Boston Jenkins Drayton (1821–1865) was a

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...

n politician and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

minister who served as the 3rd

Chief Justice of Liberia The chief justice of Liberia is the head of the judicial branch of the Government of the Republic of Liberia and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Liberia. Appointment and term Article 54(c) of the Constitution stipulates that the chi ...

from 1861 until 1864. He had previously served as the final Governor of the

Republic of Maryland The Republic of Maryland (also known variously as the Independent State of Maryland, Maryland-in-Africa, and Maryland in Liberia) was a country in West Africa that existed from 1834 to 1857, when it was merged into what is now Liberia. The area ...

from 1855 until its annexation by Liberia on 18 March 1857. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1821, Drayton served as the black minister at St. John's Lutheran Church in Charleston under Minister

John Bachman John Bachman (February 4, 1790 – February 24, 1874) was an American Lutheran minister, social activist and naturalist who collaborated with John James Audubon to produce ''Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America'' and whose writings, particul ...

. In 1845, Drayton was sent by Bachman to serve as a missionary in

Cape Palmas Cape Palmas is a headland on the extreme southeast end of the coast of Liberia, Africa, at the extreme southwest corner of the northern half of the continent. The Cape itself consists of a small, rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a san ...

in the newly formed Republic of Maryland. He later pursued a career in politics, becoming the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland under Governor

William A. Prout William A. Prout was a Liberian politician. Prout was the son of Jacob W. Prout, who served as secretary of the Liberian Constitutional Convention. Prout served as the first elected governor of Republic of Maryland after the country achieved i ...

. In December 1855, Drayton ousted Prout, who had become increasingly unpopular, and assumed the governorship, later being unanimously elected in April 1856 as the Governor of Maryland. By December of that year, relations between the American settlers and the native Grebo population had deteriorated to the point of open warfare. As Maryland had less than 1,000 settlers and had poor financing, Drayton appealed to Liberia for assistance. In response, Liberian

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Joseph Jenkins Roberts Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15, 1809 – February 24, 1876) was an African-American merchant who emigrated to Liberia in 1829, where he became a politician. Elected as the first (1848–1856) and seventh (1872–1876) president of Libe ...

dispatched a militia force to put down the Grebo rebellion. Drayton soon negotiated the annexation of Maryland by Liberia and stepped down as governor on 18 March 1857. Drayton was later appointed

by President

Stephen Allen Benson Stephen Allen Benson (May 21, 1816 – January 24, 1865) was a Liberian politician who served as the second president of Liberia from 1856 to 1864. Prior to that, he served as the third vice president of Liberia from 1854 to 1856 under President J ...

in 1861, serving until stepping down in 1864. He died in 1865 as a result of an accidental drowning when his canoe capsized near Cape Palmas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drayton, Boston Jenkins Chief justices of Liberia Americo-Liberian people 1821 births 1866 deaths Clergy from Charleston, South Carolina People from Maryland County Liberian Lutheran clergy 19th-century American Lutheran clergy American emigrants to Liberia Deaths by drowning Governors of the Republic of Maryland 19th-century Liberian judges