Theodore Sedgwick Wright (1797–1847), sometimes Theodore Sedgewick Wright, 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 ensl ...

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 ...

and minister who was active in New York City, where he led the First Colored Presbyterian Church as its second pastor. He was the first African American to attend

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...

(and any United States theological seminary), from which he graduated in 1828 or 1829. In 1833 he became a founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, an interracial group that included

Samuel Cornish Samuel Eli Cornish (1795 – 6 November 1858) was an American Presbyterian minister, abolitionist, publisher, and journalist. He was a leader in New York City's small free black community, where he organized the first congregation of black Pr ...

, a Black

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, and many Congregationalists, and served on its executive committee until 1840. Wright founded and helped develop the American Anti-slavery Society, the Union Missionary Society, and the American Missionary Association. Wright was a prominent activist, and in contributing to these organizations gave frequent speeches and was successful in his endeavors, contributing greatly to the anti-slave movement. At age 50, Wright died from possible exhaustion. He was an influential person who was passionate about the development of youth, first-rate education, spreading the gospel, and abolishing slavery.

Early life and education

Theodore Sedgwick Wright was born about 1797 to free parents in Providence, Rhode Island. He is believed to have moved into

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

with his family, where he attended 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 alumn ...

."Theodore Sedgwick Wright"
Black Past, accessed May 31, 2012 At the age of 28, he was admitted to American Institute of higher learning, becoming the second man of color ever to be admitted to the institute. With the aid of Governor DeWitt Clinton and

Arthur Tappan Arthur Tappan (May 22, 1786 – July 23, 1865) was an American businessman, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was the brother of Ohio Senator Benjamin Tappan and abolitionist Lewis Tappan, and nephew of Harvard Divinity School theologian ...

of the

New York Manumission Society The New-York Manumission Society was an American organization founded in 1785 by U.S. Founding Father John Jay, among others, to promote the gradual abolition of slavery and manumission of slaves of African descent within the state of New York. ...

, and men from

, Wright was aided in his studies at the graduate seminary. He described his time at the seminary as a "dark and gloomy period" for race relations, in which the white faculty and students were united behind 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 ...

's efforts to remove free Black and enslaved Black Americans to Liberia. When

John Brown Russwurm John Brown Russwurm (October 1, 1799 – June 9, 1851) was an abolitionist, newspaper publisher, and colonizer of Liberia, where he moved from the United States. He was born in Jamaica to an English father and enslaved mother. As a child he t ...

in ''

Freedom's Journal ''Freedom's Journal'' was the first African-American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States. Founded by Rev. John Wilk and other free Black men in New York City, it was published weekly starting with the 16 March 1827 issue. ...

'' combatted Wright's professor

Archibald Alexander Archibald Alexander (April 17, 1772 – October 22, 1851) was an American Presbyterian theologian and professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He served for 9 years as the President of Hampden–Sydney College in Virginia and for 39 yea ...

's support of colonization, Wright said the "united views and intentions of the people of color were made known, and the nation awoke as from slumber". In 1829, Wright was the first African American to graduate from the seminary, and the first to complete theological studies at any seminary in the United States.

Career

Before 1833, Wright was called as the second minister of New York's First Colored Presbyterian Church and served there the rest of his life. (It was later known as Shiloh Presbyterian Church and the successor congregation is now St. James Presbyterian Church in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

.) He followed the founder,

. In 1833 Wright was a founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, which had an interracial membership and leadership. He served on the executive committee until 1840. That year he left with other moderate members, including

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

and Lewis Tappan, and helped found the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. They disagreed with some of

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he foun ...

's proposals, including his insistence on having women in leadership positions. In 1837, at a national

Colored Convention The Colored Conventions Movement, or Black Conventions Movement, was a series of national, regional, and state conventions held irregularly during the decades preceding and following the American Civil War. The delegates who attended these convent ...

, Wright opposed a resolution advocating black self-defense as "un-Christian." Wright supported activities of other black communities in the state; for instance, in 1837 he spoke at the dedication of the

First Free Church First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, the first black church in the city, and praised its founding a school for its children.Theodore Sedgwick Wright, "Speech given during the dedication of the First Free Church of Schenectady, 28 December 1837"
''Emancipator'', at University of Detroit Mercy, accessed May 31, 2012 For years Wright acted as a conductor for the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

and used his house at 235 W. Broadway as a station.“Theodore Wright House”
Mapping African-American Places (MAAP), Columbia University, accessed May 31, 2012 He served on New York's Committee of Vigilance, established to try to help fugitive slaves evade slave catchers and resist their being returned to the South.

Later years

By 1843 Wright had changed his views on violent rebellion to end slavery. At that year's National Negro Convention in Buffalo, he supported

Henry Highland Garnet Henry Highland Garnet (December 23, 1815 – February 13, 1882) was an African-American abolitionist, minister, educator and orator. Having escaped as a child from slavery in Maryland with his family, he grew up in New York City. He was educat ...

's call for a slave uprising. His proposal was opposed by

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 ...

and narrowly defeated by the members of the convention.

Marriage and family

In 1837 Wright married Adaline T. Turpin from New Rochelle, New York. On March 25, 1847, Theodore Sedgwick Wright died in New York City.

Wright at Princeton Theological Seminary in the 20th and 21st Centuries

The only book-length work on Wright is the 2005 Princeton Theological Seminary master's thesis by Daniel Paul Morrison. Titled, ''Theodore Sedgwick Wright (1794-1847): Early Princeton Theological Seminary Abolitionist,'' the theses reconstructs the biography of the man and offers insight into Wright struggle with the faculty of Princeton Seminary and the

which all of the faculty supported. Morrison's work was cited in James H. Moorhead's 2012 ''Princeton Theological Seminary in American Religion and Culture.'' In October 2021, as part of a "multi-year action plan to repent for tshistorical ties to slavery,"

renamed its library the Theodore Sedgwick Wright Library.

References

External links

"Theodore S. Wright"
Black Abolitionist Archive, at University of Detroit Mercy; contains texts of numerous published speeches {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Theodore S. 1797 births 1847 deaths African-American abolitionists Clergy of historically African-American Christian denominations Underground Railroad people Colored Conventions people Princeton Theological Seminary alumni African Free School alumni Presbyterian abolitionists People from Providence, Rhode Island Underground Railroad in New York (state) African-American history in New York City