Ephraim Titler (born 1800) was a Liberian politician and missionary who served as a delegate to the 1847 Constitutional Convention from Grand Bassa County.

Biography

Titler was born in New York in 1800. Titler was born free and was literate. In 1832, Titler and his wife, Nancy, emigrated to

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 ...

. In 1836, he once again visited the United States, where he became the second Black student to attend Lafayette College. He stayed there for six months, where he studied theology with

George Junkin Reverend George Junkin D.D., LL.D (November 1, 1790 – May 20, 1868) was an American educator and Presbyterian minister who served as the first and third president of Lafayette College and later as president of Miami University and Washington ...

. He was then ordained by the Philadelphia Presbytery, and returned to Liberia, to serve as a missionary for the Bassa people. In 1847 Titler represented Grand Bassa County in the constitutional convention, in which the Liberian Constitution of 1847 and the

Liberian Declaration of Independence The Liberian Declaration of Independence is a document adopted by the Liberian Constitutional Convention on 26 July 1847, to announce that the Commonwealth of Liberia, a colony founded and controlled by the private American Colonization Society, ...

were drafted. After the convention, Titler campaigned against independence, along with the sentiment of other Grand Bassa delegates, such as

Amos Herring Amos or AMOS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Amos Records, an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California, in 1968 * Amos (band), an American Christian rock band * ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray * ''Amos' ...

. The three major concerns of the people of the county were the continued ownership of public land by the American Colonization Society after independence, a feared increases in taxes, as well as a fear that the country would be dominated by

Montserrado County Montserrado County is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia containing its national capital, Monrovia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has 17 sub p ...

. Little is known of Titler's life after this point. As a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, Titler is represented as one of the eleven stripes on the

flag of Liberia The flag of Liberia or the Liberian flag, sometimes called the Lone Star, bears a close resemblance to the flag of the United States, representing Liberia's founding by former black slaves from the United States and the Caribbean. They are bot ...

. Titler is also represented by a stripe on the flag of Grand Bassa County, which has stripes for each Declaration signatory from the county.

References

Date of birth missing Year of death unknown 1800 births Liberian Presbyterians Free people of color People from Grand Bassa County Liberian Protestant missionaries Protestant missionaries in Liberia Lafayette College alumni Americo-Liberian people American emigrants to Liberia People from New York (state) Signatories of the Liberian Declaration of Independence 19th-century Presbyterians 19th-century Liberian politicians {{Liberia-politician-stub