Samuel Ringgold Ward (October 17, 1817 – ) was an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

who escaped enslavement to become an abolitionist, newspaper editor, labor leader, and

Congregational church 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. He was author of the influential book ''Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro: his anti-slavery labours in the United States, Canada and England'', written after his speeches throughout Britain in 1853. It enabled him to raise funds for the Anti-slavery Society of Canada, where many escaped slaves from the USA were arriving in the 1850s.

Early life

Samuel Ringgold Ward was born into slavery in 1817 on Maryland's eastern shore but fled as a child with his parents in 1820 to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and soon relocated to New York in 1826. Once settled, Ward's parents enrolled him in at the

African Free School The African Free School was a school for children of slaves and free people of color in New York City. It was founded by members of the New York Manumission Society, including Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, on November 2, 1787. Many of its alumni ...

Pastoral and abolition work

His beliefs in the end of slavery and his oratory skills led him to politics where he joined first the Liberty Party in 1840, where he remained until 1848, and later the Free Soil Party in 1848, becoming one of the few from the latter party that was interested in the abolitionist aspect of preventing further inclusion of slave states into the union. Indeed, at the Liberty Party

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...

in June 1848, Ward received 12 out of a possible 84 votes to place second in balloting for that party's nomination as their candidate for the office of U.S. Vice President. Other abolitionists, both white and black, were well aware of Ward's oratory abilities and commended his brilliant efforts in the abolitionist movement. His activities brought him in close contact with fellow orator and abolitionist

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

, who said of him, "As an orator and thinker ardwas vastly superior to any of us" and that "the splendors of his intellect went directly to the glory of race." Little progress had been made in America while he had been away and he was to record that "here I saw more of the foolishness, wickedness, and at the same time the invincibility, of American Negro-hate, than I ever saw elsewhere". While there, his youngest son, William Reynolds Ward, died and was buried; and two of his daughters, Emily and Alice, were born. From Cortland, the family moved to

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, New York, in 1851. However, the stay was brief, on account of Samuel Ward participating in the "

Jerry Rescue The Jerry Rescue occurred on October 1, 1851, and involved the public rescue of a fugitive slave who had been arrested the same day in Syracuse, New York, during the anti-slavery Liberty Party's state convention. The escaped slave was William ...

" on the first day of October in that year, leading him to emigrate in some haste to Canada that November. During the last few years of Samuel Ward's residence in the United States he had become editor and part owner of two newspapers; the ''Farmer and Northern Star'', and Boston's ''Impartial Citizen''. He was a firm believer in the need for "anti-slavery labors, organizations, agitation, and newspapers" and conscious of the need to keep the papers from being censured, or worse as in the death of

Elijah P. Lovejoy Elijah Parish Lovejoy (November 9, 1802 – November 7, 1837) was an American Presbyterianism, Presbyterian Minister (Christianity), minister, journalist, Editing, newspaper editor, and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. Followin ...

, he commenced the study of law.

The first African-American labor leader

Freed blacks during the Antebellum also faced discrimination in employment, as black laborers were not welcome in most unions. In response, Frederick Douglass and Ward helped organize the American League of Colored Laborers, the first black American labor union. Assembled on June 13, 1850 in the lecture room of Zion’s church in New York City, the League appointed Samuel Ringgold Ward as its first president, Frederick Douglass as its vice-president, and Henry Bibb as its secretary. Although short-lived and stymied by the small number of black workers in cities at the time, the union’s goals included the creation of a fund to give loans to black entrepreneurs, the creation of a bank that would provide credit and encourage saving, and an industrial fair.

Anti-slavery work in Britain

In Canada, he worked with Mary Ann Shadd Cary to found a newspaper, '' The Provincial Freeman'', in 1853. While she was the editor-in-chief, as the first woman publisher in North America, she was afraid of not being taken seriously and originally hid her involvement with the paper by putting Ward's and the Rev. Alexander McArthur's names on the masthead. "Proclaimed editor of this bold venture, Ward only lent his name to the newspaper to generate interest and subscriptions." He was then offered work by the Anti-slavery Society of Canada, who decided he should visit Britain to further their anti-slavery work. He was given the names of contacts in London who would be keen to accommodate his visit, to strengthen their own long-standing anti-slavery work, and might be willing to help organise fund-raising for anti-slavery work in Canada. Ward's preparation paid off and he was well received in Britain early in 1853; as Samuel Ward records: At the annual meeting of the Congregational Union, Samuel Ward was formally introduced to the body by the Secretary, Rev. George Smith of

Trinity Independent Chapel The Trinity Independent Chapel (also known as the Congregational or Methodist chapel) was an early Victorian church in Poplar. It was destroyed by a V-2 rocket hit during the Second World War, and later re-built in Modernist style. In the late 1 ...

, in company with Rev. Charles Beecher, the brother of

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

, whom he had not met before. A dinner for the Congregational ministers and delegates was organised at Radley's Hotel, at which Samuel Ward gave his first London anti-slavery speech about the need for financial support in Canada: Samuel Ward's visit to London was, he considered, at a most fortunate time for his fund-raising endeavour, because: "of the twofold fact that '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' was in every body's hands and heart, and its gifted authoress was the English people's guest. For anti-slavery purposes, a more favourable time could not have been chosen for visiting England." As he further explained, "When Mrs. Stowe arrived in England... the book from the one side of the Atlantic, the address (by James Sherman) from the other side... awakened more attention to the anti-slavery cause in England, in 1853, than had existed since the agitation of the emancipation question in 1832." Ward, having met Mrs. Stowe at the house of Rev. James Sherman, next door to his

Surrey Chapel The Surrey Chapel (1783–1881) was an independent Methodist and Congregational church established in Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London on 8 June 1783 by the Rev. Rowland Hill. His work was continued in 1833 by the Congregational pastor R ...

Blackfriars Road Blackfriars Road is a road in Southwark, SE1. It runs between St George's Circus at the southern end and Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames at the northern end, leading to the City of London. Halfway up on the west side is Southwark Und ...

, in May 1853, was invited to stay at the Surrey Chapel Parsonage along with Mrs Stowe's husband, the Rev. Dr.

Calvin Stowe Calvin Ellis Stowe (April 6, 1802 – August 22, 1886) was an American Biblical scholar who helped spread public education in the United States. Over his career, he was a professor of languages and Biblical and sacred literature at Andover Theolo ...

, and her brother Rev.

Charles Beecher Charles Beecher (October 1, 1815 – April 21, 1900) was an American minister, composer of religious hymns and a prolific author. Early life Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the fifth child of Lyman Beecher, an abolitionist Congr ...

, for three weeks. On June 7, 1853, Samuel Ward was able to deliver his major London anti-slavery speech, and had secured

Lord Shaftesbury Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his fa ...

to take the chair. Ward's address had a successful impact, for almost immediately—21 June—it led to the formation of a London Committee to seek financial support for the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada. The Committee comprised Lord Shaftesbury, Rev. J. Sherman, and S. H. Horman-Fisher, with G. W. Alexander its treasurer. This led to several months of hectic speaking engagements for Samuel Ward. He received invitations to speak at the London Missionary Society, kindred charities, and the pulpits of the most distinguished Dissenting divines in the land. Travelling in these causes took him to almost every county in England, and then on to Scotland. After just ten months, some £1,200 had been donated and it was possible to bring the organising committee to a close. A final, large meeting was held at Crosby Hall on March 20, 1854, chaired by Samuel Gurney, where Samuel Ward was accompanied by many of those who had helped him—Rev. James Sherman, Samuel Horman Horman-Fisher, L. A. Chamerovzow, Esq., Rev. James Hamilton D.D., Rev. John Macfarlane, and Josiah Conder. Samuel Ward's success enabled the Anti-slavery society of Canada to finance its work in support of escaped slaves from the USA, and in the following year, 1855 Ward published his influential book recounting all that he had achieved. The proceeds enabled him to retire to Jamaica.

Death and memory

Samuel Ringgold Ward died in 1866 after spending his last 11 years of life as a minister and farmer in Jamaica.

References

Notes

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Samuel R 1817 births 1860s deaths Year of death uncertain American newspaper editors American Congregationalists African-American abolitionists 19th-century American memoirists African-American non-fiction writers 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers New York (state) Libertyites New York (state) Free Soilers Oneida Institute alumni Fugitive American slaves People from Maryland African Free School alumni American emigrants to Canada American expatriates in the United Kingdom People who wrote slave narratives American emigrants to Jamaica Congregationalist abolitionists 19th-century African-American writers Literate American slaves

Early life

Pastoral and abolition work

The first African-American labor leader

Anti-slavery work in Britain

Death and memory

References

Notes

Further reading

Published books

Dissertations

Journal articles

External links