Eli Ayers (May 9, 1778 – April 25, 1822) was a physician and the first

colonial agent A colonial agent was the official representative of a British colony based in London during the British Empire. About 200 men served. They were selected and paid a fixed salary by the colonial government, and given the long delays in communication, ...

of the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

in what later became

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. He was born in 1778 in

Shiloh, New Jersey Shiloh is a borough in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Vineland– Bridgeton metropolitan statistical area for statistical purposes. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 444, a d ...

, and married Elizabeth West in 1812. He practiced medicine in

Woodbury Woodbury may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Woodbury Glacier, a glacier on Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory Australia * Woodbury, Tasmania, a locality in Australia England * Woodbury, Bournemouth, an area in Dorset *Woodbury, East Devo ...

, New Jersey. On August 7, 1821, he left

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

for West Africa on . Together with

Robert F. Stockton Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-p ...

of he extorted a treaty under duress with six tribal kings on the purchase of land at

Cape Mesurado Cape Mesurado, also called Cape Montserrado, is a headland on the coast of Liberia near the capital Monrovia and the mouth of the Saint Paul River. It was named Cape Mesurado by Portuguese sailors in the 1560s. It is the promontory on which Afri ...

. He served as the colonial agent of the American Colonization Society from December 15, 1821, until his death on April 25, 1822.

References

1778 births 1822 deaths Agents and Governors of Liberia People from Cumberland County, New Jersey People from Woodbury, New Jersey {{US-poli-bio-stub