Samuel David Ferguson (January 1, 1842 – August 2, 1916) was an African American clergyman in
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 ...
. He was the first African American to be elected as a
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of the
Episcopal Diocese of Liberia
The Episcopal Diocese of Liberia is a diocese in the Anglican Communion founded by missionaries from the Episcopal Church.
During the 1851 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, the Rev. John Payne, a missionary from Virginia was consecrate ...
.
Biography
Samuel David Ferguson was born in
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
, on January 1, 1842.
He moved with his family to Liberia when he was six years old. He was ordained a deacon on December 28, 1865, and a priest on March 15, 1868. He was consecrated as bishop on June 24, 1885, (
Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
's Feast Day) at
Grace Church, New York
Grace Church is a historic parish church in Manhattan, New York City which is part of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The church is located at 800–804 Broadway, at the corner of East 10th Street, where Broadway bends to the south-southe ...
, becoming the first black member of the
House of Bishops
The House of Bishops is the third House in a General Synod of some Anglican churches and the second house in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. . He married Mary Leonora Montgomery.
As
Missionary Bishop
A missionary bishop is one assigned in the Anglican Communion to an area that is not already organized under a bishop of a church. The term was also used in the Methodist churches at one time, but this was discontinued in 1964.
Anglican churches
I ...
of Liberia, he founded what is now
Cuttington University
Cuttington University is a private university in Suacoco, Liberia. Founded in 1889 as Cuttington College by the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA), it is the oldest private, coeducational, four-year, degree-granting institution in sub-S ...
. Ferguson also established the
Bromley Mission School. One of his protégés,
Raphael Morgan
Robert Josias "Raphael" Morgan (c. 1866 - July 29, 1922) was a Jamaican-American who is believed to be the first Black Eastern Orthodox priest in the United States. After being active in other denominations, including the AME Church, Church ...
, became an Episcopal priest in the United States but ultimately converted to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Ferguson remained in Liberia until his death in
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...
in 1916.
See also
Notes
References
*''Representative Man - A Note on Samuel David Ferguson: America's 1st Black Bishop'',
Seward Montgomery Cooper (2005)
*''Handbooks on Missions of the Episcopal Church Number IV Liberia'',
National Council of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Department of Foreign Missions, New York, 1924, p. 50
*''History of the Afro-American Group of the Episcopal Church'', Baltimore, Maryland:
Church Advocate Press, 1922, p. 206, by
George F. Bragg
*''History of the Episcopal Church in Liberia 1821-1980'',
American Theological Library Association
The American Theological Library Association (Atla) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), professional association, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Atla's member libraries and librarians provide resources for scholarly research to tens o ...
and
Scarecrow Press
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...
, Inc. London (1992), p. 155, by
D. Elwood Dunn
External links
Profile ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Guide to Black History
*
Americo-Liberian people
Bishops of the Episcopal Church (United States)
1842 births
1916 deaths
American Anglican missionaries
Anglican bishops in Mission
Anglican missionaries in Liberia
Cuttington University
Liberian Episcopalians
American emigrants to Liberia
19th-century American Episcopalians
Anglican bishops of Liberia
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