Eli Ayers was a physician and the first colonial agent

Agents and Governors of Liberia

The following is a list of Agents and Governors of Liberia, made up of the 14 agents and two governors of the American Colonization Society from 1822 until Liberia's independence in 1847...

 of the American Colonization Society

American Colonization Society

The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...

 in what would later become Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

. He was born in 1778 in Shiloh

Shiloh, Cumberland County, New Jersey

Shiloh is a borough in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Vineland-Millville- Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area for statistical purposes...

 in New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 and married Elizabeth West in 1812. He practiced medicine in Woodbury

Woodbury, New Jersey

Woodbury is a city in Gloucester County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, 10,307 residents were counted. Woodbury is the county seat of Gloucester County....

, New Jersey. On August 7, 1821 he left New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 for West Africa on the USS Shark

USS Shark (1821)

The first USS Shark was a schooner in the United States Navy. Built in the Washington Navy Yard, Shark was launched on 17 May 1821. On 11 May 1821, Matthew C. Perry was ordered to take command of Shark, and the ship was ready to receive her crew on 2 June 1821.-History:Shark sailed from the...

. Together with Robert F. Stockton

Robert F. Stockton

Robert Field Stockton was a United States naval commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican-American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-powered navy. Stockton was from a notable political family and also served as a U.S...

 of the USS Alligator

USS Alligator (1820)

The third USS Alligator was a schooner in the United States Navy. On 6 June 1996, the site of its wreck was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places....

 he negotiated a treaty with six tribal kings on the purchase of land at Cape Mesurado

Cape Mesurado

Cape Mesurado is a headland on the coast of Liberia near the capital Monrovia and the mouth of the Saint Paul River. It was named Cape Mesurado by Portuguese sailors in the 1560s...

. He served as the colonial agent of the American Colonization society from December 15, 1821 until his death on April 25, 1822.