The Rev. Joseph Ketley (1802-1875) was a mid-nineteenth century

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

missionary and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, the former British colony of

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

which was known as Demerara and Essequibo at the time when his mission was established. The Dutch colonies of Berbice‚ Demerara and Essequibo were ceded to the British in 1814‚ and incorporated into a single colony in 1831. Guyana became independent in 1966. In the 1830s and 1840s Joseph Ketley worked towards the abolition of slavery and promoted Christian teaching amongst the African population and the native Indian tribes of the Essequibo River. He was a resident of George Town, Demerara. On 12 July 1840 he attended the

Anti-Slavery Convention The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge. The exclus ...

in London.The Anti-Slavery Society Convention
, 1840,

Benjamin Robert Haydon Benjamin Robert Haydon (; 26 January 178622 June 1846) was a British painter who specialised in grand historical pictures, although he also painted a few contemporary subjects and portraits. His commercial success was damaged by his often tactles ...

, accessed 19 July 2008 In the early nineteenth century, missionary work in Demerara was fiercely opposed by many of the estate owners. They sought to prevent missionaries from advancing the education of slaves and native Indians. Gradually, however the mission schools were established to develop reading and writing skills. Lacking the support of estate owners, missionaries were often in a dangerous position. The earlier missionary, Rev. John Smith, died in prison under sentence of death whilst being held by the authorities following the famous 1823 slave uprising, which was one of the largest in the colonies (he was pastor of a slave congregation at Le Ressouvener, British Guiana, where he taught education to the African slaves on behalf of the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

). Smith became known as the "Demerara Martyr" and his case, and news of the enormous size of the uprising and the brutal loss of African life, caused a great awakening in England, strengthening the abolitionist cause which eventually succeeded in British territories worldwide in 1838. The Rev. Joseph Ketley is buried at the Congregationalists' non-denominational garden cemetery:

Abney Park Cemetery Abney Park cemetery is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries in London, England. Abney Park in Stoke Newington in the London Borough of Hackney is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney, D ...

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

, London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ketley, Joseph English abolitionists English Congregationalist missionaries Congregationalist missionaries in Guyana 1802 births 1875 deaths Burials at Abney Park Cemetery Congregationalist abolitionists