Dr. Tanner is the editor of the “Christian Recorder,” the organ of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (Bethel). He is a mulatto of medium size, modest and genteel, social and pleasant in conversation, and has a classical education. Tanner’s “Apology for African Methodism,” is the ablest written work yet produced upon that subject. In it, he employs facts and statistics, but they have the varied beauty of the rainbow, and the golden glow of the sunlight, when viewed through the prism of his rich imagination. There are but few men who can excel him in description; indeed, he wields a masterly pen in that department of literature, every idea being full of thought. As editor of “The Recorder,” he has written many witty, pithy, and brilliant sentiments. There is a tinge of opulent fancy running through his editorials which always refreshes one. As a speaker, Dr. Tanner ranks well, being fluent, ready, easy in his manner, and reliable in his statements.
The wide reputation of his journal, outside of his own denomination, is probably the best test of his ability as a newspaper conductor. He has done much to build up Methodism among our people, and to inculcate the feeling for a better educated ministry, which is everywhere needed. Dr. Tanner’s efforts towards the elevation of his race have been of lasting good, and, as he is still a young man, we look forward to his accomplishing more in the large field before him. As a citizen of Philadelphia, he is enterprising, energetic, and works for the public good. He is highly respectedby all classes, and justly holds the position of a representative man, whose title was gained by merit, and not by favor.
Singleton T. Jones is a native of Pennsylvania, and is about fifty years of age. He is tall, and of a fine figure, pleasing countenance, bright eye, and unadulterated in race and color. He commenced travelling as a preacher of the Zion Methodist denomination in the year 1847, and was ordained a bishop in 1868. He is a man of surpassing power and eloquence. His sermons are brilliant with unmeasured poetry, and abound in wit, invective, glowing rhetoric, and logic.
The bishop often surprises his attentive listeners with his historical knowledge. When in the pulpit, he throws light on the subject by the coruscations of his wit, drives home a truth by solid argument, and clinches it by a quotation from Scripture, and a thrilling and pointed appeal which moves his audience like a shock from an electric battery. No one sleeps under the preaching of Bishop Jones, for he has long been considered the most eloquent man in his denomination. His character is without a blemish, and he is blest with a large circle of friends, and the happiest family relations.
Born a slave at the South, and escaping to the free states some thirty years ago, Jermin W. Loguenpassed through the fiery ordeal that awaited every fugitive lecturer or preacher in those days. He was among the earliest of those to take stock in the underground railroad, and most nobly did he do his work. For more than twenty years Bishop Loguen labored in season and out of season, in western New York, as an efficient conductor on the road, helping the fugitive on his way to Canada. As a lecturer, his varied experience, eloquent and effective speeches, did much to change public opinion in behalf of liberty.
As a preacher, he was very popular with the Zion Methodist denomination, with whom he acted. His education was limited, yet he used good language, both in his sermons and addresses. He was made a bishop some time about 1868, and discharged his duties with credit to himself, and satisfaction to his people.
But Bishop Loguen will be remembered longer for his humanitarian work. If to have been true and faithful to the cause of his people in the day of their sorrow and destitution, when friends were few, and enemies were many; if to have been eyes to the blind, legs to the lame, bread to the hungry, and shelter to the outcast of our afflicted and hunted people when it was the fashion in America to hunt men; if to have devoted a whole life to works of humanity and justice, entitles a man to the respect and esteem of his fellow-men, and especially, of the class benefited, Jermin W. Loguen has well earned such respect and esteem.
In person, he was of large frame, of mixed blood, strong, manly voice, fine countenance, genteel in his manners, and interesting in conversation. He died in 1871.
“The National Monitor” is a wide-awake journal, edited by Rufus L. Perry, a live man, in every sense of the term. As corresponding secretary of “The Consolidated American Educational Association,” Mr. Perry has been of great benefit to the cause of education at the South amongst the freedmen who so much need such efforts. His society is mainly engaged in sending into the field approved missionary preachers and teachers; organizing schools and missions on a self-sustaining basis, in the more interior portions of the South; looking up, and having on hand, qualified colored teachers, to send out as they may be called for.
The association is under the auspices of the Baptist denomination, and the “National Monitor,” of which Mr. Perry is editor, may be termed an organ of that sect. The columns of the paper show well the versatile character of the gentleman whose brain furnishes the mental food for its readers, and the cause of its wide-spread popularity.
Mr. Perry is a self-made man, well educated, possessing splendid natural abilities, an able and eloquent speaker, popular with other religious bodies as well as his own, and makes himself generally useful wherever he may happen to be. He is devotedly attached to his race, and never leaves a stone unturned to better their moral, social, religious, and political condition.
As a resident of Brooklyn, New York, his influence is felt in building up and maintaining the character of the colored people. Mr. Perry is considered one of the most efficient of the Baptist clergymen of the “City of Churches.”
A native of Loudon County, Virginia, born in Leesburg, in 1815, of free parents, Leonard A. Grimes was subjected to all the disabilities that his race had to endure in the South, except being a bound slave. While yet a boy, young Grimes went to Washington, where he was employed in a butcher’s shop, and afterwards in an apothecary’s establishment. He subsequently hired himself out to a slaveholder, whose confidence he soon gained. Accompanying his employer in some of his travels in the remote South, he had an opportunity of seeing the different phases of slave life; and its cruelty created in his mind an early hatred to the institution, which lasted him during his long and eventful career.
On his return to Washington, the subject of this sketch began to take an interest in the underground railroad, and to him many escaped slaves were indebted for their freedom. A free colored man with a slave wife and seven children appealed to Mr. Grimes to aid them to escape, for the wife and children were to be carried to the far South. Through the kindness of this good man the family succeeded in reaching Canada, where they were free. Search was made for the family, suspicion fell upon Grimes as the author of their escape, he was tried, found guilty, and sent to the state prison at Richmond for two years.
At the expiration of his imprisonment, Mr. Grimes returned to Washington, and soon removed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he resided two years, and then came to Boston. A small Baptist congregation was worshipping in a hall at this time, and they calledMr. Grimes to be their pastor. In this new field of labor he soon began to show the great executive ability which was to be a blessing to his race in Boston. The Twelfth Baptist Church, of which he was the head for a quarter of a century, and the congregation, consisting of some of the better class of the colored citizens of the metropolis, is a monument that no one need be ashamed of. Mr. Grimes was an ardent anti-slavery man, when many of his clerical brethren were on the other side of the question.
Mr. Grimes was a man of great amiability of character, with always a cheering word and a smile for those with whom he came in contact. As a preacher, he was a man of power, though he was not an easy speaker. He was a mulatto of fine appearance, good manners, dignified, and courteous. No man was more beloved by his friends or respected by the community. At his funeral, which occurred in March, 1873, more than fifty carriages were among the long cortege that followed his remains. It is not often that a man leaves the world with fewer enemies or more substantial friends than Leonard A. Grimes.
John Sella Martin is a native of the State of North Carolina, and was born at Charlotte, in 1832. He was the slave of his master, who sold him while he was yet a child. Part of his life was passed in Georgia and Louisiana, from the latter of which States he escaped in 1856. Mr. Martin resided some time at Chicago,studied for the ministry at Detroit, and was first settled over a church at Buffalo. He came to Boston in 1859, and was introduced to the public at Tremont Temple, by Rev. Mr. Kalloch, for whom he preached several weeks, during that gentleman’s vacation. The impression which Mr. Martin made while at the Temple was very favorable; and after supplying a pulpit for some time at Lawrence, he was settled over the Joy Street Baptist Church in Boston. He has since preached in New York and Washington, but is now engaged in politics, having renounced the ministry three or four years since.
Mr. Martin has visited England three times, and is well informed upon matters pertaining to that country, as well as this. He is an easy speaker, fluent and ready, and gives the impression of a man well informed on the subject upon which he talks. He was, for a time, editor of the “National Era,” and then corresponding editor of the same paper. However, he lacks stability of purpose. In his newspaper articles, Mr. Martin evinces considerable literary ability. In person, he is of mixed blood, gentlemanly in his appearance, and refined in his manners.
For eight or ten years previous to the breaking out of the Rebellion, all who frequented anti-slavery conventions, lectures, picnics, and fairs, could not fail to have seen a black woman of medium size, upper front teeth gone, smiling countenance, attired in coarse, but neat apparel, with an old-fashioned reticule,or bag, suspended by her side, and who, on taking her seat, would at once drop off into a sound sleep. This woman was Harriet Tubman, better known as “Moses.”
She first came to Boston in 1854, and was soon a welcome visitor to the homes of the leading Abolitionists, who were always attentive listeners to her strange and eventful stories. Her plantation life, where she was born a slave at the South, was cruelly interesting. Her back and shoulders, marked with the biting lash, told how inhuman was the institution from which she had fled. A blow upon the head had caused partial deafness, and inflicted an injury which made her fall asleep the moment she was seated. Moses had no education, yet the most refined person would listen for hours while she related the intensely interesting incidents of her life, told in the simplest manner, but always seasoned with good sense.
During her sojourn in Boston, Moses made several visits to the South, and it was these that gave her the cognomen of “Moses.” Men from Canada, who had made their escape years before, and whose families were still in the prison-house of slavery, would seek out Moses, and get her to go and bring their dear ones away. How strange! This woman,—one of the most ordinary looking of her race; unlettered; no idea of geography; asleep half of the time,—would penetrate the interior slave states, hide in the woods during the day, feed on the bondsman’s homely fare at night, bring off whole families of slaves, and pilot them to Canada, after running the gauntlet of the most difficult parts of the Southern country. No fugitive was ever captured who had Moses for a leader.
While in Canada, in 1860, we met several whom this woman had brought from the land of bondage, and they all believed that she had supernatural power. Of one man we inquired, “Were you not afraid of being caught?”
“O, no,” said he, “Moses is got de charm.”
“What do you mean?” we asked.
He replied, “De whites can’t catch Moses, kase you see she’s born wid de charm. De Lord has given Moses de power.”
Yes, and the woman herself felt that she had the charm, and this feeling, no doubt, nerved her up, gave her courage, and made all who followed her feel safe in her hands.
When the war broke out, instinct called Moses into active service, and she at once left for the South. Long before Butler’s “Contraband of War” doctrine was recognized by the government, Moses was hanging upon the outskirts of the Union army, and doing good service for those of her race who sought protection in our lines. When the Negro put on the “blue,” Moses was in her glory, and travelled from camp to camp, being always treated in the most respectful manner. These black men would have died for this woman, for they believed that she had a charmed life.
It is said that General Burnside, on one occasion, sent Moses into the enemy’s camp, and that she returned in due time, with most valuable information. During the last year of the Rebellion, she had in her possession a paper, the presentation of which always gained for her a prompt passage through any part of the Union lines.
Moses followed Sherman in his march “From Atlantato the Sea,” and witnessed the attack on Petersburg. The great deference shown her by the Union officers, who never failed to tip their caps when meeting her, and the strange stories told of her pioneer adventures, and the substantial aid given by her to her own race, has left with them a lasting impression that Moses still holds “the charm.”
Mary Ann Shadd Carey is a native of Delaware, and has resided for several years in Canada. She is tall and slim, with a fine head, which she carries in a peculiar manner. She has good features, intellectual countenance, bright, sharp eyes, that look right through you. She holds a legitimate place with the strong-minded women of the country.
Mrs. Carey received a far better education than usually fell to the lot of the free colored people of her native State, and which she greatly improved. She early took a lively interest in all measures tending to the elevation of her race, and has, at various times, filled the honorable positions of school teacher, school superintendent, newspaper publisher and editor, lecturer, and travelling agent. As a speaker, she ranks deservedly high; as a debater, she is quick to take advantage of the weak points of her opponent, forcible in her illustrations, biting in her sarcasm, and withering in her rebukes.
Mrs. Carey is resolute and determined, and you might as well attempt to remove a stone wall with your little finger, as to check her in what sheconceives to be right and her duty. Although she has mingled much in the society of men, attended many conventions composed almost exclusively of males, and trodden paths where women usually shrink to go, no one ever hinted aught against her reputation, and she stands with a record without blot or blemish. Had she been a man, she would probably have been with John Brown at Harper’s Ferry.
When the government determined to put colored men in the field to aid in suppressing the Rebellion, Mrs. Carey raised recruits at the West, and brought them on to Boston, with as much skill, tact, and order as any of the recruiting officers under the government. Her men were always considered the best lot brought to head-quarters. Indeed, the examining surgeon never failed to speak of Mrs. Carey’s recruits as faultless. This proves the truth of the old adage, that “It takes a woman to pick out a good man.” Few persons have done more real service for the moral, social, and political elevation of the colored race than Mrs. Carey. She is a widow, and still in the full-orbed womanhood of life, working on, feeling, as she says, “It is better to wear out, than to rust out.”
One of the most damaging influences that the institution of slavery had on the colored population of the country, was to instill in the mind of its victim the belief that he could never rise above the position of a servant. The highest aspiration of most colored men,thirty years ago, was to be a gentleman’s body servant, a steward of a steam-boat, head-waiter at a first-class hotel, a boss barber, or a boot-black with good patronage, and four or five boys under him to do the work. Even at this day, although slavery has been abolished ten years, its spirit still clings to the colored man, and, more especially, at the North. To wait at parties, attend weddings and dinners, and above all, to be a caterer, seems to be the highest aim of our Northern young men, when, to be a good mechanic, would be far more honorable, and have greater tendency towards the elevation of the race. A few exceptions to what I have penned above are to be found occasionally, and one of these is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch.
George L. Ruffin was born in Richmond, Virginia, of free parents, and of course had limited educational opportunities. He came to Boston some twenty years ago, and followed the calling of a hairdresser up to about five years since, when he began the study of the law with Honorable Harvey Jewell. In due time, he was admitted to the bar, and is now in the enjoyment of a good practice in his profession. One of the most praiseworthy acts connected with Mr. Ruffin’s elevation, is that he studied law while he was at his barber’s chair, and dependent upon it for a living.
As a member of the Massachusetts Legislature, Mr. Ruffin exhibited scholarly attainments in his speeches that placed him at once amongst the foremost men of that body. As a speaker, he is interesting, for his addresses show that he gives his subjects a thorough canvassing before he delivers them. Mr. Ruffin is a goodstudent, and is destined, we think, to rise still higher in his profession.
He takes a deep interest in the elevation and welfare of his race, is prominent in all public meetings, has a happy faculty in discharging the duties of presiding officer, or chairman of a committee, and writes resolutions that are readable, as well as to the purpose for which they are intended. Mr. Ruffin is highly respected in the community, and has done much in his dealings with prominent citizens to lift upward the standard of the colored man. He is of mixed blood, short, stout, with a rather pleasing cast of countenance, and features good to look upon. In speaking to our young men, we have often mentioned the career of Mr. Ruffin as worthy of imitation.
Richard T. Greener is a graduate of Harvard University, which, under ordinary circumstances, is considered a passport to future usefulness and preferment. Soon after leaving college, he was invited to become a teacher in the institute for colored youth, at Philadelphia. Here his labors were highly appreciated, and many regrets were manifested on his leaving to take charge of another institution of learning at Washington, where he now resides.
Mr. Greener takes a deep interest in everything tending towards the development of the genius of the race, and has written some very readable articles on education for the “New National Era.” His writingsexhibit considerable research, a mind well stored from English literature, and show that he is a man of industry and progress. Long before leaving college, Mr. Greener gave evidence of possessing talents for the platform, and recent speeches and addresses place him in the advanced ground in the art of oratory.
Mr. Greener is a mulatto, and, in personal appearance, is of medium size, good figure, well-balanced head, intellectual face, interesting conversationalist, and eager for distinction. Mr. Greener is not more than twenty-eight or thirty years of age, and has before him a brilliant future. He is a good representative of our rising young men, and is well calculated to inspire the youth of the country with noble feelings for self-elevation. His motto is “the young men to the front.” But he should remember that while the young men may take a legitimate place at the front, the old men must not be asked to take a back seat. The race cannot afford, yet a while, to dispense with the services of the “Old Guard.”
The senior editor of the “New National Era” is the eldest son of Frederick Douglass, and inherits a large share of the father’s abilities. He was born in Massachusetts, has a liberal education, is a practical printer, received excellent training in the office of “The North Star,” at Rochester, New York, and is well calculated to conduct a newspaper. Mr. Douglass distinguished himself at the attack on Fort Wagner,where the lamented Colonel Robert G. Shaw fell. His being the first to ascend the defences surrounding the fort, and his exclamation of “Come, boys, we’ll fight for God and Governor Andrew,” was at the time commented upon by the press of Europe as well as of our own country.
Mr. Douglass is an active, energetic man, deeply alive to every interest of his race, uncompromising in his adherence to principle, and is a valuable citizen in any community. He has held several important positions in Washington, where his influence is great. He is a good writer, well informed, and interesting in conversation. In asserting his rights against the proscriptive combinations of the printers of Washington, Mr. Douglass was more than a match for his would-be superiors. As a citizen, he is highly respected, and is regarded as one of the leading men of the district. He is of medium size, a little darker in complexion than the father, has a manly walk, gentlemanly in his manners, intellectual countenance, and reliable in his business dealings. His paper, the “New National Era,” is well conducted, and should receive the patronage of our people throughout the country.
Mr. Cain is well known as a Methodist preacher of some note, having been a leading man in that denomination for many years. During the Rebellion he took up his residence in South Carolina, where his good judgment, industry, and executive ability gave himconsiderable influence with his race. In the Constitutional and Reconstruction Conventions Mr. Cain took an active part, and in the State Legislature, gave unmistakable evidence of a knowledge of state affairs. He has been called to fill several positions of honor and trust, and discharged his duties with signal ability.
The moral, social, religious, and political elevation of his people has long claimed a large share of Mr. Cain’s time and attention.
As an editor, he exhibited much literary tact and talent in conducting his paper, urging in its columns education, character, and wealth, as a basis for man’s elevation. In 1872, he was elected to Congress, representing the city of Charleston. As a politician, Mr. Cain stands high in his State, being considered one of their ablest stump-speakers, and stump-speaking is regarded at the South as the best quality of an orator. Mr. Cain is nearly pure in blood, rather under the medium size, bright eye, intelligent countenance, strong, loud voice, energetic in his actions, throwing some dramatic fervor into his elocutionary powers, and may be termed an enthusiastic speaker. Gentlemanly in his manners, blameless in his family relations, staunch in his friendship, honest in his dealings with his fellow-men, Mr. Cain may be regarded as a representative man, and an able one, too.
In no state in the Union have the colored people had greater obstacles thrown in the way of their moral,social, and political elevation, than in Pennsylvania. Surrounded by a population made up of the odd ends of all countries, the German element predominating, with a large sprinkling of poor whites from the Southern States, holding prejudice against the race, the blacks of Pennsylvania have had a hard struggle. Fortunately, however, for them, there were scattered over the State a few representative men, who, by their industry, honesty, and moral courage did much to raise the character and standard of the colored man.
Foremost among these was Stephen Smith, who, while a young man began life as a lumberman in Columbia, where, for twenty-five years, he was one of the principal dealers in that business. By upright and patient labor, Mr. Smith amassed a fortune, removed to the city of Philadelphia, where he has since resided, and where he has long been one of the pillars of society.
For many years, the subject of this sketch has been an acceptable preacher in the Methodist denomination, to which sect he has given liberally of his vast means. Several years ago, Mr. Smith built a church at his own expense, and gave it to his people. More recently, he has erected and endowed an asylum for the poor of his race.
Mr. Smith is a mulatto, of medium size, strongly built, fascinating countenance, yet plain looking, with indelibly marked features. He is now in the sunset of life, and his head is thickly sprinkled with gray hairs. Although he is in the autumn of his years, he is still vigorous, attending to his own business, preaching occasionally, and looking after the interest of “our people.”
Always interested in the elevation of man, few have done more for his race than Stephen Smith. He is highly respected, and has the entire confidence of the people of his own city, as well as all who enjoy his acquaintance.
Thirty years ago, the underground railroad was in full operation, and many daring attempts were made by Northern men to aid slaves in their escape to a land of freedom. In some instances, both the fugitives and their friends were captured, taken back, tortured, and imprisoned. The death of the Rev. Charles T. Torrey, in the Maryland Penitentiary, for helping away a family of slaves; the branding of Jonathan Walker for the same offence; the capture of Captain Daniel Drayton for bringing off a number of bondmen in his vessel, the “Pearl;” and the long and cruel imprisonment of the Rev. Calvin Fairbanks, are historical facts well known to the old Abolitionists.
The subject of this sketch was born in Lexington, Kentucky, where he spent his early days in slavery. Lewis Hayden and his family made their escape from the State of Kentucky in the year 1846; by the assistance of the Rev. Calvin Fairbanks and Miss Delia A. Webster. Both of the above persons suffered cruelly, for their kindness to the fugitives. Miss Webster, after several months’ imprisonment, was liberated, but Mr. Fairbanks remained in the State Prison at Frankfort, Kentucky, more than ten years, during which time everything was done by officials of the prison to make his confinement as painful as possible.
To the great credit of Mr. Hayden, he labored faithfully to secure the release of his friend, and was, we believe, the means of shortening his sufferings.
With his family, Mr. Hayden took up his residence in Boston, where he has since remained, and where he now enjoys the respect and confidence of a large circle of friends.
Daring the reign of terror, caused by the attempt to enforce the Fugitive Slave Law, in the return of escaped bondmen, Mr. Hayden became conspicuous as one of the most faithful friends of his race, daring everything for freedom, never shrinking from any duty, and never counting the cost.
For the past dozen years, he has held a situation at the State House, and, last winter, served in the Legislature, where his speeches and his votes were given for reform.
While he does not attempt to be an orator, Mr. Hayden is, nevertheless, a very effective speaker. He is a man of common size, with little or no Anglo-Saxon blood, genteel in his manners, intelligent in conversation, and correct in all the relations of life.
To be able to tell a story, and tell it well, is a gift, and not an acquirement; a gift that one may well be proud of. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch, left his sunny home in the Island of Jamaica, last autumn, and paid a flying visit to our country. We had heard of Mr. Murray as the able editor of the leadingnewspaper in Kingston, and, therefore, he was not an entire stranger to us.
But his great powers as a lecturer, we were ignorant of. With a number of friends, we went one evening to listen to a lecture on “Life among the Lowly in Jamaica.” The speaker for the occasion was Henry G. Murray, who soon began his subject. He was a man of fine personal appearance, a little inclined to corpulency, large, electric eyes, smiling countenance beaming with intelligence, and wearing the air of a well-bred gentleman.
He commenced in a calm, cool, moderate manner, and did not depart from it during the evening. Mr. Murray’s style is true to nature, and the stories which he gave with matchless skill, convulsed every one with laughter. He evinced talent for both tragic and comic representation, rarely combined. His ludicrous stories, graphically told, kept every face on a grin from the commencement to the end. For pathos, genius, inimitable humor, and pungent wit, we have never seen his equal. He possesses the truevivida visof eloquence. Mr. Murray is a man of learning, accomplishment, and taste, and will be warmly welcomed whenever he visits us again.
Bishop Talbot is a native of Massachusetts, and was born in the town of Stoughton. He received a good, common-school education at West Bridgewater, went to the West, and studied theology, and began to preach,at the age of twenty-five years. Returning East, he preached in Boston for two years, where he made many friends. He was ordained a bishop of the A. M. E. Zion Church, about nine years ago, and now resides in Washington, D. C.
Bishop Talbot is about fifty-five years of age, of common size and stature, a dark mulatto, fine head, and thoughtful face, with but little of the negro cast of countenance. He is a good student, well read, and better informed than the clergy generally.
As a speaker, he is sound, clear, thorough, and though not brilliant, is a very interesting preacher. His dignified, calm utterance has great power. He is much admired in the pulpit, and never lacks hearers.
The absence of fire and brimstone in his sermons gives the bishop a gentlemanly air in the pulpit that strongly contrasts with his brethren of the cloth. He is a good presiding officer, and rules according to Cushing. Living a blameless life, having an unblemished reputation, and taking a deep interest in everything pertaining to the moral, social, and political condition of the race, Bishop Talbot is highly respected by all.
Dr. Purvis is a son of Robert Purvis, the well-known philanthropist, and co-worker with William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Lucretia Mott. When a boy, “Burleigh” often met us at the steamer or the cars, a number of miles away, took us to the homestead at Bybery, listened to our lecture in the“old hall,” and then returned us to the train or boat the next morning, and always did it cheerfully, and with a smile.
The subject of our sketch was born in Philadelphia, in 1841, received a collegiate education, graduating A. M.; studied at the Cleveland Medical College, where, in 1864, he received the degree of M. D. He entered the army as acting-assistant surgeon during the summer of the same year.
Dr. Purvis now resides at Washington, and holds the honorable position of Professor ofMateria Medicaand Jurisprudence in Howard University. The doctor takes a lively interest in the education and elevation of his race, and exercises considerable influence in the affairs of the District.
He inherits much of his father’s enthusiasm and oratorical powers, and has spoken eloquently and successfully in public meetings and conventions.
By close attention to his profession, Dr. Purvis has taken a high rank as a physician. In complexion, he stands about half-way between the Anglo-Saxon and the negro, probably throwing in a little mite of Indian. Like his father, the doctor is of fine personal appearance, dignified and gentlemanly in his manners, and respected by every one.
That spicy and spirited weekly, “The Progressive American,” is edited by the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. By his native genius, untiringindustry, and scholarly attainments, he has created and kept alive a newspaper that is a welcome guest in New York, and the country around. As an editor, Mr. Freeman has been eminently successful, and his journal now ranks amongst the very best of our papers. His editorials exhibit more than ordinary tact and talent, and are always on the side of right, morality, and the elevation of man. He has long taken a leading part in state affairs, and has held prominent places in conventions and public meetings.
As a speaker, he is interesting, and knows what he talks about.
His speeches consist of strong arguments and spirited appeals. Personally, Mr. Freeman is sociable and affable in his manners, and hearty and pleasant in his address. In complexion, he is of a brown skin, with well-defined features, intellectual forehead, slim and straight, with a walk something akin to the Indian. He is gentlemanly, upright, and correct in his intercourse with mankind, and highly respected as a man of advanced ideas.
The subject of this sketch is a grandson of the late Rev. Thomas Paul, whose eloquence as a preacher is vividly remembered by Bostonians of forty years ago, as one of the most entertaining of divines. Born in Boston, Elijah W. Smith is well known as one of her most respected citizens. He is by trade a printer, which he learned in the office of “The Liberator,”with Wm. Lloyd Garrison, who always speaks of “Elijah” with the utmost respect. No one can read Mr. Smith’s poems without a regret that he has written so little, and yet he has given us more poetry than any other colored American. Few living poets understand, better than he, the elements of true poetry.
The evenness of his numbers, the polish of his diction, the rich melody of his musically-embodied thoughts, and the variety of his information, show that Nature has not been sparing in showering her gifts upon him.
In his poetry Mr. Smith seeks to make mankind, and things around him, in harmony with a better state of moral existence.
His contributions to literature will ever tend to delight and instruct the lovers of liberty and pure and refined society. Most of his articles have appeared in “The Boston Daily Traveller,” and “The Saturday Evening Express.” The longest poem contains thirty verses.
“Keep off the Grass,” and “Welcome to Spring,” shows the author’s leaning towards Nature. “Crushed At Sedan,” “Vive La France,” and “A Plea for the Recognition of Cuba,” are the promptings of a sympathetic heart. “Peter and Joseph’s Trip to Vermont” is full of humor, and shows that our author is at home in comic poetry. Mr. Smith’s finer feelings find vent in those beautiful poems the “Winter Song of the Poor,” and “Merry Christmas,” either of which is enough to give a writer everlasting fame.
The Republican Party owes our author a debt of gratitude for the lyrics he has contributed to its aid inthis section. The following lines are from the beautiful and soul-stirring poem entitled “Freedom’s Jubilee,” read at a Ratification Meeting of the Fifteenth Amendment:
“Glory to God! for the struggle is ended,Glory to God! for the victory won,Honor to those who the Right have defended,Through the long years since the conflict begun.“O, may the prayers of those ready to perishGuard them from harm like a girdle of fire!Deep in our hearts their good deeds we will cherish,And to deserve them we’ll ever aspire.“God! at Thine altar, in thanksgiving bending,Grant that our eyes Thy great goodness may see;O, may Thy light, while the temple’s veil rending,Show, through its portals, the path of the Free.”
“Glory to God! for the struggle is ended,Glory to God! for the victory won,Honor to those who the Right have defended,Through the long years since the conflict begun.“O, may the prayers of those ready to perishGuard them from harm like a girdle of fire!Deep in our hearts their good deeds we will cherish,And to deserve them we’ll ever aspire.“God! at Thine altar, in thanksgiving bending,Grant that our eyes Thy great goodness may see;O, may Thy light, while the temple’s veil rending,Show, through its portals, the path of the Free.”
“Glory to God! for the struggle is ended,Glory to God! for the victory won,Honor to those who the Right have defended,Through the long years since the conflict begun.
“Glory to God! for the struggle is ended,
Glory to God! for the victory won,
Honor to those who the Right have defended,
Through the long years since the conflict begun.
“O, may the prayers of those ready to perishGuard them from harm like a girdle of fire!Deep in our hearts their good deeds we will cherish,And to deserve them we’ll ever aspire.
“O, may the prayers of those ready to perish
Guard them from harm like a girdle of fire!
Deep in our hearts their good deeds we will cherish,
And to deserve them we’ll ever aspire.
“God! at Thine altar, in thanksgiving bending,Grant that our eyes Thy great goodness may see;O, may Thy light, while the temple’s veil rending,Show, through its portals, the path of the Free.”
“God! at Thine altar, in thanksgiving bending,
Grant that our eyes Thy great goodness may see;
O, may Thy light, while the temple’s veil rending,
Show, through its portals, the path of the Free.”
“Our Lost Leader,” written on the death of Charles Sumner, is one of Mr. Smith’s best productions. “The Boston Daily Traveller” says: “This is a beautiful poem written by Elijah W. Smith, who is a true poet, and who has produced some of the best poetry called forth by the death of Mr. Sumner.”
We can only give the last verse:
“Give us the faith to kneel aroundOur Country’s shrine, and swearTo keep alive the sacred flameThatSumnerkindled there!”
“Give us the faith to kneel aroundOur Country’s shrine, and swearTo keep alive the sacred flameThatSumnerkindled there!”
“Give us the faith to kneel aroundOur Country’s shrine, and swearTo keep alive the sacred flameThatSumnerkindled there!”
“Give us the faith to kneel around
Our Country’s shrine, and swear
To keep alive the sacred flame
ThatSumnerkindled there!”
The “Song of The Liberators” has in it the snap and fire that shows the author’s sound appreciation of the workers for liberty. We give a few of those spirited verses, and regret that want of space prevents our placing the entire poem before the reader:
“The battle-cry is soundingFrom every hill and vale,From rock to rock resounding,Now shall the tyrants quail.No more with chain and fetter,No more with prison cell,Shall despots punish heroesIn the land they love so well.“And thou, O Isle of Beauty,Thy plaintive cry is heard;Throughout our wide dominions,The souls of men are stirred;And rising in their manhood,They shout from sea to sea,‘Destruction to the tyrants!Fair Cuba shall be free!’”
“The battle-cry is soundingFrom every hill and vale,From rock to rock resounding,Now shall the tyrants quail.No more with chain and fetter,No more with prison cell,Shall despots punish heroesIn the land they love so well.“And thou, O Isle of Beauty,Thy plaintive cry is heard;Throughout our wide dominions,The souls of men are stirred;And rising in their manhood,They shout from sea to sea,‘Destruction to the tyrants!Fair Cuba shall be free!’”
“The battle-cry is soundingFrom every hill and vale,From rock to rock resounding,Now shall the tyrants quail.No more with chain and fetter,No more with prison cell,Shall despots punish heroesIn the land they love so well.
“The battle-cry is sounding
From every hill and vale,
From rock to rock resounding,
Now shall the tyrants quail.
No more with chain and fetter,
No more with prison cell,
Shall despots punish heroes
In the land they love so well.
“And thou, O Isle of Beauty,Thy plaintive cry is heard;Throughout our wide dominions,The souls of men are stirred;And rising in their manhood,They shout from sea to sea,‘Destruction to the tyrants!Fair Cuba shall be free!’”
“And thou, O Isle of Beauty,
Thy plaintive cry is heard;
Throughout our wide dominions,
The souls of men are stirred;
And rising in their manhood,
They shout from sea to sea,
‘Destruction to the tyrants!
Fair Cuba shall be free!’”
In person Mr. Smith is short, and inclined to be stout, with complexion of a light brown.
His head is large and well developed; the expression of his features are mild and good, his eyes are lively, and the turn of his face is graceful and full of sensibility, and delicately susceptible of every impression.
Still on the sunny side of fifty, and being of studious habits and an impassioned lover of Nature, we may yet look for valuable contributions from his versatile pen.
We hope, ere long, to see his poems given to the reading public in a collected form, for we are sure that they would be a prized accession to the current literature of the day, besides the valuable work they would do for the elevation of his own race.
Mr. Smith has written more than sixty poems, one of which will be found in the fore-part of this volume.
[54]“An Apology for Methodism.” B. T. Tanner, p. 388.
[55]Tanner’s “Apology,” p. 415.
My Southern Home
THE NEGRO IN THE REBELLION