Samuel Ringgold Ward
Encyclopedia
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
who escaped enslavement to become an abolitionist, newspaper editor and Congregational minister.
He was author of the influential book: Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro: his anti-slavery labours in the United States, Canada and England, written after his speeches throughout Britain in 1853. It enabled him to raise funds for the Anti-slavery Society of Canada where many escaped slaves from the USA were arriving in the 1850s.
Early life
Samuel Ringgold Ward was born into slavery in 1817 on Maryland's eastern shore but fled as a child with his parents in 1820 to New JerseyNew 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 soon relocated to New York in 1826. Once settled, Ward's parents enrolled him in at the African Free School
African Free School
The African Free School was an institution founded by the New York Manumission Society on November 2, 1787. It was founded to provide education to children of slaves and freemen.-History:...
.
Pastoral & Abolition Work
After he left school, Samuel Ward worked as a teacher and developed a keen interest in abolition. In his early 20s, in May 1839, he became licensed to preach the gospel by the New York Congregational Association, assembled at Poughkeepsie. However, in November of the same year, he was appointed the travelling agent of first the American Anti-slavery Society and afterwards the New York Anti-slavery Society, and it was not until 1841 that he first became a pastor. In April of that year he accepted the unanimous invitation of the Congregational Church of South ButlerButler, New York
Butler is a town in Wayne County, New York, United States. The population was 2,277 at the 2000 census.The Town of Butler is on the east border of the county and is west of Syracuse, New York.- History :Settlement began in 1803....
, Wayne Co.
Wayne County, New York
Wayne County is a county located in the US state of New York. It is part of the Rochester, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area and lies on the south shore of Lake Ontario, forming part of the northern border of the United States with Canada. The name honors General Anthony Wayne, an American...
, New York, to be their pastor; and in September of that year was publicly ordained as its minister (later, in 1853, Butler Congregational Church, appointed Antoinette Louisa Brown - the first woman to be ordained in the USA).
In 1843 Samuel Ward reluctantly relinquished this pastorate, having contracted a disease of the tonsils which impaired his abilities as a public speaker. In December of that year he visited Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, where he was able to commence the study of medicine with Doctors Williams and Bell.
His voice improved, and he returned to America, whereupon he was appointed pastor of the Congregational Church in Cortland Village
Cortland, New York
Cortland is a city in Cortland County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 18,740. It is the county seat of Cortland County.The City of Cortland, near the west border of the county, is surrounded by the Town of Cortlandville....
, New York, in 1846. His beliefs in the end of slavery and his oratory skills led him to politics where he joined first the Liberty Party in 1840 and later the Free Soil Party in 1848, become one of the few from the latter party that was interested in the abolitionist aspect of preventing further inclusion of slave states into the union. Other abolitionists both white and black were well aware of Ward's oratory abilities and commended his brilliant efforts in the abolitionist movement. His activities brought him in close contact with fellow orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
who said of him, "As an orator and thinker [Ward] was vastly superior to any of us" and that "the splendors of his intellect went directly to the glory of race."
Little progress had been made in America whilst he had been away and he was to record that here I saw more of the foolishness, wickedness, and at the same time the invincibility, of American Negro-hate, than I ever saw elsewhere. Whilst there, his youngest son, William Reynolds Ward, died and was buried; and two of his daughters, Emily and Alice, were born. From Cortland the family moved to Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, New York, in 1851. However the stay was brief, on account of Samuel Ward participating in the "Jerry Rescue
Jerry Rescue
The Jerry Rescue, on October 1, 1851, involved the daring, public rescue of a fugitive slave who had been arrested the same day, in Syracuse, New York, during the anti-slavery Liberty Party's state convention...
" on the first day of October in that year, leading him to emigrate in some haste to Canada, that November.
During the last few years of Samuel Ward's residence in the United States he had become editor and part owner of two newspapers; the Farmer and Northern Star, and Boston's Impartial Citizen. He was a firm believer in the need for anti-slavery labors, organizations, agitation, and newspapers and conscious of the need to keep the papers from being censured, or worse as in the death of Elijah P. Lovejoy
Elijah P. Lovejoy
Elijah Parish Lovejoy was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, newspaper editor and abolitionist. He was murdered by an opposition mob in Alton, Illinois during their attack on his warehouse to destroy his press and abolitionist materials.Lovejoy's father was a Congregational minister...
, he commenced the study of law.
Anti-Slavery Work in Britain
Samuel Ward's talents were in demand in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He was offered work by the Anti-slavery Society of Canada, who decided he should visit Britain to further their anti-slavery work. He was given the names of contacts in London who would be keen to accommodate his visit, to strengthen their own long-standing anti-slavery work, and might be willing to help organise fund-raising for anti-slavery work in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Ward's preparation paid off and he was well received in Britain early in 1853; as Samuel Ward records,
- The Rev. Thomas BinneyThomas BinneyThe Rev. Dr. Thomas Binney was an English Congregationalist divine of the 19th century, popularly known as the 'Archbishop of Nonconformity'...
, to whom I brought letters from Rev. Mr. Roaf, my pastor, received me most kindly. Mrs. Binney acted as if we had been acquainted for the preceding six-and-twenty years; and, being the first London lady with whom I had the pleasure of acquaintance, I saw in her what I have since seen in English people of all ranks, who are really genteel - a most skilful and yet an indescribably easy way of making one feel perfectly at case with them. I cannot tell how it is done.
At the annual meeting of the Congregational Union, Samuel Ward was formally introduced to the body by the Secretary, Rev. George Smith of Trinity Independent Chapel
Trinity Independent Chapel
Now a Methodist chapel, the original Trinity Independent Chapel was designed in 1840-41 by William Hosking FSA, at Poplar, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and built by John Jay....
, in company with Rev. Charles Beecher
Charles Beecher
Charles Beecher was an American minister, composer of religious hymns, and prolific author.Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the son of Lyman Beecher, an abolitionist Congregationalist preacher from Boston and Roxana Foote Beecher...
, the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
whom he had not met before. A dinner for the Congregational Ministers and delegates was organised at Radley's Hotel, at which Samuel Ward gave his first London anti-slavery speech about the need for financial support in Canada:
- The amiable Rev. James ShermanJames Sherman (minister)The Rev. James Sherman , was a Congregationalist and abolitionist; a popular preacher at The Castle Street Chapel in Reading from 1821 to 1836 and the Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars, London from 1836-54. He was successor at the Surrey Chapel to Rowland Hill...
, at that time minister of Surrey ChapelSurrey ChapelThe Surrey Chapel was an independent Methodist and Congregational church established in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London on 8 June 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill. His work was continued in 1833 by the Congregational pastor Rev. James Sherman, and in 1854 by Rev. Newman Hall. The chapel's design...
, with his accustomed kindness took me in his carriage to the dinner; and afterwards, for four months, not only made me his guest, but made his house my home. I never lived so long with any other person, on the same terms. While I live, that dear gentleman will seem to me as a most generous fatherly friend.
Samuel Ward's visit to London was, he considered, at a most fortunate time for his fund-raising endeavour, because: "of the twofold fact that Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
was in every body's hands and heart, and its gifted authoress was the English people's guest. For anti-slavery purposes, a more favourable time could not have been chosen for visiting England". As Samuel Ward further explained, "When Mrs. Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
arrived in England... the book from the one side of the Atlantic, the address (by James Sherman
James Sherman (minister)
The Rev. James Sherman , was a Congregationalist and abolitionist; a popular preacher at The Castle Street Chapel in Reading from 1821 to 1836 and the Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars, London from 1836-54. He was successor at the Surrey Chapel to Rowland Hill...
) from the other side... awakened more attention to the anti-slavery cause in England, in 1853, than had existed since the agitation of the emancipation question in 1832" . Ward, having met Mrs. Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
at the house of Rev. James Sherman
James Sherman (minister)
The Rev. James Sherman , was a Congregationalist and abolitionist; a popular preacher at The Castle Street Chapel in Reading from 1821 to 1836 and the Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars, London from 1836-54. He was successor at the Surrey Chapel to Rowland Hill...
next door to his Surrey Chapel
Surrey Chapel
The Surrey Chapel was an independent Methodist and Congregational church established in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London on 8 June 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill. His work was continued in 1833 by the Congregational pastor Rev. James Sherman, and in 1854 by Rev. Newman Hall. The chapel's design...
on Blackfriars Road
Blackfriars Road
Blackfriars Road is a road in Southwark, SE1. It runs between St George's Circus at the southern end and Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames at the northern end, leading to the City of London. Halfway up on the west side is Southwark tube station, on the corner with The Cut...
, in May 1853, was invited to stay at the 'Surrey Chapel Parsonage' along with Mrs Stowe's husband, the Rev. Dr. Stowe, and brother Rev. C. Beecher
Charles Beecher
Charles Beecher was an American minister, composer of religious hymns, and prolific author.Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the son of Lyman Beecher, an abolitionist Congregationalist preacher from Boston and Roxana Foote Beecher...
, for three weeks.
On 7 June 1853 Samuel Ward was able to deliver his major London anti-slavery speech, and had secured 'Lord' Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury , styled Lord Ashley between 1851 and 1885, was a British peer, the son of the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury....
to take the chair. Ward's address had a successful impact, for almost immediately - 21 June - it led to the formation of a London Committee to seek financial support for the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada. The Committee comprised 'Lord' Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury , styled Lord Ashley between 1851 and 1885, was a British peer, the son of the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury....
, Rev. J. Sherman
James Sherman (minister)
The Rev. James Sherman , was a Congregationalist and abolitionist; a popular preacher at The Castle Street Chapel in Reading from 1821 to 1836 and the Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars, London from 1836-54. He was successor at the Surrey Chapel to Rowland Hill...
, and S. H. Horman-Fisher, with G. W. Alexander its treasurer. This led to several months of hectic speaking engagements for Samuel Ward. He received invitations to speak at the London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
, kindred charities, and the pulpits of the most distinguished Dissenting divines in the land. Travelling in these causes took him to almost every county in England, and then on to Scotland. After just ten months, some £1,200 had been donated and it was possible to bring the organising committee to a close. A final, large meeting was held at Crosby Hall on the 20th of March, 1854, chaired by Samuel Gurney
Samuel Gurney
Samuel Gurney was an English banker and philanthropist.He should not be confused with his second son, Samuel , also described as banker and philanthropist, and a Member of Parliament.-Early years and marriage:...
, where Samuel Ward was accompanied by many of those who had helped him - Rev. James Sherman
James Sherman (minister)
The Rev. James Sherman , was a Congregationalist and abolitionist; a popular preacher at The Castle Street Chapel in Reading from 1821 to 1836 and the Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars, London from 1836-54. He was successor at the Surrey Chapel to Rowland Hill...
, Samuel Horman Horman-Fisher, L. A. Chamerovzow, Esq., Rev. James Hamilton D.D., Rev. John Macfarlane, and Josiah Conder
Josiah Conder (editor and author)
Josiah Conder, sometimes spelt Condor, , correspondent of Robert Southey and well connected to romantic authors of his day, was editor of the British literary magazine The Eclectic Review, the Nonconformist and abolitionist newspaper The Patriot, the author of romantic verses, poetry, and many...
.
Samuel Ward' success enabled the Anti-slavery society of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to finance its work in support of escaped slaves from the USA, and in the following year, 1855 Ward published his influential book recounting all that he had achieved. The proceeds enabled him to retire to Jamaica.
Death and Memory
Samuel Ringgold Ward died in 1866 after spending his last eleven years of life as a minister and farmer in Jamaica.External links and references
- Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro: His Anti-Slavery Labours in the United States, Canada, & England. London: John Snow, 35, Paternoster Row, 1855.
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Ward, Ringgold Samuel. Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro: His Anti-slavery Labours in the United States, Canada, & England. John Snow: London: John Snow, 1855. accessed on 23 October 2005 at http://docsouth.unc.edu/wards/menu.html
- Price, Monique. Samuel Ringgold Ward. 2004. 5 Feb. 2008.
Published books
- Ward, Samuel Ringgold (1855; reprinted 1970 and 1996) Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro: his anti-slavery labours in the United States, Canada and England'. 1st edn Totonto: John Snow.
- Burke, Ronald K. "Samuel Ringgold Ward: Christian Abolitionist." New York & London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995
Dissertations
- Burke, Ronald K. "Samuel Ringgold Ward: Christian Abolitionist." Ph.D. diss., Syracuse University, 1975.
Journals
- Burke, Ronald K. "THE IMPARTIAL CITIZEN of Samuel Ringgold Ward." Journalism Quarterly 49 (1972): 759-760.
- _______ "The Antislavery Activities of Samuel Ringgold Ward in New York State." Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, 2 (1978) 17-28.
- _______Samuel Ringgold Ward and Black Abolitionism: Rhetoric of Assimilated Christology." The Journal of Communicztion and Religion. 19 (1996) 61-71.