Samuel John Mills Jr. (April 12, 1783 – June 16, 1818) was an American preacher and missionary from Connecticut. He is known for contributing to the organization of the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

and to the formation 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 1817. The latter was intended to establish a colony in West Africa as a destination for free American blacks.

Biography

Samuel John Mills, Jr. was born in 1783 at Torringford (now part of Torrington), Connecticut, where his father Samuel John Mills (1768–1833) was a

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 ...

minister; his mother Esther Robbins was a homemaker and supported the ministry. Mills attended

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, where he organized a prayer group that held the

Haystack prayer meeting The Haystack Prayer Meeting, held in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in August 1806, is viewed by many scholars as the seminal event for the development of American Protestant missions in the subsequent decades and century. Missions are still suppo ...

. He entered

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambridge. ...

in 1810, and was licensed to preach in 1812. While one of the group that helped form the

, Mills served as a missionary in the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

valley. It was being newly settled by European Americans in the early 19th century, before Indian Removal. Mills suggested the formation of a national Bible society as part of the evangelical effort in the South. In May 1816, thirty-five different bible societies met in New York and organized the

American Bible Society American Bible Society is a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the American member organization of United Bible Societies, it supports global Bible translation, production, distribution, literacy, engage ...

. Mills also played a leading role in the formation of the

in 1817, along with Dr.

Robert Finley Robert Finley (1772 – November 3, 1817) was an American Presbyterian clergyman and educator who is known as one of the founders of the American Colonization Society, which established the colony of Liberia in West Africa as a place for free A ...

, a clergyman from New Jersey who founded the National Colonization Society and died in 1817. He sailed from Philadelphia on November 1, 1817. Following a brief stay in England, Mills sailed to the west coast of

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 ...

to purchase land for the American Colonization Society. He embarked for the United States on May 22 and died at sea. His funeral on board was conducted by

Ebenezer Burgess Ebenezer Burgess (April 1, 1790 – December 5, 1870) was the minister of the Allin Congregational Church in Dedham, Massachusetts. Personal life Burgess was born on April 1, 1790, in Wareham, Massachusetts. He was graduated from Brown University ...

. Mills's niece, Julia Sherman Mills (1817–1890) married missionary to Hawaii Samuel C. Damon (1815–1885). Their son

Samuel Mills Damon Samuel Mills Damon (March 13, 1845 – July 1, 1924) was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, through the Republic of Hawaii and into the Territory of Hawaii. Life Damon was born in Honolulu on March 13, 1845. His father was ...

(1841–1924) became a wealthy banker in Hawaii and was a beneficiary of the estate of Princess

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Bernice Pauahi Bishop KGCOK RoK (December 19, 1831 – October 16, 1884), born Bernice Pauahi Pākī, was an '' alii'' (noble) of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Hawaii and a well known philanthropist. At her death, her estate was the la ...

for whom he was executor.

References

* *Richards, Thomas C. (Thomas Cole). ''Samuel J. Mills, Missionary Pathfinder, Pioneer and Promoter''. Boston, New York tc.The Pilgrim press, 1906. https://archive.org/details/cu31924051258410. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Samuel John American Protestant missionaries People who died at sea Burials at sea People from Kent, Connecticut Williams College alumni 1783 births 1818 deaths Protestant missionaries in the United States American colonization movement