Lucius_Henry_Holsey

Lucius Henry Holsey

Lucius Henry Holsey

American bishop (1842–1920)

Lucius Henry Holsey (July 3, 1842 – August 3, 1920) was an American bishop.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Early life and education

Lucius Henry Holsey was born on July 3, 1842, near Columbus, Georgia.[1][2] His mother Louisa was enslaved. His father James Holsey owned the plantation.[1] Lucius was born enslaved.[3]

He was sold to his cousin T. L. Wynn and then to Richard Malcolm Johnston, an academic.[1] According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, Holsey chose to be sold to Johnston.[4] According to American National Biography, Holsey taught himself to read and write and was not educated;[1] according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, some of Holsey's relatives taught him to read.[4] He remained enslaved by the Johnston family until slavery was abolished.[5]

Career

Holsey converted to Methodism after attending plantation missionary revivals led by Henry McNeal Turner.[4] He was given a preaching license as a Methodist minister in February 1868 and held various positions as a minister until he was appointed a bishop of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (now the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church) in March 1873.[1][5] The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was a division of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, created for Black people in the year 1870 during the Reconstruction era.[4]

As a bishop, Holsey founded churches, wrote and revised religious texts including the church's Book of Discipline,[5] and participated in church governance.[4][3] He also edited a church newspaper, The Gospel Trumpet.[5][6] He raised funds in support of educational institutions including Paine College; Lane College; Holsey Industrial Institute in Cordele, Georgia; and the Helen B. Cobb Institute for Girls in Barnesville, Georgia.[7]

Initially an advocate for racial cooperation, Holsey endorsed Black separatism around the turn of the 20th century after Sam Hose was lynched in 1899.[4]

In 1898, Holsey published Autobiography, Sermons, Addresses, and Essays with Franklin Printing & Publishing Company in Atlanta, Georgia.[8] It went through three editions.[3]

Personal life

Holsey married Harriett Turner on November 8, 1862,[4][5] or 1863.[7] Harriett was 15 at the time.[5] Her name is also given as Harriett A. Pearce or Harriet A. Turner.[7] Harriett and Lucius met in Hancock County, Georgia, while classes at the University of Georgia, where Johnston taught, were canceled due to the Civil War.[4] Lucius died on August 3, 1920,[1] at his home on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta.[9]

References

  1. [1]
    Shattuck, Gardiner H. (2000). "Holsey, Lucius Henry (1842-1920), minister and denominational leader". American National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0800700.
  2. [2]
    Culp, Daniel Wallace (1902). Twentieth Century Negro Literature; or, A Cyclopedia of Thought on the Vital Topics Relating to the American Negro. Toronto, Ontario; Naperville, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia: J. L. Nichols & Co. p. preceding page 47. OCLC 1158089806. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. [3]
    Rowe, Kenneth E. (1984). Black Methodism: An Introductory Guide to the Literature. Madison, New Jersey: General Commission on Archives and History, United Methodist Church. p. 22. OCLC 1244498368.
  4. [4]
    Eskew, Glenn T. (July 17, 2020). "Lucius Holsey". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  5. [5]
    Brooks, Sharon D. (2007). "Lucius Henry Holsey 1842–1920". In Smith, Jessie Carney (ed.). Notable Black American Men. Vol. 2. Gale. pp. 342–344. ISBN 978-0-7876-0763-0. OCLC 41657565. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  6. [6]
    Bullock, Penelope L. (1981). The Afro-American Periodical Press, 1838–1909. Louisiana State University Press. p. 162. ISBN 0-8071-0663-1. OCLC 7273937.
  7. [7]
    Brawley, Benjamin (1932). "Holsey, Lucius Henry". Dictionary of American Biography. Vol. 9. Charles Scribner's Sons; American Council of Learned Societies. pp. 176–177. OCLC 1042990117.
  8. [8]
    Brignano, Russell C. (1974). Black Americans in Autobiography. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-0317-5. OCLC 934498.
  9. [9]
    "Bishop L. H. Holsey C.M.E. Church, Is Dead". The New York Age. August 14, 1920. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021 – via newspapers.com.

Further reading

  • Cade, John Brother (1980) [1964]. Holsey, The Incomparable. Pageant Press. OCLC 6327870.
  • Eskew, Glenn T. (November 1992). "Black Elitism and the Failure of Paternalism in Postbellum Georgia: The Case of Bishop Lucius Henry Holsey". The Journal of Southern History. 58 (4): 637–666. doi:10.2307/2210788. JSTOR 2210788.

Media related to Lucius Henry Holsey at Wikimedia Commons
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Lucius_Henry_Holsey, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.