Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
Born a slave
Charles City County is the birthplace of Rev. Lott Cary, at one time among the best-known figures in African American history. Cary was a man of singular accomplishments. Photo courtesy Judy Ledbetter.
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
Born a slave
Born a slave in 1783, Cary purchased his own freedom, became a minister and sailed to Africa where he established a church and helped to found the nation of Liberia. Dr. Rex Ellis portraying Lott Cary, photo courtesy Leonard Starr.
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
Born a slave
Charles City County’s African American community has long recognized this house as Lott Cary’s birthplace. The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register based upon that oral tradition. Photo courtesy John Bragg.
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
Born a slave
Strong documentary evidence indicates, however, that Cary was owned by a man named Gideon Christian, who resided on a plantation located several miles to the north of this site. Some fact not in the record – such as Cary’s mother having been hired out at the time of his birth – may account for the discrepancy between the “blue ribbon” oral tradition and the documentary evidence. Photo of the Lott Cary house taken during a 1924 visit by a group of Richmond ministers. Members of the Jones family who owned the house are also pictured. C.C. Boone, Liberia as I Know It (1920), opposite title page courtesy Charles City county Richard M. Bowman Center for Local History.
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
Born a slave
In this inventory of Gideon Christian’s slaves made in 1797 “Lot” is listed as a “ditto” meaning the same as an earlier listing of “1 negro boy” and valued at 50 pounds. Lott was about 15 years old at this time. Listed just after him is another boy named “Cary.” Records of Charles City Baptist Church establish that the woman named Judy, listed below the two boys, was Judy Cary, mother of Berkeley, Cooper and Mike. Her relationship to Lott is unknown. The woman named Fanny (Frances) is believed to have been Lott’s mother, as he had a sister named Francis and gave that name to his eldest daughter. Charles City County Will Book 1789-1808 courtesy Library of Virginia.
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
Born a slave
Interestingly, Lott Cary’s father was a free man named Robert Cary who owned a 150-acre farm. Lott’s siblings appear to have been free persons, including his brother David who was emancipated by his father just before the father’s death. Cary may have purchased the freedom of all his children except Lott who appears to have been the youngest. The notation reads “[p]aid Christian’s Lott a Legatee pr will 10 pounds.” Thus, Lott inherited from his father an amount of money equal to 20% of his value as a slave. Charles City County Will Book 1789-1808 courtesy Library of Virginia.
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
Born a slave
In his twenties, Cary was hired out to work in a Richmond tobacco warehouse. While so employed he was able to earn money for himself by selling scrap tobacco and by earning bonuses due to his extraordinary ability to recall where individually marked hogsheads of tobacco were stored in a large warehouse. In this way he was able to save money to purchase his freedom and to acquire real estate. Harper’s Weekly, vol. 9 (1865) p. 709 in Slavery Images: A Visual Record of the African Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Early African Diaspora, www.slaveryimages.org
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
A minister and a colonist
While living in Richmond Cary experienced a religious conversion. He also learned to read and write. Letters and other documents sent by Cary from Monrovia demonstrate a remarkable command of English for a man of limited education. Benjamin Brand Papers, 1778-1843, MSS1B73329 69-133 Courtesy Virginia Museum of History and Culture, Richmond, Va. www.virginiahistory.org
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
A minister and a colonist
Cary affiliated with the First Baptist Church and became active in the Colonization Society. This engraving depicts the First African Baptist Church which later occupied the building where Cary preached. Image courtesy Library of Congress.
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
A minister and a colonist
Several white Charles City residents were actively involved in the Colonization Society. John Tyler, the future president, served for a brief period as the vice president of the Manchester branch. Fielding Lewis and Robert Douthat subscribed as lifetime members. Benjamin Brand Papers 1778-1843, MSS1B7332a 177-195 courtesy Virginia Museum of History and Culture, Richmond, VA. virginiahistory.org
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
A minister and a colonist
When the American Colonization Society was formed Cary gained its sponsorship and sailed to Africa with the second ship bound for Monrovia, arriving in Sierra Leone on March 8, 1821. Lott’s second wife, Nancy, and his three children Frances, Nancy and James accompanied him on this journey. Contrary to published biographies, this emigration document shows that Lott Cary’s children were free born and not purchased out of slavery.
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
A minister and a colonist
Eighteen Charles City residents, members of the Brown and Thompson families, followed Cary to Monrovia in 1825.
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
A minister and a colonist
Lott Cary and those who had established themselves as a church before leaving Richmond quickly set about building Providence Baptist Church on a high point overlooking the Mesurado River on the north and the Atlantic on the south. In October 1825, the first sanctuary was dedicated. The pictured stone sanctuary was constructed on the same site in 1839, and it was within these walls, the nation Liberia was born, and declared African’s first independent nation. Providence was the first Christian church in Liberia and one of the oldest on the continent of Africa. C.C. Boone, Liberia as I Know It (1920), p. 101 courtesy Charles City county Richard M. Bowman Center for Local History.
Lott Cary birthplace—native son and Liberian founding father
A minister and a colonist
Cary quickly emerged as a leader in the colony. In addition to pastoring the church, Cary taught school, served as a military leader and self-taught physician. He was chosen to serve as Vice Agent for the colony shortly before he suffered an untimely death in a gun powder explosion in 1826. Rev. Dr. Boone, a Richmond missionary, located the grave of Lott Cary while he was serving in Liberia in the early 1900s and restored its head stone. C.C. Boone, Liberia as I Know It (1920), p. 98 courtesy Charles City county Richard M. Bowman Center for Local History.