Amos A. (Augustus) Phelps (1805–1847) was an American minister and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

Early life

He was born in

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The populati ...

. His mother was Clarissa Bodwell Phelps Tryon and his father was Amos Phelps of Avon, Connecticut.

Career

Phelps graduated from Yale College in 1826 and

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

in 1830. After serving as a pastor in Congregational churches in Hopkinton and Boston, Massachusetts, he became an agent of the

American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist society in the United States. AASS formed in 1833 in response to the nullification crisis and the failures of existing anti-slavery organizations, ...

in 1834. From 1837 to 1839, he served as the General Agent of the

Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society The New England Anti-Slavery Society (1831–1837) was formed by William Lloyd Garrison, editor of '' The Liberator,'' in 1831. ''The Liberator'' was its official publication. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, members of the New England Anti-slave ...

. In 1839, he left the

and became one of the founding members of the Massachusetts Abolition Society, formed by abolitionists who disagreed with

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...

's progressive, and sometimes radical, politics. In 1840, he also joined forces with a group that formed the

American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society The American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society split off from the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1840. The key issue was whether women could participate in abolitionist organizations; this Society was opposed. The origin of the split, according t ...

. He died on July 27, 1847.

Personal life

He married Charlotte Brown Phelps, and they had a son Edward. Charlotte died in 1838. He then married Caroline Little in 1839 and they had a daughter, Lucy in 1841. Caroline died some time between 1841 and 1844. Phelps then married Caroline's sister, Lucy Little in 1844. Phelps and Lucy had two daughters together.

References

External links

Amos A. Phelps Correspondence (1821–1847) of Boston Public Library on Internet Archive
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Amos Yale Divinity School alumni 1805 births 1847 deaths American abolitionists Clergy from Boston Activists from Boston People from Farmington, Connecticut