Samuel Eli Cornish (1795 – November 6, 1858) was an American Presbyterian minister,

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 ...

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

, and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. He was a leader in New York City's small free black community, where he organized the first congregation of black Presbyterians in New York. In 1827 he became one of two editors of the newly founded '' Freedom's Journal'', the first black newspaper in the United States. In 1833 he was a founding member of the interracial

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, ...

Biography

Early life and education

Cornish was born in Sussex County,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, in 1795, to free parents of mixed race. As a young man, in 1815 he moved to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, which had a large community of free blacks. After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1856, Cornish organized the first congregation of black

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

in the city.

Career

When Cornish was ordained in 1822, his parish was officially established as the New Demeter Street Presbyterian Church, making it the first black Presbyterian Church in New York City. He later ministered at the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and Emmanuel Church in New York City. Cornish held high-ranking positions within the American Bible Society and the American Missionary Association, founded in 1846. He was one of the four founding black members; there were a total of 12 founders. In March 1827 he became one of two editors of '' Freedom's Journal'', the first black newspaper in the United States. The other editor was John Russwurm. It was intended to serve the 300,000 free blacks in the country and especially New York's community, as well as to offset the racist commentary of local papers in the city. Cornish left the paper in September 1827, likely due to pressure from Presbyterian colleagues Samuel Miller and Archibald Alexander over attacks against the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the repatriation of freeborn peop ...

by Russwurm in the paper. During the two years Russwurm was in sole charge of ''Freedom's Journal'', he reversed his position on colonization and lost many readers. He emigrated to

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

in 1829. Cornish returned to the paper and tried to revive it, changing the name to '' The Rights of All,'' but the paper folded in less than a year. Cornish later was editor for the ''Weekly Advocate'', later renamed the '' Colored American'', from 1837 to 1839. The paper was owned by Philip Alexander Bell."Freedom's Journal"
''Black Press'', PBS, n.d. Retrieved May 30, 2012. In 1833 Cornish was one of the founding members of the

, whose membership and leaders were interracial. He was active with them until 1840. That year, he left to join the newly formed American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely because of disputes 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 ...

over religion in the Abolitionist movement. Cornish used his position as a journalist and editor to inform the public on the issues involving abolitionism.

Personal life

Samuel Cornish married Jane Livingston in 1824 in New York City, where he lived most of his life. The couple had four children. Cornish died on November 6, 1858, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He was 63 years old.

References

External links

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Spartacus Educational: Samuel Cornish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornish, Samuel 1795 births 1858 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American clergy African-American abolitionists Abolitionists from New York City African-American journalists African-American publishers (people) African-American Presbyterian ministers African-American writers American Christian clergy American male journalists American publishers (people) American political writers American male non-fiction writers People from Sussex County, Delaware Presbyterian abolitionists