In....
nemoriam.
IN MEMORIAM
OF THE LATE
REV. ALEX. CRUMMELL, D. D.
OF WASHINGTON, D. C.
AN ADDRESS:
DELIVERED BEFORE
^meriear) fJe^ro istori^al Society
OF PHILADELPHIA.
BY REV. HENRY L. PHILLIPS,
NOVEMBER, 1898,
With an Introductory Address by Rev. Matthew Anderson, pastor of the
Berean Presbyterian Church.
PHILADELPHIA:
THE COLEMAN PRINTERY,
1705 Lombard Street,
1899.
Rev. ALEXANDER CRUMMELL, D. D.
Born, March, 1819; Died Sept. 10, '97
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS
BY REV. HATTHEW ANDERSON.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen ;
My remarks shall simply be prefatory or introductory to him
who shall deliver the Memorial Address to the distinguished dead :
The object which has called us together to-night is one which
should arouse our highest enthusiasm. It is to extol the virtues and
sound the praises of one who did more to defend the manhood of the
Negro and give shape and character to his thought than any other man.
There were Negroes before his time and contemporaneous with him
who were great along certain lines ; for example, in the pulpit there
were Pennington, Beeman, Garnett and Payne; on the rostrum, Ward,
Purvis and Douglass; before the bar, Rock, Elliot1; and Langston;
in medicine, J. McCune Smith, McDonald, Roselle and Augusta; in
Philosophy and letters, Banneker, Nell, Deianey and Williams, men
of superior intellectual ability and who did much towards lifting the
shadows from a struggling race, but transcendentally superior to them
all, was the Christ:an scholar and dauntless defender of the Negro
against the slurs and imputations of his traducers, namely Alexander
Crummell, of Washington.
There are men, intellectual giants, who are diminutive in soul,
mere glittering icicles or stalactites and who possess no more bowels of
pity and compassion than the inert objects which they imitate. Dr.
Crummell was a man not only of great intellect but of great soul, a
soul which went out in expressions and acts of love and sympathy to¬
ward the whole human family, but especially toward that branch of
it with which he was by blood personally identified. No one could
come to Dr. Crummell in want or distress of any kind and not find in
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him a sympathetic and responsive friend—no matter what might be
his race or color. But it was in the defense of the Negro that the
greatness of his soul could be most clearly seen and appreciated. No
man entered more feelingly into his wrongs and presented stronger
and more pungent arguments in his defense than he. His conception
of the Negro was not merely that of a humanitarian, namely, that he
was a man and therefore entitled to all the rights and immunities of
other men, but that he was a man who was endowed with the richest
natural gifts and who had before him a glorious destiny.
It was indeed refreshing in these days of sham when the mora!
atmosphere is resonant with the imprecations, slanders and implica¬
tions hurled at the Negro that he might appear odious in the eyes of
the world as an extenuation of the wrongs and outrages which have
been perpetrated against him. In these days of trimming and sicken¬
ing apologetic defenses of the Negro on the part of his cowardly quasi-
friends, days when many who are ambitious to be leaders of the race
are unscrupulous monte banks and Charlatans, and who are as change¬
able and unstable in their principles as the Chameleon—that there was
one Negro who could not be swerved from his position and who had
the ability and the currage to present to the world the most unanswer¬
able and pungent arguments in reply to the charges and sophistry of
those who would undermine and make unstable the native worth and
manhood of the Negro.
When Dr. Crummell raised his voice or wielded his pen he gave 110
uncertain sound as to where he stood in regard to his race; like every true
champion of a noble cause, with his bosom unbared, he rushed fear¬
lessly into the midst of the battle, bearing down to the right and left
with his battle-axe the most dangerous of the foe. No mailed Knight
engaged an antagonist more earnestly than Dr. Crummell, the antagonist
of his race, and no Knight won more signal and glorious victories than
he. We can see him now as he came triumphantly from the different
fields of battle, gladiatorial combats, which had been fought on the
arena of public opinion where he met, engaged and vanquished the
giants of falsehood, slander and color prejudice. No gladiator was
ever more conscious of having fought and conquered than he, and no
one ever retired from the field of battle with a higher sense of the
righteousness of his cause and a loftier feeling of his prowess, and the
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huzzars to which he was entitled from the vast concourse of silent wit¬
nesses of the battles.
No man was ever truer to his race than wag Dr. Crummell and to
the Negro, and no man understood more thoroughly the mode of
thought, the cast of mind, the aspirations and the inward longings
and signs, than did he, and no man had greater love and admira¬
tion for his people, or greater confidence in their luture than he.
Hence, whatever h« did, whether it were preaching from the sacred
desk, lecturing upon the rostrum, writing for the daily press or the
leading magazines of the land, he did it always in a representative
capacity, so that whatever honor or benefit might accrue therefrom it
would be accredited to and shared by the race rather than by himself.
The man can not be found who was more unselfish and blindly devot¬
ed to his race than he, yet Dr. Cruminell was not blind to the faults of
his people. For no man exposed and denounced more unsparingly
the faults of the Negro than he, and no man demanded a higher moral
standard for his people, for he argued that while the native worth of
the Negro is not inferior to any but superior to some people, yet, inas¬
much as there are many who think him inferior, while others out of
hatred and revenge are heaping contempt and ignominy up^n him—
that aside from the scriptural injunction on the subject, the Negro can
not afford to engage in anything that would impair his morals, for just
so far as his moral fabric is impaired so far will he assist in bringing
about the predictions of his enemies and the fears of many of his
friends. For if the white man could afford to be indolent, extravagant,
intemperate and licentious, the Negro could not afford it if for no
other than prudential reasons, namely, his own self preservation, look¬
ing at it simply from a natnral standpoint.
Dr. Crummell set no higher standard for his people than he set for
himself, nor required no more rigid discipline. His eating and sleep¬
ing, recreation and labor, both mental and physical, were all submit¬
ted to the most rigid discipline, so that it can therefore be readily un¬
derstood what is meant by one who stood very near him when he de¬
scribes him as having been a Christian athlete.
My acquaintance with Dr Crummell embraced a period of more
than twenty-five years, which acquaintance before his death had ripen¬
ed into the most profound esteem and admiration for him as a man
and scholar. It seems but yesterday when in company with several
students I met on the street in Oberlin a very er~ct and diginfied
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Negro, who stopped to inquire of us something concerning the town
and the College. There was something about his appearance which
was most striking, and which made us instinctively ask ourselves who
could he be, whence he came, his occupation and the object of his
visit to Oberlin ? I can see him now as I saw him then, tall, erect,
dignified, highly cultured, black and the quintessence of neatness
It had never been my good fortune to see a Negro so highly polished
and I therefore most naturally concluded that he did not belong to
this country. It was not long however, before it was learned, that
the objec* of so much astonishment was the Rev. Alexander Crummell
of New York City, an Episcopal clergyman and a returned Mission¬
ary from the West Coast of Africa, who had brought his children to
Oberlin to be educated. From that time to his death 1 have followed
with profound interest the career of Dr. Crummell.
Dr. Crummell, as a writer, had no superior in this country. His
style was scholarly, clear and pointed, and rivets the attention from
the beginning to the end. His treatment of a subject was always from
a standpoint of fact rather than theory ; hence his arguments cirried
with them the most convincing evidence ani forced the acceptance of
his conclusions even on the part of his bitterest antagonists. No gen¬
eral ever martialed his forces more skilfully against the strategetic points
of an enemy than did Dr. Crummell m irtialed his army of facts against
the strategetic points in the arguments of the traducers of the Negroes
and no general was more successful in seizing the points than he has,
as may be seen in his defense of the ''Black Woman of the South,"
and the "Defense of the Negro Race in Vmerica."
In his social relations, Dr. Crummell was most congenial. I had
the honor of being very near him socially during the latter part of his
life, having had him a number of times as guest at my house, as well
as being a guest at his. No man could have been more agreeable than
he, humor, wit, repartee and even playfulness gushed from his exur-
berant spirit as water from a perennial spring, and this kept all within
the circle of the home in a most happy frame of mind. This disposi¬
tion made him a most acceptable guest. His last days were peaceful
and rational to the end. Being a guest at Bera Cottage, Point Pleas¬
ant, N. J., the last month of his life I was privileged to see him every
day, especially during the last two weeks. On my return from Phila¬
delphia two weeks before hi> death I found that he had taken to his
bed, on inquiring concerning his health he replied: "Anderson I
think this is death," and then after expressing his wishes concerning
his funeral and making me promise to assist his wife in carrying them
out, he at once seem to be forgetful of all further thought of self, but
to be concerned principally about the welfare of his race.
The condition, trials and persecutions of the Negro seemed to
have absorbed his attention to the end. Never was his mine clearer
than it was during these last two weeks. All the great topics of the
day, social, political, moral, religious and racial—especially racial—
occupied his thought, and he conversed upon them as clearly, and
with as much interest as he had done in health. But it was the Negro
in America which concerned him most. "Friend, Anderson," he
said a week before he die J, "I have no fear of the future of the Ameri¬
can Negro, for he belongs to a prolific, hardy and imitative race, and
there is a glorious future before him ; but I do dread his leaders, be¬
cause most of them are unscrupulous, ambitious and ungodly men,
who care nothing for the race but to use it simply to secure there own
selfish and ungodly ends." When told, a few days before death, that
Khartoum had fallen, he raised his hands and exclaimed: "Thank
God! That marks the downfall of slavery in Central Africa," and
when asked, an hour before the end how he was, he replied that he
was feeling much better—that he hoped soon to get up, at the same
time expressing the interest he had taken in the morning devotion,
remarking that he had joined in the praying and singing.
The last moments were devoted to prayer, conducted according
to the rules of his church by his faithful spiritual adviser, Father
Wood. When, at 10 30 o'clock, a. m., on the 10th day of Septem¬
ber, 1898, he breathed his last, with his hand held by his faithful
wife and surrounded by his friends, there passed away one of the great¬
est of American Negroes. V man who had a stronger grip upon the
intelligent thought of the country than any other Negro, and who did
more to give character, dign ty and unity to the race than any other
man. Among his last acts was the establishment, on the 5th of March,-
1897, of the American Negro Academy, which has for its object the
promotion of Literature, Science and Art, and the culture of a form of
intellectual taste. The fostering of higher education, the publication
of scholarly works and defenses of the Negro against vicious assaults,
which meets annually at the National Capital. No Negro was more
widely known, or none whose loss is more deeply felt by all classes in
this country.
Nothing could have been more fitting therefore, than that the
Negro Historical Society of Philadelphia, should hold a memorial to
Dr. Crummell, a Society which has for its object the gathering of
books, papers, magazines and everything of interest to the Negro. It
is fitting I say, that this Society should hold sacred and keep alive
the memory of one who has done as much if not more to give to the
race a history than any other man Bus as 1 said before my remarks
have been simply prefatory or introductory to the memorial address
which is to be delivered by one who is eminently qualified to del ver
it, a gentleman who holds a most unique position in this city btcause
of his wide influence here and because of the respect and esteem in
which he is held by all classes ; a gentleman who knew Dr. Crumrnell
intimately not only as a man and his work as a public benefactor, but
also as a Churchman of which I am comparatively ignorant. It gives
me therefore great pleasure to present to this audience the Rev. Henry
L. Phillips, rector of the Church oi the Crucifixion, who will now de¬
liver the Memorial address to Rev. Alexander Crummell, D. D.
IN MEMORIAM.
BY REV.HENRY L. PHILLIPS, D. D.
He believed with Epictetus : " You will do the greatest service to the State if
you should raise, not the roof of the houses, but the souls of the citizens ; for it is better
that great souls should dwell in small houses rather than for mean slaves to lurk in great
houses."
11 How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished."
—II Sam., 1, 27.
Those are the words of one young man bewailing the death of an¬
other young man to whom he was passionately attached. Yonder on
Mt. Gilboa, is young Jonathan, the heir apparent to the throne of Is¬
rael fighting bravely and manfully against the Philistines. He i| smit¬
ten to the ground and dies together with his father and brothers. David,
the friend of Jonathan, who has already been anointed to be king
over Israel, forgets that honor, and in the sorrow of his heart exclaims:
" How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished "
When on the 10th d?\y of September, death claimed for his own,
Rev, Alex. Crummell, Doctor in Divinity, a mighty man fell and the
weapons of war so far as his eloquent tongue and trenchant pen were
concerned perished. He was a man of wonderful qualities. He had
a commanding presence. He was a striking and convincing writer ;
an eloquent speaker, a fearless champion of his race and a delightful
conversationalist.
Alex. Crummell, was born in New York, March 1819. He was
the son of an African Prince, stolen when a boy and brought to this
country. His grandfather was king of Turiance, W. A., a country
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adjoining Sierre Leone. His mother was a free woman born in New
York State. In the days of his youth there was not a single college
or seminary in the United States that would admit a black boy. I hey
were days of deep darkness and tribulation for Negroes in this land.
Pro-slavery and caste spirit dominated the country. Chief Justice
Taney's statement that "The Negro had no rights which white men
were bound to respect," was but the common sentiment of the nation.
At an early age Crummell was taught reading and writing, and
was sent to the Mulberry street school, (N. Y.) taught by Quakers.
Subsequently in common with his sisters and brothers, he received fur¬
ther instruction from white teachers employed by his father. In 1831
a high school was established by the Rev Peter Williams, Mr. Crum¬
mell' s pastor, aided by his father, Mr. Thomas Downing, and other
leading colored men, who employed a white teach r to give instruc¬
tion in Latin and Greek. This school sharpened Crummell's apetite
for larger facilities of training and culture. But alas ! where could he
and the youth's of like mind such as Garnet, and Sidney, and Down¬
ing, and Lawrence look ? Not a ray of hope was discernable on the
intellectual horizon.of the country. "Fortunately, however, just at
this time, in the year 1835, the abolitionists, of New Hampshire, dis¬
gusted with the Negro hatred of the schools and mortified at the in¬
tellectual disabilities of the black race, opened a school at Canaan, N.
H. Youths of all races and sexes were to be received into it."
For this school, Henry Highland Garnet, Thomas S. Sidney and
Ale. Crummell started with the greatest possible delight. At last a little
silver lining was seen behind the dark cloud. Apparently daydawn
was eoming after long dark night. Though Garnet was a cripple,
weak, sickly, feeble, these three boys had to travel on a steamboat
from New York to Providence, where no cabin passage was allowed
colored persons and so they were exposed all night bedlessand foodiess
to the cold and storm. From Providence to Boston ; from- Boston to
Concord ; from Concord to Hanover and trom Hanover to Canaan,
Crummell and his companions (one a cripple) were forced to ride,
night and day, on the top of the coach. It was a journey of about
four hundred miles and rarely would an inn or a hotel-give them food,
and nowhere Could they get shelter ! And this in a Christian coun¬
try ! This among a people who had sought these shores to secure re¬
ligious liberty. „ Hear Dr. Crummell himself:
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"Sidney and myself were his (Garnet's) companions during the
whole journey ; and I can never forget his sufferings—sufferings from
pain and exposure, sufferings from thirst and hunger, sufferings from
taunt and insult at every village and town, and ofttimes at every farm
house, as we rode, mounted upon the top of the coach, through all
this long journey. It seems hardly conceivable that Christian people
could thus treat human beings travelling through a land of ministers
and churches ! The sight of three black youths in gentlemanly garb,
travelling through New England was, in those days, a most unusual
sight; started not only surprise, but brought out universal sneers and
ridicule. We met a cordial reception at Canaan from two-score white
students, and began, with the highest hopes, our studies. But our
stay was the briefest. The Democracy of the State could not endure
what they called a "nigger school" on the soil of New Hampshire.; and
so the word went forth, especially from the politicians of Concord,
that the school must be broken up. Fourteen black boys with books
in these hands, set the entire Granite State crazy.. On the 4th of July,
with wonderful taste and felicity, the farmers, from a wide region
around, asse.nbl-d at Cmaan and resolved to remove the academy as a
public nuisance, On the 10th of August they gathered together from
the neigrboring towns, seized the building, and with ninety yoke of
oxen, carried, it off into a swamp about a half mile from its site.
They were (wo days in accomplishing their miserable work."
The house in which Crummell and the other boys were, was attack¬
ed that same night and fired upon, but as Garnet replied by a dis¬
charge from a double-bairelied shot gun, the cowardly ruffians did not
stay. They were ordered, however, to quit the State within a fort¬
night. As resistance would have proved futile, Crummell and his
companions left Canaan and returned to their homes. Shortly after,
information was received that Onedia Institute, at Whitesboro, a Man¬
ual Labor Seminary, had opened its doors to colored boys. Thither
young Crummell repaired and spent three years under the excellent
instruction of Rev. Beriah Green. Mr. Crummell, having decided to
enter the ministry of the P. E. Church, determined to endeavor to get
the best training possible, and yet at the same'time-he purposed never
to submit to the degrading conditions under which Revs. Absolom
Jones, Peter Williams and Wm. Levington had entered it, viz : '<That
they would never apply for admission to the conventions in the dio-
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cese in which they lived." He became a candidate for orders in
1837, and at once, under the direction of the rector, the Rev. Mr.
Williams, of St. Philips Church, New York, he applied for admission
to the General Theological Seminary in New York.
Dr. Whittingham, afterwards Bishop of Maryland, was then Dean
of the faculty. He received the candidate most graciously and said to
him : "You have just as much right to admission here as any other
man. If it were left to me you should have immediate admission to
this Seminary, but the matter has been taken out of my hands in De
Garasse's case, and I am very sorry to say that I can not admit you.''
(De Garasse—colored—had applied two or three years before, and
had been refused.) Mr. Crummell then drew up a petition to the
Trustees ot the Seminary asking for admission. It fell like a bomb¬
shell into the midst of that august body, causing the most intense con¬
sternation and exasperation. The Rt. Rev. George \V. Doane, of
New Jersey, was the only one who championed the cause of Mr.
Crummell. The petition was rejected. Dr. Crummell himself says
of thia occasion : "Immediately, i. e. during the session of the
Trustees, Bishop Onderdonk sent for me and, and then and there, in
his study, set upon me with a violence and grossness that I never since
encountered, save in one instance in Africa." Mr. Crummell now
found himself in an almost hopeless condition. His name was stricken
from the list of candidates. The entrance to the ministry seemed ab¬
solutely barred. He.became a marked man. He was looked upon as
disturber of the peace. On every side, there was almost universal
anger against him. And what had he done ? Which of the com¬
mandments of God or man had he broken ? And were there no others
besides Bishop Doane, who had the nobility to champion the cause of
humanity? Yes I There were a few. Even in Sardis, there were a
few who had not defiled their garments. The honorable William Jay
and John Jay, Esq., son and grandson of the illustrious John Jay, the
first Chief Justice of the United States, Chas. K-ing, Esq,., editor of
the New York American and the Rev. Manton Eastburn, D. D.,
Rector of the Church of the Ascension, protested most vigorously a-
gainst the action of the Trustees and the conduct of the Bishop.
These gentlemen advised Mr. Crummell to go to Boston. They gave
him letters to their friends. One introduced him to Rev. Wm. Cros-
weli, Rector of the Church of the Advent. Rev. Mr. Croswell was
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not only a Divine, but a sweet poet deeply interested in the Negro
race. While he could not personally do much for Mr. Crummell, he
directed him to go to Rev. Dr. Vinton and the Rev. Mr. Clark. The
Rev. Thomas M. Clark—now the venerable and aged Bishop of
Rhode Island, was then a young priest, swaying by his inspiring elo¬
quence and empyed character the crowds of worshippers who flocked
to hear him.
Dr. Vinton, Rev. Mr. Cl.ark and Rev. Mr. Crosswell became the
friends and patrons of Mr. Crummell. Through their influence, he
was introduced to the Venerable Bishop Griswold. The Bishop re
ceived him with fatherly interest and cordiality, and concluded his
conversation with him by saying : "I wish there were twenty more of
your race applying for orders, 1 should be more than glad to receive
them as candidates for the ministry in this diocese." Dr. Crummell
says of this period : "My removal from New York to Boston seemed a
transition from the darkness of midnight to the golden light of a sum¬
mer morning ; and it filled me with transport and inspiration. Never
before, I judge, hnd a Negro youth in this land had such a golden ex¬
perience. Just think of a s'imple black boy, in 1840 being received
in the very Mecca of American culture, refinement and piety, with
courtesy, with manly recognition, with Christian fraternalisin ! All
honor to New England ! Land, indeed, of sterile soil and black
mountains ! Land of chilling winds and wintery frosts, yet notwith¬
standing these physical drawbacks, the land of noble hearts, of Chris¬
tian brotherhood, of generous sympathy and of large philanthropy."
In Boston he became a candidate for orders, and two years after¬
wards, May, 1842, was ordained to the Deaconate, in St. Paul's
Church in that city. In 1844, Bishop Lee of Delaware ordairied him
to the Priesthood. The Rev. Mr. Crummell began his ministerial
labors at Providence, R. I., but there he could not get a support.
From Providence he came to Philadelphia. The Bishop of the diocese
at that time was Rt. Rev. H. U. Onderdonk, brother of the New
York Onderdonk. At the request of Mr. Crummtll co labor here, the
Bishop made the following reply : "I can not receive you into this
diocese unless you will promise that you will never apply for a seat in
the convention for yourself or for any church you may raise in this
city." Those who knew Dr. Crummell can well imagine what his
answer to this iniquitous demand was : "That, sir, I shall never do."
That ended the interview, but as he was leaving the study, the Bishop
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called him back and said : "You may wait a few days, and I will
communicate with you." The Pennsylvania Diocesan Convention
met at its annual session a few days after this interview. The Bishop
in his address suggested that possibly some other African church might
spring up in the diocese (St. Thomas was the only one then) and ad¬
vised that in such an event, it would be well to prepare a canon that
no such church or its minister should be admitted to the convention.
The convention was all in the dark as to Mr. Crummell's application,
but the horror caused by the idea of having a black face in the midst
was quite enough. The canon was passed quickly, without question
or debate, as though a calamity or a pestilence was to be avoided.
Within forty-eight hours afterwards the Bishop sent word that he
had accepted Mr. Crummell's "Letter Dinmsory." But while Mr
Crummell was waiting for the Bishop's answer, he went to Burlington,
N. J., for counsel and advice From Bishop Doane. Sa)s Dr. Crum¬
mell : "I did not know the Bishop, but I had heard of his energetic
protest against my non-admission to the General Theologit al Seminary.
I can never forget that interview ; never forget the grand man who re¬
ceived me. He was standing with some parting friends on the banks
of the Delaware, on the beautiful sward before his Episcopal residence.
His two boys, one, now Bishop of Albany, were with him. At a mo¬
ment of leisure, I approached and introduced myself. I then told
him the demand of Bishop Onderdonk, and stated my deepe-t perplex¬
ity. Those who remember him will remember his strong, stalwart
voice and utterance : "Don't you do it ! Don't you give him anv
such promise ! Bishop Onderdonk is a strong personal friend of mine,
but he has no right to demand any such promise from you. You have
the same rights in the church of God as any other man, and don't you
give way to any such demands.''
So with a lighter heart he returned to Philadelphia, but with a
more fixed purpose never to submit to no ungracious and degrading
conditions which ever before had been imposed upon colored < lergy-
men.
"Just God !—and these are thf.y
Who minister at thine altar, God of Right!
Men who their hands with prayer and blessing lay
On Israel's Ark of Light!
Is not Thy hand stretched forth
Visibly in the heavens to awe and smite ?
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Shall not the living God of all the earth,
And heaven above, do right ?
Woe, then, to all who grind
Their brethren of a common father down !
To all who plunder from the immortal mind
Its bright and glorious crown.
O, speed the moment on
When wrong shail cease and Liberty and Love
And Truth and right throughout the earth be known
As in their home above."
With but few exceptions, as in Providence, so in Philadelphia,
the clergy wuold not support or rtcognize Rev. Mr. Crummell. He
was looked upon as a disturber of the peace and must be punished by
neglect. Not seldom reverend divines were rude and insulting to him.
The result was poverty, want, sickness. He says ot this period :
"On one occasion 1 was in a state of starvation."
Forced to give up his work here, he went to New York. What
awaited him tr.ere ? A repetition of the misfortunes of Providence
and Philadelphia. The clergy, with one grand exception, stood aloof
from him, as they would from a leper. Thai exception was the hero,
orator and philanthropist, Dr. Stephen H. l ing, then rector of St.
George's church. His whole soul rose in hatred of slavery and caste.
'•If it had not been for him," says Dr. Crummell, "and the constant
and unfailing generosity of my great patron, Hon. John Jay, I think
I must have died ; poverty, want and sickness had well nigh broken
me up." But there are heroes that neglect, distress, opposition can¬
not suppress. Like the mighty oak that lifts its head high up into the
sky, they simply defy the storm that rages and threatens destruction to
all around. It was at this period of difficulty and darkness, when not
enough colored people could be gathered together to build and sup¬
port a church, that friends of Rev. Mr. Crummell's suggested that hj
should go to England r\nd appeal for funds to erect such a building.'
He reached England, January, 1847, broken in health, but at the same
time full of earnest purpose and brightest hopes. The letters which
he carried soon brought him in contact with eminent persons both in
the political and ecclesiastical world. Everywhere he was received
with favor and courtesy. His manliness and natural ability were soon
seen and appreciated. His appeal for funds was kindly responded to.
He preached in London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Bath,
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Gloucester and many other cities and towns.
His work was however, often interrupted by severe fits of illness.
Through the influence of a clerical friend, he fell into the hands of the
eminent Sir Benjamin Brodie. Meanwhile, unsolicited, nay unthought
of by himself, such a personal interest sprung up in his behalf, that the
request came to him that he should retire for a season, from overwork,
and become a student in the University of Cambridge. In 1851 ht
entered Queens College, from which he graduated, taking his degree
of B. A., in '53. During his terms he was often in the hands of the
doctors. He became despondent on account of his health. His
studies were often interrupted. At last came the earnest counsel of
medical adviser that he must seek a warm climate. It was this advice
that led him to Africa. The abandonment of his work in New York
gave offence to some of his friends, but he felt that his poor health re¬
quired him to follow the advice of his physician.
His five years stay in England was a period of grand opportuni¬
ties and richest privileges. Of this period Dr. Crumrnell says -"My
letters carried me first of all to the hospitable board of one of England's
most majestic characters, Sir Robert Harry Ingles—great as a states¬
man, philanthropist, and a pillar of tl;e Church Soon one and then
another, and then another of the prelates of the Church of England,
gave me a cordial recognition Among the e were Wilberforc ■, the
great Bishop of Oxford, Bishop Bloomfield, of London, Dr. Stanley,
the Lord Bishop of Norwich, Bishop Stinds, who, at a Inter dav, lic¬
ensed me, for six months., to a curacy in '1 powich. Once I had the
privilege of spending a morning with the Dean of St. Paul's, Dr.
Thirwell, Bishop of Landiff, the most learned Bishop of the English
Church, and was charmed and left wondering at the great simplicity
of his character, married as he was to h's great weight of learning.
Now and then I had the privilege of entrance into the circle of noted
families—the Froudes, the Thachereys, the Pirmores, the Caswells and
others of literary note ; theS turges, the Croppers, the Kinnairds, the
Laboucheres, the Noels and the Thorntons of the philanthropic world.
It was at the latter place I listened, for two or three hours, to that
brilliant avalanche of history and biography, of poetry and criticism
which rushed from the brains and lips of Thomas Babington McCau-
ley. Numbers of the clergy gave me hospitality, in some cases lasting
friendship, which abides to the present, ('95) save where death has
interposed. I cannot do otherwise than mention the names of the
—13—
great biblical writers, Rev. Thomas Hartvvell Home, Rev. Henry
Vann, the great Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, Rev.
Henry Caswell, Dean Close and Rev. Daniel Wilson. Two of my
greatest friends must receive special mention: Wm. T. Blair, Esq.,
once Mayor of Bath and Mrs. Clarkson, widow of the great Thomas
Clarkson, the abolitionist."
Ihis is the man who in America was scarcely acknowledged to be
human. Tnere probably has lived no other Negro who has been hon¬
ored by personal contact and friendship with such a galaxy of stars of
the first magnitude. And Dr. Crummell showed in his whole bearing
not only the marks of the graduate of Queen College, Cambridge,
but the marks of a man who had come in contact with the world's
best and greatest. Having decided, on account of the condition of
his health, to go to Africa, he lmded in Liberia in 1853 and at once
threw himself into the work of that young Republic. To make an
impression upon the crude material that he found there was no easy
work. His missionary life was hedged up and crushed out by the ma¬
lignant and caste spirit, in the Bishop and many of the missionaries
(white m n, of course) which they carried from America, and which
marred their own labors there. He spent nearly twenty years in Afri¬
ca. The predictions of the doctors in England proved correct. After
acclimation, he entered into health such as he had never known before.
Under a tropical sun, he became vigorous and elastic. He threw
himself vigorously into the work that was before him. That work
was beset everywhere wtth supreme difficulties. There were the mis¬
trust and ignorance of the colonists and the prejudices of the white
missionaries to contend with. He succeeded, however, in doing a
healthful and elevating work.
During his residence in Africa, he was Pastor, Master of the
High School, Professor in Liberia College, School Farmer and Mis¬
sionary. Though not mingling with the potico of the country, he
was always ready to give advice and counsel in public speech On
various occasions, he was called on to deliver addresses. Many of
them have been published. They are models of pure English and
cogent reasoning. Dr. Crummell believed, and believed rightly, that
all people on their first passage from slavery to freedom need moral
rigidity. Having experienced the galling discipline of slavery, they
need as a correction to license, the "sober discipline of freedom."
This is precisely what a new people can not readily understand, and
—14—
hence are always ready to oppose those who hold such principles,
especially as there will always be found demagogues, who for personal
profit are ready to say things that are pleasing although not helpful.
Dr. Cruminell was a teacher of morals. He stood on a high plain and
shared the common fate of ail moral reformers—sometimes misunder¬
stood ; sometimes hated ; sometimes persecuted. In this respect he
belonged to the class of men to which Moses and Isaiah and Jeremiah
and the I ord Jesus and Paul and Luther and Swonarola belonged.
Thev belonged to the martyr class.
After living in Africa for nearly twenty years, he returned to the
United States in 1873, and began work in the city of Washington,
D. C. He founded St. Luke's Church, of which he remained Rector
until he had accomplished fifty years of ministerial work. He resign¬
ed in 1895, and for awhjle was Rector Emeritus. He was the found¬
er and president of the American Negro Academy. He was also
president of the Colored Ministers' Union
Dr. Crummell was buried from St. Philip's church, New York,
where his father was a vestryman ; where he was a Sunday-School
scholar; where, under the influence of the Rev. Peter Williams, he
had his mind turned towards the sacred ministry. He was an incess¬
ant writer for magazines, newspapers a^d other periodicals, besides be¬
sides being the author of several tracts Whatever he wrote was eager¬
ly read. His published volumes are " I'he Future of Africa," "The
Greatness of Christ," "Africa and America. " He was a thoroughly
educated man. As a thinker and writer he had no superior among the
colored men of this country and not very many among the whites.
He was always strong, clear and logical. Whoever studies his writings
will, drink deep from the well of eugist undefiled. He had strength
and clearness of vision to a remarkable degree. He saw clearly the
dangers of the present, out of which the future always grow, and he
had the strength and courage to urge a healthier and a better way of
living. His was indeed the pen of a ready writer. Says Lowell :
"No man is born unto this world whose work is not born with him."
Dr. Crummell's was not only born with him, but he did it well. His
His work was defensive. He stood forth for the rights of the Negro,
because he is a man. He was grandly eloquent. What can be more
noble i. g. than his eulogy on his friend, Henry Highland Garnel.
His eulogy on Clarkson is as grand a piece of writing as any one can
wish to read.
—15—
He will live and continue to be a blessing to mankind through
his writings. His "Africa and America" will increase in popularity
and usefulness as the years roll by. He saw clearly that which com¬
paratively few have seen or can understand. The so-called leaders of
the race have been urging up >n them to get money and education or
both as a sine qua non. Dr. Crummeil never hesitated to protest, in
his own vigorous way, against such teaching. Money is good. Edu¬
cation s good. Both are necessary. But they are not the first things
to be sought by a new and rising people. Character, he insists, is
the thing of prime importance. The manly virtues—proper home
training, purity, chasitv, love of the beautiful, which will not stop un¬
til it finds God, the all beautiful, and love Him for Himself with such
a love as will draw the character God-ward—those are the things that
go to make up the life of any truly great people ; those are the things
that can lift up and preserve a people; those are the things that Dr.
Crummeil insisted on as of the first importance. Education anil mon¬
ey, not married to virtue will prove a curse and not a blessing—will
prove to be but the stepping-stones to destruction.
Such was the burden of his teaching. The following is from the
Pittsburg Herald in 1893, going to show Dr. Cruinmell's influence for
good through his writings : (Read )
As the prophets and great men of old are still speaking to us and
influencing us through through their writings, so will Dr. Crummeil
continue to do. It was a pleasure to hear him speak. He had a bril¬
liant imagination. The eloquence of his diction, the felicity of style
with which he expressed himself, the wide range of knowledge, the
power to command that knowledge whenever wanted, showed the well
educated man and made him the (enter of attraction wherever he hap¬
pened to be. Blood will tell. Dr. Crummeil was the grand-son of a
king. He was a born ruler and could not brook opposition. This
he showed in his whole manner and conversation. Dealing with a
people who have not yet learned to submit gracefully to authority,
when exerted by one of their own race, this trait ot character, in Dr.
Crummeil often militated against his immediate usefulness. But it was
that which made him such a fearless champion of the race. He was
no trimmer ; he could not cringe ; he would never bow to the storm,
hoping that in that way he would escape the fury ; he would not accept
work in any diocese under degrading conditions. Hence, whether it
be in his answer to.insulting conditions under which Bishop Onder-
—16—
donk offered him work in Pennsylvania, or in his contention that the
Negro is not under a curse, or his answer to Rev. Dr, J. L. Tucker,
in his]assaults and charges against the the Negro in America, he was
always a fearless champion of the rights of the black man as man. He
was a knight of which any race may well be proud. In the providence
of God, he was raised up to do his mighty work, especially through
the use of his pen, at the time when the Calhouns and others of that
ilk were declaring that the Negro is not a man, or that if he could
grapple successfully with the Greek verb, they would believe in his
manhood.
The life, the hardships, the struggles of a man like Dr Crummell
should be known and studied by all the youths of the country. The
difficulties that this man overcame in seeking an education, in enter¬
ing the ministry, in fighting the caste spirit, in battling with sickness,
are as great, if not greater, as that which a Napoleon had to overcome
in crossing the Alps in midwinter. We are in the habit of reading of
the one with bated breath, while we pass silently over the life of men
like Dr. Alexander Crummell Why? Because we have not yet
learned to believe that moral courage is superior to physical
"Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Foot-prints on the sands of time.
Foot-prints that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
S eing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart foi any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."
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