Ralph Randolph Gurley
Encyclopedia
Ralph Randolph Gurley was a clergyman, an advocate of the separation of the races and a major force in the American Colonization Society
, which offered passage to their colony in west Africa (now Liberia
), to free black Americans.
He was born in Lebanon, Connecticut
, and graduated from Yale College
, B.A. in 1818. He moved to Washington, D.C. and was licensed to preach as a Presbyterian, but was never ordained. Nevertheless, he served as Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives
for the 21st and 22nd Congresses and again for the 30th and 31st, opening each day's proceedings with a prayer. From 1822 till 1872 he acted as the agent and secretary of the American Colonization Society. In the will of ex-President James Madison
, $2000 was bequeathed through Gurley to the Society http://www.jamesmadisonmus.org/resources/will.htm. Gurley visited Africa three times in the Society's interests, and was one of the founders of Liberia, which he named. He also went to England to solicit aid in the work of colonization, always expressing the highest motives:
During the first ten years of his agency the annual income of the society increased from $778 to $40,000. He travelled widely to deliver addresses in its behalf, edited its public-relations organ The African Repository and Colonial Journal and wrote a Life of Jehudi Ashmun
(1835), a secretary of the Society, reported his Mission to England for the American Colonization Society (1841) and an encomium, the Life and Eloquence of Reverend Sylvester Larned (1844).
In his biography of Ashmun (1835), Gurley wrote
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...
, which offered passage to their colony in west Africa (now 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...
), to free black Americans.
He was born in Lebanon, Connecticut
Lebanon, Connecticut
Lebanon is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,907 at the 2000 census. The town lies just to the northwest of Norwich, north of New London, and east of Hartford...
, and graduated from Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
, B.A. in 1818. He moved to Washington, D.C. and was licensed to preach as a Presbyterian, but was never ordained. Nevertheless, he served as Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives
Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives
The election of William Linn as Chaplain of the House on May 1, 1789, continued the tradition established by the Continental Congresses of each day's proceedings opening with a prayer by a chaplain. The early Chaplains alternated duties with their Senate counterparts on a weekly basis, covering the...
for the 21st and 22nd Congresses and again for the 30th and 31st, opening each day's proceedings with a prayer. From 1822 till 1872 he acted as the agent and secretary of the American Colonization Society. In the will of ex-President James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
, $2000 was bequeathed through Gurley to the Society http://www.jamesmadisonmus.org/resources/will.htm. Gurley visited Africa three times in the Society's interests, and was one of the founders of Liberia, which he named. He also went to England to solicit aid in the work of colonization, always expressing the highest motives:
- How should Virginians universally rejoice in the great evidences of Civilization growing & expanding on the west coast of Africa, through civilized Africans sent forth from their homes! (letter, November 4, 1857)
During the first ten years of his agency the annual income of the society increased from $778 to $40,000. He travelled widely to deliver addresses in its behalf, edited its public-relations organ The African Repository and Colonial Journal and wrote a Life of Jehudi Ashmun
Jehudi Ashmun
Jehudi Ashmun was a religious leader and social reformer who became involved in the American Colonization Society...
(1835), a secretary of the Society, reported his Mission to England for the American Colonization Society (1841) and an encomium, the Life and Eloquence of Reverend Sylvester Larned (1844).
In his biography of Ashmun (1835), Gurley wrote
- The friends of African Colonization have thought, that the consent of the South was indispensable for the safe abolition of slavery; that the work should be done with caution and preparation; that circumstances and consequences should be regarded; that a separation of races so distinct as the coloured and white in complexion, habits and condition is desirable for the happiness of both.
External links
- Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Lott Cary in "Life of Jehudi Ashmun, Late Colonial Agent in Liberia." Washington: James C. Dunn, 1835.
- Appleton's Encyclopedia
- Letter, November 4 1857 to Dr. James H. Minor of Virginia quoted in the entry
- Chaplains of the US House of Representatives
- James Madison's will and testament