John Seys (March 30, 1799 – 1872) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

, and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

Biography

Seys was born in

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

, 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 ...

, to a wealthy

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family on March 30, 1799. Seys chose to work as a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

, and his family disinherited him for it. He started his career by working with the

Mohawk people The Mohawk people ( moh, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and northern Ne ...

s for several decades but left for work in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

in the 1830s. Following the death of his predecessor, Beveridge Cox, Seys led the Methodist

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

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 ...

for ten years until poor health forced him to resign in 1844. During his time in leadership he became actively involved in establishing new

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

s in the country. Seys served as

Minister Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

to Liberia from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from January 2, 1867, to June 11, 1870. In this position, Seys faced many obstacles due to the lack of funds coming from the United States. In a February 11, 1871, report to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Representative

Thomas Swann Thomas Swann (February 3, 1809 – July 24, 1883) was an American lawyer and Politics of the United States, politician who also was President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as it completed track to Wheeling, West Virginia, Wheeling and gaine ...

from the

United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs o ...

stated that Seys "charges salary for sixty days, and also for fifty-eight days, transit in returning to his post, and for the services of W.A. Johnson, vice consul general, $166.66 for four months" which the committee recommended he not be paid. Despite this, he actively pushed against what he saw as the evils of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. Although he was opposed to the practice of slavery, he would write in defense of Captain

Nathaniel Gordon Nathaniel Gordon (February 6, 1826 – February 21, 1862) was the only slave trader in the U.S. to be tried, convicted, and executed for having "engaged in the slave trade," under the Piracy Law of 1820. Early life Gordon was born in Portla ...

at Gordon's trial for slave trafficking and

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. Seys died in 1872 after having fathered 12 children with five different women, however many died before him due to '

African fever Relapsing fever is a vector-borne disease caused by infection with certain bacteria in the genus ''Borrelia'', which is transmitted through the bites of lice or soft-bodied ticks (genus ''Ornithodoros''). Signs and symptoms Most people who are ...

References

1799 births 1872 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Liberia American Methodist missionaries Methodist abolitionists Methodist missionaries in Liberia People from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands 19th-century American diplomats {{US-diplomat-stub