Amos Beman
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Amos Gerry Beman (1812-1872) was a 19th-century African American pastor and social activist from
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. He was a prominent African American abolitionist.


Early life

Beman was born in
Colchester, Connecticut Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 census. In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecticut, and the 36th in the country, to be certified with the National Wildli ...
, and later moved to
Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...
. His grandfather, Cesar, earned his freedom by fighting in the Revolutionary War in place of his master. With his freedom, he took the name Beman, claiming his right to "be a man." Cesar was a shoemaker, a trade he passed down to his son Jehiel, who then passed this on to Jehiel's eldest son Leverett. Unlike Leverett, Amos followed a path of study, enrolling in the
Oneida Institute The Oneida Institute was a short-lived (1827–1843) but highly influential school that was a national leader in the emerging Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist movement. It was the most radical school in the country, the first at w ...
, and was destined to enter the ministry. Jehiel Beman, Amos' father, was the first pastor of the Cross Street
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Church in Middletown, CT, and was later pastor of the Boston
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Church. Amos Beman was tutored for a short time by
Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
student Samuel Dole, but was driven from the university by a letter from "The Twelve of Us," which threatened his safety. Following this, Beman moved to
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, to begin his professional career. Throughout his life, Beman followed in the footsteps of his father,
Jehiel Beman Jehiel C. Beman (1791–1858) was an African-American 19th-century minister and abolitionist. He was a leader for suffrage and temperance, and he was an agent for the Underground Railroad in Connecticut. His son Amos Beman was also a prominent abo ...
. In addition to serving as pastor of an African-American church in Connecticut, Jehiel Beman was heavily involved in several social activist movements. His son would lead a similar life.


Personal life

In about 1835, Beman married Eunice Jeffrey, with whom he had three daughters and two sons: Mary, Amos, Fannie, Charles, and Emma. Their daughter Mary married
Richard Mason Hancock Richard Mason Hancock (November 22, 1832 – June 5, 1899) was a carpenter and shop foreman and civil rights activist in the American Northeast and Chicago. He was one of few African-American iron works shop foremen during his era. Early life ...
on July 20, 1856. Mary, her new husband, and her brother Charles moved to Lockport, New York. In August of that year, Amos's wife and son Amos died of typhoid fever. Six months later, their daughter Fannie died of
consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
. In 1858, Beman married Eliza Kennedy Howell, a white woman — a decision that drastically undermined his standing at the Temple Street Church. Eliza's first husband had been John William Howell, a man of color born in the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
, and their daughters Eliza and Catherine Romena were listed as mulatto on census records. Both daughters married ministers in 1864: on 1 November, Eliza married the Rev. Hezekiah Hunter, and on 20 December, Catherine married the Rev.
Francis Lewis Cardozo Francis Lewis Cardozo (February 1, 1836 – July 22, 1903) was an American clergyman, politician, and educator. When elected in South Carolina as Secretary of State in 1868, he was the first African American to hold a statewide office in the Uni ...
, who was the pastor of Temple Street Congregational Church and would go on to become South Carolina's Secretary of State. Eliza Beman died of cancer on 5 November 1864. Amos's son Charles served in the U.S. Army during the Civil War and died of consumption in 1875. Amos's daughter Emma lived in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
, until her death in 1910. Amos Beman married a third time to an African American named Mary (née Allen), widow of Chester Thomas,Ancestry.com
 but for most of his acquaintances, it was too late for Beman to atone for his decision to marry a white woman.


Pastoral life

In 1841, Beman fulfilled his childhood dream and became pastor of the Temple Street African Church in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
. The Temple Street Church was the oldest and most respected African Church in New Haven. Unfortunately, financial difficulties plagued Beman throughout the 17 years that he served the Temple Street Church. Many years, he was unable to take a salary, and he considered resigning from his post on several occasions. Yet, despite these tribulations, Beman's church grew considerably during his time as pastor, adding well over a hundred members to the congregation. Beman was widely recognized as a highly capable pastor, and his followers praised him for his leadership and selflessness. Beman decided to resign as pastor shortly after his second marriage. As pastor of the Temple Street African Church, Beman was a Temperance lecturer, anti-slavery supporter, member of the underground railroad, and an advocate for negro suffrage in Connecticut.


Abolitionism and social activism

Beman served on multiple conventions and councils that promoted anti-slavery causes and African American civil rights. Notably, Beman was a leading advocate of the African American suffrage movement in Connecticut. Yet, his efforts to grant African Americans the right to vote failed, and he subsequently increased his activity writing for
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
' ''
North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
'' and other African American publications. Beman was known for opening up his church to fugitive slaves, but as the Civil War neared, Beman began traveling around the country, lecturing on the anti-slavery movement. His speeches can be found in many newspapers, including the ''Emancipator'', the ''Weekly Anglo-African'', and the anti-slavery ''Bugle''. Additionally, Beman was a moral activist, highly involved in the temperance movement. He served as president of the Connecticut Society of the Negro Temperance Movement. Beman was also the President of the 1855 Colored National Convention in Philadelphia, held to discuss slavery, suffrage, and moral reform. Beman kept four scrapbooks of articles documenting important moments and ideas he valued. They can be viewed at the Yale library.


References


External links

* Amos Gerry Beman Scrapbooks. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beman, Amos 1872 deaths 1812 births African-American abolitionists African-American Methodists African Methodist Episcopal Church clergy American temperance activists Colored Conventions people Methodist abolitionists Oneida Institute alumni People from Colchester, Connecticut African-American temperance activists