DOCUMENTS
Letters, Addresses, and the like throwing Light on the Career of Lott Cary[1]
Philadelphia, January 6, 1621 (1821).
The Board of Managers of the General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States, to their coloured brethren, Collin Teage and Lott Carey, present the assurance of their sincere affectionate esteem. They have heard with pleasure, that, by a vessel about to sail from Norfolk to the coast of Africa, an opportunity is presented for accomplishing those benevolent desires which, for many months past, you have been led to entertain. At the present time, they possess a deep anxiety for your preservation in a country where so many colonists have frequently found a grave. They most fervently commend you to the gracious protection of that God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways. May you make the Lord your refuge, even the Most High your habitation. It is a source of much encouragement that you will be able to collect useful information from the experience of your predecessors; and it is hoped that by the advice of your brethren who have already reached the shores of your forefathers, you will be enabled to adopt the most prudent measures for the health and safety of yourselves and families.
The Board earnestly recommend, what they cheerfully anticipate, that your conduct before your fellow passengers on the ocean, be pious and exemplary. Endeavour to secure their good will by every office of kindness; and, above all, cherish and discover a solemn concern for their everlasting salvation. Arrived in Africa, you will find much that will require patience, and prudence, and mutual counsel. You will have to bear with prejudices that have descended on the minds of the inhabitants, after having been cherished for ages, and to instil the sacred truths of the gospel with meekness and wisdom. While your conversation shall be without blame, the Board advise you in your ministry to dwell much on the doctrine of the cross, a doctrine which has been found in every age of the church of Christ, the power of God.
Have as little to do as possible with what may be called the politics of the country. Be content with the silence so divinely exemplified in the Lord Jesus and his apostles to render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's. Cultivate a tender regard for each other. If difference of opinion on any measures occur, never suffer it to produce alienation of affection. You have already had opportunities of improving your minds by reading, and the Board are gratified by the reflection that you bear with your books that are calculated to add to your general and spiritual knowledge.
Give yourselves to reading still; and, above all, let the word of God dwell in you richly. Be much engaged in prayer. If troubles rise around you, the delightful thought that you have a Father, a Saviour, in heaven, with whom you are so happy as to hold communion, will not only soften their severity, but in a good degree elevate you above their influence.
Let nothing discourage you. Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands unto God. You are engaged in the service of Him who can make the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.
The Board wish you, as you shall find opportunity, to write. They will rejoice to hear that a church, on the principles of the gospel, is founded as the fruit of your labours. They trust that at no distant period, many such churches will rise, and the solitary place be glad for them. They will be happy to facilitate your prosperity to the utmost of their power.
They pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ may be with you, with your families, and with all who sail or settle with you; and that the American Colonization Society, and all its sister institutions, may be rendered instrumental in diffusing literary, economical, and evangelic light, from the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope, and from the Atlantic to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
By order of the Board,
Wm. Staughton, Cor. Sec'ry.
Seventh Report of the Board of Managers of the General Convention, in The Latter Day Luminary, Vol. II, pp. 396f.
A Resolution
A communication having been received from the Petersburg African Mission Society, and also from brother Colston W. Waring, a preacher of colour at Petersburg, desiring the patronage of this Board in favour of the said Waring, as a missionary to Africa.
Resolved, That the said communications impart pleasure to this body, and that the Board will cheerfully countenance and encourage the said Waring as their missionary to Africa, provided the expenses of his outfit, &c. can be met by his own resources and those of his brethren in that quarter.
Sixth Annual Report of the Board, in The Latter Day Luminary, Vol. II, p. 134.
A Contract
KNOW ALL MEN, That this Contract, made on the fifteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred twenty-one, between King Peter, King George, King Zoda, and King L. Peter, their Princes and Head-men, of the one part; and Captain Robert F. Stockton and Eli Ayres, of the other part; WITNESSETH, That whereas certain persons Citizens of the United States of America, are desirous to establish themselves on the Western Coast of Africa, and have invested Captain Robert F. Stockton and Eli Ayres with full powers to treat with and purchase from us the said Kings, Princes, and Head-men, certain Lands, viz: Dozoa Island, and also all that portion of Land bounded north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south and east by a line drawn in a south-east direction from the north of Mesurado river, We, the said Kings, Princes, and Head-men, being fully convinced of the Pacific and just views of the said Citizens of America, and being desirous to reciprocate the friendship and affection expressed for us and our people, DO HEREBY, in consideration of so much paid in hand, viz: Six muskets, one box Beads, two hogsheads Tobacco, one cask Gunpowder, six bars Iron, ten iron Pots, one dozen Knives and Forks, one dozen Spoons, six pieces blue Baft, four Hats, three Coats, three pair Shoes, one box Pipes, one keg Nails, twenty Looking-glasses, three pieces Handkerchiefs, three pieces Calico, three Canes, four Umbrellas, one box Soap, one barrel Rum; And to be paid, the following: three casks Tobacco, one box Pipes, three barrels Rum, twelve pieces cloth, six bars Iron, one box Beads, fifty Knives, twenty Looking-glasses, ten iron Pots different sizes, twelve Guns, three barrels Gunpowder, one dozen Plates, one dozen Knives and Forks, twenty Hats, five casks Beef, five barrels Pork, ten barrels Biscuit, twelve Decanters, twelve glass Tumblers, and fifty Shoes, FOR EVER CEDE AND RELINQUISH the above described Lands, with all thereto appertaining or belonging, or reputed so to belong, to Captain Robert F. Stockton and Eli Ayres, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said Premises, for the use of these said Citizens of America. And we, the said Kings, and Princes, and Head-men, do further pledge ourselves that we are the lawful owners of the above described Land, without manner of condition, limitation, or other matter.
The contracting Parties pledge themselves to live in peace and friendship for ever; and do further contract, not to make war, or otherwise molest or disturb each other.
We, the Kings, Princes, and Head-men, for a proper consideration by us received, do further agree to build for the use of the said Citizens of America, six large houses, on any place selected by them within the above described tract of ceded land.
In WITNESS whereof, the said Kings, Princes, and Head-men, of the one part; and Captain Robert Stockton and Eli Ayres, of the other part; do set their hands to this Covenant, on the day and year above written.
(Signed)
King Peter, X his mark.
King George, X his mark.
King Zoda, X his mark.
King Long Peter, X his mark.
King Governor, X his mark.
King Jimmy, X his mark.(Signed)
Captain Robert F. Stockton.
Eli Ayres, M.D.Witness, (Signed)
John S. Mill.
John Craig.
Agreement With J. S. Mill
I HEREBY CONTRACT, for the consideration of one barrel of Rum, one tierce of Tobacco, one barrel of Bread, one barrel of Beef, one barrel of Pork, and one piece of trade Cloth, to give to Captain R. F. Stockton and Eli Ayres all my right and title to the Houses situated on the Land bought by them on Cape Mesurado.
In Witness whereof, I have here unto signed my name, on this sixteenth day of December, one thousand eight hundred twenty-one.
(Signed) John S. Mill.
Witness, (Signed)
Charles Carey, X his mark.
William Rodgers, X his mark.We promise to present to Charles Carey, one Coat.
(Signed) R. F. Stockton.
Eli Ayres.The Fifth Annual Report of the American Colonization Society, pp. 64-66.
L—— C——.
A black man, has been a member of this Colony since the beginning of the year 1820. He made a profession of religion in America: but never never since I knew him, either discharged its duties, or evinced much of its spirit, till within the last ten months. He was a man of good natural sense, but wretched in the extreme; and the cause of equal wretchedness to his young family. His wife, naturally of a mild and placid temper, failed in almost every thing to please him, or prevent the constant outbreakings of his morose and peevish humor. He was her tyrant—and so instinct with malevolence, the vain conceit of superiority, jealousy, and obstinate pride, as to resemble more an Arab of the desert, or a person destitute of natural affection, than a person by education and in name, a Christian. As a neighbor, his feelings were so soured and narrow, as to render him disobliging, suspicious, and equally an object of general dislike and neglect. His heart was a moral desert—no kind affection seemed to stir within it; and the bitter streams which it discharged had spread a moral desolation around him, and left him the solitary victim of his own corroding temper.
Such an ascendant had these evil qualities over the other faculties of his mind as in a great measure to dim the light of reason, and render him as a subject of the colonial government, no less perverse and untractable, than he was debased and wretched, as a man.
Several times have the laws, which guard the peace of our little community, been called in, to check the excesses of his turbulent passions, by supplying the weakness of more ingenuous motives. Still this person discovered, in the midst of this wreck of moral excellence, a few remaining qualities, on which charity might fix the hope of his recovery to virtue, usefulness and happiness. But these were few, and mostly of a negative kind. He was not addicted to profane discourse. He allowed himself in no intemperate indulgences. He observed towards sacred institutions a cold, but still an habitual respect. And, strange as the fact may seem, he was laborious in his avocations, even to severe drudgery, and equally a stranger to avarice, and a passion for a vain ostentation. Whether these relieving traits of his character were the effects of habit, produced by the influence of former piety; or whether they were the result of constitutional temperament, or of education, is not for me to decide. But such was L. C., until the autumn of 1824; when not only a reform but an absolute reversal, of every perverse disposition and habit in the revolting catalogue of his character took place. A more obliging and affectionate husband I am convinced is not to be found on the Cape, few in the world! And there is no appearance of constraint, or affection in this display of tenderness. It is uniform, untiring, cordial, and increasing, as far as it is permitted to any one, except the Searcher of hearts, to judge. In all his intercourse with his family, and neighbors, he carries with him, an inimitable air of sweet and profound humility. You would pronounce it to be the meekness of the heart springing from some deep-felt sentiment of the interior of the mind. But so far from abasing the possessor, in the estimation of others, this very trait commands their respect, and their love. It gives to him a value, which he never appeared to possess before. Ten months have I now had daily opportunities to observe this altered man in a great variety of circumstances, and some of them, it must be confessed, sufficiently trying. In one instance, I have had to regret, and censure the appearance of that perversity which made an important part of his character. But happily this fit of turbulence was of short duration; and some months have passed since, without witnessing a repetition of the infirmity. Were I this evening asked to name a man in the Colony, who would most carefully guard against offending, or causing even a momentary pain to any of his fellow-men, I should not hesitate to say that in my judgment, the man is L. C. On this point I insist, because it was precisely in his revolting and unfeeling churlishness, that his greatest and most incurable infirmity seemed to consist. I hardly need add, were silence not liable to misconstruction, that the duties and ordinances of religion are matters of his most devout and diligent observance. How often have I been awaked at dawn of Sabbath, by his devout strains of prayer and praise, sent up from the midst of a little company of praying people, who at that hour assemble for religious exercises in a vacant building near my residence. How sure am I to find him reverently seated in his place, among the earliest who assemble in the house of God. What an active promoter of every commendable and pious design, is sure to be found in him.
Every laudable habit, which had survived the general extinction of all practical virtue, seems to have acquired additional confirmation: and from the operation of higher principles, seems to follow of course, and derive the best guaranty of its continuance. I might go on to particularize; but it would only be to fill up the outline already sketched, and which, whether relating to his former or his present character, however, imperfect, is strictly true. Ask of him the cause of so obvious and surprising a change, and he humbly, but unhesitatingly ascribes it wholly to the power of the Divine Spirit, operating, he cannot tell how, but evidently by means of the word and ordinances of God, upon his whole mind. Such was the origin of this great moral renovation, and such are the agency and means by which its effects are sustained, and under the operation of which they are beginning to combine into a habit of holiness. He rejoices in the hope of its duration to the end of life, solely he would say from the confidence he has in the immutable love and faithfulness of the Holy Being, who has wrought so great a work in him. And let philosophers cavil and doubt, if they must; but this man's example is a refutation in fact of a thousand of their sceptical theories. He is a new man, and the change was effected chiefly before discipline, or example, had time to work it. He is an honest man, and soberly asserts that to his certain knowledge he did not perform the work himself. But where is the example to be found of such and so great a change, wrought by mortal means? The history of the human race is challenged to produce it. To God then who created man, to Christ who redeemed him, and to the Holy Ghost who sanctifies him, be ascribed without abatement, or reserve, the power and the grace displayed in this and every similar instance of the conversion of a blind, and hardened and wretched sinner.
Gurley, Life of Jehudi Ashmun, appendix, pp. 136-138.
"June 16th, 1827."To the Rev. R. R. Gurley.
"Rev. and Dear Sir, I transmit to you a few lines, which I trust may find you well. The last emigrants that you sent out, has fared remarkably well, as it respects the disease; we have only lost two children. We have several cases of bad ulcers; and from seeing advertised in the Compiler of Richmond, a medicine called Swaim's Panacea, said to be a sure cure for ulcers; please try if possible to procure some, and send out, for we should have very healthy inhabitants at present, but for the prevalence of that uncontrolable disease. We are also in want of Salts, Castor-oil, Cream of Tartar, mignesea, and Mustard, as much as you can send well put up. I am greatly in hopes to be over the next spring, and try to wake up my colored friends in Virginia. We have a plan in contemplation which if accomplished will, I think insure my making one visit to America, that is, to purchase, or aid in the purchase of a vessel to run constantly from this, to America, to bring out our own supplies, emigrants, &c. I hope sir, when such an attempt is made you will facilitate it all that you can.
"I think that you would be pleased with the improvements that we have made since you left if you were to make another visit to this country—both our civil and religious state I think has improved very much. No more but wishing that the blessing of the Lord may attend you, both in your public and private life, and the Board of Managers, in all their administrations.
"Yours, &c.
"Lott Cary."Gurley, Life of Jehudi Ashmun, appendix, p. 153.
Appendix F
"Monrovia, April 24th, 1826.
"Rev. and Dear Sir: I received your letter sent to me by the order of the Board of Managers of the American Colonization Society; and I expected until a few days ago that the return of the Indian Chief, would have enabled me in all respects to have realized their wishes. But on a more minute examination of the subject, Mr. Ashmun and myself both were apprehensive that my leaving the Colony at present, would endanger the lives of a number of the inhabitants; Mr. Ashmun, however, has made a full statement to the Board, which I have no doubt will be satisfactory to them. I think that through the blessing of the Almighty, I shall be able to get the last expedition through the fever with very little loss; we have lost only three, the Rev. Mr. Trueman, from Baltimore, and two children belonging to the Paxton family. But the emigrants who came out in the Vine, have suffered very much; we lost twelve of them. The action of the disease was more powerful with them than is common—they unfortunately arrived here in the most sickly month in the year, February. I am strongly of the opinion, sir, that if the people of New England leave there in the winter, that the transition is so great, that you may count upon a loss of half at least. They may, in my estimation, with safety, leave in the months from April to November, and arrive here in good time; I think it to be a matter of great importance; therefore I hope, that you will regard it as such.
"I am respectfully yours,
"Lott Cary."Gurley, Life of Jehudi Ashmun, appendix, p. 152.