John Ury
Encyclopedia
John Ury was a white itinerant teacher who was suspected of being a Catholic priest and a Spanish spy during the New York Slave Insurrection of 1741
. His ability to read Latin was cited as proof of this. Which denomination he actually belonged to is uncertain. The Catholic Encyclopedia
mentions him as "a Catholic priest, who had exercised unostentatiously his sacred ministry in New Jersey
, and had been engaged for about twelve months in teaching at Burlington, New Jersey
." He is said to have been opposed to the Glorious Revolution of 1689
.
He was the son of a former Secretary of the South Sea Company and a non-jurist.
He was named by Mary Burton, the prosecution's main witness, as "the real power behind the slave conspiracy." Based on this, he was taken into custody on June 24, 1741. He was arrained on 15 July and 22 July.
Having no lawyer willing to defend him, he defended himself at the trial. Throughout, Ury expressed his innocence. The chief prosecutor was Attorney General Richard Bradley.
He was officially found guilty of conspiracy.
He was convicted on July 29, 1741 and hanged on August 29, 1741.
New York Slave Insurrection of 1741
The Conspiracy of 1741, also known as the Negro Plot of 1741 or the Slave Insurrection of 1741, was a supposed plot by slaves and poor whites in the British colony of New York in 1741 to revolt and level New York City with a series of fires...
. His ability to read Latin was cited as proof of this. Which denomination he actually belonged to is uncertain. The Catholic Encyclopedia
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
mentions him as "a Catholic priest, who had exercised unostentatiously his sacred ministry 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 had been engaged for about twelve months in teaching at Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....
." He is said to have been opposed to the Glorious Revolution of 1689
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
.
He was the son of a former Secretary of the South Sea Company and a non-jurist.
He was named by Mary Burton, the prosecution's main witness, as "the real power behind the slave conspiracy." Based on this, he was taken into custody on June 24, 1741. He was arrained on 15 July and 22 July.
Having no lawyer willing to defend him, he defended himself at the trial. Throughout, Ury expressed his innocence. The chief prosecutor was Attorney General Richard Bradley.
He was officially found guilty of conspiracy.
He was convicted on July 29, 1741 and hanged on August 29, 1741.
Sources
- Martin Ignatius Joseph Griffin, The trial of John Ury (1899)
- "The Dying Speech of John Ury" (FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, 1741) - The Defence of John Ury (Philadelphia: Franklin, 1741). http://pblib.utpb.edu/MARION/ABP-0863
- George Washington WilliamsGeorge Washington WilliamsGeorge Washington Williams was an American Civil War veteran, minister, politician and historian. Shortly before his death he travelled to King Leopold II's Congo Free State and his open letter to Leopold about the suffering of the region's inhabitants at the hands of Leopold's agents, helped to...
, History of the Negro Race in America From 1619 to 1880. Vol 1. Project Gutenberg EBook - William Cullen BryantWilliam Cullen BryantWilliam Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.-Youth and education:...
and Sydney Howard Gay, A Popular History of the United States, Vol. III, New York (1879), pp. 239-40. (http://www.archive.org/details/3704730.1-4) - http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SAF/is_1_29/ai_n9772269#continue
- Legacy: A Panicked Response To the 'Great Negro Plot'
- A List of White Persons taken into Custody on Account of the 1741 Conspiracy
- Terror in New York—1741 - Edwin Hoey, American Heritage Magazine, June 1974
- William Cooper NellWilliam Cooper NellWilliam Cooper Nell was an African-American abolitionist, journalist, author, and civil servant who worked for school integration in Boston. Writing for The Liberator and The North Star, he helped publicize the anti-slavery cause...
- The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons: To Which Is Added a Brief Survey of the Condition And Prospects of Colored Americans: Electronic Edition. (1855)