LOTT CAREY.
PRINCIPALLY FROM GURLEY'S LIFE OF ASHMUN.
This interesting individual was born a slave, on the estate of William A. Christian, in Charles City county, about thirty miles below Richmond. In 1804, he was sent to that city, and hired out by the year as a common laborer at the Shockoe warehouse. At that time, and for two or three years after, he was excessively profane, and much addicted to intoxication.
But God, who is rich in mercy, was pleased to awaken him to a sense of his lost estate; and in the year 1807, he made open profession of his faith in the Saviour. A sermon which he heard about that time, founded on our Lord's interview with Nicodemus, awakened in him so strong a desire to be able to read and write, that he obtained a Testament, and commenced learning his letters, by trying to read the chapter in which that interview is recorded.
He was occasionally instructed by young gentlemen at the warehouse, though he never attended a regular school. In a little time, he was able to read and write, so as to make dray tickets, and superintend the shipping of tobacco. In this business, and in overseeing the labor of the other hands in the warehouse, he was particularly useful; so much so, that he received 800 dollars salary in 1820, the last year he remained there; and he could have received a larger sum, if he would have continued.
In the year 1813, he bought himself and his two little children (his wife being dead) for 850 dollars, and thus became free. The manner in which he obtained this sum of money to purchase himself and his children, reflects much credit on his character. It will be seen from the salary he received after he was free, and which he relinquished for the sake of doing good in Africa, that his services at the warehouse were highly estimated; but of their real value, no one except a dealer in tobacco can form an idea. Notwithstanding the hundreds of hogsheads that were committed to his charge, he could produce any one the instant it was called for; and the shipments were made with a promptness and correctness, such as no person has equalled in the same situation. For this correctness and fidelity, he was highly esteemed, and frequently rewarded by the merchant with a five-dollar note. He was allowed also to sell for his benefit many small parcels of waste tobacco. It was by saving the little sums obtained in this way, with the aid of a subscription by the merchants to whose interests he had been attentive, that he procured these 850 dollars which he paid for the freedom of himself and children. When the colonists were fitted out for Africa, he defrayed a considerable part of his own expense. With a design to improve his condition, he emigrated to Africa among the first settlers of Liberia, where he was the means of doing much good to both colonists and natives.
In reply to one of his friends, who desired to know what inducement he had for going to Africa, when he was already so comfortably situated, he said, "I am an African; and in this country, however meritorious my conduct and respectable my character, I cannot receive the credit due to either. I wish to go to a country where I shall be estimated by my merits, not by my complexion. And I likewise feel bound to labor for my suffering race."
Soon after he made a profession of religion he commenced holding meetings and exhorting among the colored people; and, though he had scarcely any knowledge of books, and but little acquaintance with mankind, he would frequently exhibit a boldness of thought, and a strength of native intellect, which no acquirement could ever have given him.
At the close of his farewell sermon, on his departure for Africa, he remarked in substance as follows: "I am about to leave you; and I expect to see your faces no more. I long to preach to the poor Africans the way of life and salvation. I don't know what may befall me—whether I may find a grave in the ocean, or among the savage men, or more savage wild beasts, on the coast of Africa: nor am I anxious what may become of me; I feel it my duty to go.
"I very much fear that many of those who preach the gospel in this country will blush when the Saviour calls them to give an account of their labors in His cause, and tells them, 'I commanded you to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'" And with the most forcible emphasis he exclaimed, "The Saviour may ask, 'Where have you been? What have you been doing? Have you endeavored to the utmost of your ability to fulfil the commands I gave you? or have you sought your own gratification and your own ease, regardless of my commands?'"
In his new home, his intellectual ability, firmness of purpose, unbending integrity, correct judgment, and disinterested benevolence, caused him to be beloved and respected, and gave him great influence: and he soon rose to honorable distinction. The interests of the colony, and the cause of his countrymen, in both Africa and America, were very near to his heart. For them he was willing to toil, and to make almost any sacrifice; and he frequently declared that no possessions in America could induce him to return.
He possessed a constitution peculiarily fitted for toil and exposure, and he felt the effects of the climate perhaps less than any other individual in the colony. During the sickly season of the year, he was usually wholly employed in attending the sick; and for more than a year, they had no other physician among them. The little medical information he had obtained from Dr. Ayres and others on the coast, together with several years' experience, enabled him successfully to contend with the peculiar fevers of the climate.
Under date of March 12th, 1824, shortly after the arrival of the Cyrus with 105 emigrants, he wrote: "The fever began about the 24th ult., and on the 28th we had thirty-eight cases; and by the 2d inst. we had sixty-six under the operation of medicine; and at present, I have about a hundred cases of fever to contend with; but we have been very much favored, for they all appear to be on the recovery, and we have lost none, saving three children. I have very little time to write to you, myself being the only man that will venture to act in the capacity of a physician."
The managers of the American Colonization Society, in 1825, invited Carey to visit the United States, in the expectation that his intelligent and candid statements, concerning the condition and prospects of the colony and the moral wants of Africa, would exert a beneficial influence on the opinions of the people of color, and recommend the cause of the society to the public regard.
In the month of April, 1826, he made arrangements to embark in the Indian Chief, on her return from taking a large number of emigrants to the colony, and received from Ashmun testimonials of his worth and services. The following is an extract from a letter from Ashmun to the managers of the Colonization Society:
"The Rev. Lott Carey has, in my opinion, some claims on the justice of the society, or the government of the United States, or both, which merit consideration. These claims arise out of a long and faithful course of medical services rendered to this colony. More than one-half of his time has been given up to the care of the sick, from the day I landed in Africa to the very moment of stating the fact. He has personally aided, in every way that fidelity and benevolence could dictate, in all the attentions which our sick have in so long a period received.
"Several times have these disinterested labors reduced him to the very verge of the grave. He has hitherto received no compensation, either from the society or the government, for these services. I need not add, that it has not been in his power to support himself and family, by any use he could make of the remnants of the time left him, after discharging the amount of duties devolving upon him. In addition, he has the care of the liberated Africans."
Until near the time of the Indian Chief's departure, he cherished the hope of embarking in her for America. But as there was no other physician in the colony, it was finally thought best for him to postpone his departure until another opportunity.
Notwithstanding he on one occasion manifested a disposition for insubordination, yet, like a wise man and a Christian, he soon saw his error, and acknowledged it with humility and submission. He was elected in September, 1826, to the vice-agency of the colony, and discharged the duties of that important office until his death.
In his good sense, moral worth, public spirit, courage, resolution, and decision, the colonial agent had perfect confidence. He knew that in times of difficulty or of danger, full reliance might be placed upon the energy and efficiency of Carey.
When compelled, in the early part of 1828, to leave the colony, Ashmun committed the administration of the colonial affairs into the hands of the vice-agent, in the full belief that no interest would be betrayed, but that his efforts would be constantly and anxiously directed to the promotion of the public good.
Soon after Carey wrote thus: "Feeling very sensibly my incompetency to enter upon the duties of my office, without first making all the officers of the colony well acquainted with the principal objects which should engage our attention, I invited them to meet at the Agency House on the 27th, at nine o'clock, which was punctually attended to, and I then read all the instructions left by Mr. Ashmun, without reserve, and requested their co-operation. To get the new settlers located on their lands, was a very important item in my instructions; and I trust, through the blessing of the great Ruler of events, we shall be able to realize all the expectations of Mr. Ashmun."
He soon purchased a large tract of land for the Colonization Society of the native kings; and further said, "Captain Russell will be able to give something like a fair account of the state of our improvements, as he went with me to visit the settlements, and seemed pleased with the prospect at Millsburg, Caldwell, and the Halfway Farms."
For about six months after the departure of Ashmun from the colony, Carey stood at its head, and conducted himself with such energy and wisdom as to do honor to his previous reputation, and fix the seal upon his enviable fame. But, alas! he was suddenly and unexpectedly, and in a distressing manner, forced from life, in all its vigor, by the explosion of gunpowder, on the 8th of November, in which eight persons lost their lives.
Carey was thrice married, and thrice he was left a widower. His first wife died, as before related, previous to his becoming free. His second wife died at Foura Bay, near Sierra Leone, shortly after arriving in Africa. Of her triumphant death, he has given a most affecting account in his journal of that date. His third wife died at Cape Montserado. She was the daughter of Richard Sampson, from Petersburg.
It has been very well said of Carey, that he was one of nature's noblemen. Had he possessed the advantages of education, few men of his age would have excelled him in knowledge or genius. To found a Christian colony which might prove a blessed asylum to his degraded brethren in America, and enlighten and regenerate Africa, was, in his view, an object with which no temporal good, not even life, could be compared.
The strongest sympathies of his nature were excited in behalf of his unfortunate people, and the divine promise cheered and encouraged him in his labors for their improvement and salvation. A main pillar in the society and church of Liberia has fallen! But we will not despond. The memorial of his worth shall never perish. It shall stand in a clearer light, when every chain is broken, and Christianity shall have assumed her sway over the millions of Africa.