  and  delegate  to  the  National  Republican 
convention  held  at  the  same  place  in  1884. 

Mr.  Leary  was  appointed  United  States  deputy  collector 
for  the  fourth  district  of  North  Carolina,  Internal  Revenue 
Department,  May  1, 1881,  which  position  he  held  for  four 
years,  going  out  of  office  when  Mr.  Cleveland  became 
President  of  the  United  States.  In  the  book  published  for 
the  benefit  of  the  State  in  the  way  of  bringing  emigrants 
thereto,  Mr.  Leary  is  given  mention  as  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  State.  It  says  of  him  that  he  is  a  man  of 
influence  among  a  large  circle  of  people  in  the  city  of  Fay- 
etteville  and  the  State,  and  is  well  suited  to  hold  positions 
of  trust;  and  in  the  Legislature  of  1868  to  '70,  he  votc^ 
with  the  minority  against  the  fraudulent  bonds.  He  is 
president  of  the  North  Carolina  Industrial  Association;  he 
is  an  Odd  Fellow,  having  joined  the  order  in  1875,  and 
was  a  delegate  to  the  A.  M.  C,  which  assembled  in  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  in  1880.  As  honorary  commissioner  for 
the  State  of  North  Carolina,  for  the  colored  department  in 
the  World's  Cotton  Exposition,  held  in  New  Orleans  in  1884, 
he  did  much  to  show  forth  the  industrial  condition  of  the 
colored  people.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episco- 
pal church,  having  been  confirmed  in  1867.  He  has  been 
married  twice ;  his  first  wife  was  Miss  Alice  B.  Thomas  of 
Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  who  died  October  13,  1880;  the 
fi-uits  of  this  union  were  two  children,  both  dead.  His 
present  wife  was  Miss  Nannie  E.  Latham  of  Charlotte, 
North  Carolina,  to  whom  he  was  married  July  14,  1886. 


JOHN  S.  LBARY. 


435 


He  has  a  comfortable  home  in  the  city,  a  splendid  law 
library,  and  a  small  farm  about  two  and  a  half  miles  hom 
the  city.  With  these  surroundings  he  dwells  in  the  midst 
of  people  who  delight  to  honor  him. 


436  MEN  OP  MARK. 


LV. 

E.  S.  PORTER,  A.  B.,  M.  D. 

Physician  on  the  Sanitary  Force  of  Louieville,  Kentucky  —  Medical 
Attendant  at  the  Orphans'  Home  and  State  University — Lecturer. 

THIS  quiet,  unassuming  gentleman  has  made  his  mark 
as  a  dispenser  of  wisdom  in  the  line  of  the  healing  art. 
It  was  said  of  ^Esculapius ' '  that  he  was  of  a  quick  and  lively 
genius,  and  made  such  progress  that  he  soon  became  not 
only  a  great  physician  but  was  reckoned  a  god  and  inventpr 
of  medicine,  and  is  said  to  have  restored  many  to  life.  And 
Jupiter  is  said  to  have  feared  that  men,  being  put  in  posses- 
sion of  the  means  of  triumphing  over  death,  might  refuse 
honor  to  the  gods ;  so  he  struck  -^sculapius  dead  with  a 
thunderbolt,  for  which  Apollo,  the  father  of  ^sculapius,  de- 
stroyed the  Cyclops  that  forged  the  thunderbolt  for  Jove." 
It  used  to  be  the  colored  people  who,  taking  the  place  of 
Tupiter,  slew  all  colored  physicians,  so  to  speak.  Though 
these  men  had  enlisted  themselves  in  doing  good  for  man- 
kind, their  traducers  would  declare  that  there  were  none 
good ;  no,  not  one.  There  se€;ms  to  be  among  the  same 
class  of  our  people  a  very  foolish  notion  that  nobody  but 
a  white  man  can  be  a  competent  doctor,  lawyer  or  profes- 
sional man  of  any  kind.    This  may  be  owing  to  their- 


E.  S.  PORTER.  437 

training,  but  it  is  time  that  they  had  gotten  out  of  such 
thoughts,  for  by  holding  such  opinion  they  unwittingly 
confess  judgment  and  attribute  the  lack  of  skill  in  these 
matters  to  the  inferiority  of  the  race  and  color  rather  than 
brains .  And  notwithstanding  the  difficulties  which  colored 
physicians  meet  in  attempting  to  practice,  or  rather,  I 
might  say,  had  met  (for  many  of  these  foolish  prejudices 
are  passing  away),  many  have  risen  to  eminence. 

Dr.  Porter  has  succeeded  in  building  up  an  extensive 
practice,  and  still  lives.  The  life  of  a  doctor  is  full  of  in- 
stances worthy  of  record,  and  while  their  professional 
deeds  of  mercy  are  many,  they  go  **unhonored  and 
unsung.''  Their  losses  also  are  heavy,  and  they  can  never 
refuse  to  answer  a  call,  for  tne  ethics  of  the  profession  lead 
them  to  relieve  suffering  at  all  times,  pay  or  no  pay. 

He  is  the  son  of  Jesse  and  Priscilla  Porter,  and  was  bom 
in  the  State  of  Delaware,  October  19, 1848.  This  was  the 
place  of  his  youthful  days,  for  not  until  he  was  fourteen 
years  of  age  did  he  leave  that  **  little  monarchy ''  to  make 
his  way  in  the  world.  Thence  he  went  to  New  York. 
Through  the  influence  of  a  lady  who  took  much  interest  in 
him,  he  w^as  led  to  undertake  a  classical  course  at  Lincoln 
University,  Oxford,  Pennsylvania.  He  began  at  the  bottom 
rounds  and  through  seven  years  he  made  his  way  to  the 
graduating  platform,  where  he  was  awarded  his  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts.  This  was  in  1873.  Going  back  to  New 
York,  he  entered  the  Brooklyn  Medical  College,  completing 
the  full  course  of  medicine,  anatomy,  surgery  and  hospital 
practice,  and  graduated  with  some  distinction  in  his  class 
in  1876.    While  looking  for  some  place  to  practice,  he 


438 


MEN  OF  MARK . 


wandered  to  the  west  and  settled  in  Tennessee  for  one 
year.  Not  finding  it  to  his  liking,  he  moved  to  LrOuisville 
in  1878,  and  has  there  made  a  splendid  reputation  and 
settled  the  question  of  lack  of  prosperity  in  the  practice  of 
medicine.  Contrary  to  the  usual  way,  we  have  yet  to  find 
a  colored  person  who  has  no  confidence  in  him  as  a  physi- 
cian.   His  practice  is  extensive  and  constantly  increasing. 

He  was  elected  on  the  sanitary  force  of  Louisville  in  the 
years  1882,  '83  and  '84.  He  was  chosen  physician  to  the 
Orphans'  Home  by  the  proper  authorities  in  1882,  which 
position  he  still  holds.  He  is  also  physician  to  the  State 
University,  and  also  lecturer  on  physiology  and  hygiene  in 
the  same  university.  This  position  he  has  held  since  1881, 
and  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Lucy  Bohannon,  March  20, 
1884.  She  is  one  of  the  prominent  members  of  the  cele- 
brated Fifth  Street  Baptist  church  choir,  and  contributes 
very  much  to  his  success  by  her  amiable  manners,  and  she 
presides  over  his  home  with  dignity  and  grace. 

The  doctor  himself  is  a  genteel,  refined  man,  and  all  who 
know  him  loVe  him.  He  is  a  special  favorite  with  the 
children,  a  thing  to  be  commended — ^for  no  child  ought  to 
be  afraid  of  a  doctor  or  a  minister.  His  ability  has  never 
been  questioned  by  the  practitioners  in  the  city.  He  has 
sat  in  counsel  with  Drs.  E.  D.  Force,  William  M.  Griffith, 
Thomas  J.  Griffith  and  P.  G.  Tnmnell.  It  would  not  be  an 
exaggeration  to  state  that  his  future  is  very  brilliant  and 
his  chances  for  wealth  very  favorable. 


AUGUSTUS  TOLTON.  439 


LVI. 

REV.  AUGUSTUS  TOLTON. 

The  First  and  Only  Native  American  Catholic  Priest  of  African  Descent, 
throogh  both  Parents,  on  the  Continent. 

A  FEW  months  ago  it  was  flashed  over  the  wires  that 
Augustus  Tolton  had  been  ordained  to  the  office  of 
priest  in  Rome.  The  papers  took  up  the  news  and  sang 
the  praise  of  the  man  who  had  by  perseverance  climbed  to 
a  strange,  new  position  for  one  of  his  nationality.  Many 
men  of  note  have  simply  drifted  with  the  current  into 
positions  held  by  a  father,  but  this  man  attracts  us  be- 
cause the  circumstances  under  which  he  achieved  eminence 
w^ere  far  from  the  beaten  paths  made  b^'  the  steady  tramp 
of  hundreds  who  had  gone  before.  The  career  of  Rev. 
Augustus  Tolton  is  one  of  difficulties  surmounted. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  bom  in  Ralls  county, 
Missouri,  April  1,  1854,  of  slave  parentage.  His  father, 
Peter  Tolton,  enlisted  in  the  Union  Army  when  the  civil 
w^ar  broke  out,  and  died  in  the  hospital  in  St.  Louis.  His 
mother,  Martha  Jane  Tolton,  a  Kentuckian  by  birth, 
made  a  bold  stroke  for  life  and  freedom  shortly  after. 
After  much  planning,  the  day  of  decision  came.  Taking 
the  babe  of  twenty  months  in  her  arms,  a  daughter  of 


440  MEN  OF  MARK. 

nine  years,  and  little  **Gussie"  of  seven  to  trudge  by  her 
side,  she  journeyed  night  and  day  through  almost  desolate 
regions  and  over  almost  impassable  roads,  with  the  s\vift 
feet  of  a  hunted  deer.    Having  crossed  two  counties  her 
feet  almost  touched  free   soil,  when  new  danger  arose. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  at  Hannibal,  they  were 
challenged  as  runaway  slaves,  but  some  Federal  soldiers 
interposed  and  smuggled  her  across  the  river  that  night. 
Pausing  long  enough  to  draw  one  breath  of  fiee  air,  the 
pilgrims  dragged  their  weary  limbs  twenty-one  miles  far- 
ther to  Quincy,  Illinois,  the  town  in  which  he  was  reared 
and  from  which  he  was  called  to  Rome.    Cradled  amid 
such  events,  schooled  during  such  a  period,  drinking  aspi- 
rations from  such  a  mother,  mighty  energies  and  impulses 
were  sown  for  future  reaping.     Mts.  Tolton  found  no 
hand  ao   help  feed   the  hungry  mouths.     She  was  sur- 
rounded by  poverty  so  grinding  that  at  the  age  of  seven 
her  boy  was  put  in  a  tobacco  factory  and  for  twelve  years 
filled  his  father's  place  in  providing  for  the  younger  chil- 
dren. 

During  this  period  at  odd  times,  when  the  factory  would 
close,  in  winter,  and  nights  when  others  were  sleeping,  he 
would  be  pouring  over  books,  mastering  this  and  that 
study.  In  1872  his  health  failed,  and  acting  on  the  advice 
of  friends  he  gave  up  the  factory  work,  and  devoted  his 
time  exclusively  to  study.  The  children  were  sent  to  St. 
Boniface's  and  St.  Peter's  schools  (white),  but  some  race 
trouble  arising,  they  withdrew  and  entered  Lincoln,  a 
non-Catholic  school.  The  pastor  of  the  church  of  which 
Mrs.  Tolton  was  a  member,  Father  McGirr,  hearing  of 


AUGUSTUS  TOLTON. 


\ 


I ' 


AUGUSTUS  TOLTON.  441 

the  difficulty,  ordered  their  withdrawal  and  opened  his 
own  school  to  colored  children.  This  was  about  1863. 
As  time  passed,  a  wild  hope  took  possession  of  Augustus. 
His  soul  longed  for  the  holy  office  of  a  priest,  and  on  the 
day  of  his  first  communion,  when  Father  McGirr,  who  had 
watched  year  after  year  the  exceptional  purity,  talent  and 
goodness  of  the  poor  boy  up  to  that  time,  suggested  the 
priesthood,  his  cup  of  joy  was  full— his  mind  made 
up.  Rev.  Father  Astrop  and  Rev.  Theodore  Wegmann 
believing  firmly  that  his  vocation  should  be  that  of  a 
priest,  urged  his  Latin  studies,  and  instructed  him,  to- 
gether with  two  German  students,  in  Latin,  Greek,  Ger- 
man, English,  etc.  He  was  considered  the  best  in  the 
catechism  class  when  he  first  communed,  and  now  reads 
and  speaks  German  as  fluently  as  English.  All  seemed 
smooth  sailing  when  suddenly  his  instructors  are  called  to 
new  fields  of  labor.  Are  his  hopes  to  be  dashed  to  the 
ground  ?  No ;  in  the  dispensations  of  Providence  we  get 
what  is  needed  at  the  right  time.  A  priest  in  Northern 
Missouri  hearing  that  Mrs.  Tolton  would  make  him  a 
suitable  housekeeper  secured  her  services,  promising  to 
keep  the  son  in  his  studies.  The  bargain  proved  a  bad 
one,  and  mother  and  son  were  soon  back  in  Quincy,  the 
latter  hard  at  work  with  the  soda  firm  of  J.  J.  Flynn  & 
Company,  and  studying  before  and  after  hours  only  as  an 
ambitious  youth  can,  assisted  by  Father  Reinhardt,  in 
charge  of  St.  Mary's  church  and  hospital,  and  two  Fran- 
ciscans, Fathers  Francis  and  Engelbert.  Although  the 
Franciscan  College  threw  open  its  doors  to  him,  poverty 
prevented   him   attending   except   early   and   late,  after 


442  MEN  OF  MARK. 

school  hours,  and  then  it  was  always  a  race  with 
first  to  the  college,  then  to  the  hospital,  and  then  to  the 
rectory  chasing  knowledge.  The  heaTens  for  him  were 
again  overcast.  Rev.  Reinhardt  departed  for  another 
field ;  Father  Engelbert  conld  not  keep  the  appointments 
any  longer.  With  his  feet  in  the  path  to  Propaganda 
College,  Rome,  he  could  not  turn  back.  An  opening  w^as 
soon  made.    Says  the  St.  Joseph's  Advocate : 

All  credited  the  Rt.  Rev.  Peter  Joseph  Baltes,  late  bishop  of  Alton,  to 
which  diocese  Quincy  belongs,  as  having  sent  Augustus  Tolton  to  the 
Propaganda  College ;  but  Father  Tolton  himself  speaks  of  a  prior  credit 
as  due  to  the  Franciscans,  and  as  having  the  higher  daim  to  his  gratir 
tude.  He  names  first  of  all  in  this  connection  the  Rev.  Father  Michael 
Richardt,  O.  S.  F.,  formerly  of  Quincy,  but  now  of  Teutopolis,  lUinois^ 
who  sends  this  valuable  letter  in  answer  to  our  inquiries : 

St.  Joseph's  Diocesan  College, 
Teutopolis,  Effingham  County,  Illinois,  March  12, 1887. 
Rev,  and  Dear  Sir: — 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  esteemed  favor  of  the  eighth  inst.,  by  which  you 
solicit  information  about  Rev.  August  Tolton,  the  first  colored  priest  of 
this  countrj'.  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  August  Tolton,  at  Quincy, 
Illinois,  about  the  year  1877.  I  then  had  formed  the  intention  to  do 
something  for  the  spiritual  welfar**  of  the  colored  people  at  Quincy.  I 
found  Mr.  August  Tolton  to  be  a  pious,  modest  and  studious  yoon^ 
man,  and  requested  him  to  aid  me  in  my  undertaking,  as  I  was  not  ac- 
quainted  with  any  body  of  the  colored  population.  Soon  he  had  a 
numlicr  of  children  together,  both  of  Catholic  and  Protestant  parents^ 
whom  I  commenced  to  instruct  in  the  Catholic  religion  every  Sunday. 
The  first  lessons  I  gave  them  in  the  parochial  school-house  of  St. 
Francis'  congregation;  but,  in  a  short  time,  for  convenience  sake,  we 
located  our  Sunday  school  in  the  centre  of  the  city.  The  colored  children 
liked  it  so  well  that  a  proposition  I  made  to  them  to  open  a  free  day 
school  was  hailed  with  joy.  Always  assisted  by  Mr.  August  Tolton  and 
his  worthy  mother,  an  accomplished  lady  and  devoted  Catholic,  I  sooo 


AUGUSTUS  TOLTON.  443 

liad  a  schoolroom  in  an  abandoned  schoolhouse  of  St.  Boniface's  congre- 
gation, both  Rev.  J.  Janssen,  the  rector  of  St.  Boniface's  congregation, 
and  good  Catholics  assisting  me  to  famish  the  same.  At  my  request,  the 
Kev.  Mother  Caroline,  snperioress  of  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  at  Mil- 
-waiikee^  appointed,  gratuitously.  Sister  M.  Herlinde  to  teach  the  school, 
-which  we  opened  with  twenty-one  children.  Notwithstanding  the  oppo- 
sition and  indignation  meetings  of  the  Methodist  and  Baptist  colored 
congregations,  we^  soon  had  forty  children,  and  within  the  next  year 
bad,  with  the  help  of  God,  the  happiness  of  solemnizing  several  times 
baptisms,  first  communions,  confirmations  and  marriages.  When  I, 
compelled  by  overwork  and  nervous  prostration,  had  to  leave  Quincy, 
the  school  was  closed  for  some  time,  but  was  re-opened  by  Rev.  Theodore 
Bmener,  then  rector  of  St.  Bomfieuie's  church,  and  is  ever  since  in  exist- 
ence, and  yet  conducted  by  the  same  faithful  and  zealous  Sister  M. 
Herlinde,  assisted  by  a  candidate.  Rev.  Bruener  secured  also,  not  with- 
out the  help  of  the  Franciscan  Monastery  of  Quincy,  Catholic  worship 
for  the  little  colored  congregation  in  the  same  schoolhouse,  which  had 
been  a  Protestant  church.  Rev.  August  Tolton  has  at  present  charge  of 
the  whole  little  and  difficult  mission. 

Here  you  wish  to  know  how  it  happened  to  pass  that  Mr.  August 
Tolton  became  a  priest  and  who  directed  him  to  Rome.  As  far  as  I  know, 
I  conceived  that -idea  first  and  communicated  it  to  the  (late)  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  P.  I.  Baltes.  When,  soon  thereafter,  that  prelate  made  his  visit 
**  ad  limiua  Apostolorum,*^  he  tried  to  get  the  young  student,  Mr.  A. 
Tolton,  into  the  Propaganda,  but  in  vain.  I  then  wrote  to  our  Most 
Rev.  Father  General,  Most  Rev.  P.  Bernardino,  a  Partu  Rometino,  who 
resides  at  Roma  and  he  succeeded  in  securing  Mr.  A.  Tolton's  reception 
into  the  College  "De  Propaganda  Fide'*  where  he  soon  thereafter  began 
and  finally  ended  his  studies.  I  had  last  summer  the  happiness  to  see 
him  a  priest  in  New  York  City,  just  on  his  arrival  from  Rome.  May  it 
please  Divine  Providence  to  achieve  much  good  through  Rev.  A.  Tolton 
for  the  salvation  of  the  colored  race  in  this  country. 

With  the  greatest  respect  I  am.  Dear  Sir,  yours  in  Christ, 

P.  Michael  Richardt,  O.  S.  F. 
Rector  of  St.  Joseph's  Diocesan  College,  Teutopolis,  Illinois. 

Spending  several  years  there,  he  returned  to  the  United 


444  MEN  OF  MARK. 

States,  after  having  finished  the  course  of  study,  bearing  -; 

the  honors  of  priesthood  and  receiving  a  warm  vrelcome  - 

from  the  inhabitantsofQuincy,  where  he  is  laboring.   Says  ^ 
the  Washington  People^ s  Advocate : 


The  arrival  in  this  country  of  an  American-bom  black  priest  of 
Roman  Catholic  church,  marks  an  era  in  the  work  of  this  church  for 
•evangelization  of  the  Negro.  To-day  an  ex-slave  returns  from  Rome 
perform  the  priestly  office  in  his  native  land,  an  evidence  that  the  Eter- 
nal church,  whatever  the  popular  belief  as  to  its  variable  policj 
things  to  all  men  "  has  planted  its  foot  firmly  against  caste  in  the  priesi 
hood.  Father  Tolton  is  but  the  advance  guard.  We  look  forward 
see  the  day  when  the  colored  priests  of  the  Catholic  church  will  be  a^ 
numerous,  proportionally,  as  those  of  any  other  denomination,  and  when 
one  in  whose  veins  flows  the  blood  of  the  land  of  St.  Aqgustiiie,  wil/ 
chant  the  pater  noster  before  the  altar  of  his  memorial,  the  St.  Augustine 
church  of  this  city. 

When  theordination  of  Father  Tolton  was  proclaimed, 
a  few  secular  journals  discredited  the  statement  that  he 
was  the  first  native  Africo- American  set  aside  to  the  priest- 
hood. They  claimed  that  years  previous  Bishop  England  • 
proclaimed  the  first  colored  priest  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina.  The  St.  Joseph  Advocate,  a  quarterly,  of  Janu- 
ary, 1887,  published  by  Father  J.  H.  Green,  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  in  the  interest  of  the  colored  people  of  the 
United  States,  after  much  research  says : 

How  easy  to  slip  on  historic  ice !  Not  a  shred  of  probability  that  a 
Charleston  bishop  with  only  one  or  two  small  churches  at  his  See,  would 
or  could  afford  the  expense  and  risk  of  educating  one  for  the  priesthood, 
who,  by  the  constitution  and  laws  of  South  Carolina,  would  not  be 
allowed  to  cross  the  border !  There  is  a  tradition  among  Catholics  in 
Charleston  that  a  priest  of  color  on  board  a  vessel  bound  for  South 
America,  and  which,  by  stress  of  weather  was  driven  in'-o  that  harbor, 


AUGUSTUS  TOLTON.  445- 

yavas  spared  the  honor  of  a  police  eacort  to  the  felon's  hotel  by  the  great 
icflnence  of  Bishop  Bngland,  who  got  permission  to  hold  him  in  charge 
till  his  Tcssd  got  ready  for  sea.  Even  this  is  stoutly  denied  by  one  who 
ought  to  know  a  thing  or  two,  who  resided  in  the  very  house  of  the 
bishop  at  the  time,  and  is  still  living,  a  nonagenarian  in  her  perfe<Sl 
senses !  Monsignor  Corcoran  does  not  believe  one  word  of  the  Father 
Paddington  story  in  relation  to  Charleston ;  and  who  knows  more  about 
the  past  of  his  own  city  than  the  learned  Dr.  Corcoran  ?  Certainly  no 
other  Catholic  living,  except  it  be  the  Rev.  P.  G.  McGowan,  now  of 
Arkansas,  who  resided  in  Charleston  sixteen  years,  dating  back  all  the 
-way  to  1831,  many  years  living  with  the  great  bishop  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ashley,  and  there  ordained  by  him.  Here  before  us  is  a  letter  from 
this  venerable  priest  dated  the  fifteenth  instant,  in  which  he  says, ''  As  to 
the  ordination  of  a  black  priest  by  Bishop  England  of  pious  memory,  in 
Charleston,  and  residing  there,  there  was  no  such  thing.  So  nothing  of 
the  kind  took  place  in  my  time  nor.  since  I  left.  It  seems  to  me  that 
Bishop  England  ordained  some  colored  priests  in  San  Domingo  or  Hayt,. 
while  visiting  there  two  or  three  times  in  the  performance  of  legatine 
duties  for  Pope  Gregory  the  Sixteenth,  of  pious  memory,  who  held  him  in 
great  esteem."  Bishop  England  took  possession  of  that  new  See  on  the 
last  dav  of  1820,  so  our  search  for  the  needle  in  the  bundle  of  straw 
which  hadn't  it,  from  the  year  of  his  return  to  Ireland,  "on  a  visit  to 
his  native  city,  Cork,"  till  the  arrival  of  Father  McGowan,  is  brought 
down  to  a  pretty  fine  point  indeed  (a  point  of  time  wholh'  inadequate 
to  the  education  and  ordination  of  anybody)  by  this  valuable  letter, 
which  covers  every  inch  of  the  chronological  space  back  to  1831.  Will 
our  contemporaries  who  have  copied  that  fiction  for  histon'  be  good 
enough  to  make  the  amende  honorable  bj-  .sending  this  messenger  in 
pursuit. 

And  then  gives  also  the  following  notice : 

And  so  we  have  in  our  midst  to-day  a  colored  priest,  a 
native  American,  once  a  slave  and  the  son  of  slaves,  one  of  the  ante 
bellum  "four  millions'*  said  to  be  incapable  of  education,  moral  habits 
and  what  not,  upon  which  assumption  their  degradation  was  boldly 
justified;  no  hybrid,  but  the  genuine  article;  a  typical  Africo- American, 
the  very  one  of  all  others  we  long  to  see  chosen ;  not  your  ideal  octoroon 


446  MEN  OP  MARK. 

if  possible,  quadroon  at  the  most,  Caucasian  in  chiseling,  Seniitic  in 
coloring,  a  pinch-nosed,  thin-lipped  and  straight-haired  'Mook-at-me,*'  as 
if  picked  out  for  a  compromise  because  of  his  proboscis  and  not  of  his 
brains,  to  show  well  on  a  perch  with  that  degree  of  gamboge  which 
comes  nearest  to  whitewash  when  the  stubbles  are  removed,  and  he  slips 
out  like  a  peeled  onion,  spruce,  tidy,  oil-tongued,  a  "nice  young  man,** 
slippery  and  sanctimonious,  of  course.  Nothing  of  the  kind  is  Father 
Tolton,  as  our per&ct  facsimile  of  his  photograph  shows;  the  vivmi  and 
striking  likeness  of  a  solid  man,  true  as  steel,  without  a  shadow  of  prc^ 
tension,  well  up  in  his  sacred  duties,  able  to  converse  and  preach  in  more 
than  one  language,  humble  as  a  child,  boasting  of  his  African  blood,  and 
all  aglow  with  devotion  and  love  for  his  race.  As  he  passes  throngh  the 
streets  of  Quincy,  white  gentlemen  raise  their  hats,  and  priests  at  tahles 
take  back  seats  to  give  him  the  place  of  honor.  We  have  seen  it;  not^ 
once  or  twice,  but  almost  every  time — MANHOOD !  And  on  the  part  of 
the  laity,  what  a  plain  act  of  faith  in  the  power  and  wisdom  of  Christ's 
Spouse  on  earth,  which  can  and  wiV/ elevate  the  lowest  above  the  highest 
and  invest  him  with  a  dignity  above  that  of  the  greatest  earthly 
potentate! 


■.*. 


WILUAM  WELLS  BROMTN.  447 


Lvn. 

WILLIAM  WELLS  BROWN,  ESQ. 

Aiithpr— Lcctiire]>-|I]storian  of  the  Negro   Race— Foreign  Travel* 
Medical  Doctor. 

LEXINGTON,  Kentucky,  has  the  honor  of  giving  to 
the  world  one  of  the  most  illustrious  and  earnest 
men,  who  did  much  in  his  lifetime  to  distinguish  himself  as 
viell  as  to  make  known  the  virtues  of  the  race,  their  origin 
and  history,  and  marked  for  special  mention  a  few  of  its 
eminent  sons  and  daughters.  Bom  of  slave  parents  in 
1816,  he  was  in  youth  taken  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and 
was  hired  to  a  steamboat  captain.  After  a  year  or  so  he 
was  put  in  the  printing  office  of  Elijah  P.  Lovejoy.  Going 
off  on  a  steamboat,  he  escaped  North.  In  1834  he  took 
to  boating  again,  and  aided  many  a  slave  to  Kansas 
while  acting  as  a  steward.  In  1843  he  accepted  an  agency 
to  lecture  for  the  Anti-Slavery  Society  and  continued  his  la- 
bors in  connection  with  that  mission  until  1849,  when  he 
took  a  trip  to  England.  When  it  was  understood  that  he 
was  going  to  England,  the  American  Peace  Society  chose 
him  to  represent  them  at  the  Peace  Congress  held  in  Paris. 
The  executive  committee  of  the  American  Anti-Slavery 
Society  gave  him  strong  recommendations  to    distin- 


448  MEN  OF  MARK. 

guished  people  in  Britain.  He  set  sail  for  England,  July 
18,  1849;  arriving  at  Liverpool,  proceeded  at  once  to 
Dublin,  where  he  was  warmly  received  and  given  a  public 
welcome.  He  spent  many  years  in  Europe  and  had  con- 
siderable attention  paid  him.  He  was  an  admirable  pub- 
lic speaker,  and  charmed  large  audiences  at  the  Peace  Con- 
gress in  Paris  and  in  many  gatherings  in  London.  At 
this  congress  Victor  Hugo  presided  and  Richard  Cobden, 
Esq.,  and  such  distinguished  men  paid  him  flattering 
attention.  Mr.  Brown  is  known  as  an  author  and  lee* 
turer.  On  one  occasion  he  visited  his  native  State  to 
speak  in  both  of  the  National  associations  for  the  sup- 
port of  temperance,  and  on  the  schools  among  freedmen. 
After  holding  a  meeting  at*  Louisville  he  started  on  a  trip  to 
speak  at  Pleasureville  and  was  met  by  a  colored  man  who 
told  him  that  the  meeting  was  five  miles  in  the  country. 
Following  the  man,  they  started  to  walk  the  distance,  hav- 
ing waited  a  long  time  for  a  conveyance  that  was  said  to 
be  coming  for  them.  After  some  time  they  heard  horses  com- 
ing before  and  behind  them.  He  was  finally  captured  by  a 
number  of  Ku-Klux  and  carried  to  a  house  where  a  man, 
presumably  one  of  their  party,  was  afflicted  with  the  cfc- 
lirium  tremens.  The  doctor's  wit  not  forsaking  him,  he 
said  he  could  cure  the  man ;  that  he  was  a  dealer  in  the 
black  art  and  well  acquainted  with  the  devil.  Having  his 
doctor's  case  with  him,  he  asked  if  he  might  be  permitted 
to  go  into  a  room  byhimself  for  awhile,  which  was  granted. 
While  in  there  he  charged  his  syringe  with  a  solution  of 
acetate  of  morphia,  and  put  the  instrument  in  his  vest 
pocket.     Returning  to  the  room  he  requested  the  aid  of 


WULUAM  WELLS  BROWN.  449^ 

tliese  men  to  bold  the  sick  man  while  he  made  passes  upon 
him,  as  if  mesmerizing  him;  very  quickly  injecting  the 
solution  with  his  needle  syringe  into  the  man's  leg,  it  was 
but  a  short  time  before  he  was  quiet.  This  produced  a 
iTvonderful  impression  upon  them  and  saved  his  neck.  His 
power  having  already  been  displayed,  the  leader  of  the 
band,  who  was  called  "Cap,"  was  also  suffering  from  a 
pain  in  his  thigh.  The  doctor  offered  to  cure  him,  if  he 
would  retire  with  him  to  the  other  room,  which  was  done. 
While  in  there  he  injected  the  solution  into  **Cap"  who 
soon  fell  asleep.  All  but  one  went  away,  giving  him  but  a 
few  hours  to  live,  and  leaving  one  man,  who  was  full  of 
whiskey,  on  guard.  This  one  soon  fell  asleep  and  the 
woman  of  the  house  knowing  that  they  had  set  four 
o'clock  as  the  time  to  hang  the  doctor,  kindly  called  the 
dog  in,  which  the  doctor  had  been  wondering  how  to  dis- 
pose of,  and  told  him  to  leave,  which  the  doctor  was  not 
long  in  doing.  He  got  to  town  and  took  the  morning 
train  to  Louisville,  and  decided  never  to  return  to  that 
neighborhood  again. 

The  doctor  is  an  author  of  many  books,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  *  Sketches  of  Places  and  People  Abroad,' 
published  in  1854 ;  a  drama  entitled  a  '  Doe  Face ; '  the 

*  Escape  or  Leap  for  Freedom ; '  *  The  Black  Man, '  published 
in  1863,  which  ran  through  ten  editions  in  three  years, 

*  Clotelle,'  a  romance  founded  on  fact,  one  of  the  most  thrill- 
ing that  was  ever  written,  the  *  Negro  in  the  Rebellion,' 
published  in  1866;  *The  Rising  Sun'  in  1874,  and  numer- 
ous other  works.  In  this  last  work  he  has  given  a  sketch 
of  the  race  beginning  with  the  Ethiopians  and  Egyptians, 


450  HBN  OF  MARK. 

describing  the  slave-trade  of  Hayti  and  the  repttblic  of 
Liberia;  John  Brown's  raid  on  Harper's  Ferry;  proclama- 
tion of  Freedom;  the  blacks  enlisted  in  battle;  the  aboli- 
tionists and  representative  men  of  the  race.  His  services 
to  the  race  cannot  be  estimated.  Few  men  have  done  as 
much  by  their  writings  as  he  to  elevate  and  instrudl  his 
people.  His  books  were  very  extensively  read  and  brought 
quite  a  large  sum  of  money,  many  of  them  running  through 
more  than  ten  editions. 


WALTER  F.  CRAIG.  451 


LVIII. 

PROFESSOR  WALTER  F.  CRAIG. 

Solo  Violinist — Orchestra  Conductor. 

HE  was  bom  in  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  December  20, 
1854.  His  parents,  Charies  A.  and  Sarah  E.  Craig, 
moved  to  New  York  City  in  1861,  where  he  entered  the 
Grammar  schbol  No.  4,  Mrs.  S.  J.  S.  Garnet,  principal.  He 
graduated  in  1869.  He  was  always  apt  and  smart 
in  school.  He  was  especially  bright  in  mathematics, 
grammar,  history,  drawing,  etc.,  and  was  the  leading 
singer  of  the  school.  He  commenced  the  study  of  violin 
playing  and  music  in  1868,  and  made  his  debut  before  a 
New  York  audience  as  a  violinist  at  a  concert  in  Cooper 
Union  in  1870.  From  that  time  he  rapidly  improved,  and 
organized  the  orchestra  known  as  **Craig*s  Orchestra'*  in 
18"/ 2.  He  then  gradually  worked  his  way  to  the  rank  of  a 
first-class  musician  and  conductor,  and  now  enjo^^s  the 
honoi  of  being  the  representative  colored  violin  soloist  and 
musical  director  of  the  race.  His  orchestra  is  quoted  as 
being  second  to  none,  and  his  fame  as  a  soloist  extends 
throughout  the  entire  United  States  and  also  some  foreign 
countries.    He  has  performed  and  conducted  in  all  the 


452  MEN  OF  MARK. 

principal  cities,  such  as  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Brooklyn^ 
Providence,    Newport,    New     York,    Trenton,   Scranton, 
Pennsylvania;  Wilkesbarre,  Pennsylvania;  Washington, 
D.  C;  and  Baltimore,  Maryland;  and  all  through  the 
States  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut  and  other 
New   England   States.     He  has  appeared   in   the   most 
prominent  concerts  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  with  all 
the  greatest  colored  talent,  such  as  Madame  Selika,  Mrs. 
Nelly   Brown    Mitchell,    Adelaide   G.   Smith   and    Flora 
Batson ;  and  with  such  eminent  male  voices  as  Mr.  L.  L. 
Brown,  the  famous  basso ;  Mr.  William  I.  Powell,  the  cele- 
brated baritone  and   humorist;    Thomas  Chestnut,  the 
famous  tenor.    Mr.  Craig  is  also  a  composer  of  music,  and 
has  given  great    attention  to  harmony  under  the  best 
teacher  in  this  country,  Mr.  C.  C.  Muller,  a  German.    He 
has  a  large  number  of  compositions,  and  has  arranged 
music  in  every  form,  both  vocal  and  instrumental,  and  is 
concert  master  of  the  Mendelssohn  School  of  Music,  and  is 
the  first  and  only  colored  conductor  who  is  a  member  of 
the  Musical  Mutual  Protective  Union  of  New  York  City, 
of  which  such  men  as  T.  S.  Gilmore,  Dr.  Damrosch,  Cappa 
and  Theo.  Thomas  are  associate  members.    His  orchestra 
and  himself  are  unrivaled  at  present  in  the  country.    He  is 
also  a  manager  of  some  repute  in  New  York  City,  and  has 
given  and  managed  some  of  the  most  noted  musical  affairs 
ever  put  upon  the  stage  in  the  great  metropolis.    When  he 
appeared  in  Lexington  Avenue  opera  house,  October  29, 
1886,  the  New  York  Freeman  said  of  this  distinguished 
musician : 


WILUAM  F.  CRAIG.  453 

Professor  William  F.  Craig,  the  young  prince  of  Negro  violinists, 
monnted  the  elevated  platform  and  waved  his  bow  over  the  twenty 
mnsicians,  and  his  enthusiastic  admirers  let  forth  a  perfect  storm  of 
applause.  The  music  was  of  the  very  best,  and  judging  from  the  con- 
stant applause  the  musical  appetites  of  the  audience  could  not  be  easily 
appeased. 

*  When  he  appeared  in  Steinway  Hall,  January  20,  1887, 
the  New  York  Herald  said : 

Mr.  W.  F.  Craig,  the  violinist,  is  well  known  to  New  York  audiences 
as  a  perfect  master  of  his  instrument.    His  performances  of  the  '*  Pan- 
taisie  of  Faust"  and  **De  Bcriot's  Seventh  Air  Varie"  were  marked  by 
,  exquisite  harmony,  firm  yet  delicate.  ^ 

September  20,  1886,  the  New  York  World  pays  a  com- 
pliment to  Mr.  Craig  as  follows : 

Walter  F.  Craig,  who  is  from  home  visiting  a  sick  relative,  is  the 
musician  of  the  race.  He  was  the  first  colored  man  who  ioined  the 
Musicians*  Protective  Union  of  this  city.  He  is  a  composer  and  violinist 
and  leads  an  orchestra  reputed  good. 

He  is  about  twenty-seven  years  old,  and  was  graduated 
from  the  Seventeenth  Street  Grammar  school.  His 
orchestra  furnished  the  music  for  the  grand  dramatic 
festival  and  full  dr^ss  ball  at  the  time  when  Mr.  J.  A. 
Ameaux  appeared  in  the  complete  cast  as  Richard  HI, 
October  29,  1886,  at  Lexington  Avenue  opera  house. 

It  can  be  seen  from  these  testimonials  that  Mr.  Craig  has 
a  reputation  that  is  not  without  a  true  basis.  Ranking 
very  high  in  the  scale  of  musical  eminence. 


454  MEN  OF  MARK. 


I 


LIX. 
REV.  CHARLES  L.  PURGE,  A.  B. 

President  of  the  Selma  University,  Selma,  Alabama. 

N  1856,  at  Charleston,  South    Carolina,  Mrs.  Ellen 


Puree,  the  wife  of  William  Puree,  gave  birth  to  Charles 
L.  Puree,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His  mother  was  a 
slave  and  his  father  hired  her  time  in  order  that  she  might 
be  able  to  live  with  him.  In  youth  Mr.  Puree  had  very 
many  trials  and  hardships,  consequent  upon  his  parents' 
poverty.  At  fourteen  he  learned  a  trade.  In  1875  he  was 
converted  and  immersed  by  the  Rev.  Jacob  Lagare.  In 
1,878  and  '79,  he  attended  Benedict  Institute,  under  the 
tuition  of  Rev.  Lewis  Colby,  D.  D.,  and  graduated  from 
the  Richmond  Seminary  after  four  years*  study  under  the 
teaching  of  Rev.  Charles  H.  Corey,  D.  D.  His  class  num- 
bered fourteen.  Two  of  that  number  went  to  Africa  as 
missionaries,  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Coles  and  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Pres- 
ley. After  graduation,  in  1883,  he  held  the  pastorate  of  a 
large  church  of  eleven  hundred  members  at  Society  Hill, 
South  Carolina,  which  he  resigned  to  accept  the  chair  of 
Greek  and  Latin  at  the  Selma  University,  at  Selma,  Ala- 
bama, November,  1886.  Since  his  graduation  he  has 
studied  Hebrew,  and  taken  a  supplementary  Greek  course 


CHARLES  L.  PURGE.  455 

throtigh  the  Correspondence  Bureau.  He  is  a  hard  stu- 
dent, and  has  made  it  the  aim  of  his  life  to  be  always 
studying  and  learning  a  portion  of  his  time  every  day. 
His  motto  is  naturally '  *  Dies  Sine  Linea, ' '  The  most  of  his 
education  he  paid  for  himself  by  hard  work,  both  in  and  out 
of  school  and  often  consoled  himself  with  the  thought  that  if 
he  could,  with  the  many  hardships  which  he  had,  he  ^ould 
educate  himself.  Surely  many  of  those  young  people  who 
have  more  opportunities  need  not  stay  away  from  school 
or  fall  short  of  equipping  themselves  for  life's  battles.  He 
delivered  the  Baccolaureate  sermon  at  Lincoln  Normal 
University,  the  State  Normal,  at  Marion,  Alabama,  June, 
1884.  It  was  the  best  ever  delivered  there.  The  ch^- 
man  of  the  board  complimented  him  by  saying  it  was 
"Bullion*^  Grammar,"  meaning  thereby  that  it  was  a 
specimen  of  grammatical  and  literary  excellence.  He  has 
a  wife  and  one  child.  He  was  married  in  Philadel- 
phia, by  the  Rev.  William  C.  Dennis,  January  7,  1885. 
On  the  resignation  of  E.  M.  Brawley,  D.  D.,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  presidency  of  the  Selma  University  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  the  board,  which  was  endorsed  unani- 
mously by  the  General  Convention  of  the  Baptists  of  the 
State  of  Alabama.  The  position  which  he  now  holds 
gives  assurance  of  a  wide  field  of  extended  usefulness  both 
for  himself  and  for  the  university.  He  is  a  man  of  strictly 
temperate  habits,  very  quiet  in  his  demeanor,  earnest  in 
his  purposes  and  devoted  to  the  causes  which  ought  to  be 
of  interest  to  all.  He  has  good  influence  over  the  students 
who  admire  him  for  the  perseverance  with  which  he  has 
risen  from  poverty  to  a  position  of  influence  and  useful- 


456  MEN  OP  MARK. 

'  ness.    His  life  ought  to  be  a  lesson  to  every  student.    It 
^  ought  to  be  an  inspiration  to  every  poor  boy  and  none 
need  despair.    Though  the  road  be  hard,  there  is  hope  for 
all  as  is  proven  by  the  career  of  Mr  Puree.    His  scholastic 
'  habits,  sound  judgment  and  diligent  application  to  busi- 
'  ness  gives  assurances  of  a  magnificent  future.    Let  Ala- 
bama take  pride  in  her  distinguished  president  who  shall 
preside  over  the  destinies  of  many  of  her  future  sons  and 
daughters. 


CHAS.  ;.,  I'UKL'E. 


ALBXANDBR  DUMAS.  457 


LX. 
ALEXANDER  DUMAS. 

Distinguished  French  Negro  —  Dramatist  and   Novelist  —  Voluminotis 
Writer. 

VERY  few  colored  people  know  Alexander  Dumas  as 
one  of  the  family,  not  being  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  absence  of  colorphobia  in  foreign  countries.  He 
has  become  so  distinguished  that  his  name  enters  into  £he 
ranks  of  the  literati  without  question  as  to  color,  and  no 
one  asks  what  his  color  is,  but  simply  refers  to  his  works. 
The  prolific  French  novelist  and  dramatist  was  the  son  of 
Alexander,  who  was  himself  the  son  of  Marquis  Davy  de 
la  Pailleterie  and  a  Negro  girl,  Louisa  Dumas  of  San 
Domingo.  The  mother  of  Dumas  was  named  Marie 
LaBouret,  an  innkeeper's  daughter,  who  was  very  fair, 
and  it  is  a  fact  that  some  of  the  most  tender  and  touching 
lines  of  his  memoirs  are  those  which  refer  to  the  boyhood 
days  when  she  cared  for  him.  It  is  truly  remarkable  what 
part  the  mothers  play  in  the  history  of  men's  lives.  It  is 
said  that  the  father  of  Demosthenes  was  a  blacksmith; 
Euripides,  a  dealer  in  vegetables;  Socrates,  a  mediocre 
sculptor ;  Columbus,  a  woolcarder ;  Shakespeare,  a 
butcher;    Cromwell,  a  brewer;    and  of  Linneus,  a  poor 


458  MEN  OF  MAJIK. 

country  minister ;  but  the  greatness  of  these  men  has  been 
accorded  by  those  who  speak  of  them,  to  the  gentility  of 
their  mothers.  ; 

The  family  was  very  poor,  and  about  1823  he  entered 
Paris,  where  he  was  destined  to  do  such  marvelous  literary 
work  as  would  astonish  its  citizens.  By  looking  at  several 
authorities,  there  seems  to  be  a  difference  of  opinion  as  ta 
what  is  bad  among  his  writings,  but  it  does  not  materially 
interfere  with  the  facts,  and  does  not,  therefore,  play  much 
part  in  what  I  am  about  to  say.  At  fifteen  he  was  a 
clerk ;  at  eighteen  he  began  writing ;  he  wrote  much,  but 
at  first  received  no  praise  nor  compensation  for  his  work, 
but  in  1826,  when  he  was  only  twenty-four  years  old,  his 
fame  as  an  author  began  with  the  'Novelles.'  In  1829  he 
put  on  the  stage  an  historical  play  ** Henry  III, etsacoi/r/^ 
which  met  the  sharpest  shafts  of  the  critics  because  he  dis- 
regarded all  the  stage  proprieties  of  the  times,  but  gained 
the  applause  of  the  populace  and  brought  thousands  to 
his  purse.  The  Duke  of  Orleans  led  the  applause,  and  so 
pleased  and  interested  was  he  in  this  play  when  put  upon 
the  stage  that  he  appointed  Dumas  as  his  librarian. 

Dumas  was  now  on  the  topmost  wave  of  success.  His 
best  known  works  are  *  Les  Trois,  *  *  The  Three  Musketeers,  * 
in  eight  volumes,  'Monte  Christo,'  twelve  volumes,  and 
*Le  Reine  MargQt,'  six  volumes.  Much  of  his  literature  is 
classed  as  immoral.  It  might  be  considered  immoral  in 
America,  but  certainly  is  not  considered  so  in  France, 
and  perhaps  the  times  in  which  he  lived  had  something  to 
do  with  the  character  of  his  writings.  Whatever  may  be 
said  of  him,  his  name  cannot  be  omitted  from  the  triumphs 


K 


ALEXANDER  DUMAS.  45i^ 

of  literature.  It  is  said  that  his  name  is  attached  to  over 
t^^'-dve  hundred  separate  works.  Says  the  *  American 
Encryclopedia ': 


1846  he  made  a  contract  to  furnish  two  newspapers  with  an 

It  nf  mail— lipt  nqiinl  to  maty  voluuro  a  jnear,  and  this  exclusive 

plays  and  other  productions.    Such  fecundity  raised  the  question 

'vvla^'ther  he  was  really  the  author  of  the  books  attached  to  his  name.    A 

la'^'w^roit  in  which  he  was  involved  in  1847  with  the  contractors  of  the 

I^rrc^seand  Constitutionnely  brought  to  light  the  fact  that  he  had  engaged 

to  'fYarnish  these  jottmals  with  more  volumes  than  a  rapid  penman  could 

cveaA  copy.    But  though  he  made  liberal  use  of  the  talents  of  assistants, 

^^  crl  aimed  sufficient  share  in  the  j^an  and  execution  of  all  the  work  to 

m£i.lce  it  truly  his  own^  and  the  judicial  decision  finaUy  supported  his 

ol&iix].   Herein  the  generosity  of  Dumas  is  shown,  for  it  was  his  custom 

^rlieveyer  a  poor  author  with  no  reputation  desired  his  assistance  he 

^^^n  gave  him  a  plot,  drawing  all  the  outlines  and  scenes,  and  permitted 

Mtn  to  work  it  up,  after  which  Dtmias  put  his  name  to  it  and  the  poor 

anther  reaped  the  pecuniary  benefit.    There  is  another  Dumas,  the  son 

®f  the  distinguished  dramatist,  now  living  in  France,  who  was  bom  July 

^^*  1824,  and  who  has  inherited  some  of  his  father's  talent.    He  was 

^^^ed  a  member  of  the  French  Academy  in  1875.    He  is  the  result  of  a 

"'On    between  his  father  and  Ida  Ferrier,  an  actress  of  Porte  Saint 

'Martin  in  1842. 

^ketches  of  all  three   Dumas   will   be  found   in    vari- 
ous  places,  but  of  the  father  of  this  younger  Dumas  see 
^    *  American  Encyclopedia,*  *  Encyclopedia  Britannica,' 
^^^xnber's  Encyclopedia,'  and  a  sketch  of  the  *Life  and 

AH 

^''^ntures  of  Alexander  Dumas,'  b}^  Perry  Fitzgerald,  in 
1873. 


/ 


-4^0  MEN  OF  MARK. 


LXl. 

REV.  WILLIAM  REUBEN  PETTIFORD. 

A  Successful  Pastor— Trustee  of  Selma  Universitj. 

THIS  popular  and  influential  pastor  deserves  mentio^ 
for  the  trouble  he  has  had  to  overcome  and  m; 


his  life  successful.    Hard,  persevering  labor  and  stroi 
faith  in  the  Almighty  has  wrought  miracles  for  him, 
through  him  many  things.    He  was  bom  in  North  Cax"< 
lina,  Granville  county,  January  20,  1847.     His  pareni 
William  and  Matilda  Pettiford,  were  free,  and  consequeni 
he  followed  the  condition  of  his  parents,  and  was 
While  a  boy,  he  had  little  opportunity  more  than 
a  few  lessons  on  Saturdays  and  Sundays ;  at  ten  years  oi 
age  he  could  read  very  well.    His  parents  sold  their  li"ttl« 
farm  and  removed  to  Person  county.  North   Carolina^ 
where  he  had  the  benefit  of  private  instruction,  by  which  B, 
fair  knowledge  of  the  common  branches  was  obtaiiie€3. 
Being  the  oldest  child,  a  part  of  the  burdens  of  the  family 
were  placed  on  his  shoulders ;  but  all  the  time  he  continaec) 
his  studies  and  would  get  help  here  and  there  froxavsAi" 
viduals.     The  rigorous  duties  of  the  farm  were  indeed  ^ 
heavy  task,  but,  nothing   daunted,  only  served  as  th^ 


WILrUAM  REUBEN  PETTIFORD.  461 

means  to  rise  in  the  hands  of  this  struggling  young  man. 

Those  days  seem  now  as  many  of  the  best;  they  toughened 

his  muscles,  gave  him  confidence  and  patience.    With  all 

this  he  has  become  an  ambitious  and  hard  working  min- 

(  'ster.     Converted  July  4,  1868,  and  baptized  August  3, 

1868,  by  Ezekiel  Horton,  in  Salisbury,  North  Carolina, 

that  life  was  begun  which  made  of  the  rude  farmer  boy 

^  apostle  of  Christ  and  an  upright,  honest  man.     Soon 

^"C  place  of  clerk  to  the  Pleasant  Grove  church  of  which 

'^^  Was  a  member  was  vacant,  and  he  was  elected  to  the 

vacancy  by  unanimous  vote.    July  4,  1869;  the  young 

nian  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Jane  Farley,  daughter  of 

Joseph  Farley. 

Scarcity  of  business  forced  him  to  change  his  place  of 

'^idence  from  North  Carolina  to  Selma,  Alabama,  Decem- 

^^^r,  3,  1869,  w^here  his  knowledge  of  farming  and  books 

secured  him  work  near  Uniontown,  not  only  as  a  farm 

'^^.nd  but  as  a  teacher.    Affliction  came  to  him  in  the  loss 

^f  the  partner  of  his  bosom  on  March  8,  1870,  only  about 

eight  months  of  married  life  having  been  enjoyed.     This 

"^ermined  his  course  in  getting  further  education ;  with  a 

^^^nder  purse  but  strong  arms  and  a  full  heart,  he  entered 

tii^   State  Normal  school  at  Marion,  Alabama,  and  re- 

^^ined  seven  years,  teaching  in  vacations  to  secure  the 

^^^^«ssary  means  to  pay  expenses  the  following  year.    Once 

^^^ess  came  on  and  the  term  opening,  found  no  money  on 

*^^^^d  with  which  to  commence;  but  nothing  daunted,  a 

J'^Id  of  work  was  sought ;  a  garden  was  found  in  which  he 

^^C)rked  hard  two  and  a  half  hours  before  and  after  school 

^^  ten  cents  an  hour.     This  enabled  him  to  get  through 


-dft^  MBN  OF  MARK. 

jiuMliql  dollars-    His  fiiist  effort  was  direAed  to  canceliiig 


id  creAmg  a  building  suitable  to  present  needs 
jBii  CO  fbtnre  growth.    This  was  a  work  of  no  light  un- 

Being  cordially  received  by  all  classes  of  citi- 
he  was  much  encouraged  in  the  work.  By  August, 
ISi^  tlK  indebtedness  was  all  paid  off,  and  a  building 
mud  raised.  August  18,  the  first  stone  for  the  new 
^uuiclure  was  laid,  and  on  the  ninth  of  November  services 
w«re  held  in  it.  The  collection  on  that  day  amounted  to  a 
large  sum.  The  building  is  large,  being  40x80,  and  sub- 
$canttally  built»  and  when  completed  will  prove  an  orna- 
ment to  the  architeftural  beauty  of  the  city.  Up  to  the 
pre:$ent  writing  there  has  been  seven  thousand  dollars 
paid  upon  the  property,  and  on  account  of  the  recent  rise 
iu  property  in  Birmingham,  the  building  could  not  be  pur- 
cfaaiseil  iu  its  present  localitj"  for  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars.  The  total  membership  of  the  church  is  now  four 
hundred  and  twenty-five. 

His  family  consists  of  wife  and  three  children.  His  wife 
is  a  lady  of  education,  fiiU  of  energy  and  push,  and  in  all 
hi*  labors  contributes  very  largely  by  way  of  encourage- 
lueut  and  material  help.  At  present  he  is  president  of  the 
Miiusterial  Association  in  Birmingham,  and  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  trustee  board  of  Selma  University;  president 
^.vt'  the  Negro  American  Publishing  Company,  publishing 
the  Acyro  Anwrknn  Journal  of  that  city. 

Materially  he  has  prospered ;  the  wonderful  growth  of 
that  city  and  rapid  advancement  in  the  price  of  real  estate 
have  benefited  him  so  that  his  property  on  Sixteenth 
tircct  is  valued  at  eight  thousand  dollars.    Besides  this 


WILLIAM  REUBEN  PETTIFORD.  463 

Springs,  Alabama.  November  23,  1880,  he  was  again 
married,  to  Miss  Delia  Boyd,  a  daughter  of  Richard  and 
Caroline  Boyd  of  Selma,  Alabama. 

He  received  a  letter  of  dismission  from  the  First  Baptist 
chnrch  of  Marion,  Alabama,  and   united  with   the   St. 
Philips  Street  Baptist  church,  at  whose  request  he  was 
ordained  to  the   Gospel   ministry,  November  21,  1880. 
Rev.  W.  A.  Burch,  then  pastor,  j)reached  the  ordination 
sermon;  Rev.  W.  H.  McAlpine  gave  the  charge.     These 
took  part  also  with  Revs.  H.  Stevens  and  John  Dozier  in 
the  laying  on  of  the  hands  after  a  rigid  examination,  as- 
sisted by  Brother  H.  Woodsmall.     He  then  moved   to 
Union  Springs,  and  here  his  first  work  was  to  release  a 
church  of  a  large  debt  and  to  repair  and  refit  the  edifice. 
The  membership  also  was  largely  increased.    At  this  place 
his  first  heir,  Carry  Bell  Pettiford,  was  bom,  September 
22,  1882.    During  this  time  he  continued  pursuing  the 
study  of  theology  under  private  tuition  and  was  principal 
of  the  city  school.    On  the  last  Sabbath  of  February, 
3.883,  he  resigned  this  charge  to  accept  a  call  to  the  Six- 
"^eenth  Street  church  at  Birmingham,  being  urged  to  ac- 
pt  it  by  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  State,  who 
presented  to  him  that  he  could  render  the  best  service  to 
^he  church  in  the  larger  field  which  this  great  progressive 
-city  afforded.    The  church  at  Union  Springs  refused  to 
accept  his  resignation,  and  the  pulpit  was  not  perma- 
nently filled  until  the  year  after.    When  he  took  charge  in 
Birmingham,  there  was  only  a  membership  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty,  and  the  church  was  holding  services  in  a 
down-town  store  room ;  while  the  debt  amounted  to  five 


\ 


WILLIAM  REUBEN  PETTIFORD.  465 

he  has  half  interest  in  another  piece  of  real  estate  of  which 
the  total  valuation  is  placed  at  twenty  thousand  dollars. 
The  reverend  gentleman  has  always  so  comported  himself 
as  to  gain  the  recommendation  of  the  State  officials  and  of 
all  with  whom  he  associates.  Of  him  Brother.  H.  Wood- 
small  says,  in  a  letter  of  recormmendation  to  the  American 
Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  : 

I  take  special  pleasure  in  commending  Rev.  W.  R.  Pettiford,  pastor  of 
the  Colored  Baptist  church,  Birmingham,  as  a  minister  worthy  of  the 
Christian  regard  and  confidence  of  all  whom  it  may  concern.  I  have 
i^noiK'n  him  during  the  past  eight  years;  he  was  assistant  teacher  and  a 
^upil  in  the  Alabama  Baptist  Normal  Theological  school  at  Selma 
ibout  three  years,  during  the  time  I  had  charge  of  that  institution.  He 
vas  for  quite  awhile  financial  agent  of  the  school  and  collected  a  large 
Linount  of  money.  He  not  only  made  a  successful  agent  but  faithfully 
tccounted  for  all  monies  collected.  He  was  equally  faithful  as  a  mission- 
ary, and  I  have  always  found  him  a  man  of  admirable  spirit,  as  well  as 
ftonest  and  trustworthy.  His  influence  can  but  be  good  in  any  commu- 
nity where  he  may  labor.  I  regard  it  as  a  specially  fortunate  thing  for 
-he  Baptist  cause  that  he  is  pastor  of  one  of  the  leading  churches  in' 
Birmingham  at  this  time. 

No  man  in  the  United  States  has  better  means  of  know- 
ing  the  general  worth  of  Southern  ministers  than  the 
brother  who  writes  the  above  letter.  He  has  lectured  to 
more  colored  ministers  in  the  South  in  any  one  year  than 
perhaps  any  other  Southern  missionary  has  in  any  five 
years,  and  his  testimony  is  acceptable  in  every  district  in 
the,  South  where  he  has  labored. 


WILLIAM  REUBEN  PETTIFORD.  465 

he  has  half  interest  in  another  piece  of  real  estate  of  which 
the  total  valuation  is  placed  at  twenty  thousand  dollars. 
The  reverend  gentleman  has  always  so  comported  himself 
as  to  gain  the  recommendation  of  the  State  officials  and  of 
all  with  whom  he  associates.  Of  him  Brother.  H.  Wood- 
small  says,  in  a  letter  of  recormmendation  to  the  American 
Baptist  Home  Mission  Society : 

I  take  special  pleasure  in  commending  Rev.  W.  R.  Pettiford,  pastor  of 
the  Colored  Baptist  church,  Birmingham,  as  a  minister  worthy  of  the 
Christian  regard  and  confidence  of  all  whom  it  may  concern.  I  have 
known  him  daring  the  past  eight  years ;  he  was  assistant  teacher  and  a 
pupil  in  the  Alabama  Baptist  Normal  Theological  school  at  Selma 
about  three  years,  during  the  time  I  had  charge  of  that  institution.  He 
was  for  quite  awhile  financial  agent  of  the  school  and  collected  a  large 
amount  of  money.  He  not  only  made  a  successful  agent  but  faithfully 
accounted  for  all  monies  collected.  He  was  equally  faithful  as  a  mission- 
ary, and  I  have  always  found  him  a  man  of  admirable  spirit,  as  well  as 
honest  and  trustworthy.  His  influence  can  but  be  good  in  any  commu- 
nity where  he  may  labor.  I  regard  it  as  a  specially  fortunate  thing  for 
the  Baptist  cause  that  he  is  pastor  of  one  of  the  leading  churches  in" 
Birmingham  at  this  time. 

No  man  in  the  United  States  has  better  means  of  know- 
ing the  general  worth  of  Southern  ministers  than  the 
brother  who  writes  the  above  letter.  He  has  lectured  to 
more  colored  ministers  in  the  South  in  any  one  year  than 
perhaps  any  other  Southern  missionary  has  in  any  five 
years,  and  his  testimony  is  acceptable  in  every  district  in 
the  South  where  he  has  labored. 


466  MEN  OF  MARK. 


LXII. 

HON.  ROBERT  B.  ELLIOTT. 

Congressman — Eloquent  Orator — Distinguished  Disciple  of  Blackstone. 

THE  most  scholarly  Negro  in  any  of  the  United  States 
Congresses  was  the  Hon.  Robert  Brown  Elliott. 
His  fame  has  been  heralded  to  all  quarters  of  the  globe. 
He  was  a  man  of  ability  and  unqt^estionable  intelligence. 
His  eloquence  and  logic  carried  his  hearers  into  transports 
of  joy,  and  swept  his  enemies  before  him  like  chaff  before 
the  wind.  South  Carolina  sent  more  Congressmen  to 
Washington  than  any  Southern  State  —  Rainey,  Ransier, 
Smalls,  Cain,  DeLarge  —  but  Elliott  was  easily  chief  in 
learning,  knowledge  of  law  and  the  arts  of  debate. 

This  distinguished  lawyer,  orator  and  member  of  the 
United  States  House  of  Representatives,  was  bom  in 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  August  11,  1842.  His  parents 
were  West  Indians  who  had  settled  in  this  country.  While 
a  boy,  he  attended  private  school  in  his  native  city. 
Shortly  after  this  he  was  sent  to  the  Island  of  Jamaica, 
where  he  had  superior  advantages  in  the  grammar  schools. 
Thence  he  was  sent  to  England,  and  in  1853  he  entered 
High  Holbon  Academy,  London.  Three  years  later  he 
was  admitted  to  the  celebrated  Eton,  one  of  the  colleges 


ROBERT  B.  ELLIOTT.  467 

of  the  University  of  London,  from  which  he  graduated 
wth  high  rank  in  1859.    Adopting  the  law  as  a  profession, 
he  began  study  under  Sergeant  Fitz  Herbert  of  the  London 
bar.    He  soon  returned  to  the  United  States  and  began 
the  foundation  of  that  illustrious  career  which  made  him 
the  centre  of  attraction.    His  eminent  teachers,  travels  in 
Ireland, Scotland^South  America  and  the  West  Indies,  had 
broadened  his  views  of  life  and  ripened  his  understanding. 
Choosing  South  Carolina  as  his  home,  he  commenced  his 
life  work  there  as  a  printer  on  the  Charleston  Leader,  which 
afterwards  became  the  Missionary  Record,  owned  by  the 
lamented  and  eminent  Bishop  R.  H.  Cain,  D.  D.    Soon  Mr. 
Elliott  became  editor,  and  his  powers  were  shown  in  the 
masterly  articles  he  produced.    When  Congress  began  the 
reconstruction  of  the  South,  Elliott's  eloquence  and  wis- 
dom was  in  demand  in  South  Carolina.    He  was  elected 
to  the  convention  from  the  Edgefield  district.  For  fourteen 
days  after  the  Constitutional  Convention  had  met,  he  said 
not  a  word.     This  was  his  first  public  service  under  the 
election  of  the  people,  but  when  he  did  speak,  it  was  the 
xnaking  of  him.    After  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  he 
"was  elected  from  Barnwell  county  to  the  Lower  House  of 
^he  State  Legislature,  serving  from  July  6,  1868,  to  Oc- 
-tober  23,  1870.    The  governor  of  the  State  appointed  him 
assistant  adjutant-general  of  the  State,  March  25,  1869, 
which  he  held  until  elected  a  representative  fi-om  South 
Carolina   to  the   Forty-second  Congress   of  the  United 
States  as  a  Republican,  receiving  20,564  votes  against 
13,997  votes  for  J.  E.  Bacon,  a  Democrat.  He  served  until 
March  4,  1871,  when  he  resigned.    During  this  session  he 


468  MEN  OF  MARK. 

made  a  most  excellent  impfession  on  the  countrj" ;  nailed 
Beck,  the  member  from  Kentucky,  to  the  wall,  tingled  the 
ears  of  Harris  from  Virginia,  sent  the  following  shaft  full 
in  the  face  of  Alexander  Stephens  and  drove  him  from  the 
House.    Said  he : 

I  meet  him  only  as  an  adversary,  nor  shall  age  or  any  other  consider- 
ation restrain  me  from  saying  that  he  now  offers  this  government,  which 
he  has  done  his  utmost  to  destroy,  a  very  poor  return  for  its  magnani- 
mous treatment,  to  come  here  to  seek  to  continue,  by  the  assertion  of 
doctrines  obnoxious  to  the  true  principles  of  our  government,  the  bur- 
dens and  oppressions  which  rests  upon  five  millions  of  his  countrymen, 
who  never  fail  to  lift  their  earnest  prayers  for  the  success  of  this  govern- 
ment, when  the  gentleman  was  seeking  to  break  up  the  union  of  their 
States,  and  to  blot  the  American  Republic  from  the  galaxy  of  nations. 

I  will  give  a  passage  taken  from  a  very  fine  **  Eulogy  on 
the  Life  and  Public  Services  of  R.  B.  Elliott,*'  delivered  by 
Professor  D.  A.  Straker,  LL.  D.,  Columbia,  South  Caro- 
lina, September  24,  1884.  Mr.  Straker  was  formerly  a 
law  partner  of  Mr.  Elliott,  and  is  competent  to  speak  of 
his  life : 

There  was  none  abler  to  defend  the  rights  of  the  Negro  race  against 
the  opposition  of  Georgia's  famous  son  than  Robert  Brown  Elliott.  This 
legislative  battle  for  equal  rights  was  an  event  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States — nay,  of  the  world — never  before  witnessed.  There  stood 
in  the  halls  of  Congress  the  representatives  of  divergent  principles  and 
conflicting  ideas  about  human  rights.  There  stood  slavery  and  freedom, 
the  advocates  of  rights  for  the  white  man  only  and  the  advocate  of  equal 
rights  for  all  citizens  before  the  law.  Face  to  face  stood  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  the  undoubted  African.  The  issue  was  before  them ;  the  contest 
began.  Mr.  Stephens  was  brought  in  the  House  in  the  accustomed 
manner— in  his  chair.  He  was  even  in  such  a  condition  looked  upon  as  a 
giant  among  the  Democratic  Philistines.  He  severely  arraigned  the  con- 
stitutionality of  the  Civil  Rights  bill  and  its  policy,  as  did  Mr.  Beck  of 


ROBERT  B.  EJ.LIOTT.  469 

KentQckj  and  Mr.  Harris  of  Virginia,  who  indulged  in  great  bitter- 
ness of  speech..  At  the*  dose  of  Mr.  Stephens*  speech  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, now  filled  in  every  possible  manner  with  United  States 
Senators,  who  had  suspended  their  labors  to  witness  this  sight,  foreign 
ministers,  judges,  lawyers,  clergymen,  s'-ientists,  authors  and  the  laity 
innumerable,  all  were  there  to  witness  the  political  miracle,  and  if  God 
was  God  to  worship  Him,  and  if  Baal  was  God  to  worship  him. ,  Eager 
eyes  were  fixed,  doubting  hearts  pulsated  with  accelerated  motion,  when 
at  last  Mr.  Elliott  arose  and  in  reply  to  Mr.  Stephens,  said:  "Mr. 
Speaker:  Whik  I  am.  sincerely  grateful  for  the  high  mark  of  courtesy  that 
has  been  accorded  me  by  this  House,  it  is  a  matter  of  regret  to  mc  that 
it  is  necessary  at  this  day  that  I  should  rise  in  the  presence  of  an  AmeH' 
can  Congress  to  advocate  a  bill  which  simply  asserts  rights  and  equal 
privileges  for  all  classes  of  American  citizens.  I  regret,  sir,  that  the  dark 
hue  of  my  skin  may  lend  a  color  to  the  imputation  that  I  am  controlled 
by  motives  personal  to  myself  in  my  advocacy  of  this  great  measure  of 
natural  justice.  Sir,  the  motive  that  impels  me  is  restricted  by  no  such 
narrow  boundary,  but  is  as  broad  as  your  Constitution.  I  advocate  it, 
«ir,  because  it  is  right.  The  bill,  however,  not  only  appeals  to  your 
justice  but  it  demands  a  response  to  3'our  gratitude.  In  the  events  that 
led  to  the  achievement  of  American  independence,  the  Negro  was  not  an 
inactive  or  unconcerned  spectator.  He  bore  his  part  bravely  upon  many 
battlefields,  although  uncheered  by  that  certain  hope  of  political  elevation 
^which  victory  would  secure  to  the  white  man.  The  tall  granite  shaft,  which 
a  gratified  State  has  reared  above  its  sons  who  fell  in  defending  FortGris- 
wold  against  the  attack  of  Benedict  Arnold,  Ijears  the  name  of  John 
Freeman  and  others  of  the  African  race  who  then  cemented  with  their 
blood  the  comer-stone  of  your  Republic.  In  the  State  which  I  have  had 
the  honor  in  part  to  represent,  the  rifle  of  the  black  man  rang  out  against 
the  troops  of  the  British  crown  in  the  darkest  d.iys  of  the  American 
Revolution."  In  these  words  every  man  saw  the  greatness,  the  ability, 
and  the  patriotism  of  the  speaker.  Mr.  Elliott  then  continued  his 
speech,  addressing  himself  to  the  legal,  constitutional,  political  and 
social  features  of  the  Civil  Rights  bill,  in  which  he  completely  annihilated 
the  Georgia  statesman.  He  then  paid  his  attention  to  Mr.  Beck  of  Keri- 
tuckj',  who  had  during  the  debate  endeavored  to  cast  odium  upon  the 
Negro,  and  to  vaunt  the  chivalry  of  his  own  State,  little  thinking  that 


470  MEN  OF  MARK. 

there  was  in  a  Negro's  brain  or  intelligence  a  foeman  in  retort  worthj  of 
his  steel.  Mr.  Elliott  reminded  the  Kentucky  statesman  that  in  the 
second  war  of  American  independence  General  Jackson  reported  of  the 
white  Kentucky  soldiers  that  "  at  the  very  moment  when  the  entire  dis- 
comfiture of  the  enemy  was  looked  for,  with  a  confidence  amounting  to 
certainty,  the  Kentucky  reinforcements,  in  whom  so  much  reliance  had 
been  placed,  ingloriously  Bed."  And,  with  the  culture  of  a  well-skilled 
debater,  Mr.  Elliott  then  turned  to  Mr.  Beck  and  said :  '*  In  quoting  this 
indisputable  piece  of  history,  I  do  so  only  by  way  of  admonition,  and  not 
to  question  the  well-attested  gallantry  of  the  true  Kentuckian,  and  to 
suggest  to  the  gentleman  that  he  should  not  flaunt  his  heraldry  so 
proudly  while  he  bears  this  barsinister  on  the  military  escutcheon  of  his 
State— a  State  which  answered  the  call  of  the  Republic  in  1881,  when 
treason  thundered  at  the  very  gates  of  the  Capital,  by  coldly  declaring 
her  neutrality  in  the  impending  struggle.  The  Negro,  true  to  that 
patriotism  that  has  ever  characterized  and  marked  his  history,  came  to 
the  aid  of  the  government  in  its  eflFort  to  maintain  the  Constitution. 
To  that  government  he  now  appeals,  that  Constitution  he  now  in- 
vokes for  protection  against  unjust  prejudices  founded  upon  caste." 

He  was  re-elected  to  the  Forty-third  Congress  as  a  Re — 
publican,  receiving  21,627  votes  against  1094  votes  for^ 
W.  H.  McCan,  Democrat,  serving  from  December  1,  1873, 
to  May,  1874,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  the  very  lucra- 
tive position  of  sheriff.  In  the  second  Congress  of  which 
he  was  a  member,  he  delivered,  April,  1871,  his  famous 
and  long  to  be  remembered  speech  on  the  **  Bill  to  Enforce 
the  Provisions  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution," or  better  known  as  the  *'Ku  Klux  Bill."  May 
30,  1872,  he  again  wrestled  with  the  giants,  and  smote 
them  **hip  and  thigh.'*  Voorhees  and  Beck  felt  the  sting  of 
his  words  when  he  hurled  the  most  fitting  rebuke  at  them 
after  thev  had  made  strictures  on  the  financial. condition 
of  the  State  government  of  South  Carolina.    He  returned 


ROBERT  B.  ELrLrlOTT.  471 

home  and  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  again.  General 
Elliott  made  some  mistakes  in  life  in  being  easily  deceived 
by  men  who  used  his  talents  to  prop  their  tottering  for- 
tunes.   Mr.  Straker  said : 

nt  although  himaelf  unstained  by  anychaige  or  charges  by  any  conrt, 
he  did  not  forget  his  political  associates  less  fortunate,  and  whenever 
one  was  found  in  the  coils  of  Democratic  accusation,  he  freely  gave  what 
assistance  he  could  to  his  release,  both  as  a  lawyer  and  a  former  political 
friend.  In  this  service  he  did  not  stop  to  ask  whether  the  Republican  in 
trouNe  was  his  friend  or  not.  Frequently  it  happened  that  he  was  his 
bitterest  political  foe  and  detractor  of  his  just  merits ;  yet  he  stood  by 
him  in  his  hour  of  trial,  and  gave  him  what  advice  he  could.  He  was 
counsel  in  several  cases  in  which  these  political  trials  occurred,  and  yet 
a  few  base  detractors  would  rob  him  of  his  good  name.  And  why,  sir  ? 
Because  "  base  envy  withers  at  another*s  joy,  And  hates  that  excellence 
it  cannot  reach.*'  When  the  din  and  roar  of  Democratic  political  perse- 
cution had  ended,  and  the  fire  of  their  revenge  had  been  quenched,  Gen- 
eral Elliott's  public  life  still  remained  untouched  by  legal  accusation. 
Mr.  Elliott  then  ceased  political  life  and  continued  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  contenting  himself  with  the  pleasant  reeollection  of  having 
done  his  public  duty  faithfully  and  impartially. 

In  1881  General  Elliott  was  appointed  by  Hon.  John 
Sherman,  secretary  United  States  treasury,  special  agent  of 
the  treasury,  with  headquarters  at  Charleston,  South  Caro- 
lina. As  a  delegate  to  the  National  Republican  conven- 
tion at  Chicago,  June,  1879,  he  seconded  the  nomination 
of  John  Sherman  for  President  of  the  United  States.  When, 
therefore,  Garfield  fell  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin,  a 
change  of  administration  threw  him  out  of  office,  though 
he  had  been  first  transferred  to  New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 
He  re-entered  his  profession  there,  having  a  branch  officf 
in  Pensacola,  Florida,  conducted  by  Messrs.  DeTucker  8c 


'  472  MEN  OF  MARK. 

^Thompson.  He  was  a  very  brilliant  Mason,  and  did  much 
'to  re-establish  its  societies  in  South  Carolina.  He  laid 
down  his  life  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  August  9,  1884, 
11  p.  M.,  and  was  buried  with  ancient  rights  and  cere- 
monies, on  Sunday,  August  10,  1884.  The  Plaindealer^ 
Robert  Pelham  editor,  said  of  him  : 

I  With  Robert  B.  Elliott  has  passed  away  one  of  the  brightest  t3rpes  of 
American  manhood  and  Negro  capability.  He  was  a  model  of  the  possi- 
bilities of  a  race ;  pushing  against  the  tide  of  opposition,  he  reached  an 
eminence  in  scholarship  and  oratory  which  is  enjoyed  by  a  few  only.  H' 
was  qualified  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  times  and  grasp  them.  This 
he  always  did.  In  the  halls  of  Congress  he  held  the  representatives 
spell-bound  by  his  eloquence.  In  his  social  life  he  was  affable  and  court- 
eous. He  was  a  bom  leader,  made  so  by  indomitable  will  and  untiring 
energy.  In  his  passing  away,  he  leaves  an  influence  that  will  inspire 
many  to  persevere,  and  his  teaching  will  continue  to  develop  nobler  and 
truer  conceptions  of  an  exalted  manhood,  such  as  would  be  worthy  to 
occupy  the  position  before  the  American  people  that  he  has  filled  so 
creditably. 

Eloquent  men  pay  tribute  to  eloquent  men,  and  hence 
**The  Old  Man  Eloquent*'  pays  the  following  tribute  to 
General  Elliott,  in  the  New  York  Globe: 

Living  as  I  have  done,  in  an  atmosphere  of  doubt  and  disparagement 
of  the  abilities  and  possibilities  of  the  colored  race,  early  taught  that 
ignorance  and  mental  weakness  were  stamped  by  God  upon  the  mem- 
bers of  that  race,  Robert  Brown  Elliott  was  to  me  a  most  grateful  sur- 
■prise,  and  in  fact  a  marvel.  Upon  sight  and  hearing  of  this  man,  I  was 
chained  to  the  spot  with  admiration  and  a  feeling  akin  to  wonder. 
•  There  was  no  doubt  as  to  complexion,  form  or  feature.  To  all  otit- 
ward  seeming,  he  might  have  been  an  ordinary  Negro,  one  who  might 
have  delved  as  I  have  done,  with  spade  and  pickaxe.  Yet  from  under  his 
dark  brow  there  blazed  an  intellect  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  highest 
iegislative  hall  of  the  Nation.    I  have  known  but  one  other  black  man  to 


ROBERT  B.  BLUOTT.  473 

be  compared  with  Elliott,  and  that  was  Samuel  R.  Ward,  who,  like 
£lliott,  died  in  the  midst  of  his  years.  The  thought  of  both  men  makes 
me  sad.  We  are  not  over  rich  with  such  men,  and  we  may  well  mourn 
'when  one  such  has  fallen.  I,  with  thousands  who  knew  the  ability  of 
young  Elliott,  was  hoping  and  waiting  to  see  him  emerge  from  his  late 
comparative  obscurity  and  take  his  place  again  in  the  halls  of  Congress. 
But  alas !  he  is  gone,  and  we  can  only  hope  that  the  same  power  that 
^ave  us  one  Elliott  will  give  us  anc>thcr  in  the  near  future. 

Frederick  Douglass. 


474  MEN  OF  MARK. 


LXIII. 

PROFESSOR  INMAN  EDWARD  PAGE,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Principal  of  Lincoln  Institute — Oratorial  Prize  Winner  at  Brown  UniTcr- 
sity,  Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

PROFESSOR  PAGE  was  bom  under  the  yoke  of  slavery 
in  the  town  of  Warrenton,  Fauquar  county,  Virgi- 
nia, December  29,  1853.  His  parents  were  named  Horace 
and  Elizabeth  Page.  In  early  childhood  he  exhibited 
strong  moral  affections  which  have  grown  as  he  has 
advanced  in  years ;  although  often  placed  under  the  con- 
trol of  persons  who  were  in  the  habit  of  drinking  intoxi- 
cating liquors,  yet  his  invariable  practice  was  to  refuse 
when  such  liquors  were  offered  him.  This  habit  of  total 
abstinence  he  has  carried  from  childhood  into  manhood, 
and  he  has  become  a  man  of  soberness  as  well  as  sobriety. 
Horace  Page  moved  his  family  to  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia,  in  1862.  The  opportunity  here  presented  itself 
to  Inman,  and  he  was  sent  to  the  private  school  of  Mr. 
George  F.  T.  Cook,  which  he  attended  a  little  over  three 
years,  and  where  he  made  a  good  record.  He  was  hired 
out  for  several  years,  and  in  this  way  helped  to  support 
the  family.  During  this  time  he  attended  night  school 
taught  by  the   late  Professor  George  B.  Vashon,  from 


INMAN  EDWARD  PAGE.  475 

whom  he  obtained  an  elementary  knowledge  of  the  Latin 
language,  ^ocm  after  tl^  opening  of  Howard  University, 
young  Page  resolved*  to  enter  it  as  a  student.  His  father 
being  unable  to  pay  for  him,  he  went  to  the  university  and 
applied  for  work  which  he  obtained  immediately.  At  that 
time  the  university  grounds  had  not  been  graded  and  the 
authorities  were  willing  to  employ  industrious  students, 
to  do  the  work.  Although  quite  young  and  unaccus- 
tomed to  this  kind  of  labor,  Inman,  nothing  daunted,  full 
of  ambition,  went  to  work  as  an  ordinary  laborer  at  the 
rate  of  fifteen  cents  per  hour.  He  continued  to  work  in  this- 
way  until  the  beginning  of  the  summer  vacation,  when  he, 
with  a  few  other  students,  decided  to  continue  this  work 
during  the  entire  vacation.  His  zeal  for  study  soon  gave 
him  a  promotion  to  a  janitorship,  which  he  held  until  he 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  university  building.  When 
General  0.  0.  Howard  was  closing  the  affairs  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau,  Page  was  employed  as  one  of  his  clerks. 
In  this  way  he  was  enabled  to  attend  the  university'  until 
1873.  In  the  fall  of  1873  he  entered  Brown  University,  at 
Providence,  Rhode  Island,  he  and  his  friend  George 
W.  Milford  being  the  first  colored  students  to  enter  that 
institution.  Although  he  met  with  considerable  prejudice, 
both  fi-om  students  and  professors,  he  continued  to  strug- 
gle and  at  the  close  of  the  sophomore  year  succeeded  in 
winning  a  prize  in  an  oratorical  contest,  which  established 
his  claim  for  recognition ;  and  to  emphasize  their  endorse- 
ment, his  classmates  selected  him  to  write  a  history  of  the 
class  in  the  junior  year.  Towards  the  close  of  that  year 
he  was  selected  by  the  faculty  to  deliver  an  oration  at  the 


476  MEN  OF  MARK. 

junior  exhibition,  which  was  pronounced  by  the  Provi- 
dence Journal,  a  leading  newspaper  in  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  **the  ablest  oration  of  the  day."  The  impression 
made  upon  his  white  classmates  by  his  scholarship,  his 
orations  and  the  "History  *'  of  the  junior  year,  made  him 
a  prominent  candidate  for  the  position  of  class  orator  at 
the  close  of  the  senior  year.  Although  a  memberof  a  class 
of  over  fifty  white  students  which  contained  many  brilliant 
young  men  of  the  best  New  England  families,  yet  Inman 
E.  Page,  the  Negro,  was  unanimously  chosen  to  fill  the 
position  for  which  the  ablest  students  were  accustomed 
to  struggle  every  year.  This  was  a  triumph  indeed.  He 
delivered  an  oration  which  attracted  general  attention, 
not  only  because  of  the  ability  evinced,  but  also  because 
he  was  the  first  young  man  of  color  who  had  been  seledled 
by  white  young  men  to  wear  such  an  honor.  The  subjedl 
of  the  oration  was  the  **  Intellectual  Prospects  of  Amer- 
ica.'* While  he  was  delivering  hi^  oration,  Professor  D. 
W.  Phillips,  now  of  the  Roger  Williams'  University,  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee,  was  sitting  in  the  audience.  Soon  after 
the  exercises  were  over  he  stepped  up  to  him  and  offered 
him  a  position  in  the  Natchez  Seminary,  Natchez,  Missis- 
sippi. Mr.  Page  graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  the 
fall  of  1877  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  position  in 
the  Natchez  Seminary,  where  he  gave  satisfaction  to  the 
American  Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society,  which  em- 
ployed him,  and  the  colored  people  of  Mississippi,  who 
were  interested  in  the  institution.  At  the  close  of  his 
year's  work  he  went  to  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  where 
he  married  Miss  Zelia  R.  Ball,  a  young  lady  of  fine  prom- 


k 


INMAN  EDWARD  PAGE.  477 

ise,  who  had  graduated  in  1875  from  the  Wilberforce  Uni- 
versity of  Xenia,  Ohio. 

In  1878  he  was  employed  as  a  teacher  in  the  Lincoln  Insti- 
tnte,  Jeflferson  City,  Missouri.  For  two  years  he  was  the 
only  regular  colored  teacher  in  the  institute,  but  at  the 
close  of  his  second  session  the  board  of  trustees  decided.to 
place  the  school  in  the  hands  of  colored  teachers,  with 
Mc.  Page  at  its  head.  To  those  who  thought  the  change 
an  experiment,  there  was  no  confirmation  of  their  opinions, 
nor  were  they  made  ashamed.  Mr.  Page  succeeded  in 
raising  the  enrollment  from  ninety-seven  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty-three  the  first  year,  and  reduced  the  expenses  to 
students  by  introducing  the  "club  system."  He  secured 
appropriations  from  the  Legislature  with  which  to  build 
a  dormitory  for  young  men,  costing  seven  thousand  eight 
hundred  dollars,  and  one  for  young  ladies  costing  nine 
thousand  dollars,  and  other  appropriations  aggregating 
about  three  thousand  dollars.  He  also  secured  bi-ennial 
appropriations  by  his  solicitations  and  addresses  before 
the  Legislature  from  ten  thousand  to  sixteen  thousand 
dollars. 

In  1880  he  received  the  degree  of  A.  M.  from  his  alma 
mater.  Brown  University.  In  1883  Mr.  Page  was  made 
president  of  a  convention  called  to  meet  in  Jefferson  City 
for  the  purpose  of  organizing , a  State  teachers*  association 
in  Missouri,  and  was  afterwards  elected  president  of  the 
association  for  three  successive  terms. 

A  Springfield  paper,  published  by  white  men,  speaking 
of  Mr.  Page,  says: 


478  MEN  OF  MARK. 

He  18  now  only  thirty-two  years  of  age  and  ranks  with  the  most 
scholarly  and  cultivated  men  in  Missouri,  white  or  colored.  Liiicoln 
Institute  was  never  so  prosperous  as  during  his  presidency.  His  ad- 
dresses abound  in 'happy  hits  and  salutary  advice  to  his  race.  Lai^ 
audiences  are  not  only  edified  but  captivated  by  his  scholarly  eloquence 
and  simplicity'-  of  speech.  He  carried  in  himself  one  of  the  finest  illtistra- 
tions  of  what  a  thorough  education  can  do  for  a  colored  man. 

On  the  fifth  of  January  last  he  was  elected  president  of  a 
conference  of  leading  citizens  in  Jefferson  City  for  the  pur- 
pose of  memorializing  the  Legislature  for  an  industrial 
«chool,  and  for  more  advanced  educational  facilities  for  the 
colored  youth  of  the  State.  In  the  summer  of  1885  he 
was  invited  to  read  a  paper  before  the  white,  teachers  of 
Missouri  on  the  educational  needs  of  the  Negro  in  Missouri, 
which  made  such  a  marked  impression  that  he  was  unani- 
mously elected  an  honorary  member  of  their  convention, 
receiving  a  vote  of  thanks  and  a  pledge  that  the  association 
would  use  its  influence  to  promote  the  interest  of  Lincoln 
Institute.  At  the  recent  teachers'  association  held  in  St. 
Louis,  P.  H.  Murry,  of  the  St,  Louis  Advance^  paid  him 
the  following  compliment : 

He  succeeded  in  proving  at  this  convention  his  eminent  fitness,  both  in 
culture  and  moral  force,  to  preside  over  the  educational  interest  of  col- 
ored youth  of  Missouri.  Races  do  not  produce  great  men  in  very  rapicl 
succession.  There  may  be  many  brilliant  men,  but  with  defects  so  ap- 
parent that  their  brilliancy  is  overcast  with  a  cloud,  and  men  who  arc 
possessed  with  native  ability,  can  bring  their  culture,  their  moral  char- 
acter and  habits  of  industry  bravely  to  the  front,  side  by  side,  and  evenly 
developed,  have  the  elements  of  success  and  usefulness,  which  brilliancy 
•alone  cannot  secure.  What  the  Negroes  need  among  the  educators  of  the 
State  is  a  man  of  deep  convictions,  high  sense  of  duty,  unswerving  wll 
force  and  eminent  culture ;  a  man  whose  presence  commands  respect,  and 
such  a  man  we  verily  believe  is  Professor  Page. 


INBiAN  EDWARD  PAGE.  479 

I  have  known  Professor  Page  for  many  years,  and  can 
bear  personal  testimony  to  his  greatness  of  heart,  to  the 
.generosity  of  his  feelings,  and  his  deep  sense  of  responsi- 
bility to  God.  While  a  student  in  Howard  University  he 
was  converted  and  united  with  the  Baptist  church,  with 
which  he  has  ever  held  pleasant  relations ;  his  manly  bear- 
ing, dignified  demeanor,  and  cultured  mind  bear  rich 
fruits,  and  his  personal  enthusiasm  impresses  those  under 
his  care  to  such  an  extent  that  they  cannot  fail  to  become 
useful  citizens  and  prominent  individuals.  This,  however, 
can  only  be  attained  personally  by  those  who  have  the 
privilege  as  well  as  the  honor  to  sit  at  his  feet  and  have  at 
least  a  g^at  blessing,  and  are  considerably  helped  toward 
the  attainment  of  those  things  which  befit  them  for  useful 
lives.  But  the  best  of  men  have  their  enemies,  and  Profes- 
sor Page  has  had  his  trials  like  all  men.  The  following, 
taken  from  the  Jefferson  City  Daily  Tribune  ^  is  as  fine  an 
indorsement  as  any  man  would  need.  It  is  an  honorable 
document  and  deserves  a  place  here,  and  it  speaks  more 
eloquently  than  anything  I  might  say : 

The  following  testimonial  of  the  regard  and  high  esteem  in  which  the 
citizens  of  this  place  hold  Professor  1.  E.  Page,  both  as  a  private  citizen 
and  the  head  of  Lincoln  Institute,  should  serve  as  an  ample  refutation 
of  all  the  false  reports  trumped  up  by  mischievous  and  meddlesome  people 
to  injure  his  standing  and  that  of  the  school  among  the  colored  people 
of  the  State : 

"  Inasmuch  as  certain  false  and  injurious  reports  have  been  published 
concerning  the  management  of  Lincoln  Institute,  and  derogatory  to  the 
high  standing  of  Professor  Page  and  wife,  we,  the  undersigned,  feel  that 
«ome  testimonial  is  due  the  public  in  this  regard,  and  cheerfully  subscribe 
to  the  following  facts : 

"  Professor  Page  and  his  wife  have  resided  in  this  city  eight  years,  and 


480  MEN  OF  MARK. 

for  six  years  theinstittite  has  been  under  their  management.  Doring  this 
time  the  work  of  the  school  has  been  improving  from  year  to  year  and 
has  been  at  all  times  better  than  under  any  former  management. 

"Professor  Page  has  labored  earnestly  and  with  marked  success  for 
the  upbuilding  of  Lincoln  Institute.  He  has  extended  the  couseof  study, 
increased  the  attendance  and  secured  from  the  State  large  sums  of  money 
for  the  support  of  the  school.  He  is  an  educator  of  ability  and  high  in- 
tellectual attainments,  a  gentleman  of  refined  manners  and  a  sincere  and 
earnest  Christian,  possessing  at  once  the  respect  and  good.will  of  the 
best  citizens  of  this  city.  We  see  no  cause  for  complaint  either  against 
Professor  Page  or  his  wife.  Their  influence  has  alwajrs  been  exerted 
for  the  best  interests  of  Lincoln  Institute  and  the  elevation  of  the  col- 
ored race. 

NAMES. 

"Arnold  Kijekel,  president  board  of  regents;  L.  C.  Krauthoff,  vice- 
president  board  of  regents;  R.  E.  Young,  M.  D.,  board  of  regents;  Oscar 
G.  Burch,  board  of  regents;  Jesse  W.  Henry,  board  of  regents;  W.  E. 
Coleman,  State  superintendent  public  schools;  W.  T.  Carrington,  editor 
Missouri  School  Journal;  Fred  Rommel,  J.  S.  Fleming,  banker:  A. 
Brandenljerger,  pharmaceutist;  H.  B.  Church,  merchant;  J.  A.  Thomas» 
George  W.  Dupee,  G.  Branham,  Howard  Barnes,  A.  McCreary,  T.  C. 
Capleton,  August  Kroeger,  deputy  county  clerk;  W.  H.  Lusk,  clerk 
Circuit  Court,  Cole  county;  Nelson  C.  Burch,  attorney  at  law;  John  T. 
Craven,  merchant;  Jacob  J.  Peets,  Hiram  King,  Wm.  G.  McCart^',  post- 
master; F.  J.  Fromme,  Wm.  W.  Wagner,  sheriff  of  Cole  county;  W.  Q. 
Dallmeyer,  Louis  Wolferman,  merchant;  James  Hines,  Harry  Collins.  J. 
M.  Tompkins,  C.  A.  Dixon,  John  A.  Lindhardt,  merchant;  Archie  Drake, 
John  Gordon,  C.  C.  Branham,  Henry  Bolton,  Harrison  Ramsey,  sr.^ 
board  of  trustees,  A.  M.  E.  church;  W.  H.  Jackson,  barber;  Phil.  T. 
Miller,  jr.,  D.  D.  S.;  Warwick  Winston,  D.  D.  S.;  Jas.  E.  McHenry,  D.  H. 
Mclntyre,  ex-attomey-general ;  Robert  McCulloch,  register  of  lands; 
Prosser  Ray,  Nathan  C.  Kouns,  O.  W.  Gauss,  pastor  Presbyterian 
church;  Hugo  Monnig,  Rudolph  Dallmeyer,  C.  B.  Oldham,  J.  H. 
Edwards,  A.  C.  Shoup,  R.  E.  Oldham,  superintendent  public  school: 
Thos.  M.  Cobb,  pastor  M.  E.  church;  J.  M.  Hays,  J.  L.  Moore. 
J.  W.  Carter,  C.  W.  Thomas,  W.  W.  Hutchinson,  S.  W.  Cox,  H. 
Nitchy,  S.  P.  Lewis,  pastor  Baptist  church ;  John  Delahay,  John  H. 
Dirck,  J.  A.  Thomas,  G.  A.  Fisher,  J.  T.  Thorpe,  physician;  P.  T.  Ellis, 
L.  C.  Lohman,  Jack  Scott,  H.  M.  Ramsey,  jr.,  D.  W.  Anthony.. 


INMAN  E. 


i 


ii ' 


\v 


*  W-' 


i 


I  • 


B.  K.  IX>VB.  r  48  V 

I 


I 


LXIV. 

§ 

REV.  E.  K.  LOVE. 

From  the  Ditch  to  the  Pastorate  of  Five  Thousand  Christians— Editor 

ft 

of  The  Cmtennial  Record  of  Georgia— Associate  Editor^Honored 
of  God. 

HE  was  reared  a  slave  and  had  no  educational  advan- 
tages before  the  Emancipation ;  he  worked  on  the 
farm  until  1870.  He  was  bom  July  27,  1850,  in  Perry 
county,  near  Marion,  Alabama.  Being  very  anxious  for 
an  education  he  quit  the  farm  at  the  time  mentioned,  and 
in  1870  entered  Lincoln  University,  Marion,  Alabama. 
After  studying  one  term  he  reached  the  highest  class  ex- 
cept one  in  the  school.  He  found  he  had  learned  many 
things  imperfectly.    He  left  this  school  and  returned  to 

I 

the  farm  in  1872.  and  from  that  to  ditching,  accumulating 
by  this  means  enough  money  to  leave  home  again ;  there- 
fore,  November  17,  1872,  he  went  to  Augusta,  Georgia, 
where  he  entered  the  Augusta  Institute,  under  the  late 
Rev.  Joseph  T.  Robert,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.  Previous  to  this  he 
was  licensed  to  preach,  and  December  12,  1875,  at  Au- 
gusta, Georgia,  he  was  ordained.  He  was  baptized  into 
the  fellowship  of  the  Siloam  Baptist  church  by  the  Rev.  W. 
H.  Mcintosh,  for  whom  he  had  a  great  attachment.    In 


48?  MEN  OF  MARK. 

the  Augusta  Institute  he  gained  the  front  rank  in   his 
classes ;  he  entered  the  lowest,  but  soon  reached  the  head 
of  the  first  class  which  he  led  until  he  finished  school  in 
1877.    Under  the  auspices  of  the  Home  Mission  Board  of 
New  York  and  the  Georgia  Mission  Society;. he  was  ap- 
pointed missionary  for  the  State  of  Georgia ;  this  position 
he  filled  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  concerned.    July  1, 
1879,  he  resigned  and  took  charge  of  the  First  Baptist 
church  of  Thomasville,  Georgia.    The  house  of  worship 
was  repaired  during  his  stay  there,  and  four  hundred  and 
fifty   |)ersons    baptized.     October   1,   1881,  he   left   this 
church  and  accepted  the  missionary  position  of  the  State 
of  Georgia,  under  the  auspices  of  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society.    This  position  he  held  for  some  time 
and  gave  entire  satisfaction.    October  1, 1885,  he  resigned 
and  accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Aftncan  Baptist 
church  at  Savannah,   Georgia.     Since  he  has  held  that 
•church  he  has  baptized  eight  hundred  and  ninety-three 
persons.    This  church   numbers  five  thousand  members. 
He  has  held  many  positions  of  trust  and  honor  among  the 
brethren  of  his  State,  has  been  an  assistant  teacher  at  one 
time   under    Dr.  Robert,   and    has    taught   three   public 
schools.    He  has  been  appointed  editor  of  the  Centennial 
Record  of  the  Negro  Baptists  of  Georgia,  which  will  be 
read  at  their  first  centennial  meeting  in  1888.    He  is  also 
associate  editor  of  the  Georgia  Sentinel,  a  Baptist  paper 
printed  at  Augusta,  Georgia.     He  is  considered  an  elo- 
quent speaker  and  deep  thinker ;  has  strong  affections  and 
IS  certainly  persistent  in  pressing  his  views.    He  has  the 
honor  of  holding  perhaps  the  largest  church  in  the  United 


\ 


E.  K.  LOVE.  483 

States,  and  perhaps  in  the  world.  To  be  able  to  do  this 
great  work  isevidence  conclusive  of  his  possessing  eminent 
poinrer  over  men.  His  position  is  one  that  makes  him  as 
especially  favored  of  God  who  has  called  him  to  this  ex* 
alted  station. 


484  MEN  OP  MARK. 


LXV. 

J.  A.  ARNEAUX,  ESQ. 

Professional  Tragedian,  "Black  Booth"— Editor—Poet— Graduate  of  thr 
French  Institutions  of  Learning. 

THE  father  of  J.  A.  Ameaux  was  Jean  Ameaux,  a  Par- 
isian by  birth.  His  mother  was  named  Louisa  Belle 
before  her  marriage,  and  was  of  French  descent.  Young 
Arneaux  was  bom  in  the  State  of  Georgia  in  1855,  and  is 
therefore  only  thirty-two  years  of  age ;  he  is  still  a  young 
man  and  is  destined  to  rise  to  a  wonderful  eminence  in  his 
profession.  He  is  following  fast  in  the  footsteps  of  the  late 
lamented  Ira  Aldridge,  the  great  impersonator  and  remark- 
able actor.  He  is  of  medium  height,  fair  and  handsome. 
He  often  in  a  joke  sa^-s  he  was  bom  handsome,  traded  it 
off  for  a  fortune,  and  is  now  bankrupt  of  both.  This  is  bv 
no  means  true.  His  manner  is  winning  and  his  conversa-^ 
tion  learned,  filled  with  wit  and  humor.  He  is  an  enthu-^ 
siast  in  his  profession,  and  as  he  has  the  material  which 
will  develop  greatness  in  any  department  of  life,  it  would 
be  strange  if  he  did  not  accomplish  very  much  should  life 
be  S])ared  to  him.  His  accent  is  slightly  tinctured  with  sl 
flavor  of  French,  and  one  would  imagine  himself  in  the 
presence  of  a  Frenchman  who  spoke  English  tolerably  welL 


J.  A.  ARNEAUX.  485 

His  movements  are  graceful  and  have  the  polish  of  a  Par- 
isian. No  ^oubt  he  takes  these  qualities  fro^i  his  father 
and  inherits  them  from  his  mother's  blood.  He  attracts 
by  his  jovial  good  fellowship,  but  nevertheless  is  weighty  in 
argument  and  as  skilful  with  the  pen  as  with  the  sword  in 
his  masterpiece  (Richard  HI).  Losing  his  mother  early  in 
life,  when  only  twelve  years  of  age,  he  lost  the  tender  care 
of  her  faithful  hand  and  the  tenderness  of  her  love. 

In  1865  he  attended  the  first  public  school  in  his  native 
city  where  he  only  learned  his  a,  b,  c's ;  next  attended  a 
small  private  school  where  he  learned  the  fundamental 
branches.  Then  entering  Beech  Institute,  he  graduated 
after  close  application  for  four  years.  Then  it  occurred  to 
him  to  go  North  and  seek  a  better  education.  His  parents 
had  owned  some  property,  but  it  had  not  yielded  very 
much,  so  he  was  forced  to  work  and  pay  his  own  expenses. 
In  New  York  he  was  a  student  in  German,  Latin  and  other 
kindred  studies.  Being  ambitious,  he  next  went  to  Prov- 
idence, Rhode  Island,  where  he  entered  Berlitz  School  of 
Languages  and  mastered  French. 

While  a  school  boy  in  the  lower  grades  he  had  a  reputa- 
tion for  special  excellence  in  the  English  studies,  and  was  a 
good  speller,  easily  mastering  hard  words  which  troubled 
others.  His  success  was  phenomenal  at  the  Berlitz  school, 
for  he  secured  the  head  of  the  class  with  ease,  after  only  a 
short  time.  He  then  visited  Paris,  and  took  two  courses, 
one  in  the  Academic  Royal  Des  Inscriptions  et  Belles  Lettres 
et  Morals  et  Politique.  On  his  way  to  New  York  return- 
ing home,  he  stopped  at  London  and  saw  many  of  the 
:  sights  and  scenes  worthy  of  visitation.    After  much  study 


486  MEN  OF  MARK. 

be  appeared  as  a  song  and  dance  artist,  and  fflfecT  eir- 
gagements  at  the  celebrated  Tony  Pastor's  Metropolitan 
theater  on  Broadway,  New  York,  as  well  as  at  the  old  Globe 
theater. 

Mr.  Ameaox's  first  appearance  in  legitimate  drama  was 
in  1876,  at  the  Third  AFeirae  theater,  where  he  appeared 
as  Tom  Walcbtt,  a  Southern  planter,  in  a  dramaaf  Soatheni 
life  called  *  *  Under  the  Yoke,  or  Bond  and  Free.  *  *  Although 
he  had  read  Shakespeare,  it  was  not  until  the  spring  of 
1884  he  took  to  study  for  the  stage.  He  began  after  being 
repeatedly  urged  by  a  theatrical  manager,  with  the  char- 
acter of  lago,  in  which  he  made  his  debut  at  the  Brooklyn 
Atheneum,  June  17,  1884.  The  New  York  Daily  News, 
commenting  on  his  acting,  said : 

Mr.  J.  A.  Ameaux,  as  lago,  surprised  even  his  most  ardent  admirers 
with  this  difficult  character  to  portray.  He  did  what  was  his  to  do  in  a 
manner  which  proves  beyond  question  that  he  possesses  a  keen  preception. 
of  the  cunning  and  craft  necessary  to  a  faithful  copy  of  the  accomplished 
villain.  The  whole  play  was  lago,  and  Mr.  Ameaux's  interpretation  the 
best  and  truest  in  the  entire  cast. 

Thus  encouraged  he  formed  the  first  Shakespearian 
troupe  of  colored  tragedians,  now  known  to  fame  as  the 
Astor  Place  Tragedy  company.  Under  Mr.  Ameaux's  man- 
agement this  company  appeared  at  several  of  the  leading 
theaters  in  the  city,  including  the  Academy  of  Music.  But 
it  was  not  until  1885  that  Mr.  Ameaux's  ambition  was 
triumphantly  crowned,  when  he  appeared  for  the  first  time 
to  advantage  in  Shakspeare's  tragedy  of  Richard  III.  His  • 
debut  in  Richard  III  was  in  a  contest  for  a  gold  medal' 
given  to  amateurs  for  excellence  by  the  New  York  Enter— 


J.  A.  ARNBAUX.  487 

prise.  At  this  contest  the  prize  was  awarded  to  him  by 
the  New  York  Snn^  the  newspaper  men  being  judges  upon 
the  occasion.  His  next  appearance  in  Richard  III  was  in 
Providence,  Rhode  Island.  Shortly  after  returning  to  New 
York  he  was  tendered  a  testimonial  reception  and  a  banquet 
by  the  leading  men  and  women  of  his  race.  In  this  testi- 
monial he  played  Richard  III  and  was  crowned  by  a  com- 
mittee of  ladies  with  a  wreath  of  laurels,  and  an  address 
was  made  in  his  behalf  by  an  eminent  professor. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  last  October,  Mr.  Ameaux  ap- 
peared in  the  Lexington  Avenue  opera  house,  and  the  fol- 
lowing criticisms  were  made  by  prominent  journalists.  The 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  Director^  says : 

We  have  seen  him  in  the  difficult  role  of  the  Duke  of  Glostcr,  we  have 
also  seen  Macreadj,  Booth  and  Barrett  in  the  same  character,  and  we  are 
free  to  say  that  Mr.  Ameaux 's  conception  of  the  character,  his  superb 
management  of  the  part  he  assumed,  were  perfect. 

The  New  York  Clipper  has  said : 

Mr.  Ameaux  is  the  rising  star  of  the  race. 

The  New  York  Sun  said : 

Mr.  Ameaux  scored  success  as  Richard  the  Third  and  carried  off  the 
prize: 

"Mr.  Ameaux,"  said  the  New  York  Daily  News,  "merits 
the  title  of '  Black  Booth.*  *'  January  29,  1887,  he  played 
to  a  most  refined  and  elegant  assembly  of  people  in  the 
Academy  of  Music,  in  Philadelphia.  The  North  American 
gave  the  following  criticism : 

In  his  conception  of  the  title  role,  Mr.  J.  A.  Ameaux  followed  In 
most  respects  that  of  the  best  of  living  exemplars  of  the  part,  Mr.  Edwin 


488  MEN  OF  MARK. 

\  Booth,  and  \ie  could  not  have  taken  a-better  model;  but  Mr.  Ameaux  is 
evidently  ndt  satisfied  with  being  a  mere  imitator,  for  there  were  certain 
features  botji  in  his  reading  and  in  His  manner  that  showed  originality. 

m 

His  walk,  for  instance,  was  something  peculiarly  his  own,  and  if  it  ap- 
parently lacked  the  silent  dragging  of  the  foot  of  the  generally  translated 
.  morose  and  cruel  Gloster,  its  rather  flippant  step  was  in  accordance  with 
his  well-sustained  theory  that  Richard  was  a  villain  whose  humors  rap- 
idly changed;from  wicked  to  jocose.  It  was  in  this  spirit  of  merriment 
that  Mr.  Ameaux  made  Richard  take  the  audience  in  his  confidence  bv  a 
lightness  of  phrasing  after  each  of  his  gravest  deeds  that  showed  the 
insincerity  of  Richard's  good  professions. 

The  idea- is  a  novel  one  and  most  effective..  The  eveuness  of  Mr. 
Amcaux's  performance,  and  his  accurate  recital  of  the  lines,  deserve  great 
praise  and  shpwed  earnest  and  careful  study. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Philadelphia  Gazette  and  special 
correspondent  in  Philadelphia  for  the  Cleveland  Gazette 
said: 

The  most  effective  and  artistic  scene  given  by  Mr.  Arneaux  was  the 
lovemaking  with  Lady  Anne.  In  so  passionate  and  natural  a  manner 
did  he  portray  Gloster's  well-concealed  subtilty  in  his  declaration^  to 
Lady  Anne,  and  his  supreme  vanity  upon  his  success  in  winning  her. 
with  such  skill  and  pleasing  inflection,  that  his  ability  as  an  actor  was 
beyond  question.  But  it  was  not  until  Richard  was  aroused  from  his 
dream  bv  the  terrifying  visitations  of  the  ghost  of  the  murdered  King 
Henr3',  that  the  audience  were  made  fully  aware  of  the  wonderful  talents 
of  this  briUiant  young  actor.  It  is  useless  to  go  into  detail  of  this  scene; 
suffice  to  say  that  his  rendition  of  it  stamped  him  a  man  of  great 
I  promise. 

Mr.  Ameaux  has  been  employed  at  different  times  as  a 
writer  on  the  staff  of  the  New  York  World,  and  is  at  this 
time  engaged  in  writing  sketches  of  the  leading  editors  and 
educators  for  the  Sunday  edition  of  The  New  York  Sun 
and  the  New  York  World,  In  1884  he  was  emplo\'ed  upon 


J.  A.  ARNEAUX. 


T  I 


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J.  A.  ARNEAUX.  489 

the  last  named  journal,  and  resigned  to  take  the  associate 
editorship  of  the  Literary  Enterprise,  He  soon  became  the 
editor  and  changed  the  name  to  the  New  York  Enterprise ^ 
ijvhen  he  became  sole  proprietor.  His  office  was  burned 
out  December  14, 1886,  since  which  time  the  paper  has  been 
suspended ;  but  while  it  was  alive  it  was  one  of  the  best 
^nd  most  ably  conducted  journals  in  the  country.  In  this 
paper  he  advocated  the  total  abolition  of  the  word  color, 
and  the  substitution  thereof  of  the  word  Africo-Ameri- 
can,  and  has  induced  many  to  adopt  this  word  in  their  edi- 
torial work.  He  also  advocated  industrial  schools,  which 
can  be  seen  in  a  pamphlet  read  at  the  Sailors'  and  Soldiers' 
Reunion,  recently  held  at  Dajrton,  Ohio.  He  also  advo- 
•cated  an  African  Historical  Society  for  the  purpose  of 
preserving  the  writings  and  deeds  of  the  colored  authors 
and  prominent  persons  in  the  race.  He  has  written  sev- 
eral poems,  one  as  a  tribute  to  Wendell  Phillips ;  also  an 
epic  poem  upon  General  Grant  at  Appomatox.  This  poem 
was  the  subject  of  a  prize  which  was  offered  in  a  contest 
among  several  young  colored  aspirants,  and  at  the  same 
time  secured  much  praise  and  comment  for  its  rhetorical 
composition  as  well  as  the  subject  matter.  He  has  issued 
a  pamphlet  of  **  Richard  IH/'  adapted  for  amateurs  and 
the  drawing  room.  He  entered  and  graduated  from  the 
New  York  Grand  Conservatory  of  Music  and  Elocution, 
where  he  gave  diligent  and  ardent  study  for  the  purpose 
of  completing  his  preparations  for  the  stage.  The  future 
of  Mr.  Ameaux  is  in  his  own  hands,  and  if  he  continues  to 
succeed,  will  \'et  immortalize  himself  and  bring  credit  and 
honor  to  the  race. 


/ 


490  MKNOFMARK. 

We  attach  here  a  correspondence   which  will  explain 
itself  and  show  his  immediate  purpose : 

MR.  ARNBAUX  AND  THE  MANHATTAN  LEAGUE. 

J.  A.  Arneaux,  EsQ.-^Bsteetned  Sir:  Being  apDrised  of  your  intenrioir 
of  retiring  from  the  stage  for  a  period  of  two  jrears  for  the  purpose  of 
studying— thus  equipping  yourself  thoroughly  for  yonr  noble  callings 
we,  the  undersigned  members  of  the  Board  of  Governors  of  the  Man* 
hattun  League,  beg  to  evince  our  appreciation  for  what  you  hare 
a1read\'  accomplished  and  applaud  your  resolution  by  tendering  you  a 
farewell  testimonial  and  banquet  and  reception  at  any  hall  you  may 
designate  and  any  time  that  will  suit  your  convenietiGe.  And  beg  to 
further  request  that  you  afford  us  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  upon  the 
same  evening  a  performance  of  a  part  or  the  whole  of  your  favorite- 
Shakespearean  play.  Hoping  you  may  win  your  way  to  the  realm  of  im> 
mortal  fame,  we  remain  yours  admiringly,  Rufus  Hurburt,  chairman ; 
Charles  Brodie,  secretary ;  C.  R.  Dorsey,  J.  B.  Gamer,  W.  Landrick^ 
Frederick  Banket. 

New  York,  April  5. 


To  the  Members  of  the  Board  of  Governors  of  Manhattan  League— 

Rufus  Hurburt,  Chairman : 

Dear  Friends: — It  affords  me  the  greatest  pleasure  of  my  life  to  accept 
the  token  of  high  esteem  you  so  generously  offer  me,  and  hope  ere  my 
race  of  life  is  ended  to  fully  merit  the  bounteous  honors  you  have  be- 
stowed upon  me.  I  shall  be  pleased  to  have  the  testimonial  take  place  at 
Clarendon  Hall  on  the  evening  of  April  29,  and,  if  it  pleases  your  will^ 
with  the  assistance  of  Messrs.  Thomas  T.  Symmons,  George  Smith,  J. 
W.  Harris  and  Misses  Henrietta  Vinton  Davis  and  Beriie  T.  Toney,  who 
have  generously  made  a  similar  offer,  render  several  of  the  most  import- 
ant scenes,  including  the  last  act  of  Shakespeare's  tragedy  of  Macbeth. 
Yours,  with  exalted  fraternal  regard, 

J.  A.  A&NBAUX. 

New  York,  April  6. 


RICHARD  ALLEN.  491. 


LXVI. 

REV.  RICHARD  ALLEN. 

First  Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— Founder  of  that  Faith— An  Emi- 
nent Preacher— A  Devout  Man. 

THE  life  and  works  of  Richard  Allen  should  now  be 
read  with  much  interest  on  account  of  the  follow- 
ing notice  that  defines  a  very  important  epoch  in  the  A. 
M.  E.  church: 

Episcopal  Rooms,  African  M.  E.  Church, 
No.  1424  R.  I.  Avenue, 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  February  4, 1887. 

To  THE  Bishops,  Ministers  And  Members  of  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  : 

My  Dear  Brethren: — ** Read,  mark,  learn  and  inwardly  digest'*  the 
aubjoct-matter  of  circular — ^the  *'  Centennial  of  African  Methodism.'*  Its 
contents  are  more  than  a  mere  passing  interest.  **  Remember  the  days 
of  old ;  consider  the  years  of  man}'  generations :  Ask  your  father,  and  he 
M-ill  show  thee;  thy  elders,  and  they  will  tell  thee.  Remember  all  the 
vray  wliich  the  Lord  thy  God  led  thee  one  hundred  years  in  the  wilder- 
ness!** 

Next  November  will  be  one  hundred  years  since  Richard  Allen  and  his 
compeers  left  St.  George's  M.  E.  church,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
(1787)  and  the  bishops  of  the  serai-annual  meeting  adopted  the  follow- 
ing preamble  and  resolutions : 

Whereas:    November  next,  1887,  will  be  one  hundred   years  since 
Richard  APen,  Absalom  Jones  and  others  left  the  St.  George's  Mctho- 


492  MEN  OF  MARK. 

dist  Episcopal  church  in  Philadelphia,  because  *'  the  colored  people  belong- 
ing to  the  Methodist  Society  of  Philadelphia  convened  together  in  order 
to  take  into  consideration  the  evils  under  which  they  labored,  arising 
from  unkind  treatment  of  their  white  brethren,  who  considered  them  a 
nuisance  in  the  house  of  worship,  and  even  pulled  them  off  their  knees, 
while  in  the  act  of  prayer,  and  ordered  them  to  the  back  seats."  (See 
preface  to  the  "  A.  M.  E.  Church  Discipline.**)    And, 

Whereas:  This  is  the  most  decisive  act  of  the  religious  colored 
people  in  the  United  States,  and  we  know  of  none  like  it  of  the  descend- 
ants of  Africa  in  the  world;  if  we  except  the  resolve  of  the  Haitians 
under  Toussaint,  Christophe  Petiou  and  Boyer.  These  men  were  to 
Hayti  and  San  Domingo,  in  a  civil  and  politicial  sense,  what  Allen, 
Jones,  Tapsico  and  others  were  to  the  colored  Christians  of  America; 
their  act  was  manhood,  freedom,  and  manhood  Christianity.  Wc  most 
fully  recognize  their  action  a  success — a  republic  we  have — ^all  therefore 
recognize  their  manhood  because  their  acts  prove  it.  To  resist  oppres- 
sion in  Church  or  State  is  manly.  Toussaint  and  Allen  are  by  us  hon- 
ored, revered  and  loved.  The  success  of  Allen  and  his  compeers  is  dem- 
onstrated, for  it  has  given  us  the  largest  colored  organization  in  the 
world.  It  is  therefore  proper  and  right  that  we  should  commemorate 
an  event  so  important  and  so  full  of  interest  to  us  as  a  race.  Therefore 
be  it, 

Resolvedy  first.  That  the  chief  pastors  of  the  African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  request  that  next  November,  a  date  in  that  month  be  here- 
after fixed,  to  commemorate  the  one  hundredth  year  since  onr  existence 
commenced,  and  that  services  be  held  at  all  our  churches  throughout  the 
connection.  The  order  of  exercises  to  be  fixed  by  each  conference,  quar- 
terly conference,  and  pastor  and  each  church.  A  general  arrangement 
to  be  fixed  by  a  committee  hereafter  appointed. 

Resolvedy  second.  As  our  publishing  interest  has  long  suffered,  because 
of  her  indebtedness,  that  a  contribution  be  made  by  all  of  our  churches, 
and  whatever  is  collected  to  be  appropriated  to  assist  in  the  paying  off 
of  debts  now  resting  on  our  publication  department 

Adopted. 


Committee  of  Arrangements.  • 


J.  M.  Brown, 
T.  M.  D.  Ward, 
H.  M.  Turner. 
R.  R.  DisNB\, 
B.  W.  Arnett 


i 


RICHARD  ALLEN.  493 

The  growth  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church  is  a  splendid  tribute 
to  the  Negro  genius.  Of  all  the  denominations  under  the 
name  of  ''Methodist/'  white  or  black,  it  has  seemed  to 
have  touched  the  heart  of  the  Negro  and  made  him  a  man 
of  power.  Its  institutions  and  laws  are  the  result  of 
Negro  genius,  and  is  also  the  exhibition  of  his  executive 
ability  and  abundant  wisdom. 

When  Richard  Allen  manifested  his  faith  in  the  future 
and  declared  himself  no  longer  willing  to  have  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  prostituted  by  being  withheld  from 
him  until  his  white  brethren  (?)  were  served,  he  put  his 
foot  on  the  neck  of  hell-bom  prejudice  and  stamped  it  so 
hard  that  hell  resounded  with  anger  and  a  new  song  was 
given  to  the  angels  in  heaven. 

It  was  in  the  early  days  of  1816,  when  the  times  were 
not  favorable  to  the  expression  of  a  dissent  from  anything 
a  white  man  did  in  Church  or  State.  And  he  is  revered  bv 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  church  as  the  founder  of 
their  faith.    Says  one  of  their  scholarly  writers : 

If  Luther  was  the  apostle  to  mind  freedom,  and  Wesley  to  soul  freedom, 
then  Allen  was  the  apostle  of  human  freedom,  or  liberty  of  mind  and 
body.  If  Luther's  motto  was,  '*  The  just  shall  live  by  faith; "  and  Wes- 
ley's, "The  world  is  my  parish;'*  Allen's  was,  "I  perceive  of  a  truth 
that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons."  The  sons  of  Allen,  through  Bishop 
Payne,  have  formulated  the  sentiment  of  the  three  as  follows:  "  God,  our 
Father:  Christ,  our  Redeemder;  and  Man,  our  Brother." 

Many  a  time  when  a  boy  have  I  seen  the  tomb  of  Richard 
Allen  in  the  little  railing  in  front  of  the  **  Big  Bethel "  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia.  This,  the  first  church  of  the  denomi- 
nation, stands  as  a  proud  monument  to  the  religious  zeal 


494  MEN  OP  MARK. 

of  Richard  Allen.  It  stands  on  the  site  of  an  old  black- 
smith shop  where  the  first  meeting  was  held,  and  as  the 
generations  pass  this  monument  on  the  outside  of  the 
church,  and  go  within  the  walls  of  "  Big  Bethel "  they  feel 
that  Allen  still  lives.  Often  good  "men's  deeds  areinterred 
with  their  bones,"  but  in  this  noble  man's  career  we  see  a 
dignified  manhood  and  religious  zeal  become  the  inspir- 
ation of  four  hundred  thousand  of  those  who  follow  in  his 
footsteps.  The  Rev.  B.  W.  Amett  has,  in  a  graphic  descrip- 
tion of  the  times  which  I  give  here,  shown  how  great 
was  the  cause  for  their  separation  fi-om  the  white  church: 

The  causes  which-  led  to  the  organization  of  the  African  M.  B.  charch 
are  numerous ;  but  a  few  facts  will  give  an  idea  of  the  principal  reason 
of  our  origin.  After  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  while  the 
world  was  rejoicing  at  the  establishment  of  a  government  whose  declared 
principles  were  universal,  political,  civil  and  religiotis  liberty,  and  livldk 
the\'  were  singing  the  anthems  of  peace,  there  was  another  mighty  con- 
flict going  on — not  on  the  battlefield,  with  sabre  and  musket,  but  in  the 
churches  and  the  social  circles  of  the  land.  Prejudice,  the  unrelenting 
enemy  of  the  oppressed  and  weak,  was  asserting  its  power ;  and  from 
the  year  1787  to  1816,  the  conflict  continued  without  cessation.  The 
colored  portion  of  the  numerous  congregations  of  the  North  and  South 
were  wronged,  proscribed,  ostracised  and  compelled  to  sit  in  the  back 
seats  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord.  The  sons  of  toil  and  the  daughters 
of  oppression  remained  on  these  seats  for  some  time,  hoping  that  some 
of  the  members,  at  least,  would  receive  a  sufficient  atnount  of  grace  to 
enable  them  to  treat  these  children  of  sorrow  with  Christian  courtesy* 
But  they  were  doomed  to  disappointment;  for  soon  bad  yielded  to  worse, 
and  they  were  sent  up  into  the  dusty  galleries.  There,  high  above  the 
congregation,  they  had  to  serve  the  Lord  silently — for  not  an  amen  must 
come  down  from  the  sable  band.  These  and  other  indignities  our  fathers 
bore  with  Christian  patience  for  a  number  of  years.  They  were  denied 
the  communion  of  the  Lord's  Supper  until  all  the  white  members  bad 
partaken.    This  treatment  continued  until  forbearance  ceased  to  be  a 


RICHARD  ALI.EN.  495 

^firtve,  and  our  fathers  drew  out  from  among  them ;  for  the  watchfires 
•of  soul-ireedom  were  burning  in  their  bosoms.  These  were  kindled  and 
fed  by  the  sentiments  of  the  age  in  which  they  lived;. for  on  every  side 
-could  be  heard  the  watchword  of  the  Nation — "All  men  are  bom  free 
and  equal,  and  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inahenable  rights, 
among  which  are  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness." 

Allen  was  a  man  of  independent  character,  and  was  cdn- 

verted  at  the  age  of  seventeen.    His  influence,  though  a 

slave,  was  so  great  that  his  master  allowed  him  to  preach 

and  have  preachers  to  preach  for  him,  as  he  pleased.    His 

master  was  converted  under  his  preaching,  and  yet  I  have 

some    doubt   of  his  conversion,  as  he  made  poor  slave 

Richard  Allen  purchase  his  freedom.    This  man  may  have 

been  a  Christian;  *  *God , ' '  who  * '  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, ' ' 

may  have  done  something  for  his  soul,  but  he  took  Allen's 

money  when  he  should  have  set  him  free.    How  they  can 

ever  harmonize  God's  words  with  their  conduct  will  take 

a  **  general  judgment  *'  to  tell.    If  for  noother  thingit  were 

need'ed,  it  will  be  good  for  that.    However,  he  had  three 

^ble,  honest  men  to  stand  by  him :  Rev.  Absalom  Jones, 

William  White  and  Downs  Ginnings,  and  they  determined 

t:o  ei:ect  a  building  for  the  colored  people.    Says  an  article 

in  the  Christian  Recorder  : 

This  undertaking  met  with  strong  opposition  from  both  white  men  in 
"the  Saint  George's  M.  E.  church  and  prominent  colored  men,  while  some 
of  both  classes  encouraged  him.    Ministers  of  the  M.  E.  church  threat- 
ened to  disown  him  and  his  followers,  but  with  much  sagacitj'  he  told 
them  that  if  they  turned  him  out  otherwise  than  in  accordance  with  dis- 
cipline, he  would  seek  redress.    His  own  language  is:     "We  are  deter- 
mined to  seek  out  for  ourselves,  the  Lord  being  our  helper."    He  and  his 
friends  narrated  to  these  brethren  of  the  M.  E.  church  the  especial  griev- 
ances suffered  in  their  communion  (?)    He  also  told  them :    **  If  you  deny  us 


496  MEN  OF  MARK. 

youf  name  (Methodist),  you  cannot  seal  up  the  Scripture  from  us  or  deny 
us  a  name  in  heaven.  We  believe  heaven  i»  free  for  all  who  worship  in 
spirit  and  truth." 

With  maoly  dignity  and  a  clear  indication  that  he  knew 
he  was  cutting  loose  entirely  from  a  great  body  of  people,, 
believing  as  he  did  on  religious  doctrines,  he  said,  when  told 
finally  that  he  would  be  disowned :  *  *  This  was  a  trial  I  never 
had  to  pass  through,  but  I  was  confident  that  the  great 
Head  of  the  church  would  support  us."  Restates  that  on 
the  first  day  he  and  Absalom  Jones  canvassed  for  money 
with  which  to  purchase.  They  raised  three  hundred  and 
sixty  dollars  after  he  had  been  authorized  by  the  commit- 
tee. He  bought  a  lot  on  Sixth  street,  near  Lombard,  the 
site  of  the  present  Bethel  church,  Philadelphia.  The  com- 
mittee agreed  to  purchase  a  lot  on  Fifth  street  and  threw 
the  Bethel  lot  on  his  hands.  Having  the  true  grit  of  man- 
hood in  his  moral  constitution,  he  said :  "I  would  rather 
keep  it  myself  than  forfeit  the  agreement  I  have  made." 
This  he  did.    He  says : 

As  I  was  the  first  proposer  for  an  African  church,  I  put  the  first  spade 
into  the  ground  to  dig  the  cellar  (basement)  for  the  same.  The  old  black- 
smith shop  was  made  a  temple  in  which  to  worship  God.  On  canvassing, 
the  little  society  it  was  found  that  a  majority  preferred  joining  the 
Church  of  England,  rather  than  force  themselves  upon  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  society,  by  which  they  considered  themselves  badly  treated. 
But  Allen  was  a  Methodist,  and  though  but  one  other  member  of  the 
society  agreed  with  him,  he  stuck  to  the  old  church,  again  showing  the 
true  metal  for  a  leader  of  the»colored  Americans. 

Richard  Allen  was  bom  in  Philadelphia  in  1760.  At  sev- 
enteen he  united  with  the  Methodist  society  in  the  State  of 
Delaware.    At  twenty-two  he  commenced  preaching,  and 


^^^^:^ 


■ 

Ij 

i 

1 

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P        I 


1 


i»   ■: 


RICHARD  ALLEN.  497 

traveled  through  the  Middle  States  extensively.  He  was 
>rdaiiied  a  deacon  in  1799,  by  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  Ashbury, 
nshop  of  the  Methodist  church.  At  the  organization  of 
he  A.  M.  E.  church,  A.  D.  1816,  he  was  elected  and 
>rdained  the  first  African  bishop  in  America.  The  foUow- 
ng  names  were  enrolled  in  the  first  conference  held  on  this 
xrcasion : 

Rev.  Richard  Allen,  Jacob  Tapisco,  Clayton  Durham, 
fames  Champion,  Thomas  Webster,  of  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania; Daniel  Coker,  Richard  Williams,  Henry  Hardin, 
Stephen  Hill,  Edward  Williamson,  Nicholas  Gailliard,  of 
Baltimore,  Maryland ;  Peter  Spencer,  of  Wilmington,  Del- 
iware ;  Jacob  March,  Edward  Jackson,  William  Andrews^ 
rf  Attleboro,  Pennsylvania ;  Peter  Cuff,  Salem,  New 
fcrsey. 

These  men  had  faith  in  God  and  faith  in  themselves,  and 
the  splendid  results  of  this  day  show  that  they  did  not 
miscalculate  their  calling.  The  power  of  this  denomination 
s  felt  in  the  land ;  its  leaders  are  courageous,  bold  and  in- 
diligent,  and  it  has  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  country 
Q  its  ranks.  My  personal  relations  with  them  have  been  of 
he  warmest  kind,  and  I  give  them  credit  for  utilizing  every 
lan  they  can  lay  hold  on,  and  they  know  how  to  nurse 
heir  young  eaglets  into  strong  eagles,  and  to  put  their  best 
florts  at  work  for  the  spreading  of  their  views. 


s 


»9S  MEN  OF  MARK. 


CHAPTER  LXVII; 
HON.  SAMUEL  ALLEN  McELWEE,  A.  B.,  LL.  B. 

Lawyer — Legislator — President  of  the  Tennessee  Fair  Association — 
Orator — Speech  in  the  Legislature  on  Mobs. 

IT  is  wonderful  how  easy  some  men  rise  in  the  world  and 
how  hard  others  struggle  to  accomplish  the  same 
ends.  Every  step  with  some  seems  marked  with  bitter 
trials;  severe  hardships  and  apparently  insurmountable 
difficulties;  but  when  at  last  the  goal  has  been  attained 
the  prize  seems  ever  sc^weet — aye,  sweeter  than  it  could 
possibly  be  without  the  conflicts  and  discouragements. 
Samuel  Allen  McElwee  is  a  brave  soul,  who  can  wear  on 
his  forehead  ad  astra  per  aspera  **  through  difficulties  to 
the  stars.  '*  The  chains  of  slavery  bound  his  body  not 
half  so  tightly  as  ignorance  his  mind.  Already  his  voice 
holds  the  Tennessee  Legislature  with  fixed  attention  while 
he  defends  his  race  and  advocates  the  bettering  of  their 
condition.  When  the  war  ended  he  could  not  read.  His 
father  moved  from  Madison  county,  Tennessee,  to  Hey- 
w^ood  county,  Tennessee,  in  1866.  He  was  a  farmer  boy 
for  many  years,  going  to  school  only  three  months  in  the 
year ;  yet  the  boy  studied  till  midnight,  burning  patiently 
the  light  which  would  give  him  opportunity  to  read,  and 


SAMUBL  ALLBN  M'BLWEB.  499 

which  in  after  years  gave  him  a  brighter  light  whereby  he 
might  see  the  condition  of  his  race  and  find  a  remedy  for 
thek  «any  ills.  Though  worn  with  the  daily  toils,  he 
never  neglected  his  studies,  and  at  each  examination  day 
entered  with  his  class  and  passed  the  test,  from  the  year 
1868  until  1874.  He  then  taught  school  awhile.  He 
often  tells  how  at  the  time  he  had  been  influenced  by  the 
National  Era^  Fred  Douglass'  paper,  and  how  a  thirst 
entered  his  soul  for  more  education.  He  matriculated  at 
Oberlin  and  waited  on  the  table,  picked  currants  and 
washed  windows  for  his  board.  He  then  went  to  Missis- 
sippi at  the  end  of  that  year,  where  he  taught  school  for 
five  years.  After  that  he  secured  a  school  in  Alabama  for 
a  time,  and  on  one  occasion,  failing  to  secure  employment, 
walked  thirty  miles  to  secure  a  school  in  Tennessee.  He 
was  often  without  money  and  even  a  place  to  sleep.  Still 
anxious  to  get  means  for  returning  to  college,  he  com- 
menced selling  Lyman's  Historical  Charts,  Bibles  and 
medicines,  from  which  he  became  known  as  a  great  **  Chill 
Doctor/*  He,  however,  could  not  return  to  school,  and 
determined  to  study  Latin,  German  and  algebra  under  a 
a  private  teacher.  After  teaching  a  very  large  school  in 
the  day,  he  would  walk  ten  miles  two  nights  in  the  week 
to  recite  to  a  white  student  at  Vanderbilt  University,  and 
if  this  effort  meets  some  young  man's  eyes  it  is  sincerely 
hoped  that  he  will  make  the  same  effort  as  young  Mc- 
Elwee.  Victory  awaits  the  daring,  and  reward  always 
follows  the  persevering.  His  story  of  privations  and 
sufferings,  of  the  long  tramps,  selling  maps,  and  his  zeal 
for  books  so  weighed  upon  the  student  teacher's  mind 


500  HEN  OP  MARK. 

that  he  told  the  president  of  Fisk  University  of  the  ambiti- 
ous boy.  He  was  invited  by  the  president  to  enter  the 
university.  After  one  year  in  the  senior  preparatory  class, 
for  which  he  found  himself  prepared,  he  entered  college  and 
graduated  thence  May  26,  1883. 

June  30,  1887,  Mr.  McElwee  will  only  be  twenty-nine 
jrears  old,  and  yet  he  seems  a  natural  bom  politician, 
having  canvassed  his  county  every  year  save  one  since 
he  was  fourteen  years  of  age.  In  the  campaign  of 
1882  he  traveled  over  the  Eighth  and  Ninth  congres- 
sional districts  for  the  Republican  party,  advocating 
a  just  settlement  of  the  State  debt.  He  took  his 
seat  in  the  Tennessee  Legislature,  January  1,  1883, 
while  he  was  still  a  student.  He  has  just  completed  his 
third  term.  He  studied  law  in  the  Central  Tennessee 
College  in  Nashville,  and  graduated  thence  in  1885.  He 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Chicago  convention  which  nom- 
inated Hon.  James  G.  Blaine,  and  with  six  others  voted  for 
him  on  every  ballot.  In  the  Republican  State  convention 
of  1886  he  was  elected  temporary  chairman.  Mr.  Mc- 
Elwee takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  moral,  social  and  in- 
dustrial future  of  his  people,  and  is  president  of  the  West 
Tennessee  Colored  Fair  Association  and  the  Memphis  Fair 
Association.  He  was  a  commissioner  in  the  colored 
department  of  the  New  Orleans  Exposition,  placing  his 
State  in  a  very  favorable  attitude.  Mr.  McElwee  is  a 
very  magnetic  speaker,  forcible  debater  and  indefatigable 
worker,  a  manly  man  and  a  truly  honest  citizen.  Under 
the  caption  of  a  "Remarkable  Record,*'  this  was  written 


SAMUEL  ALLEN  M'BLWEE.  \501 

by  a  Kentucky  editor  after  hearing  him  deHver  a  party 
speech  in  Hopkinsville,  Kentucky : 

A  biographical  sketch  of  this  gentleman  reads  like  a  romance.  No 
colored  man  in  the  South  ever  rose  as  rapidly  npbn  the  rounds  of  the 
ladder  of  fame.  In  1879,  Mr.  McElwee  was  an  ignorant,  friendless  col- 
ored tramp,  going  over  the  country,  disposing  of  maps  and  charts  in 
order  to  put  bread  in  his  mouth,  and  keep  body  and  soul  together.  In 
the  summer  of  the  year  above  mentioned  he  tramped  from  Hopkinsville 
to  Nashville,  a  distance  of  seventy-two  miles  in  three  days,  in  order  to 
attend  school.  He  was  eledled  to  the  Tennessee  Legislature  in  1882 
without  opposition,  and  was  successful  in  having  a  bill  passed  appropri- 
ating sixty-six  hundred  dollars  towards  further  protedlion,  progress  and 
prosperity  of  the  Normal  school.  In  1884  he  was  again  ele<5led  his  own 
successor,  beating  his  opponent,  Mr.  H.  C.  Nolan,  a  popular  white  Dem- 
ocrat, by  a  large  majority.  It  was  in  this  last  session  of  the  Legislar 
ture  that  this  able  colored  man  fought  a  hard  and  successful  battle  in 
passing  a  bill  appropriating  eighty-five  thousand  dollars  to  the  West 
Tennessee  Insane  Asylum,  and  also  fifty-five  hundred  dollars  to  the  Deaf 
and  Dumb  Institution.  He  is  a  brilliant  conversationalist  and  eloquent 
political  orator ;  his  countenance  is  pleasing  and  intelledlual  and  the  for- 
mation of  his  head  favorable  to  the  belief  that  he  possesses  a  phrenolog- 
ical development  of  a  very  superior  character;  the  dogmas  of  philosophy 
and  crudities  of  theology  are  impaled  by  his  humor,  and  his  wit  is  so 
boundless  that  it  crops  out  often  in  his  more  serious  utterances. 

A  man's  associates  can  generally  give  good  testimony 
as  to  his  standing,  so  we  quote  a  speech  of  R.  R.  Butler, 
who  was  seledled  by  the  Republicans  of  the  Legislature 
to  nominate  Mr.  McElwee  for  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  State  of  Tennessee  during  his  sec- 
ond term.    He  says : 

Mr.  Speaker :  It  affords  me  much  pleasure  to  nominate  a  candidate  for 
speaker,  one  who  was  a  slave  in  the  days  of  slavery,  which  1  thank  God 
have  passed  away.  One  that  by  his  own  strong  arm  and  determined 
will,  and  being  blessed  with  a  splendid  intelle<5l,  graduating  a  short  time 


502  HBN  OF  MARK. 

since  at  /the  Pisk  University  in  this  city  with  high  honors,  and  those  of 
us  here  who  served  with  him  in  the  last  Legislature  remember  his  gentle- 
manly bearing  and  industrious  habits,  always  vigilant  and  active,  look- 
ing after  the  interest  of  his  constituents  and  especially  his  race.  I  mean 
the  honorable  S.  A.  McElwee  of  Hcywood  county.  I  am  proud  of  this 
occasion,  and  it  is  but  another  evidence  of  where  the  race  must  look  for 
recognition.  Having  been  bom  in  the  midst  of  slavery,  and  a  slave- 
holder myself,  I  am  grateful  to  know  that  I  state  the  feelings  and  senti- 
ments of  my  party  associates.  I  would  not  say  a  disparaging  word  of 
the  gentleman  nominated  by  the  Democrats.  I  have  served  with  him  a 
long  time,  rating  him  to  be  an  honest  man  and  will  preside  over  the 
deliberations  of  this  house  impartially  and  will  treat  the  minority  with 
fairness.  While  I  say  that  much  in  justice  to  Mr.  Hanson,  I  can  say  of  a: 
truth  that  S.  A.  McElwee  is  the  peer  of  any  member  on  this  floor,  and 
will  make  an  excellent  speaker,  and  it  affords  me  much  pleasure  to  vote- 
for  him. 

The  future  is  big  with  promises  for  Mr.  McElwee,  and  if 
his  course  is  as  steady  in  the  future  as  it  has  been  in  the 
past,  much  can  be  expedled  from  him  in  the  way  of  honors, 
and  he  will  lend  inspiration  to  those  around  him.  The 
Union,  published  in  Nashville,  gives  a  two  column  extract. 
from  his  speech  delivered  on  the  subject  of  **  Mobs ''  in  the 
Tennessee  Legislature,  the  issue  of  February  23,  1887. 
The  words  are  those  of  a  scholar,  an  orator  and  a  patriot. 
They  are  full  of  wisdom  and  statesmanship— full  of  courr 
age  and  boldness. 

Said  he : 

It  is  remarkable  to  note  the  sameness  with  which  all  these  reports  read. 
It  seems  as  if  some  man  in  this  country*  had  the  patent  by  which  these 
reports  are  written.    Statistics  do  not  show  the  number  of  Negroes  who 
have  in  the  past  few  years  been  sentenced  in  Judge  Lynch's  court,  but . 
judging  from  the  number  coming  under  our  observation  we  are  convinced « 
that  the  number  is  most  astounding.    So  prevalent  and  constant  are  the  • 


SAMUEL  ALLEN  M'ELWEB.  503 

reports  flashed  over  the  country  in  regard  to  Ijmching  of  Negroes  that 
we  are  forced  to  seek  shelter  with  the  poets  and  cry,  "  O  for  a  lodge  In 
some  vast  wilderness,  some  boundless  contiguity  of  shade,  where  rumor 
of  oppression  and  deceit,  of  successful  or  unsuccessful  mobs  might  never 
reach  me  more.*'  My  ear  is  pained,  my  soul  is  sick  with  every  day's  re- 
port of  wrong  and  outrage  perpetrated  upon  the  Negroes  by  mob  violence, 
I  am  not  here,  Mr.  Speaker,  asking  any  special  legislation  in  the  interest  of 
the  Negroes,  but  in  behalf  of  a  race  of  outraged  human  beings.  I  stand  here 
to-day  and  enter  my  most  solemn  protest  against  mob  violence  in  Tennes- 
see. Hundreds  of  Negroes,  yes  thousands,  from  all  parts  of  this  Southland, 
are  to-day  numbered  with  the  silent  majority,  gone  to  eternity  without 
a  tomb  to  mark  their  last  resting  place,  as  the  result  of  mob  violence  for 
crimes  which  they  never  committed.  As  we  to-day  legislate  on  this 
question,  the  spirits  of  these  Negroes  made  perfect  in  the  paradisiacal  re- 
gion of  God,  in  convention  assembled,  with  united  voices,  are  asking  the 
question,  *'  Great  God,  when  will  this  Nation  treat  the  Negro  as  an  Amer- 
ican citizen,  whether  he  be  in  Maine,  among  her  tall  pines,  or  in  the  South, 
where  the  magnolia  blossoms  grow?"  Mr.  Speaker,  Tennessee  should 
place  the  seal  of  eternal  condemnation  upon  mob  violence.  **  Your  sins 
will  find  you  out.'*  The  spirit  of  God  will  not  always  strive  with  man. 
For  years  American  slavery  was  the  great  sin  of  the  Nation.  In  the 
course  of  time  God  made  clear  his  disapproval  of  this  National  sin  by  a 
National  calamity.  Four  years  of  destructive  and  bloody  war  rent  our 
country  in  twain  and  left  our  Southland  devastated.  The  war  came  as 
the  result  of  sin ;  let  us  sin  no  more  lest  a  greater  calamity  befall  ns.  We 
have  had  several  cases  of  mob  violence  in  Tennessee  within  the  past  six 
months.  The  sayingthat  "light  itself  is  a  great  corrective,  "is  as  true  as 
trite.    What  is  the  position  of  the  public  press  on  mob  violence  ? 

I  stand  here  to-day,  Mr.  Speaker,  as  a  member  of  this  body  and  a  lover 
of  my  people,  and  indict  the  public  press  of  the  State  for  condoning,  by 
its  silence,  the  wrongs  and  outrages  perpetrated  upon  the  Negroes  of  the 
State  by  mob  violence.  Who  doubts  for  a  moment  but  that  the  public 
press  of  the  State  could  bum  out  mob  violence  in  Tennessee  as  effectually 
as  the  mirrors  of  Archimedes  burned  the  Roman  ships  in  the  harbor  of 
S3'racuse  ?  Read  the  dailies  and  the  majority  of  the  weeklies,  and  yon 
will  find  them  on  the  mobs  at  Jackson,  Dyersburg  andMcKcnzieasdumb 
as  an  oyster.    The  mob  at  Dyersburg  took  place  in  broad  day-light,  anS 


}  504  MEN  OP  MARK. 

as  the  result  of  that  mob  hundreds  of  Negroes  refused  to  attend  the 
end  annual  exhibition  of  the  West  Tennessee  Colored  Pair  Association, 
which  was  held  at  Dyersburg  in  October,  1886.    The  mob  at  Jackson  is 

,  without  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  our  State.  Go  with  me,  Mr.  Speaker 
and  gentlemen,  to  Jackson  and  look  at  that  poor  woman,  with  that 
weakness  and  tenderness  common  to  women,  as  she  is  taken  from  the 
jail  and  followed  by  that  motly  crowd  to  the  courtyard.  The  bell  is 
rung,  they  enter  the  jail  and  strip  her  of  every  garment,  and  order  her 
to  march — buffeting,  kicking,  and  spearing  her  with  sharp  sticks  on  the 
march.  "  She  was  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter ;  and  like  a  lamb  dumb 
before  her  shearer,  so  opened  she  not  her  mouth.  *'  She  was  swung  up. 
her  body  riddled  with  bullet^  and  orders  issued  not  to  interfere  with  her 
until  after  nine  o*clock  the  next  morning,  in  order  that  she  might  be  seen. 
Men  who  spoke  against  it  and  said  it  was  an  outrage,  had  to  leave  town. 
Others  who  thought  of  giving  vent  to  their  feelings  en  masse  by  series  of 
resolutions,  were  told  that  they  had  not  better  attempt  it.  Mr.  Speaker, 
society  prepares  crime,  and  the  criminal  is  only  the  instrument  by  which 

I  it  is  accomplished . 

I  therefore  again  indict  the  public  press  and  citizens  of  Madison  county 
for  the  foul  play  upon  the  person  of  Eliza  Wood,  and  hold  them  to  a 
strict  account  before  the  bar  of  eternal  justice  for  the  wrong  done.  The 
mobs  of  Jackson,  McKenzic  and  Dyersburg  are  mentioned  because  they 
;are  the  most  recent,  not  because  they  are  exceptional  or  that  we  lack 
other  examples.  Grant,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  these  parties  were 
guilty,  does  that  make  it  right  and  accord  with  our  principles  of  justice? 
When  the  citizens  of  Madison,  Dyer  and  Carroll  go  to  judgment  with  the 
blood  of  Eliza  Wood,  Matt  Washington  and  Charles  Dinwiddie  on  their 
garments,  it  will  be  more  tolerable  for  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  that  da.y 
jthan  it  will  be  for  Jackson,  Dyersburg  and  McKenzie.  Por  two  hundred 
^d  fifty  years,  Mr.  Speaker,  we  were  regarded  as  chattel.  More  than 
twenty  years  ago  \ve  were  made  citizens,  and  as  such  we  ask  at  your 
hands  that  protection  which  is  common  to  American  citizens.  The  sainted 
parfield  told  us  to  go  home  and  make  friends  with  our  neighbors.  We 
/are  here  to-day  knocking  at  your  door  and  ask  that  you  **  entreat  us  not 
ito  leave  you  or  return  from  following  after  you ;  for  whitlirr  you  go  we 
,feill  go,  and  where  you  lodge  we  will  lodge ;  your  people  shall  be  our 
l^eople,  and  your  God  our  God ;  where  you  die  will  we  die,  and  there  wffl 


S.  A.  MtELWEE. 


SAMUEL  ALLBN  M'BLWEB.  505 

l)e  buried ;  the  Lord  do  so  unto  us,  and  more  also,  if  aught  but  death 
part  you  and  us."  If  this  mob  violence  continues,  its  inHuence  upon  soci- 
ety will  be  worse  than  the  malign  influence  which  Cataline  wielded  over 
the  reckless  and  abandoned  youth  of  Rome.  Mob  violence  is  sowing  in 
America  a  seed  that  will  ripen  in  a  conspiracy  that  will  eclipse  in  gigan- 
tic proportions  the  great  conspiracy  of  Cataline  to  lay  Rome  in  ashes  and 
deluge  its  streets  in  blood,  for  the  purpose  of  enriching  those  who  were 
to  apply  the  torch  and  wield  the  dagger.  Mr.  Speaker,  the  time  has 
passed  in  the  history  of  this  Nation  for  race  wars.  We  cannot  afford  it. 
There  are  at  present  questions  of  very  great  importance  demanding  the 
attention  of  both  races.  They  call  for  the  united  effort  on  the  part  of 
both.  The  labor  question,  tariff  and  public  service  are  all  important,  the 
interest  of  the  white  man  is  the  interest  of  the  black  man,  that  which 
hurts  one  will  hurt  the  other;  therefore,  as  a  humble  representative  of  the 
Negro  race,  and  as  a  member  of  this  body,  I  stand  here  to-day  and  waTe 
the  flag  of  truce  between  the  races  and  demand  a  reformation  in  South- 
em  society  by  the  passage  of  this  bill. 

The  bill  was  defeated,  but  great  excitement  was  pro- 
duced by  the  terrible  lashing  which  they  received.  His 
style  was  impressive  and  they  listened  with  no  slight  inter- 
est to  his  powerful  arraignment.  Itv^'ill  yet  bear  fruit  and 
do  good.  All  the  members  of  the  Legislature  have  a  high 
respect  for  his  ability,  integrity  and  loyalty  to  his  constit- 
uents. His  popularity  with  the  people  of  his  race  is  un- 
bounded,  and  he  is  careful  to  live  honorably  and  with 
soberness,  thus  challenging  their  admiration  and  courting 
their  friendship. 


506  MBN  OP  MARK. 


Lxvm. 

REV.  LOTT  CAREY. 

Pint  Amenran  Missionary  to  Africa— The  God-sent  Missionary. 

CAREY  was  an  earnest  disciple  of  Christ.  He  began- 
life  as  a  poor  tobacco  packer  in  a  warehouse  in 
Richmond,  Virginia.  Bom  about  1780,  he  lived  a  very 
profane  and  wicked  life.  About  1807,  in  the  gallery  of  a 
Baptist  church,  he  heard  a  sermon  from  the  third  chapter 
of  John,  and  he  was  so  impressed  with  the  story  of  Nico- 
demus  that  he  determined  to  learn  to  read,  that  he  might 
know  the  story  for  himself,  and  be  able  to  repeat  it  word 
for  word  as  he  heard  it.  A  Testament  was  his  first  read- 
ing book.  He  was  a  prudent  man,  who  made  and  saved 
money  with  which  he  purchased  his  freedom.  While  in  a 
night  school,  to  the  astonishment  of  everybody  he  an- 
nounced his  intention  of  going  to  Africa  as  a  missionary. 
His  teacher,  William  Crane,  had  that  night  been  lecturing 
to  them  on  the  Messrs  Burgess  &  Mills  report  of  an  explo- 
ration on  the  coast  of  Africa.  The  matter  so  stirred,  up 
Carey  that  it  made  him  declare  his  intention  as  heretofore 
stated.  He  was  worth  about  fifteen  hundred  dollars  in 
real  estate,  and  his  employer  not  desiring  to  lose  his  ser- 


LOTT  CAREY. 


507 


vices,  oflfered  to  raise  his  salary  two  hundred  dollars  more 
per  year:  but  Carey  having  fully  consecrated  himself  to 
this  service,  accepted  an  appointment  as  missionary  of  the 
"Tri-ennial  Convention"  and  set  sail  to  Africa,  accom- 
panied by  Rev.  Collin  Teague,  who  was  the  first  American 
to  go  to  that  coimtfy  on  such  an  errand.  Teague  was  a 
great  admirer  of  Carey,  and  once  said  very  enthusiastic- 
ally to  a  white  man,  **  I  don't  hear  any  of  your  white 
ministers  that  can  preach  like  Lott  Carey.*'  He  sailed  on 
the  twenty-third  of  January,  1820,  and  after  forty-four 
days  reached  Sierra  Leone.  Says  the  story  of  *  Baptist 
Missions :'  ** The  agent  of  the  Colonization  Company  had 
not  yet  purchased  any  land,  and  therefore  could  not  receive 
him  and  his  friend  Teague  as  cultivators  of  the  soil . ' '  Hence 
they  were  obliged  for  some  months  to  work  as  mechan- 
ics. In  1824  he  was  appointed  physician  to  the  set- 
tlers in  Africa,  a  position,  the  duties  of  which  his  studies 
of  the  diseases  of  the  country  enabled  him  to  discharge. 
In  1828  he  became  acting  governor  of  Liberia.  It  is  said 
that  in  1823  Mr.  Carey  and  his  fellow-colonists  lost  confi- 
dence in  the  administration  of  the  colored  society.  They 
found  its  government  oppressive  and  demanded  reform. 
Some  few  of  the  malcontents  took  advantage  of  the  gen- 
eral insubordination  and  siezed  a  portion  of  the  public 
stores.  We  have  only  Governor  Ashmun's  account  of 
'these  transactions.  However,  Lott  Carey  declared  that 
lie  acted  only  on  principle  in  the  matter,  which  was  after- 
^jvards  compromised,  and  on  his  death-bed  Mr.  Ashmun 
xwged  that  he  should  be  permanently  appointed  to  con- 
duct the  affairs  of  the  colony,  expressing  perfect  confidence 


508  MEN  OF  MARK. 

in  his  integrity  and  in  his  ability  to  discharge  the  duties 
of  the  oflBce. 

Sometimes  they  would  have  difficulties  with  the  natives 
in  Liberia,  and  it  was  necessary  to  do  fighting  as  well  as 
preaching.  Carey  was  pretty  good  at  both,  and  lost  his 
life  while  making  cartridges.  An  explosion  took  place  in 
"which  he  was  badly  injured,  and  after  lingering  some  days 
he  died,  November  10,  1828,  leaving  many  to  mourn  his 
loss,  and  besides,  leaving  as  a  legacy  to  the  American  peo- 
ple the  life  of  a  devoted  missionary.  It  has  been  said  the 
Negroes  have  no  fine  feelings  and  that  they  are  but  little 
above  irrational  animals,  but  here  is  a  man  with  no  cir- 
cumstances to  inspire  him,  bearing  in  bis  heart  a  tender 
love  for  the  Africans  who  knew  not  Christ,  even  though 
he,  himself,  was  fettered  with  the  chains  of  American 
slavery,  and  could  see  something  for  him  to  do  in  relieving 
others  who,  while  free  in  body,  were  chained  in  sin.  It  is 
a  remarkable  fact  that  Lott  Carey  is  the  namesake  of 
William  Carey,  the  '^singing  cobbler"  of  London,  who 
first  carried  the  gospel  to  the  dark  skinned  races  of  India. 
The  white  and  the  black  Carey  shall  forever  live  side  by 
side  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  'sympathize  with  down- 
trodden people.  It  has  been  said  that  the  race  has  not 
iumished  sufficient  great  men  for  biographers  and  ency- 
clopedists to  take  cognizance  of  them,  but  here  is  a  man 
who  was  bom  before  this  century  began  its  course,  whose 
name  is  imbedded  in  the  history  of  his  time  and  solidly 
wedged  in  the  great  books  of  the  age. 

Fair  sketches  will  be  found  of  his  life  in  the  American 
Baptist  Missionary  Union  literature,  the  story  of  *Bap- 


Z.OTT  CARET.  609 

tist  Missions/  'Encyclopedia  of  Missions,'  by  Harry  New- 
comb,  'American  Encyclopedia,*  and  in  a  sketch  called 
"Africa  in  Brief,"  by  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Coles,  present  mission- 
ary to  the  Vey  tribes  in  Africa. 


510  MEN  OF  MASK. 


LXIX. 
HON.  JOHN  MERCER  LANGSTON,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  LL.  D. 

Lawyer — Minister  Resident  and  Consul-General — Charge  de  Affaires- 
President  of  the  Virginia  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute — Formerly 
Dean  and  Professor  of  Law  in  Howard  University. 

ONE  of  the  greatest  Negroes  in  America  is  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  His  name  has  become  a  household 
word,  especially  among  the  younger  generation,  and  his 
deeds  shine  brightly  alongside  of  those  of  even  older  men. 
My  personal  acquaintance  with  him  dates  from  the  time  I 
was  a  student  attending  Howard  University,  in  1870,  to 
the  present  day.  I  remember  him  well  as  a  man  who  did 
not  fear  to  speak  his  opinions.  In  those  days  there  were 
many  colored  men  who  bowed  and  scraped  to  any  kind  of 
bloated,  shoddy  aristocracy.  We  all  had  faith  in  him,  and 
I  remember  distinctly  that  of  all  the  six  hundred  students 
at  that  time,  not  one  could  have  been  found  who  believed 
Langston  thought  himself  less  than  the  best  citizen  of  the 
country.  At  present,  however,  we  have  to  deal  with  his 
distinct  acts  which,  developed  him  into  the  great  man  we 
now  find  him. 

He  was  bom  in  Louisa  county,  Virginia,  December  14, 
1829,  and  is,  in  blood,  Indian,  Negro  and  Anglo-Saxon.  He 


JOHN  MERCER  LANGSTON.  511 

has  the  fortitude  of  the  first,  the  pride  of  the  second  and 
the  progressiveness  of  the  third.  He  was  bom  in  slavery 
and  takes,  since  his  father  was  his  owner,  the  name  of  his 
mother's  family,  which  was  Indian  and  Negro  mainly,  and 
was  closely  related  to  the  family  of  Pocahontas.  In  this 
he  can  make  the  boast  that  he  belongs  to  the  F.  F.  Vs. 
Emancipated  when  a  mere  child  upon  the  death  of  his 
father,  by  his  will  and  testament  he  was  sent  to  the  State 
of  Ohio,  where  he  grew  to  manhood,  and  was  educated  and 
pursued  a  professional  and  official  life  to  the  year  1867. 

In  1884  he  entered  Oberlin  College,  located  at  Oberlin, 
Ohio,  and  graduated  after  five  years  regular  collegiate 
study  in  1849.  He  then  sought  admission  to  a  law 
school,  conducted  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Fowler  at  Ballston  Spa, 
New  York,  but  was  refused  admission  on  account  of  his 
color.  He  was  advised  to  edge  his  way  into  the  school, 
claiming  he  was  a  Frenchman  or  Spaniard  coming  from 
the  West  Indies,  Central  or  South  America,  for  he  could 
well  pass  for  either,  but  his  open  manly  nature  scorned  a 
trick  even  for  success.  He  next  tried  to  gain  admission  to 
a  law  school  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  conducted  by  Judge  Tim- 
othy Walker,  but  he  was  refused  here  too,  with  the  kind 
assurance  from  the  judge  that  he  being  a  young  colored 
man  could  not  find  himself  at  home  with  white  scholars. 
That  man  never  made  a  greater  mistake  in  his  life. 

He  was  forced  to  seek  a  situation  as  a  student  in  some 
lawyer's  office,  and  his  success  in  this  direction  was  poor 
enough,  as  few  white  lawyers  in  our  country  were  ready  in 
1849  to  take  a  Negro  law-student  into  their  offices.  Only' 
the  Hon.  Sherlock  J.  Andrews  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  would 


512  MEN  OP  MARK. 

consent  to  furnish  Langston  books,  with  an  occasional 
opportunity  for  explanation  of  law  doctrines  and  princi- 
ples, so  that  no  interference  was  made  in  ordinary  office 
business.  Of  course  there  was  little  accomplished  in  this 
way,  and  the  attempt  under  such  cruel  embarrassments 
only  served  to  discourage  him,  so  he  abandoned  the  study 
for  awhile,  and  entered  the  Theological  Department  of 
Oberlin  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1853.  Then 
he  entered  upon  the  study  of  law  under  the  tuition  of  Hon. 
Philemon  Bliss  of  Elyria,  Ohio,  at  the  time  one  of  the  first 
lawyers  of  the  Ohio  bar,  distinguished  especially  for  his 
excellent  culture,  and  his  anti-slavery  sentiments  and  ut- 
terances, as  well  as  his  large  and  commanding  influence  in 
the  community.  About  one  year  later  Mr.  Langston 
appeared  by  order  of  the  court  for  examination,  with  ref- 
erence to  his  admission  to  the  bar,  before  a  special  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  court,  composed  of  two  Democrats 
and  one  Whig.  The  matter  of  admitting  colored  men  to 
the  bar  was  novel .  No  one  of  this  class  up  to  that  time  had 
the  temerity  to  offer  himself  as  a  candidate  for  auch  &n 
honor.  Mr.  Langston  was  in  the  lead  so  far  as  the  west- 
em  part  of  the  country  was  concerned,  but  his  erudition 
in  law  was  so  apparent,  and  his  general  knowledge,  clas- 
sic and  scientific,  so  profound,  that  he  at  once  w^on  the 
favor  of  the  committee ;  but  here  again  was  the  ghost  of 
color.  "Shall  a  Negro  or  mulatto  be  admitted  to  the 
Ohio  bar?"  '^Can  he  be,  legally?"  At  once  the  answer 
was  made  to  these  questions  in  the  negative  and  in  the 
judicial  phrase  with  emphasis.  The  old  Whig  member  of 
the  committee,  a  man  of  generous  and  manly  sentiment 


JOHN  M.  I.ANGSTON. 


•1 


r  t 


■ 

I 


'.  I 

r. 


f; 


JOHN  MERCER  LANGSTON  513 

suggested  to  his  colleagues  and  the  court  composed  of  five 
distinguished  lawyers,  that  it  might  be  well  in  view  of  the 
late  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Ohio  to 
inquire  whether  Langston  wrfb  either  a  Negro  or  mulatto ; 
**for,"  he  urged,  "Judge  Bliss  is  taking  care  of  his  case:'* 
whereupon  the  color  of  Langston  was  inquired  into  and 
when  it  had  been  decided  that  he  had  more  white  than 
Negro  blood,  as  it  was  phrased,  he  was  ordered  to  be 
sworn  by  the  court  as  a  lawyer,  October  24,  1854.  Con- 
stant and  uninterrupted  scholastic  labors  including  school 
teaching  during  the  winter  season  from  1844  to  1855, 
eleven  consecutive  years,  had  considerably  disturbed  Mr. 
Langston's  health.  At  the  suggestion  of  his  physician,  he 
went,  therefore,  as  soon  as  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
upon  a  farm  in  Brownhelm,  Lorain  county,  Ohio.  This 
was  a  rich,  popular,  intelligent  and  progressive  commu- 
nity of  white  people  in  one  of  the  best  sections  of  the  West- 
em  Reserve.  He  was  the  only  colored  person  residing  in 
that  part  of  Ohio,  but  he  no  sooner  purchased  his  farm 
and  settled  among  these  good  people,  than  he  was  cor- 
dially welcomed  with  opportunity  for  the  employment  of 
all  the  ability,  legal  and  otherwise,  which  he  possessed. 
One  week,  just  after  he  had  moved  into  this  new  home,  a 
leading  Democrat  lawyer  of  the  community  called  ujxjn 
him  to  assist  in  a  trial  of  a  very  important  case  involving 
several  questions  of  possession  and  occupancy  of  land, 
requiring  consideration  and  verdict  of  a  jury.  Mr.  Lang- 
ston was,  of  course,  delighted  with  such  a  call,  and  he 
hastened  to  accept  it.  It  was  well  he  did  so,  for  no  man 
ever  gained  a  greater  advantage  and  more  various  than 


514  MEN  OF  MARK. 

that  which  came  to  him  from  the  call  of  his  friend,  Mr. 
Hamilton  Perry.     For  the  first  time,  in  the  fall  of  1854, 
on  a  beautiful  Saturday  afternoon,  a  colored  lawyer  ap- 
peared in  an  important  suit  as  the  assistant  of  a  white 
attorney.     The  court,  the  witnesses,  the  lawyers,  except 
Langston,  were  all  white.    Such  was  the  success  of  the 
colored  lawyer  in  connection  with  this  case  that  he  found 
himself  at  once  surrounded  by  numerous  clients  with  fat  re- 
tainers.   From  that  time  he  grew  in  business  and  influence 
rapidly  and  solidly.  The  spring eledlions  in  1875  in  the  State 
of  Ohio  was  signalized  for  the  first  time  by  the  nomination 
and  choice  to  the  clerkship  of  one  of  the  most  advancec' 
townships  of  the  State,  of  a  colored  man,  upon  a  total 
white  vote.    For  the  first  time,  too,  in  the  history  of  our 
country,  a  colored  man  had  been  elected  to  an  office  of 
responsibilities  and  emoluments  upon  a  popular  choice. 
This  fortunate  colored  man  was  Lawyer  Langston.    He 
was  immediately  called  in  view  thereof  to  take  part  as 
one  of  the  orators  of  the  May  meeting  of  the  American 
Anti-slaver\'  Society,  held  in  1855  in  New  York  City. 

The  speech  on  that  occasion  was  of  such  character  in 
sentiment,  delivery  and  effect  as  to  secure  its  full  report 
and  publication  in  the  daily  papers  of  New  York  and  the 
leading  journals  and  periodicals  of  the  Anti-slavery  societies 
of  the  times.  Those  who  heard  the  speech  of  the  young 
orator  never  can  forget  how  his  first  sentences  were 
uttered.    His  words  were  these : 

A  nation  may  lose  its  liberties  and  be  a  century  in  finding  it  out. 
Where  is  the  American  liberty  ? 


JOHN  Jf  BRCER  LANGSTON.  515 

In  its  farTeacHixiis:  and'huoad  sweep,  slavery  has  stricken  down  the  free- 

dotA  of  us  all; 
And  American  slavery  itself  has  gone  glimmering  into  the  things  that 

were. 
A  schoolboy  ^s  tale,  the  wonder  of  an  hour. 

In  his  capacity  as  clerk  in  Brownhelm  township,  Mr. 
Langston  was  given  special  opportunities  in  connection 
w^ith  his  profession,  but  he  was,  by  reason  of  his  peculiar 
relations  to  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  township,  given 
special  duties  as  regarded  its  common  schools.  Indeed  he 
was  ex-officio  school  visitor.  In  the  fall  of  1860,  Mr. 
Langston  was  engaged  in  looking  after  the  school  inter- 
ests of  the  colored  youth  of  Ohio,  organizing  schools 
among  them  and  supplying  teachers  thereof,  traversing  the 
entire  State  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  river.  When  the 
war  came,  Mr.  Langston  signalized  his  conduct  by  loyal 
patriotic  labors  in  favor  maintaining  the  authority  of  the 
government,  and  although  he  did  not  go  into  the  field  as 
a  soldier,  he  engaged  actively  in  recruiting  troops  and  did 
more,  perhaps,  than  any  other  single  man  to  recruit  the 
Fifty-fourth  and  Fifty-fifth  regiments,  to  the  latter  of 
which  regiments  he  gave  the  colors.  He  also  recruited  the 
Fifth  regiment  of  colored  troops  of  Ohio,  to  which  also  he 
gave  colors,  and  finally  when  he  thought  the  colored 
American  should  be  given  the  full  recognition  which  he 
had  won,  as  introduced  to  Secretary  Stanton  by  General 
James  A.  Garfield,  he  asked  of  that  great  war  joflficer  a 
commission  as  colonel,  with  permission  to  recruit  and 
command  a  colored  regiment  oflficered  by  colored  men  who 
had  already  won  distinction  in  the  service.    Suchpropo- 


r 


516  MEN  OP  MARK. 

sition  was  taken  under  discussion  by  the  government,  but 
it  was  not  decided  in  time  to  give  Mr.  Langston  his  com- 
mission before  the  war  closed. 

Moving  to  Oberlin  in  1856,  Mr.  Langston  was  at  once 
elected  clerk  of  the  township  of  Russia ;  next  year  a  mem- 
ber of  the  council  of  the  incorporated  village  of  Oberlin 
for  two  years,  and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  in 
that  village,  successively  for  eleven  years.  In  this  time  he 
became  especially  distinguished  for  his  skill  in  examining 
witnesses  and  his  eloquence  and  power  in  addressing  courts 
and  juries. 

Mr.  Langston  was  an  able,  bold,  determined  advocate, 
using  tongue,  pen,  and  all  the  force  of  his  nature  and  learn- 
ing in  behalf  of  the  enslaved  and  oppressed  colored  Ameri- 
cans, demanding  for  them  freedom,  legal  rights,  and 
educational  advantages.  In  1867  Mr.  Langston  was 
invited  by  General  0.  0.  Howard,  through  the  influence  of 
the  Chief-Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Hon.  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  to  act  as  general  inspector  of  the  schools  of  the 
freed  people  of  the  country.  It  was  in  July  of  the  same 
year  that  he  made  his  first  trip  southward  on  the  errand 
indicated.  He  went  entirely  through  the  State  of  Missis- 
sippi on  this  trip,  visiting  and  speaking  in  every  prominent 
place  in  the  South.  On  his  return  he  found  President 
Johnson  declaring  at  the  White  House  and  throap^h  the 
journals  of  the  country,  that  he  intended  to  relieve  General 
O.  0.  Howard  of  the  commissionership  of  the  **  Bureau  of 
Freedmen,  Refugees  and  Abandoned  Lands,''  to  which  he 
had  been  appointed  by  President  Abraham  Lincoln,  and 
that  he  would  appoint  thereto  Langston,   if  he  would 


^ 


JOHN  MERCER  LANGSTON.  517 

:onsent  to  take  the  place.  •  Langston  would  not  consent 
to  such  a  change,  claiming  that  General  Howard  should  be 
retained  and  supported  in  his  position,  going  even  so  far  as 
to  tell  General  Howard  all  that  the  President  held  and  said 
against  him,  and  tendering  his  services  in  his  support,  to 
the  extent  of  a  call  upon  and  an  argument  to  General  U.S. 
Grant  in  his  behalf.  He  did  call  upon  General  Grant,  then 
secretary  of  war,  whom  he  found  altogether  ready  and 
willing  to  hear  all  that  could  be  said  in  General  Howard's 
favor.  In  his  interview  with  General  Grant,  Mr.  Langston 
became  enamored  of  him  and  made  bold  to  say  to  him 
that  the  advocacy  of  such  sentiments  as  he  had  so  clearly 
and  eloquently  expressed  with  regard  to  the  reconstruction, 
the  rights,  the  education  and  the  care  of  the  newly  eman- 
cipated classes,  would  make  him  the  next  President  of  the 
United  States.  General  Grant  was  elected  to  the  position. 
About  this  time  President  Johnson  offered  to  Mr.  Langs- 
ton the  mission  to  Hayti.  This  he  declined,  preferring  to 
remain  at  home. 

This  same  year,  1867,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  on  the  motion  of 
Hon.  James  A.  Garfield.  He  continued  to  act  as  general 
inspector  of  Freedmen's  schools,  traveling  throughout  the 
South  during  the  time,  to  1869,  when  he  was  called  to  a 
professorship  in  the  Law  Department  of  Howard  Univer- 
sity. He  at  once  became  Dean  of  that  department,  organ- 
izing it,  and  for  seven  years  he  was  at  the  head  of  what 
was  recognized  as  one  of  the  finest  law  schools  in  the 
country,  and  graduating  therefrom  many  of  the  first 
white  and  colored  male  and  female  students  of  the  law 


V 


IS  MEN  OF  MARK. 


% 


:hut  ever  went  from  such  an  institution.    It  was- from  thiis 
><hool,  while   under   his   charge,    that   the*  first   female 
stmlent  of  the  law  in  the  world,  a  young,  colored  lady, 
Miss  C.  B.  Ray  of  New  York,  was  awarded  a  diploma. 
IHirfaig    the   last   two   years   that    Professor   Langston 
remained    at   Howard   University   he   was,    by   especial 
request,  made  vice-president  and  acting  president  of  the 
institution.     He  filled  this  position  with   such    marked 
efficiency  and  success,  that  at  the  close  of  his  first  year  of* 
such  service  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  universitv  con- 
ferred  upon  him  by  special  arrangement  and  in  an  especial' 
and  impressive  manner,  with  address  by  General  Howard,  _ 
the  degree  of  LL.  D.    During  this  time  he  was  appointed 
by  President  Grant  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Health  of 
the  District  of  Columbia.     For  seven  years  he  acted  as  — 
attorney  of  the  board  and  for  one  year  as  its  secretary. 
As  a  sanitarist,  he  was  able  and  efficient. 

In    1877  Mr.  Langston  was   appointed  bj"  President 
Hayes  United  States  minister  resident  and  consul-generaL 
to  Hayli.    In  this  position  he  served  his  country  in  aim 
acceptable  and  conscientious  manner,  as  the  records  of  the  * 
State  department  will  show,  from  September  1,  1877,  to- 
to  Jul3%  1885,  almost  eight  years.    As  a  diplomat  he  was 
an  entire  success,  and  the  citizens  always  found  him  ready 
to  serve  them,  as  well  as  the  officers;  and  the  people  of 
the  country,  near  whose  government  he  resided,  united  in 
bearing  testimony  to  the  fact.    Besides  being  the  Dean  of 
the  Diplomatic  and  Consular  Corps,  he  was  most  of  the^ 
time  while  in  Hajrti,  a  personal  and  great  favorite  in  gen- 
eral society.    It  was  as  the  Etean  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps; 


i 


JOHN  MERCER  LANGSTON.  519 

that,  during  the  yellow  fever  in  the  country  when  the  very 
popular  representative  of  the  French  government  died  of 
such  disease,  he  pronounced  an  eulogy  upon  him  at  his 
tomb,  in  the  French  language,  of  such  character  and  order 
of  elegance  and  beauty  that  it  found  its  way  into  the 
public  journals  of  Paris  and  brought  to  him,  through  the 
French  government,  the  cordial  acknowledgments  of  the 

• 

family  and  friends  of  the  deceased  ambassador.  In  the 
government  of  San  Domingo,  Mr.  Langston  was  cAar^  de 
affaires  of  our  government,  and  his  relation  with  the 
officers  of  that  government,  though  many  of  the  matters 
he  had  to  deal  with  were  like  most  of  those  in  Hayti,  diffi- 
cult and  trying,  he  won  the  warmest  respect  and  consider- 
ation from  all  parties  concerned.  On  the  thirtieth  of 
Janaury,  1885,  Mr.  Langston,  of  his  own  choice,  resigned 
the  position  of  United  States  minister  resident  to  Presi- 
dent Arthur,  having  resolved  on  the  expiration  of  his 
administration  to  return  to  this  country  and  enter  again 
upon  the  practice  of  his  profession.  After  considerable 
delay,  in  July,  1885,  he  returned,  and  was  at  once  employed 
by  one  of  the  first  business  houses  of  the  country  to  attend 
to  its  interests  in  the  West  Indies.  He  made  a  single  trip 
in  such  services,  when,  upon  his  return  in  the  same  year, 
he  found  that  he  had  been  elected  by  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion of  Virginia,  President  of  the  Virginia  Normal  and 
Collegiate  Institute,  which  was  founded  by  the  govern- 
ment in  1882,  and  supported  by  popular  appropriations 
of  twenty  thousand  dollars  annually.  The  faculty,  as  at 
present  constituted,  is  composed  of  ten  well  educated, 
scholarly   persons,  four   ladies   and    six   gentlemen.     In 


520  MEN  OF  MARK. 

addition  to  the  ordinary  departments  and  courses  of 
study  established  and  pursued  in  the  institute,  covering 
all  the  branches  of  the  higher  mathematics,  philosophical, 
scientific  and  classical  studies,  the  law  provides  for  and 
creates  a  summer  school  for  the  public  school  teachers, 
which  was  attended  at  the  last  session  by  over  two 
Jiundred  teachers.  The  estimate  put  upon  President 
Langston  in  his  present  position  by  the  officials  of  the 
educational  department  of  the  government  of  Virginia,  is 
discovered  in  the  following  words  of  the  late  superintend- 
ent of  public  instructions  of  Virginia,  Hon.  J.  B.  Fair,  in 
his  annual  report  for  1§85 :  • 

After  considering  the  applications  of  all  who  presented  their  claims  for 
the  place,  the  board  determined  not  to  confine  its  selection  to  applicants, 
but  to  seek  out  a  man  that  would  add  most  dignity  and  weight  to  the 
position,  and  whether  he  had  applied  or  not  to  tender  him  the  appoint- 
ment. After  taking  into  consideration  the  education,  intelligence, 
honesty,  energy  and  general  ability',  Hon.  John  Mercer  Langston,  ex- 
minister  to  Hayti,  was  considered  pre-eminently  fitted  for  the  great  work, 
and  the  Board  of  Education,  November  19,  1885,  unanimously  elected 
him  President  of  the  Virginia  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute.  This  was 
done  without  solicitation  on  the  part  of  Professor  Langston  or  his 
friends.  Indeed  he  knew  nothing  of  it  until  the  official  announcement  of 
the  action  taken  by  the  board  was  made.  This  was  one  of  the  extremely 
rare  cases  on  record  where  the  office  sought  the  man,  and  we  believe  the 
quest  was  well  rewarded.  Fortunately  for  his  race  and  State,  he  is  a 
I  Virginian  by  birth,  and  he  had  patriotism  enough  to  accept  the  honor  and 
assume  the  res]x>nsibilities  of  building  up  an  institution  which  has  in  its 
compass  the  grandest  possibilities,  and  which  reaps  a  wide  and  untilkd 
field  of  usefulness.  President  Langston 's  reputation  is  national,  and  he 
not  only  enjoys  the  highest  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  own  |)eople,  but 
\)y  his  education  and  ability  commands  respect  of  all  with  whom  he  is 
thrown  in  contact. 


JOHN  MBRCBR  UkNGSTON.  521 

The  following  resolutions  show  how  the  president  is 
appreciated  by  those  over  whom  he  presides :  At  the  close 
of  his  usual  Thursday  lecture,  on  the  twentiethof  January, 
1887,  Professor  D.  B.  Williams,  on  behalf  of  the  faculty  of 
the  institute  and  its  two  hundred  students,  presented  the 
following  preamble  and  resolutions : 

Whereas,  The  Hon.  J.  M.  Langston,  LL.  D.,  did  at  a  very  critical 
period  in  the  history  of  the  institute,  accept  the  presidency  unanimously 
tendered  him  without  his  solicitation  by  the  Honorable  Board  of  Bduca- 
tion  at  much  personal  pecuniary  sacrifice,  and 

Whereas,  He  has  succeeded  so  well  not  only  in  placing  it  upon  a  foHd 
foundation,  but  is  rapidly  making  it  one  of  the  leading  institutions  of  the 
•country ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  first :  That  we  regard  our  president  as  being  ftdly  equipped 
for  the  great  work  in  which  he  is  now  engaged,  in  everything  that  pcp* 
tains  to  intellectual  ability,  high  moral  purpose  and  religions  cnltnre. 

Resolved y  That  his  coming  into  Virginia  as  an  educator  has  proved 
a  great  blessing  to  the  people  of  the  commonwealth  and  is  indicative  of 
great  future  results  for  good. 

Resolved,  That  in  these  resolutions  we  voice  the  sentiment  of  the  pe<^ 
pie  of  the  State  by  asserting  that  his  administration  of  the  affairs  has 
been  entirely  successful,  and  has  caused  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Vir- 
ginia to  turn  th'-ir  faces  toward  this  fountain  of  learning. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  handsomely  engrossed  by 
the  committee  and  presented  to  the  president. 

He  is  amongst  the  most  scholarly',  refined  and  accom- 
plished gentlemen  of  the  race.  Surrounded  as  he  is  by 
wealth,  and  even  luxury,  he  is  a  good  parent,  and  owes 
much  to  his  charming  wife,  who  has  been  a  great  help  to 
him  in  reaching  this  eminence.  She  has  made  his  home 
pleasant  and  entertained  his  guests  well,  all  of  which  goes 
a  great  distance  towards  a  man's  promotion.  He  has 
many  testimonials  of  all  kinds,  that  show  his  standing 


522  MEN  OF  MARK. 

among  men  and  testify  to  the  worth  of  his  character:. 
What  a  beautiful  picture  is  the  engrossed  resolution  of  the 
Board  of  Health  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  awarded 
President  Langston  as  he  took  his  leave  of  it  in  1877,  as 
the  same  hangs  upon  the  wall  of  the  broad  and  magnifi- 
cent passage  of  his  residence,  and  his  certificate  of  life-long 
membership  as  a  fellow  of  the  great  English  philosoph- 
ical association,  the  Victoria  Institute,  composed  of  the 
distinguished  scholars  and  thinkers  of  the  world.  Then 
still  how  beautiful  and  interesting  to  witness  the  fact  that 
a  great  library,  law,  scientific,  literary,  commercial,  indus- 
trial, in  the  French,  Spanish,  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin  and 
English  languages,  gathered  by  him  during  the  thirty-five 
years  of  his  student  life,  occupying  cases  located  in  every 
part  of  his  house,  inside  and  outside  the  library  room 
proper — every  available  nook  and  comer  thereof. 

It  seems  only  a  question  of  time  when  Mr.  Langston 
will  be  made  member  of  Congress  from  Virginia,  and  may 
it  be  so.  He  would  be  heard  from  on  the  most  important 
questions  of  the  day,  nor  would  the  matters  pertaining  to- 
the  race  be  neglected. 

Let  me  close  with  the  opinion  of  the  Montgomery  (Ala- 
bama) Heraldj  concerning  President  Langston : 

It  is  impossible  for  the  Fourth  Virginia  Congressional  District  to  elect 
a  man  that  would  reflect  more  credit  upon  his  constituents  and  race,  or 
American  statesmanship,  than  Mr.  Langston.  He  is  undoubtedly  the 
highest  type  of  Africo-American  citizenship.  All  through  his  long,  event- 
ful, venturous  course,  leaping  with  giant-like  strides,  from  the  valley  of 
obscurity  to  the  summit  of  human  grandeur  and  manly  excellence,  not 
one  act  of  his  has  tended  to  reflect  dishonor  upon  himself,  his  people,  or 
his  country. 


JOHN  MERCER  LANGSTON.  523 

To  which  we  add  a  comment  from  another  Negro  Jour- 
nal: 

This  country  has  never  yet  produced  a  more  remarkable  man  than 
Hon.  John  M.  Langston.  He  is  a  man  of  observation,  and  nothing  es- 
capes his  keen  and  penetrating  eye,  with  knowledge  of  humian  nature 
that  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  deceive  him.  The  life  and  services 
of  no  man  will  fill  a  brighter  page  in  history  than  his.  The  future  histo- 
rians wiU  record  the  remarkable  fact  that  he  has  been  equal  to  every  emer- 
gency, and  used  only  honorable  means  to  attain  his  ends. 


LXX. 
REV.  WILLIAM  H.  McALPINE. 

Baptist  Divine — President  of  a  College— Editor  of  a  Weekly  Journal. 

REV.  W.  H.  McALPINE  was  born  in  Buckingham 
county,  Virginia,  near  Farmersville,  June,  1847. 
He  was  carried  to  Alabama  by  a  Negro  speculator  when 
about  three  years  old,  in  company  with  his  mother  and 
younger  brother.  His  mother,  brother  and  himself  were 
sold  by  the  speculator  to  a  Presbyterian  minister  by  the 
name  of  Robert  McAlpine,  in  Coosa  county,  Alabama. 
His  owner  died  when  he  was  about  eight  years  old,  and 
the  property  being  divided  William  was  separated  from 
his  mother  and  taken  by  one  of  the  sons  of  the  McAlpine 
family,  who  was  a  doctor,  and  lived  in  Talladega  county, 
Alabama.  Here  William  remained  in  the  family  of  Dr. 
McAlpine  until  the  close  of  the  late  war.  As  it  was  cus- 
tomary for  young  boys  to  be  nurses  to  the  white  children, 
we  are  not  surprised  to  find  him  a  nurse  in  that  family  for 
about  ten  years.  Mrs.  Dr.  McAlpine  being  a  Northern 
woman  and  not  well  pleased  with  the  way  Southern  peo- 
ple taught  their  children,  would  not  send  hers  to  the 
school,  but  had  them  taught  at  home,  when  she  did  not 
teach  them  herself    The  young  slave  being  the  nurse,  and 


WILLIAM  H.  M 'ALPINE.  525 

equired  to  be  in  the  white  people's  house  with  the  chil- 
Iren,  and  not  allowed  to  assemble  with  those  of  his  own 
ace,  and  even  not  allowed  to  eat  and  sleep  with  them, 
earned  to  read  and  write,  and  gained  some  knowledge  of 
trithmetic,  grammar  and  geography.  He  was  separated 
rom  his  mother  from  the  time  he  was  eight  years  old,  in 
855,  until  1874,  and  for  sixteen  years  of  that  time  didn't 
ven  know  whether  she  was  living  or  dead.  He  never 
aw  his  father  to  know  him. 

He  was  converted  to  Christianity  and  joined  a  white 
iaptist  church  in  the  town  of  Talladega,  Alabama,  just 
ne  year  before  the  close  of  the  war  of  secession,  under 
^ev.  J.  J.  D.  Renfroe,  D.  D.  In  1866  he  worked  at  the 
arpenter's  trade.  In  the  summer  of  the  same  year  he 
aught  school  in  Mardisville,  a  little  village  about  five 
liles  from  Talladega.  In  the  winter  of  the  same  year  he 
ntered  the  Talladega  College,  and  not  being  able  to  pay 
)r  his  board  and  buy  his  books  and  clothing,  and  having 
sfused  proffered  aid,  hired  out  himself  and  worked  mom- 
igs,  evenings  and  Saturdays  in  order  to  pay  for  the  same 
nd  go  to  school  during  school  hours.  In  a  few  months 
fter  conversion  he  felt  that  he  was  called  to  the  work  of 
[ic  gospel  ministry,  but  refused  for  some  years  to  accept 
license  from  his  church,  as  he  believed  in  thorough  prep- 
ration. 

Mr.  McAlpine  remained  in  connection  with  the  Talla- 
ega  College,  from  1868  to  1873,  and  only  lacked  six 
lonths  of  graduating  in  1874.  He  was  licensed  in  1869 
nd  ordained  in  1871,  being  called  to  the  pastoral  charge 
f  a  colored  Baptist  church  in  the  town  of  Talladega, 


526  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Alabama,  in  the  fall  of  1871.  The  calr  was  accepted. 
The  present  house  of  worship  for  the  colored  Baptists  of 
Talladega  was  erected  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Mr. 
McAlpine.  He  was  also  pastor  of  a  Baptist  church  about 
seven  miles  from  the  city,  when  he  gave  up  that  church. 
He  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church  at  Jackson- 
ville, Cannelton  county,  Alabama,  where  he  also  taught 
public  schools  for  several  sessions."  He  was  instrumental 
in  organizing  the  Rushing  Springs,  Mount  Pilgrim  and 
Snow  Creek  associations  in  North  Alabama. 

While  pastor  in  Talladega,  he  attended  the  college  there, 
and  during  vacation  was  employed  by  Rev.  E.  M.  Cra- 
vath,  field  secretary  of  the  American  Missionary  Associa- 
tion, to  canvass  the  State  for  students  for  the  institution. 
The  following  is  a  letter  from  him  at  the  close  of  the  term 
of  canvass: 

New  York,  March  2, 1871. 
William  H.  McAlpine,  Talladega,  Alabama. 

Dear  Sir:  Yours  with  bill,  March  14,  is  to  hand.  Mr.  Safford  will 
pay  you  the  balance  due  on  account,  and  1  feel  sure  that  you  have  done 
us  good  work  in  the  State,  that  will  tell  in  the  results  more  largely  in 
the  future.  1  hope  that  you  will  succeed  in  your  efforts  for  the  church, 
and  that  a  blessifig  may  rest  upon  your  labors. 

Very  truly  yours, 

E.  M.  Cravath. 

•  Rev.  Mr.  McAlpine  was  in  the  first  meeting  held  in  Ala- 
bama, in  1868,  for  the  organization  of  the  Colored  Baptist 
Missionary  State  convention,  and  has  attended  every 
time  except  two  since  its  organization.  In  the  session  of 
the  above  named  association,  November,  1873,  in  the  city 
o{  Tuscaloosa,  Alabama,  when  the  white  and  colored  con- 


WILLIAM.  H.  M'ALPINE.  527 

•ventions  had  a  meeting  in  the  same  city,  and  at  the  same 
time,  Mr.  McAlpine  framed  and  oflfered  a  resolution  to 
attempt  the  estabHshment  of  the  present  Selma  Univer- 
sity ;  and  while  the  same  was  pending  before  the  colored 
convention,  a  committee  was  appointed  from  the  colored 
body  to  bear  the  resolution  to  the  white  brethren  in  their 
<:onvention  and  ask  their  advice  on  the  subject.  The 
white  brethren  appointed  a  committee  to  advise  the  col- 
ored brethren,  said  committee  consisting  of  Revs.  Drs. 
Tague,  Cleveland  and  Winkler.  The  committee  waited  on 
the  Colored  convention  and  advised  them  to  turn  what 
money  they  had  over  to  them,  and  they  would  send  such 
young  men  off  to  school  as  they,  the  colored  brethren, 
deemed  fit,  and  not  to  undertake  to  establish  a  school,  as 
such  a  thing  would  be  folly.  In  the  face  of  these  gray- 
headed  D.  D's.,  Rev.  McAlpine  arose  and  asked  to  differ 
from  them  as  having  quite  a  different  view,  and  succeeded 
in  convincing  the  convention  that  it  was  their  duty  to 
attempt  to  establish  saM  institution. 

In  the  1874  session  of  this  convention,  in  the  city  of 
Mobile,  Alabama,  he  was  chosen  to  canvass  the  State  six 
months  of  1875,  and  try  what  could  be  done  for  raising 
money  for  the  proposed  school.  During  this  time  he 
raised  two  hundred  dollars  above  expenses,  and  awakened 
such  interest  all  over  the  State  that  the  next  session  'of 
the  convention  was  fuller  than  ever  before,  and  about  four 
hundred  dollars  was  in  the  treasury  after  adjournment. 
He  was  then  employed  by  the  convention  for  the  whole 
year  of  1876,  and  raised  over  five  hundred  dollars  above 


i 


528  MEN  OF  MARK. 

expenses ;  there  was  left  in  the  treasury  about  one  thous- 
and dollars. 

Having  been  elected  traveling  and  financial  agent  for 
1877,  and  not  thinking  the  prospects  favorable  for  raising 
money,  he  resigned  and  took  charge  of  the  Marion  Baptist 
church.  Arrangements,  however,  were  made  with  him  by 
the  State  Board  to  conduct  the  agency  and  do  what  he 
could  to  raise  money  in  the  field.  In  the  fall  of  1877,  in 
convention,  in  the  citj'  of  Bufala,  it  was  decided  to  locate 
the  school,  now  called  Selma  University,  in  Selma,  Ala- 
bama. The  convention  had  at  that  time  one  thousand 
dollars  to  put  into  property,  and  with  that  amount  pur- 
chased the  old  Fair  Grounds  of  Selma,  for  which  they  con- 
tracted to  pay  three  thousand  dollars.  It  was  through 
the  efforts  of  this  earnest  laborer  that  the  school  has  been 
established,  and  the  colored  Baptists  own  a  school  sec- 
ond to  none  in  the  State. 

In  1881  his  brethren,  seeing  his  adaptability  to  the  work, 
elected  him  president  of  the  institution,  which  position  he 
held  for  two  years.  Feeling  that  the  school  needed  a  more 
scholarly  man  at  its  head,  against  the  advice  of  all  the 
board  of  trustees,  teachers  and  students,  he  resigned.  As 
soon  as  the  church  at  Marion  heard  of  his  resignation,  he 
was  forthwith  called  back  to  the  pastoral  charge. 

When  the  Baptist  Foreign  Mission  convention  of  the 
United  States  was  organized  in  the  city  of  Montgomery, 
Alabama,  in  1880,  he  was  elected  president,  and  served 
two  sessions,  and  could  have  filled  the  office  a  third  term 
but  refused  to  let  his  name  go  before  them  as  a  candidate, 
because  the  constitution  prescribed  two  terms   for   the 


\ 


WILLIAM  H.  M 'alpine.  529 

presidency;  althoagh  the  members  would  have  then  and 
there  changed  the  constitution,  he  stoutly  refused.    When 
the  Baptist  Pioneer  was  started,  in  1878,  he  was  chosen 
editor,  and  held  the  position  till  1882,  when  he  resigned 
in  favor  of  Rev.  E.  M.  Brawley,  D.  D.,  who  succeeded  him 
as  president  of  Selma  University.    For  six  years  his  ser- 
vices were  given  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
Lincoln  Normal  University,  at  Marion,  Alabama,  he  being 
the  only  colored  member  of  the  board.    He  was  for  three 
years  pastor  of  a  large  country  church   near   Marion, 
which   church   had   eight    hundred   members,    and   was 
served    in  connection   with   the   Marion  church,  which 
church  he  now  serves. 

He  is  a  man  of  fine  parts,  genteel,  intelligent,  faithful 
and  earnest.  He  is  much  respected  and  beloved  by  all 
who  know  him.  As  he  grows  in  age,  he  grows  in  wisdom, 
and  the  work  of  Alabama  Baptists  is  largely  guided  by 
liis  suggestions.  He  has  arisen  to  many  offices  of  honor 
and  trust,  because  he  is  always  on  the  side  of  right. 


630  MEN  OF  MARK. 


LXXI. 

REV.  ALEXANDER  CRUMMELL,  A.  B.,  D.D. 

Rector  of  St.  Luke's  Church,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia— Pit>- 
fessor  of  Mental  and  Moral  Science  in  the  College  of  Liberia— Author. 

BISHOP  HOOD  says  Dr.  Crummell  is  among  the  most 
scholarly  black  men  of  the  age.  He  is  prominently 
a  representative  man  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 
He  is  the  son  of  a  royal  paternity  on  the  one  side  and  a 
free  bom  maternity  on  the  other  side.    He  was  therefore 

■  »  •         •  • 

bom  free  in  the  city  of  New  York.  His  father  was  the  son 
•of  a  king  and  was  bom  on  Timanee,  West  Africa,  a  country 
a:djoining  Sierra  Leone.  He  lived  till  he  was  thirteen  years 
in  the  usual  manner  common  to  boys,  and  yet  when  quite 
young  he  began  to  study  in  what  was  known  as  the  Mul- 
berry Street  school  in  New  York  City.  His  classmates  were 
such  men  of  fame  as  George  T.  Downing,  Patrick  Reason, 
Professor  Charles  L.  Reason,  Ira  Aldridge,  Dr.  James  Mc- 
Cune,  Samuel  Ringgold  and  Henry  Highland  Garnet.  In  the 
year  1831,  Rev.  Peter  Williams,  a  white  preacher,  estab- 
lished a  high  school  for  the  purpose  of  giving  an  oppor- 
tunity to  the  colored  youth  of  New  York  City  to  study 
the  classics.  In  this  school  also,  were  found  Garnet, 
Sidney  and  Crummell,  but  it»  /acilities  were  not  the  best, 


^EXANDER  CKUMMELL. 


.1 


il 


AI^BXANDBR  CRUMMBLL.  531 

and  after  hearing  of  a  new  school  started  in  Canaan,  New 
Hampshire,  the  parents  of  these  boys,  who  had  formed  a 
close  intimacy  with  each  other,  decided  to  send  them  there, 
as  no  color  line  was  drawn.  On  arriving  at  the  school 
they  were  welcomed  by  the  students,  about  thirty  in  num- 
ber, in  the  most  generous  manner.  Fourteen  colored  lads 
had  gathered  there  seeking  superior  advantages.  They 
had  not  been  in  the  place  more  than  three  months  when 
the  people  in  the  neighborhood  decided  to  break  up  the 
** nigger  school;"  and  the  end  came  w^hen  the  people 
brought  ninety  oxen  and  pulled  down  the  building,  and 
threw  it  in  a  swamp  half  a  mile  from  the  place.  This  was 
accomplished  after  two  days  hard  labor.  They  then 
drove  the  scholars  out  of  town.  Mr.  Crummell  relates  the 
circumstances  in  an  eulogy  on  Garnet,  which  he  delivered 
May  4-,  1882,  when  he  said : 

Meanwhile,  under  Garnet  as  our  leader,  the  boys  in  our  boarding 
house  were  molding  bullets,  expecting  an  attack  upon  our  dwelling. 
About  eleven  o'clock  at  night  the  tramp  of  horses  was  beard  approach- 
inar:  and  as  one  rapid  rider  passed  the  house  he  fired  at  it.  Garnet 
quickly  replied  to  it  by  a  discharge  from  a  double  barrelled  shotgun 
which  blazed  away  through  the  w*indow-  At  once  the  hills  for  many  a 
mile  around  reverberated  with  the  sound.  Lights  were  seen  from  scores 
of  houses  on  ever}-  side  of  the  town,  and  Anllagcs  far  and  near  were  in  a 
state  of  great  excitement.  But  the  musket  shot  bj-  Garnet  doubtless 
saved  our  lives.  The  cowardly  ruffians  dared  not  attack  us.  Notice, 
however,  was  given  us  to  quit  the  State  ixithm  a  fortnight-  When  wc 
lef:.  the  Canaan  mob  assembled  on  the  outskirts  of  the  Tillage  and  fired 
5^1d-piece5  charged  with  oowdcr  at  our  wagon. 

This  Canaan  was  not  bv  any  means  the  sweet  Canaan 
that  the  good  old  colored  people  love  to  sing  about.    In 


532  MEN  OF  MARK. 

1836  Mr.  Crummell  attended  the  Oneida  Institute  at 
Whitesboro,  a  manual  labor  school  which  had  been  opened 
for  colored  boys  by  Beriah  Green.  Here  our  student 
triumphantly  entered  and  spent  three  very  happy  and 
prosperous  years.  In  1839  Mr.  Crummeil  was  received  as 
a  candidate  for  Holy  Orders,  tmder  the  tuition  of  Rev. 
Peter  Williams,  rector  of  St.  Phillip's  church,  of  which  he 
was  a  member.  He  applied  for  admission  to  the  General 
Theological  Seminary  of  the  Episcopal  church,  but  was  not 
admitted  on  account  of  color.  He  was  received  in  the 
diocese  of  Massachusetts,  and  in  the  established  order  and 
procedure  of  his  denomination  was  ordained  to  the 
diaconate  by  Bishop  Griswold.  He  was  a  hard  student, 
and  after  much  theological  training  he  was  admitted  to 
the  Priest's  Orders  by  Bishop  Lee  of  Delaware.  He  was 
enabled  afterwards  to  take  a  course  in  the  Queen's  College, 
Cambridge,  England,  where  he  completed  his  studies  and 
after  graduation  went  as  a  missionary  to  Africa,  where  he 
was  rector  of  a  parish  and  Professor  of  Mental  and  Moral 
Science  in  Liberia.  While  in  Africa  he  was  a  leading  spirit 
in  every  public  meeting,  and  was  often  called  upon  to  use 
his  pen  and  voice  in  addressing  the  people  by  special 
invitation.  It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  some  idea 
of  the  great  preacher's  style  and  thoughts  by  excerpts 
from  his  writings.  On  the  subject  of  **The  Responsibility 
of  the  First  Fathers  of  a  Country,  for  its  Future  Life  and 
Character,"  delivered  to  the  young  men  of  Monrovia, 
Liberia,  West  Africa,  the  first  of  December,  1863,  he  said : 

I  ask  you  also,  what  will  you  do?    Look  around  you,  then,  at  the 
vast  moral  waste  that  surrounds  us  in  this  country  and  throughout  this 


ALBXANDES  CSUHlf  BLL«  533 

•continent,  and  think  of  the  muhitudinooa  minds  and  thevast  enefgiet  of 
the  i>ainfiil  labors  of  the  martyr-Hke  selfHMcrifioe  on  the  part  of  both 
'Church  and  State,  which  are  to  be  expended  from  generation  to  gener- 
ation.ere  the  great  work  of  God  and  hmnanity  on  this  soil  will  approach 
its  consummation.  Open  yonr  ejesnpoa  thedeep  rista  of  grand  ftitnritj ; 
glance  along  the  long  alleys  of  comtQg  times,  crowded  with  the  rising 
generations  of  both  emigrant  and  native,  coming  np  into  life  and  falKng 
into  the  ranks  of  society  and  the  State;  and  then  think  of  all  the  sober, 
earnest  work  that  is  to  be  done  by  us  in  our  day  to  prepare  them  for  the 
burdens  and  duties  of  their  position.  Yon  will  have  to  participate  in 
this  work,  and,  therefore,  I  entreat  you,  gird  up  your  loins,  young  man, 
for  duty.  Serve  God  and  serve  your  country  just  where  you  arc,  how- 
ever lowly  your  position,  however  rugged  your  pathway,  serve  God  and 
not  the  devil.  Serve  your  country  and  not  your  lusts,  and  this,  by 
meeting  the  duties  of  your  kphere ;  not  by  leaving  them,  bat  by  ennobling 
them  by  faithfulness  and  manhood. 

In  an  address  delivered  at  the  anniversary  of  the  Penn* 
sylvania  Colonization  Society,  in  October,  1865,  upon  the 
snbject  "How  shall  the  Regeneration  of  Africa  be  Ef- 
fected," he  said: 

It  is  all  God*s  work.  To  him  be  the  glory.  While  for  two  hundred 
.  and  forty  years  the  brutal  hand  of  violence  has  been  at  the  black  man's 
throat,  God  has  been  neither  blind  nor  quiet.  He  has  seen  it  all ;  He  has 
been  moving,  too,  amid  it  all,  latent  and  restrained  in  power,  although 
atrocious  and  repulsive  as  it  has  ever  been  to  Him.  To  use  the  words 
5f  another,  "  the  ways  of  God  are  not  found  within  narrow  limits."  He 
hurries  not  Himself  to  display  to-day  the  consequences  of  the  principle 
that  he  yesterday  laid  down;  He  will  draw  it  out  in  the  lapse  of  ages 
when  the  hour  is  come. 

Winding  up  that  same  address,  he  used  these  beautifiil 
words,  after  having  urged  them  to  use  every  endeavor  to 
go  as  missionaries  to  other  countries,  said : 

And  then,  in  a  sense  far  deeper,  more  real  than  ever  he  thought  of  when 
'  he  uttered  them,  will  the  words  of  Henry  Clay  be  realised— that  every 


534  MEN  OF  MARK. 

shipload  of  emigrants  to  this  country  will  be  a  rix^lbad' of  misrionariesv 
carrying  the  gospel  to  Africa,  and  even  now,  the  time,  it  seems  to  me, 
has  come;  and  *'the  day  is  at  hand,"  and  all  the  great  obstacles  to  the 
redemption  of  Africa  are  well  nigh  removed ;  the  wide  door  of  saving 
opportunity  is  open;  and  now  good  men  everywhere  should  seize  the 
"staff  of  accomplishment,"  and  enter  in  at  once,  and  claim  that  conti*- 
nent  for  their  Lord. 

In  1862  he  published  a  volume  of  addresses,  most  of 
them  delivered  in  Africa.  They  are  varied  as  to  their  sub- 
jects, full  of  learning  and  written  with  the  intention  to 
promote  the  cause  of  God  and  the  people.  Perhaps  the 
most  sublime  and  elegant  thought  is  found  in  one  deliv- 
ered upon  the  subject  of  **God  and  the  Nation,"  from 
which  a  short  extract  is  given  in  order  to  show  his  confix 
dence  in  the  God  of  Nations.    He  said : 

Our  only  safety  under  the  moral  governments  of  this  world  is  in  fasten- 
ing our  country  upK>n  the  throne  of  God.    Without  Him  there  is  no  life,  ini 
the  body  nor  in  our  souls,  in  the  States  nor  in  institutions,  in  nature  in 
plants  nor  in  trees,  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  amid  the  whirling  hosts  of  the* 
Heavens,  and  so  there  is  no  life  in  the  Nation  without  God.    "  In  Him 
is  life,"  and  there  is  none  besides.     All  growth  proceeds  from    Him, 
whether  it  be  the  tiny  plant  '*  beneath  the  mossy  stone  "  or  the  spiritual. 
•  vitality  of  the  grandest  archangel  in  the  eternal  Heavens.    All  fixedness, 
all  endurance  depend  on  Him,  whether  it  be  the  firm  seating  of  the  hills 
around  us,  or  the  everlasting  permanency  of  the  eternal  throne,    .    .    . 
and  therefore  I  say  again — "God  and  our  Country*' — for  if  this  idea, 
in  all  its  true  relations,  governs  the  minds  of  this  people,  then  shall  our 
country  be  unto  God  forever  for  a  people,  and  for  a  name,  for  a  praise, 
and  for  glory.    For  happy  is  the  people  that  is  in  such  a  caae,  3rea, 
blessed  are  the  people  who  have  the  Lord  for  their  God.     In  1883  he- 
published  a  volume  of  sermons  to  which  an  introduction  is  g^ven  by  the- 
Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  M.  Clark,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  bishop  of  Rhode  Island,  and. 
so  far  there  seems  to  be  only  three  colored  men  who  have  published  vol- 
umes of  sermons.    The  first  was  probably  the  Rev.  William  Douglas,, 


ALBXANDB&  CRUM MBIX.  635 

formerly  rector  of  St.  Thomas  church,  in  the  citj  of  PhOaddphia;  the 
second  was  Rev.  Alexander  Cmmmdl,  D.  D.,  and  the  other  wat  Bishop 
James  W.  Hood,  D.  D. 

His  writings  are  chaste,  scholarly,  instmctiye  and  enters 
taining.  They  flow  from  a  heart  full  of  tenderness  and 
love  toward  mankind  and  show  a  simple  fidth  in  Christy 
which  is  touching  and  tender.  He  longs  for  a  higher  spir- 
ituality himself,  and  seeks  to  impress  the  same  earnestness 
of  soul  into  the  minds  of  others.  In  personal  appearance 
the  doctor  is  slender,  very  neat  and  trim.  He  is  a  true 
African  in  color,  and  his  intellectual  development  is  of  the 
highest  order.  His  retiring  disposition,  his  earnest  enthusi- 
asm and  kindly  demeanor  are  all  very  noticeable  and  gfre 
him  a  commanding  presence.  One  feels  like  venerating  his 
frost- white  hair  and  patriarchal  style,  to  the  extent  that 
he  would  rather  stand  than  sit  in  his  presence,  not  because 
he  overawes  one  by  his  sternness,  but  because  you  wish  to 
honor  him.  He  has  had  abundant  success  in  all  his  under- 
takings. He  has  a  fine  church  and  congregation,  and  his 
affable,  genial  manners  do  much  towards  maintaining  it. 
in  the  capital  of  the  Nation,  a  place  of  public  worship. 
His  refined  and  ladylike  wife  assists  him  in  her  devotion 
to  the  cause  of  the  church  and  seeks  to  aid  hi.  ministry  by 
attention  to  the  missionary  labors  incident  to  the  life  of 
a  successful  minister. 


536  MEN  OF  MARK. 


Lxxn. 

HON.  GEORGE  H.  WHITE. 

A  Member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  only  Colored  State 
Solicitor  and  Prosecuting  Attorney. 

• 

AMONG  the  representative  men  of  our  race,  George  H. 
White  holds  an  important  position.  He  is  a  young 
man,  having  been  bom  in  1852,  and  is  scholarly,  dignified 
and  powerful.  In  his  alma  mater,  Howard  University, 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  where  he  graduated 
from  an  elective  course  in  1877,  he  was  known  for  his 
excellence  in  science;  and  mathematics,  and  especially  liter- 
ary tastes  which  have  characterized  his  life.  As  a  teacher 
in  the  public  schools  and  Presbyterian  Parochial  School, 
and  the  Normal  School  of  North  Carolina,  he  was  most 
successful. 

The  Supreme  Court  granted  him,  in  1879,  a  license  to 
practice  law  in  the  Courts  of  North  Carolina  after  he  had 
completed  that  study  under  Judge  Clark.  But  not  only  as 
a  lawyer  has  this  young  man  made  his  mark,  still  in  this, 
his  chosen  avocation,  his  achievements  are  unrivaled. 

Such  wonderful  skill  has  Mr.  White  always  shown  in  the 
management  of  famous  cases,  often  winning  against  the 
ablest  white  lawyers  of  Newbem,  North  Carolina,  that 


GEORGB  H.  WHITE.  537 

the  last  Republican  convention  chose  to  nominate  him 
over  many  white  lawyers  for  State  solicitor  of  the  Second 
Judicial  District.  By  an  overwhelming  vote  was  Mr. 
"White  elected,  and  January  1,  1887,  he  entered  into  oflSce. 

Previous  to  this  election  he  was  a  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  Legislature,  and  for  two  years  he  was  aneflScient 
worker  in  the  House  of  Representatives  at  Raleigh.  Later 
in  the  State  Senate,  for  the  good  of  his  people  and  his  State, 
he  devoted  his  untiring  energies,  and  he  aided  much  in 
-securing  Normal  schools  throughout  his  native  State.  As 
a  speaker,  Mr.  White  is  eloquent ;  as  an  advocate,  clear- 
sighted, pointed  and  wise;  and  the  persuasive  address 
with  which  he  holds  audiences  spellbound,  has  won  for 
him  many  honors  in  public  life. 

During  the  Centennial  celebration  in  Philadelphia,  Mr. 
White  served  as  assistant  in  charge  of  the  United  States 
Coast  Survey. 

He  is  not  an  active  politician.  His  desire  is  to  honor  his 
profession  and  uplift  himself  and  race  by  his  sterling  worth. 
Such  men  elevate  the  race  and  prove  that  they  are  suscep- 
tible of  high  culture  and  that  they  can  rise  amid  difficulties 
and  embarrassments.  The  law  opens  a  wide  field  for 
-eloquence,  learning  and  fame,  and  it  is  an  incentive  to  the 
young  to  be  pointed  to  such  examples.  His  alma  mater 
has  had  much  honor  reflected  on  her  by  such  men  as  the 
Bon.  G.  H.  White. 


538  MEN  OF  MARK. 


Lxxm. 

HON.  JOSIAH  T.  SETTLE,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  LL.  B. 

Eminent  Lawyer — Assistant  Attorney-General  of  Shelby  conntj,  Ten- 
nessee— Eloquent  Oratoi^-Legislator. 

THIS  gentleman  was  bom  September  30,  1850,  on 
Cumberland  Mountains,  while  his  father  and  mother 
were  en  route  from  North  Carolina  to  Mississippi,  and  as 
his  parents  continued  their  journey  as  soon  as  circum- 
stances would  permit  and  settled  in  Mississippi,  he  claims 
this  as  his  native  State.  His  parents  were  named  Josiah 
and  Nancy  Settle.  His  mother  belonged  to  his  father,  who 
was  one  of  the  famous  Settle  family  of  Rockingham,  North 
Carolina.  He  had  no  wife  at  the  time  he  began  raising  a 
family  by  his  former  slave,  being  at  that  time  a  widower. 
Unlike  a  great  many  Southern  men  of  his  time,  he  was  de- 
voted to  his  children  and  their  mother.  After  a  few  years 
residence  in  Mississippi,  he  manumitted  his  children  and 
their  mother.  After  he  had  made  them  free  he  was  informed 
that  they  could  not  remain  in  Mississippi  as  the  laws  of 
the  State  forbade  **Free  Negroes'*  residing  therein.  In 
March,  1856,  he  carried  them  to  Hamilton,  Ohio,  where 
he  bought  them  a  home  and  located  them  there,  spending 
his  summers  with  them,  and  the  remainder  of  the  year 


JOSIAH  T.  SETTLE.  539 

Upon  his  Southern  plantation.  Soon  another  difficulty 
presented  itself.  His  Northern  neighbors  told  him  that  he 
could  not  continue  his  relations  with  his  family  unless  he 
was  married.  His  reply  to  this  was:  **That  is  what  I 
have  always  desired  to  do/'  and  in  1858  the  mother  of  his 
children  became  his  lawful  wife  in  the  presence  of  their 
children,  whom  the  law,  at  the  same  time,  in  its  beneficence, 
made  legitimate.  He  then  went  backwards  and  forwards 
attending  to  his  property  in  Mississippi.  At  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war,  being  a  Union  man,  he  came  North  and 
remained  until  he  died  in  1869. 

There  is  not  a  nobler  specimen  of  manhood  in  the  history 
of  the  South  than  this  Southerner,  who  dared  to  do  right. 
"Joe,"as  hewas  familiarly  called,  first  attended  school  near 
Hamilton,  Ohio,  where  there  were  no  colored  schools  and 
few  colored  people,  and  mixed  schools  were  not  very  popular 
in  the  State  of  Ohio  at  that  period.  When  he  was  finally 
allowed  to  enter  a  little  country  school,  he  had  to  com- 
mence fighting  at  the  same  time.  Sometimes  his  teachers 
were  so  prejudiced  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  attend 
and  stand  the  punishment  of  teachers  and  scholars  com- 
bined. Finally  a  good  Christian  woman,  and  an  excellent 
teacher,  took  charge  of  the  school  and  gave  the  *  *  odd  sheep  * ' 
a  chance.  He  soon  became  deeply  attached  to  her,  and  she 
took  a  warm  interest  in  him,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he 
became  first  in  all  of  his  classes.  It  was  this  kind  woman 
who  first  inspired  him  with  a  desire  for  something  more 
than  a  "country  school-house.**  He  went  to  Oberlin,  Ohio, 
in  the  spring  of  1866,  where  he  prepared  for  and  entered 
college  in  1868.    He  was  chosen  one  of  the  orators  to  rep- 


540  MBN  OF  MARK. 

resent  his  class  when  they  entered  college,  an  honor  much 
coveted  by  the  students.  In  the  spring  of  1869  his  father 
died,  and  at  the  close  of  his  freshman  year  he  left  Oberlin 
College  and  went  to  Washington  city  and  entered  the 
sophomore  class  of  Howard  University,  where  he  pursued 
his  college  studies  and  taught  in  the  Preparatory  Depart- 
ment. He  graduated  from  the  College  Department  of  the 
Howard  University  in  1872,  together  with  J.  M.  Gregory 
and  A.  C.  O'Hear,  the  class  of  1872  being  the  first  class 
that  was  ever  graduated  from  the  College  Department. 

During  the  last  two  years  of  his  college  course,  he  clerked 
for  a  white  man  in  the  educational  division  of  the  Freed- 
man's  Bureau ;  during  the  latter  part  of  his  Senior  year, 
he  was  elected  reading  clerk  of  the  House  of  Delegates, 
Washington  then  being  under  a  territorial  form  of  govern- 
ment; and  at  the  time  of  his  graduation  was  performing 
his  duties  as  reading  clerk,  and  teaching  two  classes  a  day 
at  the  University,  and  pursuing  his  own  studies  at  the 
same  time.  Immediately  after  his  graduation  from  college, 
he  joined  the  Law  Department.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
the  district  politics,  and  held  many  places  of  honor  and 
profit.  He  was  clerk  in  the  Board  of  Public  Works  until 
its  expiration,  then  accountant  in  the  Board  of  Audits. 

He  was  also  trustee  of  the  county  schools  for  District  of 
Columbia.  During  the  presidential  campaign  of  1872,  he 
canvassed  several  counties  in  Maryland,  where  his  youth 
and  brilliancy  created  quite  a  sensation.  He  also  made 
speeches  in  Ohio,  speaking  at  Dayton,  Cleveland  and  other 
places.  At  Dayton,  he  spoke  after  Gen.  John  Harlan,  and 
after  the  meeting  was  given  a  banquet,  he  being  the  first  col- 


JOSIAH  T.  SETTLE.  541 

oredman  at  that  time  who  had  ever  delivered  a  speech  from 
-the  court-house  steps  of  Vallandigham's  home.    Upon  his 
.graduation  from  the  Law  Department,  he  was  selected  as 
one  of  the  orators  to  represent  his  class.    He  was  admit- 
"ted  to  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  District  of  Colum- 
lia^  but  he  determined  to  locate  in  Mississippi.     He  left 
"Washington  for  that  purpose  in  March,  1875,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  Mississippi  upon  an  examination  at 
^icksburg,  but  traveled  ovei"  a  considerable  portion  of 
-the  State  before  he  found  a  favorable  location.    He  finally 
located  at  Sardis,  Panola  Co.,  in  the  North-western  part 
of  the  State,  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Hon.  D.  T.  J. 
Matthews,  under  the  firm  name  of  Settle  &  Matthews. 
He  returned  to  Washington,  and  married  Miss  T.  T.  Vogel- 
sang of  Annapolis,  Maryland,  a  refined  and  cultivated 
lady,  already  distinguished  for  her  superior  mental  quali- 
ties, and  she  has  made  him  a  faithful  wife.    He  returned 
with  his  bride  to  the  South,  and  commenced  there  the 
practice  of  law.     In  August  of  the  same  year  he  was 
unanimously  nominated  by  the  Republican  convention  for 
the  position  of  District  Attorney  of  the  Twelfth  Judicial  Dis- 
trict of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  in  which  there  was  a  Re- 
publican majority  of  2500.    The  result  of  the  elections  in 
Mississippi  in  the  year  1875  was  a  revolution  of  the  poli- 
tics of  the  South,  and  the  virtual  death  of  Republicanism 
in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  Mr.  Settle  was  of  course 
defeated  with  all  the  rest;  but  he  made  an  active  and  vig- 
orous canvass,  filling  his  appointments  wherever  made, 
knowing  that  he  did  so  at  the  risk  of  his  life.    In  1876  he 
was  a  member  of  the  State  convention,  which  sent  dele- 


542  MEN  OF  MARK. 

gates  to  the  National  Republican  convention  at  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  He  was  elected  as  a  delegate,  and  was  also  selected 
as  Republican  elector  for  the  State-at-large,  on  the  Hayes 
and  Wheeler  ticket,  in  that  convention.  He  was  the  only 
delegate  from  Mississippi  who  voted  for  the  nomination  of 
Roscoe  Conkling  for  President,  and  continued  to  vote  for 
him  as  long  as  his  name  was  before  the  convention.  In 
this  convention  he  was  selected  by  the  members  of  the 
Mississippi  delegation  to  second  the  nomination  of  Stewart 
L.  Woodford  of  New  York,  for  Vice-President,  and  ad- 
dressed the  convention  in  a  telling  speech.  In  1880  he  was 
again  chosen  as  Republican  elector  oii  the  Garfield  and 
Arthur  ticket. 

In  1882  he  was  strongly  urged  to  become  a  Republican 
candidate  for  Congress  from  the  Second  Congressional  Dis- 
trict of  Mississippi.  At  the  time.  Gen.  Jas.  R.  Chalmers 
moved  from  the  Shoestring  district  to  the  Second,  and  Mr. 
Settle  only  declined  to  do  so  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of 
some  leading  Republicans  in  Jackson  and  Washington  City, 
District  of  Columbia.  Being  induced  to  believe  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Republican  party  demanded  the  indorsement  of 
Gen.  Chalmers,  and  in  the  convention  where  he  could  have 
been  nominated  with  ease,  he  withdrew,  and  himself  in  an 
eloquent  speech  placed  the  name  of  Chalmers  before  the 
convention.  He  was  made  chairman  of  the  Republican 
Congressional  Executive  Committee,  and  made  a  thorough 
canvass  of  the  district,  and  Chalmers  was  elected  by  a 
handsome  majority.  In  1883  some  of  the  Republicans 
and  Democrats  made  a  fusion  ticket  for  county  officers  and 
members  of  the  Legislature.    This,  Mr.  Settle  vigorously 


JOSIAH  T.  SETTLE.  543 

opposedv  and  became  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature  on  an 
:independent  ticket.  It  was  during  this  canvass  that  he 
xnade  the  most  brilliant  efforts  of  his  life ;  he  was  met  by 
^he  ablest  speakers  of  both  parties  on  every  stump  in 
-the  country,  and  although  he  was  single-handed,  he  was  be- 
fore the  people  irresistibly,  and  was  triumphantly  elected 
"by  more  than  twelve  hundred  majority. 

During  his  term  in  the  Legislature,  he  won  golden  opin- 
ions on  every  side,  and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest 
men  in  the  House.  The  first  time  he  rose  to  address  the 
House  he  won  all  hearers,  and  ever  after  that  he  had  no 
trouble  in  getting  the  eye  of  the  speaker.  He  never 
addressed  the  speaker  unless  he  had  something  to  say,  and 
possessed  the  happy  faculty  of  knowing  when  he  had 
finished.  At  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature  he  was 
presented  with  a  gold-headed  cane,  as  a  token  of  the 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held.  Upon  his  return  to  his 
home  he  determined  to  abandon  active  participation  in 
politics  and  devote  his  time  to  the  practice  of  law,  and 
moving  from  Mississippi  he  located  at  Memphis.  In  the 
spring  of  1885,  about  two  months  after  his  location  at 
Memphis,  he  was  appointed  Assistant  Attorney-General 
of  the  Criminal  Court  of  Shelby  county,  which  position  he 
held  until  the  expiration  of  General  Turner's  term  of  office. 
During  this  time  he  was  left  almost  in  entire  charge  of  all 
the  responsibilities  and  duties  of  the  position,  and  so 
thorough  and  able  was  his  management  of  the  prosecu- 
tion, that  he  was  on  several  occasions  complimented  by 
the  Court  from  the  bench,  and  at  all  times  enjoyed  the  un- 
bounded confidence  of  the  of  the  Attorney-General  and  the 


544  M£N  OP  MARK. 

Court.  During  his  term  of  office  as  Assistant  Attorney^ 
General,  Mr.  Settle  built  up  for  himself  a  good  practice. 
He  is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at  Memphis, 
where  he  enjoys  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  entire 
bar.  His  practice  is  constantly  growing,  and  as  he  is  a 
comparatively  young  man,  his  prospects  are  very  flat- 
tering. In  religion  he  is  inclined  to  the  Episcopalian 
views.  This  orator  did  not  disappoint  the  expectations 
of  his  friends.  While  in  school,  we  all  admired  him  and 
predicted  a  splendid  career.  I  remember  hearing  him  make 
a  Sunday  school  address  to  the  pioneer  Sunday  school  in 
Hillsdale,  District  of  Columbia,  and  his  eloquence  was 
such  that  it  was  never  forgotten.  **Joe**  owes  much  to 
Theresa,  as  she  was  called  in  the  Howard,  when  Mr.  Settle 
courted  her.  It  is  hoped  that  he  will  yet  live  many  days 
to  fulfill  the  measure  of  honor  that  awaits  so  learned  a 
disciple  ofBlackstone.  While  in  Memphis  once,  we  heard 
it  said  **that  young  man  is  too  eloquent  to  be  a  prosecutor 
for  the  State,  because  the  jury  would  be  so  blinded  by  his 
eloquence  that  the  opposing  counsel  could  not  persuade 
them  to  give  a  verdict  of  acquittal." 


^ 


Wn  LIAM  H.  GIBSON.  546 


LXXIY. 
WILLIAM  H.  GIBSON,  ESQ. 

.=4KK>i  Teacher  in  the  SlaTcry  DaycH-Mustctan— Mail  Agent— Rerenin 
Agent— Grand  Master  U.  B.  of  Friendship. 

'HE  narrative  here  given  of*  the  career  of  William  H. 
Gibson,  Sr.,  is  worthy  of  perusal.  Beginning  life 
^^^-  nmble,  he  has  become  one  of  most  respected  citizens  of 
^L^rouisville,  Kentucky.  Philip  and  Amelia  Gibson,  free 
jgroes  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  were  the  parents  of  this 
lonored  son. 

They  gave  him  all  the  advantages  of  an  education,  that 
'^he  city  of  his  birth  offered  to  the  Negro  child,  and  in  1834, 
^^hen  he  was  but  five  years  of  age,  he  could  read.    Continu- 
ing his  studies,  he  had  for  several  years  as  instructor  John 
Tortie,  a  prominent  teacher. 

His  color  prevented  him  from  learning  the  printer's  trade 
as  his  parents  desired,  but  it  did  not  close  every  avenue 
for  advancement.  He  served  for  ten  years  as  porter  in  the 
book  store  of  the  Lutheran  Book  Company,  and  the  kind- 
ness of  the  clerks  at  that  place  enabled  him  to  continue  his 
studies.  Bishop  D.  A.  Payne,  D.  D.,  was  one  of  his  instuc^ 
tors  in  English  and  Latin  grammar .  Music  was  one  study 
that  possessed  his  soul,  and  he  began  its  study  in  boyhood. 


346  MEN  OF  MARK, 

under  the  best  teachers  of  Baltimore  in  vocal  music,  and 
Professor  James  Anderson,  violinist.  The  Sharpe  Street 
choir  and'  musical  associations  of  that  city  were  honored 
with  his  membership.  In  184Y  he  moved  to  Louisville 
-frith  Rev.  James  Harper,  and  with  Robert  Lane  he  taught 
in  this  city,  opening  a  day  and  a  night  school,  and  a  sing- 
ing school  in  the  basement  of  the  Methodist  church,  comer 
of  Fourth  and  Green  Streets.  His  school  numbered  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  pupils,  many  of  whom  were  slaves 
whose  masters  gave  them  written  permits  to  attend  school. 
His  singing  classes  were  led  by  the  violin. 

Ue  introduced  the  first  instrumental  music  in  the  colored 
churches  of  this  city,  which  was  regarded  by  many  as  a 
sacrilege  and  intolerable.  The  study  of  the  piano  and 
guitar  were  added  to  his  accomplishments,  and  he  imparted 
to  others  of  this  knowledge,  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Rebellion,  in  September,  1862.  which  closed  schools  and 
churches  in  this  citv. 

He  then  went  to  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  and  taught  a 
school  partially  supported  by  the  **  Friends,'*  for  the  freed 
children  of  the  soldiers  in  the  war. 

Daring  his  whole  life  he  served  on  many  important  com- 
mittees, and  held  many  positions  of  trust.  In  May,  1863, 
he  received  a  commission  from  Colonel  Condee,  recruiting 
officer  of  the  Fifty-fifth  Massachusetts  Colored  Regiment,to 
raise  colored  soldiers.  He  accepted  the  commission  for 
Louisville,  Charleston,  Albany  and  Jeffersonville,  Indiana. 
In  Indiana  he  succeeded  in  recruiting,  but  the  military  auth- 
orities of  Louisville  decided  that  Massachusetts  had  no 
rieht  to  Kentucky  recruits,  and  he  was  arrested  and  ordered 


WILLIAM.  H.  GIBSON.  547 

to  leave  the  State.  He  returned  to  Indiana  and  thence 
to  Leavenworth,  Klansas,  where  he  taught  partly  under 
the  supervision  of  the  American  Missionary  Society  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  returned  to  Louisville,  July 
1866,  and  his  schools  were  reorganized  under  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau.  He  taught  day  and  night  until  1874,  when 
he  resigned  to  accept  the  position  of  assistant  cashier  in 
the  Freedman's  bank.  This  position  he  held  until  it  closed. 
In  1870  he  received  a  commission  from  General  Grant, 
as  mail  agent  on  the  Knoxville  branch  of  the  L.  &  N.  R.  R. 
He  was  transferred  at  the  expiration  of  eight  months  to 
the  Lexington  branch.  On  his  second  trip  he  was  attacked 
by  the  Ku-klux-clan,  and  his  life  was  so  endangered  that  a 
military  guard  attended  him  for  some  months. 

In  1874  he  received  an  appointment  in  the  Revenue  De- 
partment as  United  States  gauger,  which  position  he  re- 
tained until  the  defeat  of  the  Republican  administration. 
In  1847  he  was  initiated  in  the  Masonic  fraternity  in 
Baltimore,  Maryland.  He  organized  Enterprise  Lodge, 
No.  3.,  and  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  No.  1,  of  Louisville.  In  1859 
he  was  elected  Grand  Junior  Warden  of  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ohio,  and  was  Grand  Master  of  Kentucky  in  1872,  and 
has  taken  all  degrees  to  Knights  Templars.  In  1869  he 
was  a  delegate  to  the  colored  National  Convention  held 
in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

In  the  city  of  Louisville,  W.  H.  Gibson,  Esq.,  will  always 
hold  an  exalted  place  in  the  hearts  of  its  citizens,  as  no 
project  has  been  on  foot  for  the  improvement  of  the 
minds  and  morals  of  its  citizens  that  has  not  met  his  sanc- 
tion.   In  the  Sunday  school  he  is  an  active  worker,  and 


I 


OBORGB  W.  WnXIiLlfil.  648 


* 


LXXV. 
HON.  GEORGE  W.  WILLIAMS. 

The  Most  Bminent  N^ro  Historian  in  the  World— An  Author  of  World* 
Wide  Reputation— Legislatox^udge  Advocate  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic— Novelist— Scholar^Magnetic  Orator— Bditor— Soldier 
— Preachci^-Lawyci^-Poet  and  Traveler. 

AMONG  the  intellectual  stars  whkh  shine  in  the  zenith 
of  the  Negro  world,  increasing  in  brightness  day  by 
day,  dispensing  its  light  to  the  dark  comers  of  the  world, 
is  the  Hon.  George  Washington  Williams.  He  was  bom  at 
Bedford  Spring,  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  six- 
teenth day  of  October,  1849.  His  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Nellie  or  Helen  Rouse,  who  came  of  Negro  and  German 
parentage.  His  father  was  of  Welsh  and  Negro  extrac- 
tion. He  was  a  man  of  large  mould,  standing  about  six 
feet  high  and  weighing  from  one  hundred  and  eighty  to 
two  hundred  pounds.  His  mother  was  medium  in  size,  of 
fair  complexion,  large  dark  eyes  and  black  hair,  and  was 
a  woman  of  rare  intellectual  power,  speaking  German  flu- 
ently, and  was  well  up  with  the  times  in  current  literature. 
She  was  noted  for  her  dramatic  and  elocutionary  powers, 
of  which  the  son  is  possessed  of  a  large  share,  no  doubt 
inherited  from  his  mother. 


4 


550  UEN  OP  MARK. 

When  young  George  was  about  three  years  dd,  his  par- 
ents moved  to  Newcastle,  Lawrence  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  his  early  education  was  obtained  in  that  State  and  in 
Massachusetts,  comprising  two  years  with  a  private 
tutor,  four  years  in  the  common  and  high  schools,  two 
years  in  an  academy,  and  four  years  at  Newton  Center, 
Massachusetts. 

He  was  enlisted  in  the  United  States  volunteer  army  by 
Major  George  L.  Stems,  and  served  until  the  dose  of  the 
war.  Being  only  fourteen  years  old  he  ran  away  from 
home  and  begged  to  be  accepted,  even  against  the  advice 
of  the  examining  surgeon.  He  didn't  give  his  own  name 
when  he  enlisted,  but  used  that  of  one  of  his  half  uncles.. 
By  his  intelligence  and  attention  to  the  duties  of  a  soldier, 
he  rose  rapidly  from  one  grade  to  another,  beginning  a» 
private  and  ending  the  war  as  sergeant-major  of  his  regi- 
ment. Having  been  severely  wounded  he  was  discharged 
from  the  service,  but  soon  re-enlisted  and  was  detailed  on 
the  staff  of  General  Jackson  in  1865,  and  accompanied  him 
in  May  to  Texas.  While  there  he  was  ordered  to  be  mus- 
tered out,  and  he  immediately  enlisted  in  the  Mexican 
army,  where  he  was  at  once  made  orderly  sergeant  of  the 
First  battery  from  the  State  of  Tampico,  and  in  just  one: 
week  was  made  assistant  inspector-general  of  artillery,., 
with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel.  After  the  capture  and 
death  of  Maximillian  he  returned  to  the  United  States  and 
entered  the  cavalry  service  of  the  regular  army,  serving  in 
the  Comanche  campaign  of  1867  with  conspicuous  bravery. 
February,  1868,  while  at  Fort  Arbuckle,  this  hero  ^wau. 
converted,  and  in  late  autumn  left  the  army  for  civil  Kfc,. 


GBORGB  W.  WILLIAMS.  551 

having  been  convinced  as  a  Christian  that  killing  people  in 
time  of  peace  as  a  profession  was  not  the  noblest  life  a  man 
conld  live'.  As  soon  as  he  completed  his  six  hundred  miles' 
journey  across  the  plains,  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

His  fatlier  was  a  Unitarian,  and  his  mother  a  devoted 
member  of  the  Lutheran  church ;  but  the  son  read  the  New; 
Testament  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Baptist 
church,  in  practices  and  doctrines,  came  up  to  the  New 
Testament  standard.  Not  being  acquainted  with  a  single 
person  in  St.  Louis,  save  a  few  officers  at  General  Sheri- 
dan's headquarters,  he  sallied  forth  into  the  streets  to  in- 
quire for  a  Baptist  church.  Singularly  enough  the  first 
man  he  met  was  a  deacon  in  a  church  of  that  denomina- 
tion, and  on  the  following  day,  which  was  the  Sabbath,  he 
told  his  experience  in  the  First  Baptist  church  and  was 
that  evening  baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Baptist 
communion  by  the  Rev.  H.  H.  White. 

From  1868  to  1874  he  devoted  himself  to  study,  and 
graduated  from  the  Newton  Theological  Institution,  June 
10,  1874,  delivering  an  oration  on  **The  Early  Church  in 
Africa."  Here  at  once  can  be  seen  the  tendency  of  Mr. 
Williams.  He  always  inquires  into  the  history  of  some 
subject  connected  with  the  race.  He  early  developed  the 
power  of  search  and  the  love  for  deep  investigation,  and 
thus  laid  the  foundation  for  his  present  and  future  life, 
which  has  become  so  widely  connected  with  historical  sub- 
jects which  materialized  themselves  into  the  great  histories 
which  he  has  written.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  June  1, 
1874,  as  the  following  will  show : 


552  MEN  OF  MARK. 

This  is  to  certify  that  the  Watertown  Baptist  church,  having  confidence 
in  the  Christian  character  and  fitness  of  our  brother,  George  W.  Williams, 
did  on  the  thirty-first  of  May,  1874,  unanimously  vote  to  give  him  license 
to  preach  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

In  behalf  of  the  church, 

William  Blodgett, 

Church  Clerk. 
Watertown,  Jane  1,  1874. 

His  ordination  to  the  Gospel  ministry  took  place  at 
Watertown,  Massachusetts,  June  11,  1874,  under  the  call 
of  the  First  Baptist  church  in  Watertown. 

April  4,  1874,  he  feceived  a  call  to  the  Twelfth  Street 
Baptist  church  in  Boston,.  He  accepted  this  call,  and  the 
following  services  were  held  by  way  of  recognition  of  the 
new  pastor.  Sermon  by  Rev.  Dr.  George  Lorimer,  from 
1  Corinthians  chapter  i,  16-17  verses.  Prayer  of  Recog- 
nition, by  Rev.  R.  M.  Neale,  D.  D.  Charge,  Rev.  D.  C. 
Eddy.    Hand  of  Fellowship,  Rev.  J.  T.  Beckley . 

While  pastor  of  this  church  he  wrote  the  history  of  its 
struggles  and  labors,  for  the  purpose  of  calling  the  atten- 
tion of  the  charitable  to  its  pecuniary  needs.  The  church 
had  done  excellent  work  among  the  colored  people  of  the 
West  End  and  deserved  to  be  sustained.  It  was  organized 
in  1840,  with  an  original. membership  of  only  about  forty, 
whovsrithdrew  from  the  First  Independent  Baptist  church. 
The  volume  contains  eighty  pages  and  was  published  in  a 
popular  form,  by  James  H.  Earle,  No.  11  Comhill.  While 
pastor  of  this*  church,  he  preached  a  memorial  sermon 
before  the  Robert  A.  Bell  Post  134,  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  Sunday,  May  24,  1874. 

Mr.  Williams  applied  to  the  Massachusetts  Legislature 


GEORGE  W.  WILLIAMS. 


GEORGE  W.  WILLIAMS.  553 

for  the  position  of  chaplain.  The  request  was  not  granted, 
but  he  made  an  open  and  plain  request  for  that  which 
he  desired. 

He  served  the  Twelfth  Street  Baptist  church  one  year  as 
-supply  before  he  was  ordained,  and  was  pastor  one  year. 
The  Divine  favor  that  was  shown  him  was  an  evidence  of 
the  fruitfiilness  of  his  ministry.  His  relation  was  termi- 
nated with  that  church  in  August,  1875,  by  his  own  vol- 
untary resignation.  He  then  went  to  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton, and  the  following  notice  is  given  of  his  purpose  for 
visiting  that  city,  in  a  speech  which  he  delivered  in  the 
Presbyterian  church,  at  a  meeting  held  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  steps  towards  establishing  a  journal  in  that  city 
to  be  managed  by  colored  men,  and  devoted  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  colored  people.  The  report  says:  "The  Rev. 
George  W.  Williams  delivered  an  eloquent  aadress  in 
which  he  stated  that  he  proposed  to  establish  a  journal 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
colored  people."  There  was  no  question  as  to  the  neces- 
sity of  such  a  journal.  It  was  offered  in  objection  that 
the  colored  people  were  not  a  reading  people,  but  educa- 
tional statistics  of  the  country  show  that  within  the  last 
decade  they  have  become  a  reading  people. 

Speaking  of  Horace  Greeley,  he  said  that  he  considered 
him  the  most  remarkable  man  of  the  nineteenth  century 
in  every  respect,  and  especially  in  journalism.  He,  Mr. 
Williams,  proposed  to  edit  a  paper  devoted  to  the  colored 
people — politics,  art,  and  the  events  of  the  day. 

He  had  been  waiting  a  long  time  for  an  opportunity 
and  was  willing  to  sacrifice  everything  in  the  enterprise. 


554 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


'^*^^ 


because  duty  urged  him.  Mr.  Douglass,  in  this  meetings 
said  that  he  had  listened  to  Mr.  Williams  with  great  sat- 
isfaction, and  was  impressed  with  his  range  of  vision  and 
decided  ability.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft 
resolutions ;  said  committee  consisted  of  Messrs  Frederick 
Douglass,  J.  B.  Sampson  and  M.  M.  Holland.  The  fol- 
lowing is  one  of  the  most  important  resolutions  which 
they  reported. 

Resolved :  That  we  have  heard  with  satitfaction  the  proposition  of 
Rev.  George  W.  Williams  to  estaUish  such  a  journal  in  Washington,  and 
we  will  do  what  we  can  to  make  the  proposed  enterprise  a  success. 

The  following  persons  took  part  in  this  meeting :  Those 
above  mentioned  and  Messrs.  Barbadoes,  Wall,  Smith, 
Matthews,  Emerson,  Wilson,  Professor  John  M.  Lang- 
ston  and  C.  C.  Crusoe.  The  result  was  the  establishment 
of  the  Commoner,  which  did  good  service  during  its  ex- 
istence. 

December  22,  1875,  he  was  appointed  in  the  Post  Office 
Department  at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia.  He 
accepted,  but  resigned  this  position  February  15,  1876, 

He  was  called  to  take  pastoral  charge  of  the  Union  Bap- 
tist Church  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  on  Thursday,  February 
10,  1876,  which  he  accepted,  and  preached  his  first  sermon 
on  Sabbath,  February  20,  1876.  He  was  installed  as 
pastor  of  the  Union  Baptist  church,  Thursday  evening, 
March  2,  1876. 

July  21,  1876,  at  the  forty-fifth  anniversary  of  their 
church,  he  delivered  an  address,  in  which  he  reviewed  some- 
what the  history  of  the  church.  An  extract  of  the  address  is. 
heregiven  to  assist  in  preserving  the  history  of  that  church,. 


siP^ 


^'' 


GEORGE  W.  WILLIAMS.  555 

and  also  to  pay  tribute  to  some  distingxiished  men  who 
have  done  service  in  founding  and  sustaining  this  old  and 
substantial  church : 

Protn  1831  to  1835,  the  pulpit  of  the  Branch  of  Enon  Church  was 
filled  by  supplies,  as  the  brethren  were  able  to  serve  them.  Drs.  Lynd 
and  Patterson  often  administered  the  Eucharist,  baptized  and  preached 
as  they  found  opportunity.  In  1832,  the  venerable  Elijah  Porte  was 
«:ti08en  to  take  the  temporary  oversight  of  the  church.  He  was  a  man 
of  fervent  piety,  unabating  zeal,  wisdom  and  discretion.  He  was  a  suc- 
oessful  business  man,  and  the  same  system,  energy  and  caution  which 
<3istinguished  him  in  business,  made  him  a  leader  among  his  brethren— a 
leader  at  once  safe  and  judicious.  How  much  the  church  owes  to  the 
j^aithftilness  of  Elijah  Forte  can  not  well  be  estimated. 

After  the  Church  was  re-organized  as  the  African  Union  Baptist  church, 
-the  same  year,  1835.  the  Rev.  David  Nickens  was  called  to  take  the  pas- 
-toral  ovei wight  of  the  church.  He  was  probably  the  first  ordained  col- 
ored minister  in  Ohio.  He  did  not  possess  the  culture  of  the  schools,  and 
yet  he  was  no  stranger  to  books,  especially  the  Bible.  He  was  not  fluent 
in  speech,  but  careful.  He  was  faithful  to  every  trust,  and  earnest  in 
manner.  He  accomplished  much,  baptized  manj',  was  loved  by  his  peo- 
ple, respected  by  all  classes,  and  died  in  the  midst  of  his  labors,  deeply 
lamented,  in  1838. 

His  ministry  was  brief,  though  wonderfully  successful.  During  these 
four  years  he  had  organized  a  day  and  Sunday  school,  which  were  flour- 
ishing at  the  time  of  his  death,  receiving,  per  annum,  $300. 

The  church  was  casting  about  for  a  shepherd,  and  laid  hands  upon  a 
young  man  by  the  name  of  Charles  Satchell.  He  was  a  young  man  oi 
promise,  and  the  church  gave  him  the  splendid  opportunities  that  made 
him  one  of  the  most  eminent  divines  the  Colored  Baptists  have  produced 
during  the  last  half  century. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Satchell  was  every  inch  a  general.  He  cast  his  eye 
over  the  field  in  which  he  was  to  marshal  his  little  company,  and  care- 
fully reviewed  his  troops.  His  policy  was  to  make  every  member  sensi- 
ble of  individual  responsibility,  and  found  something  for  every  one  to  do. 
He  soon  had  a  working  church,  because  he  was  a  working  pastor,  and 
bis  example  was  contagious.    His  sick  were  well  cared  for,  the  dying  re- 


656  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ceived  the  consolations  of  Christianity  from  the  lips  of  a  faithful  pastor, 
and  the  wayward  were  afibctionately  sought  and  brought  back  to  the 
love  and  service  of  Christ. 

As  early  as  1841,  the  church  had  grown  under  Satchell's  administra- 
tion, from  forty-five  to  two  hundred  and  seventy-five.  And  its  strength 
was  not  to  be  found  in  its  numbers,  but  in  the  intelligence  and  spirituality 
•of  its  members.  He  was  a  teacher  as  well  as  a  pastor.  He  continued 
to  work  successfully  for  eight  years,  when  he  resigned,  to  the  regret  of 
his  charge,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Allen  Graham.  He  was  the 
-esteemed  pastor  of  the  church  for  two  years,  working  successfully  and 
acceptably. 

In  1850  the  Rev.  W.  P.  Newman  followed  brother  Graham,  and  re- 
signed in  1852  to  accept  a  call  to  Canada.  The  late  Rev.  Henry  Adams 
became  pastor  of  this  church  immediately  upon  the  retirement  of  New- 
man, and  remained  until  1855.  Rev.  H.  L.  Simpson  was  the  successor 
•of  Adams,  and  held  the  pulpit  for  a  term  of  three  years.  Rev.  H.  H. 
White,  the  polished  writr  and  graceful  speaker,  followed  Simpson  in  a 
pastorate  of  three  years,  and  did  well. 

The  Rev.  W.  P.  Newman  was  tendered  the  pastoral  charge  of  the 
•church  again  tind  accepted.  He  was  a  man  of  spotless  integrity,  scrupu- 
lously conscientious,  and  strong  in  his  likes  and  dislikes.  He  was  unos- 
tentatious and  generous  in  his  private  relations,  earnest,  forcible,  orig- 
inal, and,  at  times,  rough  and  severe;  he  was  no  apologetical,  but  rather 
a  polemical  preacher.  He  had  the  spirit  of  a  reformer,  with  boldness  and  * 
severity  not  always  judicious  or  praiseworthy.  The  sinner  who  sat 
under  his  preaching,  felt  his  searching,  burning  language,  and  felt  eyevy 
word  was  directed  at  him.  He  was  unsparing  in  his  denunciation  of 
every  species  of  ungodliness,  whether  in  or  out  of  the  church,  and  was 
feared  by  one  and  respected  by  the  other. 

He  was  just  in  the  most  successful  days  of  his  ministry,  when  on  the 
third  of  August,  1866,  he  was  cut  off  by  a  brief  but  severe  sickness  from 
cholera. 

The  Rev.  H.  L.  Simpson  was  recalled,  and  served  until  1869,  three 
years,  when  he  tendered  his  resignation  as  pastor. 

The  Rev.  James  H.  Magee  was  called  during  the  same  3'ear,  and  was 
pastor  for  four  years. 


^ 


GBORGB  W.  WTLUAMS.  5S7 

The  jmlpit  was  Tacant  for  some  time,  when  it  was  supplied  by  Revs* 
Campbdlf  Emery,  Sage,  Stone,  Early,  Bamett,  Thardkill  and  Darnell. 

Daring  the  first  ten  years  of  the  churches  existence,  it  grew  so  large 
that  there  was  no  longer  sufficient  sittings  in  the  small  edifice  on  Central 
Avenue.  The  brethren  were  casting  about  for  another  location,  when  a 
proposition  came  from  the  trustees  of  the  First  Baptist  church,  to  the 
efiect  that  their  building  on  Baker  Street  could  be  had  for  $9000,  its- 
actual  worth  being  $12000,  and  thereby  donating  $3000.  The  ofler  was 
accepted,  and  in  1839  this  church  began  to  worship  on  Baker  Street,  and 
continued  there  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

Prom  1864  to  1874,  ten  years,  the  church  enjoyed  great  prosperity,  in 

spiritnal  as  well  as  temporal  things.    It  paid  all  its  debts,  gave  with  an 

Unsparing  hand,  and  enjoyed  many  glorious  revivals.    She  had  a  strong 

fiold  upon  the  young  people  of  this  city,  and  a  reputation  for  intelligence 

^nd  usefulness  throughout  the  Southwest,  and  especially  in  Ohio. 

This  church  has  set  apart  to  the  Gospel  ministry  twenty  of  its  mem- 
:^ers»  many  of  whom  are  faithful  workers.  The  reverend  brethren  Shel- 
i-on,  Scott,  Passitt,  Webb  and  Early  are  the  sons  of  this  church,  and 
tamest  pastors  in  or  near  this  city. 

About  twenty  members  of  this  church,  led  by  our  venerable  brother, 
dder  Henry  Williams,  Senior,  withdrew  with  their  letters,  and  formed 
^he  Zion  Baptist  church,  in  1842.  The  church  grew  in  numbers,  and  be- 
crame  quite  influential  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  Rev.  Wallace  Shel ton. 

Rev.  G.  W.  Williams  resigned  December  1,  1877.     Sep- 

"^ember  2,  1878,  he  was  appointed  internal  revenue  store- 

Iceeper  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  served  also 

in  the  Auditor's  office  as  secretary  of  the  four  million 

dollar  fund  to  build  the  Cincinnati  Southern  railroad. 

He  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Alphonso  Taft  and 
the  Cincinnati  Law  School ;  and  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  the  Supreme  Circuit  Court  of  the  State  of  Ohio  in  the 
city  of  Columbus,  June  7,  1881 ;  and  admitted  in  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court  at  Boston,  within  the  aforesaid 
Suffolk  count}',  on  the  second  Tuesday  in  September,  A.  D., 


558  MEN  OF  MARK. 

1883.  He  began  his  political  life  in  Cincinnati.  At  first 
he  was  averse  to  going  into  politics,  as  he  said  in  a 
speech  at  Hopkin's  hall  when  addressing  an  enthusiastic 
meeting  of  colored  Republicans: 

As  a  rule,  I  believe  that  ministers  of  the  Gospel  should  remain  as  far 
from  the  political  arena  as  possible.  But  when  the  storm  clouds  thicken 
and  darken  our  National  sky,  when  the  hand  of  treason  is  at  the  throat 
of  the  Nation,  when  the  temple  of  justice,  humanity  and  equality  is 
about  to  be  desecrated  by  traitors ;  when  the  Constitution  is  about  to 
be  eliminated  and  the  gracious,  benign  amendments  thereof  to  be  ren- 
dered nugatory;  when  the  proud  institutions  of  America — our  joy  at 
home,  and  our  glory  among  the  civilized  powers  of  the  earth — are 
imperiled,  I  would  be  false  to  the  race  to  which  I  am  bound  by  the  ties 
of  consanguinity,  false  to  the  flag  under  which  I  fought,  false  to  the  great 
issues  of  this  hour,  false  to  the  instincts  and  impulsesof  my  better  nature 
and  deserving  of  the  execrations  of  God  and  man,  if  I  did  not  lend  my 
pen,  my  voice,  my  soul,  to  the  cause  of  the  illustrious  Republican  party. 

September,  1877,  he  was  nominated  for  the  Legislature 
from  Hamilton  county,  Ohio.  At  the  ratification  meeting 
of  the  colored  Republicans,  Mr.  Williams  delivered  an 
address  of  which  the  following  is  an  extract.    Said  he: 

My  friends  and  fellow  citizens — I  appreciate  the  high  public  spirit  of 
which  this  large  and  enthusiastic  meeting  is  bom.  I  am  deeply  touched 
by  the  manifold  expressions  of  kindly  sentiment  concerning  myself, 
and  am  cheered  by  the  pledges  already  made  to  support  the  Republican 
party  in  the  approaching  canvass.  I  would,  indeed,  be  an  ingrate  if  I 
were  insensible  to  the  honor  conferred  upon  me  by  my  party  and  race. 
I  did  not  seek  the  nomination,  did  not  ask  it.  The  part}'  and  my  friends 
bestowed  it  with  lavish  hands,  and,  as  I  believe,  with  honest  intentions. 
I  said  to  my  friends,  who  urged  me  to  be  a  candidate  for  legislative 
honors,  that  I  would  yield  to  their  wishes  if  it  were  certain  I  would  serve 
the  whole  people.  The  nomination  was  made  with  a  heartiness  that  led 
tnt  to  believe  that  the  leaders  of  the  Republican  party,  at  least,  honestly 
desired  to  give  proper  representation  to  the  colored  people ;  and  that 


GEORGE  W.  WILLIAMS.  659 

^wben  a  colored  man,  representing  the  people,  should  come  to  the  front, 
they  would  give  him  their  unqualified  support.  Then,  when  I  turned  to 
my  people  and  found  them  almost  a  unit  as  to  my  nomination,  there  was 
but  one  thing  left  for  me  to  do,  and  that  was  to  accept  the  nomination— 
this  unsought  compliment. 

I  was  not  a  stranger  to  every  person  when  I  came  to  this  beautiful 
Queen  City.  I  was  known  to  quite  a  number  of  the  people,  either  per- 
sonally or  through  the  press.  From  1863  till  the  present  moment  I  have 
identified  myself  with  the  various  interests  of  my  race  and  country. 
Upon  the  field  of  battle,  under  the  mellow  and  enlightening  blaze  of  the 
student's  lamp,  in  the  wide  and  useful  field  of  journalism,  in>the  sacred 
pulpit  and  in  the  political  arena,  I  have  striven  for  all  that  is  noble,  just 
and  of  good  report.  I  was  welcomed  to  your  city  by  white  and  black 
men,  by  Democrats  and  Republicans,  by  saints  and  sinners.  And  I  now 
call  you  to  witness  that  I  have  labored  for  my  people  and  party  with 
zeal  and  faithfulness.'  For  this  you  have  honored  me  with  a  foremost 
place  in  your  midst,  a  warm  place  in  your  hearts  and  confidence.  One 
could  scarcely  be  affected  by  a  spirit  of  vainglory,  standing  where  I 
stand  to-night.  I  stand  here,  .not  for  myself,  not  for  the  three  thousand 
loyal  colored  men  in  this  county,  not  for  the  fifteen  thousand  colored 
voters  in  this  grand  old  commonwealth ;  but  I  stand  here  as  a  represen- 
tative of  the  sovereign  people.  I  am  before  you,  fellow  citizens,  as  an 
exponent  and  defender  of  the  immortal  teachings  of  the  Republican 
party,  the  party  that  represents  the  loyal  sentiment  and  political  con- 
science of  the  American  people. 

During  his  term  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  he  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  library,  special  committee 
on  railroad  terminal  facilities ;  second  member  of  the  com- 
mittee on  universities  and  colleges,  and  took  part  in  all 
the  legislation,  and  secured  the  passage  of  several  bills  re- 
ferring to  police,  railroad  legislation  and  school  legislation. 

He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic for  many  years,  and  has  been  a  National  delegate  and 
officer  from  the  beginning  of  his  membership.    January  26 


560  m£:n  of  mark. 

and  27, 1881,  the  fifth  annual  encampment  of  the  abore 
order  met  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  at  which  time  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  deliver  a  speech  in  response  to  the  welcomini^  ad* 
dress  of  the  mayor. .  In  the  minutes  of  the  session  ^vrhich 
met  at  Cincinnati,  January  18  and  19,  1882,  will  be  found 
his  report  ias  judge-advocate  of  the  department  of  Ohio, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Mr.  Williams  is  a  man  who  has  delivered  many  orations 
upon  many  topics  and  is  still  in  great  demand  as  an  orator. 
As  an  author  he  has  written  two  standard  works,  'The 
History  of  the  Negro  Race  in  America  from  1819  to  1880; 
Negroes  as  Slaves,  as  Soldiers  and  as  Citizens,  together 
with  a  Preliminary  Consideration  of  the  Unity  of  the  Hu- 
man Family.'  *  An  Historical  Sketch  of  Africa  and  an  Ac- 
count  of  the  Negro  Government  of  Sierra  Leone,  Africa.' 

At  this  writing  he  has  in  Harper  Brothers'  press  a  vol- 
uminous work  on  the  'Negro  as  a  Soldier.'  We  will  gfive 
two  criticisms  of  his  'History  of  the  Negro  Race, 'simply  to 
show  how  the  work  is  estimated.  The  first  will  be  from 
the  Westminster  Review,  London,  England,  which  ^was 
sent  to  him  with  the  compliments  of  that  magazine,  July, 
1883.    It  says: 

A  *  History  of  the  Negroes  '  ( the  author  insists  on  the  propriety  ofspeD- 
ing  the  word  with  a  capital )  has  just  been  brought  out  by  the  first  col- 
ored member  of  the  Ohio  Legislature  and  late  Judge-Advocate  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  of  Ohio.  He  gives  no  particulars  about  hi» 
own  life,  whether  he  was  ever  a  slave  or  not ;  but  to  judge  from  the  hon- 
orable position  he  has  attained,  he  must  have  been  bom  before  the  eman- 
cipation of  his  race,  though  his  portrait  shows  him  to  be  still  a  yoimg 
man,  probably  not  of  pure  African  blood,  with  the  face  indicating  deac^ 
headedness  and  resolution.    The  materials  have  been  collected  with  gxeat. 


GEORGE  W.  WILLIAMS.  561 

\  official  docmnenta  in  most  cases  printed  in  full ;  and  though  a  mem- 
ber of  an  oppressed  race  cannot  be  expected  to  write  calmly  about  the 
'wrongs  of  his  people,  there  is  no  needless  or  offensive  vituperation.  Tht 
style  is  clear  and  straightforward,  with  a  few  Americanisms  here  and 
there,  some  of  which  will  be  new  to  many  of  his  readers  on  this  side,  as 
the  verb  "  to  enthuse, "  meaning  to  inspire  Enthusiasm. 

From  the  Kansas  City  Review  of  Science  we  give  the  fol- 
lowing: 

Having  referred  quite  fully  to  the  general  scope  of  this  work  in  the 
April  ntunber  of  the  Review,  it  is  unnecessary  to  recur  to  it  or  to 
repeat  the  favorable  comments  then  made  upon  the  ability  and  skill  man- 
ifested by  the  author  in  handling  his  subject.  The  present  volume  is  de- 
voted to  an  account  of  the  Negro  race  in  America  between  the  years  1610 
and  1800.  Commencing  with  the  unity  of  mankind  and  considering  the 
snl^ect  in  the  light  of  philology,  ethnology  and  Egyptology,  the  author 
proceeds  to  discuss  primitive  Negro  civilization,  the  Negro  kingdoms  ol 
Africa,  the  Ashantee  Empire,  African  idiosyncrasies,  languages,  literature 
and  religion,  Sierra  Leone,  the  Republic  of  Liberia,  etc. 

In  part  two  heconsiders  the  history  of  slavery  in  the  Colonies  of  Vir- 
ginia, New  York,  Massachusetts,  Maryland,  Delaware,  Connecticut, 
Rhode  Island,  Newjersey,  South  Carolina,  New  Hampshire,  Pennsylvania 
and  Georgia,  giving  the  laws  regulating  slavery  in  each,  and  many  other 
facts  which  have  been  collected  with  great  pains  and  carefully  condensed. 
Part  three  is  devoted  to  an  account  of  the  services  of  the  Negro  during 
the  Revolution,  including  their  military  employment,  the  legal  status, 
the  statutory  prohibition  against  educating  them ;  notices  of  Banneker, 
the  Negro  astronomer;  Fuller, the  mathematician,  and  Derham,the  phy- 
sician; slavery  during  the  Revolution  as  a  political  and  legal  problem. 

Mr.  Williams,  though  a  ver\'  dark-skinned  and  pronounced  Negro,  is  a 
lawyer  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Legislature.  He  is  a  vigorous 
writer  and  a  hard  student.  In  the  preparation  of  these  volumes  he  has 
consulted  over  twelve  thousand  volumes,  besides  thousands  of  pamph- 
lets, and  has  succeeded  in  producing  a  work  which  will  be  authority  on 
the  subject  treated  until  a  better  one  is  produced,  which  is  likely  to  be  a 
long  time. 


562  ICBN  OF  MARK. 

The  honorable  gentleman  has  traveled  extensively  in  our 
own  country,  especially  giving  some  attention  to  Mexico 
and  New  Mexico,  and  has  visited  nearly  every  country  in 
Europe,  and  though  quite  a  young  man,  he  has  d^stin- 
guished  himself  so  that  with  all  justice  the  following  titles 
can  be  given  him :  Reverend,  Honorable,  Colonel,  Editor, 
Traveler,  Legislator,  Lawyer,  Orator,  Poet,  Historian  and 
Novelist.  Space  forbids  us  to  give  quotations  from  all  of 
his  writings,  but  we  will  content  ourselves  with  giving 
some  at  the  close  of  this  sketch. 

One  matter  we  might  refer  to  here,  before  we  close  the 
biographical  part  of  this  work,  and  that  is  his  appoint- 
ment at  the  expiring  hour  of  the  Congress  just  before  the 
inauguration  of  President  Grover  Cleveland.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  President  Arthur  appointed  him  to  office 
very  nearly,  if  UQt  the  last  act  of  his  administration  as 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  Grover  Cleveland  found 
him  in  office  confirmed  as  Minister  to  Havti,  and  the 
following  extract  which  I  take  from  the  New  York  Tribune 
will  give  sufficient  explanation  of  the  matter.  It  will  be 
remembered  also  that  he  did  not  fill  the  position,  but  was 
removed  and  another  substituted  in  his  place : 

Washington,  April  20. — Mr.  Williams,  United  States  Minister  to 
Hayti,  addressed  to  President  Cleveland,  on  April  13,  a  letter  of  which 
the  following  is  a  copy : 

**It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  give  you  the  history  of  my  case.  It  is 
brief  and  a  matter  of  public  record.  You  will  remember,  however,  that 
when  T  called  to  pay  my  respects  a  month  ago,  I  informed  you  of  my 
■nomination  and  confirmation  as  United  States  Minister  Resident  and 
Consul-General  to  Hayti.  When  you  expressed  pleasure  at  this  state- 
ment, which  was  news  to  you,  I  abandoned  my  avowed  purpose  often- 


GBOKGB  W.  WILLIAMS.  563 

ring  my  resignation.    Several  weeks  later  I  learned  that  a  fight  was 
ing  made  against  my  appointment.    Vice-President  Hendricks  had  told 
i  that  he  wanted  the  position.    I  came  to  yon,  Mr.  President,  and  told 
•a  that  if  the  administration  had  a  candidate  for  the  Haytian  mission 
vould  resign.    Yon  told  me  that  you  had  no  candidate.    I  then  told 
»u  that  a  fight  was  being  made  against  me  in  the  dark,  and  that  I  un- 
rstood  that  an  effort  was  being  made  to  have  me  recalled.    Yon  told 
e  that  my  recall  had  been  suggested,  but  that  the  matter  would  be 
dicially  considered.    Your  promise  of  fair  play,  Mr.  President,  gave  me 
mfidence.    I  had  then,  and  have  now,  absolute  confidence  in  your  prom- 
e.    I  have  sent  two  communications  to  the  Department  of  State.  I  have 
ceived  no  reply.    After  waiting  forty-two  daj's  since  I  took  the  oath  of 
Bee,  I  called  to-day  to  draw  my  thirty  days  pay  for  **  waiting  instruc- 
>n8.**     After  waiting  an  hour  in  the  public  hall,  I  sa>w  the  secretary  in 
private  room.    I  was  informed  that  there  were  charges  pending  against 
.     I  asked  for  a  copy  but  was  refused.    I  was  subsequently  informed 
"the  chief  clerk  that  I  could  have  my  thirty  days'  salary,  provided  I 
►■uld  write  my  resignation.    He  said  the  secretary  had  sent  him  to  me. 
alined.    I  declined  to  be  bribed  to  resign  with  charges  hanging  over 
'   head.    This  is  a  very  brief  statement  of  the  case,  but  there  are  man^* 
>TC  important  matters  that  I  cannot  properly  mention  at  this  time. 
*  Air.  President,  I  appeal  to  you  for  justice  and  fair  play.    My  case 
iises  to  be  a  p>ersonal  matter  from  to-day.    I  am  on  trial  before  the 
untry  for  my  race,  and,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned  as  a  young  man  now 
nie  time  in  public  life,  I  cannot  injustice  to  myself  seek  a  back  door. 
I. m  a  public  officer;  let  my  case  have  the  same  open  examination  that 
^ry  honest  official  should  court ;  let  the  charges  l>e  made  in  the  light ; 
^y  accusers  face  me,  and  if  I  shall  Im  found  unfit  for  public  station, 
'^e  be  dismissed.    If  I  shall  endure  the  test,  let  me  have  my  rights.    I 
^^e  no  claim  to  perfection,  but  I  do  honestly  believe  that  I  have  striven 
^  a  man  and  a  gentlemen.     I  have  no  apolog>'  to  offer  for  my  record 
^  tJnion  soldier  and  Republican  citizen.    I  have  not  always  felt  enthu- 
*^ic  over  the  candidate  of  my  party,  and  sometimes  have  wished 
'^  Uiy  party  had  pursued  a  different  policy.    But  all  parties  are  human, 
^  party  policy  is  rather  dictated  by  what  is  necessary  rather  than  b^- 
^t  is  right  in  the  abstract.    I  rejoice  in  the  noble  record  of  the  Repub- 
^  party,  and  yet  sincerely  and  honestly  wish  the  present  Democratic 


l\\\ 


^^-n'^t  -'^^-   '"  see  tV^e  3-^^  i^-^^  ^w 

U'-"!; :».-' *rl  «^«'- ^ ' ' 


CEORGB  W.  WILLIAMS.  565 

He  does  not  go  into  society  except  on  rare  occasions  and 
len  proYes  himself  a  congenial  and  racy  conversational- 
±.  There  is  but  one  place  in  which  he  may  be  found  regu- 
irly,  except  prevented  by  indisposition  or  inclement 
ireather,  and  that  is  the  Thursday  evening  prayer  meet- 
ag.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  during  his 
Christian  life  has  been  an  active  Sunday  school  and  Young 
fcden's  Christian  Association  worker,  until  a  severe  attack 
>f  pneumonia  and  increased  literary  duties  admonished 
lim  to  husband  his  strength. 

Few  persons  have  had  the  privilege  of  knowing  him  inti- 
mately, but  those  who  have  come  in  close  contact  with  him 
^ially  have  found  him  an  intelligent  and  interesting 
-ntleman.  He  is  loyal  to  his  friends,  but  pays  little  ^at- 
n-tion  to  his  enemies,  except  they  provoke  and  bring 
^out  war;  then  it  may  be  said  of  him  truly  ** Beware  of 
le  wrath  of  a  patient  man.''  He  is  the  equal  or  the  su- 
-rior  in  general  learning,  information  and  originality  of 
^y  of  the  representative  colored  men  in  this  country.    He 

familiar  with  the  classics,  with  several  modem  lan- 
^ages,  and  is  well-informed  upon  all  questions  of  domes- 
c  and  foreign  politics.  He  writes  poetry  with  grace  and 
nction  and  is  authorit}^  on  English  classics.  As  an 
i"ator  he  takes  first  rank.  He  has  written  three  novels 
nd  a  tragedy ;  the  last  two  productions  are  destined  to 
I'eate  a  profound  sensation  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic 
ind  give  him  additional  fame.  Although  a  good  lawyer, 
^nd,  in  the  practice  making  a  good  deal  of  money,  his  real 
tastes  are  those  of  the  scholar  and  literary  man ;  and  the 
^^t  of  his  life  will  be  devoted  to  literary  pursuits. 


566  MEN  OF  MARK. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  State  UniYersity,  LonasYille^ 
Kentucky,  May  17, 1887,  the  Hon.  G.  W.  WiUiama  deUv-* 
ered  an  oration  on  ' '  Books  and  Reading :  Hoiv  to  read^ 
what  to  read,  and  ^when  to  read."  The  oration?  was  ^ 
masterpiece  and  at  the  same  tmie  a  voluminana  index  t^ 
the  orators  reading,  an  epitome  of  the  yarinl  «ttd  eztei:::^ 
sive  historical  research  after  wisdom.  At  lAis  time  tt::::: 
degree  of  LL.  D.  was  conferred  on  him  by  lAeatithoritt^i.. 
of  the  State  University.  The  "  Em^ka,"  the  socifity  befc^^ 
whom  he  lectured,  was  especially  proud  of  tb^honoi: 
ferred  on  him. 


WIIXIAM  £YB  HOLMES  567 


LXXVI. 

PROFESSOR  WILLIAM  EVE  HOLMES, 

A.  B.,  A.  M.,  LL.  D. 

Hebrew,  German  and  French  Scholar— Professor  in  the  Atlanta  Baptist 
Seminary. 

IN  slave  life  there  were  many  pleasant  scenes,  many  lives 
that  ran  smoothly  and  presented  pictures  of  a  happy 
home,  and  it  was  the  wont  of  American  slaveholders  to 
liken  slavery  to  the  patriarchal  days  of  father  Abraham. 

It  was  under  very  favorable  scenes  that  W.  E.  Holmes 
was  bom  in  the  city  of  Augusta,  Georgia,  January  22, 
1856.  Has  parents  were  slaves,  his  father  belonging  to 
one  family  and  his  mother  to  another.  Separated  as  they 
were,  the  care  and  responsibility  of  rearing  him  devolved 
upon  his  mother.  Fortunately  for  her,  in  the  immediate 
service  of  her  master,  w^ho  was  a  planter,  she  never  spent 
a  day.  From  early  youth  to  the  close  of  the  war  she  was 
hired  out,  and  the  family  in  whose  employ  she  passed  the 
last  fourteen  years  of  her  slave  life,  consisting  of  a  father, 
mother  and  son,  were  very  kind.  The  head  of  the  family 
was  a  contracting  carpenter  and  did  business  on  a  large 
scale,  and  as  is  characteristic  with  most  Southern  men,  lived 
an  easy  and  flowing  life,  never  thinking  of  providing  for  the 


568  MEN  OP  MARK. 

wants  of  his  family.  There  being  no  children  on  his  premises, 
he  took  a  liking  to  young  William  at  an  early  age,  and  made 
a  pet  of  him.  He  ate  at  his  table,  slept  in  his  bed,  and 
accompanied  him  in  his  walks.  In  this  kind  treatment  his 
wife  and  son  vied  with  him .  His  home  was  indeed  a  pleasant 
one.  Books  and  papers  were  not  kept  from  him,  or  indeed 
anything  which  was  elevating  and  ennobling  in  its  ten- 
dencies. His  mother  being  able  to  read,  early  inspired  him 
with  a  love  for  books,  and  taught  him  tc  read  simple  par- 
agraphs with  some  degree  of  ease.  During  the  last  years 
of  the  war  she  sent  him  every  day  to  school,  carefully  con- 
cealing his  books  under  his  clothes  to  avoid  arrest;  for 
the  elementary  instructions  of  Negro  youth  in  slavery  was 
forbidden,  and  the  authorities  were  ever  on  the  alert. 

All  over  the  South  they  were  preparing  in  this  secret 
manner  a  host  to  go  forth  and  raise  up  their  people,  for 
had  not  this  been  the  case  our  race  would  never  have 
made  such  progress  in  so  short  a  time.  The  war  closing 
in  1865,  gave  better  opportunities  for  continuing  her  la- 
bors, which  she  did,  until  1871.  During  those  years  he 
enjoyed  the  instruction  of  some  of  the  best  teachers  from 
New  England.  On  account  of  ill  health,  he  suspended 
studies  that  year,  and  was  hired  out  to  a  cabinet-maker 
and  undertaker,  in  whose  employ  he  continued  two  years, 
but  he  still  kept  up  his  studies.  On  December  10,  1874, 
he  was  converted  and  joined  the  Thankful  Baptist  church, 
at  Augusta,  and  onthe  seventh  of  February  following,  was 
baptized  in  the  Savannah  river.  That  year  he  began  school 
again  at  the  Augusta  Institute,  prosecuting  his  studies 
for  seven  years  without  interruption— four  years  in  the  city 


WILLIAM  EYE  HOLMES.  569 

of  Augusta,  and  three  in  the  city  of  Atlanta,  after  the  re- 
moYal  of  the  school  to  that  city,  and  its  incorporation 
under  the  name  of  the  *' Atlanta  Seminary,"  Dr.  Joseph  T. 
Roberts,  President. 

He  was  a  trustworthy  disciple  of  that  good  man  to  whom 
he  owes  much  for  his  instruction.  Shortly  after  he  entered 
the  institution,  he  was  gradually  promoted  till  graduation, 
when  he  was  made  a  full  professor.  Besides  doing  the 
work  of  the  prescribed  course  of  literary  and  theological 
studies,  he  has  had  good  instruction  in  branches  not  taught 
in  the  seminary.  In  addition  to  careful  preliminary 
instruction  in  the  Hebrew  language,  he  has  been  favored 
with  the  personal  training  of  Dr.  William  R.  Harper,  the 
learned  professor  of  Oriental  languages  at  Yale  University, 
and  for  two  years  he  pursued  the  study  of  German  under 
a  gentleman  who  completed  his  education  in  one  of  the 
German  Universities,  and  French  under  a  graduate  of  Col- 
by University.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  on  the  twenty- 
first  of  June,  1878,  and  on  the  second  of  September,  1881, 
was  ordained  to  the  ministry.  In  May,  1883,  he  was 
elected  to  the  corresponding  secretaryship  of  the  Mission- 
ary Baptist  Convention  of  Georgia,  a  body  representing 
more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  communi- 
cants.  He  held  the  position  for  one  year.  The  pressure 
of  business  being  so  great  as  to  require  his  full  time  for  the 
school,  he  declined  re-election.  He  is  still  however  officially 
-connected  with  the  convention  and  attends  it  every  year. 
The  denominational  and  educational  work — a  work  in 
which  he  feels  a  deep  interest,  and  which  to-day  he  is  labor- 
ing to  advance,  attracts  much  of  his  attention.    Recently 


570  MEN  OF  MARK. 

he  delivered  a  speech  at  Spelman's  Ufinrersity,  which  prob- 
ably epitomizes  his  views  concerning  the  race,  his  subject 
being :  "  A  Problem  to  be  Solved. " 
He  said : 

The  National  Baptist  of  Philadelphia  says:  "  Let  the  N^^  alone.'" 
This  is  just  where  tho  trouble  lies.  He  has  been  let  alone  and  aererdj 
alone.  George  W.  Cable  thinks  that  at  once  the  Negro  should  be  ad* 
mitted  to  mingle  freely  with  those  surrounding  him.  I  don't  think  sow 
Bishop  Dudley  of  Kentucky  says  that  the  Caucasian  sboold  help  us.. 
This  is  f^ood.  The  sentiment  of  Pred  Douglass,  that  inter-marriage  with 
a  dominant  race  will  settle  all  difficulties,  is  of  course  out  of  considera- 
tion. Grady  thinks  that  if  the  whole  matter  be  left  to  the  South,  that 
she  is  able  to  settle  it.  The  South  has  had  time  to  do  it,  and  she  has  no: 
done  it.  Who,  then,  shall  solve  this  problem  ?  It  must  be  solved  by  the 
colored  people  themselves ;  so  said  Charles  Dudley  Warner^  and  with  his 
view  mine  accords. 

In  pointing  out  the  steps  to  be  taken  in  the  solution  of 
this  problem,  he  said : 

There  are  three,  the  first  is  to  make  solid  moral  progress;  I  want  oui — 
people  to  recognize  the  fact  that  there  is  rottenness  and  evil  in  society, 
and  to  that  remember,  until  this  is  remedied  we  must  keep  out  moathft-=- 
shut.    Second  step  is  to  make  cowmon  social  progress  as  we  are  too 
free  and  familiar,  though  not  wishing  to  underrate  the  kindly  hospital — 
ity,  not  wishing  that  we  should  be  social  icebergs,  yet  dignity  is  to  be- 
cultivated.     Much  that  is  called  politeness,  is  downright    vulgarity. 
The  third  step  is  to  make  sound  mental  progress.    We  must  have  men 
of  learning  that  are  broad  and  deep. 

Speaking  of  industrial  education,  he  emphasized  the  im- 
portance of  handiwork,  saying  that  **  the  colored  men  and 
women  must  come  to  recognize  the  fact  that  if  they  aie 
to  hold  their  own  in  America  beside  the  progressive  Can- 


WILLIAM  EY£  HOLMES.  571 

casian,  they  must  learn  to  work,  the  training  of  head  and 
hand  must  go  side  by  side.*' 

The  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  University  of  Chicago,  June  11, 1884.  He  is  worth 
about  five  thousand  dollars  in  property.  He  married  Miss 
Elizabeth  Easley,  a  graduate  of  the  Atlanta  University, 
July  15^  1885«  who  taught  ia  Ifcc  public  schools  of  Atlanta. 
He  is  a  man  universally  beloved  and  admired  by  all  whu 
know  him. 


} 


572  MBN  OF  MARK. 


LXXVII. 

REV.  RAND\LL  BARTHOLOMEW  VANDERVALL,  D.D. 

A  Self-Made  Man — A  Graduate  from  the  School  of  Adversity. 

KNOWING  of  the  many  difficulties  through  which  the 
good  man  whose  name  stands  at  the  head  of  this 
sketch  has  psssed,  and  admiring  his  success,  which  has 
been  wrung  from  the  severest  circumstances,  and  delight- 
ing to  honor  such,  it  is  with  marked  pleasure  that  we  in- 
troduce a  few  words  concerning  his  struggles  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  has  succeeded  in  compassing  every 
trouble  and  arriving  at  the  place  where  he  has  be- 
come an  honored  citizen,  useful  preacher,  a  man  distin- 
guished among  the  race  and  his  brethren  in  the  ministry. 
He  was  bom  in  1832  at  Nesley's  Bend,  on  the  Cumber- 
land river,  ten  miles  above  Nashville.  His  mother's  name 
was  Sylvonia.  She  was  the  property  of  a  Major  Hall, 
who  had  brought  her  from  Virginia  when  a  baby  in  her 
mother's  arms.  His  father's  name  was  Lewis,  and  was 
the  property  of  a  man  named  Poster ;  and  serving  said 
owner  as  coachman,  he  was  allowed  to  visit  his  wife  only 
once  a  year.  There  were  eleven  children  in  the  family. 
After  the  death  of  Mr.  Hall,  the  mother   and  children 


RANDALL  BARTHOLOMEW  VANDERYALL.  573 

became  the  property  of  his  only  daughter,  Anna,  who 
hired  out  all  the  children  that  were  old  enough  to  leave 
their  mother.  When  seven  years  old,  young  Vandervall 
was  taken  on  New  Year's  day  to  the  hiring  ground  to  be 
hired  out.  An  old  white  man  came  to  him,  saying,  **  Come 
with  me.'*  He  was  afraid  of  white  people,  and  then  the 
thought  of  leaving  his  mother  was  terrible.  He  snatched 
him  violently  from  his  mother's  arms  and  threw  him  on  a 
sharp-backed  horse  and  carried  him  twenty-two  miles 
away  from  all  that  was  dear  to  him  on  the  earth. 

He  was  compelled  to  sleep  on  the  floor,  with  only  one 
quilt  in  which  he  rolled  himself  as  well  as  he  could  and 
cried  all  night.  A  white  lady  next  day  tried  to  comfort 
him,  but  he  was  broken-hearted  and  dreadfully  homesick. 
After  several  months  he  became  accustomed  to  the  place 
and  remembered  the  prayer  that  his  mother  taught  him. 
He  slept  in  the  house  with  the  white  people,  and  every 
night  after  they  had  gone  to  bed,  he  would  go  down  on 
his  knees  and  say  his  prayers.  Sometimes  as  he  was 
doing  so,  it  seemed  as  if  his  mother's  hand  was  resting  on 
his  head ;  then  the  tears  would  flow  freely  down  his  cheek. 
Those  were  bitter  days  with  the  young  boy.  He  stayed 
there  three  years  and  enjoyed  one  advantage  of  unspeak- 
able importance :  he  was  permitted  to  attend  school,  and 
the  white  boys  at  home  taught  him  to  spell.  After  this 
time  he  was  taken  to  Nashville  and  hired  to  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Garite,  who  was  a  minister  of  the  gospel  and  also 
kept  a  boarding  house.  At  that  time  all  the  children  had 
reached  maturity  and  the  guardian,  Mr.  Steele,  was  re- 
leased and  the  property  was  now  divided.    Mr.  Charles 


574  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Hall  secured  him  as  part  of  his  share,  and  came  out  one 
night  to  get  him  to  go  to  Kansas.    He  ran  off  and  did  not 
return  while  he  was  there.    He  was  shortly  bought  by- 
Mr.  Vandervall,  with  whom  he  was  living,  for  the  price  of 
five  hundred  dollars.    When  he  was  fifteen  years  old  he 
was  converted  and  became  more  thirsty  for  knowledge, 
which  he  gained  by  attending  night  school,  being  aided 
very  much  by  John  Vandervall,  the  son  of  his  master.    He 
paid  for  his  lessons  by  splitting  rails.     His  spare  time 
was  given  to  holding  prayer  meetings  and  doing  other 
religious  work.     Having  been  immersed  by  Elder  Peter 
Tuckenway,  he  began  preaching   at  the  age  of  sixteen, 
walking  twenty  miles  to  appointments,  and  feeding  five 
hundred  at  times  with  the  bread  of  eternal  life.    He  was 
the  only  colored  Baptist  raised  in  the  neighborhood  since 
the  split  in  the  denomination  which  occurred  at  that  time. 
The  brother  who  baptized  him  and  indoctrinated  him,  as 
was  common  at  the  time,  was  called  very  hard  names, 
but  he  was  strong  in  the  faith.    Sometimes  he  preached 
for  what  was  called  the  **  Old  Baptists,''  who  were  greatly 
in  the  majority — especially  when  there  were  a  dozen  or 
more  to  follow  him,  their  object  being  to  tear  him  to 
pieces.    They  would  say,  **He  is  young,  he  doesn't  know 
any  better."    He  was  the  wonder  of  the  day,  on  account 
of  his  being  so  young. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Martha  Nicholson  of  Hill 
Brook,  by  the  Rev.  Daniel  Watkins,  and  was  sent  shortly 
after  his  marriage  to  work  on  a  railroad,  and  was,  by 
this  arrangement,  permitted  to  live  with  his  wife ;  but  the 
man  who  had  hired  him,  finding  he  could  read  and  write. 


RANDALL  BARTHOLOMEW  VANDERVALL.  575 

ibused  him  so  that  he  ran  away,  went  home,  and  per- 
suaded his  master  to  let  him  go  to  Nashville  and  work, 
'hich  he  did.    For  this  privilege  he  paid  $200  a  year.    In 
»ix  months  more,  he  had  his  wife  living  with  him,  having 
irranged  to  pay  for  her  time  also.    Next,  a  horse  and  dray 
bought,  with  which  he  made  considerable  money, 
>ut  he  was  destined  to  more  trouble.    An  old  white  man 
-told  him  one  day  that  his  master  was  fixing  to  sell  him 
^to  one  Dr.  Wallace,  to  go  South  and  drive  a  team.    He 
^<ireamt  the  night  before  that  he  was  sold.    On  the  Sunday 
following  he  went  home  to  his  owners,  and  when  he  ar- 
rived they  were  in  the  wood-lot  and  he  told  them  his 
-dream.    Mr.  Barter  said  it  was  not  so,  but  his  wife  said  it 
was.    After  some  conversation,  he  told  them  he  could  not 
believe  that  they  could  sell  him,  as  they  had  promised  not 
to  do  so.    Mr.  Vandervall  said  to  him,  **God  is  just,  and 
every  man  shall  have  to  give  an  account  of  himself  to  God. 
Now,  Mr.  Barter,  how  would  you  like  it  to  be  treated  as 
you  have  treated  me?"    *'I  should  not  like  it,'*  said  he. 
He  threw  the  blame  on  his  wife,  and  said  she  would  not 
rest  until  it  was  done.    He  then  asked  Mr.  Barter  what 
he  was  to  do,  and  then  Mr.  Barter  swore  that  he  would 
not  sign  the  papers. 

Vandervall  then  asked  them  to  let  him  keep  on  paying 
for  his  time  as  he  had  started  to  do,  and  further  asked  if 
he  had  ever  been  untrue  to  them,  or  ever  gave  them  any 
trouble.  They  answered  **No.'*  He  then  asked  why  he 
wanted  to  sell  him  from  his  wife.  To  this  they  made  no 
reply.  Mr.  Barter  then  said  that  he  was  willing  that  Van- 
dervall should  have  a  chance  to  buy  himself,  if  he  could  do 


376 


HEN  OP  MARK. 


r 

SO.  This  was  agreed  upon,  and  the  price  fixed  at  $1800, 
$500  cash.  With  all  his  promises,  Mr.  Barter,  before  he 
was  through  paying  for  him,  sent  a  ** nigger  trader"  to 
see  him.  Mr.  Vandervall  mounted  his  horse,  and  stayed 
away  from  home  day  and  night.  He  secured  Mr.  R.  L. 
Bell  to  become  his  executor ;  to  him  he  looked  for  all  pro- 
tection  in  money  matters. 

Amid  great  difficulties,  however,  he  succeeded  at  last  in 
raising  the  money,  but  in  the  meantime  his  troubles  were 
aggravated  by  the  loss  of  several  horses.  Grief  and  hard 
work  began  to  show  themselves  on  his  health.  All  this 
time  of  great  darkness  his  wife  was  a  help-mate  indeed  to 
him.  Finallv,  his  health  was  restored,  and  he  started  out 
again  full  of  hope  and  courage,  to  secure  blessings  for  him- 
self and  family.    God  with  his  unerring  hand  upheld  him. 

Wherever  he  went  to  preach,  large  audiences  greeted 
him.  On  account  of  his  power  over  men,  he  was  sent  as 
an  evangelist,  and  met  with  great  success.  It  seemed  for 
a  while  as  if  the  clouds  were  breaking  away,  but  this  did 
not  last  long.  His  wife  belonged  to  an  old  bachelor 
who  died,  and  another  trouble  came  upon  them,  and  they 
were  sore  afflicted.  There  were  rumors  that  his  wife  would 
be  set  lree,butshe  was  sold  to  a  man  named  Nelson  Nichol- 
son, her  own  father's  grandson.  Mr.  Vandervall  again 
hired  his  wife  from  him.  He  had  saved  a  little  money  and 
he  deposited  it  in  the  bank  of  Tennessee,  and  when  it  broke 

he  lost  it,  and  thus  had  another  fall.    A  short  time  after 

• 

that,  Mr.  Nicholson,  who  bought  his  wife,  called  at  the 
hotel  where  he  was  at  work,  and  inquired  to  whom  he  be- 
longed, saying  that  he  did  not  want  to  separate  him  from 


.  li.  VANDKRVALL. 


RANDALL  BARTHOI^OMEW  YANDERVALL.      577 

his  wife,  but  that  he  would  have  to  leave  town,  and  would 
either  sell  his  wife  to  his  owner,  or  he  would  buy  him.    It 

» 

ended  with  the  young  man,  whom  his  wife  had  partly 
brought  up,  buying  him,  but  he  had  hardly  finished  paying 
for  her  when  the  war  broke  out.  From  that  time  until  the 
"war  closed  they  both  hired  their  time. 

Mr.  Nicholson,  who  owned  his  wife,  was  rather  weak- 
minded,  and  allowed  a  Mr.  McKenzie  to  persuade  him  to 
let  him  have  Mr.  Vandervall,  his  wife  and  child.  It  was  a 
wicked  plot  to  accomplish  a  selfish  purpose.  Both  hus- 
band and  wife  moved  away,  but  stayed,  however,  only  a 
year,  when  they  returned  to  the  city.  Several  of  their 
children  were  dead,  but  amid  all  these  troubles  he  has 
given  education  to  those  who  are  now  living.  James  N. 
Vandervall  is  a  graduate  of  the  Medical  Department  of 
the  Central  Tennessee  College,  and  is  now  practicing  medi- 
cine in  Waco,  Texas.  His  son  and  two  daughters  obtained 
their  education  at  Roger  Williams  University. 

He  has  been  living  in  East  Tennessee  about  fifteen  years, 
and  when  he  first  settled  in  that  place  there  was  no  Bap- 
tist church.  The  Lord  has  been  with  them  and  blessed 
their  labors,  and  now  there  is  a  neat  plain  building  and  a 
membership  of  nine  hundred.  Some  years  ago  his  church 
made  him  a  life  member  of  the  American  Baptist  Publi- 
cation Society.  For  many  years  he  was  President  of  the 
State  Sabbath  School  convention.  Since  the  death  of 
Rev.  N.  G.  Murray,  he  has  been  President  of  the  Baptist 
State  convention.  In  the  early  days  of  reconstruction  he 
was  one  of  those  who  aided  Dr.  J.  B.  Simmons  in  selecting 
the  place  where  the  Roger  Williams  University  now  stands. 


578 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


serving  as  a  trustee  when  the  school  was  chartered  and 
since  that  time.  The  degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred  upon 
him  by  this  institution  during  the  commencement  of  1886. 
His  work  in  organization  of  churches  is  worthy  of  mention, 
for  he  has  organized  nine  churches. 

After  freedom  came,  he  was  married  to  his  wife  under 
the  laws  by  the  Rev.  D.  W.  Phillips,  his  staunch  friend  and 
adviser.  He  has  succeeded  in  gathering  around  him  many 
friends,  a  valuable  home  and  a  good  library. 

Thus  ends  the  life  of  a  man  who  suflFered  in  the  bonds  of 
American  slavery  and  yet  has  risen  to  prominence. 


X 


£11 

*   • 


^1 


V: 
DC 


BLUAU  P.  MARKS.  570 


LXXVIII. 
REV.  ELIJAH  P.  MARKS. 

Preacher — Soldier — Treasurer^Author. 

IN  Shelby  county,  Kentucky,  January,  1840,  was  bom 
Elijah  P.  Marrs,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His 
-mother  and  father  were  Virginians  by  birth,  the  latter  of 
-whom  received  his  freedom  at  the  age  of  thirty  years  from 
an  indulgent  master.  When  quite  a  boy,  Mr.  Marrs  dis- 
played such  elements  in  his  character  for  successful  work 
in  the  things  that  developed  the  spiritual  being,  that  the 
Tieighboring  folks  called  him  a  ** little  preacher." 

Although  the  laws  pf  Kentucky  forbade  the  Negro  to 
acquire  such  knowledge  as  books  give,  yet  Mr.  Roberson, 
his  owner,  being  a  Christian,  desired  that  he  should  know 
-enough  to  read  the  Scripture,  and  accordingly  secretly 
taught  him  when  still  very  young.  At  the  age  of  eleven  he 
professed  hope  in  Christ  and  was  baptized  at  Simpsonville 
by  Rev.  Charles  Wells.  He  says  with  all  sincerity  that  he 
never  uttered  an  oath  or  spent  a  cent  for  liquor  in  his  life. 
The  year  Abraham  Lincoln  was  made  President,  manhood 
in  him  asserted  itself.  He  devoured  the  contents  of  news- 
papers and  books,  and  being  the  only  colored  man,  except 


580  UBN  OF  MARK. 

his  brother,  H.  C.  (now  deceased),  in  the  neighborhood  wha 
could  read,  he  kept  the  colored  people  in  the  community 
well  informed  on  the  state  of  affairs.  At  this  time  Shelby 
county  was  threatened  with  Confederate  soldiers,  and  his 
former  master  warned  him  to  be  on  the  alert  and  not  be 
captured ;  but  though  heeding  the  caution  given,  he  mus- 
tered a  company  of  twenty-seven  men,  Sunday  night,  Sep- 
tember 25,  1864,  armed  them  with  clubs,  and  as  their 
captain,  armed  himself  with  an  old  pistol  which  had  long 
discharged  its  last  shot,  marched  a  distance  of  twenty-two 
miles  to  Louisville  and  enlisted  in  the  United  States  army.. 
Two  days  later  he  was  made  a  sergeant  of  Company  L,. 
Twelfth  United  States  Heavy  Artillery.  His  army  life  was 
full  of  excitement,  and  his  company  took  part  in  several 
important  engagements.  While  at  home  on  a  furlough  be- 
fore  being  mustered  out,  in  1866,  he  was  attacked  by  a 
mob  of  Confederates,  but  having  his  presence  of  mind  he 
held  his  ground  and  dispersed  his  assailants. 

August  3,  1871,  he  married  Miss  Julia  Gray,  of  Shelby- 
ville,  who  died  April,  1876.  He  has  been  a  very  successful 
teacher  in  Shelbyville,  La  Grange,  Louisville,  Beargrass, 
and  other  places  in  Kentucky.  June  16,  1873,  he  was 
licensed  to  preach  at  the  New  Castle  Baptist  church, 
thereby  realizing  his  boyhood  dreams,  and  was  ordained 
to  the  gospel  ministry  August  22,  1875.  He  has  held  no 
small  place  in  the  estimation  of  his  fellow  men.  He  was  a 
delegate  to  the  first  educational  convention  held  in  Ken- 
tucky in  1868,  and  in  the  first  political  convention  in  1869, 
looking  forward  to  the  ratificationof  the  Fifteenth  Amend- 
ment .    He  enrolled  himself  as  a  member,  and  was  appointed 


ELIJAH    P.  MARKS.  581 

-a  committeeman  oi^  resolutions.    He  was  a  member  of  the 
•convention  which  nominated  Governor  Harlan,  and  was 
also  in  the  State  convention  of  colored  men  that  met  in  Lex- 
ington, Kentucky,  in  1882,  and  the  National  convention  of 
colored  men  which  met  in  Louisville  in  1883,  and  the  great 
educational  convention  which  met  in  Frankfort  in  1884. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Gen- 
-  ^ral  Association  of  Colored  Baptists  for  six  years ;  a  mem- 
t>er  and  secretary  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Centra) 
IDistrict  Association,  and  for  twelve  years  secretary  of  the 
'CZentral  Diatfidt  Association,  and  is  at  present  treasurer  of 
lie  Generdl  Association.    From  1879  to  1880  he  was  busi- 
less  manager  for  the  State  University,  then  known  as  the 
^t^ormal  and  Theological  Institute.    March  16,  1880,  he 
called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Beargrass  church,  which 
►osition  he  has  held  until  this  time,  excepting  an  interval 
*{  three  months.  This  is  one  of  the  most  successful  churches 
the  State,  though  by  no  means  the  largest. 
He  has  published  a  book  containing  a  sketch  of  his  life, 
hich  has  brought  him  considerable  revenue.    It  treats  of 
Xnis  army  life,  his  life  as  a  teacher,  of  his  ministerial  labors. 
Xle  has  assisted  in  setting  apart  to  the  work  of  the  gospel 
xninistry  fifteen  young  men.    He  has  amassed  some  worldly 
^oods,  in  value  to  the  extent  of  $3,500.    Mr.  Marrs  is  a 
xnan  admired  by  all  who  know  him.    His  quiet,  gentle- 
^nanly  deportment  makes  him  beloved  by  all  the  brethren. 
TFsually  in  earnest,  he  is  no  enthusiast,  but  when  he  under- 
takes a  thing  he  goes  through  with  it.    He  is  a  strong 
friend  to  the  cause  of  education,  and  can  be  depended  on  to 
be  on  the  side  of  temperance  and  againstthecause  of  Satan 


582  MEN  OF  MARK. 

at  all  times.    Above  all  he  is  a  true  preacher  of  the  WordI? 
and  a  friend  in  truth  and  sincerity  to  those,  wha  prxuri 
themselves  worthy. 


DAKIEI.  JOKBS. 


LXXIX. 
REV.  DANIEL  JONES. 

Presiding  Elder  of  the  M.  E.  Chuich— His  Hairbreadth  Escapes. 

ON  June  30,  1830,  our  subject  was  bom  in  Reading, 
Pennsylvania.  His  parents  were  Henry  and  Cath- 
arine Jones,  His  father  was  a  slave  on  the  eastern  shores 
of  Maryland,  up  to  the  age  of  twenty-6ve,  when  he  made 
his  escape  into  Pennsylvania,  where  he  raised  a  family  of 
eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  living.  Daniel  left  home  at 
ten  years  of  age  to  learn  the  barber's  trade  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  where  he  worked  at  this  employment  for 
seven  j'cars ;  but  becoming  disgusted  with  it,  he  concluded 
to  go  to  sea.  After  quite  a  lengthy  voyage  he  landed  in 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  being  of  a  venturesome 
disposition  he  went  ashore  with  the  mate  to  see  the  sights, 
having  been  warned  at  the  same  time  of  the  risk  he  would 
run  in  so  doing;  nevertheless  he  thought  he  would  try  it. 
At  nine  o'clock  a  bell  rang  as  a  warning  for  all  the  colored 
people  to  get  in  the  house ;  and  as  he  did  nht  understand 
the  signal,  of  course  he  did  not  retire.  Mr.  Jones  is  so  fair 
that  at  first  the  patrols  did  not  discover  that  he  was  not 
a  "simon  pure;"  and  when  they  undertook  to  arrest 
him,  then  began  a  mighty  race  for  the  vessel,  which  was 


S84  MEN  OF  MARK. 

footed  in  dead  earnest ;  being  fleet  of  foot,  he  managed  to 
make  his  escape,  and  never  had  a  desire  to  repeat  the 
experiment. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  January ,  1 849,  he  started  around  Cape 
Horn  for  the  newly  discovered  gold  fields  of  California,  in 
one  of  the  first  of  a  class  of  clipper  ships.  Gray  Eagle, 
After  sailing  four  months  and  two  days,  passing  into  the 
Golden  Gate  he  entered  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco.    He 
worked  in  the  gold  mines  of  California  and  Oregon  for 
five  years  with  good  success,  and  concluded  to  make  the 
latter  place  his  home ;  and  so  he  located  at  Jacksonville, 
for  some  years  and  then,  on  recommendation  of  physicians, 
he  moved  to  Cresent  City,  California,  on  the  seashore.  He 
recovered  his  health  and  moved  to  Salem,  the  capital  of 
the  State  of  Oregon.    Here  he  lived  in  the  midst  of  the 
famous  Oregon  Indian  War  and  had  many  narrow  escapes 
from  death.    One  especially,  he  says,  he  shall  never  forget. 
A  white  man  with    whom    he  was  traveling  on  horse- 
back, requested  him  to  leave  the  main  road  with  him  that 
he  might  talk  with  some  Indians  that  he  saw  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  roadside,  and  about  half  a  mile  from 
the  Indian  camp.     He  found  an  Indian  whom  he  said  had 
a  short  time  previous  killed  a  relative  of  his.     He  drew 
his  revolver  and  quickly  shot  the  Indian  dead.    He  started 
up  the  mountain  side  at  full  speed,   leaving  Mr.  Jones 
almost  dumfounded  at  the  side  of  the  gasping  Indian. 
The  shot  and  screams  of  the  poor  fellow  brought  the 
entire  Indian  camp  to  the  spot  with  cocked  revolvers  and 
rifles.    They  rushed  upon  him  with  the  intention  of  slaying 
him.    He  thought  surely  his  time  had  come  and  that  his 


DANIEL  JONES.  585 

race  had  been  run  to  the  end.    But,  like  the  disHples  at 

Pentecost,  he  talked  diflFerent  tongues  very  rapidly  until 

they  understood  that  he  was  not  the  man  who  did  the 

oowardly  deed.     Lieutenant   Underwood  of  the  United 

States  Army,  had  charge  of  the  Indians,  taking  them  to 

"the  reservation,  and  to  him,  under  God,  was  his  preser- 

"vation  largely  due. 

He  taught  school  in  Jacksonville  and  Salem,  Oregon, 
^t  diflFerent  periods.    In  the  latter  place  he  joined  the  M. 
.  church  in  1869.    He  was  converted  really  in  the  middle 
f  the  street  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  at  the  age  of  twelve, 
T>ut  didn't  unite  with  any  church  until  the  time  mentioned. 
lie  was  licensed  to  exhort  soon  after,  attaching  himself  to 
-^he  church,  and  was  soon  admitted  on  trial  in  the  Oregon 
Conference.     He  entered   the  Williamette   University  at 
-Salem,  being  the  first  colored  man  ever  admitted  within 
its  walls  as  a  student.    A  young  white  man  in  the  class 
refused  to  recite  in  the  algebra  class  with  him  because  of 
a  dread  of  the  contact.    The  teacher,  Mr.  O.  Frambes, 
with  his  big,  sympathetic  heart,  told  him  at  once  to  pack 
up  his  little  bundle  and  leave  the  institution ;  but  a  good 
night's  rest  and  a  cool  reconsideration  caused  him  to  be- 
come reconciled,  and  the  next  morning  found  him  working 
at  the  **  minus  and  plus, ''  for  he  had  just  discovered  the 
unknown  **  quantity  '*  in  Jones. 

In  1873  Bishop  R.  S.  Foster  gave  Mr.  Jones  about  as 
long  a  transfer  as  Methodist  preachers  usually  get,  four 
thousand  miles,  from  the  Oregon  to  the  Newark,  New  Jer- 
sey conference.  He  was  stationed  for  three  years  at  New- 
ark, New  Jersey,  and  then  transferred  to  Cmcinnati,  Ohio, 


586  MEN  OF  MARK. 

where  he  remained  one  year,  and  was  sent  to  Indianapolis, 
Indiana,  as  pastor  for  two  jrears,  and  was  then  appointed 
presiding  elder  of  the  Lexington,  Kentucky,  district,  by 
Bishop  Wiley.  After  serving  four  years,  he  was  returned 
to  the  pastorate  at  Paris  for  two  years,  and  then  to  Win- 
chester, Kentucky,  as  pastor  of  Clark's  chapel.  He  re- 
ceived the  ordination  of  deacon  at  the  hands  of  Bishop 
Edmund  S.  Jones,  and  as  an  elder  at  the  hands  of  Bishop 
Edward  Ames. 

His  intellectual  qualities  and  goodness  of  heart  made 
him  a  general  favorite  with  his  brethren,  and  he  received 
a  number  of  votes  for  bishop  at  the  general  conference  in 
1880,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

He  was  elected  a  delegate  from  the  State  of  Oregon,  to 
the  Civil  Rights  convention,  which  met  in  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia,  in  1873.  Also  a  delegate  from  the 
same  State,  to  the  National  Convention  of  Colored  Men, 
which  met  in  Nashville,  in  1880.  He  was  elected  delegate 
to  the  Educational  convention  which  met  in  the  citv  of 
Lexington,  Kentucky ;  was  one  of  the  committee  to  present 
the  work  necessary  to  the  Legislature  at  Frankfort ;  though 
not  present  at  Frankfort,  on  account  of  having  to  perform 
the  funeral  services  of  a  valued  friend,  he  was  thoroughly 
interested  in  the  work  accomplished. 

He  was  married  at  Jacksonville,  Oregon,  in  1862,  and 
the  fruits  of  the  union  are  four  children.  Two  of  them 
sleep  quietly  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  one  waits  in  the 
cemetery'  at  Paris,  Kentucky,  for  the  great  reunion,  the 
other  is  still  spared  to  cheer  and  comfort  the  hearts  of  the 
parents,  and  in  some  measure  supply  the  place  of  those 


DANIEL  JONES.  587 

departed.  He  canvassed  the  State  of  Indiana  in  1878,  on 
behalf  of  the  State  candidates  on  the  Republican  ticket ; 
was  president  of  the  Blaine  club  at  Paris,  Kentucky,  dur- 
ing the  National  campaign.  He  also  delivered  the  Fourth 
of  July  oration  at  Greencastle,  Indiana,  •at  the  Odd 
Fellows'  celebration  in  1878.  Said  oration  received  the 
highest  compliments  of  the  citizens  and  the  press,  and  was 
published  in  full  in  the  Indianapolis  Journal,  He  also  de- 
livered a  eulogy  at  the  death  of  Senator  O.  P.  Morton,  the 
same  year,  which  was  published  in  the  same  paper.  He 
has  been  an  occasional  correspondent  of  the  Cincinnati 
Commercial  Gazette ;  has  edited  a  couple  of  papers  of  a 
local  nature  in  Paris,  Kentuckv. 

Rev.  Daniel  Jones  is  especially  noted  for  his  high  degree 
of  courtesy,  politeness  and  intellectual  culture.  His  daily 
walk  and  conversation  is  worthy  of  commendation,  and 
makes  for  himself  a  host  of  friends.  His  quiet  and  unas- 
suming manners,  his  graceful  and  elegant  speech,  his  highly 
persuasive  language,  brings  tears  to  sinner's  eyes,  and 
moulds  the  lives  of  God's  people.  He  has  been  preserved 
by  Him  through  the  many  dangers  of  an  early  life,  and 
through  the  vicissitudes  of  travel  to  preach  the  gospel, 
and  has  been  used  by  Him  as  an  instrument  of  good.  His 
pen  and  voice  are  never  silent,  and  his  excellent  character 
and  splendid  reputation  does  much  to  give  him  influence 
for  the  purpose  of  elevating  his  race. 


588  MEN  OF  MARK.. 


LXXX. 

REV.  HENRY  N.  JETER. 

Baptist  Preacher. 

« 

REV.  HENRY  N.  JETER,  pastor  of  Shaoli  Baptist 
church,  Newport,  R.  I.,  was  born  in  Charlotte  county, 
Ya.,  October  7, 1851.  His  parents,  Riland  and  Mary  Jeter, 
were  slaves  and  consequently  had  much  to  undergo  in  the 
rearing  of  their  family  and  the  education  of  their  children. 
In  1862  his  father  was  compelled  by  the  rebels  who 
owned  him,  to  throw  up  breastworks  to  protect  the  South- 
em  army  (which  was  doing  all  in  their  power  to  keep  the 
Negroes  in  slavery)  from  the  shots  of  the  Federal  soldiers, 
and  this  same  year  as  a  recompense  for  the  service  he  had 
rendered,  he  was  shot  by  a  Confederate  soldier.  After  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  being  yet  a  lad,  Mr.  Jeter 
served  as  a  shoemaker  apprentice,  during  which  time  he 
improved  his  mind,  being  always  anxious  for  an  education, 
by  attending  night  school  in  the  city  of  Lynchburg,  Va. 
In  1868,  he  found  Christ  precious  to  his  soul,  and  was 
buried  with  him  in  baptism,  Rev.  Sampson  White,  pastor 
of  the  First  African  Baptist  church,  Lynchburg,  officiating. 
This  same  year  he  felt  that  he  was  called  to  proclaim  the 
unspeakable  riches  of  God,  and  to  better  fit  himself  for  this 


HBNBY  N.  JBTHIt.  668 

'callitig,  in  1869  he  entered  Wayland  Seminary,  Washing^ 
ton,  District  of  ColttmJbia,  where,  under  the  efficient  teach- 
ing of  Rev.  G.  M.  P.  King,  D.  D.,  for  six  years,  he  carefully 
prepared  himself  for  subsequent  labors. 

His  first  charge  was  Shiloh  Baptist  church,  Newport, 
Rhode  Island,  where  he  was  ordained  June  24, 1875.  Here 
he  labored,  a  single  young  man  with  all  the  ardor  and 
zealousness  of  a  devoted  Christian  minister.  In  1878 
he  married  Miss  Thomasinia  Hamilton  of  JBrooklyn,  a  very 
cultured  and  accomplished  young  woman,  the  daughter 
of  Mr.  Thomas  Hamilton,  then  editor  and  proprietor  of 
the  Anglo-Airican^  a  paper  published  in  New  York  City.    . 

With  his  helpmeet  he  returned  to  his  church,  where  with 
renewed  strenth  and  new  support,  he  continued  his  work, 
which  is  often  extremely  arduous  and  of  much  importaqpe 
because  of  its  location. 

Newport,  on  the  New  England  coast,  is  a  summer  resort, 
and  thither  people  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States 
throughout  the  summer  months  go,  to  throw  of  the  re- 
straint of  home  cares  and  renew  their  vigor  for  the  year 
to  come.  As  spiritual  and  physical  growth  must  go  hand 
in  hand,  Mr.  Jeter  bends  his  efforts  to  influence  for  good, 
through  the  light  of  Shiloh  church,  the  many  visitors  from 
far  and  near  who  come  to  that  city.  Extremely  successful 
has  he  been  in  this  his  first  and  only  pastorate,  for  nearly 
twelve  years ;  and  by  his  untiring  energy,  the  church  has 
been  enlarged  and  has  built  a  parsonage  and  made  repairs 
to  the  amount  of  $9000,  and  is  now  jm  a  flourishing  con- 
dition. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jeter  are  the  parents  of  four  chil-' 
dren,  one  boy  and  three  girls. 


590  MEK  OF  MARK. 


LXXXI. 

REV.  J.  T.  WHITE. 

Divine — Editor — State  Senator — Commissioner  of  Public  Works. 

ONE  of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  State  of  Arkansas  is 
the  Rev.  J.  T.  White,  pastor  of  the  Second  Baptist 
church  of  Helena,  Arkansas,  whose  life  began  in  New 
Providence,  Clark  county,  Indiana,  August  25,  1837.  His 
parents,  James  and  Catharine,  were  members  of  the  Sec- 
ond Baptist  church  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  from  1850 
to  their  death  in  1860. 

He  received  a  good  common  school  education  with 
which  he  started  in  life.  Having  professed  a  hope  in 
Christ  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  four  years  later  he  entered 
the  gospel  ministry.  In  the  spring  of  1865  he  was  sent 
as  a  messenger  from  his  church  to  the  Consolidated  Amer- 
ican Baptist  convention  which  met  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis 
at  the  First  Baptist  church.  While  there  he  received  a  call 
from  Helena,  and  on  the  twenty-first  of  August,  1865, 
entered  upon  the  pastoral  work  of  the  church. 

He  found  things  in  a  very  confused  state,  as  would  nat- 
urally be  the  case  just  after  the  close  of  the  war.  It  was  as 
late  as  the  fourth  of  July,  1865,  that  a  hotly  contested 


J.  T.   WHITB.  591 

battle  fought  between  the  Federal  and  Confederate  forces 
At  this  place,  startled  the  people  in  the  neighborhood.  He 
£ound  a  handful  of  Baptists  worshiping  in  the  govem- 
xnent  stable,  which  had  been  appropriated  to  their  use. 
Colonel  Benzonia  kindly  permitted  them  to  move  into  the 
old  Cumberland  church,  where  services  were  held  for  two 
^'cars. 

He  then  built  a  house  45x70  feet,  and  moved  into  it  in 
3.867.  This  building  cost  eighteen  hundred  dollars,  and 
still  stands  as  a  reminder  of  the  past. 

In  this  plain,  unassuming  place  there  were  at  least  two 
thousand  persons  converted  and  baptized  by  the  hands  of 
the  pastor.  In  the  year  1868,  the  reconstruction  of  the 
Southern  States  took  place  under  the  direction  of  Con- 
gress, and  Rev.  White  was  induced  to  enter  the  canvass 
for  reconstruction,  and  in  the  fall  of  1868  he  was  eleiSled 
to  the  State  convention,  to  frame  a  constitution  for  the 
government  of  Arkansas.  He  assisted  in  the  canvass  for 
the  ratification  of  the  constitution,  and  was  sent  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  to 
which  position  he  was  re-elected  twice.  He  was  then 
honored  with  a  seat  in  the  State  Senate,  in  which  position 
he  served  one  full  term,  after  which  he  was  appointed  by 
the  governor  to  the  position  of  commissioner  of  public 
works  and  internal  improvements. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  he  built  a  two  story 
brick  church  edifice  for  his  people  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  at 
at  cost  of  eighteen  thousand  dollars,  and  a  frame  cnurch 
in  the  city  of  Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  which  cost  two  thou- 
sand dollars.    One  of  the  saddest  afflictions  of  his  life  was 


592  MEN  OP  MARK. 

the  loss  of  this  fine  brick  church  by  fire.  However,  he 
rallied  his  forces  and  again  built  a  fifteen  thousand  dollar 
church  which  is  about  completed.  The  pulpit,  gallery  and 
assembly  chairs,  with  which  the  house  is  seated,  make  it  the 
handsomest  church  in  the  State.  The  audience  room  is 
45x80  feet.  The  whole  number  that  have  been  baptized 
during  his  twenty-one  years  ministry  is  at  least  five  thou- 
sand. 

The  Rev.  J.  T.  White  also  organized  an  Arkansas  Mis- 
sionary Baptist  convention  in  1867,  assisted  by  many 
brethren  in  the  city  of  Little  Rock,  which  organization 
still  lives.  Later  he  organized  the  first  District  Associa* 
tion. 

When  the  reaction  took  place  and  the  State  went  into 
the  hands  of  Democracy,  a  convention  was  called  to  frame 
a  new  constitution,  and  in  1874  Elder  White  was  eledled 
to  this  convention.  He  then  entered  upon  a  college  pro- 
ject, raised  ^five  thousand  dollars,  which  was  expended  on 
what  was  known  as  the  Helena  University;  but  it  was 
too  much  for  him,  the  project  fell  through,  and  the  prop- 
erty still  remains  encumbered,  and  is  valued  at  one  thou- 
sand six  hundred  dollars. 

For  the  last  three  years  he  has  turned  his  attention  to  a 
society  work  known  as  the  Benevolent  and  Church  Aid 
Society.  In  connection  wnth  this  work  he  edits  the  Arkan- 
sas RevieWf  a  paper  devoted  to  the  religious,  political  and 
educational  interests  of  his  race.  This  journal  is  a  credit- 
able one,  and  staunch  in  the  defense  of  the  race.  Elder 
White  is  a  man  of  fine  personal  appearance,  rather  tall 
and  powerfully  built.    He  is  a  true  friend  to  progress;  his 


I 

r 

t. 


I 


J.  T.  WHITE.  5^3 

most  excellent  traits  are  devotion  to  principle  and  stead- 
fastness to  friends ;  and  no  matter  how  he  may  choose  to 
diflfer  from  one,  he  will  always  be  given  the  credit  of  sin- 
cerity. His  standing  among  the  people  of  the  State  is 
good,  and  he  is  certainly  deserving  of  all  he  has  reaped  in 
that  line.  His  studies  have  been  over  a  wide  range,  and 
have  deepened  and  broadened  his  views  of  men  and  things. 
He  writes  with  a  facile  pen,  free  thoughts,  clear  head  and 
forcible  style.  He  is  often  more  vigorous  than  others  pro- 
fess to  be ;  but  he  speaks  often  only  what  they  think  but 
are  too  cowardly  to  whisper  above  their  breaths.    Alto- 

m 

gether  he  is  a  strong,  capable  and  earnest  man,  with  a 
large  friture  before  him. 


594*  ■      MBN  OF  HARK. 


LXXXII. 

REV.  G.  W.  GAYLES. 

The  last  Colored  State  Senator  in  the  Mississippi  Legislature— Moderator 
of  the  State  Conventipn — Member  of  the  Board  of  Police. 

IN  the  Black  Belt  of  Mississippi  lives  one  of  the  colored 
race  who  is  very  prominent  in  that  section  of  the 
country,  and  his  influence  extends  to  all  parts  of  the  State 
and  adjoining  States.  He  was  born  in  Wilkinson  county, 
Mississippi,  June  29,  1844.  His  owner  was  Emily  Haile. 
His  boyhood  days  were  passed  on  the  plantation  until 
'3863,  when  he  went  into  the  army  and  remained  until 
December,  1864. 

Previous  to  1862  Mr.  Gayles  had  succeeded  in  having 
his  letters  taught  him  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Powell  of  New 
York,  who  was  at  that  time  employed  as  a  school  teacher 
by  Mrs.  Nancy  Barrow,  to  teach  her  two  prls.  Young 
Gayles  seemed  to  have  a  natural  love  for  reading  the  Bible 
and  hymn-book,  and  as  he  progressed  in  study  they  be- 
came his  constant  friends  and  companions. 

November  21,  1867,  he  was  called  before  an  ecclesiastical 
council  by  the  Mount  Horeb  Baptist  church  of  Greenville, 
Mississippi,  for  ordination,  with  Rev.  M.  B.  Black,  mod- 
erator. Brother  J    F.  Gilmore,  clerk.  Rev.  Thomas  Epps 


G.  W.  GAYLB8.  596 

and  others  of  the  council,  who  joined  in  the  work  of  set- 
ting him  apart  for  the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry.  He 
then  went  to  Bolivar  county,  and  organized  a  Baptist 
church  that  is  known  as  the  Kindling  Altar  church,  of 
which  he  is  pastoring  still. 

In  1872  he  was  appointed  missionary  for  the  counties 
of  Bolivar  and  Sunflower,  where  he  served  for  many  years, 
after  which  he  wast  appointed  missionary  for  Coahoma 
county.  On  September  17, 1869,  he  was  appointed  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Police  for  District  Number  Three,  Bol- 
ivar county,  by  Governor  A.  Ames,  brevet  major-general 
of  the  United  States  army,  and  on  the  second  of  August, 
1870,  he  was  appointed  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  the  Fifth 
district,  Bolivar  county,  by  Governor  J.  L.  Alcorn.  Or 
the  twenty-ninth  of  August,  1870,  Rev.  G.  W.  Gayles  wan 
appointed  supervisor  for  the  Fifth  district,  where  he  served 
until  November,  1870.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Mississippi  Legislature,  and  held  that  position  for  four 
years,  being  returned  in  1877  as  State  Senator,  represent- 
ing the  Twenty-eighth  Senatorial  district,  composing  the 
counties  of  Bolivar,  Coahoma  and  Quitman,  which  posi- 
tion Senator  Gayles  has  held  ever  since  by  re-election,  and 
he  is  the  only  colored  senator  in  the  Mississippi  Legisla- 
ture, there  being  none  other  since  1875.  In  1874  he  was 
elected  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Baptist  State^Mis- 
sionary  Convention  of  Mississippi,  and  in  July,  1876,  he 
was  elected  President  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  State  con- 
vention, and  has  held  said  position  ever  since  by  re-elec- 
tion. Under  his  excellent  administration,  the  Baptist  con- 
vention has  been  a  success.    They  bought  a  printing  press 


696  MEN  OF  MARK. 

in  1880,  and  elected  him  editor  of  the  paper  known  as  the 
Baptist  Signal  Also  a  college  was  bought  in  the  city 
of  Natchez,  costing  about  six  thousand  dollars,  which  has- 
been  opened,,  and  has  been  in  operation  for  about  three 
years.    It  is  an  honor  to  the  State  of  Mississippi. 

Rev.  Mr.  Gayles  figured  prominently  in  the  National 
Baptist  convention  in  St.  Louis,  held  August  25,  1886^ 
where  the  writer  met  him,  and  found  in  him  a  quiet,  unas- 
suming gentleman.  His  manners  were  winning,  and  it  is 
indeed  apparent  that  his  upright  life  and  his  perseverance 
in  the  discharge  of  every  duty  has  caused  his  election  to 
the  many  positions  he  has  held. 

His  people  are  remarkably  proud  of  him ;  he  is  popular 
with  all  classes ;  ever  ready  to  distribute  favors,  and  de- 
lights to  treat  all  men  with  becoming  respect.  Holding  as 
he  does  this  important  position  in  the  Mississippi  Legis- 
lature, he  has  an  opportunity  for  good,  and  surely  his  ser- 
vices must  be  considered  of  value  to  his  constituents,  or 
they  would  not  have  kept  him  there  all  these  years.  No 
taint  has  ever  yet  been  brought  against  his  name  in  con- 
nection with  bribery  or  corruption  in  his  legislative  duties. 
He  is  universally  respected  by  his  associates,  noted  for  his 
zeal  and  wisdom  in  the  votes  which  cast  upon  all  impor- 
tant measures ;  he  has  become  the  last  of  his  line  in  so  di^^ 
tinguished  a  position. 


JCIFFI^IN  W^TER  GIBBS.  597 


LXXXIII. 

HON.IIIFFLIN  WISTER  GIBBS. 

:'A  t toniey^at'law— Thcfest  Colored  Judge  in  the  United  States— -An  Active 
Politician— An  .Aflyocate  of  Industrial  Education — Contractor  and 
Builder. 

THIS  genCleman  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  April,  1828. 
His  father  was  a  Methodist  minister  and  died  when 
this  son  was  not  more  than  eight  years  old.  His  mother 
was  an  industrious,  frugal  woman,  and  devoted  herself  to 
her  children.  Young  Gibbs,  by  earnest  labors,  remained  in 
school  until  he  had  acquired  a  good  common  school  educa- 
tion. At  this  time  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  carpenter  and 
builder,  and  after  thoroughly  learning  this  trade,  at  the 
end  of  his  apprenticeship  became  a  contractor  and  builder 
on  his  own  account.  He  improved  all  the  time  and  made 
every  opportunity  tell  by  cultivating  himself  in  literary 
matters.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  was  a  conspicuous 
member  of  the  Philomathcon  Institute  of  Philadelphia,  a 
literary  association  in  which  Messrs  Purvis,  Douglass, 
Whipper,  Weir,  and  other  noted  colored  men  were  active 
members.  Feeling  keenly  the  degradation  and  oppression 
•  of  his  fellow  men,  and  knowing  some  of  the  obstacles  to 
:  success  that  barred  their  aspiration  and  progress  on  every 


598  MEN  OF  MARK. 

side,  he  turned  every  attention  to  the  refievnig^€Ff  the  hard- 
ships that  environed  them,  and  to  tMs  end  he  became  a 
member  of  the  anti-slavery  Societj,.  aoui  ai  shrewd,  active 
agent  and  worker  on  the  **Undergjrottttd!  Railiroad."    Wil- 
liam and  Allen  Craft,  '*  Box '\6rawiii„aaiidliii]ainy  others  well 
known  in  the  Anti-slavery  period,,  weire  axdfixl  by  this  man 
in  their  eventful  escape.    The  narroBw  Imii^.  of  his  native 
city  offered  for  Mr.  Gibbs  little  chance  for  work.    Near 
this   time,    1849,  Fred.    Douglass  and  the  late  Charles. 
Lenox  Remond  visited  Philadelphia  to  take  part  in  the 
Anti-slavery  convention  of  that  year,  and  being  impressed 
with  the  advanced  ideas  of  this  young  man,  and  with  his- 
earnest  manner  and  general  information  on  the  anti-slavery 
work,    they   persuaded  him  to  start  on  a  lecture  tour, 
in  New  York,  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania.    While  thus  engaged 
the  fever  for  gold  in  California  broke  out,  and  as  he  learned 
from  many  the  success  that  might  be  made  in  that  new 
land,  at  the  close  of  his  lecture  tour  he  attempted  the 
then  expensive  and  hazardous  trip  to  the  far  West.    He 
arrived  at  San  Francisco  the  latter  part  of  1850,  poor  in 
purse  but  rich  in  manhood.    In  this  city  ordinary  mechan- 
ics were  getting  from  five  to  ten  dollars  a  day,  common 
laborers  two  and  a  half.    At  first  he  obtained  work  at  his 
trade,  but  after  two  or  three  refusals  of  white  mechanics 
to  labor  with  him,  he  resolved  to  quit  the  business.    He- 
then  formed  a  partnership  with  Nathan  Pointer  in  the- 
clothing  business,  in  which  he  was  very  successfiil.    In 
1852  he  entered  into  a  larger  enterprise  with  Peter  Lester- 
as  partner,  under  the  name  of  Lester  &  Gibbs.    They  did: 
an  extensive  business  as  importers  of  fine  boots  ^nd  shoeBy. 


MIFFLIN  WI8TBR  GIBBS.  599 

importing  all  their  goods  from  first  class  firms  in  Londan^ 
Paris,  Philadelphia  and  New  York. 

Notwithstanding  his  flourishing  business  had  made  great 
demands  on  his  time;,  he  was  ever  mindful  of  his  race,  and 
in  1851,  with  the  late  Jonas  H.  Townsend,  W.  H.  Newby, 
William  H.  Hall,  and  other  prominent  colored  men  of  San 
Francisco,  he  drew  up  and  published  in  the  Alia  California^ 
a  series  of  resolutions  that  clearly  defined  the  rights  of  the 
American  Negro  and  their  determination  to  rise  and  resist 
encroachments  on  them.  This  was  the  first  expression  of 
the  colored  citizens  in  that  State,  and  it  fell  with  great 
power  on  the  pro-slavery  Democrats.  Mr.  Gibbs  was  one 
of  the  proprietors,  publishers  and  contributors  to  the  first 
colored  paper  published  in  California,  The  Miner  of  the 
Times.  He  was  a  member  of  the  conventions  of  1854,  '55 
and  '57,  and  took  prominent  part  in  the  deliberations  and 
always  served  on  important  committees.  When  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  enforce  the  obnoxious  act  of  the  Legis- 
latui-e,  known  as  the  **  Voters'  Poll-tax,"  levied  upon  the 
colored  men  of  the  State,  although  disfranchised,  the 
heroic  stand  of  such  men  as  Lester  and  Gibbs  made  this 
poll  tax  in  San  Francisco  so  unpopular  that  it  was  finally 
abandoned. 

In  1858  the  gold  discoveries  on  the  Frazer  river  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia  interested  the  aggressive  Gibbs  and  he  em- 
barked for  Vancouver  Island,  and  in  due  time  reached  Vic- 
toria where  he  was  successful  in  a  mercantile  life,  tmtil  he 
amassed  quite  a  fortune.  He  was  so  popular  that  in  1866 
he  was  elected  by  a  flattering  majority  to  represent  the 
most  aristocratic  ward  in  the  Common  Council  in  Victoria. 


600  MEN  OP  MARK. 

The  following  year  he  was  re-elected  without  opposition 
to  the  same  office.  The  Governor  of  the  colony  and  other 
official  persons  were  his  associates. 

When  the  anthracite  coal  on  Queen  Charlotte's  Is- 
land was  discoYcred,  he  became  a  large  shareholder  in  an 
English  company y  and  was  elected  one  of  the  directors. 
After  expending  about  sixty  thousand  dollars  in  prospect- 
ing and  surveys,  with  no  substantial  results,  they  adver- 
tised for  tenders  for  buildings,  railroads,  etc.  Judge  Gibbs 
put  in  a  bid  and,  although  not  the  lowest,  on  account  of 
his  integrity  and  responsibility  he  secured  the  contract 
and  in  spite  of  many  difficulties,  in  twelve  months,  the  spec- 
ified time,  he  sent  the  first  cargo  of  anthracite  coal  dug  on 
the  Pacific  coast  to  the  directors  and  to  the  market.  He 
shortly  after  returned  to  the  United  States,  where  he  en- 
tered and  graduated  firom  the  Law  Department  of  a  leading 
university,  in  1870 ;  then  he  went  South  and  settled  in  Lit- 
tle Rock,  Arkansas,  entering  the  law  firm  of  Benjamin  & 
Barnes,  in  that  place,  where  he  continued  his  studies  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  One  year  after,  he  was  appointed 
county  attorney  of  Pulaski  county,  the  capital  county  of 
the  State.  In  1873,  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  city 
judge,  the  first  colored  man  ever  elected  to  such  a  position 
in  the  United  States.  In  1872  Judge  Gibbs  was  a  delegate 
fi-om  Arkansas  to  the  National  Convention  of  colored  men 
at  New  Orleans.  He  canvassed  his  state  for  Joseph  Brooks 
for  Governor,  against  Baxter  the  traitor,  who  betrayed 
Arkansas  into  the  hands  of  the  Democrats.  He  was 
a  delegate  to  the  National  Convention  of  colored  men 
at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  of  which  body  he  became  Pres- 


MIFFLIN  WISTER  GIBBS.  601 

ident.  In  1876  be  ran  on  the  Republican  ticket  as  Pres- 
idential elector-at-large  for  the  State  of  Arkansas,  and 
led  by  several  thousand  votes  over  every  other  candidate 
on  the  ticket.  In  June,  1876,  he  was  appointed  by  Pres- 
ident Hayes,  register  of  the  United  States  Land  Office  at 
Little  Rock,  Arkansas.  To  this  position  he  was  reappointed 
in  1881.  The  subject  of  industrial  education  and  indus- 
trial schools  has  claimed  much  of  his  attention,  and  he  was 
instrumental  very  largely  in  the  calling  of  an  industrial 
convention,  during  the  Exposition  at  New  Orleans,  at  which 
meeting  he  was  unanimously  elected  president.  Judge 
Gibbs  with  ex-Congressman  James  P.  Rapier,  was  a  com- 
mittee to  visit  Kansas  and  report  upon  the  condition  of 
the  exodusting  freedmen.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Re- 
publican National  Convention  at  Cincinnati  in  1876,  and 
one  of  the  "immortal  306"  who  voted  for  Grant  in  the 
convention  at  Chicago,  November,  1880 ;  was  elected  a  dele- 
gate to  the  last  Republican  National  convention;  two  other 
colored  men  and  himself,  only,  voting  for  Arthur  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  other  three-fourths  of  the  delegation.  He  was 
commissioner  of  the  colored  exhibits  to  the  World's  Ex- 
position at  New  Orleans  for  the  State  of  Arkansas.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Bar  Association  of  Little  Rock,  to  which 
his  brother  attorneys  unanimously  elected  him  in  1882. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Howard  Association  (the  friend  of 
the  poor  and  needy  of  Little  Rock),  and  also  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Visitors  of  public  schools.  .  His  wealth 
enabled  him  to  become  a  partner  in  the  Electric  Light 
company  and  a  large  shareholder  in  several  other  manu- 
facturing companies  of  Little  Rock,  and  in  that  city  Hy^g 


602  MEN  OF  MARK. 

in  a  handsome  residence,  besides  owning  a  large  amount 
of  business  and  resident  property  there  and  elsewhere.  In 
the  various  walks  of  life  he  has  commanded  respect  and 
won  golden  opinions  from  those  even  from  whom  he  dif- 
fered politically. 

He  has  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  his  daughter  Ida  grad^ 
uate  from  the  OberUn  College  and  take  her  place  among 
the  educators  of  the  country,  being  employed  in  the  Hunts- 
ville  formal  school.  The  judge  takes  a  lively  interest  in 
everything  pertaining  to  the  improvement  of  the  race ;  he  is  a 
good  friend,  an  able  lawyer  and  a  distinguished  man.  He 
is  brave,  true  and  honest,  having  always  the  courage  to 
adhere  to  his  convictions. 


i 


W.  H.  STILWARD. 


WILLIAM  H.  STEWARD.  603- 


LXXXIV. 

WILLIAM  H.  STEWARD,  ESQ. 

Grand  Master — Secretary — Business  Manager— Letter  Carrier. 

ONE  of  the  men  in  the  State  of  Kentucky  who  has  the 
clearest  head  and  brightest  mind  is  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  He  was  born  at  Brandenburg,  Meade  county, 
Kentucky,  July  26,  1847,  and  when  quite  a  child  was 
brought  to  the  city  of  Louisville,  where  he  has  since  had 
his  residence.  Bom  a  slave,  he  had  more  privileges  than 
was  usual  in  those  days,  and  was  always  ready  to  take 
advantage  of  every  opportunity  which  gave  him  increased 
power  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  development  of  the 
mind.  In  Louisville  he  attended  a  private  school  taught 
by  Revs.  Henry  Adams,  William  H.  Gibson  and  R.  T.  W. 
James,  and  was  considered  a  very  bright  scholar,  always 
leading  his  classes.  When  he  became  a  man  he  taught 
school  at  Frankfort  and  Louisville,  and  occupied  several 
responsible  positions  with  the  railroads  in  Louisville,  and 
was  for  several  years  messenger  for  the  cashier  and  pur- 
chasing agent  of  the  L.  &  N.  Railroad  company,  and  even 
to  this  day  the  agents  of  the  company  are  his  devoted 
friends,  often  doing  him  great  favors.    In  1876,  in  the 


'604  MBN  OP  MARK. 

month  of  February,  he  severed  his  connection  with  the  L. 
&  N.  Railroad  company,  and  was  appointed  a  letter-car- 
rier in  the  Louisville  postoffice,  being  the  first  colored  man 
to  occupy  such  a  position  in  the  State.  He  has  always 
ranked  "first  class,"  and  besides  receiving  many  recog- 
nitions at  the  hands  of  his  associates,  who  are  mostly 
white  men,  he  was  elected  as  their  representative  to  the 
National  Letter-Carrier's  Association,  held  in  Philadelphia 
in  1882. 

No  person  in  the  postoffice  knows  more  of  the  general 
character  of  the  work,  and  can  better  interpret  the  laws 
than  he.  He  has  given  strict  attention  to  these  questions, 
and  instructs  many  of  the  new  carriers  who  have  been  put 
on  from  time  to  time. 

He  professed  religion  in  1867,  and  was  baptized  at 
Frankfort,  Kentucky,  by  Rev.  R.  Martin.  He  joined  the 
Fifth  Street  Baptist  church  in  Louisville  shortly  after,  and 
has  ever  been  an  active  worker  in  this  church.  He  has  been 
associated  with  every  enterprise  therein,  and  is  truly  one 
of  the  leading  men,  and  contributes  without  stint  his  time 
and  talents  to  make  the  church  prosperous  and  secure  for 
it  all  the  blessings  that  can  come  from  assiduous  labors  in 
its  interests.  He  was  secretary  of  the  choir  for  many 
years,  and  has  for  many  years  past  been  its  leader.  This 
choir  has  a  musical  reputation  that  it  has  sustained  for 
several  years  without  question. 

In  the  Sabbath  school  there  is  a  large  class  known  as  the 

"Infant  Class,"  the  largest  in  the  city  and  State,   and 

usually  has  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 

•children  in  it.  This  class  he  has  taught  for  seventeen  years, 


WILUAM  H.  STEWARD.  605- 

mainly  by  blackboard  lessons,  in  which  he  is  well  skilled 
and  to  which  matter  he  gives  daily  attention,  so  that  the 
lessons  on  the  Sabbath  can  be  well  prepared.  The  children 
graduate  from  this  class  and  enter  the  higher  departments 
of  this  school.  Many  of  the  brightest  members  of  this 
chmx!h  have  been  instructed  in  this  class,  and  have  become 
useftd  members  of  society  and  weU  acquainted  with  the 
Scriptures.  He  has  also  been  assistant  superintendent  of 
the  Sabbath  school  since  1884.  He  has  always  been  inter- 
ested in  public  affairs,  attending  nearly  all  the  conventions 
in  the  State,  political  and  otherwise,  and  filled  many  im- 
portant positions  in  them.  In  the  last  convention  of  the 
State,  held  for  the  purpose  of  petitioning  the  Legislature 
in  regard  to  civil  rights  and  the  Normal  school,  he  was 
temporary  chairman  and  secretary  of  the  permanent  body. 
He  is  also  at  present  secretary  of  the  State  Executive 
Committee  and  has  been  ever  since  November,  1885. 

In  denominational  enterprises  he  is  earnest  and  faithful. 
He  was  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  National  Baptist  con- 
\'ention  held  in  St.  Louis,  August  25,  1886,  secretary  of 
the  Kentucky  Baptist  State  convention  for  several  years, 
and  was  also  its  secretary  in  1873,  and  statistical  secre- 
tary in  1876.  He  was  also  secretary  of  the  General  As- 
sociation of  Colored  Baptists  of  Kentucky,  holding  said 
position  from  1877  until  the  present  time. 

He  has  been  identified  with  the  State  University  at  Louis- 
ville since  its  establishment,  and  has  filled  the  position 
as  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  In  this  department 
of  labor  he  has  shown  zeal,  earnestness  and  self-sacri- 
fice, and  has  labored  most  perse veringly  for  its  success. 


•606  MEN  OF  MARK. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  public  schools  of  the  city  of 
Louisville,  he  was  secretary  and  subsequently  chairman  of 
the  Board  of  Visitors,  and  to  him  much  of  the  excellent 
condition  of  these  schools  is  due.  Many  times  it  has  been 
said  that  this  one  or  the  other  white  gentleman  has  done  so 
much  for  the  public  schools,  but  it  does  appear  that  too 
much  neglect  has  been  shown  in  giving  to  the  Board  of  Vis- 
itors the  due  meed  of  praise  for  their  constant  petitioning, 
and  the  consideration  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  schools ;  and 
perhaps  it  could  be  said  with  justice  that  no  colored  man 
in  the  city  of  Louisville  has  secured  more  appointments 
for  colored  teachers  than  W.  H.  Steward. 

The  American  Baptist^  the  organ  of  several  Baptist  or- 
ganizations, was  issued  in  January,  1879,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  associated  withit  as  city  editor,  associate 
editor,  editor  and  business  manager.  He  joined  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity  in  1881,  and  has  made  rapid  progress  in 
that  order,  having  been  Worshipful  Master  of  United 
Lodge  No  12,  High  Priest  of  Enterprise  Chapter  No.  4, 
Eminent  Commander  of  Cyrene  Commandry  No.  1,  and 
twice  elected  Worshipful  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Kentucky,  which  position  he  now  fills  acceptably  to  all 
the  craft.  He  is  a  most  liberal  man,  contributing  freely  to 
every  cause  that  is  presented  to  him.  No  one  appeals  to 
him  without  having  the  appeal  granted,  if  it  lies  in  his 
power.  With  these  generous  emotions  in  his  heart,  it  is 
no  wonder  that  he  gives  much  attention  to  the  Orphans' 
Home  of  this  city.  He  is  a  member  of  its  Board  of  Direc- 
tors, and  has  endeavored  faithfully  to  discharge  his  duty 
to  this  much  neglected  class.    In  all  his  undertakings,  he 


18  zealous,  earnest  and  faithftil.  He  encourages  the  younger 
men  of  the  race,  endeavoring  to  have  them  seek  the  higher 
walks  of  life  and  accomplish  much  that  would  at  first 
seem  to  be  di£Gicult,  but  which  ought  to  be  accomplished 
with  little  effort.  This  is  a  constant  cax«  to  him,  to  see 
that  these  men  make  use  of  the  time  which  God  has  given 
to  them.  As  a  writer,  he  has  gceat  power  of  expression, 
and  readily  reaches  the  point  he  desires  to  make  without 
any  circuitous  methods.  As  a  speaker,  he  is  eloquent,  for- 
cible and  convincing.  His  language  is  smooth,  elegant 
and  persuasive,  and  succeeds  in  holding  the  attention  of 
his  audiences.  His  power  with  men  is  derived  from  the 
effort  he  makes  to  serve  a  friend  and  to  be  true  to  the 
vows  of  a  true  Mason  and  a  worthy  master. 


608  MBN  OP  MAKK. 


LXXXV. 
REV.  FRANK  J.  GRIMKE,  A.  B. 

Learned  and  Eloquent  Presbyterian  Divine — Touching   Memorial  ott 
Leaving  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

MR.  GRIMKE'S  parents  were  named  Henry  and  Nancys 
Grimke.  He  was  bom  in  Charleston,  South  Car- 
olina, November  4,  1850.  His  mother  was  a  slave.  On 
the  death  of  his  father,  however,  a  change  took  place, 
when  he  was  only  a  few  years  old.  The  children  were  all 
left  free  and  placed  under  the  guardian  care  of  his  father's 
oldest  son,  E.  Montague  Grimke,  who  faithfully  discharged 
his  duty  towards  them  until  Frank  was  about  ten  years 
old,  when  this  guardian  undertook  to  enslave  them,  which 
made  some  complications  of  course.  Although  a  boy, 
Frank  determined  that  he  would  not  submit  to  such  an 
outrage.  He  ran  off  and  went  into  the  Confederate  army 
as  the  valet  to  one  of  the  officers,  in  which  position  he  con- 
tinued for  about  two  years.  On  visiting  Charleston  one 
day  w^ith  the  regiment  to  which  he  was  attached,  and 
which  was  stationed  in  Castle  Pinckney,  a  fort  in  the  har- 
bor, he  was  suddenly  arrested  just  as  he  was  about  to  step 
into  a  boat  on  his  return  to  the  fort,  and  thrown  into  jail, 
or  what  is  known  as  the  work-house  in  Charleston.    Hero 


1^ 


FRANK  J.  GRIMKB.  609 

lie  remained  for  several  months,  and  was  taken  danger- 
ously ill  from  exposure  and  bad  treatment,  and  came  very- 
near  losing  his  life.    It  was  only  by  being  finally  removed 
to  his  mother's  house  andby  very  skillful  treatment  that  he 
recovered  from  this  dangerous  illness.    Having  thus  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  this  half-brother  and  guardian,  who  feared 
that  he  would  go  away  again,  he  sold  him,  before  he  was 
well  enabled  to  go  out,  to  an  officer,  and  again  he  went 
back  in  the  army,  remaining  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
Through  the  influence  of  Mrs.  Pillsbury,  who  was  then  in 
charge  of  Morris  Street  school  in  Charleston,  which  he 
attended  for  awhile,  his  brother  and  himself  went  North 
for  the   purpose   of  being    educated.     Frank   went    to 
Stoneham,  Massachusetts,  into  the  family  of  a  Doctor 
John  Brown.    With  this  family  he  was  to  remain  with  a 
view  of  studying  medicine,  but  his  treatment  by  them 
was  so  diflferent  from  what  he  had  been  led  to  expect  that 
he  left  them.    During  the  whole  stay  with  them  he  was 
forced  to  sleep  in  an  open  bam  in  the  hayloft,  with  no 
other  mattress  than  the  hay  and  no  other  bedstead  than 
the  floor.    He  very  soon  found  warm  friends  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lyman  Dyke,  who  took  him  into  their  shoe  factory, 
where  he  began  to  learn  the  shoe-making  business.    Soon, 
however,  he  was  summoned  by  Mrs.  Pillsbury  to  report  at 
once  to  Lincoln  University,  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylva- 
via,  where  arrangements  had  been  made  for  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  studies.    As  a  student  he  ranked  very  high,  and 
received  the  approbation  of  the  professors  and  was  ac- 
knowledged superior  among  the  students.    He  graduated 
from  the  College  Department  of  this  institution  in  1870  as 


610  MBN  OF  MARK. 

valedictorian   of  his  class.     Immediately  ai);erwards  he 
began  the  study  of  law  in  the  Law  Department  of  the  uni- 
versity, which  at  that  time,  in  1871,  was  on  the  university 
grounds.    The  next  year  he  acted  as  financial  agent  of  the 
university.    The  year  after,  he  resumed  his  legal  studies  in 
the  same  department,  which  in  the  meantime  had  been  re- 
moved to  West  Chester,  Pennsylvania.    The  next  year  he 
went  to  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  entered 
the  Law  Department  of  Howard  University.    While  there 
he  decided  to  turn  his  thoughts  to  the  ministry.    In  the 
fall  of  1875,  therefore,  he  entered  the  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1878,  and  immedi- 
ately went  to   Washington  as   pastor  of  the  Fifteenth 
Street  Presbyterian  church,  where  he  remained  until  Octo- 
ber, 1885.    When  he  was  about  to  leave  his  flock  the  fol- 
lowing testimonial  was  adopted : 

•  At  a  farewell  reception  tendered  by  the  congregation  and  friends  of 
the  Fifteenth  Street  Presbyterian  church,  Tuesday  evening,  November  2, 
1885,  in  behalf  of  the  congregation,  visitors  and  friends,  who,  Sunday 
after  Sunday,  and  from  time  to  time,  have  listened  to  the  words  of  wis- 
dom from  the  lips  of  Mr.  Grimke,  pastor  of  this  church,  we  beg  leave  to 
express  our  deep  regret  at  his  departure  from  our  midst.  Circumstances 
over  which  we  cannot  exercise  control,  as  well  as  the  voice  of  his  Master, 
call  him  to  another  field  of  labor  and  duty.  He  leaves  behind  warm 
hearts  and  devoted  friends,  whose  affection  for  him  and  his  helpmate  is 
best  known  from  the  true  enthusiasm  manifested  on  the  morning  of  his 
farewell  sermon.  The  language  of  that  occasion  being,  "  May  God  be 
with  you  both,  since  it  has  been  decreed  that  for  a  while  we  must  be 
parted.*'  The  earthly  activities  of  this  life  are  circumscribed  by  time  and 
space,  but  the  divine  and  essential  genius  which  informs  and  inspires  that 
life  is  boundless  in  the  sweep  of  its  influence  and  immortal  in  the  energy  of 
its  activity.  If  any  fraction  of  this  community  may  claim  the  tight  to 
do  honor  and  reverence  to  om*  friend  Mr.  Grimke,  it  is  as  it  slioiild  1x^ 


PRANK  J.  GRIMKB.  611 

those  of  us  who  have  profited  by  the  words  of  wisdom  that  have  fallen 
from  his  lips  and  the  influence  exerted  by  contact  with  him.  His  serrices 
here  have  been  a  vast  accession  to  a  cause  already  moving  forward  with 
assured  success.  Remembering  his  work  and  the  good  deeds  left  behind 
him,  and  how  he  has,  by  the  measure  of  unselfish  devotion  taught  us, 
by  precept  and  example,  the  way  to  be  lifted  up  and  strengthened,  we 
make  this  feeble  attempt  to  pay  reverential  respects,  and  extend  the  meed 
and  honor  of  praise  and  true  regard  of  him  whom  we  shall  ever  know  aa 
our  friend  and  benefactor.    In  the  language  of 'another: 

"  For  seven  years,  he,  with  a  pulse  that  felt  for  human  needs. 
And  eyes  that  saw  among  the  meanest  weeds 
Plants  that  through  civilization,  yet  might  bless 

The  world  with  flowers  and  fruit  of  usefulness. 
And  all  he  spake  accorded  with  his  deeds." 

We  sincerely  commend  him  to  those  to  whom  he  goes,  in  the  land  of 
flowers  and  sweet  perfumes,  of  generous  and  hospitable  people.  May  he 
find  warm  hearts,  devoted  friends  and  helping  hands,  to  remind  him  of 
those  to  whom  he  now  says,  '*  Good  friends,  for  a  while,  farewell." 

F.  F.  Shadd, 
President  of  the  Meeting. 

As  a  preacher,  Mr.  Grimke  stands  foremost  in  our 
country.  He  is  an  eloquent  divine,  and  speaks  with  ease 
and  grace.  President  James  McCosh,  of  Princeton  Col- 
lege,  said  of  him :  **I  have  heard  him  preach,  and  I  feel  as 
if  I  could  listen  to  such  preaching  with  profi^from  Sab- 
bath to  Sabbath;  and  I  rejoice  to  find  that  the  colored 
people  of  Washington  have  such  a  man  to  minister  to 
them.'' 

Mr.  Grimke's  reception  in  Jacksonville,  Florida,  as  the 
pastor  of  the  Laurel  Street  Presbyterian  church,  was  com- 
mented upon  in  this  wise  by  the  Southern  Leader^  whose 
editor,  J.  Willis  Menard,  is  himself  scholarly  and  eminent. 
He  said : 


612  MBN  OP  MARK. 

His  sennons,  always  delivered  from  the  manascript,  are  models  offorce 
perspicuity  and  elegant  rhetoric;  while  his  deep  piety,  correct  life  and 
earnest  devotion  to  his  work,  have  won  for  him  nniversal  respect  and 
love.  The  people  of  Jacksonville,  in  particular,  and  the  people  in  the 
South,  in  general,  are  to  be  congratulated  on  securing  this  scholarly  and 
eminent  divine.  The  growth  of  his  influence  and  usefulness  is  but  a 
matter  of  time  and  opportunity.  Recently  he  was  called  to  Tuskegee, 
Alabama,  where  he  lectured  before  a  vast  audience,  and  a  letter  appeared 
in  the  Montgomery  Herald,  which  said :  "The  Rev.  Mr.Grimke,  the  most 
learned  and  profound  thinker  of  the  race  arrived  here  last  Saturday 
morning,  one  day  too  late ;  however  he  came  in  time  to  do  inexpressible 
good.  Sunday  morning  he  preached  to  the  school  and  town  friends  from 
the  sixth  verse  of  Christ*s  Sermon  on  the  Mount, '  Blessed  are  they  which 
do  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness.'  Sunday  night  a  lecture  took 
place  in  the  lecture  room.  He  emphasized  the  very  fact  that  in  order  for 
the  race  to  make  itself  felt  upon  other  races  as  a  mass,  it  must  have  ed- 
ucation, morals  and  wealth.  We  wish  every  colored  man  in  this  countiy 
could  hear  that  able  young  man  and  distinguished  divine.  Mr.  Grimke 
has  probably  one  of  the  most  valuable  libraries  owned  by  colored  men 
in  the  United  States,  consisting  of  over  one  thousand  volumes  of  weU 
selected  works  on  theology,  philosophy,  history,  science,  art  and  gen- 
eral literature,  together  virith  quite  a  number  of  choice  pictures." 

We  could  scarcely  write  of  Mr.  Grimke  without  referring 
to  his  distinguished  wife,  who  was  before  marriage  named 
Miss  Charlotte  Forten  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  well 
known  ini^he  literary  world.  She  has  been  a  true  minis- 
ter's wife,  and  has  done  much  to  make  his  ministerial  ca- 
reer successful.  Mr.  Grimke  bids  fair  to  raise  the  tone  of 
ministerial  life  in  Florida  as  he  has  in  Washington.  The 
purity  of  his  character  and  the  quietness  of  his  de- 
meanor affect  all  favorably  who  come  in  contact  with 
him.  South  Carolina  has  a  great  reason  to  be  proud  of 
her  distinguished  son,  who  has  reflected  so  much  credit 
upon  her. 


BOBBKT  HARLAN.  618 


LXXXVI. 

HON.  ROBERT  HARLAN. 

Kctident  in  England  Ten  Years — Legislator — Pngitive  from  Prqndioe. 

COLONEL  ROBERT  HARLAN  was  bom  in  Mecklen- 
burg county,  Virginia,  December  12,  1816.  His 
father  was  a  white  man,  and  his  mother  three  parts 
white.  Coming  to  Kentucky  when  eight  years  of  age,  he 
was  brought  up  by  the  Hon.  James  Harlan,  father  of  the 
Hon.  John  M.  Harlan,  at  present  associate  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

As  a  boy,  Mr.  Harlan  was  bright,  intelligent,  and  ambi- 
tious ;  and  although  a  slave  under  the  law,  he  was  allowed 
unusual  freedom.  There  were  no  schools  in  Kentucky  for 
colored  people,  and  no  provisions  for  their  education ;  but 
he  was  taught  the  elements  of  an  education  by  Mr.  Har- 
lan's older  sons,  and  with  this  start  he  displayed  an  intel- 
ligence beyond  what  was  usual  with  the  better  class  of 
his  race.  Allowed  to  hire  his  time,  as  was  not  unfre^ 
quent  in  slave  States,  he  learned  the  barber's  trade  in 
Louisville,  and  opened  and  conducted  a  barber  shop  in 
Harrodsburg,  and  subsequently  a  grocery  at  Lexington. 
In  184?8  he  went  to  California,  where,  in  a  short  time  he 
amassed  a  fortune  of  forty-five  thousand  dollars  in  gold, 


614  MEN  OF  MARK. 

which  he  brought  back  and  invested  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
With  his  new  found  wealth  he  built  two  beautiful  stone 
front  houses  on  Fifth  street,  east  of  Broadway,  and  be- 
came the  owner  of  Bull's  first  class  photographic  and 
daguerreotype  gallery,  which  he  fitted  up  in  a  style  sur- 
passing any  similar  gallery  in  this  country,  and  conducted 
the  business  for  a  time  with  success.  During  this  period 
he  visited  the  World's  .Fair  in  London,  in  1851.  About 
this  time,  notwithstanding  since  his  early  manhood  he 
had  with  the  consent  of  his  owner  traveled  without  re- 
striction, visiting  almost  every  State  in  the  Union  besides 
Canada  and  countries  of  the  Old  World  and  located  in  a  free 
State,  he  voluntarily  returned  to  Kentucky  and  arranged 
for  a  formal  acknowledgment  of  his  fii-eedom,  paying  five 
hundred  dollars  for  the  same.  Thus  all  his  life,  performing 
all  his  obligations,  whether  legally  binding  or  not,  he  has 
been  trusted,  and  never  forfeited  the  confidence  reposed  in 
him. 

As  soon  as  he  was  settled  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  he  took 
an  active  interest  in  all  affairs  tending  to  improve  and 
benefit  his  race.  He  was  trustee  of  the  colored  schools 
and  was  elected  and  served  as  trustee  of  the  Colored  Or- 
phan Asylum.  The  first  school-house  erected  in  Cincin- 
nati for  the  education  of  the  colored  youth  was  the  result 
mainly  of  his  efforts.  To  escape  the  prejudice  existing 
against  men  of  his  color  in  1858,  he  took  his  family  to 
England,  residing  there  until  1868,  when  he  returned  home. 
He  was  selected  as  "orator  of  the  day  *'  for  the  first  cele- 
bration of  the  adoption  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment,  and 
was  always  prominent  in  the  councils  of  his  party,  being 


ROBERT  HARLAN.  615 

the  first  and  only  colored  man  that  ever  was  a  member  of 
the  Republican  State  Central  Committee  of  Ohio ;  he  was 
also  delegate-at*Iarge  to  the  National  convention  that 
nominated  Grant,  in  1872.  He  has  been  delegate  of  the 
city,  State,  and  county  conventions  for  ten  years;  and  in 
all  conventions  called  to  consider  the  interests  of  the  col- 
ored race  he  has  been  a  prominent  actor.  He  was  tempo- 
rary chairman  in  the  National  convention  held  at  Nash- 
ville in  1876.  He  has  frequently  declined  foreign  counsul- 
ships  tendered  him.  In  1875  he  raised  a  battalion  of  four 
hundred  men,  being  commissioned  as  colonel  by  Governor 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes.  During  General  Grant's  administra- 
tion he  was  special  agent-at-large  of  the  Post  Office  De- 
partment. President  Hayes  offered  him  a  position  in 
Cincinnati  which  he  declined.  In  1880,  as  the  Republican 
candidate  for  the  Legislature,  he  came  within  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  votes,  out  of  a  total  vote  of  fifty-seven 
thousand,  of  defeating  his  popular  Democratic  opponent. 
General  Devereaux.  In  1884  he  was  alternate  delegate 
for  the  State-at-large  to  the  National  Republican  conven- 
tion. He  was  appointed  in  1881  special  agent  of  the 
Treasury  Department  by  President  Chester  A.  Arthur, 
which  position  he  held  until  removed  by  President  Grover 
Cleveland  as  **an  offensive  partisan."  In  1886  he  was 
elected  on  the  Republican  ticket  a  member  of  the  State 
Legislature,  which  position  he  filled  to  the  entire  satisfac- 
tion of  his  constituents,  both  white  and  colored,  and  with 
credit  to  himself  and  profit  to  the  State  and  county.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  abolition  of  the  **  Black  Laws.*' 
Mr.  Harlan  is  well  posted  in  county,  State  and  National 


616  MEN  OF  MARK. 

affairs ;  is  a  close  reader  and  a  thorough  student  of  polit- 
ical economy.  He  has  been  a  life-long  Republican  and  is  a 
man  of  whom  his  race  should  feel  proud,  for  he  is  a  stal- 
wart defender  of  their  rights.  The  genial  colonel  has  a 
big  heart  and  enjoys  sport  as  much  as  any  one;  indeed  he 
is  specially  fond  of  horse-flesh,  and  can  relish  a  fine  animal 
as  only  a  native  Kentuckian  knows  how. 


ROIil.RI-  IMRI.AN. 


l» 


1  • 


K 


!  I 


ANTHONY  WILLIAM  AMO.  617 


Lxxxvn. 

DR.  ANTHONY  WILLIAM  AMO. 

A  Learned  Neg^o— Student  at  Halle— Skilled  in  Latin  and  Greek— Philo- 
sophical Lecturer— Received  Doctorate  from  the  Universityof  Witten- 
berg—Made  Counselor  of  State  by  the  Court  of  Berlin. 

BORN  in  Guinea,  was  brought  to  Europe  when  very 
young,  and  the  Princess  of  Brunswick  took  charge 
of  his  education.  He  pursued  his  studies  at  Halle,  in 
Saxony,  and  at  Wittenberg,  and  so  distinguished  himself 
by  his  talents  and  good  conduct  that  the  rector  and 
council  of  the  university  of  the  last  mentioned  town  gave 
a  public  testimony  to  them  in  a  letter  of  congratulation. 
Amo,  skilled  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Latin  and  Greek 
languages,  delivered,  with  success,  private  lectures  on 
philosophy,  which  are  highly  praised  in  the  same  letter. 
In  an  abstract,  published  by  the  dean  of  the  philosophical 
faculty,  it  is  said  of  this  learned  Negro,  that,  having 
examined  the  systems  of  the  ancients  and  modems,  he 
selected  and  taught  all  that  was  best  of  them.  Besides 
his  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek,  he  spoke  Hebrew, 
French,  Dutch  and  German,  and  was  well  versed  in  as- 
tronomy. In  1774  Amo  published  dissertations  on  some 
subjects  which  obtained  the  approbation  of  the  University 


618  MEN  OP  MARK. 

of  Wittenberg,  and  the  degree  of  doctor  was  conferred  upon 
him.  The  title  of  one  of  these  was  'Dtsserth  inauguralis 
pbilosophica  dehumanse  mentis  Apatbeia :  sensensionis  ac 
facultates  sentiendi  in  mente  bumanse  absentia^  et  earum 
in  corpore  nostra  organico  ac  vivo  praesentia^  quamprae- 
side^  etc.f  publice  defendit  autor  Aut,  GuiL  Amo  Guinea — 
ahr  pbilosopbi^e,  ect.  L,  C.  magister^  etc.,  1734,  4^ 
Wittenbergae,* 

Another  was  entitled  *  Disputatio  pbilosopbica  continens 
ideam  distiectam  earum  quae  competunt  vel  menti  veT 
corpori   nostro    viva    et    organico,    quam  consentiente 
amplissimorum  pbilosopborum  ordine  praeside  Af.  Aut. 
Guil,   Amo,   Guinea— afer  de/endit  Joa.  Tbeod.  Mainer, 

pbilos,,  etj.  V.  Cultor,  in  4^,  1734,  Wittenbergae,* 

At  the  conclusion  of  these  works  are  letters  of  approba- 
tion fit)m  the  rector  of  the  University  of  Wittenberg,  whOr 
in  speaking  of  one  of  them,  said :  **  It  underwent  no  change, 
because  it  was  well  executed,  and  indicates  a  mind  exer- 
cised in  reflection."  In  a  letter  addressed  to  him  by  the 
president,  he  styles  Amo,  **  vir  nobilissime  et  clarissime.** 
The  University  of  Wittenberg  has  not  evinced  a  belief  in  the 
absurd  prejudice  which  exists  against  the  colored  portion 
of  mankind. 

The  Court  of  Berlin  conferred  upon  Amo  the  title  of 
Counselor  of  State,  but  after  the  death  of  his  benefactress, 
the  Princess  of  Brunswick,  Amo  fell  into  a  profound  mel- 
ancholy, and  resolved  to  leave  Europe,  in  which  he  had 
resided  for  thirty  years,  and  to  return  to  the  place  of  his 
birth  at  Axim,  on  the  gold  coast.  There  he  received,  in 
1753,  a  vd^t  from  the  intelligent  traveler,  David  Henry 


ANTHONY  WILLIAM  AMO.  619 

Gallandat,  who  mentions  him  in  the  Memoirs  of  the 
Academy  of  Plessinque,  of  which  he  was  a  member.  Amo, 
at  that  time  about  fifty  years  of  age,  led  there  the  life  of  a 
recluse.  His  father  and  a  sister  were  living  with  him,  and 
he  had  a  brother  who  was  a  slave  in  Surinam.  Some  time 
after,  it  appears,  he  left  Axim  and  settled  at  Chama. 

The  Abbe  Gregoire,  fi-om  whose  work  the  foregoing  par- 
ticulars are  translated,  says  that  he  made  unavailing 
researches  to  ascertain  whether  Amo  published  any  other 
works,  or  at  what  period  he  died. 

This  sketch  was  taken  from  the  work  entitled  *  A  Tribute 
for  the  Negro,'  published  in  1848,  by  Armistead. 


R.  L.  PliRRY. 


-620  MBN  OP  MARK. 


LXXXVIII. 

REV.  RUPUS  L.  PERRY,  PH.  D. 

Bditor— Ethnologist— Besayist— Logician— Profound  Student  of  Negro 
History — Scholar  in  the  Greek,  Latin  and  Hebrew  Languages. 

THE  father  of  Rev.  Mr.  Perry  was  named  Lewis  Perry. 
He  was  a  preacher  of  the  Baptist  faith.  His  mother's 
name  was  Maria.  She,  too,  was  an  adherent  of  the  same 
faith.  Both  of  them  were  the  slaves  of  one  Archibald  W. 
Overton,  Smith  county,  Tennessee.  His  father  escaped  to 
Canada  when  the  boy  was  only  seven  years  old.  He  was 
a  very  fine  mechanic,  carpenter  and  cabinet  maker.  He 
hired  his  own  time  from  his  owner,  and  was  energetic 
enough  to  secure  the  means  and  carry  the  family  to  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee,  where  the  boy  ranked  as  a  free  child,  at- 
tending the  school  for  free  Negroes,  taught  by  Mrs.  Sally 
Porter.  After  his  father  ran  awa\\  this  temporary  free- 
dom was  terminated,  and  the  whole  family  were  taken 
back  to  the  plantation.  The  schooling  which  3'oung  Rufus 
had  at  this  time  and  which  he  had  received  in  Nashville, 
doomed  him  to  the  contempt  of  his  fellow-bondsmen,  and 
soon  won  for  him  among  the  white  people  the  reputation 
of  a  "dangerous  nigger."  He  became  so  ** dangerous" 
that  in  August,  1852,  he  was  sold  to  a  Negro  trader,  to  be 


r 


1 

i 


'     w 


;.  i: 


I  I 


r       ^ 


i 


R0FU8  L.  PBRRT.  621 

carried  to  Mississippi,  but  he  remained  with  this  trader 
only  three  weeks.  Before  he  gotready  to  take  him  to  Mis- 
sissippi, he  brought  his  reputed  ''dangerousness"  andvrrit- 
inginto  requisition.  He  also  fled  to  Canada.  Mr.  Perry  was 
converted  in  the  year  1854,  and  feeling  a  call  firom  God,  he 
decided  to  enter  the  ministry.  To  this  end  he  stiodied  in 
Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  at  the  Kalamazoo  Seminary,  with 
the  class  of  1861,  and  was  ordained  as  pastor  of  the  Sec- 
ond Baptist  church  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  on  or  about 
October  9,  1861,  by  a  council  of  which  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Cornelius  was  moderator,  and  Professor  James  R.  Boise 
was  clerk. 

As  a  preacher,  he  is  fluent  graceful  and  earnest.  He  is  a 
very  logical,  clear  reasoner,  close  and  active  debater,  deep 
thinker  and  an  excellent  writer.  He  is  a  man  of  splendid 
natural  abilities,  and  goes  at  once  to  the  bottom  of  any 
subject  that  he  undertakes.  His  life  has  been  full  of  suc- 
cess, filling  very  many  positions  in  his  church.  He  was 
pastor  at  St.  Catherine's,  Ontario,  and  Buffalo,  New  York. 
In  1865  he  entered  upon  the  general  missionary  and  edu- 
cational  work  among  the  freedmen,  and  has  until  the  pres- 
ent day  labored  for  the  education,  evangelization  and  gen* 
eral  elevation  of  his  race,  serving  as  superintendent  of 
schools  for  freedmen,  and  as  editor  of  the  Sunbeam^  co- 
ordinate editor  of  the  American  Baptist^  now  the  Baptist 
Weekly  of  New  York,  editor  of  the  People* a  Journal  and 
publisher  of  the  National  Monitor^  the  last  of  which  is 
still  in  existence,  and  is  a  spicy  paper,  full  of  matter  of  in- 
terest to  his  denomination,  and  such  general  literature  as 
is  elevating  in  its  tone.    He  was  for  ten  years  correspond- 


622  MBN  OF  MARK. 

ing  secretary  of  the  Consolidated  American  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary convention,  and  is  at  present  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary of  the  American  Educational  Association,  and  of  the 
American  Baptist  Free  Mission  Society.  He  has  given 
much  attention  to  the  study  of  ethnology  and  the  classics. 
He  has  recently  written  a  work  entitled  *  The  Cushite,  or 
the  Children  of  Ham  as  seen  by  the  Ancient  Historians  and 
Poets.'  In  it  he  has  exhibited  wonderful  research,  and  a 
more  than  ordinary  grasp  of  the  subject  under  considera- 
tion. After  quoting  very  largely  from  many  historians, 
he  says : 

From  these  come  three  g^at  and  distinctly  marked  streams  of  people, 
reaching  to  this  time  through  a  period  of  four  thousand  two  hundred 
and  thirty-four  years ;  and  presenting  us,  from  the  earliest  ages  of  writ- 
ten history,  a  white  Europe,  a  black  Africa  and  a  yellow  Asia.  In  the 
race  of  life,  the  Cushite  led  the  van  for  nearly  fifteen  centuries ;  and  the 
Greek  theatres  in  which  he  played  the  best,  the  regions  of  his  noblest 
deeds  and  grandeur,  were  Egypt  and  Ethiopia. 

But  the  enemies  of  the  Negro  maintain  that  the  distinguished  Ethio- 
pians and  the  Egyptians  of  such  frequent  and  favorable  mention,  in  both 
sacred  and  profane  history,  were  not  black  men.  They  ingeniously  ex- 
plained the  black  men  away  and  cunningly  substituted  some  other  race. 
They  seemingly  forget  that  the  ancient  language  is  a  constructive  tale- 
bearer ;  that  its  roots  are  etymological  indices,  twinkling  like  the  fixed 
stars  to  light  up  the  pathway  of  the  scholar  engaged  in  historic  research. 

One  very  eloquent  passage  shows  the  truth  of  our  asser- 
tion that  he  is  very  learned  and  that  his  knowledge  of 
history  is  not  superficial,  but  extensive,  deep  and  varied. 
Speaking  of  the  Hamites,  he  says : 

He  has  had  a  checkered  life  it  is  true,  but  so  have  the  Shemitic  and  the 
Japhetic  families.  He  has  been  master  and  he  has  been  slave ;  but  this  is 
no  less  true  of  Ham  than  of  Japhet.    In  the  world's  history  of  the  rise 


RUPUS  Lr.  PERRY.  623 

and  &11  of  nations,  no  race,  no  color,  can  boast  of  exemption  from  mis- 
Ibrtmie.  But  no  race  can  boast  of  a  higher  celebrity  in  ancient  times 
than  the  Negro,  then  called  Cushites  by  the  Hebrews  and  Ethiopians  by 
the  Greeks. 

We  can  be  pardoned  for  giving  another  extensive  quota- 
tion from  this  admirable  work  because  we  desire  to  show 
the  ability  of  the  man.  Our  statement  as  to  his  mental 
capacity  and  rare  attainments  might  need  endorsement 
did  we  not  give  specimens  of  his  ability.  We  give  this 
passage  as  much  to  show  his  eloquence  and  inform  the 
reader  as  for  any  other  purpose.  We  also  hope  that  in 
doing  this  that  it  will  cause  the  reader  to  view  the  whole 
work.    He  says: 

On  looking  back  over  the  centuries  to  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
«ra,toNoah,  and  noting  the  rise  and  fall  of  great  men  and  great  nations, 
we  see  none  more  conspicuous  than  the  children  of  Ham.  Greece  had 
her  Athens  and  could  boast  of  Homer,  Herodotus,  Plato,  Solon,  Soc- 
rates and  Demosthenes,  and  a  host  of  other  poets,  historians,  philoso- 
phers and  orators,  and  of  her  great  Alexander.  Persia  had  her  Cyrus 
the  Great,  her  Cambyscs.  her  Darius,  and  her  religious  Zoroaster.  China 
had  her  g^eat  cities  Wtillcd  in  so  that  nothing  could  come  in  or  go  out 
but  the  theosopic  philosophy  of  her  deified  Confucius.  Rome  had  her 
noted  patricians,  and,  like  Greece,  her  poets,  orators,  historians  and 
generals,  and  begat  for  herself  a  great  name ;  but  before  all  these  is  the 
land  of  Ham,  of  Cush  and  the  Cushite ;  the  land  of  the  chosen  of  God  in 
which  to  train  his  peculiar  jieople,  and  as  a  city  of  refiige  for  his  own 
son,  when  Herod  sought  to  slay  him.  Africa  had  her  Cushite;  Meroe 
had  her  Thebes,  her  Memphis,  her  sciences  and  her  wonderful  works  of 
art.  She  had  a  great  commercial  traffic  with  the  nations  of  the  East, 
borne  from  country  to  country  by  numerous  caravans.  She  had  her 
high  priests,  whose  sacred  hieroglyphics  bespoke  their  reverence  for  their 
gods.  She  had  a  thousand  thousand  soldiers,  infantry  and  calvary, 
with  generals  of  unequaled  prowess.  She  had  her  astronomers,  physi- 
dans,  and  wise  men— men  of  deeds,  rather  than  words,  actions  rather 


624  MEN  OP  MARK. 

» 

than  theory.  She  had  her  Sesostris,  her  Memnon,  her  Shishak,  her  Z^ 
rah,  her  Nitocris,  her  Queen  of  Sheba,  her  Candace  and  her  long  Kne  of 
great  Pharaohs  mentioned  in  Sacred  Scripture.  She  had  her  Hannibal 
and  her  Terrence,  the  one  distinguished  for  being  the  greatest  general  of 
whom  the  Romans  ever  measured  swords,  and  the  other  for  giving  polish 
to  the  Roman  tongue  and  for  giving  expression  to  a  philanthropic  senti- 
ment  for  which  even  the  Christian  age  produces  nothing  grander. 

On  the  question  which  is  so  much  agitated  this  day 
whether  the  Negro  will  be  absorbed  by  the  white  people^ 
whether  he  will  be  annihilated  or  entirely  disappear  in 
any  form  from  our  country,  he  says :  ♦ 

Though  undoubtedly  more  susceptible  to  amalgamation  with  the 
fiunilies  of  Shem  and  Japhet  with  whom  he  has  more  or  less  mingled  for 
three  thousand  years,  the  Cushite  still  preserves  his  identity.  He  has 
neither  been  absorbed  by  social  coition  nor  destroyed  by  nefarious  color- 
phobia.  He  is  here  to  stay,  for  God  has  so  willed  it,  and  so  fixed  it,  by 
endowing  him  with  a  superior  and  indestructible  fecundity. 

These  specimens  are  sufficient  to  show  the  opinions  ot 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Perry  upon  the  Negro  question  in  several 
phases.  Sketches  of  his  life  may  be  found  in  the  *  Baptist 
Encyclopedia,'  by  Cathcart,  and  in  the  *  Rising  Sun,*  by 
William  Wells  Brown. 

Rev.  Rufus  L.  Perry  has  long  been  recognized  for  his 
many  valuable  attainments  in  letters  and  deep  philosophi- 
cal research.  At  the  commencement  of  the  State  Univer- 
sity, Louisville,  Kentucky,  May  16,  1887,  he  delivered  a 
learned  scientific  lecture  on  the  subject  ** Light."  On  the 
following  night  the  authorities,  through  the  president  of 
the  university,  conferred  on  him  the  title  of  Doctor  of 
Philosophy— a  title  he  well  deserves. 

Without  doubt,  Rufus  L.  Perry  is  one  of  the  ablest  men 


RUFUS  L.  PERRY.  625 

in  the  United  States.  He  is  a  splendid  type  of  the  Negro 
genius.  As  an  editor  especial  for  twenty  long  years,  he 
has  filled  among  the  Baptists  the  same  position  as  B.  T. 
Tanner,  D.  D.,  among  the  Methodists.  His  pen  has  never 
failed  in  all  these  years  to  warn  the  race  of  dangers  ahead. 
He  always  puts  God  first  and  his  race  next.  His  genius  is 
consecrated  to  God,  and  he  finds  ample  scope  for  his  rare, 
splendid  talents  in  assailing  enemies  as  well  as  aggressively 
attacking  maligners  of  the  race.-  He  has  had  a  sword 
sometimes  apparently  dipped  in  wrath,  and  with  giant 
force  driven  in  the  vitals  of  those  who  dared  assail  him 
and  his  cause ;  but  he  did  it  not  for  self  but  for  the  cause. 
May  the  future  give  vast  opportunities  for  the  use  of  his 
powerful  intellect,  conquering  error  and  planting  truth. 


*i* 


626 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


LXXXIX. 

REV.  BARTLETT  TAYLOR. 


Financier  and  Church  Builder — Christian  Pioneer. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  in  Henderson 
county,  Kentucky,  Feb.  14, 1815.  He  was  a  slave.  His 
mother  belonged  to  Jonathan  Taylor,  who  was  her  master 
and  his  father.  He  treated  them  very  kindly  and  showed  him 
many  favors  which  the  other  colored  children  were  denied. 
His  master  became  financially  embarrassed  and  his  slaves 
were  taken  for  debt.    Among  a  large  number  taken  away 
by  the  sherift'  was  young  Taylor's  mother  with  her  infant 
in  her  arms,  ajid  her  four  grown  sons  who  were  half  broth- 
ers to  him  also.    Bartlett  was  at  that  time  about  seven 
vears  old  and  has  never  seen  or  heard  of  his  mother  since. 
At  the  age  of  nine  his  owners  moved  from  Henderson 
county  to  Oldham  county,  taking  his  sisters  and  himself 
with  them,  and  settled  on  a  farm  six  miles  north  of  La 
Grange.    When  twelve  years  old  his  sisters  and  himself 
were  taken  to  Westport  and  sold  for  his  master's  debts. 
He  was  bought  by  his  master's  brother,  who  willed  him  to 
his  former  owners,  the  youngest  four  children  to  be  sold 
when  the  youngest  of  these  became  of  age,  and  the  money 
to  be  divided  among  them.    Fortunately  he  was  returned 


BARTLETT  TAYLOR.  627 

to  the  same  people,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  nine- 
teen years  of  age.  Then  one  of  his  oldest  daughters  mar- 
ried a  Mr.  Berry,  who  became  quite  attached  to  him.  He 
moved  to  Louisville  and  hired  his  time  and  learned  the 
butchers'  trade.  Disagreeing  with  his  master  he  was  then 
hired  to  a  Mr.  Clisindoff,  who  was  one  of  the  largest  beef 
merchants  in  the  city.  For  his  services  he  received  three 
hundred  dollars  per  year.  Being  in  pretty  good  circtmi- 
stances  he  resolved  to  purchase  his  freedom,  being  assured 
by  the  thre^  young  girls  to  whom  he  fell  in  the  division  of 
the  property  that  he  should  have  the  privilege  of  buying 
himself.  He  then  began  saving  money,  which  he  made  at 
odd  times  from  the  profit  of  pigs'  feet  and  beef-tripe,  and 
other  articles  which  he  had  the  privilege  of  selling.  .  He 
accumulated  money  rapidly.  In  a  short  period  he  had 
saved  eighteen  hundred  dollars.  A  particular  colored  friend 
of  his  got  into  his  confidence  and  learned  that  he  had  this 
sum  and  borrowed  fourteen  hundred  dollars,  and  another 
borrowed  four  hundred  dollars,  each  telling  him  that  when 
he  was  ready  to  buy  himself  they  would  return  the  money 
with  good  interest,  which  each  failed  to  do,  and  he  had  no 
proof  that  he  had  let  them  have  the  money,  and  thus  lost 
it. 

His  associates  were  of  the  best  at  the  time,  and  he  en- 
deavored to  so  deport  himself  as  to  gain  the  favor  of  all 
well  disposed  persons.  He  was  determined  not  to  take 
unto  himself  a  wife  until  he  was  a  free  man ;  so  having  a 
desire  to  marry  he  wrote  to  his  owners  that  hp  had  a  wish 
to  purchase  his  freedom.  The  time,  September  20,  1840, 
was  set  for  the  sale  when  he  was  to  be  sold  to  the  highest 


628  MEN  OF  MARK. 

bidder  at  La  Grange  court-house.  Mr.  Brent,  who  was 
to  manage  the  sale,  was  a  debtor  to  one  of  the  heirs,  and 
he  had  never  seen  Bartlett.  He  wrote,  however,  for  him 
to  be  sure  to  meet  him  at  the  appointed  time.  When  Bart- 
lett got  there  he  was  without  a  cent  of  money.  Neverthe- 
less, he  went  to  La  Grange  to  meet  the  sale,  trusting  in  the 
Lord.  He  was  sold  upon  the  block  for  two  thousand  dol- 
lars, himself  being  the  highest  bidder.  He  informed  Mr. 
Brent  of  being  defrauded  of  all  his  money,  which  he  had 
saved  for  the  purpose,  and  he  then  became  responsible  for 
the  money,  and  gave  him  his  free  papers,  believing  that  he 
would  receive  the  monev,  which  he  did  in  1840.  He  then 
married  Mrs.  Jane  McCune  of  Abington,  Virginia. 

Being  destitute  of  learning,  he  began  to  go  to  night 
school  to  Robert  Lane  and  took  writing  of  different 
teachers,  his  last  one  being  the  late  Rev.  Henry  Adams  of 
the  Fifth  Street  Baptist  church,  who  kept  one  of  the  free 
schools  permitted  in  the  South  in  the  times  of  slavery. 
There  were  not  many  such  schools,  perhaps  four  or  five  in 
the  whole  South.  In  this  way  he  learned  to  read,  write 
and  cipher,  never  going  to  day  school  in  his  life.  Immed- 
iately after  he  was  freed  he  began  butchering,  wholesaleing 
and  retailing  beef,  mutton  and  pork,  also  packing  and 
shipping  large  quantities,  trading  and  shipping  live  stock 
South.  He  accumulated  money  rapidly,  and  in  two  years 
was  in  possession  of  six  houses  and  lots  on  East  Market 
street,  but  going  security  for  a  man  named  J.  A.  Gray,  he 
had  to  pay.  that  man's  debt  in  1858,  which  took  all  the 
property  he  had  besides  a  large  amount  of  money. 

He  lost  his  first  wife  in  1846,  leaving  three  daughters. 


BARTLETT  TAYLOR.  629 

Two  of  them  lived  to  be  grown  and  were  engaged  in  school 
teaching.    The  oldest,  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Scott,  is  still  living. 

In  1848  he  was  married  to  his  present  wife,  Mariam  A. 
McGill  of  Vincennes,  Indiana.  He  is  blest  with  one  son  who 
is  twenty-four  years  old.  This  young  man  stood  the  civil 
service  examination  in  June,  1884,  for  the  postal  service 
of  the  United  States,  and  received  the  second  highest  aver- 
age and  was  offered  a  position  but  declined,  having  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  he  would  make  school  teaching  a 
profession.  He  is  now  teaching,  and  principal  of  one  of 
the  branch  schools  in  the  public  schools  of  Louisville.  In 
1858  Mr.  Taylor  bought  and  built  in  the  southeastern 
portion  of  the  city  where  he  has  his  present  home.  His 
property  and  other  valuables  are  worth  not  less  than 
fifteen  thousand  dollars.  Having  been  impressed  for  a 
•considerable  length  of  time  to  preach  the  gospel,  he  finally 
took  up  mission  work  and  continued  on  that  for  about 
four  years.  In  1866  he  was  appointed  by  Bishop  J.  P., 
Campbell,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  itinerant  worker,  which  he  has 
been  for  twentv  years.  He  has  been  the  founder  of  and 
built  a  great  manychurhes.  He  was  appointed  and  served 
as  a  delegate  to  the  Fifth  General  Conference  of  the  A.M. 
E.  church,  to  which  he  belongs.  He  was  made  treasurer 
of  Wilberforce  Universit\'  in  1864,  and  held  the  office  for 
several  years,  and  was  a  trustee  of  the  institution  for  six- 
teen years. 

In  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky,  he  bought  the  ground  and 
built  a  church  in  1872  and  paid  over  nine  thousand  dollars 
on  it.  In  1874  he  was  stationed  at  Cynthiana  and  found 
a  church  partly  erected,   neither  the  ground  nor  build- 


630 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


ing  paid  for,  and  both  in  the  hands  of  the  sheriflF.  He 
raised  money  and  paid  the  indebtedness  and  'finished  the 
church  at  a  cost  of  $8000.  In  1881  he  returned  to  Shelby- 
ville,  Kentucky,  and  while  pastoring  the  church  there  he 
saw  the  great  necessity  for  a  building  for  a  graded  school. 
He  laid  the  matter  before  the  people,  then  met  the  trustees 
of  the  town,  and  with  their  approval,  bargained  and 
bought  a  brick  building  with  eight  rooms  and  nearly  four 
acres  of  ground,  for  $2150;  was  instrumental  in  establish- 
ing the  school  and  the  employment  of  four  teachers.  In 
1884  he  was  sent  to  Ashbury  Chapel,  Louisville,  and 
rebuilt  the  church  which  had  previously  been  destroyed  by 
fire,  and  was  successful  in  raising  $2150,  and  paid  it  in  the 
hands  of  the  trustees. 

At  the  close  of  the  late  war,  he  was  appointed  missionary 
at  lar^e  for  the  states  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and 
received  into  the  connection  a  large  number  of  churches 
and  members,  the  exact  number  of  which  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  him  to  give,  as  they  are  received  into  the 
country  churches,  but  the  number  was  many  thousand .  He 
lives  in  the  citj"  of  Louisville,  and  is  respected  very  highly 
for  his  earnestness  in  Christian  work,  and  his  faithfuhiess 
in  every  department  of  life. 


JAMES  H.  GREGORY.  631 


XC. 

PROFESSOR  JAMES  M.  GREGORY,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Dean  of  the  College  Department  of  Howard  University — Linguist. 

JAMES  MONROE  GREGORY  was  bom  at  Lexington, 
Virginia,  January  23,  1849.  His  parents  were  Henry 
L.  and  M  aria  A .  Gregory .  Within  the  year  1 849  the  family 
went  to  reside  at  Lynchburg,  even  then  a  flourishing  man- 
ufacturing center,  with  superior  business  advantages. 
The  sentiment  here  towards  {people  of  color — the  free  as 
well  as  the  slave — was  possibly  more  liberal  than  in  any 
other  part  of  Virginia.  Evidence  of  this  may  be  seen  in 
the  fact  that  to-day  there  is  no  cit\'  in  the  South  of  equal 
population,  where  the  colored  j^eople  have  accumulated 
more  property  and  conduct  more  business  enterprises  than 
in  Lynchburg.  In  1859  they  moved  to  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
where  j'oung  Gregory  entered  the  public  schools,  being 
among  the  first  colored  boys  to  avail  himself  of  their 
superior  system  of  training.  He  at  first  encountered  con- 
siderable ill-feeling  on  account  of  color,  but  he  was  soon 
as  great  a  favorite  among  the  boys  as  he  already  was 
among  the  teachers. 

Temporarily  residing  in  La  Porte,  Indiana,  he  attended 
a  private  school.    Afterwards  he  went  to  Chicago,  and 


632  MEN  OF  MARK. 

there  remained  a  while  in  the  public  school.  Returning 
after  a  while  to  his  home  in  Cleveland,  he  entered  first  the 
Grammar  school  of  that  city,  and  then  the  High  school. 
In  1865  he  entered  the  Preparatory  Department  of  OberliM 
College.  In  one  of  his  public  addresses,  he  pays  it  the  fol- 
lowing glowing  and  well  deserved  tribute : 

Before  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  we  find  colored  students  here  and  there 
admitted  to  the  colleges  of  the  North,  but  Oberlin  was  the  only  college 
professedly  a  school  that  received  and  welcomed  them.  It  is  the  only  one 
whose  officers  and  students  were  heartily  enlisted  in  the  anti-slavery 
cause,  which,  under  the  leadership  of  such  men  as  Garrison,  Douglass  and 
Gerritt  Smith,  had  begun  already'  to  arouse  the  dormant  sympathies  ia 
the  North,  and  consequently  to  alarm  the  pro-slavery  element  of  the  en- 
tire countr>'. 

Among  his  most  pleasing  experiences  was  his  life  at 
Oberlin.  He  found  in  his  associates  an  entire  absence  of 
the  spirit  of  caste,  a  generous  and  humane  sentiment  per- 
vading the.  whole  place;  and  he  made  also  the  intimate  ac- 
quaintance of  several  men  of  our  own  race,  since  grow^m 
prominent  in  the  service  of  the  people,  viz. :  John  M.  Lang- 
ston,  B.  K.  Bruce,  C.  B.  Purvis,  John  H.  Cook,  O.  S.  B. 
Wall,  George  W.  Mitchell  and  George  Collins.  An  inter- 
esting feature  of  Oberlin  at  this  time  was  the  Equal  Rights 
league  of  the  town.  Here  students  and  townsmen  met  to 
discuss  the  vital  questions  relative  to  the  oppressed  and 
oppressor.  Young  Gregory  could  not  live  and  move  amid 
such  surroundings  without  having  his  whole  nature  deep- 
ened, broadened  and  ennobled.  Those  years  at  Oberlin 
were,  no  doubt,  most  decidedly  formative  in  their  effect 
upon  his  mind  and  character.  As  a  student,  he  was  in- 
dustrious and  ambitious.    He,  with  ease,  mastered  the 


J.  M.  GREGORY. 


i 


■I  t 


ii. 


I. 


4     t 


t 

f 

r 


JAMES  M.  GREGORY.  633 

studies  of  the  preparatory  course,  and  is  spoken  of  by  his 
teachers  as  a  bright  scholar,  arid  one  that  gave  great 
promise  for  the  future.  Though  the  only  colored  man  in 
the  class,  because  of  his  high  class  standing,  affable  man- 
ners, powers  as  a  writer  and  ability  as  a  speaker,  he  was 
selected  from  a  class  of  thirty-six  as  one  of  the  nine  stud- 
ents to  represent  the  class  at  the  senior  preparatary  ex- 
hibition ;  chosen  not  by  the  faculty,  but  the  class  itself. 
While  here,  on  request  of  General  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  he 
was  selected  by  the  faculty  to  recommend  for  a  cadetship 
at  West  Point ;  but  Andrew  Johnson,  then  President,  panr 
dering  to  the  prejudice  of  the  race,  refused  to  appoint  him. 
Meanwhile,  Gregory  had  employed  his  vacation  teaching 
at  La  Porte,  Indiana,  Mt.  Tabor,  Maryland,  and  Lynch- 
burg. 

In  the  year  following  Gregory's  admission  to  college, 
while  on  his  way  from  Lynchburg  to  Oberlin,  he  stopped 
in  Washington  to  get  the  papers  forwarded  by  the  faculty 
in  which  he  was  recommended  to  General  Butler  for  a  ca- 
detship to  West  Point.  He  was  sent  to  the  war  depart- 
ment where  the  papers  were  filed,  and  there  for  the  first 
time  he  met  General  O.  O.  Howard.  Something  in  the  ad* 
dress  and  bearing  of  the  young  man  impressed  the  general 
who  entered  into  conversation  with  him  and  drew  forth 
the  salient  points  of  his  personal  history  and  prospects. 
Upon  parting  Mr.  Gregory  was  told  that  probably  he  would 
be  sent  for  in  about  a  ve^ir  to  come  to  Washington,  but  no 
explanation  was  given.  Scarcely  twelve  months  had 
elapsed  when  he  received  a  letter  offering,  if  he  would  com- 
plete his  course  at  Howard  University,  to  give  him  at  the 


634  MEN  OF  MARK. 

same  time  a  position  as  instructor  in  the  Preparatoiy  D^ 
partment  of  that  institution.    Mr.  Gregory  accepted 
at  once  entered  upon  his  double  duties  at  Washington. 

In  1872  he  graduated  with  the  valedictory  of  his 
and  was  regularly  made  tutor  of  Latin  and  mathematics 
in  the  Preparatorj-  Department.  In  the  winter  of  the  next 
year  he  married  an  amiable  and  accomplished  lady.  Miss 
Fannie  E.  Hagan  of  Williamsport,  Pennsylvania,  at  one 
time  a  student  under  his  instruction  Three  vears  later  he 
vras  appointed  professor  of  Latin  in  the  College  Depart- 
liient,  a  position  which  he  still  holds.  He  is  also  dean  of 
the  college,  having  been  chosen  to  this  responsible  place  by 
the  college  faculty  for  a  fourth  term. 

Professor  Gregory  is  one  of  the  most  successful  young 
men  of  the  race.  He  is  eminently  a  scholar  and  one  of 
those  to  whom  we  may  point  with  pride  in  vindication  of 
the  Negro's  ability  to  receive  collegiate  training  and  to 
engage  in  intellectual  pursuits. 

Although  Mr.  Gregory  is  professor  of  the  Latin  language, 
with  its  literature,  and  has  made  it  a  specialty,  he  has  not 
confined  himself  to  this  one  channel  and  therebv  rendered 
likely  a  one-sided  development.  He  is  unusually  familiar 
with  matters  of  general  history,  is  learned  in  the  principles 
of  political  economy,  international  law  and  the  science  of 
government.  He  is  also  a  fluent  speaker  and  a  readv 
writer. 

Professor  Gregory  is  an  indefatigable  worker ;  industry 
is  among  his  most  prominent  traits  of  character;  if  he  may 
be  said  to  pride  himself  upon  the  possession  of  any  one  vir- 
tue it  is  this.    He  is,  therefore,  a  genius,  for  true  genius 


JAMES  M.  GREGORY.  635 

consists  in  work.  Perseverance  does  not  alwa3r8  accom- 
pany energy.  Another  of  his  characteristics  is  tact.  One 
sees  evidence  of  this  quality  in  every  phase  of  hift  life,  do- 
mestic, social,  educational  and  political.  It  is  this  that 
lends  a  charm  to  his  intercourse  in  the  family  circle,  that 
makes  him  a  delightful  persom  with  whom  to  meet  and 
converse.  Not  least  among  the  powers  belonging  to  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  is  strength  of  will. 

The  ordinary  professor  is  engrossed  in  the  little  world  of 
the  school-room,  and  has  but  slight  concern  for  the  tide  of 
human  affairs  without ;  not  so  is  Professor  Gregory.  Latin 
roots  interest  but  do  not  absorb  him.  He  is  fully  awake  to 
all  that  transpires,  and  is  well-informed  concerning  mat- 
ters generally.  On  this  account  he  is  the  more  eflScient  as 
•  an  instructor  and  the  more  useful  as  a  citizen.  A  few  years 
ago  he  contested  the  right  to  send  his  son  to  any  one  of  the 
public  schools  in  Washington.  His  interest  in  tht  school 
question  was  soon  manifested  in  another  direction. 

When  George  T.  Downing  and  himself  discovered  in  the 
new  code  of  laws  for  the  district,  which  had  been  prepared 
and  was  before  the  House  of  Representatives,  a  provision 
sanctioning  by  law  the  separate  school  system,  they  were 
aroused  to  immediate  action.  Pursuant  to  a  call  by  these 
gentlemen,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Dr.  C.  B. 
Purvis,  when  a  memorial  was  adopted,  calling  the  special 
attention  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  tc 
certain  clauses  in  the  proposed  code  for  the  District  of  Col- 
umbia, which,  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, permits  an  unjust  and  odious  discrimination  against  a 
large  number  of  its  citizens  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 


636  MCX  OF  MARK. 

The  cofnmittee  on  memorial  was  as  follows:  Frederick 
Doa^ass,  presidents  Richard  T.  Greener,  secretary,  Fred- 
erick G.  Barbadoes,  John  F.  Cook,  George  T.  Downing, 
James  M.  Gregory.  Rev.  F.J.  Grimke,  Milton  M.  Holland, 
Wilc^'  Lane,  C.  B.  Purvis, M.D.,  and  Wm.  H.Smith.  Thev 
fought  manfully  for  the  principle  at  stake,  and  with  such 
effect  as  greatly  to  alarm  the  enemies  of  their  cause.  News- 
papers took  up  the  question  and  grew  vehement  in  its  dis- 
cussion. All  sorts  of  vile  epithets  were  hurled  at  the  or- 
iginators of  the  memorial;  and  finally,  when  through  their 
exertions  the  code  containing  the  obnoxious  laws  was  de- 
feated, they  were  branded  as  '*  Obstructionists."  Their 
success  was  largely  due  to  Representative  D.  B.  Haskell 
of  Kansas,  who  was  their  able  champion  in  the  House. 

Professor  Gregory  has  been  intimately  connected  with 
many  of  the  leading  events  of  the  Nation's  capital  and  else- 
where, and  has  shown  himself  possessed  of  much  executive 
ability  as  well  as  patriotic  zeal.  He  was  one  of  the  orig- 
inators of  the  Civil  Rights  mass  meeting  held  in  Washing- 
ton, October  23,  1883,  to  consider  the  late  decision  of  the 
SupremeCourtof  United  States,  and  was  also  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  evening.  The  occasion  was  memorable  and 
important  as  a  presentation  of  views  on  this  subject  of  vital 
moment.  The  speakers  of  the  occasion  were  Honorable 
Frederick  Douglass,  Colonel  Robert  Ingersoll,  Judge  Samuel 
Shellaberger,  and  Dr.  J.  E.  Rankin. 

He  aims  to  establish  in  connection  with  Howard  Uni- 
versity what  shall  be  known  as  the  "Frederick  Douglass 
Scholarship  Fund."    His  views  on  the  subject  of  schoUr- 


JAMES  M.  GREGORY.  637 

ships  are  best  told  in  his  own  cogent  words.    In  his  trien- 
nial address  to  the  alumni  to  the  institution  he  said : 

We  need  a  permanent  ftind  that  may  be  applied  to  scholarships  which 
do  not  necessarily  oblige  the  recipients  to  devote  themselves  to  the  min- 
istry or  any  other  particular  calling,  for  many  young  men  do  not  make 
a  choice  of  profession  until  they  have  reached  their  junior  or  senior  years. 
Many  of  the  most  useful  men  in  this  country  and  Europe,  men  eminent 
in  church  affairs,  in  law,  in  medicine,  politics  and  literature  are  those  who 
have  been  assisted  through  college  by  scholarships.  Scholarships  in  a 
college  are  now  a  necessity ;  for  first,  they  are  a  direct  benefit  to  the  stu- 
dents, they  enable  them  to  undertake  a  college  course,  inspiring  them 
with  the  hope  that  by  diligent  application  they  can  become  educated  men. 
They  relieve  pecuniary  embarrassments,  anxieties  for  the  necessaries  of 
life,  hardships  and  humiliations.  They  give  the  student  time  to  devote 
to  his  studies,  so  that  the  l)est  portion  of  the  d«ay  may  not  be  taken  up 
in  outside  work ;  they  prevent  students  from  borrowing  money  and  con- 
sequently running  in  debt.  Again,  they  area  direct  benefit  to  the  college, 
being  a  large  source  of  revenue.  They  should  not  be  regarded  as  a  char- 
ity but  as  a  reward  of  merit,  and  should  be  given  to  those  who  can  be 
commended  for  their  correct  deportment  and  scholarly  attainments.  To. 
put  our  College  Department  upon  a  f)ermanent  basis,  to  make  her  hold  out 
a  helping  hand  to  the  scores  of  deserving  youth  who  are  anxioush'  turn- 
ing their  faces  Howard  ward,  but  are  kept  away  from  us  on  account  of 
their  poverty — we  must  secure  permanent  funds — we  must  found  schol- 
arships. 

• 

Frequently  called  to  important  and  responsible  posi- 
tions, he  has  shown  at  all  times  an  ability  most  creditable 
to  himself  and  most  pleasing  to  his  friends.  His  political 
career  began  comparatively  early.  While  at  Oberlin  he 
was  known  as  one  of  her  most  public-spirited  young  men 
and  he  often  did  important  service  in  many  of  the  citizens^ 
gatherings.  Prior  to  that  time  he  had  made  himself  use- 
ful in  a  public  capacity  as  secretary  of  the  well-known 
Fugitives,   afterwards  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  in  Cleve- 


638  MEN  OF  MARK. 

land.  For  four  years  he  was  secretary  of  the  Republican 
Central  committees  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  He  was 
also  of  the  number  who  signed  the  call  for  a  National  con- 
vention of  colored  men.  The  call  was  responded  to  and 
the  convention  met  at  Louisville,  Kentucky',  September 
24,  1883.  The  delegates  sent  from  the  district  were  Hon. 
Fred.  Douglass,  Professor  James  M.  Gregory  and  the  Rev. 
W.  S.  Laws.'  An  equal  distinctioh  with  being  eledled  to 
so  important  a  position  was  such  association  with  Fred. 
Douglass.  At  the  Louisville  convention  Professor  Greg- 
ory was  eledled  temporary  and  then  permanent  secretary 
over  all  the  worthy  aspirants  for  that  office.  On  the 
twenty-seventh  of  February,  1886,  Professor  Gregory 
was  appointed  trustee  of  public  schools.  When  the  ap- 
pointment was  made  public,  much  opposition  was  mani- 
fested by  the  Democratic  and  conservative  press  of  the 
city  and  country.  It  was  said  that  this  appointment 
meant  mixed  schools  for  the  capital.  The  vials  of  news- 
paper wrath  were  poured  out  upon  him  and  also  upon  the 
commissioners  who  appointed  him. 

The  howling  of  the  press  did  no  good.  The  commission- 
ers retained  Professor  Gregory,  and  upon  the  re-organiza- 
tion of  the  board  in  September  of  that  year  the  president 
of  the  board,  J.  J.  Darlington,  Esq.,  himself  a  Democrat, 
recognizing  the  scholarly  attainments  of  the  professor  and 
his  acquaintance  with  school  matters,  appointed  him  on 
some  of  the  leading  committees  and  chairman  of  the  most 
important  committee,  namely,  committee  on  teachers  and 
janitors. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the  Twenty-fourth 


JAMES  M.  GREGORY.  639 

Emancipation  of  slaves  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  Pro- 
fessor Gregory  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  meeting  held 
in  Israel  church.  One  of  the  leading  papers  speaks  of  his 
remarks  as  follows :  **  The  Emancipation  address  of  Pro- 
fessor Gregory,  recapitulating  the  progress  of  the  Negro  in 
the  district  since  his  emancipation  in  1862,  was  terse, 
graphic  and  striking.'*  This  address  has  been  put  in  pam- 
phlet form  along  with  the  three  great  Emancipation  ad- 
dresses of  Hon.  Fred.  Douglass  and  will  repay  a  careful 
perusal  by  those  who  wish  to  learn  of  the  progress  made 
in  the  last  twenty  years  by  the  colored  people  at  the  Na- 
tion's capital  in  the  matters  of  business,  property  and 
education. 

Professor  Gregory  is  one  of  the  best  extemporaneous 
speakers  in  our  race.  A  brief  report  of  an  impromptu 
speech  made  recently  by  him  appeared  in  the  Cleveland 
Plain  Dealer,  January  28,  1887. 

On  Monday  night  Lincoln  Memorial  church  was  crowded 
with  the  best  citizens  of  Washington  to  hear  the  eulogies 
pronounced  on  the  life  and  public  services  of  General  John 
A.  Logan.  Hon.  John  M.  Langston  presided;  Colonel 
George  W.  Williams  was  the  orator  of  the  evening.  After 
the  oration  was  finished,  distinguished  visitors  present 
were  called  upon,  and  among  others  who  spoke  were  ex- 
Minister  to  Liberia  Smythe,  Mr.  Botts  from  Virginia,  and 
Professor  J.  M.  Gregory,  dean  of  the  college  of  Howard 
University.  Professor  Gregory's  remarks  were  especially 
happy.  He  related  an  incident  of  how  when  a  student  at 
Oberlin,  then  a  mere  youth,  chancing  to  be  in  Washington 
he  called  on  the  great  Sumner  to  get  information  on  a 


640  MEN  OF  MARK. 

topic  he  had  for  discussion.  How  he  hesitated  before- 
knocking  at  the  door  of  the  senator's  room ;  how  finally 
summing  up  courage  he  knocked  and  asked  for  Mr.  Sum- 
ner and  was  admitted  to  the  presence  of  the  great  man. 
The  professor  spoke  of  the  great  courtesy  shown  him  by 
Mr.  Sumner ;  how  during  the  conversation,  several  distin- 
guished gentlemen  called  and  finding  no  one  present  but  a 
young  colored  boy,  began  at  once  to  make  known  their 
business;  but  Senator  Sumner  interrupting  them,  said: 
**  Gentlemen  excuse  me,  I  am  engaged  at  present  with  this 
young  man.''  Then  he  went  on  giving  the  information 
desired.  Professor  Gregory  mentioned  a  similar  incident 
that  hapijened  during  a  visit  to  Senator  Logan.  He  said 
that  Logan,  like  Sumner,  was  a  man  of  magnanimous 
soul ;  a  man  who  in  the  midst  of  his  duties  and  engage- 
ments found  time  to  see  those  who  called  upon  him  seek- 
ing information  or  advice.  He  was  never  too  busy  to  say 
a  kind  word  or  lend  a  helping  hand  to  those  who  needed 
his  assistance.  It  was  this  element  in  his  character  that 
made  him  a  friend  of  the  soldier,  the  poor  and  oppressed. 
Concluding,  he  said : 

In  the  field  Logan  was  bold  among  the  boldest,  and  daring  almost  to* 
recklessness ;  endowed  with  these  qualities  of  courage  and  intellect  that 
make  cowards  forget  their  fright  and  lead  braver  men  to  victor>'.  When 
again  he  changed  the  trappings  of  a  soldier  for  the  garb  of  the  citizen,  hts 
career  was  no  less  illustrious.  On  the  stump  or  in  the  councils  of  the 
partjr,  he  was  alike  unquestionably  great.  But  in  private,  as  it  has  been 
my  pleasure  to  to  see  him,  surrounded  by  his  friends,  in  the  bosom  of  his 
family,  there  he  was  pre-eminently  great. 

Unlike  many  eminent  men,  Professor  Gregory's  private 


JAMES  M.  GREGORY.  641 

life  is  as  pleasing  as  Ms  public  course  is  inspiring.  He  has 
that  greatest  of  all  earthly  possessions — a  happy  home. 
He  is  identified  with  the  Congregational  church. 

That  the  reader  may  know  something  of  the  forcible, 
eloquent  style  of  Professor  Gregory,  we  add  a  few  extracts 
from  some  of  the  best  speeches : 

NEW  LEADERS. 

New  leaders  for  the  Negro  race  are  needed.  Not  the  time-serving  lick- 
spittle, not  the  self-seeking  parasite,  not  the  obsequous,  cringing  go-be- 
tween, not  swa^ering  insolence  or  skulking  cowardice  in  leadership,  nor 
any  man  who  is  either  ashamed  of  being,  or  mean  enough  to  deny  that 
be  is  a  Negro.  We  want,  we  demand  leaders,  first  of  all,  who  are  not 
ashamed  of  the  race ;  who  are  possessed  of  brains,  character,  courage, 
zeal  and  tact.  We  want  leaders  who  know  the  history  of  the  race's 
trials,  struggles,  and  achievements,  and  who  can  from  that  history 
draw  inspiration  for  the  great  work  to  be  accomplished.  We  demand 
leaders  who  are  the  friends  of  mechanical  education  for  the  risitig  young 
men,  and  who  are  pledged  to  a  system  of  thorough  education  for  our 
young  women,  "y^  demand  leaders  who  will  neither  touch,  taste  nor  han- 
dle, nor  put  to  their  neighbor's  lips,  in  private  or  public,  at  home  or  abroad, 

• 

or  on  land  or  sea  the  accursed  cup  of  drink.  Men  they  must  be  of  noble 
instincts  and  generous  impulses,  who  have  a  genius  for  hard,  self-sacri- 
ficing labor  to  build  up  the  race.  Such  leaders  will  have  the  skill  to  de- 
tect the  condition  of  our  people,  and  the  genius  and  heroism  to  lead  the 
-way  to  the  heart  of  the  race's  moral  need.  God  grant  that  such  men 
siay  be  forthcoming. 

MORAL  EMANCIPATION. 

is  what  we  most  need  now.  Manj'  salutary  lessons  are  taught  us  by  the 
Intter  past.  Let  us  lay  them  to  heart,  and,  taking  fresh  courage,  turn  to 
the  great  work  that  awaits  us  on  every  hand.  All  that  remains  of  this 
tempestuous  state  of  things  is  but  the  rocking  of  a  troubled  sea  to  rest. 
For  He  whose  chariot  the  winds  are,  and  the  clouds,  the  dust  that  waits 
vpon  His  sultry  march  shall  visit  us  in  mercy,  shall  descend  propitious 
in  His  chariot  paved  with  love. 


642  MEN  OP  MARK. 

CUBAN  EMANCIPATION. 

Bat  whether  the  enfranchised  people  in  Southern  United  States  get  jus- 
tice done  them  or  not,  the  emancipated  slaves  in  the  island  of  Cuba  will 
henceforth  find  a  shield  of  Spanish  justice  over  them  and  ireedom  in  its 
letter  and  spirit  will  be  evermore  fraught  with  significant  meaning  and 
glorious  reaUty !  Once  Cuba  sat  as  a  dark  spectre  amid  the  deep  blue 
waters  of  the  gulf,  but  now  she  wears  the  diadem  of  libertj',  and  human- 
ity the  word  over  rejoices  in  her  birth  to  a  new  and  better  life.  Her 
long  benighted  and  besotted  slaves,  rising  from  their  chains,  may  stir  the 
island  with  the  song- 
No  more  for  traders'  gold, 

Shall  those  we  love  be  sold ; 
Nor  crushed  be  manhood  bold, 
In  slaverv's  dreaded  fold. 

Huzzah!  huzzah! 

Our  song  shall  be ; 
Huzzah!  huzzah! 

That  we  are  free. 

The  moan  of  the  Atlantic  ocean  and  the  sigh  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  have 
answered  the  piercing  cries  of  separated  childrenttand  disconsolate 
mothers ;  but  now  they  will  chant  a  Te  Deum  for  the  promise  of  **  For- 
ever  free"  that  turn  the  lamentation  of  slaves  into  the  exultation  of  free 
men! 

Cuba,  the  pearl  of  the  gulf,  adds  new  radiance  to  the  crown  of  human 
liberty  on  the  brow  of  civilization,  casting  a  peerless  light  upon  the  path- 
way of  the  nations  of  the  earth.    The  island,  so  frequently  disheveled  and 
bedraggled  in  the  carriage  of  revolution  is  now  tranquilized  by  the  boon 
of  liberty.    And  the  imperial  Spanish  throne,  the  lullaby  to  which  was 
the  shock  of  embattled  arms,  rests  secure  in  the  hearts  of  free,  'grate- 
ful and  loyal  subjects.     No  revolution  will  ever  rock  that  throne  or 
imperil  its  crown,  except,  perhaps,  in  behalf  of  still  wider  liberty  of  gOT- 
emment— for  a  State  without  a  king  or  nobles,  a  church  without  a 
bishop.    But  the  friends  of  liberty  here  in  this  great  Republic  will  ever 
cherish  a  sentiment  of  profound  gratitude  to  the  Spanish  nation  for  this 
noble  decree  of  Emancipation.    It  is  with  conscious  pride  that  wc  remem- 
ber the  illustrious  service  rendered  to  mankind  by  two  royal  womea  of 


JAMBS  M.  GREGORY.  643 

Spain — Isabella  sent  forth  Christopher  Columbus  on  a  voyage  that  re- 
sulted in  the  disco yer>'  of  America,  and  Martha  Christina  blotted  out  the 
last  vestige  of  human  slavery  in  North  America.    Bravo  !    Bapana  !** 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

I  know  what  I  have  said.  I  believe  what  I  have  said.  I  feel  in  my 
heart  of  hearts  what  I  have  said.  To  any  colored  man  who  understands 
the  origin,  purpose,  character  and  capacities  of  our  party,  argument  is 
superfluous.  It  was  by  years  of  agitation  that  the  war  was  brought  i 
about.  The  Republican  party  invited  the  Negro  to  share  the  perils  and 
horrors  of  war.  It  was  a  grand  thing  for  a  white  man  to  defend  his  lib- 
erties, but  it  was  a  grander  thing  for  the  colored  man  to  fight  for  his 
liberty.  The  proudest  moment  of  my  life  was  when  I  wore  the  blue  and 
held  a  sword  as  a  Federal  soldier.  And  when  in  the  army  of  the  James 
I  saw  thirty-five  thousand  colored  soldiers  under  arms,  well  drilled,  and 
lacking  no  attribute  of  bravery,  skill  or  endurance,  I  asked  myself: 
"  What  hath  God  wrought  through  the  Republican  party  ?"  I  was  grat- 
ified to  see  with  my  own  ej'cs,  and  hear  with  m3''Own  ears,  a  colored  man 
who  went  to  the  United  States  Senate  to  fill  the  place  of  the  arch-traitor, 
Jefferson  Davis.  The  Republican  party  that  invited  the  colored  man  to 
help  save  the  Union,  w^elcomed  him  to  the  responsibilities  and  duties  of 
citizenship.  And  every  office  held  by  the  colored  people  was  obtained 
through  the  Republican  party.  Under  the  rule  of  the  Republican  party 
we  have  seen  colored  men  hold  office  from  the  United  States  Senate 
down  to  a  messengership  in  the  departments.  Could  we  expect  more  in 
such  a  short  time  ?  Who  gave  our  people  schools  in  the  South  when  the 
Democrats  refused?  The  Republican  party.  Every  measure  that  has 
proven  to  be  beneficial  to  the  colored  people  in  the  country  is  the  produc- 
tion of  Republicanism.  The  Democratic  party  in  State  and  National  leg 
islation  voted  against  every  law  enacted  for  the  well-being  of  the  colored 
race.  Ever^'thing — I  make  no  qualification — we  enjo3'  as  citizens  is  the 
gift  of  the  Republican  party.  Do  you  tell  me  that  there  are  colored  mer 
who  are  going  to  vote  for  the  Democratic  party?  On  what  groundi 
pray  ?  I  hear  no  answer.  Do  you  say  that  colored  people  are  dissatisfied  ? 
About  what?  The  principles  ofthe  party  are  pure,  humane  and  just.  Some 
men  ma}'  not  like  the  way  that  politicians  have  treated  them.  Don't 
put  them  in  office.    Are  you  dissatisfied  with  the  Southern  policy  ?  Don*t 


644  MEN  OP  MARK. 

break  up  the  party;  don't  vote  against  the  whole  organization  because 
you  are  displeased  with  a  few  men.  Don't  do  like  Samson  and  lean 
against  the  pillars  of  this  noble  structure  and  bury  yourselves  with  your 
enemies  under  the  ruins.  Remember,  my  friends,  that  all  human  organi- 
zations are  imperfect.  There  are  many  men  in  our  party  that  I  would 
rather  see  out  of  it.  But  I  am  going  to  bide  my  time,  and  then  help  them 
out  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  After  the  war,  when  there  was  but  one  party » 
some  bad  men  rushed  into  our  party  and  pushed  good  men  to  the  rear. 
We  must  get  rid  of  them  as  soon  as  possible.  For  which  party  some  men 
vote  has  become  a  matter  of  cents  and  dollars.  Let  no  colored  man  flat- 
ter himself  thai  he  is  so  far  removed  from  a  condition  of  servitude  that 
he  may  vote  for  the  Democratic  party  with  impunity.  If  the  Democracy 
get  the  Federal  government  in  their  hands  in  1880,  they  will  not  hesitate 
to  impugn  the  amendments  from  the  constitution  and  strip  the  colored 
voter  of  every  vestige  of  citizenship.  The  Democratic  party  cannot  be 
trusted  in  power,  and  the  colored  men  who  aid  it  by  the  sufirage  the 
Republican  party  gave  them,  ought  to  get  all  that  their  conduct  would 
merit.  But  I  am  sure  that  the  intelligent  colored  voters  of  Ohio  will 
rally  to  the  support  of  the  party  they  have  trusted  and  the  party  that 
will  always  accord  them  all  the  right  and  privileges  that  belong  to  every 
American  citizen. 

THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  COLORED  SOLDIER. 

In  the  late  war,  the  Negro  proved  himself  an  able  and  efficient  soldier. 
By  the  ponderous  and  incessant  blow  of  this  battle-axe  of  liberty,  he 
opened  the  gate  to  social,  political  and  religious  relations  and  activities. 
Slavery  had  closed  all  of  these  gates  against  him ;  these  relations  lay  be- 
yond the  boundaries  of  the  cruel  institutions,  in  the  fair  land  of  freedotn. 
The  moment  the  Negro  enrolled  under  the  **  Stars  and  Stripes  "  he  began 
an  existence  hitherto  unknown  to  him.  He  took  a  part  in  a  drama  that 
was  not  to  end  in  a  war  of  arms,  but  in  a  war  of  ideas  and  principles, 
in  which  war  he  was  to  take  on  his  characteristics  as  a  free  man,  not  as 
a  slave ;  as  a  civilian,  not  as  a  soldier. 

The  world  has  blindly  ascribed  qualities  to  the  Negro  slave  that  will 
not  belong  to  him  as  an  educated  citizen,  and  would  as  readily  belong  to 
any  other  class  of  men  in  the  same  condition  in  which  the  Amencan 
•lave  was  before  the  war.    But  the  tinie  is  come  when  the  test  is  beini;^ 


JAMES  M.  GREGORY.  645 

^ipfdied.  It  remains  to  be  seen  what  the  Negro  will  be.  The  war  was 
only  an  initiatory  step.  It  was  then  that  four  and  one-half  millions  of 
human  beings  came  up  out  of  the  Egypt  of  bondagetoj3egin  their  march 
of  citizenship.  Before  them  lie  the  fields  of  science  and  learning,  and  the 
piains  of  culture  invite  their  weary  feet. 

Some  have  thought  the  war  ended,  the  victories  all  won;  but  the 
struggle  begun  in  the  ditches  of  Pillow  and  on  the  parapets  of  Wagner, 
under  the  eyes  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  is  still  going  on.  It  has  been 
extended  into  the  common  school,  where  ignorance  is  to  be  conquered 
and  superstition  vanquished .  Into  the  temple  of  God  and  into  the  halls  of 
Congress,  this  struggle,  this  conflict  is  pushed.  The  battle  between  con- 
science and  passion,  between  selfishness  and  benevolence,  between  sloth- 
fulness  and  duty,  all  these  battles  are  to  be  waged  with  all  the  vehemence 
of  manly  effort.  For  we  must  remember  that  the  victories  won  in  war 
are  conditioned  to  us  on  the  ground  of  our  success  in  conquering  moral 
conflicts.  We  have  not  a  moment  to  spare.  The  heat  of  the  battle  is 
now ;  so  let  every  man  be  at  his  post.  The  world  is  watching  and  wait- 
ing for  results. 

I  am  indeed  glad,  comrades,  that  slavery  is  dead.  Its  ghost  will  no 
longer  render  our  land  hideous.  Slaverj-  is  dead !  But,  comrades,  the  evil 
influences  of  the  institution  linger  among  us.  Its  impress  was  made  upon 
the  souls  as  well  as  upon  the  bodies  of  its  subjects.  It  will  take  years 
before  this  country  will  be  able  to  outgrow  the  scars  it  received  from 
slaver^'.  The  government  is  yet  weak  from  the  fierce  and  protracted 
struggle ;  but  time  will  close  and  heal  every  wound ;  she  will  yet  be 
strong  in  truth  and  justice. 

Comrades,  th^*  is  the  formative  period  of  our  race.  We  will  be  sus- 
ceptible to  many  impressions,  and  it  therefore  becomes  us  to  know  just 
what  kind  of  material  we  are  putting  into  our  characters.  Everything 
we  do  now  will  go  into  history,  whether  good  or  bad.  If  we  fail  to  be 
industrious  and  virtuous,  the  future  historian  will  record  it.  He  will 
write  that  after  the  Negro  was  free,  instead  of  becoming  virtuous,  he  be- 
came licentious;  instead  of  becoming  industrious,  he  became  indolent; 
instead  of  becoming  wiser,  he  became  more  ignorant ;  turning  liberty 
into  license,  his  last  sin  was  worse  than  the  former. 

Ah!  comrades  and  fellow  Christians,  I  wish  I  could  write  the  language 
of  ray  heart  in  plainer  letters!     I  wish   I  could  tell  you  in  articulate 


646  MEN  OP  IfARK. 

words,  how  much  I  love  you,  and  how  anxious  I  am  that  my  raor 
march  on  until  it  takes  its  place  by  the  side  of  an  ancient  Greek  and 
classic  Rome;  yea,  even  by  the  side  of  England  and  proud  America! 
You  may  think  me  a  fanatic  to-day,  but  fifty  years  hence,  when  our  race 
has  taken  on  a  national  character  its  panegyrist  will  call  this  no  idle 
tlream. 


DAIOBL  ABRAHAM  6ADDIB.  Q47 


XCI. 

REV.  DANIEL  ABRAHAM  GADDIE. 

Prom  the  Blacksmith  Shop  to  the  Pulpit— Temperance  Advocate— Mod- 
erator of  Fifty  Thousand  Baptists. 

REV.  D.  A.  GADDIE,  one  of  the  strong  men  of  Ken-  ' 
tucky,  has  risen  from  the  sledge  hammer  and  the 
anvil  to  a  commanding  position  among  men.  This  he  has 
done  by  persevering  diligence  and  application  to  business. 
He  was  bom  May  21,  1836,  and  is  still  hale  and  hearty. 
A  man  of  splendid  physique,  a  very  Ajax  in  bravery,  a 
Herctdes  in  strength.  He  may  be  called  a  handsome  man 
in  personal  appearance,  and  he  impresses  one  as  a  safe 
protector  in  trouble.  To  such  men  we  seem  to  fly  for 
refuge  when  danger  is  near.  In  his  twenty-third  year  he 
gave  his  heart  to  Christ,  and  commenced  in  earnest  to 
serve  Him  who  ruleth  the  hearts  of  all  men.  He  owes  his 
conversion  to  one  Robert  Gardner,  a  white  brother.  He 
was  ordained  in  the  year  1865,  and  was  at  that  time  a 
member  of  Green  Street  church.  At  his  ordination,  Rev. 
Henry  Adams,  Rev.  Richard  Sneethen,  Charles  Edwards 
and  Solomon  Patterson  took  part.  He  was  pastor  of 
several  churches  in  the  State;  among  them  may  be  men- 
tioned Elizabethtown,  Greensburg,  Campbellsville,  Rude's 


i 


648  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Creek,  Glendale  and  Green  Street  Baptist  church,  of  which 
he  has  charge  at  this  writing.  Elder  Richard  Sneethen 
died  April  11,  1872,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
elected  pastor  in  October  of  the  same  year.  Under  his 
wise  administration  of  the  affairs  for  the  past  fifteen  years, 
much  good  has  been  done  in  the  systematic  organization 
of  the  work.  He  has  added  more  than  two  thousand 
members  to  the  church ;  fifteen  hundred,  perhaps,  of  this 
number  were  converts.  He  has  married  about  five  hundred 
couples  and  preached  thousands  of  sermons  and  delivered 
many  addresses.  The  Green  Street  church  is  one  of  the 
most  faithful  in  the  State,  and  under  his  leadership  it  has 
been  trained  to  give,  when  called  upon,  for  every  object 
worthy  of  Christian  benevolence.  The  General  Association 
of  Kentucky  Baptists  has  for  years  honored  him  with 
various  ofl[ices.  He  has  been  assistant  moderator  for 
many  years,  but  in  the  last  session  held  at  Bowling  Green, 
Kentucky,  he  was  chosen  as  moderator  of  50,000  colored 
Baptists.  This  was  one  of  the  largest  gatherings  in  the 
State,  and  shows  the  popularity  and  strength  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Gaddie.  In  the  National  American  Baptist  convention, 
which  was  held  at  St.  Louis,  August  25,  1886,  he  was 
chosen  treasurer  bv  a  unanimous  vote.  All  the  old  breth- 
ren,  Rev.  DeBaptiste,  Rufus  L.  Perrj'  and  a  host  of  others, 
are  well  acquainted  with  him  and  hold  him  in  high  esteem. 
He  was  vice-president  of  what  was  known  some  years  ago 
as  the  American  Consolidated  Baptist  convention.  He 
has  a  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  State 
University,  located  at  Louisville,  for  seven  years,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  Executive  Board  for  sixteen  years.    He 


s 


D.  A.  GADDIE. 


I 


it 

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I 


DANIEL  ABRAHAM  GADDIE.  649 

lias  also  been  very  prominent  in  temperance  work,  being  a 
strong  opponent  of  alcoholic  liquors  in  every  shape.  He 
is  eminently  a  friend  of  young  preachers,  and  none  have 
applied  to  him  who  do  not  receive  abundant  sympathy 
and  material  help.  Herein  lies  his  strength.  For  many 
years  he  has  been  secretary  of  the  Ministers'  and  Deacons' 
meeting,  held  in  the  city  of  Louisville.  He  has  a  large 
office  and  the  meetings  are  always  held  with  his  church. 
This  meeting  has  exerted  a  wonderful  influence  upon  the 
Baptist  ministry  in  more  ways  than  one,  creating  much 
social  feeling  and  promoting  brotherly  love  among  them. 
As  moderator  for  the  Central  District  Association  for  the 
last  ten  years,  he  has  given  satisfaction  to  the  churches 
and  in  like  manner  increased  the  membership  materially, 
more  than  doubling  the  number  of  churches  connected  with 
the  work.  This  association  contributes  more  money  for 
the  support  of  the  State  University  than  any  other  associ- 
ation in  the  State  except  the  General  Association  and  the 
Baptist  Women's  Educational  convention.  Intellectually 
he  is  a  strong  man,  and  in  the  subject  of  theology  and 
history  he  is  well  posted,  and  much  deference  is  paid  to  his 
opinion  upon  such  subjects. 

Few  men  in  the  State  have  more  earnest  supporters  and 
well-wishers.  Though  he  has  had  in  lifetime  many  severe 
troubles  yet  he  has  always  controlled  his  temper ;  though 
he  has  often  had  the  power  to  crush  enemies  who  are  dis- 
posed to  do  him  injustice,  he  has  had  long  patience  and 
exhibited  those  Christian  virtues  which  go  to  make  a 
man  strong  and  powerful  with  the  people,  and  to  over- 
throw the  machinations  of  them  who  desire  to  injure  him. 


650  MEN  OF  MARK. 

His  hand  is  ever  ready  to  assist  any  and  every  enterprise 
calculated  to  benefit  the  people  of  the  State.  He  is  often 
elected  to  conventions  which  consider  the  educational  and 
industrial  affairs  of  the  colored  people  and  is  therefore 
more  prominent  on  account  of  his  own  advocacies  of  every 
measure  which  will  elevate  the  race.  Such  men  hasten 
"the  good  time  a  coming/*  add  to  the  moral,  religious  and 
educational  worth  of  the  people.  His  life  full  of  useful- 
ness, piety  and  acts  of  charity,  draw  to  him  the  affection 
of  a  loving  people  whose  personal  kindnesses  are  well 
known  to  the  writer. 

The  Rev.  D.  A.  Gaddie,  long  a  central  figure  in  the  Bap- 
tist world  and  a  man  of  earnest  and  untiring  efforts  in  the 
cause  of  education,  was  given  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  by  the  State  University  at  its  annual  commence* 
ment.  May  17, 1887. 


W.  Q.  ATVVOOD 


W.  Q.  ATWOOD.  651 


XCII. 
W.  Q.  ATWOOD,  ESQ. 

Lumber  Merchant  and  Capitalist — Orator. 

MR.  W.  Q.  ATWOOD,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
bom  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1839,  on  the  Shell 
Creek  plantation,  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Prairie  Blu£f, 
a  small  village  on  the  Alabama  river,  in  Wilcox  county, 
Alabama.  His  father,  Henry  Styles  Atwood,  was  bom 
the  twenty-sixth  of  March,  1798,  in  the  State  of  Connecti- 
cut. He  traced  his  line  of  descent  back  to  Dr.  Henry  Skil- 
ton,  a  surgeon  in  Oliver  Cromwell's  army.  His  father  had 
a  good  common  school  training,  and  was  a  natural  law- 
yer, but  a  very  successful  business  man.  Starting  from  a 
poor  boy,  his  estate  was  valued  at  several  hundred  thous- 
and dollars.  His  sister,  Mrs.  Alice  Northrup  of  Beloit, 
Wisconsin,  now  eighty-three  years  old,  is  the  only  survivor 
of  a  family  of  three  girls  and  himself. 

His  mother  was  bom  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland, 
and  partly  raised  in  Philadelphia;  went  South  to  Ala- 
bama when  quite  a  young  woman,  had  charge  of  their 
home  in  the  South,  and  came  North  with  them  in  1853. 
She  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church  in  good  stand- 


652  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ing.  Among  other  things,  she  practiced  medicine,  carded, 
spun,  wove,  cut  and  made  clothing,  cooked  and  did  most 
everything  about  the  house.  She  learned  to  read  and 
write  after  she  was  forty-seven  years  old,  and  died  at 
Zanesville,  Ohio,  February  14,  1873. 

W.  Q.  Atwood  was  bom  under  the  yoke  of  slavery ;  his 
father  was  his  master,  and  with  the  usual  kindness  and 
care  which  parents  generally  give  to  their  children,  he  did 
not  feel  the  curse  of  slavery,  except  in  the  want  of  school 
training,  and  such  association  as  would  brighten  and 
strengthen  his  mind  and  harmonize  with  his  feelings.  He 
was  provided  with  nearly  everything  he  wished,  and  in 
this  respect  was,  perhaps,  no  more  denied  than  is  usual  to 
children. 

After  the  death  of  his  father,  by  his  will,  with  about 
twenty-one  other  persons,  he  went  North,  to  Ripley,  Ohio, 
where  he  landed  May  15,  1853.  He  went  to  a  colored 
school  in  Ripley  about  two  years,  but  getting  in  that  time 
not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  months  schooling.  He  worked 
in  the  meanwhile,  and  when  not  at  school  was  of  course 
^busily  employed. 

In  the  fall  of  1856  he  went  to  Iberia  school,  and  con- 
tinued there  until  the  spring  of  1859.  In  the  fall  of  1859, 
in  company  with  his  brother,  John  S.,  he  went  to  Cali- 
fornia. While  in  California  he  followed  steamboating, 
and  still  later  opened  a  restaurant.  He  also  did  some 
mining.  John  returned  to  Ohio  before  he  did.  On  this  trip 
he  did  not  make  much  money,  but  he  did  gain  much  knowl- 
edge of  men  and  things.  He  returned  to  Ripley,  Ohio, 
about  the  fall  of  1861,  the  home  of  his  mother,  Julius, 


W.   Q.   ATWOOD.  65S 

John,  David/  Olive,  Kossuth,  all  his  brothers.  Then  he  be- 
gan speculating ;  talked  about  the  war  by  day  and  taught 
school  by  night. 

The  following  spring  he  made  a  visit  to  East  Saginaw, 
Michigan,  and  returned  to  Ripley  in  the  fall  of  1862.  Rip- 
ley is  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio  river,  and  this  was 
not  at  all  times  the  boundary  line  of  the  rebel  doings,  and 
it  was  not  quite  pleasant  for  him  to  remain  so  near,  or  in 
the  midst  of  the  war,  and  not  be  a  soldier  and  take  a  part. 

He  went  to  East  Saginaw,  Michigan,  and  in  the  summer 
of  1863  he  took  a  compass,  map  and  plats,  and  went  into 
the  woods  and  looked  for  lands.  He  has  bought  and  sold 
lands  and  city  real  estate  from  that  time  until  now.  In 
1863,  he  located  sixteen  hundred  aqres  of  land,  and  sold 
the  same  in  the  fall  of  1863,  clearing  four  thousand  dollars 
in  cash.  This  was  his  first  land  deal.  He  has  never  made 
but  one  or  two  bad  purchases  or  sales  in  real  estate.  Being 
a  verv  shrewd  business  man,  and  a  verv  careful  reader  of 
newspapers,  and  familiar  with  all  the  details  of  the  busi- 
ness, there  is  really  no  reason  why  he  should  not  succeed. 

In  the  winter  of  1868,  with  thirty  men  and  eight  teams, 
he  cut  and  put  in  three  million  feet  of  pine  sawlogs,  and 
manufactured  the  same  into  lumber  the  following  year,  and 
sold  it  at  a  profit  of  six  thousand  dollars.  He  continued 
lumbering  each  year,  cutting  from  one  to  five  million  feet, 
until  1877,  and  has  made  from  twenty-five  dollars  to  ten 
dollars  per  thousand  feet.  The  average  cost  of  taking  the 
timber  from  the  tree  to  the  milldock,  in  East  Saginaw, 
ready  for  shipping,  is  about  eight  dollars  per  thousand 
feet.    He  lumbered  again  in  1880, 1881,  1882,  and  in  1885 


/ 


656 


MEN  OV  MARK. 


XCIII. 

REV.  HENRY  HIGHLAND  GARNET,  D.  D. 

Minister  Resident  of  Liberia — Distinguished  Minister  of  the  Gospel  and 
a  Brilliant  Orator. 

HENRY  HIGHLAND  GARNET  was  born  in  slavery 
in  Kent  county,  Maryland,  December  23,  1845. 
Although  his  father,  George  Garnet,  was  a  slave,  his  grand- 
father was  an  African  chief  and  warrior,  and  in  a  tribal 
fight  he  was  captured  and  sold  to  slave-traders  who 
brought  him  to  this  continent  where  he  was  owned  by 
Colonel  William  Spencer.  With  the  love  for  liberty  burn- 
ing in  his  veins,  George  Garnet  could  not  endure  the  chains 
that  fettered  his  life,  and  he  planned  a  scheme  to  save  his 
whole  family  from  the  galling  yoke  of  slavery.  He  ob- 
tained permission  from  his  master  to  attend  a  slave's 
funeral  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  and  he  took  his  wife,  son 
and  daughter  to  that  place  where  they  remained  one  night 
under  the  watchcare  of  Thomas  Garrett,  a  Quaker,  cel- 
ebrated for  his  aid  to  fugitive  slaves  andaidingthem  to  go 
to  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  1825  Mr.  Garnet  re- 
moved his  family  to  New  York  City.  From  the  father  the 
son  received  much  of  his  strength  of  character  and  love  of 
knowledge ;  from  the  mother,  a  notable  candor,  intellect- 


HENRY  HIGHLAND  GARNETT. 


HBNRY  HIGHLAND  GARNET.  657 

mal  face,  and  the  bright,  keen  laughing  eye.  With  such  an 
inheritance,  together  with  physical  greatness,  the  subject 
of  our  sketch  could  not  but  possess  such  traits  as  we  find 
in  him  and  made  him  beloved  by  all  who  had  the  pleasure 
of  knowing  him  and  feeling  his  power. 

In  New  York  Mr.  Garnet  entered  the  African  free  school 
on  Mulberry  street  and  became  the  schoolmate  and  friend 
of  many  distinguished  colored  men  whose  names  shall  live  in 
history,  namely:  Professor  Charles  L.  Reason,  George  T. 
Downing,  Ira  Aldridge,  the  great  tragedian,  and  others 
^whose  names  are  equally  familiar.  The  privations  of  his 
family  compelled  him  to  discontinue  school  for  a  time,  and 
he  spent  two  years  as  cabin-boy.  On  one  of  his  visits  home 
he  found  that  his  father's  family  had  been  scattered  by  the 
inroads  of  Maryland  slave-hunters.  This  painful  news, 
although  at  first  it  nearly  broke  the  young  man's  heart, 
proved  the  turning  point  of  his  life.  He  sought  and  found 
refuge  and  strength  in  his  crucified  and  risen  Lord,  and  he 
joined  the  Sunday  school  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church, 
under  the  pastorate  of  the  celebrated  Rev.  Theodore  S. 
Wright.  Soon  after  he  was  baptized  by  this  minister  and 
became  an  earnest  worker  for  the  cause  of  Christ. 

In  1831  a  high  school  was  established  by  leading  colored 
men  in  New  York  for  the  pursuance  of  the  classics,  and 
Garnet  was  one  of  the  first  pupils.  In  1835  the  Puritans 
in  New  Hampshire,  desiring  to  enlarge  the  cramped  facil- 
ities for  Negro  education,  opened  a  High  school  in  Canaan, 
New  Hampshire,  and  Garnet,  stilleagertofeast  on  what  his 
mind  had  only  tasted,  although  physically  very  weak  and 
ieeble,  started  with  two  other  friends  to  find  what  he  hoped 


658  MEN  OF  MARK. 

would  gratify  his  intellectual  hunger ;  but  alas,  the  few  col- 
ored boys  were  too  much  for  this  Ne^"  England  State.  The 
New  England  Democracy  declared  the  school  a  nuisance, 
and  after  a  few  weeks  the  farmers  in  that  vicinity  moved 
the  school  a  great  distance  from  its  original  site,  simply 
because  it  was,  as  they  termed  it,  **  a  nigger  school."  This 
attempt  at  knowledge  proving  a  failure,  he  returned  home 
so  infirm  that  his  life  was  often  times  despaired  of  After 
remaining  foiia  few  months  at  home,  information  was  given 
that  Oneida  Institute  at  Whitesboro,  the  manual  seminary, 
had  opened  its  doors  for  colored  youth.  Thither  Garnet 
went,  and  in  1839  he  graduated  with  distinguished  honor 
and  began  a  public  life.  He  first  settled  at  Troy,  all  the 
time  studjring  theology  with  Dr.  Beman,  and  acting  as 
secretary  to  the  colored  Presbyterian  church.  He  was 
licensed  to  preach  in  1842,  and  became  the  first  pastor  of 
the  Liberty  Street  Presbyterian  church  of  that  city.  This 
charge  he  held  for  ten  years,  during  which  time  he  published 
the  Clarion. 

Garnet  was  a  remarkable  man.  In  his  school  life  he  al- 
ways led  his  mates,  and  through  life  he  always  desired 
to  be  in  advance,  notwithstanding  the  hindrances  his  fee- 
ble health  caused,  for  he  was  a  cripple  at  fifteen  years 
brought  on  by  white  swelling.  He  was  earnest  however, 
in  the  prosecution  of  everything  he  undertook.  He  after- 
wards had  his  leg  amputated  in  1841,  and  it  wa3  owing 
to  this  that  he  survived  so  many  years  thereafter.  He  was 
a  great  sufferer,  but  patient  under  all.  He  perfected  in  him- 
self a  rigid  and  rare  mind,  teeming  with  brilliancy  and  wit, 
mingled  with  pathos.    This  man  possessed  wonderful  alril* 


HENRY  HIGHLAND  GARNET.  659 

ity  for  holding  audiences  spell-bound;  his  pure  English, 
deep  thought  and  manly  dignity  in  anti-slavery  movements 
were  often  in  demand.  He  was  active  and  progressive  in 
everjrthing.  His  speeches  were  made  with  such  powerful 
effect  that  their  force  could  never  be  put  in  print.  He  was 
a  man  of  strong  feeling  and  a  true  heart,  and  in  speaking 
reached  the  inner  nature  of  men.  Many  of  his  speeches 
can  never  die,  and  it  is  a  shame  that  they  cannot  be  gath- 
ered up  and  preserved  as  English  classics. 

In  1850  he  visited  Great  Britain  and  there,  in  assemblies, 
he  won  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  charmed  them  with 
his  eloquent  language.  From  England  he  went  as  delegate 
to  the  Peace  Congress  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  and  thence 
he  traveled  through  Prussia  and  France.  For  a  brief  time 
he  went  as  Missionary  to  Jamaica,  stationed  at  Sterling 
Grange  Mill  in  that  place,  until  ill  health  forced  him  to  re- 
turn home.  In  all  he  undertook  he  was  successful,  and 
everv  work  flourished  under  his  care.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  during  the  Rebellion  to  call  3'oung  colored  men  to 
arms,  and  he  became  chaplain  to  a  regiment  of  colored 
troops.  He  organized  a  committee  for  the  sick  soldiers 
and  was  almoner  to  the  New  York  Benevolent  Society 
for  colored  sufferers  of  the  mob.  It  was  only  providential 
that  he  himself  escaped  the  wild  fury  of  this  maddened 
crowd.  During  his  life-time  he  was  president  of  AverA' 
College  in  Pittsburgh,  for  about  three  years.  He  was 
induced  at  one  time  to  pastor  a  Presbyterian  church  in 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  was  the  first  col- 
ored man  to  preach  in  the  capital  of  the  United  States. 
He  returned  to  his  early  love,  Shiloh  church,  in  New  York, 


660 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


however,  and  was  pastor  of  it  for  twenty-six  years.  In 
1842  Garnet  was  married  to  Miss  Julia  Williams,  who 
had  been  a  classmate  at  Canaan  Institute.  He  had 
cherished  for  a  long  while  a  desire  to  visit  Africa,  and  when 
an  offer  was  made  of  position  of  Minister  Resident  to  Li- 
beria, notwithstanding  the  grief  of  parting  with  friends 
whom  he  never  met  again,  he  gladly  accepted  the  ofler,  and 
on  the  sixth  of  November,  1881,  he. preached  his  farewell 
sermon  at  Shiloh  church.  New  York  City,  to  the  people  he 
had  loved  so  long  and  well,  and  whose  hearts  were  stricken . 
because  of  his  retiring.  On  the  twelfth  ofNo  vember,  he  sailed 
for  England  and  arrived  at  Monrovia,  December,  28.  He 
lived  but  a  short  time  after  he  reached  his  fatherland; 
but  his  life  will  ever  be  an  inspiration  to  the  young  men  of 
the  race,  as  a  type  of  what  a  sainted  life  might  be  and  how 
men  may,  by  their  own  energy  and  personal  efforts,  rise 
to  lofty  stations  among  their  fellowmen.  He  died  in  the 
land  of  his  fathers  and  as  Alexander  Crummel,  D.  D.,  has 
said,  "they  buried  him  like  a  prince,  this  princely  man, 
with  the  blood  of  a  long  line  of  chieftains  in  his  veins,  in 
the  soil  of  his  fathers.  The  entire  military  forces  of  the 
capital  of  the  republic  turned  out  to  render  a  last  tribute 
of  respect  and  honor.  The  President  and  his  cabinet,  the 
ministry  of  every  name,  the  president,  professors  and  stu- 
dents of  the  college,  large  bodies  of  citizens  from  the  river 
settlement,  as  well  as  the  townsmen,  attended  his  obse- 
quies as  mourners.  A  noble  tribute  was  accorded  him  by 
Rev.  E.  W.  Blyden,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  one  of  the  finest  scholars 
and  thinkers  in  the  nation.  Minute  guns  were  fired  at 
every  footfall  of  the  solemn  procession.    And  when  they 


tW^ 


tx 
at 


HENRY  HIGHLAND  GARNET.  661 

laid  him  lowly  in  the  sod,  there  was  heard  on  the  hills,  in 
the  valleys  and  on  the  waters,  the  tributary  peal  of  in- 
stantaneous thunder  which  announced  through  the  still 
air  the  closing  of  the  grave.  There  he  lies,  the  deep  Atlan- 
tic but  a  few  steps  beyond,  its  perpetual  surges  beating 
at  his  very  feet,  chanting  ever  more  the  deep  anthems  of 
the  ocean,  the  solemn  requiem  of  the  dead.*' 


662  MEN  OF  MARK. 


XCIV. 

REV.  LEONARD  ANDREW  GRIMES. 

Imprisoned  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  Jail  for  Assisting  Fugitives  from  Slar- 
ery— A  Lovely  Disciple  of  Christ,  and  Pastor  of  a  Boston  Baptist 
Church. 

REV.  LEONARD  A.  GRIMES  was  distinguished  for  his 
tenderness  of  heart  and  his  abundance  of  sympathy 
with  all  who  were  in  trouble.  His  life  was  pure,  and  full 
of  ^ts  of  mercy.  He  was  one  of  those,  who,  like  his  Mas- 
ter, **went  about  doing  good.*' 

He  was  born  in  Leesburg,  Loudon  county,  Virginia,  on 
or  about  the  ninth  of  November,  1815,  and  died  at  Bos- 
ton, March  14,  1873.  He  was  taken  very  suddenly  ill  at 
his  residence  on  Everett  avenue,  East  Summersville ;  he  had 
just  returned  from  a  board  meeting  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  Home  Mission  Societv,  of  which  he  was  a 
member.  His  death  was  very  sudden;  he  had  scarcely 
reached  home  and  been  in  the  house  more  than  ten  minutes 
before  he  died  of  apoplexy. 

Though  born  free,  and  so  light  that  he  often  passed  for 
a  white  person,  yet  he  had  Negro  blood  in  his  veins,  for 
which  he  had  to  suffer  all  the  ills  to  which  the  Negroes  of 
the  South  were  subject.    He  went  to  Washington  to  live, 


/ 
LEONARD  ANDREW  GRIMES.  603 

and  as  he  grew  into  manhood,  he  got  clear  views  of  the 
institutions  of  slavery.  His  entire  being  was  shocked  at 
its  enormities  and  cruelties.  His  relations  in  the  services 
of  slaveholders  brought  him  at  times  into  immediate  con- 
tact with  the  painful  sufferings  of  his  race ;  this  begot  in 
him  a  deep  hatred  for  slavery,  and  he  resolved  to  do  all  he 
could  to  aid  the  slaves  in  any  attempt  they  might  make  to 
esca|>e  from  bondage.  This  disposition  was  known,  and 
the  slave  who  wished  to  run  away  sought  Mr.  Grimes  for 
advice,  which  he  never  failed  to  give.  Slaveholders  began 
to  suspect  young  Grimes  as  an  enemy  to  their  traffic  in 
human  flesh  and  blood.  He  was  watched,  detected,  arrested, 
tried,  convicted  and  imprisoned.  But  his  conscience  never 
condemned  him,  and  he  bore  his  imprisonment  without  the 
least  feelings  of  remorse,  and  stood  his  punishment  with 
heroic  fortitude.  At  the  expiration  of  his  imprisonment  at 
Richmond,  Virginia,  Mr.  Grimes  returned  to  Washington, 
and  embraced  religion,  and  was  baptized  in  1840,  by  Rev. 
William  Williams.  He  then  went  North,  and  associated 
himself  with  the  American  Baptist  Missionary  convention, 
and  went  to  New  Bedford,  where  he  resided  about  two 
vears ;  and  then  in  1 846  he  went  to  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

After  laboring  for  some  time,  the  church  was  organized 
on  the  evening  of  the  twenty-fourth  of  November,  1848, 
and  he  was  ordained  their  first  pastor  at  the  same  time. 

He  remained  as  pastor  of  the  Twelfth  Street  Baptist 
church  till  the  day  of  his  death.  His  ministerial  life  was 
full  of  good  works.  He  was  not  an  eloquent  speaker,  but 
as  a  pastor  he  had  no  equals,  and  was  powerful  in  prayer. 

He  could  look  up  and  move  the  powers  of  heaven,  and 


664  MEN  OF  MARK. 

did  it  in  the  interest  of  whatever  good  object  he  prayed 
for.  His  ministry  was  in  everyway  successfnl,  and  he  had 
the  satisfaction  of  baptizing  hundreds  of  persons  who  were 
led  to  Christ  through  his  ministry.  In  disposition,  Mr. 
Grimes  was  peculiarly  amiable,  and  on  this  account,  as 
well  as  for  his  great  firuitfulness  in  good  works,  he  was  be- 
loved bv  all  who  knew  him.  No  minister  in  Boston,  white 
or  black,  was  more  generally  respected  and  beloved  by  all 
classes  and  all  denominations  than  Rev.  Leonard  A. 
Grimes.  Mr.  Grimes  was  also  one  of  the  most  effective 
agents  of  the  Underground  Railroad.  Hundreds  of  escap- 
ing slaves  passed  through  his  hands  en  route  to  Canada. 
If  under  an  **  act  respecting  fugitives  from  justice  and  per- 
sons escaping  from  the  services  of  their  masters,"  the  fugi- 
tive was  apprehended  in  Boston  and  remanded  to  slavery, 
Mr.  Grimes  would  drop  everything,  and  collect  money,  pur- 
sue the  captors,  buy  his  man  and  let  him  go  without  fear 
of  further  molestation. 

During  the  war  he  took  a  great  part  in  enlisting  colored 
soldiers,  and  says  George  W.  Williams  in  his  *  History  of 
the  Negro  Race,'  ** So  highly  were  the  services  of  brother 
Grimes  prized,  that  the  chaplaincy  of  the  regiment  was 
not  only  tendered  him  but  urged  upon  him.  But  his  mul- 
tifarious duties  forbade  his  going  with  the  regiment  he 
loved  and  revered.*'  This  reference  is  to  the  Fifty-fourth 
Massachusetts  regiment. 

He  was  for  several  years  president  of  the  American  Bap- 
tist Missionary  convention  and  of  the  Consolidated  Bap- 
tist convention.    The  history  of  the  colored  Baptists  of 


L.  A,  GRIMES. 


i.  •. 

j' 

i  ■ 


'k  . 


1 

i 

\ 


LBONASD  ANDREW  GRIMES.  665 

the  North,  from  1846  to  1873,  is  fall  of  the  spirit  of  the 
good  works  of  Leonard  A.  Grimes.  When  he  died^  universal 
■lamentation  was  heard  in  the  city  of  Boston. 


666  MEN  OF  HARK. 


XCV. 

REV.  JAMES  H.  HOLMES. 

Pastor  of  a  Plourishing  Baptist  Church  in  Richmond,  Virginia — One  \ehcr 
has  Come  Down  from  the  Days  of  Slavery. 

JAMES  HENRY  HOLMES  has  often  been  quoted  as  the 
preacher  who  pastored  the  largest  flock  in  the  United 
States.  In  estimating  the  worth  of  a  man  who  has  been 
the  spiritual  adviser  of  so  many  souls,  it  would  be  impos- 
sible, from  a  human  standpoint,  to  calculate  his  value. 

We  often  admire  great  generals  who  command  large 
armies,  but  a  singular  credit  must  be  given  to  the  preacher 
of  a  Baptist  church,  who,  according  to  the  government  of 
his  church,  is  not  able  to  discipline  a  member,  nor  has  he 
any  other  appeal  in  controlling  than  through  the  members 
of  the  church  itself.  Knowing  this  to  be  a  fact,  a  man 
who  can  guide  and  govern  a  large  number  of  people,  who- 
are  held  in  check  only  by  their  own  obligations  to  God  and 
the  simple  chuixrh  government,  must  have  great  credit 
accorded  him ;  and  this  man,  who  has  for  many  years  held 
one  position,  is  deserving  of  such. 

He  was  bom  December  9, 1826,  of  slave  parents,  in  King 
and  Queen  county,  Virginia.  He  was  owned  by  Judge 
James  M.  JefFeries  and  was  cowboy  on  the  farm.    His 


JAMES  H.  HOL3CBS.  667 

mother's  name  was  Dellphia  Holmes,  and  his  father's  Clai- 
borne Holmes.  His  mother  had  sixteen  children.  He  went 
to  Richmond  in  1835  and  was  hired  out  in  Samuel  S. 
Myer's  tobacco  factory.  In  1842  he  joined  the  church  in 
Richmond,  being  baptized  by  Rev.  Robert  Ryland.  In 
April,  1846,  he  married  a  daughter  of  John  Smith,  a 
printer.  Smith  and  his  wife  soon  after  escaped  by  the 
Underground  Railroad  and  were  carried  to  Massachusetts. 
He  left  two  sons,  and  a  daughter  whom  Mr.  Holmes  mar- 
ried. He  wrote  back  to  his  children,  the  letter  falling 
into  the  hands  of  parties  who  implicated  Mr.  Holmes;  on 
this  account  he  was  put  into  the  Negro  traders'  jail,  it 
being  charged  that  he  was  about  to  run  away  himself 
For  this  reason  he  was  bought  and  sold  by  a  Negro  trader 
named  Silas  O'Mahundro.  He 'remained  in  jail  twelve 
weeks  and  was  sold  in  1848  to  a  man  in  New  Orleans 
named  Pipkin.  He  left  his  wife  and  two  children  in  Rich- 
mond when  sold ;  one  was  a  year  and  six  months  old,  and 
the  other  three  months  old. 

In  New  Orleans  he  worked  on  the  levee.  In  1849  a 
steamer  blew  up  at  the  wharf.  He  was  working  on  the 
next  boat  to  it  and  had  his  arm  dislocated  and  his  head 
cut  open  by  the  explosion.  Many  were  killed,  but  he  was 
preserved  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord  to  do  the  great 
work  which  we  find  him  doing.  His  companions  found 
him  lying  on  the  deck;  seeing  he  was  alive,  they 
started  ashore  with  him.  Some  one  cried  out  about  there 
bein^  powder  in  the  hold  of  the  vessel ;  thereupon  they  be- 
came fHghtened  and  threw  him  on  an  ash  bank.  Finding 
the  report  false,   they  returned  and  carried  him  to  his 


'668  MEN  OF  MARK. 

quarters,  where  proper  attention  was  given  him.   In  1849 

he  joined  the  Second  Baptist  church  at  New  Orleans  by 

experience,  it  not  being  the  custom  to  have  letters— colored 

people  were  not  supposed  to  read  then.    In  1850  he  was 

elected  deacon  of  the  church.    In  the  following  year  he 

married  his  second  wife. 

Mr.  Pipkin   having   committed  suicide,  Mrs.  Pipkin's 

daughter  married,  and  her  husband  came  to  New  Orleans 

to  settle  up  the  estate.     Mr.  Holmes  being  a  cripple,  he 

agreed  to  sell  him  to  Royal  Parrish,  who  owned  his  wife, 

(that  is,  Holmes'  wife)  and  who  bought  him.  Mr.  Parrish's 

health  failing,  he  went  to  Richmond  to  reside.  Mr.  Holmes 

and  his  wife  went  with  him  in  the  fall  of  1852.    In  1855 

his  owner  died.     This  same  year  he  worked  at  William 

Robinson's  factory  on  Nineteenth  and  Franklin  streets. 

When  he  returned  from  New  Orleans  he  renewed  his  con- 

» 

nection  with  the  church  in  Richmond,  of  which  he  was  a 
member  before  being  sold  away.  In  1855  he  was  elected 
deacon  of  the  First  Baptist  church  in  Richmond,  and 
served  in  that  capacity  until  1865,  when  he  served  as 
church  clerk.  During  the  war  he  kept  store  for  Richard 
Gregory,  a  colored  man  on  Franklin  street,  near  Four- 
teenth street. 

In  1862  he  lost  his  second  wife.  He  bought  himself 
from  the  widow  of  Royal  Parrish.  pajring  her  $1800  in 
Confederate  money.  He  promised  to  pay  Lawyer  Sands 
$200  to  get  his  papers.  He  paid  him  $100  in  cash  and 
promised  to  pay  him  the  other  $100  when  he  got  his 
papers.    At  the  close  of  the  war  he  owed  him  this  amount 


JAMES  H.  HOLMES.  66& 

which  he  paid  with  a  drink  of  cider,  and  the  lawyer  said 
that  settled  it. 

In  1866  he  was  elected  assistant  pastor  under  Mr. 
Stockwell,  a  school  teacher.  In  1867  he  was  elected  pas* 
tor  of  the  First  Baptist  church.  He  baptized  two  hun- 
dred persons  in  his  first  year's  administration ;  the  mem- 
bership was  thirty-five  hundred.  In  1863  he  married  his 
present  wife,  by  whom  he  has  seven  children.  The  oldest, 
John  H.  Holmes,  is  pursuing  his  studies  at  Worcester 
Academy,  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  In  1870  the  mem- 
bership of  the  church  was  4683.  A  new  registration  was 
ordered  and  all  members  requested  to  report ;  up  to  May, 
1871,  2400  reported  and  the  remainder  were  dropped. 
That  year  during  the  revival  he  baptized  600  persons.  In 
1878  another  registration  was  ordered ;  up  to  that  time 
the  membership  was  3800,  about  2500  reported. 

In  two  baptisms  in  1878,  in  the  month  of  June,  866 
were  immersed,  and  during  that  year  he  baptized  alto- 
gether 1100  persons.  In  1880  a  dissatisfaction  arose; 
the  membership  being  4000  a  split  occurred ;  a  new  reg- 
istration was  again  ordered  and  1700  names  dropped 
from  the  roll.  In  1876  it  was  decided  to  pull  down  the 
old  church,  and  the  present  edifice  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$35,000,  every  dollar  of  which  has  been  paid.  A  new 
organ  has  also  been  purchased  at  a  cost  of  $2,500.  This 
is  the  largest  organ  in  any  church  in  the  State  for  colored 
people. 

The  Rev.  James  Holmes  is  a  man  who  is  well  beloved  by 
his  congregation ;  a  man  who  preaches  the  plain  practical 
truths  of  every  day  life,  and  is  now  enjoying  the  fi-uits  of 


670  MEN  OF  MARK. 

his  arduous  labors  under  the  most  favorable  circumstan- 
ces. During  his  administrations  the  church  has  seen  its 
best  days  and  his  career  has  been  remarkable.  God  has 
blessed  his  work  with  abundant  favor,  and  manifested 
His  pleasure  in  his  preaching  by  the  number  of  souls  virhich 
He  has  given  him  as  an  evidence  of  the  power  and  consist- 
ency with  which  he  has  preached  the  gospel  for  so  many 
years. 


T.  MORRIS  CHESTER.  6  71 


XCVI. 

GENERAL  T.  MORRIS  CHESTER. 

General — Phonographer  and  Type-writer — Lawyer. 

GENERAL  T.  M.  CHESTER  is  the  second  son  and 
fourth  child  of  George  and  Jane  Maria  Chester,  and 
was  bom  May  11,  1834,  in  the  city  of  Harrisburg,  Penn- 
sylvania.   While  a  boy  he  had  an  earnest  desire  to  secure 
an  education.    After  some  preliminary  training  he  attended 
Avery  Institute,  in  Allegheny  City,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  remained  till  1853,  and  then  went  to  Liberia  in  May  of 
the  same  year.    Arriving  there  he  attended  the  Alexander 
High  School  in  the  city  of  Monrovia  till  September,  1854, 
Avhen  he  returned  to  the  United  States  and  entered  the 
junior  class  of  Thetford  Academy,  in  Vermont,  in  the  winter 
of  1854.    He  graduated  with  the  second  honor  of  the  class 
in  1856.    After  graduation  he  returned  to  Liberia  where 
he  was  superintendent  of  the  recaptured  Africans  from 
American  slavers,  instructing  them  in  school  and  in  the 
civilized  methods  of  industry.    He  remained  in  Africa  until 
the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war,  when  he  returned  byway 
of  England  to  the  States.    In  1862  he  visited  Liverpool 
and  London,  in  England,  for  the  first  time.    He  assisted  in 
the  enlistment  of  colored  soldiers  in  the  Fifty-fourth  and 


672  If  EN  OP  MARK. 

Fifty-fifth  Massachusetts  regiments.  In  1864  he  had  given; 
some  attention  to  the  writing  of  short-hand.  He  was  led 
to  do  this,  as  he  says  in  his  own  words,  '*  because  he  had 
frequently  heard  colored  ministers  and  representative  men 
of  our  race  deliver  very  able  extemporaneous  efforts 
which  he  thought  would  add  to  the  literature  of  any  peo- 
ple."  Said  he:  **I  felt  that  such  thought  ought  to  be 
preserved  for  the  lessons  they  taught  and  the  inspiration 
they  would  naturally  quicken.  I  knew,  constituted  as  we 
are  into  separated  classes,  that  the  whites  would  take  no 
interest  in  perpetuating  our  utterances  only  so  far  as  they 
were  benefited,  and  so  I  concluded  that  if  oiu*  people  were 
to  be  profited  by  the  art,  some  one  must  acquire  a  knowl- 
edge of  it,  which  I  felt  would  have  a  thrilling  effect  wher- 
ever practiced.  In  this  respect  my  fancy  has  been  ftiUy 
realized.**  He  reported  the  proceedings  of  the  General 
Conference  of  the  African  M.  E.  church,  in  the  city  of  Phil- 
adelphia, 1864,  for  the  Pbiladalpbia  Daily  Press,  which 
was  so  satisfactorily  done  that  J.  Russell  Young,  editor-in* 
chief,  conceived  the  idea  of  sending  him  to  the  front  as  the 
war  correspondent  for  the  Press,  which  was  approved  by 
Colonel  John  W.  Forney,  the  proprietor.  Being  duly 
authorized  and  furnished  with  authority  from  the  secre- 
tary of  war  for  that  purpose,  he  was  the  special  and  only 
war  correspondent  for  the  Press  with  the  Army  of  the 
James  and  the  Potomac  until  after  the  surrender.  He  was 
especially  complimented  by  Colonel  Forney  for  the  manner 
in  which  he  performed  the  duties,  and  especially  for  his 
letter  on  the  capture  of  Richmond,  which  was  twenty-four 
hours  in  advance  of  any  other  daily  papers  of  the  kind  ia 


T.  MORRIS  CHESTER.  673 

Philadelphia  through  special  correspondence.  In  1866  he 
visited  England,  Paris,  Brussels,  Berlin,  St.  Petersburg  and 
Moscow,  and  passed  the  winter  in  Russia,  where  he  was 
received  by  the  Russian  Court  as  Captain  Chester,  a  title 
received  by  courtesy  because  of  his  commanding  a  company 
of  emergency  men,  hastily  armed  and  hurried  into  service 
in  front  of  Harrisburg  when  the  rebel  forces  were  threaten- 
ing the  capital.  He  was  invited  by  the  Emperor  Alexander 
to  accompany  him  on  an  occasion  of  a  grand  review  of 
forty  thousand  troops  of  all  arms.  Being  furnished  with 
a  horse  by  order  of  the  emperor  and  especially  attended  by 
an  aid-de-camp  who  spoke  English,  he  was  given  a  position 
of  honor,  riding  near  the  emperor,  and  was  afterward  in- 
vited by  him  to  dejeuner  in  the  famous  winter  palace  with 
him  and  thewholebodyof  the  male  members  of  the  imperial 
family  and  the  imperial  staff.  He  was  afterwards  received 
at  the  courts  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  Saxony  and  England, 
and  visited  the  great  exposition  of  Paris  in  1867,  and  made 
the  acquaintance  of  General  Solomon,  then  minister  to 
Havti  from  the  court  of  France,  and  now  President  of  that 
Republic.  At  the  same  time  he  was  introduced  to  the  great 
Alexander  Dumas,  supping  with  him  at  a  banquet  given 
by  the  literary  men  of  Paris  at  Versailles.  Here  also  he 
met  the  famous  Ira  Aldridge,  the  tragedian,  and  was  on 
intimate  terms  of  acquaintance  with  him  and  his  noble 
wife,  a  Swedish  baroness. 

After  spending  four  years  in  Europe,  most  of  the  time  in 
England,  where  he  studied  law  at  Middle  Temple  Inn,  Lon- 
don, one  of  the  four  Inns  of  Court,  he  was  called,  after 
three  years'  attendance,  to  the  English  bar,  on  the  thirtieth 


674  MEN  OF  MARK. 

of  April,  1870.  Mr.  Chester  is  an  eloquent,  painstaking 
lawyer,  who  will  do  justice  to  aily  case  committed  to  his 
care,  and  has  figured  in  many  prominent  suits.  He  prac- 
ticed a  little  kt  the  old  Bailey  and  at  the  civil  courts.  He 
returned  to  America  in  1871,  and  went  South  and  settled 
in  Louisiana ;  was  admitted  to  the  Supreme  Court  and  prac- 
ticed law  in  the  civil  and  criminal  courts  with  great  suc- 
cess. He  was  appointed  division  superintendent  of  Public 
education  in  the  first  district  in  1875,  in  which  there  were 
seven  parishes,  and  afterward  in  the  fifth,  where  there  were 
thirteen  parishes,  in  1876,  having  the  white  and  colored 
schools  under  this  charge.  In  1873  he  was  appointed  aid- 
de-camp  on  the  staff  of  Governor  Kellogg,  with  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  and  afterward  placed  in  command  of  the 
firstbrigade,  Louisiana  State  National  Guards.  He  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  Commissioner  by  Judge  Billings, 
and  so  administrated  the  office,  which  was  one  of  fees,  as 
to  gain  the  confidence  and  patronage  of  the  Crescent  City. 
The  other  two  white  commissioners  in  the  custom-house 
were  left  without  business,  and  combined  effort  was  made 
against  him  by  both  Democrats  and  Republicans.  He  was 
asked  by  Judge  Billings  to  resign,  because  he  (the  Judge) 
was  in  an  embarrassed  position,  with  the  promise  that 
he  should  be  reappointed ;  but  Mr.  Chester  refused  to  do 
so.  The  Judge  revoked  his  commission,  which  he  had  a  right 
to  do,  with  or  without  cause.  Concerning  his  official 
career,  it  is  well  to  give  a  correspondence  which  took  place. 
The  Daily  Picayune^  on  Friday  morning,  April  24,  1879, 
under  the  head  of  **  Republican  Martyrs,"  speaking  of  the 
Republican  party,  used  these  words : 


T.  MORRIS  CHESTER.  675 

*We  could  -say,  and  say  with  truth,  that  there  never  has  been  a  promi- 
nent Negro  killed  in  this  State,  for  so-called  political  causes,  who  was  not 
a  scoundrel  by  profession  and  by  practice,  but  if  there  is  an  exception  to 
this  rule  let  him  be  named.  We  challenge  the  Republican  party  of  the 
•country  to  produce  an  example.  We  have  already  said  that  during  the 
reign  of  Negroism  and  carpet  baggery  in  this  State  there  never  was  a 
Negro  official  from  high  to  low,  from  first  to  last,  that  did  not  sell  his 
public  functions  for  money. 

To  which  Mr.  Chester  replied  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-fifth,  in  these  words : 

.  1  had  the  honor  of  being  division  superintendent  of  public  education, 
serving  m  the  first  and  fifth  divisions,  and  am  now  discharging  the  im- 
portant duties  of  United  States  commissioner,  which  brings  tht  into  fre- 
quent intercourse  with  a  sensitive  business  element,  and  I  challenge  the 
Picayune  to  furnish  an  instance  in  which  I  sold  my  public  functions  for 
money.  If  the  Picayune  cannot  establish  the  charge  against  me,  I  trust 
it  win  do  me  the  justice  to  except  me  from  its  indiscriminate  denuncia- 
lions. 

To  which  the  Picayune  replied  that  it  would  have  to  say 
on  that  point,  simply  this : 

We  were  making  a  general  indictment.  We  could  not  go  out  of  the  way 
to  hunt  up  exceptions ;  they  are  few  enough,  it  is  true,  but  hard  to  find. 
In  spite  of  their  slender  numbers,  we  knew  very  well  if  there  was  one  to 
whom  the  charge  would  not  apply,  he  would  come  forward  to  repel  it. 
Mr.  Chester  has  done  so.  We  are  glad  to  give  him  the  full  benefit  of  his 
disclaimer.  He  has  been  an  honest  Negro  official.  Very  well,  where  is 
the  next  one  ?  If  there  is  anv  next  one,  let  him  show  himself  with  as 
little  hesitation  in  challenging  public  scrutiny  as  Mr.  Chester  has  mani- 
fested. And  now  when  the  exception  is  made,  and  when  all  of  the  rest  of 
the  exceptions  are  made,  the  fact  as  we  stated  it  will  not  be  appreciably 
modified. 

In  January,  1884,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Wil- 
mington, Wrightsville  &  Onslow  Railroad,  a  corporation 


678  MEN  OF  MARK. 

leges  and  universities.  It  is  refreshing  (also  to  find  amal- 
gamation on  the  other  side  of  the  fence.  A  native  African 
and  a  white  woman.  **Holy  horror!"  cries  somebody, 
•*How  curious  they  did  not  hang  him.'*  They  were  hon- 
orably married  and  he  was  popular.  The  black  face  was 
a  thing  of  beauty  to  his  wife,  who  saw  a  man  with  an  in- 
tellectual soul  and  loved  him.  Love  laughs  at  locks  and 
bars  and  even  the  -color  of  a  man's  skin.  Both  parties 
will  cross  the  line. 


H.  O.  WAGONER.  679 


XCVIII. 

HON.  H.  O.  WAGONER. 

Compositor — Deputy  Sheriff— Clerk  of  the  Legislature. 

THE  best  known  and  indeed  one  of  the  most  solid 
colored  men  of  Denver,  Colorado,  is  the  Hon.  H.  0. 
Wagoner.  My  attention  was  first  attracted  to  him  by 
his  association  as  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  colored 
department  in  the  great  Cotton  Centennial  Exhibition 
held  in  1884  at  New  Orleans. 

His  birthplace  is  the  little  town  known  as  Hagerstown, 
in  Washington  county,  Maryland,  and  February  27, 1816, 
•was  the  date. 

At  the  age  of  five  years,  he  was  taught  the  English 
alphabet  by  his  grandmother  on  his  paternal  side;  and 
then  along  at  scattered  intervals  he  was  sent  to  a  little 
select  school,  making  in  all  nine  or  ten  months,  including 
some  night  schooling.  The  difficulties  that  many  of  the 
older  men  had  to  undergo  in  order  to  secure  even  the  rudi- 
ments of  the  English  education  ought  to  be  known  by  the 
rising  generation,  that  in  order  that  they  might  see  at 
least  the  propriety  of  giving  close  attention  to  the  studies 
set  before  them.  With  books,  school-houses  and  compe- 
tent teachers,  what  should  be  expected  of  the  young  colored 


680  MEN  OP  MARK. 

boy  of  to-day  ?  Nothing  more  or  less  than  that  he  should 
at  himself  for  the  higher  duties  of  life.  Mr.  Wagoner 
learned  to  write  with  white  chalk  on  board  fences  for  his 
slate. 

^rom  his  seventh  year  until  he  was  twenty-two,  he  did 
every  kind  of  work  that  was  done  on  a  farm.  On  the 
twenty-eighth  of  August,  1838,  he  went  to  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  and  remained  there  eleven  days.  On  the  first 
of  September,  his  old  friend,  the  Hon.  Frederick  Douglass, 
left  for  the  North,  and  on  the  eighth  day  of  the  same  Sep- 
tembfr,  Mr.  Wagoner  left  for  the  West.  He  reached  Wheel- 
ing, West  Virginia,  on  the  seventeenth,  and  stayed  there 
six  weeks.  He  then  left  for  Cincinnati  and  Dayton,  Ohio, 
where  he  taught  school  till  the  next  spring.  At  this  time 
he  must  have  had  very  little  knowledge  to  go  upon,  taught 
as  he  had  been  by  self  and  adversity ;  yet  having  utilized 
everything  at  command,  he  was,  in  a  very  great  degree, 
able  to  teach  others. 

He  continued  his  journe\'  in  the  spring  and  went  to  New 
Orleans,  where  he  arrived  April  11,  1839.  Here  he  re- 
mained two  weeks,  and  then  went  to  St.  Louis;  after 
remaining  a  short  time,  he  went  to  Galena,  Illinois,  where 
he  arrived  April  29,  1839. 

He  had  not  been  there  long  before  he  worked  his  way 
into  the  Northwestern  Gazette  and  Galena  Advertiser,  a 
Whig  tri-weekly  paj^er,  where  he  learned  to  set  tyix?.  In 
this  office  he  remained  for  some  years  as  compositor,  an^ 
overlooking  the  local  distribution.  His  business  was  also 
that  of  tending  to  the  mailing  of  the  outside  circulation 
and  the  collecting  of  bills.    It  was  here  he  first  owned  real 


H.  O.  WAGONLR. 


h 


H.  O.  WAGONER.  681 

estate  which  he  sold  to  the  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne,  who 
had  never  owned  any  real  estate  previous  to  that  time,  a 
fact  he  often  mentions.  It  was  in  Galena  where  they  first 
met,  and  at  that  time  a  strong  mutual  friendship  began 
which  has  never  known  a  shadow. 

The  property  he  had  in  Galena  was  worth  about  six 
hundred  dollars.  In  the  latter  part  of  184^3  he  went  to 
Chatham,  Canada  West,  and  secured  employment  on  the 
Chatham  Journal  Soon  after  he  was  employed  by  the 
school  commissioners  of  Kent  county,  to  teach  a  primary 
school  of  colored  children.  While  in  this  work  he  married, 
August  7,  1844.  In  May,  1846,  he  went  to  Chicago  with 
his  wife  and  child— a  daughter — and  there  settled  down, 
securing,  at  the  same  time,  employment  on  the  Western 
Citizen f  an  avowed  anti-slavery  paper  of  the  period.  Some 
time  during  the  year  1846,  he  states  that  Mr.  Douglass 
commenced  the  publication  of  the  North  Star,  and  he  at 
^nce  became  a  subscriber  and  occasional  correspondent. 

During  all  these  years,  as  far  back  as  1835,  he  had  been 
engaged  more  or  less  in  the  anti-slavery  movements  and 
the  Underground  Railroad.  In  the  latter  part  of  1847  he 
quit  work  in  the  printing  office  and  engaged  in  various 
kinds  of  business.  After  that  he  gradually  began  to 
acquire  property. 

When  Garrett  Smith  was  one  of  the  presidential  candi- 
dates, he  was  named  by  a  few  anti-slavery  papers  as  one 
of  his  electors  for  Illinois.  His  family  still  steadily  in- 
creased, until  1858,  when  the  whole  number,  including 
deaths,  had  reached  eight.  At  this  date  he  was  in  the 
milling  business,  and  had  an  establishment  which  cost  him 


682  MEN  OF  MARK. 

$7000.  In  1857  he  had  been  introduced  to  ''Old"  John 
Brown  and  the  Honorable  Frederick  Douglass ;  and  after 
that,  from  time  to  time,  John  Brown  never  failed  to  call 
upon  him  whenever  he  went  to  Chicago.  It  was  his  habit 
to  send  many  fugitives  to  him  who  were  in  transit  from 
Missouri  and  Kansas  to  Canada.  The  last  company  that 
passed  through  Chicago  was  in  March,  1859.  The  fugi- 
tives were  fifteen  in  number,  under  the  personal  charge  of 
the  old  hero  himself,  and  four  of  his  white  assistants. 
Mr.  Wagoner  sheltered  and  fed  these  fugitives  for  three 
days,  while  an  old  time  friend,  John  Jones,  entertained  the 
white  men.  For  harboring  fugitives,  of  course  he  was 
liable,  under  the  then  existing  fugitive  slave  laws,  to  one 
thousand  dollars  fine  and  six  months  in  prison.  But  what 
did  he  care  for  this  ?  He  simply  felt  that  he  was  doing  his 
duty,  and  was  ready  to  do  it  at  any  risk  or  cost .  In  the  daj^ 
when  God  shall  come  to  makeup  the  account  of  those  who 
have  lived  and  assisted  the  poor  of  the  earth,  what  a  reii- 
ord  there  shall  be  for  those  who  gave  food  to  the  hungry, 
shelter  to  the  shelterless  and  freedom  to  the  captive. 

His  liability  to  arrest  was  so  perilous  that,  to  the  credit 
of  Allan  Pinkerton,  be  it  said,  he  went  manfully  and  bravely 
to  his  assistance,  and  raised  the  necessary  funds  to  pay 
:he  transportation  of  the  whole  party  of  fugitives  and 
their  protectors,  bag  and  baggage,  to  Detroit. 

Before  the  old  hero  left  Chicago  for  the  last  time,  he 
called  at  his  house  and  thanked  him  for  what  he  had  done 
for  those  who  had  been  in  bonds,  and  then  bade  him  a 
friendly  farewell.  The  next  communication  that  Mr.  Wag- 
oner heard  of  him  was  by  personal  letter  from  Chatham, 


H.  O.  WAGONER.  683 

Canada  West,  inviting  him  to  attend  the  secret  convention 
to  be  held  there.  Mention  of  this  convention  is  made  else- 
where in  this  book. 

At  one  time  during  his  m'any  visits  to  his  place,  he  im- 
portuned him  with  impressive  eloquence  to  lay  aside  his 
work  for  a  time  and  go  with  him  and  assist  in  the  pros- 
ecution of  his  humanitarian  mission.  But  duty  to  his 
family  impelled  him  to  decline ;  soon  after  this,  two  fires 
and  two  removals  were  about  equal  to  financial  prostra- 
tion. At  that  time  he  was  about  ten  years  past  the  zenith 
of  life,  and  as  the  Pike's  Peak  excitement  was  still  in  ex- 
istence, he  made  his  way  to  Denver,  Colorado,  where  he 
arrived  August  1,  1860. 

In  the  fall  of  1861,  the  war  being  on  hand,  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  men  began  to  return  to  their  several  homes, 
and  this  brought  stagnation  to  business,  so  he  returned  to 
his  family  in  Chicago.  Soon  after,  he  went  down  to  where 
the  Western  armies  were  in  battle  array.  He  soon  became 
assistant  to  a  sutler,  and  did  from  time  to  time  various 
other  services,  until  the  colored  men  were  being  recruited 
for  military  service.  He  was  then  urged  to  take  hold  and 
recruit  for  the  Twenty-ninth  Illinois  colored  troops,  and 
for  that  purpose  secured  a  commission.  As  the  colored 
troops  began  to  increase  and  were  gradually  swelling  the 
Union  armies,  he  secured  another  commission  from  Gov- 
ernor Andrews  of  Massachusetts,  to  recruit  for  the  Fifth 
cavalry  of  that  State.  After  doing  service  for  Massachus- 
etts, he  was  then  commissioned  by  Governor  Yates  of 
Illinois,  to  go  down  to  Mississippi  and  recruit  refugees 
and  contrabands,  under  the  act  of  Congress  and  order  of 


^684  MEN  OF  MARK. 

the  War  Department,  No.  227.  This  was  nearingthe  close 
of  the  conflict,  and  when  General  Grant  returned  to  Galena 
he  sent  Mr.  Wagoner  a  letter  of  recommendation,  dated 
•Septemb^  1>  1866.  That  letter  and  his  letter  to  him  from 
Paris,  France,  about  his  son  Henry,  who  died  at  Lyons, 
France,  while  acting  as  Consul  there,  are  still  held  by  him 
as  souvenirs  of  the  great  soldier. 

After  this  he  returned  to  Denver,  November  24,  1865, 
where  he  has  resided  ever  since.  In  1876  he  was  appointed 
■one  of  the  clerks  in  the  first  State  Legislature  of  the  Cen- 
tennial State,  and  served  through  that  entire  session.  In 
1880  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  deputy  sheriffs  of  Ara- 
paho  county,  Colorado.  His  duties  were  chiefly  as  bailiff 
-of  the  District  Court  and  serving  legal  papers  for  that 
•court.  He  held  his  position  for  three  years,  and  has  served 
as  one  of  the  election  judges  of  the  Ninth  ward  of  Denver. 

When  his  friend  General  Grant  was  in  Denver  for  the 
last  time,  Mr.  W^agoner  was  selected  as  one  of  the  com- 
mittee of  reception.  After  many  mishaps  by  fire,  sickness 
and  death,  his  property  is  now  reduced  to  a  probable  cash 
value  of  about  twenty  thousand  dollars.  His  success  in 
life  has  been  slow  but  steady,  and  in  a  large  measure  is 
owing  to  his  strict  integrity,  correct  business  habits  and 
gentlemanly  deportment. 


MARCUS  DAL&,  68& 


XCIX. 

REV.  MARCUS  DALE. 

Shrewd  Financier  and  General  Manager— Business  Capacity  Shown. 

DAVID  and  Sjmthia  Dale  though  bom  in  the  State  of 
North  Carolina,  were  not  slaves.  They  moved  to 
Galliopolis,  Ohio,  where  was  bom  their  son  Marcus,  in  the 
year  1832.  The  family  ten  years  later  moved  to  Detroit» 
Michigan.  The  father  died  during  these  years,  which  made  it 
necessary  for  Marcus  to  stop  school  and  go  to  work,  in 
order  to  assist  his  mother  in  raising  four  children  that  were 
younger  than  himself.  He  did  this  until  they  became  old 
enough  to  earn  their  own  support.  He  learned  the 
cooper's  trade  about  this  time,  but  it  did  not  bring  in  much 
money  to  his  depleted  purse,  but  it  was  useful  in  after  days. 
He  was  converted  in  1851,  and  admitted  into  the  A.  M.  E. 
church,  January,  1852.  His  mother  died,  and  this  left  two 
sisters  and  one  brother  depending  on  him .  The  fall  of  1 852 
found  him  hard  at  work.  A  singular  thing  happened  in 
his  life,  and  shows  that  a  man  can  do  many  things  if  he- 
only  thinks  he  can.  Hearing  that  the  new  pastor,  the  Rev. 
J.  M.  Williams,  had  been  appointed  by  the  conference,  had' 
a  large  family,  the  oldest  a  young  lady  of  seventeen  years, 
lie  determined  if  she  were  a  Christian,  to  offer  his  hand  in* 


686  MEN  OF  MARK. 

• 

marriage.  This  was  certainly  a  strange  freak,  for  he  did 
not  know  whether  she  was  pretty  or  homely,  high  tem- 
pered or  harsh,  short  or  tall,  light  or  dark.  When  she  came 
he  found  that  she  was  not  a  Christian,  but  he  did  not  give 
her  up,  he  was  only  the  more  fixed  in  his  purpose.  A  re- 
vival broke  out  in  about  three  months,  in  which  the  young 
lady  was  converted.  He  then  waited  with  patience  until 
she  had  served  out  the  usual  six  months  probation  of 
the  Methodist  church,  when  he  proposed  and  was  accepted 
and  was  united  in  wedlock  with  Mary  L.  Williams,  in  the 
fall  of  1854. 

He  soon  planned  to  go  to  Oberlin  College  to  study  and 
began  to  save  money  by  doing  over  work,  two  w^hole 
nights  in  a  week  for  three  whole  years.  Is  not  this  an 
honorable,  praiseworthy  effort  to  get  an  education?  In 
this  time  his  family  was  increasing,  having  two  children 
to  care  for  ?  Moreover  he  entered  Oberlin  College  and  kept 
the  old  rule  of  working  two  whole  nights,  but  it  was  not 
a  task.  He  did  this  one  year,  till  his  money  gave  out, 
when  he  hired  an  old  bam  and  commenced  making  barrels 
in  it.  This  he  continued  for  three  years,  providing  the  means 
and  affording  him  the  opportunity  for  taking  the  four  years 
course.  He  was  licensed  an  exhorter  in  1856,  as  a  local 
preacher  in  1858,  and  ordained  elder  in  1851.  The  war 
coming  on  he  enlisted  in  the  first  colored  regiment  of  Mich- 
igan, afterwards  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Second  United 
States.  The  regiment  left  Detroit,  March,  1864;  made  a 
short  stop  at  Annapolis,  and  then  proceeded  to  Hilton  Head, 
South  Carolina.  Learning  that  colored  troops  would  only 
receive  one  half  the  pay  of  white  troops,  he  resolved  to  receive 


MARCUS  DALB.  687 

aopaj from  "Uncle  Sam,'*  and  give  his  service  free,  rather 
than  accept  less  than  white  soldiers.  He  influenced  the  sol- 
diers to  refuse  the  pay  unless  they  got  the  same  amount. 
He  urged  them,  however,  not  to  refuse  to  do  duty,  and 
though  the  pay-master  came,  and  had  the  money  in  his 
hands,  they  refused  several  times,  and  only  took  it  when  he 
came  the  third  time  with  the  same  pay  as  that  of  the  white 
soldiers.  It  was  a  day  of  rejoicing ;  perseverance  and  persist- 
ency had  won  the  day.  When  the  ''onpleasantness  '*was 
over,  hecommenced  teaching.  In  1867  he  went  to  New  Or- 
leans. He  entered  St.  Mary's  Parish  and  taught  a  Freed- 
;man's  Bureau  school  for  five  months.  An  ex-slaveholder 
gave  half  an  acre  of  land  for  a  church  and  a  school-house  on 
which  Mr.  Dale  put  a  building,  20x30;  his  church  was 
organized,  and  used  the  building  for  his  meetings,  and  in 
•the  week  he  taught  school  in  the  same  place.  In  less  than 
.a  year  the  place  was  too  small,  and  he  concluded  to  erect 
.a  brick  building.  No  bricks,  no  land,  no  mules,  no  lumber 
could  be  obtained.  The  people  were  poor  and  unable  to 
buy.  It  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  display  his  great  busi- 
ness tact,  which  he  did  in  the  following  manner:  Learning 
that  a  white  man  in  the  neighborhood  intended  to  have 
100,000  bricks  made  at  eight  dollars  per  thousand  and 
furnish  everything,  he  proposed  to  him  this  plan:  the 
minister  would  furnish  the  labor,  and  the  white  gentleman 
the  mules,  land,  lumber,  etc.  The  colored  people  would 
make  a  kiln  of  220,000  bricks,  the  church  to  have  120,000 
bricks,  and  give  the  other  100,000  to  him  for  two  hundred 
dollars  less  than  he  intended  to  pay.  As  he  would  have 
furnished  everything  to  others  he  agreed  to  do  this,  and 


688  MBN  OP  MARK. 

the  colored  laborers  got  their  pay,  built  the  church,  and  the 
benefactor  was  gratified  as  well,  and  was  two  hundred 
dollars  better  off.  A  fine  church  was  built  of  brick,  two 
stories  high,  with  a  school  room  down  stairs  and  the 
church  above.  At  that  time  the  planters  would  sell  no 
land  to  the  colored  people.  Finding  out  that  there  were 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  near  the 
church,  belonging  to  a  man  who  lived  in  another  parish, 
that  could  be  purchased,  he  sought  out  the  owner  and  got 
the  l£ind.  He  advised  his  brethren  to  unite  their  moneys. 
He  put  in  his  own,  and  in  this  wise  they  paid  for  the  land, 
which  was  divided  pro-rata.  For  several  years  he  staid 
among  these  people  and  united  with  the  Lousiana  Confer- 
ence and  brought  in  with  him  a  church  worth  five  thou- 
sand dollars  and  in  a  flourishing  condition.  His  first  ap- 
pointment was  in  New  Orleans,  at  Union  chapel,  a  church 
with  about  five  hundred  members.  There  he  served  three 
years.  He  was  then  appointed  to  Wesley  chapel,  the  same 
city,  the  largest  church  in  New  Orleans.  He  served  this 
church  two  years.  In  1884  he  was  appointed  presiding 
elder,  serving  four  years,  of  the  North  New  Orleans  dis- 
trict. He  was  appointed  again  to  Wesley  chapel,  where  he 
remained  three  years.  He  is  now  serving  his  first  year  at 
Mount  Zion. 

He  has  succeeded  measurably  in  this  world's  goods, 
owning  a  piece  of  property  which  is  worth  at  present 
about  {hree  thousand  dollars,  in  a  place  on  the  Gulf  coast 
of  Mississippi,  58  miles  from  New  Orleans.  He  is  much 
beloved  by  all  his  people,  stands  high  in  the  denomination, 
and  in  the  future  will  obtain  great  eminence.    His  success 


I 


MARCUS  DALE.  689 

has  been  owing  to  his  perseverance,  diligence,  sobriety  and 
strict  attention  to  duty.  It  can  be  seen  that  he  neglects 
no  opportunity  of  doing  good  for  his  race.  He  will  con- 
tinue to  rise  in  the  denomination  until  he  obtains  probably 
the  highest  position  in  the  gift  of  his  people. 


690  MEN  OP  liARK. 


C. 

CHARLES  B.  PURVIS,  A.  M.,  M.  D 

Secretary' and  Treasurer—  Professor  of  Obstetrics  and  Diseriscs  of  Women 
and  Children — Surgeon  in  Charge  of  Freedmen's  Hospital — Acting 
Assistant  Surgeon — First  Lieutenant. 

PROFESSOR  C.  B.  PURVIS'  father's  name  was  Rob- 
ert Purvis,  and  his  mother's  name,  before  marriage, 
was  Harriet  Forton.  Mr.  Purvis  was  born  in  Philadel- 
phia,  Pennsylvania,  and  has  no  slave  blood  in  him.  His 
father  moved  from  Philadelphia  when  he  was  about  two 
years  old  to  a  country  place  called  Byberr}-,  in  the  county 
of  Philadelphia.  He  devoted  his  time  to  farming,  and  was 
one  of  eight  children  who  grew  up  inured  to  farm  life. 
This  occupation  he  followed  until  quite  a  young  man ;  the 
neighborhood  was  a  pleasant  one,  and  many  of  the  farm- 
ers were  interested  in  the  anti-slavery  questions  and  ad- 
mired his  father's  devotion  and  efforts  in  that  direction. 
His  educational  advantages  were  not  vcr\'  favorable,  but 
were  about  as  usual  among  farmers'  sons.  He  derived 
some  advantages  from  public  schools,  however,  that  he 
attended,  chiefly'  under  the  control  of  Quakers,  who  made 
up  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  place.  His 
brothers  and  sisters  were  at  that  time  the  only  colored 


t  ■"! 


r 


1 


CHARLES  B.  PURVIS.  691 

children  attending  this  school.  In  1860  he  went  to  Ober- 
lin,  Ohio,  to  attend  college ;  he  stayed  there  for  two  years, 
but  for  various  reasons  was  unable  to  complete  his  college 
course.  While  there  he  evinced  great  mental  ability  and 
stood  very  well  in  his  class.  In  1862,  he  entered  the  Med- 
ical College  of  the  Western  Reserve,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and 
graduated  from  this  institution  in  March,  1865.  Two 
months  after  his  graduation  he  was  offered  a  position  in 
the  army  as  acting  assistant  surgeon,  with  the  rank  of 
first  lieutenant,  which  he  accepted  and  was  assigned  to 
duty  in  Washingfton,  District  of  Columbia.  He  held  this 
position  two  years,  when  he  was  appointed  assistant  sur- 
geon in  the  Freedmen's  Hospital.  While  holding  this 
position,  in  the  fall  of  1868  he  was  elected  by  the  trustees 
of  Howard  University  professor  of  materia  medica  and 
medical  jurisprudence,  and  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures 
upon  the  subject  during  the  winter  of  1868  in  the  Medical 
Department  of  the  university.  This  position  he  held  five 
years,  when  he  was  called  to  the  chair  of  obstetrics  and 
diseases  of  women  and  children;  and  at  the  same  time 
elected  as  secretary  to  the  Medical  Faculty,  which  po- 
sitions he  still  holds.  This  is  the  largest  and  most 
thoroughly  equipped  college  in  the  capital  of  the  Nation, 
and  the  majority  of  the  students  are  white.  In  1882  he 
was  appointed  by  President  Arthur  surgeon  in  charge  of 
the  Freedmen's  hospital,  which  position  he  holds  at  this 
writing.  Since  he  has  been  in  charge  of  the  hospital,  it 
has  grown  very  much  and  improved  in  every  way;  in 
1886  over  five  thousand  patients  were  prescribed  for  and 
of  this  number  two  thousand  remained  in  the  hospital  for 


692  MEN  OP  MARK. 

treatment.  After  many  years  of  hard  struggling  he  has 
compelled  the  white  physicians  by  force  of  his  position 
and  ability  to  acknowledge  a  colored  physician  and  agree 
to  consuk  with  him.  He  was  selected  by  the  faculty  to 
deliver  the  charge  to  the  graduating  class  of  1883.  In  the 
address  he  used  these  words : 

Gentlemen :  Medicine  is  a  science,  a  progressive  one.  In  some  of  its 
branches  it  is  almost  an  exact  one.  Each  year,  however,  brings  us  new- 
ideas,  new  experiences,  and  new  successes.  Therefore,  I  want  to  enjoin 
upon  you  the  importance  of  keeping  abreast  with  the  daily  growth  of 
yottr  profession.  No  man  or  woman  will  ever  reach  to  the  top  of  the 
castle  his  or  her  youthful  fancies  lead  them  to  build,  if  they  content  them- 
selves with  the  acquirements  of  their  embryo  tic  medical  life. 

These  words  can  well  be  addressed  to  any  young  man 
going  out  into  life,  and  is  an  epitome  of  his  own  methods 
of  rising  to  his  present  position.  Another  phase  in  this 
speech  seems  also  to  present  his  own  efforts  and  the  many 
embarrassments  which  young  men  meet  in  acquiring  emi- 
nence.   Said  he: 

As  you  enter  the  arena  do  not  flatter  yourselves  into  the  Mief  that 
your  pathway  is  to  be  strewn  with  roses;  that  you  possess  unusual  gifts, 
that  whether  you  acquire  fame,  wealth  or  success,  depends  only,  if  you 
elect  to  do  so  or  not ;  do  not  conclude  that  there  are  to  be  no  cloudy 
hours,  that  all  is  to  be  sunshine  and  beautiful.  Be  prepared  for  disap- 
pointments ;  the  early  life  of  a  physician  scarcely  meets  with  an3'thing 
else. 

It  might  be  well  also  to  give  his  position  upon  two  of  the 
most  prominent  evils  of  the  day ;  and  coming  from  such 
high  authority  is  worthy  of  being  placed  here  to  his  credit, 
though  less  able  physicians  of  the  race  might  say  that  it  is 


CHARLES  B.  PURVIS.  693 

necessary  to  recommend  intoxicating  liquors  and  to  ap- 
prove of  the  habit  oT  using  tobacco.    Said  he: 

Hygiene,  mental,  moral  and  physical,  is  to-day  receiving  much  atten- 
tion, and  I  hope  to  see  the  scions  of  this  school  manifesting  no  ordinary 
interest  on  these  subjects,  especially  that  of  intemperance.  We  trust  upon 
this  one  you  will  assume  a  positive  position,  that  your  trumpet  wilt  have 
no  uncertain  sound.  There  is  no  other  habit  among  people  that  is  calcu- 
lated to  undermine,  physically,  intellectually  and  morally  as  this  one.  I 
call  your  attention  to  the  growing  abuse  in  the  use  of  tobacco,  especially 
among  our  children.  It  is  a  sad  sight  to  witness  the  practices  of  the  mul- 
titudes  of  little  boys  who  go  daily  to  and  from  our  public  institutions  of 
learning.  There  can  be  no  perpetuity  for  our  institutions ;  there  can  be 
no  future  of  the  race  if  these  practices,  I  may  say  crimes,  go  unchal- 
lenged and  unchecked. 

These  are  strong  words  and  deserve  the  closest  attention 
of  those  who  read  this  work.  Mr.  Purvis  is  considered  to 
rank  among  the  very  first  of  his  class,  excepting  none,  and 
is  the  only  colored  professor  in  the  Howard  University 
medical  faculty,  and  in  fa6l  the  only  one  in  any  medical 
<rollege  in  the  world,  and  the  only  colored  surgeon  in 
charge  of  a  hospital  of  any  kind  in  this  country.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  mention  of  this  man  and  this  short  sketch 
of  his  career  ma\'  be  the  means  of  encouraging  some  col- 
ored boy  to  reach  after  greater  things. 


694  HEN  OF  liARK. 


CI. 

PROFESSOR  W.  H.  CROGMAN,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Professor  of  Classics  in  Clark  University. 

NOT  having  the  honor  of  a  personal  acquaintance  witb 
Professor  Crogman,  I  am  indebted  to  a  friend  who 
has  known  him  for  many  years,  and  who  can  speak  most 
truthfully  concerning  his  talents.  Yet  his  name  is  very 
familiar  with  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the  rise  and 
progress  of  the  younger  men  of  the  day,  who  have  at- 
tained distinction  as  scholars  and  orators.  He  is  a  man 
of  considerable  learning,  and  holds  a  very  distinguished 
place  as  professor  of  classics  in  Clark  University,  Atlanta, 
Georgia. 

He  was  bom  on  the  Island  of  St.  Martin,  in  the  town  of 
Phillipsburg,  May  5,  1841.  In  his  fourteenth  year,  he 
came  to  the  United  States,  with  a  white  gentleman  named* 
Mr.B.L.  Boomer,  who  is  still  living  in  Campbells,  Massa- 
chusetts. He  had  the  privilege  of  attending  a  district 
school  during  the  winter  months  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  had  rare  opportunities  for  travel,  visiting  many  of  the 
principal  ports  in  Asia,  Europe,  Australia  and  South 
America.  With  the  start  in  knowledge  gained  in  the  dis- 
trict school,  supplemented  by  obserj'ations  in  his  journeys,. 


W.  H.  CROGMAN.  695 

he  was  able  to  turn  his  vast  amount  of  information  to 
good  account ;  and  the  experience  which  he  gained  in  this 
way  proved  of  great  value  to  him  in  broadening  and 
strengthening  his  mind,  and  at  the  same  time  giving  him 
mental  drill,  which  fitted  him  for  his  present  labors. 
Shortly  after  the  closing  of  the  war  he  entered  Pierce 
Academy,  Middleborough,  Massachusetts,  under  the  prin- 
cipalship  of  Professor  J.  W.  R.  Jenks.  Here  he  took  a  thor- 
ough academic  course  under  the  best  tutors,  in  preparation 
for  the  work  in  the  South,  to  which  field  the  voice  of  duty 
and  the  sympathies  of  a  generous  nature  drew  him.  He 
entered  upon  this  work  in  1870,  and  served  for  three  years 
as  a  successful  teacher  in  the  Claflin  University,  Orange- 
burg, South  Carolina. 

Feeling  the  need  of  a  more  extended  course  of  study  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  work  in  his  chosen  profession, 
he  entered  Atlanta  University,  in  October,  1873,  and  grad- 
uated in  the  first  college  class  sent  out  from  that  institu- 
tion in  1876.  The  same  year  he  became  connected  with 
Clark  University,  where  he  still  remains  as  senior  professor. 
As  a  teacher,  Professor  Crogman  is  able  and  successful. 
Bv  broad  studv  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors,  his  mind 
has  become  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  clas- 
sical writers,  and  his  knowledge  and  enthusiasm  as  a 
teacher  kindles  a  deep  interest  in  his  pupils.  As  a  public 
speaker.  Professor  Crogman  has  gained  considerable  dis- 
tinction. He  is  master  of  a  clear,  elegant  stj-le;  his  deliv- 
ery is  easy  and  forcible,  and  a  vein  of  natural  humor  run- 
ning through  his  whole  discourse  gives  him  power  to  hold 
the  close  attention  of  an  audience  to  his  thoughtful  and 


696  MEN  OF  MARK. 

well  balanced  addresses.  By  special  invitation  he  has 
given  addresses  before  the  American  Missionarj"  Associa- 
tion at  Chicago,  and  at  the  anniversary  of  the  Freedmen's 
Aid  Society  of  the  M.  E.  church  at  Ocean  Grove.  He  has 
the  distinction,  as  a  layman,  of  having  been  invited  to  fill 
the  pulpit  of  the  late  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  of  Ply- 
mouth Church,  Brooklyn,  New  York,  which  he  did  on  two 
occasions  with  success,  the  morning  and  evening  of  Octo- 
ber 14,  1883.  The  following  extract  is  taken  from  his 
evening  discourse,  which  shows  his  forcible  style  and  fealty 
also  to  the  Negro  race,  and  at  the  same  time  presses  home 
the  fact  that  the  Negroes  are  patriotic : 

There  has  not  been  a  single  war  waged  in  defense  of  this  government 
in  which  the  Negro  has  not  periled — yea,  given  his  life  for  the  government. 
The  battlefields  of  the  Revolution  and  the  Rebellion  bear  witness  alike  to 
his  courage,  his  patriotism  and  his  loyalty.  The  military  leaders  of  this 
country  bear  witness.  Washington  bore  witness.  Jackson  at  New  Or- 
leans bore  witness. 

Scores  of  officers  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  bore  witness.  The  N^ro 
fought  in  common  with  you  to  found  this  government.  He  fought  in 
^  common  with  j'ou  to  perpetuate  this  govertftient.  The  Negro  h&s  been 
found  on  the  side  of  liberty  and  good  government.  Hanged  in  the  streets 
of  New  York  by  an  infuriated  mob ;  snubbed  and  mocked,  buflfeted  and 
spit  upon ;  put  like  a  leper  outside  the  gate  of  American  society,  he  has 
never  for  a  moment  deserted  the  Union,  but  has  clung  to  it  with  unyield- 
ing tenacity  and  unwavering  devotion.  The  world  furnishes  no  parallel 
to  the  conduct  of  the  Southern  Negro  during  the  Rebellion.  With  a  re- 
markable degree  of  that  Christian-like  spirit  which  could  call  down  bene- 
dictions upon  his  enemies,  which  could  touch  and  heal  the  ear  cut  off  by 
the  sword  of  Peter,  the  Negro,  during  the  four  years  of  that  terrible 
struggle,  when  every  man  and  boy  able  to  bear  arms  had  been  forced  to 
the  front  by  stern  necessity,  remained  at  home  and  cared  tenderly  for 
the  helpless  wives  and  children,  who  were  at  that  time  fighting  to  festen 
more  tightly  the  fetters  on  his  limbs,  and  to  found  an  empire  whose  cor- 


W.  H.  CROGMAN  .  697 

-iicr-6tone  should  be  his  perpetual  enslavement  and  degradation.  Never- 
theless, in  the  heated  debates  that  arose  a  few  years  after  over  the  Civil 
lights  Bill,  a  certain  member  of  Congress  referred  to  this  very  remark- 
able and  very  humane  conduct  of  the  black  man  as  proof  of  his  utter 
worthlessness,  umnanliness  and  cowardice.  I  thank  God  for  that  cow- 
ardice. I  thank  God  for  that  unmanliness.  I  thank  God  that  the  Negro 
was  too  much  of  a  coward  to  cut  the  throats  of  the  helpless  women  and 
children. 

These  two  lectures  have  been  printed  in  pamphlet  form, 
and  highly  commended  for  the  forcible  manner  in  which 
he  presents  the  wrongs  and  disabilities  of  the  race. 

At  the  National  Association  of  Teachers,  at  Madison, 
Wisconsin,  he  was  a  delegate  from  Georgia,  and  his  ad- 
dress gained  high  praise  from  the  press,  and  was  published 
in  fall  in  the  report  of  the  association.  He  has  also  de- 
livered addresses  before  the  great  summer  gatherings  at 
Chautauqua  Island  Park. 

Professor  Crogman  is  above  reproach ;  his  integrity  and 
Christian  manliness  have  gained  for  him  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  all  with  whom  he  associates.  He  has  on  two 
occasions  represented  the  Savannah  Conference  in  the  gen- 
eral Conference  of  the  M.  E.  church,  in  which  bodv  he  is 
an  honored  lavman.  In  1884,  he  acted  as  one  of  the  sec- 
retaries  of  the  General  Conference,  rendering  efficient  ser- 
vice in  that  important  position.  He  has  been  secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  in  Clark  Universitv  since  the  or- 
ganization  of  the  board.  His  devotion  to  the  chair  of 
<!lassics,  led  him  to  decline  the  presidency  of  an  important 
institution  in  the  South,  which  was  urged  upon  him.  He 
was  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Bishops  of  the  M.  E. 


698  MEN  OP  MARK. 

church  as  a  delegate  to  the  Ecumenical  Council  of  Metho- 
dism held  in  London. 

A  poor  boy  cast  out  upon  the  world  in  early  life,  he  has, 
through  the  providence  of  God,  the  assistance  of  good 
fi-iends,  and  application  to  the  rules  of  honesty,  industry 
and  integrity,  reached  a  high  position,  achieving  for  him- 
self a  position  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  worthy  of  emu- 
lation, respect  and  honor.  He  has  a  future  large  with 
success,  and  with  brilliant  prospects  laid  out  before  htm. 


B.  K.  BRUCE. 


BLANCHE  K.  BRUCE.  699 


CII. 

SENATOR  BLANCHE  K.  BRUCE. 

United  States  Senator— Register  of  the  United  States  Treasury. 

WHEN  in  Old  Virginia,  March  1, 1841,  a  little  babe 
was  bom  and  named  Blanche  K.  Brace,  it  did  not 
move  the  world ;  few  knew  of  the  little  slave  boy,  and  his 
childhood  days  were  not  marked  with  unusual  brilliancy 
and  wisdom,  nor  with  the  buoyancy  that  fills  young  minds. 
Hard  and  toilsome  was  the  lot  of  this  boy,  and  the  mantle 
of  slavery  so  enveloped  him  that  he  could  not  see  beyond. 
His  opportunities  for  education  were  very  limited,  for 
when  a  better  day  dawned  on  the  four  million  souls  in 
cruel  bondage,  B.  K.  Bruce  was  a  young  man.  Still  not 
ashamed  to  be  striving  for  the  privileges  which  previously 
had  been  withheld,  Mr.  Bruce  entered  Oberlin  College  and 
pursued  there  an  elective  course.  This  awakened  in  the 
young  man  the  dormant  thirst  for  knowledge  and  a  desire 
for  the  practical  application  of  such. 

With  this  determination  he  gave  himself  up  to  improve- 
ments in  every  avenue  of  learning,  and  thus  his  life  was 
passed  in  partial  obscurity,  until  the  year  1868,  when  he 
entered  into  publt  life  in  tljie  State  of  Mississippi.  He  first 
went  into  6aved  annually  eigii^r  and  every  material  inter* 


700  MEN  OF  MARK. 

est  of  that  State  was  of  interest  to  this  young  man.  He 
displayed  from  the  first  of  his  sojourn  there  those  qual- 
ities which  so  peculiarly  fitted  him  for  the  positions  of  honor 
and  trust  that  afterwards  give  him  such  marked  prominence 
in  his  public  career.  In  1870  he  was  elected  sergeant-at- 
arms  of  the  State  Senate  of  Mississippi,  and  he  made  use 
of  this  close  contact  with  leading  men  of  that  State  to 
better  develope  the  '^judgment,  tact  and  executive  ability 
which  have  so  signally  characterized  his  after  life.''  In 
1871,  in  Bolivar  county,  he  was  appointed  assessor  of 
taxes,  and  the  following  year  he  was  elected  to  fill  the  office 
of  sheriff  and  assessor  which  were  consolidated.  The 
same  year  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Levee 
Commissioners  of  the  Mississippi  river.  In  1874,  without 
the  opposition  of  another  candidate,  he  was  re-elected  to 
these  same  official  trusts. 

Soon,  however,  the  country  needed  the  services  of  this 
son  in  a  more  exalted  station,  and,  in  February,  1874,  he 
was  elected  to  represent,  in  the  United  States  Senate,  the 
the  highest^good  of  his  adopted  State.  On  the  fourth  of 
March,  1875,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  **  highest  council  of 
the  Nation."  In  this  body  he  showed  remarkable  fore- 
thought and  wisdom,  always  speaking  to  the  point  and 
saying  the  right  thing  in  the  right  place,  defending  his  race 
an  3  advocating  its  rights  with  all  the  loyalty  of  a  true 
American  citizen. 

His  first  address  to  the  Senate  was  delivered  in  1876, 
when  this  body  was  considering  the  resolution  offisred  by 
Oliver  P.  Morton,  concerning  the  app^*  ^tment  of  a  com- 
mittee to  investigate  the  ele  ^  ^uth.    His 


BLANCHE  K.  BRUCE.  701 

Speech  showed  clearly  his  view  of  Southern  politics  and 
his  disapproval  of  their- workings.  His  duty  to  his  country 
did  not  conflict  with  his  duty  to  his  race.  Whenever  the 
test  came,  with  wonderful  clear-sightedness  did  B.  K,  Bruce 
make  a  clean  record  and  the  whole  six  years  of  his  sena- 
torial life  is  without  a  stain. 
Says  the  Detroit  Plaindealer  : 

When  the  Chinese  Immigration  Bill  was  before  the  Senate,  and  all  the 
party  leaders  on  both  sides  of  the  Senate  were  taking  their  stand  for  and 
against  the  bill,  all  eyes  were  seemingly  turned  to  the  Senator  from  Mis- 
sissippi, who  it  was  thought  would  find  it  his  duty  as  a  statesman  in 
conflict  with  his  duty  to  his  race,  or  at  least  would  meet  with  some  embar- 
rassment on  that  question  by  having  to  play  the  difficult  role  of  Ameri- 
can and  Negro.  But  when  the  test  came  and  he  was  called  upon  to  record 
his  vote  on  that  question,  he  made  an  impromptu  speech  of  a  single  sen- 
tence, which  silenced  the  solicitude  that  hung  upon  his  choice.  It  waB 
this:  "Mr.  President,  I  desire  to  submit  a  single  remark.  Representing 
as  I  do  a  people  who  but  a  few  years  ago  were  considered  essentially 
disqualified  from  enjoying  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  American  cit- 
zenship,  and  who  have  since  been  so  successfully  introduced  into  the  body 
politic,  and  having  a  large  confidence  [in  the  strength  and  assimilative 
power  of  our  institutions,  I  shall  vote  against  this  bill." 

Says  the  same  paper : 

This  speech  was  wired  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  before  he  had 
taken  his  seat  his  fellow  Senators  crowded  around  him  and  congratu- 
lated him  upon  his  significant  remarks. 

He  often  presided  over  the  Senate,  and  was  chairman  of 
many  important  committees.  His  efficient  services  ren- 
dered in  a  committee  to  oversee  the  affairs  of  the  Freed- 
man's  Bank  are  worthy  of  note,  as  his  watchcare  and 
diligence  saved  annually  eight  thousand  dollars  to  the  poor 


'702  MEN  OP  MARK. 

depositors,  and  he  also  provided  a  way  for  dividend  pay- 
ment in  this  same  bank. 

The  twenty-fourth  of  June,  1878,  Senator  Bruce  married 
Miss  Josephine  B.  Wilson  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  made  a 
bridal  tour  through  the  principal  cities  of  Europe,  where 
marked  attention  were  shown  the  young  couple  from  for- 
eign nobility  and  distinguished  residents,  among  whom 
were  Minister  Welsh  at  London,  and  Minister  Noyes  at 
Paris.  Mrs.  Bruce  is  a  remarkable  woman,  wonderfully 
fitted  to  command  the  dignity  and  respect  of  her  position, 
and  she  presides  over  her  capital  residence  with  true 
womanly  grace,  making  it  a  fit  rendezvous  for  the  distin- 
guished circle  of  friends  with  which  she  and  her  husband 
have  been  so  closely  identified. 

Senator  Bruce  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Convention 
at  Chicago  and  temporarily  presided  over  that  body,  where 
was  present,  as  a  brother  delegate,  the  lamented  President 
Garfield.  After  the  expiration  of  his  Senatorial  office,  ex- 
Senator  Bruce  was  offered  the  mission  to  Brazil  and  the 
third  assistant  postmaster-generalship,  both  of  which  he 
refused. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  May,  1881,  President  Garfield 
appointed  him  register  of  the  United  States  treasury.  Here 
he  showed  the  same  wonderful  executive  ability  which  his 
previous  life  portrayed.  With  decision  and  readiness  did 
he  daily  decide  the  perplexing  questions  that  came  before 
him,  much  to  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction  of  his  co-work- 
ers and  friends. 

How  truly  does  the  life  of  the  illustrious  statesman  and 
leader  show  that 


( 


BLANCHE  K.  BRUCE.  703 

"  The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept, 
Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight ; 
But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 
Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night." 

It  was  truly  a  step  from  slavery  to  this  elevation,  to  that 
place  where  his  signature  made  worthless  paper  money. 
A  black  hand  to  write  his  name  across  the  face  of  paper 
and  give  it  credit,  not  only  at  home  but  in  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  the  hdnd  that  would  have  been  cut  off  had 
it  been  found  writing  his  name  before  the  war.  Marvelous 
changes.     **  What's  in  a  name  ?'*    There  was  money  in  his. 

Since  he  has  retired  from  political  life  he  has  devoted  his 
time  to  ledluring. 

The  Senator  has  named  a  little  boy,  who  has  come  into 
his  ^^^mily,  Roscoe  Conkling.  The  following,  a  good  reason 
for  so  doing,  went  the  rounds  of  the  press : 

Senator  Bruce  has  told  the  secret  of  his  admiration  for  Senator 
Conkling  as  follows :  **  When  I  came  up  to  the  Senate  I  knew  no  one  ex- 
cept Senator  Alcorn,  who  was  my  colleague.  When  the  names  of  the  new 
Senators  were  called  out  for  them  to  go  up  and  take  the  oath,  all  the 
others  except  myself  were  escorted  by  their  colleagues.  Mr.  Alcorn  made 
no  motion  to  escort  me,  but  was  buried  behind  a  newspaper,  and  I  con- 
cluded I  would  go  it  alone.  I  had  got  about  half  way  up  the  aisle 
when  a  tall  gentleman  stepped  up  to  me  and  said :  '  Excuse  me,  Mr. 
Bruce,  I  did  not  until  this  moment  see  that  you  were  without  an  escort. 
Permit  me.  My  name  is  Conkling,'  and  he  linked  his  arm  in  mine  and  we 
marched  up  to  the  desk  together.    I  took  the  oath  and  then  he  escorted 

me  l>ack  to  my  seat.  Later  in  the  day,  when  they  were  fixing  up  the 
committees,  he  asked  me  if  any  one  was  looking  after  my  interests,  and 

upon  my  informing  him  that  there  was  not  and  that  I  was  myself  more 
ignorant  of  my  rights  in  the  matter,  he  volunteered  to  attend  to  it,  and 
as  a  result  I  was  placed  on  some  very  good  committees  and  shortly  after- 
wards got  a  chairmanship.  I  have  always  felt  very  kindly  towards  Mr. 
Conkling  since,  and  always  shalL" 


704  MEN  OF  MASK. 


cm. 

J.  D.  BOWSER,  ESQ. 

Bditor  of  the  Gate  City  Press— Grain  and  Coal  Merchant — PrindpaT 
Lincoln  School. 

AT  Weldon,  North  Carolina,  February  15,  1846,  was 
bom  a  son  whose  career  as  a  citizen,  teacher,  poli- 
tician and  editor  has  been  renowned.    J.  D.  Bowser  was 

# 

the  son  of  free  parents,  and  as  the  opportunities  for  the 
education  of  the  Negro  in  the  South  were  very  limited, 
when  Mr.  Bowser  was  a  child  of  about  six  summers,  his 
father  removed  to  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  where  the  children 
might  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  public  schools  of  that 
State.    There  was  nothing  eventful  in  his  early  life. 

When  Mr.  Bowser  first  went  to  Kansas  City,  wealtL 
was  his  desire ;  his  whole  aim  was  to  devote  his  untiring 
energies  to  the  accumulation  of  property,  and  shortly 
after  he  arrived  in  his  new  home,  was  employed  as  a 
teacher  in  a  school  at  Westport;  and  in  1868,  when  the 
Hon.  J.  Milton  Turner  was  called  to  represent  the  United- 
States  as  minister  to  Liberia,  he  succeeded  him  as  princi* 
pal  of  Lincoln  school,  where  he  worked  for  eleven  years, 
until  he  removed  to  take  charge  of  a  school  in  Wyandotte, 
Kansas.    Two  years  later  he  was  appointed  to  a  positiott 


J.  D.  BOW8BR.  705 

in  the  mail  service,  where  he  remained  tor  four  years*  until 
the  election  of  Grover  Cleveland. 

He  is  an  important  factor  in  the  political  affairs  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  and  a  member  of  the  Republican  State 
Centra]  Committee  in  1885  and  '86.  His  voice  has  often 
been  heard  upon  the  stump  in  behalf  of  the  party  to  which 
he  gives  his  support,  and  he  has  done  good  service  in  the 
way  of  making  votes,  controlling  the  colored  people  in 
that  direction. 

A  sketch  of  him  was  recently  printed  in  A  Western  jour- 
nal, The  Kansas  City  Dispatch.  I  believe  Mr.  Bowser  is  a 
man  of  wonderful  reserve  power,  upon  which  he  has  the 
rare  faculty  to  draw  whenever  occasion  demands.  As  an 
orator  he  is  pointed,  fluent,  magnetic  in  repose,  rather  un* 
assuming  and  not  especially  prepossessing  in  appearance, 
and  exigencies  seem  only  to  call  out  the  forces  within  him. 
Whether  it  be  in  his  editorial  writings,  or  whether  it  be  in 
the  hustings,  upon  the  stump  before  the  people,  Mr. 
Bowser  has  at  his  immediate  command  a  rare  store-house 
of  knowledge  and  he  does  not  fail  to  draw  upon  it  with- 
out reserve  whenever  needed.  His  intellectual  powers  are 
above  the  average,  and  his  extensive  acquaintance  with 
literature  gives  him  many  apt  illustrations,  and  makes 
him  an  interesting  and  instructive  speaker. 

He  is  the  editor  of  the  Gate  City  Press,  one  of  the 
strongest  papers  in  the  United  States ;  and  it  is  the  mouth- 
piece of  the  colored  people  of  the  West,  being  a  strong 
advocate  of  all  questions  looking  toward  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  condition  of  our  race,  and  at  the  same  time 
discussing  with  judicial  fairness  every  issue  before  the 


706  MEN  OP  MARK. 

American  people.  He  never  fails  to  pursue  with  unabated 
vigor  any  person  or  thing  which  he  undertakes  to  antag- 
onize. His  paper  thoroughly  reflects  the  man.  As  a  re- 
ligious man  his  views  are  liberal ;  he  believes  that  right, 
because  it  is  right,  should  be  a  man's  master.  He  is  a 
most  ardent  defender  of  a  cause  his  judgment  thinks  right, 
and  nothing  will  make  him  change  his  honest  convictions. 
He  is  in  easy  financial  circumstances,  has  a  fine  residence, 
and  enjoys  his  wealth  and  social  standing  fully.  He  car- 
ries on  a  very  lucrative  trade  in  coal  and  grain,  and  ranks 
among  the  prominent  business  men  of  the  race.  In  1873, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Dora  J.  Troy  of  Xenia, 
Ohio,  a  cultured  woman  firom  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
distinguished  families  in  that  State. 


JESSE  FREEMAN  BOULDEN.  707 


CIV. 

REV.  JESSE  FREEMAN  BOULDEN. 

Member  of  the  Lower  House  of  the  Legislature  in  Mississippi  in  Recon- 
struction Times— Agent  of  the  American  Baptist  PnUication  Society. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  in  the  State  of 
Delaware,  October  8,  1820.  He  was  never  a  slave. 
His  parents,  Andrew  and  Theresa  Boulden,  were  under  that 
State  law  which  said  that  **  manumitted  and  recorded 
slaves*'  were  free  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  and  their 
children  at  eighteen  and  twenty-one,  so  that  his  parents 
had  only  one  slave  child  out  of  five.  This  law  of  Delaware 
was  a  good  one,  for  it  carried  with  it  the  inspiring  hopes 
of  freedom  to  every  slave  in  the  State,  not  only  to  them- 
selves but  to  their  children ;  yet  it  did  not  destroy  the  de- 
sire of  the  slaveholders  to  perpetuate  the  slavery  of  those 
emancipated  slaves.  So  when  his  oldest  brother  Benja- 
min was  nearing  his  majority,  they  plotted  to  deprive  him 
of  his  liberty  by  sending  him  South  before  his  time ;  but 
the  white  children  who  had  heard  the  old  folks  talk,  told 
him,  and  he  ran  away  and  went  to  Pennsylvania.  Of 
course  his  father  was  charged  with  persuading  him  to  do 
this  and  the  result  was  that  his  father,  with  all  his  familj-, 
followed  the  boy.    In  this  case  the  Scripture  seems  to  be 


708  MEN  OP  MARK. 

verified  **that  a  little  child  shall  lead  them."  After  locat- 
ing in  Philadelphia,  they  remained  there  for  about  eighteen 
years.  When  Jesse  arrived  at  the  age  for  schooling  he  en- 
joyed all  the  advantages  the  city  afforded,  through  the 
quakers,  for  several  years.  He  was  then  returned  to  Del- 
aware to  serve  an  apprenticeship,  the  indentures  specify- 
ing that  he  was  to  have  schooling.  He  was  granted  a 
part  of  this  and  notwithstanding  it  was  a  slave  State  he 
attended  a  mixed  school,  white  and  colored  both  attended. 
Sometimes  this  was  the  casein  those  States,  both  in  Marv- 
land  and  Delaware,  and  in  several  other  States  of  the 
South. 

After  coming  to  his  majority  he  attended  private  school. 
He  embraced  religion  in  February,  1834,  in  the  State  of 
Maryland.  In  1853  he  united  with  the  Union  Baptist 
church  at  Philadelphia  and  became  its  pastor,  remaining 
such  until  the  autumn  of  186Q,  when  he  resigned,  being 
called  to  Chicago  to  take  charge  of  what  was  known  as 
the  Zion  Baptist  church.  After  some  consideration  he 
agreed  to  accept  the  call,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  Jan- 
uary 1,  1861.  He  found  things  very  different  from  those 
he  left  behind.  There  were  two  ghosts  of  churches,  filled 
with  aristocracy  and  pride  on  the  one  hand,  and  ignorance 
and  vice  on  the  other.  These,  of  course,  are  the  parent  of 
division  and  dissension,  and  there  was  plenty  of  it  there. 
It  fell  to  his  lot  under  God  to  dissolve  these  two  bodies  and 
organize  what  has  since  been  known  as  the  Olivet  Baptist 
church,  which  subsequently  became  the**  Star  of  the  West" 
After  succeeding  in  this  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  resign.  He 
thought  it  best,  as  there  were  elements  which  did  not  har- 


JESSE  FREEMAN  BOULDEN.  709 

monize.  He  thought  under  another's  leadership  they  might 
succeed  better.  While  he  was  somewhat  mistaken  in  that, 
it  was  for  the  best  after  all,  for  they  secured  the  services 
of  Rev.  R.  De  Baptiste,  whose  sketch  is  found  elsewhere, 
^nd  who  appeared  to  be  the'*  right  man  in  the  right  place.*' 
This  prepared  him  for  an  unforeseen  event  that  was  to  take 
place  that  no  living  soul  dreamed  of,  which  was  the  death 
of  Rev.  J.  R.  Anderson  of  St.  Louis.  They  had  formed 
vefry  friendly  relations  with  each  other.  After  closing  his 
labors  with  the  Olivet  church  in  April,  1863,  he  went  home 
to  Philadelphia,  leaving  as  he  supposed  Brother  Anderson 
in  the  best  of  health,  as  he  had  just  previously  paid  him  a 
visit  in  St.  Louis.  Then  was  he  suddenly  called  back  to 
pay  the  church  a  visit  of  condolence  on  account  of  his  death. 
After  spending  three  months  with  them,  they  called  him  for 
their  pastor  and  he  accepted. 

These  were  eventful  times.  The  war  was  in  progress, 
and  the  Union  army  was  making  its  way  Southward,  and 
knowing  that  there  was  much  Baptist  element  in  the  South, 
he  felt  it  his  duty  to  look  after  it ;  so  he  worked  up  a  call 
of  the  Illinois  State  convention,  through  the  Wood  River 
Association,  meeting  at  Brooklyn,  Illinois,  February,  1864. 
But  few  met  at  that  time ;  but  enough  to  order  the  call 
for  a  convention  of  all  the  Baptists  in  the  northwest, 
meeting  at  St.  Louis,  in  the  Eighth  Street  Baptist  church, 
for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  importance  of  following 
up  the  army  and  looking  after  our  denomination  in  the 
southwest.  This  convention  met,  pursuant  to  the  call, 
and  seven  States  were  represented.  After  due  considera- 
tion,  a  northwestern  and    southern  Baptist  convention 


710  MBN  OP  MARK. 

was  organized,  which,  through  its  agent.  Rev.  William 
Troy,  explored  the  Mississippi  Valley  from  Detroit  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.    Knowing  that  for  many  years  the  Amer- 
ican Baptist  Missionary  convention  had  existed  in  the  east, 
and  they  Were  taking  care  of  the  east  and  the  southeast 
who  joined  the  Gulf  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  and  that  we, 
in  our  convention,  united  it  at  New  Orleans,  some  of  us 
thought  that  we  in  our  western  and  eastern  organization 
had  the  country'  surrounded,  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for 
the  two  to  consolidate  and  make  one  grand  National  body. 
This  was  effected  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  August,   1866. 
After  the  exploration  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  to  New  Or- 
leans, there  was  such  a  vast  field  open  for  laborers^  and  so 
few  that  had  the  disposition  to  enter  it ;  notwithstanding 
they  were  in  each  other's  way,  with  nothing  to  do,  Mr.  Boul- 
den  left  his  church  in  1865,  and  went  to  work  in  the  State 
of  Mississippi,  taking  Natchez  for  his  field.    Here  was  or- 
ganized what  is  no.w  known  as  the  Pine  Street  Baptist 
church,  but  then  the  Wall  Street  Baptist  church.    He  got 
up  the  first  petition  that  went  to  Congress  in  1865,  asking 
the  right  of  franchise,  and  the  first  Emancipation  celebra- 
tion which  took  place  Januarj''  1,  1866.    At  this  celebra- 
tion he  delivered  a  lecture  on  the  duty  of  the  hour.    After 
spending  two   years  at  Natchez,  he   very   mj-steriouslv 
brought  up  at  Columbus,  Mississippi,  his  present  home. 
Here,  like  at  Natchez,  he  found  more  to  do  than  to  preach 
to  the  people.    He  considered  it  his  duty  to  give  all  the  in- 
struction he  could  to  them.    He  was  one  of  the  leaders  in 
forming  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party  in  the 
northeastern  part  of  Mississippi.    When  it  was  organized. 


JESSE  FREEMAN  BOULDEN.  711 

it  fell  to  his  lot  to  make  the  first  Republican  speech  that 
was  ever  made  in  the  court-house.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  first  Republican  convention  held  in  the  State,  which  met 
at  Vicksburg,  July,  1867. 

When  the  party  was  preparing  for  election  in  1869, 
he  was  brought  out  against  his  will  as  a  candidate, 
and  was  elected  to  the  Lower  House  of  the  Legislature.  He 
first  inquired  of  himself  what  was  to  be  done ;  after  look- 
ing about  for  some  time,  he  concluded  that  one  thing  was 
to  get  a  colored  man  as  near  the  President  as  possible ;  he 
concluded  that  the  United  States  Senate  was  the  place  for 
him.  When  the  time  came,  he  opened  the  fight  in  that 
direction.  They  met  in  a  ten  days*  session  to  inaugurate 
the  Governor  and  elect  a  United  States  Senator,  and  do 
such  other  things  that  might  be  necessary,  prepar- 
atory to  the  meeting  of  Congress.  Here  he  met  the 
Honorable  B.  K.  Bruce,  whom  he  had  known  in  St. 
Louis ;  he  was  the  only  one  he  knew  that  was  in  a  posi- 
tion to  do  him  any  good,  and  he  did  more  than  any  other 
man  to  get  him  elected  sergeant-at-arms  to  the  State  Sen- 
ate. This  was  a  stepping-stone  to  his  present  position. 
There  were  three  senators  to  be  elected ;  one  for  six  years, 
one  for  five  and  one  for  two;  and  Mr.  Boulden  claimed 
that  the  short  term  belonged  to  the  colored  people,  and 
contended  for  it.  After  he  opened  the  argument  in  the  cau- 
cus, there  were  others  to  form  in  line,  and  quite  a  number 
of  aspirants,  and  H.  R.  Revels  was  the  fortunate  one.  He 
has  the  honor  of  being  the  first  colored  man  that  filled  the 
speaker's  position  in  the  State  of  Mississippi,  if  not  in  any 
other  State.    He  was  appointed  a  trustee  of  the  State 


712  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Normal  School,  also  of  the  Alcorn  University.  Since  this, 
he  has  filled  the  pastorate  of  the  Nineteenth  Street  Baptist 
church  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

In  the  year  1883  he  edited  the  Baptist  ReBector,  at 
Columbus,  Mississippi.  Looking  over  an  old  copy  of  this 
issue,  we  find  letters  fi-om  Rev.  G.  W.  Dupee  of  Kentucky; 
H.  H.  White  of  Little  Rock,  Arkansas;  John  Bullock, 
student  of  Alcorn  University;  also  apoemof  Mr.Boulden's 
composition,  on  the  death  of  Elder  J.  R.  Anderson,  pastor 
of  the  Eighth  Street  Baptist  church,  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
1863.  He  is  now  filling  a  position  as  general  agent  of  the 
American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  for  the  State  of 
New  York,  with  duties  assigned  for  the  State  of  Mississippi. 


WILrLIAM  T.  DIXON.  713 


CV. 

REV.  WILLIAM  T.  DIXON. 

'Veteran  Pastor  of  the  Concord  Baptist  Church,  Brooklyn,  New  York* 

THE  parents  of  this  gentleman,  George  H.  and  Frances 
R.  Dixon,  were  Virginians  who  had  taken  up  their 
abode  in  New  York  City  a  few  years  previous  to  the  birth 
of  their  son  William,  which  occurred  September  8,  1833. 
The  death  of  the  mother  in  1836  deprived  him  at  a  very 
tender  age  of  that  most  potent  influence,  maternal  oversight 
and  affeAion.  At  the  age  of  seven  he  was  admitted  into 
the  colored  public  schools,  afterwards  known  as  Colored 
Grammar  school  No.  1,  of  which  the  renowned  educator, 
John  Peterson,  was  master.  Here  he  remained  until  he 
^vas  fifteen  years  old.  He  was  then  employed  for  several 
years  as  monitor  or  pupil  teacher,  and  subsequently  that 
of  assistant.  In  1851  he  was  brought  to  a  knowledge  of 
saving  faith,  and  shortly  afterward  united  by  baptism 
-with  the  Abyssinian  Baptist  Church  of  New  York  during 
the  pastorate  of  Rev.  J.  T.  Raymond. 

In  1854  he  received  an  appointment  as  teacher  in  a  school 
at  Stonington,  Connecticut,  where  he  remained  in  charge 
for  two  years.    Thence  he  removed  to  Baltimore  to  assist 


714  MEN  OF  MARK. 

in  the  High  school  founded  bjrthe  Rev.  Chauncey  Leonard.- 
Later,  Mr.  Dixon  established  a  school  in  the  same  city, 
which,  during  the  short  period  of  two  years,  increased  in 
numbers  from  four  to  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils. 
Notwithstanding  his  popularity  and  success  in  Baltimore, 
circumstances  compelled  him  to  sever  his  connection  with 
his  school. 

During  this  period  he  married  a  Miss  Matilda  A.  Wilson. 
A  brief  space  of  nine  years  was  marked  by  mingled  joy  and 
sorrow.  The  extremes  of  life's  experience  were  realized 
and  endured.  The  limits  of  the  home  circle  expanded  to- 
include  five  children,  but  death  made  them  motherless  and 
deprived  their  father  of  his  estimable  wife.  Subsequently 
he  became  united  to  his  present  faithful  helpmate,  formerly 
Mrs.  A.  C.  Fraser  of  Arlington,  Virginia. 

From  1860  to  1863  Mr.  Dixon  was  principal  of  a  public 
school  in  Flushing,  Long  Island.  By  this  time  he  had 
already  taken  initial*  steps  toward  entering  the  ministry 
and  had  received  his  license  to  preach  at  the  hands  of  Rev. 
William  Spellman.  In  the  fall  of  1863,  a  year  memorable 
in  many  respects,  he  was  invited  to  assume  the  charge  of 
the  Concord  Church  of  Christ  at  Brooklyn,  Long  Island. 
He  accepted  this  call,  and  having  been  ordained  December 
17  of  that  year,  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  pastorate 
and  is  still  actively  employed  discharging  the  same  in  the 
enlarged  and  manifold  form  into  which  they  have  gradually 
increased  and  expanded. 

The  career  of  the  subjcift  of  our  sketch  furnishes  an  ex- 
ample and  fitting  illustration  of  the  potency  of  that  hid- 
den stimulus,  that  unconscious  influence,  that  unseen  guid- 


WILLIAM  T.  DIXON.  715 

ing  principle  that  contributes  so  largely  to  the  beautifying 
or  distortion  tif  linaian  charadler,  an  influence  that  is  none 
the  less  powerful  because  it  is  so  often  overlooked  or  un- 
derrated in  estimating  a  man's  worth  and  importance. 
With  a  full  assurance  of  the  obligation  to  assume  the  oner- 
ous duties  of  a  minister,  with  enlarged  views  of  the  nature 
and  responsibility  of  the  sacred  calling,  with  firm  reliance 
on  the  promise  of  divine  aid  from  the  Master  in  whose  ser- 
vice he  has  enlisted,  he  has  become  absorbed  in  the  en- 
deavor to  make  people  better,  surely  wiser,  and  happier 
possibly.  To  this  end  he  brings  to  bear  an  indomitable 
physical  vigor,  a  keen  insight  into  the  needs  and  deficien- 
cies of  human  nature,  and  steady  enthusiasm,  which  is  a 
matter  of  temperament,  not  of  years,  and  which  has  made 
and  is  still  making  his  later  efforts  as  valuable  and  telling 
as  the  first  fruits  of  early  endeavor  that  were  ripened  by 
the  generous  fervor  of  ardent  impulse.  He  habitually 
exercises  rapidity  and  energy  in  mental  action  and  posses- 
ses that  broad  and  delicate  sympathy  that  is  one  of  the 
highest  and  most  unerring  of  the  intuitive  forces  that  di- 
rect the  activities  of  life.  His  wonderful  infusing  power 
enables  him  so  successfully  to  restore  the  flagging  energies 
of  those  who  falter  or  grow  weary  in  the  struggle  of 
existence,  and  his  extraordinary  power  of  distribution  or 
facility  in  laying  hold  of  persons,  discerning  the  nature  and 
extent  of  their  moral  distempers,  and  selecting  and  apply- 
ing with  due  care  and  suitable  caution  the  proper  avail- 
able remedies,  giving  to  each  justwhat  is  needed  and  at 
the  right  moment,  assists  immeasurably  his  leading  dis- 
position, to  help,  to  elevate,  to  reform,  to  convert. 


716  MEN  OF  MARK. 

To  these  exceptional  powers  are  enjoined  an  ability  to 
organize,  to  conserve  forces,  to  kindle  and  keep  alive  a 
spirit  of  lively  enthusiasm,  tempered  with  sterling  good 
sense.  He  attaches  his  followers  closely  to  himself  per- 
sonally, and  still  more  closely  to  the  truth  in  which  he  is 
a  devout  believer,  and  of  which  he  is  an  earnest  advocate. 
His  special  distinction  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  knows  he 
has  something  to  give,  something  everybody  needs  and 
which  cannot  fail  to  do  them  good.  He  therefore  occu- 
pies himself  with  working  practical  problems,  not  with 
puzzling  over  imaginary  ones,  and  bravely  faces  human 
nature,  striving  to  look  at  humanity  as  his  Master  re- 
gards it,  with  that  infinite  compassion  so  consoling  to  the 
faithful  and  so  touchingly  rebuking  to  the  wilful  and 
obdurate. 

The  history  of  the  Concord  church  is  the  narration  of 
the  mental  and  moral  growth  of  the  colored  people  of 
Brooklj'n.  From  small  beginnings,  its  rise  has  been 
steady ;  its  development  normal  and  harmonious,  and  to- 
day it  stands  on  a  financial  basis,  with  an  honorable 
reputation  and  in  a  condition  of  spiritual  prosperity,  that 
does  infinite  credit  to  the  organization  directly,  and  indi- 
fectly  to  the  great  body  of  Christians  of  which  it  is  a  cor- 
porate part.  It  has  become  a  centre  from  which  civilizing, 
educating  and  elevating  influences  have  radiated  to  the 
farthest  limits  of  its  environs.  The  animating  spirit  that 
imder  divine  providence  has  made  such  a  state  of  affairs 
to  exist  is  that  of  the  faithful  pastor  called  to  preside  over 
the  work.  He  has  exerted  personal  appeal,  he  has  given 
personal  instruction,  he  has  expounded  and  reiterated  the 


WILTJAM  T.  DIXON.  71T 

thrilling  truths  of  the  gospel,  but  he  has  not  stopped ;  he 
has  seized  upon  all  legitimate  means ;  pressed  into  services 
all  available  influences  to  keep  fresh  and  enduring  the  im- 
pressions of  God,  truth  and  eternity  he  has  striven  so 
zealously  to  effect.  Thus,  incidentally  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  greater  work  of  saving  souls,  he  has  accomplished 
much  towards  the  improvement  of  the  manners,  address 
and  homes  of  those  in  whose  behalf  he  labors.  He  has 
lived  and  taught  a  religion  designed  to  make  people  com- 
fortable and  happy  in  a  temporal  sense  as  well  as  nobler 
and  better  spiritually.  That  the  labors  of  such  a  man 
should  gain  recognition,  that  he  should  be  thoroughly 
identified  with  all  thq  movements  of  reform,  that  he  should 
be  a  leading  exponent  of  the  thought  and  culture  of  the 
thoughtful  and  cultured  part  of  the  community  in  which 
he  works,  is  a  most  natural  sequence. 

In  the  affairs  of  public  education  he  takes  a  genuine, 
cordial  interest.  Although  filling  no  official  position,  he  is 
as  intimately  concerned  in  the  affairs  relating  to  the  edu- 
cational welfare  of  colored  children,  his  opinions  are  as 
fully  respected  and  his  advice  is  eagerly  sought.  In  the 
temperance  reform,  in  the  literary  movements,  he  is  among 
those  who  give  tone  and  color  to  public  sentiment.  By 
sympathy  and  tradition  he  naturally  belongs  to  the  Re- 
publican party,  but  latterly  he  allied  himself  with  the  Pro- 
hibitionists. Being  from  conviction  a  radical  in  the  cause, 
he  throws  the  weight  of  his  influence  on  the  side  of  those 
actively  engaged  in  the  suppression  of  the  liquor  traffic 
and  in  a  crusade  against  the  liquor  habit.  He  views  the 
subject  from  the  high  standpoint  of  the  moral  effect  it  has, 


718  MEN  OF  MARK. 

not  only  in  its  excesses  but  in  its  more  insidious,  because 
more  attractive  phases. 

The  sister  churches  of  the  Baptist  denomination  hold 
this  man  in  the  esteem  he  deserves,  and  accord  to  him  the 
honor  and  consideration  he  merits.    He  enjoys  the  confi- 
dence of  his  associate  brethren,  and  the  clergy  at  large. 
At  one  time  he  was  appointed  the  preacher  to  deliver  the 
introductory  sermon  before  the  noted  divines  comprising 
the  Long  Island  Baptist  Association.    Formerly  the  presi- 
dent, he  now  holds  the  office  of  corresponding  secretary  of 
the  Northeast  Baptist  Missionary  convention.    He  is  also 
the  secretary  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  Cemetery  Associa- 
tion.   His  life  ftdl  of  the  desire  for  the  salvation  of  human- 
ity that  has  enabled  its  possessor  to  perform  arduous, 
exacting  toil  with  patience,  glad  at  all  times  for  the  privi- 
lege of  being  the  hunlble  instrument  to  carry  the  divine 
message  to  some  benighted  soul.    The  career  of  such  a 
man  is  worthy  of  more  than  the  passing  limits  out  this 
sketch  affords.    Thousands  have  blessed  the  day  he  was 
bom,  and  acknowledged  him  as  the  author  of  their  hopes, 
.and  may  many  more  days  be  given  this  beloved  brother. 


MATTHEW  CAMPBBI^I^.  719 


CVI. 

REV.  MATTHEW  CAMPBELL. 

One  of  God's  Servants  full  of  Years  and  Work  for  Christ— A  Thirty  Years 
•Pastorate— Married  Two  Thousand  Couples. 

IN  telling  of  the  deeds  of  the  young  men  who  have  come 
to  the  front  since  slavery,  and  of  those  in  the  various 
departments  of  life,  I  have  not  thought  it  well  to  forget 
that  class  of  old  men  who  have  created  very  little  excite- 
ment in  the  world  outside  of  their  own  immediate  neighbor- 
Tiood,  and  yet  who  quietly  have  added  to  the  great  reser- 
voir of  good  which  has  been  accomplished.  Manj'  of  these 
Tnen  who  have  done  signal  service  have  never  had  their 
names  heralded  in  the  newspapers,  nor  have  they  even  filled 
exalted  stations  in  their  denominations,  but  have  quietly, 
year  after  year,  been  the  means  of  conversions  of  thou- 
sands of  souls,  and  in  the  da}*^  when  **  Christ  shall  makeup 
his  jewels''  then  these  men  will  shine  as  the  brightest 
among  them  all. 

As  this  book  is  to  furnish  examples,  rather  than  exalt  any 
particular  individual,  it  would  be  of  very  little  difference,  as 
far  as  the  purpose  of  the  book  is  concerned,  whether  they  are 
taken  from  one  city  or  from  one  State.  I  want  examples ; 
men  of  exemplary  lives ;  men  who  have  labored  for  God; 


720  MEN  OF  MARK. 

and  in  this  respect  I  care  very  little  as  to  whether  they  are 
graduates  from  colleges  of  learning  or  whether  they  have 
preached  the  gospel  in  an  unlettered  way.  I  am  after  re- 
sults, and  it  may  be  possible  too  that  many  of  these  men 
who  have  had  no  college  training  and  little  common  school 
training,  will  fill  higher  seats  in  heaven  than  those  whose 
heads  are  filled  with  the  classics  and  sciences  and  the  **olo- 
gies"  of  the  world. 

The  Rev.  Campbell  is  the  son  of  Jackson  and  Lucy  Camp- 
bell, both  of  whom  were  bom  and  reared  in  Madison 
county,  Kentucky,  and  were  slaves  of  one  Audley  Camp- 
bell. The  former  was  bom  January  15,  1797,  and  the  lat- 
ter in  the  year  1803.  Their  boy  **Matt"  was  bom  in 
Madison  county,  Kentucky,  September  1,  1823.  On  Sep- 
tember 16,  1841,  he  embraced  religion,  and  was  called 
under  the  influence  of  Rev.  Edmund  Martin,  a  colored  Bap- 
tist preacher,  who  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  church  over 
which  Mr.  Campbell  now  presides  at  Richmond,  Kentucky. 

When  Mr.  Campbell  was  converted  he  had  no  other 
thought  than  to  join  the  Baptist  church,  but  his  master, 
being  a  Methodist,  would  not  permit  him  to  follow  his 
own  inclinations,  neither  his  wife  nor  his  children  to  join 
any  other  church  than  that  to  which  his  master  belonged. 
He  began  to  preach  some  time  in  August,  1842.  January 
21,  1843,  he  married  Polly  Woods  Ballard.  The  following 
year,  1844,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  in  the  Methodist 
church.  His  late  master  died  in  1851,  and  in  1856  he 
joined  the  Baptist  church  and  was  baptized  by  Rev.  Jacob 
Bush,  of  Clark  county,  Kentucky,  the  second  pastor  of  the 
church  referred  to  above.    In  August,  1857,  he  was  or^ 


ill 

I 

t 

■■i 


I 


MATTHEW  CAMPBBLrL.  721 

dained  in  Lincoln  county,  Kentucky,  in  the  Tates  Creek 
Association  of  white  Baptists.  The  council  consisted  of 
Rev.  G.  W.  Broadus,  and  the  Rev.  Andrew  Broadus  of 
Louisville,  and  Rev  John  Higgins  of  Lincoln,  and  others^ 
all  white.  On  the  third  Sunday  of  June,  1858,  he  was 
called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Richmond  church,  and  has 
been  pastor  of  that  church  ever  since.  The  membership  of 
the  church  is  at  present  seven  hundred  and  ninety,  and  the 
value  of  his  church  property  about  seven  thousand  dollars. 
He  also  organized  a  church  at  New  Liberty  in  1869,  and 
preached  there  for  seven  years.  The  building  cost  about 
on.  thousand  dollars.  He  organized  the  Mt.  Pleasant 
church  in  1875,  and  the  value  of  the  property  is  about  two 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  Organized  two  other 
churches,  the  one  at  Otter  Creek  and  the  othier  at  Mt. 
Nebo. 

He  has  baptized  in  all  about  three  thousand  since  free- 
dom, and  married  over  two  thousand  couples;  preached 
the  funerals  of  over  four  thousand  persons.  This  is  a 
wonderful  work  for  one  man  who  has  lived  since  his 
birth  in  one  place,  and  shows  that  though  a  prophet  may 
be  without  honor  in  his  own  country,  that  in  this  case  the 
statement  seems  not  to  have  been  thoroughly  verified. 
When  he  first  embraced  religion  he  knew  nothing  in  the 
book  but  the  alphabet,  and  his  father  bought  him  an  old 
fashioned  elementary  spelling-book  out  of  which  he  secured 
instruction  by  means  of  the  white  children  to  whom  he 
applied.  What  a  fruitful  source  of  instruction  the  white 
children  of  the  South  were  to  many  of  our  old  **  fathers" 
and  "mothers."    In  their  innocence  they  did  not  compre- 


t22  MBK  OP  MARK. 

hend  that  they  were  putting  into  the  minds  of  Negroes  the 
lirighty  weapon  of  good.  God  seems  to  have  put  into  the 
hearts  of  these  children,  who  were  the  constant  companions 
of  slaves,  the  thought  to  assist  them  in  their  instruction. 
Unconsciously  they  were  doing  good,  and  even  in  the  midst 
of  bondage  were  preparing  a  great  many  people  for  free- 
dom by  teaching  them  to  read  and  write.  God  always  has 
away  of  helping  his  people.  Every  night  he  would  split 
pine  knots  and  make  a  light,  whereby  to  learn  his  lessons, 
and  every  Sunday  he  would  get  the  white  boys  under  his 
size  to  teach  him  his  lessons,  and  he  never  went  to  school 
a  day  in  his  life,  except  a  few  days  since  freedom. 

He  lives  in  the  midst  of  his  people,  honored  wherever 
known,  respected  by  white  and  colored,  beloved  by  the 
members  of  his  church,  and  esteemed  in  the  highest  man- 
ner as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


C.  C.  VAUGHN.  7^ 


CVII. 

REV.  C.  C.  VAUGHN. 

state  Grand  Chief  of  the  Independent  Order  Good  Samaritans  and  Daugh- 
ters of  Samaria— Preacher  and  Teacher. 

C.  C.  VAUGHN  was  bom  in  Dinwid die  county,  Virginiaj 
•  December  27,  1846.  His  parents  were  slaves  and 
were  owned  by  Theodoric  H.  Grigg,  who  sold  his  plantation 
in  1852,.  and  carried  all  his  slaves  to  Ohio  and  set  them 
free.  When  he  was  thirteen  years  old  he  was  left  an  or- 
phan, on  the  charities  of  the  world.  He  lived  with  his 
cousin,  who  was  a  farmer,  and  whose  residence  was  about 
six  miles  from  any  colored  settlement  or  school ;  hence  his 
advantages  for  tuition  were  very  poor.  He  labored  on  the 
farm  during  the  summer,  and  in  the  winter  was  sent  to 
school  this  long  distance.  By  crossing  lots  and  going 
through  the  woods  he  would  make  this  distance,  five  miles, 
but  so  anxious  was  he  to  learn  that  one  winter  he  only 
lost  three  days  during  the  term ;  one  for  sickness,  one  tur- 
key hunting,  and  one  from  high-water  which  kept  him  at 
home.  His  relative  did  everything  he  could  to  furnish  him 
w^ith  a  common  school  education,  and  young  Vaughn 
made  good  use  of  every  opportunity.  In  1861  and  1862 
he  worked  in  a  brick-yard ;  the  next  year  his  relative  moved 


724  MBN  OP  MARK. 

to  another  farm,  as  he  was  poor  and  only  a  renter,  and  he 
wished  to  get  nearer  school  advantages  for  the  benefit 
of  young  Vaughn.  In  1863,  by  the  permission  of  his 
cousin,  he  went  to  work  in  a  place  near  Troy,  Ohio,  and 
labored  on  Judge  Heywood's  farm  during  that  year.  In 
1864  he  enlisted  in  the  army  for  three  years,  and  was  as- 
signed to  company  F,  Thirteenth  regiment  United  States 
Colored  Heavy  Artillery.  He  was  transferred  to  company 
A,  and  promoted  to  the  position  of  orderly  sergeant,  and 
filled  the  duties  of  this  office  to  the  satisfaction  of  everv- 
body  concerned.  November  27,  1865,  he  was  mustered 
out  of  service.  Returning  home  with  a  little  money,  he 
entered  Liber  College,  Jay  county,  Indiana,  and  was  the 
only  colored  student  in  the  county.  His  effort  was  to  ex- 
cel for  this  reason,  and  the  young  man  was  never  lacking 
in  any  of  his  stivlies.  In  the  .vacation  of  1866,  he  was 
examined  in  Sidney,  Ohio,  and  securing  a  school,  taught  for 
three  months  for  one  hundred  dollars.  In  the  fall  he  re- 
turned to  Liber  College  and  spent,  a  j^ear  in  hard  study,  at 
the  end  of  which  he  appeared  before  the  public  on  com- 
mencement day,  with  an  oration;  the  subject  was:  **The 
Colored  Man's  Right  to  the  Ballot,*'  and  he  did  credit  to 
the  subject,  carrying  the  house  by  storm.  His  money  be- 
ing exhausted,  he  was  obliged  to  seek  a  field  of  labor  and 
his  course  was  not  yet  completed,  but  the  president  gave 
him  a  certificate  to  this  effect : 

This  is  to  certify  that  Mr.  C.  C.  Vaughn  has  attended  this  school  for 
several  sessions ;  he  is  active,  and  ambitious  to  excel,  and  has  made  good 
progress  in  his  studies.    I  regard  him  as  a  young  man  of  good  character 


C.  C.  VAUGHN.  725 

and  polite  habits,  and  he  is  entitled  to  the  confidence  and  esteem,  of  those « 
with  whom  he  may  have  to  deal. 

Ebbnbzbr  Tucker, 
President  Liber  College,  Indiana. 
July  11, 186T. 

After  leaving  school  he  worked  on  the  farm  through  har- 
vest, and  in  the  fall  he  went  to  Washington  county,  in  the 
hill  region,  and  was  examined  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  receiving 
a  two  years'  certificate,  and  engaged  to  teach  a  six  months 
school  in  Wesley  township  at  forty  dollars  a  month  and 
board.  Here  his  fame  went  out  as  a  good  teacher.  Dur- 
ing this  time  he  met  Dr.  E.  M.  Cravath,  who  was  then 
secretary  of  the  Freedman'sAid  Association,  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  April  14  he  received  a  communication  to  teach  in 
the  South  under  the  American  Missionary  Association, 
and  Western  Freedman's  Aid  Commission.  His  first  field 
of  labor  was  Cynthiana,  Kentucky,  a  very  hard  place  in 
which  to  stay  at  that  time  on  account  of  the  prejudice  ex- 
isting against  Northern  men ;  however,  he  remained  two 
years,  and  entered  school  again  at  Berea,  where  he  was 
compelled  to  labor  very  hard,  chopping  wood  and  sawing 
stove-wood  for  the  halls  and  acting  as  janitor  at  Howard's 
hall.  He  was  also  a  student-teacher,  and  by  these  means 
managed  to  remain  in  school  to  finish  his  course. 

Having  professed  a  hope  in  Christ  in  1869,  he  was  more 
able  to  stand  the  trials  of  life  and  undergo  the  hardships 
of  this  world.  In  December,  1873,  having  been  solicited 
by  a  fellow-student,  he  started  for  Greenville,  Mississippi, 
but  was  asked  by  Elder  J.  F.  Thomas  to  stop  in  Russell- 
ville  to  teach  a  school  at  the  colored  Baptist  church.    He 


726 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


accepted  the  honor,  and  commenced  his  school  January  12^ 
1 874,  and  his  labor  was  so  efficient  that  the  good  people 
of  Russellville  would  not  give  him  up,  and  he  still  has 
charge  of  the  public  school  at  this  writing— 1 887.  In  1875 
he  became  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  was  made 
clerk,  a  position  he  holds  at  the  present  day.  He  was 
licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  May,  1876.  Elder  Moses 
Harding  having  resigned  the  church  at  Allensville,  Ken- 
tucky,  recommended  the  young  preacher  to  the  confidence 
of  the  church.  He  accepted  the  call,  and  has  labored  since 
the  first  Sunday  of  June,  1876.  September,  1877,  he  was 
ordained  at  the  First  District  Association  in  Hopkinsville, 
Kentucky,  with  the  following  elders  in  council:  G.  W. 
Dupee,  Allen  Allensworth,  Moses  Harding,  Daniel  Jones, 
William  Howell,  J.  F.  Thomas,  E.  M.  Manion.  Since  this 
he  has  held  prominent  places  in  the  association  and  ob- 
tained honor  among  the  brethren.  He  is  still  pastor  of 
the  same  church.  In  1878  he  purchased  a  fine  piece  of 
property,  and  married,  January  1, 1879,  settling  in  Russell- 
ville, Kentucky. 

He  has  some  influence  in  the  political  arena,  and  was 
elected  chairman  on  the  State  Convention  of  Colored  Men 
held  in  Louisville,  in  1884,  where  he  gained  considerable 
reputation  as  a  parliamentarian,  being  able  to  govern  the 
convention  better  than  any  other  convention  ever  held  in 
the  State.  He  was  treasurer  of  the  District  Lodge  of  the 
Grand  United  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  for  six  years,  and  was 
elected  State  Grand  Chief  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Good  Samaritans  and  Daughters  of  Samaria  in  1883,  a 
position  he  still  holds  with  credit  and  honor.    At  Natchez^ 


C.  C.  VAUGHN.  727 

Misgissippi,  in  18d4»,  he  was  elected  R.  W.  N.,  vice-chief  of 
that  body,  and  was  placed  on  the  National  Executive 
committee. 

Whenever  he  comes,  before  the  people,  he  is  generally 
elected  to  all  positions  to  which  he  aspires.  In  1886  he 
was  elected  vice-assistant  moderator  of  the  General  As- 
sociation, after  receiving  sixty  odd  votes  for  the  first  place. 
He  is  a  man  beloved  bj'  everybody  and  very  popular  with 
all  classes.  He  has  led  a  pure  life,  filled  many  important 
situations,  and  preached  a  good  and  wholesome  Gospel. 
He  is  a  leader  in  every  good  work,  and  has  the  confidence 
of  the  white  people  in  his  State  and  communitv ;  an  able 
and  aggressive  man,  fearing  nothing  when  he  is'right.  In 
the  defense  of  his  people,  he  never  spares  himself;  he  is  an 
intense  race  man,  and  his  position  on  all  questions  touch- 
ing his  people  is  a  proper  one.  He  is  a  stalwart,  and  while 
he  is  a  Republican  in  principles,  he  nevertheless  demands 
fair  treatment  from  those  who  are  disposed  to  make  dif- 
ferences on  account  of  color.  It  may  appear  singular  that 
so  many  colored  preachers  are  in  politics  in  this  country ; 
but  our  people  being  an  ignorant  people  very  largely,  can- 
not read  the  newspaj^ers  and  know  the  positions  of  the 
parties,  and  consequently  they  are  dependent  upon  the 
preachers,  who  are  without  doubt  the  leading  element 
among  them.  Their  power  over  the  people  is  almost  un- 
limited, and  for  this  reason  the  good  man  can  do  much 
good,  and  the  bad  man  can  do  much  evil.  Mr.  Vaughn's 
outspoken  manner  has  made  him  very  acceptable  to  his 
own  people,  and  at  the  same  time  he  has  l>een  considered 


728  MBN  OF  MARK. 

rather  too  fast  by  some  of  the  rougher  elements  of  the 
white  people ;  but  no  sensible  man  would  blame  him  for 
defending  his  race.  He  has  a  vast  influence  in  the  southern 
counties  of  the  State,  and  his  future  is  hopeful  and  full  of 
brightness. 


HARVEY  JOHNSON. 


HARVEYJ0UN80N.  729 


CVIII. 

REV.  HARVEY  JOHNSON. 

Eminent  Baltimore  Pastor — Prominent  in  the  Councils  of  his  Church. 

FEW,  if  any,  abler  men  in  the  church  work  and  true 
representatives  of  progress  of  the  race  can  be  found 
than  Rev.  Harvey  Johnson,  pastor  of  the  Union  Baptist 
church  of  Baltimore.  He  was  bom  of  slave  parents, 
August  4, 1843,  in  Fauquier  county,  Virginia.  His  father's 
name  was  Thomas  Johnson.  His  mother's  name  was 
Harriet  Johnson.  There  was  nothing  eventful  in  his  early 
life.  He  was  always  of  a  religious  turn  of  mind,  but  was 
not  converted  until  he  was  over  twenty.  He  was  baptized 
by  Rev.  S.  W.  Madden,  in  Alexandria,  Virginia,  who  took 
him  to  Washington  and  entered  him  in  Wayland  Seminary, 
where  he  remained  studying  for  five  years,  being  aided  in 
part  by  friends  in  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  and  other- 
wise supporting  himself  by  laboring  during  vacation  as 
missionary  and  school  teacher,  under  the  Home  Mission 
Society.  The  first  school  he  attended  was  in  Alexandria, 
which  was  taught  by  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Glad- 
den, and  for  awhile  attended  a  school  kept  by  Quakers, 
in  Philadelphia.    He  entered  Wayland  Seminary  in  1868 


730  HEN  OF  HARK. 

and  graduated  in  1872,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
was  called  to  Union  Baptist  church,  Baltimore,  Maryland. 
It  then  had  a  membership  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty, 
and  now  has  nearly  twenty-two  hundred,  being  the  larg- 
est church  in  the  State.  He  has  been  pastor  of  this  church 
about  fifteen  years.  He  has  never  held  any  political  posi- 
tion, from  the  fact  he  never  took  any  part  in  politics,  ex- 
cept for  prohibition ;  he  has  labored,  however,  very  earn- 
estly in  trying  to  obtain  the  rights  of  the  race  as  citizens, 
which  has  brought  him  into  communication  with  a  large 
number  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  county.  Some  of  the 
measures  he  has  been  interested  in  securing  for  the  race 
are  the  following :  Opening  the  bar  to  colored  lawyers  in 
Baltimore ;  assisting  four  of  his  members  in  a  suit  against 
the  steamer  Sue.  The  case  was  won,  and  there  has  been  no 
trouble  to  get  proper  accommodations  in  traveling  on  all 
boats  sailing  out  from  Baltimore.  That  he  was  the  leader 
in  these  things  there  can  be  no  doubt.  He  has  been  much 
interested  in  the  cause  of  education,  and  especially  in  the 
young  men  of  the  race.  He  believes  in  an  educated  minis- 
try and  has  aimed  to  have  his  church  do  the  same ;  as  a 
result,  they  will  not  license  or  ordain  a  man  who  will  not 
study  and  prepare  himself  for  the  work.  Six  have  been 
ordained  and  sent  out. 

There  are  others  preparing  for  the  different  fields  in  life; 
four  for  the  ministry  and  two  for  law.  His  church  has 
contributed  largely  to  the  work  of  education  and  missions, 
raising  some  years  over  one  thousand  two  hundred  dollars 
for  the  purpose. 

He  is  a  life  member  of  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mis-^ 


HARYBY  JOHNSON.  731 

skm  Society ;  Kfe  director  of  the  Publication  Society; 
Life  member  of  the  Virginia  Baptist  State  conYcntion,  and 
also  of  New  England  Baptist  Missionary  conYention. 
He  recently  joined  the  Baptist  Congress  held  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore,  and  was  made  a  member  of  its  board  of  man- 
agers. He  has  been  honored  with  different  positions  in  the 
city;  was  elected  president  of  Ministerial  Union  of  this 
city,  consisting  of  all  denominations.  He  organized  the 
Maryland  Baptist  State  convention,  and  was  its  first 
president;  he  also  organiaed  the  Mutual  United  Brother- 
hood of  Liberty,  wrote  its*  constitution,  and  was  elected 
president  of  the  same.  He  has  served  for  a  term  as  vice- 
president  of  the  White  Baptist  Minister's  Conference  of 
this  city,  and  he  is  now  vice-president  of  Maryland  Baptist 
State  convention,  which  is  a,  body  of  white  and  colored 
churches.  He  has  written  and  published  several  sermons, 
which  have  been  commented  upon  in  most  praiseworthy 
terms  by  the  public  press,  especially  an  original  discourse 
on  the  '*  Equality  of  the  Father  and  the  Son.*'  He  is  not 
a  business  man  and  claims  no  wealth,  yet  he  is  the  owner 
of  two  fine  homes,  one  in  which  he  lives,  valued  at  three  or 
four  thousand  dollars ;  the  other,  a  farm  in  Virginia,  about 
eight  miles  fi'om  Richmond.  He  was  married  April  17, 
1877,  to  Miss  Amelia  E.  Hall,  of  Montreal,  Canada. 
Their  union  has  been  blest  with  three  children,  one  daugh- 
ter and  two  sons.  The  following  extract  has  appeared 
in  prominent  journals  from  time  to  time  concerning  his 
arduous  labors  and  successful  career.  The  Parkersburg, 
West  Virginia  Freeman  says : 


732  MBN  OF  MARK. 

Rev.  Harvey  Johnson,  the  pastor  of  North  Street  Baptist  church  in  this 
city  (Baltimore),  is  the  first  representative  colored  man,  who  has  cast 
his  future  political  fortunes  with  the  Prohibition  party  in  the  State  of  Mary- 
land. Mr.  Johnson  is  earnestly  exerting  his  characteristic  zeal  for  the 
u|^bi{]]dtng  of  the  new  party  of  his  choice,  and  in  an  able  speech  a  few 
Sunday  afternoons  ago,  at  a  Prohibition  meeting,  said  he  could  pledge 
two  hundred  votes  for  his  party  from  his  church. 

In  a  letter  to  the  National  Baptist,  he  wrote  as  follows : 

We  feel  our  improper  treatment  keener  than  any  tongue  can  tell; 
yes  it  gaUs  me  to  my  very  soul ;  our  friends  may  say,  '  we  are  to  for- 
^flwt  our  injuries;*  but,  my  dear  sir,  we  are  not  required,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  to  forgive  injuries  that  still  continue  to  be  inflicted.  I  under- 
stand  the  spirit  of  that  Scripture  to  be  that  we  are  to  forgive  past 
iiyuries,  and  those  that  cease  to  be  inflicted  and  that  are  repented  of. 
Now,  I  hold  that  our  injuries  have  neither  ceased  to  be  inflicted,  nor  are 
they  repented  of  Right  here,  in  thecity  of  Baltimore,  we  are  not  allowed 
to  teach  our  own  children  in  the  colored  schools.  I  hold  that  this  is  a 
.gross  injustice.  Shall  we  fot^ve  it  while  the  injustice  continues?  We 
have  separate  schools,  and  not  a  single  colored  teacher  allowed  to  teach, 
although  they  hold  certificates  qualifying  them  for  such  a  position. 


IRA  AU>RlDOB.  733 


CIX. 

IRA  ALDRIDGE. 

The  African  Tragedian — the  "  African  Rosdus." 

THE  name  of  Aldridge  has  always  been  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  list  of  Negro  actors.  He  has  indeed  be- 
come the  most  noted  of  them,  and  his  name  is  cited  as 
standing  first  in  his  calling  among  all  colored  persons  who 
have  ever  appeared  on  the  stage.  He  was  bom  at  Belaire, 
near  Baltimore,  in  1804.  In  complexion  he  was  dark 
brown,  and  with  heavy  whiskers;  standing  six  feet  in  height, 
-with  heavy  frame,  African  features,  and  yet  with  due  pro- 
portions ;  he  was  graceful  in  his  attitudes,  highly  polished 
in  manners.  In  liis  early  days  he  was  apprenticed  to  a 
ship  carpenter,  and  had  his  association  with  the  Germans 
on  the  western  shores  of  Maryland.  Here  he  became 
familiar  with  the  German  language,  and  spoke  it  not  only 
with  ease  but  with  fluency.  He  was  brought  in  contact 
with  Edmund  Kean,  the  great  actor,  in  1826,  whom  he 
accompanied  in  his  trip  through  Europe.  His  ambitioi|  to 
become  an  actor  was  encouraged  by  Kean,  and  receiving 
his  assistance  in  the  preparation,  he  made  his  appearance 
first  at  the  Royalty  Theatre  in  London,  in  the  character  of 


734  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Othello.  Public  applause  greeted  him  of  such  an  extraor- 
dinary nature,  that  he  was  billed  to  appear  at  the  Covent 
Garden  Theatre,  April  10,  1839,  in  the  same  character. 
After  many  years*  successful  appearances  in  many  of  the 
metropolitan  cities,  he  appeared  in  the  Provinces  with 
still  greater  success.  In  Ireland  he  performed  Othello,  with 
Edmund  Kean  as  lago.  In  1852  he  appeared  in  Germany 
in  Shakespearean  characters.  He  was  pronounced  excellent, 
and  though  a  stranger  "and  a  foreigner,  he  undertook  the 
very  difficult  task  of  playing  in  English,  while  his  whole 
support  was  rendered  in  the  language  of  the  country.  It 
is  said  that  until  this  time,  such  an  experiment  was  not 
considered  susceptible  of  a  successful  end,  but  nevertheless, 
with  his  impersonations  he  succeeded  admirably.  It  is 
said  that  the  king  of  Prussia  was  so  deeply  moved  with 
his  appearance  in  the  character  of  Othello,  at  Berlin,  that 
he  sent  him  a  congratulatory  letter,  and  conferred  upon 
him  the  title  of  chevalier,  in  recognition  of  his  dramatic 
genius,  and  informed  him  that  the  lady  who  took  the  part 
of  Desdemona  was  so  much  affected  at  the  manner  in 
which  he  played  his  part  that  she  was  made  ill  from  fnght 
and  the  reality  with  which  he  acted  his  part.  I  am  in- 
debted to  T.  Morris  Chester  for  a  sketch  which  he  has 
written  of  the  eminent  tragedian,  for  the  facts  which  I 
have  presented  in  this  article.  He  reports  that  a  dramatic 
critic  in  St.  Petersburg  informed  him  that  while  Aldridge 
was  great  in  Othello  he  was  still  greater  in  Shylock,  which 
he  declared  was  his  masterpiece;  but  popular  judgment 
in  European  cities  regarded  him  as  the  ideal  "Othello." 
Some  idea  of  the  character  of  his  acting  might  be 


HARYBY  ALDRIDGE.  735 

from  the  fact  tliat  the  lady  who  played  Desdemona  in  St. 
Petersburg,  became  very  much  alarmed  at  what  appeared 
real  passion  on  his  part,  in  acting  Othello ;  though  he  was 
never  rough  or  indelicate  in  any  of  his  acting  with  ladies, 
^^et  she  was  so  frightened  that  she  used  to  scream  with 
real  fear. 

It  is  said  that  on  another  occasion,  in  St.  Petersburg, 
that  in  the  midst  of  his  acting  in  scene  two,  act  five,  when 
he  was  quoting  these  words  : 

It  is  the  cause,  it  is  the  cause,  my  soul ; 

Let  me  not  name  it  to  you,  yon  chaste  stars  ? 

It  is  the  cause— yet  1*11  not  shed  her  blood, 

Nor  scar  that  whiter  skin  of  her's  than  snow, 

And  smooth  as  monumental  alabaster. 

Yet  she  must  die,  else  she'll  betray  more  men. 

Put  out  the  light,  and  then— put  out  the  light! 

If  I  quench  thee,  thou  flaming  minister, 

I  can  again  thy  former  light  restore, 

Should  I  repent  me :    But  once  put  out  thy  light, 

Thou  cunning'st  pattern  of  excelling  nature ; 

I  know  not  where  is  that  Promethian  heat,  ' 

That  can  thy  light  relume.    When  I  have  plucked  thy  rose, 

I  cannot  give  it  vital  growth  again ; 

It  needs  must  wither: — I'll  smell  it  on  the  tree — (kissing  her) 

O  balmy  breath,  that  dost  almost  persuade 

Justice  to  break  her  sword : — One  more,  one  more : — 

Be  thus  when  thou  art  dead,  and  I  will  kill  thee, 

And  love  thee  after :— -One  more — and  this  the  last : 

So  sweet  was  ne'er  so  fatal.    I  must  weep,  but  they  are  cruel  tears: 

This  sorrow's  heavenly : 
It  strikes  where  it  doth  love." 

the  house  was  so  carried  away  with  the  manner  in  which 
he  rendered  it,  that  a  young  man  stood  up  and  exclaimed 


736  MEN  OF  MARK. 

with  the  greatest  earnestness :  **She  is  innocent,  Othello, 
she  is  innocent/'  and  yet  so  interested  was  he  in  the  acting 
himself  that  he  never  moved  a  muscle  but  continued  as  If 
nothing  had  been  said  to  embarrass  him.  The  next  day 
he  learned,  while  dining  with  a  Russian  prince,  that  a 
young  man  who  had  been  present  had  been  so  affected  by 
the  play  that  he  was  seized  with  a  sudden  illness  and  died 
the  next  day. 

Mr.  Aldridge  was  a  .welcome  guest  in  the  ranks  of  the 
cultured  and  wealthy,  and  was  often  in  the  **  salons*'  of  the 
haughty  aristocrats  of  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow.  Titled 
ladies  wove,  knitted  and  stitched  their  pleasing  emotions 
into  various  memorials  of  friendship.  In  his  palatial  resi- 
dence at  Sydenham,  near  London,  were  collected  many 
presents  of  intrinsic  value,  rendered  almost  sacred  by  asso- 
ciation. Prominent  among  these  tokens  of  regard  was  an 
autographic  letter  from  the  King  of  Prussia,  transmitting 
the  first  medal  of  art  and  sciences :  the  Cross  of  Leopold, 
from  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  a  Maltese  cross  received 
at  Berne. 

Mr.  Aldridge  played,  at  Belfast,  in  Ireland,  O'Rozerabo 

to  Edmund  Kean's  Alban.    He  appeared  with  flattering 

success  in  Amsterdam,  Brussels,  Berlin,  Breslau,  Vienna, 

Pesth,  The  Hague,  Dantzic,  Konigsberg,  Dresden,  Berne, 

Frankfort-on-the-Main,   Cracow,    Gotha,  and   numerous 

other  cities,  in  all  of  the  leading  parts  of  all  the  standard 

« 

plays  of  the  day.  In  the  character  of  0*Rozembo,  Zanga, 
Zorambo,  Rolla,  Hugo  and  others,  suitable  to  his  form,  he 
was  considered  very  fine.  In  all  his  triumphs  he  never  lost 
any  interest  in  the  condition  of  his  race.    He  alwaj's  took 


IRA  AI.DRIDGE  AS  "  Othello." 


IRA  ALrDRlDGE.  737 

an  interest  in  everything  touching  their  welfare,  and » 
thongh  exalted  to  the  companionship  of  those  who  ranked 
high  in  every  department  of  life,  yet  he  never  in  any 
way  forgot  the  htimble  race  with  which  he  was  iden- 
tified, and  was  always  solicitous  for  their  welfare  and 
promotion.  He  was  an  associate  of  the  most  prominent 
men  of  Paris,  among  whom  was  Alexander  Dumas.  When 
the  great  tragedian  and  great  writer  met  they  always 
kissed  each  other,  and  Dumas  always  greeted  Aldridge 
with  the  words  Mon  Confrere.  I  will  relate  here  an  in- 
stance which  is  given  by  Mr.  Chester : 

Otie  evening  at  our  hotel  in  Paris,  which  was  a  family  resort  for  Eng- 
lish tourists,  he  was  requested,  after  some  ladies  had  executed  several 
operatic  selections  on  the  piano,  to  give  a  recitation  for  the  companj*, 
which  he  did  in  a  manner  fhat  delighted  and  charmed  the  gathering.  On 
a  subsequent  occasion  a  gathering  of  friends  made  the  salon  brilliant 
with  music  and  wit.  Aldridge  was  specially  requested  to  repeat  what  he 
had  before  rendered.  He  arose  and  said  he  would  give  them  something 
else.  Turning  down  the  gas  to  a  dim  twilight,  upon  the  pretense  that  it 
was  too  bright  for  his  eyes,  commenced  in  the  presence  of  the  company 
to  relate  what  seems  to  be  a  personal  experience.  He  began  in  a  matter- 
of-fact  way  as  follows:  "In  m}'  early  professional  struggle  I  met  a 
lovely  young  lady  in  England  whose  name  was  Amelia,  with  whom  I 
exchanged  affections.  In  asking  for  parental  consent,  the  father  desired 
to  know  what  were  my  means  and  resources.  I  replied  that  my  profes- 
sion was  my  only  dependence,  upon  which  the  father  declared  it  was 
too  precarious  to  risk  his  daughter's  happiness.  I  immediately  commu- 
nicated to  Amelia,  in  a  final  inter^'iew,  her  father's  refusal,  which  in- 
tensely grieved  us.  We  then  and  there  pledged  eternal  fidelity  to  each 
other,  in  life  and  in  death.  Some  eighteen  months  after  I  was  sitting  in 
my  room  in  a  Polish  hotel  when  the  door  was  suddenly  burst  open  and 
Amelia  walked  in.  I  had  just  strength  enough  to  ring  the  bell  when  1 
kSX  mconscious  to  the  floor.  Upon  my  recovery  there  were  a  number  of 
persons  around  applying  restoratives,  who  asked  what  was  the  matter  ? 


738  MEN  OF  MARK. 

The  whole  affair  was  of  such  a  delicate  nature  that  I  shrank  from  cnter- 
ing  into  explanation,  but  simply  remarked  that  I  was  seized  with  Ter> 
tigo  which  prostrated  me.  In  about  ten  days  I  received  a  letter  inform- 
ing me  that  Amelia  had  died  of  a  broken  heart  on  the  ver}'  day  and  at 
the  very  hour  that  she  had  appeared  in  my  room.  I  sincerely  mourned 
her  death  and  for  a  long  time  refused  to  be  comforted,  but  my  circum- 
stances and  constant  change  of  scene  produced  a  consoling  eflfect.  In 
my  intercourse  and  associations  m^-  path  crossed  that  of  a  young  lady 
of  great  personal  attractions  and  high  social  positioti.  Her  grace  and 
virtue  made  a  deep  impression  on  my  mind,  sentiment  and  feelings,  which 
soon  became  mutual  and  in  a  reasonable  time  we  were  betrothed.  A 
happy  day  was  appointed, and  it  seemed  to  Ixr  rapidly  approaching  without 
a  cloud  to  mar  my  thrilling  joy.  On  the  afternoon  previous  to  the  de- 
signated day,  my  wedding  attire  had  lieen  brought  to  my  room.  While 
1  was  still  examining  it,  much  to  my  pride,  and  spreading  the  difierent 
articles  out  upon  my  bed,  the  door  noiselessly  opened  and  Amelia  entered 
with  a  melancholy  expression  on  her  countenance  and  mysteriously  van- 
ished. This  spiritual  visit  threw  me  into  paroxysms,  which  confined  me 
to  my  room  and  necessitated  a  postponement  of  the  ceremonies.  Some 
six  months  after,  preparations  were  again  set  in  motion  for  the  event. 
The  day  came,  and  witli  it  the  remembrance  of  the  past,  and  fear  for  the 
present.  The  weather  was  cloudy  and  ominous,  the  wedding  procession 
formed  and  as  we  marched  down  the  aisle  of  the  church,  I  began  to  ied 
a  satisfaction  and  pride,  when  I  raised  my  eyes — Good  Heavens !  There 
she  is  now !  Look,  look !  There  she  is  I"  and  the  tragedian  struck  an  at- 
titude and  gave  an  expression  of  dread  which  infused  terror  into  the 
company.  There  was  a  sensation  for  some  seconds,  but  they  were  all  sur- 
prised again  when  they  found  that  he  had  only  been  declaiming  the  selection 
which  they  had  a.sked  for,  but  it  was  done  in  such  a  natural  manner  that 
all  instinctively  turned  to  the  place  to  which  he  pointed,  expecting  to  see 
Amelia  as  she  appeared  to  him. 

Mr.  Aldridge  married  an  English  lady,  who  died  shortly 
thereafter,  and  he  married  a  second  time,  choosing  for  his 
wife  a  Swedish  baroness  of  dignity  and  beauty.  He  was 
to  sail  for   New  York   to  fill  an  American  engagement. 


IRA  ALDRIDGE.  739 

August  16, 1867,  but  he  died  at  Lodes,  in  Poland,  August 
7, 1867. 

Thus  from  the  carpenter's  bench  to  the  stage,  Ira  Ald- 
ridge  rose  to  eminence,  and  has  stamped  upon  the  world 
the  effects  of  his  genius,  so  that  he  enters  into  the  history 
of  the  race  as  a  man  of  fine  talent,  high  elocutionary 
powers,  excellent  dramatic  taste,  fine  perceptibn  and  great 
stage  power.  His  talent  was  recognized  by  all  the  actors 
of  his  day.  Much  credit  is  due  to  Mr.  Kean  for  his  bravery 
in  taking  a  Negro  upon  the  stage  as  a  partner  in  the  prin- 
cipal parts,  thereby  assisting  him  to  rise  to  the  high  posi- 
tion which  he  reached.  Though  a  man  may  have  ever  so 
much  talent,  he  needs,  nevertheless,  a  helping  hand  from 
those  who  have  succeeded  in  the  same  line  or  profession, 
to  aid  the  beginner  to  lofty  heights.  Much  praise  is  there- 
fore due  to  Mr.  Kean,  and  let  it  not  be  forgotten  in  com- 
memorating the  deeds  of  Mr.  Aldridge  that  he  owes  his 
success  to  the  distinguished  Kean. 


740  MEN  OF  MAKK. 


ex. 

HON.  GEORGE  L.  RUFFIN,  LL.  B. 

Jttdge  of  the  Charlestown  District,  Massachusetts — From  the  Barber's 
Chair  to  the  "Bench." 

THE  name  most  honored  among  the  sons  of  Boston  is 
not  known  among  the  living,  but  is  a  cherished 
name  of  one  who,  when  alive,  stood  high  in  intellectual, 
social,  legal  and  political  affairs.  He  was  a  man  of  char- 
liable,  warm-hearted  and  generous  impulses.  A  man 
whose  life  was  a  shining  example  of  what  can  be  done 
even  in  cultured  Boston.  Judge  Ruffin  had  a  distin- 
guished, prepossessing  appearance — a  rich  voice  and 
charming  manners — such  as  showed  him  a  gentleman. 

Hon.  George  Lewis  Ruffin  was  bom  of  free  parents, 
George  W.  and  Nancy  Lewis  Ruffin,  in  Richmond,  Virginia, 
December  16,  1834.  As  the  advantages  for  the  education 
of  the  Negro  in  Virginia  were  very  limited,  the  mother, 
who  was  anxious  for  the  truest  moral  and  intellectual 
development  in  her  children,  removed  in  1853  to  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  where  her  family  could  have  the  benefit  of 
the  schools  in  that  city. 

George  attended  and  graduated  from  the  public  schools 
in  Boston,  and  was  marked  for  his  wonderful  aptness  and 


GBORGE  L.  RUPPm.  741 

remarkable  scholarship.  He  began  work  in  a  barber's 
shop  with  his  book  always  by  his  side,  and  he  daily 
gained  information  from  his  association  with  the  business 
men  of  the  city  who  came  to  the  shop.  After  a  few  years 
he  studied  law  with  Messrs.  Jewall  &  Gaston,  and  then 
entered  the  Harvard  Law  School,  where  he  distinguished 
himself  by  completing  alone  the  three  years*  course  in  one 
year  and  from  which  he  graduated  in  1869  with  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  the  second  degree  ever  conferred  by 
Harvard  on  a  colored  man. 

From  the  old  Sixth  ward,  now  Ninth  ward,  Lawyer 
Ruflfin  was  elected  to  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  in 
1869,  and  on  account  of  his  faithful  services  he  was  re- 
elected in  1870.  This  recognition  was  the  expression  of 
confidence  in  the  sterling  worth,  exalted  reputation  and 
legal  ability  of  this  truly  great  citizen 

In  1872  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  convention 
at  New  Orleans,  and  part  of  the  time  he  presided  over  this 
body  and  delivered  an  eloquent  speech  on  the  life  and  ser- 
vices of  Hon.  Charles  Sumner.  Again  in  1876  when  he 
was  unable  to  be  present  at  the  Lincoln  Memorial  Club  of 
Cincinnati,  where  he  was  invited  to  deliver  an  address,  his 
written  thoughts  were  read  for  the  inspiration  of  those 
present. 

For  many  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Twelfth  Bap- 
tist church  of  Boston,  and  for  twelve  years  he  was  super- 
intendent of  its  Sunday  school  and  filled  many  important 
offices  in  the  church.  How  few  Christians  are  there  while 
holding  public  position  attend  to  their  religious  life  and 
find  time  to  give  aid  and  counsel  to  the  church.     Let  this 


742  MEN  OF  MARK.  "^ 

good  man's  life  show  and  thereby  teacn  young  men  that 
political  honor  and  a  Christian  life  are  not  necessarily 
separable.  Judge  Ruffin  was  noted  for  his  love  of  truth 
and  his  pure  life.  The  eminent  gentleman  was  always  a 
consistent  Republican  and  a  member  of  many  political  con- 
ventions. For  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Republican 
ward  and  city  committee  of  Boston.  In  the  year  1871 
he  was  a  Butler  delegate  in  the  famous  Worcester  conven- 
tion^ and  made  a  telling  speech  for  the  nomination  of  Gen- 
eral Butler  for  governor,  which  so  won  the  house  that  had  a 
vote  then  been  taken,  without  a  doubt  he  would  have  gained 
the  day.  Later,  when  General  Butler  was  Governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, he  nominated  as  Judge  of  the  District  Court  of 
Charlestown,  Lawyer  G.  L.  Ruffin,  November  7,  1883,  and 
although  three  nominees  to  this  vacant  judgeship  were 
rejected.  Lawyer  Ruffin  was  unanimously  confirmed  by  the 
Republican  Executive  Council,  November  19,  and  General 
Butler  himself  administered  the  oath  of  office. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  General  Benjamin  F.  Butler, 
he  is  a  staunch  friend  of  the  race  and  has  always  shown 
his  fidelity  to  it  in  the  person  of  Lawyer  Ruffin.  From  the 
barber  shop  to  the  duties  of  a  judge  in  Massachusetts. 
What  a  leap  into  fame ! 

In  1883  he  was  made  consul  resident  for  the  Dominican 
Republic,  and  did  what  was  committed  to  him  with  great 
care.  Judge  Ruffin  was  first  president  of  the  Wendell  Phil- 
lips Club  of  Boston,  and  a  member  and  at  one  time  pres- 
ident of  the  Banneker  Literary  Club  in  the  city.  George 
Ruffin  married  a  Boston  lady  of  superior  talents,  who  has 
seconded  every  effort  of  her  husband  in  his  noble  career. 


GEORGE  L.  RUPPIN.  T43 

Four  children  have  blessed  their  home,  all  of  whom  have 
done  honor  to  their  exemplary  parentage.  November  19, 
1886,  Judge  Ruffin  passed  away  after  a  long  protracted 
illness.  Touching  tributes  of  respect  were  paid  to  his 
memory  by  the  many  whose  pleasure  it  had  been  to  know 
him  as  their  fnend.  A  valiant  soldier  has  fallen ;  the  sheaf 
has  been  gathered  into  the  gamer.  A  faithful  servant  has 
gone  to  his  reward.  A  truly  great  life  has  received  a  crown 
of  glory. 

He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  of  the 
city  of  Boston  in  1875,  and  was  re-elected  in  1876.  Where 
culture  and  refinement  have  reached  so  high  a  mark  as  in 
Boston,  it  was  no  small  matter  that  he  should  be  so  com- 
plimented. 

He  was  temporary  chairman  of  a  mass  convention  that 
met  inFaneuilHall  duringthe  Grant  and  Greeley  campaign. 
On  permanent  organization  was  one  of  the  vice-presidents 
and  delivered  the  principal  address  of  the  convention,  urging 
the  election  of  Grant  and  Wilson.  This  was  the  second 
convention  of  the  kind  ever  held  in  New  England  by  the 
colored  people. 

A  few  years  after,  when  vice-president  Wilson  died,  the 
mayor  of  Boston  called  a  meeting,  and  prominent  among 
the  speakers,  Mayor  Cobb,  Governor  Gaston,  General  W. 
P.  Banks,  Judge  Hoar,  Charles  Francis  Adams  and  John 
D.  Long,  stood  Hon.  George  L.  Ruffin.  Does  not  this  array 
of  names  show  his  powers  as  an  orator  and  that  his  views 
as  a  patriot  were  acknowledged  by  those  high  in  author- 

ity,? 


744  HEN  OF  MARK. 


CXI. 

PROFESSOR  D.  AUGUSTUS  STRAKER,  LL.  B.,  LL.  D. 

Dean  of  Law  Department — Lawyer — Orator  and  Stenographer. 

IN  the  year  1842,  to  John  and  Margaret  Straker  inras 
bom  D.  Augustus  Straker,  in  the  Islands  of  Barbadoes, 
West  Indies.  He  was  not  a  slave,  but  like  many  others, 
had  felt  the  cruel  shafts  of  prejudice  and  injustice.  *HU» 
father  died  when  he  was  only  eleven  months  old.  He  "was, 
therefore,  reared  by  his  mother,  who  was  a  poor  hard- 
working woman.  She,  having  faith  in  the  boy's  future, 
was  deeply  interested  in  his  education,  and  placed  him  in 
school  at  the  age  of  seven  years.  After  attending  the 
Dame  School  until  he  was  about  eleven  years  old,  he  was 
put  to  a  private  teacher  for  two  years;  then  he  entered 
the  Central  Public  school  of  the  Island,  whose  principal 
was  Robert  P.  Elliott  of  England.  Here  he  completed 
the  English  course,  and  having  been  put  to  learn  the  tai- 
lor's trade  and  disliking  it,  induced  his  mother,  through 
the  assistance  of  friends  interested  in  him,  to  withdra^vr 
him  from  his  calling  and  permit  him  to  pursue  his  studies^ 
which  he  did,  giving  attention  to  French  and  Latin  under 
the  instruction  of  Rev.  Joseph  N.  Durant,  one  of  the  moot 


D.  AUGUSTUS  8TRAKBR.  745 

cdebrated  Knguists  in  the  world.  His  studies  were  carried 
on  mainly  through  instrttction  by  lectures  delivered  by  R. 
R.  Rawk,  principal  of  Codrington  College,  who  at  that 
time  was  preparing  students  to  become  school  teachers. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was  appointed  principal  of  St. 
Mary's  School,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  advanced 
schools  of  the  Island,  and  filled  the  position  of  school 
teacher  of  St.  Amis*  and  St.  Giles'  school  in  said  Island. 
In  the  year  1868  the  Rev.  B.  B.  Smith,  Episcopal  Bishop 
of  the  IVotestant  Church  of  America,  wrote  to  the  prin- 
cipal of  Codrington  College,  inquiring  if  there  were  any 
colored  men  and  women  who,  having  received  the  blessings 
of  an  education,  were  desirous  of  coming  to  the  States 
to  assist  in  the  work  of  educating  the  lately  emancipated 
of  their  race.  This  inquiry  reached  Mr.  Straker  and  others 
by  means  of  a  sermon  preached  by  the  Dean  of  the  college, 
on  the  topic  of  slavery  and  its  evils.  He  was  moved  to 
compassion  for  his  brethren  in  America,  and  although  at 
that  time  many  kind  friends,  regarding  him  as  one  disposed 
to  the  profession  of  law,  had  voluntarily  raised  a  good 
sum  of  money,  looking  to  send  him  to  England  to  study 
law,  there  being  but  one  colored  lawyer  on  the  island  at 
that  time  who  had  been  similarly  educated  for  that  pro- 
fession, and  who  is  now  chief-justice  of  the  Islands  of  Bar- 
badoes  and  other  islands,  he  revoked  his  promise  to  go 
to  England  and  came  to  America  for  the  purpose  spoken  of, 
notwithstanding  the  kind  proffer  which  he  had  already 
received.  He  arrived  here  in  1868  and  began  teaching 
school  under  the  auspices  of  the  Episcopal  church  and  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau,  in  Louisville,  Kentucky.    He  was  in- 


746  MBN  OF  HARK. 

duced,  while  so  engaged,  to  study  for  ''^Ordera*'^  m  the: 
Episcopal  church  and  did  so;  but  at  the  time  when. ready 
for  said  "Orders,"  refused  to  receive  them  if  the  proscrip- 
tions shown  his  race  as  a  layman,  was  to  be  his  lot  as  a 
clergyman.  Not  being  assured  of  any  different  treatment, 
he  abandoned  any  further  preparation  for  the  ministry. 
At  this  time,  the  Honorable  John  M.  Langston  was  trav- 
eHng  through  the  South,  informing  the  colored  youth  of 
that  section  of  the  country  of  the  law  school  of  Howard 
University.  This  man's  earnestness  and  eloquence  and 
deep  interest  for  his  race  so  moved  upon  Mr.  Straker  that 
he  concluded  to  enter  the  law  school  of  that  University, 
w^hich  he  did  in  1870,  six  months  after  the  class  he  entered 
was  started.  He  graduated  with  distinguished  honor  in 
June,  1871,  and  among  his  classmates  were  the  Honor- 
able John  H.  Smythe,  ex-minister  to  the  Republic  of  Li- 
beria; Moses  W.  Moore,  now  teacher  in  Paris,  France,  in 
the  Polytechnique  Academy. 

While  a  student  of  law  he  was  appointed  stenogfrapncr 
for  General  O.  O.  Howard,  in  his  office  as  head  of  Freed- 
man's  Bureau.    He  was  also  appointed  teacher  in  the  Nor- 
mal and  Preparatory  Department  of  the  University.    In 
September,  1871,  he  was  married  at  Detroit,  Michigan,  to 
Ann,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Julia  Carey.    In  1871  he 
was  appointed  first  class  clerk  in  the  sixth  auditor's  office 
of  the  United  States  Treasury  Department,  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia.  By  due  examination  he  was  promoted 
to  a  second  class  clerkship,  having  charge  of  the  postal 
accounts  between  the  United  States  and  all  countries  by 
treaty  in  postal  relationship  with  the  United  States.    This 


D.  AUGUSTUS  8TRAKER.  747 

position  he  held  until  1875.    He  was  tiicn^apponited  lij. 
Secretary  Bristow  as  Inspector  of  Customs  at  the  port  of 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.    In  1876  he  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  his  profession  as  a  laWyer,  ip  Orangeburg  county, 
South  Carolina,  and  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  from 
said  county  that  same  year.    He  was  ejected  from  his  seat 
in  the  Legislature  by  the  usurpation  of  the  Democrats, 
known  as  the**  Hampton  House,"  with  Wallace  as  speaker, 
as  distinguished  from  the  Republican  House  known  as  the 
"Chamberlin  House,"  with  Honorable  E.  W.  Mackey  as 
speaker.    He  engaged  in  fierce  debates  in  the  session  in  the 
Dual  House,  but  was  fijially  ejected.     He  was  again  re- 
turned by  the  electors  of  Orangeburg  country,  but  his  seat 
inras  denied  him  again.     He  was  a  third  time  elected  in 
1878,  and  still  he  was  denied  his  seat.    He  then  formed  a 
law  partnership  with  Honorable  R.  B.  Elliott,  ex-Speaker 
of  the  Houseof  Representatives  of  South  Carolina  and  late 
attorney  general  of  the  State,  and  with  T.  McCants  Stew- 
art, Esq.,  now  practicing  in  New  York  City.    In  1880  he 
was  appointed  special  Inspector  of  Customs  under  said 
R.  B.  Elliott;  special  agent  of  the  Treasury  Department,. 
'Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  by  Secretary  Sherman, 
and  assigned  headquarters  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina. 
In  1882  he  was  called  to  thedeanship  and  professorship  of 
law,  by  the  trustees  of  Allen  University,  in  the  city  of  Colum- 
bia, South  Carolina,  said  institution  being  founded  by  the 
Right  Rev.  William  Fisher  Dickerson,  D.  D.,  now  deceased. 
From  said  law  school  have  been  graduated  seven  colored 
youths  in  two  classes.  These  youngmen  were,  subsequent  to . 
their  examination  in  the  law  school  by  him,  examined  also 


748  MBN  OF  MARK. 

by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  and  secured  praise  firom 
members  of  the  court  and  the  press  of  the  State.  Most  of 
these  are  now  in  active  practice. 

Professor  Straker  himself  has  been  giving  strict  atten- 
tion*to  his  profession  for  about  ten  years,  winning  many 
important  suits.  As  a  criminal  lawyer  he  is  astute,  learned, 
persuasive  and  shrewd.  He  lias  a  high  conception  of  the 
duties  and  obligations  of  a  lawyer. 

He  has  appeared  in  several  important  law  cases,  nota- 
bly in  the  case  of  murder  by  one  James  Coleman.  The 
plea  of  insanity  having  been  set  up,  he  won  the  case. 
The  report  of  this  case  can  be  found  in  the  records  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  under  the  head  of  appeals  from  the 
Fifth  Circuit,  the  State  being  respondent  against  James 
Coleman,  defendant,  appellant,  R.  G.  Bonham,  solicitor, 
and  D.  A.  Straker  for  the  defendant.  He  also  had  two 
important  cases  against  Bethel  A.  M.  E.  church  in  Co- 
lumbia, South  Carolina,  one  of  them  against  property, 
and  one  by  reason  of  the  trustees  locking  the  door  against 
the  appointed  minister.  In  both  of  these  cases  he  was 
associated  with  white  lawyers  of  prominence  and  won  the 
cases.  This  case  is  recorded  in  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  in  the  October  term  of  the  Fifth  Judicial  Circuit, 
Hon.  C.  B.  Presley,  presiding  judge;  J.  W.  Morris  et  a/, 
plaintiffs  vs.  S.  B.  Wallace,  et  al,  defendants. 

Mr.  Straker  has  played  a  prominent  part  in  many  ed- 
ucational conventions,  notably  the  one  held  at  Louisville 
in  1883.  He  has  done  much  literary  work.  He  delivered 
the  address  at  the  opening  of  the  colored  department  of 
the   New  Orleans   Exposition.     He  has   written  several 


D.  AUGUSTUS  STRAKBR.  749 

articles  for  the  A.  M.  B.  Review,  which  has  attracted  con- 
siderable attention  and  shows  fais  scholastic  learnings 
and  his  deep  interest  in  the  promotion  of  those  things  of 
vital  interest  to  the  race.  We  give  here  the  names  of  these 
articles: 

1.  "Are  we  more  infliienced  by  opinion  than  fact?** — April,  1S85, 
number  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Review. 

2.  "  Does  color  unfit  a  man  to  fill  positions  that  involve  master  minds 
or  trained  hands  ?**  **  The  advantage  of  beginning  trades  schools  in  our 
coneges." — In  the  July  number  A.  M.  E.  Review,  1886. 

3.  "  The  Congo  Valley,  its  redemption.** — in  January  number,  1886. 

He  h€is  also  written  and  delivered  many  lectures  mainly 
on  the  subject  of  ** Universal  Industrial  Education;" 
**  Capital  and  Labor,  and  the  True  Relationship  of  Colored 
Citizens  to  all  Labor  Organizations;  '*  ** Marriage  and  Di- 
vorce;*' ** Shams  in  Life;"  '*The  Necessity  for  a  Broader 
and  Higher  Education  in  the  South ; "  **  Do  or  Do  Not,  or 
Useful  Hints;"  ** Ireland  and  the  Irish  Question." 

He  delivered  a  eulogy  on  the  life,  character  and  public 
services  of  Robert  Brown  Elliott,  which  showed  a  high 
appreciation  for  his  former  law  partner. 

In  1885  Mr.  Straker  visited  Detroit,  Michigan,  and  was 
courteously  received  b}^  the  bench  and  the  bar  of  the  city. 
He  spoke  on  the  occasion  of  the  memorial  exercises  of 
Lawyer  Romeyn,  deceased,  in  the  court-house,  and  was 
highly  complimented.  Subsequently  Judge  Jennison,  cir- 
cuit judge,  and  Judge  J.  L.  Chapman  of  the  Superior 
Court,  united  with  others  in  inviting  him  to  deliver  a 
lecture  under  their  auspices.  This  lecture  was  delivered  in 
Merril  Hall,  in  the  city  of  Detroit;  subject,   **The  New 


750  MEN  OF  MARK. 

South."  It  was  very  highly  commended  by  the  press  of 
both  parties  in  the  ^tate,  and  ft  has  been  delivered  in 
Boston  since,  under  the  auspices  of  the  William  Lloyd 
Garrison  Club,  in  Charles  Street  A.  M..E.  church.  The 
meeting  was  presided  over  by  the  late  Judge  G.  L.  Ruffin, 
It  has  also  been  delivered  in  New  York,  in  Bleeker  Halt.  He 
also  delivered  an  oration  before  the  North  Carolina  Fair 
Association,  in  1883.  In  addition  to  his  political  career 
mentioned  above,  he  was  nominated  for  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor of  South  Carolina  by  the  Republican  State  conven- 
tion, held  in  1884.  He  wrote  a  letter  accepting  and  dis- 
cussing the  needs  9f  the  party.  The  ticket  was  subse- 
quently abandoned  and  not  put  before  the  people  by  a 
cowardly  State  executive  committee.  Professor  Straker 
was  one  of  the  three  colored  men  who  stood  at  the  bedside 
of  Charles  Sumner  when  he  died,  the  other  two  being 
George  T.  Downing  and  James  Wormlev.  Mr.  Straker  is 
now  a  member  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church,  though  he  claims  to 
hold  no  special  denominational  views.  In  addition  to  the 
LL.  B.,  the  title  which  he  received  on  graduation  from  the 
Law  Department,  he  has  received  LL.  D.  from  the  trustees 
of  Selma  University,  when  it  was  presided  over  by  the 
Rev.  E.  M.  Brawley,  D.  D. 

Mr.  Straker  has  great  faith  in  the  future  of  the  colored 
man,  but  would  desire  to  see  him  taught  in  the  practical 
life-sustaining  industries,  rather  than  in  the  fanciful  ideas 
of  an  education  which  please  and  entertain  while  they  are 
unable  to  furnish  a  loaf  of  bread.  In  his  article,  **Does 
Color  Unfit  a  Man  ?  "  he  savs : 


I 


D.  AUGUSTUS  STRAKER.  751 

Arc  we  not  to-day  presented  with  the  conditions  in  our  social  relation- 
ship 'which  show  that,  despite  the  few  colored  persons  who  are  capable 
of  performing  skilled  workmanship  in  the  industrial  arts,  these  are  jet 
-denied  the  privilege  in  many  places  in  the  North  as  well  as  in  the  South  ? 
When  we  shall  have  taught  our  youth  telegraphy,  printing,  engineering, 
•carpentry,  navigation  and  ship  building,  are  we  assured  that  they  will 
receive  employment  in  like  manner  as  the  white  citizens  ?  If  not,  what 
shall  we  do  ?  I  venture  the  opinion  that  the  work  is  not  only  with  the 
colored  man,  but  with  the  American  white  citizen,  North  and  South. 
The  American  white  citizen's  mind,  in  its  belief  of  the  Negro  and  his 
rights,  needs  conversion  as  well  as  conviction.  It  is  ours  by  diligence, 
industry,  intellectual  development,  economy  and  moral  rectitude  to  do 
the  work  of  convincing  our  opponents  of  our  capacity.  What  shall  we 
do  to  convince  the  oppressor  that  we  have  rights  as  men  and  as  citizens 
of  a  common  country  ? 

Attempt  the  end  and  never  stand  to  doubt, 
Nothing's  so  hard  but  search  will  find  it  out. 

The  end  of  the  discrimination  and  distinction  among  the 
races  in  America  must  come  sooner  or  later,  or  the  Nation 
-will  fall  into  decay.  It  must  be  remembered  that  freedom, 
liberty,  justice  and  right  flourished  and  decayed  with  the 
rise  and  fall  of  both  the  Grecian  and  Roman  empires;  such 
18  inevitable.  Let  America  beware.  Professor  Straker  is 
in  the  prime  of  life,  and  his  future,  if  judged  by  the  past, 
vrill  be  even  more  successful,  and  his  fame  more  extended 
eL3  an  orator,  and  his  good  name  largely  increased  by  his 
many  acts  of  beneficence. 


762  liBN  OP  MARK. 


CXII. 

REV.  JOHN  HUDSON  RIDDICK. 

Preacher — Comicilmaii — Deputy  Marshal. 

WAS  bom  near  Sunbixry,  Gates  county,  North  Car- 
olina, on  the  first  day  of  April,  1848,  where  he 
lived  until  1857,  when  he  moved  to  Norfolk,  Virginia.  He 
was  a  slave  and  owned  by  Rev.  Isaac  Hunter  of  Virginia. 
Daring  the  war  he  was  in  both  armies  as  body  servant. 
He  was  first  with  his  young  master  in  the  Rebel  army  and 
afterwards  with  the  hospital  steward  of  theSeventh  New 
York  Independent  battery,  until  1864,  when  he  served  in 
the  custom-house  of  Norfolk,  Virginia,  under  Major  J.  H. 
Hudson,  special  collector  appointed  by  President  Lincoln. 
Major  Hudson  was  removed  by  President  Andrew  Johnson, 
and  Mr.  Riddick  removed  to  northeast  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  was  converted  and  began  the  study  of  theology 
under  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Ortor.  He  afterward  spent  four  years 
in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  where  he  worked  days  for  sup- 
port and  studied  theology  and  medicine  at  night,  with  a 
view  of  going  into  missionary  work  in  some  foreign  coun- 
try. He  returned  to  Virginia  in  1869  and  practiced  med- 
icine for  a  short  time,  but  soon  gave  it  up  to  enter  upon 
the  active  duties  of  a  gospel  minister,  which  he  did  July  4^ 


JOHN  HUDSON  RIDDICK.  753 

1869.  He  served  as  a  missionary  under  Bishop  A.  W. 
Waymen,  by  whom  he  was  ordained  deacon  in  1871,  and  in 
1872  he  was  elected  to  the  city  council  of  Norfolk  and  also 
appointed  United  States  deputy  marshal  in  that  city  at  the 
Grant  and  Greeley  election.  He  has  been  school  teacher 
among  the  freedmen  in  the  South  and  served  in  the  follow- 
ing Methodist  Conferences  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel: 
Virginia  A.  M.  E.,  Washington,  Newark  and  Delaware  M. 
B.,  and  has  had  charge  of  some  of  the  most  prominent 
churches  at  the  following  places:  Staunton,  Virginia;  Bal- 
timore, Maryland,  and  Philadelphia,  where  he  is  now 
stationed.  At  the  Zoar  M.  E.  church  he  was  ordained 
elder  by  Bishop  E.  R.  Ames. 

Mr.  Riddick  has  always  been  noted  for  his  loj'alty  to 
his  race  and  courage  for  the  right  and  honest  j'  of  purpose. 
When  a  number  of  our  people  wer.e  murdered  at  the  Dan- 
ville riot,  he  was  the  first  to  lift  his  voice  among  all  colored 
men  in  the  State  in  a  strong  address  against  the  murderers 
at  Staunton,  Virginia,  and  their  sjrmpathizers.  Five  thou- 
sand copies  were  published  and  distributed  by  request  of 
the  people. 


• 


764  MBN  OP  MARK. 


CXIII. 

REV.J.C.  PRICE,  A.  B. 

President  of  Livinestone  College.— Great  Temperance  Orator. 

THE  subject  of  our  sketch  is  without  doubt  one  of  the 
most  popular  colored  men  in  the  United  States. 
Largely  endowed  by  nature  with  rare  talent  and  more 
than  ordinary  ability,  by  industry  and  perseverance  he 
has  gained  for  himself  a  national  reputation  and  has  been 
the  means  of  doing  inestimable  good  for  his  race. 

Joseph  C.  Price  was  born  in  Elizalx^th  City,  North  Car- 
olina, February  10,  1854.  Notwithstanding  his  father 
was  a  slave,  his  mother  was  a  free  woman,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  regulations  of  the  **peculiar  institution,**  the 
child  followed  the  fortunes  oi  the  mother.  When  nine 
years  old  he  went  with  his  mother  to  New  Berne,  North 
Carolina,  where  he  has  spent  the  largest  part  of  his  life. 
He  was  nearly  twelve  years  old  when  his  mother,  though 
unlettered  herself,  determined — since  at  this  time  the  sur- 
render of  the  Southern  armies  made  it  possible  for  Negro 
children  to  study  books — to  do  her  part  through  toil  and 
selfdenial  to  procure  for  the  boy  the  rudiments  of  knowl- 
edge. It  was  at  the  above  stated  age  when  he  Ijcgan  and 
mastered  the  alphabet,  and  soon  he  learned  to  read  flu- 


].  C.  PRICE. 


i 


J.  c.  PRICE.  755 

ently  and  to  spell  well.  Subsequentlyhe  attended  the  St. 
Cyprian  Episcopal  school,  one  under  the  control  of  the 
Boston  Society,  known  as  the  Lowell  Normal  School  of 
New  Berne.  In  1871  he  began  the  life  of  a  pedagogue,  and 
was  successful  as  a  teacher  in  the  public  school  of  Wilson, 
North  Carolina,  which  he  held  four  years;  then  entered 
Shaw  University,  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  in  1873,  re- 
maining five  months.  Here  he  experienced  faith  in  Christ. 
Returning  to  New  Berne  he  connected  himself  with  the 
A.  M.  E.  Zion  church,  and  feeling  that  he  was  called  to  the 
gospel  ministry  was  granted  license  to  preach  in  less  time 
than  two  years.  Desiring  to  better  qualify  himself  to  dis- 
charge ministerial  duties,  he  entered  Lincoln  University  in 
Pennsylvania.  His  previous  preparation  enabled  him  to 
^nterthe  Freshman  class.  His  genial  disposition,  modesty 
and  retiring  manners  soon  made  him  a  favorite  in  college. 
His  powers  of  speech  and  eloquence  in  delivery  gained  for 
him  the  sobriquet  of  **Lion  of  the  Lyceum.''  In  the  ora- 
torical contest  for  the  Freshman  prizes  he  took  the  first 
medal,  and  also  gained  the  first  in  the  Junior  contest  for 
prize  orations.  In  1879  he  graduated  with  the  valedic- 
tory. During  his  senior  year  in  the  Classical  Department 
he  took  up  the  studies  of  the  Junior  Theological  year, 
thereby  gaining  a  year.  From  this  department  he  grad- 
uated in  1881.  Before  his  graduation,  however,  he  was 
ordained  an  elder  and  went  as  a  delegate  to  the  General 
Conference  held  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  in  1880.  It 
was  at  this  Conference  that  Mr.  Price's  ability  as  a  ready 
debater,  his  sound  scholarship  and  matchless  eloquence* 
were  first  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  general  church,  and 


T58  lOK  OF  MASK. 

Mrtrkidit  wifh  tlic  fi^e  thousand  doUars  pledged  by  the  Hon. 
^WiOiam  Dodge,  he  erected  Dodge  and  Hopkins*  halls  on 
the  gronnds  of  Livingstone  College.  Heisstill  young^ust 
lUrty-three  years  old— strong,  healthy  and  vigorons; 
weighs,  about  two  htindred  and  sixty-six  pounds,  is  genial 
m  disposition,  plain  and  unassuming.  He  is  a  success  as 
pcesident;  a  good  disciplinarian^  yet  not  severe.  The 
■indents  regard  him  in  the  light  of  a  loving  brother  or 
ihther.  It  has  been  prophesied  that  Livingstone  College  is 
destined  to  be  the  '*  Harvard  **  for  the  colored  people  in  the 
South. 


p.  B.  S.  PINCHBACK. 


PmCKNEY  BENTON  STEWART  PINCHBACK.  759 


CXIV. 

HON.  PINCKNEY  BENTON  STEWART  PINCHBACK. 

Governor — Lieutenant  Governor — United  States  Senator — Lawyer — His 
Daring  "  Railroad  Race** — Eminent  Politician — Wealthy  Gentleman. 

MAY  10,  1837,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born. 
His  father,  Major  William  Pinchback  (white)  was 
a  planter  in  Holmes  county,  Mississippi.  His  mother, 
Eliza  Stewart,  was  of  mixed  blood  and  known  as  a 
mulatto,  though  she  claimed  to  have  Indian  blood  in  her 
veins.  She  died  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy,  in  1884.  In 
girlhood  she  was  a  slave,  the  property  of  Major  Pinchback, 
who  beacme  enamored  of  her  and  for  whom  she  bore  ten 
children,  all  of  whom  are  dead  except  Pinckney.  He  was 
the  eighth  child.  In  1835#  1836,  or  near  that  time,  Major 
Pinchback  went  to  Philadelphia  with  his  slave  wife  and 
manumitted  her.  Though  freed,  she  did  not  abandon  the 
father  of  her  children  but  returned  with  him  to  his  home, 
which  was  then  in  Virginia.  It  was  while  in  transit  from 
Virginia  to  Mississippi,  in  1837,  that  the  governor  was 
bom.  He  was  ostensibly  free.  In  1846,  in  company  with 
his  brother  Napoleon,  who  was  seven  years  his  senior, 
Pinckney  was  sent  by  his  father  to  Cincinnati  to  attend 
Gilmore's  High  School.      In    1848  they  returned  home. 


760  MBN  OF  MARK. 

This  same  year  his  father  died  and  his  mother  with  five 
children,  Napoleon,  Mary,  Pinckney,  Adeline  and  the  baby 
girl,  was  sent  to  Cincinnati  by  the  administrator  of  his 
father's  estate.  They  were  hastily  sent  away,  he  acknow- 
ledged, to  prevent  any  attempt  to  enslave  them  by  the 
white  heirs  to  the  estate,  who  ruthlessly  robbed  them  of 
their  right  inheritance  of  a  goodly  fortune.  Napoleon,  the 
mainstay  of  the  family,  lost  his  mind  in  Cincinnati.  This 
misfortune  compelled  Pinckney  at  the  tender  age  of  only 
twelve  years  to  start  out  into  the  world  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility. He  secured  work  as  a  cabin  boy  at  eight  dollars 
a  month  on  a  canal  boat  on  the  Miami  canal,  running 
from  Cincinnati  to  Toledo,  Ohio.  In  this  respect  he  resem- 
bles the  lamented  Garfield.  Several  years  were  spent  in 
canal  boating  on  the  Miami,  and  also  the  Port  Wayne  and 
Toledo  canals.  In  the  meantime  he  made  a  considerable 
stav  at  Terre*  Haute,  Indiana.  From  1854  to  1861  he 
followed  steamboating  .  on  the  Red,  Missouri  and  the 
Mississippi  rivers  and  had  reached  the  highest  position, 
that  of  a  steward,  attainable  by  a  colored  man,  when  the 
war  interrupted  that  business  May  10,  1862,  in  Yazoo 
City,  Mississippi,  he  abandoned  the  steamer  Alonzo  Cbilds, 
of  which  he  was  steward,  ran  the  Confederate  J)lockade  and 
arrived  in  New  Orleans  two  days  after.  May  16,  1882,  he 
had  a  serious  difficulty  with  his  brother-in-law,  John  Kep- 
pard,  who  was  wounded  in  the  encounter.  The  civil 
authorities  arrested  him  but  he  gave  bail.  While  awaiting 
trial,  the  military  authorities  rearrested,  speedily  tried  and 
convicted  him  for  assault  with  attempt  to  murder  and 
sentenced  him  to  two  years  in  the  workhouse.    This  "w  a 


PINCKNEY  BENTON  STEWART  PINCHBACK.  761 

.an  unfortunate  point  in  his  career,  but  he  has  bravely 
outlived  the  high  temper  characteristic  of  the  Southern 
jrouth.  May  25,  1862,  he  was  committed  and  August  18, 
1862,  released  to  enlist  in  the  First  Louisiana  Volunteer 
infantry.  A  few  days  after  enlistment  he  was  detailed  to 
.assist  in  recruiting  the  Second  Louisiana  infantry.  While 
engaged  in  this  service.  Major  Qeneral  Benjamin  P.  Butler, 
commanding  the  department  of  the  Gulf,  issued  his  cele- 
brated order  No.  62,  calling  upon  free  menof  color  of  Louis- 
iana to  take  up  arms  in  the  defense  of  the  Union. 

This  order  at  once  opened  a  more  congenial  and  prolific 
field,  and  he  at  once  made  application  for  and  was  assigned 
to  duty  August  27,  1862.  He  opened  an  office  for  recruit- 
ing colored  soldiers,  on  the  comer  of  Bienville  and.  Vilere 
streets,  New  Orleans,  and  by  September  6,  1862,  had  a 
company  ready  for  muster.  But  it  was  not  mustered  into 
service  until  October  6,  1862,  owing  to  some  dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  arrangement  of  the  companies  in  the  first 
regiment.  October  12,  1862,  the  second  regiment  Louis- 
iana Native  Guards,  with  Captain  Pinchback  in  command 
of  Company  A,  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States.  His  career  in  the  army  was  short,  but  stormy  and 
eventful  from  his  entry  into  the  service  until  his  retirement. 
He  strove  manfully  and  heroically  to  maintain  the  dignity 
of  his  own  position  and  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  men 
under  his  command.  For  this  Mr.  Pinchback  is  especially 
noted,  and  though  so  fair  that  he  could  readily  pass  for  a 
white  man,  he  is  known  to  stand  up  for  his  race.  The 
Federal  soldiery,  rank  and  file,  in  the  main  were  as  hostile 
.as  the  bitterest  rebel.    In  his  efforts  to  maintain  the  man- 


762  MEN  OF  MARK. 

hoodandequality  of  rights  of  the  colored  soldiery,  Captain 
Pinohback  was  often  placed  in  great  peril.  His  struggles 
with  the  street  car  companies  of  the  city  of  New  Orleans 
are  ever  memorable.  His  bravery  gave  such  courage  to 
Louisiana  Negroes  that  to-day  they  are  the  most  fearless 
body  of  politicians  in  this  country,  and  knowing  how  to 
assert  their  rights  in  securing  a  part  of  the  patronage  that 
comes  from  adherence  to  political  parties'  fortunes,  do  not 
tamely  submit  to  any  and  everything  that  may  be  thrust 
upon  them.  In  those  days  it  was  not  an  uncommon  sight 
to  see  squares  of  cars  blockaded  on  account  of  his  insist- 
ance  upon  his  right  to  ride  upon  a  car  not  designated  for 
his  people  by  having  a  star  painted  upon  it.  This  was 
manhood  and  pluck.  His  boldness  always  excited  admir- 
ation, and  many  have  wondered  that  he  did  not  lose  his 
life ;  but  a  brave  man  is  respected  even  by  his  enemies. 

Early  in  his  army  career  he  had  a  difficulty  with  his 
colonel  on  account  of  unjust  treatment  of  his  men.  The 
lask  of  fighting  the  army  prejudice  was  too  heavy,  how- 
ever, and  after  all  his  brother  officers  had  resigned,  despair- 
ing of  accomplishing  any  good  result,  he  resigned  on  Sep- 
tember 3, 1863.  Bitter  and  disappointing  as  his  experience 
had  been  in  the  army,  he  disliked  to  give  up  the  work. 
After  resting  a  few  weeks  he  obtained  an  interview  with 
General  N.  P.  Banks,  and  impressed  him  so  favorably  that 
the  general  issued  a  special  authorization  to  him  to  recruit 
a  company  of  colored  cavalry.  In  a  very  short  time  the 
company  was  raised  and  tendered  the  government,  but 
the  energetic  originator  of  the  command  was  refused  his 
commission  as  captain  on  the  grounds  of  his  being  a 


PINCKNEY  BENTON  SEEWART  PINCHBACK.  763 

colored  man.  The  action  of  General  Banks  in  refusing  to 
commission  Captain  Pinchback  was  based  upon  the  fact 
that  no  authority  existed  then  for  the  employment  of 
colored  persons  in  any  other  capacity  than  that  of  privates, 
citizens  and  non-commissioned  officers.  This  great  injus- 
tice induced  Captain  Pinchback  to  abandon  any  further 
efFoi:;;t  in  Louisiana  to  serve  his  country  in  the  army.  In 
1865,  accompanied  by  Captain  H.  C.  Carter,  he  went  to 
Washington  with  a  hope  of  obtaining  from  President 
Abraham  Lincoln  authority  to  raise  a  regiment  of 
colored  men  in  Ohio  and  Indiana,  but  the  end  of  the 
war  and  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  which  occurred 
while  he  was  in  that  city,  rendered  his  trip  useless.  After 
a  while  he  returned  South,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  1865, 
at  Montgomery,  Selma  and  Mobile,  made  speeches  to 
assemblies  of  the  colored  people,  denunciating  the  unjust 
treatment  they  were  receiving  at  the  hands  of  the  lawless 
and  vicious  in  that  State.  Soon  after  the  enactment  by 
Congress  of  the  reconstruction  acts,  he  returned  to  New 
Orleans.  On  April  9,  1867,  he  made  his  first  move  in  the 
political  field,  upon  which  he  afterward  won  such  enduring 
honors  by  organizing  the  Fourth  Ward  Republican  Club. 
From  that  time  until  now  he  has  filled  a  large  place  and 
manyimportant  positions.  The  organization  last  referred 
to  elected  him  a  member  of  the  Republican  State  com- 
mittee, of  which  body  he  has  been  a  member  almost  con- 
tinuously up  till  the  present  day.  The  first  civil  appoint- 
ment for  which  he  held  a  warrant  was  Inspector  of 
Customs,  made  by  the  Hon.  William  P.  Kellogg,  May  22, 
1867.    Mr.  Kellogg  was  at  that  time  collector  of  the  port 


764  MEN  OF  MARK. 

of  New  Orleans,  but  the  position  was  declined.  At  the 
election  held  September  27  and  28,  1867,  on  the  question 
of  a  convention  **for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  consti- 
tution and  civil  government  for  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
loyal  to  the  Union,"  he  was  elected  a  delegate,  and  the 
record  attests  that  he  was  an  influential  member  of  that 
body.  He  introduced  in  it  and  succeeded  in  securing  the 
adoption  by  the  convention  of  the  thirteenth  article  of  the 
Constitution,  which  guarantees  civil  rights  to  all  the  peo- 
ple of  the  State.  April  17  and  18,  1868,  at  the  election 
held  to  ratify  the  Constitution,  and  for  the  election  of  offi- 
cers thereunder,  he  was  elected  a  State  Senator  from  the 
Second  Senatorial  district  composed  of  the  Fourth,  Fifth 
and  Sixth  wards  of  the  city  of  New  Orleans.  He  made  a 
strong,  valuable  Senator,  and  was  the  author  of  several 
important  legislative  measures  now  on  the  statute  books 
of  the  State,  notably,  an  act  to  enforce  the  thirteenth 
article  of  the  Constitution.  The  Republican  State  con- 
vention of  1868  elected  him  a  delegate  at  large  to  the 
Republican  National  convention  held  at  Chicago,  May  20, 

1868.  ^ 

He  was  also  a  delegale  to  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  con* 
vention  which  met  at  the  same  time  and  place.    April  19, 

1869,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Grant,  and  confirmed 
by  the  United  States  Senate,  register  of  the  land  office  at 
New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  but  preferring  to  remain  in  the 
State  Senate  he  declined  the  office.  In  November,  1869, 
he  established  a  commission  and  cotton  factorage  business 
under  the  name  and  style  of  Pinchback  &  Antoine.  This 
was  a  very  important  movement  and  if  his  attention  had 


PINCKNBY  BENTON  STEWART  PINCHBACK.  765 

>* 

not*  been  attracted  from  it  by  political  work  there  is  no 
doubt  that  he  would  have  established  a  business  which 
would  have  been  worth  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars 
to-day.  December  25,  1870,  he  started  the  publication  of 
the  New  Orleans  Louisianian,  published  semi-weekly  for 
two  or  three  years,  and  afterwards  weekly.  At  first  it 
was  owned  by  a  stock  company  in  which  Mr.  Pinchback 
had  a  controlling  number  of  shares.  In  a  short  time  he 
bought  all  the  stock  and  ran  the  paper  for  about  eleven 
years  with  credit  to  himself  and  advantage  to  the  race, 
whose  cause  he  always  championed  manfully.  In  the  same 
year  he  endeavored  to  establish  the  Mississippi  River 
Packet  company.  He  secured  an  act  of  incorporation  by 
the  State  Legislature  in  which  an  appropriation  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  was  made  to  aid  the  organization, 
but  the  money  could  not  be  obtained  owing  to  the  State 
debt  exceeding  the  constitutional  limits. 

March  18,  1871,  he  was  appointed  by  the  State  Board 
"  of  Education  School  Director  of  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  and 
served  as  such  until  March,  1877.  December  6,  1871,  he 
was  elected  president  pro  tern,  of  the  State  Senate,  and 
lieutenant-governor  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death 
of  Hon.  Oscar  J.  Dunn.  This  position  made  him  ex-oiScio 
president  of  the  Board  of  Metropolitan  Police,  practically 
the  head  of  the  police  force  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans. 
August  25,  1872,  he  was  nominated  by  a  large  and  enthu- 
siastic Republican  State  convention  for  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Louisiana,  with  a  complete  State  ticket.  The 
"Federal  ofiicials"  in  the  State  had  placed  another  State 
ticket  in  the  field,  headed  by  William  P.  Kellogg.    The 


766  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Democrats  also  had  a  ticket  in  the  field,  and  the  election  of 
the  latter  seemed  imminent  unless  a  compromise  could  be 
•cflfected  between  the  Republicans.  Mr.  Pinchback,  though 
undoubtedly  the  choice  of  the  majority  of  the  Republicans 
of  the  State,  fearing  that  the  triangular  contest  might  re- 
sult in  a  Democratic  victory,  accepted  a  compromise  with 
the  Kellogg  ticket,  which  resulted  in  one  Republican  ticket 
<!omposed  of  four  nominees  of  the  custom-house  faction  and 
three  nominees  of  the  Pinckback  ticket.  This  ticket  was 
headed  by  Hon.  William  Pitt  Kellogg  for  Governor,  and  Mr. 
Pinchback  was  placed  upon  it  for  Congress  from  the 
State-at-large.  It  was  victorious  at  the  election,  Novem- 
ber, 1872.  In  September  of  1872  he  ran  the  great  rail- 
road race  with  Governor  Warmouth,  being  lieutenant- 
governor  and  acting  governor  in  the  absence  of  the 
governor  from  the  State.  His  object  was  to  reach  the 
capital  and  sign  two  acts  of  the  Legislature  which  had 
been  passed  at  the  session  of  1871  and  1872,  and  which 
deprived  the  governor  of  the  control  and  redistribution  of 
election  officers  of  the  State.  It  was  a  desperate  undertak- 
ing and  the  largest  stake  ever  run  for  before.  It  in- 
volved the  control  of  the  State  and  possibly  the  National 
government.  December  6,  1872,  the  Legislature  that  was 
elected  in  November  (half  of  the  Senate  and  all  of  the 

House)  was  convened  in  extraordinary  session.  Its  organ- 
ization was  a  question  of  momentous  importance.    Both 

Democrats  and  Republicans  claimed  a  majority  of  members 
in  the  Senate.  The  returning  board  had  given  certificates 
of  election  to  a  sufficient  number  of  Republicans  to  consti- 
tute a  quorum  in  both  houses,  but  many  of  the  seats  were 


^ 


PINCKNEY  BENTON  STEWART  PINCHBACK.  767 

• 

<rlaimed  by  Democrats.  The  Republicans,  constituting  a 
majority  of  the  Senate  holding  over,  and  who  were  in  sym* 
pathy  with  Governor  Warmouth,  who  had  gone  over  to 
the  Democrats,  met  in  caucus  the  day  before  with  Lieuten- 
ant-governor Pinchback  presiding,  and  decided  that  in 
organizing  the  Senate  the  next  day  the  President  should 
only  swear  in  the  Senators  whose  seats  were  not  contested. 
To  remove  any  possible  doubt  of  the  President  adheringto 
the  decision  caucus,  the  governor  of  the  State  called  at  his 
house  late  at  night  on  the  fifth  and  made  him  a  tempting 
offer  to  carry  out  its  decision.  Mr.  Pinchback  told  Gov- 
ernor Warmouth  that  he  would  sleep  on  the  matter  and 
call  at  the  St.  Charles  hotel  the  next  morning  with  the 
answer.  Before  daylight  he  repaired  to  the  Senate  cham- 
ber and  remained  there  until  he  had  organized  the  Senate 
by  swearing  in,  in  solidoy  every  member  whose  election 
was  certified  to  by  the  returning  board.  This  action  re- 
quired more  than  ordinary  courage  and  saved  the  Senate 
to  the  Republicans  and  perpetuated  the  Republican  rule 
four  years  longer  than  it  would  have  existed  in  Louisiana 
had  Mr.  Pinchback  proceeded  in  any  other  course. 

Three  days  after  the  organization  of  the  Legislature, 
he  became  acting  Governor  by  the  impeachment  of  Gover- 
nor Warmouth,  and  was  actually  Governor  until  January 
13,  1873,  when  the  term  expired  and  the  Kellogg  govern- 
ment was  inaugurated.  The  brief  period  he  occupied  the 
gubernatorial  chair  was  the  stormiest  ever  witnessed  in 
the  history  of  any  State  in  the  Union ;  but  the  Governor 
was  equal  to  the  emergency  and  displayed  administrative 
capacity    of  a  high    order.    January  15,  1873,  he  was 


768  MEN  OP  MARK. 

elected  by  the  Legislature  United  States  Senator  for  the 
term  of  six  years  from  March  4,    1873.      This   election 
gave  him  the  extraordinary  distinction  of  being  the  mem- 
ber-elect of  both  houses  of  Congress.    In  accordance  with 
law  his  credentials  for  the  House  were  sent  to  the  clerk  of 
said  House,  and  in  due  time  his  credentials  for  the  Senate 
were  laid  before   that  body  by  the  sitting  Senator  from 
Louisiana.     The  Senate   met  in  extra  session,  March  4, 
1873,  and  its  first  duty  was  the  second  inaugural  of  Gen- 
eral U.  S.  Grant.    Leading  Republican  Senators  advised 
the  Senators-elect  from    Alabama    and  Louisiana  whose 
seats  were  contested,  to  refrain    from    presenting   them- 
selves to  be  sworn  in  until  the  inaugural  ceremonies  were 
over,  as  it  might  prejudice  their  case  to  precipitate  the  con- 
test at  such  an  important  junction.    Consequently  neither 
the  Senator  from  Alabama  nor  the  Senator  from  Louisiana 
presented  themselves  to  be  sworn  in.    Two  days  later  Mr. 
Spencer  from  Alabama  presented  himself,  and  objection 
was  made  to  his  taking  the  oath.    The  question  was  de- 
bated at  considerable  length,  but  he  was  seated  March 
7,    1873.    It  required  only  two  days   to  settle  his  case. 
He  was  white.    It  was  two  years  lajter  before  Mr.  Pinch- 
back  could  get  his  case  brought  before  the  Senate.    Friday, 
March  5,   1875,  Mr.  Oliver   P.  Morton,    the  gallant  son 
of  Indiana,  introduced  two  resolutions,  the  first  to  recog- 
nize the  Kellogg  government,  the  second  in  these  words: 
"Resolved,  that  P.  B.  S.  Pinchback  be  admitted  as  a  Sena- 
tor from  the  State  of  Louisiana  to  the  term  of  six  years, 
beginning    March    8,     1873.''     March    13,    1875,    Ed- 
munds, the  "iceberg"  of  Vermont,  moved  to  amend  by  in- 


PINCKNBY  BENTON  STEWART  PINCHSACK.  769 

aerdng  the  word  "not*'  before  "admitted."  The  amend- 
mtnt  and  resolution  was  not  disposed  of  until  March  8, 
1876,  when  the  amendment  was  adopted  by  thirty-two 
ytBB  and  twenty-nine  nays.  The  record  shpws  that 
elevtn  Republican  Senators  opposed  his  admission  to  his 
seAt  in  the  Senate,  a  seat  to  which  he  was  legally  and  just- 
ly entitled.  This  unjust  and  most  extraordinary  action  of 
the  Senate  was  a  wrong  to  the  State  of  Louisiana,  which 
was  deprived  of  her  just  representation  in  that  body  for 
oyer  three  years ;  an  outrage  upon  the  loyal  Republicans 
o^  Louisiana,  who  stood  by  their  party  through  storm  and 
carnage  without  a  parallel  in  political  historj- ;  an  injury 
to  the  rejected  Senator  which  time  cannot  heal.  Four 
months  later,  July  5,  1876,  the  Senate  passed  a  resolu- 
tion allowing  Mr.  P.  B.  S.  Pinchback  and  Francis  ,W. 
Sykes,  out  of  the  contingent  fund  of  the  Senate,  an  amount 
equal  to  the  pay  and  mileage  of  the  Senator  for  the  term 
for  which  they  were  respectively  contestants  up  to  the 
period  of  the  termination  of  their  respective  contests  by 
the  Senate.  This  gave  Mr.  Pinchback  $16,666.  It  was 
the  foundation  for  the  competenc}'  which  he  now  enjoys, 
but  he  says  with  great  feeling,  even  now,  that  he  would 
rather  have  died  a  pauper  than  to  have  been  denied  the 
right  to  represent  his  people  in  the  Senate  of  the  Nation. 

The  followHlng  interesting  article  appeared  in  the  New 
York  Commercial  Advertiser,  as  written  by  their  Wash- 
ington correspondent  during  the  vote  in  the  Senate.  It 
is  worthy  to  be  preserved. 

Pinchback's  case  was  brought  up  yesterday,  but  its  discussion  was  in- 
termpted  by  the  obsequies  of  Hooper.    To-day' on  motion  of  Senator 


770  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Morton,  the  Senate  have  agreed  to  go  at  *'Pinc;|i/*  pro  and  con^  and  sit 
without  intermission  until  thej  haye  made  him  a  skylark  in  the  air  or  a 
turtle  in  the  mud.  The  contest  will  be  fierce,  but  briefer  than  the  civil 
rights  fight  in^he  House.  The  Senators  lack  the  fire  and  youthful  vigor 
of  the  lower  body.  Their  old  bones  won't  stand  the  strain  of  cramped-np 
desks  and  sofas,  and  spasmodic  snoozes  in  the  cloak  room.  McCreery, 
Senator  from  Kentucky,  declares,  privately,  in  that  pastoral  phraseology 
proverbially  peculiar  to  blue  grass  Democrats,  that  he  "will  g^ve  that 
nigger  some  sleepless  nights  before  he  gets  his  seat.'*  McCreer>',  though 
an  able  man,  is  probably  the  laziest  man  in  the  Senate,  and  about  the 
fiftieth  roll-call,  or  the  fourth  hour  of  Maryland  Hamilton's  speech, 
would  probably,  with  Kentucky  impulsiveness,  give  his  own  seat  to 
Downing  sooner  than  stand  any  more  of  it.  Pinchback  glides  around 
the  Chamber  like  a  bronze  Mephistophcles,  smiling  sardonically,  and 
buzzing  his  supporters. 

He  is  a  trained  politician,  and  if  he  does  not  prove  to  l)e  a  statesman, 
and  has  "counted  noses"  until  he  avers  himself  certain  of  eleven  majority 
on  a  full  vote — and  he  is  too  good  a  "whip"  not  to  have  all  his  friends 
on  hand  when  it  comes  to  a  vote.  In  fact  the  mad  obstinacy  and  devil- 
ish cruelties  of  the  White  League  in  the  South  recently,  have  made 
Pinchback's  support  a  party  measure,  and  unless  indisputable  evidences 
of  fraud  are  brought  against  him  by  Ixitter  authority  than  New  Orleans 
pimps,  thugs  and  traitors,  the  North  will  assuredly  accept  the  loyal 
Negro  in  preference  to  the  possibility  of  a  white  relxrl.  .\sidc  from  the 
political  view  of  the  question,  Pinchback's  presence  in  the  United  States 
Senate  is  not  oi>en  to  the  smallest  objection,  except  the  old  Bourbon 
war-whoops  of  color.  He  is  about  thirty-seven  years  of  age,  not  darker 
than  an  Arab,  less  so  than  the  Kanaka.  Like  Lord  Tomnoddy,  "his 
hair  is  straight  but  his  whiskers  curl."  His  features  are  regular,  just 
perceptibly  African,  his  eyes  intensely  black  and  brilliant,  with  a  keen, 
restless  glance.  His  most  repellent  point  is  a  sardonic  smile  which,  hov- 
ering continuously  over  his  lips,  gives  him  an  evil  look,  undeniably  hand- 
some as  the  man  is.  It  seems  as  though  the  scorn  which  must  rage 
within  him,  at  sight  of  the  dirty  ignorant  men  from  the  South  who  affect 
to  look  down  upon  him  on  account  of  his  color,  finds  play  imperceptibly 
^bout  his  lips. 

His  manner  is  reserved  but  polite,  exhibiting  a  modesty  rarely  seen  in 


PINCKNEY  BENTON  STEWART  PINCHBACK.  771 

A  siicGes9fo1  politician— U  model  indeed  of  good  breeding  to  those  Texas 
and  Louisiana  Yahoos  who  shout  "nigger,  nigger,  nigger/'  in  default  of 
common  sense  or  logic.  Mr.  Pinchback  is  the  best  dressed  Southern 
-man  we  have  had  in  Congress  from  the  South  since  the  days  when  gen- 
tlemen were  Democrats ;  and  were  he  to  walk  into  Delmonico*8  ca&  he 
would  be  mistaken  by  even  so  experienced  an  eye  as  Admiral  Wenberg*s 
for  a  wealthy  Creole  island  planter  educated  abroad.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  while  Welcker  and  other  leading  restaurateurs  here  have  been  avow- 
ing their  purpose  to  become  Alpine  monks,  and  go  to  making  ''Benedic- 
tine'* sooner  than  cater  to  colored  people,  they  have  been  permitted  as 
^ests  at  Delmonico's  in  Democratic  New  York,  for  years.  The  only  re- 
quirements  in  that  most  fastidious  of  restaurants,  kept  by  gentlemen 
for  gentlemen,  are  propriety  of  demeanor,  decency  in  personal  attire,  and 
a  reasonable  alacrity  in  the  settlement  of  accounts.  Yet  any  ardent  son 
of  the  South  who  accused  the  Delmonico*s  of  being  ''nigger"  worshipers 
-would  find  few  believers. 

« 

The  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  given  to 
his  contestant  in  the  last  hours  of  its  session,  after  the 
most  extraordinary  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  Republicans 
of  that  body.  No  fair-minded  person  can  read  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  and  the  credentials 
of  Mr.  Pinchback  without  concluding  that  a  conspiracy 
existed  to  keep  him  out  of  both  Houses.  April  24,  1873, 
he  was  appointed  Commissioner  to  the  Vienna  Exposition 
from  the  State  of  Louisiana,  by  Governor  Kellogg,  and  sailed 
from  Boston  for  that  city  about  one  month  later.  He  was 
abroad  three  months  and  visited  England,  France,  Italy, 
Austria  and  Switzerland.  January  13,  1875,  the  Legisla- 
ture  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  to  cure  the  objections  raised 
against  the  Legislature  of  1873,  re-elected  him  United  States 
Senator  as  in  case  of  vacancy.  The  Republican  State 
convention,  held  in  1876,  elected  him  a  delegate  from  the 


772  MEN  OP  MARK. 

« 

State-at-large  to  the  Republican  National  convention,  held 
in  Cincinnati,  June  14,  1876.  When  it  assembled  he  was 
still  knocking  at  the  door  of  the  Senate.  To  demonstrate 
to  that  body  that  he  was  the  unquestionable  choice  of  the 
majority  of  the  Republicans  of  Louisiana,  his  friends  at  the 
assembling  of  the  Republican  State  convention  placed  him 
in  nomination  for  temporary  chairman.  Kellogg,  Packard 
&  Co.,  backed  by  the  combined  patronage  of  the  Federal 
and  State  governments,  opposed  him.  But  on  a  viva  voce 
vote  he  was  elected  after  one  of  the  most  exciting  contests 
ever  witnessed  in  preliminary  organization.  On  the  per- 
manent organization  he  was  elected  president  of  the  con- 
vention, and  the  following  resolution  was  adopted  by  it 
with  great  unanimity  and  enthusiasm. 

Resolved,  that  we  re-affirm  our  unalterable  allegiance  to,  and  confi- 
dence in  the  Honorable  P.  B.  S.  Pinchback,  United  States  Senator-elect, 
from  Louisiana,  and  while  we  regret  that  he  has  not  been  seated  we  have 
every  faith  that  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  will,  in  due  time,  honor 
his  credentials  as  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  sovereign  State  of 
Louisiana.  But  in  case  it  should  be  deemed  necessary  for  the  (^neral  As- 
sembly of  Louisiana  at  its  next  session  to  ratify  his  credentials  as  United 
States  Senator,  we  hereby  nominate  and  re-indorse  the  Honorable  P.  B. 
S.  Pinchback  as  our  unanimous  choice  and  only  candidate  for  United 
States  Senator  from  this  State,  and  direct  all  the  Republicans,  members 
of  the  General  Assembly,  to  put  in  force  and  to  execute  this  declaration  of 
the  deliberate  wisdom  of  the  Republican  party  in  convention  assembled. 

In  nearly  every  parish  of  the  State  the  resolution  was 
indorsed  by  the  Republican  voters.  It  will  be  seen  there- 
fore that  every  Republican  member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
indeed  the  entire  Republican  party  of  the  State,  were  sol- 
emnly pledged  to  his  re-election  to  the  United  States  Senate. 


PmCKNBY  BENTON  STEWART  PTNCHBACK.  773 

In  the  face  of  this  fact  it  was  plafnly  manifest  on  the  assem- 
bling of  the  Legislature  that  Kellogg,  Packard  and  their 
party  did  not  intend  to  allow  Mr.  Pinchback  to  be  elected 
if  they  could  prevent  it.  Kellogg  was  governor  and  Pack- 
ard governor-elect,  and  of  course  their  power  was  great, 
and  both  were  experts  in  the  corrupt  uses  of  patronage 
and  money.  They  worked  upon  the  members  day  and  night, 
to  disregard  their  instructions  'from  the  convention  and 
the  people  to  vote  for  Mr.  Pinchback,  and  support  Kellogg 
instead ;  and  long  before  the  day  for  balloting  arrived  it 
was  generally  known  they  had  succeeded  in  capturing  a 
sufficient  number  to  accomplish  their  purpose.  It  is  said 
to  have  cost  them  over  nineteen  thousand  dollars,  besides 
all  the  promises  of  offices  they  could  make  to  control  the 
Senate. 

During  the  time  this  nefarious  business  was  going  on, 
Mr.  Pinchback  was  advised  of  its  progress  by  true  and 
trusted  friends;  and  he  knew  better  than  any  one  could 
tell  him  that,  notwithstanding  he  had  ever  been  loyal  and 
true  to  his  race  and  party  and  had  rendered  both  services 
of  the  highest  importance,  he  was  doomed  to  be  slaugh- 
tered in  the  house  of  his  friends.  In  such  an  hour,  what 
must  have  been  the  bitterness  of  his  feelings  ?  Who  can 
measure  the  depths  of  his  wound?  Betrayed  and  deserted 
by  the  party  and  men  who  would  have  been  driven  from 
power  in  the  State  four  years  before  if  it  had  not  been  for 
his  integrity  and  braver3\  Is  it  any  wonder  that  he  took 
advantage  of  a  fortuitous  circumstance — ^the  co-operation 
of  the  four  Republican  Senators  who  stood  by  him  and 
went  over  to  the  Nicholls  government  ?     To  a  man  of  his 


774  MBN  OF  MARK. 

temperament,  who  has  never  failed  to  strike  when  struck, 
it  was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world.  Kellogg  and 
Packard  were  warned  of  the  danger,  but  they  laughed 
at  the  idea  of  a  Negro  daring  to  revolt  against  the  Repub- 
lican party,  as  they  termed  it.  They  learned  better  when  it 
was  too  late.  In  1877  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
State  Board  of  Education  by  Governor  NichoUs.  Febru- 
ary 8,  1879,  he  was  appointed  by  Commissioner  Green  B. 
Raum,  internal  revenue  agent.  March  5,  1879,  he  was 
elected  delegate  from  Madison  Parish  to  the  Constitutional 
convention  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  and  he  resigned  his 
internal  revenue  agency  to  take  his  seat  in  that  body. 
In  1880  he  was  elected  by  the  Republican  State  conven- 
tion from  the  State-at-large,  to  the  Republican  National 
convention,  held  at  Chicago,  June  3  to  8,  1880.  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1882,  he  was  appointed  surveyor  of  customs 
for  the  port  of  New  Orleans  by  President  Chester  A.  Ar- 
thur, and  confirmed  unanimously  by  the  Senate  without 
reference  to  the  committee.  In  1883  he  was  appointed 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Southern  Univer- 
sity by  Governor  S.  T.  McEnry.  This  institution,  the 
finest  and  best  in  the  State  for  the  education  of  colored 
people,  was  made  under  the  constitutional  requirement  by 
the  State  convention  of  1879,  through  an  article  intro- 
duced in  that  body  by  Mr.  Pinchback.  In  1884  he  was 
elected  a  delegate  from  the  State-at-large  to  the  Republi- 
can National  convention  held  at  Chicago  from  June  1 
to  June  6,  1884,  inclusive.  1885  he  was  re-appointed  by 
Governor  McEnry,  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 


PINCKNEY  BENTON  STEWART  PINCHBACK.  775 

the  Southern  University.   July  2, 1885,  he  resigned  the  sur- 
veyor's office. 

He  was  married  in  1860,  and  his  wife  has  borne  him  six 
children,  four  boys  and  two  girls.  Two,  a  boy  and  a  girl, 
died.  The  remaining  give  promise  of  being  useful  members 
of  society.  The  oldest  boy,  Pinckney  Napoleon,  after  ob- 
taining a  fair  English  education  entered  the  College  of 
Pharmacy,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  and  graduated 
from  said  institution  March  18,  1887.  His  father  is  very 
proud  of  his  success,  as  very  large  numbers  of  that  institu- 
tion fail  to  pass  the  examination. 

Governor  Pinchback  has  been  a  prudent,  economical 
financier,  ^nd  has  accumulated  a  very  handsome  fortune. 
His  income  is  about  ten  thousand  dollars  a  j'car  from 
stocks  and  bonds.  In  the  fall  of  1885  Governor  Pinch- 
back  entered  the  Law  School  of  the  State  University,  and 
owing  to  his  familiarity  with  the  general  principles  of  law 
and  especiall3'  the  laws  of  Louisiana,  he  passed  a  success- 
ful examination  at  the  close  of  the  first  term  of  the  class, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  April  10,  1886. 

This  short  sketch  is  hardly  a  fair  outline  of  his  present 
mode  of  living.  He  has  wedged  his  name  so  firmly  in  the 
affairs  of  the  ** Pelican  State,*'  that  its  history  cannot  be 
written  without  his  romantic  life  making  several  leading 
chapters.  He  has  held  more  offices  than  an}'  other  colored 
man  in  the  United  States.  Let  me  close  with  the  hope  that 
lie  will  yet  be  United  States  Senator  from  Louisiana. 

I  here  give  an  account  of  '^The  Great  Railroad  Race,'' 
told  by  Mr.  Pinchback  himself: 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1 872.    The  clouds  in  the  political 


776  MBN  OP  MARK. 

horizon  were  dark  and  lowering.  I  had  been  taking  part 
in  the  campaign  in  the  State  of  Maine  in  the  interest  of 
Mr.  James  G.  Blaine,  who  was  a  candidate  for  re-election  to 
Congress.  The  Republicans  all  over  the  country  desired 
his  re-election  in  order  that  he  might  be  re-elected  speaker 
of  the  House,  a  position  he  had  filled  with  marked  ability, 
and  prominent  speakers  from  all  parts  of  the  Union  ireadily 
went  to  Maine  and  gave  their  services  to  aid  his  return  to 
Congress. 

General  U.  S.  Grant  had  been  nominated  by  the  Repub- 
lican National  convention  at  Philadelphia,  June  5,  for 
re-election  to  the  Presidency,  and  Honorable  Henry  Wilson 
of  Massachusetts,  for  vice-president. 

This  ticket  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Horace  Greeley  of  New 
York,  for  President,  and  Mr.  B.  Gratz  Brown  of  Missouri, 
for  vice-president.  These  gentlemen  had  been  placed  in  the 
field  by  the  Liberal  Republican  convention  at  Cincinnati, 
May  10,  and  indorsed  by  the  Democratic  National  conven- 
tion at  Baltimore,  July  9.  The  shrewdest  political  calcu- 
lators in  the  Republican  party  were  in  doubt  as  to  the 
result  of  the  contest.  Some  of  the  ablest,  purest  and  best 
men  in  the  Republican  party  were  numbered  among  its 
membership — notably  Honorable  Charles  Sumner — and 
were  supporting  Mr.  Greele3\  The  situation  was  far  from 
satisfactory  and  assuring  when  I  arrived  in  New  York  City 
and  entered  the  rooms  of  the  Republican  Committee  at  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  and  found  Honorable  Henry  Wilson, 
and  Honorable  William  E.  Chandler,  secretary  of  the  Re- 
publican National  committee,  in  earnest  consultation 
relative  to  the  outlook  for  the  party.     Both  gentlemen 


PINCKNBY  BENTON  3TBWART  PlNCHBACK.  777 

Si^eeted  me  cordially  and  inyited  me  to  be  seated.  I  took 
a  aeat  and  listeiied  with  deep  interest,  not  unmixed  with 
^arm,  as  they  expressed  their  doubts  and  fears  as  to  the 
mesult  of  the  National  election. 

Turning  to  me  Mr.  Chandler  asked,  **  What  are  the  pros- 
pects for  our  carrying, Louisiana?"  I  answered  none  in 
the  world,  and  explained  to  him  the  character  of  our 
registration  and  election  laws.  These  laws,  wholesome 
and  salutary  in  the  hands  of  honest  men,  and  designed  to 
secure  free  and  fair  elections,  could  be  turned  into  terrible 
engines  of  oppression  and  fraud  if  adminisitered  by  dis- 
honest and  unscrupulous  men.  This  fact  had  become  so 
apparent  by  their  abuse  in  several  local  contests,  that  the 
demand  for  their  repeal  among  all  classes  was  so  loud 
and  deep  that  the  Legislature,  at  the  close  of  the  session 
of  1871  and  1872,  passed  new  registration  and  election 
laws.  These  laws  having  passed  within  the  last  five  days 
of  the  session,  the  governor  under  a  provision  of  the  con- 
stitution of  the  State  could  sign  them  if  he  so  elected  at 
any  time  before  the  assembling  of  the  next  session  of  the 
general  assembly. 

Through  the  machinations  of  the  ** Federal  Officials''  in 
Louisiana,  Governor  Warmouth  had  been  driven  practically 
out  of  the  Republican  party,  and  he  espoused  the  cause  of 
Mr.  Greeley.  It  was  not  likely  that  he  would  sign  these 
bills  and  deprive  himself  of  the  great  power  they  conferred 
upon  him.  At  the  conclusion  of  my  explanation  Mr. 
Chandler  said :  **  Governor  Warmouth  is  here  in  New  York, 
at  this  very  hotel,  and  it  would  be  a  grand  thing  if  you 
would  go  home  and  sign  those  bills.''     Mr.  Wilson  con- 


778  MBN  OF  If  ARK. 

curred  in  the  opinion  and  asked  me  if  I  dared  to  undertake 
the  perilous  performance.  I  replied,  ''If  the  success  of  tlie 
Republican  party  is  at  stake,  I  dare  do  anything  tliat 
will  save  it."  Both  gentlemen  declared  it  was  their  opin- 
ion that  the  electoral  vote  of  Louisiana  might  be  necessary 
to  secure  the  success  of  the  National  ticket.  I  was  lien- 
tenant-governor,  and,  in  the  absence  of  the  governor  from 
the  State,  my  position  made  me  acting  governor,  and  I 
could  legally  exercise  all  the  power  of  the  governor.  If  I 
could  reach  the  State  and  sign  those  laws  while  the  gov- 
ernor was  outside  its  borders,  they  would  be  valid  laws, 
and  the  entire  machinery'  of  registration  and  elections 
would  be  changed,  and  the  chances  of  the  Republicans 
carrying  the  State  doubly  multiplied.  The  control  of  the 
government  of  Louisiana,  and  possibly  that  of  the  Federal 
government  was  involved  in  the  issue. 

I  resolved  to  start  at  once  for  Louisiana.  The  time  was 
propitious.  It  was  Saturday.  If  I  left  that  night  I  would 
have  twenty-four  hours  the  best  of  the  start  in  anycontin- 
genc}',  as  there  were  no  trains  leaving  New  York  for  the 
South,  Sunday  morning. 

Unfortunately  for  the  success  of  my  undertaking,  I  had 
an  engagement  with  Governor  Warmouth  .tojoin  him  at  a 
bird  supper  that  very  evening.  It  was  my  failure  to  appear 
at  that  supper  which  aroused  his  suspicion  that  something, 
was  up.  I  suspected  as  much,  and  endeavored  to  allay  any 
suspicion  my  absence  fr^m  the  supper  might  create  by 
leaving  my  trunk  (my  name  was  on  the  cover)  in  the  hall 
of  the  hotel  where  he  could  see  it.  I  also  left  my  secretary, 
Mr.  Henry  Corbin,  at  the  hotel  with  instructions  to  see 


PINCKNBY  BENTON  STEWART  PINCHBACK.  779 

Governor  Warmouth  early  Sunday  morning  and  offer  him 
some  reasonable  excuse  for  my  disappointing  him.  Mr. 
Chandler  assured  me  he  would  keep  me  posted  on  Gov- 
ernor Warmouth*s  movements,  and  should  he  start  ho  me 
would  notify  me  by  telegram,  as  he  would  know  just  where, 
to  reach  me  by  the  schedule  time  of  the  railroad. 

With  everything  arranged  as  satisfacrorily  as  it  could  be 
done  in  such  a  short  time,  at  nine  o*clock  that  Saturdav 
night  I  left  New  York  via  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad. 
Next  morning  I  arrived  at  Pittsburgh  and  was  much  an. 
noyed  to  find  that'  a  delay  of  six  hours  was  before  me  on  . 
account  of  no  trains  running  on  Sunday.  At  Cincinnati 
the  train  missed  connection  and  I  lost  six  hours  more,  but 
as  I  heard  nothing  from^  Mr.  Chandler  I  thought  I  was  all 
right. 

In  order  to  attract  as  little  attention  as  possible,  on 
leaving  Cincinnati  I  took  a  seat  in  the  smoking  car. 
About  eleven  o'clock  at  night  when  the  train  arrived  at 
Canton,  Mississippi,  I  was  aroused  from  a  deep  sleep  by  a 
rude  shake,  and  opening  my  eyes  I  saw  a  man  with  a 
lantern  in  his  arm,  who,  I  think,  was  the  conductor  of  the 
train,  standing  in  front  of  me.  As  soon  as  he  saw  I  was 
a,wake  he  asked,  **Are  you  Governor  Pinchback?"  And 
without  waiting  for  an  answer  said,  'There  is  a  telegram 
in  the  telegraph  office  for  you.** 

Remembering  Mr.  Chandler's  promise  to  wire  me  should 
Governor  Warmouth  become  apprised  of  my  movements, 

m 

I  rushed  out  of  the  car  into  the  telegraph  office  to  get 

• 

what  I  had  been  expecting— a  dispatch  from  Mr.  Chandler. 
Before  I  had  finished  the  inquiry  for  the  dispatch  I  knew 


780  MEN  OP  MARK. 

by  the  manner  of  the  man  in  the  office  that  something  was 
wrong.  He  seemed  to  be  in  no  hurry  to  hand  me  the  pre- 
tended dispatch,  and  his  face  had  a  sinister  expression  up- 
on it.  On  reaching  the  door  in  my  attempt  to  return  to 
the  train  I  found  it  closed  and  locked  on  the  outside.  This 
confirmed  the  suspicion  already  aroused,  and  I  made  a  des- 
perate attempt  to  regain  the  train  by  bolting  through  the 
window.  It  was  too  late.  I  saw  only  the  rear  end  of  the 
train  disappearing  around  the  curve  in  the  road  fully 
a  mile  distant. 

I  had  lost  the  largest  stake  ever  ran  for  in  this  or  any 
other  country — a  State  and  possibly  the  National  Govern- 
ment. It  is  needless  for  me  to  state  that  I  was  the  victim 
of  a  conspirac)'.  Governor  Warmouth  had  learned  of  my 
departure  from  New  York  by  the  Pennsylvania  road, 
through  one  of  its  agents,  who  saw  me  board  the  train  in 
Jersey  City  and  divined  the  cause.  He  instantly  put  the 
telegraph  wires  to  work  and  started  after  me  on  the  next 
train  (Sunday  night)  and  arrived  at  Humbolt  on  time, 
only  twelve  hours  behind  me.  At  that  point  he  took  a 
** special''  and  came  rattling  along  at  the  rate  of  forty, 
fifty,  and  even  sixty  miles  an  hour  where  the  road  would 
stand  it.  Under  any  circumstances  it  would* have  been  a 
close  finish  between  us  at  New  Orleans,  but  lie  and  his 
allies  could  not  afford  to  take  anv  chances.  The  monev 
and  intelligence,  the  telegraph  and  railroads  of  the  entire 
section  of  countrj'  through  which  I  had  to  pass  after  leav- 
ing the  Ohio  river,  were  on  his  side.  These  things  con- 
sidered, it  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  it  was  next  to 


PINCKNBY  BENTON  STEWART  PINCHBACK.  781 

impossible  for  me  to  reach  New  Orleans  in  advance  of  the 
governor." 

I  shall  never  forget  the  triumphant  expression  upon  his 
face  as  I  saw  him  standing  upon  the  front  platform  of  his 
special  car  as  it  came  lumbering  into  the  town  of  Canton 
that  morning,  and  the  haughty,  taunting  manner  in  which 
he  exclaimed,  "  Hello,  old  fellow,  what  are  you  doing  here?  " 
I  replied  with  the  best  grace  I  could  command,  **I  am  on 
my  way  home  what  are  you  doing  here?"  He  said,  "I 
am  after  you."  "Well,  you  have  caught  me,"  was  my 
reply,  **and  if  you  have  no  objection  I  will  go  on  with 
you  the  balance  of  the  journey. 

He  consented,  but  the  railroad  people  required  me  to  sign 
a  contract  exempting  the  road  from  all  responsibility,  as 
the  "special "  was  traveling  outside  of  schedule  and  lawful 
time.  The  news  of  my  capture  had  been  telegraphed  all 
along  the  line  of  the  road,  and  great  crowds  were  assembled 
at  each  station  as  the  train  rolled  by.  And  oh !  how  they 
did  yell.  I  dare  say  the  howlers  were  hoarse  for  da3rs 
afterwards. 

In  closing  this  accotmt  of  my  railroad  race,  I  must  state 
in  all  seriousness,  that  it  was  a  desperate  and  most  haz- 
ardous adventure.  The  moment  my  purpose  was  sus- 
pected and  I  crossed  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  myJife  was 
not  worth  a  pin's  fee.  I  have  been  told  by  one  of  the  men 
who  helped  entrap  me  at  Canton,  that  every  railroad 
entering  New  Orleans  from  the  North  was  picketed  for 
miles  from  the  State  line  and  the  orders  were  to  prevent 
my  entrance  into  the  State  in  advance  of  the  governor  if  it 
required  the  sacrifice  of  my  life. 


782  MEN  OP  HARK. 


CXV. 

ALEXANDER  PETION. 

President  of  Hayti — Skilful  Engineer— Education  at  the  Military* 
School  of  France. 

ALEXANDER  PETION,  already  alluded  to  in  our 
*  Glance  at  the  History  of  St.  Domingo,'  was  one 
of  the  first  presidents  of  the  Republic  of  Hayti.  He  was 
a  Mulatto,  but  of  a  very  dark  complexion,  and  received 
his  education  in  the  military  school  of  France.  Being  a 
man  of  cultivated  understanding  and  attractive  manners, 
and  moreover,  well  instructed  in  the  art  of  war,  he  .served 
in  the  French,  and  afterwards  in  the  Haytian  armies  wth 
success  and  reputation.  He  was  in  high  esteem  as  a  skil- 
fttl  engineer,  in  which  capacity  he  rendered  the  most  essen- 
tial service  to  Toussaintand  Desalines.  Petion  was  a  man 
of  fine  talents,  acute  feelings  and  honorable  intentions, 
but  not  fully  adapted  for  the  station  he  was  called  upon 
to  fill.  The  Haytians,  just  liberated  from  absolute  slavery, 
without  education,  habits  of  thought,  moral  energy  and 
perfect  rectitude  of  character  so  necessary  in  a  govern- 
ment perfectly  republican,  stood  in  need  of  a  ruler  less  kind, 
gentle  and  humane  than  Petion.  In  consequence  of  this, 
his  people  relaxed  in  their  attention  to  agpriculture,  his 


Xl/BXANDER  PETION.  793 

.finances  became  diBorganized  and  his  country  impoverished. 
The  unfortunate  Petion,  disheartened  at  a  state  of  things 
which  he  saw  no  means  of  remedying,  sunk  into  a  state  of 
despondency  which  ended,  it  is  said,  in  voluntary  death. 
Petion  was,  perhaps,  less  beloved  in  his  lifetime  than  his 
memory  has  been  venerated  since  his  death.  High  mass 
is  said  every  year  for  his  departed  soul,  with  great  pomp 
and  circumstance,  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Romish 
church;  and  the  people  appear  to  look  back  upon  him 
with  more  than  a  common  feeling  of  kindness  and  regard, 
as  the  father  and  friend  of  his  country.  His  body,  encased 
in  a  coffin,  lies  in  an  open  cenotaph  fronting  the  govern- . 
ment  house,  and  by  the  side  of  it  that  of  his  only  daugh- 
ter ;  both  coffins  are  occasionally  decorated  with  simple 
native  offerings.  ** There  is  no  doubt,''  says  Candler, 
**that  Petion  was  a  patriot,  and  that  he  sincerely  desired 
the  welfare  of  Hayti.  He  was  greatly  averse  to  the  shed- 
ding of  blood,  and  had  often  to  check  the  impetuosity  and 
vengeance  of  the  general  who  commanded  under  him. 
Some  accounts  represent  him  to  have  starved  hiihself  to 
death,  through  vexation  at  the  slow  progress  of  his  peo- 
ple towards  civilization ;  this  may  have  been  the  case,  as 
he  was  of  a  sanguine  temperament,  and  was  exceedingly 
thwarted  in  some  of  his  plans  for  the  public  good ;  but  a 
physician  of  Port-au-Prince  assured  me  that  such  was  not 
really  the  fact,  and  that  he  died  of  inanition  from  natural 
causes." 

An  interesting  and  pleasing  trait  in  the  character  of 
Petion  is  exhibited  in  an  anecdote  related  by  the  author 
above  quoted,  with  which  I  shall  conclude  this  brief  sketch. 


784  MEN  OP  MARK. 

*'  In  1815  a  visit  of  a  religious  character  was  paid  to  some 
parts  of  Hayti  by  Stephen  Grellet,  a  native  of  France,  and 
a  minister  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Petion,  who  was  at 
that  time  President  of  the  Island,  received  him  with  great 
cordiality,  and  permitted  him  to  preach  to  his  soldiers 
from  the  steps  of  the  palace,  himself  and  his  staff  attend- 
ing as  auditors." 

This  sketch  is  taken  from  a  work  entitled  *  A  Tribute  for 
the  Negro,'  published  in  1848,  by  Armistead. 


i 


T.  T.  FORTUNE. 


TDIOTHlr  THOMAS  FORTUNE.  785 


CXVI. 

TIMOTHY  THOMAS  FORTUNE,  ESQ. 

Editor— Aathor— Pamphleteer— Agitator. 

IN  Marion  Township,  Jackson  county,  Florida,  lived 
Emanuel  and  Sarah  Jane  Fortune,  in  the  galling  bonds 
of  slavery.  To  them  was  bom  a  boy  who  was  to  reflect 
credit  on  their  name  and  play  an  important  part  in  the 
newspaper  world.  His  father  is  a  progressive  man  of  great 
activity  in  local  politics.  His  mother  was  a  woman  of 
much  perseverance,  and  indelibly  stamped  her  likeness  on 
her  eminent  son,  whose  first  birthday  was  October  6, 
1856.  The  aggressive  politics  of  the  boy's  father  finally 
compelled  him  to  move  from  West  Florida  to  Jacksonville, 
in  1866.  By  this  time  young  Fortune,  through  his  father's- 
influence,  secured  a  position  as  page  in  the  Florida  Senate, 
where  no  doubt  he  early  became  acquainted  with  the 
tricks  of  politicians,  which  to-day  shows  itself  in  the  scath- 
ing articles  he  writes  denouncing  the  Democratic  party 
and  exposing  the  hypocrisy  of  the  Republicans.  He  early 
began  his  career  as  a  printer  by  taking  the  position  as  a 
printer's  ** devil"  on  the  Daily  Union,  where  he  distin- 
guished himself  by  attention  to  business.  A  change  of 
owners  threw  him  out  of  work,  and  being  unable  to  get 


786  MBN  OF  IdURK. 

employment  on  any  other  paper,  he  entered  the  Staunton 
Institute  and  stood  in  the  front  ranks  as  a  student.  Soon 
he  secured  a  position  as  office-boy  in  the  city  postoffice, 
but  this  was  only  the  stepping-stone  to  the  position  of 
stamping  and  paper  clerk.  Inheriting  his  father'^  high 
spirit,  he  refused  to  take  an  insult  even  from  his  superior 
officer,  and  consequently  he  resigned  on  account  of  a  disa- 
greement with  the  postmaster,  and  again  took  up  his 
** stick"  at  the  printer's  case.  In  1875  he  was  appointed 
a  mail  route  agent  through  the  Hon.  William  J.  Purman, 
Congressman  from  the  second  district  of  Florida.  Here  be 
met  many  difficulties,  but  he  mastered  them  all.  In  1876 
he  resigned  with  the  commendations  of  his  superior  officers,* 
and  accepted  a  position  as  special  inspector  of  customs 
for  the  first  district  of  Delaware,  to  which  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  Secretary  B.  H.  Bristow,  at  the  instance  of  his. 
Congressional  friend  Purman.  This  he  resigned  to  enter 
Howard  University,  where  he  remained  two  years  prepar- 
ing carefully  for  his  life  work.  The  writer  dates  his 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  Fortune  from  this  time,  and  pre- 
dicted for  him  then  a  brilliant  and  successful  career,  which 
he  is  magnificenth' fulfilling ;  indeed  he  was  a  hard  student 
of  history,  and  talked  of  men  and  things  with  the  head  of 
an  older  man.  Many  pleasant  days  did  we  spend  together 
discussing  our  future  as  well  as  that  of  the  race.  He  was 
an  ever  welcome  visitor  at  our  house,  and  our  acquaint- 
ance has  ever  been  pleasant  and  profitable  to  each  other. 
His  success  is,  therefore,  not  unexpected.  One  year  he  was 
compositor  on  the  New  York  Witness^  but  his  journalistic 
career  proper  dates  from  the  year  1882,  when  in  conjuno- 


TIMOTHY  THOMAS  FORTUNE.  787 

tion  with  George  Parker  and  William  Walter  Samson,  he 
began  the  publication  of  the  New  York  Globe^  which  was 
published  until  November,  1884,  at  which  time  a  disa- 
greement  in  the  partnership  was  caused  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  other  parties  into  the  firm.  This  led  to  the 
suspension  of  the  Globe^  but  did  not  discourage  its  editor ; 
he  had  commenced  his  work  with  a  well  defiqed  plan  in 
view,  and  he  was  determined  to  continue  it.  He  felt  the 
need  of  a  journal  to  contend  for  the  just  rights  of  his  race, 
and  thought  that  much  good  might  be  done  through  such 
an  agency.  He  maintained  that  for  a  paper  to  be  a  power 
for  good  among  his  people,  it  must  be  fearless  in  its  tone, 
that  its  editor  should  not  fail  to  speak  his  just  convictions, 
that  he  should  hold  himself  aloof  from  parties  and  main- 
tain his  position  untrammeled  by  parties  and  party 
bosses.  In  view  of  this  he  re-entered  upon  his  journalistic 
work  by  the  publication  of  the  New  York  Freeman,  No- 
vember 22,  1884,  a  week  after  the  suspension  of  the  Globe. 
He  is  sole  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  journal,  and  con- 
tinues to  combat  error  and^arraign  opposers  of  the 
Negro  race  before  the  bar  of  public  opinion. 

Mr.  Fortune  is  unusually  fortunate  in  tke  selection  of  a 
very  brilliant  corps  of  correspondents  from  various  sections 
of  the  country.  He  is  regarded  as  a  very  brilliant  editorial 
writer,  perhaps  more  pointed  and  less  polished  than  others, 
but  certainly  not  less  eflfective.  His  philippics  and  lam- 
poons are  sometimes  of  the  severest  sort,  and  strike  deeper 
than  the  skin.  Mr.  Portiuie  being  a  practical  printer,  has 
perhaps  had  a  better  opportunity  to  make  a  newspaper 
,a  success  than  any  of  those  whom  we  know,  and  no  doubt 


788  MEN  OP  MARK. 

he  has  succeeded  in  making  a  journal  for  the  race  from  tUis 
(act.  He  has  a  large  constituency  who  read  his  paper 
with  interest,  and  perhaps  no  paper  in  the  country  is  more 
widely  quoted  by  both  white  and  colored  editors.  Mr. 
Fortune  has  published  one  book  entitled  'Black  and 
White/  and  a  pamphlet  entitled  "The  Negro  in  Politics." 
They  have  of  course  elicited  much  criticism,  for  he  antag- 
onized the  positions  of  many  who  in  the  hurry  to  disagree 
with  him  failed  to  do  justice  to  the  work.  It  would  pay 
any  man  to  read  it  thoroughly.  This  versatile  editor  does 
not  get  his  inspiration  from  others,  nor  does  he  write 
'ftilsome  eulogies  on  knaves  and  tricksters  who  use  the  race 
•for  their  personal  aggrandizement,  and  no  matter  how 
much  we  may  differ  from  him  he  should  be  given  credit  for 
honesty  and  integrity.  To  prove  my  assertion  let  me  give 
a  few  quotations  from  his  'Black  and  White.*  In  speak- 
ing of  the  blacks  he  says  on  the  first  page : 

There  is  no  question  to-day  in  American  politics  more  unsettled  than 
the  Negro  question ;  nor  has  there  been  a  time  since  the  adoption  of  the 
'Nderal  constitution  when  this  question  has  not  in  one  shape  or  another 
been  a  distiirt»ng  element,  a  deep  rooted  cancer  upon  the  body  of  our 
aqpieijr^  ^Wiantl|t  oipupying  public  attention  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
othefr  qmitione.  It  ag^pciirs  to  possess  as  no  other  question  the  element 
of  peremisal  TttaHty, 

Speaking  pf  t^  whites  he  aaid  : 

It  is  my  purpose  in  writiag  thb  tiook  to  show  that  the  American  gOT- 
emment  has  always  construed  the  peopk  of  African  parentage  to  be 
aliens ;  not  only  when  the  Cotittitiltioo  waa  tortured  by  narrow-minded 
men  to  shield  the  cruel  murdtrottt  iltt¥eholilcr  in  the  possession  of  his 
human  property,  but  even  now,  whea  tlie  ptmippky  of  citizenship  is  pre- 
sumably all  sufficient  to  insure  to  the  late  ti^rt  the  enjoyment  of  full 
manhood  rights  as  a  sovereign  citizen. 


k 


TIMOTHY  THOMAS  FORTUNE.  789 

His  opinion  of  higher  education  is  worthy  of  being  quoted 
and  few  seem  to  have  been  overlooked  by  critics  in  their  crit- 
icisms. It  is  certainly  worthy  of  note,  for  Mr.  Fortune 
has  a  right  conception  of  a  true  education.     "I  do  not 

inveigh''  said  he  ''against  higher  education,  I  simply  main" 
tain  that  the  sort  of  education  the  colored  people  of  th^ 
South  stand  most  in  need  of,  is  elementary  and  industrial^ 
They  should  be  instructed  for  the  work  to  be  done.  Many 
a  colored  farmer  boy  or  mechanic  has  been  spoiled  to  make 
a  foppish  gambler  or  a  loafer ;  a  swaggering  pedagogue  or 
a  crank.  Men  may  be  spoiled  by  education,  even  as 
they  are  spoiled  by  illiteracy.  Education  is  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  mind  for  future  work,  hence  men  should  be 
educated  with  special  reference  to  the  work.'"  Farther  on 
he  savs : 

1  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  if  the  vast  stims  of  money  already  expended, 

and  now  being  spent  in  the  equipment  and  maintenance  of  colleges  and 

universities,  for  the  so-called  higher  education  for  colored  youth,  had  been 

expended  in  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  primary  schools  and 

schools  of  applied  science,  the  race  would  be  profited  vastly  more  than  it 

has,  both  mentally  and  materially,  while  the  results  would  have  operated 

far  more  advantageously  to  the  State  and  satisfactorily  to  the  munifi- 
cent benefactors. 

On  the  subject  of  the  colored  people's  position  in  the 
South,  he  echoes  my  own  opinion  when  he  says : 

I  may  stand  alone  in  the  opinion  that  the  best  interests  of  the  race, 
and  the  best  interests  of  the  country  will  be  conserved  by  building  up  a 
bond  of  union  Ix^tween  the  white  people  and  the  Negroes  of  the  South, 
advocating  the  doctrine  that  the  interests  of  the  white  and  the  interests 
of  the  blacks  are  one  and  the  same.  That  the  legislation  which  affects 
the  one  will  affect  the  other;  that  the  good  which  comes  to  the  one  should 
cumc  to  the  t)ther,  and  that  as  one  people  the  evils  which   blight  the' 


79Q  MEN  OP  MARK. 

• 

hopes  of  the  one  btight  the  hopes  of  the  other.  I  say,  I  may  stand  alone 
among  colored  men  in  the  belief  that  harmony  of  sentiment  between  the 
blacks  and  the  whites  of  the  country,  in  so  far  forth  as  it  tends  to  honest 
division  and  healthy  opposition,  is  natural  and  necessary,  but  I  speak 
that  which  is  a  conviction  as  strong  as  the  stalwart  idea  of  diversity 
between  the  black  and  the  white  which  has  so  crystallized  the  opinion  of 
the  race.  It  is  not  safe  in  the  republican  form  of  government  that  clan- 
nishness  should  exist  either  by  compulsory  or  voluntary  reason.  It  is 
not  good  for  the  government  and  it  is  not  good  for  the  individual. 

On  the  opinion  as  to  whether  the  colored  people  will  stay 
in  the  South  or  whether  they  will  go  away,  in  large  bodies 
to  other  sections  of  the  country,  he  has  this  to  say: 

The  colored  man  is  in  the  South  to  stay  there.  He  will  not  leave  it 
Toluntarily  and  he  cannot  be  driven  out.  He  had  no  voice  in  being  car- 
ried into  the  South,  but  he  will  have  a  very  loud  voice  in  any  attempt  to 
put  him  out.  Tlie  expatriation  of  five  million  to  six  million  people  to  an 
alien  country  needs  only  to  be  suggested  to  create  mirth  and  ridicule. 
The  white  men  of  the  South  had  better  make  up  their  minds  that  the 
blacks  will  remain  in  the  South  just  as  long  as  com  will  tassel  and  cotton 
will  bloom  into  whiteness. 

ff 

Further  along  he  says : 

-*  That  the  black  population  cannot  and  will  not  be  dispensed  with,  be- 
cause it  is  so  deeply  rooted  in  the  South  that  it  is  a  part  of  it—the  most 
valuable  part — and  the  time  will  come  when  it  will  hold  to  its  title  to  the 
land,  by  right  of  purchase,  for  a  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  and  is  now 
free  to  invest  that  labor  as  it  pleases  him  best. 

It  does  seem  to  me  that  Mr.  Fortune  is  very  sensible 
upon  these  questions,  and  the  difference  of  opinion  has 
largely  been  in  the  politics  of  his  book.  Mr.  Fortune  has 
the  promise  of  many  years  of  active  work  for  the  race.  He 
has  often  occupied  the  lecture  platform  and  received  the 
enthusiastic  applause  of  large  audiences.    In  religion  he 


TIMOTHY  THOMAS  FORTUNE.  791 

was  tittored  in  the  Methodist  doctrine.  Although  he  does 
not  take  an  active  part  in  religious  worship,  he  believes 
that  religion  is  the  cornerstone  on  which  we  should  rear 
onr  structure.  His  life  has  been  one  of  stem  reality,  strug- 
gling for  a  foothold ;  he  often  meets  difficulty  and  obsta- 
cles which  would  cause  men  of  less  fortitude  to  succumb ; 
but  still  he  battles  on,  believing  that  the  race  is  not  always 
to  the  swift,  but  to  him  who  holds  out  to  the  end.  Owing 
to  his  political  stand  he  will  find  much  to  encounter,  but  we 
earnestly  believe  that  in  the  long  run  he  will  have  no  cause 
to  regret  his  course.  He  is  still  laboring  with  the  hope 
that  the  intelligence  and  culture  we  are  gaining  will  event- 
ually cause  the  race  to  reach  that  point  where  it  will  be 
able  to  maintain  itself.  He  sees  in  the  future  grand  and 
glorious  achievements  for  the  scholars  and  thinkers  of 
this  people.  He  is  an  inveterate  foe  to  the  half-hearted 
who  dare  not  stand  up  and  take  ostracism  and  blows  for 
the  race.    He  is  a  business  man  who  means  business,  and 

• 

is  determined  to  make  his  paper  succeed,  if  such  a  thing  is 
possible.  There  are  many  competing  for  public  favor, 
but  the  Freeman  holds  its  own,  and  no  matter  how  much 
newspaper  disagreement  there  may  be  over  first  place  in 
the  newspaper  world — ^the  variety,  vivacity  and  even  im- 
petuosity of  Mr.  Fortune's  editorials  will  always  give  him 
commanding  position  among  the  lights  of  the  fraternity 


798  UMH  OF  MASK. 


CXYII. 
TROY  PORTER,  ESQ. 

Plumber,  Gas  and  Steam  Fitter— Superintendent  of  Waterworks  and 
Town  Clerk. 

I  GIVE  here  a  short  sketch  of  one  who  has  over-leaped 
the  boundary  of  prejudice  and  compelled  recognition 
for  what  he  is  worth.  His  intelligence,  industry,  attention 
to  business,  urbanity  and  general  habits  have  attracted 
the  attention  of  those  of  the  plumbing  business  in  his  race. 
His  competency  is  acknowledged.  No  favoritism  is  shown 
in  the  electing  to  the  positions  which  he  has  held  and  still 
holds.  Living  among  white  people  very  largely,  his  career 
gives  additional  evidence  of  the  fact  that  merit  will  win. 
Chances  are  waiting  for  colored  men,  and  all  they  need  to 
do  is  to  improve  them.  All  cannot  teach  nor  can  they 
preach ;  they  must  therefore  go  into  the  trades  where  suc- 
cess awaits  them.  If  they  will  but  pursue  the  methods 
which  bring  it  about,  success  is  sure. 

As  a  son  of  **ole  Kaintuck''  he  deserves  credit,  and 
Illinois,  his  adopted  State,  has  honored  him  indeed,  and 
may  the  great  good  done  in  this  respect  be  returned  to  her 
ten  fold.    But  let  me  come  more  particularly  to  the  facts. 

Mr.  Porter  first  saw  the  light  of  day  in  the  State  of  Ken- 


TKOYPORTKR.  •  793^ 

• 

'tiicky,  Fayette  county,  April  15,  1855.  He  spent  the  first 
ten  years  of  his  life  in  Kentucky  and  Ohio.  In  1865  he  re- 
moved to  niinois,  and  it  was  at  this  place  that  he  began 
to  realize  the  responsibilities  resting  upon  man.  He  had 
•a  great  desire  to  make  his  life  a  prosperous  one,  and  so 
thought  he  would  seek  a  field  of  labor  where  he  might 
benefit  himself  financially  and  help  to  build  up  the  good 
men  of  the  race.  At  the  age  of  eleven  years,  therefore,  he 
commenced  learning  the  trade  of  plumbing,  gas  anddteam 
fitting,  and  in  ten  years  after,  November  21, 1876,  he  went 
into  business  for  himself  and  at  present  he  is  still  conduct- 
ing it  with  great  success.  Having  a  great  desire  to  become 
united  with  some  honorable  and  benevolent  organizationi 
he  joined  the  Grand  United  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  in  1877, 
and  four  years  after  had  the  honor  of  being  elected  dis- 
trict secretary  of  District  Lodge  No.  9,  G.  U.  0.  O.  F.  of 
Illinois,  which  office  he  held  until  August,  1886.  In  1883 
he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  Paris  Water 
Works  by  a  Republican  council.  In  1885  was  elected  town 
clerk  of  Paris  township  by  the  Republican  party,  which 
latter  office  he  is  now  holding,  having  been  re-elected.  He 
was  the  first  colored  man  that  was  ever  elected  to  an  office 
in  Edgar  county,  Illinois.  He  has  given  satisfaction  in  all 
places  he  ha$  filled,  and  has  reflected  credit  on  the  race  as 
he  so  earnestly  desired. 

He  is  worth  about  five  thousand  dollars  in  property,  all 
made  by  the  labor  of  his  own  hands. 


7d4  MEK  OF  MASK. 


CXVIII. 

"BLIND  TOM."  (THOMAS  GREEN  BETHUNE.) 

The  Musical  Wonder  of  the  Age— The  Negro  Pianist — ^A  Remarkable 
Musician. 

THE  musical  world  for  centuries  has  known  such  great 
composers  as  Mendelssohn,  Haydn,  Mozart  and  Bee- 
thoven, but  far  surpassing  these  may  be  named  the  poor 
little  Negro  boy,  Thomas  Bethune,  bom  May  25,  1849,  in 
Columbus,  Georgia.  Thomas  was  bom  blind  and  as  the 
beauties  of  nature  could  only  be  revealed  to  him  through 
the  sense  of  hearing,  and  retained  by  the  power  of  memory 
and  imitation,  these  faculties  were  cultivated  almost  to 
perfection. 

Young  Bethune  is  the  embodiment  of  music,  and  in  this^ 
art  his  powers  know  no  limits.  When  he  was  four  years 
old  he  had,  for  the  first  time,  access  to  a  piano ;  and  al- 
though previously  he  had  produced  with  his  voice  the 
harmonious  and  discordant  strains  that  met  his  ears,  yet 
his  joy  cannot  be  imagined  when  he  could  perform  on  the 
instrument  the  thoughts  of  his  youthful  brain.  When  he 
had  exhausted  his  store  of  lessons  he  began  to  compose 
for  himself,  playing  what  he  said  **the  wind  said,"  or  the 
trees  or  birds.    His  **Rain  Storm,"  composed,  during  a 


THOMAS  liKTllUNK. 

(lilind  Tom.) 


■ 
4 


■ 


I 
I 


THOMAS  GREEK  BET&UNB.  795 

thunder-storm  when  Tom  was  but  live  years,  ia  so  perfect 
that  the  hearer  instmctiTcly  looks  for  the  lightning  flash. 

No  one  would  ever  undertake  to  teach  him  music,  for, 
said  one  musician,  "I  can't  teach  him  anything;  he  knows 
more  of  music  than  we  know  or  can  know.  We  can  learn 
all  that  great  genius  can  reduce  to  rule  and  put  in  tangi- 
ble form ;  he  knows  more  than  that.  I  do  not  even  know 
what  it  is;  but  I  feel  it  is  something  beyond  my  compre- 
hension. All  that  can  be  done  for  him  will  be  to  let  htm 
hear  fine  playing;  he  will  work  it  all  out  by  himseir after 
awhile.'  The  above  quotation  was  clipped  from  'Music 
and  Some  Highly  Musical  People,'  by  J.  M.  Trotter. 

Thomas  Bethune  received  the  cognomen  "  Blind  Tom  " 
because  when  he  was  a  babe  he  seemed  totally  blind  but 
as  he  grew,  nature  was  his  teacher  and  enabled  him  in 
time  to  enjo}-  to  a  limited  extent  the  blessing  of  sight._ 
When  a  younfj  child,  often  might  he  be  seen  with  head  up- 
turned, gazing  intently  upon  the  sun,  and  he  would  thrust 
his  fingers  with  such  force  into  his  eyes  that  they  wa 
bleed.  This  he  continued  until  he  became  able  to  ( 
guish  any  very  bright  object  and  as  his  sigh£^ 
clearer  with  years  it  is  hoped  he  will  yet  be  reffi 
the  bondage  of  darkness.    Says  Mr.  Trotter: 


CoDsidering  ihat  in  early  life  he  learned  nothiog,  and  Utt* 
Irom  sight,  that  he  is  posseBsed  by  an  overmnstering  pttH^ 
pervades  his  -whole  nature  as  to  leave  little  room  for  inl 
else,  and  thcgrutification  of  which  has  been  indiilgeiltntllt 
it  is  not  Burpnsing  that  to  the  outside  world  ht  nii:.!!!'. 
manifestations  of  intellect  as  applicable  to  anv  .  i     '  -.  .. 
life,  or  that  those  who  set  him  only  under  its  iTirl)fi 
that  he  is  idiotic. 


796  MBN  OF  MARK. 

The  elegance,  taste  and  power  of  his  performances,  his 
wonderfiil  power  of  imitation,  his  extraordinary  memory 
not  only  of  names,  dates  and  events,  his  strict  adherence 
to  what  he  believes  to  be  right,  his  uniform  politeness,  and 
his  nice  sense  of  propriety,  aflFord  to  those  who  know 
him  well  ample  refutation  of  this  opinion. 

As  to  the  musical  genius  of  this  man  the  testimony  of 
eminent  musicians  both  in  America  and  Europe  bears  wit- 
ness. Among  his  classical  selections  may  be  mentioned 
Andante  by  Mendelssohn  and  Sonata**  Pathetique*'  by 
Beethoven. 

His  marches  include,  ** Delta  Kappa  Epsilon,"  Pease; 
** Grand  March  de  Concert,"  Wallace;  ** General  Ripley's 
March,"  Amazon  March,  Masonic  Grand  March. 

His  imitations  must  not  be  omitted  which  are  so  perfect 
as  often  to  deceive  the  hearer.  They  are  imitations  of  the 
"Music  Box/'  **  Dutchwoman  and  Hand  Organ,"  **Harp,*' 
'^Scotch  Bagpipes,"  **Scotch  Fiddler,"  ** Church  Organ,'* 
**Guitar,"  **Banjo,''  **Douglass'  Speech," '* Uncle  Charlie,'* 
'*TheCascade,''**RainStorm,"and**  Battle  of  Manassas." 
The  two  latter,  his  own  composition,  represent  his  descrip- 
tive music. 

It  would  take  volumes  to  say  all  that  might  be  said  of 
this  man.  His  fame  is  world-wide.  In  all  the  large  cities 
of  America  and  Europe  has  he  entertained  thousands. 
Doubtless  more  persons  have  flocked  to  see  and  hear  him 
than  any  other  living  wonder. 

His  mother  has  endeavored  to  secure  some  of  the  benefits 
derived  from  the  results  of  his  extraordinary  genius  and 
began  a  lawsuit  which  resulted  in  a  total  failure.     Blinrl 


THOlffAS  GREBN  BBTHUNB.  797 

Tom  18  still  alive  and  recently  gave  a  very  brilliant  concert 
in  Indiana.    As  he  grows  older  he  increases  his  list  of  music 
and  performs  with  the  vigor  of  youth. 
Says  Mr.  Trotter : 

No  one  lives,  or,  as  far  as  we  know,  has  ever  lived  that  can  at  all  be 
compared  with  him.    Only  the  musical  heroes  of  mythology  remind  ns^ 
of  him  for  he  is 

"  As  sweet  and  mtuAcal 
As  bright  Apollo's  lute  strung  with  his  hair." 


798  MBN  OF  MARK. 


CXIX. 

REV.  HENRY  ADAMS. 

A  Faithful  Pastor— A  Good  Man. 

AMONG  the  men  who  have  impressed  themselves  most 
upon  the  people  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  is  Henry 
Adams,  a  man  who  in  his  lifetime  was  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  him.  He  was  straightforward  in  all  his  dealings, 
prompt  in  business  and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his 
ministerial  duties.  His  name  has  become  a  household  word 
with  all  the  members  of  his  flock,  and  is  a  constant  re- 
minder of  his  faithfulness.  There  can  now  be  seen  on  a 
tablet  in  the  Fifth  Street  Baptist  church  the  name  of  Henry 
Adams  and  his  period  of  services  as  pastor. 

A  very  good  sketch  of  this  man's  life  can  be  found  in  the 
'History  of  Kentucky  Baptists,'  written  by  J.  H.  Spencer. 
He  was  a  native  of  Franklin  county,  Georgia,  and  was 
bom  December  17,  1802.  While  quite  young  he  gave  very 
marked  promise,  and  being  early  converted,  about  the  age 
of  eighteen,  he  was  permitted  to  exercise  his  gifts  as  a 
preacher  within  the  bounds  of  his  church.  In  1825  he  was 
ordained  to  the  full  work  of  a  minister.  After  preaching  a 
few  years  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  he  went  to  Ken- 


HENRY  ADAMS.  799 

rtttcky  and  was  settled  as  the  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
church  in  Louisville  in  1829.  It  is  said  that  he  was  very 
proficient,  not  only  in  the  English  branches,  but  even  in  the 
vdead  languages.  In  1842  this  church,  which  was  before 
a  branch,  was  set  apart  with  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
^five  members  as  a  separate  organi2ation. 

During  the  first  twenty  years  of  his  pastorate  he  im- 
mersed over  thirteen  hundred  people.  Out  of  this  church 
many  churches  in  Louisville  have  grown;  in  fact  the  direct 
influence  of  his  labors  has  no  doubt  been  the  conversion 

•  even  in  his  lifetime  of  over  ten  thousand  souls.  After  free- 
dom came,  Adams  was  very  zealous  in  educational  work 

»of  thp  State.  Through  his  instrumentality  the  General 
Association  of  Colored  Baptists  was  organized  August 
3,  1869,  in  the  first  Baptist  church  in  Lexington.    He  was 

•  elected  moderator.  At  that  time  the  association  numbered 
fifty-five  churches  and  twelve  thousand  six  hundred  and 
twenty  members.  To  him  is  largely  due  the  credit  for  es- 
tablishing what  is  now  known  as  the  State  University. 
While  others  may  have  been  instrumental  in  suggesting  the 
beginning  and  promoting  its  progress,  yet  no  one  can  doubt 
that  Henry  Adams  contributed  very  largely  to  the  ultimate 

•  success  of  the  work.  He  did  not  live  to  see  this  object 
fially  accomplished.   He  died  on  the  third  of  November,  1872. 

At  one  of  the  exercises  of  the  students  in  this  same  insti- 
tution, the  following  tribute  was  paid  to  Henry  Adams  by 
Rev.  C.  H.  Parrish,  A.  B.,  and  it  seemed  a  fitting  one  since 
he  was  identified  with  the  early  efforts  to  organize  the 
!  school,  that  this  same  student,  being  the  first  to  graduate 


■EX  OF  MARK. 

Tcpartment  of  the  institution,  should  pajr 

>«ft«j..  ow  of  his  people ;  deeply  impressed  with  the  worth 
■Bsc  and  humble  man.    A  man  of  faith  and  prayer,  and 
iif  pore  life.    No  ministerial  defection  ever  stained  his 
leader  of  his  people  in  practice  as  well  as  in  doctrine,  hts- 
tUaminated  the  path  in  which  he  would  have  the  people- 


«^ 


J.  C.  FARLEY. 


JAJiES  C.  FAKLBY.  801 


CXX. 

JAMES  C.  FARLEY,  ESQ. 

Photographer,  and  Prominent  Citizen  of  Richmond,  Virginia. 

TAMES  CONWAY  FARLEY  came  into  the  world  in 
I  Prince  Edward  county,  Virginia,  August  10,  1854. 
His  parents  were  slaves,  and  he  never  began  life  until  he 
went  to  Richmond  with  his  mother  in  1861.  His  mother 
was  a  store-room  keeper  at  the  Columbia  Hotel,  Rich- 
-  md,  Virginia.  His  early  occupation,  then,  was  assisting 
in  '•aking  candles,  he  tying  the  strings  and  getting  the 
mola  ready  for  the  hot  grease.  He  went  at  night  to  an 
old  cook  at  that  place,  who  taught  him  from  an  old  linen 
book.  Later^,  the  opportunity  was  given  of  attending  a 
pablic  school  for  three  years.  His  mother  was  a  poor 
widow,  and  poverty  forced  young  Farley  to  strike  out  for 
himself  in  pursuit  of  education  and  sustenance  in  every 
way.  Accordingly  he  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the  baker's 
trade,  but  he  became  thoroughly  disgusted  with  this  busi- 
ness on  account  of  the  work  entailed.  He  quit  work  at 
this  business  and  entered  the  photographic  business,  be- 
ing employed  in  the  chemical  department. 

May,  1875,  Mr.  Farley  having  become  thoroughly  ac- 
ifaainted  with  the  business,  became  an  operator  for  G.  W. 


^.-  ziii-z  '.vho  were  not  equal  in 


\-. ! 


«> 


:..-.:-  :j.::ie  to   the  contest.  Mr. 
.     .: :-i  :::  :i  Sunday  niornin*^  and 
r-j*  ;    i  .'tssumed  a   disagreeable 
.  .  ::    ::   .-.n  indirect  manner.     Thev 
-    -.. ..  :     Mr  Farley  puttinji^  on  a  dis- 
_   •. --.:  .1  i:>ain'ceal)le  disposition  to- 
.XI   c.-  v>:  they  could   not   defend 
.     :/    -  .1 ."  ihevcould  ;^et  even  with  one 
•  .-  :    /-<k:r.;^  the  •'boss"  to  discharEC 
-  ,.:...  "iz'Z  .vh:ii  it  was  that  he  had  done 
_— rr  .  :i«i  Ar.i  :t  was  left  to  Ix?  judged  that 
.  . :  :.-  :2a:  assumed  to  them  a  disairree- 
7':«:  :  .:*v:n^  Monday  morning  the  pro- 
^-  ?;-r^y  the  document  containing  their 
.^cT  r.i=::e<  signed.    Mr.  Farley  at  once 
::e  ■-.  >.::i  r.wz\  and  let  him  go.  as  he  did 
.;   j-.-j    h.ir:::.   and    felt  rather   gratified 
:    -.  r  cr.  Mr    Davis  had  acted   and  was 


JAMES  C.  FARLEY.  303 

doubt.  But  Mr.  Davis  informed  him  that  he  had  already 
discharged  all  four  of  them.  His  orders  were  "pull  oflF 
your  coat  and  go  to  work  and  fill  their  places."  He  ever 
remembers  Mr.  Davis'  treatment  in  this  matter,  and  was 
thankful  that  he  had  an  opportunity  to  show  what  he 
could  do,  and  eventually  developed  into  a  first  class  ope- 
rator. 

Mr.  Davis  and  Mr.  Farley  then  went  to  work  and  filled 
the  other  men's  places.  The  business  continued  to  im- 
prove, and  Mr.  Davis  established  a  cheaper  priced  gallery 
and  emploj'cd  several  white  men  to  take  the  position  Mr- 
Farlej"  formerly  held  (that  of  operator),  paying  them 
enormous  salaries,  while  he  went  to  the  business  of  "re- 
touching." 

One  of  the  white  men  remained  a  week  ;  another  only  a 
few  days.  Mr.  Farley  was  again  in  1879,  put  in  the  posi- 
tion of  operator  of  the  gallery,  and  since  which  time  he 
has  proved  a  complete  success,  and  has  as  far  as  known, 
made  more  photographs  in  one  day  than  any  other  gallery 
in  the  Southern  States. 

He  married  Miss  Rebecca  P.  Robinson  of  Amelia  county, 
December  10,  1876.  The  fruits  of  the  union  are  five  chil- 
dren. 

Mr.  Farley's  work  was  exhibited  at  the  Colored  Indus- 
trial Fair  held  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  1884,  and  re- 
ceived the  premium.  It  was  also  placed  on  exhibition  at  the 
World's  Exposition  held  at  New  Orleans  in  1885,  and  re- 
ceived complimentary  notices  from  the  photographic 
journals  of  the  country.  His  photographic  works  are 
greatly  admired  and  rank  with  the  finest  in  the  country. 


804  MBN  OF  MARK. 

Mr.  Parley  is  polite,  affable  and  strictly  honest  in  all  his 
dealings.  He  professed  religion  and  joined  the  First  Baptist^ 
church,  May  18,  1878.  Later  he  was  made  deacon.  In 
the  ten  thousand  dollar  improvement  of  the  church,  he  was 
the  only  one  put  on  the  committee  to  represent  the  young 
element.  At  that  time  the  church  membership  was  five 
thousand. 


HENHY  M'NEAL  TURNER.  805 


CXXI. 

REV.  HENRY  McNEAL  TURNER,  D.  D.,  LL.D. 

Bisbop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— Philosopher,  Politician  and  Orator- 
Eminent  Lecturer— Anthor^Intense  Race  Man — ^United  States  ChajH 
lain. 

ONE  or  tne  most  influential  men  in  the  United  States 
is  Bishop  H.  M.  Turner,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
His  life  is  full  of  the  most  important  events ;  he  is  a  man 
of  great  nerve,  strong  character  and  deep  convictions. 
Justice  can  hardly  be  done  to  such  a  man  in  the  small  space 
we  have  for  these  sketches ;  onlv  an  outline  of  course  can 
be  given. 

He  was  bom  near  Newberry  Court-House,  South  Caro- 
lina, February  1,  1833.  He  is  the  oldest  child  of  How- 
ard and  Sarah  Turner.  His  father's  ancestry  was  but 
little  known  to  him,  as  bis  mother  was  a  German  and 
white;  but  his  mother's  ancestry  is  very  familiar.  She 
was  the  youngest  daughter  of  David  and  Hannah  Greer. 
His  grandfather,  David  Greer,  was  the  son  of  an  African 
king.  He  was  captured  in  colonial  times  while  a  boy  on 
the  coast  of  Africa,  and  brought  to  this  country  and  sold 
as  a  slave;  but  owing  to  some  British  statute  or  law  which 
forbade  the  enslavement  of  royal  blood,  he  was  set   at 


806  IfEN  OF  MARK. 

liberty  and  declared  free.  He  was  regarded  in  South  Car- 
olina up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  about  the 
year  1819,  as  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  men  of  his  day. 

The  grandmother  of  the  bishop  was  vot  «o  notable  for 
goodness  and  female  modesty,  but  was  regarded  as  a  line- 
man of  feadul  physical  resources.  She  was  tall  and 
proportionately  built  and  had  a  fearful  temper,  and 
was  an  athlete  which  white  and  black  men  dreaded  meeting 
in  the  corporal  combat.  No  one  in  the  neighborhood  of 
her  dwelling  ever  dared  to  interfere  with  her  children, 
animals,  fences  or  anything  that  she  owned,  at  the  risk  of 
being  chased  or  fearfully  handled,  if  she  got  within  reach 
of  them.  She  lived  to  be  ninety  years  old.  His  mother  is 
noted  as  a  woman  of  good  common  sense,  and  strong  mental 
powers,  when  called  into  requisition.  She  lives  in  Wash- 
ington city  with  her  grandson,  Dr.  John  P.  Turner. 

The  bishop,  when  young,  was  at  one  time  called  a  "hard 
case."  He  grew  up  in  South  Carolina,  amid  the  severity 
incident  to  colored  boys  in  those  days.  Though  free  bom, 
owing  to  the  absence  of  a  father's  care  he  was  deprived 
of  many  advantages  which  he  would  have  enjoyed  had 
he  been  blessed  with  such  protection.  He  was  bound  or 
hired  out  to  those  who  imposed  upon  him  hard  labor,  most 
of  the  time  from  a  boy  until  he  reached  manhood ;  but  at 
no  time  did  he  ever  find  an  easy  place.  The  hard  labor 
which  he  performed  was  partly  in  the  cotton  fields  of  South 
Carolina  under  the  meanest  sort  of  cruel  overseers,  and 
part  of  the  time  in  a  blacksmith  shop.  He  never  appre- 
ciated the  occupation,  nor  did  he  pursue  it  any  longer  than 
the  four  years  he  was  serving  as  an  apprentice.    The  most 


HERRT  If 'NBAL  TUmBS.  807 

that  can  be  said  in  this  connection,  with  his  labors  in  the 
cotton  field  of  South  Carolina  and  the  blacksmith  shop,  . 
that  he  generally  whipped  all  the  overseers  that  tried  to 
whip  hinv  knowing  that  he  was  free-bom  and  could  never 
be  legally  reduced  to  slavery.  He  was  determined  that 
no  white  man  shonld  9car  his  back  with  a  lash,  and  from 
the  time  he  was  thirteen  years  old  till  he  reached  manhood 
he  resented  every  attempt  to  whip  him,  though  grown 
men  and  women  were  whipped  around  him  in  many  in- 
stances from  the  rising  of  the  sun  until  the  going  down 
of  the  same. 

While  but  a  small  boy  he  had  a  very  singular  dream, 
which  seriously  impressed  him,  and  became  the  promoter 
of  his  efforts  to  secure  an  education.  He  dreamed  that  he 
was  standing  on  a  small  mountain,  and  millions  of  people 
of  all  sorts  and  sizes  were  standing  around  its  base  and 
looking  to  him  for  instruction.  When  he  awoke,  so  vividly 
was  this  impressed  upon  his  mind  that  he  at  once  decided 
to  do  what  he  could  to  impart  knowledge  to  his  people. 

Though  but  a  boy  he  began  to  realize  the  needs  of  an 
education,  for  he  could  see  no  way  to  be  a  public  instructor 
without  knowing  how  to  read  and  write.  This  he  consid- 
ered the  height  of  an  education ;  but  he  was  puzzled  how 
to  acquire  this  knowledge.  There  were  no  schools  for 
colored  children  and  it  was  against  the  law  to  teach  a 
Negro  the  alphabet.  Only  three  colored  men  of  his 
acquaintance  could  read  a  little  in  the  Bible  and  hjTnn 
book,  and  they  had  either  learned  that  little  in  Charleston, 
where  schools  for  free  people  were  tolerated  in  a  measure, 
or  before  the  law  was  enforced  in  that  part  of  the  State. 


808  MEN  OF  MARK. 

He  procured  a  spelling  book,  and  an  old  white  lady  and  a 
white  boy  with  whom  he  played,  taught  him  the  alphabet 
and  how  to  spell  as  far  as  two  syllables ;  but  one  day  the 
boy's  father  seeing  him  instructing  Turner,  told  Jiim  that 
he  had  no  right  to  teach  a  Negro,  and  that  he  was  violat- 
ing the  law  of  the  State  in  doing  so,  and  if  he  undertook 
such  a  task  any  further  he  would  receive  severe  punish- 
ment. This  threat  so  frightened  his  boy  teacher  as  to 
deprive  him  of  the  lessons  thereafter.  Many  days  did  he 
weep  over  this,  but  he  was  compelled  to  submit  to  fate. 

Soon  he  found  an  old  colored  man  who  did  not  know  a 
letter  but  was  a  prodigy  in  sounds.  The  ambitious 
Turner  would  spell  the  words  as  they  were  syllabified,  and 
the  man  could  pronounce  them  acciu^ately.  Thus  his  un- 
lettered instructor  helped  him  to  spell  and  pronounce 
words  about  half  through  the  old  Webster's  spelling  book. 
But  another  misfortune  awaited  him.  This  teacher  was 
removed  to  another  plantation  and  he  was  again  without 
an  instructor.  He  was  doomed  to  weep  more  bitterly 
than  at  first. 

Being  in  his  thirteenth  year,  and  able  to  understand 
preaching  somewhat,  he  went  to  church  the  following  Sab- 
bath and  heard  a  minister  say,  **  Whatever  anyone  asks 
God  for  in  faith  would  be  granted."  He  resolved  to  try 
the  virtue  of  asking  God  to  help  him  read  and  write» 
and  continued  to  fast  and  pray  for  the  same  regularly. 
His  mother  shortly  afterwards,  greatly  to  his  surprise, 
secured  the  services  of  a  white  lady  to  give  him  lessons 
every  Sabbath.  But  this  paid  assistant  was  soon  inter- 
cepted by  the  indignant  protests  of  a  number  of  white 


HENRY  M'NEAi;  TURNER.  809 

neighbors,  who  threatened  her  with  the  vengeance  of  the 
law^,  if  she  continned  teaching  him.  She  naturally  had  to 
succumb  to  the  inevitable,  and  he  was  left  without  a 
teacher  again.  But  he  continued  to  pray  and  study  as 
best  he  could,  believing  that  Providence  would  open  an- 
other door  to  him  in  the  near  future.  It  was,  however, 
three  years  before  he  succeeded  again. 
In  the  meantime  said  he  : 

I  would  study  with  all  the  intensity  of  my  sotd  until  overcome  by 
sleep  at  night ;  then  I  would  kneel  down  and  pray,  and  ask  the  Lord  to 
teach  me  what  I  was  not  able  to  understand  myself,  and  as  soon  as  I 
would  fall  asleep  an  angelic  personage  would  appear  with  open  book  in 
hand  and  teach  me  how  to  pronounce- every  word  that  I  failed  in  pro- 
nouncing while  awake,  and  on  each  subsequent  day  the  lessons  given  me 
in  my  dreams  would  be  better  understood  than  any  other  portions  of 
the  lessons.  This  angelic  teacher,  or  dream  teacher,  at  all  events,  car- 
ried me  through  the  old  Webster's  s|ielling  book  and  thus  enabled  me  to 
read  the  Bible  and  hymn  book. 

I  may  note  at  this  point,  however,  that,  this  angelic  teacher  would 
never  come  to  my  assistance  at  night  unless  I  would  study  the  lessons 
"with  my  greatest  effort  and  kneel  down  and  pray  for  God's  assistance 
before  going  to  sleep.  So  familar  did  the  features  and  general  appear- 
ance of  m^'  angelic,  or  dream  teacher  become  to  me,  that  if  I  should 
ever  meet  it  in  the  spirit  world  I  would  readily  recognize  it. 

By  the  latter  end  of  my  fifteenth  year  I  was  providentially  employed 
to  wait  around  an  office  of  a  number  of  white  lawyers  at  Abbeville 
court-house,  where  I  filled  the  exalted  station  of  fire  making,  room 
sweeping,  boot  blacking,  etc.  I  soon  won  the  favor  of  every  lawyer  in 
the  office,  especially  the  younger  portion  of  them.  My  tenacious  mem- 
ory being  such  an  object  of  curiosity,  I  soon  attracted  special  attention. 
They  thought  it  was  marvelous  that  a  common  Negro  boy  could  carry 
any  message  however,  many  words  it  contained  or  figures  it  involved,  and 
repeat  them  as  accurately  as  if  written  upon  paper.  In  many  cases,  too, 
these  messages  contained  a  multiplicity  of  the  highest  law  terms.  The 
/Mquel  of  this  and  much  more  night  study  was,  those  lawyers  taught 


810  MEN  OP  MARK.^ 

me,  in  defiance  o£  SImte  laifs  forbidding  it.  to  read  accttratety,  hiatory^ 
tlMokiCf  and  eren  works  on  law.  Also  taught  me  arithmetic,  geogra- 
pihy,  f^tronomy  and  anything  I  desired  to  know  except  English  gram* 
mar,  which  I  manifested  no  desire  to  study. 

I  shall  always  regard  my  contact  with  those  lawyers,  and  the  assist- 
ance given  by  the  yomig  lawyers  of  the  office,  as  an  answer  to  my 
inrayer. 

• 

With  the  above  stated  advantages  he  contintiedtosttidjr 
at  night,  gathering  and  reading  scores  of  books  of  the 
highest  order  until  1867,  when  he  visited  New  Orleans  and 
met  Rev.  W.  R.  Revels,  M.  D.,  under  whom  he  transferred 
his  membership  from  the  M.  E.  church,  South  Carolina,  to 
the  A.  M.  E.  church.  He  was  afterwards  admitted  into  the 
Missouri  Conference  in  1858,  on  motion  of  Dr.  Revel,  and 
was  examined  for  admission  into  the  ministry  by  Rev.  Dr. 
John  M.  Brown,  how  bishop;  John  Turner,  J.  W.  Early 
and  B.  L.  Brooks,  all  of  whom  still  live.  Upon  the  ad- 
journment of  this  conference,  Bishop  D.  A.  Payne,  D.  D., 
LL.  D.,  transferred  him  to  the  Baltimore  Conference  and 
assigned  him  to  the  charge  of  a  small  mission.  Here  he 
was  brought  in  contact  with  a  num1)er  of  much  more  cul- 
tured people  than  he  had  been  accustomed  to  in  South 
Carolina,  and  having  been  informed  that  a  young  gentle- 
man, a  member  of  his  church,  by  the  name  of  Mr.  Watkins, 
nowtheRev.  George  T.  Watkins,  D.D.,  had  complimented  his 
thought  and  oratory  but  had  severely  criticised  his  knowl- 
edge of  grammar,  he  resolved  at  once  to  study  English 
grammar  and  if  possible  ascertain  what  virtue  there  was 
in  it.  Procuring  a  competent  teacher,  he  soon  familiarized 
himself  with  the  subject.  He  then  studied  Latin  under  Dr. 
Watkins,  and  for  the  next  four  years  continued  in  the  study 


HENRY  M'NEAL  TURNER.  811 


of  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  German,  as  well  as  theology, 
spectivcly,  under  Dr.  Smith  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
Dr.  McCron  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Dr.  Dalrymple,  pro- 
fessor of  languages  in  the  Maryland  Institute ;  Professor 
D.  M.  Rowland,  A.  M.,  LL.  D.,  presidciit  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege, and  Bidifai  Grtnsburg,  professor  of  Hebrew.  His  prin- 
ciple teacher,  however,  in  the  classics  was  Professor  Row- 
land. These  learned  divines  taught  him  how  to  read  and 
translate  all  of  these  languages  to  an  extent  that  was 
pronounced  creditable,  to  say  the  very  least.  At  all  events 
he  passed  through  most  of  the  works  included  in  the  cur-^ 
riculum  of  Trinity  College,  though  he  did  not  give  atten- 
tion to  mathematics  at  that  time,  a  thing  he  sincerely 
regrets  now ;  yet  he  has  since  given  considerable  stud}'  to 
the  subject,  as  he  could  not  measure  the  distances  between 
the  planets  and  other  stellar  orbs  without  a  limited  knowl- 
edge of  trigonometry,  and  the  study  of  this  subject  is  a 
passion  with  him,  as  well  as  theology.  He  has  been  a 
hard  student  since  boyhood  to  the  present  time.  He  read 
the  Bible  through  several  times  before  he  reached  manhood. 
His  memory  is  wonderful,  and  when  a  young  man  he  fre- 
quently committed  fifty  psalms  to  memory  in  one  night 
before  going  to  sleep,  and  then  repeated  them  the  next  day 
between  the  plow  handles  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
other  plowmen. 

He  joined  the  M.  E.  Church  South  in  July,  1848,  while 
but  a  boy,  on  six  months  probation ;  and  he  must  be  on 
probation  yet,  he  says,  as  he  has  never  been  received  into 
full  membership.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  by  Rev.  Dr; 
Boyd  of  South  Carolina,  in  1853,  at  Abbeville  court-house. 


812  MEN  OP  MARK. 

He  was  admitted  into  the  itinerant  work  of  the  A.  M.  E. 
church  in  St.  Louis,  1858,  and  wa^  ordained  deacon  by 
Bishop  Payne  in  Georgetown,  District  of  Columbia,  in 
1860 ;  was  ordained  elder  in  Israel  church  in  Washington, 
1862,  by  the  same  bishop,  and  was  ordained  bishop  in  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  by  Bishops  Payne  and  Shorter,  May  20, 
1880. 

He  has  been  honored  with  the  title  of  LL.  D.,  by  the 
Pennsylvania  University  in  1872,  and  the  degree  of  D.  D., 
by  Wilberforce  in  1873.  He  was  appointed  United  States 
chaplain  by  President  Lincoln  to  the  First  United  States 
colored  troops  in  the  early  part  of  1863,  and  was  the  first 
commissioned  colored  chaplain  ever  appointed  by  a  United 
States  President.  After  passing  through  thirteen  bloody 
battles  and  many  skirmishes,  he  \<^as  mustered  out  with  his 
regiment  in  the  fall  of  1 865,  but  was  re-commissioned  United 
States  chaplain  in  the  regular  army  b}'  President  Johnson 
within  ten  days  after  being  mustered  out,  being  detailed  to 
w^ork  in  Freedmen's  Bureau  and  assigned  to  Georgia.  After 
serving  a  short  time  as  an  officer  of  the  bureau,  and  finding 
that  the  church  needed  his  attention  infinitely  more  than 
the  general  government,  he  sent  in  his  resignation  to  the 
secretary  of  war  and  devoted  his  time  and  talents  to  the 
ministrj'.  In  that  capacity  he  traveled,  preached,  lectured 
and  organized  churches  and  schools  all  over  the  State,  and 
thus  built  up  not  only  the  largest  conference  in  the  A.  M. 
E.  church,  but  the  largest  colored  conference  upon  the  face 
of  the  globe,  which  has  since  been  divided  in  three  great 
annual  conferences. 

For  several  years  with  the  appointment  of  the  bishop  jf 


m.TM'TaAl.  TTrVXES 


|ftl  I L  Omrch,  Ik  wad  t!w  ^cs^jI  »=i>«rr-:i7?iut 
HHwi in  Georgia,  ami  «x:e::>i>^  zhe  iJ.T.K   ^.-.■. 

JBf4r.«tdl  he  reaigueJ  tlut  rvs^<o=Rru;   iuf 
We  give  an  eirraci  ct'  his  .i  I'."jr«s  j 
ttf^ndgnation: 

■> hiTe not  noppeil  in  -he  7«':^-.-i*  »uie-s.  '.'ut    : 

V  ser  one  tbat  I  hiTTti.-e  —.-n-v   -'(  •-  :;i:     ■i:;-'-- 

•  ^inthe  State,  i:  J    =  «-;"  -.iks      •:  C.-^c'   i"' 

rf 'Jc Kcpublicon  par:y  ■-.  :'-:*  S:.;;;,  .'.-  '   ■;.'.■;  ^■.■- 

Kandpnprttiitr  a5  :!■■.  .  :I-«T~ar.;-.  ;^  #;.>;.•  ;  ■>- 

^^>^atbc  Seldi,  made  sions  *-j!«htf».   .r-^-i":s-'  ■:;  ■>-^ 

■^^'^E  Rccircd  largtr  i-in.-^'.!",:  ;'-,;-  ,i--y  -.'.-.;-  -i-  ■  ■ 
K.^k.^raBpaJgndocnnicn':  t  wT  -.e.i'  ■-.i.-  -a-..*  *  ■..■.t:;.-^.' 
fc^^=»^E«to|rie«to  natisfiriht:'"''-*."  Ar'i.i-iy  :.  .'.^  ••••'- ' 
Wl^m-mat  >at  been  perlorme--!  :.xt.\-'.  s-.irshir.e  .-.r  :  ■>-.»■_«- 
K^^=MAfiat  target  ut  I^m' rirutk  .i'"^*«;  ,;r..-  ■■--  - 
'fci^Mi  «aIou>y.    Tht:new*:-i'.t«r«!:,ivc  ;n::vi; ! 'A  -.  -  . 

■^^  xr-cmed  and  tricl  •>:•.  ■=  .mi-  ..t  the  w-lL-':  ,'■.-; 
msations  ever  distilled  :r<.m  the  I;:'*-  r..;  .  - 
>paJ(I  as  high  as  four  thu-j'taiid  li'iil.Lr*  :  ,  -  v 
^rt .  whiteprcachersbavc>w.n;  thii;  I  \^.^ ':  \ 
-  «  crime  punishoNe  with  ik-;ith  :  un-\  :.','.  i-.w'r. 
»  Sir  the  purpose  of  breakiiiij  mi'  i1..wti.  ^n-\ 
SI  bair  of  my  lieiiil,  iir,r  ivi-n  Ixithcn-d  m 
■  golag  through  thi-  fiirci-<.f  iin  ii'JjniiLi-:Ui'm. 


y  words  «iththf  m.,stiMv 

vti.-r;,U-  ......1  .-.-.Ir.m. 

ivariflblv  1ft   iln-m  s.-iy  Uu-i 

r  s:.y  iio.l  do  thrir 

Tllgagamsi    ,„e,  I  w.-.s  slt.i 

lyiiiK  for  t>ir  ititrr- 

'Tktag  tor  the  Buu-WK  of  tii 

y  [Hirtv;  ami  thry 

.■..(.■W..,„„,    ,it:^.  ...,„|  U..,^ 

I-  nw  ft*  ^Ulcml  In 

•    ".is  timr  i.M 

t-vtlH  :<>tvr  Isvii  n 

r 


814  MEN  OF  MARK. 

^succession  of  triumphs.  I  have  enemies  as  is  natural,  but  at  this  time 
their  tongues  arc  silent  and  their  missiles  are  as  chaff,  while  my  friends 
can  be  counted  by  hundreds  of  thousands.  And  I  can  boast  of  being  one 
of  the  fathers  of  the  mammoth  conference  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church,  an 
honor  I  would  not  exchange  for  a  royal  diadem.  Thus,  having  reached 
the  goal  of  my  ambition,  I  only  ask  now  to  be  retired  from  weighty  duties 
of  the  past,  and  given  the  humble  and  more  circumscribed  spliere  of 
preacher  in  charge.  I  am  perfectly  willing  if  the  bishop  will  consent, 
to  let  some  of  my  sons  in  the  gospel  be  my  presiding  elder,  and  I  trust 
I  shall  be  able  to  honor  them  as  highly  as  they  honor  me,  for  I  can  say 
with  pleasure,  that  with  all  the  orders  and  even  changes  I  have  thought 
fit  to  make,  I  have  yet  to  be  resisted  or  questioned  by  a  single  preacher. 
And  while  I  shall  try  to  rest  more  regularly  and  comfortably  in  my  re- 
tired relation,  and  enjoy  life  more  pleasantly  than  I  have  for  the  last  nine 
years,  I  shall,  nevertheless,  endeavor  to  be  equally  as  useful  to  the  church 
in  the  literary  department;  for  I  purpose  to  give  my  future  days  to  the 
literary  work  of  our  grand  and  growing  connection.  Since  I  have  been 
trying  to  preach  the  gospel  I  have  had  the  inestimable  pleasure  of  receiv- 
ing into  the  church  on  probation,  fourteen  thousand  three  hundred  and 
eighteen  persons  which  I  can  account  for,  besides  some  three  or  four 
thousand  I  cannot  give  any  definite  account  of.  And  I  would  guess,  fori 
am  not  certain,  that  1  have  received  during  and  since  the  war,  about  sixteen 
or  seventeen  thousand  full  members  in  A.M.  E.  church  by  change  of  church 
relation,  making  in  all  nearly  forty  thousand  souls  that  I  have  in  some 
manner  Ijcen  instrumental  in  bringing  to  religious  li1)erty,  and  yet  I  am 
not  quite  thirty -nine  j-ears  old.  Hundreds  of  these  jxfrsons  have  in  all 
probability  fainted  by  the  way,  and  gone  back  to  the  \vorld ;  but  1  am, 
on  the  oth'^r  hand,  happy  to  inform  j-ou  that  hundreds  have  since  died 
in  triumph  and  gone  to  heaven,  while  thousands  are  to-day  pressing 
their  way  to  a  Ixjtter  land,  scores  among  whom  are  preaching  the  gospel. 
I  make  no  reference  to  these  statistics  to  have  you  suppose  that  I  am 
better  than  other  men  who  have  not  been  thus  successful,  for  I  am  onlv 
a  |>oor  worthless  creature,  and  may  3'et  be  cast  away ;  I  only  mention 
these  facts  to  express  my  profound  gratitude  to  God  for  his  abundant 
favors,  which  have  been  bestowed  upon  one  so  undeserving.  If  Bishops 
Payne  and  Wayman  were  here,  I  would  take  great  pleasure  in  laying- 
my  gratitude  at  their  feet  for  the  support  they  gave  me  in  the  early 


HENRY  M*NEAL  TURNER.  815 

establishment  of  this  conference ;  but  as  they  are  not,  1  trust  Bishop  Brown 
will  allow  me  to  tender  him  my  heartfelt  thanks  for  the  continued  man- 
ifestations of  respect  shown  me  under  his  administration,  he  who  has  so 
ably  presided  over  our  conference  for  the  last  four  years,  and  done  so 
much  to  advance  and  elevate  the  members  of  this  conference.'* 

His  request  was  granted. 

When  the  Reconstruction  Laws  were  enacted  by  Con- 
gress in  1867,  he  was  appointed  by  the  National  Republi- 
can Executive  Committee,  Washington,  District  of  Colum- 
bia, to  superintend  the  organization  of  colored  people  in 
the  State  of  Georgia.  In  this  capacity  he  stumped  the 
entire  State  of  Georgia,  delivered  thousands  of  Republican 
speeches,  and  was  recognized  the  champion  orator  of  the 
State,  speaking  at  times  before  thousands  of  people  from 
three  to  five  hours  before  taking  his  seat.  He  wrote  a 
political  document  defining  the  status  of  the  Republican 
and  Democratic  parties,  to  which  reference  has  been  made 
in  the  extract  just  given. 

In  the  fall  1867  he  was  elected  member  of  the  constitu- 
tional convention  of  the  State,  and  served  in  the  same. 
In  1868  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature  and 
was  re-elected  in  1870,  l^eing  among  the  colored  members 
who  were  expelled  from  the  Legislature  of  Georgia,  solely 
upon  the  ground  of  color,  and  in  making  }i\s  defense  he 
spoke  from  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  In  1869  he  was  appointed  post- 
master of  Macon,  Georgia,  by  President  Grant,  at  a  sal- 
ary of  four  thousand  dollars,  but  resigned  in  a  few  months 
on  account  of  political  persecutions.  Afterwards  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Grant  coast  inspector  of  customs 


816  MEN   OF  MARK. 

and  United  States  government  detective,  which  positioit 
he  filled  for  several  years,  and  ultimately  resigned  to  obey 
the  demands  of  the  church,  and  bore  away  with  him  the 
highest  commendations.  In  1876  he  was  elected  by  the 
general  conference  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church,  as  general  man- 
ager of  the  Publication  Department,  situated  in  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania,  where  nearly  sixty  thousand  dollars 
passed  through  his  hands  as  the  head  of  this  department. 
He  directed,  wrote  and  superintended  all  the  papers  and 
Sabbath  school  literature  throughout  the  United  States. 

As  an  author  he  compiled  a  hymn  book  of  the  A.  M.  E. 
church,  and  wrote  a  catechism,  in  use  by  the  same  church, 
which  has  been  published  by  hundreds  of  thousands ;  also- 
a  recognized  standard  work  entitled  *  Methodist  Polity/ 
defining  the  duties  of  the  officers  of  conference  and  func- 
tionaries of  the  church,  and  which  has  been  commended 
by  the  highest  ecclesiastical  jurists  of  the  land ;  also  ques- 
tions and  answers  on  Palestine  or  the  Holy  Land,  and 
any  number  of  printed  lectures  and  orations.  One  of  the 
finest  orations  which  he  has  delivered  was  on  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  and  its  incorporation 
into  the  United  States  Constitution,  April  19,  1870. 

Said  he,  among  other  good  things : 

This  amendment  is  an  ensign  of  our  citizenship,  the  prompter  of  our 
patriotism,  the  bandage  that  is  to  blindfold  justice  while  his  sturdy 
hands  hold  the  scales  and  weighs  out  impartial  equity  to  all,  regardless 
of  popular  favor  or  censure.  It  is  the  ascending  ladder  for  the  obscure 
and  ignoble  to  rise  to  glory  and  renown ;  the  well  of  living  water,  never 
to  run  dry ;  the  glaring  pillar  of  fire  in  the  night  of  public  commotion, 
and  the  mantling  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  to  reix'l  the  sc'^rching  ray  of 
wicked  prejudice.     Hereafter  the  machinerj'  of  our  Oovemment  will   fir 


H-  M.  TURNER. 


I. 


li 


HBNRY  M'NEAL  TURKER.  81 7 

itnt  by  the  content  of  the  governed,  and  its  symmetrical  operations  will 
coostitnte  an  axiomatic  weapon,  for  all  the  oppressed  nations  on  earth 
to  battle  with  for  ciyil  liberty.  It  is  the  National  guaranty,  as  fair  as  the 
moon,  clear  as  the  ami,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners.  It  is  the 
chariot  of  fire  that  is  to  roll  ns  beyond  the  reach  of  our  persecuting  Ahabs 
and  perfidious  Jezebels.  It  Is  to  be  the  angel  in  the  fiery  furnace  warding 
off  the  burning  flames.  The  golden  debris  from  the  high  bluffs  of  this 
most  preeminent  countiy  of  all  in  the  world,  shall  be  washed  by  the  cur- 
rents of  our  sweet  waters  to  the  lowlands  of  tyrant  ridden  nations,  to 
enrich  their  soil  by  spreading  over  them  a  free  alluvium.  The  Fifteenth 
Amendment  is  the  shining  robe  covering  in  immaculate  grandeur  the 
nude  and  exposed  parts  of  our  country,  which  hitherto  made  her  fi-agile 
and  vulnerable  before  enemies.  It  is  the  star-decked  diadem  covering  her 
brow ;  the  interjector  of  royal  blood  through  every  vein.  It  is  the  tow- 
ering spire  reaching  uppermost  of  all  natural  virtues  and  will  be  like  the 
pole  to  the  needle,  attracting  men  from  every  plain  and  every  shore. 

The  Irishman,  Frenchman,  Chinaman,  Japanese,  the  Hottentot,  if  he  is 
here,  can  all  return  to  their  native  lands  and  be  to  them  what  Wendell 
Phillips  has  been  to  his  native  land,  "  great  reformers.*'  All  nations  will, 
sooner  or  later,  have  missionaries  from  here,  of  their  own  blood  and 
dialect,  preaching  manhood  equality. 

The  sons  of  Africa,  too,  can  unfettered,  untrammeled  and  unhindered, 
go  to  the  homes  of  our  forefathers  and  preach  a  free,  religious,  civil  and 
political  gospel.  I  know  some  colored  men  chafe  when  they  hear  an  ex- 
pression about  going  to  Africa.  I  am  sorrj'  I  find  no  term  in  the  vocabu- 
lary that  \vill  represent  them  milder  than  fools ;  for  they  are  fools.  The 
only  reason  why  Africa  is  unpopular  and  ignored  by  some  colored  men  is 
because  of  its  unpopularity  among  the  whites.  It  is  the  greatest  country 
in  natural  resources  under  Heaven.  But  without  reviewing  its  inex- 
haustible treasures,  and  how  God  is  holding  them  in  custody  for  the 
civilization  of  the  Negro,  I  merely  desire  to  remark  that  some  of  our  lead- 
ing men  may  blur  and  slur  at  Africa  till  their  doomsday  arrives.  But 
God  intends  for  us  to  carry  and  spread  enlightenment  and  civilization 
over  that  land.  They  are  ours  and  we  are  theirs.  Religion,  morality, 
economy,  policy,  utility,  expediency,  duty  and  every  other  consideration 
makes  it  our  duty.    We  must,  we  shall,  we  will,  we  ought  to  do  it. 

Whatever  distinction  shall  clothe  the  Negro  through  any  future  day. 


818  MEN  OF  MARK. 

will  be  attributed  to  the  workings  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment,  and  be 
shall  be  the  lily  of  the  valley  and  as  the  rose  of  Sharon,  in  the  high  march 
of  our  National  splendor.  If  ever  angels  congratulated  saints,  I  fancy 
that  Gabriel,  the  arch  seraph,  congratulated  our  heavenly  trio,  Colnmbns, 
Washington  and  Lincoln,  on  the  day  of  its  ratification,  for  the  grand 
result  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  and  its  concomitant  blessings. 

As  an  orator  he  is  one  of  the  most  forcible  and  eloquent 
in  the  United  States.  His  sentences  weigh  more  than  the 
ordinary  language  of  most  men.  When  speaking,  he  is 
very  impressive,  and  carries  an  audience  with  him  as  easily 
as  the  wind  sweeps  the  chaff  before  it.  He  has  the  power  of 
taking  hold  of  his  audience  and  chaining  their  attention  to 
the  subject  under  consideration.  He  has  been  considered 
by  many,  one  of  the  best  if  not  the  best  orator  of  his  class 
in  the  United  States.  Especially  on  gpreat  occasions  has 
he  been  able  to  hurl  such  extraordinary  language  at  his 
enemies  as  would  soon  annihilate  them,  and  while  enlisted 
in  a  cause  which  draws  out  his  sympathies,  he  can  be  as 
gentle  and  pleasing  as  Demosthenes  himself.  He  has  given 
much  attention  to  many  of  the  sciences,  and  is  never  tired 
in  investigating  them,  so  familiar  indeed  is  he  with 
anatomy,  physiology,  phrenology,  geology,  astronomy, 
mental  and  natural  philosophy,  electricity,  etc.,  that  he 
can  lecture  upon  them  without  special  preparation.  He 
has  been  honored  in  having  his  likeness  printed  with  short 
sketches  of  his  life  in  Harper^s  Weekly,  Frank  Leslk^s 
Weekly,  Fowler's  Phrenological  Journal  snA  a  large  work 
entitled  *New  Physiology  *  and  the  London  Magazine  and 
other  illustrated  papers  and  pamphlets. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Ann  Peacher  thirty  years^ 


HENKY  M'NBAL  TURNER.  819 

the  thirty-first  of  August,  1886,  when  he  celebrated  his 
pearl  wedding  anniversary  in  the  presence  of  one  thousand 
iive  hundred  guests,  having  been  married  to  the  daughter 
of  Joseph  A.  Peacher  of  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  the 
wealthiest  colored  man  in  that  city  at  that  time,  who 
afterwards  went  to  the  west  coast  of  AfHca,  and  died 
w^hile  serving  out  his  term  as  mayor  of  Careysburg,  to 
w^hich  he  had  been  elected  almost  unanimously.  The 
Bishop  has  four  children  living— Josephine  Francis,  the 
wife  of  P.  W.  Upshaw  of  Arkansas;  John  P.  Turner,  M.  D., 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  who  is  also  married; 
David  M.  Turner,  business  manager  of  the  Southern  Re- 
<:ord€r  and  Lincolnia ;  Victoria  Turner,  now  a  student  of 
Berea  College,  Kentucky.  These  are  all  that  are  left  of 
fourteen  children. 

In  the  life  of  Bishop  Turner  there  is  much  to  inspire  any 
young  man  who  is  willing  to  labor  hard  to  make  some- 
thing of  himself;  most  assuredly  he  can,  if  he  will.  The 
way  has  been  opened  by  just  such  men  as  the  Bishop,  and 
those  who  don't  profit  by  it  have  no  one  to  blame  but 
themselves. 


830  MBN  OP  MAJKK. 


CXXII. 

REV.  J.  W.  STEPHENSON.  M.  D. 

Church-builder^Financier — Druggist — '*  Hi?  Methods." 

MY  personal  acquaintance  began  with  the  distin- 
guished Dr.  J.  W.  Stephenson  in  1 874,  when  he  was  in 
charge  of  the  church  at  Burlington,  New  Jersey.  Here  the 
winning  manners  of  the  doctor  made  every  one  his  friend. 
Shortly  after  his  settlement  at  Trenton  I  visited  him 
and  assisted  him  in  a  meeting  held  in  the  ojKM'ii  house  by 
playing  the  organ  for  his  services.  At  this  meeting  I  met 
for  the  first  time  Bishop  T.  M.  D.  Ward,  who  preached. 
I  was  a  ministerial  student  at  that  time,  and  I  rememl^er 
with  a  great  deal  of  merriment  how  friend  Stephenson 
wanted  me  to  fill  the  pulpit  in  the  afternoon,  but  I  stuck 
to  the  organ.  He  is  a  great,  powerful,  eloquent  preacher, 
a  man  of  magnetism,  of  great  heart.  He  has  published  a 
book  on  **  Church  Financiering,'*  from  which  I  take  below 
his  personal  experience.  It  will  show  that  he  is  a  financier 
and  church-builder,  as  I  have  entitled  him.  Before  giving 
this,  however,  let  me  give  an  outline  of  his  early  life  as 
written  by  his  friend,  Rev.  W.  D.  Johnson.  D.  D.,  secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  African  Methodist  Epis- 


J.  W.  STEPHENSON.  821 


ft 


eopal  church,  in  *'An  Apology  for  African  Methodism, 
by  Dr.  B.  T.  Tanner. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Stephenson  was  bom  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  Augnst  15, 
about  1836.  His  parents,  John  and  Ann  Stephenson,  removed  to  Trinidad, 
West  Indies,  in  1840,  taking  John  and  five  other  small  children.    His 
fother  died  in  less  than  a  year  after  landing  on  the  island.    His  mother, 
becoming  discontented,  returned  to  the  States,  a  widow  with  seven  chil- 
dren, one  having  been  bom  on  the  ocean.    John  was  bound  out  to  J.  P. 
Stamly,  a  stove  dealer  in  Baltimore,  and  sent  to  work  on  his  farm  near 
the  city.    His  stay  in  this  situation  was  very  short.    He  was  sold  four 
dififerent  times  on  account  of  his  high  spirit.    When  eighteen  years  of 
age,  he  succeeded  in  purchasing  his  time  with  the  earnings  of  extra  labor. 
Having  gained  the  precious  boon,  he  determined  to  seek  a  more  northern 
climate.    He  went  to  Philadelphia,  and  hired  with  a  barber  under  the 
Girard  House,  where  he  remained  one  year.    Afterward  he  engaged  as 
porter  in  the  drug  store  of  Henry  Kollock,  corner  of  Ninth  and  Chestnut 
streets.    Mr.  William  Kearney  and  his  brother,  clerks  in  the  store,  observ- 
ing the  extraordinary  talent  which  Mr.  Stephenson  exhibited,  commenced 
to  instruct  him  in  medicine.    In  one  year  he  had  made  such  progress  in 
compounding  that  he  was  made  a  clerk  in  the  store.    Mr.  Kollock  desir- 
ing that  he  should  become  a  physician  for  his  people,  sent  him  to  Dr. 
Wilson,  a  colored  physician  practicing  in  the  city,  that  he  might  receive 
the  necessary  instruction  from  an  able  doctor  of  his  own  race.    It  not 
being  convenient  for  Dr.  Wilson  to  take  him  at  the  time,  by  the  influence 
of  his  friends,  he  was  received  by  Professor  Woodward,  with  whom  he 
remained  five  years,  engaged  in  his  professional  studies  at  the  Philadel- 
phia University  of  Medicine.    While  at  the  university  he  became  alarmed 
about  the  salvation  of  his  soul.    After  six  months  of  deepest  conviction, 
God  delivered  him  out  of  his  wretched  condition.    He  joined  the  old 
Bethel  A.  M.  E.  church,  Sixth  street,  where  he  was  very  active  in  the  Sab- 
bath school.    Feeling  the  weight  of  souls   heavy  upon   him,  he    was 
licensed  to  exhort  in  1858,  by  Rev.  W.  D.  W.  Schureman.    The  next  year 
he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  Rev.  Joshua  Woodlin.    He  became  the 
adopted  son  of  Bishop  Campbell,  from  whom  he  drank  in  the  very  es- 
sence of  the  doctrine  and  laws  of  Methodism.    He  was  soon  taken  into 
the  itinerancy  by  Bishop  Nazrey,  and  sent  to  the  Westchester  circuit, 


822  M?N  OF  MARK. 

where  he  succeeded  remarkably  as  pastor  and  physician.    His  next  ap- 
pointment was  Freehold,  New  Jersey,  where  he  was  very  popular  in 
preaching  and  in  the  practice  of  medicine.    He  was  one  of  the  delegates, 
from  the  general  conference  of  1864  to  the  general  conference  of  theZion 
A.  M.  E.  church.    In  the  same  year  he  was  ordained  a  deacon  and  sent 
to  Oxford  circuit.    Lincoln  University  is  at  the  head  of  this  circuit.    His 
church,  of  which  many  of  the  students  were  members  and  local  preachers, 
being  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  buildings.    He  was  a  regular  student 
in  the  university  three  years,  and  pursued  a  thorough  ministerial  educa. 
tion  under  the  patronage  of  Bishop  Simpson  and  other  friends  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.    Dr.  Stephenson  was  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent students  in  the  institution,  his  practice  of  medicine  l)eing  very  large 
among  them,  as  well  as  in  the  neighborhood.    Besides  these  things,  the 
doctor  attended  faithfully'  to  the  four  points  on  his  circuit.    He  is  like  the 
"iron  man,"  Bishop  Campbell,  in  strength  and  rapidity  of  motion.    He 
ib  one  of  the  greatest  revivalists  in  the  connection,  and  is  likely  to  become 
the  Spurgeon  of  the  A.  M.  £.  church,  and  is  looked  upon  as  being  the 
greatest  church-builder  and  financier  of  the  connection,  having  planned 
and  constructed  the  largest  church  among  colored  people  in  the  United 
States,  namely,  the  Metropolitan  Church  of  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia.    This  church  has  a  seating  capacity  of  two  thousand  five 
hundred.    He  has  three  times  in  his  life  built  two  churches  in  the  compass 
of  eighteen  months  and  paid  for  them;  has  been  devoted  to  this  work, 
and  because  of  his  extended  experience  in  this  branch  of  the  Christian 
church  of  which  he  has  shown  himself  to  be  so  well  adapted  (as  though 
especially  fitted  for  the  work  by  the  Almighty  ^  he  hasljeen  requested  and 
urged  from  time  to  time  by  bishops  and  ministers,  both  of  our  own  and 
other  churches,  to  write  a  book  upon  the  subject,  and  give  his  brother 
pastors  his  successful  plans  of  church  financiering;  he  has  at  last  under- 
taken the  work,  and  in  the  book  he  gives  his  own  thoughts,  with  as 
many  others  as  he  has  gathered,  to  his  brother  pastors,  officers  and 
members  of  the  church. 

Speaking  of  personal  efforts,  he  said : 

My  first  experience  in  the  art  of  raising  money  for  church  purposes 
dates  back  to  my  first  appointment  as  pastor  of  a  charge,  in  the  year 
1859,  in  Westchester,  F*cnnsylvania,  which  congregation  I  found  labor- 


J.  W.  8XBPHENSON.  823 


for  two  reasons,  viz :  the  dilapidated 
state  ofllHifliMirTi  Imildiiig,  and  the  still  poorer  location  of  the  same. 
Althoqgh  hfliim  wm§  ap— yaryears,  I  r&t  that  I  had  been  called  of  the 
hm4  to  la/tip  carry  on  His  work,  in  compliance  with  the  command,  **bo 
ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  ;*'  and  I  also  found  that  this 
conld  be  done  more  thoroughly  by  and  through  His  church,  and  that  to  be 
cffiBCtual  it  must  not  be  crippled  by  financial  embarrassments.  I,  there- 
Ion,  proceeded  at  once  to  sell  the  old  structure,  bought  a  new  lot,  and 
started  the  people  in  the  direction  of  a  new  church  edifice  which  was 
afterward  built.  After  this  I  removed  to  Freehold,  from  thence  to  Oxford, 
Pennsylvania,  and  then  to  Snow  Hill,  New  Jersey ;  there  I  was  successful 
in  building  two  churches,  and  paying  for  them  in  the  space  of  eighteen 
months.  It  was  the  center  of  a  circuit  that  embraced  three  places,  viz: 
Snow  Hill,  Milford  and  Jordan  town ;  the  first  and  second  named  having 
the  new  churches,  and  the  remaining  one  being  repaired  at  the  cost  of 
one  thousand  dollars.  One  of  the  leading  features  of  raising  money  at  this 
place,  besides  the  subscriptions,  was  at  an  **  ox  roast/' prepared  and  car- 
ried on  by  the  colored  people  under  my  command,  netting  us  one  thou- 
sand dollars  toward  our  church  fund  in  one  da^'.  1  was  greatly  aided  at 
this  place  both  with  money  and  encouraging  words  by  Ezra  Evans,  a 
Quaker  gentleman,  who  gave  me  from  his  own  purse  one  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  through  whose  influence  his  brother  and  others  donated  lumber 
and  shingles  and  other  needed  material  until  the  church  was  completed, 
showing  to  me  that  the  Lord  always  raised  up  friends  for  us  if  we  trust 
in  Him.  I  left  there  at  the  end  of  two  years'  pastorate  of  hard  labor — 
left  the  two  churches  free  of  debt.  I  then  went  to  Delaware  circuit  which 
embraced  five  churches,  most  of  which  were  dilapidated  and  suffering 
from  mortgages  and  old  standing  debts.  My  headquarters  were  at 
Camden.  At  Dover,  the  capital  of  the  State,  there  was  no  church  of  our 
connection,  and  considering  it  a  good  place,  I  proceeded  at  once  to  pur- 
chase a  lot  fifty  by  one  hundred  feet  at  a  cost  of  one  thousand  dollars, 
which  was  paid  for.  This  is  all  that  was  accomplished  by  me,  as  my 
time  was  too  short  to  do  more  than  lay  the  foundation,  and  leave  to 
others  who  should  come  after  me  the  completing  of  the  work. 

At  the  next  conference  held  at  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  the  bishop  re- 
ceived a  communication  from  Wilkesbarre,  Pennsylvania,  saying  that  a 
nan  must  be  sent  there  who  could  save  their  church  (which  was  about 


824  MEN  OF  MARK. 

balf  completed)  which  had  already  been  advertised  for  sale  by  the  sheriff, 
and  I  was  appointed  to  go.  On  arriving  there  I  fonnd  a  bill  of  sale  on 
the  church.  My  boarding  place  being  with  one  of  the  stewards,  I  in- 
quired what  amount  would  be  necessary  to  satisfy  the  daim,  and 
learned  that  two  thousand  dollars  would  meet  the  emergenc3-.  I  then 
found  a  white  lady  of  wealth,  Mrs.  Thomas,  who  after  hearing  my  plans 
for  raising  the  money,  although  I  was  a  stranger,  immediately  loaned 
me  the  money,  and  with  it  the  carpenters  were  paid,  which  removed  the 
lien ;  after  which  they  proceeded  at  once  to  complete  it  at  a  cost  of  ten 
thousand  dollars,  and  by  the  blessing  of  God  I  was  enabled  to  see  it  out 
of  debt  within  the  space  of  two  years.  The  agency  employed  was  an  or- 
ganization of  white  ladies,  with  Mrs.  Thomas  as  president.  They  ar- 
ranged for  suppers  and  concerts,  and  with  the  collections  from  the  white 
churches  and  private  subscriptions,  the  required  amount  was  raised.  In 
this  church  work  I  was  greatly  aided  by  the  faithful  and  earnest  work  of 
my  own  people.  One  item  I  would  like  to  mention :  The  men  of  the 
church  dug  the  trenches  for  the  gas  pipes  by  moonlight,  and  vrere  re- 
warded by  the  company  donating  the  pipes  and  one  hundred  dollars  in 
money.  While  engaged  at  work  in  Wilkesbarre,  I  received  a  letter  le- 
questing  me  to  come  to  Bloomsburg,  also.  I  accordingly  went,  and 
found  the  people  had  a  lot  selected,  but  no  church.  My  first  work  was 
to  visit  the  different  pastors  of  the  city  and  those  in  an  adjoining  village 
named  Espy,  where,  upon  invitation  of  the  pastor  of  a  large  Methodist 
church,  I  occupied  his  pulpit,  and  after  preaching,  stated  my  purpose  to 
build  a  church  in  Bloomsburg.  A  lady  came  to  me  and  encouraged  me  by 
saying  that  it  had  long  been  needed,  and  if  I  undertook  it  I  could  rely  not 
only  upon  her  wealth  but  also  upon  her  influence  to  assist  in  carryingtlie 
work  through.  Plans  and  specifications  were  immediately  gotten  out 
and  the  work  commenced,  and  here  I  can  record  an  experience  that  I  have 
never  had  before  nor  since — the  amount  to  pay  for  it  was  raised  in  one 
day,  and  that  da^'  was  the  dedication  day! 

Collections  were  taken  in  all  the  churches  in  Bloomsbui^  and  Espy, 
which  met  the  required  amount,  with  the  exception  of  three  hundred  dol- 
lars, when  just  at  the  close  a  bank  check  was  sent  from  this  same  lady  (to 
whom  reference  has  been  made),  who  was  dying,  with  a  message  to  the 
effect  that  her  check  must  be  made  out  to  meet  the  deficiency  that  ex- 
isted; and  it  was  made  out  for  three  hundred  dollars,  thus  clearing  the 


J.  W.  STEPHENSON.  825 

"Chntch  from  debt.    It  was  named  **  Elizabeth  Mission  "  in  honor  of  this 
Christian  lady ;  and  thus,  by  the  blessing  of  God » tnro  churches  were  built 
in   the  compass  of  eighteen   months,  and  my  labors  were  ended  in 
IVilkesbarre.    From  here  I  was  sent,  in  1874,  to  Burlington,  New  Jersey, 
which  also  included  **  Mount  Holly."    At  the  first  named  place  the  chuich 
was  remodeled  at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  and  the 
second  at  a  cost  of  five  hundred  dollars,  besides  building  through  my  in- 
fluence a  brick  school-house  for  the  children  at  a  cost  of  three  thousand 
dollars.    I  remained  here  three  3rears,  had  a  good  harvest  of  souls  in  both 
-churches,  numbering  one  hundred  and  fifty.    Thus  the  Lord  alway  hon- 
ors those  who  trust  him,  and  brings  them  off  more  than  conquerors.    My 
next  appointment  was  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.    Here  I  found  "Old 
Mount  Zion.'*    Among  my  first  friends  who  came  to  the  rescue  was 
Joseph  McPherson,  Chancellor  (yreen  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sooy.    Mr.  Mc- 
Pherson  was  one  of  the  leading  trustees  in  the  State  Street  Methodist 
•church,  and  with  him  were  associated  four  other  leading  wealthy  gentle- 
men, who  formed  a  finance  committee.    A  meeting  was  called  for  the 
trustees  and  congregation,  and  a  resolution  passed  that  the  old  structure 
should  be  taken  down  and  replaced  with  a  new  one.    Dr.  John  Hall,  for 
thirty-five  years  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  prepared  an  article 
for  the  papers  setting  forth  the  need  of  the  people  and  called  on  the  citi- 
i^ens  for  help ;  and  as  they  saw  his  earnestness  and  zeal  in  the  work,  they 
too  caught  his  inspiration  and  responded  nobly;  and  I  also  received 
.great  assistance  from  the  ladies  of  the  place,  and  judges,  and  leading  cit- 
izens regardless  of  denominations.    In  accordance  with  the  resolution, 
the  old  church  was  taken  down,  and  the  bodies  in  the  churchyard  re- 
moved, in  order  to  give  more  room  for  a  larger  structure,  which  was 
built  at  a  cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  pronounced  to  be  one  of  the 
finest  churches  in  the  State,  and  all  paid  for  by  subscriptions  solicited 
myself.    After  the  debt  was  p>aid  we  had  a  revival,  and  to  the  seventy 
members  already  in  the  church,  three  hundred  were  added ;  and  the  Sun- 
day school  increased  from  twenty  to  three  hundred.    While  engaged  in 
this  work,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  was  impressed  that. I  should  cross 
the  Delaware  and  build  a  chapel  for  my  people  in  the  village  of  Yardley- 
ville.    One  of  the  members  of  my  finance  committee,  Mr.  H.  V.  B.  Jacobus, 
went  with  me  and  purchased  the  ground,  fifty  by  one  hundred  feet,  pay- 
ing for  it  himself.    A  finance  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of 


826  UEN  OP  MARK. 

three  gentlemen^  the  chairman  of  which  was  the  president  of  the  Newtoff 
Bank,  Pennsylvania.  Plans  and  specifications  were  drawn  up,  and  in 
the  short  space  of  four  months  the  chapel  was  bciih  and  paid  for  by  the 
residents  of  the  village  and  the  surrounding  farmers ;  some  donating  stone, 
s«me  brick,  others  lumber,  lime,  sand  and  labor.  As  there  was  no  or> 
ganization  in  this  place,  I  organized  a  Sabbath  school  with  forty  children 
and  preached  every  Sabbath  morning  (during  the  erection  of  the  chapel) 
in  the  Town  hall.  At  the  dedication  I  presented  forty  names  for  choBcli 
membership,  thus  constituting  a  permanent  church  orgasuBBdiomt  which 
was  presented  to  the  next  conference,  and  which  has  been  supplied  with 
a  pastor  ever  since ;  and  thus  xbj  wofk  of  building  two  churches  in  Ics^ 
than  two  years  was  aieeofiiplished. 

I  was  tlKn  appointed  presiding  elder  of  the  eastern  district  of  theState^ 
hjr  Bishop  Payne,  D.  D.,  my  headquarters  being  at  Trenton.    My  district 
included  Princeton,  Pennington,  Rahway,  New  Brunswick,   Elizabeth, 
Newark,  Orange,  Patcrson,  Washington,    Morristown,  Freehold   and 
Jersey  City.    In  nearly  all  these  places  I  found  the  churches  burdened 
with  debts,  many  of  them  having  been  standing  for  years;  and  the  spir- 
itual Hie  was  nearly  ebbed  out.    I  gave  advice  to  the  pastors  from  time 
to  time,  and  succeeded  in  removing  the  mortgage  from  the  church  at  Rah- 
way, and  building  a  new  chapel  at  Washington,  New  Jersej',  which  was 
paid  for  and  dedicated.    I  received  great  assistance  from  Mr.  Beatty, 
proprietor  of  the  organ  manufactory  in  that  citj'.    This  work  was  ac- 
complished in  one  year,  when  Bishop  Payne  received  a  letter  from  Bishop 
Brown  requesting  my  transfer  to  the  Baltimoreconference  to  be  appointed 
at  Union  Bethel  church.  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  building  a  new  church.    The  request  was  granted  and  mj*  ap- 
pointment made  in  1880.    Upon  arriving  there  I  found  that,  while  it  had 
been  the  desire  of  the  bishop  to  have  this  work  done,  it  was  not  the  wish  of 
the  majority  of  the  membership,  and  hence,  in  attempting  it  I  met  with 
great  opposition ;  but  after  some  discussion  a  resohition  was  passed  by 
the  trustees  and  members  that  the  work  should  go  on. 

Two  or  three  of  the  best  ministers  in  the  conference  had  Ijeen  sent  ta 
Washington  several  years  before  to  build  what  was  to  be  known  as  the 
Metropolitan  church,  which  was  to  Ije  the  representative  church  of  our 
connection ;  but  they  failed  for  reasons  for  which  they  were  not  to  blame, 
for  they  were  good,  effectual  ministers  of  the  gospel  and  had  beeasuccessr 


J.  W.  STEPHENSON.  827 

fal  in  bnilding  chttrcBes  in  other  places.  I  consideted  this  an  opportune 
time  to  try  again  and  build  the  Metropolitan  church,  instead  of  Union 
Bethel.  I  therefore  requested  Bishop  Brown  to  call  together  the  bench  of 
the  bishops  at  his  house,  which  he  did,  and  they  decided  also  the  same, 
and  commanded  me  to  go  forward  with  the  work.  I  engaged  an  archi- 
tect to  draw  plans  for  the  church  according  to  my  directions,  as  my 
plans  seemed  to  be  from  divine  inspiration  and  he  allowed  me  to  guide 
his  hand.  The  dimensions  of  the  church  were  to  be  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  by  eighty-four  feet,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  twenty-five 
hundred  in  the  auditorium ;  with  a  lecture  room  and  primary  Sunday 
school  room,  and  class  rooms  and  church  parlors,  and  a  room  for  the 
meeting  of  the  bishops.  An  additional  lot  was  purchased  in  connection 
with  the  old  site  on  which  to  place  the  new  structure.  The  old  building 
was  torn  down  by  the  members  of  the  church,  and  the  bricks  cleaned  by^ 
them  to  be  used  again.  By  this,  and  by  the  selling  of  the  old  lumber, 
there  was  a  saving  of  three  thousand  dollars,  and  the  work  b^gan  in 
earnest.  As  the  membership  of  the  church  w^as  eleven  hundred,  they  were 
divided  into  twelve  classes,  the  leaders  of  which  met  me  from  time  to- 
time  to  be  trained  in  the  art  of  raising  money  in  their  several  classes. 

My  first  plan  was  to  issue  eighty-five  thousand  envelopes  which  wcrc- 
given  to  the  leaders,  fifty -two  for  each  one  in  his  class,  one  for  every  Sun- 
day in  the  year.  I  also  prepared  '*shot  bags"  for  each  to  keep  their 
money  in.  I  had  all  the  "sinners"  known  as  the  pastor's  class,  and  the 
first  Sunday'  in  every  month  we  received  a  collection  of  one  thousand  dol- 
lars as  the  report  from  the  shot-bags  and  the  classes  toward  the  building: 
of  the  new  church.  Besides  this,  entertainments  were  given  from  time  to- 
time  for  the  same  fund,  and  every  second  Sunday  in  the  month  a  general 
collection  was  taken  for  the  current  expenses  of  the  church,  and  the  glo- 
rious work  went  on  and  was  completed  according  to  the  plan  at  a  cost 
of  over  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  dedicated  to  Almighty  God  for 
divine  services  on  May  30,  1886 ;  and  it  now  stands  in  the  capital  city 
of  these  United  States  as  a  monument  of  zeaj  and  earnestness,  which  has- 
surmounted  many  difficulties  and  which  is  a  credit  to  the  entire  Afiican 
Methodist  Episcopal  connection ;  and  too  much  credit  cannot  be  given  to 
the  trustees,  especially  John  A.  Sims  and  William  Becket,  and  also  the 
board  of  stewards,  for  their  faithfulness  and  co-operation,  and  also  the 


828 


MEX  OP  MARK. 


good  members  of  the  church.  Arrangements  had  been  previonsly  made 
by  the  general  conference  that  five  thousand  dollars  should  be  given  ^ach 
year  from  its  funds  to  help  pay  for  this  church,  which  in  addition  to  what 
had  been  paid,  and  what  the  members  were  still  willing  to  pay,  would 
not  take  very  long  to  clear  the  church  from  debt. 


JOSEPH  CARTER  CORBIN.  829 


CXXIII. 

PROFESSOR  JOSEPH  CARTER  CORBIN,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — Linguist — Master  of  Latin, 
Greek,  French,  Spanish,  Italian,  German,  Hebrew  and  Danish — Pro- 
found Mathematician  and  Musician — Organist — Pianist — Flutist. 

PROFESSOR  J.  C.  CORBIN  comes  of  a  very  distin- 
guished and  intellectual  family.  He  was  bom  in 
Richmond,  Virginia,  of  slave  parents,  William  and  Susan 
Corbin,  who  moved  to  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  and  thence  to 
Cincinnati,  where  they  died.  They  had  eleven  children; 
but  of  these,  perhaps,  it  might  be  well  said  that  Joseph  C. 
Corbin  is  the  most  distinguished.  He  was  born  in  Chilli- 
cothe, Ohio,  March  26,  1833,  and  was  the  eldest  son.  He 
was  educated  in  the  winter  schools  in  Chillicothe.  In 
these  schools  he  learned  to  read,  write  and  cipher.  Hon. 
J.  M.  Langston  was  in  the  school  at  the  same  time.  At 
about  fifteen  years  of  age  he  went  to  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
and  assisted  Rev.  Henry  Adams,  w^hose  sketch  appears 
elsewhere,  in  teaching.  Many  of  the  well-known  citizens 
of  Louisville  were  his  pupils.  After  teaching  some  years 
he  went  to  the  Ohio  University,  and  by  private  study  he 
had  advanced  sufficiently  to  enter  the  Sophomore  class. 
Having  graduated    in  1853,  he  returned   to  Louisville, 


S30  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Avhere  his  father's  family  were  living  at  the  time.    He  was 
employed  in  clerking  in  a  mercantile  agency,  and  then  in  a 
bank ;  he  was  clearing-house  clerk  for  several  years,  and 
was  one  of  the  young  men  who  conducted  the  colored 
citizens  for  eight  years — the  others  being  J.  P.  Sampson 
S.  W.  C.  Liverpool,  John  McLeod  and  Louis  D.  Eastin. 
Being  engaged  as  a  reporter  for  the  Arkansas  Republican, 
Governor  Clajrton's  official  organ,  he  went  to  Arkansas  in 
1872.    He  was  afterwards  chief  clerk  in  the  Little  Rock 
post  office,  and  then  was  elected  State  superintendent  of 
public  instruction,  in  which  position  he  served  two  years. 
During  his  term  of  office  the  ** Brooks-Baxter"  war  oc- 
curred and  a  new  constitution  being  adopted,  Mr.  Corbin. 
with  the  other  Republican  officers,   was  turned  out  of 
office.    For  two  years  then  he  taught  at  Lincoln  Institute 
of  Jefferson  City,  Missouri,  which  turned  out  its  first  grad- 
uating class  while  he  was  there.    He  then  returned  to 
Little  Rock,  for  this  rising  teacher  had  not  moved  his  resi- 
dence, and  while  spending  his  vacation  at  home  was  sent 
for  by  Governor  Augustus  H.  Garland,  now  attorney- 
general  of  the  United  States,  and  was  engaged  to  go  to 
Pine  Bluff  and  establish  the  Branch  Normal  College.    Mr. 
Corbin  did  this  and  opened  the  **  College  "  in  an  old  dilapi- 
dated one  story  frame  house,  built  for  a  barracks  in  war 
times.    The  attendance  at  first  was  seven  students,  one  or 
two  of  whom  could  read  in  the  third  reader.    Professoi 
Corbin  has  been  principal  ever  since  and  the  usual  attend 
ance  now  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  students.    It  had 
sent  forth  five  graduating  classes  and  a  large  number  o^ 
colored  teachers  in  the  State.     His  work  has  been  emi 


JOSEPH  CARTER  CORBIN.  831 

rtiently  successful  and  has  received  the  indorsement  of  every 
administration  in  the  State  since  he  began  operations. 
When  it  was  known  that  he  was  taught  during  the  offi- 
cial  terms  of  Govemers  Garland,  Miller,  Churchill,  Berry 
and  Hughes,  it  is  apparent  he  could  not  have  expected 
anything  from  them,  who  werfc  of  opposite  political  views, 
except  that  his  work  itself  deserved  their  commendation. 
January  12,  1887,  Governor  Hughes,  in  his  message  ta 
the  State  Legislature,  used  these  words : 

I  call  attention,  with  pleasure,  to  the  very  favorable  mention  of  the 
■efficient  and  faithful  management  of  the  Normal  Branch  of  theUnivennty 
of  Pine  Bluff  by  Professor  Corbin,  in  the  report  of  the  executive  commit- 
tee of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  will  add  my  own  commendation  of 
Professor  Corbin  as  an  able  and  efficient  principal  of  that  school,  de- 
voted to  its  interests,  successful  in  its  management,  which  has  been  very 
•  careful  and  economical. 

Of  his  scholastic  ability  very  high  praise  has  been  spoken. 
He  is  a  fluent  reader  of  Greek,  Latin,  German,  French, 
Spanish,  Italian,  Hebrew  and  Danish.  In  mathematics 
is  especially  proficient.  His  mathematical  articles  and 
solutions  can  be  found  in  Bams'  Educational  Monthly, 
published  at  New  York ;  School  Visitor  published  in  Get- 
tysburg, Ohio ;  The  Mathematical  Visitor,  and  the  Math- 
ematical Magazine  and  Mathematical  Gazette,  Erie,  Penn« 
sylvania.  Mr.  Corbin  is  a  Baptist  and  has  been  Sun 
day  school  superintendent  for  many  years,  and  stands 
high  among  the  brethren  in  all  church  work.  He  is  vice- 
president  of  the  Colored  Industrial  Fair  Association.  The 
Weekly  Gazette,  October  28,  1886  speaking  of  the  fair  said: 

In  our  j'csterday's  notes  we  alluded  to  those  who,  by  their  arduous 
and  intelligent  efforts,  have  materially  contributed  to  the  success  of  this 


832  MEN  OP  MARK. 

exhibitioti,  yet  not  to  all,  for  a  lack  of  space  forbids.  There  was  an  army 
of  subordinate  workers  who  did  their  duty  worthily.  This  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  fact  that  while  six  days  on  the  grounds  we  never  heard 
an  oath  or  saw  a  drunken  man.  Professor  J.  C.  Corbin,  vice-president, 
was  here,  there  and  everywhere,  doing  his  duty  intelligently  and  with 
rare  discretion.  He  has  that  rare  gift  of  making  others  pleased  with- 
themselves. 

He  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  scholastic  men  of  the- race. 
He  is  a  man  of  solid  acquirements  and  a  hard  student,  a 
man  of  fine  personal  qualities,  an  agreeable  companion 
and  an  eminent  counselor.  Such  a  store  of  knowledge  as 
he  has  few  men  acquire  without  making  more  show.  He* 
is  retiring  in  his  nature  and  very  modest,  but  such  men  as 
he  who  possess  large  stores  of  wisdom  are  generally  the 
most  quiet  and  amiable  men.  He  has  filled  the  important 
position  of  grand  secretary  of  the  Masons  for  thirteen 
years,  and  is  an  eminent  commander  in  the  Knights  Tem- 
plars. To  his  other  accomplishments,  he  add  that  of 
musician,  performing  upon  the  piano,  organ  and  flute,  and 
has  attained  such  proficiency  that  he  gives  instruction  on 
said  instruments.  During  the  summer  he  is  employed  by 
the  State  superintendent  of  public  schools  of  the  State  to 
hold  institutes  for  colored  teachers,  and  has  filled  engage- 
ments in  nearly  all  the  important  places  in  the  State  of 
Arkansas. 


JAMES  M.  TROTTER.  833 


CXXIV. 

HON.  JAMES  M.  TROTTER. 

Sttorder  of  Beeda^Anthor  of '  Music  and  some  Highly  Musical  People' — 
AsKstant  Superintendent  of  the  Registered  Letter  Department,  Boston, 
Massachusetts— Lieutenant  in  the  Army. 

IT  is  with  no  little  pleasure  that  I  take  my  pen  to  indite 
a  few  words  of  praise  in  honor  of  the  distinguished  and 

honored  author  of  *  Music  and  Some  Highly  Musical  Peo- 
ple.*   He  has  become  known  to  the  literary  and  musical 

world  especially  for  the  production  that  does  honor  to 
himself  and  those  whom  he  has  made  conspicuous. 

Mr.  Trotter  has  performed  a  very  acceptable  act  in 
placing  before  his  readers  the  subject  of  music  in  such  a 
pleasant  form,  condensed  j^et  highly  artistic  in  style,  judi- 
cious in  matter  and  replete  with  thought.  He  is  also  to 
be  commended  for  bringing  to  notice  the  musical  celebrities 
of  the  race  and  gi\4ng  them  their  station  in  the  line  of 
musical  artists,  and  at  the  same  time  fixed  their  names, 
their  abilities,  their  triumphs  in  the  cold  reality  of  type, 
wltich  mighi  well  be  termed  vise  of  facts.  Music  is  a  uni- 
TerM]  lan^age  in  which  men,  women  and  children  join. 
The  birds,  tke  wHndty  the  bells,  the  cataracts,  all  send  forth 
moBic,  and  tlie  "liiigiiig  of  the  sphere, ''  seems  to  betoken 


834  MBNQPMARK. 

that  the  God  hunself  takes  pleasure  in  this  art  so  aptly 
called  the  **  Divine  Art.*'  The  feelings  in  a  man  who  can 
spend  his  energy  of  writing  such  a  work  must  be  of  the 
tenderest  and  gentlest  kind.  His  soul  must  be  pure  and 
easily  moved  by  *  *  a  sweet  concord  of  sounds, ' '  and  indeed  he 
has  soejKpressed himself  in  a  few  lines  of  his  preface.  Speak- 
ing of  music  he  says:  **Its  tones  of  melody  and  harmony 
require  only  to  be  heard  in  order  to  awaken  in  the  breast 
emotions  the  most  delightful. ' '  And  herein  he  j  udges  every 
soul  by  his  own,  so  refined  and  so  highly  tuned  to  rich 
and  cultured  music,  when  he  says :  **  And  yet  who  can  speak 
it  all  of  an  agency  so  charming  in  other  than  words  of 
wannest  praise."  His  research  after  facts  concerning  the 
art  was  rewarded  in  great  fullness,  as  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing selection  from  the  work. 

But  without  devoting  further  space  to  the  music  that  was  in  vog^ue 
prior  to  the  Christian  era,  I  proceed  to  notice  that  our  first  reliable 
account  of  it,  as  a  system,  commences  with  the  fourth  centur}',  at  which 
time  St.  Ambrose,  Bishop  of  Milan,  arranged  the  sacred  chants  that 
bear  his  name,  and  which  were  to  be  sung  in  the  cathedrals.  In  the  year 
600  St.  Gregory  improved  upon  these  chants,  inventing  the  scale  of  eight 
notes.    His  system  is  the  basis  of  our  modern  music. 

From  the  close  of  the  eleventh  to  the  commencement  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  minstrels,  jongleurs,  or  troubadours,  were  the  principal  devo- 
tees of  music.  The3'  seemed  to  have  been  its  custodians,  so  to  speak; 
and  to  their  guild  many  of  the  knights  Ijelongcd.  Some  of  the  kings  and 
nobles  of  the  times  were  also,  in  a  sense,  troubadours ;  such  as,  for  in- 
stance, Thibault  of  Navarre,  and  William  the  Ninth  of  Poitou.  These 
roving  musicians,  who  generally  united  the  qualities  of  the  poet,  the 
musical  composer  and  the  performer,  were  treated  with  much  favor  by 
pripces  and  all  the  nobility,  and  were  everywhere  warmly  welcomed  for 
a  long  period. 

During  the  fourteenth  century,  music  was  most  cultivated  by  the  pco- 


JAMES  M.  TROTTBR.  835 

pie  of  the  Netherlands,  who  carried  the  art  towards  much  perfection, 
producing  several  fine  composers,  and  furnishing  the  leading  musical 
instructor  for  the  other  parts  of  Europe.  Among  some  of  the  ablest 
musicians  of  the  Netherlands  may  be  mentioned  Dufay,  Jan  of  Okenheim, 
and  Josquin  Despres,  the  latter  being  the  most  celebrated  of  contrapun- 
tists.   The  Netherland  musical  supremacy  lasted  until  1563. 

In  the  year  1400  the  claims  of  music  received  the  recognition  of  thv 
•crown  in  England,  a  charter  being  granted  to  a  regularly  formed  musi- 
lal  society. 

Commencing  with  the  invention  of  movable  type  in  1502  (which  in- 
vention so  vastly  facilitated  the  publication  and  spreading  of  the  thoughts 
of  the  composer)  and  with  the  reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
noble  art  of  music  began  a  new,  unimpeded  and  brilliant  career  among 
the  civilized  nations  of  the  world.  Dating  from  thence,  the  progress  of 
this  delightful  science  can  be  plainly  traced.  Unvexed  and  unfettered  by 
the  obscurities  that  attached  to  its  antique  history,  we  can  contemplate 
with  pleasure  and  profit  the  wonderful  creations  and  achievements  of 
his  devotees. 

To  Palestrina,  a  learned  Italian  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  whose 
musical  genius  and  industry,  were  most  remarkable,  is  due  the  greatest 
homage  and  gratitude  of  a  music-loving  world.  Of  him  an  eminent 
musical  writer  savs:  "It  is  difficult  to  overestimate  his  talent  and  influ- 
ence  over  the  art  of  music  in  his  day.  He  was  regarded  as  the  great 
reformer  of  church  music.  His  knowledge  of  counterpoint  and  the  eleva- 
tion and  nobility  of  his  style,  made  his  masses  and  other  compositions, 
of  which  he  wrote  a  great  number,  examples  for  all  time  of  what  music 
should  be.*' 

In  this  century  lived  many  notable  composers,  nearlj-  all  of  whom  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  the  production  of  madrigal  music.  To  the  lat- 
ter the  English  people  were  much  devoted.  Reading  at  sight  was  at  that 
da.v,  even  more  than  now,  a  common  accomplishment  among  the 
educated.  The  English  Queen  Elizabeth  was  quite  fond  of  music,  and 
was  somewhat  accomplished  in  the  art,  performing  upon  the  lute,  ver- 
ginals  and  viol.  She  often  charmed  the  attach^  of  and  visitors  to  her 
court  by  her  skillful  performances.  During  her  reign,  and  by  her  encour- 
.agement,  the  cultivation  of  this  noble  art  received  a  new  and  strong 


836  MEN  OP  MARK. 

impulse  in  England,  and  several  composers  and  performers  of  high  merit 
lived. 

But,  before  proceeding  farther,  the  writer  considers  it  proper  to  remark 
that  to  give  an  extended  description  of  the  progress  of  music  during  the 
last  three  centuries,  mentioning  in  detail  the  many  creations  and  achieve- 
ments of  tHose  who  have  become  great,  nay,  in  some  instances  he  might 
say  almost  immortal  in  the  sacred  domain,  would  require  a  volume  far 
beyond  the  pretensions  and  intended  limits  of  this  one. 

Besides,  the  author  confesses  that  he  pauses  with  feelings  of  reverence 
while  contemplating  the  mighty  genius  and  divinely  approximating 
achievements  of  Haydn,  Mozart,  Beethoven,  Spohr  and  Mendelssohn^ 
fearing  that  his  unskilful  pen  might  fail  in  an  attempt  at  description. 
Nor  does  he  feel  much  less  embarrassed  when  he  contemplates  the  ac- 
complishments of  those  wonderful  interpreters  of  the  works  of  the  noble 
masters,  who  have,  either  through  the  enchanting  modulations  of  their 
voices  or  with  skilful  touch  upon  instruments,  evolved  their  magic 
strains. 

Let  an  abler  pen  than  mine  portray  the  sublime  triumphs  of  Hasse» 
Mario,  Wachtel,  Santley,  Whitney ;  of  Albaui,  Malibran,  Lind,  Parepa 
Rosa,  Nilsson ;  of  Haupt,  Paganini,  Vieuxtemps,  Ole  Bull,  Rubinstein, 
Liszt  and  Von  Bulow. 

Justin  D.  Fulton,  D.  D.,  editor  of  the  Baptist  Outlook^ 
New  York,  said : 

It  should  find  a  welcome  to  every  library.  It  traverses  a  field  hitherto 
untrodden,  and  the  results  are  placed  before  us  in  a  manner  that  will  sur- 
prise and  delight  the  reader.  Mr.  Trotter  wields  the  pen  with  great  care. 
There  islx^forehim  an  oi)en  door  to  a  bright  future  in  the  world  of  letters. 

The  Literary  World,  Boston,  Massachusetts,  speaking- 
of  this  same  work,  said : 

'Music  and  Some  Highly  Musical  People' — We  were  disposed  to  give 
this  book  a  generous  reception  before  reading  it,  for  its  author's  sake; 
and  now^,  after  reading,  we  give  it  a  hearty  commendation  for  its  own. 
U  is  a  well-conceived  and  well-constructed  essay,  in  an  entirely  new 
direction,  combining  some  really  useful  qualities  in  a  truly  clever  waj. 


JAMBS  M.  TROTTER.  837 

Air.  Trotter  is  an  African  by  race,  now  occupying,  (we  believe)  a  position 
in  the  Boston  postoffice ;  and  his  aim  in  this  work  is  to  show  what  is 
being  done  bj  his  people  in  the  musical  profession.  Of  its  three  parts, 
the  first — an  essay  proper,  critical  and  historical — and  the  third — a  collec- 
tion of  musical  compositions  bj'  different  hands— are  of  the  least  value. 
The  second,  which  is  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  volume,  comprising 
biographical  and  critical  sketches  of  a  large  number  of  "highly  musical 
(colored)  people,"  brings  together  a  mass  of  curious,  interesting  and  val- 
uable information,  which  it  would  probably  be  impossible  to  duplicate 
in  any  one  place  elsewhere. 

J.  O.  Freeman,  professor  of  music,  Charleston,  Massa- 
chusetts, wrote  as  follows : 

The  few  pages  devoted  to  music,  its  beauty,  its  power,  uses,  etc.,  are 
well  worth  the  price  of  the  work,  to  say  nothing  of  the  very  interesting 
biographies  of  many  noted  colored  people,  some  who  are  still  active  in 
life,  and  some  who  have  passed  away.  May  the  work  have  what  it  fully 
deserves;  i.e.,  a  large  sale;  and  may  it  be  the  means  of  bringing  before 
the  notice  of  the  white  people,  that  although  some  in  this  world  are  less 
favored  in  color,  they  in  musical  talent  and  intellectual  ability,  are  fully 
their  equals. 

Of  this  work  over  seven  thousand  copies  have  been  sold. 

Mr.  Trotter  was  bom  in  Grand  Gulf,  Mississippi,  and 
spent  his  early  days  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  until  about  twelve 
years  of  age.  He  was  born  about  1844.  He  moved  to 
Hamilton,  Ohio,  where  he  attended  school  and  studied 
music,  and  took  that  deep  interest  in  the  art  which  has 
entered  his  life  and  become  a  part  of  his  nature.  He  finally 
moved  to  Massachusetts,  and  when  the  war  broke  out  he 
enlisted  in  the  army  as  a  private  in  the  Fifty-fourth  Massa- 
chusetts, and  for  efficiency  was  promoted  to  the  position 
of  first  sergeant,  then  sergeant-major,  and  finally  lieutenant. 
After  the  war  the  Republican  party  rewarded  him  by  ap- 


838  MEN  OP  MARK. 

pointing  him  to  the  position  of  assistant  superintendent 
of  the  registered  letter  department  in  the  Boston  postoffice, 
which  position  he  held  for  eighteen  years  and  gave  abun- 
dant satisfaction.  He  resigned  in  1883  on  account  of  color 
line  being  drawn  and  because  he  was  dissatisfied  with  the 
management  of  the  party.  In  politics  Mr.  Trotter  is  an  In- 
dependent. He  does  not  believe  in  slavishly  accepting  the 
decrees  of  men  who  care  only  for  the  votes  of  the  Negfro. 
With  these  feelings  he  voted  for  Cleveland  for  President, 
and  Andrews  for  governor,  and  during  the  last  campaign 
was  one  of  the  committee  of  one  hundred  in  the  State  and 
was  engaged  at  the  headquarters,  in  distributing  literature 
for  Andrews  and  Foster.  After  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  had  twice  rejected  the  name  of  Hon.  James  C. 
Matthews  as  recorder  of  deeds,  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia,  the  name  of  Mr.  Trotter  was  sent  to  the  Senate. 
This  was  due  to  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Matthews,  to 
whom  he  freely  gives  credit  for  his  nomination.  A  full 
statement  of  this  matter  will  be  found  under  the  name  of 
Mr.  Matthews,  which  will  show  that  he  was  appointed 
first  as  the  deputy  recorder  of  deeds  for  the  District  of 
Columbia.  When  he  was  nominated  by  the  follo'wnng letter 
from  the  President  on  March  28,  1887,  there  was  intenae 
excitement  in  the  Senate,  and  in  fact  the  whole  city  : 

To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States : 

I  hereby  nominate  James  M.  Trotter  of  Massachusetts,  to  be  recorckr 
of  deeds  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  vice  Frederick  Douglass  resigned. 

Grover  Cleveland. 

The  Boston  Daily  Globe  reporter,  who  claims  he  was 
the  first  to  suggest  the  name  of  Mr.  Trotter  for  the  posi- 


JAMBS  M.  TROTTER.  839 

tion,  and  who  probably  got  his  cue  from  Mr.  Matthews, 
telegraphed  the  following  report  to  his  paper : 

Within  half  an  hour  there  was  not  a  soul  between  the  four  walls  of  the 
capttol  who  had  not  heard  this  entirely  unexpected  news,  and  in  Wash- 
ington to-night  no  man  is  so  generally  talked  about  as  Lieutenant  Trot- 
ter of  Hyde  Park.  The  Evening  Critic  squeezed  the  bare  information 
into  its  forms  afler  they  had  been  locked,  and  its  staid  contemporary^ 
The  StaTy  set  up  the  nomination  in  a  double  leaded  two  line  paragraph, 
and  issued  a  postscript  edition.  The  first  named  paper  took  time  to  let 
its  readers  know  that  Mr.  Matthews  successor  is  a  "colored  mugwump*' 
— an  unspeakably  vile  combination  in  the  eyes  of  the  local  politicians — 
while  the  Star  inserted  the  bracketed  word  "colored,"  and  let  it  go  at 
that. 

Special  bulletins  were  quickly  pasted  on  the  windows  of  the  newspaper 
offices  and  attracted  great  attention,  the  announcement  exciting  a  vari- 
ety of  comments.  I  stopped  before  one  of  these  boards  in  the  evening 
and  listened  for  a  few  minutes. 

"  Worse  and  worse,"  said  one  man,  as  he  read  aloud, 


"COLORED  MUGWUMPS." 


While  another  exhausted  his  supply  of  invectives,  when  he  had  denounced 
the  nominee  as  a  "  Bean  eating  nigger." 

"Grover  sticks,"  exclaimed  another  passer  by,  with  mixed  pleasure; 
while  several  more  were  heard  to  conmiend  the  spirit  and  nerve  of  the 
President;  and  one  or  two  seemed  to  find  satisfaction  in  the  thought 
that  the  nomination  of  a  Massachusetts  colored  man  to  the  place  was 
ramming  it  hard  at  Senator  Hoar. 

I  am  not  competent  to  interpret  the  real  public  sentiment  of  Washington 
relative  to  the  appointment  of  non-residents  to  oflices  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  but  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  this  very  recently  developed 
clamor  here  against  such  nominations  was  incited  by  self-interest.  There 
certainly  is  no  outcry  against  non-residents  paying  half  the  taxes  of  the 
local  government. 

Indeed  I  do  not  understand  that  there  was  anj'  general  demand  for 
such  a  policy  until  Mr.  Cleveland  came  in,  when  the  local  politicians 
were  encouraged  somewhat  by  the  plank. 

In  the  Chicago  platform  favoring  the  appointment  of  residents  to 


840  MEN  OF  MARK. 

offices  in  the  territorieB,  the  marshal  of  the  dtstriet  had  always  been  a 
non-resident,  and  most  of  the  recorders  of  deeds  had  been  appointed 
from  the  States.  The  last  Republican  recorder  was  Douglass,  and  he 
was  brought  on  from  New  York.  When  Mr.  Clerdand  came  into 
office  Recorder  Douglass  immediately  tendered  his  resignation.  Notwitli- 
standing  this,  he  was  allowed  to  stay  under  the  Democratic  administra- 
tion seventeen  months ;  for  which  consideration  Mr.  Douglass  publidj 
expressed  his  gratitude. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  was,  they  were  making  the  fight  on  the  color 
line,  and  got  whipped,  since  he  was  confirmed.  His  good  fortune  did  not 
forsake  him.  The  "colored  troops"  fought  boldly.  White  men  though 
senators,  shrank  and  cringed  beneath  the  lash  of  the  Negroes  of  the 
country.  When  the  fight  began,  it  at  first  seemed  only  a  little  ieeliiig 
about  the  politics  of  Matthews,  but  when  the  Negroes  saw  it  was  an 
effort  of  the  Senate  to  clip  the  political  wings  of  the  Negro  and  compel 
him  to  drop  in  the  political  back  yard  of  the  Republican  party,  thej 
whipped  the  Senate  *'  horse,  foot  and  dragoon,''  and  like  spoiled  children 
who  had  been  across  their  mother's  knee,  they  whined  and  took  their 
dose  and  swallowed  it  *'  a  wiser,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped,  a  better  set  of 
men."  He  was  confirmed  March  4, 1887,  with  only  eleven  votes  against 
him.  Senator  Ingalls.  who  was  now  presiding  over  the  Senate,  by  virtue 
of  the  resignation  of  Senator  John  Sherman  fi-om  that  position,  left  the 
chair  and  exerted  his  unusual  powers  of  ridicule  to  shame  his  associates  into 
consistency  of  action.  It  is  known  that  he  declared  that  the  coontiy 
would  despise  the  cowardice  of  a  change  and  condemn  the  Republicans 
for  having  drawn  the  color  line  on  Matthews.  He  was  utterly  at  lo« 
to  see  any  possible  gain  or  virtue  in  taking  a  course  that  would  repudiate 
their  actions  and  words  in  the  exactly  parallel  case. 

Senator  Hoar,  on  whom  the  pressure  for  Mr.  Trotter's  confirmatioa 
had  been  strong  and  continuous,  said  '*that  the  Senate  was  not  to 
question  the  right  of  the  President  to  nominate  whomsoever  he  pleased 
for  the  office  of  recorder;  the  only  effect  of  their  double  rejection  of  Mat- 
thews was  to  give  expression  to  their  feeling,  that  it  was  expedient  to 
fill  the  place  with  a  resident  of  the  District.  They  had  emphasised  this 
objection  as  clearly  and  forcibly  as  was  possible,  and  the  senator  thought 
that  the  people  would  not  justify  them  in  further  obstructing  the  Pic^ 


JAMES  M,  TROTTER.  J-  C.  CORBIN. 


G.  W.  DUPEE.  ALLEN  ALLENSWORTH. 


JAMES  M.  TROTTBR.  841 

tdent  in  the  exercise  of  the  appointed  power,  for  the  good  aae  of  which 
he  was  after  all  solely  responsible  in  the  public  mind. 

Mr.  Hoar  said  that  he  could  not  question  the  fitness  and 
reputability  of  the  nominee,  and  exhibited  a  heap  of  com- 
munications from  Massachusetts  in  support  of  Mr.  Trot- 
ter. Mr.  Hoar  had  indeed  been  smoked  out  by  the  Presi- 
dent transferring  the  battle  ground  in  this  war  from  New 
York  to  Massachusetts. 

Senator  Riddleberger  gave  the  Massachusetts  senator  a 
fearful  shaking  up,  recalling  Mr.  Hoar's  courageous  indus- 
try when  a  New  York  ox  was  being  gored,  and  contrast- 
ing his  attitude  then  with  his  indorsement  of  this  new 
nominee,  who  chances  to  be  an  ox  from  the  senator's  own 
fields. 

The  Virginian  insisted  that  he  had  been  honest  in  op- 
posing Matthews,  and  announced  his  intention  of  oppos- 
ing Trotter  for  the  same  reasons.  The  talk  lasted  a  full 
hour,  and  when  the  vote  came  the  Republicans  scrambled 
to  the  President's  side  like  sheep  in  a  thunder-storm. 

While  the  nomination  was  pending  it  was  hard  for  the 
Democrats  to  choose  between  the  hope  that  Trotter  would 
be  served  like  Matthews,  and  the  hope  that  the  Republicans 
would  back  down ;  but  now  that  action  has  been  taken,  it 
is  easy  enough  to  find  the  best  side  of  the  mouth  out  of 
which  to  laugh  a  good  hearty  Democratic  laugh." 

The  proposition  can  now  go  in  the  arithmetics,  **If  two 
colored  men  can  whip  the  United  States  Senate,  what  could 
a  hundred  do?" 

The  office  is  worth  from  seven  thousand  dollars  to  ten 


St2  MBN  OF  MARK. 

thousand  dollars  per  year,  and   has  mnch   patronage 
attached  to  it.    Mr.  Trotter's  modesty  and  excellent  man- 
^  ners  have  made  friends  for  him  and  he  will  serve  the  Dia- 
trict  of  Columbia  with  no  mean  ability. 


AUjm  AIXBNSWOKTH.  843- 


CXXV. 

REV.  ALLEN  ALLENSWORTH,  A.  M. 

The  Great  Children's  Preacher  of  the  Gospel— Chaplain  of  the  Twenty- 
fourth  Infantry  of  the  United  States— Presidential  Electoi^-Agcnt  of 
the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society. 

HE  was  bom  of  slave  parents  in  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
April  3,  1843.  His  parents,  Levi  and  Phyllis  Al- 
lensworth,  were  industrious  and  pious;  he  says  he  owes 
most  of  the  success  of  his  after  life  to  his  mother,  who 
took  especial  pains  to  send  him  to  the  Sunday  school  of 
the  day,  which  was  allowed  by  her  owners.  He  evidenced 
a  thirst  for  knowledge  at  an  early  age.  His  owners  be- 
coming alarmed  at  the  progress  he  was  making  under  dif- 
ficulties, concluded  to  quench  his  thirst  for  learning  bj^ 
sending  him  down  the  river  to  work  on  a  tobacco  farm. 
Henderson  county,  Kentucky,  was  selected  as  the  place, 
where  he  could  not  obtain  any  facilities  for  keeping  up  his 
studies.  They  thought  they  would  put  him  where  he 
would  get  courting  in  his  head,  which  would  crush  all 
desire  to  know  more  of  books ;  then  he  would  be  brought 
back  for  service.  His  mother,  who  belonged  to  another 
person,  was  sick  at  the  time,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  con- 
templated change  until  he  was  sent  with  the  carriage 


844  MEN  OF  MARK. 

driver  to  bid  her  farewell.  She  arose  with  feeble  efforts 
from  her  sick-bed  and  asked  for  God's  blessing  to  rest 
upon  him.  The  mother  and  her  youngest  son  parted  in 
the  spring  of  1853,  and  met  no  more  until  1861,  The 
farm  failing  to  quench  his  thirst  for  knowledge,  his  owners 
sent  him  South  and  sold  him.  In  1861,  when  Sumter 
fell,  he  was  in  a  Negro  mart  in  New  Orleans  and  was  sold 
for  one  thousand  dollars  to  ride  race-horses.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  '61  he  was  brought  to  Kentucky  by  his  new  owner, 
where  he  met  his  mother.  In  the  fall  of  1862  he  left  Louis- 
ville with  the  soldiers,  and  obtained  his  freedom  in  the 
winter  of  1863.  After  the  battle  of  Stone  River  he  went 
to  Ohio.  April  3,  1863,  he  entered  the  United  States  Navy 
and  was  soon  advanced  from  a  seaman  to  a  petty  officer, 
serving  till  April  3,  1865.  He  then  returned  to  Louisville 
and  was  converted  and  united  with  the  Fifth  Street  Bap- 
tist church,  of  which  Elder  Henry  Adams  was  pastor. 

When  the  Ely  Normal  school  was  established  in  Louis- 
ville, he  was  its  janitor  and  among  its  first  pupils,  it  being 
the  first  regular  school  he  ever  entered  to  study.  While 
making  rapid  progress  in  the  school,  he  was  selected  by 
the  principal  to  go  out  and  teach  under  the  Freedmen's 
Bureau.  Finding  that  the  more  he  taught  the  less  he 
knew,  he  entered  the  Nashville  Institute,  now  known  as 
the  Roger  Williams  University.  After  pursuing  the  Nor- 
mal and  preacher's  course  in  that  institution  he  "quitu- 
ated,"  as  he  is  in  the  habit  of  saying,  and  went  to  teach- 
ing in  Georgetown,  Kentucky,  and  taught  there  until 
selected  by  the  General  Association  of  Colored  Baptists  to 
become  their  financial  agent,  from  which  office  he  was 


ALLBN  ALLENSWORTH.  845 

called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church  at  Elizabethtown. 
Being  a  successful  pastor,  his  leadership  was  courted  by 
the  churches  and  he  subsequently  served  at  Franklin, 
Louisville  and  Bowling  Green,  and  developing  into  a  suc- 
cessful Sunday  school  worker,  the  State  Baptist  Sunday 
school  convention  appointed  him  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  schools  of  the  State,  and  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society  appointed  him  as  the  missionary  in 
this  field.  He  became  eminent  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
and  was  known  everywhere  as  the  "Great  Children's 
Preacher."  After  four  years'  service  in  this  field,  he  was 
called  to  take  charge  of  the  Union  Baptist  church  in  Cin- 
cinnati, where  he  met  with  unprecedented  success  as  a 
pastor.  It  was  while  serving  here  that  he  was  appointed 
by  President  Grover  Cleveland  to  the  chaplaincy  of  the 
Twenty-fourth  United  States  infantry.  In  this  new  fiejd, 
as  in  others  he  has  been  pronounced  a  success. 

In  the  denomination  of  which  he  was  an  active  member 
he  was  honored  with  the  position  of  State  secretary  of  the 
Sunday  school  convention  for  several  years,  moderator 
of  the  State  Ministers'  meeting,  and  secretary  for  several 
years  of  the  General  Association,  and,  besides,  filled  many 
other  places  of  honor  and  trust.  As  a  presiding  officer  he 
was  impartial  and  ready ;  as  a  preacher  he  possesses  the 
happy  faculty  in  knowing  how^  to  express  himself  in  the 
most  pleasant  manner;  his  reasoning  being  logical  and 
convincing ;  as  a  lecturer  he  has  had  some  success,  lectur- 
ing in  diflferent  churches  on  the  subject  of  "Masters  of  the 
Situation,'*  **  Humbugs,'*  and  several  other  subjects. 

His  ability  as  a  public  speaker  was  recognized  by  the  Re* 


^846  MEN  OF  MARK. 

publicans  of  Kentucky,  who  selected  him  as  an  elector  for 
the   State-at-large   on  the   Garfield   and   Arthur  ticket. 
Allen  Aliens  worth  is  one  of  the  shrewdest  men  in  the  whole 
country,  for  he  outwitted  the  schemers  of  the  district  in 
which  he  lived,  who  had  always  manipulated  their  conven- 
tions so  as  to  send  a  white  man  to  the  Presidential  nomin- 
ating convention  which  met   last  in   Chicago,  a  thing 
no  other  colored  man  in  Kentucky  has  succeeded  in  doing. 
He  is  all  tact.    How  could  a  prominent  Republican  poli- 
tician, who  was  a  Republican  elector,  who  had  never  done 
anything  for  conservatism  even,  be  put  in  such  a  position 
by  President  Cleveland  in  the  days  of  removal  for  offensive 
partisanship  ?    Nobody  could  answer  this  but  the  chaplain 
himself    He  is  one  of  the  best  tempered  men,  and  owes  his 
success  to  his  moderation,  even  in  very  disagreeable  affairs. 
In  debate  he  is  always  calm  and  wary,  and  is  a  skilful 
parliamentarian.    As  a  preacher  he  can  turn  a  sermon  in- 
side out  and  then  turn  it  the  other  way  for  successive  oc- 
casions,  and  make  it  pleasing,  instructive  and  full  of  truth. 
His  style  is  of  the  highest  order ;  he  never  fails  to  command 
attention     Recognizing  his  success  in  life,  and  appreciating 
his  course  as  a  Christian  gentleman  and  man  of  vScholastic 
habits,  the  Roger  Williams  University  conferred  upon  him 
the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.    His  intellect  is 
keen,  judicial,  didactic  and  strong.    To  his  new  field  of 
labor  he  carries  with  him  the  best  wishes  of  his  friends  and 
the  prayers  of  all  good  people  in  the  State  in  which  he  has 
labored  so  faithfull}'^  and  long.    Kentucky  is  proud  of  his 
elevation  and  success  in  the  Twenty-fourth  infantry,  sta- 
tioned now  at  Fort  Supply,  Indian  Territory. 


GBORGB  WASHINGTON  DUPBB.  847 


CXXVI. 

REV.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  DUPEE. 

Bminent  Minister— Moderator  of  the  General  Association — Editors- 
Preacher  of  Twelve  Thousand  Funeral  Sermons— Baptizer  of  Eight 
Thousand  Candidates. 

REV.  MR.  DUPEE  was  born  July  24,  1826,  in  Gallatin 
County,  Kentucky.  His  parents  were  named  Cuth- 
bert  and  Rachael  Dupee,  and  were  owned  by  Elder  Joseph 
Taylor,  a  Baptist  preacher,  who  moved  to  Franklin  county 
when  George  was  an  infant.  He  was  very  small  when 
the  master  sold  off  his  slaves  and  moved  to  the  State 
of  Illinois,  carrying  his  brother  Edmund  with  him,  whom 
he  afterward  set  free.  His  mother  having  died  when  he 
was  two  weeks  old,  told  the  people  to  raise  him  right,  for 
God  had  spared  her  to  bring  her  boy  into  the  world,  whom 
she  had  named  George  Washington  Dupee,  and  that  this 
boy  was  for  God's  own  purpose  and  that  he  would  be  use- 
ful and  live  to  an  old  age.  In  his  early  days  he  worked  at 
a  rope  and  bagging  factory,  and  also  in  a  brickyard,  and 
with  his  father  and  brother  was  hired  to  different  parties. 
In  1841  he  worked  on  the  court-house  in  Versailles,  being 
hired  to  one  Mr.  French,  and  was  brought  under  the  preach- 
ing of  old  *'  Father"  David  Woods,  a  Baptist  preacher.    On 


848  MEN  OF  MARK. 

the  second  Tuesday  in  August,  1842,  he  was  converted^ 
After  conversion  he  was  impressed  with  the  desire  to  preach 
the  gospel,  and  he  appeared  before  the  preacher  above  named 
and  brother  James  Evans  and  Charles  Good  and  was  exam- 
ined to  see  if  he  was  converted.  He  failed  to  give  satisfac- 
tion, and  they  were  honest  enough  to  send  him  back  to  learn 
something  about  Christian  experience.  He  went  back  to 
God  in  prayer  and  begged  if  he  had  done  anything  for  his 
poor  soul,  to  please  to  make  it  plain.  On  the  following 
Friday  his  eyes  were  opened  and  his  soul  was  filled  with 
the  love  of  God.  On  Saturday  night  they  had  a  meeting 
at  old  Deacon  Wingate's  (white).  There  he  told  what  the 
Lord  had  done  for  him,  and  was  recommended  to  the  Buck 
Run  church.  On  the  third  Sunday  he  went  before  the 
church  and  was  approved  for  Baptism.  Pastor  Kenny 
immersed  Sister  Rachael  Mills,  Brother  Chetser  Fields,, 
and  G.  W.Dupee,  in  South  Elkhorn  creek,  a  day  and  action, 
as  he  says,  never  to  be  forgotten.  The  desire  to  preach  the 
gospel  still  pressed  upon  his  mind  and  he  says,  when  speak- 
ing about  the  subject,  **  I  remember  to  my  shame  until  this 
day,  of  saying  that  if  the  Lord  knew  me  as  I  knew  myself, 
he  would  know  that  he  could  not  make  a  preacher  out  of 
,me.  I  have  been  almost  puzzled  since  to  know  that  God 
could  forgive  such  ignorance."  He  did  not  at  this  time 
know  the  letters  of  the  alphabet.  Preachingleft  his  mind. 
He  subsequently  learned  the  alphabet  in  the  summer  of 
1844.  On  a  rainy  Wednesday  in  June,  old  Father  Wood 
was  reading  in  the  New  Testament  and  being  weary,  laid 
the  book  down,  and  then  himself  saying,  **It  still  rains 
and  I  will  lie  down."    After  he  did  so  Mr.  Dupee  took  up 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  DUPBE.  849 

the  book,  wishing  that  he  could  read  as  he  had  seen  Father 
Wood  doing.  He  opened  the  book  without  making  any 
effort  to  find  a  special  place,  at  the  first  chapter  of  John. 
He  saw  the  letters  J-o-h-n  and  said,  **  What  did  that  fool 
put  those  letters  that  way  for ;  they  don't  mean  anything." 
He  had  quarreled  with  the  compositor  about  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  letters  of  John's  name,  Df  course  without  know- 
ing that  there  was  such  a  character  as  a  compositor.  He 
paused  over  that  name  but  could  not  pronounce  it,  could 
not  spell  words  of  four  letters.  Just  how  he  got  started 
to  reading  he  never  could  tell,  but  he  first  discovered  himself 
reading  what  he  since  learned  was  ,the  third  chapter  of 
John.  Suprised  to  find  himself  reading  the  Word  of  God,  he 
went  back  to  the  first  chapter  and  read  the  first  three 
again.  It  still  seemed  a  mystery.  He  went  back  again 
and  read  it  over  and  he  was  in  a  maze.  He  went  back 
again  and  read  the  first  three  chapters  and  then  he  recog- 
nized the  fact  that  he  could  read  the  Holy  Word  of  God. 
He  pressed  the  open  book  to  bis  breast  and  got  down  on 
his  knees  to  thank  the  Lord  for  teaching  him  to  read  His 
precious  Word.  He  could  not  speak;  he  cried  and  rolled 
over  the  floor,  got  up  and  walked  about  and  said  that  his 
heart  rejoiced,  his  soul  magnified  the  Lord.  He  stopped 
and  read  .again,  and  again,  and  then  read  again,  and  then 
laid  down  the  book  and  went  into  another  room  to  sleep. 
Reading  had  been  to  him  but  a  pastime,  but  finally  he 
found  that  he  was  blessed  with  reading  the  Word  of  God 
as  he  had  never  hoped  to  do.  He  was  so  happy  that  he 
could  not  keep  still,  but  soon  he  was  dumfounded  again. 
For  he  reasoned  to  himself,  you  can  read  the  Word  of  God 


850  MEN  OF  MARK. 

what  hinders  you  from  preaching  the  gospel.  He  hung 
his  head  in  sorrow,  for  he  had  not  yet  thought  that  God 
could  make  a  preacher  of  him ;  and  he  refused  to  believe 
that  he  could  or  ought  to  preach  the  gospel. 

He  was  an  uncompromising  Baptist,  believing  in  "One 
Lord,  one  Faith,  one  Baptism."  In  April,  1845,  he  was 
hired  to  a  Mr.  D.  C.  Humphries,  in  Woodford  county.  In 
June  of  that  year  he  was  introduced  to  Sister  Phoebe 
Fields,  a  member  of  the  old  Big  Spring  Baptist  church,  who 
refused  to  speak  to  him  on  introduction,  but  gave  him  a 
very  strange  look  that  bothered  him.  But  he  passed  on, 
and  in  August  Sister  Fields  sent  for  him  to  come  to  her 
house,  and  to  be  there  on  a  certain  Sunday  evening  in  Sep- 
tember. This  bothered  him  and  he  didn't  know  what  to 
make  of  it,  but  somehow  he  felt  impelled,  and  planned  not 
to  be  in  her  presence  long.  So  on  the  [evening  mentioned 
he  met  her,  and  that  meeting  is  never  to  be  forgotten.  Ar- 
riving at  her  house  late  in  the  evening,  she  was  out  milking 
near  her  door,  and  he  said,  *  *Good  evening, ' '  and  told  her  that 
he  heard  that  she  wished  to  see  him ;  that  he  had  come  by  on 
that  account,  for  he  was  in  a  great  hurry  to  get  to  his 
brother  Henry's.  She  said,  **Go  to  your  brother  Henry's 
and  when  you  get  time  come  to  see  me.  '  He  was  standing 
by  a  stump,  and  just  eased  himself  down  to  wait  her  pleas- 
ure; but  he  was  troubled,  for  what  he  did  not  know.  Sup- 
per being  ready  he  was  invited  to  eat,  but  did  not  feel  like 
taking  any.  Sister  Phoebe  said  to  him:  **We  are  going 
over  to  old  Uncle  Ned  Livingston's;  vv'ill  you  go  with  us?" 
His  heart  said  no,  but  his  lips  said  yes.  On  the  way  over 
Sister  Phoebe  said  to  him :    **  Do  you  remember  when  you 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  DUPEE.  851 

were  introduced  to  me  last  year?"  He  replied:  ''Yes, 
ma'am."  Then  said  she:  "What  did  you  think  of  my 
conduct  towards  you  at  that  time  ?"  He  told  her :  "  Very 
strange."  Then  said  she,  **I  saw  something  in  you  that 
I  never  did  in  any  one  else.  I  thought  I  would  ask  you 
some  questions  and  then  I  saw  you  were  not  honest,  and 
I  did  not  ask  you  anything,  because  I  didn't  want  you  to 
tell  me  a  lie ;"  and  further  said  that  she  had  made  his  case 
the  subject  of  prayer.  That  the  Lord  had  shown  her  that 
he  had  converted  him  some  years  ago  in  an  old  field  under 
some  trees,  where  there  were  bushes,  and  commanded  him 
to  preach  the  gospel,  and  that  he  had  disobeyed  him,  and 
the  Lord  was  not  pleased  with  him.  Further,  that  there 
w^ere  many  sinners  in  that  neighborhood  waiting  to  be 
called  by  the  gospel  into  his  service,  and  among  them  some 
that  would  preach  the  gospel.  By  that  time  he  was  nearly 
dead,  for  he  began  to  realize  the  situation.  He  was  con- 
verted in  a  wheat  field  just  harvested,  under  an  apple  tree 
surrounded  by  locust  bushes,  but  he  had  not  told  anybody 
about  it,  because  he  could  not  talk  about  it  without  feeling 
the  pangs  of  his  disobedience.  He  was  completely  broken 
down.  He  arrived  at  Livingston's,  and  Sister  Fields  and 
two  old  people  and  several  little  children  were  come  to  hold 
a  little  meeting,  and  called  upon  Sister  Ailsey  Fields  to 
pray.  She  then  went  to  him,  took  him  by  the  arm  saying: 
'*Go  about  the  Lord^s  business,"  and  he  got  up  but  didn't 
know  what  he  said.  They  said  he  made  a  good  talk,  but 
he  was  not  conscious  of  what  he  was  doing,  for  as  soon  as 
he  noticed  he  was  on  his  feet  he  sat  down  confused.  Sister 
Fields  sang  this  old  hymn : 


852  MEN  OF  MARK. 

*'  But  when  I  am  come  to  meditate, 
How  poor,  how  vile  I  am ; 
How  can  I  preach  the  gospel  true,   ' 
And  claim  the  Son  of  Man." 

She  said  to  him :  '*  You  need  not  take  this.  It  is  for  me 
only."  After  prayer  and  singingagain  shewenthome,  and 
when  the  party  arrived  at  the  house,  brother  Sam  Fields, 
her  husband,  expected  him  to  go  in,  but  she  got  hold  of  his 
arm  and  pointing  to  the  woods  near  by,  said:  **Go  and 
repent  of  your  long  disobedience  and  get  ready  to  sei-ve 
the  Lord  and  the  gospel.''  He  often  says  he  never  shall 
forget  the  first  Sunday  night  in  September,  184-5,  and  how 
he  regretted  that  he  didn't  go  on  preaching  the  gospel  like 
Paul.  He  repented,  however,  and  went  to  work.  At  that 
time  there  were  only  two  places  in  that  neighborhood  for 
miles  around  where  colored  people  were  permitted  to  hold 
meetings ;  biit  soon  doors  were  opened  and  he  was  invited 
and  did  hold  meetings  on  twenty-seven  farms,  holding 
night  and  Sunday  preachings  in  the  dining  rooms,  kitchens, 
woods  and  other  places,  and  God  blessed  the  work  and 
many  were  converted.  Among  them  were  Moses  Bucks, 
David  Johnson,  Keene  Langford,  who  became  preachers. 
An  incident  not  to  be  forgotten  occurred  at  Mr.  Humph- 
ries'. One  Saturdav,  in  1846,  the  most  of  the  men  living: 
there  gambled.  The  unmarried  men  occupied  one  room. 
In  that  room,  the  night  referred  to,  Moses  Burk,  Simon 
Brown,  George  Washington,  Harry  Langford,  Alfred 
Gaines,  Lewis  Allen,  David  Johnson,  Quilla  Terrior  and 
some  others  were  playing  for  tobacco.  He  sat  near  the 
box  until  late.    Finalh^  he  said:    ** Gentlemen  I  gave  you 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  DUPEE.  853 

silent  attention,  if  not  respectful,  and  now  I  claim  your 
silent  attention  while  I  will  play  my  game/'  This  greatly 
incensed  them  and  they  became  reckless,  cursing,  shuffling 
feet  and  making  noises  on  the  box,  at  a  fearful  rate. 
However,  Dupee  sang  a  hymn,  but  they  paid  no  attention 
to  him.  He  sang  several  hymns,  got  down  and  prayed, 
but  they  didn't  hear  his  prayer.  But  God  did.  When  he 
got  up,  he  sang  and  prayed  again,  then  got  up  feeling  hurt 
at  the  treatment  he  had  received  from'the  boys,  thinking 
that  his  prayer  should  be  answered  right  aw^ay.  He  was 
not  done  thinking  before  the  answer  came.  The  box  on 
which  they  were  sitting  was  near  a  window  and  all  at 
once  there  came  a  ball  of  lightning,  about  nine  inches  in 
diameter,  through  that  window,  right  about  the  centre  of 
the  ring,  and  drew  itself  back  and  struck  itself  at  each 
man's  face,  and  then  passed  right  over  his  own  left 
shoulder  out  of  the  same  window.  Then  he  felt  like  a 
giant  refreshed  with  new  wine.  Brother  Moses  Burk 
took  dinner  with  him  on  the  tenth  of  January,  1887,  and 
told  hin>that  he  had  never  played  a  card  since  that  Satur- 
day night.  The  cards  fell  from  their  hands  and  they  lay 
there  until  morning.  A  number  of  old  brethren  invited  him 
to  take  charge  of  their  meeting  and  act  as  a  sort  of  pastor, 
which  invitation  he  accepted.  The  old  colored  deacons  of 
the  Buck  Run  church  had  authorized  him  to  exercise  his 
gifts.  Father  Jack  Smith,  the  first  colored  preacher  of 
Kentucky;  Father  David  Wood,  Brother  James  Evans 
and  Brother  Charles  Good  were  the  men.  A  great  revival 
broke  out  and  so  many  persons  going  from  Woodford 
county  to  Buck  Run  and  joining,  using  his  name  as  the 


854  MEN  OF  MARK. 

instrument  of  their  going,  the  white  pastor  of  the  church 
became  aroused   to  know  who   this  Dupee   was.      The 
church,  having  appointed  him  deacon  in  old  Father  Jack 
Smith's  place,  didn't  know  him  as  a  preacher.    The  church 
said  he  must  be  encouraged,  and  appointed  a  meeting  for 
him  to  come  and  preach  for  them  that  he  might  be  U- 
censed.    He  thought  it  needless  to  have  a  license,  but  in 
obedience  to  the  church,  he  went  and  preached  the  best  he 
could.    The  church  voted  a  license  for  him,  but  he  never 
got  it.    Again  he  met  Sister  Fields,  who  impressed  upon 
him  the  duty  of  learning  to  write,  telling  him  that  he 
would  be  pastor  of  churches  sometime  and  that  all  pas- 
tors ought  to  read  and  write,  and  that  he  would  be  free,  and 
have  great  responsibilities.     She  got  an  Irishman  to  set 
a  copy  for  him.    He  soon  learned  that  he  could  attend  to 
business.    He  labored  in  Woodford,  Franklin,  Scott,  Jes- 
samine, Fayette,  Owens  and  other  counties  for  several 
years.    He  averaged  four  sermons  a  week,  walking  over  a 
hundred  miles  to  and  from  his  preaching.     He  walked 
forty  miles  and  preached  four  times  in  one  day  in  1847. 

In  1848  he  went  to  IJrankfort  to  live  with  Mr.  Joseph 
Gale,  and  learned  the  brickmaking  trade.  The  sixteenth 
of  November  he  married  Mrs.  Matilda  Green  at  the  Gov- 
ernor's Palace,  Frankfort,  and  Father  Dayid  Wood  offici- 
ated. His  married  life  did  not  terminate  happily.  He 
declined  a  proposition  of  the  majority  of  the  members  of 
the  Frankfort  church  and  received  the  call  at  Georgetown, 
which  he  accepted  January,  1851,  and  protracted  a  meet- 
ing, assisted  by  Elder  James  Monroe,  whom  he  calls  the 
best  preacher  he  ever  heard.    The  second  Sunday  in  ^arch 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  DUPEE.      •     855 

of  that  year  he  was  ordained  by  Rev.  Reynolds  D.  D.,  pres- 
ident of  the  Georgetown  College,  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Frost, 
pastor  of  the  white  Baptist  church.  On  the  third  Sunday 
he  immersed  twenty-eight  persons.  In  1853  he  organized 
a  church  at  what  is  called  the  Old  Big  Spring,  Woodford 
county.  In  1855  he  organized  achurch  at  Paris,  Kentucky, 
preached  at  Great  Crossing,  Stamping  Grounds,  Cane  Run 
and  other  places  with  Brother  James  Monroe,  Bias  Smith, 
Robert  Martin,  Thomas  Smith,  Thomas  Gross,  Spencer 
Taylor,  Henry  Evans,  Armistead  Steele  John  Eppison, 
John  Osborne,  George  Grayson,  Frederick  Braxton,  E.  W. 
Green,  London  Ferrill,  J.  R.  Anderson,  N.  G.  Merry,  R.  V. 
Vandervall,  and  many  other  dear  soldiers  of  the  cross  of 
Christ.  With  Elders  Monroe,  Green,  Steele,  Braxton  and 
others,  he  attended  the  funeral  of  that  great  and  good  man, 
London  Ferrill,  in  March,  1855.  He  was  called  to  the 
pastorate  of  Pleasant  Green  church  in  Lexington,  and 
divided  time  with  the  church  at  Georgetown.  In  December 
he  was  called  the  second  time  and  signified  his  acceptance, 
but  in  a  few  days  afterwards,  the  Honorable  Richard  Ken- 
dall informed  him  that  he  was  advertised  with  his  brothers, 
Henry  and  Logan  D.  Dupee,  to  be  sold  to  the  highest 
bidder.  He  reconsidered  his  acceptance  to  the  call,  not 
knowing  what  was  to  become  of  him.  In  a  few  days,  old 
Father  Richard  Dryer,  deacon  of  the  Pleasant  Green  church, 
told  him  that  Judge  B.  F.  Graves  of  the  county  court  of 
Favette  wanted  to  see  him  at  the  clerk's  office  on  a  certain 
night.  Of  course  he  thought  the  Negro  buyers  had  fixed 
the  trick  up  and  expected  to  handcuff  and  carry  him  to  jail. 
However  he  went  down,  and  there  met  the  Rev.  William 


856  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Pratt  D.D.,  Judge  B.  F.  Graves,  Lawjrer  Drake,  his  brother 
Dr.  Drake,  Messrs.  Plunkett,  Bishop  Clark,  Baker,  Kidd, 
Burbank  and  others.  They  cordially  received  him  and 
finally  asked  him  if  he  could  read  writing.  He  replied  that 
he  could,  and  they  told  him  to  read  a  paper  which  was 
spread  out  before  him.  There  was  an  agreement  between 
these  gentlemen  to  buy  him  when  sold,  and  let  him  pay 
them  their  monev  back  when  he  could.  He  was  not  sold, 
and  reconsidering  his  declination  of  the  Pleasant  Green 
church  he  accepted  it,  and  remained  until  1864.  He  organ- 
ized a  church  in  1867,  in  Cynthiana,  and  did  very  much  work 
in  connection  with  Rev.  Elisha  W.  Green,  at  Maysville. 
August,  1858,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  Washington  Street 
Baptist  church  in  Paducah  as  visiting  pastor.  He  held  a 
meeting ther«  and,  as  theresult,  baptized  eighty-one  persons 
in  fourteen  minutes.  In  1861  he  organized  the  first  min- 
isters* and  deacons' meeting  ever  held  by  the  colored  people 
in  the  South  or  Southwestern  States,  in  Versailles,  in  Elder 
Armistead  Steele's  church.  There  were  present  Brethren 
James  Monroe,  John  Oliver,  R.  Martin  and  G.Breckinridge, 
and  they  had  a  grand  meeting.  Brother  A.  Steele  died  in 
the  fall  of  1861  and  Brother  Dupee  preached  his  funeral 
sermon,  and  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church  in 
Versailles  in  1862,  and  divided  time  with  the  Pleasant  Green 
church.  In  1862  he  baptized  Rev.  Reuben  Lee,  who  came 
over  from  the  Presbyterians,  and,  with  the  aid  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Pratt,  and  Rev.  J.  L.  Smith,  ordained  him.  Brother  Butler 
Harper  was  ordained  at  the  same  time ;  Reuben  Lee  was 
called  to  the  church  in  Georgetown,  Kentucky,  and  Brother 
Harper  went  to  Cincinnati  to  see  about  his  freedom.    Mr. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  DUPEE.  857 

Dupee  organized  a  church  in  Covington,  building  them  a 
house  of  worship,  and  was  invited  to  act  as  pastor. 

In  Etecember,  1864,  he  declined  the  eleventh  call  to  the 
Pleasant  Green  church,  and  having  been  called  to  locate 
in  Paducah  he  moved  down  to  Covington  and  remained 
until  February,  1865.  He  left  Brother  Jack  Price  in 
charge  of  the  Covington  church  and  took  charge  of  the 
Paducah  church,  frequently  visiting  the  church  at  Coving- 
ton. But  he  says :  **  If  I  could  have  gotten  the  Pleasant 
Green  church  after  I  had  gone  to  Paducah,  I  would  not 
have  stayed  in  Paducah  very  long.  The  Union  army  and 
the  devil  had  the  place,  and  I  didn't  see  any  place  for  God 
And  myself  But  as  I  burnt  the  bridge  behind  me,  I  had  to 
fight  it  out  or  surrender.  The  civil,  religious  people  were 
gone  to  other  places,  and  strangers  that  didn't  know 
'Joseph  'had  come  in  from  everywhere, it  seemed,  but  from 
where  God  had  been.''  When  he  began  the  work,  men 
would  smoke  cigars  in  the  church,  drink  whiskey  and 
curse  when  they  were  spoken  to.  They  would  curse  at 
him  fearfully  when  he  spoke  to  them,  so  he  prepared  him- 
self a  hickory  stick,  about  two  inches  thick  and  three  feet 
long,  and  took  it  in  the  pulpit  with  him  and  show  ed  it  to 
the  men  and  told  them  what  he  would  do  with  it.  Well, 
they  believed  him  and  let  him  alone.  He  has  been  in  this 
place  now  twentv-two  vears,  and  has  a  fine  and  well-be- 
haved  congregation,  as  large  as  any  in  the  State.  He  has 
baptized  over  two  thousand  persons  there ;  has  ordained 
some  ten  ministers  in  this  church,  some  of  them  very  able 
and  good  men.  In  September,  1867,  with  the  aid  of  Elder 
S.  Underwood  and  others,  he  organized  the  first  district 


858  MBN  OF  MARK. 

Baptist  Association  in  the  Washington  Baptist  churchy 
and  was  elected  moderator  and  has  been  elected  ever  since. 
He  organized  it  with  five  churches,  but  in  1868  it  had  one 
hundred  and  thirty.  He  assisted  in  the  organization  of 
the  General  Association  of  Colored  Baptists  of  Kentucky, 
in  August,  1867.  He  was  elected  moderator  of  this  asso- 
ciation at  its  session  in  Danville  church,  August  16,  1871^ 
and  retained  the  position  until  August  17,  1881.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  American  Baptist  Consolidated  conven- 
tion which  met  first  in  Nashville,  in  1867,  and  attended 
several  of  its  sessions  in  different  cities.  He  has  received 
over  12,000  persons  into  the  church  and  has  baptized  over 
8,000  and  pastored  12  churches;  has  married  over  13,00O 
couples.  He  established  and  edited  a  religious  newspaper 
called  the  Baptist  Herald,  from  1873  to  1 878.  He  has  been 
a  Baptist  for  45  years,  and  has  been  preaching  for  41 
years,  and  has  been  an  elder  for  87  years ;  he  has  preached 
over  12,000  funeral  sermons,  including  the  funeral  ser- 
mons of  the  following  noted  ministers  of  the  gosj^el :  Jor- 
dan Bailey,  Frederick  Braxton,  Armistead  Steele,  Reuben 
Lee,  Emanuel  Cartwright,  N.  G.  Merry,  W.  W.  Taylor.  W. 
C.  Dabney,  Wilson  Fortson  and  some  others  whose  names 
are  not  here  mentioned.  He  has  given  some  attention  to 
the  subject  of  Free  Masonry,  and  was  grand  senior  warden 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky,  and  was  elected  two 
terms  grand  master  of  the  State.  Also  was  at  the  head 
of  the  chapter  of  Paducah  Lodge,  No.  1545,  G.  U.  O.  O.  F. 
Certainly  no  man  lives  in  Kentucky  who  has  done  more 
to  develop  her  spiritual  interest.  He  is  a  man  of  large 
proportions,  powerful  speaker,  and  of  a  genial,  sociable 


GEORGB  WASHINGTON  DUPEB.  859 

temperament.  He  has  diflfered  largely  with  the  brethren 
and  had  his  own  view  of  matters,  and  has  not  pleased 
every  one,  nor  has  every  one  pleased  him ;  but  certain  it 
is  that  there  is  a  work  done  by  George  Dupee  that  cannot 
be  undone.  He  is  a  man  of  a  great  deal  of  power  over 
men. 


■860  HEN  OF  MARK. 


CXXVII. 

SAMUEL  C.  WATSON,  M.  D. 

Druggist— Doctor— Member  of  the  City  Council— First  Colored  Clerk  of 
a  Steamboat  owned  by  a  Colored  Man. 

IN  the  city  of  Detroit  there  lives  a  gentleman  who  has 
established  himself  in  the  drug  business,  and  whose 
standing  in  the  community  makes  him  a  fitting  representa- 
tive of  the  State  of  Michigan  and  the  city  of  Detroit.  He 
is  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  solid  men  of  the  city,  and 
mention  of  his  name  is  given  on  account  of  his  success  in 
business ;  for  it  is  in  this  department  of  life  that  we  must 
make  successes  in  the  future.  There  are  orators,  divines 
and  professors  in  abundance,  but  business  men  are  few; 
indeed  too  little  attention  is  paid  to  this  department  of 
Ufe. 

The  druggist  is  considered  even  more  dangerous  than  a 
physician,  as  he  is  supposed  to  make  all  the  mistakes  in 
compounding  medicines,  and  hence  in  this  department  of 
labor  it  would  be  expected  that  a  colored  man  would  re- 
fuse to  enter. 

His  customers  are,  however,  not  separated  by  a  color 
line,  for  the  most  of  his  sales  are  to  those  of  the  opposite 


SAMUEL  C.  WATSON.  861 

race,  who  buy  wl^at  they  need  for  the  price  asked  at  any 
place,  if  only  the  object  they  seek  can  be  obtained. 

Mr.  Samuel  C.  Watson  began  life  in  the  State  of  South 
Carolina,  St.  James  parish,  in  1832.  His  parents  died 
-when  he  was  about  nine  years  old,  and  when  a  settlement 
of  the  estate  was  made,  he  was  sent  with  two  brothers  and 
t-wo  sisters  to  Washington  and  placed  in  charge  of  a 
guardian,  the  Rev.  William  McLane,  a  Presbyterian 
preacher.  He  commenced  his  education  before  he  had  left 
the  State  of  South  Carolina.  In  Washington,  the  first 
school  he  attended  was  kept  by  Mrs.  Leonard  A.  Grimes, 
wife  of  the  distinguished  Baptist  minister  of  that  place, 
who  for  many  years  held  charge  in  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts, and  at  this  time  was  serving  a  term  in  Richmond 
prison  for  assisting  some  fugitive  slaves  in  their  efforts  to 
escape  from  the  bonds  of  slavery.  The  next  school  he  at- 
tended was  Union  Seminary,  conducted  by  John  F.  Cook, 
a  Presbyterian  minister.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  went  of 
his  own  accord  to  Phillips  Academy  in  Andover,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  remained  there  three  years,  one  year  being 
in  the  Classical  Department.  The  future  seeming  dark  and 
having  but  few  to  encourage  him,  meeting  with  prejudice 
on  every  hand  he  left  the  academy,  not  on  account  of 
prejudice  there,  but  the  dark  future  he  saw  pictured  on 
every  hand. 

In  the  spring  he  shipped  on  the  survey  schooner,  Madi- 
son,  at  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard.  The  surveys  extended  from 
Delaware  Bay  to  Portland,  Maine. 

'  Late  in  the  fall  he  returned  to  New  York  and  received 
his  discharge.    He  was  influenced  perhaps,  by  a  very  great 


862  MEN  OF  MARK. 

desire  to  know  more,  and  because  some  Q;ther  Washington 
boys  had  in  the  meantime,  with  his  younger  brother,  gone 
toOberlin  ;  and  learning,  too,  that  it  was  about  as  near  the 
colored  man's  paradise  as  any  place  in  the  country,  made 
up  his  mind  to  commence  studying  again ;  so  early  in  1853 
he  left  Washington  for  that  city  of  learning. 

While  he  was  well  pleased  with  the  surroundings  and 
the  school  itself,  he  did  not  fully  enter  into  the  spirit  that 
seemed  to  move  everything  there.  So  in  the  fall  he  made 
up  his  mind  to  leave,  which  he  did.  From  there  he  w^ent 
to  Ann  Arbor  and  entered  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
Michigan  University  and  pursued  his  studies  there  until 
the  fall  of  1856. 

After  leaving  the  university  he  went  to  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
and  entered  the  Western  Homeopathic  College,  completed 
his  studies  and  graduated  that  winter.  After  leaving  col- 
lege he  settled  in  Chatham,  Ontario,  where  he  practiced 
his  profession,  remaining  until  the  fall  of  1858.  About 
that  time  the  discovery  of  gold  in  British  Columbia  created 
quite  an  excitement  throughout  the  country.  He,  too, 
was  affected  with  the  gold  fever,  and  ambitious  to  better 
his  circumstances,  sought  the  gold  fields  and  essayed  to 
find  that  which  would  make  him  comfortable  in  life.  But 
the  bubble  was  soon  pricked ;  gold  didn't  lie  around  wait- 
ing simply  to  be  picked  up,  and  so  being  disgusted  with 
failure  he  returned  the  next  fall. 

In  1859  Mr.  Whipper,  a  colored  gentleman  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania,  purchased  a  passenger  steamboat 
named  the  T.  Whitnev  ^nd  placed  her  on  the  route  between 
Detroit  and  Sandusky,  Ohio.    Mr.  Watson  was  requested 


SAMUEL  C.  WATSON.  863 

to  take  a  clerkship  on  the  boat,  which  he  did,  acting  also 
as  part  manager.  He  remained  with  this  boat  until  the 
close  of  navigation,  and  feels  gratified  to-day  that  he  had 
a  hand  in  the  first  venture  of  the  kind  by  a  colored  man. 

In  the  winter  of  1861  he  went  to  Salem,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  married  the  only  daughter  of  Mr.  Joseph  Cassey 
of  Philadelphia,  Penns\'lvania.  He  then  settled  in  To- 
ronto,  Ontario,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  medicine.  The 
Canadian  laws  requiring  that  everybody  practicing  there 
must  hold  a  diploma  from  that  country,  he  went  before 
the  board  and  was  examined,  and  became  a  regular  licen- 
tiate. 

Here  he  remained  till  the  spring  of  1863.  The  rebellion 
in  this  country  was  going  on  at  this  time,  and  he  was 
forced  to  return  to  the  United  States  to  protect  the  interest 
he  had  there.  He  went  direct  to  Detroit,  Michigan,  and 
opened  a  prescription  drug  store  and  has  continued  in  that 
business  until  the  present  time,  now  twenty-four  years. 

In  1875  his  wife  died;  he  had  suffered  the  loss  of  three 
children  before  her  death.  She  had  left  three  others — ^two 
girls  and  a  boy.  One  of  the  girls  is  now  emplo3'ed  at  the 
public  library  as  an  assistant.  The  other  girl  and  boy  are 
attending  the  High  School. 

In  1877  he  married  his  second  wife,  she  being  the  only 
daughter  of  M.  F.  Coleman  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
who  has  borne  him  two  children,  a  daughter  and  a  son. 

His  public  life  has  been  marked  with  some  degree  of  suc- 
cess, and  is  about  as  follows:  In  1874,  the  colored  people 
having  become  of  some  importance  as  a  political  factor,  it 
levas  thought  that  the  proper  thing  was  to  honor  someone 


864  MEN  OF  MARK. 

of  the  raxre  with  the  nomination ;  and  so  Mr.  Watson  wa» 
nominated  on  the  Republican  ticket,  but  the  whole  ticket 
was  defeated,  and  thus  the  honor  of  legislating  for  his. 
people,  while  legislating  for  the  State,  was  lost.  But  noth- 
ing daunted,  in  1875  he  was  again  nominated  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Estimates,  and  lost  some  five  hundred 
votes  by  a  dirty  trick  of  misspelling  his  name  by  some  gilt- 
edged  Republicans  who  had  bolted  the  regular  nomination; 
but  Mr.  M.  J.  Mills,  who  was  the  Democratic  nominee,  re- 
fused to  take  advantage  of  the  trick,  and  the  aldermen 
voted  Mr.  Watson  the  position. 

In  1876  he  was  again  nominated  for  the  Legislature, 
but  the  whole  ticket  was  defeated  with  one  exception.  In 
1883  without  any  solicitation ,  not  being  at  the  convention, 
he  was  nominated  as  a  member  of  the  city  council  (or 
the  upper  house )  for  the  term  of  three  years,  and  was  elected 
by  a  handsome  majority  and  served  the  full  term.  In  1884? 
the  question  of  having  a  delegate  at  the  Republican 
National  convention  was  thoroughly  discussed  and  defined 
by  the  Detroit  Plain  Dealer,  through  whose  efforts  the  suc- 
cess was  mainly  due.  At  the  St^ite  convention  held  at 
Grand  Rapids  the  contest  was  quite  bitter,  the  opposition 
coming  ])rincipally  from  some  questionable  white  and  col. 
ored  men  from  his  own  district,  but  he  was  chosen,  notwith- 
standing opposition,  as  one  of  the  four  delegates-at-large. 
He  favored  Blaine  until  he  got  the  nomination. 

At  the  close  of  his  term  as  councilman  and  twentv  vears' 
service  to  the  party,  he  applied  to  the  Republican  mayor 
for   the  vacancy,   with    others,   in  the  assessor's    office. 
After  promising  it  to  him  he  changed  his  mind  making 


SAMUEL  C.  WATSON.  865 

Mr.  Watson's  color  an  excuse,  and  in  the  face  of  a  Demo- 
cratic council  which  stood  ready  to  confirm  him  had  he 
received  the  nomination,  this  cowardly  act  was  committed. 

In  1§84  he  was  tendered  by  the  general  director  of  the 
colored  department  of  the  World's  Exposition,  the  posi- 
tion of  honorary  commissioner  for  the  State  of  Michigan. 
He  accepted  the  trust  and  did  the  best  he  could  to  make 
a  creditable  showing  for  the  States. 

His  success  has  not  been  through  sudden  or  startling 
methods,  but  verifies  the  old  adage,  **If  a  man  attends  to 
his  own  business,  his  business  will  attend  to  him."  He 
is  still  registered  as  a  physician  and  has  amassed  a  pro- 
perty both  real  and  personal  which  would  easily  be  valued 
at  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

In  his  religious  views  he  says  as  follows :  **  As  to  church 
matters  I  generallj' give  the  Congregational  denomination 
the  preference  in  mj^  attendance.  I  am  not  connected  with 
any  church,  and  in  my  religious  beliefs  am  very  liberal.  I 
have  learned  to  judge  people  more  by  what  they  practice 
than  by  what  they  preach.'* 

The  success  of  Mr.  Watson  should  be  an  inspiration  to 
others,  and  it  is  hoped  that  those  who  read  this  will  be 
encouraged  to  undertake  not  simply  the  ordinary  avoca- 
tion to  which  colored  men  too  often  give  their  attention, 
but  to  the  extraordinary,  and  in  this  way  build  up  the 
race,  making  new  avenues  for  them  in  which  to  direct  their 
energies.  The  ranks  of  labor  classed  as  menial  or  manual 
labor  are  full,  and  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  attempt  ne>^ 
things,  in  order  to  find  expression  for  those  who  are  not 
content  with  the  simple  things  in  life. 


866  MEN  OF  MARK. 


CXXVIII. 

RT.  REV.  RICHARD  HARVEY  CAIN,  D.  D. 

Bishop  A.  M.  E.  Church — Congressman — Senator  in  the  South  Carolina 
Legislature — President  of  Paul  Quinn  College. 

ONE  of  the  brightest  lights  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church  "was 
extinguished  when  Bishop  Cain  passed  away,  Jan- 
uary 18,  1887.  He  was  born  in  the  **01d  Domini^"  in 
1825,  and  remained  there  until  the  period  of  boyhood  had 
passed,  when  his  parents  carried  him  to  Ohio,  first  to 
Portsmouth,  then  to  Cincinnati.  The  greater  opportuni- 
ties offered  to  the  race  in  that  State,  and  the  liberal  public 
sentiment,  was  an  incentive  to  the  young  man  to  make 
greater  efforts  in  securing  for  himself  a  name  and  in  work- 
ing for  the  upbuilding  of  his  race. 

He  was  converted  in  1841,  and  though  feeling  that  he 
must  work  for  souls,  continued  his  labors  as  steamboat 
hand  until  moving  to  Hannibal,  Missouri,  where  he  was 
licensed  in  1844  by  Rev.  William  Jackson  of  the  M.  E. 
church.  Soon  after  this  he  returned  to  Cincinnati,  and, 
being  dissatisfied  with  his. church  relations,  severed  hiscon- 
pection  with  the  M.  E.  and  joined  the  A.  M.  E.  His  first 
charge  was  at  Muscatine,  Iowa. 

After  being  ordained  deacon  by  Bishop  W.  P.  Quinn,  in 


1^^ 


RICHARD  HARVEY  CAIN.  867 

1859,  feeling  a  need  of  greater  qualifications  he  entered 
Wilberforce  University  the  following  year  and  applied  him- 
self diligently  to  study.  In  1861  he  was  transferred  to 
the  New  York  Conference  and  had  charge  of  the  Brooklyn 
church  four  years.  April,  1862,  he  was  ordained  elder  by 
Bishop  Payne  in  Washington.  In  1865  he  was  sent  to  the 
South  Carolina  Conference.  This  State  proved  to  be  the 
principal  theatre  of  his  action.  Church  after  church  sprang 
into  existence  as  if  by  magic  under  his  charge.  Emmanuel 
church,  having  a  membership  of  three  thousand ;  Morris 
Brown  church,  with  a  membership  of  two  thousand ;  be- 
sides churches  in  Summerville,  Lincolnville,  Georgetown, 
Marion,  Sumter  and  other  small  places  were  organized  by 
him.  Indeed,  to  him  is  due  the  very  large  memljership  of 
the  connection  in  Charleston,  which  has  been  quoted  at 
ten  thousand.  Besides  this,  he  felt  that  his  people 
had  need  of  him  in  other  fields,  and  he  accordingly 
interested  himself  in  whatever  touched  their  welfare  in  the 
State  as  well  as  in  the  church.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  convention  which  revised  the  constitution 
of  South  Carolina.  Served  two  vears  as  State  Senator 
from  the  Charleston  district.  In  1868  he  edited  a  Repub- 
lican newspaper,  and  in  1879  he  was  elected  Republican 
Representative  from  South  Carolina  to  the  Forty-third 
Congress.  In  1881  he  was  elected  again  to  the  Forty-fifth 
Congress,  and  served  with  distingtdshed  and  marked  abil- 
itv.  In  1880  he  was  elected  to  his  present  office  in  the  A. 
M.  E.  church  and  assigned  to  Louisiana  and  Texas  dis- 
trict. His  administration  as  president  of  the  Paul  Quinn 
College  was  acceptable  to  all.    The  title  of  D.  D.  was  con- 


868  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ferred  on  him  b}'  Wilberforce  University,  and  it  was  borne 
with  honor  to  himself  and  the  denomination. 

The  whole  career  of  the  bishop  excites  the  admiration  of 
the  thoughtful.  It  is  a  life  well  spent,  one  filled  with 
golden  deeds.  At  a  memorial  meeting  held  in  Bethel  A.M. 
E.  church,  New  York,  February  17, 1887,  commemorating 
the  life  and  services  of  Bishop  Cain,  Rev.  B.  W.  Derrick,  D.  D., 
in  a  eulogy,  said : 

As  the  ministry  was  of  divine  appointment,  he  took  the  Bible  as  the 
book  of  his  council,  believing  and  accepting  it  to  be  the  true  Word  of  God, 
subordinating  all  other  professional  works  to  this,  the  greatest  of  all 
books. 

Regardless  of  the  difficulties  which  often  cause  the  minister  to  be  bur- 
dened, emanating  from  the  pastoral  work,  the  attendance  of  many  kinds 
of  meetings,  the  worldly-minded  ness  of  believers,  the  falsc-heartedness  of 
brethren,  the  care  of  loved  ones,  besides  his  studies,  3'et  none  of  these 
things  moved  him.    His  life  he  counted  not  dear. 

His  relation  to  his  church  was  of  the  most  binding  character ;  his  heart 
and  soul  were  deeply  ingrafted  into  her  moral  and  spirituiil  welfare ;  as 
a  minister  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  church  he  was  able,  intel- 
ligent and  If^gical.  He  would  often  sa>  that  he  considered  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  to  be  an  instrument,  created  for  a  s})ecial 
work  in  the  civiHzing  and  evangelizing  of  Africa.  He  considered  the 
Bible  to  be  the  chart  bv  which  Chri^tian  mariners  are  guided  across 
time's  trackless  ocean.  Through  his  labors  and  influence,  upwxirds  of 
one  hundred  thous<'ind  souls  were  gathered  into  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  throughout  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  From 
among  this  numlx'r  the  church  points  with  pnde  to  some  of  her  most 
able  and  educated  ministers. 

Death  has  robbed  this  denomination  of  its  richest  gem  in  the  i^rson  of 
our  deceased  brother,  whose  influence  is  felt  like  a  mantle  of  love  from 
rice  swamps  of  the  south  to  the  bleak  coasts  of  New  England.  In  the 
days  when  men  suflfered  for  even  advocating  mission  work  among  the 
lowly  cabins  of  the  Negro,  this  brother  with  fearless  love  visited  his  op- 
pressed brethren  in  their  degradation  and  poverty,  and  filled  their  scanty 


RICHAJID  HARVEY  CAIN.  869 

houses  with  the  soul-reviving  truths  of  the  Gospel,  for  he  believed  that 
the  true  mission  of  a  minister  was  to  better  humanity  and  uplift  the 
-down-fallen. 

The  mortal  remains  of  R.  H.  Cain  have  been  consigned  to  an  honor- 
able and  long-remembered  tomb ;  but  the  memory  of  his  Christian  states* 
inanship,  translucent  in  the  highest  degree,  rises  above  the  average,  and 
open  and  faithful  more  than  almost  any  of  his  compeers.  He  surely 
could  be  considered  a  captain  of  the  hosts,  one  of  the  kindliest  and  pleas* 
antest  of  Christian  statesmen,  a  man  of  clear,  good  judgment,  blended 
with  a  strong  resolution- and  firmness  which  made  him  a  master  of  many 
difficult  situations  in  the  active  political  career  which  marked  with  bril- 
liant success  his  statesmanship. 

While  in  Congress,  with  valiant  loyalty  to  his  race,  he 
fought  for  the  civil  rights  of  the  Negro,  and  in  defense  of 
the  brother  whom  many  defamers  attempted  to  falsify. 
Bishop  Cain  made  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  weighty 
speeches  of  his  life.  To  Carolina  and  Texas  he  was  a  bril- 
liant star,  and  the  Paul  Quinn  College,  Waco,  Texas,  will 
always  remember  with  pride  her  honored  president.  No 
denominational  line  marked  the  admiration  and  love  for 
this  brother.  He  was  universally  esteemed  as  one  of  the 
brightest  lights  of  his  race. 

Said  The  American  Baptist,  February  5,  1887: 

**  Death  loves  a  shining  mark"  has  been  exemplified  in  the  taking 
away  of  so  many  noble  men,  during  the  last  year,  of  the  race.  Amid  all 
the  disadvantages  of  slavery  and  by  hard  pushes.  Bishop  Cain  elbowed 
himself  to  the  front  rank.  Twice  a  Congressman  ;  twice  a  State  Senator; 
-what  a  testimony  of  duty  well  performed  !  To  the  j-oung  men  of  our 
race  and  especially  to  the  young  men  of  the  church  whose  Bishop  he  was, 
be  has  left  a  priceless  legacy.  Though  gone  to  his  eternal  reward,  yet 
the  life  which  he  lived  here  shows  ever  to  them  that  from  the  humblest 
position  in  the  scale  of  existence,  the\'  may  rise  to  the  very  acme  of  the 
noblest  calling  known  to  men.    Industry,  truth,  courage  and  faith,  and 


870  MEN  OF  MARK. 

tlic  example  he  has  left  us,  are  the  essentials  that  mark  every  prosperous 
and  elevated  career. 

At  the  memorial  meeting  held  at  Quinn  chapel,  Louis* 
ville,  Kentucky,  Sunday  January  30,  1887,  there  were 
delivered  by  two  Baptists,  Rev.  W.  J.  Simmons,  D.  D.,  and 
W.  H.  Steward,  Esq.,  and  one  Methodist,  Rev.  W.  R.  Har- 
per, presiding  elder,  the  following  resolutions,  which  were 
adopted. 

Whereas,  it  hath  pleased  Almighty  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  in  the- 
fulfillment  of  his  Divine  purj>oses,  to  remove  from  us  our  beloved  Bishopp. 
Richard  Harvey  Cain,  D.  D.,  we  the  members  and  congregation  of  Quinn 
chapel  in  memorial  service  assembled,  do  join  in  weeping  **  with  those 
who  weep*'  in  consequence  of  the  sad  bereavement  which  hath  befallen 
the  whole  A.  M.  £.  church.  While  with  profound  grief  we  learn  of  the 
death  of  this  distinguished  man  of  God  and  deeply  mourn  our  irreparable 
loss,  yet  realizing  that  this  dispensation  has  been  for  the  best,  we  bow 
with  humble  submission  to  the  Divine  will. 

By  the  death  of  Bishop  Cain,  the  Board  of  Bishops  have  lost  a  wise 
and  honored  colleague,  the  clergy  a  minister  of  vast  erudition  and  acknowl- 
edged ability,  the  A.  M.  E.  church  an  earnest,  faithful  pastor,  the  cause 
of  education  a  teacher  who  delighted  in  prog^ress  and  freely  gave  his  time 
and  means  for  the  instruction  of  the  yotmg,  and  the  country  a  just 
end  illustrious  citizen. 

Pull  of  mercy  and  good  fruits  he  gave  himself,  and  wherever  he  conld 
accomplish  most  for  the  Master  whom  he  rejoiced  to  serve,  he  was 
always  proud.  He  was  chaste  in  thought  and  word,  and  was  a  living 
epistle  seen  and  read  of  all  men  ;  but  he  is  no  longer  with  us.  He  died 
in  the  Lor^;  **  he  rests  from  his  labors ;  his  works  do  follow  him." 

For  these  reasons,  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Richard  Harvey  Cain.  D.D.,late  Bishop 
of  the  A.  M.  E.  church,  Christianity  has  lost  a  friend  and  earnest  advo> 
cate,  the  race  one  of  its  noblest,  and  most  highly  esteemed  representa- 
tives,  the  country,  a  citizen  of  unsullied  character,  of  matchless  worth, 
and  the  youth  of  the  church  a  father  whose  example  is  worthy  of  imita- 
tion.   And  be  it  ftirther 


RICHARD  HARYBY  CAIN.  871 

Xeaohed,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolution  be  sent  to  the  members  of 
tht  familj  of  the  deceased  as  a  testimony  of  oar  sympathy  in  this  hotir 
of  loss  and  bereavement,  and  that  a  copy  be  sent  to  the  Christian  Re- 
€order,  N,  Y,  PreetnaD,  and  the  American  Baptist. 

J.  M.  Maxwbll, 
J.  E.  Simpson, 
Mrs.  M.  a.  Johnson, 

Committee. 


872  MEN  OF  MARK. 


CXXIX. 

HON.  JOHN  H.  SMYTHE,  LL.  B.,  LL.  D. 

United  States  Minister— Resident  Minister— Consul-Gcneral  to  Liberia- 
Attorney  at  Law. 

ONE  of  those  men  reaxrhing  a  high  point  in  American 
history  is  the  Hon.  John  H.  Smythe,  who  began 
life  as  the  first  colored  newsboy  in  Philadelphia.  His  par- 
ents, Sully  and  Ann  Eliza  Smythe,  were  bom  in  Virginia : 
the  first  in  Lynchburg,  and  the  second  in  Richmond.  His 
father  died  in  1857,  aged  sixty-seven,  and  his  nuyther 
in  1883,  aged  sixty-three.  July  14,  1844,  this  conple 
looked  upon  the  face  of  the  child  who  was  to  become  so 
eminent  in  after  years  as  to  fill  a  large  part  intheaflGaira  of 
the  country  wherein  his  father  and  mother  had  not  been 
recognized.  Verily  the  women  of  our  race  have  always 
contributed  to  the  greatness  of  their  sons,  and  it  seems 
that  his  greatness  was  mainly  due  to  her  energy  and  rare 
talent.  He  was  onl^"-  thirteen  years  old  when  he  was  left 
fatherless,  and  at  that  time  had  quit  school  and  become 
errand  boy  in  a  dry  goods  store  for  a  year,  when  he  man- 
aged to  return.  He  was  known  as  a  thorough  and  earnest 
seeker  after  knowledge,  and  had  a  great  thirst  for  the 
stage. 


JOHN  H.  SMYTHE. 


JOHN  H.  SMYTHS.  873 

The  boy  was  early  taught  to  read  by  a  mulatto  lady  at 
Richmond,  Virginia,  between  the  age  of  five  and  seven. 
Between  the  age  of  eight  and  nine  he  was  sent  to  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  by  his  parents  to  be  edu- 
-cated.  The  writer  first  met  young  Smythe  some  years 
after  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  known  as  a  speaker  of 
much  merit,  and  was  generally  beloved  by  all  the  boys. 
He  attended  first  a  Quaker  school,  and  then  a  Grammar 
school,  and  lastly  the  Institute  for  Colored  Youth,  a 
Quaker  institution,  which  he  entered  in  the  year  1859, 
graduating  May  4,  1862.  Hon.  Ebenezer  D.  Bassett,  the 
late  minister-resident  to  Havti,  was  then  head  master  of 
said  institution.  During  his  student  life  he  was  taught 
drawing  and  painting,  and  was,  after  a  year's  stqdy,  ad- 
mitted a  member  of  the  Academj'  of  Fine  Arts  at  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania.  He  became  a  fairly  good  landscape 
painter.  At  the  time  of  his  admission,  persons  of  the 
African  race  were  not  allowed  to  enter  this  art  institution, 
even  as  visitors.  In  1864  he  was  employed  as  a  laborer 
in  the  china  house  of  Tyndale  &  Mitchell,  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  and  he  was  a  short  time  connected  with  the 
armv  as  sutler's  clerk. 

Through  personal  inclination,  and  the  encouraging  ad- 
vice of  the  Hon.  John  W.  Forney  and  Mr.  Sheltpn  Macken- 
zie, histrionic  critic  of  the  PhUadelphia  Press^  in  the  year 
1865  he  was  induced  to  goto  London  for  the  purpose  of 
preparing  himself  for  tl|e  stage.  He  was  furnished  with 
letters  of  introduction  to  Mr.  Samuel  Phelps,  then  in  the 
zenith  of  his  fame  as  a  tragedian,  and  especially  to  Mr. 
Ira  Aldridge.    At  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  London,  Aid- 


874  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ridge  was  playing  in  the  city  of  St.  Petersburg  and  he  did 
not  get  to  see  him.  Finding  himself  too  poor  to  enter  on 
a  course  of  study  for  the  profession,  he  returned  home  and 
abandoned  all  thoughts  of  the  tragic  boards  and  entered 
upon  a  prose  life. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  he  was  willing  to  work  at 
any  honest  labor;  it  cost  some  struggling  in  his  breast  to- 
give  up  his  hopes  and  crush  the  ambition  of  his  dearest, 
dreams.  But  it  is  always  thus ;  we  must  deny  ourselves  for 
others.  He  has,  perhaps,  served  his  race  better  and  been  en- 
abled to  wring  acknowledgment  of  ability  and  culture 
from  his  enemies.  While  he  was  engaged  in  manual  labor, 
by  the  advice  of  the  Negro  philosopher  and  financier, 
William  Whipple,  he  went  to  school— teaching  at  Wilkes- 
barre,  Pennsylvania.  While  there  he  interested  himself  in. 
the  study  of  law,  and  in  the  year  1869  entered  the  How- 
ard University  Law  School,  of  which  Hon.  J.  M.  Langston- 
was  dean,  A.  G.  Riddle,  Esq.,  professor  of  pleading,  and. 
Judge  Knott,  professor  of  medical  jurisprudence.  While  a. 
student  of  law  he  was  appointed  clerk  in  the  Bureau  of 
Refugees,  Freedmen  and  Abandoned  Lands  of  the  War  De- 
partment, by  acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General  Henry  M^ 
Whittlesey,  Jamiary  12,  1870.  This  office  he  resigned 
about  August  15,  1870,  and  became  a  clerk  in  the  census- 
office  of  the  Interior  Deputment  the  twentieth  of  the 
same  month,  and  was  mngasd  with  forty-nine  other 
clerks  in  1872.  He  was  dmi  appoimted  internal  revenue 
agent.  Treasury  Department,  August  1, 1872 ;  resigned  the 
same  in  November,  1872,  to  aoeept-  the  appointment  of 
internal  revenue  storekeeper  thraagk  the  favor  of  Secre- 


JOHN  H.  SMYTHE.  875 

tary  Boutwell.  He  gave  a  bond  of  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars, on  which  there  were  none  but  colored  men.  He 
resigned  January  8,  1873,  and  entered  the  principal 
office  of  the  Freedmen's  Bank,  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia,  as  a  clerk,  and  shortly  afterward  was  sent  with 
the  company's  bank  examiner,  Mr.  Sperry,  to  Wilmington, 
North  Carolina,  where  there  was  a  branch  bank^  to  exam- 
ine into  its  management.  He  became  a  cashier  and  contin- 
ued to  act  in  that  capacity  until  the  failure  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Bank;  then  he  settled  in  Wilmington  and  entered 
upon  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Under  the  law  he  was 
required  to  be  examined  by  the  full  bench  on  the  Supreme 
Court  at  the  capital  of  the  State.  He  passed  a  successful 
examination,  and  was  certificated  and  returned  to  Wil- 
mington, and  on  motion  of  Adam  Empie,  a  distinguished 
lawyer,  he  was  admitted.  This  gentleman,  though  the 
owner  of  slaves  and  always  a  Democrat,  was,  during  his 
practice,  his  constant  and  sincere  friend,  and  contributed 
largely  to  his  success.  Through  his  acquaintance  with 
this  gentleman  he  became  known  to  Hon.  Matthew  W. 
Ransom,  United  States  Senator,  who  subsequently  wrote 
these  terms  of  him  to  Mr.  Secretary  Evarts. 

Senate  Chamber,  Washington,  D.  C,  April  23,  1878^ 
Hon.  Wm.  M.  Evarts,  Secretary  of  State,  U.  S.  A. 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  very  great  pleasure  in  commending  to  you  for  the 
mission  of  the  Republic  of  Liljeria,  Mr.  John  M.  Smythe  of  North  Caro- 
lina. I  have  known  Mr.  Smythe  for  several  years  ;  he  represented  the 
county  of  New  Hanover  in  the  last  State  Convention  of  North  Carolina. 
He  has  justly  the  name  of  an  honorable  man  in  all  respects;  his  ability, 
his  attainments,  his  promise  is  equal  to  those  of  any  other  man  of  his 


876  MEN  OF  MARK. 

color  in  the  country.    He  is  esteemed  in  North  Carolina  by  both  races, 
and  I  am  satisfied  that  he  is  fitted  for  the  position  at  Liberia. 

With  my  regards, 

M.  W.  Ransom. 

Mr.  Smythe  was  elected  a  member  of  the  third  State 
Constitutional  convention  ever  held  in  North  Carolina  in 
1875,  for  the  purpose  of  changing  the  constitution  of  the 
State ;  he  took  an  active  part  in  political  questions,  and 
was  a  prime  njover  in  the  nomination  of  General  Grant 
for  second  term  and  of  Mr.  Hayes.  He  went  to  Washing- 
ton in  1876,  and  practiced  law  for  a  year  with  consider- 
able success.  He  was  examined  and  appointed  clerk  in 
the  office  of  the  first  comptroller  of  the  treasury,  where  he 
remained  during  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Taylor's  adminis- 
tration of  the  office  and  a  portion  of  Judge  Porter's  ad- 
ministration. On  the  twenty-third  of  May,  1878,  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Hayes  minister  resident  and  con- 
sul-general to  Liberia,  on  the  recommendation  of  Frederick 
Douglass,  B.  K.  Bruce  and  M.  W.  Ransom.  After  serving 
a  term  of  four  years,  he  was  recalled  by  President  Garfield, 
and  was  subsequently  reappointed  by  President  Arthur, 
April  12,  1882.  During  his  incumbency  of  the  office  of 
minister,  by  permission  of  his  government  he  had  charge 
of  the  German  Consulate  at  Monrovia  for  a  period  of  six 
months.  During  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  the  Belgian 
Consulate  he  acted  in  a  similar  capacity,  and  was  also 
requested  by  the  minister  of  Norway  and  Sweden  at  Wash- 
ington to  represent  his  Sovereign  at  Liberia. 

While  minister,  he  recommended  a  line  of  steamships  to 
ply  between  New  York  or  Baltimore  and  the  west  coast 


\ 


JOHN  H.  SMYTHE.  877 

of  Africa  and  the  appointments  of  native  gentlemen  to  the 
posts  of  consuls  and  consular  agents  in  Africa,  on  the  ground 
of  economy,  and  because  of  the  effect  such  appointments 
would  have  in  creating  better  and  more  intimate  relations 
between  the  United  States  and  West  Central  Africa.  He 
had  the  honor  of  having  made  the  fullest  and  most  com- 
plete reports  upon  the  products  of  Liberia  that  ever  were 
made,  up  to  the  time  of  this  appointment. 

He  was  given  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.  D.  by  the 
board  of  trustees  of  Liberia  College,  and  was  appointed 
knight  commander  of  the  Liberian  humane  order  of  African 
redemption,  by  his  excellency,  H.  Richard  Wright  Johnson, 
President  of  the  Republic  of  Liberia,  December  28,  1885; 
and  with  the  appointment  he  is  accorded  the  right  and 
privilege  of  wearing  publicly  the  insignia  of  the  oflSce. 
Mr.  Smythe  has  the  honor  of  being  a  member  of  the 
Atheneum  Club — one  of  the  most  exclusive  and  distin- 
guished in  London.  .  Mr.  Smythe  was  recalled  by  President 
Cleveland  March  25,  1885.  Since  his  return  to  America 
he  has  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia.  He  is  a  man  of  fine  personal  qualities  and 
has  many  warm  and  devoted  friends. 

The  career  of  Mr.  Smythe  is  worth}'  of  emulation  in  many 
respects.  He  lives  an  exemplary  life,  and  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presb3rterian  church  ever  since  his  twenty-second 
year.  He  lives  in  a  style  befitting  his  station  and  educa- 
tion. He  is  an  excellent  husband  and  devoted  father.  His 
wfe,  formerly  Miss  Fannie  Shippen,  is  one  of  the  finest  ladies 
in  America  and  adds  grace  and  dignity  to  his  household. 


£78  MEN  OF  MAllK. 


CXXX. 

REV.  J.  J.  DURHAM,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  M.  D. 

Valedictorian  in  the  Medical  School — A  Vigorous,  Convincing  Debater — 
Preacher. 

JAMES  W.  DURHAM,  a  wealthy  white  farmer,  and  Dor- 
cas Durham  are  the  parents  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  who  was  born  April  13,  1849,  near  Woodruffs, 
Spartanburg  county,  South  Carolina,  and  was  held  as 
H  slave  by  his  father. 

When  about  ten  j'^ears  of  age  his  parents  removed  to 
a  farm  near  Cashville,  in  the  county  of  his  birth,  and  he 
worked  until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age  on  this  farm,  when 
he  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the  blacksmith's  trade.  Until 
1870  he  continued  at  this  trade,  during  which  time  every 
spare  moment  was  devoted  to  studying,  often  at  night  by 
torch  light,  until  he  learned  to  read  and  write. 

In  July,  1867,  he  was  converted  and  joined  the  Pilgrim 
Baptist  church,  Greenville  county,  and  the  same  year  he 
was  licensed  and  entered  the  ministry.  In  June,  1868, 
he  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  Foster's  chapel.  Spartan- 
burg,  and  was  ordained.  He  was  deeply  impressed  with  a 
call  to  the  gospel  ministry,  yet  the  lack  of  mental  prepa- 
ration  seemed  to  him  a  hindrance  and  he  knew  no  way  to 


J.J.  DURHAM.  879 

remove  the  difficulty.  At  last  he  decided  to  enter  the  work 
as  pastor,  and  do  the  best  he  could  under  these  embarrass- 
ing circumstances. 

His  church  was  fifteen  miles  distant  from  his  home,  and 
many  times  he  was  obliged  to  go  over  rough  roads,  creeks 

and  hills  on  mule-back  or  on  foot.   This  charge  he  held  for 

eighteen  months  and  received  as  a  compensation  eighteen 

dollars. 

After  resigning  this  pastorate — having  saved  a  little 
money  from  his  earnings  as  blacksmith,  Mr.  Durham 
decided  to  attend  school  at  Greenville  C.  H.,  the  nearest 
school  to  his  home.  At  this  place  he  rented  a  room  for 
$1.50  a  month  and  boarded  himself,  exercising  in  every 
way  the  severest  economy  and  self-denial.  In  this  vray, 
aided  by  money  earned  by  working  every  Saturday  and 
during  vacations,  he  remained  in  school  three  years. 

Twice  a  month  he  walked  home  to  return  with  clothes 
and  provisions  for  another  fortniglit.  He  ranked  high  as 
a  scholar  in  his  school,  having  passed  from  the  lowest 
grades  to  the  head  of  the  most  advanced  class. 

During  the  summer  of  1873  he  paid  an  instructor  five 
dollars  a  month  to  teach  him  Latin  and  Algebra,  with  a 
view  to  entering  the  South  Carolina  College,  which  had 
been  recently  opened  to  colored  students.  He  succeeded  in 
-entering  the  Senior  preparatory  class. 

Failing  to  enter  the  Freshman  class,  as  he  had  hoped  to 
do,  he  could  receive  no  aid  from  the  State  and  now  again 
he  was  straitened.  In  this  difficulty  he  appealed  to  his 
father  for  help  and  received  from  him  his  first  assistance, 


880  MBN  OF  MARK. 

the  sum  of  fifty  aoUars,  which  enabled  him  to  remain  in 
school  during  the  year — coming  out  a  little  in  debt. 

During  vacation  he  taught  school  at  thirty-five  dollars 
a  month,  and  in  October,  1874,  he  easily  entered  the  Fresh- 
man class,  secured  a  scholarship  of  twenty  dollars  a 
month  from  the  State,  and  in  this  way  he  managed  to 
earn  enough  to  support  himself  comfortably  until  he  com- 
pleted the  Sophomore  dass,  when  the  State  government 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Democratic  party,  which  re- 
fused to  make  any  appropriation  for  the  institution,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1877  the  South  Carolina  College  closed. 

In  October,  1877,  he  entered  the  Junior  class  of  Atlanta 
University,  Atlanta,  Georgia,  and  remained  until  May, 
1879,  when  he  removed  to  Fisk  University,  entering  in 
Miarch,  1880,  and  graduated  the  following  May  with  the 
degree  A.  B. 

After  graduating  he  returned  to  Columbia,  South  Car- 
olina, and  took  charge  of  a  small  church.  This  gave  him 
an  opportunity  to  learn  something  of  the  true  condition 
of  the  Negro.  Their  poverty  and  complete  ignorance  of 
sanitary  laws,  lack  of  medical  attention  when  sick,  and 
inability  to  secure  it,  led  him  to  conclude  that  if  he  knew 
something  about  medicine  he  might  be  more  useful  among 
those  with  whom  he  labored.  Acting  upon  this  desire, 
in  October,  1880,  he  entered  the  Meharry  Medical  Col- 
lege, Nashville  Tennessee,  and  by  vigorous  application  to 
study  in  two  ^^ears  he  completed  the  course,  graduating 
in  March,  1882,  valedictorian  of  his  class  with  the  degree 
M.  D. 

Again  he  returned  to  Columbia,  and  after  remaining  a 


J.J.  DURHAM.  881 

abort  time  he  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  Bethesda 
chttrch,  at  Society  Hill,  South  Carolina — one  of  the  largest 
and  most  influential  churches  in  the  State ;  here,  in  connec- 
tion with  his  church  labors,  he  soon  had  a  large  and  suc- 
cessful practice  in  medicine. 

In  October,  1883,  as  Dr.  Durham  was  appointed  by  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society  to  takechargeof  its 
work  in  this  State,  and  also  corresponding  secretary  and 
financial  agent  of  the  Baptist  Educational  Missionary  and 
Stmday  school  convention  in  South  Carolina,  he  was 
obliged  to  resign  his  pastorate  and  give  up  the  practice  of 
medicine,  and  since  he  has  given  his  powers  to  this  work 
-with  much  success. 

As  an  orator  and  debater  he  is  said  to  have  no  equal  in 
the  schools  he  attended.  So  famed  was  his  skill  in  debate 
that  in  the  latter  years  of  his  school  life  few  students 
4ftred  contend  with  him. 

In  Atlanta  University  he  was  appointed  by  the  lyceum 
(a  literary  society)  of  the  institution,  to  debate  with  Mr. 
Garvin,  one  of  the  best  speakers  in  school,  the  question : 
"Which  was  the  Greater  General,  Hannibal  or  Caesar?" 
The  question  was  Mr.  Garvin's  own  selection,  and  he  took 
Ccesar  as  his  choice.  Dr.  Durham,  after  delivering  his 
argument  and  taking  his  seat,  was  surprised  to  have  his 
opponent  arise  and,  addressing  the  audience,  say :  "  Gen- 
tlemen, it  is  no  use  for  me  tosay  anything,"— and  pointing 
to  Dr.  Durham,  continued,  **  That  man's  voice  is  sufficient," 
and  then  take  his  seat. 

Dr.  Durham  is  comfortably  well  off— being  worth  about 
three  thousand  dollars,  free  from  all  encumbrances.     In 


882  MEN  OP  MARK. 

May,  1885,  he  received  the  degree  of  A.  M.  from  Fisk  Diii- 
versity,  an  institution  of  large  reputation  in  the  South. 
In  May,  1884,  he  spoke  at  the  Baptist  anniversaries  which 
held  their  sessions  at  Detroit,  Michigan,  on  the  subject: 
**The  Progress  of  the  Colored  People  since  the  Emancipa- 
tion, ' '  and  his  speech  was  received  with  great  applause.  His 
style  and  manner  were  captivating,  and  secured  the 
strictest  attention  throughout.  Dr.  Durham  has  been  a 
success.  His  struggles  have  made  him  strong,  self-reliant 
and  competent.  Graduating  in  poverty,  he  is  making  vast 
strides  in  an  upward  direction,  and  will  make  a  noise  in 
the  world  that  will  yet  attract  the  ear  of  the  Nation.  As 
an  example  of  stick-to-it-tiveness  he  is  worthy  of  record 
here. 


B.  W.  AKNETT, 


B.  W.  AfiMBTT.  883 


CXXXI. 
REV.  B.  W.  ARNETT,  D.D. 

t 

'Financial  Secrctarv  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— The  Statistician  of  thia 
Church— Author— Editor  of  the  Budget— Legislator — Author  of  the  Bill 
Wiping  out  the  **  Black  Laws  "  of  Ohio. 

TO  know  Dr.  Arnett  is  to  know  a  man  with  royal  feel- 
ings and  kingly  dignity.  He  is  the  prince  of  good 
men.  His  head  is  full  of  wisdom,  his  heart  fall  of  love  to 
'God  and  humanity,  and  his  hands  full  of  good  deeds.  X 
have  enjoyed  his  acquaintance  many  years,  and  have  ap' 
preciated  his  kind  and  affable  ways;  he  gave  me  more 
encouragement  in  beginningthis  work  than  any  man  with 
whom  I  conversed.  My  acquaintance  began  in  Quinn 
chapel,  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

I  had  wandered  out  one  morning  to  hear  a  sermon  from 
some  one  beside  myself,  as  I  was  tired  of  hearing  myseU 
talk;  so  when  I  was  invited  into  the  pulpit,  I  was  intro- 
duced to  the  gentleman.  He  preached  that  morning  from 
the  subject  as  found  in  the  last  part  of  the  nineteenth 
chapter  of  Exodus,  comparing  the  wrath  of  God  that  kept 
the  Israelites  away  from  Him,  and  the  blessedness  of  the 
gospel  as  found  in  the  nearness  of  the  people  to  Christ  as 
he  delivered  that  grand  and  inspiring  **  Sermon  on  the 


884  MBN  OF  MARK. 

Mount.'  From  that  day  we  have  been  close  friends.  I 
enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  his  home  during  my  visit  to 
Wilberforce  in  1884-,  and  I  found  him  a  loving  husband,  an 
indulgent  father  and  a  generous  host. 

Dr.  Arnett  is  a  man  everyone  loves.  He  is  a  strong  man ; 
a  giant  in  the  denomination.  He  is  a  great  orator  and 
has  delivered  speeches  on  various  occasions,  but  they  all 
run  in  an  historical  channel. 

The  jovial  good-natured  doctor  was  born  in  Browns- 
ville, Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  March  6,  1838.  He 
began  his  public  labors  as  a  school  teacher  in  his  native 
town,  receiving  his  certificate  in  December,  1859.  He 
taught  until  1867,  ten  months  of  that  time  in  Washington 
city.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Equal  Rights  League,  which  had  control  of  the  educational 
and  political  interests  of  the  race.  Owing  to  his  decided 
progressive  views  on  all  questions  of  importance  to  his  race» 
he  soon  became  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  organiza- 
tion. He  was  a  member  of  the  National  convention  at  Syra- 
cuse, N.  Y.,  in  1864-;  was  elected  secretary  of  the  National 
Convention  of  colored  men  in  Washington  city,  in  1867 ; 
was  chaplain  of  National  convention,  Louisville,  September 
2, 1883 ;  was  licensed  to  preach  in  the  same  city  March  30^ 
1865,  and  April  19,  1867,  took  charge  of  the  A.  M.  E. 
church  at  Walnut  Hills,  Ohio,  where  he  soon  became  a 
great  favorite  of  his  congregation,  and  did  much  good  to 
promote  the  principles  of  Christianity.  He  wasthe  teacher 
of  the  common  school  of  the  same  place.  After  three 
years  of  successful  labor  there  he  was  sent  to  Toledo,  Ohio, 
— ^this  was  May  14,  1870 — where  he  again  remained  for 


B.  W.  ARNETT.  885 

three  years,  or  until  1873.  He  was  again  returned  to  Cin- 
cinnati, May  23, 1873,  where  his  works  are  too  well  known 
to  comment  upon.  From  Cincinnati  he  was  sent  to 
Urbana,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  two  years,  until  Septem- 
ber 3,  1878,  after  which  he  took  the  pastoral  work  of 
Columbus,  Ohio.  From  this  station  he  was  elected,  May, 
1880,  to  his  present  position,  that  of  histographer  and 
financial  secretary  of  the  A.  M.  E.  connection,  and  re-elected 
in  May,  1884,  for  four  years.  This  office  has  handled, 
receiving  and  disbursing,  over  one  hundred  and  seventy 
nine  thousand  dollars  within  the  past  four  years.  In  con- 
xiection  with  this  office  Dr.  Amett  edits  the  Cohnectional 
Budget,  a  magazine  containing  all  interesting  and  historical 
natter  of  the  church. 

He  has  been  grand  director  of  the  Grand  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  of  the  United  States ;  was  the  first  colored  fore- 
man of  a  jury  where  all  were  white  men  (in  Toledo)  in 
1872;  he  was  an  active  member  of  political  conventions, 
^nd  several  times  has  filled  the  important  post  of  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  resolutions.  He  is  the  compiler 
of  a  work  entitled  *  Negro  Literature,  *  comprising  already 
some  ten  large  volumes  of  sermons,  addresses  and  speeches 
of  colored  men.  It  is  his  purpose  to  continue  these  col- 
lections for  the  benefit  of  coming  generations.  His  love  for 
history  is  shown  from  the  fact  that  at  each  place  he  has 
been  stationed  he  has  written  a  history  of  that  church. 
He  was  appointed  delegate  to  the  International  Conven- 
tion of  Sabbath  schools,  and  also  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  at 
"Washington  city  in  1872.  He  was  appointed  delegate  to 
the  Centennial  Sunday  school  convention  in  London.  Eng- 


886 


MBN  OP  MARK. 


land,  1880,  but  could  not  attend;  also  to  the  Interna- 
tional Sunday  school  convention  at  Toronto,  where  he  met 
with  an  ovation.  Served  as  chaplain  of  the  State  Repub- 
lican convention  in  Columbus  in  1880 ;  had  the  honorary 
title  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  conferred  upon  him  in  June,  1883, 
by  the  trustees  of  Wilberfprce  University.  It  was  a  fit 
recognition  of  such  a  useful  man  and  at  the  most  oppor> 
tune  time.  Mrs.  Dr.  Amett  is  a  lady  of  culture  and  poUshed 
manners.  She  possesses  the  faculty  of  winning  friends  by 
her  lady-like  appearance,  and  always  has  a  good  word  of 
encouragement  for  those  who  need  it.  She  was  bom  m 
Geneva,  Pennsylvania,  August  1, 1838,  but  was  reared  in 
Uniontown.  Thej'  were  married  May  25,  1858,  by  Rev. 
George  Brown,  president  of  Madison  College,  Uniontown, 
Pennsylvania.  The  children  bom  to  this  happy  union  are 
Alonzo  T. ,  Benjamin  W.,  Henry  T.,  Annie  L.,  Alphonso 
Taft,  Flossy  Gordon  and  Daniel  Payne.  Dr.  Amett *s  library 
is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  State,  and  is  composed  of  over 
two  thousand  volumes.  His  collection  of  distinguished 
men,  both  white  and  colored,  is  hard  to  excel. 

Rev.  Amett  has  always  enjoyed  the  implicit  confidence 
of  the  persons  with  whom  he  has  been  associated,  either 
in  church  or  State ;  while  the  younger  men  of  his  race  feel 
under  many  lasting  obligations  to  him  for  his  herculean 
labors  to  elevate  his  people  by  every  good  work.  May  he 
3ret  see  many  days  to  bless  and  guide  his  people. 

In  politics  the  doctor  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  and  be- 
lieves that  colored  people  will  be  promoted  in  the  party  by 
being  faithful  all  the  time,  so  that  the  leaders  will  know 
just  when  and  where  to  find  them.    In  the  fall  of  1885  he 


c 

r 
il 
i 
ii 
c 


B.  W.  ARNKTT.  887 

was  elected  to  the  Ohio  Legislature  from  Green  county,  by 
an  unprecedented  vote,  which  showed  his  popularity  and 
strength.  His  voice  had  been  heard  in  many  a  campaign 
doing  vigorous  service  for  the  Republican  party,  and  his 
reward  was  the  pay  for  party  services.  He  richly  deserved 
it — and  it  was  generously  bestowed.  He  realized  this  as 
the  recognition  of  his  fealty  to  the  doctrines  of  the  party 
in  a  speech  delivered  at  Columbus,  July  1,  1885,  while  a 
candidate ;  he  was  received  with  wild  applause  as  he  arose 
to  speak.  He  said,  **that  was  the  principle  reason  why 
he  voted  the  Republican  ticket — because  they  applauded  a 
colored  man  as  quick  as  they  would  a  white."  From  this 
he  branched  off  into  an  eulogy  on  the  character  and 
records  of  the  candidates,  and  said,  '*that  he' was  proud 
of  the  greeting  his  standard-bearers  had  received ;  his  con- 
stituency (and  here  he  asked  the  pardon  of  everybody  if 
he  pronounced  the  word  as  if  strange,  because  it  was 
new)  had  accorded  him  a  generous  welcome,  and  had  in- 
structed him  to  use  his  best  efforts  for  the  success  of  their 
candidates,  Foraker  and  Kennedy.  Green  county  Repub- 
licans would  always  join  hands  with  all  their  brethren, 
and  especially  in  ratifying  the  nomination  made  at  Spring- 
field. Green  county  was  the  resting  place  for  the  soldiers' 
children,  the  soldiers  who  had  gone  into  the  war  to  fight 
the  battles  for  his  race  for  freedom ;  and  all  these  children 
of  the  dead  heroes  were  now  in  the  right  hands  to  make 
them  follow  the  precepts  of  the  Republicans.  Green 
county,  the  old  and  steadfast  stronghold  of  Republican 
principles,  was  green  all  the  year,  green  in  spring,  summer, 
fall  and  winter,   and  each  season,  the  green  spot  gave 


888 


MBN  OP  MARK. 


a  new  and  fresh  crop  of  Republicans.  And  these  men  ii 
this  county  were  those  who  demonstrated  the  principles 
of  their  part}-,  by  according  to  a  black  man  the  true  rec- 
ognition of  his  worth — ^his  vote.  To  the  Republicans  the 
colored  people  owed  all;  that  should  give  to  the  partj 
who  had  given  them  freedom,  and  who  were  now  going 
to  give  him  (the  speaker)  what  few  colored  men  had  ob- 
tained— an  office."  This  speaker  was  interrupted  manj 
times  bv  the  cheers  which  would  follow  some  charactc^r- 
istic  remark  of  his,  and  it  could  plainly  be  seen  that  he 
was  a  favorite. 

Once  in  the  legislature  he  aimed  his  blows  at  the  iniqui- 
tous ''  Black  Laws  '*  which  had  lingered  like  a  funeral  pall 
over  the  hopes  of  the  race.  After  putting  his  hand  to  the 
plow  he  paused  to  gather  power  and  influence,  and  as 
usual  many  abused  him,  calling  him  a  traitor;  and  the 
man  who  had  always  done  his  duty  was  hounded  bj 
journals  long  since  dead,  and  their  resting  places  «ot  evem 
known.  I  sustained  him  through  the  American  Baptist^ 
and  declared  that  we  had  not  lost  faith  in  him.  I  wrote 
him  a  letter  in  order  to  find  just  what  was  the  trouble^ 
and  he  told  me,  and  said  no  one  had  asked,  but  they  had 
roundly  abused  him.  We  declared  our  confidence  in  him 
was  not  and  had  not  been  shaken.  The  bill  was  finally 
passed  in  the  1887  session,  with  only  seven  votes  against 
it.  Senator  Ely  in  the  senate  gave  it  his  earnest  support, 
and  the  last  vestige  of  proscription  went  down  by  the 
sledge-hammer  blows  of  the  very  kind  of  a  man  they  were 
made   to  keep  down.     A  jubilee   meeting   was   held  at 


m 

C 


B.  W.  ARNBTT.  889 

^mngfield,  and  the  following  account  was  reported  in  the 
develand  Gaxctte : 

Springfield,  Ohio. — On  last  Monday  night  the  laige  hall  known  as  the 
^wigwam,  was  packed  from  pit  to  dome  with  jubilant  citizens  over  the 
paSBftge  of  the  Amett  bill,  and  who  eagerly  listened  with  sincere  interest 
^o  the  speeches  made  by  the  many  distinguished  orators  present.  The 
•^demonstration  made  by  the  people  in  honor  of  the  repeal  of  the  "  Black 
Laws/*  the  last  remaining  legislative  vestige  against  the  colored  race, 
will  live  in  the  history  of  this  city  as  one  of  the  grandest  demonstrations 
-within  the  memory  of  its  inhabitants.  There  were  at  least  two  thousand 
persons  present,  including  the  most  prominent  citizens  among  both  white 
^nd  colored ;  and  when  the  Cadet  Band  pla3'ed  the  opening  strains  of  a 
march,  the  stage  was  filled  by  a  notable  gathering  of  local  and  visiting 
statesmen.  Among  the  distinguished  speakers  on  the  platform  were 
Hon.  B.  W.  Amett,  Senators  Ely  and  Pringle,  J.  Warren  Keifer,  Rev. 
James  Poindexter,  Professor  Scarborough  of  Wilberforce;  Mr.  C.  M 
Nichols  of  the  RepubUc;  General  Asa  S.  Bushnell,  Rev.  G.  W^Zeigler,  Hon. 
G.  C.  Rawlins,  Mayor  Goodwin,  Rev.  W.  R.  Boone,  Rev.  W.  H.  Warren, 
Mr.  J.  K.  Mower,  J,  F.  McGrew,  James  Buford,  H.  C.  Smith  of  The  Ga- 
jsette;  W.  S.  Newberry,  D.  Wilborn,  C.  H.  Butler.  The  venerable  patri- 
arch, James  Poindexter,  led  in  a  fervent  pra3'er,  delighting  in  the  fact 
that  all  nations  had  been  made  of  one  blood,  and  that  the  eternal  princi- 
ples of  truth  were  beginning  to  be  acknowledged  and  recognized  by  all 
men.  Rev.  Wilton  R.  Boone,  our  talented  and  much  respected  clergyman, 
presided  as  chairman. 

The  Hon.  B.  W.  Amett,  the  wide-famed  author  of  the  bill,  was  intro- 
duced and  spoke  in  words  of  eloquence  that  took  an  indescribable  effect 
upon  the  people.  His  cup  seemed  to  be  filled  to  overflowing  with  joy 
over  the  passage  of  his  bill.  His  speech  was  a  perfect  shower  of  eloquence, 
and  he  was  compelled  to  stop  some  minutes  for  the  laughter  and  applause 
to  subside.  He  told  how  Liberty's  ball  had  rolled  through  succeeding 
years  until  now  it  had  swept  oppression  and  slavery  from  the  land.  He 
said  that  we  are  now  equal  l>efore  the  law  and  we  must  take  care  of  our- 
selves. And,  now,  since  we  are  given  an  equal  chance  with  the  white 
brothers,  if  we  are  distanced  the  fault  will  He  in  ourselves.  His  reference 
to  Hon.  John  Sherman,  predicting  him  for  our  next  President,  fairly  took 


890 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


the  honse  oy  storm.  He  spoke  of  how  we  had  fought  the  battles  of  this 
country,  and  came  back  with  a  redeemed  country^  and  every  man  and 
woman  cried,  **  Roll  on,  Liberty's  ball,  roll  on ! "  He  said  the  schools  are 
open,  the  churches  are  open,  and  the  penitentiary  is  open ;  and  if  we  do 
wrong  we  will  be  punished,  and  if  we  do  right  we  will  be  honored.  He  said 
with  education  for  our  heads,  religion  for  our  hearts,  and  money  for  our 
pockets,  we  can  stand  up  in  our  own  innate  powers.  Rev.  James  Poin- 
dexter  spoke  at  some  length  on  the  progress  of  the  race,  and  told  them 
to  adopt  the  motto  of  Lincoln :  *'  Root  hog  or  die.*' 

Extract  from  the  speech  on  **The  Blax:k  Laws  of  Ohio." 

Now,  in  the  name  of  the  intelligen9e  of  the  race,  I  give  notice  to  all  con- 
cerned that  we  do  not  intend  to  go  unless  it  is  of  our  own  free  will  and 
accord.  We  cannot  go  without  taking  some  of  the  glory  of  this  country 
with  us.  We  cannot  go  unless  we  have  a  settlement  with  this  Nation. 
We  cannot  go  unless  we  receive  indemnity  at  the  hands  of  the  govern- 
ment. We  would  desire  to  take  everything  that  belongs  to  us  with  us: 
and  therefor^  we  must  have  the  bones  of  our  fathers,  the  tears  of  our 
mothers,  the  sighs  of  our  sisters,  the  groans  of  our  brothers,  the  blood  of 
the  wounded  and  the  life  of  the  dead,  in  order  that  we  may  be  able  to 
carry  our  memories  with  us,  and  forget  the  wrongs  of  the  years  and  the 
sufferings  of  the  centuries.  We  must  have  a  settlement  for  the  years  of 
unpaid  labor  in  the  South.  We  want  to  collect  in  some  huge  cask  the 
tears  wrung  from  the  hearts  of  the  bondsmen  by  the  lash.  We  will  not 
leave  this  country  as  long  as  there  remains  a  bone  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
Revolution  in  the  soil.  No,  sir ;  we  will  stay  here  until  every  bone  of  the 
fugitives  of  other  years  is  returned,  with  its  flesh,  to  its  family  and  friends, 
and  the  reunited  families  shall  l)e  honored  with  the  blessings  of  the  new- 
day  of  freedom. 

Ask  us  to  go  from  this  land  with  the  record  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
three  great  wars  shining  with  glory  to  our  race !  No,  sir ;  you  might 
as  well  understand  it  first  as  last,  we  are  not  going. 

While  the  memory  of  the  heroes  of  Port  Hudson  and  '*  Milliken*s  Bend  ** 
is  being  sung  by  our  children,  and  while  the  soldiers  of  the  war  assembte 
around  the  camp  fire  and  relate  how 

*•  We  led  the  Union  soldier, 
When  fleeing  from  his  foe ; 


B.  W.  ARNETT,  801 

We  brought  him  through  the  mountains. 

Where  white  men  dare  not  go. 
Our  hoe  cake  and  our  cabbage 

And  pork  we  freely  gave, 
That  this  old  flag  might  be  sustained ; 

Now  let  it  brightly  wave." 

Let  us  remember  the  deeds  of  valor  of  the  heroes  of  the  war^and  preserve 
the  jewel  of  liberty  in  the  family  of  freedom. 

We  say  unto  you  that,  as  God  reigns  in  the  world,  we  will  not  leave  nor 
forsake  you ;  for  your  country  will  be  our  country ;  we  will  feel  the  same 
pride  in  its  mountains  of  iron,  silver  and  gold  as  you  do.  We  will  feel  a» 
much  pride  in  its  valleys,  plains,  lakes,  rivers,  trade,  commerce,  institu* 
tions  of  learning,  manufacturing  interests,  and  in  its  unparalleled  ad* 
^vantages  to  the  husbandman ;  and  in  all  of  these  we  glory  with  you. 

We  shall  say  of  our  country,  our  fathers*  country :  Where  thou  dweD- 
ctty  I  will  dwell ;  where  thou  goest  to  school,  I  will  go,  whether  in  the 
log  school-house  at  the  cross-roads,  or  the  high  school  on  the  avenue; 
thy  preacher  shall  be  my  preacher,  and  I  will  be  buried  in  the  same  graTe» 
yard  with  you— so  help  me  God. 


^892  MEN  OF  MASK. 


CXXXII. 

OLAUDAH  EQUIANO ;  or  GUSTAVUS  VASSA. 

t 

A  Virginia  Slave — Purchases  his  Freedom — Sails  for  London — Prcneiit 
a  Petition  to  the  Queen. 

IN  one  of  the  richest  and  most  charming  provinces  of 
the  kingdom  of  Guinea,  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa, 
mras  bom  in  1745  Olandah  Equiano,  the  youngest  son  of 
a  noble  family.  His  mental  and  physical  development 
was  the  pride  of  a  painstaking  mother.  In  the  province 
of  Essaka,  the  inhabitants  were  far  removed  from  the 
baneful  influence  of  a  slave  trade  which  was  carried  on 
along  the  coast.  Surrounded  b}'  luxuriant  supplies  of 
nature  and  a  labor-loving  people,  this  boy  lived  in  con- 
tentment until  reaching  his  eleventh  j'car,  when  he  and  his 
sister  were  kidnapped  by  two  men  and  a  woman,  and 
sold  into  slavery.  The  custom  was  for  those  who  traded 
in  human  flesh  to  go  to  the  interior  of  the  kingdom,  steal 
the  victims,  hurry  them  away  to  the  seashore,  where 
swinging  at  her  moorings  lay  the  slave  ship.  His  captors 
traveled  night  and  day  for  six  days  through  dense  woods, 
with  the  bowlings  of  wild  beasts  on  every  side.  At  last 
reaching  their  destination,  Olaudah  was  hurried  on  board. 
Looking  around  the  ship  he  saw  multitudes  of  black 


I-*^   fc 


GUSTAVUS  VASSA. 


OLJtUDAH  BQUIANO  ;  OR  GUSTAYUS  YASSA.  893 

men  and  women  of  every  description  chained  together, 
and  wearing  such  expressions  of  misery  that  he  was  filled 
with  anguish  and  fell  on  the  deck  in  a  dead  faint.  When 
consciousness  returned  the  cruel  faces  of  the  white  men 
frightened  him  still  more.  The  ship  sailed,  and  in  due 
time  landed  at  Barbadoes,  where  the  slaves  were  crowded 
into  a  pen  made  for  that  purpose.  When  the  day  of  the 
sale  came,  at  a  signal  (the  beating  of  a  drum)  the  buyers 
rushed  pell  mell  into  the  yard,  each  eager  to  make  the  best 
selections.  Olaudah  with  a  few  others  were  sent  to  Vir- 
ginia and  sold  to  a  planter  there. 

Shortly  after  landing  he  was  sold  again  jto  a  sea  captain 
i^ho  sent  him  on  board  a  ship  called  the  Industrious  Bee, 
w^hich  was  bound  for  England.  It  was  here  that  he  re- 
ceived the  name  Gustavus  Vassa,  and  acquired  some 
knowledge  of  the  English  language  from  an  American  lad 
of  much  culture,  who  saw  in  the  poor  slave  a  superior 
mind.  This  boy,  Richard  Baker,  never  lost  an  opportu- 
nity to  instruct  and  advise  him.  An  intimacy  sprang  up 
between  the  two  which  was  quenched  only  by  death. 

In  1757  he  was  taken  by  a  press  gang  on  a  British  man- 
of-war,  and  was  a  year  in  the  service,  both  on  the  coast 
of  France  and  of  America,  then  returned  to  England  and 
iwras  sent  to  school  where  he  learned  to  read  and  write. 
About  this  time  his  master  was  made  lieutenant  on  a  ship 
bound  for  the  Mediterranean,  and  Gustavus  accompanied 
him.  The  shipmates  were  so  impressed  with  his  desire  for 
information  that  they  instructed  him  at  odd  hours.  When 
the  ship  returned  to  England,  encouraged  by  the  previous 
Idndness  of  his  master  and  also  by  a  consciousness  of  hav- 


894  MEN  OF  MARK. 

ing  been  a  loyal  slave,  he  asked  for  his  freedom.  For  re- 
ply, in  1762,  his  master  put  him  on  board  a  ship  bound 
for  the  West  Indies.  In  a  volume  of  three  hundred  and 
lift}'  pages,  written  by  himself  in  1 787,  he  said : 

At  the  sight  of  this  land  of  bondage,  a  fresh  horror  ran  through  all  my 
frame  and  chilled  me  to  the  heart.  My  former  slavery  now  rose  in 
dreadful  review  before  my  mind,  and  displayed  nothing  but  misery, 
stripes,  and  chains ;  and,  in  the  first  paroxysm  of  my  grief,  I  called  upon 
God's  thunder,  and  His  avenging  power,  to  direct  the  stroke  of  death  to 
me  rather  than  permit  me  to  become  a  slave  again,  and  be  sold  from 
lord  to  lord. 

Fortune  was  kinder  to  him  than  he  hoped.  He  was 
purchased  by  Mr.  Robert  King,  a  kind  Quaker  merchant, 
who  lived  in  Philadelphia.  In  some  way  Gustavus  ob- 
tained three  pence  which  he  invested,  and  soon  gained  one 
dollar  with  which  he  bought  a  Bible.  A  short  time  after,  his 
master  entrusted  him  with  some  merchandise  with  which 
to  go  in  business  for  himself,  promising  at  the  same  time 
that  he  should  have  his  freedom  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to 
pay  for  it.  With  this  incentive  Gustavus  toiled  without 
tiring,  and  soon  accumulated  the  required  sum  to  the 
surprise  of  his  master,  who  instructed  him  to  have  the 
secretary  of  the  Register  office  to  prepare  the  manumis- 
sion papers  for  his  signature.  That  day  he  stood  before 
the  world  a  free  man. 

His  first  thoughts  after  getting  his  freedom  were  of  old 
England.  His  heart  yearned  for  the  place  where  he  had 
been  treated  as  a  man,  but  Mr.  King's  entreaties  induced 
him  to  remain  and  enter  as  a  sailor  on  one  of  his  vessels. 
On  the  first  voyage  to  Montserrat,  when  reloading  the 


OLAUDAH  EQUIANO ;  OR  GUSTAYUS  YASSA.  895 

vessel  to  return  home,  Captain  Doran  was  butted  in  the 
breast  by  cattle  and  died  at  once.  Gustavus  took  his 
place  and  safely  conducted  the  ship  to  port.  From  this 
he  was  called  captain.  He  soon  sailed  for  England,  and 
with  a  determination  to  get  an  education ;  but  not  having 
sufficient  money  he  engaged  on  board  a  ship  and  learned 
navigation.  In  the  spring  of  1773  an  expedition  was  fit- 
ted out  to  explore  a  northwest  passage  to  India,  con- 
ducted by  the  Honorable  Constantine  John  Phipps,  since 
Lord  Mulgrave,  in  his  majesty's  sloop-of-war,  The  Race- 
Horse.  Gustavus  concluded  to  go,  and  after  returning  to 
London  he  was  engaged  as  steward  on  a  ship  bound  from 
London  to  Cadiz.    Speaking  of  this  voj^age,  he  said : 

In  a  short  time  after  I  was  on  board,  I  heard  the  name  of  God  much 
blasphemed.  I  concluded  to  beg  my  bread  on  shore,  rather  than  go 
again  to  sea  amongst  a  people  who  feared  not  (iod,  and  I  entreated  the 
captain  three  different  times  to  discharge  me;  he  would  not,  but  each 
time  gave  me  greater  and  greater  encouragement  to  continue  with  him, 
and  all  on  board  showed  me  very  great  civility.  Notwithstanding  all 
this,  1  was  unwilling  to  embark  again. 

When  our  ship  was  ready  for  sea  again  I  was  entreated  by  the  cap- 
tain to  go  in  her  once  more ;  so  I  again  embarked  for  Cadiz,  in  March, 
1775. 

Returning  from  the  trip,  Dr.  Irving,  an  old  friend  who 
had  purchased  a  plantation  in  Jamaica,  also  a  fine  sloop 
of  150  tons,  prevailed  on  him  to  go  thither.  They  landed 
January  14,  but  Gustavus  not  being  satisfied  returned  to 
England  in  November,  1 777' 

In  1783  he  traveled  through  eight  counties  of  Wales,  and 
the  following  year  sailed  for  New  York,  returning  to  Lon- 
rdon  in  1785  and  found  the  government  actively  engaged 


896  MBN  OP  MARK. 

in  sending  Africans  to  their  native  quarters.  There  was  a 
special  committee  for  the  black  poor,  and  he  was  asked  to* 
siiperintend  part  of  the  work.  November,  1786,  he  was 
appointed  commissary  for  the  government.  During  his; 
term  his  convictions  of  honesty  were  so  shocked  by  the 
systematic  cheating  of  the  government  on  the  part  of  the 
agent,  that  he  informed  the  commissioners  of  the  navy  of 
the  proceedings.     Soon  after  he  was  dismissed  from  the 


March  21, 1788,  he  presented  the  petition  to  the  que^n^ 
asking  for  help  for  his  fellow  men  in  Africa. 

TO  THE  queen's  MOST  EXCELLENT  MAJESTY. 

Your  Majesty's  well-known  benevolence  and  humanity  embolden  me  to 
approach  your  royal  presence  trusting  that  the  obscurity  of  my  situation 
will  not  prevent  your  Majesty  from  attending  to  the  sufferings  for  which 
I  plead. 

Yet  I  do  not  solicit  the  royal  pity  for  m^'  own  distress ;  my  sufferings, 
although  numerous,  are  in  a  measure  forgotten.  I  supplicate  your 
Majesty's  compassion  for  millions  of  my  African  countrymen  who  groan 
under  the  lash  of  tyranny  in  the  West  Indies. 

The  oppression  and  cruelty  exercised  to  the  unhappy  Negroes  there 
have  at  length  reached  the  British  IvCgislature,  and  they  are  now  delibcr- 
ating  on  its  redress;  even  several  |>ersons  of  property  in  slaves  in  the 
West  Indies  have  petitioned  Parliament  against  its  continuance,  sensible 
that  it  is  as  impolitic  as  it  is  unjust — and  what  is  inhuman  must  ever  be 
unwise. 

Your  Majesty's  reign  has  hitherto  lx*en  distinguished  by  private  acts 
of  benevolence  and  bounty;  surely,  the  more  extended  the  misery  is,  the 
grater  claim  it  has  to  your  Majesty's  compassion,  and  the  greater  must 
be  your  Majesty's  pleasure  in  administering  to  its  relief. 

I  presume,  therefore,  gracious  Queen,  to  implore  your  inteqiosition, 
with  that  of  your  royal  consort,  in  favor  of  the  wretched  Africans ;  that, 
by  your  Majesty's  benevolent  influence,  a  period  may  now  be  put  to  their 


% 


OLAUDAH  EQUIANO ;  OR  GUSTAYUS  YASSA.  897 

niiaery ;  and  that  they  may  be  raised  from  the  condition  of  brutes  to 
'which  they  are  at  present  degraded,  to  the  rights  and  situation  of  free 
men,  and  admitted  to  partake  of  the  blessings  of  your  Majesty's  happy 
^vemment ;  so  shall  your  Majesty  enjoy  the  heartfelt  pleasure  of  pro- 
coring  happiness  to  millions  and  be  rewarded  in  the  grateful  prayers  of 
themselves  and  their  posterity. 

And  may  the  All-bountiful  Creator  shower  on  your  Majesty  and  the 
royal  family,  every  blessing  that  this  world  can  afford,  and  every  fidness 
of  joy  which  Divine  revelation  has  promised  us  in  the  next. 
I  am  your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  devoted 

Servant  to  command, 

GusTAVUS  Vassa, 
The  Oppressed  Ethiopian. 

This  isabrief  sketch  of  the  great  Gustavus  Vassa— a  man 
of  great  leaming,  tender  sympathies,  pious  life  and  earnest 
zeal  for  the  oppressed.    From  slavery  to  freedom,  from  an 
litimbk  to  an  exalted  freeman— he  shows  the  genius  of  the ' 
native  African. 


898  MBN  OP  MARK. 


CXXXIII. 

JOHN  W.  CROMWELL,  ESQ. 

Editor— Distinguished  EiiglishScholar— Lawyer— -President  of  the  Bethel 
Literary  Society,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia — Examiner  and 
Register  of  Money  Order  Accounts. 

IF  you  ask  me  for  the  best  English  scholar  in  the  United 
States  I  would  unhesitatingly  refer  you  to  John  We»- 
1^  Cromwell,  nor  do  I  except  any  white  man,  woman  or 
child.    Recently  I  attended  a  lecture,  and,  in  the  course  of 

the  speaker's  remarks,  he  said :  **  The  world  asks  a  young^ 
man  when  he  goes  out  of  school,  what  can  you  do?"  We 
will  show  you  what  he  can  do,  and  thus  substantiate  our 
assertion,  for  what  man  has  done,  man  can  do,  and  I  be- 
lieve he  can  repeat  his  experiences.  The  gentleman  is  so 
very  unassuming  and  retiring  in  his  disposition  and  man- 
ners that  no  one  would  judge,  when  in  his  presence,  that 
there  was  a  man  with  a  head  full  of  grammars,  arithme- 
tics, geographies,  spellers,  dictionaries,  histories  and  other 
books,  before  him;  and  yet  it  is  so.  The  plural  is  used 
because  he  is  not  a  committer  of  one  book,  but  is  an  ana- 
l3rtical  scholar  who  compares  one  book  with  another; 
indeed  he  is  a  walkipg  English  library  and  encyclopedia. 
On  the  history  of  his  country  he  is  thoroughly  posted, 


\ 


JOHN  W.  CROMWELL.  899 

and  can  with  very  little  effort  give  the  most  important 
•events,  and  indeed  many  of  the  minor  ones,  concerning  the 
history  of  America.  He  graduated  from  a  school  which 
had  a  reputation  at  the  time  as  the  best  in  fitting  persons 
for  teachers.  Under  the  principalship  of  Ebenezer  D.  Bas- 
«ett,  a  race  of  English  speaking  Negroes  were  graduated. 
Such  names  as  Shadd,  Belcher,  Butler,  Hill,  Lock  and 
others  testified  to  their  thorough  preparation  in  English, 

Mr.  Cromwell  has  undoubtedly  reflected  credit  on  his 
alma  mater.  He  has  maintained  a  character  for  business 
and  honest  dealing  that  marks  him  as  a  man  of  much  tal- 
ent, tact  and  industry.  His  nativity  begins  September  5, 
1846,  at  Portsmouth,  Virginia.  He  was  the  twelfth  and 
youngest  child  of  Willis  H.  and  Elizabeth  Carney  Crom- 
w^ell.  In  1851  his  father  had  obtained  the  freedom  of  his 
family  and  moved  to  West  Philadelphia.  John  W.  entered 
the  public  schools  there  in  1851  in  the  lowest  grade  and 
remained  until  1856,  when  he  was  admitted  into  the  Pre- 
paratory Department  of  the  Institute  for  Colored  Youth, 
whose  principal  was  Professor  Ebenezer  D.  Bassett,  since, 
minister  to  Hayti  and  now  resident  in  this  country,  repre- 
senting the  Haytian  government,  with  headquarters  in  the 
city  of  New  York. 

The  day  of  graduation  was  reached  in  the  summer  of 
1864,  and  he  began  the  life  of  a  school  teacher  at  Columbia, 
Pennsylvania,  October,  1864.  When  this  closed  he  began 
a  private  school,  April,  1865,  at  Portsmouth,  Virginia, 
and  maintained  the  same  until  the  fall  of  the  same  year; 
i:hen  he  returned  to  Philadelphia  and  was  soon  employed 
by  the  Baltimore  Association  for  the  moral  and  intellect- 


900  MEN  OF  MARK. 

tial  improvement  of  the  colored  people  until  May,  1866. 
In  the  month  of  March  he  was  shot  at  and  his  school- 
house  subsequently  burned  to  the  ground.    He  returned 
to  Virginia  and  was  employed  by  the  American  Mission- 
ary Association  and  assigned  to  Providence  church,  Nor- 
folk county.    Here  he  took  an  active  part  in  politics  and 
engaged  in  the  grocery  business,  but  did  not  succeed  in  the 
latter  enterprise  and  had  to  give  iVup.    He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  first  Republican  convention  in  Richmond,  Virginia, 
April  17,  1867,  and  also  to  the  celebrated  **John  Minor 
Botts"  convention,  held  in  August  at   the  same  place, 
after  which  much  time  was  spent  by  him  in  organizing^ 
Republican  clubs  and  councils  of  the  Union  League  Asso- 
ciation. 

Mr.  Cromwell  was  impaneled  United  States  juror  for  the 
term  at  which  the  Hon.Jefferson  Davis  was  to  be  tried,  arid 
was  one  of  the  four  colored  men  on  the  jury  which  con- 
victed several  government  officials  of  conspiracy  to  defraud 
the  United  States  government.  This  case  was  pronounced 
by  the  chief-justice  who  presided  to  be  the  second  case  in  the 
country  of  conviction  on  a  similar  charge.  In  the  Constitu- 
tional convention  which  met  in  the  State,  he  was  elected 
clerk,  and  discharged  the  duties  with  especial  pleasure  and 
gratification  to  his  friends.  In  1869  he  resumed  leaching 
and  organized  several  schools  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Philadelphia  Friends. 

On  the  line  of  Richmond  &  Danville  railroad  there  was 
a  murder  committed  in  open  daylight  of  the  Hon.  Joseph 
R.  Holmes,  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  convention 
and  a  candidate  for  the  House  of  Delegates.    This  was  one 


\ 


JOHN  W.  CROMWELL.  901 

of  the  political  murders  which  have  happened  in  the  South, 
and  by  the  means  of  which  the  country  has  been  disgraced. 
Mr.  Cromwell  was  an  eye  witness  to  the  murder.    In  the 
fall  of  1869  and  1870  he  taught  at  Withersville,  then  the 
highest  grade  school  in  southwest  Virginia.  .  In  1870,  at 
Richmond,  he  •was  principal  of  a  school  held  in  ''Dill's 
Bakery,"  one  of  the  last  pieces  of  confiscated  property 
that  was  returned  by  our  govern  went  to  the  former  own- 
ers.   In  the  summer  of  1871  he  taught  a  term  in  South- 
hampton county,  near  the  scene  of  the  "Nat  Turner  Insur<» 
rection."    As  a  teacher  he  has  been  a  marked  success.   His 
pupils  rapidly  advance,  and  he  has  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  many  of  them  take  exalted  positions  in  life.    In  the 
fall  of  the  year  he  went  to  Washington,  District  of  Colum- 
bia, and  entered  Howard  University  Law  Department, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  March,  1874,  and  was,  on 
motion  of  Hon.  A.  G.  Riddle,  admitted  to  the  bar  before 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia.    In  1872 
he  entered  the  civil  service  examination  in  the  treasurj^  de- 
partment and  passed  at  the  head  of  more  than  two  hun- 
dred applicants.    This  of  course  gave  him  standing  with 
the  examiners  and  secured  for  him  an  appointment.    The 
.same  week  he  regeived  an  appointment  to  teach  in  the  pub- 
lic schoolsof  the  county  of  Washington,  passing  also  at  the 
head  of  a  long  list  of  teachers  who  were  examined.    This 
is  a  common  experience  with  Mr.  Cromwell ;  it  makes  no 
difference  how  many  are  in  the  examination,  when  the 
questions  in  English  studies  are  before  the  candidates  he 
^ways  stands  at  the  head ;  and  in  these  two  notable  in- 


;1 


902  MEN  OF  MARK. 

stances  he  gained  a  remarkable  reputation  and  inspired 
confidence. 

In  1873  and  1874  he  was  promoted,  as  a  result  of  a  com- 
pettive  examination,  first,  to  a  fourteen  hundred  dollar 
clerkship,  then  to  a  sixteen  hundred  dollar  clerkship.  In 
the  latter  examination  he  lead  the  entire  office,  and  being, 
with  Rev.  Robert  William  Waring,  the  first  colored  clerks  to 
receive  such  an  office  in  any  of  the  departments.  He  was 
then  appointed  as  chief  examiner  of  the  division  of  the 
money  order  department,  and  subsequently  was  register 
of  money  order  accounts  until  the  time  when  he  retired 
under  the  Cleveland  administration  in  1885.  In  April, 
1875,  during  the  **  spelling  bee  "  excitement  which  traveled 
from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other  like  some  great 
tidal  wave,  Mr.  Cromwell  distinguished  himself  for  his  ex- 
tensive  knowledge,  as  shown  in  the  remarkable  feat  which 
he  performed,  as  we  now  relate  it.  There  was  a  spelling 
match  arranged  between  the  clerks  of  the  two  bureaus  of 
the  treasury  department,  and  at  both  times  (for  the  match 
was  repeated)  the  office  in  which  Mr.  Cromwell  was  em- 
ployed was  successful,  and  he  always  among  the  fortunate 
ones.  At  the  first  match  there  remained  only  three,  a 
white  gentleman  and  lady  and  Mr.  CroHiwell,  who  gave 
color  to  the  occasion.  Referring  to  this  spelling  match, 
The  National  Republican  for  April  2,  1875,  says: 

Mr.  J.  W.  Cromwell  is  a  fine  looking  colored  man,  employed  in  the  office 
of  the  sixth  auditor.  Mr.  Fortune  gave  him  some  very  hard  words,  but 
he  maintained  perfect  command  over  himself  and  got  through  bravely, 
having  missed  but  one  word  during  the  evening,  and  that  word 
''*  soto  voce.^' 


i  i  ill 


JOHN  W.  CROMWELL.  903 

The  same  year  on  delivering  an  address  in  the  city  of 
Richmond  before  the  colored  teachers  of  that  city,  the  Vir- 
ginia Educational  Historical  Association  was  organized, 
and  he  was  elected  its  president  and  served  continually. 
The  last  meeting  was  held  in  1883.  The  Associated  Press 
dispatch,  August  4,  1875,  was  as  follows : 

J.  W.  Cromwell  delivered  an  address  on  the  difficulties  surrounding  the 
colored  youth  of  Virginia  in  obtaining  an  education.  These  difficulties 
he  thought  were  but  financial  and  moral.  The  financial  difficulties,  such 
as  the  inadequacy  for  State  and  local  support,  and  delinquency  of  the 
capitation  tax,  and  poverty  of  the  parents,  were  discussed  at  length.  He 
claimed  that  white  Southern  teachers  were  not  the  best  for  the  colored 
schools;  that  false  and  wicked  ideas  have  been  so  widely  spread,  and 
their  influences  have  been  pernicious  in  the  work  of  instruction,  by  limit- 
ing education,  checking  aspirations  and  shutting  off  opportunity  for  de- 
velopment and  promotion. 

These  sentiments  quoted  twelve  years  ago  are  his  senti- 
ments to-day,  and  show  the  mental  grasp  of  Mr.  Cromwell 
in  delineating  in  a  very  few  words  the  true  situation  of  the 
State  of  Virginia  at  that  time.  The  views  are  statesman- 
like, accurate  and  discriminating.  In  the  Sunday  School 
Times  of  Philadelphia,  August  29,  1875,  the  following 
notice  appeared  : 

In  the  published  reports  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Colored  Educational 
convention  held  at  Richmond  last  week  appears  the  name  of  J.  W.  Crom- 
"well  of  Portsmouth,  Virginia,  who  delivered  an  able  address  before  the 
convention,  and  this  address  has  been  highly  commended  for  its  strong 
common  sense  and  original  ideas,  and  the  clearness  with  which  they  were 
expressed.  This  intelligent  colored  man  is  a  Philadelphian.  In  the  old 
days  of  slavery  it  was  the  boast  of  the  chivalry  that  the  smartest  colored 
men  came  from  the  South,  and  Fred  Douglass  was  cited  as  an  example 
of  what  could  be  accomplished  by  a  man  of  no  educational  advantage 


904  MBN  OP  MARK. 

in  early  life;  but  now  times  have  changed ,  and  Pennsylyania  sends  Vir- 
'ginia  an  intelligent,  cultured  and  highly  educated  colored  man  who  'will 
compare  with  the  best  educated  white  man  of  the  "  Old  Dominion." 

In  1876  he  organized  the  People's  Advocate  in  the  city  of 
Alexandria,  Virginia,  but  the  next  year  it  was  removed  to 
Washington  where  it  is  still  published.  As  a  writer,  Mr. 
Cromwell  is  specific,  close,  logical,  comprehensive.  His 
paper  is  pure  and  is  of  the  sort  that  can  be  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  most  virtuous,  and  will  rather  lead  them  to  a 
higher  life  than  in  any  way  degrade  them.  Its  weekly 
issue  is  looked  for  with  considerable  interest,  as  it  dis- 
cusses thoroughly  all  questions  which  may  arise  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  concerning  which  he  expresses 
himself.  The  paper  is  especially  notable  for  its  typograph- 
ical make  up  and  its  excellent  proofreading.  As  would  be 
expected,  his  English  is  plain  and  forcible,  and  his  style  not 
bombastic.  He  has  expressed  himself  upon  the  subjects 
of  editors  and  newspapers  to  which  reference  has  been 
made  by  the  New  York  Globe  of  March,  1882,  from  which 
the  following  is  taken : 

J.  W.Cromwell  of  the  People's  Advocate  remarked  in  a  literary  meeting^ 
in  Washington  last  week  that  the  colored  newspai^ers  and  editors  would 
compare  favorably  with  colored  colleges  and  colored  professors.  To  the 
pioneers  in  this  difficult  field  of  labor,  like  the  Advocate  which,  against 
pecuniary  disadvantages  and  groveling  disdain  of  the  thoughtless  and 
ignorant  of  the  race,  have  continued  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  race. 

All  praise  and  honor  should  be  given  him;  none  have 
worked  more  faithfully  or  unrelentingly  in  this  field  than 
Mr.  Cromwell,  and  none  more  than  he  is  held  higher  in  the 
esteem  of  the  colored  press.    To  those  who  are  outside  of 


JOHN  W.  CROMWELL. 


!    I 


I. 'I 


I  ■ 
t 


JOHN  W.  CROHWBLL.  905 

a  newspaper  office  it  may  seem  very  easy  to  send  out  a 
paper  every  week,  and  satisfy  its  subscribers  and  secure 
thdr  interest  constantly;  but  it  is  indeed  a  trying  task. 
Many  times,  persons  who  pay  least  are  disposed  to  do  the 
most  grumbling  and  fault  finding.  The  Negro  editors  who 
are  now  serving  the  people,  as  a  rule  do  so  at  the  risk  of 
their  health,  personal  popularity  and  financial  prosperity. 
They  hope  against  hope,  and  ''hope  deferred  maketh  the 
heart  sick."  Week  after  week,  month  after  month,  year 
after  year,  like  some  jack-o-lantem,  just  ahead,  they  pur- 
sued with  renewed  vigor  the  false  hopes  and  what  seems 
gleaming  prospects.    Alas !  only  to  fail. 

Mr.  Cromwell  has  kept  his  paper  going  through  these 
^trying  years  and  has  succeeded  in  business,  and  has  laid 
by  some  money  for  a  rainy  day.  This  is  an  evidence  of  his 
power  to  economize,  and  yet  sustain  one  of  the  risky  ven- 
tures undertaken  by  a  colored  man.  Some  one  has  com- 
pared a  newspaper's  financial  wants  to  a  rat  hole,  down 
which  one  might  pour  water  constantly  and  it  never 
tseems  to  fill.  Could  his  experience  be  given  as  to  how  he 
supported  his  newspaper  in  all  these  years,  it  would  be 
like  a  romance.  All  honor  to  those  men  who  have  at  their 
own  expense  sustained  journals  which  have  defended  the 
cause  of  the  people,  and  very  often  an  ungrateful  people. 
And,  indeed,  instead  of  being  amused  at  the  death  of  so 
many  colored  newspapers,  their  editors  are  largely  to  be 
praised,  and  a  kind  word  spoken  for  them.  They  tnec/, 
but  failed:  it  nevertheless  did  not  detract  from  their  inten- 
tion to  do  good.  No  newspaper  in  the  United  States 
started  by  a  colored  man  has  ever  had  only  a  mercenary 


906  MEN  OP  MARK. 

desire*  but  was  in  nearly  every  case  started  for  the  pur- 
pose of  defending  the  rights  of  the  people  and  defending 
them  against  the  wrongs  of  enemies,  furnish  a  mouth- 
piece for  the  groans  and  woes  of  a  suffering  people,  and  to 
proclaim  abroad  the  injuries  which  have  been  added  to 
the  insults. 

Mr.  Cromwell  took  a  prominent  part  in  bringing  this 
Virginia  suit  before  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
which,  with  the  Kentucky,  West  Virginia  and  Delaware 
cases,  brought  out  the  decision  on  the  jury  question.  He 
is  an  orator  of  considerable  reputation  in  local  matters. 
In  Philadelphia,  July  1, 1883,  in  the  Sunday  Times.tht  fol- 
lowing notice  appeared  concerning  his  efforts  made  as 
alumni  orator  at  the  Institution  for  Colored  Youth.  It 
says : 

In  the  centre  sat  the  principal  of  the  school,  Mrs.  Fannie  Jackson  Cop- 
pin,  who  conducted  the  exercises ;  and  on  her  right  hand  was  the  orator 
of  the  occasion,  Mr.  J.  W.  Cromwell,  of  the  class  of  1864,  who  spoke  on 
the  subject  of  "  The  Outlook  of  the  Colored  Race  in  this  Country."  Mr- 
Cromwell  is  a  brother  of  the  famous  colored  caterer  and  well-known 
citizen,  Mr.  Levi  Cromwell,  and  is  well  known  among  his  race  as  a  man 
of  brains,  activity  and  wide  field  of  culture.  His  address  proclaims  him 
to  be  a  man  well  booked  in  the  issuer  of  the  day,  and  his  fiind  of  knowl- 
edge seems  inexhaustible.  He  is  a  clear,  forcible,  entertaining  speaker 
and  held  his  audience  in  wrapt  attention.  He  is  president  of  the  famous 
"  Bethel  Literary  '*  which  meets  weekly  in  the  city  of  Washington,  before 
which  most  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  Union  have  spoken.  He  is  also 
an  Odd  Fellow  and  has  represented  his  lodge  in  National  gatherings  of 
that  fratemit}',  and  on  repeated  occasions  lieen  selected  as  orator  at  the 
local  anniversaries.  He  has  acquired  property  to  the  amount  of  six 
thousand  dollars,  and  is  now  practicing  law  before  the  district  bar.  He 
has  recently  connected  himself  with  the  Metropolitan  A.  M.  E.  churtrh. 


JOHN  W.  CROMWELL.  907 

He  was  appointed  by  Hon.'B.  K.  Bruce  as  one  of  the 
commissioners  in  the  city  of  Washington  to  secure  exhibits 
from  the  colored  people  for  the  Cotton  Exhibition,  held  in 
New  Orleans,  concerning  which  E.  Kirk  in  the  Southern 
Tribune  said : 

Mr.  B.  K.  Bruce  could  not  have  made  a  better  selection  to  represent 
the  District  of  Columbia  if  he  had  exhausted  the  city  directory,  or  that  of 
the  floating  or  sojourning  population,  than  when  he  appointed  Mr.  J.  W. 
Cromwell  honorary  commissioner  of  department  of  colored  exhibits  in 
the  Cotton  Centennial  Exhibition  at  New  Orleans. 

Thus  from  one  degree  to  another  he  has  risen  to  distinc- 
tion among  his  brethren  of  the  newspaper  fraternity,  and 
his  opinion  is  quoted  very  largely  in  the  newspapers  of  the 
day. 


908  ICBN  OF  MARK, 


CXXXIV. 

REV.  E.  M.  BRAWLEY,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  D.  D. 

Bditor  Baptist  Tn'i&iiiie— President  of  Selma  University — Sunday  School 
Agent  in  South  Carolina. 

THE  work  done  by  the  subject  of  these  remarks  has 
brought  untold  good  to  the  citizens  of  South  Caro- 
lina and  Alabama.    Our  acquaintance  with  this  polished 
and  scholarly  gentleman  began  in  1870,  when  he  spent  a 
short  time  at  Howard  University,  previous  to  his  going  to 
Lewisburg.    His  mild,  quiet  habits,  added  to  his  eminent 
piety,  made  him  a  beloved  companion  of  us  all.     There 
were  many  South  Carolina  students  in  attendance  at  the 
time,  and  of  them  all  he  was  the  idol  and  pride  of  the 
number.    There  was  O'Hear,  my  room-mate,  who  sleeps 
beneath  the  palmettoes  of  the  old  State ;  Morris,  now  pres- 
ident of  Allen  University ;  Dart,  another  who  sleeps  beneath 
the  sod;  McCants  Stewart,  an  eminent  lawyer  in  New 
York;  Nash,  the  **sower  of  wild  oats,"  and  many  others. 
Since  those  days  he  has  grown  in  stature  and  filled  im- 
portant stations  in  the  Sabbath  school  work  as  president 
and  as  editor.     He  began  existence  March  18,  1851,  in 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.    James  M.  Brawley  and  Ann 
L.  Brawley  were  his  parents.    He  was  always  free.    At 


B.  M.  BRAWLBY.  909 

the  early  age  of  four  years  he  was  placed  in  a  private 
school  taught  by  an  old  lady.  Here  he  remained  several 
years  and  learned  to  read.  Later  he  went  to  a  school  of  a 
higher  grade  until  the  troubles  occurred  incidental  to  the 
uprising  of  John  Brown,  when  the  school  was  closed.  In 
1861,  when  about  ten  years  of  age,  his  parents  sent  him  to 
Philadelphia  to  obtain  an  education.  He  at  once  entered 
one  of  the  Grammar  schools  and  remained  three  years, 
then  entered  the  Institution  for  Colored  Youth,  Professor 
E.  D.  Bassett  then  beingprincipal,  and  remained  until  1866, 
when  he  had  partly  completed  his  preparation  for  college. 
He  was  now  fifteen  years  old,  and  his  parents  thinking  it 
best  for  him  to  learn  a  trade,  caused  him  to  return  to 
Charleston  and  apprenticed  him  to  a  shoemaker.  He 
.  served  three  years  as  an  apprentice,  and  in  1869  returned 
to  Philadelphia  and  worked  as  a  joumejrman  at  his  trade. 
In  April,  1865,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  had  been  baptized 
into  the  fellowship  of  the  Shiloh  Baptist  church,  Philadel- 
phia. He  early  felt  a  call  to  the  ministry,  and  became 
active  in  Sunday  school  work.  Having  concluded  to  enter 
the  ministry  he  matriculated  at  Howard  University  in  the 
fall  of  1870,  and  was  the  first  theological  student  regularly 
entered.  Here  he  remained  three  months,  and  concluding 
to  go  through  college,  he  left  Howard  and  entered  Buck- 
nell  University  at  Lewisburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  January, 
1871,  being  the  first  colored  student  to  enter  this  institu- 
tion. He  completed  his  preparation  and  entered  the  Col- 
lege Department  in  the  fall  of  1871.  At  the  close  of  his 
Sophomore  year  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Baptist 
church  (white)  at  Lewisburg,  and  when  he  graduated  in 


910  MBX  OF  MARK. 

1875  he  was  ordained  by  a  vote  of  this  church  by  a  council 
composed  of  thirty-five  ministers,  mainly  college  professors 
and  other  eminent  men .  He  had  studied  theology  privately 
during  his  college  course.    He  went  to  Bucknell  University 
by  the  advice  of  Rev.  B.  Griffith,  D.D.,  and  Mrs.  Griffith 
gave  him  a  scholarship,  while  he  assisted  himself  by  teach- 
ing vocal  music  to  the  students  and  others,  and  by  preach^ 
ing  in   vacations.     On  being  ordained  he  was  at  once 
commissioned  by  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society 
as  missionary  for  South  Carolina.    His  commission  was 
dated  July  1, 1875,  which  was  the  date  of  his  ordination, 
(the  day  after  his  graduation,  June  30,  1875).    He  at  once 
entered  upon  his  work  and  found  but  little  organization 
among  the  colored  Baptists  in  the  State.     There  were 
many  churches  but  few  Sunday  schools.    There  were  also , 
many  associations,  but  they  were  doing  but  little  work. 
He  began  at  once  to  reorganize  the  associations ;  organized 
new  ones,  organized  a  Sunday  school  convention  in  every 
association,  and  then  formed  all  these  bodies  into  a  State 
convention.    This  last  was  accomplished  in  May,  1877. 
He  became  the  corresponding  secretary  and  financial  agent, 
and  directed  the  work  of  the  convention.  Soon  a  vigorous 
State  mission  work  was  undertaken,  a  number  of  young 
men  placed  in  the  school  and  sustained  while  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  many  of  whom  are  now  filling  important 
stations,  and  a  mission  work  in  Africa  was  begun  and  sus- 
tained for  three  years.    Rev.  Harrison  N.  Bouey  was  the 
missionary.    His  work  in  AfHca  commanded  the  admira- 
tion of  the  friends  of  Afinca  all  over  our  land,  and  assisted 


E.  M.  BRAWLEY.  911 

much  in  creatitig  an  interest  in  African  missions  among 
the  colored  churches  of  the  South. 

Failing  health  compelled  Rev.  Mr.  Brawley,  after  eight 
years  of  hard  work  in  South  Carolina,  and  against  the 
wishes  of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  to  re^ 
sign.  A  vacation  of  six  months  was  kindly  offered  him; 
but  he  concluded  to  change  his  work,  his  physician  having 
strongly  advised  it.  But  when  he  resigned  there  were  as 
many  Sunday  schools  as  churches  in  the  State,  and  the 
denomination  was  united  and  strong.  While  in  South 
Carolina  he  raised  a  large  amount  of  money  not  only  for 
the  State  convention's  work,  but  also  for  Benedict  Insti- 
tute. Once  in  the  short  space  of  a  few  months  he  raised  a 
a  special  collection  of  one  thousand  dollars  for  the  school.* 
After  having  been  several  times  invited,  he  accepted  the 
position  of  president  of  the  Alabama  Baptist  Normal  and 
Theological  school.  He  entered  upon  the  work  in  October; 
1883.  In  one  year  he  reconstructed  the  school,  graded  it,* 
put  in  a  College  Department  and  doubled  the  number  of 
students.  The  name  of  the  institution  was  now  changed' 
to  Selma  University.  The  first  class  to  go  out  was  grad- 
uated under  him  in  May,  1884.  He  received  his  A.  M., 
from  Bucknell  University  (his  alma  mater)  in  1878,  and 
the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  State  Uni- 
versity, Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  May,  1885.  He  has  three 
times  appeared  as  a  regularly  invited  speaker  before  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society  at  the  National 
anniversaries.  Some  of  his  addresses  have  been  printed  in 
their  minutes.  He  has  published  only  a  few  addresses. 
Has  received  many  complimentary  notices,  but  has  not 


910  UBN  OF  HAKK. 

1875  he  was  ordained  by  a  vote  of  thischurch  bya  council 
composed  of  thirty-five  ministers, mainlycollegeprofessors 
and  other  eminent  men.  He  had  studied  theology  privately 
during  his  college  coarse.    He  went  to  Bucknell  University 
by  the  advice  of  Rev.  B.  Griffith,  D.D..  ajid  Mrs.  Griffith 
gave  him  a  scholarship,  while  he  assisted  himself  by  teach- 
ing vocal  music  to  the  students  and  others,  and  by  preach- 
ing in   vacations.     On  being  ordained  he  was  at  once 
commissioned  by  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Societ; 
as  missionary  for  South  Carolina.    His  commission  was 
dated  July  1,  1875,  which  was  the  date  of  his  ordination, 
(the  day  after  his  graduation,  J«ne  30,  1875).    He  at  once 
entered  upon  his  work  and  found  but  little  organization 
among  the  colored  Baptists  in  the  State.    There  were 
many  churches  but  few  Sunday  schools.    There  were  also , 
many  associations,  but  they  were  doing  but  little  work. 
He  began  at  once  to  reorganize  the  associations ;  organized 
new  ones,  organized  a  Sunday  school  convention  in  every 
association,  and  then  formed  all  these  bodies  into  a  State 
convention.    This  last  was  accomplished  in  May,  1877. 
He  became  thecorresponding  secretary' and  financial  agent, 
and  directed  the  work  of  the  convention.  Soon  a  vigorous 
State  mission  work  was  undertaken,  a  number  of  young 
men  placed  in  the  school  and  sustained  while  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  many  of  whom  are  now  filling  important 
stations,  and  a  mission  Avork  in  AiHca  was  begun  and  sus- 
tained for  three  years.    Rev.  Harrison  N.  Bouey  was  the 
missionary.    His  work  in  Africa  commanded  the  admira- 
tion of  the  friend^f^^^fcica  all  over  our  land,  and  assisted 


£.  M.  BRAWLET.  911 

much  in  cfcatitig  an  interest  in  African  missions  among 
the  colored  churches  of  the  South. 

Failing  health  compelled  Rev.  Mr.  Brawley,  after  eight 
years  of  hard  work  in  South  Carolina,  and  against  the 
wishes  of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  to  re^ 
sign.  A  vacation  of  six  months  was  kindly  offered  him; 
but  he  concluded  to  change  his  work,  his  physician  having 
strongly  advised  it.  But  when  he  resigned  there  were  as 
many  Sunday  schools  as  churches  in  the  State,  and  the 
denomination  was  united  and  strong.  While  in  South 
Carolina  he  raised  a  large  amount  of  money  not  only  for 
the  State  convention's  work,  but  also  for  Benedict  Insti- 
tute. Once  in  the  short  space  of  a  few  months  he  raised  a 
a  special  collection  of  one  thousand  dollars  for  the  school.' 
After  having  been  several  times  invited,  he  accepted  the 
position  of  president  of  the  Alabama  Baptist  Normal  and 
Theological  school.  He  entered  upon  the  work  in  October; 
1883.  In  one  year  he  reconstructed  the  school,  graded  it,* 
put  in  a  College  Department  and  doubled  the  number  of 
students.  The  name  of  the  institution  was  now  changed' 
to  Selma  University.  The  first  class  to  go  out  was  grad* 
uated  under  him  in  May,  1884.  He  received  his  A.  M., 
from  Bucknell  University  (his  alma  mater)  in  1878,  and 
the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  State  Uni- 
versity, Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  May,  1885.  He  has  three 
times  appeared  as  a  regularly  invited  speaker  before  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society  at  the  National 
anniversaries.  Some  of  his  addresses  have  been  printed  in 
their  minutes.  He  has  published  only  a  few  addresses. 
Has  received  many  complimentary  notices,  but  has  not 


910  ubh  op  mask. 

1875  he  was  ordained  by  a  vote  of  thischurch  bya  council 
composed  of  thirty-five  ministers, mainlycoUegeprofessors 
and  other  eminent  men.   He  had  studied  theology  privately 
daring  his  college  course.    He  went  to  Bucknell  University 
by  the  advice  of  Rev.  B.  Griffith,  D.  D.,  and  Mrs.  Gritfitb 
gave  him  a  scholarship,  while  he  assisted  himself  by  teach- 
ing vocal  music  to  the  students  and  others,  and  by  preach- 
ing in  vacations.     On  being  ordained  he  was  at  once 
commissioned  by  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society 
-as  missionary  for  South  Carolina.    His  commission  was 
dated  July  1,  1875,  which  was  the  date  of  his  ordination, 
(■the  dayafter  his  graduation,  Jsne  30,  1875).    He  at  once 
entered  upon  his  work  and  found  but  little  organization 
^UDong  the  colored  Baptists  in  the  State.    There  were 
many  churches  but  few  Sunday  schools.    There  were  also , 
many  associations,  but  they  were  doing  bnt  little  work. 
He  began  at  once  to  reorganizethe  associations;  organized 
new  ones,  organized  a  Sunday  school  convention  in  every 
association,  and  then  formed  all  these  bodies  into  a  State 
convention.    This  last  was  accomplished  in  May,  1877. 
He  became  thecorresponding  secretary  and  financial  agent, 
and  directed  the  work  of  the  convention.   Soon  a  vigorous 
State  mission  work  was  undertaken,  a  number  of  young 
men  placed  in  the  school  and  sustained  while  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  many  of  whom  are  now  filling  important 
stations,  and  a  mission  «ork  in  AfricJi  was  begun  and  sus- 
tained for  three  years.    Rev.  Harrison  N.  Bouey  waa  the 
missionary.    His  work  in  Africa  commanded  the  a 
tion  of  the  IHends  of  Africa  all  over  i ,  and  ■ 


the  admirfir^^H 
andsMffM^H 

f1 


E.  M.  BRAWLET.  911 

much  in  creating  an  interest  in  African  missions  amcHig 
the  colored  churches  of  the  South. 

Failing  health  compelled  Rev.  Mr.  Brawley,  after  eight 
years  of  hard  work  in  South  Carolina,  and  against  th< 
wishes  of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  to  re^ 
sign.  A  vacation  of  six  months  was  kindly  ofllered  him; 
but  he  concluded  to  change  his  work,  his  physician  having 
strongly  advised  it.  But  when  he  resigned  there  were  as 
many  Sunday  schools  as  churches  in  the  State,  and  the 
denomination  was  united  and  strong.  While  in  South 
Carolina  he  raised  a  large  amount  of  money  not  only  for 
the  State  convention's  work,  but  also  for  Benedict  Insti- 
tute.  Once  in  the  short  space  of  a  few  months  he  raised  a 
a  special  collection  of  one  thousand  dollars  for  the  school.' 
After  having  been  several  times  invited,  he  accepted  tbc 
position  of  president  of  the  Alabama  Baptist  Normal  and 
Theological  school.  He  entered  upon  the  work  in  October; 
1883.  In  one  year  he  reconstructed  the  school,  graded  it,- 
put  in  a  College  Department  and  doubled  the  number  of 
students.  The  name  of  the  institution  was  now  changed 
to  Selma  University.  The  first  class  to  go  out  was  grad- 
uated under  him  in  May,  1884.  He  received  his  A.  M,, 
from  Bucknell  University  (his  alma  mater)  in  1878,  and 
the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  State  Uni- 
versity, Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  May,  1885.  He  has  three 
times  appeared  as  a  regularly  invited  speaker  before  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society  at  the  National 
Some  of  his  addresses  have  been  printed  in 
He  has  published  only  a  few  addresses. 
I  many  complimentary  notices,  but  has  not 


910  MSIC  OF  MARK. 

1875  he  was  ordained  by  a  vote  of  this  church  by  a  counci] 
composed  of  thirty-five  ministers,  mainly  college  professors 
and  other  eminent  men.  He  had  studied  theology  privately 
during  his  college  course.    He  went  to  Bucknell  University 
by  the  advice  of  Rev.  B.  Griffith,  D.D.,  and  Mrs.  Griffith 
gave  him  a  scholarship,  while  he  assisted  himself  by  teach- 
ing vocal  music  to  the  students  and  others,  and  by  preach^ 
ing  in   vacations.     On  being  ordained  he  was  at  once 
commissioned  by  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society 
•as  missionary  for  South  Carolina.    His  commission  was 
dated  July  1,  1875,  which  was  the  date  of  his  ordination, 
(fthe  day  after  his  graduation,  June  30,  1875).    He  at  once 
entered  upon  his. work  and  found  but  little  organization 
among  the  colored  Baptists  in  the  State.     There  were 
many  churches  but  few  Sunday  schools.    There  were  also  ^ 
many  associations,  but  they  were  doing  but  little  work. 
He  began  at  once  to  reorganize  the  associations ;  organized 
new  ones,  organized  a  Sunday  school  convention  in  every 
association,  and  then  formed  all  these  bodies  into  a  State 
convention.    This  last  was  accomplished  in  May,  1877. 
He  became  the  corresponding  secretary  and  financial  agent, 
and  directed  the  work  of  the  convention.  Soon  a  vigorous 
State  mission  w^ork  was  undertaken,  a  number  of  young 
men  placed  in  the  school  and  sustained  while  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  many  of  whom  are  now  filling  important 
stations,  and  a  mission  work  in  Africa  was  begun  and  sus- 
tained for  three  years.    Rev.  Harrison  N.  Bouey  was  the 
missionary.    His  work  in  Africa  commanded  the  admira- 
tion of  the  friends  of  Africa  all  over  our  land,  and  assisted 


E.  M.  BRAWLEY.  911 

much  in  creating  an  interest  in  African  missions  among 
the  colored  churches  of  the  South. 

Failing  health  compelled  Rev.  Mr.  Brawley,  after  eight 
years  of  hard  work  in  South  Carolina,  and  against  the 
wishes  of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  to  re^ 
sign.  A  vacation  of  six  months  was  kindly  offered  him; 
but  he  concluded  to  change  his  work,  his  physician  having 
strongly  advised  it.  But  when  he  resigned  there  were  as 
many  Sunday  schools  as  churches  in  the  State,  and  the 
denomination  was  united  and  strong.  While  in  South 
Carolina  he  raised  a  large  amount  of  money  not  only  for 
the  State  convention's  work,  but  also  for  Benedict  Insti* 
tute.  Once  in  the  short  space  of  a  few  months  he  raised  a 
a  special  collection  of  one  thousand  dollars  for  the  school; 
After  having  been  several  times  invited,  he  accepted  the 
position  of  president  of  the  Alabama  Baptist  Normal  and 
Theological  school.  He  entered  upon  the  work  in  October,: 
1883.  In  one  year  he  reconstructed  the  school,  graded  it," 
put  in  a  College  Department  and  doubled  the  number  of 
students.  The  name  of  the  institution  was  now  changed 
to  Selma  University.  The  first  class  to  go  out  was  grad^ 
uated  under  him  in  May,  1884.  He  received  his  A.  M., 
from  Bucknell  University  (his  alma  mater)  in  1878,  and 
the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  State  Uni- 
versity, Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  May,  1885.  He  has  three 
times  appeared  as  a  regularly  invited  speaker  before  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society  at  the  National 
anniversaries.  Some  of  his  addresses  have  been  printed  in 
their  minutes.  He  has  published  only  a  few  addresses. 
Has  received  many  complimentary  notices,  but  has  not 


912  MEN  OF  MARK. 

preserved  them.  He  is  now  writing  a  book  on  theolgy^ 
entitled :  *  An  Exposition  of  the  Confession  of  Faith, '  It 
is  designed  mainly  for  preachers  with  limited  education. 
He  has  been  Sunday  school  missionary,  corresponding^ 
secretary,  pastor  and  president  of  a  university,  and  also 
edited  the  Baptist  Pioneer  for  three  years. 

In  January,  1877,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  W.  War- 
rick of  Virginia,  a  graduate  of  Howard  University.  By 
her  he  had  one  child,  but  by  the  close  of  the  year  both 
mother  and  child  died.  In  December,  1879,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Margaret  S.  Dickerson  of  Columbia,  South 
Carolina.  She  is  now  living.  By  her  he  has  had  four 
children,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  dead.  He  has  made  con- 
siderable money  but  spent  it  largely  in  aiding  poor  stud- 
ents. Fully  one-half  of  his  salary  while  president  of  Selma 
University  was  spent  in  that  way.  He  has  had  various 
positions  on  boards,  etc.,  and  has  been  clerk  of  several 
associations.  The  failing  health  of  his  wife  caused  him  to 
resign  his  position  as  president  of  Selma  University,  after 
more  than  three  years'  service,  and  return  to  South 
Carolina. 

In  January,  1887,  he  began  the  publication  of  the  Bap- 
tist Tribune,  a  weekly  denominational  organ.  It  is  one 
of  the  best  papers  of  the  South,  and  is  a  credit  to  his  ability 
and  earnest  Christian  labor. 


E.  M.  BRAWLEY. 


JAMES  W.  C.  PENNINGTON.  913 


CXXXV. 

JAMES  W.  C.  PENNINGTON,  D.  D. 

Able  Presbyterian  Divine— Greek,  Latin  and  German  Scholar. 

THIS,  the  first  colored  pastor  of  the  New  York  Presby- 
terian church,  was  bom  about  1809  in  Maryland. 
It  is  said  by  some  that  many  men  and  women  of  the  Negro 
race,  who  haye  stood  head  and  shoulders  above  their  fellow 
men,  inherited  their  admirable  traits  of  character  from 
white  ancestors;  but  it  has  been  proven  that  there  are 
many  exceptions  to  this  rule.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  was 
of  pure  African  blood  and  descent. 

Slave  life  in  Maryland  was  more  severe  than  in  many  of 
the  Atlantic  States,  and  in  1830  Mr.  Pennington  could  no 
longer  endure  the  yoke  of  bondage  and  escaped  to  Penn 
sylvania.  Although  twenty-one  years  old,  he  had  never 
acquired  any  knowledge  of  letters.  As  soon  as  he  was  out 
of  hearing  of  the  slave  driver's  whip  he  applied  himself 
earnestly  to  study,  and  in  part  made  up  for  what  was 
withheld  from  him  in  early  lite.  In  five  years  he  had  me.de 
such  strides  as  to  be  able  to  teach  a  school  for  colored 
children  at  New  Town,  Long  Island.  Feeling  that  he  had 
been  called  to  the  gospel  ministry,  he  removed  to  New 


914  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Haven,  Connecticut,  where  he  could  enter  a  theological 
seminary  and  where  he  commanded  a  larger  salary  as 
teacher.  After  three  years'  earnest  study  he  returned  to  his 
old  position  in  New  Town ;  was  ordained  and  took  charge 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Two  years  later  he  went  to 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  remained  there  teaching  and 
preaching  eight  3'ears.  Dr.  Pennington  was  five  times 
elected  a  member  of  the  **  General  Convention  for  the  Im- 
provement of  the  Free  Colored  People."  If  nothing  more 
than  this  was  said,  it  would  speak  volumes  for  this  worker 
for  the  race. 

In  1843  he  was  elected  delegate-at-large  by  the  State  of 
Connecticut  to  attend  the  World's  Anti-slavery  convention 
held  in  London.  In  the  same  year  he  was  delegated  by  the 
American  Peace  convention  to  ^represent  them  in  the 
World's  Peace  Society,  which  met  at  the  same  place  and  in 
the  same  year.  During  his  three  visits  to  England  he  lec- 
tured in  London,  Paris,  Brussels,  and  by  his  pulpit  bril- 
liancy won  many  complimentary  press  notices.  He  sup- 
plied the  pulpits  of  the  most  popular  ministers,  and  was 
classed  with  the  leading  theologians  of  his  day.  The 
degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred  by  the  University  of  Heidel- 
burg,  Germany.  On  his  return  to  America  he  was  received 
with  open  arms.  He  was  twice  elected  president  of  the 
Hartford  Central  Association  of  Congregational  ministers, 
composed  exclusively  of  white  men.  During  his  presidency 
two  young  white  men  presented  themselves  to  be  exam- 
ined for  license  to  preach.  Dr.  Pennington  examined  them 
in  church  history,  theology,  etc.,  and  signed  their  certifi- 
cates.   It  must  have  been  a  novel  scene — a  fugitive  slave 


JAMBS  W.  C.  PENNINGTON.  91S 

granting  the  sons  of  his  oppressors  (one  the  son  of  a 
Kentucky  slave-holder)  leave  to  preach  the  gospel. 

In  1841  the  doctor  published  a  little  book  entitled,  *A 
Text  Book  of  theOngin  and  History  of  the  Colored  People.' 
also  an  *' Address  on  West  India  Emancipation/'  and 
other  papers.  He  was  a  life  member  of  the  American  Tract 
Society,  and  many  years  pastor  of  the  Shiloh  church,  New 
York.    The  Rising  Sun  says : 

In  stature  he  was  of  the  common  size,  slightly  inclined  to  corpulency, 
with  an  athletic  frame  and  a  good  constitution.  The  fact  that  Dr.  Pen** 
nington  was  considered  a  good  Greek,  Latin  and  German  scholar,  al- 
though his  life  was  spent  in  slavery,  is  not  more  strange  than  thatHenrr 
Diaz,  the  black  commander  in  Brazil,  is  extolled  in  all  the  histories  of  that 
country  as  one  of  the  most  sagacious  and  talented  men  and  experienced 
-officers  of  whom  they  can  boast.  Dr.  Pennington  died  in  1871,  his 
•death  being  hastened  by  the  excessive  use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  which 
had  impaired  his  usefulness  in  his  latter  days. 

In  the  life  of  this  man  we  see  much  to  commend  to  the 
young  men  of  the  race.  Copy  well  his  earnest  quest  for 
knowledge ;  his  love  for  race ;  but  shun  the  vice  which  at 
the  last  clouded  his  brilliant  intellect  and  placed  him  be- 
neath the  shame  of  a  dissipate  and  tarnished  his  otherwise 
good  name. 


916  MEN  OF  MARK. 


CXXXVI. 

HON.  EDWARD  WILMOT  BLYDEN,  LL.  D. 

Linguist — Oriental  Scholax^— Arabic  Professor— Magazine  Writer — Minis- 
ter Plenipotentiary— President  of  Liberia  College. 

WITHOUT  doubt  the  Hon.  E.  W.  Blyden  is  the  most 
learned  man  of  the  race,  especially  in  the  lan- 
guages, and  as  such,  must  be  acknowledged  a  man  of  a 
most  gigantic  intellect  and  acquisitive  powers.     He  was 
bom  in   St.  Thomas,  one  of  the   Danish   West    Indies, 
August  3,  1832,  but  lived  in  the  United  States  for  some 
time  during  his  youth.    From  this  country,  accompanied 
by  his  brother,  he  went  to  Liberia,  landing  January'  26. 
1851.    At  this  time  he  was  about  nineteen  years  old.     He 
was  educated  at  Alexander  High  School,  of  which  he  be- 
came principal.     This  school  was  situated  up  the  river  St. 
Paul,  about  twenty  miles  from  Monrovia.     He  has  held 
many  positions  of  honor  and  trust  under  the  Liberian 
government.  '  He  has  been  twice  the  secretary  of  State  of 
Liberia,   and    secretary  of  the  interior  once.    For  eight 
years  he  was  minister  plenipotentiary  and  envoy  extraor- 
dinary to  the  Court  of  St.  James.    He  was  candidate  and 
nominee  of  the  Liberia  Republican  party,  for  the  Presi- 
dency, in  1884,  but  was  defeated  by  H.  R.  W.  Johnson, 


EDWARD  WILMOT  BIrYDBN.  917 

'who  is  now  President  of  Liberia,  and  whose  sketch  ap- 
pears elsewhere. 

Dr.  Blyden  is  a  distinguished  linguist  and  oriental 
scholar,  and  a  prolific  magazine  writer,  and  has  a  won- 
derful knowledge  of  the  Arabic  language,  having  been 
professor  of  the  said  language  at  one  time.  The  following 
notice  appears  in  the  London  Official  Gazette  of  August  2, 
and  is  here  quoted  by  way  of  information : 

A  NEGRO  DIPLOMATIST. 

THE  LIBBRIAN  MINISTER  TO  THE  COURT  OF  ST.  JAMES. 

Osborne,  August  3. — This  da3'  had  audience  of  Her  Majesty :  Edward 
Wilmot  Blyden,  esq.,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  the  Republic  of  Li- 
beria, to  deliver  new  credentials,  to  which  audience  he  was  introduced 
bj  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  K.  G.,  Her  Majesty *s  principal  Secretary 
of  State  for  Foreign  affairs. 

Dr.  Blyden  has  the  honor  of  being  the  first  Negro  plenipotentiary  of  the 
first  Christian  Negro  State  in  Africa  ever  received  at  a  court  in  Europe. 

In  1866  he  visited  Palestine  and  Egypt,  and  afterward  published  an 
account  of  his  travels  in  a  volume,  entitled  *  From  West  Africa  to  Pales- 
tine.' In  1871  he  resigned  his  professorship  in  the  college  and  traveled 
in  England.  On  his  return  to  Africa  he  accepted  the  appointment  from 
Governor  Kennedy  of  Sierra  Leone,  of  envoy  to  the  pagan  king  of  the 
Soolima  country.  His  report  on  that  expedition  was  printed  by  the  gov- 
ernment and  published  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society.  In  1873  he  was  sent  by  Governor  J.  Pope  Hennessy  on  another 
mission  to  a  Mohammedan  chief,  three  hundred  miles  northeast  of  Sierra 
Leone.  In  1874  he  was  authorized  to  re-open  the  Alexander  High  School, 
on  the  St.  Paul  river,  which  is  now  in  charge  of  an  assistant.  In  1877 
be  was  appointed  by  President  Payne  minister  to  England,  and  Presi- 
•dent  Gardner  has  continued  the  appointment. 

Dr.  Blyden  has  contributed  several  articles  to  the  Methodist  Quarterly 
Review  in  New  York,  and  Fraser's  Magazine  in  England.  His  local 
paper  on  '*  Africa  and  the  Africans  "  has  appeared  in  Fraser  for  August, 
1878. 


I  i 


i« 


918  MEN  OP  MARK. 

The  twenty-sixth  of  July,  the  Liberiian  national  anniversary,  was  most 
pleasantly  spent,  we  are  informed  by  Dr.  Blyden,  at  luncheon  with  Dean 
Stanley,  at  a  dinner  at  the  Albion  Hotel,  given  by  the  London  school 
committee,  at  which  the  Lord  Mayor  presided,  and  in  the  evening  at  a 
large  reception  given  by  Mr.  Samuel  Gumey,  where  a  brilliant  company 
was  assembled.    He  was  also  invited  and  attended  the  receptions  held 
by  Hon.  John  Welsh,  American  Minister,  July  4  and  18,  meeting  at  the 
former  Bishop  Holly  of  Hayti,  and  at  the  latter  Hon.  John  H.  Smythe. 
the  American  Minister  to  Liberia. 

Dean  Stanley,  on  the  evening  of  Juh'  24,  entertained  at  his  house  a 
a  large  company,  to  which  King  George  of  Bonny,  Hon.  John  H.  Smythe, 
Bishop  Holly,  and  Dr.  Blyden  were  invited.  For  the  first  time,  it  is  be- 
lieved, in  the  history  of  English  society',  have  four  persons  of  purely  Afri- 
can descent,  so  freely  mingled  with  the  elite.  Pere  Hyacinth  was  present, 
having  come  over  to  England  specially  to  meet  Bishop  Holly. 

Dr.  Blyden  has  been  chosen  an  honorary  member  of  the  Athenenm 
Club,  one  of  the  most  aristocratic  and  exclusive  clubs  in  London.  On  the 
committee  who  elected  him  are  such  men  as  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Lord 
Carnarvon,  Herbert  Spencer,  Viscount  Caldwell  and  Dean  Church.  The 
Marquis  of  Salisbury,  the  foreign  secretary,  is  a  member  of  the  club.  Dr. 
Blyden  is  probably  the  first  Negro  who  has  been  so  honored. 

It  is  said  that  he  is  acquainted  with  more  than  forty 
languages  and  speaks  all  of  them  fluently.  He  has  been  a 
I)eliever  in  the  Christian  religion,  but  it  is  now  currently' 
reported  and  pretty  satisfactorily  understood  that  he  is 
an  advocate  of  the  Mohammedan  faith.  He  has  been 
writing  a  series  of  articles  upon  that  topic  to  the  A.M. 
E.  Review,  in  which  it  is  apparent  he  seeks  to  commend 
the  fine  points  concerning  the  doctrines  of  that  faith.  Be- 
mg  brought  in  contact  with  many  of  the  Arabic  profes- 
sors, he  has  an  abundant  opportunity  of  inquiring  into 
the  faith  more  practically  than  any  one  else  of  his  color, 
because  he  gathers  his  information  from  the  actual  profess- 
ors of  that  faith. 


EDWABD  WILMOT  BLYDEN.  919 

Some  idea  may  be  given  of  his  views  by  a  short  extract 
from  his  last  article  in  the  Review  above  mentioned.  He 
is  endeavoring,  I  think,  to  prove  that  in  the  Mohammedan 
church  there  is  no  diflFerence  on  account  of  color,  and  that 
the  religion  of  the  Mohammedans  is  more  favorable  to  the 
Negro,  because  it  has  no  regard  in  its  effects  and  practices 

to  or  for  the  question  of  color : 

« 

t 

In  the  United  States  there  are  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  the 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  having  the  same  creed,  polity  and 
language.    The  separation  is  caused  by  the  elemeutiil  differences  of  race 
and  color;  evidently  no  fault  of  the  Negro  church,  for  it  displays  on  its 
banner,  with  almost  pathetic  distinctness  and  reiteration,  the  sentiment 
of  which  Mohammedans  do  not  admit  the  first  part,  but  practice  the 
second-God  our  Father ;  man  our  brother.    The  formal  and  continuous 
holding  forth  of  this  truth  would  be  superfluous  if  it  were  universally 
recognized.    But  its  presentation  by  the  weaker— by  the  so-called  inferior 
and  despised  party — wears  to  us  the  aspect  of  a  humiliating  appeal  for 
recognition  and  sympathy.    It  is  the  **  Am  I  not  a  Man  and  a  Brother  ?" 
of  the  days  of  slavery.    The  excellent  device  of  the  Christian  Recorder 
would  have  weight,  it  seems  to  us,  if  it  were  displayed  by  the  stronger 
and  superior  with  a  view  of  attracting  the  weaker ;  but  coming  from 
the  weaker  it  appears  to  us  that  all  the  desired  effect  is  destroyed.    All 
force  is  withdrawn  from  the  strongest  phrases  in  the  language  when 
employed  by  those  who  cannot  command,  but  only  beg.    The  offer  of 
liberality  is  effective  only  when  made  by  those  who  have  the  means  to  be 
liberal.    The  offer  of  beneficence  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  no  bene- 
fits to  confer  is  meaningless.     We  do  not  say  that  those  who  have 
adopted  the  motto  have  no  justification  for  it.    They  have  not  only 
strong  foothold  in  reason  and  common  sense,  but  they  have  good  ground 
in  the  gospel  of  Christ.    Wc  do  not  believe  that  such  a  brotherhood  is 
beyond  the  possibilities  of  Christianity.    Wc  Ixrlieve  that  the  purpose 
and  tendency  of  the  system  is  to  make  hearts,  divided  by  the  distinctions 
of  race,  rank  or  intellect,  clasp  one  another  in  the  dose  embrace  of  a  com- 
mon faith.    Was  not  this  its  effect  in  the  primitive  church  ?    Our  Mo- 
liammedan  friends  are  charmed  by  that  l)cautiful  picture  drawn  by  St. 


920  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Luke  of  the  simple  and  loving  life  of  the  Apostolic  church — **  Ard  all  that 
believed  were  together,  and  had  all  things  common ;  and  sold  their  pos- 
sessions and  goods,  and  parted  them  to  all  men  as  every  man  had  need. 

.    .    .    And  the  multitude  of  them  that  believed  were  of  one  heart  and 
one  soul ;  neither  said  any  of  them  that  aught  of  the  things  which  he 
possessed  was  his  own ;  but  they  had  all  things  common.    The  theory  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  as  taught  by  the  divine  founder  and  his  immediate 
successors  is  a  spiritual  kingdom  whose  citizens  are  all  sons  of  God  and. 
therefore,  brothers  and  sisters  one  of  another.    "For  this  cause,''  says 
St.  Paul,  '*  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the  Father^)f  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of 
whom  the  whole  family  on  earth  and  Heaven  is  namc;^/'    But  alas,  in  a 
materialistic  age,  the  noble  device  held  forth  by  the  Christian  Recorder 
is  simply  **the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness" — Vox  lamantis  in 
deserto. 

Mohammed  appointed  a  Negro  slave,  Bilal,  to  call  the  faithful  to 
prayer  at  the  stated  times ;  and  from  those  Negro  lips  the  beautiful  sen- 
timent  first  found  utterance,  **  Prayer  is  better  than  sleep:  prayer  is  better 
than  sleep."  It  is  repeated  every  day  throughout  the  Mohammedan 
world,  and  the  most  distinguished  European  of  whom  history  can  boast 
is  in  Asia  and  Africa  an  unknown  personage  by  the  side  of  the  slave  Bilal. 
Mohammed  gave  this  man  precedence  to  himself  in  Paradise.  On  one 
occasion  the  prophet  said  to  Bilal,  at  the  time  of  the  morning  prayer, 
O  Bilal !  tell  me  an  act  of  yours  from  which  you  had  the  greatest  hopes, 
because  I  heard  the  noise  of  your  shoes  in  front  of  me  in  Paradise  in 
the  night  of  my  ascension. 

It  is  said  that  the  intellectual  part  of  Christendom  is  in  revolt  against 
the  renewed  forms  of  Christianity,  that  there  is  a  growing  alienation  from 
the  recognized  standards  of  belief,  but  among  African  Mohammedans  the 
church  of  the  people  is  identical  with  the  intellect  of  the  people.  The 
possibilities  of  every  individual  in  the  nation,  whatever  his  race  or  previ* 
ous  condition,  give  social  stability  and  spiritual  power  to  the  system. 

Besides  the  passa>?e  in  the  Koran  which  forbids  the  making  of  images, 
Mohammed,  in  private  instructions,  constantly  impressed  upon  his  fol- 
lowers the  evil  of  such  practices.  The  prophet  said :  **  Those  will  be 
punished  the  most  severely  at  theday  of  resurrection  who  draw  likenesses 
of  God's  creation.  If  you  must  make  pictures,  make  them  of  trees  and 
things  without  life." 


E.  W.  BLYDEN. 


II 


1 


;  « 


'!: 


I : 


it 


.    .i 


;■•!! 


-'I 


I. 


BDWARD  WILMOT  BLYDEN.  921 

Mr.  Blyden  is  now  in  Africa,  and  will  probably  spend  the 
balance  of  his  days  there.  He  was  formerly  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  but  has  about  abandoned  the  pulpit.  This  man's 
ability,  scholarship  and  talent  is  a  refutation  of  the  lie  that 
a  Negro  has  little  or  no  talent.  His  intellect  towers  above 
that  of  ordinary  men  as  the  church  steeple  above  the  brick 
chimney  of  the  ordinary  house. 


ii 


ui 


922  ICEN  OF  HARK 


CXXXVII. 

REV.  B.  F.  LEE,  A.  B.,  D.  D. 

Editor  of  the  Cbristiao  Jgecorc/er— President  of  Wilberforcc  Univci'sity  for 
Many  Years. 

MANY  years  ago  I  read  the  following  words :  ** Pres- 
ident B.  F.  Lee,  when  he  came  to  Wilberforce,  was 
the  hostler ;  they  would  not  allow  him  to  sleep  -with  the 
students ;  but  he  studied,  and  within  thirteen  years  of  his 
arrival  was  made  president  of  the  university  in  vrhich  he 
could  not  sleep.    Who  can  beat  that  for  progress?" 

It  was  no  small  leap  for  him,  and  was  an  evidence  that 
true  merit  will  not  go  unnoticed,  but  will  always,  asamk, 
meet  suitable  reward. 

Benjamin  F.  Lee,  the  son  of  Abel  and  Sarah  Lcc, 
was  bom  in  Gouldtown,  New  Jersey,  September  18, 
1841.  His  father's  death  occurred  when  he  was  only 
ten  years  old,  and  this  caused  him  to  be  placed  in  the  fam- 
ily of  a  relative.  April  1,  1852,  was  the  day  when  he 
began  life's  battles  alone,  and  since  then  he  has  never  spent 
more  than  six  months  at  the  old  homestead  vrhere  his 
mother  still  lives.  His  winters  were  spent  in  the  country 
schools  till  he  was  fifteen  years  old.  From  that  time  till 
twenty-three  years  old,  he  was  employed  on  farms  and  in 


B.  F.  LEE.  923 

factories.  His  studies  in  school  had  included  algebra,  and 
his  private  studies  included  many  biographical  and  histor-" 
ical  works,  poetry  and  philosophy.  Being  ambitious  for 
more  learning,  he  entered  Wilberforce  University  in  Novem- 
ber, 1864,  where  his  recitations  were  confined  to  night 
classes  for  one  year.  In  the  meantime,  to  support  himself, 
he  labored  hard  at  all  jobs  which  he  might  secure  during 
the  day.  In  1865  he  entered  the  school  as  a  student,  com- 
pleting his  course  in  1872,  receiving  the  title  as  usual  of  A.  B. 
His  entire  support  in  school  was  acquired  by  his  own  in- 
dustry, with  the  exception  of  about  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-five dollars.  There  were  but  few  farms  within  three 
miles  of  the  university  where  he  did  not  work,  and  with 
the  means  thus  secured  by  hard  labor  he  managed  to  pay 
his  way  through  the  school.  He  often  walked  from  four 
to  eleven  miles  during  vacation  to  do  a  day's  work  in  the 
cornfield  or  at  harvesting.  His  old  Greek  grammar  and 
reader,  as  well  as  his  Xenophon's  Anabasis,  still  beais  the 
marks  of  the  field,  as  with  sweaty  hands  he  would  turn 
over  its  pages,  gathering  knowledge  during  some  dinner 
hour  or  some  other  spare  moment. 

After  becoming  sufficiently  advanced  in  studies,  he  spent 
a  few  months  now  and  then  teaching  school.  During  six 
months  he  once  taught  school,  worked  on  Saturdays  and 
at  other  hours  for  his  board,  and  kept  up  with  his  class  fn 
the  college.  Many  times  during  the  prosecution  of  his 
studies  he  was  penniless,  .but  never  discouraged.  On  one 
occasion  when  he  was  keeping  **  bachelor's  hall**  or  "bach- 
ing*' as  he  called  it,  he  went  to  his  room  in  the  evening 
moneyless  and  crumbless.    Kneeling  down  to  pray  **Give 


924 


UEN  OF  MARK. 


US  this  day  our  daily  bread  "  as  it  is  not  often 
"was  called  by  a  voice  which  proved  to  be  thi 
Hannah  McDonald  (Aant  Mac),  the  sister  of  M 
Payne,  whose  heart  had  ju'ompted  her  to  brii 
the  poor  student.  Verily  God  does  not  forget  tc 
who  tmst  in  him ;  as  Elijah  was  fed  in  the  will 
the  ravens,  so  God  put  it  into  the  heart  of  this 
man  to  feed  this  young  man,  who  was  to  fill  so 
a  place  in  the  affairs  of  his  church,  and  add  to  1 
aggregation  of  good  which  has  been  accompltsi 
the  race.  These  seasons  of  distress  and  poven 
come  to  him  the  most  blessed  spots  in  his  mer 
it  be  here  seen  and  read  by  many  students  seeki 
cation.  Let  mothers  call  the  attention  of  the 
this  struggling  student  who  trusted  in  God. 

It  does,  seem  tome  as  if  Christ  himself  must  ha' 
Hat  interest  in  the  young  man  at  this  time,  for  he 
to  repeat  the  very  prayer  that  his  Master  h 
should  repeat,  ' '  Give  us  this  day  onr  daily  brei 
ungrateful  many  of  us  are  who  get  our  "da 
without  any  visible  effort  of  manual  labor  c 
devotion. 

The  training  at  home  by  a  pious  and  devot 
God  bless  her!  and  the  impressions  he  had  frc 
and  observation,  had  led  this  young  man  to  a  1 
in  Christ.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  connec 
with  the  A.  M.  B.  church.  Having  been  im 
reading  and  observation,  he  was  ted  to  adopt 
as  the  guide  of  bis  life.  It  was  in  1862  when  hi 
church.    In  1866  he  was  permitted  to  ezhorl 


B.  F.  LBB.  925 

he  was  licensed  to  preach.  In  1870  he  was  ordained  a 
deacon.  In  1872  he  was  ordained  an  elder.  In  the  year 
1868  he  was  appointed  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the 
Salem  Circuit,  including  Salem,  Ohio,  and  Bridgewater, 
Pennsylvania .  He  subsequently  filled  several  small  charges 
as  a  missionary  while  continuing  the  course  of  study. 
Some  were  in  Kentucky,  others  in  Ohio.  In  1873  he  was 
called  from  the  charge  of  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  to  which 
he  had  been  appointed  at  his  graduation,  to  occupy  the 
chair  of  pastoral  theology,  homiletics  and  ecclesiastical 
history  at  Wilberforce  University,  which  position  had  been 
made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Professor  T.  H.Jack- 
son. This  position  he  held  for  two  years  when  he  resumed 
pastoral  duties,  taking  charge  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church  in 
Toledo,  Ohio. 

In  1876  he  was  called  to  the  position  of  president  of  the 
university  by  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Payne.  Here  he 
had  been  gardner  eleven  years  previous.  His  influence  over 
the  hundreds  of  young  men  has  been  far-reaching  and  for 
"great  good.  He  filled  this  oflfice  for  eight  years,  when  the 
general  conference  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church  elected  him  edi- 
tor of  the  Christian  Recorder,  the  official  organ  of  that 
body. 

He  is  still  at  this  writing  editor  of  the  Recorder^  and  has 
given,  strict  attention  to  making  it  a  first-class  paper  in 
every  way.  He  was  a  member  of  the  general  conference 
of  1876  and  '80  and  a  delegate  elect  to  its  session  in  Balti- 
more in  1884.  In  1880  he  was  associated  with  Dr.  J.  G. 
Mitchell  and  Rev.  R.  A.  Johnson  to  bear  the  fraternal  greet- 
ings of  the  General  Conference  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church  to 


926 


UEH  OF  HARK. 


the  general  conference  of  the  Methodist  Epist 
He  waa  also  elected  by  the  general  conferen< 
delegate  to  the  late  Ecamenical  Council  of 
and  w«0  choaCB  by  the  westers  ■ectioa  oC  tfae 

menical  committee,  embracing  the  American  c< 
islands,  a  member  of  the  permanent  committe 
ments.  His  literary  productions  have  not  be« 
extensive.  He  contributed  an  article  to  the 
morial  Volume,'  a  work  edited  by  Rev.  J.  C.  A. 
^and  published  by  Phillips  &  Hunt,  New  York 
a  linguist  he  is  the  best  production  of  the  chui 
tual  development,  being  acquainted  with 
languages. 

It  was  said  of  President  Garfield  that  hewei 
towpath  to  the  White  House,"  and  it  may  b 
'Subject  of  our  sketch  that  he  went  from  an  hi 
to  a  college  president's  chair,  where  he  sits  tl 
all  active,  colored  American  Christian  educe 
guished  in  position,  sublime  in  modesty. 

The  strong  points  in  the  life  of  Benjamin  P.  I 
that  he  has  a  tolerably  correct  conception  of 
tions;  second,  he  has  the  courage  to  persever 
of  studies  selected ;  third,  he  regards  himself 
the  world,  not  the  world  indebted  to  him ;  f< 
lieves  in  a  solid  growth  and  solid  living  of  th 
and  of  the  masses  in  mind  and  in  heart; 
strong  confidence  in  the  wisdom  and  love  ( 
attributes  his  success  in  life  largely  to  his  havi 
igent  mother,  a  good  school  teacher  in  early 
intelligent,  faithful.  Christian  wife.    Dr.  Lee  ^ 


B.  F.  LBB.  927 

to  Miss  Mary  E.  Ashe  of  Mobile,  Alabama,  in  1873.  She 
graduated  with  distinguished  honors  at  Wilberforce  Uni- 
versity that  year.  She  has  very  strong  literary  tendency, 
having  contributed  articles  to  the  A.  M.  E.  Review,  chiefly 
poems.  With  black  men  as  withwhite  ones,  good  mothers 
and  good  wives  are  next  in  worth  to  personal  excellence. 


928  ICBN  OF  ICASK. 


cxxxvni. 

HON.  JAMES  J.  SPELMAN. 

State  Senator— Temperance  Orator— Eminent  Baptist  Layman. 

THE  Hon.  James  J.  Spelman,  the  eldest  son  of  the  Re^ 
William  Spelman  of  New  York,  was  bom  in  Noi 
wich,  Connecticut,  January  18,  1841,  and  attended  th 
public  schools  of  that  State  until  the  family  moved  ti 
New  York  in  April,  1855.  In  1859  he  engaged  in  news 
paper  work,  and  f^om  time  to  time  has  served  in  it 
various*  spheres,  as  carrier,  dealer,  reporter,  editor,  puti 
lisher  and  proprietor.  On  the  establishment  of  the  Angle 
African  in  New  York  City,  he  became  a  regular  contriba 
tor  to  its  columns,  and  later  to  the  Pine  and  Pahn^  it 
successor. 

When  the  war  broke  out  and  President  Abraham  Lin 
coin  made  his  first  call  for  trq<y()S,  he  was  among  tb 
number  that  assembled  at  the  .Metropolitan  Assembly 
rooms  in  New  York  City,  to  oflFer  themselves  to  thego^ 
emment  and  were  dispersed  by  the  police  of  the  city  oi 
the  plea  that  the  "tender  of  colored  men  to  the  govern 
ment  would  exasperate  the  South." 

When  General  J.  C.  Frepiont  had  been  removed  fron 


].  J.  spei-maN. 


I 
I 

I 

«l 

\ 

1 
« 


I 

I 

J 

i 

I 

I  . 

.1 ' 

■  i 


JAMBS  J.  8PELMAN.  929 

the  department  of  the  West,  he  was  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee who  were  engaged  in  organizing  an  independent 
command  to  be  known  as  the  Fremont  Legion;  but  in 
the  meantime,  General  Fremont  having  b^n  placed  in 
command  of  the  Mountain  Department  of  Virginia,  that 
hot-bed  of  rebellion,  further  efforts  were  abandoned.  He 
was  active  in  raising  recruits  for  colored  regiments,  and 
organized  from  among  the  young  men  in  the  public  schools 
of  New  York  a  battalion,  known  as  the  "Shaw  Cadets," 
named  after  the  hero  of  Fort  Wagner,  and  was  elected 
major. 

Colonel  Shaw's  mother  presented  the  command  with  a 
fine  flag,  the  presentation  speech  being  made  by  Professor 
W.  Howard  Day.    Tbe  ** cadets"  gave  several  exhibition 
drills  which  were  highly  commended  by  the  press  and 
public.    In  1868  he  went  to  Mississippi  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  and  engaged  actively  in  edu- 
cational work.    July,  1869,  he  was  appointed  a  justice  of 
the  peace  and  alderman  of  the  city  of  Canton,  by  General 
A.  Ames,  military  commander,  and  assistant  assessor  of 
internal  revenue  by  Secretary  Boutwell,  on  the  recom- 
mendation  of  General    B.  B.   Eggleston,    the   assessor. 
In  the  election  held  for  the  adoption  of  anew  constitution 
and  the  admission  of  the  State  into  the  Union,  he  was  re- 
turned by  a  majority  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  votes 
to  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Legislature  from 
Madison  county ;  and  in  the  ballot  f^^  \3mted  States  sen- 
ator received  several  votes  on  each  haJl^^^*  ^^  remained 
in  the  Legislature  six  years,  serving    AxX^'^Z  ^^^  period 
as  chairman  of  the  "Committee  on  r\       .^ota^AOUS,''  anA  a 


i 


930  MEN  OF  MARK. 

member  of  the  "Judiciary"  and  "Ways  and  Means*'  com^ 
mittees.  Mr.  Spelman  took  a  foremost  position  in  thft 
proceedings  and  delivered  several  addresses,  among  which 
was  one  on  the  Civil  Rights  bill  and  the  other  on  the  death 
of  Senator  Sumner. 

The  Republican  Press  Association  was  organized  in  1870, 
and  Mr.  Spelman,  being  associated  with  the  late  Honorable 
James  Lynch  in  the  publication  of  the  Colored  Citizen^  was 
elected  to  membership,  and  in  the  election  of  officers  was 
chosen  vice-president.  He  was  also  at  that  time  special 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune. 

In  1871  the  Legislature  established  Alcorn  University, 
and  he  was  appointed  by  Govemon  Alcorn  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  was  elected  secretary  of  the 
Board.  He  was  also  aid-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  Gov- 
ernor Alcorn  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel,  and  sub- 
sequently appointed  colonel  of  the  first  regiment  of  militia. 

In  1872  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Republican 
convention  at  Philadelphia,  and  was  chosen  a  presidential 
elector.  On  the  election  of  Governor  Ames  in  1873,  he 
was  appointed  a  member  of  his  staff  and  assistant  com- 
missioner of  immigration.  In  1876  the  Republicans  of  his 
district  sent  him  to  the  National  Republican  convention  at 
Cincinnati,  and  there  he  served  on  the  committee  on  rules. 
He  was  among  the  number  who  voted  for  Secretary  Ben- 
jamin H.  Bristow,  and  finally  for  Rutherford  B.  Hayes. 

Senator  Bruce  secured  his  appointment  from  President 
Hayes  as  consul  to  Port  au  Platte,  San  Domingo,  which 
he  declined;  and  was  afterwards  appointed  a  special 
agent  of  the  post  office  department,  with  headquarters  at 


1 


*: 


4i 


JAMES  J.  SPBLMAN.  931 

St  Louis.  In  this  service  he  remained  until  a  change  was 
made  in  the  office  of  collector  of  internal  revenue,  when  he 
accepted  the  position  of  office  deputy  to  the  new  collector. 
In  1881  he  was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  for  the  office 
of  secretary  of  State  for  Mississippi,  and  was  counted  out 
by  the  Democrats.  In  1884  he  was  made  superintendent 
of  education  by  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  So- 
ciety, for  its  work  in  Mississippi;  and  remained  in  that 
field  until  called  by  Senator  Bruce  to  the  charge  of  the  de- 
partment of  colored  exhibits  in  the  World's  Exposition  at 
New  Orleans.  He  was  also  a  commissioner  to  the  Ameri- 
can exposition.  He  has  been  an  active  participant  in  the 
Prohibition  elections  of  his  State,  and  he  made  an  effective 
and  telling  speech  at  Meridian  in  the  exciting  canvass 
there,  which  brought  the  colored  man  into  line  and  carried 
the  election.  The  National  Temperance  Society  then  com- 
missioned him  lecturer,  and  the  Honorable  John  B.  Finch, 
R.  W.  G.  T.  of  the  order  of  Good  Templars,  conferred  upon 
him  the  honor  D.  R.  W.  G.  T.  He  is  a  Mason,  Odd-Fellow, 
Knight  of  Phythias  and  Good  Templar,  and  is  the  author 
of  a  ritual  for  a  large  and  prosperous  organization  known 
as  the  Kings  of  Labor.  He  holds  high  rank  in  the  secret 
societies,  and  has  presided  over  several  grand  bodies  with 
ability.  The  colonel  joined  the  Baptist  church  in  1853,  and 
has  been  an  active  layman  in  the  work  of  the  denomina- 
tion. He  is  president  of  the  Baptist  State  Sabbath  school 
convention,  and  was  the  first  Sabbath  school  missionary 
of  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society  in  the  State. 
He  is  recording  secretary  of  the  Foreign  Mission  conyention 
and  chairman  of  the  National  Baptist  Temperance  com* 


I 


•  1 


932  MEN  OF  MARK. 

mittee.  He  has  always  been  active  in  educational  work 
and  was  for  a  number  of  years  the  secretary  of  the  citj 
school  board  of  Jackson,  being  the  unanimous  choice  ol 
the  board,  the  majority  being  Democrats.  He  married,  ii 
1870,  Miss  Anna  D.  Lavender,  a  native  of  Jackson,  Missis 
sippi,  and  four  children  are  the  result  of  that  union. 

The  HonoraWe  J.  J.  Spelman  is  a  consistent  and  earnest 
defender  of  the  race,  and  lends  unstintedly  his  services  in 
their  behalf.  He  is  a  true  friend,  a  devoted  and  conscien- 
tious Christian  and  an  exemplary  citizen,  respected  and 
honored  at  home  and  abroad. 


MARSHALL  W.  TAYLOR.  933 


CXXXIX. 

REV.  MARSHALL  W.  TAYLOR,  D.  D. 

Poet — Editor  of  the  Southwestern  Advocate— BrWliant  Writer. 

AMONG  the  noted  men  in  the  M.  E.  church,  the  race  has 
reason  to  be  proud  of  Rev.  Marshall  W.  Taylor,  one 
of  its  prominent  men.  He  was  bom  free  July  1,  1846,  at 
Lexington,  Fayette  county,  Kentucky,  of  parents  who  had 
been  slaves  and  had  no  opportunities  offered  them  for  edu- 
cation, except  on  his  mother's  side.  His  father's  name  was 
Samuel  Boyd,  his  mother's  name  was  Nancy  Ann  Boyd, 
and  was  of  African  and  Arabian  descent.  She  was  always 
anxious  about  the  education  of  her  children.  With  this  in 
view  she  persuaded  her  husband  to  leave  the  country, 
where  he  employed  his  boys  as  farmers,  and  come  to  the 
city  to  grasp  whatever  opportunities  might  be  offered,  no 
matter  how  difficult  to  obtain  them. 

He  received  his  first  instruction  from  his  mother.  For  a 
short  time  he  attended  school  and  then  moved  to  Louis- 
ville with  his  mother  and  brothers,  his  father  having  died 
some  time  before.  Finding  no  school,  they  continued 
to  Ghent,  where  they  stayed  two  years,  obtaining  instruc- 
tion from  little  white  children  by  stealth,  who  attended 
acho.ol.     On  account  of  some   trouble  they  were  again 


i 


«"       .M  o'  <^=""       s  »aa«  ^''''Tstl^'*'^"' 


MARSHALL  W.  TAYLOR.  935 

W.  Downing.  As  a  teacher  he  has  become  famous.  Some 
of  his  literary  productions  are  widely  read  and  circulated,*^ 
among  these  may  be  mentioned  his  revival  hymns  .and 
plantation  melodies.  He  was  elected  editor  of  the  South- 
western Christian  Advocate,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
He  resides  at  present  in  New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 


1 


4 
1 


936  MEN  OF  MARK. 


CXL. 

TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE. 

The  Negro  Soldier,  Statesman  and  Martyr. 

AFTER  the  eloquent  words  of  the  golden  tongued  ora- 
tor, Wendell  Phillips,  it  seems  almost  profanity  to 
undertake  the  sketch  of  the  distinguished  San  Domingo 
chief,  who  rose  from  a  slave  to  the  position  he  occupies  in 
history.  The  Negro  race  cannot  be  spoken  of  without 
mentioning  among  its  great  men  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
He  is,  perhaps,  the  most  eminent  Negro  that  has  ever 
lived  in  the  world.  This  I  state  with  some  caution ;  but 
when  it  is  remembered  that  he  has  played  an  important 
part  in  the  three  characters  which  I  have  here  mentioned 
at  the  head  of  this  sketch,  it  can  easily  be  seen  that  none 
can  be  mentioned  who  has  so  ably  filled  at  least  the  twc 
former  positions.  It  is  a  fact  that  statesmen  are  failures 
as  soldiers,  and  soldiers  are  failures  as  statesmen ;  it  is 
also  a  fact  that  statesmen  can  talk  much,  but  rarely  be 
come  martyrs.  A  soldier  cannot  be  called  a  martyr,  foi 
as  a  rule  he  hires  himself  to  the  government  for  pay  foi 
the  very  purpose  of  being  shot  at.  He  expects  to  di< 
either  in  the  hospital  or  in  battle;  beforehand  he  calculates 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE. 


I 

.    I 


.  I 


■    I 


1. 

■  I     ' 

I    ■ 


ToussAiNT  l'ouyerture.  937 

oonceming  wounds  and  sickness.  Then,  too,  in  general, 
fighting  men  are  not  singled  out,  but  are  many  times  shot 
down  in  the  crowd.  Moreover,  in  tactics  of  recent  days, 
generals  or  leaders  have  their  places  in  the  rear,  rather 
than  in  the  lead,  assuming  that  an  officer  of  high  rank 
could  not  be  well  spared  and  that  the  common  soldiery 
could  easily  be  supplied,  but  the  general  that  commands 
the  battle  must  be  protected  in  order  that  his  life  may  be 
longer  for  the  purpose  of  direction.  But  aside  from  these 
reflections,  I  desire  to  present  a  few  facts  in  regard  to  this 
man's  life. 

The  date  of  the  birth  of  Toussaint  L'Ouverture  is  not 
known,  but  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  about  the  twen- 
tieth of  May,  1743,  though  from  his  name  it  might  be 
November  1,  as  that  is  **  All  Saints'  Day  "  with  the  French. 
For  several  years  he  was  so  feeble  and  slender  that  he  was 
^called  the  little  **  lath,  "but  as  he  grew  to  the  age  of  twelve 
he  was  much  stronger,  and  played,  frolicked,  jumped  and 
ran  races  with  boys.  His  disposition  was  kind,  and  his 
manner  frank  and  open.  He  differed  from  the  boys  of  his 
age  in  his  careful  and  gentle  treatment  of  all  animals  com- 
mitted to  his  care.  It  should  be  mentioned  here  that,  as  a 
boy  he  tended  the  flocks  and  herds.  His  real  name  was 
Toussaint  Breda,  from  the  name  of  the  estate  on  which  he 
worked,  and  M.  Bayou  De  Libertas  was  so  pleased  with 
him  that  he  made  him  his  coachman,  a  situation  that 
was  highly  prized  by  slaves  as  it  brought  them  in  contact 
with  the  master,  and  if  he  happened  to  be  kind,  it  gave 
them  less  drudgery.  Performing  his  duties  well  in  this 
respect,  he  was  afterwards  promoted  to  the  office  of  stew- 


938  MEN  OP  MARK. 

ard  of  the  sugar  house.  He  finally  married  a  widow 
named  Susan,  who  had  a  little  son  named  Pladde.  Thej 
were  married  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Catholic  churchy 
and  lived  peaceably  and  happily.  He  learned  to  read,  con- 
trary to  the  usual  custom ;  but  though  he  read  very  little^ 
what  he  did  read  he  understood  thoroughly. 

There  was  a  French  author  called  Abb<  Raynal  who  was^ 
much  opposed  to  slavery.  One  of  his  books  fell  into  t£e 
hands  of  Toussaint  and  made  a  deep  impression  upon  him. 
The  question  was  discussed  in  that  book,  what  should  be 
done  to  overthrow  slavery,  and  these  words  were  used  in 
connection  with  the  question : 

Self-interest  alone  governs  kings  and  nations;  we  mast  look  elsewhere; 
a  courageous  chief  is  all  the  Negroes  need ;  where  is  he  ?  Where  is  that 
great  man  whom  nature  owes  to  her  vexed,  oppressed  and  tormented 
children  ?  He  will  doubtless  appear ;  he  will  come  forth  and  raise  the 
sacred  standard  of  liberty.  This  venerable  signal  will  gather  around 
him  his  companions  in  misfortune.  More  impetuous  than  the  torrents, 
they  will  elsewhere  leave  the  indelible  trace  of  their  just  resentment. 
Everywhere  people  will  bless  the  name  of  the  hero  who  shall  have  re» 
established  the  rights  of  the  human  race. 

These  words,  no  doubt,  sank  deep  into  the  heart  of  the. 
reader,  and  as  he  pondered  them  they  more  and  more  im- 
pressed upon  his  mind,  and  indeed  the  prophecy  seemed 
fitted  to  him  to  such  an  extent,  that  is  was  without  doubt 
the  keynote  to  his  success.  At  the  time  when  he  arose 
from  obscurity  to  fame  a  revolution  was  going  on  in 
France,  and  the  friends  of  liberty  were  growing  bolder 
every  day  and  gave  encouragement  to  three  classes  of 
persons  who  were  on  the  island  of  San  Domingo,  and  upK>ii 
whom  liberty  would  have  a  great  effect.    There  were  at' 


r 


J  ^.  mh 


ToussAiNT  l'ouverture.  939^ 

the  time  30,000  whites  and  20,000  free  mulattoes  and 
500,000  black  slaves.  Contrary  to  the  American  custom,, 
the  slaves  in  San  Domingo  followed  the  condition  of  the 
father  and  were  free  as  far  as  the  body  was  concerned.  He 
was  permitted  to  own  property  and  amass  all  the  wealth 
he  could,  but  yras  not  permitted  political  privileges.  In 
America  the  child  followed  the  condition  of  the  mother, 
and  no  matter  if  they  had  a  white  father,  the  progeny  was 
a  slave.  The  white  planters  of  course  had  many  children 
by  their  slaves,  and  these  mulattoes  referred  to  were  a  very 
powerful  class.  They  were  neither  allowed  in  the  church, 
nor  could  they  be  buried  in  the  same  graveyard.  This  class 
of  people  despised  the  Negroes,  though  they  themselves  felt, 
perhaps,  more  keenly  their  degradation  than  did  the  slaves^ 
because  they  might  be  insulted  by  a  white  man  and  could 
not  retaliate  with  a  blow,  for  had  they  dared  to  do  such  a 
thing  the  right  hand  would  be  cut  off.  They  were  not 
allowed  to  be  lawyers,  doctors  or  priests ;  they  could  not 
attend  school  with  the  white  boys ;  they  could  not  inter- 
marry; while  they  had  nominal  freedom,  and  many  had 
been  sent  to  France  and  educated,  and  had  the  advantage 
of  culture  and  refinement.  The  distinction  that  was 
drawn  between  themselves  and  the  white  people  was 
always  like  a  knife  in  their  hearts.  This  ought  to  have 
made  them  feel  more  kindly  to  those  who  were  on  the 
plantation  and  who  had  less  of  the  enjoyments  of  life,  but 
it  seemed  only  to  make  them  more  forgetful  of  their  breth- 
ren. About  this  time,  feeling  that  their  numbers  and 
wealth  entitled  them  to  more  considerations  than  they 
had,  they  sent  a  deputation  to  France,  asking  the  con- 


940  MEN  OF  MARK. 

vention  to  grant  civil  rights,  a  thing  for  which  Negroes 
have  contended  so  bravely  in  America.  They  carried  Tvith 
them  a  gift  of  6,000,000  francs,  and  pledged  one-fifth  of 
their  annual  rental  towards  payment  of  the  national  debt, 
and  only  asked  in  return  that  the  yoke  of  civil  and  social 
contempt  should  be  taken  away.  The  convention  issued 
a  decree  at  once  saying  that  all  freeborn  were  equal  before 
the  law.  The  representative  of  this^  opinion,  Oge,  carried 
the  petition  to  the  Island  of  San  Domingo  and  laid  it  be- 
fore the  General  Assembly  of  the  island,  and  one  old  planter 
seized  it  and  tore  it  into  pieces  and  trampled  it  under  his 
feet,  and  swore  by  all  the  gods  that  he  would  rather  see  the 
island  sink  than  to  have  their  bastards  made  their  equals. 
They  took  Oge  and  broke  his  limbs  on  a  wheel,  and  cut  oflF 
his  head  as  a  warning  to  all  those  whom  he  represented. 
His  body  was  cut  in  four  pieces  and  hung  in  the  four  prin- 
cipal parts  of  the  cities  of  the  island.  This  caused  the 
mulattoes  much  anxiet}^  and  there  was  a  class  of  what 
would  be  called  in  this  country  ''poor  whites  '*  who  sought 
ever}'^  opportunity  to  inflame  their  anger,  and  make  them 
feel  their  disappointments  by  insulting  them  and  inflicting 
cruelties  and  outrages  upon  them.  The  white  planters 
having  thus  outraged  the  decree  which  had  been  passed 
in  the  convention,  sought  the  aid  of  the  English  against 
their  own  countr}^  offering  to  make  the  island  over  ^'to 
Great  Britian  in  case  of  success. 

In  the  meantime,  they  had  refused  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  France ;  the  Negroes  had  suffered  along  w^ith 
the  mulattoes,  but  they  did  not  understand  what  was  the 
cause  of  the  extra  whippings  and  murdering  of  the  pa- 


TOUSSAINT  l'OUYERTURE.  941 

triots.  But  when  they  came  to  understand  it,  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  August,  1791,  they  rose  with  a  determination 
of  defending  themselves  and  gaining  liberty.  Toiissaint 
L'Ouverture  was  at  this  time  working  on  the  plantation 
when  he  heard  that  the  planters  had  called  for  aid  of  the 
English,  and  four  thousand  Negroes  had  risen  in  insurrec- 
tion. Jean  Francois  was  the  leader  of  these  armed  Negroes. 
When  the  French  governor  in  the  Island  called  on  him 
with  his  troops  to  lay  down  his  arms,  he  replied : 

We  have  never  been  failing  in  respect  or  duty  we  owe  to  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  king  of  Prance.  The  king  has  beheld  our  lot  and  broken 
our  chains,  bat  those  who  should  have  proven  fathers  to  us  have  been 
tjrants,  monsters  unworthy  the  fruits  of  our  labors.  Do  you  ask  the 
sheep  to  throw  themselves  into  the  jaws  of  the  wolf?  To  prove  to  you, 
excellent  sir,  that  we  are  not  so  cruel  as  you  think,  we  assure  you  that 
we  wish  for  peace  with  all  our  souls ;  but  on  the  condition  that  all  the 
whites,  without  a  single  exception,  leave  the  cape.  Let  them  carry  with 
them  their  gold,  their  jewels ;  all  we  seek  is  liberty ;  but  victory  or  death 
for  freedom  is  our  profession  of  faith,  and  we  will  maintain  it  to  the  last 
drop  of  our  blood. 

The  slaveholders  mounted  the  English  cockade  and  en- 
tered into  alliance  with  Great  Britian,  while  their  revolted 
slaves  joined  the  Spanish  who  were  on  the  eastern  part 
of  San  Domingo,  and  had  become  allies  of  the  king  of 
France.  It  was  in  this  state  of  things  that  Toussaint 
L'Ouverture  came  to  the  front.  He  joined  the  black  sol- 
diers and  occupied  himself  as  physician,  trying  to  heal  the 
wounded  and  take  care  of  the  sick.  His  disposition  made 
him  dislike  war,  and  even  when  he  became  their  leader  he 
would  never  permit  any  cruelties  if  he  knew  it.  The 
Negroes  having  suffered  some  defeats,  desired  a  leader  of 


942  MBN  OP  MARK. 

more  intelligence  than  the  one  they  had,  and  they  made 
"Toussaint  aid-de-camp  of  Biassou,  under  the  title  of  brig- 
adier. Commissioners  came  from  France  for  the  purpose 
of  negotiating  peace,  and  the  blacks  sent  deputies  to  the 
4!olonial  assembly  to  help  the  French  commissioners ;  but 
the  planters  would  yield  nothing  and  finally  lost  all.  His- 
tory repeated  itself  in  the  American  conflict;  for  when 
the  peace  commissioners  met  and  overtures  were  made  to 
the  South,  they  refused  every  overture.  Concession  of  Con- 
gress and  profession  of  kindness  on  the  part  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  were  all  refused ;  and  in  their  perversity  the  South 
lost  everything,  just  as  the  planters  in  San  Domingo  had. 
Speaking  of  him  as  a  soldier,  Wendell  Phillips  has  said : 

Cromwell  manufactured  his  own  army ;  Napoleon  at  the  ageof  twenty- 
-aeven  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  best  troops  that  Europe  ever  saiv. 
They  were  both  successful.  "But,"  says  Macaulaj*.  *'  with  such  disadvan- 
tages the  Englishman  showed  the  greatest  genius.  Whether  you  will  allow 
the  inference  or  not,  3'ou  will  at  least  grant  it  is  a  fair  mode  of  measure- 
ment; apply  it  to  Toussaint.  Cromwell  never  saw  an  army  until  he 
was  fortv.  This  man  never  saw  a  soldier  until  he  was  fiftv.  Cromwell 
manufactured  his  own  army,  out  of  what  ?  Englishmen — the  best  blood 
in  Europe  out  of  the  middle  classes  of  Englishmen — the  best  blood 
of  the  Islaud.  And  with  it  he  conquered  what  ?  Englishmen — their 
equals.  This  man  manufactured  his  army  out  of  what  ?  Out  of  what 
you  class  a  despicable  race  of  Negroes,  debased  and  demoralized  by  two 
hundred  years  of  slavery.  One  hundred  thousand  of  them  imported  into 
the  Island  within  four  years,  unable  to  speak  a  dialect  intelligible  even  to 
each  other.  Yet  out  of  this  mixed,  as  you  say  despicable  mass,  he  forged  a 
thunderbolt,  and  hurled  it  at  what  ?  At  the  proudest  blood  of  Eurojx?, 
the  Spaniards,  and  sent  him  home  conquered  ;  at  the  most  warlike  blood 
in  Europe,  the  French,  and  put  them  under  his  feet.  At  the  pluckiest 
blood  in  Europe,  the  English,  and  they  skulked  home  to  Jamaica."  The 
soldiers  were  proud  of  their  general  and  imder  his  guidance  performed 


TOUSSAINT  tr'OUVERTURE.  943 

miracles.  It  seems  as  if  he  never  slept.  The  title  ''L*  Ouvertm^'*  was 
given  him  because  an  officer  said  that  wherever  Toussaint  goes  he  al- 
ways makes  an  opening,  the  word  means  **  the  opening.*' 

However,  Toussaint  finally  cleared  the  island  of  all  for- 
•eign  enemies  and  restored  peace  and  prosperity.  With  a 
view  of  establishing  friendship  between  the  planters  and 
the  former  slaves,  he  offered  five  years'  work  for  their  mas- 
ters on  the  condition  that  they  received  one-fourth  of  the 
produce  out  of  which  the  cost  of  their  subsistence  was  to 
be  defrayed.  He  encouraged  agriculture,  and  impressed 
upon  the  Negroes  that  the  permanence  of  their  freedom 
depended  in  a  great  measure  upon  their  becoming  owners 
and  cultivators  of  the  soil.  Fugitives  were  invited  to 
come  back  again,  and  the  discipline  of  the  army  was  so 
strict  that  some  accused  him  even  of  security.  They  as- 
sumed  perfect  order  under  his  regulations  and  he  was  the 
first  ruler  in  the  world  to  establish  free  trade  by  opening 
all  the  ports  to  the  commerce  of  the  world.  He  favored 
the  white  people  more  than  the  blacks  from  fear  that  he 
might  be  considered  partial.  On  one  occasion  he  assembled 
a  court-martial  to  try  his  nephew,  who  was  accused  of 
indecision  in  quelling  a  riot,  and  the  court-martial  having 
adjudged,  him  guilty,  Toussaint  ordered  him  to  be  shot. 
Everything  was  moving  along  peaceably  on  the  island, 
which  had  again  been  restored  to  peace  and  prosperity  by 
the  beneficent  laws  which  he  established,  when  the  news 
reached  San  Domingo  that  Bonaparte  had  issued  a  decree 
in  May,  1801,  restoring  slavery  in  the  island.  This  wicked 
measure  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  two  hundred  and  twelve 
against  sixty-five.    Toussaint's  soul  was  fired  with  rage* 


944  IJBN  OF  MARK. 

that  vented  itself  in  such  words  as  these:  "I  took  uparms 
for  the  freedom  of  my  color ;  France  proclaimed  it  and  she 
has  no  right  to  nullify  it.  Our  liberty  is  no  longer  in  her 
hands ;  it  is  in  our  own ;  we  will  defend  it  or  perish."  In 
January,  1802,  General  LeClerc  sailed  with  sixty  ships  and 
thirty  thousand  of  the  best  troops  under  Bonaparte's 
command;  "they  were  soldiers  who  had  never  met  their 
equal  and  whose  tread,  like  Csesar's,"  says  Phillips,  "had 
shaken  Europe ;  soldiers  who  had  scaled  and  planted  the 
French  banners  on  the  walls  of  Rome."  Toussaint  was 
dismayed,  for  the  moment,  as  he  saw  the  fleets  coming  in 
the  waters  of  San  Domingo,  and  exclaimed,  "  All  France  is 
coming  to  enslave  San  Domingo.  We  must  perish."  He 
then  saw  that  he  had  trusted  Bonaparte  who  had  turned 
traitor  to  him.  He  then  went  to  ,his  people  and  said  to 
them  **  Bum  the  cities,  destroy  the  harvests,  tear  up  the 
roads  with  cannon  and  poison  the  wells.  Show  the  white 
man  the  hell  he  comes  to  make."  General  LeClerc  did  not 
find  it  so  easy  to  deceive  Toussaint  with  the  fair  promise 
which  he  made,  for  Toussaint  had  already  been  much  de- 
ceived by  Napoleon  and  had  no  faith  in  any  other  white 
man  who  t^presented  any  sort  of  peace  and  freedom. 
Messengers  were  sent  for  a  conference  with  Toussaint,  and 
many  assurances  of  freedom  and  protection  were  given 
and  he  was  even  promised  the  position  of  colleague  with 
LeClerc  in  the  government  of  the  island,  and  that  his 
officers  would  still  retain  their  rank  in  the  army.  But  none 
of  these  things  deceived  him.  Finally  LeClerc  sent  word 
that  he  was  about  to  land  at  Cape  City,  and  received  the 
reply,  that  "Toussaint  is  governor  of  this  island.    Ycm 


TOUSSAINT  Lr'OUYERTURE.  945 

md  to  him  for  permission.  If  the  French  soldiers  set  foot 
n  shore  I  will  bum  the  town  and  fight  over  the  ashes." 
disregarding  this  he  undertook  to  land.  Christ ophe  set 
re  to  the  splendid  palace  which  the  French  architect  had 
ist  finished  for  him,  and  in  forty  hours  the  place  was  in 
shes.  After  having  been  defeated  and  having  made  many 
romises,  Toussaint  yielded  in  obedience,  as  he  said,  to  the 
rders  of  the  first  consul,  for  he  said  he  himself  desired 
o  live  in  retirement,  but  that  he  would  accept  favorable 
erms  for  his  people  and  the  army. 

LeClerc  had  won  over  by  intrigue  and  bribes  all  of  his 
generals  except  Christophe,  Deesalines  and  his  own 
brother  Pierre.  He  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  be  a 
aithful  citizen,  and  on  the  same  crucifix  LeClerc  swore  that 
le  should  be  faithfully  protected  and  the  island  should  be 
ree. 

Of  Toussaint,  Hermona,  a  Spanish  general  said:  **He 
vasthe  purest  soul  God  ever  put  in  a  body.  He  never 
»roke  his  word.'*  Finally,  on  the  tenth  of  June,  he  was 
irrested,  his  papers  were  seized,  his  house  rifled  and  burned, 
md  his  wife  and  children  captured,  and  at  midnight  he  was 
aken  on  board  the  French  ship  Hero,  to  be  borne  to 
^rance  as  a  prisoner  of  state.  He  was  chained  like  a  com- 
Qon  criminal  and  locked  in  a  cabin  and  guarded  by  soldiers 
vith  fixed  bayonets — not  even  allowed  to  commune  with 
lis  family.  As  he  was  leaving  San  Domingo  he  looked 
ipon  her  beautiful  mountains  for  the  last  time,  and  said 
hey  had  cut  down  the  tree  of  liberty,  but  the  roots  are 
nany  and  deep  and  it  will  sprout  again.  From  the  vessel 
le  was  carried  to  the  Castle  Joux,  near  the  borders  of 


946  MEN  OP  MARK. 

Switzerland.    He  was  placed  in  a  deep  dungeon  from  the 
walls  of  which  the  water  continually  dropped,  and  was 
allowed  four  shillings  a  day  for  food;  and  the  faithful 
servant,  who  had  accompanied  the  family  from  San  Do- 
mingo, was  allowed  to  remain  with  him.    It  is   believed 
Napoleon  hated  the  Negro  general  because  the  people  called 
him  the  ''Black  Napoleon,'*  and  because  he  had  addressed 
a  letter  once  to  Napoleon  addressed:    **From  the  Black 
Napoleon  to  the  White  Napoleon.''    Several  times  while  in 
prison  he  addressed  letters  to  Bonaparte,  but  no  answer 
was  given  to  his  appeals.    He  finally  died  of  apoplexy  in 
April,  1803,  after  having  been  in  the  dungeon  about  eight 
months,  and  when  he  was  a  little  more  than  sixty  years 
of  age.  His  body  was  buried  in  the  chapel  under  the  castle. 
His  wife  became  enfeebled  and  her  mind  wandered.    She 
died  in  the  year  1816.    When  the  power  of  Napoleon  was 
overthrown  she  was  granted  a  pension  for  her  support, 
and  her  sons  released  her  from  prison. 

No  richer  words  can  close  this  sketch  than  those  of 
Phillips : 

I  would  call  him  Napoleon,  but  Napoleon  made  his  way  to  empire  over 
broken  oaths  and  a  sea  of  blood.  This  man  never  broke  his  word.  '*  No 
Retaliation"  was  his  great  motto  and  the  rule  of  his  life;  and  the  last 
words  uttered  to  his  son  in  France  were  these:  **  My  boy,  you  will  one 
day  go  back  to  San  Domingo :  forget  that  France  murdered  your  father." 
1  would  call  him  Cromwell,  but  Cromwell  was  only  a  soldier,  and  the 
state  he  founded  went  down  to  him  into  his  grave ;  I  would  call  him 
Washington,  but  the  great  Virginian  held  slaves.  This  man  risked  his 
empire  rather  than  permit  the  slave  trade  in  the  humble  villa^  of  his 
dominions.  You  think  me  fanatic  to-night,  for  you  read  history  not  with 
your  eyes  but  with  your  prejudices.  But  fifty  years  hence,  when  truth 
gets  a  hearing,  the  muse  of  history  will  put  Phocion  for  the  Greckst 


TOUSSAINT  l'ouyerture.  947 

Brutus  for  the  Romans,  Hampton  for  England,  Fayette  for  France, 
choose  Washington  as  the  bright  consummate  flower  of  our  earlier  civiliza- 
tion, and  John  Brown  as  the  ripe  fruit  of  our  noon-day ;  then,  dipping  her 
pen  in  the  sunlight,  will  write  in  the  clear  blue,  above  them  all,  the  name 
of  the  soldier,  the  statesman,  the  martyr,  Toussaint  L'Ouverture. 


948  MEN  OP  MARK. 


CXLI. 

HON.  HIRAM  R.  REVELS,  D.  D. 

First  Negro  United  States  Senator — President  of  Alcorn  University,  Rod- 
ney,  Mississippi — Secretary  of  State — Preacher  of  the  A.M.  E.  Chnrch 
— Retired  Farmer. 

HONORABLE  HIRAM  R.  REVELS,  United  States 
Senator  from  Mississippi,  was  bom  in  Fayetteville, 
Cumberland  county,  North  Corolina,  September  1,  1822. 
Desiring  to  obtain  an  education,  which  was  denied  in  his 
native  state  to  those  of  African  descent,  he  removed  to 
Indiana  and  spent  some  time  at  the  Quaker  Seminary,  in 
Union  county,  after  which  he  went  to  Dark  county,  Ohio. 
He  graduated  at  Knox  College,  Galesburg,  Illinois.  After 
his  graduation  he  entered  the  ministry  as  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel  in  the  M.  E.  church.  He  was  now  twenty-five  years 
of  age,  and  was  called  to  take  charge  of  a  church  in  In- 
diana. After  spending  some  years  there,  he  went  to  Mis- 
souri, Maryland,  Kentucky  and  Kansas,  in  the  cause  of 
the  A.  M.  E.  church.  He  was  in  Maryland  in  1861  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  civil  war,  and  did  much  in  forming  in 
that  State  the  first  colored  regiment.  In  1863  and  1864 
he  taught  school  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  then  went  to 
Vicksburg,  where  he  assisted  the  provost  marshal  in  man- 


HIRAM  R.  REVEI^.  949 

^&^g  the  afiairs  of  the  Freedmen.  He  followed  the  army 
to  Jackson,  organizing  churches,  lecturing  and  trying  to 
organize  schools.  His  health  failing  him,  he  went  north 
again  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Returning  he  located 
in  Natchez,  where  he  preached  to  a  large  congregation 
regularly.  He  was  also  appointed  by  General  Ames,  then 
military  governor,  to  the  position  of  alderman,  and  in 
1869  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  of  Mississippi.  In 
January  1870,  he  was  the  first  colored  man  sent  to  the 
United  States  Senate.  Dr.  Revels  was  selected  to  fill 
the  place  of  Jefferson  Davis,  which  selection  took  the 
country  by  surprise,  and  as  the  time  drew  near  for  the 
Negro  to  take  his  seat,  the  interest  became  intense.  The 
Nation  stood  with  its  mouth  wide  open,  and  the  world 
stood  still  in  silent  amazement  at  this  new  phase  of  Amer- 
ican life.  The  bottom  rail  is  on  top :  the  newly  emancipated 
unfi-anchised  citizen  enters  upon  the  dignified  position  of 
United  States  Senator,  to  mingle  his  voice  with  the  law- 
makers and  to  cast  his  vote  in  behalf  of  God  and  his 
country.  He  served  in  Congress  from  February  25,  1870, 
to  March  3,  1871 .    Says  Wells  Brown,  in  the  Rising  Sun : 

Salisbury  had  done  his  best  to  turn  backward  the  wheels  of  progress; 
Davis  fought  in  vain,  declaring  he  would  "resist  at  every  step"  this 
unconstitutional  measure,  giving  illustrations,  dissertations,  execra- 
tions, and  recommendations  of  and  for  the  "Negro"  and  his  Repub- 
lican friends;  Stockton,  in  the  interest  of  law  and  precedent,  begged  that 
the  subject  should  go  to  the  judiciary  committee,  but  the  party  of  free- 
dom moved  on  in  solid  phalanx  of  unanimity  to  the  historic  results. 
Mr.  Sumner,  who  had  not  taken  part  in  the  debate,  raised  his  voice 
with  impressiveness  and  power,  comprehending  the  whole  question  in 
a  short  speech,  just  before  the  vote. 


950  MEN  OF  MARK. 

After  his  senatorial  term  had  closed,  he  was  called  to 
the  exalted   position  of  president  of  Alcorn  University, 
Rodney,  Mississippi,  at  a  salary  of  two  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  per  annum.    Governor  Powers  appointed 
him  secretary  of  the  State,  which  position  he  held  for  sev- 
eral months  only.    Rev.  H.  R.  Revels  makes  his  home  near 
the  city  of  Natchez,  Mississippi,  where  he  leads  the  quiet 
life  of  a  farmer,  having  served  his  God  and  his  country  to  the 
best  of  his  ability.    As  the  first  Negro  Senator  he  stands 
the  solitary  figure  in  history  that  marks  the  ascent  of  the 
race ;  and  it  seemed  one  of  the  revenges  of  history,  too,  for 
the  black  man  sat  in  the  seat  of  Jefferson  Davis  the  pres- 
ident of  the  Southern  Confederacy.    The  Negro  was  no 
longer  chattels,  beast  of  burden,  but  a  Senator  mingling 
with  the  exalted  in  exalted  stations  and  attracting  the 
attention  of  the  world.    The  irrepressible  Negro  is  hard 
to  **keep  in  his  place.'    He  succeeds  persistently  in  getting 
some  white  man's  place,  or  his  own  held  wrongfully  so 
long  by  another. 


HARRISON  N.  BOUBT  951 


CXLII. 

REV.  HARRISON  N.  BOUEY. 

Missionary  to  Africa— Agent  American  Baptist  Publication  Society— Dis- 
trict Secretary. 

THE  above  named  gentleman  was  bom  in  Columbia 
county,  Georgia,  August  4,  1849,  and  was  reared 
in  Augusta,  Georgia.  In  early  life  he  was  apprenticed  to 
the  painter's  trade  and  worked  at  it  two  years,  during 
which  time  he  attended  night  school  where  he  received  his 
elementary  education.  He  made  such  progress  in  his 
studies  that  he  was  soon  enabled  to  pass  an  examination 
for  a  teacher's  certificate.  He  then  taught  two  years  in  the 
public  schools  of  Augusta,  Georgia.  In  April,  1870,  he  was 
converted  and  became  a  member  of  the  Springfield  Baptist 
church.  Soon  after  his  baptism  he  entered  the  Baptist 
Theological  school  at  Augusta,  now  the  Atlanta  Baptist 
Seminary.  In  the  spring  of  1873  he  completed  his  studies, 
and  desiring  to  be  of  service  to  his  race,  he  went  to  Ridge 
Springs,  South  Carolina,  where  he  became  principal  of  a 
school  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils.  Such  was  his 
prominence  that  after  teaching  two  years  he  was  elected 
by  the  Republican  party  as  probate  judge  of  Edgefield 
county.  South  Carolina.    In  the  fall  of  1876  he  was  elected 


ii 


952  MEN  OF  MARK. 

sheriff  of  his  county,  but'  was  countea  out.  Without  an 
solicitation  on  his  part,  the  Macedonia  Baptist  church  c 
Edgefield  Court  House,  South  Carolina,  called  him  to  ord 
nation,  he  having  connected  himself  with  this  body.  Tl 
church  did  not  even  desire  to  have  him  work  as  a  license 
minister,  so  acceptable  had  been  his  services  in  the  generj 
church  work,  and  so  evident  was  his  divine  call.  He  the 
became  general  missionary  for  the  State  of  South  Carolin; 
continuing  in  this  service  over  a  y^ar.  At  this  time  tl 
colored  Baptists  of  South  Carolina,  under  the  leadersh: 
of  Rev.  E.  M.  Brawley,  D.  D.,  concluded  to  begina  missic 
work  in  Africa.  Unanimous  choice  was  made  of  Re 
Bouey.  He  responded  to  the  call.  He  sailed  from  Ne 
York  April  11,  1879,  for  Monrovia,  Africa,  via  Livcrpoc 
In  this  foreign  work  he  remained  nearly  three  y^ars,  at 
was  remarkably  successful.  He  thoroughly  traveled  ov< 
Liberia,  stirring  up  the  churches  and  directing  the  energii 
of  the  brethren.  He  organized  two  associations  and 
National  Baptist  convention,  of  which  he  became  the  co 
responding  secretary  and  financial  agent.  Feeling  that  1 
otaght  more  thoroughly  to  enlist  the  American  eojdn 
.Baptists  in  the  work  of  African  missions,  he  resolirtd  1 
return  home.  This  he  did  and  became  the  general  agdtit< 
the  Liberian  convention. 

In  April,  1882,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Laura  P.  Loga 
of  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  In  March,  1882,  he  wt 
commissioned  by  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Societ 
as  Sunday  school  missionary  for  Alabama,  and  at  om 
entered  upon  his  work.  He  served  in  this  oflSce  four  years 
during  part  of  which  time  he  was  the  financial  agent  c 


1 


N.  H.  BOUEY. 


HARRISON  N.  BOUBY.  963 

Selma  University  and  the  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
State  Mission  Board  of  Alabama.  But  such  was  the  strain 
upon  his  health  that  he  resigned  these  positions  in  January, 
1886,  in  order  to  seek  rest.  He  was  at  once  chosen  asso- 
ciate editor  of  the  Baptist  Pioneer  and  business  manager. 
He  filled  this  office  one  year.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  Selma  University  and  of  the  State  Mission 
Board  of  Alabama.  He  is  now  secretary  of  the  Foreign 
Mission  Convention  of  the  United  States  for  the  Third  Dis- 
trict. 


954  MBN  OF  MARK. 


CXLIII. 

COLONEL  JAMES  LEWIS. 

Surveyor-General— Colonel  of  the  Second  Regiment  State  Militia — Co 
lector  of  the  New  Orleans  Port— Naval  Oflficcr — Superintendent  of  th 
United  States  Bonded  Warehouses. 

THE  native  place  of  Colonel  James  Lewis  is  Woodvilk 
Wilkinson  county,  Mississippi.  He  was  bom  in  tb 
year  1832.  When  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age  his  rea 
life  work  began  on  the  river.  By  his  steadiness  of  pur 
pose,  strict  integrity  and  indomitable  courage  an( 
energy,  he  worked  himself  up  to  highly  honorable  am 
conspicuous  station  in  life.  When  the  war  broke  oui 
it  found  Mr.  Lewis  steward  on  board  the  Confederate 
Transport,  De  Soto,  and  at  the  fighting  about  Colum 
bus  Island,  No.  10,  and  New  Madrid,  where  the  first  newt 
of  emancipation  reached  him.  Gladdened  by  the  hopeoi 
the  liberation  of  his  race,  knowing  that  the  cause  of  free 
dom  needed  all  its  friends,  Mr.  Lewis  made  his  way  by  t 
dangerous  route  to  New  Orleans,  over  which  the  flag  o; 
the  Union  had  just  been  planted.  He  at  once  resolved  tc 
be  a  soldier,  and,  with  some  other  colored  men,  petitionee 
the  commanding  officer  for  permission  to  raise  -what  h< 
maintains   proved   to  be  the  first   regiment   of  colored 


JAMi;S  LEWIS. 


I 


1 


»' 


*    I 

i  I 


JAMBS  LEWIS.  955 

troops  that  entered  the  United  States  army,  September, 
1862.  Of  this  there  seems  some  doubt,  as  George  W.  Wil- 
liam's *  History  of  the  Negro  Race,*  page  278,  Vol.  II, 
says  General  Hunter  employed  **  Negroes  as  soldiers,  in 
the  spring  of  1862,  directed  the  organization  of  a  regiment 
of  blacks.  He  secured  the  best  white  oflScers  for  the  regi- 
ment, and  it  soon  obtained  a  fine  condition  of  discipline. 
The  news  of  a  Union  Negro  regiment  in  South  Carolina 
completely  surprised  the  people  at  Washington."  We 
leave  this  matter  to  the  future  historians;  the  one  may 
have  been  formed  first,  but  the  other  was  recorded  first. 
Mr.  Lewis  raised  two  companies  of  colored  infantry  and 
at  the  head  of  one  of  these  he  was  mustered  into  the  First 
Louisiana  volunteer  native  guards  as  captain  of  Com- 
pany K. 
After  the  Bank  Expedition  up  the  Red  River  in  1864, 

Captain  Lewis  resigned  his  commission,  returned  to  the 
city  and  became  a  permit  and  custom-house  broker,  until 
the  opening  of  the  coast  trade  and  the  coming  of  recon- 
struction. He  received  the  appointment  of  traveling  agent 
of  the  educational  department  of  tthe  Freedmen's  Bureau, 
and  devoted  his  whole  time,  talent  and  energy  to  the 
establishment  of  schools  for  the  instruction  and  elevation 
of  his  down-trodden  race.  In  this  capacity  he  traveled 
all  over  the  State,  establishing  schools  wherever  he  went. 
This  position  was  not,  however,  an  enviable  one,  as  his 
life  was  in  constant  peril,  and  in  many  places  he  moved 
about  in  the  very  jaws  of  death.  He  was  captured  on  one 
occasion  in  North  Louisiana,  and  nothing  but  the  inter- 
position of  some  friendly  Masons  saved  his  neck ;  but  the 


956  MEN  OF  MARK. 

seeds  he  planted,  the  lov^  of  learning  he  instilled,  broug 
forth  good  fruit.  When  the  business  of  the  Frcedraei 
Bureau  closed,  Colonel  Lewis  received  a  high  complime 
from  the  commanding  officer  for  his  worth  €Uid  daring  z< 
in  the  cause  of  education.  At  the  time  Honorable  Willia 
P.  Kellogg  became  collector  of  the  port  at  New  Orleai 
he  appointed  the  first  colored  man  to  a  civil  position 
the  Federal  service  in  Louisiana,  when  he  made  Coloi 
Lewis  United  States  inspector  of  customs.  This  place 
held  up  to  the  time  that  Perry  Fuller  turned  him  out  I 
cause  he  refused  to  vote  for  Seymour  and  Blair  in  186 
Colonel  Lewis  became  sergeant  of  the  Metropolitan  po\u 
and  discharged  his  duties  with  such  fidelity,  impartiali 
and  integrity,  that  he  was  soon  promoted  to  the  positi< 
of  captain  of  the  police  in  recognition  of  his  services 
this  capacity.  He  extorted  even  the  admiration  of  t 
Democrats,  a  thing  most  difficult  for  a  colored  man  to  i 
at  any  time.  In  1870  Governor  Warmouth  appointed  M 
Lewis  colonel  of  the  Second  regiment  State  militia,  ai 
in  the  same  year  he  was  elected  administrator  of  poll 
for  two  years,  at  a  sal^try  of  six  thousand  dollars  per  a 
num.  In  1872  he  was  nominated  by  the  State  conventi^ 
for  Congress-at-large,  and  was  also  chairman  of  the  Loui 
ana  delegation  to  the  Philadelphia  National  Republics 
convention.  On  returning  home,  finding  that  a  breai 
had  occurred  in  the  party  ranks,  he  boldly  stepped  forwa: 
and  placed  his  nomination  in  the  hands  of  his  friends,  wl 
tendered  it  to  the  Honorable  P.  B.  S.  Pinchback,  and  I 
this  unselfish  action  all  party  diflFerences  became  harmo: 
ized.    He  had  entered  the  canvass  with  the  Honorab 


JAMES  LEWIS.  957 

Wm.  p.  Kellogg,  gubernatorial  candidate,  and  during  his 
absence  from  New  Orleans  was  nominated  and  elected  ad- 
ministrator of  public  improvements,  defeating  General  G. 
T.  Beauregard  for  the  most  important  oflSce  in  the  city 
government. 

Hon.  Louis  A.  Wiltz,  mayor,  in  his  annual  message  to 
the  city  council  for  the  year  1873,  paid  Colonel  Lewis  a 
graceful  and  well-merited  compliment.  In  speaking  of  the 
office  of  administrator  of  improvements,  he  said : 

It  will  be  observed  that  economical  and  judicious  management  in  this 
department  has  resulted  in  one  year  in  a  saving  to  the  city,  $541,415, 
to-wit:  $2,207  in  the  administrator's  office ;  $269,895  in  the  Bureau  of 
btreets;  $73,389  in  the  Bureau  of  Wharves  and  Landings,  and  $195,924 
in 'the  Bureau  of  Drainage.  Facts  like  these  require  no  commendatory 
comments.  Colonel  Lewis  has  devoted  himself  to  his  duties  with  great 
energy  and  industry,  having  constant  care  that  every  dollar  expended 
should  benefit  the  city. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Colonel  Lewis  was  the  only- 
Republican  in  that  city  government.  In  the  fall  of  1876 
he  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  untiring  advocates  the 
Republicans  had  in  the  State.  He  canvassed  the  entire 
State  with  Governor  I^ackard,  a  task  very  few  men,  white 
or  colored,  would  desire  to  undertake.  On  the  assembling 
of  the  Legislature,  he  was  elected  a  United  States  Senator 
for  the  short  term.  Seeing  Louisiana  and  two  other 
Southern  Republican  States  turned  over  to  the  Democrats, 
he  refused  to  press  his  claim. 

President  Hayes  in  1877  appointed  Colonel  Lewis  na- 
val officer  of  the  port  at  New  Orleans,  which  place  is  only 
second  to  that  of  collector  of  customs.    He  held  this  posi- 


958  MEN  OP  MARK. 

lion  up  to  the  time  of  the  National  Repuolican  conventi< 
at  Chicago,  1880,  casting  his  lot  with  the  old  guard 
"306/'  at  the  sacrifice  of  his  official  head,  which  follow 
after  his  return  home  in  the  same  month.  Colonel  Le\s 
had  retired  to  private  life  when  Judge  Folger,  secretary 
the  treasury,  called  him  to  public  life  again  by  his  appoii 
ment  to  the  position  of  superintendent  of  the  Unit 
States  bonded  warehouse  in  New  Orleans.  The  followii 
apeared  i  n  the  Louisiana  Standardy  Jannary  19,  1884: 

We  note  with  pleasure  the  confirmation  of  Colonel  James  Lewis 
surveyor-general  of  Louisiana,  by  the  Senate  last  Tuesday.  Colo 
Lewis  has,  during  the  course  of  a  bus3',  active,  political  life,  filled  ma 
important  State  and  Federal  positions,  notably  those  of  administral 
of  police  and  administrator  of  improvements  of  this  great  city,  a 
naval  officer  at  this  port,  with  credit  and  honor  to  himself,  his  party  a 
his  race.  His  confirmation  by  the  Senate  is  but  a  just  recognition  of 
services  as  a  Republican  and  his  worth  as  a  citizen,  and  is  heartily  t 
proved  by  the  masses  of  the  people. 

During  all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  active  political  life, 
has  always  found  time  to  attend  to  his  Masonic  dutw 
He  is  a  past  master,  past  grand  master,  past  emine 
commander,  sublime  prince  of  the  royal  secrets  or  thirt 
second  degree,  A.  A.  S.  R.,  and  is  the  present  very  emine 
grand  captain  general  of  Ohio  and  its  jurisdiction.  Ve: 
few  public  men  in  this  country  can  show  a  more  brillia: 
record,  either  personally,  masonically  or  officially,  thi 
Colonel  James  Lewis. 


B.  H.  UPSCOMBB.  959 


CXLIV. 
REV.  E.  H.  LIPSCOMBE. 

President  of  the  Western  Union  Institute — Professor  of  Rhetoric  and 
Moral  Philosophy — Preacher — Editor  of  the  Mountain  Gleaner. 

I  T  IS  with  pleasure  that  I  speak  of  this  young  man,  who 

A     had  the  nerve  and  moral  courage  to  do  severe  and 

arduous  labor  with  his  own  hands  for  the  rising  generation. 

The  Western  Union  Institute  will  always  be  a  monument 
to  the  brilliant  professor.  I  wish  we  had  a  hundred  thou- 
sand such  men,  who  would  slay  the  trees,  dig  up  the  roots 
and  set  up  an  educational  light-house. 

Professor  Edward  Hart  Lipscombe,  came  into  this  busy 
world,  September  29,  1858,  in  Orange  county.  North 
Carolina,  near  the  now  famous  town  of  Durham,  the  city 
of  the  **  great  Durham  tobacco.** 

In  1868  he  was  taken  to  Raleigh  and  put  in  school 
under  the  Rev.  William  Warrick  of  Philadelphia  and  his 
teachers,  among  whom  were  his  daughter  Louisa  and  son 
Charles.  He  soon  loved  his  teachers  and  his  studies.  In 
1870  he  was  taken  back  to  help  his  mother.  In  1871  he 
returned  to  Raleigh  and  resumed  his  studies,  but  was  forced 
to  return  again  to  the  farm.  In  the  spring  of  1873  Rev. 
Augustus  Shepperd  of  Raleigh  came  for  him  to  join  the 


960 


MBN   OP  HARK. 


North  Carolina  Jubilee  Singers,  then  practicing 
under  Miss  Nettie  M.  Sage,  preparatory  to  goii 
in  the  interest  of  Shaw  University.  She  proi 
voice  one  of  remarkable  sweetness.  This  com 
under  the  musical  direction  of  Miss  Sage  and  g 
agement  of  President  H.  M.  Tupper,  traveled 
New  England  States,  in  Canada  and  Nova  Sci 
its  entertainments  eight  thousand  dollars  or  ti 
dollars  were  realized  for  the  institution.  Rett 
this  tour,  he  entered  Shaw  Collegiate  Institute 
University,  where  be  remained  until  graduati 
He  was  the  youngest  member  of  his  class. 

At  the  age  of  nineteen  the  professor  was  assc 
Dr.  H.  M.  Tupper  and  Professor  N.  F.  Roberta 
and  editing  the  African  Expositor.  In  1879  he 
the  professor  of  mathematics  and  languages  ti 
versity.  In  1881,  while  only  twenty-three  y 
was  elected  principal  of  the  Washington  grad 
Raleigh,  having  an  attendance  of  500  schol 
largest  school  in  the  city.  In  1882  he  wa: 
by  the  Baptist  State  Convention  of  Nprth  C 
of  the  editors  of  the  Baptist  Standard,  the  thei 
property  of  the  convention.  In  1883  he  resigi 
cipalship  of  the  school  to  accept  the  professors 
oric  and  moral  philosophy  in  Shaw  Universii 
was  again  connected  with  the  Airican  Expos, 
the  temperance  department.  In  1884  he  was  tl 
of  the  committee  of  prominent  colored  men  oi 
which  issued  an  address  to  temperance  Repul 
testing  against  the  action  of  certain  politicians 


E.  H.  UPSCOMBB.  961 

ing  to  ally  the  Republican  party  with  the  politically  or- 
ganized whisky  interest. 

In  the  fall  of  1834  he  was  strongly  urged  by  many  to 
accept  the  nomination  as  candidate  for  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  North  Carolina  by  Wake  county,  but  he  declined 
to  have  his  name  used.  This  same  year  he  was  elected 
principal  of  the  Durham  graded  school,  but  soon  resigned 
to  accept  the  principalship  of  Dallas  Academy,  located  at 
Dallas,  Gaston  county,  and  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Western  Baptist  Missionary  Union.  He  began  this  school 
from  the  start  in  October,  1884,  and  made  it  a  success, 
drawing  students  from  many  counties  of  North  Carolina 
and  from  South  Carolina,  old  and  young,  married  and  sin- 
gle, enrolling  over  one  hundred  in  each  of  the  two  years 
that  the  school  was  carried  on  in  Dallas.  In  1886  he  was 
made  educational  adviser  for  the  county  of  Gaston,  by 
the  North  Carolina  State  Teachers*  Association .  This  year 
he  took  part  in  the  formation  of  the  Prohibition  party  in 
Gaston  county,  and  then  and  there  joined  the  National 
Prohibition  party.  Previously  he  had  been  a  sort  of  local 
optionist,  but  he  is  now  for  prohibition,  local  or  national, 
wherever  it  is  an  issue. 

In  1886  the  Union  moved  the  school  to  Asheville  and 
changed  its  name  to  Western  Union  Institute,  of  which  he 
is  now  president,  with  students  from  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina  and  Tennessee.  He  has  erected  one  good 
building  since  it  started  from  nothing  in  1884.  While 
doing  this  he  has  lead  his  students  into  the  woods  and 
cut  and  hauled  saw-logs  by  the  hundreds  to  aid  in  supply- 
ing the  needed  lumber.    He  has  been  sneered  at  and  ridi- 


962 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


culed  by  some  for  trying  to  establish  a  school  in  this  poor^ 
wild,  ignorant  part  of  North  Carolina;  but  he  has  accom- 
plished his  aim,  and  the  school  has  a  property  valued  at  from 
six  thousand  dollars  to  eight  thousand  dollars,  with  some  of 
the  best  men  of  the  South  acting  as  trustees.  The  pro- 
fessor's religious  views  are  those  of  the  Baptists.  He 
received  his  A.  M.  from  Shaw  University  in  1882.  He 
delivered  a  literary  address  before  the  society  of  Shaw 
University  in  1883,  and  was  chosen  by  the  citizens  of  Wake 
county  to  deliver  the  oration  in  the  city  hall  at  Raleigh  in 
January-,  1884.  He  also  delivered,  in  1886,  a  literary  ad- 
dress at  the  commencement  of  the  State  Normal  school 
at  Salisbury ;  many  white  persons  who  were  present  pro- 
nounced the  speech  as  the  best  they  ever  heard  by  a  colored 
man,  and  one  of  the  editors  in  that  town  in  a  printed  refer- 
ence delivered  himself  in  these  words:  **He  is  one  of  the 
ablest  men  of  the  *01d  North  State.' " 

He  was  also  appointed  by  the  people  of  Buncombe  county 
as  the  emancipation  orator  for  January  1,  1887. 

He  is  the  oldest  of  four  children,  and  was  married  in  1882 
to  Miss  Lizzie  L.  Taylor  of  Lynchburg,  Virginia.  Four 
children  have  been  born  to  them,  three  boys  and  one 
girl,  only  one  of  whom,  the  girl,  the  youngest,  is  now  liv- 
ing. 

Professor  Lipscombe  is  somewhat  of  a  poet  and  has 
written  several  poems  which  have  been  published  in  the 
African  Expositor.  The  titles  of  some  of  them  are  as  fol- 
lows: ** Graves  on  Old  Plantations;"  ** Panther  Lake;" 
**  Birth  of  my  Adelaide ;"  **  Life's  Storms."  He  is  now  at 
work  on  a  poem  called  "The  Wind  Song,"  which  he  an- 


Wui 


£.  H.  UPSCOMfiB.  963 

nounces  shall  be  the  mof|t  complete  and  extended  of  all  his 
poetical  compositions. 

His  religious  life  might  be  condensed  in  a  few  statements. 
He  professed  religion  in  1877.  He  was  baptized  by  Rev. 
H.  C.  Ransome,  and  united  with  the  Blount  Street  Baptist 
church  of  Raleigh,  and  served  it  as  their  clerk  for  seven 
years.  In  1883  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  and  the 
same  year  he  was  elected  clerk  to  the  Baptist  State  Con- 
vention of  North  Carolina.  In  1884  with  others  he  estab- 
lished the  Light-house,  and  was  its  editor-in-chief,  until  it 
was  changed  in  1886  to  the  Mountain  Gleaner,  of  which 
lie  is  the  editor  and  half  owner. 

He  has  filled  a  very  important  place  in  the  affairs  of 
North  Carolina  and  is  worthy  of  mention  on  account  of 
the  excellent  life  which  he  lives,  and  the  vigorous,  praise- 
worthy energy  displayed  in  all  matters  which  he  has  under 
taken.  He  is  a  true  type  of  the  sturdy  earnest  North  Caro- 
linian. 


964 


MEN  OF  MAKK. 


CXLV. 

HONORABLE  JAMES  C.  MATTHEWS. 

Lawyer  and  Recorder  of  Deeds,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia. 

\17ILLIAM  W.  MATTHEWS  and  his  wife,  Esther  Ann.  resided  in  New 
Haven,  Connecticut.  November  6, 1846,  the  gentleman  who  has 
figured  so  conspicuously  in  American  Congressional  affairs  recently,  was 
bom.  It  was  on  this  dav  and  date  that  his  star  ascended  above  the 
horizon.  Soon  after  this  his  parents  moved  to  Albany,  New  York,  where 
^.heir  children  could  get  the  advantages  of  schooling.  The  schools  of 
that  city  were  famed  for  their  excellence,  and  had  no  color  line ;  so  the 
children  entered  without  objections  being  made.  There  was  a  colored 
school  in  town,  however.  In  1856  an  effort  was  made  to  get  all  the  col- 
ored children  out  of  the  white  schools,  and  they  succeeded.  But  young 
Matthews  succeeded,  through  a  Democratic  member,  in  regaining^  admis- 
sion. They  would  have  gotten  him  out  again,  only  his  teacher.  Professor 
Steele,  plead  for  him,  saying  that  he  was  so  very  bright  and  he  did  not 
want  to  lose  him. 

In  the  boys*  academy  he  competed,  in  1860,  for  a  scholarship;  and 
among  three  who  passed  was  James  C.  Matthews.  This  was  a  surprise, 
indeed.  Again  objections  were  made  by  the  canting  hypocrites  in  the 
Republican  fold ;  but  singular  to  say,  Honorable  William  A.  Rice,  a  Dem- 
ocratic member  of  the  Board  of  Instruction,  sustained  him,  and  he  was 
admitted. 

In  1861  he  lost  both  parents,  but  was  kindly  cared  for  by  Mrs.  Phcbe 
Jones  and  Miss  Lydia  Mott.  He  graduated  June  30,  1864>,  gaining^  the 
first  prize  for  the  best  English  essay,  and  the  Beck  literary  medal.  After 
leaving  school,  he  kept  books  for  several  firms  in  Albany,  and  finally  en- 
tered the  law  office  of  J.  Wirner,  one  of  the  ablest  lawj'ers  in  the  State. 
After  completing  his  course  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  May,  1870,  and 
afterwards  to  the  United  States  .Court.  The  Young  Men's  Association 
of  Albany,  in  order  to  encourage  literary  pursuits;  offered  annually  a 
medal  for  the  best  essay.    He  had  tried  several  times  for  this,  and  on  one 


k 


^'L 


JAMES  C.  MATTHEWS.  965 

OGcaaion  there  were  two  so  near  alike  in  excellence,  that  the  committee 
ftiiled  to  agree  as  to  which  was  the  better;  finally  it  was  decided  by 
opening  the  envelopes  containing  the  names,  and  it  was  given  to  a  white 
young  man.  But  when  he  tried  again,  the  medal  was  conceded  to  him 
by  the  general  excellence  of  his  production.  A  fictitious  name  was  given 
on  the  essay,  but  accompanied  by  an  envelope  containing  the  true  name. 
When  it  was  revealed,  July  4, 1869,  it  was  James  C.  Matthews,  and  he 
secured  the  medal.  This  same  society  once  invited  Wendell  Phillips  to 
lecture  before  them,  and  he  refused  to  do  so  because  the  colored  people 
^vere  not  allowed  to  attend  their  meetings.  Mr.  Matthews  cast  his  first 
vote  for  General  U.  S.  Grant,  and  was  a  supporter  of  that  party  till 
1872.  1  here  quote  his  sentiments  as  given  by  Judge  Andrew  Hamilton, 
who  knew  him  well : 

For  a  long  time  he  had  seen  that  a  division  of  the  colored  vote  was 
essential,  not  alone  to  the  advancement  of  his  people,  but  to  the  welfare 
of  the  Nation.  He  had  grown  up  to  the  belief  that  there  should  be  neither 
color  nor  latitude  in  politics.  His  own  experience,  the  warm  fHends  he 
had  found,  the  hearty  encouragement  he  had  met  with,  and  almost  en- 
tirely in  Etemocratic  circles,  impressed  him  that  if  the  colored  people  had 
not  gained  the  Democratic  co-operation,  it  was  because  they  had  avoided 
it.  In  keeping  with  these  ideas,  and  influenced  by  the  patriotic  motives 
which  drove  so  many  of  the  best  men  from  the  Republican  party  in  1872, 
he  joined  the  Liberal  movement  in  that  year,  and  attended  the  Liberal 
National  convention  as  a  delegate.  When  the  two  conventions  came  to- 
gether and  formed  the  Democratic-Liljeral  Republican  convention,  Mr. 
Matthews,  at  the  request  of  Honorable  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  delivered  the 
congratulatory  speech  to  a  surprised  and  electrified  audience. 

In  1872  he  proceeded  against  the  Republican  School  Board  of  Albany, 
by  mandamus,  to  compel  them  to  admit  the  colored  children  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liam A.  Deitz  to  the  public  schools.  He  succeeded,  and  wiped  out  the 
color  line. 

His  address  on  Henry  Highland  Garnet,  and  his  speech  on  July  4, 1880, 
in  the  capitol,  Albany,  were  highly  commended. 

In  1875  he  married  Miss  Adele  Duplcssis  of  New  York  City,  at  the  resr- 
dence  of  Professor  Charles  L.  Reason.     He  has  four  sisters. 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  record  here  in  this  work  a  brief  outline  of  the 
nomination  and  rejection  of  James  C.  Matthews  of  New  York,  when  he 
"was  nominated  by  President  Grover  Cleveland  for  the  position  of  recorder 
of  deeds  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  a  position  which  was  held  by  the 
giited  Frederick  Douglass.  Mr.  Matthews  is  one  of  the  rising  young  men 
of  this  generation,  and  having  seen  fit  to  ally  himself  to  the  Democratic 
party,  it  is  no  more  than  right  that  the  Democratic  party,  through  its 
President,  should  place  him  in  a  position  of  honor  and  trust.  It  is  my 
desire  not  to  give  so  much  my  opinion  on  the  matter  before  us,  but  to  give 
the  record  that  it  might  live  in  history  in  a  place  where  it  might  be  read 
more  constantly  than  it  would  be  if  buried  in  the  records  of  the  United 


966  HEN  OP  HARK. 

States.  The  apace  given  to  this  subject  cannot  possibly  be  watted,  for  it 
shows  how  a  colored  man  might  become  so  prominent  in  the  HfTaira  of 
the  Nation  as  to  attract  such  considerable  attention,  and  marks,  inileed, 
in  my  opinion,  the  the  beginning  of  a  new  state  of  affairs;  whenitnre- 
membertd  that  the  Democratic  party,  as  a  party,  has  always  been 
against  the  Negro,  it  is  a  matter  for  very  great  consideration  that  the 
President,  who  is  supposed  at  least  to  be  the  embodiment  of  the  princi- 
ples and  practices  of  that  party,  has  been  so  bold  as  to  nominate,  not 
once,  bnt  twice,  a  colored  man  to  so  prominent  an  office  in  his  gift.  It 
also  ma'ks  the  moral  heroism  of  the  Negro  in  being  able  and  willing  to 
cut  loose  from  a  party  to  which  so  many  of  his  race  have  given  theirsnp- 
port  for  so  long  a  period  uni[uestioned.  It  does  honor  also  to  Mr.  Mat- 
thews' foresight,  that  he  could  look  down  the  ranks  of  liberalism  and 
independency,  and  at  the  right  time  ally  himself  with  the  Democratic 
party  and  become  so  prominent  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  a  Demo- 
cratic President  and  arouse  the  ire  of  a  Republican  Senate,  and  bring  to 
his  support  nearly  everj'  Negro  journal  in  the  United  States,  thongfa 
nineteen  out  of  every  twenty  of  them  are  stalwart  [Republicans.  This 
we  consider  quite  an  achievement  for  a  man  of  Mr.  Matthews'  age  and 
experience,  and.  indeed,  marks  him  as  a  statesman  of  no  ordinary  catibre. 
But  now  for  the  record  : 

JOURNAL  OP  THE  SENATE. 


The  following  message  u 
States: 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 

t  nominate  James  C.  Matthews  of  New  Vork,  to  be  recorder  of  deeds  ia 
the  District  of  Columbia,  vice  Frederick  Douglass,  who  has  resigned. 

Or  OVER  Cl.EVEL.ANIl. 

Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  March  4, 1SS6. 


PHE  DISTRICT  OF 

Man:h  13.  1S86. 
:s  C.  Matthews  to  be  recorder  of  deeds  for  die 
considered,  but  final  action  was  deferred. 

March  IS,  1886. 
The  nomination  ofjames  C.  Matthews  to  be  recorder  of  deeds  for  the 
District  of  Columbia  was  considered,  and  on  a  motion  toconfirm.tberoll 
was  called  thereon,  absent  mtmbers  being  counted  as  their  views  were 
known,  as  follows: 
For  confirmation :    Messrs  Ingalls,  Brown,  Palmer,  Pike  (4). 
Against  confirmation ;    Messrs  Harris,  Blackburn,  Riddlebeiinr,  Vaate 
{*). 
Absent:    Mr.  Miller  of  California  (1). 


JAMES  C.  MATTHEWS.  967 

The  vote  being  a  tie,  Mr.  Blackburn  was  instmcted  to  report  the  nom- 
ination iMEick  nnfavorably  to  the  Senate.  . 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  EXECUTIVE  JOURNAL  OP  THE  SENATE. 

March  22, 1886. 
Mr.  Blackbam,  from  the  committee  on  the  District  of  Colnmbia,  to 
^vhom  was  referred,  the  9th  inst.,  the  nomination  ot  James  C.Matthews, 
report  adversely  thereon. 

Monday,  March  22, 1886. 
The  president  pro  tern,  presented  a  memorial  of  the  Jefferson  Demo- 
cratic Association  of  the  District  of  Columbia  protesting  against  the  con- 
firmation of  James  C.Matthews  to  be  recorder  of  deeds  m  the  District  of 
Columbia,'  which  was  ordered  to  He  on  the  table. 

March  29,  1886. 
The  Senate  proceeded  to  consider  the  nomination  of  James  C.  Matthews. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  Harris,  ordered  that  tl»e  said  nomination  l)e  recom- 
mitted to  the  committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia. 

April  5,  1886. 
Mr.  Sewell  presented  a  petition  of  citizens  of  Camden,  New  Jersey, 
praying  for  the  confirmation  of  James  C.  Matthews  to  be  recorder  of 
deeds  in  the  District  of  Columbia.    Referred  to  the  committee  on  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia. 

EXTRACTS  PROM   MINUTES  OF  COMMITTEE. 

•  April  9,  1886. 

On  motion,  the  consideration  of  the  nomination  of  James  C.  Matthews 
to  be  recorder  of  deeds  for  the  district,  which  has  been  recommitted,  was 
postponed  for  one  week. 

On  April  16,  1886,  the  following  letter  was  addressed  to  James  C. 
Matthews,  by  Thomas  J.  White,  clerk  of  the  committee  on  the  District  of 
Columbia : 

The  committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  United  States  Senate: 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  16, 1886. 
Sir:  I  am  directed  by  the  Honomble  Isham  G.  Harris,  as  a  Senator 
and  as  a  member  of  the  committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  to  re- 
quest that  you  will  state  the  position  which  you  have  heretofore  occu# 
pied  and  the  views  which  you  at  present  entertain  upon  the  subject  of 
mixed  or  separate  schools  for  colored  and  white  children;  also  state 
what,  if  any,  action  you  have  taken  upon  this  question  in  the  State  of 
New  York  or  elsewhere. 
An  early  reply  will  oblige.  Respectfully, 

Thomas  J.  White, 
Clerk  to  Committee  on  District  of  Columbia. 
James  C.  Matthews,  334  Clinton  avenue,  Albany,  New  York. 

To  which  Mr.  Matthews  sent  the  following  reply: 

Albany,  April  20, 1886. 

My  Dear  Sir:  Yours  of  the  17th  inst.,  written  under  the  direction  of 
Hon.  Isham  G.  Harris,  Senator,  and  a  mcml)er  of  the  committee  on  the 
District  of  Columbia,  was  received  this  a.  m.,  and  in  answer  to  which  I 
have  to  say : 

An  effort  was  made  in  the  Citj-  of  New  York,  in  this  State,  in  1884,  to 
dose  the  colored  schools  in  that  city,  and  the  proper  school  authorities 


968 


MEN  OP  MARK 


■  4 


!■ 


directed  the  same  to  be  done,  to  take  effect  at  thecloae  of  theachoolterm, 
to  wit,  July  1, 1884.  which  action  threw  ont  of  employment  a  lar;^  ntim- 
ber  of  educated  and  cultivated  ladies  and  gentlemen,  thus  closing  the 
main  avenue  open  for  the  employment  of  the  educated.  I  was  solicited 
by  some,  personally  interested  of  course,  and  more  not  so  (for  there  ex- 
ists among  the  prominent  thinking  colored  men  of  this  country  a  great 
diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  advisability  of  abolishing  schools  and  in- 
stitutions designated  as  colored  schools  and  institutions,  thus  throwing 
out  of  employment  all  colored  teachers  and  professors),  to  assist  in  pro- 
tecting their  rights  and  what  they  believed  to  be  the  interest  of  the  chil- 
dren, and  so  I  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  passage  of  an  act  which 
became  a  law  and  of  which  the  enclosed  is  a  copy,  and  which  embodies 
my  view  and  action  so  far  as  they  have  been  formulated  upon  the  suliject 
matter  of  your  letter  of  inquiry.  • 

Very  respectfully, 

James  C.  Matthews. 
Thomas  J.  White,  Esq.,  clerk  to  committee  on  District  of  Columbia. 

(Chapter  248 — An  act  in  relation  to  public  education  in  the  city  of  New 
York — passed  May  5,  1884,  three-fifths  being  present.) 
People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate  and  assembly, 
do  enact  as  follows : 

Section  1.  The  colored  schools  in  the  city  of  New  York,  now  existine 
and  in  operation,  shall  hereafter  be  classed  and  known  and  be  continued 
as  ward  schools  and  primaries,  with  their  present  teachers,  unless  such 
teachers  arc  removed  in  the  manner  proviaed  by  law,  and  such  schools 
shall  be  under  the  control  and  management  of  the  school  officers  of  the 
respective  wards  in  \?hich  they  are  located,  in  the  same  manner  and  to 
the  same  extent  as  other  ward  schools,  and  shall  be  open  for  the  educa- 
tion of  pupils  for  whom  admission  is  sought,  without  regard  to  race  or 
color. 

Section  2.  All  acts  or  parts  of  acts  inconsistent  with  the  provisions 
of  this  act  are  hereby  repealed. 

Section  3.    This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  MINUTES  OF  COMMITTEE. 

April  30,  1886. 

The  subject  of  the  confirmation  of  James  C.  Matthews  to  be  recorder 
gf  deeds  for  the  District  of  Columbia  was  taken  up  for  consideration, 
a  protest  and  charges  having  been  made  and  filed. 

Mr.  Riddleberger  moved  that  a  sub-committee  of  three  be  appointed  to 
investigate  the  charges  made  of  intimidation  and  bribery  of  votes  in 
Albany,  New  York,  which  motion  prevailed  by  the  following  vote: 

Ayes:   Harris,  Blackburn,  Spooner,  Vance  and  Riddleberger,  (5). 

Nays:   In^alls,  Brown,  Palmer  and  Pike,  (4). 

Mr.  Hams  suggested  that  the  sub-committee  be  instructed  to  report 
at  the  next  meeting  such  information  as  may  be  derived  by  such  action 
as  they  may  adopt.  The  chair  appointed  the  following  as  the  sub-com- 
mittee:  Messrs.  Riddleberger,  Brown  and  Spooner. 

Whereupon  the  following  letter  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Matthews  by 
Senator  Riddleberger: 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA,  UNITED  STATES  SENATE. 

Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  April  30, 1886. 
J.  C.  Matthews,  Esq.,  Albany,  New  York: 
Dear  Sir :    At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia, 


J-  C.  MATHEU 


I 


I 

til 


JAMES  C.  MATTHEWS.  969 

beld  this  momitig,  your  nomination  was  considered  and  all  the  papers 
relating  thereto  were  laid  before  it.  Among  these  was  one  paper,  numer- 
ously signed,  preferring  charges  against  you,  which,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  committee,  is  proper  to  be  inquired  into.  For  this  purpose  a  sub- 
committee of  three, composed  of  myself  and  Senators  Brown  and  Spooner, 
'was  appointed.  I  enclose  a  copy  of  the  charges,  together  with  a  copy 
of  the  paragraph  from  the  Troy  Times,  that  j-ou  maj'  be  fully  informed 
of  the  scope  of  our  investigation. 

It  is  not  possible  to  fix  a  day  of  meeting  just  now,  but  if  you  will  indi- 
cate the  notice  you  desire  to  nave,  we  will  endeavor  to  so  arrange  as  to 
give  it  to  you. 

For  the  present  we  can  determine  nothing  definitely,  but  you  can  be 
assured  there ^will  be  no  unnecessary*  delay. 

H.  H.  RiDDLEBERGER,  Chairman  Sub-Committee. 

On  May  5, 1886,  the  following  letter  was  addressed  to  W.  H.  Johnson 
of  Albany,  New  York,  by  Mr.  Riddlebcrger : 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA,  UNITED  STATES  SENATE. 

Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  May  5, 1886. 
W.  H.Johnson,  Esq.,  Albany,  New  York: 

Dear  Sir:  Under  date  of  April  23,  1886,  a  communication  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  Senate,  signed  by  yourself  and  others,  protesting  against 
the  confirmation  of  J.  C.  Matthews  as  recorder  of  deeas  for  this  district, 
in  which,  among  other  things  you  say : 

"  The  unrefuted  but  well-attested  fact  that  Mr.  Matthews,  at  the  recent 
municipal  election  in  this  city,  in  keeping  with  his  old  practice,  went  into 
a  ward  other  than  his  own,  and  by  threats,  intimidation  and  bribery, 
sought  to  coerce  colored  Repulilicans  to  vote  the  Democratic  ticket,  has 
brought  down  upon  his  head  the  just  indignation  of  all  good  citizens, 
regardless  of  politics.*' 

The  investigation  of  the  charge  here  made  of  intimidation  and  bribery 
of  electors  has  been  intrusted  to  a  sub-committee,  of  which  I  am  chair- 
man, and  by  which  I  am  instructed  to  call  upon  you  for  specifications, 
giving  names  of  persons  intimidated  or  sought  to  be  intimidated,  bribed 
or  sought  to  be  bribed,  with  names  of  witnesses.  We  wish  to  go  thor- 
oughly into  the  matter,  but  we  wish  only  definite  information,  which 
can  be  sworn  to  by  witnesses.  We  desire  to  prevent  any  unnecessary 
■delay,  and  request  your  immediate  attention  to  this  matter. 

Respectfully  yours, 

H.  H.  RiDDLEBERGER, 

Chairman  Sub-Committee. 

EXTRACTS  FROM   MINUTES  OF  COMMITTEE. 

May  7, 1886. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  Palmer  the  subject  of  the  confirmation  of  James  C. 
Matthews  was  postponed  for  one  week. 

May  14, 1886. 
The  matter  of  the  nomination  of  James  C.  Matthews  was  considered, 
but  Mr.  Riddlebcrger  not  having  the  reply  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Johnson  of 
Albany,  New  York,  with  him,  no  action  was  taken. 

May  21, 1886. 
The  Matthews  nomination  was  called  up  and  discussed,  and,  in  re- 
sponse to  inquiry,  Mr.  Riddlebcrger  stated  that  while  he  had  received  a 


liL 


970  HEN  OF  MARK. 

Kplj  from  W.  H.  Johnson  of  Albany,  New  York,  he  did  not  have  it  wftb 
bim,  and  stated  nis  determination  to  vote  against  the  confirmation  on 
general  principles.  (It  does  look  like  he  did  not  want  to  have  that  lettetr 
there}. 

Mr.  Spooner  moved  that  the  sub-committee  charged  with  the  investi- 
gation of  the  charges  against  Matthews  be  discharged ;  which  motiooi 
was  carried . 

Mr.  Spooner  moved  that  another  sab-committe  of  three,  vritb  thr 
chairman  of  the  committee  as  its  chairman,  be  appointed  to  investigate 
preliminarily  for  fnture  report  to  the  committee  the  charges  of  intimida- 
tion and  bribery  in  connection  with  the  elections  made  by  Mr.  Johasoa- 
of  Albany  against  Mr,  Matthews. 

Mr.  Harris  moved  to  reconsider  the  vole  of  the  committee  by  whidr 
the  previous  sub-committee  was  discharged,  and  to  instruct  that  sab- 
committee  to  proceed  as  rapidly  as  possible,  so  that  the  committee 
may  obtain  whatever  information  is  obtainable  by  the  next  meeting, 
with  a  view  to  a  final  disposition  of  the  case. 

Mr.  Spooner  thereupon  withdrew  his  motion.      , 

The  motion  of  Mr.  Harris  was  adopted,  Mr.  Riddleberger  alone  voting 
in  the  negative. 

Messrs  Riddleber^r,  Spooner  and  Brown  each  declined  to  serve  longer 
upon  the  sub-committee. 

Mr.  Brown  moved  that  Messrs  Ingalls,  Harris  and  Blackburn  be  ap- 
poinlcd  a  sub-committee  to  continue  the  investigation;  bot,  afler  dis- 
cussion, it  was  deemed  best  to  leave  the  latter  with  the  full  committee. 
Mr.  Spooner  stated  that  he  was  not  ready  to  vote  for  or  against  tbe 
confirmation  in  face  of  the  charges,  whereupon  Mr.  Riddleberger  was  re- 
quested to  produce  for  the  information  of  the  committee  the  reply  from 
Mr.  Johnson,  which,  on  leaving  the  committee  room,  he  promised  to  do. 

It  was  suggested  that  Messrs  lii(;a11s  and  Harris  take  all  necessary 
action  in  the  Matthews  case  as  soon  as  Mr.  Riddleberger  files  tbe 
papers  called  for.     (It  takes  a  hard  pull  to  get  that  letter). 

EXTRACT  FROM  EXBCLTIVE  JOUBNAL  OF  THE  SENATH. 

Friday,  May  28,  1886. 

Mr,  Ingalls  submitted  the  following  resolution,  which  was  conmSmt 
by  unanimous  consent  and  agreed  to: 

Resolved:  That  the  committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  the- 
Bub-committee  thereof,  having  under  consideration  the  nomination  of 
lames  C.  Matthews  to  be  recorder  of  deeds  for  the  District  of  Colombia, 
be,  and  it  hereby  is.  authorized  to  send  fur  persons  and  papers,  and  sit 
during  the  session  of  the  Senate,  and  to  employ  a  stenographer. 

Resolved:  That  the  expenses  arising  under  the  foregoing  resolatioB 
be  paid  out  of  the  appropriation  for  the  contingent  fund  of  the  Senate 
upon  vouchers  to  be  approved  by  the  chairman  of  said  committee. 

Under  the  above  resolution,  witnesses  were  subpcenaed  and  thetesti- 
mony  was  taken. 

After  taking  over  twenty-one  pages  of  closely  written  testimony  from 
many  persons  who  had  been  summoned,  on  July  4,  1886.  the  special 
committee  to  whom  this  matter  of  the  investigation  bad  been  referred, 
Messrs  Ingalls  and  Harris,  reported  to  the  full  committee  that  they 
had  taken  the  testimony  of  witnesses,  and  there  was  no  evidence  to  am- 
taia  tbe  charges  made  against  James  C,  Matthews.  Yet  we  find  in  tbe 
record  of  the  minntes  of  the  committee  the  following : 


JAMBS  C.  MATTHBWS.  971 

June  11, 1886, 

The  nomination  of  James  C.  Matthews  was  considered,  but  farther  de* 
ferred  for  a  week. 

June  25, 1886. 

The  nominattonof  James  C.  Matthews  to  be  recorder  of  deeds  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  was  consideretl,  and  an  adverse  report  to  the  Sen- 
ate ordered  by  the  following  on  the  question  of,  ''Shall  the  nomination  be 
favorably  reported  ?" 

Ayes :— Harris,  Brown. 

Nays:— Ingalls,  Blackburn,  Palmer,  Chace,  Vance,  Pike,  Spooner.** 

Mr.  Riddleberger  resigned  as  a  member  of  the  committee  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  and  Mr.  Chace  was  appointed  in  his  place,  June  4, 
1886;  that  accounts  for  his  being  on  the  committee.  We  furnish  now 
the  extract  from  the  executive  journal  of  the  Senate,  which  shows  the 
action  taken  thereon.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  Republicans  voted  against 
Mr.  Matthews,  even  the  members  from  his  own  State.  But  let  us  here 
give  the  record  again : 

July  3,  1886. 
Mr.  Blackburn,  from  the  committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  to 
whom  was  recommitted,  the  tWenty-ninth  of  March,  the  nomination 
of  James  C.  Matthews,  reported  adversely  thereon. 

July  31, 1886. 

The  Senate  proceeded  to  consider  the  nomination  of  James  C.  Mat- 
thews, and  after  debate  on  the  question,  '*  Will  the  Senate  advise  and 
consent  to  the  appointment  of  James  C.  Matthews?"  it  was  determined 
in  the  negative— yeas  fourteen;  nays  thirty -eight. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  Brown,  the  yeas  and  nays  being  desired  by  one-fifth 
of  the  Senators  present,  those  who  voted  in  the  affirmative  are:  Messrs 
Brown,  Call,  Camden,  Hampton,  Harris,  Hearst,  Jones  of  Arkansas, 
McPherson,  Payne,  Van  Wick,  Vest,  Voorhees,  Walthall,  and  Whitthom. 

Those  voting  in  the  negative  are:  Messrs  Aldrich,  Berry,  Blackburn, 
Blair,  Coke,  Conger,  Cullom,  Dawes,  Dolph,  Edmunds,  Eustis,  Evarts, 
Frye,  Harrison,  Hawley,  Hoar,  Ingalls,  Jones  of  Nevada,  McMillan, 
Mahone,  Manderson,  Maxey,  Miller,  Mitchell  of  Oregon,  Palmer,  Plumb, 
Ransom,  Riddleberger,  Salisbury,  Sawyer,  Sewell,  Sherman,  Spooner, 
Stanford,  Tellar,  Vance,  and  Wilson  of  Iowa.    So  it  was 

Resofved,  That  the  Senate  do  not  advise  and  consent  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  James  C.  Matthews  to  be  recorder  of  deeds  in  the  District  of 
Columbia. 

During  the  roll  call  the  following  pairs  were  announced :  Mr.  Colquitt, 
in  the  affirmative,  with  Mr.  Chace  in  the  negative.  Mr.  George,  in  the 
affirmative,  with  Mr.  Gorman  in  the  negative.  Mr.  Kenna,  in  the  affirm- 
ative, with  Mr.  Sabin  in  the  negative.  Mr.  Brow%  submitted  a  motion^ 
that  the  injunction  of  secrecy  be  removed  from  the  vote  last  taken. 

Monday,  August  2, 1886. 

The* Senate  proceeded  to  consider  the  motion  submitted  by  Mr.  Brown 
to  remove  the  injunction  of  secrecy  from  the  vote  by  which  the  Senate 
Tcfused  to  advise  and  consent  to  the  appointment  of  James  C.  Matthews 
to  be  recorder  of  deeds  from  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Mr.  Edmunds  proposed  to  amend  by  adding  thereto  the  foUowiog- 
words :  "  And  from  the  reports  of  all  committees,  and  votes  upon  afl 
nominations  acted  upon  during  the  present  session.'* 


Ij^ 


972  UBN  OF  HARK. 

Mr.  Butler  proposed,  as  a  further  ainendmciit,  the  following  wordi: 
"And  that  all  Senators  be  allowed  to  pnhliah  their  mniu'lu  thereon." 

On  motion  by  Mr.  Butkr,  and  by  unanimous  consent. 

Okdereo,  That  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  thirty-first  of  July 
that  the  Senate  do  not  advise  and  consent  to  the  appointment  of  James 
C.  Matthews,  be  transmitted  forthwith  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States. 

However,  August  9,  the  day  after  the  Senate  adjourned,  the  President 
stood  by  his  appointee,  and  commissioned  him  reeorder  of  deeds  for  the 
city  of  Washington,  and  he  was  privileged,  therefore,  to  act  in  that 
capacity  until  the  Senate  should  meet  again  in  December,  after  the  sum- 
mer vacation.  The  rejection  of  Mr.  Matthews  occasioned  very  great 
excitement  among  the  colored  people,  and  arrayed,  as  we  have  already 
■aid,  in  his  behalf  the  Negro  press,  which  has  become  a  very  powcrfbl 
foctor  in  the  affairs  pertaining  to  the  race.  Space  will  not  permit  us  to 
give  selections  from  the  journals  of  the  da}',  but  on  investigation  it  will 
be  fouiiil  as  said.  The  Washington  journals  were  very  active  pro  and 
con.  The  Washington  Bee,  being  very  pronounced  against  the  action 
of  the  members  of  the  Senate,  bitterly  denounced  them.  Delegations  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  were  constantly  calling  on  Senator  Ingalli  who 
was  the  chief  antagonist  of  Mr.  Matthews,  on  the  ground  that  a  Negro 
had  no  right  to  be  a  E>emocrat ;  but  to  this  the  Negroes  took  exceptions 
aaying,  that  in  this  country  any  man  had  a  right  to  think  as  he  pleased; 
that  the  Republicans  were  not  the  keepers  of  the  Negro  conscience,  nor 
should  they  be  the  suppressor  of  any  man's  opinion.  Men  who  had 
been  life-long  Republicans  and  who  were  still  stalwart  in  their  convic- 
tions and  who  were  political  antagonists  of  Mr.  Matthews,  nevertheless 
came  to  his  rescue,  believing  that  he  was  honest,  sincere  in  his  convictions 
and  was  entitled  to  the  protection  of  his  race;  and  that  it  was  their 
bounden  duty  to  see  that  he  was  not  crushed  liecause  he  chose  to  be  a 
Democrat.  There  weremany  who  opposed  him  professedly  on  the  ground, 
that  he  was  not  a  resident  of  the  District.  This  pretext  was  very  Rimsy, 
for  scores  of  men  had  been  appointed  in  territories  where  they  did  not 
live.  The  Democratic  party  had  agreed  in  their  platfurm,  upon  which 
Mr.  Cleveland  was  elected,  to  appoint  residents  of  the  District  of  Colom- 
bia to  the  offices  therein,  and  while  a  man  may  not  be  bound  by  the 
general  outlines  of  the  platform,  he  cannot  be  compelled  to  stay  close  to 
the  minutiae  thereonj  and  President  Cleveland,  desirous  to  encourage 
the  Negroes,  saw  fit  to  select  this  very  competent  and  excellent  gentle- 
man to  fill  the  place  in  the  city  of  Washington,  which  had  already  heea 
filled  by  Frederick  Douglass,  who  was  a  resident  of  New  York  City. 
He  therefore  renominated  him  on  the  reassembling  of  Congress,  in  ttie 
letter  which  we  here  give. 

"■  Tuesday,  December  21, 1886. 

The  following  message  waa  received  from  the  President  of  the  United 
SUtes: 


JAMES  C.  MATTHBWS.  973 

To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States : 

I  nominate  James  C.  Matthews  of  New  York',  to  be  recorder  of  deeds  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  in  the  place  of  Frederick  Douc'lass,  resigned. 

This  nomination  was  submitted  to  the  Senate  at  its  last  session  upon 
the  retirement  of  the  previous  incumbent,  who  for  a  number  of  years  had 
held  the  office  to  which  it  refers.  In  the  last  days  of  the  session  the  Sen- 
ate declined  to  confirm  the  nomination. 

Opposition  to  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Matthews  to  the  office  for  which 
he  was  named  was  developed  among  the  citizens  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, ostensibly  on  the  ground  that  the  nominee  was  not  a  resident  of  the 
District,  and  it  is  supposed  that  such  opposition,  to  some  extent  at  least, 
influenced  the  determmation  of  the  question  of  his  confirmation. 

Mr.  Matthews  has  now  been  in  occupancy  of  the  office  to  which  he 
^?eas  nominated  for  more  than  four  months,  and  he  has  in  the  perform- 
ance of  the  duties  thereof  won  the  approval  of  all  those  having  business 
to  transact  with  such  office,  and  has  rendered  important  service  in  rescu- 
ing the  records  of  the  District  from  loss  and  illegibility. 

I  am  informed  that  his  management  of  this  office  has  removed  much  of 
the  opposition  to  his  appointment  which  heretofore  existed. 

I  have  ventured,  therefore,  in  view  of  the  demonstrated  fitness  of  this 
nominee,  and  with  the  understanding  that  the  objections  heretofore 
urged  against  his  selection  have  to  a  great  extent  subsided,  and  confess- 
ing a  desire  to  cooperate  in  tendering  to  our  colored  fellow-citizens  just 
recognition  and  the  utmost  good  faith,  to  again  submit  this  nomination 
to  the  Senate  for  confirmation,  at  the  same  time  disclaiming  any  inten- 
tion to  question  its  previous  action  in  the  premises. 

Grover  Cleveland. 

Executive  Mansion,  December  21, 1886. 

Upon  which  the  following  action  was  taken : 

Ordered,  that  the  nomination  of  James  C.  Matthews  be  referred  to 
the  committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia. 

extracts  from  minutes  op  the  committee. 

January  14, 1887. — The  nomination  of  Mr.  James  C.  Matthews  was 
then  taken  up,  and  Mr.  Brown  moved  to  postpone  its  consideration  for 
one  week,  which  was  lost  by  the  following  vote : 

Ayes — Harris,  Brown  (2). 

Nays — Ingalls,  Palmer,  Chace,  Cheney,  Vance,  Spooner  (6). 

Absent — Blackburn  (1). 

Mr.  Blackburn  (having  since  the  former  vote  entered  the  committee 
room)  was  then  instructed  to  report  the  nomination  back  to  the  Senate 
adversely,  by  the  following  vote  on  the  question:  "Shall  the  nomina- 
tion be  favorably  reported  for  confirmation  ?" 

Ayes — Harris,  Brown  (2). 

Nays— Ingalls,  Blackburn,  Palmer,  Chace,  Vance,  Cheney,  Spooner  (7). 

EXTRACT  FROM  THE  EXECUTIVE  JOURNAL  OF  THE  SENATE. 

Wednesday,  January  19, 1887. 
Mr.  Blackburn  from  the  committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  to 
whom  was  referred,  the  twenty -first  December  last,  the  nomination  of 
James  C.  Matthews,  reported  adversely  thereon. 


•974 


MBN  OP  MA.RK. 


I" 


\ 

u 

•  ^ 

If 

r  ■ 


r 

i 


Wednesday,  January  26, 1887. 

The  Senate  proceeded  to  consider  the  nomination  of  James  C.  Mat* 
thews,  and  after  debate  on  the  question,  "  Will  the  Senate  advise  and  con- 
sent to  the  appointment  of  James  C.  Matthews?"  it  was  determined  in 
the  negative.    Yeas — 17;  nays — 31. 

On  motion,  by  Mr.  Dawes,  yeas  and  nays  being  desired  by  one- 
fifth  of  the  Senators  present,  those  who  voted  in  the  affirmative  are: 
Messrs  Beck,  Blair,  Brown,  Call,  Cockrell,  Colquitt,  FarweU,  Gibson, 
Hampton,  Harris,  Jones  of  Arkansas,  McPherson,  Mitchell  of  Oregon, 
Payne,  Vest,  Walthall  and  Whitthome. 

Those  who  voted  in  the  negative  are:  Messrs  Allison,  Blackburn, 
Bo  wen,  Chace,  Coke,  Conger,  Cullom,  Dawes,  Edmunds.  Eustis,  Evarts, 
Gorman,  Hawley,  Hoar,  Ingalls,  Jones  of  Nevada,  McMillan,  Mahone, 
Morgan,  Palmer,  Plumb,  Pugh,  Ransom,  Salisbury,  Sawyer,  SewdU, 
Sherman,  Spooner,  Vance,  Williams,  and  Wilson  of  Iowa. 

So  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  do  not  advise  and  consent  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  James  C.  Matthews  to  be  recorder  of  deeds  in  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia. 

During  the  roll  call  the  following  pairs  were  announced : 

Mr.  Butler  with  Mr.  Cameron. 

Mr.  Berry  with  Mr.  Tellar. 

Mr.  Camden  with  Mr.  Stanford. 
'     Mr.  Gray  with  Mr.  Manderson. 

Mr.  Kenna  with  Mr.  Miller. 

Saturday,  January  29, 1887. 

Mr.  Ingalls  submitted  the  following  in  the  nature  of  a  resolution  to 
accompany  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  26th  inst.,  rejecting  the 
nomination  of  James  C.  Matthews  to  lie  recorder  of  deeds  for  the  District 
of  Columbia: 

James  C.  Matthews  of  New  York  was  nominated  March  9, 1886,  to  be 
recorder  of  deeds  in  the  District  of  Columbia  in  place  of  Frederick  Doug- 
lass, resigned.  This  nomination  was  rejected  bv  the  Senate  Julv  21, 
1886. 

Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Senate,  to  wit :  August  9, 
1886,  the  President  appointed  James  C.  Matthews  to  the  office  for  which 
he  had  been  rejected  by  the  Senate,  and  he  continued  in  the  discharge  of 
its  duties  during  the  recess  of  Congress. 

On  the  twenty-first  day  December,  1886,  the  President  again  nominated 
James  C.  Matthews  of  New  York  to  be  recorder  of  deeds  in  the  District 
of  Columbia,  in  place  of  Frederick  Douglass,  resigned. 

In  his  message  to  the  Senate  of  March  1,  1886,  relative  to  papers  on 
file  and  other  information  touching  suspensions  from  and  appointments  to 
office,  the  President,  among  other  things,  said : 

Upon  a  refusal  to  confirm  I  shall  not  assume  the  right  to  .ask  the  rea- 
sons for  the  action  of  the  Senate,  nor  question  its  determination.  I  can- 
not think  that  anything  more  is  required  to  secure  worthy  incumbents  in 
public  office  than  a  careful  and  independent  discharge  of  our  respective 
duties  within  their  well  defined  limits. 

The  nomination  of  Matthews  being  apparently  not 'strictly  in  accord 
with  these  declarations  of  the  President,  and  being  the  only  instance  of  a 
person  rejected  by  the  Senate  who  has  been  reappointed  and  again  nom- 
inated for  the  same  office  under  this  administration,  the  President  con- 
sidered the  event  of  sufficient  consec|uence  to  accompany  the  transmission 
of  the  nomination  with  the  following  statement  in  justification  of  bis 
action :    (See  Pre»dent's  letter.) 


JAMBS  C.  MATTHEWS.  975 

The  Senate  does  not  consider  that  it  is  required  either  to  admit  or  to 
•deny  the  propriety  or  the  correctness  of  the  conjecture  of  the  President 
tui  to  the  reasons  by  which  it  w&s  guided  in  declining  to  confirm  the  orig- 
inal nomination. 

The  President  attempts  to  justify  the  renomination  of  Matthews  by 
stating, 

1.  That  the  fitness  of  the  nominee  has  been  demonstrated. 

2.  That  the  previous  opposition  to  his  appointment  among  the  citi- 
^sens  of  the  District  has  lar^y  subsided. 

3.  That  he  desires  in  this  way  to  tender  just  recognition  and  good  faith 
'toward  our  colored  fellow  citizens. 

It  is  sufiicient  answer  to  the  first  two  reasons  alleged  to  say  that 
-neither  could  have  been  applicable  when  Matthews  was  appointed  in 
.August,  immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Senate,  tor  at  that 
time  his  fitness  had  not  been  demonstrated,  nor  had  there  been  any  inter- 
nal for  local  opposition  to  subside. 

Until  sug|B[ested  by  the  President,  the  Senate  was  not  aware  that  the 
question  ot**just  recognition  or  good  faith  to  our  colored  fellow  citizens  '* 
"was  involved  in  the  question ;  and  it  has  never  before  been  urged  that  a 
person's  nomination  for  an  office  should  be  confirmed  or  rejected  because 
lie  is  black  or  because  he  is  white. 

This  classification  has  been  abolished  by  the  suppression  of  the  Re- 
bellion, and  by  the  Amendments  of  the  Constitution,  and  is  no  longer 
groperly  to  be  recognized  in  dealing  with  public  affairs.  The  Senate, 
owever,  in  view  of  the  message  of  the  President,  cannot  forbear  to  ap- 
prise him,  since  he  has  raised  the  race  issue,  that  Frederick  Douglass  was, 
it  is  understood,  requested  to  resign  the  office  of  recorder  of  deeds  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  in  order  that  James  C.  Matthews  might  be  ap- 
pointed to  the  place.  Without  doubt,  Frederick  Douglass  is  the  most 
•distinguished  representative  of  the  colored  race,  not  in  this  country  only 
but  in  the  world.  **Just  recognition  "  would  have  l)een  tendered  to  our 
•colored  fellow  citizens  by  the  retention  of  Frederick  Douglass,  rather 
-than  by  his  enforced  retirement,  in  order  to  reward  an  unknown  and  ob- 
^scure  partisan  who  had  never  been  a  slave,  and  therefore  represented  the 
^enfranchised  race  only  by  the  accident  oif  color.  The  devotion  of  the 
President  to  the  political  and  civil  advancement  of  the  colored  race 
might  have  been  equally  attested,  and  *'good  faith  "  might  have  been  as 
.strongly  evinced  by  the  retention  of  Douglass  in  the  office  whose  duties 
he  was  discharging  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people,  unless  it  is  to  be 
understood  that  *'just  recognition  "  is  to  be  tendered  only  to  those  mem- 
bers of  that  race  who  are  supposed  to  entertain  particular  political 
-opinions.  In  such  a  case  the  issue  of  race  disappears,  and  the  test  is 
politics. 

The  Senate  has  no  official  information,  other  than  that  contained  in 
the  message  of  the  President,  whether  Matthews  is  white  or  black.  He 
is  admitted  to  be  a  citizen  of  New  York.  The  office  to  which  he  is  nom- 
inated is  strictly  local.  The  compensation  for  the  performance  of  its 
^duties  is  not  paid  by  the  Government,  but  mainly  by  citizens  of  the  dis- 
.trict  having  papers  to  be  recorded  therein. 

His  confirmation  is  opposed  with  substantial  unanimity  by  the  citizens 
of  the  district  without  regard  to  color,  politics  or  occupation. 

The  just  principles  of  self-government,  as  well  as  the  declaration  of 
tx>th  political  parties,  justify  their  desire  that  the  duties  of  the  office  of 
-necorder  of  deeds  should  be  performed  by  some  resident  of  the  district 
acceptable  to  those  whose  property  is  to  be  affected  by  his  acts,  and  who 
;pay  the  entire  ^expense  of  its  administration. 


976 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


[  than  I  dc 
ition  of  J.  C.  Matthews  ajai 
>t'the  Senate  should  go  to  thi 


'<k 


It  can  readily  be  seen  that  the  threat  on  the  part  of  the  Senate  answer 
iag  the  President,  was  really  a  political,  document  addressed  to  the  col 
ored  people  of  the  United  States :  and  there  was  cowardice  in  the  Setiab 
in  not  doing  juat  what  they  meant  to  do.  Complimenting  Free 
Douglass  and  directing  the  President  whom  he  should  choose.  i 
piece  of  impudence  that  has  not  its  equal  in  the  political  or  senatoria 

It  would  be  as  well  before  closing  up  this  testimony,  to  select  a  paa 
sage  from  the  Congressional  record,  February  23. 1887,  This  pasa«gi 
■hows  that  secrecy  was  removed  from  all  the  papers  and  matters,  ani 
that  Senator  Ishatn  G.  Harris  boldly  declared  in  open  meeting  that  al 
the  charges  made  against  Mr.  Matthews  were  false.  But  here  let  m 
give  the  record: 

Mr.  Harris.  1  shall  have  something  to  say  when  the  Senator  ii 
through,  but  not  now. 

Mr.  Kiddleuesger,  Lest  I  should  not  give  the  Senator  time  befbn 
two  o'clock.  I  am  almost  inclined  to  say  that  1  have  about  6iUBbcd  now 
I  think  I  have  about  given  the  facts  of  this  case.  If  1  have  not,  wbcs 
there  shall  come  a  response  to  the  resolution  the  facts  will  be  sent  out. 

Mr.  Harris.    Mr.  President,  I  shall  most  cheerliilly  vote  for  the  rew> 
lution  of  the  senator  from  Virginia.    He   ' 
that  every  fact  connected  with  the  noiT 
the  report  of  the  committee  and  the  actic 

It  is  due  to  the  truth  of  historj',  however,  inasmuch  as  the  senatoi 
has  emphasized  the  fact  that  certain  charges  were  filed  before  the  codf 
mittee  on  the  District  of  Columbia  against  James  C,  Matthews,  thai 
•ome  other  facts  should  be  stated  in  that  coaaection.  It  is  true  thai 
charges  were  made,  but  it  is  equally  true  that  the  chairman  of  the  com' 
mittee  [Mr.  Itigalls],  the  Senator  who  now  occupies  the  chair,  and  mV' 
self  were  appointed  a  sub-committee  to  investigate  those  charges.  It  u 
equally  true  that  we  summoned  from  Albany.  New  Vurk,  every  person 
that  the  man  who  mode  the  charges  indicateil  as  one  who  could  p'X>ba- 
biy  sustain  tlicm,  Wc  also  summoned  such  witnesses  as  the  accused 
chose  to  designate  as  having  knowledge  upon  the  subject.  You  and  I, 
sir.  sat  for  .i  whole  day.  and  examined  and  cross-examined  the  variont 
witnesses  so  brought  to  this  city,  under  the  solemn  sanctions  of  tbeii 
oaths.  The  evidence  taken  in  that  examination  is  now  on  file  in  the 
committee  room,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  every  word  of  it  go  into  print 
and  go  to^he  public.  But  y.m  and  1,  sir.  agreed  and  reported  to  the  full 
committee  that  there  was  not  the  shadow  of  foundation  in  truth  for  any 
one  of  the  charges  that  had  been  so  made  against  James  C.  Matthews. 

I  know  not  what  the  motives  were  of  any  Senator  for  voting  against 
his  confirmation,  nor  do  1  choose  to  inquire  into  their  motives ;  bnt  if 
there  was  a  member  of  the  committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia  who 
doubted  or  had  reason  to^duubt  the  personal  respectability  of  the  man, 
or  his  qualifications  to  perform  the  duties  to  that  office,  no  such  doubt 
was  ever  expressed  within  my  hearing. 

Let  these  facts  go  to  the  public  with  the  statement  of  the  senator 
from  Virginia. 

After  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Matthews,  James  M.  Trotter  of  Hyde  Parli 
Massachusetts,  was  aelected  to  fill  the  position.  The  Republican  Seas- 
tors  were  willing  to  do  this  when  they  found  the  storm  they  had  colkd 


JAMES  C.  MATTHEWS.  977 

ap  by  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Matthews,  and  fearin^j^.  as  they  said,  lest  their 
action  would  be  misunderstood,  they  confirmed  him  almost  unanimously. 
It  does  seem,  if  they  were  honest  and  right  at  the  time  they  rejected  one 
who  was  not  a  resident  of  the  city,  they  ought  to  have  rejected  another 
on  the  same  grounds ;  and  hence  they  lost  their  whole  case  by  their  action . 
and  it  stands  against  them  either  as  an  impeachment  of  integrity  or 
complete  backing  down,  forced  by  the  Negroes  of  the  countrj'. 

Mr.  Matthews  is  also  responsible  for  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Trotter 
to  the  position  of  recorder  of  deeds ;  he  very  wisely  appointed  him  his 
deputy  just  before  his  own  rejection.  It  was  thought  that  he  was  ad- 
vised to  this  course  by  the  President.  The  appointment  was  made  under 
an  act  of  Congress,  approved  January  16, 1877,  which  sa^s: 

Be  it  enacted,  etc..  That  the  recorder  of  deeds  for  the  District  of  Col 
umbia  is  authorized  to  appoint  a  deputy  recorder,  with  the  full  power  of 
the  recorder,  and  in  case  of  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  recorder,  by  death, 
resignation  or  other  cause,  the  deputy  recorder  shall  act  until  a  recorder 
shall  be  duly  appointed  and  qualihed. 

Resolved^  That  no  additional  expense  shall  be  incurred  by  the  district 
for  said  deputy,  and  no  other  fees  shall  be  appointed  than  are  now  pro- 
vided by  law. 

About  the  hour  that  the  Senate  was  voting  on  his  name  the  following 
paper  was  issued : 

To  all  whom  it  may  concern : 

Under  and  by  virtue  of  chapter  twenty-three  (23)  of  the  United  States 
Statutes  at  Large,  approved  January  16,  1877,  entitled  *' An  act  author- 
izing the  recorder  of  the  District  of  Columbia  to  appoint  an  assistant 
with  certain  powers,"  I,  James  C.  Matthews,  recofder  of  deeds  for  the 
District  of  Columbia,  do  hereby  make,  constitute  and  appoint  James  M. 
Trotter,  of  H^de  Park,  Massachusetts,  deputy  recorder  of  deeds  in  and 
for  said  District  of  Columbia. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  of  office  this  second  day  of  March,  in 
the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty-seven. 

[Seal.]  James  C.  Matthews, 

Recorder  of  Deeds  for  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Of  course  as  soon  as  Mr.  Matthews  was  out  of  the  office,  this  would 
bring  Mr.  Trotter  in  recorder  anyhow ;  and  soil  was  clear  that  the  Senate 
would  have  been  beaten  anyway ;  they  would  have  had  a  colored  man  and 
non-resident  in  the  office  which  they  labored  so  hard  to  keep  him  out  of, 
and  so  they  no  doubt  thought  it  was  not  worth  while  to  he  defeated  in 
that  style,  and  so  they  confirmed  Mr.  Trotter. 

Mr.  Matthews  is  distinguished  from  most  leading  men  of  his  race  by 
those  characteristics  that  mark  his  career  so  prominently ;  being  open- 
handed,  frank  and  unacquainted  with  duplicity,  generous,  kind,  not  for 
notoriety  but  because  he  loves  charity.  He  contributes  liberally  to  all 
the  deserving  objects  and  associations,  helping  and  encouraging  wherever 
opportunity  presents,  both  with  his  means  and  ability,  all  movements 
hintingat  the  amelioration  of  therace.  Politically  he  is  a  clear-headed  and 
forcing  politician ;  one  who  can  calculate  a  political  cqpiplexion  during 
a  campaign  down  to  nicety.  It  is  this  power  to  influence  individuals 
that  incurs  for  him  the  opposition  of  Republicans ;  they  know  him  to  be 
a  natural  orator,  worthy  of  the  best  foeman's  steel.  His  style  of  oratory 
is  of  that  fjersuasive,  logical  and  argumentative  kind  which  usually  cap- 
tivates the  listener. 

I  trust  that  his  future  will  be  as  brilliant  as  his  past,  and  that  he  will 
maintain  himself  with  honor  and  credit  to  the  race. 


Mmi  OP  MABK. 


PROFESSOR  WILLIAM  HOWARD  DAY,  D.  D. 

Able  and  Forcible  Orator— Practical    Printer— Veteran   Editor — Phili 
thropist— Agitator— Progrtfisive  Race  Man. 

THIS  gentleman  was  born  in  New  York  City.  I 
first  attended  the  Folsona  school ;  then  the  publ 
school,  number  2,  and  then  a  celebrated  private  schoc 
He  prepared  for  college  at  Northampton,  Massachusett 
and  thoroughly  leai^ed  the  art  of  printing.  His  j^ardia: 
Hon. J.  P.  Williston, determined  to  teach  himatradeas  wt 
as  give  him  a  liberal  education.  In  1842  Alt-.  Day  wi 
examined  in  Latin  and  Greek  by  Rev.  Beriah  Green,  pres 
dent  of  Whitestown  Institute.  New  York.  In  18+3  1 
entered  Oberlin  College,  Ohio,  and  passed  a  rijjid  privai 
examination  in  Latin,  Greek  and  algebra  He  gradual* 
in  1847,  the  only  colored  member  of  a  class  of  fifty.  Du 
ing  his  temi  of  study  his  effort  was  to  pay  his  own  bil 
by  work  in  the  printing  office.  In  a  short  time  after  gra» 
uating  he  was  appointed  foreman — all  the  eom|>ositoi 
were  white  men ;  but  thej'  recognized  Mr.  Day  s  fitness  fc 
the  responsible  position  and  cheerfully  worked  under  h 
direction.  From  1845  to  1852  he  was  constantly  on  tl 
platform  in  defense  of  the  rights  of  man.    He  was   a 


WILLIAM  HOWARD  DAY.  979 

dected  representative  of  the  colored  citizens  in  every 
State  or  National  convention.  In  the  repeal  of  the  **  Black 
Laws"  of  Ohio,  1849,  he  held  a  prominent  part,  having 
been,  with  John  L.  Watson,  elected  by  the  colored  citizens 
in  convention  assembled  to  address  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  It 
was  unheard  of  presumption  in  that  early  day,  on  the 
part  of  the  colored  people,  to  ask  for*  the  hall  of  the  house, 
but  Mr.  Day  proposed  that  it  be  done  and  the  result  was 
that  under  God  the  repeal  was  secured.  The  most  nota- 
ble benefit  derived  from  the  repeal  was  the  school  system 
which  was  to  be  enjoj'ed  bj'-  seven  thousand  children  who, 
up  to  that  time,  had  practically  been  deprived  of  school 
privileges.  The  influence  of  this  worthy  man  at  this  time 
in  Ohio  was  so  extended  that  members  of  Congress  and 
judges  of  the  courts  admitted  their  indebtedness  to  him 
for  their  election.  This,  too,  was  fifteen  years  before  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment. 

In  1852  he  called  together  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  the  living 
representatives  of  color  of  the  War  of  1812,  and  brought 
together,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Nation,  the 
men  who  fought  at  New  Orleans  under  General  Jackson ;  in 
Georgia,  at  Plattsburg,  New  York,  and  on  the  lakes,  and 
for  the  first  time  the  cannon  of  the  government  belched  forth 
the  praise  of  their  heroic  deeds  in  the  early  day.  Mr.  Day 
was  orator  of  this  occasion.  In  1852  he  was  the  chairman 
of  the  committee  of  citizens  of  Cleveland  to  address  Louis 
Kossuth  of  Hungary  and  to  present  money  to  help  to  pur- 
chase muskets  for  Hungary's  cause.  He  then  uttered  that 
sentence  which  has  often  since  been  quoted:   ** Liberty  is 


980 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


one,  and  Despotism  one,  the  world  over.'*  In  the  same 
year  he  established  The  Aliened  American,  a  paper  pub- 
lished once  a  week  in  the  interest  of  his  race. 

In  1852  he  was  secretary  of  the  National  convention  at 
Cleveland.  Previously  to  this,  he  was  employed  as  com- 
positor in  the  office  of  the  Cleveland  True  Democrat,  pub- 
lished  by  Hon.  Thomas  Brown,  with  Hon.  John  C. 
Vaughan,  a  South  Carolinian  and  a  former  slaveholder, 
editor.  After  nearly  a  year's  work  in  the  composing  room^ 
he  was  promoted  to  mailing  clerk  and  local  editor.  In  the 
absence  of  the  editors  he  was  deputed  to  welcome  to  Cleve- 
land the  representative  of  Georgian  liberty — Professor 
GottfHed  Kinkel.  On  one  occasion  he  offered  a  resolution 
of  sympathy  for  those  struggling  in  the  Fatherland,  which 
did  much  to  unite  the  Germans  and  colored  citizens  in 
bonds  of  friendship. 

Mr.  Day  was  also  a  teacher  of  Latin,  Greek,  mathe- 
matics, rhetoric,  logic,  vocal  music,  short-hand,  writing 
and  other  studies.  In  1857  his  health  failed  and  his 
physician  ordered  him  to  a  farm;  he  went  to  Canada, 
where,  while  recruiting  his  health,  he  could  labor  for  the 
educational  development  among  the  fugitive  slaves,  fifty 
thousand  of  whom  had  then  reached  the  Province.  In 
1859,  in  company  with  Rev.  William  King  of  Canada,  he 
visited  England,  Ireland  and  Scotland  to  secure  means  to 
erect  a  church  and  school-houses  in  the  celebrated  Elgia 
settlement  at  Buxton,  Canada.  Having  been  successful  in 
raising  $35,000  for  that  purpose,  his  colleague  returned  to 
Canada  with  the  means  secured,  while  at  the  earnest 
request    of  the   Americans   in   England,    Professor   Day 


WILUAM  HOWARD  DAT.  981 

remained  to  give  information  to  the  British  public  upon 
the  important  questions  connected  with  the  stirring  events 
of  1861-65.  He  was  received  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  of  Ireland.  In  the  Music  Hall  of 
Dublin  he  was  greeted  by  an  audience  of  three  thousand. 
He  sailed  for  Scortland  and  made  Edinburgh  his  head- 
quarters, and  visited  the  principal  towns  and  cities  before 
leaving  for  London.  All  this  prepared  the  way  for  public 
demonstrations  everywhere.  As  if  to  intensify  this  inter- 
•est,  then  at  fever-heat,  a  circumstance  occurred  which  may 
well  be  called  Providential,  in  connection  with  these  ques- 
tions pertaining  to  the  people  of  color. 

In  1858  Professor  Day  had  been  elected,  at  Chatham, 
Canada,  by  a  general  convention  of  citizens  of  Canada 
and  the  United  States,  as  president  of  the  National  Board 
of  Commissioners  of  the  Colored  People,  and  had  in  that 
same  year  signed  the  papers  authorizing  Doctor,  after- 
wards Major  Martin  R.  Delaney,  and  others,  to  go  to  the 
valley  of  the  Niger  in  Africa  to  explore  it.  Of  the  complete 
company  assigned  to  that  work,  only  two,  Dr.  Delaney 
and  Professor  Campbell,  of  the  Institute  for  Colored  Youth 
in  Philadelphia,  could  go.  In  the  meantime  Professor  Day 
sailed  for  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  from  Ireland 
wrote  to  Dr.  Delaney  in  Africa  to  come  home  by  way  of 
Great  Britain.  Dr.  Delaney  wrote  back  that  his  passage 
had  already  been  arranged  direct  to  America  and  the  sub- 
ject was  dropped.  But  Dr.  Delaney  afterwards  found  his 
direct  passage  to  America  prevented,  and  in  the  same  week 
in  which  Professor  Day  arrived  at  London  from  Scotland, 
Dr.  Delaney  and  Professor  Campbell  arrived  there  also 


982 


MBN  OF  MARK. 


from  Liverpool,  and  this  without  any  understanding  be- 
tween them.  Suffice  to  say,  that  as  a  result,  the  African 
Aid  Society  was  formed  and  is  yet  in  existence  and  doing 
noble  work  to-day. 

At  the  White  hall  club  rooms  the  distinguished  gentle- 
man of  whom  we  write  introduced  Dr.  Delaney  and  Pro- 
fessor Campbell,  and  addressed  two  hundred  noblemen 
and  gentlemen.  Among  them  was  lord  bishop  of  Sierra 
Leone  and  by  his  special  invitation  Professor  Day  addressed 
the  society  of  ladies  for  the  education  of  West  India  chil- 
dren. At  Hull  he  lectured  in  the  place  of  Gerald  Massey 
and  wife  who  had  failed  to  appear;  and  at  Burton-on- 
Trent  supplied  the  place  of  Father  Gavarri,  of  European 
and  American  fame.  He  was  a  welcome  guest  upon  the 
platform  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and 
for  four  months  regularly  supplied  the  pulpit  of  a  large 
Congregational  church  in  Lincolnshire.  He  was  also  offered 
a  professorship  in  a  classical  academj'-,  which  he  declined. 
He  arrived  home  after  an  absence  of  five  years,  and  at  the 
great  emancipation  meeting  in  Cooper  Institute,  New  York 
City,  delivered  one  of  his  stirring  addresses.  He  was  soon 
assigned  to  duty  in  connection  with  the  parent  Freedman*s 
Association,  and  with  Honorable  Horace  Greeley  addressed 
meetings  in  behalf  of  the  education  of  three  white  slave 
children,  one  the  child  of  a  Confederate  brigadier-general 
and  the  education  of  a  man  of  color  who  was  not  only  a 
slave,  but  in  whose  forehead  were  branded  the  initials  of  his 
former  master's  name. 

In  1866  he  was  appointed  editor  of  the  secular  depart- 
ment of  Zion's  Standard  and  Weekly  Review  of  New  York 


J 


WILUAM  HOWARD  DAY.  983 

City,  a  paper  owned  by  the  corporation  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Zion 
church,  and  of  wjiich  Rev.  (now  Bishop)  Singleton  T.Jones 
was  the  editor  of  the  religious  department.  Professor  Day 
continued  in  this  position  for  more  than  a  year,  when  in 
1867,  General  E.  M.  Gregory,  assistant  commissioner  of  the 
Bureau  of  Refugees,  Preedmen  and  Abandoned  Lands, 
whose  headquarters  were  at  Baltimore,  telegraphed  to 
him  to  come  and  take  charge  as  inspector-general  of  schools 
for  Maryland  and  Delaware.  On  assuming  duty  Professor 
Day  found  one  hundred  and  forty  schools,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  teachers,  and  seven  thousand  children  to  superintend- 
In  1869  Professor  Day  went  to  Wilmington,  where  he 
risked  his  life  in  organizing  the  colored  citizens  as  voters, 
and  was  successful  at  the  end  of  a  year  in  entirely  chang- 
ing the  representation  in  the  lower  house  of  Congress,  a 
change  for  the  firsttime  in  twenty  years.  In  1870  hetook 
charge  as  editor  of  Our  National  Progress^  and  for  five 
years  he  fought  the  battle  of  the  people.  In  1872  he  was 
appointed  as  clerk  in  the  corporation  department  of  the 
auditor-general's  office  of  Pennsylvania,  and  for  two  years 
and  a  half  sent  out  accounts  from  the  amount  of  thirty 
cents  to  four  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  1875  upon 
the  decease  of  Rev.  James  A.  Jones,  secretary  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Zion  connection,  the  Bishops 
united  in  assigning  him  to  the  position.  In  1876  he  served 
-with  ability  in  the  General  conference  held  at  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  where  he  was  reelected  secretary. 

In  1878  Professor  Day ,  after  a  warm  contest,  was  elected 
6chool  director  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania.  It  excited  no 
little  interest,  since  he  was  the  first  colored  man  ever  elected 


984  MEN  OP  UA.RK. 

to  that  body.  He  served  three  years,  being  secretary  of  th 
committee  on  teachers,  and  occapied  other  important  posi 
tions.  Hewasreelectedinl881.  Professor  Day  declined  tb 
third  election,  butattheendof  three  years  the  peopJecallet 
for  him  again,  and  inl887hewas  elected  as  the  Republicai 
candidate,  the  Democrats  refusing  to  nominate  any  on< 
against  him.  On  the  lecture  platform,  either  for  theGranc 
United  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  for  the  Masonic  fratcmitj 
representing  both  the  York  and  the  Scottish  rite,  or  on  gen 
eral  political,  or  economic,  or  literary  questions,  Professoi 
Day  has  been,  and  is  now,  constantly  in  request.  In  1885 
at  the  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  Annual  conference  ol 
the  A.  M.  E.  Zion  connection,  held  in  Washington,  h< 
was  unanimously  elected  presiding  elder  of  the  first  oi 
Baltimore  district,  which  he  resigned  in  1886  to  becomi 
general  missionary  and  intellectual  instructor  of  the  con 
ference.  Up  to  1885  Professor  Day  had  continued  his  con 
nection  with  the  Virginian  conference,  but  in  the  same  yea 
was  transferred  to  the  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  cot 
ference,  of  which  he  is  now  a  member.  The  Livingston 
College,  Rev.  J.  C.  Price  president,  conferred  on  Professc 
Wilham  H.  Day  the  title  of  D.  D,.  at  its  commencement  i 
May,  1887. 


B.  T.  TANNER. 


m 


BSXqAMSH  TUCKBR  TANNHK.  986 


CXLVII. 
REV.  BENJAMIN  TUCKER  TANNER,  A.  M.,  D.  D. 

^Bditor  of  the  A.  M.  E.  ReYiew—- Twenty  Years  an  Editor— For  Many 
Years  Editor  of  the  Christian  /?ecorc/er— Author  of  Ecclesiastical 
Works. 

WITHOUT  doubt,  ofte  of  the  brightest,  grandest, 
noblest  men  in  the  ranks  of  Negro  Methodism  is 
Dr.  B.  T.  Tanner,  the  veteran  journalist  of  the  colored  race. 
His  fame  has  extended  from  the  lakes  to  the  gulf,  and  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 

He  was  bom  of  Hugh  and  Isabella  Tanner,  in  Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania,  and  was  not  a  slave.  He  spent  five  years 
in  study  at  Avery  College,  Allegheny  City,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  paid  his  expenses  by  working  at  the  barber's 
•chair.  At  this  time  of  life  his  father  was  dead,  and  his 
struggles  were  the  more  severe  because  his  widowed 
mother  needed  his  care.  His  whole  nature  was  independ- 
ent; for  he  might  have  sweetened  his  life  some  and 
smoothed  many  a  road  over  which  he  passed,  but  he  pre- 
ferred to  work  and  win.  Mr.  Avery,  in  ^hose  honor 
Avery  College  was  named,  and  who  was  its  founder, 
offered  to  pay  his  expenses  through  college,  but  the  self- 
reliant  young  man  refused  it.    After  spending  one  year  of 


986  MBN  OP  MARK. 

the  five  in  Avery  College  in  the  College  Department,  he 
took  a  three  years' course  in  the  Western  Theological  Sem- 
inary.   His  birthday  being  December  25,  1835,  he  was 
twenty-five  years  old  when  he  recieved  his  first  appoint- 
ment fi-om  Bishop  D.  A.  Payne  to  the  Sacramento  station 
in  the  California  conference.    Tht  appointment  was  not 
filled  on  account  of  the  distance  and  the  money  to  get 
there.    So  he  was  ** supply*'  for  the  Presbyterian  church 
of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  for  eighteen  months. 
This  was  admissible  on  account  of  the  liberality  of  the 
views  of  each  denomination,  and  it  was  a  magnificent  com- 
pliment to  his  head  and  heart  that  they  invited  him.  While 
here  he  organized  the  Sabbath  school  for  Freedmen  in  the 
navy  yard,  by  permission  of  Admiral  Dalghren.    April, 
1862,  he  united  with  the  Baltimore  Annual  conference  and 
was  appointed  to  the   Alexander  Mission,   '*E'*  street,. 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia.  This  being  the  first  mis- 
sion possible  during  the  war,  it  had  to  be  guarded  by  sol- 
diers through  the  kindness  of  provost-marshal.  General 
Gregory.    The  year  1863  found  him  pastor  of  the  George- 
town, District  of  Columbia,  church.    1866  was  the  date- 
of  his  pastorate  in  **Big  Baltimore"*  charge,  and  after 
serving  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned  he  resigned  the 
re-appointment  of  the  charge,  to  become  principal  of  the 
Annual  Conference  school  at  Frederickstown,  Mtoyland. 
The  Freedmen's  Society  also  secured  his  services  in  org^ania- 
ing  a  common  school.   His  fame  and  talents  begot  for  him  a. 
great  name.    His  addresses  showed  thought,  learning  and 
rare  gifts;  so  that  when  the  general  conference  met  in 
the  capital  of  the  Nation,  in  1868,  he  was  not  only  elected 


BENJAMIN  TUCKER  TANNER.  987 

chief  secretary,  but  editor  of  the  church  organ,  the  Chris- 
tian Recorder,  by  acclamation,  and  this  honored  position 
ivas  thrust  upon  him  in  succession  until  he  had  served  six- 
teen years.  This  is  indeed  an  honor.  In  1870,  while  the 
lamented  Dr.  Henry  Highland  Garnet  was  president  of 
Aveiy  College,  he  was  given  the  degree  of  A.  M.,  a  title  he 
richly  earned  by  diligent  literary  labors.  Wilberforce  hon- 
ored him  with  the  degree  of  D.  D.,  sometime  in  the  seven- 
ties. 

In  1881  he  crossed  the  waters,  visiting  England  and  con- 
tinental Europe,  and  attending  the  Ecumenical  conference. 
His  spare  time  has  been  spent  in  editing  books  of  use  to 
his  denomination.  He  is  the  author  of  an  'Apology  for 
African  Methodism;*  *The  Negro's  Origin;  and  Is  He 
Cursed  of  God,*  *  An  Outline  of  our  History  and  Govern- 
ment;' 'The  Negro,  African  and  American.'  In  the  gen- 
eral conference  of  1884  Dr.  Tanner  was  voted  a  promotion 
to  the  editorship  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Review.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  scholarly  productions  of  the  age,  and  its  list  of 
"writers  includes  all  classes  of  thinkers  and  writers  of  all 
denominations,  male  and  female.  Indeed,  he  has  the  rare 
skill  of  securing  the  ablest  articles  by  Negro  writers.  It  is 
sent  out  quarterly,  full  of  matter  for  brain  and  soul.  His 
long  experience  fits  him  to  discriminate  with  such  rare 
judgment  that  the  magazine  is  always  nicely  balanced.  It 
is  the  crystallization  of  Negro  scholarship,  an  epitome  of 
Negro  brains,  and  the  doctor  is  as  unerring  in  hitting  the 
mark  with  his  own  pen  as  the  best  marksman  I  know. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  New  England  Historical  Society  of 
the  M.  E.  church,  and  fills  many  important  stations  in  b» 


988  MEN  OF  HARK. 

own  church.  His  views  are  in  the  line  of  Wesley's,  Rich* 
ard  Allen  and  the  leading  lights  of  their  faith.  The  affa- 
bility of  the  doctor,  added  to  his  general  worth,  makes 
him  respected  everywhere.  While  traveling  in  the  old 
world— he  was  sailing  on  Lake  Geneva,  Switzerland— he 
was  called  on  to  preside  at  the  dinner  and  was  also  made 
^airman  of  the  committee  appointed  to  draft  resolutions 
complimentary  to  Monsieur  Lemoiger,  who  had  sa£dj 
piloted  the  party  over  the  Alps  at  Chamonix. 
Dr,  Amett  has  said  of  Dr.  Tanner: 

He  has  risen  from  a  successftil  barber  to  be  the  king  of  Negro  editors. 
His  pen  is  sharper  than  his  razor,  and  his  editorial  chair  is  finer  than  the 
barber  chair.  The  church  and  race  will  long  remember  Dr.  B.  T.  Tanner 
for  the  part  he  has  taken  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  South  and  for  hii 
words  of  encouragement. 


« 
*. 


GEOFFREY  flSLBft.  989 


cxLvni. 

GEOFFREY  L'ISLET. 

Correspondent  of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences — Versed  in  the  Sciences 
of  Botany,  Natural  Philosophy,  Zoology,  and  Astronomy. 

GEOFFREY  L'ISLET,  a  mulatto,  was  an  officer  of  ar- 
tillery and  guardianof  the  depot  of  maps  and  plans 
of  the  Isle  of  France.  In  1786  he  was  named  a  corres- 
pondent of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  is  ac 
knowledged  as  such  in  the  '*Connoisance  des  Temps"  for 
1797,  to  which  learned  society  L'Islet  regularly  trans- 
mitted  meteorological  observations,  and  sometimes  hydro- 
graphical  journals.  His  maps  of  the  Isle  of  France.* 
delineated  according  to  astronomical  observations,  were 
published  with  other  plans,  in  1791,  by  order  of  the 
minister  of  marine.  A  new  edition  appeared  in  1802, 
corrected  from  drawings  transmitted  by  the  author.  Gre- 
goire  speaks  of  them  as  the  best  maps  of  those  isles  that 
had  appeared. 

In  the  almanac  of  the  Isle  of  France,  several  contri- 
butions of  L'Islet's  were  inserted ;  among  others,  a  descrip- 
tion of  Pitrebot,  one  of  the  highest  mountains  of  the  island. 
A  collection  of  his  manuscript  memoirs  are  deposited  in 
the  archives  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences.     Among  these 


990  MBK  OF  HAKK. 

is  the  account  of  a  voyage  of  L'Islet  to  the  Bay  ol 
Lace,  an  island  of  Madagascar;  it  is  accompanied  vn 
map  of  the  bay  and  of  the  coast.  He  points  out  th< 
changeable  commodities,  the  resources  which  it  pres< 
and  which  woald  increase,  says  he,  if,  instead  of  exci 
the  natives  to  war  in  order  to  obtain  slaves,  industry  i 
encouraged  by  the  prospects  of  advantageous  cotnmi 
The  description  he  gives  of  the  manners  and  customs  ol 
natives  of  Madagascar  is  very  curious. 

L'Islet  was  well  versed  in  botany,  natural  philoso] 
geology  and  astronomy.  He  struggled  more  snccessl 
than  many  against  the  prejudices  attached  to  his  r 
He  never  visited  Europe  to  improve  his  taste  or  afrq 
knowledge.  Had  he  been  able  to  do  this  in  his  youth 
breathe  the  atmosphere  of  the  learned,  it  would  fa 
probably  tended  to  the  expansion  of  his  genius 
talents. 

L'lsletestablishedascientificsocietyin  the  Isle  of  Frai 
of  which  sonic  whites  refused  to  liecomc  members,  merel  v 
cause  its  founder  was  a  Black.  "  Did  they  not  prove  by  tl 
conduct,'  asks  the  Abbe  Gregoire,  "that  they  were 
worthy  of  such  an  honor?"'  This  sketch  is  taken  frot 
book  entitled,  '  \  Tribute  tor  the  Negro,'  written  by  \ 
son  Armistead,  in  1848 ;  published  in  Manchester,  lingla 


R.  C.  O.  BENJAMIN.  991 


R 


CXLIX. 
H.  C.  O.  BENJAMIN,  ESQ. 

Xrawyer — Aothor — Editor — Champion  of  the  Race. 

C.  O.  BENJAMIN  was  born  on  the  Island  of  St. 


•  Keys,  March  31,  1855.  Education  being  compul- 
sory on  the  island,  hewas  sent  to  school  while  very  young, 
and  at  the  age  of  eleven  was  sent  to  England  under  a  pri- 
vate tutor,  who  prepared  him  for  college.  While  yet  a  boy 
he  entered  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  where  he  resided  for 
three  years,  and  left  without  taking  a  degree;  visiting 
Sumatra,  Java  and  other  islands  in  the  East  Indies,  then 
jretumed  to  England  after  a  two  years'  tour.  Being  of  i\ 
-roving  disposition,  he  soon  took  passage  on  a  vessel  com- 
ing to  America,  and  arrived  in  the  city  of  New  York,  April 
13,  1869.  Ten  days  after,  the  young  man  shipped  as 
kcabin  boy  on  the  bark  Lepanto,  captain,  Cyrus  E.  Staples, 
^nd  made  a  six  months'  cruise  to  Venezuela,  Curacoa,  Dem- 
erara  and  West  Indies.  Returning  to  New  York  in  the  fall 
of  the  same  year,  he  concluded  to  abandon  the  sea  and 
4settled  there,  working  at  anything  he  could  get  to  do. 

In  the  meantime  he  took  an  active  part  in  public  affairs, 
which  brought  him  in  close  association  with  such  promi- 


992  HEN  OF  HARK. 

nent  politicians  as  Dr.  Henry  Highland  Garnet,  Comeli 
Vancott,  Dr.  Isaac  Hayes,  Joe  Howard,  Jr.  The  latt 
then  editor  of  the  New  York  Star,  employed  him  aa 
soliciting  agent,  and  when  not  at  his  v^ork  he  was  t 
signed  to  office  duty.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months,  bn 
ness  led  him  into  the  acquaintanceship  of  Mr.  J,  J,  Fr 
man,  editor  of  the  Progressive  American,  who  made  h 
city  editor  of  his  paper.  In  the  same  year  he  was  natur 
ized  by  the  usual  court  on  such  occasions.  In  1876  i 
•Republican  party  nominated  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  as  th 
standard-bearer,  and  the  Democratic  party  nominal 
Samuel  J.  Tilden. 

Mr.  Benjamin  began  helping  to  organize  Hayes  a 
Wheeler  clubs  in  the  various  wards,  and  then  took  i 
stump  for  the  party,  making  speeches  at  Hempstead,  Lo 
Island  and  other  parts  of  the  State.  After  the  smoke 
battle  had  passed  over  and  Hayes  was  declared  the  chc 
of  the  people,  for  his  services  he  was  given  a  position 
letter  carrier  in  the  New  York  post  office;  but  finding  t 
work  too  laborious,  after  nine  months'  trial  he  was  coi 
pelled  to  give  it  up.  He  then  went  South  and  engaged 
school  teaching,  Kentucky  being  the  first  State  in  whi 
he  began.  Here  he  taught  in  sevemi  of  the  counties,  ai 
it  was  not  until  then  that  he  took  a  notion  to  become 
lawyer.  While  at  Hodgensvillc,  Lame  county,  Kentuck 
he  borrowed  some  law  books  from  ex-Congressman  Ree 
and  studied  after  school  hours;  once  a  week  he  rccit* 
lessons  to  Mr.  Dave  Smith,  now  State  Senator,  but  th« 
county  attorney.  From  Kentucky  he  went  to  Decatu 
Alabama,  and  was  made  principal  of  the  public  school  ar 


R.  C.  O.  BENJAMIN.  993 

cotnintted  to  read  law.  Next  he  goes  to  Arkansas,  to 
Brinkley  and  other  points,  where  he  taught  school,  and 
made  enough  money  to  go  to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  where 
he  put  himself  under  Honorable  Josiah  Patterson,  an 
eminent  lawyer  of  that  city.  Through  his  influence  he 
\iras  soon  after  admitted  to  the  bar,  January,  1880. 

His  success  has  been  varied  as  a  practitioner,  and  the 
territory  over  which  his  services  have  been  extended  ag- 
gregate twelve  different  States.  He  has  also  owned  and 
edited  several  newspapers — the  Colored  Citizen,  in  Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania,  and  the  Chronicle,  at  Evansville, 
Indiana.  He  was  editor  of  The  Negro  American,  at  Bir- 
mingham, Alabama. 

He  is  a  prolific  writer,  always  selecting  such  subjects  as 
will  interest  the  people.  He  has  written  several  very  val- 
uable pamphlets,  the  principal  ones  of  which  are  **  Poetic 
Gems;''  **The  Boy  Doctor;'*  **The  Defender  of  Obadiah 
Cuff*;"  **  The  Negro  Problem  Solved;"  '^Southland;"  **The 
Future  of  the  Negro ; "  **  Lectures  on  Africa ;  "  and  also  an 
historical  chart  of  the  colored  race. 

He  has  the  credit  of  being  one  of  the  best  speakers  in  the 
South.  He  has  made  extensive  trips  in  lecturing  in  the 
principal  cities  of  the  United  States.  In  1886  he  made  a 
tour  through  the  principal  cities  of  Canada  and  lectured 
to  large  white  audiences.  He  is  a  fluent  conversationalist 
in  both  the  French  and  Spanish  languages.  Any  one  read- 
ing his  paper  while  he  was  editor  will  find  that  the  Negroes 
in  Birmingham,  Alabama,  have  had  an  able  champion  in 
him,  and  one  who  would  never  fail  them.    His  strictures 


994 


HEN  OP  HAKK. 


on  the  murders  and  outrages  on  colored  people  by  tht 
road  companies,  in  having  special  gates  for  them  to 
through,  show  manliness ;  and  whatever  may  be  hisfi 
he  stands  by  the  race..    His  future  is  in  his  own  handi 


JOHN  J.  IKVINB.  ,    995 


CL. 
HON.  JOHN  J.  IRVINE. 

Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Conrt  of  Chattanooga,  Tennessee. 

AUGUST  3,  1852,  near  the  village  of  Clarksville,  m 
Mecklenburgh  county,  Virginia,  the  subject  of  our 
sketch  was  bom.  Clarksville  at  that  time  was  quite  a 
noted  slave  market,  and  at  a  very  early  age  he  began  to 
realize  that,  like  **  Topsy,"  **hemust  just  have  growed,"  for 
he  belonged  neither  to  his  father  nor  to  his  mother,  but  was 
in  reality  a  part  of  the  personal  stock  of  one  R.  M.  Scott. 

The  traits  of  character  which  he  has  developed  had  be- 
gun to  show  themselves  in  him  at  ten  years.  He  showed 
his  utter  abhorrence  of  and  rebellion  against  the  woes  of 
the  people.  Nevertheless,  like  others,  he  enjoyed  the  child- 
ish freedom  of  his  times  around  the  cabins  and  barnyard. 

In  1866,  after  the  death  of  his  mother,  he  was  hired 
out  to  a  farmer  for  the  munificent  sum  of  twelve  dollars  a 
year  and  three  suits  of  clothing,  with  the  promise  of  all 
the  education  he  could  pick  up  on  Saturday  afternoons 
and  at  nights,  but  with  no  promise  to  see  that  he  studied 
or  improved  himself  in  any  way.  He  confesses  now  that 
lie  wasted  much  time  in  frolicking  among  the  youth  of  his 


^        ■ 
^       ■ 

I 


996 


MEN  OP  MASK. 


!  I 

i 


age,  and  on  many  a  Sunday,  while  holding  the  horse  while 
his  employer  and  family  worshiped  in  the  church  where 
no  ** nigger"  dared  even  to  look,  he  would  have  his  slate, 
pencil,  or  perhaps  a  spelling  book,  and  partially  make  up 
for  lost  time. 

When  he  was  about  seven,  he  was  ordered  by  his  old 
master  to  work  for  a  man  named  Solomon,  and  his  mother 
was  ordered  to  prepare  him  for  departure  by  the  next 
morning.  This  was  their  first  separation.  On  the  follow- 
ing  morning,  at  an  early  hour,  furnished  with  a  small^ 
coarse  blanket,  he  started  in  charge  of  a  boy  somewhat 
larger  than  himself  to  what  was  to  be  his  future  home. 
Although  the  distance  was  only  five  miles,  it  seemed  as  if 
it  were  a  hundred.  His  young  heart  was  ready  to  break. 
Often  when  he  wanted  to  see  his  mother,  his  companion  told 
him  he  had  better  quit  crying  as  he  was  going  along  the 
road,  or  the  white  overseer  would  give  him  something  to 
cry  about.  So  when  he  got  up  to  the  cabin  he  tried  to  con- 
trol his  emotions  and  wipe  away  the  tears  as  best  he 
could.  He  was  very  shortly  put  to  his  duties  by  his  new 
master,  who  was  not  as  severe  as  he  had  expected,  and 
when  this  kind-hearted  man  found  the  boy  cryiiig  from 
homesickness,  he  said  he  would  let  him  go  home  every 
second  Sunday.  But  oh,  how  long  those  weeks  were ;  and 
when  the  time  came,  how  his  little  feet  skipped  over  those 
five  miles  as  though  it  was  but  a  few  moments'  walk.  Upon 
his  arrival  he  found  his  mother  at  home  for  the  day,  and 
the  welcome  he  received  can  be  better  imagined  than 
described.  When  it  was  time  for  him  to  return  he  begged 
his  parents  not  to  let  him  go  back.    But  all  in  vain.    The 


JOHN  J.  IRVINB.  997 

only  consolation  he  had  was  that  his  father  agreed  to  take 
him  home  on  the  horse,  thus  enabling  him  to  stay  a  little 
-while  longer.  So  mounting  the  horse,  the  father  took  him 
behind  and  started,  giving  the  boy  good  advice  all  along 
the  road,  until  they  were  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  Mr. 
Solomon's  place,  where  he  let  him  off  telling  him  to  be  a 
good  boy  and  save  himself  trouble ;  but  his  heart  was  too 
heavy  to  heed  anything  and  he  was  overcome  with  a 
desire  to  return.  So  waiting  till  his  father  had  gone  a 
short  distance,  he  returned  and  followed  him  even  to  the 

m 

threshold  of  his  mother's  door ;  but  here  the  thought  of 
the  consequences  struck  him  and  he  was  afraid  to  go  into 
the  house,  but  crawled  under  the  house,  and  being  very 
tired  fell  asleep  almost  instantly.  He  was  suddenly  awak- 
ened from  his  sleep  by  a  dog  which  had  found  and  knew 
him  and  was  licking  his  face  in  joy.  He  was  discovered  at 
home  and  taken  back  to  Mr.  Solomon's  house  with  the 
promise  that  he  would  see  that  he  stayed  this  time.  He 
continued  to  labor  for  Mr.  Solomon  until  the  breaking  out 
of  the  late  civil  war»  when  he  was  returned  to  his  owner. 
He  now  felt  a  great  desire  to  be  able  to  read ;  he  knew 
his  letters  but  dared  not  even  hint  such  a  thing  to  any  of 
the  owners.  Sometimes  he  would  get  hold  of  the  books  of 
his  young  master,  and  in  this  way  picked  up  the  founda- 
tion of  all  the  education  he  ever  received."  As  eman- 
cipation dawned  upon  the  colored  people,  the  first 
thought  of  seriously  applying  himself  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  an  education  entered  his  mind,  and  he  de- 
termined at  any  sacrifice  that  he  would  learn  to  read  and 
write,  and  from  that  time  applied  himself  to  that  end.  In 
1867  a  man  from  the  North  came  into  the  settlement  and 


998 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


proposed  to  open  a  school  for  the  colored  children.  Manj 
entertained  fears  for  his  safety  and  for  the  safety  of  the 
little  school-honse  erected  for  him  to  teach  iti,  which  ^ras 
located  some  eight  miles  from  where  young  Irvine 
was  then  living.  As  soon  as  the  first  crops  were  gathered, 
the  yonng  boy  determined  to  paddle  his  own  canoe  in 
search  of  more  light. 

He  made  arrangements  with  a  man  by  the  name  of  Moon  a» 
waiting  boy,  if  he  would  teach  him  at  night  after  the  day's 
work  was  over ;  but  as  the  gentleman  was  more  apt  at  teach- 
ing him  to  work  than  the  necessary  branches  he  desired  to 
study,  he  soon  went  to  live  with  a  Mrs.Gray,  who  really  gave 
him  the  most  of  his  education.  When  leaving  her  one  year 
later,  he  could  read  and  spell  very  well.  He  was  now  fifteen 
years  old  and  hired  himself  to  a  man  by  the  name  of  Turner, 
who  agreed  to  give  him  two  dollars  a  month  and  educate 
him;  he  was  to  furnish  his  own  clothes  and  be  allowed 
to  go  to  school  two  months  in  the  winter.  At  the  end  of 
eight  months  he  applied  for  the  small  amount  of  money 
that  was  due  him,  but  was  met  with  an  oath  and  told  to 
go  back  to  his  work  or  he  would  teach  him  something. 
Thinking  the  man  would  do  him  some  injury,  he  took  tip 
his  weary  search  and  went  back  to  Halifax  county,  where 
he  found  his  father,  who  was  again  working  a  farm  on 
shares.  After  consultation  they  concluded  to  move  South, 
where  the  weather  would  not  be  so  severe;  and  on  the 
twenty-ninth  of  December,  1868,  the  father  and  four  sons 
turned  their  backs  on  the  **01d  Dominion  State"  and 
started  for  the  ** Sunny  South."    They  stopped  first  at 


Ui 


.;.   i 


JOHN  J.  iryinb:  999 

Marion,  Alabama,  where  they  hired  to  the  ex-Confederate 
general,  N.  B.  Forrest,  to  help  build  the  Selma,  Marion  & 
Memphis  railroad.  Working  here  for  abotit  three  months, 
at  the  end  of  which  time,  finding  that  there  was  no  money 
in  railroading,  they  again  broke  camp  and  started  for  a  place 
on  a  large  farm  owned  by  W.  N.  Seldon,  near  Patinsdale, 
Marengo  county,  Alabama.  They  agreed  with  Mr.  Sel- 
don that  the  father  and  two  younger  brothers  were  to 
vrork  in  a  squad  of  men,  each  of  the  boys  to  have  and  re- 
ceive half  wages,  and  both  being  entitled  to  the  same  shares 
as  the  father.  John  was  to  be  employed  at  his  house  as  a 
servant,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  was  to  receive  in  cash 
the  same  amount  each  of  his  brothers  received.  Their  sys- 
tem of  work  was  about  as  follows :  There  were  eight 
squads  of  seven  men,  or  their  equivalent  in  boys,  employed 
on  the  place  to  work  on  shares,  the  landlord  to  find  all 
stock,  tools,  etc.,  and  to  have  two-thirds  of  the  entire 
crops;  the  other  one- third  going  to  the  eight  different 
squads  to  be  equally  divided  between  them  after  their  liv- 
ing expenses  were  deducted  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  year's 
crop.  So  they  never  knew  exactly,  but  according  to  Mr. 
Seldon 's  figures,  his  brothers  and  himself  each  received 
nine  dollars  for  one  year's  work.  But  as  usual  in  such 
cases  **  kicking''  only  makes  matters  worse,  and  comforted 
by  the  assurance  that  he  would  make  a  good  deal  more 
the  next  year,  after  coaxing  by  his  father  and  Mr.  Sel- 
don, he  consented  to  try  it  another  year,  which  resulted  in 
a  gain  of  eleven  dollars  on  the  last  year's  receipts. 

He  now  became  thoroughly  disgusted  with   farming. 
Overcoming  his  father's  objections  to  his  leaving,  he  started 


1000 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


to  join  his  elder  brother,  who  was  at  work  on  the  '^  Ala- 
bama &  Chattanooga  railroad."  He  arrived  at  Car- 
thage,  Alabama,  a  day  or  so  later,  where  he  met  his 
brother  after  a  separation  of  two  years.  He  soon  pro- 
cured employment  at  grading,  which  he  followed  for  about 
six  months,  when  the  company  failed  and  he  with  the 
others  was  left  to  mourn  the  loss  of  six  months  labor, 
except  such  provisions,  clothing,  etc.,  as  he  had  drawn 
from  the  commissary. 

By  this  time  he  was  pretty  well  disgusted  with  Alabama; 
but  being  in  no  condition  to  leave,  he  tramped  around 
trying  to  find  work,  and  was  successful  after  six  months' 
efforts.  The  Louisville  &  Nashville  railroad  was  still  grad- 
ing, and  on  it  he  worked  and  secured  his  pay.  He  was 
among  the  first  selected  as  fireman  on  the  road,  which 
paid  him  $2.25  a  day. 

He  stayed  here  about  a  year  and  having  considerable 
taste  for  machinery,  soon  grew  to  take  great  interest  in 
his  engine  and  studied  its  every  movement  very  closely. 
His  next  move  was  to  Chattanooga,  where  he  readilj 
secured  employment  as  stationary  engineer,  at  which  busi- 
ness, with  the  exception  of  about  two  years,  spent  at  mill- 
wrighting,  he  continued  until  1882.  In  the  summer  of 
that  year  he  was  nominated  as  constable  of  the  Fourteenth 
civil  district,  Hamilton  county,  and  was  elected  by  a 
handsome  majority,  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the 
oflice.  By  careful  attention  to  the  little  business  entrusted 
to  him  at  first,  by  colored  men  only,  and  by  making 
prompt  returns,  he  soon  had  all  the  business  he  could  at- 
tend to,  and  he  now  began  to  have  aspirations  for  reaching 


fyf_/ 


JOHN  J.  IRYINE.  1001 

above  the  ordinary  stations  in  life.  After  the  two  years 
expired  he  was  renominated  and  ran  much  ahead  of  his 
ticket,  showing  he  had  gained  the  confidence  of  the  people. 

During  the  time  he  was  acting  as  stationary  engineer 
lie  conceived  and  patented  an  oil  cup,  which  was  pro- 
xiounced  by  some  of  the  best  mechanics  of  the  country  the 
most  complete  of  its  kind  ever  gotten  up.  After  entering 
oipon  his  official  duties  he  never  pushed  it  any  further  on 
the  market,  although  it  brings  him  considerable  revenue 
.^t  the  present  time. 

At  the  Republican  county  convention  in  1886,  he  was 
nominated  without  opposition  to  his  present  position,  and 
after  a  short,  though  excessively  hot  contest,  was  elected 
by  1700  majority,  with  a  popular  Democrat  and  the 
ibrmer  Republican  clerk  as  opponents. 

He  married  in  1875,  he  being  at  that  time  twenty-six 
years  old,  and  probably  owes  much  of  his  success  to  the 
^ood  counsel  and  advice  of  his  estimable  wife.  He  is  an 
active  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  He  is  now 
deputy  grand  master  of  the  State,  having  filled  the  office 
of  secretary  and  worshipful  master  of  his  lodge  for  nine 
years.  He  is  also  master  workman  of  the  lodge  of  Knights 
•of  Labor. 

He  and  his  wife  are  identified  with  the  A.  M.  E.  church 
of  Chattanooga.  His  present  office  pays  him  about  three 
thousand  dollars  a  year  and  his  estimated  wealth  is  about 
ten  thousand. 

Thus  through  hardships  and  trials  he  has  succeeded 
admirably,  and  is  given  here  as  an  example  of  what  in- 


1002  MEN  OP  MARK. 

dtistry  andthe  abstinence  from  the  ordinary  Tiees  to  wfakb 
yonng  men  addict  themselves,  will  accomplish  for. 
yomig  man. 


Iij*-,,i 


GBORGS  T.  DOWNING.  1003*> 


CLI. 

GEORGE  T.  DOWNING,  ESQ. 

Aggressiye  Politician— An  Intimate  Friend  of  Charles  Sumner— An  Old 
Time  Warrior  for  Free  Speech  and  Human  Rights— A  Man  of  PitK 
nonnced  Convictions. 

GEORGE  T.  DOWNING,  the  oldest  son  of  Thomas  and 
Rebecca  Downing,  was  bom  December  30,  1819. 
His  parents,  who  lived  in  Jinketig,  Accomac  county,  Vir- 
ginia, moved  to  New  York  in  the  early  part  of  this  centnry 
to  begin  life  in  earnest.  Thomas  Downing  was  a  man  of 
energy,  perseverance  and  pluck,  and  soon  developed  into  a 
successful  leader  in  public  enterprises.  At  an  early  age  the 
subjeA  of  our  sketch  entered  a  private  school  taught  by 
Mr.  Charles  Smith,  and  later  attended  the  old  Mulberry 
Street  school,  where  he  formed  lastingties  of  friendship  with 
boys  who  in  after  years  made  the  welkin  ring  for  the  over- 
throw of  oppression.  Among  these  were  Philip  Bell,  Dr.  A. 
Crummell,  James  McCune  Smith,  Henry  Highland  Garnet, 
and  others.  These  boys  were  between  the  ages  of  fourteen 
and  sixteen,  yet  they  had  the  spirit  of  patriotism  and 
bravery  usually  found  in  older  persons.  They  organized  a 
literary  society  to  discuss  questions  pertaining  to  the 
condition  of  the  race.    At  a  memorable  meeting  of  this 


KKMj  MBN  OF  MARK. 

society  they  adopted  resolutions  to  refrain  from  celebrat- 
ing the  Fourth  of  July,  giving  as  their  reason  "that  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  to  colored  citizens  a 
mockery." 

In  those  days  going  to  school  was  not  what  the  boys  of 
to-day  find  it.  Negro  children,  even  in  the  streets  of  New 
York,  were  jeered  at  and  pelted  with  stones.  It  was  nec- 
essary for  parents  or  guardians  to  accompany  the  children 
to  and  from  school,  and  then  they  were  not  safe.  George 
Downing  did  not  feel  the  need  of  an  escort.  He  knew  that 
his  cause  was  just,  and  at  times  would  fight  his  w^ay 
through  a  crowd  of  insulting  white  children ;  at  others,  he 
would  boldly  lead  colored  boys  into  chasing  white  ones 
from  the  street.  This  was  spirit !  He  had  not  reached  man- 
hood when  he  connected  himself  with  the  ''Underground 
Railroad,"  and  was  arrested  for  smuggling  from  jail  a 
fugitive  slave.  When  the  Anti-slavery  society  was  organ- 
ized he  became  an  active  member,  and  was  one  of  the  com- 
mittee of  thirteen  organized  after  the  passage  of  the  fugi- 
tive slave  law. 

When  the  call  for  colored  soldiers  was  made,  he  waited 
upon  Governor  John  A.  Andrews  of  Massachusetts,  to  as- 
certain whether  colored  soldiers  would  be  given  equal  jus- 
tice; and  being  assured  that  they  would  be  treated  as  men 
and  soldiers,  he  straightway  organized  several  colored 
regiments.  He  went  to  Washington  soon  after  this  in  the 
interest  of  colored  troops,  and  was  persuaded  while  there 
to  take  charge  of  the  House  restaurant.  It  was  not  con- 
sideration of  gain  which  led  him  to  make  this  decision,  but 
he  knew  that  in  this  position  he  would  be  brought  into 


■itkj.J 


GEORGE  T.  DOWNING.  1005 

immediate  contact  with  leading  men  of  both  parties. 
Such  associations  were  always  turned  to  the  interest  of 
his  race.  He  was  consulted  about  every  important  meas- 
tu:^  concerning  it  that  was  brought  under  discussion. 

Mr.  Downing  never  lost  an  opportunity  to  strike  a  blow 
at  the  color  line.  It  is  related  that  one  day  the  head 
waiter,  who  had  served  tinder  the  former  proprietor,  came 
to  him  with  a  frightened  look  and  said  some  colored  people 
had  called  for  dinner.  Mr.  Downing  said  in  a  decisive 
manner:  "Serve  them,  and  send  to  me  any  one  who  may 
complain."  In  this  way  he  did  much  to  break  down  the 
color  line.  He  was  instrumental  in  having  the  Senate 
gallery  thrown  open  to  colored  people,  and  in  putting  a 
stop  to  ill  treatment  received  by  them  on  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  Railroad  between  Washington  and  Baltimore. 

While  living  in  Rhode  Island  he  fought  long  and  well 
against  separate  schools.  For  twelve  years  he  besieged 
'  the  Legislature,  year  after  year,  to  give  all  children,  irre- 
spective of  color,  the  privilege  of  attending  any  school. 
The  governor  of  said  State  commissioned  him  captain  of 
a  **  colored  "  company  of  the  State  militia.  Mr.  Downing 
had  battled  against  such  discrimination,  so  returned  the 
commission  protesting  against  the  qualifying  phrase.  The 
governor  at  once  made  the  requsted  change,  and  the  next 
Legislature  removed  the  proscriptive  laws  from  the  statute 
books  concerning  separate  schools.  Mr.  Downing  was  in- 
timately associated  with  Charles  Sumner.  When  this  great 
statesman  was  dying  he  reached  out  his  hand,  grasped 
that  of  Mr.  Downing's  and  said  in  substance :  **  Don't  let 
my  civil  rights  bill  fail."    After  the  passage  of  this  bill  he 


1006 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


■and  his  wife  were  the  first  colored  people  to  occupy  boxes 
in  the  theater  in  Washington.  In  politics  Mr.  Downing  is 
.an  Independent.  He  claims  that  the  Republican  party  has 
played  fast  and  loose  with  Negro  voters,  and  advises 
^a  division  in  the  colored  vote.  He  also  thinks  the  Demo- 
cratic party  is  decidedly  better  than  it  was  twenty-five 
jrears  ago. 


♦  f 


MAHTIN  R.  DBLANBY.  1007 


CLII. 

MAJOR  MARTIN  R.  DELANEY,  M.  D. 

Sdentist— Ethnologist — Lecturer— Discoverer— Member  of  the  Interna* 
tional  Statistical  Conference. 

MARTIN  ROBINSON  DELANEY,  the  son  of  Samuel 
and  Pati  Delaney,  was  bom  at  Charlestown,  Va., 
May  6,  1812.  He  was  named  for  his  godfather,  a  colored 
Baptist  clergyman.  His  pride  of  birth  is  traceable  to  his 
maternal  as  well  as  to  his  paternal  grandfather — native 
Africans — on  the  father's  side  pure  Golah,  on  the  mother's 
Mandingo.  His  grandfather  was  a  chieftain,  captured 
with  his  family  in  war,  sold  to  the  slavers,  and  brought 
to  America.  On  his  mother's  side  the  father  was  an  African 
prince,  from  the  Niger  valley  regions  of  Central  Africa. 

Next  to  his  pride  of  birth,  and  almost  inseparable  from  it,  is 
his  pride  of  race.  In  a  remark  made  once  by  Frederick 
Douglass,  he  said :  **  I  thank  God  for  making  me  a  man  sim- 
ply ;  but  Delaney  always  thanks  him  for  making  him  a  'black 
man.'  "  In  personal  appearance  he  was  remarkable.  He 
was  of  medium  height,  compactly  and  strongly  built,  with 
broad  shoulders  upon  which  rested  a  head  seemingly  in- 
viting by  its  bareness,  attention  to  the  well  developed 
x>rgans ;  with  eyes  sharp  and  piercing,  while  will,  energy 


1008 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


and  fire  are  alive  in  every  feature ;  the  whole  surmounted 
on  a  groundwork  of  most  defiant  blackness.  In  speak- 
ing, he  was  most  effective  when  in  his  loftiest  flights. 
His  habits  were  simple  as  well  as  temperate.  In  earljr 
youth  he  espoused  total  abstinence,  conforming  first 
from  principle.  It  afterwards  became  an  established  habit 
to  eschew  the  use  of  liquors  and  tobacco  in  any  form. 
His  mother  was  a  most  exemplary  Christian,  active  and 
energetic,  with  quick  preceptions  and  fine  natural  talents, 
She  transmitted  to  her  son  great  force  of  character. 

Major  Delaney  was  married  to  Kate  A.,  youngest  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  Richards,  of  Pittsburgh,  on  the  fifteenth  of 
March,  1843.  From  this  marriage  eleven  children  were 
born.  In  the  names  of  these  children  the  specialty  is 
again  evident.  Theeldest,  Toussaint  L'Ouverturc,  af):er  the 
first  military  hero  and  statesman  of  San  Domingo;  the 
second,  Charles  Lennox  Remond,  from  the  eloquent  de- 
claimer ;  the  third,  Alexander  Dumas,  from  that  brilliant 
author  of  romance ;  the  fourth,  Saint  Cyprian^  from  one 
of  the  greatest  of  the  primitive  bishops  of  the  Christian 
Church;  the  fifth,  Faustin  Soulouque,  after  the  late  Em- 
peror of  Hajrti ;  the  sixth,  Rameses  Placido,  from  the  good 
king  of  Egypt,  "the  everliving Rameses  II. ; "  the  seventh, 
the  daughter,  Ethiopia  Halle  Amelia,  the  country  of  his 
race^  to  which  is  given  the  unequalled  promise  that  "she 
should  soon  stretch  forth  her  hands  unto  God."  In  1818 
the  first  attempt  was  made  to  receive  instruction.  He 
studied  from  the  New  York  primer  and  spelling  book,  which 
were  obtained  through  itinerant  Yankee  peddlers  in  ex- 
change for  rags  and  old  pewter.    These  peddlers  always. 


i 


M.  R.  DeLANF.Y. 


MAKTIN  R.  DELANEY.  1009 

found  it  conyenient  and  profitable,  likewise,  to  whisper 
into  the  ear  of  a  black,  **  YouVe  as  much  right  to  learn  to 
read  as  these  whites,"  and  always  found  time  to  give  a 
lesson  or  so.  It  was  under  such  covert  tuition,  and  with 
such  instructors,  that  young  Martin,  together  with  his 
brothers  and  sisters,  was  taught  to  read  and  write.  This 
stealthy  manner  of  learning  made  them  more  attentive 
and  eager.  So  in  harmony  with  the  Southern  rules  of  jus- 
tice, on  its  discovery,  his  mother  was  so  persecuted  as  to 
make  her  move  to  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  1822, 
w^here  she  resided  for  fifteen  years.  For  several  years  her 
children  attended  school,  securing  such  advantages  as  the 
country  schools  afforded.  Young  Delaney 's  parents'  means 
being  limited  he  was  compelled  to  leave  school,  and  about 
two  years  later  obtained  the  consent  of  his  parents  to  go 
to  Pittsburgh,  where  facilities  for  obtaining  an  education 
were  superior  to  those  of  his  home.  He  left  July  29, 
1831.  Here,  under  Rev'  Louis  Woodson,  he  studied  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1831.  It  was  commonly  said  by  his 
friends  at  school,  that  his  retentiveness  of  history  was 
so  remarkable  that  he  seemed  to  have  recited  from  the 
palm  of  his  hand. 

In  1834  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  organization  of 
several  associations  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  the  city, 
and  for  the  moral  elevation  of  his  people.  Among  them 
was  the  first  total  abstinence  society  ever  formed  among 
the  colored  people.  About  1835  or  '36  he  began  the  study 
of  medicine  under  the  late  Dr.  Andrew  N.  McDowell,  but 
for  some  cause  did  not  continue  to  completion.  He  re- 
sumed the  study,  however,  in  1849.    Through  the  influ- 


j 


1010 


HEN  OF  HARK. 


,'I.D.  iSfi 


^ 


ence  of  Drs.  Joseph  P.  Gazzan  and  Francis  L.  L^tnoyti 
was  received  into  the  Medical  Department  of  Har 
College,  having  been  previously  refused  admission,  ot 
plication,  to  the  Pennsylvania  University,  Jefiferson 
lege,  and  the  Medical  College  of  Albany  and  Geneva, 
York,  After  leaving  Harvard,  he  traveled  westw^ard 
lectured  on  physiological  subjects.  He  returned  to  I 
burgh  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  a  pbysician. 
skilfiil  treatment  of  the  cholera,  which  prevailed  to  s 
extent  in  Pittsburgh  in  1854, is  still  remembered.  Ear 
1843  he  started  a  weekly  sheet  under  the  title  of  M^ 
devoted  to  the  interest  of  his  race.  He  waa  promptc 
do  this,  because  his  people  could  get  no  firticle  publi 
in  other  papers  in  their  interest.  After  sustaining  it  a 
for  nine  months  he  transferred  the  proprietorship 
committee  of  six  gentlemen,  he,  meanwhile,  continuioj 
editor  for  nearly  four  years.  The  editorials  of  his  jou 
elicited  praises  even  from  its  enemies,  and  were  freque 
transferred  to  theircolumns.  It  is  Indisputable  that  t< 
influence  originated  the  Avery  fund.  Once,  while  edi 
a  suit  for  libel  was  entered  against  him  and  after  the 
diet  of  guilty  was  rendered,  so  great  was  his  stand 
among  the  newspaper  fraternity  that  they  made  an 
peal  for  a  subscription  to  be  raised;  but  about  one  w 
after  the  suit  and  before  the  sum  could  be  raised,  the  g 
ernor  remitted  the  fine.  In  1848,  when  traveling  throi 
Northern  Ohio,  he  was  mobbed,  it  being  circulated  thai 
was  an  abolitionist  and  amalgamationist.  Dr.  E)elaneyp 
lished  a  call  for  a  National  emigration  convention,  anc 
finding  favor,  there  assembled  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  Augi 


MARTIN  R.  DBLANEY.  1011 

1854,  many  of  the  eminent  colored  men  of  the  Northern 
a.nd  Western  States,  to  discuss  the  question  of  emigration. 
At  this  convention  he  was  made  president  pro  tern  to  or- 
ganize, and  afterwards  chairman  of  the  business  commit- 
tee. In  a  speech  on  the  Fugitive  Slave  Act  at  Allegheny 
City,  Pennsylvania,  before  some  of  the  leading  white  men 
of  the  time,  he  said : 

Honorable  mayor,  whatever  ideas  of  liberty  I  may  have,  have  been 
received  from  reading  the  lives  of  your  Revolutionary  fathers.  I  have 
therein  learned  that  a  man  has  a  right  to  defend  his  castle  with  his  life, 
«ven  unto  the  taking  of  life.  Sir,  my  house  is  my  castle;  in  that  castle 
are  none  but  my  wife  and  my  children,  as  free  as  the  angels  of  heaven, 
and  whose  liberty  is  as  sacred  as  the  pillars  of  God.  If  any  man  ap- 
proaches that  house  in  search  of  a  slave — I  care  not  who  he  may  be, 
whether  constable  or  sheriff,  magistrate  or  even  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court — ^nay,  let  it  be  he  who  sanctioned  this  act  to  become  a  law.  sur- 
rounded by  his  cabinet  as  his  body-guard,  with  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence waving  above  his  head  as  his  banner,  and  the  Constitution  of 
his  country  upon  his  breast  as  a  shield — \i  he  crosses  the  threshold  of  my 
door,  and  I  do  not  lay  him  a  lifeless  corpse  at  my  feet,  I  hope  the  grave 
may  refuse  my  body  a  resting  place,  and  righteous  Heaven  my  spirit  a 
home.    No !  he  cannot  enter  that  house  and  we  both  live. 

While  generally  successful,  he  had  also  some  failures. 
Two  of  a  marked  character  occurred  about  the  winter  of 
1851-2.  He  had  left  Pittsburgh  for  New  York  to  make 
certain  arrangements  necessary  for  obtaining  a  caveat, 
preparatory  to  an  application  to  the  department  at 
Washington  for  a  patent  for  an  invention,  originally  his 
own,  for  the  ascending  and  descending  of  a  locomotive  on 
an  inclined  plane,  without  the  aid  of  a  stationary  engine. 
Had  he  succeeded  in  his  first  plan,  the  second  would  have 
been  satisfactory. 


1 

I 

I 

I  1012  MEN  OF  MARK. 

After  this  failure  he  determined  to  go  to  Central  Amer 
Many  colored  men,  dissatisfied  with  their  unrecogni 
condition,  caught  this  spirit.    The  black  adventurers  s< 

'  affiliated  with  the  natives,  and  were  made   eligible 

every  civil  right  among  them. 
While  there  a  new  policy  and  future  government  i 

I  decided  upon.    It  was  understood  that  the  mayor  she 

be  the  highest  civil  municipal  authority,  the  governor 
highest  civil  State  authority,  the  civil  and  military  tc 
united  in  one  person,  and  the  governor  must  be  c< 
mander-in-chief  of  the  military  forces.  An  election  t 
place  and  a  steamer  brought  the  intelligence  offici; 
transmitted,  that  **Dr.  Martin  R.  Delaney  was  dulychc 
and  elected  mayor  to  Greytown.  civil  governor  of 
Mosquito  reservation,  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  n 
tary  forces  of  the  province.'*  This  was  delivered  to  1 
by  a  bearer  of  despatches  sent  especially  for  that  purp< 
In  1856  he  removed  to  Chatham,  Canada,  and  practi 
medicine.  In  the  early  part  of  May,  1859,  there  sai 
jfrom  New  York,  in  the  bark  Afe/ic?/,  owned  by  three  colo 
African  merchants,  the  first  colored  explorers  from 
United  States,  known  as  the  Niger  Valley  exploring  par 
at  the  head  of  which  was  its  projector,  Dr.  Delaney. 
traveled  extensively  in  Africa  for  one  year.  He  beca 
acquainted  with  John  Brown  in  April,  prior  to  his  depi 
ure  for  Africa,  and  Captain  Brown  fully  re vealed  his  des 
to  him. 

After  his  expedition  into  Central  Africa,  gratified  at 
success  of  his  discoveries,  as  well  as  the  knowledge  acqui 
concerning  the  people,  he  departed  for  Europe,  and  arri 


MARTIN  R.  DELANEK^.  1013 

at  Liverpool,  May  12, 1860,  where  he  remained  for  three 
days,  and  entered  London  on  the  evening  of  May  15. 
While  in  London  transacting  business  connected  with  the 
exploration,  it  was  Delaney's  privilege  to  attain  a  distinc- 
tion never  before  reached  by  a  colored  American  mider 
like  auspices.  This  was  when  he  was  present  in  that 
august  assembly  known  as*  the  International  Statistical 
Congress,  presided  over  by  his  Royal  Highness,  Albert, 
Prince  Consort  of  England.  Shortly  after  his  return  to 
America  the  war  began.  At  this  time,  too,  there  were  end- 
less speculations  concerning  the  course  and  determined 
policy  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  Dr.  Delaney  thought  he  could  dis- 
cern, in  the  course  then  being  pursued  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  a 
logical  conclusion;  he  also  stated  that  it  had  become  insep- 
arable from  his  daily  existence,  almost  absorbing  every- 
thing else,  and  nothing  would  content  him  but  entering  the 
service ;  he  cared  not  how,  provided  his  admission  recog- 
nized the  rights  of  his  race  to  do  so.  He  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  acting  assistant  agent,  under  Charles  L.  Remond 
and  Charles  H.  Langston,  Esq.,  for  recruiting,  and  acting 
examining  surgeon  for  the  post  of  Chicago,  from  Major 
George  L.  Steams,  chairman  of  the  military  committee, 
being  authorized  by  Governor  John  A.  Andrew  of  Massa 
chusetts.  He  also  became  commissioner  for  Rhode  Island, 
New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio. 

The  sixth  of  February,  1865,  found  him  in  Washington, 
for  the  purpose  of  having  an  interview,  if  possible,  with 
President  Lincoln  and  the  secretary  of  war.  After  re- 
peated endeavors  to  gain  the  presence  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  he 
was  at  last  successful.    In  his  conversation  with  him  he 


1014 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


said  the .  blacks  of  the  South  should  be  armed,  and  that 
they  had  been  faithful  to  the  duties  assigned,  and  it  follows 
that  if  they  could  be  found  of  higher  qualifications,  they 
might  with  equal  credit  fill  higher  and  more  important 
trusts. 

He  proposed  an  army  of  blacks,  commanded  entirely  by 
black  officers,except  such  whites  as  might  volunteer  to  serve. 
He  received  his  commission  as  major  February  8,  1865, 
the  first  of  his  race  to  be  thus  honored  by  the  government. 
Senator  Ben  Wade,  of  Ohio,  was  present  when  he  was 
dubbed  "Gold  Leaf."  April  5,  1865,  he  was  ordered  to 
Charleston.  On  April  14,  Major  Delaney  embarked  to  wit- 
ness the  ceremony  on  the  historical  steamer  Planter^  with 
its  gallant  commander,  Robert  Smalls.  Immediately  after 
the  restoration  of  the  flag  on  Fort  Sumter,  active  duty 
was  resumed  by  the  military  at  Charleston,  and  Delaney 
heartily  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  beginning  his  work. 
Before  his  arrival,  the  One  Hundred  and  Second  United 
States  colored  troops  had  been  completed,  and  the  One 
Hundred  and  Third  had  just  commenced,  of  which  regi- 
ment, according  to  the  spirit  of  the  order  of  the  war  de- 
partment, he  w^as  entitled  to  the  major *s  command ;  but 
by  the  request  of  his  general,  he  waived  his  right  to  an 
oflicer  to  whom  the  position  had  been  promised  previous 
to  his  arrival,  though  he  had  aided  in  its  organization,  and 
soon  began  to  recruit  his  own.  After  this,  some  of  the 
most  extraordinary  messages  were  sent  to  Delaney;  but 
finding  that  the  ** black  major"  could  not  be  aroused  to 
the  extent  of  the  danger,  his  enemies  were  disconcerted. 


MARTIN  R.  DELANEY.  1015 

Whatever  can  be  said  of  him,  it  can  be  said  that  he  was 
heroic,  brave,  dauntless,  true  to  his  race,  and  ambitious. 
The  hero  was  in  the  "Freedmen's  Burea,u"  for  three 
years  after  the  war;  a  member  of  General  Scott's  staff; 
an  inspector  in  the  custom-house  in  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  for  several  years ;  trial  justice  in  the  same  city 
for  four  years.  He  practised  medicine  a  short  time,  then 
w^ent  East,  and  remained  there  until  March,  1884,  when 
he  was  employed  by  a  mercantile  house  in  Boston  to  act 
as  agent  for  the  firm  in  Central  America.  He  became  sick 
and  could  not  go.  On  December  28, 1884,  he  came  home, 
and  died  January  24, 1885. 


HBN  OP  HARK. 


k 


REV.  J.  B.  FIELDS. 

An  Able,  Eloquent  Baptiat  EKvine — Popul&r  Hittorian — Lecturer- 
hilator  of  IngersolliBm. 

THE  Negro  raceis  without  doubt  a  trustful,  happj 
pie,  who  never  know  such  darkness  that  theyca 
sing, nor  such  adversity  that  they  do  not  pray.  Ther 
few  infidels  among  us ;  what  few  there  are,  as  a  rule 
simply  agnostics  from  sheer  effort  to  be  wise ;  but 
does  not  see  through  their  sham  attempts  to  assu 
learned  air?  And  the  result  is  they  get  things  mixed 
go  about  asking  "double  barreled  questions."  It  has 
supposed  that  Ingersoll  was  a  mountain  that  none  ( 
scale;  that  he  w^as  so  powerful  that  none  could  ans 
when  16,  the  once  despised  Negro  came  forth  to  the  pulpi' 
the  platform  in  the  person  of  Rev.  J.  B.  Fields,  and  ri< 
his  arguments  w^ith  such  irresistible  logic,  learning 
wisdom  that  the  universal  acknowledgment  rose  up 
every  source  that  he  had  succeeded  in  annihilating  I; 
soUism.  And  indeed  it  would  be  hard  to  find  any  mi 
the  United  States  with  better  and  more  eulogistic  re 
mendations  than  this  gifted  and  eloquent  preacher. 
March  1,  1850,  was  the  day  of  his  birth  in  the 


I   ■ 

■  I 

■  I 


I   ■ 


■   I 


1   I 


J,  B.  FIELDS.  1017 

town  of  Prairieville,  Pike  county,  Missouri.  His  beloved 
parents,  Henry  and  Minnie  Fields,  were  slaves  and  had 
been  carried  from  Virginia  to  the  State  of  Missouri.  In 
1862  the  whole  family  fled  from  slavery  and  found  a  refuge 
in  Quincy,  Illinois,  where  they  lived  for  many  years.  Fin- 
ally, when  the  son  moved  to  Denver,  Colorado,  which  is 
his  home  now,  the  parents  also  moved.  His  father  died 
August  27,  1883,  at  the  age  of  ninety-one  years. 

Mr.  Fields,  like  all  other  colored  people  in  slave  States, 
had  very  little  opportunity  for  cultivating  his  intellect  and 
acquiring  knowledge.  At  Quincy  he  went  to  school  two 
years,  which  was  all  the  training  he  had.  In  1866  he  went 
to  McCombe  and  learned  the  barber's  trade.  In  1870  he 
commenced  the  study  of  theology,  and  studied  that 
and  ancient  history  in  the  intervals  between  the  calls  of 
customers  to  be  shaved.  In  1875  he  was  the  means  of  get- 
ting up  a  church  for  colored  people  in  McCombe,  and  was 
-chosen  their  pastor.  He  was  converted  in  Quincy  before 
he  went  to  McCombe,  and  joined  the  Baptist  church. 

In  October,  1869,  he  was  married  in  Palmyra,  Missouri, 
to  Miss  Missouri  Carr  of  Quincy,  Illinois,  with  whom  he 
has  lived  peaceably  and  happily,  and  the  result  of  their 
nnion  has  been  three  children,  all  boys.  Two  of  these  are 
still  living. 

He  was  ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry  in  McCombe, 
Illinois,  September  25,  1878,  by  a  regular  constituted 
council  of  the  Baptist  denomination.  In  January,  1881, 
he  was  called  as  pastor  of  the  Zion  Baptist  church,  in  Denver, 
Colorado.  He  at  once  took  charge  of  that  church,  which 
was  then  in  a  dead  condition.    They  worshiped  in  a  little 


^v  - 


MEN  OF  MARK. 

,_^  ^.crng  for  several  years,  and  there  were  only 
^cncy-rive  members,  with  scarcely  any  following, 
jtti  zme  Mr.  Fields  has  built  for  his  people  a  very  fine 
^^ .  .iiiici  at  acost  of  over  eight  thousand  dollars.    From 
,  .  >  I>81,  to  1885,  when  he  resigned,  he  had  raised 
^    itousand  dollars  on  the  church  debt.    Of  this  amount 
c  .aioself  raised  in  cash,  donated  by  white  people,  the  9um 
i    .wo  thousand  fifty-seven  dollars  and  fifty-one  cents. 
*!«  church  is  the  finest  colored  church  in  the  West.    Jan- 
icu-y.  1885,  Mr.  Fields  sent  in  his  resignation  as  pastor 
ji  che  church,  said  resignation  to  take  effect  in  March,  and 
-iKuch  against  the  wishes  of  the  people  he  insisted  on  re- 
signing, and  gave  himself  to  the  work  of  a  public  lecturer, 
in  which  he  has  made  a  great  reputation. 

We  furnish  here  a  numbei  of  testimonials  showing  the 
character  of  his  lectures  and  how  he  is  appreciated  b3' those 
who  have  heard  him.  The  following  was  published  in  the 
American  Baptist,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  April  23,  1886: 

Rev.  J.  B.  Fields,  the  celebrated  lecturer  of  Denver,  Colorado,  lectured 
to  the  students  Tuesday  morning,  subject  "  Mistakes  of  Robert  Inger^ 
soil.*'  He  is  a  good  representative  of  what  the  Negro  can  do ;  he  is  the 
ablest,  most  historical,  most  richh'  prolific  of  truth  and  most  complete 
annihilator  of  the  infidel  Ingersoll's  statements  I  know.  He  is  entirely 
biblical  and  backed  by  the  sayings  of  the  noblest  minds  in  the  world, 
among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Josephus,  Gibbons,  Celsus,  Home  and 
the  encyclopedias.  He  has  a  national  reputation  and  his  lecture  deserA-es 
the  highest  encomiums. 

This  certifies  that  for  the  past  four  years  I  have  been  personally  ac- 
quainted with  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Fields,  pastor  of  Zion  Baptist  church,  of 
this  citj',  who  commands  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  entire  com- 
munity and  has  made  a  high  reputation  as  a  lecturer. — Rev.    Reubea 


J.  B.  FIBLDS.  1019^ 

Jcflery,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  First  Baptist  church,  Denver,  Colorado,  July  28, . 
1884. 

Elder  J.  B.  Fields,  a  colored  Baptist  preacher,  residing  at  McComhe, 
delivered  a  remarkable  address  at  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  here 
last  Sunday  ctftemoon.  His  discourse  was  styled,  "  The  Bible ;  its  Divine 
Origin  Proven  by  the  Fulfillment  of  Prophecy"  etc.  Our  citizens  will 
all  testify  who  heard  him,  that  they  have  not  for  many  a  day  heard 
such  copious  quotations  from  Bible  texts  as  on  this  occasion.  With  the 
book  shut  before  him,  he  not  only  poured  forth  a  flood  of  Scripture  par- 
allel passages,  but  quoted  book,  chapter  and  verse  as  well.  Mr.  Fields 
is  a  man  of  surprising  memory,  both  in  matters  of  sacred  and  profane 
history.— Elm  wood.  Illinois,  Messenger,  December  12, 1879. 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  Fields,  of  Denver,  delivered  his  lecture  in  reply  to  Colonel 
R.  G.  IngersoU,  on  "  The  Bible,"  on  Monday  evening  last,  to  a  full  house, 
at  the  M.  E.  church.  His  knowledge  of  ancient  history  and  his  different 
quotations  from  the  Bible  showed  him  to  be  a  man  possessing  a  very 
retentive  memory.  He  handled  the  lives  of  Voltaire,  Hobbs,  Tom  Payne, 
etc.,  the  noted  infidels  of  their  day,  with  considerable  ability .—Co/orac/o 
Miner,  Georgetown,  Colorado,  May  23, 1885. 

Elder  J.  B.  Fields  delivered  his  great  lecture  before  the  Wood  River 
Baptist  Association,  at  its  forty-first  annual  meeting,  in  the  Baptist 
church  in  the  city  of  Galesburg,  September  7, 1879.  The  delivery  of  the 
lecture  was  listened  to  from  beginning  to  end  with  the  closest  attention 
by  the  entire  congregation.  The  lecture  showed  a  comprehensive  knowl- 
edge of  the  prophecies  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  a  corresponding 
acquaintance  with  history,  both  sacred  and  profane,  and  the  lecture  is 
really  a  strong  and  convincing  argument  in  favor  of  the  Divine  origin  of 
the  Bible,  and  I  would  recommend  all  our  pastors  to  arrange  with  Elder 
Field,  and  have  him  deliver  it  before  their  congregations. — R.  DeBaptiste, 
D.  D.,  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Wood  River  Baptist  Association  of 
Illinois,  Chicago  Illinois,  1879. 

In  order  to  show  also  the  scope  of  his  reading  and  the 
eloquent  manner  in  which  he  speaks,  I  will  give  two 
extracts  of  speeches  which  ht  delivered  upon  two  of  the 
greatest  minds  in  America : 


1020 


UEN   OF  HARK 


LIKCOLK. 

After  a.  bondage  of  four  hundred  and  thirtj  years,  Moses  was  ni 
np  and  led  the  children  of  Israel  away  from  their  captors  toward 
promised  land.  On  the  road,  when  the  great  leader  and  law  giver  i 
up  to  Mt.  Sinai  to  receiTe  the  law  from  the  Deity,  many  of  the  nnfirtti 
mnltitnde  made  for  themaelTca  a  golden  calf,  and  falling  down  adi 
it.  The  Jehovah  was  incensed  at  this  act  of  idolatry,  and  their  pan 
meat  was  commensurate  with  the  offense. 

In  Aogiist,  1B20,  a  golden  calf,  the  dragon  and  beast,  was  broug-h 
tbisconntry;  it  was  slavery,  and  many  fell  down  and  worshiped  it 
continned  their  adoration  for  upwards  of  two  handred  and  forty-tl 
years.  There  were  many  individuals  who  refused  to  worship  the  ii 
John  Wesleysaid  that  slavery  was  the  sum  of  all  villainies.  One  of 
ttrongest  opponents  of  slavery  was  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  his  del 
with  Douglas,  in  1858,  he  said  that  a  honse  divided  conld  not  ata 
that  no  Union  of  States  could  be  permanent  where  a  portion  of  the  ] 
pk  was  slave  and  the  other  half  free.  In  1860  he  was  nominated  i 
elected  President  of  the  United  States,  and  was  inaugurated  Marcl 
1661.  His  paramount  object  was  to  save  the  Union.  He  elabors 
this  idea  ia  aletter  which  be  wrote  to  Horace  Gneley.  God  raised  C3 
to  deliver  the  Israelites  from  Babylonian  captivity ;  the  same  God  ra 
Abraham  Lincoln  to  liberate  slaves,  and  on  the  first  of  Jnnuary,  IS 
four  millions  of  slaves  were  by  him  liberated.  The  slaves  were  rai 
firom  the  lash  to  freedom,  from  sin  to  school,  from  being  chattels  to  rn 
hood,  and  from  l>eing  pursued  by  blood -hounds  and  from  a 
to  the  halls  of  Congress.    He  was  anablelawyer  and  an  eloi)u< 


Greece  had  her  Demosthenes  and  Pericles;  Rome  her  Cssnr  . 
Cicero;  England  her  Burke,  Pitt  and  Wilberforce;  America  her  Pat. 
Henry,  Henry  Cluy  and  Uauiel  Webster,  but  none  of  these  could  cq 
the  immortal  Lincoln,  Major  Henry  Lee,  in  1779,  said  In  his  gi 
eulogy  on  Washington,  ■■  He  was  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  firs 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  ;  "  but  Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  first  Pi 
dent  that  ever  gave  the  beast  and  dragon  a  deadly  wound  and  there  1 
no  place  left  yet  for  it  to  languish  and  grow  strong ;  it  died.  Prom 
pinnacle  of  fame,  Lincoln  stepped  into  that  country  where  "  the  wic 
cease  to  trouble  and  the  weary  are  at  rest." 


J.  B.  FIELDS.  1021 

8UMNBR. 

All  nations  have  had  their  great  men  and  lovers  of  humanity.  Greece 
had  her  Pericles,  Socrates  and  Leonidas ;  Rome  her  Servius  Tullius  and 
Cicero ;  England  her  great  Wilberforce,  Clarkson  and  Pitt ;  France,  her 
Henry  IV ;  Israel  her  Abraham,  Daniel  and  Joshua ;  but^one  of  these  men 
could  surpass  the  greatness  of  Charles  Sumner  in  being  a  lover  and 
defender  of  all  mankind.  Charles  Sumner  entered  the  United  States 
Senate  December  1, 1851,  the  beginning  of  his  public  and  political  life  as 
the  successor  of  Daniel  Webster,  who  had  been  appointed  secretary  of 
State.  On  the  same  day  Henry  Clay  spoke  his  last  words  in  the  Senate 
and  departed  from  the  chamber  never  to  return.  In  zeal  and  efforts  in 
behalf  of  right  and  justice,  and  in  his  protest  against  the  cruel  and 
infamous  Fugitive  Slave  law,  and  the  great  crime  of  African  slavery, 
Charles  Sumner  spoke  "as  man  never  spake,"  and  he  that  knows  all 
things  has  said :  "  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friends."  In  this  Charles  Sumner  was  one  who  was 
willing  to  sacrifice  his  own  life  in  behalf  of  the  liberty  and  equality  of  all 
mankind,  and  for  his  poor  and  oppressed  brethren  of  the  African  race. 
For  the  manly  interest  which  was  shown  by  him  in  behalf  of  the  Negro 
he  was  assaulted  and  struck  down  in  the  Senate  chamber  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  May,  1856,  by  Brooks,  pro-slavery  member  from  South  Caro- 
lina, and  the  blood  of  Sumner,  like  that  of  the  righteous  Abel,  cried, 
"Freedom  unto  all  slaves.*' 

For  thirty  long  years  he  labored  and  toiled  for  the  right,  and  I  wotdd 
say  he  was  certainly  the  Moses  and  redeemer  of  the  colored  race,  and  his 
last  moments  spent  and  words  spoken  were  in  favor  of  the  colored  man, 
humanity  and  justice.  To  Judge  Hoar,  in  the  last  moments  of  earth,  he 
said:  *'Do  not  let  the  Civil  Rights  bill  fail,*'  which  was  truly  his  adieu 
to  earth  and  greeting  in  Heaven. 

Charles  Sumner  was  a  Washington  in  purity,  a  Luther  in  fervor  and  a 
Cromwell  in  boldness.  As  long  as  American  liberty  shall  last  and  pa- 
triotism shall  be  a  virtue,  the  name  of  Charles  Sumner  shall  be  immortal. 


UBN  OF  UARK. 


ROBERT  PELHAM,  JR. 

"The  Able  Editor  of  the  Detroit  PlaiadeaJer—K  Vigorous   Writet 
Active  Politician. 

WE  are  sure  that  among  the  rising  and  progres 
men  of  the  West,  none  surpass  the  young,  gei 
manly  managing  editor  of  the  Plaindealer,  the  largest 
ablest  paper  in  the  central  Western  States.  That  dis 
guished  citizen,  Fred  Douglass,  said  of  it:  "In  spirit . 
in  letter,  in  method  and  object,  in  character  and  abil 
the  Plaindealer  meets  my  warm  approbation."  Him 
an  editor  of  high  standing,  and  a  man  of  commanc 
position,  his  judgment  on  such  matters  can  be  taken  as 
index  to  the  character  and  standing  of  this  valuj 
paper. 

A  series  of  very  closely  written  articles  on  "  Our  Re1a1 
to  Labor  "  appeared  in  the  Plaindealer  columns  during 
past  year.  They  attracted  universal  attention  on  acco 
of  the  terse,  \'igorous  language  used,  as  well  as  the  knc 
edge  of  the  matter  under  discussion.  The  subject  i 
argued  with  skill  and  ability.  The  Atlanta  Defiance  s: 
when  speaking  of  these  articles:  "The  man  who  is  w 
ing  those  articles  has  a  long  head.     The  Negro  of  Amei 


k.^. 


ROBBRT  PBLHAM,  JR.  1023 

<!aimot  afford  to  fail  to  read  them."  The  Gate  City  Press, 
in  speaking  of  this  enterprising  journal,  has  said:  ''The 
Detroit  Plaindealer  is  the  model  newspaper."  A  conven- 
tion in  Michigan  was  called  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  paper  at  Battle  Creek,  where  resolutions  were  passed 
tinanimouslj  endorsing  the  course  of  the  paper.  At  this 
•convention  a  resolution  was  offered  by  one  of  its  represen- 
tatives that  the  colored  people  of  Michigan  should  be  rec- 
ognized by  the  Republican  party,  by  awarding  them  the 
delegate-at-large  to  the  National  convention  to  be  held  at 
Chicago.  The  resolution  was  passed  and  the  request  ac- 
ceded to  by  the  party,  Dr.  S.  C.  Watson  of  Detroit  being  hon- 
ored with  that  position.  His  candidacy  to  the  convention 
was  managed  by  the  Plaindealer  staff,  with  Mr.  Pelham 
at  their  head,  easily  defeating  the  custom-house  men  who 
opposed  them. 

The  journal  grows  in  favor  among  its  readers  because  it 
is  a  staunch  friend  of  the  poor  and  oppressed  of  all  classes. 
Not  only  does  it  advocate  every  interest  of  the  black  man, 
biit  is  a  strong  defender  of  all  of  those  who  are  kept  under 
the  grinding  heel  of  oppression  by  the  capitalist  or  by  the 
** bosses"  in  politics. 

Robert  Pelham,  jr.,  was  born  in  Petersburg,  Virginia, 
January  4,  1859,  of  free  parentage.  He  was  the  second 
son  of  Robert  and  Frances  Pelham.  In  the  same  year  his 
parents  moved  northward  to  secure  for  their  children,  five 
in  number,  those  educational  advantages  which  the  liberal 
minded  element  were  extendingto  all  classes  of  men.  They 
finally  settled  in  Detroit;  here  in  1868,  at  the  age  of  nine, 
he  attended  a  separate  public  school  taught  by  Miss  Fan- 


1024  MEN  OP  MARK. 

nie  Richards,  now  a  highly  respected  colored  teachei 
the  mixed  schools  of  that  city.  In  1871,  after  a  long  i 
bitter  fight  by  the  progressive  eliement  of  both  races, 
public  schools  were  opened  to  all  children,  irrespective 
color.  Robert  then  entered  the  grammar  department ; 
completed  the  twelve  years'  course  ofiered  by  the  c 
graduating  from  the  High  school  in  1877.  Attache^] 
the  school  at  that  time  was  a  military  department 
which  the  "State  Military  Academy"  at  Orchard  ht 
Michigan,  is  now  the  outgrowth.  Hence  in  this  plac 
was  accorded  a  three  years'  military  training.  In  li 
while  still  in  school,  he  entered  the  employment  of 
Daily  Post,  now  the  Detroit  Morning  Tribune,  the  leac 
RepubUcan  paper  in  Michigan,  then  owned  and  centre 
by  that  vigorous  exponent  of  early  Republican  princij 
Zachariah  Chandler.  He  began  at  the  lower  rounds  of 
ladder  and  has  worked  his  way  up  to  important  positi< 
not  only  on  this  paper,  but  he  is  the  influential  editor  < 
Negro  journal  that  stands  in  the  front  rank  for  excelle 
His  habits  of  life  have  been  of  such  a  character  as  tO] 
him  standing  in  the  business  world  and  mP  aim  a 
man  of  strict  integrity  and  conscientiouC  ocruples,  in 
discharge  of  every  duty  committed  to  his  care,  as  wel 
enabling  him  to  profit  by  all  the  opportunities  of  life, 
has  been  connected  with  the  journal  above  mentioned  i 
since  it  began,  filling  various  positipns ;  and  while  at 
time  the  only  colored  employ^  among  two  hundred 
tach^s  of  the  paper,  he  is  now  superintendent  of  the  i 
ecription  and  mailing  department  by  contract,  whic 
conducted  entir*4^  hj  colored  employes. 


ROBERT  PELHAM,  JR. 


ROBERT  PELHAM,  JR.  1025 

In  1883  Mr.  Pelham,  together  with  W.  H.  Anderson,  W. 
H.  Stowers,  Benjamin  W.  Pelham,  started  the  Plaindealer, 
It  was  established  under  what  might  be  termed  almost 
fatal  circumstances,  but  its  success  has  been  largely  due  to 
his  early  newspaper  training,  and  to  the  fact  that  its  edi- 
tors and  owners  all  held  lucrative  positions  in  three  of  the 
leading  business  houses  in  Detroit.  All  of  them  being  en- 
gaged, they  did  not  care  to  risk  their  fortunes,  or  what 
little  they  may  have  had,  upon  the  paper  with  a  prospect 
of  losing  it ;  so  whatever  was  done,  they  did  themselves 
in  such  hours  as  they  were  not  emplojxd.  Noon,  nights 
and  holidays  found  each  man  at  his  post ;  six  nights  out 
of  seven  they  attended  to  the  work,  planning,  scheming^ 
preparing  matter,  issuing  circulars  and  procuring  agents. 
Their  appliances  were  crude,  money  scarce,  and  ex})ericnce 
not  what  it  was  destined  to  be  before  thev  had  reached  sev- 
eral  milestones  on  their  newspaper  career.  But  now  after 
four  years'  experience,  they  are  giving  to  the  world  one  of  the 
best  papers  in  the  country.  This  has  not,  however,  been 
achieved  without  severe  labor,  many  deprivations  of 
pleasure,  and  also  by  a  conscientious  discharge  of  duty  to 
the  cause  which  they  have  espoused,  viz.,  the  cause  of  the 
African  race. 

Mr.  Pelham  has  never  held  any  political  position,  but 
has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  politics  and  has  repre- 
sented his  party  and  race  in  city,  State  and  National 
affairs.  His  influence  widens,  and  he  becomes  more  and 
more  able  to  add  laurels  to  the  fame  he  has  already  won 
in  wielding  a  facile  pen,  conducting  a  noble  enterprise,  con- 
tributing to  the  great  quota  which  the  young  men  are 


1026  MBN  OP  MARK. 

making  as  their  share  toward  the  sum  total  of  Negro  en- 
terprise. And  he  is  to  be  congratulated  because  of  the 
generous  manner  in  which  he  is  treated  by  his  subscribers 
and  the  brethren  of  the  profession.  The  sentiment  is  high 
toned  and  of  the  most  excellent  character.  He  never 
allows  his  columns  to  be  abused  by  vituperations,  crimina- 
tions and  recriminations.  Mr.  Pelham  himself  is  a  man 
of  clear  head,  pure  character  and  steady  habits.  Iconsider 
him  one  of  the  best  business  men  in  the  country,  and  a 
man  to  be  admired  on  account  of  his  modesty,  sober- 
mindedness  and  intellectual  character. 


W.LiL 


B.  T.  WASHINGTON. 


B.  T.  WASHINGTON.  1027 


CLV. 

PROFESSOR  B.  T.  WASHINGTON. 

Principal  of  the  Tuskegee  Normal  School— A  Successful  Career — A  Won- 
derful Institution — Industrial  Education. 

BOOKER  T.  WASHINGTON,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
and  the  present  principal  and  founder  of  the  Tuske- 
gee Normal  school  at  Tuskegee,  Alabama,  was  bom  at 
Hale*s  Ford  Post-office,  Franklin  county,  Virginia,  April 
18,  1856.  His  owner  was  James  Borroughs.  His  mother, 
Mrs.  Jane  Ferguson,  was  the  cook  on  the  slave  plantation. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  he  went  with  his  mother  and  the 
rest  of  the  family  to  Maiden,  Kanawha  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  attended  the  common  schools  until  1872. 
Soon  after  going  to  Maiden  his  mother  died,  leaving  him 
to  **paddle  hisown  canoe,* 'except  the  aid  which  he  received 
from  his  step-father,  Washington  Ferguson.  After  the 
death  of  his  mother,  he  was  fortunate  in  securing  a  place 
to  live  with  Mrs.  General  Lewis  Ruflher,  Maiden,  West 
Virginia.  She  paid  him  a  small  salary  per  month  and  per- 
mitted him  to  attend  school  and  work  night  and  morning. 
In  this  way  he  attended  school  at  Maiden  till  the  fall  of 
1872,  when  he  left  to  enter  the  Hampton  Institute,  at 
Hampton,  Virginia.     When  he   made   up   his   mind    to 


1028  MEN  OF  MARK. 

go  to  Hampton  he  was  entirely  without  means ;  but,  I 
the  aid  of  money  furnished  him  by  his  brother,  John  I 
Washington,  and  small  amounts  donated  by  friends,  1 
started  for  Hampton  with  enough  money,  as  he  though 
to  pay  traveling  expenses;  but  reaching  Richmond  ar 
counting  his  cash,  he  found  himself  short  of  means  to  ps 
for  a  night's  lodging  and  to  continue  his  journey  at  tl 
same  time.  He  compromised  the  matter  by  spending  tl 
night  under  the  sidewalk.  The  next  day  he  engaged  i 
help  unload  a  vessel,  and  thus  earned  money  with  whi< 
to  continue  his  journey  to  Hampton  Institute,  where  1 
arrived  with  but  fifty  cents  in  his  pocket.  The  first  yei 
he  worked  out  half  of  his  expenses,  and  his  brother  pa 
the  other  half  During  the  remainder  of  his  course  at  Ham 
ton  he  worked  out  his  entire  expenses,  as  janitor.  I 
graduated  in  1875,  after  which  he  taught  for  several  yea 
at  his  home  in  Maiden,  during  which  time  he  was  engage 
by  the  State  executive  committee  to  stump  the  State 
favor  of  having  the  capital  permanently  located  at  Cha 
leston,  West  Virginia.  In  1878  he  entered  Wayland  Set 
inary,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  took  a  cour 
/j>f  study.  After  leaving  Wayland  Seminary  he  was  giv< 
a  position  ai  a  teacher  in  Ihe  Hampton  Institute,  where  1 
taught  two  years,  having  charge  of  the  Indian  boysdurir 
the  last  year.  In  1880  the  Legislature  of  Alabama  pa&s< 
an  act  establishing  a  Normal  school  atTuskegee,  Alabam 
and  the  State  commissioners  of  Alabama  applied  to  Ge 
eral  S.  C.  Armstrong,  principal  of  Hampton  Institute,  i 
recommend  some  one  for  the  principalship.  He  recoi 
mended  Mr.  Washington,  who  proceeded  to  Alabama  t 


B.  T.  WASHINGTON.  1029 

once,  and  organized  the  school  July  4,  1881.  The  institu- 
tion was  opened  on  the  above  date,  in  a  church  and  small 
dwelling,  with  thirty  students  and  one  teacher.  During  the 
first  session  of  the  school  the  principal  and  assistant  prin- 
cipal, by  the  aid  of  friends  North  and  South,  paid  for  one 
hundred  acres  of  land  on  which  to  permanently  locate  the 
school.  This  land  contained  several  small  buildings.  Dur* 
ing  the  same  session  enough  money  was  raised  to  warrant 
their  laying,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  the  comer-stone  of  a 
large  hall  to  cost  sixty-five  hundred  dollars.  During  the 
summer  vacation  Mr.  Washington  and  the  assistant  prin- 
cipal went  to  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  where  they 
succeeded  in  raising  the  amount  necessary  to  complete  the 
first  building,  which  is  called  **  Porter  Hall.*'  One  hundred 
and  twelve  students  were  gathered  into  the  school  the  first 
session  from  the  various  counties  of  Alabama.  In  the 
summer  of  1882  Mr.  Washington  was  married  to  Miss 
Fannie  N.  Smith,  of  West  Virginia,  who  died  after  they 
had  been  married  not  quite  two  years. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Alabama  State  Teachers*  As- 
sociation he  was  unanimously  elected  president  of  that 
body. 

I  have  great  admiration  for  such  men  as  Mr.  Washing- 
ton. On  the  intelligence  and  earnestness  of  such  progres- 
sive giants  we  must  lean  for  the  purpose  of  securing  great 
blessings  to  the  race.  The  results  of  such  labors  as  his  are 
the  greatest  laurels  to  a  rising  people.  It  reflects  not  on 
him  but  through  him,  the  light  of  a  Negro's  intellect. 
There  are  brilliant  and  inspiring  hopes  for  the  race  when 


1030  mSH  OF  MARK. 

such  men  lend  their  powers  in  cultivating  not  alone 
intellect  but  the  heart  and  hand. 

In  April,  1887,  the  professor  was  invited  to  be  the  g^est 
of  the  Unitarian  Club  of  Boston,  he  being  the  first  colored 
man  so  honored.  At  the  banquet  in  the  evening  at  Hotel 
Vendome,  they  were  so  well  pleased  with  his  remarks 
that  they  materialized  their  good  will  in  such  a  shape  that 
they  presented  the  Normal  school  a  valuable  saw-mill 
outfit. 

In  August,  1886,  he  married  Miss  Olivia  A.  Davidson, 
his  competent  assistant.  The  professor  is  not  slow  to  give 
her  credit  for  her  ability  and  faithfulness,  for  he  says  in  a 
letter  to  the  writer:  **It  has  been  largely  due  to  Mrs. 
Washington's  wise  and  earnest  work  that  the  great  work 
done  at  Tuskegee  has  been  made  possible."  Thus  our 
educated  women  go  hand  in  hand,  side  by  side,  with  our 
men  on  the  mission  fields,  doing  work  for  the  Master. 


J.  p.  CAMPBELL. 


f,i,,l 


1.  p.  CAMFBSU..  1031 


CLVI. 
RIGHT  REV.  J.  P.  CAMPBELL,  D.  t).,  LL.  D. 

Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church — The  Theologian  of  the  Denomination. 

T  ABEZ  P.  CAMPBELL,  the  eighth  Bishop  of  the  A.  M. 

I  E.  church,  was  bom  in  Delaware,  February  6, 1815. 
when  he  was  quite  small  his  father  gave  a  gentleman  a 
mortgage  upon  him  and  then  went  away,  and  when  the 
money  was  due  the  mortgage  was  foreclosed,  and  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  sell  him,  but  he  got  wind  of  it,  and 
left  the  State  of  Delaware  for  Philadelphia,  where  his 
mother  resided.  He  soon  became  an  active  member  of  the 
A.  M.  E.  church.  After  he  was  licensed  to  preach  he  was 
appointed  by  Bishop  Morris  Brown  to  supply  a  vacancy 
on  the  Bucks  county  circuit,  Pennsylvania.  From  there 
he  was  sent  a  missionary  to  the  New  England  States.  He 
subsequently  filled  Albany  and  New  York  City  stations. 
He  was  then  transferred  to  the  Philadelphia  conference. 
In  1856  he  was  elected  editor  of  the  Christian  Recorder, 
which  position  he  resigned,  and  afterward  filled  the  Tren- 
ton, New  Jersey,  station,  and  Bethel  church,  Philadelphia. 
In  1863  he  was  transferred  to  the  Baltimore  conference. 
In  the  following  year.  May  16, 1864,  he  was  elected  bishop^ 


li 


1 

:f  '■ 


:! 


■  ,    ■  • 


I         I 


1032  MEN  OF  MARK. 


and  was  ordained  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  May  23, 

1864. 
He  was  the  first  bishop  that  visited  California  and  or 
!*  gHxnzed  that  conference.    In  1876  the  General  conference 

i  sent  him  as  a  delegate  to  the  Wesleyan  General  conference 

Ji'  in  England.    On  his  arrival  he  was  received  and  treated 

:[  with  great  Christian  civility.    The  degree  of  D.   D.   was 

'if  conferred  upon  him  by  Wilberforce  University. 

ji  '  AS  A  BISHOP. 

Bishop  Campbell  has  presided  over  conferences  covering 


nearly  all  the  territory  occupied  by  the  A.  M.  E.  church 

The  courage  and  ingenuity,  tact  and  faith,  by  means  of 

ji  which  he  lias  championed  the  cause  of  Christ,  as  under 

stood  in  African  Methodism,  have  rendered  him  a  favorite 

i  1." 


. .  -I  on  the  bench  of  bishops. 

I   '  He  seems  also  to  be  a  favorite  among  his  colleagues 

The  late  Bishop  Cain,  during  his  illness,  selected  him  with 
others,  to  assist  him.  Bishop  Turner  selected  him  to  as- 
sist him  in  North  Carolina.  He  has,  by  request,  been  with 
Bishop  Shorter  in  all  his  conferences  of  1886-'87. 

AT  HOME. 

The  Bishop  is  by  no  means  obscure  as  a  citizen.  He  is 
known  in  Philadelphia  in  the  very  best  way  as  a  very 
benevolent  man,  an  excellent  preacher,  a  good  business 
man  and  a  scholarly  theologian.  His  social  qualities  are 
large;  few  men  enjoy  society'  more  highly.  He  is  practi- 
calh^  connected  with  benevolent  institutions  in  his  citv,  in 
which  he  is  known  as  a  systematic  and  regular  donor. 

In  giving  to  Wilberforce  University  one  thousand  dol- 
lars, to  several  other  of  our  institutions  from  ten  to  fifty 


r . 


J.  p.  CAMPBBI^I^.  1033 

dollars  each  at  different  times,  he  has  set  a  worthy  ex- 
-ample  for  others. 

Bishop  Campbell  knew  Bishop  Allen  well,  and,  of  course, 
-all  others  of  the  bishops.  He  possesses  a  wonderful  store 
-of  information  concerning  men  and  things  connected  with 
the  early  history  of  African  Methodism.  He  can  entertain 
an  audience  for  hours,  unraveling  the  woven  threads  of 
our  history.  The  only  fear  is  that  that  great  store  of  in- 
formation will  be  largely  lost  to  the  world.  Fifty  years — 
less  a  half  year — ^in  the  ministry ,  nearly  twenty-three  years 
a  bishop,  and  for  many  more  years  a  student,  he  has  the 
ability  to  leave  a  legacy  in  way  of  a  book  or  books,  that 
will  not  be  left  by  others,  but  lost,  unless  he  writes. 

AS  A  PREACHER. 

Bishop  Campbell  is  an  impressive  preacher;  because 
-thoughtful  and  logical,  animated  and  devout,  learned  and 
eloquent.  Few  men  among  us  are  more  popular  in  the 
pulpit.  This  we  say  without  special  reference  to  race 
variety. 

Few  men  have  stood  so  long  and  so  eminently  among 
the  giants  of  the  race ;  and  whatever  of  good  that  can  be 
said  by  a  man  has  been  said.  The  above  sketch  was,  in 
the  main,  published  in  the  Christian  Recorder,  and  I  can 
only  add  my  endorsement  to  the  truth  concerning  him  as 
stated  above.  I  know  the  Bishop  personally,  and  consider 
him  a  man  of  heart  and  of  a  large  soul.  When  a  boy,  I 
was  often  a  visitor  at  his  home  in  Philadelphia,  and  en- 
joyed his  fatherly  counsel .  The  home  of  the  bishop  is  quiet 
and  peacefttl,  and  one  finds  rest  for  the  soul  there.    The  large 


1034 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


experience  of  the  bishop  and  the  extensive  and  varied  learn- 
ing he  has  acquired,  has  made  him  a  splendid  admer  and 
a  safe  guide.  He  is  an  honor  to  the  race  and  is  the  pride 
of  his  church. 


liAii 


NAT  TUKNSR.  103& 


CLVII. 

NAT  TURNER. 

Another  John  Brown — Insurrectionist. 

HE  was  bom  in  Southampton  county,  Virginia,  Octo-^ 
ber  2, 1800.  His  master  was  a  very  wealthy  man 
and  owned  many  slaves.  His  parents  were  very  pious 
I)eopIe.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  young  Nat  imbibed 
the  characteristics  of  his  parents,  their  religion,  their 
songs,  their  longings  and  their  superstitions.  He  was  a 
man  short  in  stature  with  a  very  intelligent  looking  fore- 
head, and  possessed  an  inherent  quality  that  commanded 
the  respect  of  his  fellowmen.  He  had  small  eyes  that 
shone  with  the  brightness  of  diamonds  whenever  he  spoke 
of  the  Scriptures  or  the  wrongs  of  his  race.  He  was  a 
Baptist  preacher,  and  was  ordained  by  his  father  and 
other  preachers  from  the  neighboring  plantations.  On 
account  of  the  teachings  and  admonitions  of  his  mother, 
he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he,  like  Moses  of  old,  was 
bom  to  be  the  deliverer  of  his  people  from  bondage.  He 
nursed  this  belief  and  cherished  it  until  it  became  the  all- 
absorbing  question  of  his  soul.  He  possessed  a  trade,  the 
carrying  out  of  which  kept  him  in  the  woods,  and  that 
was  the  making  of  wooden  trays,  bowls,  etc.    He  became 


1036 


Af£N  OP  MARK. 


familiar  with  every  tree,  every  nook,  and  every  hiding 
place  in  Southampton  county.  He  would  come  among  his 
people  on  Sunday,  preach  the  word  .of  God  and  go  back  to 
the  mountains  to  brood  over  the  condition  of  his  burdened 
people.  At  last  his  master  saw  that  he  was  becoming  too 
familiar  with  the  slaves  in  the  neighborhood,  so  he 
thought  'to  hire  him  to  a  "nigger  breaker*'  to  have  him 
tamed,  or  cowed  down.  But  this  soul  was  not  bom  for 
that ;  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  break  the  spirit  of  this 
heroic  ** black  John  Brown"  of  America  and  Spartacus  of 
the  Negro  race.  He  was  a  man  that  never  consented  to 
an  insult  given  by  a  white  man.  When  his  new  master 
started  out  no  break  him,  he  caught  him  and  tied  his 
hands  behind  his  back  and  left  him  on  his  face.  Then  he 
went  to  his  old  retreat— the  mountains— and  there  re- 
mained thirty  days. 

Many  white  people  reverenced  and  honored  Nat  Turner 
on  account  of  his  commanding  influence.  Strange  to  say, 
a  man  without  the  least  knowledge  of  books  commanded 
the  admiration  of  all  classes  of  men,  both  friends  and 
enemies. 

His  plot  for  general  uprising  was  laid  in  the  month  of 
February,  1831.  He  appointed  a  meeting  to  which  he  in- 
vited four  friends,  Sam  Edwards,  Hark  Travis,  Henry 
Porter  and  Nelson  Williams.  These  five  men  met  in  a 
lonely  glen  and  thus  perfected  their  plans.  But  the  gen- 
eral trouble  was  the  getting  of  arms.  Nat  rose  up  and 
told  them  that  the  spirit  had  instructed  him  to  slay  his 
enemies  with  their  own  weapons.    They  at  last  decided 


/ 


NAT  TURNER.  1037 

on  a  plan,  and  then  it  was  that  **  The  Prophet  Nat "  arose 
and  addressed  them  as  follows: 

Friends  and  Brothers :  We  are  to  commence  a  great  work  to-night. 
Our  race  is  to  be  delivered  from  bondage,  and  God  has  appointed  us  as 
the  men  to  do  his  bidding,  and  let  us  be  worthy  of  our  calling.  I  am  told 
to  slay  all  the  -whites  we  encounter  without  regard  to  age  or  sex.  Re- 
member we  do  not  go  forth  for  the  sake  of  blood  and  carnage,  but  it  is 
necessary  that  in  the  commencement  of  this  revolution,  all  the  whites  we 
meet  should  die,  until  we  have  an  army  strong  enough  to  carry  on  the 
-war  upon  a  Christian  basis. 

The  blow  was  struck  on  the  night  of  the  twenty-first 
of  August,  1831.  They  dealt  death  and  destruction  on 
all  sides  until  the  whole  country  was  aroused  and  the 
planters  armed  themselves  to  baffle  the  determined  actions 
of  this  bold  emancipator.  Yet  this  did  not  stop  the  on- 
w^ard  march  of  this  army.  Those  men,  according  to  the 
directions  of  Nat  Turner,  spared  neither  men,  women  nor 
children.  On  their  way  to  attack  the  first  house  they  were 
joined  by  a  slave  belonging  to  a  neighboring  plantation, 
named  Will,  about  six  feet  in  height,  a  most  desperate 
man,  having  been  made  so  by  the  cruelty  of  his  master. 
He  hated  him,  and  every  white  face  to  him  was  the  sign  of 
an  enemy,  both  to  himself  and  his  race.  He  was  overjoyed 
to  have  this  opportunity  to  reap  vengeance  on  those  who 
had  wronged  him.  He  armed  himself  with  a  sharp,  broad 
axe,  under  whose  cruel  blows  many  a  white  man  fell.  All 
night  long  they  continued  their  work  of  death  and  des- 
truction until  not  only  the  whole  county  of  Southamp- 
ton felt  the  stroke  of  that  terrible  blow,  but  the  whole 
State  orVirginia  reeled  on  account  of  the  boldness  and 


1038  MEN  OF  MARK. 

persistency  in  action.  Soldiers  were  dispatched  to  the 
scene  of  action  from  diflFerent  parts  of  the  State  by  the 
shortest  route  as  soon  as  it  became  known  that  the  blacks 
were  in  arms  against  their  masters.  Then  came  the  real 
battle.  The  blacks  fought  hand  to  hand  with  the  whites. 
Nat  saw  that  they  were  compelled  to  be  overpowered,  so 
he  and  a  few  others  escaped  and  sought  shelter  in  a  near 
swamp  where  they  defied  the  patient  watching  of  all  for 
two  months.  At  last  he  surrendered ;  loaded  with  heavy 
chains,  with  clothes  all  tattered  and  torn  and  besmeared 
with  thebloodof  his  victims,  he  was  brought  to  Jerusalem, 
the  county  seat  of  Southampton  county.  Backed  by  his 
unfaltering  trust  in  the  Lord  and  by  his  belief  in  the  justice 
of  his  cause,  he  stood  before  his  judges  like  a  modem  Reg- 
ulus,  without  flinching,  with  not  a  tremor  in  his  whole 
body.  When  asked  ** guilty  or  not  guilty**  he  answered 
straightway,  **not  guilty.'*  He  could  not  feel  that  he 
should  die  because  he  had  sought  to  liberate  his  people 
from  the  yoke  of  slavery,  no  matter  in  what  way  he 
proceeded  to  accomplish  his  end.  Nevertheless  he  was  con- 
victed and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  In  a  speech  before 
he  was  hanged,  he  prophesied  that  when  thej'  hanged  him 
that  the  sun  would  be  darkened  and  the  earth  tremble  in 
token  of  the  justice  of  the  cause  in  which  he  had  been  en- 
gaged. This  made  such  an  impression  on  the  mind  of  the 
sheriff  that  he  refused  to  have  anj^thing  to  do  with  the 
execution.  They  brought  an  old,  drunken,  broken  down, 
white  man  forty  miles  to  cut  the  rope  of  the  trap. 

Just  as  Nat  Turner  prophesied,  at  the  time  for  the  execu- 
tion a  black  cloud  came  up  from  the  east  and  veiled  the 


NAT  TURNER.  1039 

sun ;  the  earth  was  shaken  by  loud  claps  of  thunder  and 
the  most  severe  storm  followed,  such  as  they  had  never 
before  witnessed  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

Thus  died  one  of  the  greatest  emancipators  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  Some  called  him  a  religious  fanatic,  no 
doubt  because  he  was  a  black  man.  When  men  of  other 
nations  have  arisen  and  used  whatever  means  they  had 
at  their  command  to  liberate  their  people,  it  has  been  called 
heroism ;  with  the  Negro,  it  is  brutality.  However  civil- 
ized nations  may  judge  Nat  Turner,  and  however  they  may 
write  about  him,  let  it  be  remembered  that  he  foresaw  by 
his  acts  the  career  of  John  Brown.  If  the  Negro  was  to 
blame,  so  was  the  white  man.  Nat  Turner's  insurrection 
was  the  upheaval  of  an  honest  heart  to  break,  in  any  way 
possible,  the  chains  which  bound  his  people.  If  he  was  a 
brute,  it  must  be  remembered  that  his  victims  only  suffered 
b^'  a  system  which  made  him  such.  If  he  were  a  savage, 
the  passions  belonging  to  human  nature  were  only  whetted 
by  the  cruelties  which  he  saw,  and  sharpened  by  the  suf 
ferings  of  his  people.  He  planned  in  a  few  minutes,  con- 
densed in  a  few  hours,  and  executed  upon  his  victims  in 
a  short  time  only  a  tithe  of  the  cruelties  which  had  been 
heaped  upon  his  own  people.  If  his  judgment  was  swift, 
it  was  no  more  severe  than  that  which  had  been  inflicted 
upon  Negroes  under  his  eyes.  He  had  seen  men  whipped 
to  death  and  brutally  murdered  by  the  overseers,  and  if 
his  ideas  of  crime  were  of  a  crude  standard,  let  it  also  be 
remembered  that  poor  human  nature  is  influenced  by  that 
with  which  it  is  surrounded. 


1040  MBN  OP  MARK. 


CLVIII. 

HON.  HILERY  RICHARD  WRIGHT  JOHNSON. 

President  of  Liberia— An  Accomplished  English  and  Classical  Scholar 
— A  Master  of  German,  French  and  Mathematics. 

THE  president  of  Liberia  is  the  son  of  the  earliest  and 
most  distinguished  Liberian,  Elijah  Johnson,  who 
was  bom  in  New  Jersey,  and  who  is  called  "Father  of 
Liberia."  The  president  is  about  fifty-one  years  old,  and 
was  himself  bom,  reared  and  educated  in  Liberia.  He 
traveled  as  private  secretary'  to  President  Benson,  on  his 
European  tour  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifties,  and  also 
accompanied  President  Roj'e  in  a  like  capacity  to  this 
country.  He  is  a  thorough  English  and  classical  scholar, 
and  speaks  French  and  German  in  the  most  scholarlj" 
manner,  and  has  a  special  aptitude  for  mathematics.  No 
man  in  Liberia  has  a  wider  influence  and  he  has  stamped 
himself  upon  the  people  as  a  man  desirous  of  the  highest 
promotion,  and  secured  for  himself  the  affection  of  the 
people. 

In  the  canvass  of  1884  he  secured  the  majority  of 
votes  and  was  elected  for  the  presidency  of  the  Liberian 
government,  which  position  he  honors  and  dignifies,  both 
by  his  learning  and  his  loyalty.    He  has  filled  many  of  the 


HILERY  RICHARD  WRIGHT  JOHNSON.  1041 

most  important  offices  in  the  republic  subsidiary  to  the 
presidency,  and  his  faithfulness  and  earnest  devotion  to 
duty,  as  well  as  his  deep  interest  of  the  welfare  **of  the 
Lone  Star  Republic,*'  had  prominently  placed  him  before 
the  people.  He  has  given  them  entire  satisfaction  as  to  his 
course,  and  thereby  secured  their  suffi-age  in  reaching  the 
high  station  in  the  gift  of  the  people.  When  it  is  remem- 
bered that  this  republic  has  had  quite  a  number  of  presi- 
dents, it  is  surprising  that,  hitherto,  no  one  bom  on  Afri- 
can soil  has  been  elevated  to  its  first  position. 

Mr.  Johnson  is  the  first  and  only  native  bom  in  Liberia, 
who  has  secured  the  office. 

The  president  was  a  professor  in  the*  Liberia  College  at 
the  same  time  that  Professors  Blyden,  Crummell  and  Free- 
man were  professors,  and  Professor  Joseph  Jenkins  Roberts 
nvas  the  president  of  the  college. 

The  tender  expressions  of  love  for  America  and  its  people 
which  he  entertains,  endears  him  to  all  on  this  side  of  the 
water,  not  only  to  the  people  at  large  but  to  his  race. 
Bom  on  African  soil,  identified  with  Africa's  progress  in 
the  most  exalted  station  among  her  people,  he  could  but 
have  all  his  interest  fixed  upon  persons  and  things  in  that 
country ;  but,  like  all  true  Negroes,  his  heart  is  large  enough 
to  take  in  his  brethren,  and  his  intellect  broad  enough  to 
appreciate  the  institutions  of  this  country.  His  standing 
with  all  the  eminent  men  both  in  Liberia  and  in  this 
country  mark  him  as  one  who  has  deported  himself  with 
such  dignity  and  grace  that  it  is  a  distinguished  honor  to 
have  his  acquaintance.  It  is  a  glorious  thing  for  Liberia 
that  she  has  at  least  one  born  on  her  own  soil  to  whom 
she  can  look  for  future  administration  of  her  aflFairs. 


1042  MEN  OF  MASK. 


CLIX. 

HON.  JOHN  R.  LYNCH. 

Prominent  Politician — Orator — Lawyer— Congressman— Presided  a 
National  Republican  Convention. 

MR.  LYNCH  was  bom  in  Concordia  Parish,  Louisii 
Septembei;  10,  1847.  The  bonds  of  slavery  I 
ened  themselves  upon  his  young  life  and  held  him  from 
benefits  of  freedom,  culture,  and  from  developing  inl 
fall  grown  man,  such  as  the  peculiarity  of  our  institut 
can  bring  forth.  Destitute  of  the  means  by  which  a  yc 
is  inspired  to  greatness,  he  came  forth  after  the  war  na 
ally  lacking  those  qualities  which  would  make  a  cox 
tent  statesman  and  a  capable  leader.  It  is  astonish 
indeed,  how  great  have  been  the  achievements  of  mos 
the  despised  race  when  we  remember  that  without 
previous  training  they  were  called  to  the  most  import 
stations  in  American  affairs ;  and  the  wonder  is  that  t 
made  no  more  mistakes  than  they  did. 

Few  have  succeeded  in  coming  out  of  the  turmoil,  st 
and  political  contests  of  the  past  with  a  reputatioi 
untarnished  as  that  of  Mr.  Lynch.  He  remained  in  slai 
until  Abraham  Lincoln,  with  a  stroke  of  his  pen,  cut 
Gordian  knot  and  gave  liberty  to  the  bondmen. 


JOHN  R.  LYNCH.  1043 

He  had  no  early  education,  but  began  to  apply  himself 
3as  soon  as  he  was  permitted  to  do  so.  A  purchaser  of  his 
Tnother  had  carried  her  with  her  children  to  Natchez,  where, 
when  the  Union  troops  took  possession,  he  attended  even- 
ing school  for  a  few  months.  He  has  given  diligent  atten- 
tion to  private  instructors  to  the  acquirement  of  a  first- 
class  English  education,  and  has  read  with  considerable 
attention  the  best  works  published  of  ancient  and  modem 
literature. 

He  engaged  in  the  business  of  photography  at  Natchez 
until  1869,  when  Governor  Ames  appointed  him  a  justice 
of  the  peace  for  Adams  county,  Natchez,  Mississippi.  He 
Tield  that  position  until  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  when  he 
w^as  elected  to  the  State  Legislature  from  that  county  for 
the  term  of  two  years.  He  was  reelected  in  1871,  and 
served  during  the  latter  term  as  speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  He  was  elected  a  representative  from 
Mississippi  in  the  Forty-third  Congress  as  a  member  of 
±he  lower  house,  receiving  fifteen  thousand  three  hundred 
and  ninety-one  votes  against  eight  thousand  four  hundred 
and  thirty  for  H.  Cassidy,  sr.  (Democrat),  and  was  reelected 
to  the  Forty-fourth  Congress  as  a  Republican,  defeating 
Roderick  Seals  (Democrat).  He  was  also  reelected  to  the 
Forty-seventh  Congress,  but  was  not  allowed  to  take  his 
seat.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  contest  was  between 
Lynch  and  Chalmers,  in  what  was  known  as  the  **  Shoe- 
string" district  of  Mississippi.  When  he  was  pleading  his 
case  in  behalf  of  himself  and  constituents,  he  made  use  of 
the  following  very  eloquent  remarks,  which,  on  account  of 


1044  MEN  OF  MARK. 

the  patriotism  and  fairness  contained  in  them,  deserve  to 
be  recorded.    He  said : 

Both  of  the  great  political  parties  of  the  day  are,  no  donbt,  anxious  to 
bring  about  the  cessation  of  the  agitation  of  sectionalism.  They  dife 
only  as  to  the  basis  upon  which  this  agitation  shall  cease.  The  Demo> 
crats  who  are  in  favor  of  upholding  and  defending  the  Bourbon  system 
of  fraudulent  elections,  as  illustrated  in  this  case  for  instance,  are  anx- 
ious to  bring  about  a  cessation  of  sectional  agitation  upon  the  basis  of 
a  violent  and  fraudulent  suppression  of  the  popular  will. 

The  Republicans,  on  the  other  hand,  and  I  am  pleased  to  be  able  to  saj 
thousands  of  honest  Democrats  as  well,  are  anxious  that  this  agitation 
will  cease,  upon  such  conditions  as  will  secure  to  all  citizens  the  equal 
protection  of  the  laws,  and  a  willing  acquiescence  in  the  lawfully  ex- 
pressed will  of  the  majority.  As  an  humble  member  of  the  ^reat  Repub- 
lican party,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  it  to  be  the  unchangeabic 
determination  of  that  party  to  continue  to  wage  a  persistent  war  upon 
Bourbon  methods  at  the  South,  until  the  right  of  every  citizen  to  cast 
his  ballot  for  the  man  or  the  party  of  his  choice,  and  have  that  baUot 
fairly  and  honestly  counted,  shall  have  been  acquiesced  in  from  one  end 
of  the  country  to  the  other.     [Applause  on  the  Republican  side] 

In  speaking  of  the  loyalty  of  the  colored  people  to  the 
government  during  the  war,  Mr.  Lynch  said  : 

hey  were  faithful  and  true  to  you  there ;  they  are  no  less  so  to-day 
And  yet  they  ask  no  special  favors  as  a  class;  they  aSk  no  sjxfcial  protec- 
tion as  a  race.    They  feci  that  they  purchased  their  inheritance,  when 
upon  the  battle-fields  of  their  country  they  watered  the   tree   of  liberty 
with  the  precious  blood  that  flowed  from  their  loyal  veins.     [Loud  ap- 
plause].   They  ask  no  favors ;  they  demand  what  thej'  desire  and  must 
have — an  equal  chance  in  the  race  of  life.        ...         .  ... 

The  condition  of  the  colored  people  of  this  country  to-day  is  a  living 
contradiction  of  the  prophecies  of  those  who  have  predicted  that  thetwo 
races  could  not  live  upon  the  same  continent  together  upon  terms  of  po- 
litical equality.  In  spite  of  these  predictions  we  are  here  to-day,  clothed 
in  the  same  rights,  the  same  privileges,  and  the  same  immunities,  with 


JOHN  R.  LYNCH.  1045 

complete  political  assimilation;  loyal  to  the  same  goyemment,  true  to 
the  same  flag,  yielding  obedience  to  the  same  laws,  revering  the  same  in- 
stitutions, actuated  by  the  same  patriotic  impulses,  imbued  with  the 
same  noble  ambition,  entertaining  the  same  hopes,  seeking  the  same 
gratification  and  satisfaction  of  the  same  aspirations,  identified  with  the 
same  interests,  speaking  the  same  language,  professing  the  same  religion^ 
worshiping  the  same  God.  The  colored  man  asks  you  in  this  particular 
instance  to  give  effect  to  his  ballot,  not  for  his  sake  alone,  but  for  yours 
as  well You  must,  then,  as  I  am  sure  you  will,  con- 
demn the  crimes  against  our  institutions,  against  law,  against  justice, 
and  against  public  morals  that  were  committed  in  this  place. 

In  the  National  Republican  convention  at  Chicago  in  1884, 
he  was  elected  temporary  chairman  over  Powell  Cla3rton, 
by  a  majority  of  thirty  votes.  Clayton  was  the  nominee 
of  the  representatives  of  the  Blaine  interests ;  Mr.  Lynch 
was  nominated  ana  supported  by  the  different  elements 
that  were  opposed  to  Mr.  Blaine,  but  he  also  received  the 
vote  of  the  minority  of  the  Blaine  men.  He  is  the  first  and 
only  colored  man  who  has  ever  presided  over  any  National 
convention  of  the  Republican  party,  and  in  this  respect  it 
shows  very  plainly  that  he  is  a  man  of  large  influence  and 
of  high  standing  in  party  councils — one  who  has  so  con- 
ducted himself  as  to  be  chosen  from  all  the  vast  number  of 
colored  men  who  have  from  time  to  time  attended  these 
conventions,  to  preside  over  the  deliberations  of  a  conven- 
tion which  was  fraught  with  so  much  interest  and  preg- 
nant with  such  vast  results. 

The  honorable  gentleman  has  married  of  late  years  a 
Miss  Summerville,  and  settled  down  to  the  quiet  life  of  a 
Southern  farmer,  near  Natchez,  with  a  Washington,  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  residence.  The  time  will  come  when  he 
will  yet  play  an  important  part  in  the  Nation's  affairs. 


1046 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


CLX. 

REV.  P.  H.  A.  BRAXTON. 

Paator  of  Calvary  Baptist   Church,  Baltimore,   Maryland — Writer — 
Speaker. 

REV.  PATRICK  HENRY  ALEXANDER  BRAXTON 
was  bom  in  slavery,  in  King  William  county,  Vir- 
ginia, September  22,  1852,  on  the  Canterbury  farm,  be- 
longing to  the  Johnsons,  near  Whitehouse.  His  father  and 
mother,  Benjamin  and  Patsy  Braxton,  were  both  slaves. 
Each  had  been  married  twice.  P.  H.  A.  Braxton  is  the 
only  living  child  by  their  last  marriage. 

By  the  marriage  of  the  oldest  daughter  of  the  people  to 
whom  they  belonged,  Mr.  Braxton's  mother  and  all  the 
children  were  carried  to  Staunton,  Virginia,  in  1860. 
After  staying  there  three  years,  his  master  was  killed ;  then 
he,  together  with  his  mother  and  half  sister,  was  taken 
back  to  King  William  county,  Virginia,  and  hired  out  until 
1865,  when  the  mother  and  children  were  turned  out  with- 
out a  dollar,  after  working  them  till  Christmas  of  that 
year.  The  oldest  boy  then  living,  that  they  knew  anything 
of,  was  only  sixteen  years  old.    Th^  others  had  been  sold 

and  died. 
The  mother  and  children  started  out  in  life  to  earn  a  live- 


p.  H.  A.  BRAXTON.  1047 

lihood  by  the  sweat  of  their  brows,  which  they  did,  and 
have  lived  comfortably  till  to-day.  **  Truly  God  cares  for 
the  widow  and  the  fatherless."  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  his  mother's  main  support ;  notwithstanding  he  was 
the  youngest,  he  was  also  the  brightest  of  the  children. 
He  worked  on  the  farm  and  did  severe  labor  till  1868, 
when  a  public  school  was  started  at  Cat-tail  church,  in  the 
aforesaid  county.  After  several  weeks  in  this  school, 
August,the  resting  month  for  farmers,  was  over,  and  he 
had  to  return  to  work.  Some  weeks  later  a  night  school 
was  started  in  the  same  building ;  then  Alexander  worked 
on  the  farm  all  day  and  walked  five  miles  to  attend.  When 
winter  set  in  he  started  to  school  again,  and  continued 
until  the  spring  of  1869;  then  went  back  to  the  farm  to 
work.  He  continued  to  study  and  go  to  school  nights  and 
in  the  winter,  and  to  a  debating  club  on  Friday  evenings^ 
until  August,  1872,  at  which  time  the  commencement  took 
place,  and  he  delivered  the  valedictory,  from  these  words : 
**  Show  thyself  a  man,  that  thou  mayest  prosper  whitherso- 
ever thou  goest.'*  With  the  exception  of  having  learned 
to  spell  by  association  with  a  little  white  boy  to  whose 
grandfather  he  was  hired  in  1863,  in  Staunton,  Virginia, 
and  by  teaching  himself  at  other  times,  he  claims  that  if 
he  is  made  at  all,  he  is  self-made. 

He  stopped  farming  and  went  into  the  stave  business. 
Having  been  elected  constable  of  the  county  at  the  May 
election  of  1872,  and  having  taken  an  active  part  in  poli- 
tics before  and  after,  he  had  to  give  up  his  business.  About 
six  or  eight  months  later,  a  warrant  was  put  into  his 
hands  for  the  arrest  of  a  Mr.  William  Virus,  for  assaulting- 


I 


1048  MEN  OP  MARK. 

a  doctor.    Now  this  ^' Virus"  was  a  notoriotiB  Ix'agga- 
docia.     He  never  obeyed  the  law  and  would  not  allow 
himself  to  be  arrested.    It  is  said  that  he  killed  a  man  dur- 
ing, or  before  the  war,  for  which  the  officers  of  the  law 
were  afraid  to  call  him  to  account.    Braxton,  in  company 
with  two  other  men,  went  to  his  farm,  and  plead  in  vain 
with  him  to  go  quietly.    He  refused  to  do  so  and  started 
for  his  house  for  his  firearms,  swearing  all  the  time  and 
declaring   if  Braxton   didn't   leave   he   would   put   him 
under  the  sod.    Seeing  that  he  must  capture  his  man  to 
save  his  own  life  as  well  as  to  obey  the  injunctions  of  the 
court,  he  went  for  his  victim,  and  after  a  short  battle  be- 
tween the  two,  succeeded  in  overpowering  him,  and  with 
the  assistance  of  the  other  two  men,  bound  him  and  put 
him  in  his  own  cart,  and  had  him  driven  to  the  magistrate's 
court,  for  which  he.  Virus,  threatened  to  kill  Constable 
Braxton.    The  case  was  sent  up  to  the  county  court,  where 
he  was  indicted  for  assault  and  battery  on  the  doctor ;  but 
the  jury  could  not  find  any  indictment  against  him  for 
resisting  and  threatening  to  kill  an  officer  of  the  law  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty.    Mr.  Braxton  concluded  that  it  was 
because  he  was  a  colored  man,  and  thereupon  resigned. 

In  the  meantime  he  was  studying  law  as  opportunity 
offered.  It  was  generally  admitted  that  he  did  justice  to 
his  party;  handled  his  subjects  logically,  manfully  and 
eloquently,  made  it  hard  for  his  opponents  and  did 
credit  to  his  race.  He  was  always  noted  for  his  aptness 
to  Icam,  good  memory,  thirst  for  knowledge,  eloquence 
in  speech,  honesty,  bravery  and  boldness  in  speaking  his 
sentiments  and  a  love  of  debate. 


» 


p.  H.  A.  BRAXTON. 


p.  H.  A.  BRAXTON.  104i9 

In  October  and  November  of  1874,  he  was  a  member  of 
the  United  States  paneled  jury.  He  spent  the  latter  part 
of  1874  and  1875  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia, 
and  in  June,  1875,  received  an  appointment  in  connection 
with  the  United  States  custom-house  in  which  he  was  con- 
verted June  10,  1875,  at  Low  Cedar  Point,  Westmoreland 
county,  Virginia. 

He  was  baptized  the  second  Lord's  day,  October,  1875, 
by  Rev.  Silas  Miles.  He  joined  the  Cat-tail  Baptist  church, 
from  which  he  was  commissioned  to  preach  the  gospel, 
July  9,  1 876.  In  December,  1878,  he  was  appointed  general 
collecting  agent  of  the  consolidated  American  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary convention,  after  which  he  took  his  letter  from 
this  church  and  joined  the  Ebenezer  Baptist  church,  Rich- 
mond, Virginia.  In  April,  1879,  he  was  called  to  takecharge 
of  the  Calvary  Baptist  church,  Baltimore,  Maryland, 
and  was  ordained  June  6.  He  took  charge  of  the  church 
Jime  8,  1879 ;  it  was  then  composed  of  ten  members,  wor- 
shiping in  a  small  old  carpenter  shop,  corner  of  Preston 
Street  and  Mason  alley,  without  any  property  of  any  kind 
and  everything  against  them.  They  now  own,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  have 
paid  for  **the  finest  house  of  worship  of  any  colored  con- 
gregation in  Baltimore. " 

It  has  a  membership  of  five  hundred  and  seventy-five, 
and  was  built  bv  Rev.  P.  H.  A.  Braxton.  He  hired  the 
men  and  built  the  church  according  to  his  own  idea.  They 
would  not  appoint  a  building  committee  but  collected  the 
money  and  gave  it  to  him,  so  great  was  their  confidence 
in  him  and  his  ability.    He  also  collected  all  of  the  money 


H 
.t 


1050 


MBN  OP  MARK. 


to  do  it  with  except  one  thousand  one  httndred  doUarSp 
which  was  given— five  hundred  dollars  each  by  Dr.  G.  K. 
Tyler  and  his  son,  Mr.  Charles  Tyler,  and  one  hundred  dol- 
lars by  Dr.  Franklin  Wilson,  all  members  of  his  own  con- 
gregation. 

The  church  is  valued  at  twenty  thousand  dollars  but  he 
built  it  for  ten  thousand  seven  hundred  dollars.  It  i» 
located  most  admirably,  being  at  the  junction  of  three 
streets,  Park  Avenue,  Howard  and  Biddle  streets. 

This  church  has  grown  from.  10  to  570  members,  350 
of  whom  composed  the  beautiful  Mt.  Sinai  Baptist  church, 
Bocas,  Del-Toro,  of  United  States  of  Columbia,  which  was 
received  into  the  fellowship  and  fostering,  July,  1876 ;  and 
since  his  pastorate  began  he  has  collected  $17768.05. 

Rev.  Braxton  is  a  radical  reformer  as  to  the  manner  of 
worshiping  and  preaching  now  carried  on  in  many  of  our 
churches.  He  calls  it  ''monkish  action.*'  He  read  a  paper 
entitled  ** Instantaneous  Conversion"  (which  is  soon  to 
appear  in  pamphlet  form)  before  the  Baptist  Ministers^ 
conference,  April,  1886.  We  quote  from  the  Christian 
Standard  of  Cincinnatiy  Ohio,  April  24,  1886. 

Yesterday  one  of  the  colored  ministers  (Rev.  P.  H.  A.  Braxton)  read  a 
paper  on  ** Instantaneous  Conversion"  as  opposed  to  the  "mourner** 
bench  '*  idea  of  getting  religion.  He  took  the  ground  that  all  the  ago- 
nizing, shouting,  ranting,  howling  and  such  other  things,  common  enongh 
to  the  world  were  anti-scriptural  and  the  result  of  gross  ignorance  and 
unbelief  on  the  part  of  both  preachers  and  people.  He  struck  the  idea 
that  faith  is  given  miraculously  to  sinners,  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of 
the  church,  a  blow  like  that  of  a  steam  hammer. 

I  was  anxious  to  see  how  it  would  be  received.  Everybody  had  three 
minutes  given  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  paper.    On  one  or  two  minor 


si,  ...^  ■  . 


p.  H.  A.  BRAXTON.  1051* 

points  it  was  criticized  by  some  who  misanderstoocf,  and  so  was  not 
fairly  dealt  with ;  in  the  main,  thongh,  it  was  endorsed  most  heartily. 
When  asked  for  my  opinion  in  the  matter,  I  most  thankfully  added  my 
endorsement  of  every  important  idea  set  forth  in  it.    It  was  soimd,- 
sensible  and  scriptural  in  all  its  fundamentals. 

The  Baptist  church  here  is  very  strong  and  has  among  its  ministers 
several  men  of  the  most  decided  talent. 

He  is  regarded  as  a  fine  pulpiteer  and  has  preached  able* 
sermons  before  diflferent  conventions.  Before  the  Baptist: 
Foreign  Mission  Convention  of  the  United  States,  he 
preached  from  the  text :  **  Curse  ye  Meroz,  said  the  angel 
of  the  Lord,  curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof;  be- 
cause they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the 
mighty"  Qudges  v,  23),  at  the  conclusion  of  which,  the* 
the  president,  Rev.  A.  S.  Jackson,  said : 

I   have   been   fully   converted   on   the   secret    society   question   this 
morning.    I  have  been  wearing  the  sheepskin  and  marching  around  as  a 
big  man  in  the  societies,  but  I  am  done,  from  this  moment ;  I  will  have  no  - 
more  to  do  with  the  things ;  I  would  not  have  missed  this  sermon  thi»> 
morning  for  a  thousand  dollars. 

He  is  a  life  member  of  the  Virginia  State  convention  and' 
of  the  New  England  Baptist  Missionary  convention,  and 
of  the  Brotherhood  of  Liberty. 

He  was  married  October  18,  1881,  to  Miss  Katie  Ban- 
nister of  Baltimore.  He  owns  property  in  Virginia  and 
Maryland  valued  at  about  two  thousand  dollars,  with  a 
library  composed  of  some  of  the  choicest  works  of  the  age, 
valued  at  one  thousand  dollars.  He  is  much  beloved  and 
honored  by  the  people  of  the  republic. 


1052 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


CLXI. 


PROFESSOR  T.  McCANTS  STEWART,  A.  B.,  LL.  B. 

Attorney  at  Law — Professor  and  Author. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  of  free  parents  in 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  December  28,  1852. 
His  parents  were  George  Gilchrist  Stewart  and  Anna 
Morris  Stewart.  Mr.  Stewart  says:  *'My  mother  is  a 
woman  of  strong  intellect,  noble  soul,  generous  nature 
and  great  energy.  /  owe  all  I  am  to  my  mother, ^^  Is  not 
this  the  almost  universal  testimony  of  our  prominent  men? 
McCants,  while  a  boy,  attended  school  in  his  native  city, 
beginning  when  he  was  only  five  years  old.  In  1865  or 
1866  he  was  chosen,  on  account  of  his  popularity  and  good 
scholarship,  to  present  a  Bible  to  General  Canby,  then  in 
command  of  the  military  department  of  South  Carolina, 
as  the  expression  of  good-will  and  respect  from  the  public 
school  children  of  Charleston.  In  this  he  was  the  repre- 
sentative of  thousands.  On  account  of  the  signs  of  marked 
intelligence  and  future  usefulness,  he  was  sent  to  Howard 
University,  Washington,  District  of  Columbia.  Here  he 
remained  from  1869  to  1873.  Leaving  Howard  Univer- 
sity he  entered  the  South  Carolina  University  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1875,  and  received  the  degree  of  A.  B.; 


T.  M'CANTS  STEWART.  1053 

and,  graduating  from  the  law  department  of  the  same 
institution  the  same  year,  he  was  given  the  title  LL.  B. 
He  entered  into  partnership  with  the  Hon.  R.  B.  Elliott, 
and  was  counsel  in  a  murder  case  immediately  thereafter. 

After  practicing  law  for  two  years,  and  at  the  same 
time  being  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  State  Agricul- 
tural College,  in  1877  he  entered  Princeton  College  where 
he  studied  for  two  years ;  then,  after  ordination,  he  was 
given  the  pastoral  charge  of  Bethel  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  of  New  York  City.  Here  he  remained  till  1883, 
when  he,  in  company  with  Professor  Hugh  M.  Brown, 
embarked  for  Africa,  accepting  the  position  of  professor  in 
the  Liberia  College — a  post  which  could  not  be  more  ably 
filled  by  one  of  his  age.  On  their  way  thither  they  spent 
a  month  in  Scotland,  England,  France  and  Germany. 
They  finally  came  to  the  land  of  their  fathers  and  beheld  it 
in  all  its  glory.  However,  the  fair  prospects  held  out 
faded  away  and  they  soon  became  dissatisfied  w^th  the 
state  of  affairs.  He  returned  to  America,  and,  after  lectur- 
ing for  awhile,  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  January,  1886. 

Mr.  Stewart  has  written  a  book  of  some  merit  on  Africa. 
The  writer  gave  the  following  criticism  in  the  American 
Baptist : 

LIBERIA— THE  AMERICO-AFRICAN  REPUBLIC.     BY  T.  If'CANTS  STEWART. 

Knowing  the  scholarly  attainments,  the  clear-cut  reasoning  powers 
and  gifts  of  the  author's  pen,  and  then  being  an  old  college  mate  and 
personal  fHend  of  his,  we  were  well  prepared  to  read  this  book.  Yet  in 
this  small  work  we  scarcely  expected  to  get  such  rich  kernels  from  the 
AfHcan  nut  so  many  have  tried  to  crack.  The  fair,  honest  statements  in 
regard  to  the  climate  and  his  logical  deductions  as  to  the  reasons,  and 
the  further  profoundly  sensible  remarks  as  to  the  remedies,  his  whole* 


1054 


MBN  OF  MARK. 


30tne  advice  to  found  interior  cities,  all  challenge  admiration  and  ap- 
plause. 

Mr.  Stewart  has  retired  from  the  ministry  and  gives 
himself  wholly  to  the  law.  Added  to  his  professional 
duties  are  the  duties  of  presiding  over  the  Brooklyn  Liter- 
ary and  other  educational  enterprises.  He  is  gifted  as  a 
lecturer.  His  manners  are  very  attractive,  his  voice  win- 
ning and  his  instructive  powers  well  developed.  He  can 
l)y  no  means  reflect  credit  on  none  but  the  race  which  he 
4IO  highly  honoTfiu 


L4.i 


B.  P.  h'cabb.  1055 


CLXIl 
HON.  E.  P.  McCABE. 

Auditor  of  the  State  of  Kansas — County  Clerk — Snccessful  Politician. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  of  humble  parents 
in  Troy,  New  York,  October  10, 1850.  His  parents 
;soon  after  moved  to  Fall  River,  Massachusetts ;  remaining 
:there  a  short  time  they  settled  "in  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
ivhere  he  attended  public  school.  Leaving  the  grammar 
school  there  he  went  to  Bangor,  Maine,  where  he  continued 
his  studies  until  the  death  of  his  father  compelled  him  to 
.assist  his  widowed  mother  in  the  support  of  a  brother  and 
sister.  Drifting  to  New  York  he  was  employed  by  Messrs 
Shreve  and  Kendrick,  35  Wall  Street.  As  in  the  case  of  all 
-colored  boys,  he  had  to  make  various  shifts  from  clerk  to 
porter.  Finding  all  avenues  in  the  Bast  closed  to  ambi- 
tious colored  youngmen,  he  decided  to  follow  Horace  Gree- 
ley's advice  and  go  West.  Getting  a  clerkship  with  Potter 
Palmer,  Hotel  King,  of  Chicago,  in  1872,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  another  in  the  Cook  county  treasury,  where  he 
remained  eighteen  months.  Tiring  of  metropolitan  life 
he  went  to  Kansas,  locating  in  Graham  county,  one  of  the 
most  sparsely  settled  of  all  the  northwestern  tier,  where, 
in  company  with  Abraham  T.  Hall,  junior,  of  Chicago, 


1056 


MBN  OP  MARK 


previously  the  city  editor  of  the  Conservator,  he  engaged 
in  the  land  business  with  some  success. 

As  a  reward  for  the  valuable  services  rendered  in  the 
organization  of  the  county  he  was  appointed  first  county 
clerk,  and  afterwards  elected  to  that  position  from  which 
he  was  transferred  to  the  audit  orship  of  the  State  of  Kansas, 
one  of  the  most  significant  political  successes  in  the  upward 
career  of  the  race,  Kansas  being  one  of  the  most  prosper- 
ous of  the  Western  States. 

Long  before  the  nomination  to  the  auditorship,  it  was. 
conceded  that  Mr.  McCabe  was  the  representative  man  of  ' 
the  race  in  Kansas,  ai;d  it  was  also  a  settled  fact  that  this 
clement  should  be  recognized  in  the  selections  of  State 
officers.    He  was  nominated  and  elected  by  what  might 
be  considered  a  white  vote,  for  at  no  time,  perhaps,  had 
there  been  more  than  a  dozen  colored  men  in  the  conven- 
tion.   After  his  nomination  in  the  fall  of  1882,  he  was- 
triumphantly  elected  and  filled  his  office  with  distinguished 
fidelity.    He  had  won  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  was 
the  admired  man  of  all  the  State  officers.    He  was  a  can- 
didate for  reelection  to  a  second  term.    When  the  conven- 
tion was  ready  to  proceed  with  the  nomination  for  the 
position  of  auditor,  Mr.  W.  B.  Townsend,  a  delegate  from 
Leavenworth,  secured  the  floor  and  with  marked  enthu- 
siasm, as  can  be  seen  from  the  applause  throughout  the 
speech,  said : 


Mr.  Chairman: — I  desire  to  place  m  nomination  for  the  position  of 
auditor  a  young  man  who  is  not  a  stranger  to  the  people  of  Kansas, 
but  is  well  and  favorably  known  to  you  all ;  one  who  is  not  only  popular 
with  his  own  race,  but  is  exceedingly  popular  with  the  whites  [great 


i 


^!■ 


k.  .J 


B.  P.  m'cabb.  1057 

applause]  ;tbe  ablest  and  strongest  colored  man  from  a  political  stand- 
point in  the  State;  the  recQg^nized  leader  of  his  race  in  the  West  [ap- 
plause]. That  gentleman  has  demonstrated  his  fitness  for  the  position 
by  serving  you  faithfully  during  the  past  two  years.  His  name  is  Edwin 
P.  McCabe  {great  cheering].  Nominate  him  and  you  will  please  the  col- 
ored element  of  the  party  and  a  majority  of  the  whites.  And  more,  Mr. 
Chairman,  I  move  that  the  rules  be  suspended  and  Mr.  McCabe  be  nom- 
inated by  acclamation. 

Mr.  Townsend's  motion  ^yas  readily  seconded  and  put 
by  the  chairman,  and  Honorable  E.  P.  McCabe  was  nom- 
inated by  acclamation  amidst  thundering  applause.  Men 
arose  and  swung  their  hats,  while  others  stood  on  chairs 
and  waved  their  hats  and  yelled  for  McCabe. 

This  shows  how  popular  the  colored  candidate  was  with 
the  convention,  composed  as  it  was  of  nearly  four  hundred 
representative  Republicans  of  the  State,  and  not  more  than 
six  of  them  colored  men. 

Without  that  ** influence"  which  in  these  days  is  so 
potent  to  obtain  place  and  power,  and  comparatively 
tinknown  a  few  years  ago,  Mr.  McCabe  entered  the  State 
with  nothing  to  recommend  him  but  an  Eastern  education, 
good  character,  indomitable  pluck,  with  health  and  energy, 
preferring  to  be  a  freeman  on  the  bleak  plains  of  the  far 
West,  rather  than  be  an  underling  and  political  sycophant 
in  the  East,  where  at  best  our  young  colored  men  are 
overshadowed  by  hoards  of  young  white  men,  who  in 
their  eagerness  to  obtain  position  often  rarely  secure  any- 
thing worthy  of  their  pains  and  labor. 

Mr.  McCabe's  career  is  illustrative  of  the  possibilities  of 
self-made  men  who  make  their  impressions  upon  our  times 


1058 


MEN  OP  If  ARK. 


by  sheer  force  of  character,  and  the  possibilities  which 
are  open  to  him  in  life  are  vast  and  illimitable. 

At  the  end  of  his  term  he  withdrew  his  name  which  his 
friends  were  still  anxious  to  offer  for  renomination  for  the 
position,  and  after  retiring  from  office,  spent  several  months 
in  California  prospecting. 

We  can  only  hope  that  there  are  great  things  still  in 
store  for  him. 


CHARJLB8  HBNRY  PARBISH.  1059 


CLXIII. 
REV.  CHARLES  HENRY  PARRISH,  A.  B. 

A  Rising  Young  Man— Prom  the  Position  of  Janitor  to  the  Secretary- 
ship of  a  University. 

HE  was  bom  in  Lexington,  Fayette  county,  Kentucky, 
April  18,  1859.  His  parents  were  Hiram  and  Har- 
riet Parrish,  slaves  belonging  to  Jeff  Barr  and  Beverly 
Hicks.  Hiram  was  a  teamster  and  H  arriet  was  an  efficient 
seamtress.  The  father  was  a  deacon  of  the  First  Baptist 
church  in  Lexington,  when  it  was  pastored  by  London 
Ferrill.  He  was  a  man  of  industry  and  frugality,  while 
his  wife  was  a  woman  of  strong  character.  The  Sunday 
school  was  the  first  gathering  to  which  young  Charles 
was  taken.  Here  he  was  placed  in  the  care  of  the  late 
John  Gillis,  Esq.,  and  was  taught  to  spell  in  the  old  blue 
back  spelling  book  his  a,  b,  c. 

He  was  sent  to  the  public  school  in  Lexington,  directly 
after  emancipation.  His  parents  being  poor,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  school  in  1874,  and  went  to  work  as  a  por- 
ter in  the  dry  goods  store  of  John  0.  Hodges,  now  city 
superintendent  of  the  public  schools  of  Lexington,  where 
he  remained  for  six  years.  During  all  these  times,  while 
carrying  packages  here  and  there  and  giving  attention 


1^060  MEN  OF  MARK. 

diligently  to  the  store,  his  spare  moments  were  spent  in 
reading  and  studying.  Mr.  Hodges  quitting  the  dry  goods 
business,  he  went  to  work  for  another  firm  by  the  name 
of  Cassell,  Price  &  Company,  where  he  remained  until 
September,  1880.    This  firm  was  very  kind  to  him. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  he  joined  the  Baptist  church.  In 
1872,  after  many  years  of  training  in  the  Sabbath  school, 
he  was  made  secretary.  This  position  he  held  for  eight 
years,  at  the  same  time  filling  the  position  of  teacher,  etc. 
He  was  soon  elected  church  clerk  and  clerk  of  the  deacon 
board.  He  assisted  W.  A.  Stewart  in  teaching  night  school. 
His  efforts  to  instruct  others  soon  made  him  aware  of  his 
own  deficiencies,  and  he  determined  by  the  help  of  God  to  se- 
cure a  liberal  ed  ucati  on ,  at  the  cos  t  of  a  life 's  work  and  study . 
He  made  it  a  subject  of  prayer,  and  at  last  prevailed  with 
his  father  to  let  him  quit  work  and  attend  the  Nashville 
Institute.  He  consented,  and  with  joy  preparation  was 
soon  begun,  in  order  that  he  might  matriculate  in  Septem- 
ber, 1878.  In  the  midst  of  his  joy,  in  the  midst  of  his 
greatest  expectations,  he  was  doomed  to  a  sore  disappoint- 
ment. His  father  died  March  11,  1877.  A  cloud  seemed 
to  hang  over  his  head  and  his  way  seemed  hedged;  but 
God  who  always  listens  to  the  earnest  prayer,  did  not 
forget.  Thus  suddenl}'  placed  at  the  head  of  the  family,  a 
mother,  sister  and  brother  to  guide,  he  had  no  time  to 
study  while  working,  much  less  think  of  attending  school. 
For  a  season  the  matter  was  laid  aside. 

But  troubles  do  not  come  single-handed ;  they  sometimes 
seem  to  comenn  battalions,  armed  and  fully  equipped  to 
overcome  the  most  resolute.     The   greatest    misfortune 


CHARLBS  HENRY  PARRISH.  1061 

which  befell  him  was  on  July  22, 1879,  in  the  death  of  his 
mother.    Burdened  with  the  cares  of  the  family,  weakened 

m 

by  the  loss  of  both  parents,  he  was  much  discouraged. 

His  affections  were  now  centered  upon  a  little  sister, 
thirteen  years  old,  who  was  quite  intelligent  and  promis- 
ing. To  educate  her  was  his  highest  ambition.  He  put 
behind  him  all  hopes  for  himself,  and  devoted  himself  to 
her  culture  and  promotion .  But  here  came  another  trouble ; 
in  June,  1880,  she,  too,  was  taken  away.  She  left  to  em- 
brace a  sainted  mother  and  father.  Sickness  and  death 
had  taken  all  his  scanty  earnings ;  harder  work  took  the 
time  he  used  to  give  to  study ;  he  saw  no  ray  of  hope  by 
which  he  might  carry  out  his  personal  plans  at  this  criti- 
cal stage  of  his  life.  Suddenly  the  Lord  opened  a  way 
least  suspected.  Unconsciously,  I  was  an  agent  in  the 
hands  of  God  in  carrj'ing  out  these  plans,  which  were  then 
unknown  to  me.  I  was  the  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
church  at  the  time,  and  receiving  a  call  to  the  State  Uni- 
versity, I  resigned  the  church  and  accepted  the  position  at 
Louisville,  Kentucky.  He  accompanied  me  to  the  univer- 
sity and  began  his  course  of  studies  September  13,  1880. 
At  this  time  the  university  was  very  poor  indeed ;  it  did 
not  own  a  teacher's  desk  or  anv  furniture  of  value.  The 
character  of  the  work  which  he  expected  to  get  was  in  the 
hands  of  another. 

The  young  student  did  whatever  his  hands  found  to  do, 
and  he  found  friends  to  assist  him.  At  one  time  he  as- 
sisted the  janitor  of  the  Jackson  Street   public  school. 

With  this  work,  and  teaching  a  few  scholars  at  night,  at 
the  close  of  the  scholastic  year  he  was  indebted  to  th^ 


1062 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


boarding  department  of  the  institution  twent j-fottr  dot* 
lars,  his  expenses  for  the  year  being  about  ninety  dollars. 
He  went  home  and  managed  to  pay  the  rest  during  vaca* 
tion.  September  1,  1881,  he  entered  the  second  year  with 
brighter  prospects.  The  trustees  being  so  well  pleased 
with  the  young  man's  conduct,  his  willingness  to  work 
and  his  patience  in  doing  whatever  he  was  called  upon  U> 
do,  agreed  to  assist  him  with  part  of  his  expenses^  This 
work  required  three-fourths  of  his  time,  3ret  he  kept  «p 
with  his  class  and  lead  it,  receiving  the  first  honor— a  gold 
medal— in  graduating  from  the  academic  course  in  1882. 

He  entered  the  college  course,  and  during  the  subsequent 
years  was  helped  by  friends  North.  With  their  assistance,, 
coupled  with  the  work  of  student-teacher,  tutor,  book- 
keeper and  several  other  things,  he  has  worked  his  w^ay 
through  college,  graduating  May,  1886,  with  the  title  of 
A.B. 

He  has  been  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  State  conven* 
tion,  the  Colored  Educational  convention,  the  National 
Convention  of  Colored  Men,  held  in  Louisville,  and  was 
one  of  those  who  addressed  the  Senatorial  committee  at 
Frankfort  during  the  appeal  of  the  commiteee  at  the  Col- 
ored State  convention  for  the  Normal  school.  He  was  the 
messenger  of  the  American  National  Baptist  conventioa 
which  held  its  session  August  25,  1886,  to  the  Southern 
Baptist  convention  which  met  in  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
from  the  sixth  to  the  tenth  of  May,  1887.  He  has  filled 
many  positions  wherein  Christian  piety  was  especially 
needed  as  a  qualification. 

During  the  time  when  the  Zion  Baptist  church  of  Louis- 


ijiMJl 


CHARI^ES  HENRY  PARRISH.  1063 

ville,  Kentucky,  was  without  a  pastor  he  served  them  for 
several  months.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Berean  Baptist 
church,  and  has  served  as  its  city  missionary  for  several 
years,  and  was  superintendent  of  a  large  mission  Sabbath 
school  during  the  same  time.  He  was  called  to  six  differ- 
ent churches  while  a  student  in  school;  and  he  finallv 
accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Calvarj'  Baptist 
church,  after  having  served  it  as  "supply**  for  several 
months,  and  after  ordination,  January  2,  1886,  was 
settled  as  its  pastor,  September  27,  1886.  During  the 
eighteen  months  in  which  he  has  served  this  church  it  has 
nearly  doubled  its  membership. 

After  graduation,  the  authorities  felt  that  his  wholesome 
example  and  his  exemplary  life,  as  well  as  his  deep  interest 
in  the  work  was  sufficient  to  have  his.services  in  the  insti- 
tution, so  he  was  appointed  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
State  University  and  guardian  of  the  young  men.  At  the 
end  of  the  year,  liB86-7,  he  was  elected  professor  of  Greek. 
These  positions  he  has  ably  and  satisfactorily  filled.  From 
janitor  to  secretary — ^from  firemaker  to  treasurer  and  pro- 
fessor, from  poverty  to  honor  among  the  faculty  and 
fellow-students,  is  an  achievement  worthy  of  record.  The 
world  will  yet  hear  more  from  this  rising  young  man. 


1064- 


liBN  OP  ICARK. 


CLXIV. 


REV.  JOHN  JASPER, 


**  The  Sun  do  Move." 


I ' 


THE  theory  that  **the  sun  do  move"  isnone^Rr  one; 
but  the  exploded  theory  of  the  past  ages  and  its  in- 
troduction anew  by  Mr.  Jasper  is  not  an  elaboration  of  a 
new  principle  of  scientific  deduction,  but  a  Bible  argu 
ment.  It  is  this  phase  that  makes  his  view  the  more  puz- 
zling to  those  who  depend  entirely  on  the  good  book  for 
instruction.  Rev.  John  Jasper  is  the  son  of  Philip  and 
Tina  Jasper  who  were  residents  of  the  county  of  Pluvana, 
Virginia,  and  was  bom  Jtdy  4, 1812 ;  both  dates  are  histori- 
cal—the  first  because  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and 
the  second  as  the  year  of  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain. 
Philip  Jasper  was  a  Baptist  preacher  of  wide  reputation. 
John,  the  youngest  of  twenty-four  children,  was  bom  two 
months  after  his  father's  death.  The  mother  and  children 
were  slaves  to  one  Mr.  Peachy,  and  for  many  years  she 
was  a  farm  hand,  but  soon  was  so  broken  down  from  the 
care  of  children  that  she  was  confined  to  the  house,  spin- 
ning and  making  clothes  for  the  slaves.  The  young  man 
began  his  slave  task  as  a  **cart  boy."  Next  we  find  him 
promoted  to  a  *Tiouse-boy  "  and  dignified  by  being  a  table 


,■*■ .  1 


JOHN  JASPER. 


JOHN  JASPER.  1065 

'Waiter,  and  in  spare  times  lie  cnltivated  the  garden.  This 
labor  was  not  hard  and  did  not  tax  him,  but  he  left  it  to 
be  hired  out  to  a  man  by  the  name  of  Peter  McHenry, 
where  he  worked  a  year.  The  next  year  he  worked  with 
a  Mr.  Samuel  Crosby  and  continued  there  for  several 
jrears. 

Had  John  Jasper  been  an  educated  man  he  would  sur- 
-pass  Herschel,  Kepler,  Halley,  Encke,  Biela  or  Faye,  for  he 
is  of  an  astronomical  turn  of  mind,  and  his  soul  is  never 
happier  than  when  he  revels  in  the  beauty  of  the  starry 
lieavens.  The  g^reat  event  known  as  the  falling  of  the 
^stars  occurred  while  he  was  at  work  at  this  pl^e,  and 
John  was  the  first  among  his  fellows  to  see  this  magnifi- 
cent sight.  While  to  others  it  was  a  source  of  terror,  to 
him  it  was  a  scene  of  joy. 

His  mistress  dying,  in  the  division  of  property  John 

«came  to  the  hands  of  her  son,  John  Blair  Peachy,  a  lawyer 

and  farmer,  who  went  to  Louisiana  and  died;  so  John 

was  sent  back  to  Richmond,  Virginia.     Fourth  of  July, 

1839,  he  was  convicted  of  sin  and  on  the  twenty-fifth  was 

•converted  and  soon  went  to  preaching. 

Rev.  Mr.  Jasper  has  been  married  three  times;  first,  to 
Elvy  Weaden,  a  slave  in  Williamsburgh,  who  left  him  and 
married  because  he  could  not  visit  her.  The  church  per- 
mitted him  to  marry  again.  The  civil  law  did  not  recog- 
nize marriages  among  slaves,  but  the  colored  church  did. 
They  had  no  children.  He  was  a  member  of  the  old  Afri- 
can Baptistchurchin  Richmond.  His  second  marriage  was 
to  Candus  Jordan,  in  1844,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children. 
He  was  divorced  from  her  on  good  and  justifiable  grounds. 


i 


1066 


MEN  OF  If  ABK. 


t 

i 


If 

'  i 
t 


His  third  marriage  took  place  in  1863  to  Mary  Ann  Cole,. 
who  died  August  6,  1874. 

Mr.  Jasper  was  soon  called  to  preach  to  the  Third  Bi^k 
tist  church  in  Petersburgh.  Rev.  Kean,  a  white  minister, 
was  opposed  to  his  preaching,  but  when  he  heard  John 
Jasper  preach  from  Revelation,  vi,  2,  he  and  many  white* 
people  were  in  tears,  and  declared  that  he  "was  the  only 
colored  man  God  had  ever  called  to  preach."  He  preached' 
manx"  frineral  sermons  and  was  called  on  for  miles  around. 
During  the  war,  John  Jasper  preached  to  the  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers  in  the  Confederate  hospitals  on  Chimbo- 
razo  Hill,  and  on  Nineteenth  and  Franklin  streets.  He 
was  working  all  these  years  in  the  factory  which  he  left  in 
1859  or  *60.  The  last  sermon  he  preached  before  the  fall 
of  Richmond  was  down  at  the  mills,  on  the  second  day  of 
April,  1865,  and  Richmond  fell  April  3,  1865.  At  this- 
time  he  had  only  seventy-three  cents  in  his  pocket,  and 
was  forty- two  dollars  in  debt;  but  gaining  his  freedom,  and 
by  industry,  is  worth  to-day  about  five  thousand  dollars. 

He  worked  on  the  streets  of  Richmond  cleaning  bricks 
for  a  small  compensation  from  April  6,  1865,  to  the  fourth 
of  July  the  same  year.  He  was  then  called  again  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  Third  Baptist  church  of  Petersburgh,  Vir- 
ginia, December,  1866.  He  went  back  to  Richmond  and 
did  missionary  work  till  September,  1867,  when  he  organ- 
ized his  present  church  with  nine  members.  I  come  now 
to  speak  of  his  theory  on  the  sun.  A  dispute  arose  between 
Lester  Woodson  and  a  white  man  about  the  rotation  of 
the  sun,  or  about  the  meaning  of  the  passage  found  in  Ex- 
odus XY :  3 :    "The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war :  the  Lord  is  hia 


'■*_  •■ 


JOHN  JASPER.  1067 

name ;"  and  Mr.  Jasper  was  requested  to  preach  upon  the 
subject.  After  the  sermon  great  excitement  prevailed,  and 
Rev.  Richard  Wells,  of  the  Ebenezer  Baptist  church,  de- 
nounced Mr.  Jasper's  theory,  to  which  Mr.  Jasper  replied 
very  fully,  and  to  this  day  he  never  fails  to  give  Rev.  Wells- 
a  passing  notice.  He  then  took  a  trip  North,  lecturing  in 
Washington,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia  and  several  New 
Jersey  cities,  and  he  has  also  delivered  his  famous  sermon 
bdbre  the  Virginia  Legislature. 

I  here  insert  an  analysis  of  Mr.  Jasper's  theory,  as  pub- 
lished in  the  sketch  of  his  life  by  Hon.  E.  A.  Randolph,  LL. 
B.  Said  sketch  was  written  by  D.  B.  Williams,  a  professor 
in  the  Virginia  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute : 

THE  THEORY  OF  REV.  JOHN  JASPER  CONCERNlNO  THE  SUN.- 

The  reason  for  the  delivery  of  this  sermon  was  at  once  simple  and  nat-- 
tiral.    On  the  sixteenth  of  March,  1883— a  Sabbath  day— I  had  the  plea^ 
lire  of  listening  to  his  noted  discourse. 

He  somewhat  minutely  detailed  the  reason  of  his  preaching.  Two 
honored  members  of  the  church  had  discussed,  with  some  warmth  aild 
zeal,  the  form  of  the  earth  and  the  biblical  statementsconcemingthesuii. 
One  strongly  maintained  the  advanced  opinions  of  scholars,  scientists 
and  philosophers — that  the  earth  is  nearly'  round,  and  the  earth  rotates 
around  the  sun.  The  other  as  stoutly  argued  that  the  earth  has  four 
comers  and  the  sun  revolves  around  it. 

Differing  so  widely  in  their  respective  views,  they  determined  to  sub- 
mit the  decision  to  the  trusted  jud^^ment  of  their  beloved  pastor. 

In  this  brief  sketch  of  the  theor3'  of  Rev.  John  Jasper,  we  propose  to  pfes' 
entto  the  reader  a  clear  and  impartial  view  of  the  opinions  of  Rev.  Jasper, 
not  those  of  himself  or  any  other  thinker.  The  prevailing  beliefs  of  the 
cultured  followers  of  the  famed  Galileo,  Kepler,  Herschel  and  Kant  will 
be  but  incidentally  presented. 

On  several  occasions  we  availed  ourselves  of  the  rare  opportunity  of 
bearing  the  Reverend  gentleman  discuss  his  widely  known  and  original 


106S 


UEN  OF  HARK 


•ermon.  On  the  Sebbeth  of  the  uzteenth  of  March 
patiT  with  MessTS  E.  D.  Black  and  R.  B.  Baptiate,  hei 

The  daily  newspapera  had  duly  heralded  to  thecitizci 
the  following  Sabbath  Rev.  John  Jasper  would  pr 
•ennon,  "The  Sun  do  Move."  Arriving  at  the  sancti 
before  service,  we  unexpectedly  found  it  crowded  t 
capacity.  The  entire  body  of  the  church  was  filled  w 
peared  eager  and  expectant.  When  at  length  the  erei 
ureof  Rev.  J,  Jasper  promenaded  the  aisle  toward  1 
vrere  staringly  fixed  upon  him.  After  devotional  set 
as  his  text  the  third  verse  of  the  fifteenth  chapterof  I 
is  a  man  of  war:  the  Lord  is  his  name." 

He  ably  and  minutely  illustrated  the  text  from  tV 
the  children  of  Israel.  ^  The  first,  second  and  third  v 
chapter  of  Genesis  declared :  "  Now  the  Lord  had  sai 
thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  ant 
house,  unto  a  land  that  1  will  shew  thee:  and  I  willn 
nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy  aame  gn 
be  a  blessing;  and  I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee, 
curseth  thee ;  and  in  thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the  ( 

In  the  thirteenth  verse  of  the  fifteenth  chapter  we  I 
nnto  Abram,  Know  of  a  surety  that  thy  seed  shall 
land  that  is  not  theirs,  and  shall  serve  tbem;  an 
them  four  hundred  years." 

The  fourteenthversecqotinues  and  says:  "And  alsi 
they  shall  serve,  will  I  judge:  and  afterward  shall  1 
gn&t  substance."  He,  at  some  length,  narrated  the 
Joseph,  the  providential  meeting  of  Jacob  and  his  i 
the  growth  and  enslavement  of  the  descendants  < 
Jacob,  and  the  final  deliverance  of  the  Israelites. 

It  was  the  Lord,  and  not  the  followers  of  meek  Moi 
and  destroyed  the  proud  Egyptian  host.  The  haug 
■tronglj  convinced  of  this  themaetves,  for  they  said 
the  face  ot  Israel,  for  the  Iyi>rd  fighteth  for  them  agai 

Having  more  clearly  illustrated  the  text,  he  attempt 
Lord  fought  for  Israel,  not  only  by  encouraging 
leader,  Joshua,  to  go  forward,  but  also  by  lengtheni: 


JOHN  JASPER.  1069 

contested  battle  in  causing  the  sun  to  stand  still  over  Gibeon.  Having 
come  to  this  point  in  the  discourse  he  quietly  stopped  and  said :  "I  am 
now  where  you  want  me  to  come."  I  shall  now  endeavor  to  adduce  all 
the  scriptural  evidence  furnished  by  him  that  "  The  Sun  Do  Move." 

This  first  argument  is  found  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  verses  of  the 
tenth  chapter  of  Joshua:  "Then  spake  Joshua  to  the  Lord  in  the  day 
when  the  Lrord  delivered  up  the  Amorttes  before  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  he  said  in  the  sight  of  Israel,  Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon ;  and 
thou,  Moon,  in  the  valley  of  Ajalon ;  and  the  sun  stood  still,  and  the  moon 
stayed,  until  the  people  had  avenged  themselves  upon  their  enemies." 
He  strenuously  argued  that  if  the  sun  had  not  been  moving,  Joshua, 
"would  not  have  commanded  it  to  stand  still. 

His  next  argument  is  based  upon  several  passages  of  Holy  Scripture, 
which  assert  the  risid^  and  setting  of  the  sun.  The  first  verse  of  the 
fiftieth  Psalm  reads :  '*  The  mighty  God,  even  the  Lord,  hath  spoken,  and 
called  the  earth  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  unto  the  going  down  thereof." 

The  third  verse  of  the  one  hundred  and  thirteenth  Psalm  contains  the 
fc^lowing:  **  Prom  the  rising  of  the  sun  unto  the  going  down  of  the  same, 
the  Lord's  name  is  to  be  praised." 

Again,  the  eighteenth  verse  of  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  Judges  reads: 
"  And  the  men  of  the  city  said  unto  him  on  the  seventh  day  before  the 
sun  went  down.  What  is  sweeter  than  honey  ?  and  what  is  stronger  than 
a  lion  ?  "  The  fifth  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  Ecclesiastes  reads :  **  The 
sun  also  ariseth,  and  the  sun  goeth  down,  and  hasteth  to  his  place 
•where  he  arose." 

The  eleventh  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  Malachi  proclaims :  "  Por 
from  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  unto  the  going  down  of  the  same  my  name 
shall  be  great  among  the  Gentiles."  He  quoted  with  much  fervor  and 
force  the  eighth  verse  of  the  thirty-eighth  chapter  of  Isaiah :  **  Behold,  I 
^11  bring  again  the  shadow  of  the  degrees,  which  is  gone  down  in  the 
sun-dial  of  (King)  Ahaz,  ten  degrees  backwards.  So  the  sun  returned  ten 
degrees,  by  which  degrees  it  was  gone  down." 

He  contended,  with  much  warmth  and  enthusiasm,  that  the  sun  could 
not  have  possibly  returned  if  it  had  not  been  moving.  Nor  did  the  con- 
tradictions of  philosphers  and  scientists,  as  to  the  distance  of  the  sun 
escape  his  vigilance.    He  boldly  declared  that  some  had  fixed  the  distance 


:3L070 1  MBK  ^F  VARK. 

.of^Ae  sin  ivooi  <tic  eattli  at  niaetgr-fivt  fliHIiaii  of  miles^  «tiiani^ 
'hfliidiM^  aiMitiBfijf  fluHioiit  'i|iDkfi<mMrCf^n9rtjr*flToAt]lficiii« 
flPlm^  hetliattdi  wstoondMre  ipraof  of  t]ieteignoffmiice<»f  the««»ii 

.«ral.      '  .'■■■  -  !  .  -  ^ '  -i.  ■■  .^^.  ■  •     .if!.,'--    M!^. '  .1,-—  •  • 

'Blat  this  vradi'^tetiMed  Mrmoii  not  onlj  oonocnto  tbe  dskf  liiiii««iy 
of  oiir^lar'^yvtem,  Inst  also  dealt  witii  fbe  ibape  af  the  cartik.  Be 
fo#trnai  himwilf  "fripBi  tcciptiMat^ pamMi^^tii  the  beticf  tibtftit ttf  aartiiii 
ild^  aiid  haallbartprtim.  n^groaiid  for  tiik  pecnliitr  idci^li  Ibvadia 
tbettat  i^trae  of  the  acvtntli  chapter  of  Retdatioiia:  '^Aii4  after  time 
tUtqgaiaawfoilr  angda^taadiiist  oa  theibiircomtfs  of  tlie  cartli,  MM- 
tni^  the  four 'made  lof  tlm  earth,  that  the  winds  sboiU^  not  Mom  on  ^he 
•earth,  nor  on  the  sea,  nor  on  lUij  tree.**  '* So  weartlm^g  on  n  liMBHM)- 
'.newd  jBiigth  P*^  <iie  enthwsiasti<jally  nriaimed. 

^^7he3rteiln8^*'lieaaid,  '^4liat|ieo|)leareliTiiigdifilrtijr  mtderoa.  Btovr 
^  the  naaM;  of  conmion  sense  ean  they  walk,iniless  tlngr  move  laee  fits 
-on  the  widl  with  thetr  feet  upwards" 

ffonehnt  san  eye-witness  ecrald  obtain  a  dear  conceptioa  of  tite  cAct 
•of  ftlMs  strihiqg  discpnrse  tiefbre  a  promiscuous  assembly  €^f  wlnta  and 
^colored.  The  peculiar  and  unsuspected  ideas  advaaoed«  miawer  all  of 
the  demimd*  of  wit,  a#  set  ferth  by  Hart  dr  CampbeM.  He  aatd :  *'  Tb^^ 
ten  us  that  the  sun  is  ninety-two  million  of  miles  from  the  earth.  Hmr 
^an  a  man  take  a  tape  line  and  measure  from  the  earth  to  the  sun.** 

'But  the  great  and  most  striking  effect  of  this  sermon  is  to  convince  the 
hearer  of  the  intense  earnestness  of  the  speaker.  He  speaks  as  a  man  on 
oath.  He  boldly  and  repeatedly  asserts  that  the  Holy  Bible  teaches  that 
•**The  Sun  Do  Move.'*  He  wisely  and  adroitly  represents  himself  as  the 
liumble  interpreter  of  the  Scriptures.  His  real  earnestness  may  be  further 
rseen  from  the  logical  conclusions  which  he  skillfully  draws  from  his 
interpretation  of  the  Bible.  He  unequivocally  asseverates  that  all  who 
,deny  that  "The  Sun  Do  Move/*  are  preaching  a  doctrine  contrarj'  to  the 
Word  of  God.  They  are  opposers  of  the  Divine  Word  and  enemies  to 
true  religion.  The  manly  fearlessness,  the  fierce  denunciation  of  opposers. 
the  natural  eloquence,  the  quaint  wit  and  the  chain  of  Wayland-likc 
logic,  evinced  in  the  enlargement  of  this  idea,  compel  even  those  whodiflier 
mostly  from  him  to  be  convinced  of  his  seriousness. 

This  sermon  has  had  a  checkered  but  an  interesting  history  from  its 
irirth  to  the  present  time.    It  created  a  lively  enthusiasm  among  the  mem- 


JOHN  JASPBR.  1071 

lliers  of  his  own  church.  Then  its  fame  rapidly  overspread  Richmond. 
Several  ministers  \)rho  honestly  differed  from  Rev.  Jasper  vi^^ously 
•opposed  the  idea  that  the  Bible  inculcates  that  *'  The  Sun  Do  Move.'* 
This  led  to  an  estrangement  between  Rev.  Jasper  and  several  ministers; 
but  the  name  of  the  eloquent  divine  and  his  sermon  were  mentioned  in 
scientific  journals  of  the  North. 

He  journeyed  to  Baltimore,  where  he  preached  with  great  success  be« 
fore  white  and  colored.  At  Washington  and  Philadelphia,  too.  he  met 
flattering  audiences.  He  then  returned  to  Richmond.  Everywhere  the 
native  ability,  the  dignity,  eloquence,  wit,  humor,  logic,  the  natural  ges- 
ticulation and  earnestness  of  the  preacher,  were  highly  commended  by 
"those  whose  views  were  entirely  opposite.  The  Mozart  association  sue- 
•ceeded  in  obtaining  his  services  some  time  since.  Mozart  Hall  was  packed 
to  its  entire  capacity.  The  people  highly  enjoyed  its  delivery.  Few  dis. 
'Courses  have  enjoyed  such  a  continuous  celebrity  before  learned  and 
-ignorant,  rich  and  poor,  white  and  colored,  as  this.  The  scientists  of 
London,  Berlin  and  Paris — the  philosophers,  scholars  and  students  of 
America  and  Europe — have  discussed  orally  and  in  print  the  opinions 
•of  Rev.  John  Jasper. 

Nor  is  it  at  all  strange  that  his  opinions  have  aroused  such  a  universal 
•and  profound  interest.  His  ideas  concerning  the  luminous  orb  and  the 
•opaque  earth  were,  with  rare  exceptions,  the  belief  of  antiquity.  That 
prince  dialectician  of  Greece,  the  famous  Aristotle,  was  an  'enthusiastic 
teacher  of  the  same  thing.  He  conceived  the  moon,  sun  and  planets  set 
in  a  hollow  crystalline  sphere,  by  which  they  were  borne  around  the 
«earth.  Illustrious  Socrates  and  learned  Plato  diligently  inculcated  that 
the  earth  was  the  centre  of  the  solar  system,  and  that  the  sun  constantly 
revolved  around  it.  The  philosophers  and  scholars  of  Rome  accepted 
the  teachings  of  Greece  and  diligently  taught  it. 

The  great  and  good  men  of  the  early  church  were  likewise  convinced. 
Origen,  Athanasius,  Augustine,  Clement,  Ignatius,  Polycarp  and  others 
simply  accepted  the  belief  of  the  age. 

The  Christian  church  once  passed  a  resolution  declaring  "that  if  any 
person  believed  the  earth  was  round  and  revolved  around  the  sun,  he 
^should  be  expelled  from  the  church." 

The  priests  and  teachers,  the  highly  learned  and  eminent  men  of  the 
church,  were  firmly  convinced  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  plainly  taught 


1072 


liBN  OP  MARK. 


tbat  the  sun  moves  around  the  earth,  and  that  the  earth  is  flat  and  har 
fonr  comers. 

Kiddell,  in  his '  Elements  of  Astronomy/  declares :  **  Preyious  to  Coper- 
nicus (1543)  the  general  belief  for  more  than  two  thousand  years  had 
been  that  the  earth  is  the  centre  of  the  universe,  and  that  all  other  bodies 
revolve  around  it." 

Again,  he  say^ :  "  As  late  as  1633  it  was  deemed  irreligious  to  believe 
in  the  motions  of  the  earth ;  and  Galileo,  in  his  seventieth  year  was  im- 
prisoned, and  finally  compelled  to  acknowledge  himself  as  guilty  of  error 
and  heresy  in  teaching  this  astronomical  truth."    * 

It  has  been  only  two  hundred  years  since  the  present  prevailing  opinion 
was  advocated.  The  happy  invention  of  the  telescope  performed  a 
scientific  revolution.  Men  who  had  been  foremost  in  the  belief  that  the 
sun  moves  around  the  earth,  relinquished  their  opinions  and  advocated 
the  contrary  belief.  They  argued  that  the  sun,  in  relation  to  the  earthy 
is  stationary,  while  the  earth  revolves  around  it. 

In  view  of  the  teachings  of  antiquity  and  the  apparent  evidence  of 
Scripture  that  the  sun  moves  around  the  earth,  it  must  not  be  considered 
strange  or  unprecedented  that  Rev.  Jasper  so  strongly  maintains  his 
seemingly  peculiar  tenets.  However  we  may  difier  from  him  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture  or  the  deductions  of  modem  science,  we  are 
forced  to  the  acknowledgment  of  powers  of  reason  and  eloquence  as 
well  as  of  his  spirit  of  religious  seriousness. 

Mr.  Jasper  is  a  consecrated  man,  and  though  he  has  difiered  widely  iit 
these  scientific  views,  he  certainly  can  so  put  his  arguments  that  you^ 
denying  them,  will  seem  to  deny  the  Bible.  He  is  very  earnest  and  a 
man  of  sound  judgment  and  good  hard  sense. 


lii 


? 


JAUB8  E.J.  CAPITBIN.  1073 


CLXV. 

JAMES  E.  J.  CAPITEIN. 

A  Negro   Bom   in  Africa— Taken  to  Europe — Educated  in   Holland — 
Latin  Poet. 

TAMES  E.  J.  CAPITEIN  was  born  in  Africa.    He  was 
I     purchased,  when  seven  or  eight  years  of  age,  on  the 
borders  of  the  River  St.  Andree,  by  a  Negro  trader  who 
made  a  present  of  him  to  one  of  his  friends. 

By  his  new  master,  who  proved  to  be  his  friend,  he  was^ 
first  named  Capiteiti;  and  he  instructed  him,  baptized 
him  and  brought  him  to  Holland,  where  he  acquired  the 
language  of  the  country.  He  devoted  his  time  to  painting, 
for  which  he  had  a  great  inclination.  He  commenced  his 
studies  at  the  Hague,  where  a  pious  and  learned  lady,  who 
was  much  occupied  in  the  study  of  languages,  is  said  first 
to  have  taught  him  Latin  and  the  elements  of  Greek, 
Hebrew  and  Chaldean  tongues.  From  the  Hague  he  went 
to  the  University  of  Leyden,  meeting  everywhere  with 
zealous  protectors.  He  devoted  himself  to  theology  under 
able  professors,  with  the  intention  of  returning  to  Africa 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  his  countrymen. 

Having  studied  four  years,  Capitein  took  his  degree,  and 
in  1742  was  sent  as  a  Christian  minister  to  Elmina,  on 


1074 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


the  gold  coast.  In  1802  a  vague  report  was  spread  that 
he  had  abjured  Christianity  and  embraced  idolatry  again. 
Blumenbach,  however,  who  inserted  a  portrait  of  Capitein 
in  his  work  on  *The  Varieties  of  the  Human  Race,'  could 
detect  no  authentic  information  against  him. 

The  first  work  of  Capitein  is  an  elegy  in  Latin  on  the 
death  of  Manger,  minister  at  the  Hague,  his  preceptor  and 
his  friend.    It  is  as  follows : 

Hac  autem  in  Batayorum  gratissima  sede 
Noil  primum  tantum  elementa  linguae  Belgicoe 
Addidici,  sed  arti  etiam  pictorica,  in  quam 
El*am  pro  pensissimus,  dedi  operam  Virum 
Interea  tempore  labente,  institutioni  sua. 
Domestica  catechesios  mihi  interesse  permisit 
Vir  humanissimus,  Joannes  Phillipus  Manger, 
Cujus  in  obitum  (cum  tanti  viri,  tum 
Solidor  eruditionis,  tum  erga  deum  singularis 
Pictatis,  admirator  semper  extitis  sim)  fiebilibus 
Fatis.    Cum  Ecclesior  Hagienis  protetfto  anno 
Esset  ademptus,  lugubrem  banc  compersui 
Elegiam ! 

ELEGIA. 

Invida  mors  totum  vibrat  sua  tela  per  orbem : 

£t  gestit  quembis  succubuisse  sibi. 

nia,  metus  expers,  penetrat  conclavia  reg^m ; 

Imperiique  manu  ponere  sceptra  jubet. 

Non  sinit  ilia  diu  partos  spectare  triumphos : 

Linquere  sed  cogit,  clara  tropoea  duces. 

Divitis  et  gazas,  aliis  ut  dividat,  omnes 

Mendicique  casam  vindicat  ilia  sibi. 

Falce  senes,  juvenes,  nuUo  discriminie,  dura, 

Instar  aristarum,  demittit  ilia  simul. 

Hie  fuit  ilia  audax,  nigro  velamine  tecta. 

Limina  Mangeri  sollicitari  domus. 

Hujus  ut  ante  domum  steterat  ftmesta  cjpresstta. 


d  .■■.■ 


JAMES    E.J.  CAPITEIN.  1075 

Luctisonos  gemitus  nobilis  Haga  dedit. 

Hunc,  lacrymis  tinxit  gravivtts  carissima  conjoz, 

Dum  sua  tundebat  pectora  saepe  manu 

Non  aliter  Noami,  cum  te  vinduata  marito, 

Profudit  lacrymas,  Elimcleche  ttia. 

Saepe  sui  manes  civit  gemebunda  mariti, 

Edidit  et  tales  ore  tremente  sonos ; 

Condit  ut  obscuro  vultum  velamine  Phcebus, 

Tractibus  ut  terrae  lumina  grata  neget ; 

O  decus  immortale  meum,  mea  sola  voluptas ! 

Sic  fugis  ex  oculis  in  mea  damna  meis. 

Non  equidem  invideo,  consors,  quod  te  ocyor  aura 

Transtulit  ad  loetas  eethereas  que  domos. 

Sed  quoties  mando  placidae  mea  membra  quieti, 

Sive  dies  veniat,  sum  memor  usque  tui. 

Te  thalamus  noster  raptum  mihi  futiere  posdt, 

Quis  renovet  nobis  foedera  rupta  dies  ? 

En  tua  sacra  deo  sedes  studiisque  dicata, 

Te  propter,  maesti  signa  doloris  habet. 

Quod  magis,  effusas,  veluti  de  flumine  pleno, 

Dant  lacrymas  nostri  pignora  cara  tori. 

Dentibus  et  misere  fido  pastore  lupinis 

Conscisso  tenerae  disjiciunter  oves, 

Aeraque  horrendis,  feriunt  balatibus  altum, 

Dum  scissum  adspiciunt  voce  cientque  ducem : 

Sic  querulis  nostras  implent  ululatibus  aedes 

Dum  jacct  in  lecto  corpus  inane  tuum 

Succinit  huic  vatum  viduae  pia  turba  querenti, 

Funera  quae  celebrat  conveniente  modo 

Grande  sacerdotum  decus,  et  mea  gloria  cessat, 

Delicium  domini,  gentis  amorque  piae! 

Clauditor  os  blandum  sacro  de  fonte  rigatum; 

Fonte  meam  possum  quo  relevare  sitim ! 

Hei  mihi  ?  quam  subito  fugit  facundia  linguae, 

Caelesti  dederat  quae  mihi  melle  frui. 

Nestoris  eloqium  veteres  jactate  poetoe, 

Ipso  Mangerius  Nestore  major  erat,  etc. 


1076 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


On  his  admission  to  the  University  of  Leyden,  Capitein 
published  a  Latin  dissertation  on  the  calling  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, **De  Vocatione  Ethnicorum,"  which  he  divided  into 
three  parts.  From  the  authority  of  the  sacred  writings  he 
establishes  the  certainty  of  the  promise  of  the  gospel,  which 
embraces  all  nations,  although  its  manifestation  is  only 
gradual.  For  the  purpose  of  cooperating  in  this  respect 
with  the  design  of  the  Almighty,  he  proposes  that  the  lan- 
guages of  those  nations  should  be  cultivated  to  whom  the 
blessings  of  Christianity  are  yet  unknown,  and  also  that 
missionaries  be  sent  among  them,  who,  by  the  mild  voice 
of  persuasion,  might  gain  their  affections  and  dispose  them 
to  receive  the  truth  of  the  gospel. 

The  Spaniard  and  Portuguese,  he  observes,  exercise  a  mild 
and  gentle  treatment  of  their  slaves,  establishing  no  supe- 
riority of  color,  etc.  In  other  countries,  planters  have  pre- 
vented their  Negroes  from  being  instructed  in  a  religion 
which  proclaims  the  equality  of  men,  all  proceeding  from  a 
common  stock  and  equally  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  a 
kind  Providence,  who  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 

The  Dutch  planters  persuaded  that  slavery  is  inconsist- 
ent with  Christianity;  but,  stifling  the  voice  of  conscience, 
probabl}'  instigated  Capitein  to  become  the  apologist  of  a 
bad  cause,  for  he  subsequently  composed  a  politico- 
theological  dissertation  in  Latin  to  prove  that  slavery 
is  not  opposed  to  Christian  freedom.  His  conclusions 
are  forced.  Though  poor  in  argument,  it  is  rich  in  erudi- 
tion, and  translated  into  Dutch  by  Wilheur,  and  published 
with  a  portrait  of  the  author  in  preacher's  attire.  This 
work  went  through  four  editions. 


/    : 


JAMBS  E.  J.  CAPITBIN. 


1077 


Capitein  also  published  a  small  quarto  volume  of 
sermons  in  Dutch,  preached  in  diflFerent  towns  and 
printed  at  Amsterdam  in  1742. 

This  sketch  is  taken  from  'A  Tribute  for  the  Negro,' 
published  in  1848  by  Wilson  Armistead. 


1078 


HEN  OF  HAKK. 


CLXVI. 
REV.  D.  A.  PAYNE,  D,  D.,  LL.  D. 

Senior  Bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— Educator  and  Author— The  Scholar 
of  the  Denomination. 

HIS  life  began  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  South  Car_ 
olina,  that  city  of  famous  men.  The  day  was  an 
important  one  in  that  family,  when  the  future  bishop  came 
to  visit  them,  February  24,  1811.  His  father  and  mother 
were  members  of  the  M.  E.  church;  the  father  had  charge 
of  two  classes,  the  *' seekers'  class ''  and  the  members' class. 
The  mother  was  a  woman  of  fine  feeling,  a  tender,  loving 
and  faithful  Christian,  whom  the  son  remembers  with  all 
the  reverence  of  his  nature.  Surely  she  impressed  her  own 
nature  to  the  depths  of  his  heart. 

He  was  early  taught  to  read  and  attended  school  sup- 
ported by  an  organization  known  as  the  Minor's  Society, 
which  was  supported  by  free  colored  men,  beginning  its 
work  as  early  as  the  year  1810.  What  a  blessing  this  was ; 
they  took  an  interest  in  him  and  paid  his  tuition  and  book 
bills  for  two  years.  This  society  was  organized  to  take 
care  of  orphan  children  and  give  them  instruction,  and  the 
limit  of  such  aid  was  two  years.  Young  Payne  received 
the  attention  of  the  society  during  this  period.     After 


il 


D.  A.  PAYNE.  1079 

leaving  this  school  he  had  one  year's  training  under  Thomas 
Bonneau.  He  mastered  the  English  branches  and  studied 
also  Roman  and  Grecian  history.  He  paid  considerable 
attention  to  mathematics,  so  far  as  to  master  six  books 
of  Euclid.  Greek,  Latin,  French  and  kindred  studies  he 
pursued  without  a  teacher.  He  came  into  possession  of  a 
book  named  the  *  Self-Interpreting  Bible,'  by  Rev.  John 
Brown,  who  had  mastered  these  languages  without  a 
teacher,  and  Payne  determined  that  he  could  do  what  had 
been  done.  This  was  a  curious  determination  to  one  who 
had  little  reason  to  expect  to  attain  any  position  of 
eminence  in  life  from  such  a  lowly  station ;  nor  did  he  him- 
self have  any  such  notion,  as  he  had  determined  to  become 
a  soldier  in  Hayti.  Rumors  had  come  to  him  of  the  wars 
on  that  island,  and  he  was  stirred  with  the  tales  of  battle 
and  broils,  and,  like  many  young  men,  was  lured  to  scenes  of 
danger  from  the  romance  therein.  He  w^as  an  apprentice 
in  the  carpenter-shop  of  Richard  HoUoway,  his  brother-in- 
law,  James  Holloway,  being  the  foreman. 

Many  a  day  did  he  ponder  over  his  situation  and  long 
after  the  very  things  perhaps  which  he  realized  in  afterlife. 
Circumscribed  as  he  was,  it  is  wonderful  that  he  succeeded 
so  admirably  from  such  small  beginnings.  His  warlike 
desires  were  no  doubt  aroused  by  reading  the  old  Scottish 
tales  which  fell  into  his  hands,  and  his  head  was  full  of  the 
deeds  of  Wallace  and  Bruce. 

But,  like  Joseph  of  old,  he  was  **  warned  in  a  dream," 
and  he  changed  his  mind  and  hid  forever  his  youthful  war- 
like desires.  At  fifteen  he  became  concerned  for  his  soul, 
and  was  received  into  the  class  of  Samuel  Weston  on  pro- 


1080 


MBN  OF  MARK. 


bation,  becoming  a  devoted  seeker  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Elder  James  0.  Andrews  was  then  in  charge  of  the  Meth- 
odist churches  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  and  afterwards  be- 
came his  guide  and  teacher  in  the  ways  of  eternal  life.  At 
fifteen  he  was  converted,  and  a  blessed  day  it  was  to  him— 
a  holy  Sabbath  day — a  day  of  rest,  when  his  soul  found  the 
rest  it  had  for  three  years  been  longing.  Shortly  after  he 
was  impressed  in  a  singular  way  to  go  and  preach  the 
gospel.  It  was  on  a  day  when  at  prayer  he  heard  a  voice 
that  seemed  to  call  him  to  the  duty  which  has  so 
faithfully  marked  his  life.  Hands  seemed  to  press  upon  his 
shoulders  as  if  hurrying  him  forward  to  begin  the  work  of 
an  educator.  He  soon  laid  aside  the  plane  and  chisel,  saw, 
spirit-level  and  the  carpenter's  apron,  and  went  forth  to 
chisel  his  name  on  the  highest  pinnacle  of  fame,  and  smooth 
down  the  rough  places  in  the  intellects  of  the  young,  and  be 
guided  by  the  spirit  of  Christ. 

Herein  also  he  was  like  Christ.  He  left  the  carpenter's 
bench  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  others.  He  opened  a 
school  in  the  house  of  Caesar  Wright,  having  his  children 
as  his  first  scholars  at  fifty  cents  per  month.  This  was  in 
1829,  and  during  the  year  1830  he  had  no  more  scholars 
than  enough  to  make  his  pay  about  two  dollars  per  month. 
Yet  this  was  the  embryo  Wilberforce  which  he  had  in  the 
sample  before  him.  He  soon  gained  popularity,  and  after 
six  years  had  the  largest  and  most  successful  school  in*  the 
city. 

But  the  thing  was  too  good  to  last.  Payne  was  having 
too  much  success.  The  white  folks  said  the  school  must 
be  broken  up,  and  the  bishop  himself  has  told  us  that  the 


D.  A.  PAYNE. 


4 

t 
I 

? 

I 


D.  A.  PAYNE.  1081 

people  said  Payne  was  playing  "hell"  in  Charleston. 
For  Negroes  to  go  to  school  was  objectionable,  and 
it  was  compared  to  the  infernal  regions  in  its  results.  This 
was  not  altogether  out  of  place,  it  would  seem,  for  as  they 
had  very  little  true  religion,  and  among  those  people  to 
destroy  these  schools,  they  felt  the  Negroes  would  rise  in 
a  generation  and  strike  for  freedom,  and  in  so  doing  the 
white  folks  would  get  a  through  ticket  to  that  place. 

A  sketch  written  by  T.  McCants  Stewart  says  that 
they  passed  a  law  in  the  Legislature  which  made  it  impos- 
sible for  Mr.  Payne  to  remain  any  longer  in  the  home  of  his 
birth  and  as  an  educator  of  his  people.  Before  this  time, 
however,  Mr.  Payne's  life  was  embittered  by  what  he  saw 
of  slavery.  He  himself  had  suffered.  While  never  whipped 
under  that  system  which  Garrison  rightly  called  *' a  league 
with  death  and  a  covenant  in  hell,**  he  had  suffered  bonds 
and  imprisonment.  Standing  on  the  street  of  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  about  fifty-six  years  ago,  with  a  small 
walking  cane  in  his  hand,  a  white  man  snatched  it  from 
him  and  struck  him,  indignant  at  the  idea  of  a  ** nigger'* 
carrying  a  cane.  Young  Payne,  full  of  fire  and  manhood, 
retaliated  and  was  imprisoned.  His  soul  was  full  of  bit 
temess  against  oppression  and  the  oppressor,  because  he 
saw  husbands  sold  away  from  wives,  he  saw  children, 
even  nursing  infants,  torn  cruelly  from  their  parents.  He 
saw  the  victims  of  the  driver  *s  lash  and  the  auction  block; 
he  saw  his  people  compelled  to  make  bricks  without  mortar 
or  straw.  He  heard  their  cries,  "How  long,  O  Lord,  how 
long?"  When,  therefore,  unjust  and  oppressive  law  forced 


1082  MEN  OF  MARK 

him  out  of  his  native  city,  he  resolved  never  to  retun 
again  until  slavery  was  destroyed. 

In  1835  Mr.  Payne  sailed  out  of  Charleston  harbor  witli 
this  determination.  Strange  to  relate,  he  returned  on  the 
very  day  and  date  thirty  years  thereafter  the  bishop  of  the 
A.  M.  E.  church,  to  plant  the  banner  of  that  connection  ot 
the  soil  of  South  Carolina,  and  in  the  very  city  where 
thirty  years  before  he  had  suffered  imprisonment  and  oppres- 
sion. 

He  landed  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  taught  school  foi 
several  years.    The  same  year  of  his  arrival  he  entered  the 
Lutheran  Theological  Seminary  at  Gettysburg,  Pennsj'l- 
vania,  but  was  compelled  by  the  weakness  of  his  eyes  to 
surrender  his  course.    He  was  ordained  an  elder  by  the 
Lutherans  in  1837,  having  entered  the  ministry  the  year 
before.    While  teaching  and  preaching  in  Philadelphia  the 
old  building,  the  Bethel  of  Richard  Allen's  day,  was  torn 
down,  and  Elder  Payne  assisted  in  laying  the  corner-stone 
of  the  present  edifice.    In  1840  he  joined  the  Philadelphia 
conference  as  a  local  preacher.    In  1843  he  was  traveling 
preacher  in  the  same  body.    Bishop  Morris   Brown  ap- 
pointed him  to  the  Israel   Bethel  church  at  Washington. 
District  of  Columbia.    Here  he  remained  for  five  years.   He 
was  then  appointed  to  the  Bethel  church  of  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  then  to  the  Ebenezer  church  in  the  same  city.   The 
bishop  rose  from  station  to  station  because  he  preached  the 
word  of  God  and  did  right.   May  7, 1852,  the  General  confer- 
ence met  in  New  York  City.     A  special  sermon  was  to  be 
preached  and  Elder  Payne  was  selected  the  preacher.  WTien 
he  did  so  he  easily  carried  off  the  prize.    He  was  elected 


D.  A.  PAYNE.  1083 

bishop  and  ruler  of  the  representative  of  the  younger  and 
more  progressive  element.  May  13, 1852,  he  was  ordained 
bishop  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church,  and  beyond  doubt  has  been 
a  faithful  steward. 

Bishop  Payne's  name  will  stand  in  the  history  of  the  A. 
M.  E.  church  as  a  founder  of  a  system  of  education  just 
as  Aristotle  and  Bacon  were  founders  of  a  system  of 
logic.  Garrison  says  Plato  is  philosophy  and  philosophy 
Plato.  The  A.  M.  E.  church  can  freely  say  Bishop  Payne 
is  so  of  education,  and  the  spirit  of  our  education  is  em- 
bodied in  Bishop  Payne.  Years  ago  Wilberforce  University 
was  offered  the  bishop  as  a  school  for  our  church.  Cer- 
tain parties  stood  ready  to  purchase  the  property  at  a 
higher  figure  than  we  could  pay.  The  matter  had  to  be 
decided  on  a  certain  day.  Bishop  Payne  could  not  consult 
his  colleagues  and  he  would  not  permit  the  order  to  be 
given.  The  bishop  was  without  a  dollar  and  remembered 
the  fact  that  the  connection  was  not  enthusiastic  over 
Christian  education ;  but  with  a  firm  faith  in  the  omnipo- 
tent arm  of  the  Jehovah,  and  inspired  with  that  courage 
that  characterized  his  life,  he  stood  in  the  presence  of  the 
person  w^ho  was  to  sell.  Alone  with  Jesus  and  with  up- 
lifted hands,  Bishop  Payne  cried,  **In  the  name  of  God  I 
purchase  this  property  for  the  A.  M.  E.  church,  to  be  con- 
secrated by  them  for  the  sacred  cause  of  Christian  educa- 
tion." He  lived  to  pay  every  dollar  of  the  debt  which  he 
that  day  incurred.  This  school  is  truly  a  monument  to 
his  rare  foresight  and  earnest  zeal  in  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion, and  a  great  desire  on  his  part  to  see  the  ministers  of 
the  church  educated. 


1084  MBN  OF  MARK. 

Dr.  Tanner,  in  speaking  of  him  in  his  apology  for  Ahia 
Methodism,  says  that  the  Wilberforce  University  is  pi 
eminently  the  legacy  he  will  leave  to  the  church  and  t] 
people  he  loves  so  well.  Upon  it  he  has  laid  himself  as 
willing  sacrifice;  of  it  he  thinks  by  day  and  dreams  1 
night ;  of  it  he  writes,  talks  and  works ;  for  it  he  h 

• 

crossed  the  sea.  He  became  the  president  of  this  colic 
in  1863  and  continued  till  1876,  building  it  up  into  t 
great  and  powerful  school  which  has  sent  out  very  learn 
men  and  given  many  titles  to  its  clergy  and  schola 
Rev.  B.  W.  Amett,  in  his  centennial  address  on  the  niissi< 
of  Methodism,  has  said  of  Bishop  Payne  that  he  w 
"the  apostle  of  ap  educated  ministry."  He  was  the  fii 
president  of  a  Negro  university  in  the  western  world ;  t 
first  Negro  to  preside  over  the  Universal  Methodist  famil 
September  17,  1881,  at  the  Ecumenical  conference  held 
London,  England.  He  has  been  the  historian  of  t 
church  since  1848  and  is  the  author  of  several  works. 

The  bishop  is  about  to  publish  his  recollections  of  m( 
and  things,  which  has  engaged  his  attention  for  the  la 
three  score  years.  He  has  recently  published  a  book  < 
Domestic  Education.  Full  of  years  and  honor,  he  still  co 
tinues  to  labor  for  the  denomination.  He  received  ti 
degree  of  LL.  D.  from  Lincoln  University  in  1880,  and  '. 
D.  from  Wilberforce  University.  He  by  his  own  ex€ 
tions  secured  the  museum  to  Wilberforce  Universit 
which  is  worth  two  thousand  dollars ;  and  in  honor  of  tl 
services  which  he  rendered  in  that  connection,  it  has  ha 
named  the  **  Payne  Museum,"  and,  says  the  Wilbcrfor 
Alumnial  of  1885: 


D.  A.  PAYNE.  1085 

Thus  will  his  name  be  connected  with  the  study  of  sciences,  and  as  the 
young  and  rising  generations  tread  the  halls  of  the  university,  they  will 
read  the  name  of  the  noble  author  and  disciple  of  knowledge,  that  in 
our  age  stands  as  a  synonym  for  a  Christian  education,  and  could  be 
transmitted  from  generation  to  generation  as  a  worthy  example  of  con- 
secrated learning  and  a  devoted  love  to  man  and  God. 

May  his  days  be  prolonged  to  do  much  good ;  but  surely 
he  will  leave  behind  him  grateful  hearts  and  many  who 
owe  all  directly  to  the  influences  which  he  has  set  in  mo- 
tion  in  the  establishment  of  the  Wilberforce  University. 


HEN  OF  MARK. 


i 


REV.  ISAAC  M.  BURGAN,  B.D. 

Preeident  Paul  Qninn  College— Educator— Pioneer. 

ISAAC  M.  BURGAN  was  born  October  6,  1848.  n 
Marion,  McDowell  county,  North  Carolina, 
mother,  Sylva  Burgan,  was  one  of  those  devoted  sli 
mothers  who  allowed  nothing  to  prevent  her  caring 
her  boy.  Many  times  when  unable  to  stay  with  him 
the  house,  she  would  lead  him  by  the  hand  to  her  wo 
Much  of  her  piety  was  shown  when  they  were  alone.  S 
had  fine  purposes  andgre.it  faith.  Isaac  remained  in  si; 
ery  till  the  results  of  the  late  war  declared  him  free, 
his  circle  of  associates,  many  of  whom  were  older  than 
allcame  to  young  Burgan  forcounsel  and  direction.  Vtl 
his  w^hite  companions  brought  new  lessons  from  scho 
Isaac  w^as  among  the  first  to  learn  them.  So  at  an  eai 
age,  though  laboring  under  the  disadvantage  of  haA-i 
no  teacher,  he  could  read  the  lessons  assigned  his  wh 
playmates. 

While  a  boy  he  was  regarded  as  being  too  knowing 
make  a  good  slave,  and  it  was  thought  best  to  sell  h 
for  eight  hundred  dollars ;  but  as  he  showed  a  dispositi 


ISAAC  M.  BURG  AN.  1087 

to  use  his  best  thoughts  and  energy  to  the  advantage  of 
his  owner,  when  the  traders  returned,  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars were  refused  and  Isaac  regarded  as  the  leading  hand 
of  the  field.  The  most  he  knew  of  slavery  beyond  personal 
privations  and  restrictions,  was  from  observation ;  because 
proving  himself  trustworthy  he  enjoyed  favors  and  privi- 
leges denied  his  fellow-servants.  The  sorest  conflict  of 
his  recollection  grew  out  of  an  attempt  on  the  part  of 
the  authorities  to  whip  his  mother.  When  the  cruel  work 
began  young  Burgan  hastened  to  the  scene.  Here  with 
bare  feet  and  tattered  garments  he  stood  merely  looking 
on  till  the  screams  of  a  loving  mother  pierced  his  heart  to 
its  depths.  Then  seizing  a  large  poker  he  struck  the  man 
a  telling  blow  on  the  back  of  the  head.  The  brutal  arm 
dropped  and  the  lash  was  staid.  Isaac  fled  for  his  life  but 
soon  returned,  and  in  a  few  days  got  a  double  portion  of 
that  from  which  he  saved  his  mother. 

Leaving  the  home  of  his  owner  he  hired  out  for  a  small 
sum  per  month,  most  of  which  was  required  to  purchase 
winter  clothing  and  shoes  for  his  mother.  After  working 
for  her  three  years,  by  her  consent  he  went  to  Tennessee. 
Here  he  soon  made  his  way  into  the  free  schools  by  paying 
his  tuition.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  long  struggle, 
for  there  were  none  to  help  and  but  few  to  encourage. 
When  school  was  out  he  found  the  most  lucrative  business 
to  be  railroading.  At  this  employment  he  accumulated 
several  hundred  dollars,  every  cent  of  which  he  consecrated 
to  the  cause  of  self  education. 

In  December,  1869,  he  entered  a  select  school  in  Bowling 
Green,  Kentucky.    He  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  hia 


1088 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


teachers  and  the  whole  school.  The  books  of  the  class  he 
entered  were  soon  mastered  and  he  was  promoted.  At 
the  close  of  school  the  young  student  set  out  to  replenish 
his  purse.  While  working  atLivermore,  Kentucky,  during 
the  summer  vacation,  he  met  in  prayer  meeting  a  young 
man  by  the  name  of  George  Belt,  who  had  been  attending 
school  in  Evansville,  and  the  two  boys  at  once  became 
friends  and  agreed  to  go  to  Evansville,  which  they  did 
in  October,  1870,  and  entered  the  public  schools,  taught 
by  Rev.  J.  M.  Townsend,  D.  D.  Here  he  remained  for  three 
years,  working  most  of  the  time  with  white  families  for  a 
small  sum  and  board.  A  large  per  cent,  of  the  money  he 
earned  was  added  to  the  sum  which  he  had  deposited  in 
the  savings  bank  when  he  arrived  in  the  city.  By  one  of 
the  families  he  had  the  best  of  treatment,  rooming  a  part 
of  the  time  with  their  Son,  who  is  now  a  lawyer  in  New 
Orleans.  But  he  became  disgusted  with  the  service  system 
and  sought  a  boarding  house,  declaring  that  he  would 
serve  no  more  in  that  manner. 

It  was  while  under  Rev.  Townsend's  instructions  he  re- 
ceived some  of  his  best  impressions,  and  he  gives  his 
teacher  much  credit  for  what  he  is.  In  the  fall  of  1873  he 
entered  the  State  Normal  school  at  Terre  Haute.  There 
he  joined  a  class  of  fifty-two,  most  of  whom  were  whites 
and  graduates  of  High  schools.  Nevertheless,  he  took  the 
lead  in  several  branches,  standing  pre-eminent  in  mathe- 
matics and  philosophy.  In  his  struggles  at  Terre  Haute, 
he  proved  himself  a  man  of  many  plans.  On  entering  the 
city  he  and  a  classmate  contracted  for  three  months' 
board  at  reduced  rates.    The  boarding  master  failed  to 


I.  M.  BURGAN. 


ISAAC  M.  BURGAN.  1089 

comply  with  the  contract;  Mr.  Beecher  (the  classmate) 
sought  another  boarding  house,  but  our  subject  was  not 
able  to  follow.  So  he  rented  a  room  and  became  cook  and 
housekeeper.  Work  was  soon  secured  which  yielded  ten 
dollars  per  month ;  but  this  was  a  dear  income,  for  it  had 
to  be  earned  during  the  cold  winters  of  1873  and  1874, 
between  five  and  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Very  often 
this  untiring  student  of  the  Normal  school  had  to  plunge 
into  the  darkness  of  the  morning  amid  snow,  rain  and 
sleet,  to  get  the  post  office  cleaned  and  warmed  by  seven 
o'clock.  The  rush  did  not  stop  here,  for  hurry  must  be 
made  to  the  baker's  for  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  to  the 
butcher's  for  his  meat,  and  go  home,  make  his  fire,  prepare 
his  breakfast,  and  be  at  school  by  8:45.  But  he  braved 
it  till  school  closed  in  the  spring.  When  the  session  opened 
in  the  fall  he  secured,  through  the  kindness  of  J.  H.  Walker, 
the  position  of  assistant  mail  agent.  The  'income  here 
was  board  and  seven  dollars  per  month;  but  being  as- 
signed to  night  work  and  finding  it  impossible  to  stay 
awake  night  and  day,  he  was  driven  to  abandon  this  and 
make  other  arrangements.  He  found  the  post  office  de- 
partment ready  to  receive  him.  He  added  to  this  other 
work,  making  his  income  sixteen  dollars  per  month,  and 
arranged  to  board  at  fifteen  dollars.  This  gave  increased 
work  for  this  winter  (1874-5),  which  was  more  severe,  if 
possible,  than  the  preceding  one.  The  boarding  house  be- 
ing seven  squares  fi-om  the  post  office,  much  of  the  distance 
had  to  be  made  in  double  quick  time.  But  this  winter's 
work  proved  a  little  too  much  for  the  resolute  student. 
His  studies  had  become  difficult  and  often  entertained  him 


1090  MEN  OF  MARK. 

with  an  unbroken  spell  till  a  late  hour  at  night ;  and  then 
the  quantity  of  labor  required  for  his  support  compelled 
him  to  rise  too  early  in  the  morning  to  get  the  requisite 
amount  of  sleep 

Spring  found  him  exhausted  physically  and  mentally; 
and  impaired  health  compelled  him  to  leave  school  a  month 
and  a  half  before  it  closed.  Having  no  stored  purse  upon 
which  to  draw,  he  was  forced  to  break  his  resolution  and 
serve  again  in  a  family. 

Having  spent  five  terms  in  the  Normal  and  being  near 
graduation,  in  the  fall  of  1875  he  went  to  Lost  Creek, 
near  Terre  Haute,  to  begin  teaching,  a  work  for  which 
time  has  shown  him  to  be  well  adapted.  It  was  here  on 
account  of  his  governing  powers,  his  ability  to  teach,  his 
wonderful  tact  and  skill  to  interest  and  inspire  his  pupils, 
that  he  received  the  appellation  oT  *  *  a  natural  born  teacher. " 
Mr.  Burgan  entered  Wilberfore University  September.  1878, 
to  studv  for  the  Christian  ministry. 

While  working  on  the  railroad  in  Middle  Tennessee  he 
was  converted  at  a  Baptist  revival,  but  joined  no  church. 
In  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky,  he  placed  himself  under  the 
watch  care  of  the  M.  E.  church,  and  was  made  Sunday 
school  superintendent  and  leader  of  the  choir.  In  Evans- 
ville,  Indiana,  he  joined  the  A.  M.  E.  church,  under  Rev.  A. 
T.  Hall.  His  first  ofiicial  relation  in  the  church  of  his 
choice  was  that  of  steward,  under  Rev.  W.  S.  Lankford. 
He  was  appointed  Sunday  school  teacher  under  the  super- 
intendency  of  Professor  J.  M.  Townsend,  and  proved  him- 
self a  faithful  worker.  From  early  life  he  had  been 
conscious  of  a  call  to  the  Christian  ministry ;  but  regarding 


ISAAC  M.  BURGAN.  1091 

the  oflSce  as  being  the  most  exalted,  and  feeling  unprepared 
for  the  work  educationally,  he  withstood  the  persuasions 
of  friends  and  refused  to  apply  for  license,  both  at  Bowling 
Green  and  Evansville.  While  attending  the  Normal,  the 
pious  life  of  Rev.  J.  Mitchem,  the  pastor  at  that  place,  was 
brought  to  bear,  and  he  said  he  would  resist  the  call  no 
longer ;  but  application  for  license  was  deferred  till  1876, 
when  his  former  teacher,  Rev.  J.  M.  Townsend,  set  a  will- 
ing hand  to  his  license  to  exhort.  This  being  done  he  de- 
cided not  to  return  to  the  Normal  to  graduate,  but  to 
spend  the  remainder  of  his  school  days  in  some  theological 
school.  After  uniting  with  the  church  at  Lost  Creek,  in 
1877,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  Rev.  John  Myers. 
Having  spent  three  years  here  he  parted  with  a  host  of 
friends  to  seek  higher  attainments  and  greater  work. 

From  the  time  he  entered  college  on  the  above  date  he 
was  closely  connected  with  all  the  social  and  religious 
movements  of  the  school,  and  his  devotion  added  very 
much  to  the  success  of  the  church  work.  While  in  college 
he  was  never  out  of  office.  In  church  he  was  class-leader, 
trustee  and  finally  pastor  of  the  college  chapel.  At  com- 
mencements he  represented  the  theological  rhetorical  once, 
the  Sodalian  Literary  Society  twice,  and  was  honored 
successively  with  the  presidency  of  every  college  society  to 
which  males  were  admitted.  In  debate  Mr.  Burgan  was 
peer  of  the  best.  In  every  contest  except  two,  the  decision 
was  rendered  in  his  favor ;  and  in  one  case  it  was  thought 
the  jury  was  packed,  and  in  the  other  it  hung.  At  the  close 
of  his  Sophomore  year  he  joined  the  Indiana  Annual  con- 
ference at  New  Albany,  under  Bishop  J.  A.  Shorter,  and 


1092  MEN  OF  MARK. 

asked  for  work,  stating  that  the  years  of  privation  and 
hardship  which  he  had  spent  in  school  had  about  worn 
him  out,  and  having  no  means  of  stfpport  he  could  not  re- 
turn to  school.  But  the  fatherly  bishop,  who  influenced 
him  to  attend  Wilberforce,  at  first  insisted  that  he  return 
and  finish  his  course;  then  said  confidentially,  *' I  have  been 
requested  and  have  concluded  to  appoint  you  pastor  at 
the  college." 

While  at  college  he  held  charge  at  Maysville,  and  Harveys- 
burg,  and  Troy,  Ohio.  By  his  pastoral  work  and  weekly 
visitations  to  all  families  regardless  of  church  aflSnity, 
and  his  care  for  the  poor  and  needy,  he  is  called  even  to- 
day "The  God-man."  During  his  stay  in  college  he  w^as 
compelled  to  shift  many  ways  for  support.  The  last  two 
years  the  faculty  voted  him  a  scholarship  of  sixty  dollars 
per  annum.  With  this  exception  and  a  few  dollars  from 
the  Indiana  conference  and  friends,  his  attainments  are 
the  results  of  the  sacrificing  life  and  determined  efforts. 
His  favorite  studies  were  the  sciences.  His  class  honored 
him  as  valedictorian  and  editor-in-chief  of  the  collejie 
paper.  His  valedictory,  subject  *' Commencement,"  was 
pronounced  the  best  ever  delivered  at  the  institution.  His 
commencement  oration,  subject  ''The  Christian  Ministry," 
was  a  masterpiece.  In  a  few  weeks  after  graduating  he 
was  ordained  deacon  by  Bishop  Shorter  of  Indianapolis. 

After  he  finished  his  long  and  arduous  work  of  prepara- 
tion he  was  appointed  principal  of  Paul  Quinn  College, 
at  Waco,  Texas.  On  the  twenty-seventh  of  September, 
1883,  he  and  one  other  teacher  arrived  in  Waco.  Thev 
were  met  at  the  depot  by  three  of  the  leading  trustees,  wTio 


ISAAC  M.  BURGAN.  1093 

directed  them  to  a  boarding  house  and  arranged  an  hour 
for  council.  At  the  appointed  time  the  trustees,  laboring 
under  very  great  discouragements,  stated  that  they 
thought  it  best  not  to  open  school  that  year,  and  had 
concluded  to  wait  till  it  could  be  opened  under  more  fav- 
orable circumstances.  After  hearing  their  statement  of 
facts,  etc.,  Burgan  said,  ''Closing  the  school  for  one  year 
means  death  for  ten,  and  it  should  be  announced  ready 
for  work  in  the  face  of  adverse  circumstance."  The  next 
day  it  was  agree  to  re-open  on  the  conditions  that  the 
trustees  be  released  of  all  financial  responsibility,  and  the 
teachers  be  paid  by  the  secretary  with  whatever  might 
accrue  from  tuition.  After  laboring  two  months  under 
this  arrangement  and  receiving  nothing  in  the  way  of  com- 
pensation, the  trustees  saw  fit  to  lease  the  school  to  Bishop 
Cain.  This  placed  the  principal  in  a  still  more  awkward 
position,  and  affairs  continued  dark. 

There  were  some  students  in  attendance,  and  Mr.  Burgan 
had  the  consciousness  that  he  was  doing  good  and  labored 
on  with  one  assistant  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year, 
with  no  money  from  any  source  except  the  scant  income 
from  a  few  students,  to  pay  teachers  or  make  the  necessary 
improvements.  During  this  time  enemies  were  rejoicing 
and  friends  almost  quaking  with  fear.  But  the  examina- 
tions during  the  closing  exercises  surpassed  the  highest 
expectations,  and  showed  that  excellent  class  work  had 
been  done ;  otherwise  the  condition  of  affairs  was  almost 
hopeless.  Professor  Burgan  had  invited  the  trustees  to 
attend  the  closing,  but  none  having  come  up  to  a  late  hour 
he  telegraphed  for  Elder  A.  Grant,  who  responded  by  his 


1094  MEN  OF  MARK. 

presence.  This  brought  others  on  the  ground,  and  in 
their  meetings  (the  lease  having  expired)  it  was  thought 
that  Professor  Burgan  was  preeminently  fitted  to  carry 
on  the  work,  and  he  was  elected  president. 

Of  the  buildings  on  the  premises  exclusive  of  the  brick, 
there  was  one  frame  for  kitchen  and  dining  room,  an  office 
and  three  shed  rooms  for  young  men.  The  president  took 
fresh  courage  and  resolved  to  replace  the  shed  rooms  bv 
erecting  a  two  story  frame.  In  this  effort  he  was  again 
embarrassed  for  the  want  of  cooperation  and  encourage- 
ment, but  with  a  disposition  to  yield  to  nothing  but  im- 
possibilities he  succeeded .  Under  these  and  similar  discour- 
aging and  adverse  circumstances  he  has  continued  his  ardu- 
ous labors  and  achieved  success  for  the  college.  In  his 
sacrificing  efforts  to  keep  employed  an  able  corps  of 
teachers  and  to  continue  the  usefulness  of  the  college,  he 
has  closed  school  (more  than  once)  without  money  enough 
to  pay  his  way  out  of  Waco. 

As  it  required  all  his  time,  energy  and  money  to  prepare 
for  life,  and  as  his  work  since  preparation  has  demanded 
sacrifice  of  almost  ever\^thingthat  is  dear  to  life,  this  hard- 
working servant  of  God  has  accumulated  nothing  but  a 
library  of  good  books.  These  have  served  as  his  tools  and 
companions. 

Bom  and  reared  a  Southerner,  educated  at  the  mother 
institution  of  the  race,  acquainted  with  the  advanced  work 
of  Northern  and  Eastern  institutions,  with  his  phvsical 
vigor,  mental  abilit}'  and  {persevering  spirit,  President  Bur- 
gan is  destined  for  a  still  greater  work  among  his  people. 


W.J.  WHITE.  1095 


CLXVIII. 
REV.  W.  J.  WHITE. 

Editor  of  the  Georgia  Baptist. 

ONE  of  the  most  successful  Baptist  editors  in  the 
United  States  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The 
Georgia  Baptist ^  a  twenty-eight  column  paper,  is  one  of 
the  most  enterprising  in  the  South.  Its  circulation  does 
"credit  to  the  denomination.  During  the  seven  years  of  its 
existence,  it  has  fearlessly  hurled  fiery  darts  at  enemies, 
and  carried  messages  of  peace  and  love  to  its  friends. 
Rev.  W.  J.  White  began  his  work  for  God  and  the  race 
when  quite  a  young  man,  and  the  experience  he  has  gained 
makes  him  a  safe  and  trusted  counselor.  Hard  work  and 
consecrated  efforts  have  won  for  him  the  admiration  not 
only  of  the  State  in  which  he  resides,  but  beyond  its  bor- 
ders his  faithfulness  is  known.  October  7,  1855,  he  was 
baptized  and  became  a  member  of  the  Springfield  Baptist 
church,  Augusta,  Georgia ;  and  although  he  was  impressed 
with  the  fact  that  he  was  called  to  the  gospel  ministry,  it 
was  not  until  seven  years  later  that  he  was  licensed  to 
preach.  April  1,  1866,  he  was  ordained  to  the  work  of 
winning  souls  to  Christ.  In  1859  he  organized  a  Sabbath 
school  which  he  nourished  nine  years  as  superintendent^ 


1096 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


at  whidi  time  the  seed  sown  germinated,  and  the  Har- 
mony Baptist  church,  which  he  has  served  as  pastor  many 
years,  sprang  into  existence.  Nor  did  his  work  stop  here. 
The  Baptist  family  all  over  the  State  was  thought  of,  and 
he  assisted  largely  in  organizing  the  State  work.  When 
the  State  convention  was  formed  in  1870  he  was  elected 
treasurer,  and  for  many  years  served  in  this  position,  be- 
sides serving  as  missionary  agent.  The  Shiloh  Associa- 
tion also  elected  him  treasurer.  The  Colored  Georgia 
Baptist  Sunday  school  convention,  organized  in  1872, 
elected  him  president,  and  he  was  reelected  several  times. 
As  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  con- 
vention, and  of  the  Sunday  school  convention  of  Georgia, 
he  has  proven  himself  a  man  of  much  ability.  At  present 
he  is  chairman  of  the  Baptist  Centennial  committee  of 
Georgia.  The  editorial  department  of  the  Georgia  Baptist 
is  ably  conducted.  The  articles  are  to  the  point  and 
always  strike  home.  Rev.  Mr.  White,  in  writing  of  his 
paper,  says  it  is  a  newspaper  now  well  in  its  seventh  year 
and  has  never  missed  a  single  issue. 

His  services  in  the  cause  of  education  have  marked  him 
as  a  far-seeing  man  who  knows  that  to  patient  toil  and 
ardent  work  must  be  due  the  glory  of  the  future  for  our 

people.  All  the  school  teachers  of  the  State  recognize  in 
him  a  defender  and  advocate;  nor  do  his  views  per- 
tain only  to  mental  development  but  to  the  training  of 
the  physical.  His  soul  is  deeply  interested  in  the  future  of 
the  young  people,  for  they  are  not  so  readily  entering  the 
manufacturing  and  commercial  world  as  he  would  desire. 
He  would  have  artisans  as  well  as  lawyers,  carpentere 
as  well  as  doctors,  farmers  as  well  as  dchool  teachers. 


ALEXANDER  CLARK. 


AI.BXANDER  CLARK.  1097 


CLXIX. 

HON.  ALEXANDER  CLARK. 

Eminent  Mason— Lawyer— Editor. 

MR.  CLARK  was  bom  February  25, 1826.  His  father, 
John  Clark,  though  bom  a  slave,  was  emancipated 
in  early  life  by  his  father  and  master,  a  kind-hearted  Irish- 
man. From  this  source  Alexander  Clark  is  said  to  have 
inherited  in  a  great  measure  the  genius  and  brilliancy 
which  have  adorned  his  character.  From  his  mother,  a  full- 
blooded  African,  he  inherited  through  several  generations 
a  strong,  healthy  constitution. 

Young  Clark  was  considered  very  intelligent  while  still  a 
lad  at  school.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  removed  to  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  where  he  attended  school  one  year,  and  at 
the  same  time  learned  the  barber  business  under  an  tmcle. 
When  but  fifteen  j^ears  old  he  left  this  place  to  go  South  as 
a  hand  on  the  steamer  George  Washington.  In  1842  he 
went  to  Muscatine,  Iowa,  and  for  many  years  conducted 
a  barber  shop  with  pecuniary  success.  After  leaving  this 
employment  he  invested  largely  in  real  estate,  which  he 
managed  so  wisely  as  to  accumulate  a  neat  little  fortune. 

In  1863  he  enlisted  in  the  First  Iowa  Colored  volunteers 
and  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  sergeant-major,  but  was 


1098  MEN  OP  MARK. 

not  permitted  to  muster  because  of  a  physical  defect  in  the 
left  ankle.  This  did  not  abate  his  ardor  to  labor  for  his 
country  in  her  time  of  need.  All  through  the  West  he 
actively  busied  himself  gathering  recruits  for  the  Union 
army. 

In  1869  he  was  a  delegate  from  Iowa  to  the  Colored 
National  convention,  which  met  at  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia.    This  body  appointed  him  chairman  of  the 
committee  to  lay  before  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represen- 
tatives the  daixns  of  colored  soldiers  and  seamen  to  equal 
bounty  and  pension  as  that  received  by  the  w^hites.    He 
was  also  one  of  the  committee  to  wait  upon   President 
Grant  and  Vice-President  Colfax  and  convey  the  congratu- 
lations of  the  colored  people  of  the  United  States  on  their 
election.    He  acted  as  spokesman  of  the  committee.    As  a 
worker  in  benevolent  organizations  Mr.  Clark  has   few 
equals.    He  has  for  years  been  identified  with  the  Masonic 
order  and  has  held  the  highest  positions  in  its  gift.     In 
1868  he  was  elected  deputy  grand  master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Missouri.    The  following  year  when  Grand  Mas- 
ter H.McGee  died,  he  was  elected  to  succeed  him  as  master 
over  the  States  of  Missouri,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Tennessee, 
Arkansas  and  Mississippi. 

At  the  next  session  of  Missouri  Grand  Lodge  he  was 
elected  grand  treasurer  and  delegated  to  attend  the  Most 
Worshipful  National  Grand  Compact  of  Masons  for  the 
United  States,  at  Wilmington,  Delaware,  October  9,  18G9. 
In  June  of  the  same  year  he  was  reelected  grand  master 
and  held  the  position  three  years.  In  1872  he  was  elected 
grand  secretary;  in  1873  was  appointed  chairman  of  the 


ALEXANDER  CLARK.  1099' 

committee  on  foreign  correspondence,  aod  in  1674  -vtbb 
again  elected  grand  master,  in  which  position  he  served 
many  years.    In  politics  he  is  a  stalwart  Republican. 

In  1869  he  was  elected  vice-president  of  the  Iowa  State 
Republican  convention,  and  in  1870  was  a  delegate  to  said 
body  and  served  on  the  committee  on  resolutions.  In  1872 
he  was  elected  delegate-at-large  from  Iowa  to  the  conven- 
tion in  Philadelphia  which  nominated  U.  S.  Grant  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.    In  1873  fPresident  Grant  ap- 

m 

.  pointed  him  consul  to  Aux  Cayes,  Hayti,  which  position 
he  declined  because  the  salary  was  not  sufficient.  The 
State  convention  of  colored  men  appointed  him  delegate 
to  the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylva- 
nia, for  the  purpose  of  gathering  statistics  and  such  infor- 
mation concerning  the  Negro  race  as  would  be  useful  in. 
determining  its  true  status. 

In  1878  Mr.  Clark's  voice  rang  through  the  Northwest, 
urging  the  Negro  to  stand  by  the  party.  A  speech  made 
by  him  in  Macon,  at  the  celebration  of  the  passage  of  the 
Fifteenth  amendment,  was  mentioned  as  follows  by  the 
Weekly  Macon  Journal : 

Mr.  Clark's  speech  was  replete  with  sound  argument,  earnest  advocacy 
of  right,  and  impressed  all  with  his  sound  judgment.  Rarely  has  it  been 
the  privilege  of  the  people  of  Macon  to  listen  to  such  words  of  eloquence. 
To  attempt  to  reproduce  it  would  insure  failure,  so  we  will  not  attempt 
it;  suffice  to  say  it  was  happy  in  conception,  faultless  in  argument  and 
delivery. 

Mr.  Clark,  though  living  in  the  North,  is  full  of  sympathy 

with  his  people  in  the  South.    He  never  allows  an  oppor- 
tunity of  speaking  and  writing  against  discrimination  be- 


1100 


HEN  OF  MASK. 


il  I 


cause  of  color  pass.  Having  traveled  extensivelythroagh 
the  Sonth,  he  was  better  prepared  than  most  men  to  see 
the  wrongs  suffered  by  our  people.  For  many  years  he 
edited  and  owned  the  Chicago  Conservator;  he  has  re- 
cently sold  it  to  other  parties.  While  he  had  it,  he  cer- 
tainly widded  a  fearless  pen ;  it  was  dipped  in  acid  and 
driven  into  an  enemy  to  his  race  with  remorseless  vigor. 

He  is  gentlemanly  and  courteous,  pleasant  and  affable, 
and  a  conversationalist  of  themostentertainingcharacter. 
He  has  in  his  old  age  graduated  from  a  law  school,  and  is 
now  a  practicing  lawyer  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  His 
wealth  is  quite  extensive,  and  his  good  name  does  not 
diminish. 


JOHN  C.  DANCY,  1101 


CLXX. 

HONORABLE  JOHN  C.  DANCY. 

Editor  of  the  Star  of  Zioa— Eminent  Layman  in  the  A.  M.  B.Zion  Church 
— Recorder  of  Deeds  of  Edgecombe  County,  North  Carolina. 

JOHN  C.  DANCY  was  bom  in  slaverj^at  Tarboro,  North 
Carolina,  May  8,  ISSJ.  -He  was  placed  in  school 
immediately  after  the  close  of  the  war,  and  instructed  by 
able  teachers  from  the  North. 

His  father  was  a  leading  builder  and  contractor,  and 
made  it  a  point  to  keep  him  in  school  all  the  while.  His 
mother  also  early  advised  and  lectured  him  at  the  family  fire- 
side, and  taught  him  the  first  lessons  of  honesty,  temperance 
and  true  manhood.  In  school  his  teachers  all  considered 
him  an  exemplary  boy,  easily  taught  and  always  obedient. 
He  always  carried  oflF  the  honors  of  his  class. 

In  1873  he  entered  the  printing  office  of  the  Tarboro 
Southerner  as  office  boy,  but  was  soon  given  a  case  by 
direction  of  the  foreman,  and  in  a  few  months  was  an  ac- 
ceptable *Hypo."  The  sentiment  of  the  white  newspaper 
fraternity  of  the  State  was  soon  tested,  and  it  was  unani- 
mous against  this  state  of  things ;  consequently  he  left  the 
office  to  enter  Howard  University,  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia.    His  father  died  after  he  had  been  there  a 


1102 


MEN  OP  MARK. 


short  while,  and  so  he  had  to  return  home  to  care  for  his 
mother  and  family.  He  taught  school  for  a  while  though 
only  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  was  appointed  to  a  posi- 
tion in  the  treasury  department  at  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia,  through  the  influence  of  Honorable  John  A. 
Hyman,  then  a  member  of  Congress,  and  in  the  interim 
attended  Howard  University.  He  resigned  his  position 
after  holding  it  less  than  a  year,  to  take  charge  of  the  pub- 
lic school  at  Tarboro.  The  resignation  was  a  great  sur- 
prise to  his  friends  in  Washington,  as  it  is  said  there  "that 
few  die  and  none  resign. '  *  He  continued  to  teach  for  several 
years. 

He  was  secretary  of  the'  State  convention  of  colored 
men  in  1877,  and  chief  secretary  of  the  State  Republican 
convention  of  1880  and  1884.  He  was  also  president  of 
the  State  convention  of  colored  men  to  consider  the  ques- 
tion of  placing  colored  men  on  the  jury. 

He  was  elected  recorder  of  deeds  of  Edgecombe  county 
in  1880  and  1882  by  large  majorities,  but  was  defeated  in 
1884  by  reason  of  a  split  in  his  own  party,  and  a  combina- 
tion of  other  circumstances.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
county  Republican  committee  for  eight  years. 

He  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Chicago  convention  in 
1884,  and  attracted  wide  attention  by  reason  of  a  speech 
he  made  in  that  body  seconding  the  nomination  of  the 
Honorable  John  A.  Logan.  No  one  knew  he  was  to  speak 
but  himself,  and  he  says  he  prepared  the  speech  in  his  mind 
without  writing  a  line,  on  going  from  the  Palmer  House 
to  the  hall.  His  eloquent  and  capital  effort  was  greeted 
vsrith  a  volley  of  hand  claps  and  round  after  round  of  ap- 


JOHN  C.  DANCY.  1103 

plause.  He  was  warmly  congratulated  by  the  delegates 
from  various  States.  He  has  been  a  prominent  speaker  in 
all  the  important  campaigns  since  1878,  when  he  attained 
his  majority.  Mr.  Dancy  is  tall,  slim,  and  in  manners  very 
graceful,  dignified  and  affable.  He  is  a  remarkable  man 
and  reflects  credit  oh  the  race.  Although  a  young  man, 
being  thirty  years  of  age,  he  is  one  of  the  most  prominent 
laymen  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Zion  church.  He  was  a  lay  dele- 
gate to  the  general  conference  of  said  church  in  1880  and 
1884,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  debates  of  that 
august  body. 

He  is  a  ripe  debater  and  his  oratory  is  clear,  persuasive 
and  brilliant.  He  is  peculiar h'  gifted,  eminently  original, 
natural,  practical  and  powerful  as  a  speaker  and  is  dash- 
ing and  spicy  as  a  writer.  In  short,  he  is  a  man  of  brains 
and  character. 

He  went  abroad  in  1879  as  a  delegate  to  the  Right 
Worthy  Grand  Lodge  of  Good  Templars,  and  was  elected 
Right  Worthy  Grand  Marshal  of  that  body. 

He  lectured  extensively  in  England,  Ireland,  Scotland 
and  Wales,  and  made  manv  warm  friends. 

Upon  his  return  he  lectured  considerably  on  **  Scenes 
and  Incidents  Abroad,''  Professor  J.  C.  Price  lecturing 
jointh'  with  him,  the  latter  speaking  on  the  topic,  **One 
Hour  with  the  People."  They  were  very  successful  finan- 
cially and  otherwise.  He  was  grand  secretary  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Good  Templars  of  North  Carolina  for 
seven  years.  He  edited  the  North  Carolina  Sentinel,  pub- 
lished at  Tarboro,  North  Carolina,  for  three  years,  and 
gave  it  up  at  the  request  of  the  board  of  bishops  of  the 


I 


1104 


MEN  OP  HARK. 


A.  M.  E.Zion  chtirck,  to  take  charge  as  editor  and  bnsmess- 
managc^  of  the  Star  of  Zion,  the  organ  of  said  church. 
Under  his  management  the  paper  has  increased  wonder- 
fullyin  subscription  and  circulation,  and  is  now  considered 
the  equal  in  ability  and  news  of  any  religions  paper  pub- 
lished by  the  race  in  America. 


CHARLES  L.  REASON. 


CHARLES  L.  REASON.  1105 


CLXXI. 

PROFESSOR  CHARLES  L.  REASON. 

A  Veteran  New  York  School  Teacher— European  Traveler — One  of  the 
Giants  in  Anti-Slavery  Days. 

THE  parents  of  our  subject  came  from  the  scenes  of 
revolution  in  the  island  of  Hajrti,  settled  in  New 
York,  and  their  son,  Charles  Lewis  Reason,  was  bom  there 
July  21,  1818.  His  parents  took  pains,  as  soon  as  he  was 
of  school  age,  to  enter  him  as  a  pupil.  He  paid  special  at- 
tention to  the  higher  arithmetic  as  taught  in  the  school, 
and  endeavored  to  develop  all  faculties  that  would  fit  him 
for  usefulness  and  enlarge  the  tendencies  of  his  own  nature. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  had  fitted  himself  as  an  instruc- 
tor, and  had  an  appointment  in  the  school  where  he  had 
been  taught.  With  a  determination  to  become  master  in 
his  vocation,  out  of  his  scanty  salary  he  paid  for  private 
instruction  in  mathenjatics,  and  in  184?9  was  called  to  be 
**  Professor  of  Belles-lettres  and  of  the  French  language  and 
Adjutant-Professor  of  Mathematics,"  in  the  New  York 
Central  College,  McGrawville,  Cortlandt  county.  New 
York. 

It  was  a  perfectly  consistent  choice  with  him  to  accept 
a  professorship  in  a  college  projected  to  sustain  **  The  Doc- 


1106 


MEN  OP  ICAKK. 


:.-i 


trine  of  the  Unity,  Common  Origin,  Equ^Uity  and  Brother, 
hood  of  the  Human  Race." 

Resigning  his  position  in  the  college  from  dissatisfaction 
with  the  president,  he  was  made,  in  1852,  principal  of  the 
Institute  for  Colored  Youth,  Philadelphia,  which  was  then 
first  opened.  His  experience  as  an  instructor  of  youth  ex- 
tends over  a  period  of  more  than  fifty  years,  including 
three  years  in  Philadelphia  and  nearly  two  years  in  Cen- 
tral College. 

He  has  developed  the  manhood  of  his  own  youth ;  the 
qualities  that  endeared  him  to  his  associates  in  boyhood 
are  shining  now  in  sunlight  effulgence.  He  has  the  highest 
regard  of  his  fellow-pupils  of  the  dominant  class  in  New 
York  City,  and  I  am  certain  that  in  the  eighteen  hundred 
members  of  the  Teachers'  Association  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  there  is  no  one  commanding  more  esteem  than  Pro- 
fessor Charles  L.  Reason.  Among  them  he  stands  in  line 
with  those  that  hold  the  first  rank  in  mathematics.  He 
has  been  repeatedly  elected  one  of  the  delegates  to  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Teachers'  Association,  and  is  at 
this  writing  chairman  of  the  committee  on  Grammar 
school  work. 

As  a  writer  there  is  nothing  coming  from  under  his  pen 
but  bears  evidence  of  the  utmost  care  as  well  as  proof  of 
the  highest  culture.  He  has  written  and  delivered  lectures, 
and  written  and  published  several  poems  and  poetic  effu- 
sions. His  contributions  to  the  public  press,  in  the  equal 
suffi-age  struggle  in  the  State  of  New  York,  were  preSmi- 
nently  effective  in  style  and  matter. 

His  aspiration  in  the  cause  of  education  brings  him  be- 


CHARLES  L.  REASON.  1107 

fore  us  in  different  phases.  He  does  not  confine  himself  to 
mere  mind  training.  He  is,  and  ever  has  been  the  friend 
of  industrial  education— the  combination  of  mental  and 
physical  development — ^not  only  for  its  own  sake,  but  in  the 
interest  of  human  freedom  and  human  progress.  As  early 
as  1854,  pleading  for  an  industrial  college,  he  wrote : 

The  usefulness,  the  self-respect  and  self-dependence,  the  combination  of 
intelligence  and  handicraft,  the  accumulations  of  the  materials  of  wealth, 
all  referable  to  such  an  institution,  present  fair  claims  to  the  assistance 
of  the  entire  American  people.  , 

With  the  reputation  distinguished  for  purity  of  life,  well 
trained  in  current  literature,  a  lover  of  research  and 
thoughtful  investigation,  well  read  in  history,  the  poets 
and  theological  investigation,  he  was  made  the  choice  pf 
the  vestry  of  St.  Phillip's  church  as  a  theological  student, 
with  a  view  of  having  him  enter  the  ministry  under  the 
auspices  of  that  body.  He  commenced  and  pursued  the 
studies  preparatory  to  entering  the  Theological  Seminary 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  The  bishop  of  the 
diocese,  however,  interposed  his  power  and  forbade  his 
entrance,  except  as  a  listener.  This  position  Mr.  Reason 
refused  to  accept,  being  unwilling  to  be  a  party  to  such 
sham  Christianity;  and  as  he  was  unsupported  by  any 
remonstrance  by  the  vestry  of  the  church,  he  resigned,  and 
his  candidacy  ended. 

In  this  effort  he  had  been  compelled  to  enter  the  same 
fiery  furnace  that  had  been  lit  up  to  consume  the  aspira- 
tions of  Berry,  DeGrasse  and  Crummell,  and  against 
which  the  high-toned  inspirations  of  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
Doane  of  New  Jersey  had  entered  his  solemn  protest,  and 


1108  MEN  OF  MARK. 

which,  at  his  own  request,  was  entered  on  the  minutes  of 
the  trustees  of  the  General  Theological  Seminary. 

To  say  that  Mr.  Reason  possesses  poetic  talent  would 
be  an  expiession  entirely  inadequate  to  describe  that  God- 
given  gift  in  him.  No  words  which  I  can  use  here  w^ould 
give  the  kind  of  idea  that  I  would  wish  to  convey  to  the 
reader  as  to  the  depth  of  that  inspiration,  which  has  found 
faint  expression  in  the  poems  and  composition  which  he 
has  given  to  the  readers  of  the  press. 

This  is  no  less  true  in  the  lines  written  by  him  than  in 
the  beautiful  translations  made  from  the  French  of  Lam- 
artine  in  his  *' Retirement.''  The  ** Spirit  Voice,"  *•  Silent 
Thought,"  etc.,  will  speak  better  for  themselves  than  any- 
thing else  that  can  be  said  here. 

We  get  better  ideas  of  a  man's  genius  by  reading  what  a 
man  has  writteiii  and  so  I  give  two  of  his  poems  with  the 
hope  they  may  please  my  readers  and  furnish  sufficient 
food  for  the  mind.  I  had  hoped  to  give  more,  but  space 
compelled  me  refrain. 

THE  SPIRIT  VOICE ; 

OR  LIBERTY  CALL  TO  THB  DISFRANCHISED. 

(State  of  New  York.) 

Come !  rouse  ye  brothers,  rouse !  a  peal  now  breaks 

From  lowest  island  to  our  gallant  lakes : 

'Tis  summoning  you,  who  long  in  bonds  have  lain, 

To  stand  up  manful  on  the  battle  plain, 

Each  as  a  warrior,  with  his  armor  bright, 

Prepared  to  battle  in  a  bloodless  fight. 

Hark!  How  each  breeze  that  blows  o'er  Hudson's  tide 

Is  calling  loudly  on  your  birth-right  pride 

And  each  near  cliff,  whose  peak  fierce  storms  has  stood* 

^outs  back  responsive  to  the  calling  flood. 


CHARLES  L.  REASON.  1109 

List !  from  those  heights  that  once  with  freedom  nmg, 

And  those  broad  fields,  where  Earth  has  ofl-times  sxmg, 

A  voice  goes  up,  invoking  men  to  prove 

How  dear  is  freedom,  and  how  strong  their  love. 

From  every  obscure  vale  and  swelling  hill 

The  spirit  tones  are  mounting;  louder  still 

From  out  the  din  where  noble  cities  rise 

On  Mohawk's  banks,  the  peal  ascends  the  skies. 

Responding  sweet  with  morning's  opening  praise, 

The  sound  commingle,  far,  to  where  the  rays 

Of  light  departing,  sink  to  partial  sleep, 

'Mid  cavemed  gems  in  Erie's  bosomed  deep. 

Nor  yet  less  heard,  from  inland  slopes  it  swells, 

In  chiming  music,  with  the  village  bells. 

And  mixes  loud  e'en  with  the  ocean's  waves, 

Like  shrilled  voiced  echo  in  the  mountain  caves. 

'Tis  calling  you,  who  now  too  long  have  been 

Sore  victims  suffering  under  legal  sin, 

To  vow,  no  more  to  sleep,  till  raised  and  freed 

From  partial  bondage,  to  a  life  indeed. 

Behold  ye  now !  here  consecrate  from  toil 

And  love,  your  homes  abide  on  holy  soil. 

To  these,  as  sacred  temples,  fond  you  cling: 

For,  thence  alone,  life's  narrow  comforts  spring, 

'Tis  here  the  twilight  of  existence  broke. 

The  first  warm  throbbings  of  your  hearts  awoke. 

Here  first  o'er  you,  fond  mothers  watch'd  and  pray*d, 

Here  friendship  rose  and  holy  vows  were  made. 

On  yon  familiar  height  or  gentle  stream. 

You  first  did  mark  the  pleasant  moonlight  gleam. 

Here,  happy,  laugh'd  o'er  life  in  cradled  bloom 

And  here,  first  pensive,  wept  at  age's  tomb. 

Yes ;  many  a  sire,  with  burnt  and  furrowed  brow 

Here  died,  in  hope  that  you  in  freedom  now 

Would  feel  the  boasted  pledge  your  country  gave. 

That  her  defender  should  not  be  her  slave. 

And  wherefore,  round  your  homes  has  not  been  thrown 


1110  MEN  OF  MARK. 

That  guardian  shield,  which  strangers  call  their  own  ? 

Why,  now.  do  ye,  as  yotir  poor  fathers  did, 

Bow  down  in  silence  to  what  tyrants  bid  ? 

And  sweat  and  bleed  from  early  mom  till  eve, 

To  earn  a  dower  less  than  beggars  leave  ? 

Why  are  ye  pleased  to  delve  at  mammon's  nod» 

To  buy  that  manhood  which  is  yours  from  God, 

Free  choice  to  say  who  worthy  is  to  lead 

Your  country's  cause,  to  give  your  heart-felt  meed 

Of  praise  to  him  that,  barring  custom's  rule. 

Would  nobly  dare  attack  the  cringing  tool 

That  with  a  selfish  aim  and  ruthless  hand. 

Would  tear  in  twain  love's  strong  and  holy  band: 

Why  can  ye  not,  as  men  who  know  and  feel 

What  most  is  needed  for  your  nation's  weal. 

Stand  in  her  forums,  and  with  burning  words 

Urge  on  the  time,  when  to  the  bleeding  herds. 

Whose  minds  are  buried  now  in  polar  night, 

Hope  shall  descend ;  when  freedom's  mellow  light 

Shall  break,  and  usher  in  the  endless  day. 

That  from  Orleans  to  Pass'maquoddy  Bay, 

Despots  no  more  may  earthly  homage  claim, 

Nor  slaves  exist,  to  soil  Columbia's  name ; 

Then,  up!  awake!  nor  let  dull  slumber  waste 

Your  soul's  devotion!  life  doth  bid  you  haste ! 

The  captive  in  his  hut,  with  watchful  ear. 

Awaits  the  sweet  triumphant  songs  to  hear. 

That  shall  proclaim  the  glorious  jubilee 

When  crippled  thousands  shall  in  truth  be  free. 

Come !  rouse  ye  brothers,  rouse !  nor  let  the  voice 
That  shouting,  calls  you  onward  to  rejoice, 
Be  heard  in  vain  1  but  with  ennobled  souls. 
Let  all  whom  now  an  unjust  law  controls, 
Press  on  in  strength  of  mind,  in  purpose  bent, 
To  live  by  right ;  to  swell  the  free  tones  sent 
On  Southern  airs,  from  this,  your  native  State, 


-  chaki.es  l.  rbason.  1111 

A  glorious  promise  for  the  captive's  fate. 
Then  up !  and  vow  no  more  to  sleep,  till  freed 
From  partial  bondage  to  a  life  indeed. 

New  York,  July  20, 1841 . 

SILENT  THOUGHTS. 

Around,  how  joyiiil  in  the  chilly  air 

Sweet  sounds  are  floating!  While  above,  the  sky. 
Peopled  with  visions  bright,  seems  calm  and  fair 

As  infant  smiling  'neath  a  mother's  eye. 
It  is  the  chant  of  joy  that  fresh,  sincere, 

Springs  up  from  youthful  hearts !  Yet  louder  fi'om  that 
The  souls  of  men,  to  greet  the  laughing  year 

That  clothed  in  promise,  from  afar  doth  come, 
Burdened  with  hope  and  gift  unfold.    'Tis  well 

The  tortured  feelings  and  the  sad  should  rise 
.    To  hail  some  vision'd  good,  and  tuneful  swell 

With  songs  of  fairy  scenes  that  in  the  skies 
Are  forming;  of  the  peace  and  glorious  fame, 

And  wealth  and  pleasure  in  the  distance  strewn. 
But  all  must  learn  that  song  and  garnished  dream 

May  end ;  that  magic  spells  around  them  thrown 
Will  melt  in  air ;  that  sweet  thoughts,  redolent 

As  spring-time  buds  may  droop  and  faint  and  die ; 
That  wish  and  vision  bright  are  impotent 

To  clothe  the  mind  with  light ;  to  fit  the  eye. 
To  guide  the  spirit's  growth ;  to  lead  it  on 

To  triumph  in  the  world ;  to  gain  a  wreath 
Of  praise  enduring,  as  those  souls  have  won, 

Whose  works  do  raise  them  from  contempt  and  death. 
*Tis  thought  alone,  creative  fervent  thought ! 

Earnest  in  life,  and  in  its  purpose  bent 
To  uphold  truth  and  right,  that  rich  is  fraught 

With  songs  unceasing,  and  with  gleam ings  sent 
Of  sure  things  coming  from  a  brighter  world. 

'Tis  thought  alone ;  girt  rotmd  with  quickening  light, 
With  vision  lofly,  and  with  wing  unfurled 


1112 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


I 


Ready  to  soar,  self-poised,  when  darkest  night 
Of  power  and  of  death  descends,  that  can, 

As  days  flit  by,  and  years  grow  old  apace, 
Rejoice  o'er  bright  scenes  fled,  and  strengthened  stand 

More  glorious  things,  singing  with  youthful  face. 

Kew  York  January  10,  1841. 


i 


JOHN  M.  BROWK.  1113 


CLXXII. 

RT.  REV.  JOHN  M.  BROWN,  D.  D.,  D.  C.  L. 

An  Active  Bishop  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Church. 

BISHOP  J.  M.  BROWN  was  born  inCantweirs  Bridge, 
now  called  Odessa,  New  Castle  county,  Delaware, 
where  he  remained  until  he  was  ten  years  of  age,  when  he 
changed  his  home  to  Wilmington,  Delaware,  where  he  re- 
mained two  years  in  the  family  of  the  Hon.  William  Seals, 
a  Quaker  gentleman.  While  at  his  home  he  attended  a 
private  day  school  taught  by  a  friendly  white  lady,  and 
the  Sabbath  school  of  his  native  town.  At  Wilmington 
his  Sabbath  school  instruction  was  mixed.  He  attended 
first  the  Presbyterian  Sunday  school.  The  members  of 
that  church  proscribed  all  colored  children  to  the  gallery. 
As  young  as  he  was,  he  hated  proscription,  and,  as  the 
natural  consequence,  he  united  with  a  Roman  Catholic 
Sunday  school  opposite  his  home.  He  was  kindly  received 
both  by  the  priest  and  his  people.  The  priest,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Carroll,  offered  to  educate  him  in  the  colored  Catholic 
school  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  but  his  early  training  had 
always  been  in  the  Methodist  faith  by  his  grandfather, 
who  was  a  Methodist  minister,  and  by  his  mother  who 
was  a  Methodist  *' mother  in  Israel; "  he  therefore  declined 


1114  MEN  OF  MARK. 

the  offer  with  thanks,  unwilling  to  forsake  the  religion  of  his 
ancestors.    At  the  end  of  his  stay  in  Wilmington,  an  older 
sister  from  Philadelphia  brought  him  to  that  city,  where 
he  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  better  education  than  it 
was  possible  he  could  have  received  in  his  native  town.  He 
found  a  home  with  Dr.  Emerson  and  Heni^  Chester,  an 
attomey-at-law.    While  he  proved  serviceable  to  them, 
they,  in  return,  did  much  more  for  him.    It  was  w^hile  here 
that  the  foundation  of  an  education  and  piety  was  laid. 
They  instructed  him  in  the  rudiments  of  a  liberal  education, 
catechised  him  in  the  principles  of  religion  and  the  doctrines 
of  the  Bible.    They  recommended  St.  Thomas'   Colored 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  which  he   attended  nntil 
1835,  and  from  that  time  until  1837  he  was   with  Mr. 
Frederick  H.  Hinton,  from  whom  he  learned  the  trade  of 
a  barber,  and  in  whose  house  he  made  a  profession  of  re- 
ligion. He  united  with  Bethel  A.  M.  E.  church,  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  January,  1836.    He  attended  an  evening 
school  taught  b}'  the  Rev.  James  N.  Glouster,  and  entered 
upon  his  study  for  the  ministry.    Mr.  Hinton  gave  him 
two  years  of  his  time  as  an  apprentice  with  a  barber's  out- 
fit, with  which  he,  Edward  H.  Ferris  and  A.  G.  Crippen 
left  Philadelphia  for  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  where  they 
attended  a  manual  labor  school,  but  soon  returned  home. 
He  remained  at  home  a  short  time,  and  left  for  Poughkeep- 
sie.  New  York,  where  he  attended  a  school  conducted  bv 
Rev.  Nathaniel  Blount,  and  working  between  school  hours 
at  his  trade  with  Mr.  Uriah  Boston.    During  vacation  he 
worked  in  the  shop  with  Mr.  Brady  in  New  York  Citv,  in 
the  summer,  1838.    In  the  fall  of  1838  he  became  a  mem- 


JOHN  H.  BROWN.  1115 

ber  of  the  Weslejan  Academy  at  Wilbraham,  Massachu- 
setts, remaining  two  years  preparing  for  college.    The 
summer  of  1840  his  health  failing,  he  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia to  recuperate.    In  the  meanwhile  he  continued  the 
study  of  Latin  and  Greek  under  Rev.  Mr.  Harris,  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  chiuxrh.    In  the  fall  of  1846,  apparently 
restored  to  health,  he  entered  Oberlin  College,  Ohio,  where 
he  prosecuted  his  studies  for  nearly  four  years.    It  was  in 
the  fall  of  1844  that  he  opened  his  first  school  in  Detroit,. 
Michigan,  and  after  the  death  of  the  pastor  of  the  African. 
M.  E.  church  in  that  city  he  was  appointed  acting  pastor, 
which  position  he  filled  from  1844  to  1847.    While  there  a 
lot  was  purchased  and  the  present  church  edifice  erected^ 
In  September,  1864,  he  united  with  the  Ohio  conference, 
and  was  ordained  deacon.    From  Detroit  he  was  sent  ta 
Columbus,   Ohio,    where   he   preached   three   years.     In 
addition  to  his  ministerial  duties  he  was  appointed  prin- 
cipal of  the  Union  Seminary  by  the  Ohio  conference,  out  of 
which  has  grown  Wilberforce  University.     This   school 
began  with  three  pupils,  and  at  the  end  of  his  administra- 
tion closed  with  one  hundred.    His  energies  were  devoted 
to  collecting  money  for  the  erection  of  a  permanent  building. 
He  traveled  extensively  with  but  little  success  In  August, 
1852,  he  was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  Allen  Station, 
Pittsburgh,  from  the  Ohio  conference;  in  three  months 
Bishop  Quinn  called  him  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Indiana  con- 
ference, and  stationed  him  at  New  Orleans. 

In  1853  he  was  appointed  by  Bishop  Payne  to  the  charge 
of  the  mission  in  New  Orleans,  which  consisted  of  Morris 
Brown  mission,  third  district,  Trinity  mission  in  the  first 


1116  MBN  OP  MARK. 

district,  and  oversight  of  all  adjacent  places.  Morris 
Brown  chapel  was  built  at  a  cost  of  three  thousand  dol- 
lars ($3000).  The  congregations  in  both  chapels  were 
greatly  increased.  He  remained  in  New  Orleans  about  five 
years,  and  was  imprisoned  once  for  each  year;  but  his 
imprisonment  was  generally  superinduced  by  the  prejudice 
of  his  own  color.  Becoming  weary  of  the  persecutions  of 
the  police  and  others,  he  asked  Bishop  Payne  to  relieve 
him,  and  in  April,  1857,  the  bishop  stationed  him  at  As- 
bury  chapel,  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  he  remained  one 
year.  He  was  transferred  from  the  mission  into  the  Baltic 
more  conference,  May,  1858,  to  Bethel  church,  Baltimore, 
remaining  in  that  charge  three  years  and  one  month* 
The  church  was  remodeled  at  a  cost  of  $5000.  There  were 
between  six  and  seven  hundred  souls  added  to  the  church 
during  that  period.  While  pastor  he  became  editor  of' 
the  Repository  of  Religion,  Literature,  Art  and  Science. 
He  also  served  Ebenezer  of  that  city,  from  April,  1861,  to 
December,  1863,  when  he  was  sent  to  Brite  Street  A.  M. 
£.  church  as  well  as  to  superintend  the  organization  of 
the  A.  M.  E.  churches  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 
At  the  general  conference  of  1864  he  was  elected  editor  of 
the  Cbristiati  Recorder,  which  he  subsequently  resigned. 
At  this  time  he  was  elected  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
Parent  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  his  church, 
which  he  held  for  four  years,  ten  thousand  dollars  ($10,- 
000)  being  raised  to  assist  in  planting  schools  and  churches 
in  the  South ;  in  this  grand  and  glorious  work  he  was  as- 
sisted by  Rev.  James  F.  Sisson,  William  B.  Derrick  and 
William  E.  Matthews,  Esq. 


JOHN  M.  BROWN.  HIT 

In  May,  1868,  he  was  elected  and  ordained  to  the  office 
of  bishop  by  the  General  conference  which  met  in  Washing- 
ton, District  of  Columbia.  His  first  district  consisted  of 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida  and  Alabama,  which  he 
held  until  1872.  He  organized  the  Alabama  conference  of 
the  A.  M.  E.  church  in  the  basement  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  South,  July  25,  1868,  in  Selma,  Ala- 
bama. He  organized  the  Payne  Institute  in  South  Caro- 
lina, in  1871,  which  has  grown  into  the  Allen  University,  at 
Columbia,  South  Carolina.  His  second  district  consisted 
of  Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas  and  Tennessee,  which  he 
served  from  1872  to  1876.  He  planted  the  school  which 
has  grown  into  **  The  Paul  Quinn  College,"  at  Waco,  Texas, 
under  the  presidency  of  the  late  Bishop  R.  H.  Cain,  D.  D., 
:ind  Bishop  T.  M.  D.  Ward.  He  organized  the  West  Texas, 
South  Arkansas,  West  Tennessee  and  Columbia  (S.  C. ) 
conferences.  He  also  assisted  Bishop  Ward  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  North  Georgia  conference,  in  1872.  His. 
third  district  consisted  of  the  Baltimore,  Virginia,  North 
and  Soulh  Carolina  conferences,  which  he  served  from 
1876  to  1880.  His  fourth  district  consisted  of  Philadel- 
phia, New  Jersey,  New  York  and  New  England  conferences, 
which  he  served  from  1880  to  1884.  His  fifth  district  em- 
braces Missouri,  Kansas,  Illinois,  Iowa,  North  Missouri, 
South  Kansas  and  California.  He  is  president  of  the 
financial  board  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church.  From  the  fore- 
going we  see  that  the  life  of  Bishop  Brown  has  been  active 
and  useful.  For  nearly  forty  years  he  has  devoted  his 
time  and  talents  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  he  is  as  faith- 


1118 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


ful  to  his  duties  now  as  when  he  started.    May  the  life  of 
such  a  man  be  spared  to  the  church  for  many  years ! 

On  February  13,  1852,  he  was  married  in  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  to  Miss  Mary  L.  Lewis.  She  has  been  his  con- 
stant companion  in  his  travels  and  labor  for  the  church  of 
Christ.  They  have  eight  children,  four  of  whom  have 
completed  a  course  of  study.  The  eldest  son,  John  M. 
Brown,  jr.,  M.  D.,  completed  the  Junior  year  in  college,  and 
graduated  with  honor  from  the  medical  course  at  Howard 
University.  He  is  now  practicing  successfully  his  profes- 
sion in  Kansas  City,  Missouri.  William  L.  Brown  grad- 
uated from  the  College  Department  at  Howard  amon^  the 
best  in  his  class;  was  principal  of  the  public  school  of 
Morristown,  New  Jersey,  and  is  now  in  the  ranks  of  edu- 
cators in  the  West.  Daniel  Brown  has  entered  the  min- 
istry. Miss  Mamie  L.  Brown  also  completed  a  course  at 
Howard  University,  graduated  from  the  Minor  Normal 
school,  and  has  taught  successfully  in  one  of  the  public 
schools  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia.^  My  per- 
sonal relations  with  Bishop  Brown  have  been  of  the  most 
pleasant  character.  For  a  few  years  I  lived  near  him  in 
Washington,  and  found  him  a  loving,  fatherly  gentleman, 
who  always  had  a  smile  for  young  men  and  a  generous 
word  for  the  aspiring.  His  life  is  a  blessing  and  an 
inspiration. 


DAVIb  ABNERjJR.  1119 


CLXXIII. 

PROFESSOR  DAVID  ABNER,  JR. 

A  Rising  Young  Professor  in  Bishop  College,  Texas — Editor— Lecturer. 

DAVID  ABNER,  JR.,  was  born  November  25,  1860,  in 
Upshur  county,  Texas.  He  is  the  son  of  Hon. 
David  Abner,  sr.,  and  Louisa  Abner.  There  has  always 
been  something  peculiar  yet  pleasing  about  the  life  of  this 
young  man.  When  quite  young  he  exhibited  a  great  nat- 
ural gift,  and  it  was  at  once  seen  what  this,  properly  cul- 
tivated, would  amount  to.  His  parents  sought  early  to 
give  him  a  good  training.  In  1870  they  moved  to  Mar- 
shall, Texas,  where  they  now  live.  After  sending  him  to 
the  best  schools  around  there,  Wiley  University  included, 
they  sent  him  to  Straight  University,  New  Orleans,  Louis- 
iana. Here  he  began  his  course  in  classics.  He  not  only 
stood  high  in  his  branches  of  study,  but  exerted  a  noble 
influence  on  the  school.  This  institution  bj^med  while  he 
was  in  attendance,  and  he  served  nobly  during  the  fire, 
gathering  and  throwing  valuables  from  the  rooms.  The 
faculty  and  people  highly  commended  him  for  his  bravery 
and  invaluable  service.  He  returned  in  1877.  Having  at- 
tended the  same  institution  one  session,  he  was  sent  to 
Fisk  University,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  he  remained 


1120 


MEN  OP  MARK 


three  successive  sessions,  prosecuting  the  higher  branches 
with  much  ease.  He  had  power  to  grasp  and  here  he 
showed  it,  and  was  pronounced  a  successful  student.  Spec- 
imen work  of  his  composition  in  Greek  was  put  on  exhibi- 
tion in  the  Nashville  Exposition.  He  returned  home  in 
1881.  At  this  time  the  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  of 
New  York  had  established  at  Marshall  a  grand  institution 
known  as  Bishop  College.  He  immediately  connected  him- 
self with  this,  and  in  1884  graduated  from  the  classical 
course  with  high  honors.  The  evening  of  his  graduation, 
his  father,  who  had  filled  many  positions  of  honor  for  both 
county  and  State,  presented  him  a  gold-headed  cane  as  a 
token  of  respect  for  his  obedience  and  faithfulness  at  home 
and  in  the  class-room  of  four  institutions.  He  has  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  thorough  colored  graduate  of  an 
institution  of  his  native  State,  and  was  an  assistant 
teacher  every  year  except  one  until  he  graduated ;  yet  this 
by  no  means  jmpeded  successful  work  in  the  class-room. 

He  is  a  strong  believer  of  the  Baptist  faith  and  doctrine. 
His  connection  with  Bishop  College  had  become  of  such  an 
intimate  character,  and  his  power  to  instruct  so  efiectual, 
that  the  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  of  New  York  made 
him  one  of  its  professor3  the  yea Ae  completed  his  course, 
which  position  he  yet  fills.  The  Texas  and  Louisiana  As- 
sociation, composing  a  membership  of  sixteen  thousand, 
chose  him  moderator  over  that  body  in  1883,  which  posi- 
tion he  still  holds.  That  same  year  he  was  chosen  by  his 
State  at  the  capital  seat  and  served  as  delegate  to  repre- 
sent it  in  the  National  convention  of  colored  men,  which 
convened  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  September,  1883.    The 


DAVID  ABNER,  JR 


Hl'l 


DAVID  ABNER,  JR.  1121 

Baptist  State  Convention  of  Texas,  representing  a  mem- 
bership of  seventy  thousand  in  1884,  chose  him  correspond- 
ing secretary ;  in  this  position  he  has  been  serving  every  year 
since.  In  the  meanwhile  he  edited  a  paper  in  the  interest  of 
that  body,  then  known  as  the  Baptist  Journal^  now  Bap- 
tist Pilot f  previously  conducted  by  Rev.  A.  R.  Griggs,  a 
heart-knitted  friend  of  his.  For  three  years  he  has  been 
serving  as  district  master  of  one  of  the  strongest  fraterni- 
ties in  the  State.  He  travels  every  summer,  delivering 
lectures,  and  ably  presents  the  claims  of  the  great  institu- 
tion in  which  he  is  engaged,  and  the  work  generally  of  both 
the  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society  and  the  State  conven- 
tion. He  speaks  with  command  and  ease,  and  seldom  if 
ever  leaves  an  assembly  unmoved.  He  takes  hold  of  noth- 
ing without  thought,  and  when  he  does  take  hold  success 
ever  attends  his  efforts.  Though  honored  as  he  is  for  actual 
deeds  done,  he  is  whollv  unselfish  and  without  the  least 
spirit  of  boastfulness.  It  is  a  saying,  **That  this  is  why 
he  takes  with  others  and  others  take  to  him.*' 

Few  young  men  are  rising  to  true  eminence  faster.  His 
future  is  a  great  one.  He  often  contributes  to  some  of 
the  leading  colored  papers  of  the  State,  and  thoroughly 
handles  his  subjects.  He  is  not  only  strong  in  mental  but 
also  in  financial  resources.  His  estimated  worth  is  about 
nine  thousand  dollars.  It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  this  life, 
which  has  made  such  a  marked  beginning  in  the  interest  of 
humanity  and  God,  will  be  so  preserved  that  it  will  con- 
tinue to  do  all  that  it  is  capable  of  doing. 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


REV.  A.  A.  WHITMAN. 

Author  of  a  Book  of  Poems  Entitled  '  Not  a  Man,  and  Yet  m  Man,'  nitli 
Misccllaneoua  Poems,  with  Extracts. 

THE  book  of  poems  by  the  subject  above  mentioned  is 
worthy  of  perusa],  and  was  written  for  a  laudable 
purpose,  that  of  assisting  Wilberforce  University,  one  of 
the  finest  institutions  in  America. 

The  author  of  the  book  of  poems  was  a  native  of  the 
Green  River  country,  Hart  county,  Kentucky,  and  'waa 
born  May  30,  1857.  He  was  a  slave  till  made  free  Janu- 
ary 1,  1863.  His  parents  early  in  his  life  joined  the  re- 
deemed in  the  mansion  above,  and  the  boy  was  left  to 
struggle  with  the  many  adversities  incidental  to  his  con- 
dition. He  was  willing  to  toil  and  did  so,  following  man- 
ual  labor  and  teaching,  and  finally  rose  to  the  position  of 
a  preacher  in  the  A.  M.  E.  church.  When  he  wrote  in 
1877,  he  was  situated  at  Springfield,  Ohio,  and  was  gen- 
eral agent  of  the  Wilberforce  University. 

The  book  is  largely  made  up  of  a  poem  entitled  'Not  a 
Man,  and  Yet  a  Man,'  running  through  about  two'hun- 
dred  and  thirteen  pages,  and  thirty-eight  pages  of  miscel- 
laneous poems.    The  poet  is  still  living  in  ill  health  in  the 


A.  A.  WHITMAN.  1123 

West,  in  Kansas.  We  give  first  a  selection  from  the  long 
poem  and  then  a  humorous  one,  that  the  reader  may  see 
the  bent  of  his  genius  and  be  persuaded  to  secure  the  work 
and  read  the  whole  of  that  thrilling  slave  story  told  in 
musical  language. 

SUSSEX  VALE,  CANADA. 

And  lo !  a  neat*cottage  with  windows  of  green, 
Scarce  thro*  the  thick  boughs  of  yon  elms  is  seen. 
There  now  the  free  lovers  that  once  were  the  slave, 
The  maid  of  the  rice  swamp  and  Rodney  the  brave 
Are  dwelling  in  wedlock's  dear  holiest  ties, 
The  objects  of  comment  and  pride  for  all  eyes. 
The  stranger  who  passes  thro'  Sussex  must  hear 
On  the  lips  of  the  cottager,  far  and  near, 
The  love  of  these  new  comers  pointedly  told, 
And  telling  it  over,  it  never  grows  old. 

He  has  also  published  a  volume  called  the  'Rape  of 
Florida,'  which  has  been  received  with  great  favor  and 
highly  appreciated. 

Solon  Stiles  (Humorous.) 

To  town  one  day  rode  Solon  S*"iles, 

O'er  weary  roads  and  rocky  miles 

And  thro'  long  lanes,  whose  dusty  breath, 

Did  nearly  smother  him  to  death ; 

By  ragged  fences,  old  and  brown, 

And  thro'  great  tall  woods  up  and  down. 

Wide  orchards  robed  in  red  and  white, 

Were  singing  on  his  left  and  right ; 

The  forests  carolled  by  his  way. 

The  grass  was  chirping,  green  and  gay, 

And  wild  flowers,  sweetest  of  their  race,  i 

Like  country  maids  of  bashful  face,  ( 


1194r  MEN  OF  MARK. 

Peeped  thro'  the  briery  fences  nigh. 
With  bright  hues  in  ^ach  timid  eye. 
The  farm  cows  whisked  in  their  cool  nook, 
And  splashed  within  their  peaceful  brook ; 
And  on  his  fence,  beneath  the  shade, 
The  plow  boy's  pipe  shrill  music  made. 

Stiles  saw  all  this,  but  what  cared  he, 

When  he  was  going  the  town  to  see  ? 

The  country'  he  had  always  seen, 

But  into  town  had  never  been. 

So  on  he  rode,  with  head  on  high. 

And  great  thoughts  roaming  thro*  the  sky, 

Not  caring  what  he  trotted  by. 

A  little  mule  he  sat  astride, 
With  ropes  for  stirrups  o'er  him  tied, 
In  which  huge  boots,  as  red  as  clay — 
Red  as  a  fox,  some  folks  would  say — 
Swung  loosely  down,  and  dangled  round, 
As  if  in  hopeless  search  of  ground. 

At  first,  when  from  the  woods  he  rode, 

And  high  in  sight  his  small  mule  trode, 

Rough  seas  of  smoke  rolled  on  his  eye. 

Great  dizzy  houses  reared  on  high, 

With  steeples  banging  in  the  sky. 

Then  Solon  stopped  and  said,  **  Umph,  my ! " 

And  next,  a  river  deep  and  wide, 
With  houses  floating  up  its  tide 
He  met,  and  paused  again  to  look, 
And  then  to  move  on  undertook ; 
And  spurred  and  spurred,  but  looked  aroimd. 
And  lo !  in  deep  amazement  found 
His  small  mule  stuck,  and  as  he  spurred 
The  more,  the  thing's  ears  only  stirred. 
*•  Hullo  I  "  a  swarm  of  blubbies  cried, 
«•  Whip  on  the  critter's  hairy  side!  '* 
At  this  the  mule  insulted  grew. 


A.  A.  WHITMAN.  1125 

Took  up  its  ears,  and  fairly  flew, 
Till  near  a  great  white  bridge  it  drew. 

Across  the  bridge  rode  Solon  Stiles, 

By  dusty  shops  and  lumber  piles, 

And  where  tall  houses  o*er  him  stood. 

Like  clifis  within  his  native  wood. 

And  furnaces  with  fiery  tongues, 

And  smoky  throats  and  iron  lungs, 

Like  demons  coughed,  and  howled,  and  roared^ 

And  fire  from  out  their  bowels  poured. 

Now  on  and  on,  up  Sailor  street. 

The  donkey  whirled  his  rattling  feet, 

While  either  sidewalk  loud  upon 

A  swarm  of  oaths  were  chorused  on. 

One  tall  boy,  in  this  surging  sea 

Of  rags  and  young  profanity. 

High  o*er  the  rest,  on  awkward  shanks, 

Like  stilts,  led  on  the  swelling  ranks. 

His  deep  throat  like  a  fog  horn  blew, 

Till  lesser  blasts  their  aid  withdrew. 

Then  Stiles  communed  thus  with  his  mule: 
**  My !  listen  what  a  cussin'  school 
This  town  lets  out  to  fill  the  ears 
Of  God  with !    My  1  them  babies  swears ! " 
Meanwhile  there  came  a  light  brigade, 
To  at  the  donkey's  heels  parade, 
Till  up  before  and  then  behind. 
His  honor  flew  and  then  combined 
An  old  Dutch  waltz  and  new  quick-^tep, 
That  half  a  square  of  urchins  swept, 
As  fast  as  leaves  were  ever  seen 
Brushed  by  a  whirlwind  from  the  green. 

The  tall  commander  now  in  front. 
Led  oathing,  as  his  pride  was  wont. 
The  new  assault,  when  stock  still  stood 
The  mule  away  not  half  a  rood ; 


1126  IfBN  OP  If  ARK. 

For  lo !  with  tomahawk  in  hand, 
Before  a  neighboring  cigar  stand, 
He  saw  a  savage,  to  describe 
A  chieftain  of  some  bloody  tribe. 
At  Solon  straight  he  raised  a  blow 
And  strained  with  all  his  might  to  throw, 
Bnt  stayed  his  rage,  for  he  beheld. 
That  with  hot  rage  the  donkey  swelled. 

Ah !  Solon  felt  his  blood  run  cold, 
'    For  oft  his  gran*dad  him  had  told 
Of  Indians  in  an  early  day, 
Beside  the  backwoods  cotter's  way. 
Skulking  to  on  some  settler  fly 
And  scalp  him  ere  he*d  time  to  die. 
"  Throw  if  you  dare !  '*  aloud  he  cried, 
And  slid  down  at  his  donkey's  side. 
At  this  he  saw  the  savage  stare, 
And  forthwith  threw  his  coat  off  there. 
With  club  in  hand,  the  first  he  found. 
Then  on  the  foe  at  one  great  bound 
He  flew,  and  hard  Ijegan  to  pound ; 

j  When  thus  a  broad-brimmed  vender  fat, 

!  Began  to  interview  the  spat : 

"  Vat  vas  yer  dun,  yer  grazy  ding ; 
Schoost  schtop,  yer  petter  don't  py  jing! 
Schoost  vat  yer  broke  my  zine  met,  aye, 

;  Eh !  petter  yer  don't,  yer  go  avay ! '' 

1  ••  Well !  "  Solon  thought,  **  If  this  is  town, 

!  I'll  give  you  leave  to  knock  me  down 

If  I  ain't  lost ;  no,  this  ain't  me. 
No,  town  ain't  what  it  seems  to  be, 
Yes,  here  I  am,  and  this  is  me. 
But  town's  not  what  it  seems  to  be!  " 

Rev.  a.  a.  Whitman, 
Pastor  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Church. 


:f 


B.  M.  BANNISTER.  1127 


CLXXV. 

E.  M.  BANNISTER,  ESQ. 

hn  Artist  Photographer — Gifted  Painter  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
Who  was  Inspired  by  a  Slur  in  the  New  York  Herald  Twenty  Years 
Ago. 

I  HAVE  read  many  times  the  story  of  Parrhasius,  as 
told  by  N.  P.  Willis,  wherein  the  poet  depicts  a  Greek 
painter  desirous  of  perpetuating  his  name  as  a  great 
artist.  A  slave  had  been  bought  in  order  that  he  might 
be  slowly  put  to  death,  and  that  the  painter  might  finish  a 
picture  which  he  had  upon  the  canvas,  which  was  the 
picture  of  Prometheus 

Chained  to  the  cold  rocks  of  Mt.  Caucasus 
The  vulture  at  his  vitals,  and  the  links 
Of  the  lame  Lemnian  festering  in  his  flesh. 

Assistants  were  standing  by  racking  the  slave  in  order 
that  he  might  catch  his  dying  countenance  and  put  it  on 
the  canvas.  The  feeling  which  the  artist  displayed  is  well 
expressed  in  the  following  verses : 

•  So — let  him  writhe  \    How  long 

Will  he  live  thus  ? 
Quick,  my  good  ])encil  now ! 
What  a  fine  agony  works  upon  his  brow  I 


1128  MEN  OF  HJUEK. 

Ha !   Gray-hatred,  and  so  strong! 

How  fearfiilly  be  stifles  that  short  moaiii 
Gods!    If  I  could  bnt  paint  a  dpng groan) 

Pity  thee!    Soldo! 

I  pity  the  dnmh  victim  at  the  altar — 
Bnt  does  the  robed  priest  for  his  pit^fidter? 

I'd  rack  thee  though  I  knew 
A  thonsand  lives  were  perishing  in  thine — 

What  were  ten  thousand  to  a  fame  like  mine  ? 

Yet,  there's  a  deathless  aame ! 

A  spirit  that  the  smothering  vanlt  shall  spam. 
And  like  the  steadfast  planet  mount  and  bun — 

And  though  its  crown  of  flame 
Consumed  my  brain  to  ashes  as  it  shone, 

By  all  the  fiery  stars!    I'd  bind  it  on! 

Aye— though  it  bid  me  rifle 

My  heart's  last  fount  for  its  insatiate  thirst — 
Though  every  life-strung  nerve  be  maddened  firet^ 

Though  it  should  bid  me  stifle 
The  yearning  in  my  throat  for  my  sweet  child, 

Atid  taunt  its  mother  till  my  brain  went  wild — 
All— I  would  do  it  ail- 
Sooner  than  die.  like  a  dull  worm,  to  rot- 
Thrust  foully  into  the  earth  to  be  forgot ! 

As  I  have  often  read  these  words  and  heard  them  de 
claimed,  they  have  thrilled  me  with  somewhat  of  the  sam< 
feeeling  which  the  painter  himself  must  have  had  as  hi 
sought  to  immortahze  himself  in  this  one  picture.  In  th 
far  off  days  of  Greece  and  the  story  of  Parrhasius,  we  sctn 
almost  to  forget  that  within  our  neighborhood,  and  oftei 
within  the  circle  of  our  own  acquaintances,  we  have  mei 
who  are  equally  ambitious  to  utilize  their  talents  ii 
such  a  manner  as  to  bring  glory  and  honor  to  the  race 


E.  M.  BANNI8TBR.  1129 

and,  though  not  expressed  in  the  cruel  manner  by  racking 
a  human  being  until  death  will  give  that  pallor  to  the 
cheek,  that  quivering  to  the  nerves,  that  stifling  groan, 
which  one  might  desire  to  put  on  canvas,  yet  ambition  is 
checked  simply  by  the  surroundings  and  kept  within 
the  limits  of  reason  and  sound  judgment. 

Mr.  Bannister  was  filled  with  some  of  this  ambition;  for 
this  reason  he  undertook  the  study  of  art.  What  he  has 
accomplished  through  his  ambition  to  excel  was  through 
a  desire  to  rebuke  a  slur  which  was  passed  upon  the  race 
by  the  New  York  Herald  twenty  years  ago,  in  which  it 
was  said  **that  the  Negro  seems  to  have  an  appreciation 
of  art,  but  is  manifestly  unable  to  produce  it.'*  This  was 
«aid  with  reference  to  the  number  of  colored  people  seen  at 
the  art  exhibition;  and  this  was  the  spur,  the  incentive, 
the  goad  that  drove  him  to  supreme  effort  in  accomplish- 
ing such  results  as  he  has  accomplished.  In  making  him- 
self felt  and  recognized  as  a  first-class  artist  in  a  country 
noted  for  its  prejudice  against  the  Negro,  and  for  itsefibrts 
in  suppressing  Negro  talent,  and,  further,  when  expressed, 
for  its  efforts  in  many  instances  in  keeping  it  fi-om  being 
recognized,  he  deserves  unbounded  credit. 

Mr.  Bannister  says: 

I  have  been  sustained  by  an  inborn  love  for  art  and  accomplished  all 
I  have  undertaken  through  the  severest  struggles  which,  if hile  severe 
enough  for  white  men,  have  been  enhanced  tenfold  in  my  case.  That  I 
have  succeeded  in  a  measure,  I  can  only  point  to  the  many  encomiums 
passed  upon  my  efforts  by  the  leading  white  papers  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Bannister  was  bom  in  the  town  of  Saint  Andrews, 
New  Brunswick,  and  was  educated  and  grew  up  there.   At 


1130  MBH  OP  HAKK. 

the  age  of  eighteen  he  went  to  Boston,  MassachnsettSr 
where  he  learned  and  worked  at  the  photographic  ba8iiie8» 
for  a  number  of  years,  using  the  only  time  at  his  disposal 
(nights)  for  the  study  of  art,  at  the  drawing  school,  at  the 
Lowell  Institute  of  that  city.  His  study  was,  however, 
only  elementary.  That,  however,  is  the  only  regular 
tuition,  if  it  may  be  called  such,  that  he  has  had,  with  the 
study  of  art  anatomy,  under  Dr.  Rimmer  of  Boston.  The 
rest  he  has  accomplished,  as  he  says,  "through  God's  help 
and  the  persistent  effort  on  bis  part." 

Mr.  Bannister  has  received  many  notices  from  the  very 
best  sources  in  the  United  States,  such  as  the  New  York 
Herald,  Tribune,  Boston  Globe,  Traveler,  Transcript,  and 
sketches  have  appeared  in  the  Artist  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century,  American  Artist,  published  by  the  Appletons  of 
New  York.  He  has  received  many  medals  and  diplomas 
at  important  exhibitions,  the  most  important  of  which 
he  considers  the  first  award  medal  from  the  Centennial 
Exhibition  of  1876,  where  his  picture  was  given  a  place 
of  honor  on  the  walls  by  a  jury  of  European  artists  of 
eminence.  He  has  exhibited-  some  of  his  work  in  the 
Centennial  Cotton  Exposition  held  in  New  Orleans  in 
1884  and  '85,  to  which  reference  has  been  made  by  the 
reporter  of  the  American  Baptist,  in  the  issue  of  June  11, 
1885,  where  it  refers  to  his  celebrated  painting  known 
as  "A  New  England  Pasture,"  valued  at  one  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars. 

Mr.  Bannister  says  that  to-day  members  of  the  race, 
which  refused  to  receive  him  for  instruction  because  of  his 
color,  would  fill  his  room  as  pupils  at  the  first  sign  of  con- 


E.  M.  BANNISTER.  1131 

sent.  He  has  endeavored  to  score  a  victory  for  his  racein  a 
humble  way ;  what  he  has  done  seems  to  have  proven  to 
the  writer  of  the  work  on  "American  Art,"  the  possibility 
of  an  American  artist  making  his  own  way  without  the 
aid  of  foreign  study. 

Nobody,  however,  appreciates  the  good  to  be  derived  from 
such  study  more  than  he ;  his  opportunities  for  such  have* 
not  come  to  him.  So,  with  God's  help,  he  will  work  within 
his  lines  and  when  through  with  it  all,  something  left 
behind  him  may  be  accredited  to  his  race,  that  will  class 
him  among  the  old  masters  for  talent. 

With  such  an  ambition  and  with  so  laudable  a  purpose, 
may  it  not  he  hoped  that  he  will  be  sustained  in  his  aims 
and  purposes  for  the  race?  We  earnestly  hope  that  the 
worthy  persons  among  us  will  patronize  such  men  as  Ban* 
nister.  Tanner  and  Stidum  by  purchasing  their  productions 
and  placing  them  upon  the  walls  of  their  homes,  that  their 
children  may  be  inspired  to  undertake  such  a  life,  filled 
with  such  delicate  and  inspiring  purposes  as  they  have 
shown  in  silently  and  humbly  working  away  from  the 
multitude;  not  seeking  applause,  but  in  quiet  studios, 
undertaking  those  things  which  require  the  very  finest  tex- 
ture of  mind  and  heart  to  show  the  sesthetical  and  the 
love  of  the  beautiful  in  the  race. 


MBH  OP  MABE. 


CLXXVI. 
HON.  C.  C.  ANTOINE. 

Lieutenant-Go  vemor  of  Louiaiana— State  Senator— Promineat   Potiti- 


THE  ancestors  of  our  subject  transmitted  to  him  the 
characteristics  which  are  essential  to  the  greatness 
of  individuals  as  well  as  of  nations.  From  his  grand- 
mother, the  daughter  of  an  African  chief,  he  inherited  intel- 
lect, industry,  discretion  and  benevolence,  and  from  the 
father,  a  valiant  soldier  in  the  battles  about  New  Orleans 
in  1812,  came  the  upright  character  and  fearless  advocate 
of  human  rights  which  made  him  at  once  a  leader  of  his 
people. 

Before  engaging  in  public  life,  Mr.  Antoine's  industry  and 
promptness  in  all  business  transactions  brought  him  com- 
mercial success.  His  upright  character  earned  the  confi- 
dence of  all  who  knew  him.  He  worked  quietly,  and 
awaited  patiently  the  dawn  of  a  better  day.  It  came, 
finally,  with  our  late  civil  war.  After  the  Federal  troops 
occupied  the  city  and  colored  men  were  admitted  to  the 
army,  he  devoted  his  energies  to  recruiting  men  for  the 
"Native  Guards,"  When  Baton  Rouge  was  captured  by 
Dick  Taylor,  and  the  loyal  soldiers  and  citizens  were  filled 


C.  C.  ANTOINB.  1133 

with  consternation  and  alarm,  he  worked  zealonsij  until, 
within  forty-eight  hours,  he  had  raised  a  colored  company 
known  subsequently  as  Company  I,  Seventh  Louisiana 
colored  regiment.  As  captain  of  this  company  he  served 
at  Brashear,  now  Morgan  City,  and  other  points  in  the 
department  with  credit  to  himself  to  the  close  of  the  war. 

Gathering  what  worldly  goods  the  war  left  him  he  re- 
moved to  Shreveport,  Louisiana,  upon  the  declaration 
of  peace,  and  opened  a  family  grocery,  where,  with  his 
uniform  politeness,  he  gained  many  friends.  With  enfran- 
chisement and  reconstruction  he  was  naturally  drawn  into 
politics.  When  the  convention  which  framed  the  present 
constitution  of  Louisiana  was  called,  he  exerted  himself  in 
vain  to  induce  the  old  citizens  of  Caddo  to  accept  the  new 
condition  of  affairs  and  permit  the  colored  people  to  elect 
them  as  delegates  to  that  convention.  Time  has  vindi- 
cated the  wisdom  of  his  advice,  which,  had  it  been  taken, 
would  have  warded  off  many  of  the  disasters  now  com- 
plained of,  but  they  refused  to  accept  this  olive  branch  of 
peace  so  magnanimously  offered ;  they  were  not  willing  to 
"shake  hands  across  the  bloody  chasm." 

Much  against  his  own  inclination,  Mr.  Antoine  was 
elected  to  the  convention.  The  part  he  took  in  that  body 
was  prominent  and  honorable,  in  appreciation  of  which 
his  constituents  elected  him  to  the  State  Senate  under  the 
new  constitution.  While  senator,  he  faithfully  served  his 
State.  His  term  expired  in  1872.  At  the  State  nominat- 
ing convention  held  at  Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana,  in  August 
of  that  year,  he  was  unanimously  nominated  for  lieuten- 
ant-governor, a  position  which  he  filled  with  credit  and  to 


1134 


MEN  OP  MASK. 


the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  party.  So  great  was  the  eo- 
thustasm  manifested  at  his  nomtnation  that  he  was  car- 
ried bodily  to  the  rostrum,  when,  ia  his  usual  una&cted 
manner,  he  delivered  a  telling  address. 

It  has  been  said  that  few  politicians  escape  contamina- 
tion, but  Hon.  Antoine  seems  an  exception.  "  His  priYate 
and  public  life,"  says  a  State  paper,  "  is  exceptionable  and 
above  reproach." 

In  his  capacity  as  second  officer  of  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
Lieutena^t-Go^'emor  Antoine  secured  the  admiration 
and  confidence  of  his  race  and  the  respect  of  the  whites, 
and  his  good  qualities  are  acknowledged  even  by  his  polit- 
ical opponents.  A  man  of  the  strictest  integrity,  his  pri- 
vate character  is  unblemished. 

He  was  called  upon  to  discharge  the  dutiea.of  gOTemor 
on  several  occasions,  at  which  times  he  has  clearly  demon- 
strated his  ability  to  rule  by  thathappy  medium  of  suavity 
and  strength  which  never  governs  so  well  as  when  it  docs 
not  appear  to  govern  at  all. 

As  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate  he  was  impartial  in  his 
rulings,  and  an  appeal  was  very  seldom  taken  from  his 
decisions.  In  all  of  hts  official  relations  he  conducted  him* 
self  ■with  that  modesty  which  so  fully  indicates  real  merit. 
He  still  lives  an  honoredand  respected  citizen  of  Louisiana. 


JAMES  MATTHEW  TOWNSENO.  1136 


CLXXVII. 

REV.  JAMES  MATTHEW  TOWNSEND,  D.  D. 

Correspofiding  Secretary  of  the  Parent  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church— A  Man  of  Perseverance  and  Sound 
Judgment. 

JAMES  MATTHEW  TOWNSEND,  D.  D.,  was  born  in 
Gallipolis,  Ohio,  August  18,  1841.  He  was  the  only 
son  of  William  and  Mary  Ann  Townsend,  who  were  mem- 
bers  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church.  From  early  childhood  young 
Townsend  received  the  most  careful  religious  and  moral 
training  at  the  hands  of  his  parents,  who  in  the  meantime 
had  moved  to  Oxford,  Ohio.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  pro- 
fessed religion  and  united  with  the  A.  M.  E.  church,  under 
the  pastorate  of  that  great  and  good  man,  Rev.  John 
Turner.  He  had  the  advantage  of  a  common  school  educa- 
tion, and  being  inclined  to  habits  of  reading  and  thought, 
thus  laid  the  foundation  of  future  usefulness  by  years  of 
•careful  study  and  research. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  licensed  for  an  exhorter, 
and  two  years  later  a  local  preacher.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  rebellion  he  had  a  strong  conviction  that  the  war 
would  result  in  the  emancipation  of  his  race,  and  therefore 
sought  the  earliest  opportunity  to  take  up  arms  in  defense 


i 


I  . 


1136 


MEN  OF  MARK. 


/' 


of  the  Union  and  freedom.  He  enlisted  in  the  Fifty-fourth 
Massachusetts  volunteers — ^the  first  colored  regiment  to 
enter  the  service — and  remained  on  the  field  until  the  close  of 
the  war  in  1865.  On  returning  home  he  attended  Oberlin 
College  for  two  years,  during  which  time  his  father  died 
leaving  him  the  care  of  the  family.  He  secured,  through 
the  recommtodation  of  friends,  a  commission  from  the 
American  Missionary  Board,  and  subsequently  an  appoint- 
ment as  principal  of  the  colored  schools  of  Evansville, 
Indiana,  which  position  he  held  for  four  years.  During 
this  time  he  continued  his  studies,  and  in  1871  he  was  or- 
dained deacon  by  Bishop  A.  W.  Wayman.  In  December 
of  this  year  he  was  married  to  Cornelia  A.,  daughter  of 
Josiah  and  Nancy  Settle.  June,  1872,  he  was  appointed  to 
the  pastoral  charge  of  Richmond,  Indiana.  After  serving 
two  years  he  was  ordained  elder  by  Bishop  Wayman.  In 
1874  he  was  appointed  to  Terre  Haute,  Indiana.  In  1876 
he  was  elected  to  the  general  conference  and  was  elected 
assistant  secretary  of  the  same.  In  August  of  the  same 
year  he  was  appointed  to  Bethel  station,  Indianapolis^ 
and  served  two  years.  While  here  he  was  elected  by  the 
General  Missionary  Board,  which  met  in  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, as  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Parent  Home  and 
Foreign  Missionary  Society.  He  was  elected  by  accla- 
mation by  the  general  conference  in  1880  to  the  same  office, 
which  position  he  now  holds. 

He  was  also  elected  as  one  of  the  commissioners  on  ''Or- 
ganic Union,"  and  a  delegate  to  the  Ecumenical  conference 
held  in  London,  Bngland.  In  June  of  1883  he  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Wilberforce  University. 


JAMES  MATTHEW  TOWNSEND.  1137 

i 

His  name  is  prominently  mentioned  in  all  the  advanced 

movements  of  his  church,  educationally  and  otherwise; 
and  not  inf5requently  has  he  been  called  on  to  participate 
in  the  public  affairs  of  his  race. 

Dr.  Townsend  is  a  man  of  indomitable  will  and  energy 
that  knows  no  such  word  as  fail.  He  has  the  capacity  to 
organize,  and  he  can  execute  that  which  he  organizes.  This 
is  shown  in  his  plan  of  securing  an  iron  church  for  Hayti. 
He  went  to  the  Episcopal  church  mission  house;  they 
knew  nothing  of  it ;  then  he  went  to  the  Methodist ;  they 
could  not  inform  him  where  to  get  one.  An  ordinary  man 
would  have  given  up  and  said:  "If  these  large  mission 
boards  can  give  no  information,  I  need  seek  no  further." 
But  he  wrote  to  England  and  there  received  the  informa- 
tion needed,  and  eventually  contracted  for  the  church, 
went  to  London,  inspected,  and  paid  for  and  shipped  the 
iron  church.  This  iron  structure  in  Ha3rti  will  stand  as  a 
monument  to  the  love  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church  for  the  race, 
and  will  be  the  crystallization  of  the  faith  of  the  church  in 
tht  possibilities  of  the  race.  It  will  be  a  shaft  of  beauty, 
exemplifying  at  the  same  time  the  energy,  tact,  skill  and 
devotion  to  the  mission  cause — the  last  and  greatest  of 
the  missionarv  societies  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church. 

At  this  writing  we  have  been  unable  to  secure  all  the 
facts  that  we  desired  in  regard  to  Dr.  Townsend,  as  he  is 
on  a  trip  to  Hayti ;  and  so,  desiring  to  give  our  readers  a 
sketch  of  his  life,  because  he  is  a  man  of  push  and  deter- 
mination, I  have  been  compelled  to  take  the  above  as  found 
in  the  Budget  of  the  A.  M.  E.  church,  edited  by  Rev.  B. 
W.  Amett,  D.  D.,  for  the  year  1884. 


! 

I 

i 

.1 

!i 

I 

I 


J 


1138 


MEN  OP  HAHK. 
9 


I  cannot  omit  the  political  career  of  Rev.  J.  M.  Towxh 
send,  for  his  position  in  Indiana  politics  is  nnique,  isolated 
and  particularly  eminent;  for  his  townsmen  are  justly 
proud  of  him  and  the  honorable  manner  in  which  he  has 
borne  himself.  While  a  lover  of  his  race,  he  was  so  moder- 
ate in  his  dealings  with  all  men  that  he  was  able  to  secure 
the  votes  of  both  the  white  and  colored  members  of  the 
party,  and  to  take  off  the  sharp  edge  of  Democratic  spleen. 

In  the  fall  election  of  Wayne  county,  Indiana,  in  1884, 
he  was  nominated  and  elected  to  the  Legislature  of  his 
State,  and  was  a  very  devoted  member. 

At  this  time  the  Richmond  Palladium^  said : 

Wc  are  proud  of  Hon.  Jamei  M.  Townsend,  our  colored  representative. 
No  white  man  can  object  to  the  presence  of  Rev.  Townsend,  for  he  is  ao 
a£fable,  refined,  Christian  gentleman,  with  a  cultured  brain. 

The  Cambridge  Citizen  said : 

Over  wise  persons  who  were  in  haste  to  predict  that,  "  When  the  nigger 
gets  into  the  Legislature  he'll  see  how  quick  they'll  sit  down  on  him,"  arts 
respectfully  invited  to  notice  that  Mr.  Townsend  has  been  recognized  ar 
a  leading  member.  % 

Once  in  the  Legislature,  he  was  never  forgetfiil  of  his  bur- 
dened people,  so  he  introduced  a  bill  to  wipe  out  the 
"Black  Laws." 

This  bill  was  not  passed,  but  another  was,  when  he  had 
returned  home  filled  with  honor,  the  admiration  of  his  as- 
sociates and  the  gratitude  of  the  Negfro  race. 


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