Biographical Sketch
Beriah Green (1794-1874) was born in
New England and attended Middlebury College and Andover Seminary. Although
he did not graduate from the seminary, his later work reflected the values of
the seminary. Reverend Green published many sermons calling for missionary
ministers to settle the west and make every town a 'bastion of virtue and
piety.' In 1830, Reverend Green joined the faculty of Western Reserve
Academy and he, his wife, and four children moved to Hudson.
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Shortly after beginning his teaching in
biblical studies and sacred languages, Green became an ardent
abolitionist. While he had always believed slavery should be abolished, he
supported the idea of gradual emancipation and colonization. A major tenet
of this idea was that newly freed slaves would be sent to a colony in West
Africa (colonization). The abolitionists, however espoused immediate
emancipation and American citizenship for all slaves (abolitionist or
immediatism). These very different approaches to ending slavery had
significant impact on Western Reserve Academy and Reverend Green was a prominent
soldier in this conflict.
Reverend Green used his classroom and the pulpit to
advocate his abolitionist view points. He counseled many students
and converted him to his way of thinking. This brought him and
several other faculty members into direct conflict with the College's
Broad of Trustees who continued to support colonization. The
three years of Green's tenure at WRC, were so divisive that enrollment and
funding were negatively impacted and according to one historian, it
"retarded the development of the college for the next twenty
years." |
In 1832-33, Green accepted an offer to
head the Oneida Institute in Whitesboro, New York. He accepted the
Presidency under two conditions; he was free to preach
immediatism and he could admit a student regardless of race. He
capitalized on the abolitionist feelings at Oneida and worked to organized
anti-slavery societies in other parts of New York as well as ensuring that the
Institute itself was an 'abolitionist training camp.' His 10 year tenure
at the Oneida Institute came to end when due to financial difficulties, he was
forced to close the school and sell the land and buildings in1844.
Reverend Green continued to advocate
abolitionism in his sermons and writings. As the civil war neared, he fell
out of favor with many of his friends and struggled financially. He died
in Whitesboro, New York on May 4, 1874 while admonishing the Board of Excise to
not grant any more liquor licenses.
Sources and Further Reading
Sernett, Milton, C. Abolition's Axe. Syracuse,
NY: Syracuse University Press, 1986.
Waite, Frederick, Clayton. Western
Reserve University The Hudson Era. Cleveland, OH: Western
Reserve University Press, 1943.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of many of the
published works of Beriah Green and some of his family members. They were
collected by a Rosalind Wright Harris, his great-granddaughter.
Series Descriptions
Series 1. Biographical Sketch 1875 1f
Series 2. Books 8 boxes
Green,
Beriah. Sermons and Other Discourses with brief biographical hints. 2nd
ed. New York: S.W. Green, 1861.
Green,
Beriah. Sermons and Other Discourses with brief biographical hints. 3rd
ed. New York: S.W. Green, 1861.
(two copies)
Green,
Beriah. The Miscellaneous Writings of Beriah Green. Whitesboro, New
York: Oneida Institute, 1841.
The
Rejected Stone: or Insurrection vs. Resurection in America. Boston:
Walker, Wise, and Company, 1861.
The
London and Westminster Review. American Edition, New York: William Lewer.
Vol. III No. 2. July 1837.
The
Westminster Review. American Edition, New York: Leonard Scott & Co.
Vol. XL. No 1. January 1855.
The
North American Review. Boston: Otis, Broaders, & Co. No. CXXXVI.
July 1847.
Series 3. Collected Publications 1846, 1848, 1849, 1852,
1865, 1871, 1873. 1f
Included
here are anti-slavery publications collected by Rev. Green.
Series
4. Compositions 1833, 1839, 1842, 1844, 1848. 2f.
This
series includes writings and sermons composed by Rev. Beriah Green.
Most concern his belief in abolitionism or immediatism. The sermons
are undated. Also included here is a memorial booklet for Ann Parker
Green Hough a relative of Rev. Green.
Series 5. Journals 5 boxes
This
series contains 4 journals of Rev. Green. The journal dated 1828 has
more than half of its pages cut out of the binding. The second journal
contains entries from 1838 through 1848. The third's entries are from
1857 through 1863. The final journal contains poems or songs and is
undated but in the hand of Rev. Green.
Series 6. Newspaper clippings 1f.
Series 7. Oneida Institute Publications 1836-41, 1843, 1878. 3f
This
series includes catalogues from the institute for 1836 through 1841.
Rev. Green's Valedictory Addresses for 1838, 1840, 1841, 1843 are
here. The 1878 Whitestown Seminary Reunion booklet is in this
series.
Series
8. Publications by Laura Green 1926 1f.
This
series contains two books authored concerning Hawaiian customs by Laura
Green a descendant of Rev. Green.
Provenance
Collected by Rosalind Wright
Harris the great-granddaughter of Reverend Beriah Green. They were
donated by the descendents of Beriah Green and Elizur Wright in memory of
Hudson resident and friend, Agnes K. Wright in November 2000.
Related Materials
See also the Elizur Wright
Collection - SP W60. Elizur Wright was a friend of Beriah Green's and a
fellow abolitionist See
also the anti-slavery books in the Brown Collection.
Administrative Information
Processing Information: Joanne O'Dell processed
this collection in March, 2005.
- Hudson Library &
Historical Society
- 96 Library Street
- Hudson, Ohio 44236
- 330.653.6658
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