HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Charles Bennett Ray (December 25, 1807 – August 15, 1886) was a prominent African-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 ...
who owned and edited the weekly newspaper '' The Colored American''. Born in Massachusetts, he spent most of his career and life in New York City.


Early life and education

Born a free man in
Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. T ...
, Ray was the son of mail carrier Joseph Aspinwall Ray and his wife Annis Harrington. He attended Wesleyan Seminary in
Wilbraham, Massachusetts Wilbraham is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb of the City of Springfield, and part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,613 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprise ...
, studying theology. In 1832 he enrolled as the first black student at
Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
in
Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...
, although his enrollment was revoked less than two months later. White students protested his admission.


Move to New York and ministry

Ray moved to New York City in 1832 and opened a boot and shoe store. He became a Methodist minister and later a Congregational minister. Ray served as pastor of two predominantly white churches in New York City, Crosby Congregational Church and Bethesda Congregational Church. Ray was a strong supporter of the
temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...
, and was a member of the
American Missionary Association The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...
, the African Society for Mutual Relief, and co-founded the Society for the Promotion of Education Among Colored Children.


Abolitionism

In the early 1830s Ray became involved in the abolitionist movement, and became a prominent promoter of the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
. He was also co-founder and director of the New York Vigilance Committee and a member 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, ...
, assisting refugee slaves. Ray was also active in the Society of the Promotion of Education Among Colored Children.


''The Colored American''

In 1838 Ray and Phillip Alexander Bell became co-owners of ''The Colored American'', the fourth weekly periodical published by African Americans. In 1839 Ray became the sole owner and editor. ''The Colored American'' promoted "the moral, social and political elevation of the free colored people; and the peaceful emancipation of the slaves." Ray traveled throughout the North giving speeches condemning prejudice against African Americans. In 1840 he became a supporter of the newly founded Liberty Party, the only publicly pro-Abolitionist political party.


Family

Ray married twice: first in 1834 to Henrietta Green Regulus, who died two years later in childbirth. He married again in 1840, to Charlotte Augusta Burroughs. They had seven children together, including Charlotte E. Ray, who became the first female African-American attorney; Florence Ray, who also became an attorney; and Cordelia Ray, who became a poet and known for her 80-line ode, "Lincoln". Charles B. Ray died in New York City and is buried in Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn.


Notes


References

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Charles Bennett 1807 births 1886 deaths 19th-century American journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Academics from Massachusetts African-American abolitionists American abolitionists 19th-century African-American academics 19th-century American academics African-American Christian clergy African-American publishers (people) American Congregationalist ministers American male journalists Temperance activists from New York (state) Congregationalist abolitionists Colored Conventions people Underground Railroad people Wesleyan University alumni 19th-century American clergy African-American temperance activists