This interesting individual was born a slave, on the estate of William
A. Christian, in Charles City county, about thirty miles below
Richmond. In 1804, he was sent to that city, and hired out by the year
as a common laborer at the Shockoe warehouse. At that time, and for
two or three years after, he was excessively profane, and much addicted
to intoxication.
But God, who is rich in mercy, was pleased to awaken him to a sense of
his lost estate; and in the year 1807, he made open profession of his
faith in the Saviour. A sermon which he heard about that time, founded
on our Lord's interview with Nicodemus, awakened in him so strong a
desire to be able to read and write, that he obtained a Testament, and
commenced learning his letters, by trying to read the chapter in which
that interview is recorded.
He was occasionally instructed by young gentlemen at the warehouse,
though he never attended a regular school. In a little time, he was
able to read and write, so as to make dray tickets, and superintend
the shipping of tobacco. In this business, and in overseeing the labor
of the other hands in the warehouse, he was particularly useful; so
much so, that he received 800 dollars salary in 1820, the last year he
remained there; and he could have received a larger sum, if he would
have continued.
In the year 1813, he bought himself and his two little children (his
wife being dead) for 850 dollars, and thus became free. The manner
in which he obtained this sum of money to purchase himself and his
children, reflects much credit on his character. It will be seen from
the salary he received after he was free, and which he relinquished for
the sake of doing good in Africa, that his services at the warehouse
were highly estimated; but of their real value, no one except a dealer
in tobacco can form an idea. Notwithstanding the hundreds of hogsheads
that were committed to his charge, he could produce any one the instant
it was called for; and the shipments were made with a promptness and
correctness, such as no person has equalled in the same situation. For
this correctness and fidelity, he was highly esteemed, and frequently
rewarded by the merchant with a five-dollar note. He was allowed also
to sell for his benefit many small parcels of waste tobacco. It was
by saving the little sums obtained in this way, with the aid of a
subscription by the merchants to whose interests he had been attentive,
that he procured these 850 dollars which he paid for the freedom of
himself and children. When the colonists were fitted out for Africa,
he defrayed a considerable part of his own expense. With a design to
improve his condition, he emigrated to Africa among the first settlers
of Liberia, where he was the means of doing much good to both colonists
and natives.
In reply to one of his friends, who desired to know what inducement he
had for going to Africa, when he was already so comfortably situated,
he said, "I am an African; and in this country, however meritorious my
conduct and respectable my character, I cannot receive the credit due
to either. I wish to go to a country where I shall be estimated by my
merits, not by my complexion. And I likewise feel bound to labor for my
suffering race."
Soon after he made a profession of religion he commenced holding
meetings and exhorting among the colored people; and, though he had
scarcely any knowledge of books, and but little acquaintance with
mankind, he would frequently exhibit a boldness of thought, and a
strength of native intellect, which no acquirement could ever have
given him.
At the close of his farewell sermon, on his departure for Africa, he
remarked in substance as follows: "I am about to leave you; and I
expect to see your faces no more. I long to preach to the poor Africans
the way of life and salvation. I don't know what may befall me--whether
I may find a grave in the ocean, or among the savage men, or more
savage wild beasts, on the coast of Africa: nor am I anxious what may
become of me; I feel it my duty to go.
"I very much fear that many of those who preach the gospel in this
country will blush when the Saviour calls them to give an account of
their labors in His cause, and tells them, 'I commanded you to go into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'" And with the
most forcible emphasis he exclaimed, "The Saviour may ask, 'Where have
you been? What have you been doing? Have you endeavored to the utmost
of your ability to fulfil the commands I gave you? or have you sought
your own gratification and your own ease, regardless of my commands?'"
In his new home, his intellectual ability, firmness of purpose,
unbending integrity, correct judgment, and disinterested benevolence,
caused him to be beloved and respected, and gave him great influence:
and he soon rose to honorable distinction. The interests of the colony,
and the cause of his countrymen, in both Africa and America, were
very near to his heart. For them he was willing to toil, and to make
almost any sacrifice; and he frequently declared that no possessions in
America could induce him to return.
He possessed a constitution peculiarily fitted for toil and exposure,
and he felt the effects of the climate perhaps less than any other
individual in the colony. During the sickly season of the year, he
was usually wholly employed in attending the sick; and for more than
a year, they had no other physician among them. The little medical
information he had obtained from Dr. Ayres and others on the coast,
together with several years' experience, enabled him successfully to
contend with the peculiar fevers of the climate.
Under date of March 12th, 1824, shortly after the arrival of the Cyrus
with 105 emigrants, he wrote: "The fever began about the 24th ult.,
and on the 28th we had thirty-eight cases; and by the 2d inst. we had
sixty-six under the operation of medicine; and at present, I have about
a hundred cases of fever to contend with; but we have been very much
favored, for they all appear to be on the recovery, and we have lost
none, saving three children. I have very little time to write to you,
myself being the only man that will venture to act in the capacity of
a physician."
The managers of the American Colonization Society, in 1825, invited
Carey to visit the United States, in the expectation that his
intelligent and candid statements, concerning the condition and
prospects of the colony and the moral wants of Africa, would exert
a beneficial influence on the opinions of the people of color, and
recommend the cause of the society to the public regard.
In the month of April, 1826, he made arrangements to embark in the
Indian Chief, on her return from taking a large number of emigrants
to the colony, and received from Ashmun testimonials of his worth and
services. The following is an extract from a letter from Ashmun to the
managers of the Colonization Society:
"The Rev. Lott Carey has, in my opinion, some claims on the justice of
the society, or the government of the United States, or both, which
merit consideration. These claims arise out of a long and faithful
course of medical services rendered to this colony. More than one-half
of his time has been given up to the care of the sick, from the day
I landed in Africa to the very moment of stating the fact. He has
personally aided, in every way that fidelity and benevolence could
dictate, in all the attentions which our sick have in so long a period
received.
"Several times have these disinterested labors reduced him to the very
verge of the grave. He has hitherto received no compensation, either
from the society or the government, for these services. I need _not_
add, that it has not been in his power to support himself and family,
by any use he could make of the remnants of the time left him, after
discharging the amount of duties devolving upon him. In addition, he
has the care of the liberated Africans."
Until near the time of the Indian Chief's departure, he cherished
the hope of embarking in her for America. But as there was no other
physician in the colony, it was finally thought best for him to
postpone his departure until another opportunity.
Notwithstanding he on one occasion manifested a disposition for
insubordination, yet, like a wise man and a Christian, he soon saw his
error, and acknowledged it with humility and submission. He was elected
in September, 1826, to the vice-agency of the colony, and discharged
the duties of that important office until his death.
In his good sense, moral worth, public spirit, courage, resolution, and
decision, the colonial agent had perfect confidence. He knew that in
times of difficulty or of danger, full reliance might be placed upon
the energy and efficiency of Carey.
When compelled, in the early part of 1828, to leave the colony, Ashmun
committed the administration of the colonial affairs into the hands of
the vice-agent, in the full belief that no interest would be betrayed,
but that his efforts would be constantly and anxiously directed to the
promotion of the public good.
Soon after Carey wrote thus: "Feeling very sensibly my incompetency
to enter upon the duties of my office, without first making all the
officers of the colony well acquainted with the principal objects which
should engage our attention, I invited them to meet at the Agency House
on the 27th, at nine o'clock, which was punctually attended to, and I
then read all the instructions left by Mr. Ashmun, without reserve,
and requested their co-operation. To get the new settlers located on
their lands, was a very important item in my instructions; and I trust,
through the blessing of the great Ruler of events, we shall be able to
realize all the expectations of Mr. Ashmun."
He soon purchased a large tract of land for the Colonization Society of
the native kings; and further said, "Captain Russell will be able to
give something like a fair account of the state of our improvements, as
he went with me to visit the settlements, and seemed pleased with the
prospect at Millsburg, Caldwell, and the Halfway Farms."
For about six months after the departure of Ashmun from the colony,
Carey stood at its head, and conducted himself with such energy and
wisdom as to do honor to his previous reputation, and fix the seal upon
his enviable fame. But, alas! he was suddenly and unexpectedly, and
in a distressing manner, forced from life, in all its vigor, by the
explosion of gunpowder, on the 8th of November, in which eight persons
lost their lives.
Carey was thrice married, and thrice he was left a widower. His first
wife died, as before related, previous to his becoming free. His second
wife died at Foura Bay, near Sierra Leone, shortly after arriving in
Africa. Of her triumphant death, he has given a most affecting account
in his journal of that date. His third wife died at Cape Montserado.
She was the daughter of Richard Sampson, from Petersburg.
It has been very well said of Carey, that he was one of nature's
noblemen. Had he possessed the advantages of education, few men of
his age would have excelled him in knowledge or genius. To found a
Christian colony which might prove a blessed asylum to his degraded
brethren in America, and enlighten and regenerate Africa, was, in his
view, an object with which no temporal good, not even life, could be
compared.
The strongest sympathies of his nature were excited in behalf of his
unfortunate people, and the divine promise cheered and encouraged him
in his labors for their improvement and salvation. A main pillar in the
society and church of Liberia has fallen! But we will not despond. The
memorial of his worth shall never perish. It shall stand in a clearer
light, when every chain is broken, and Christianity shall have assumed
her sway over the millions of Africa.