Slavery or freedom must die: the Harper's Ferry tragedy : a sympton of a sisease in the heart of the nation; or th epower of slavery to destroy the ... : a sermon, preached on Sunday, Decembe
(Originally published in 1860. 18 pages. This volume is pr...)
Originally published in 1860. 18 pages. This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection
Three Lectures On Odd Fellowship: With An Essay On Its Practical Influence In Regard To Church Discipline (1844)
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
The Fugitive slave bill, or, God's laws paramount to the laws of men: a sermon, preached on Sunday, October 20, 1850 /by Rev. Nathaniel Colver, pastor ... Church ; published by request of the church
(This volume is produced from digital images from the Corn...)
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection
Nathaniel Colver was an American Baptist clergyman. During his career, he held pastorates in various places. He served as a minister at Tremont Temple from 1839 to 1852.
Background
Nathaniel Colver was born on May 10, 1794 in Orwell, Vermont, United States. His father and grandfather both bore the same name, and both were Baptist preachers and pioneer farmers, descendants of Edward Colver, who came to Massachusetts from England in 1635. His mother, Esther Dean, daughter of John and Thankful Dean, was also of early Colonial stock. When he was a year old his parents moved to northeastern New York, near what is now Champlain, and in 1810, to West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The family was large and the boy was brought up under the toughening conditions of frontier life.
Education
Colver's education comprised of two winters’ schooling and the only books in his home were the Bible, Psalmbook, and speller.
Career
Colver learned the tanner’s trade, joined the troops assembled to defend New York against the British in 1814. Soon after he was converted and became a preacher. He was ordained in West Clarendon, Vermont, his first regular parish, in 1819, and for the next twenty years served small churches in Vermont and New York.
From the start he drew large audiences. Inheriting through his paternal ancestors a restless, independent, fighting spirit, he naturally became a vigorous champion of reform. Having joined the Masons and finding that he disapproved of some of their principles and requirements, he repudiated the order in 1829, and thereafter opposed secret societies as wrong morally and dangerous politically. He was also active in the cause of temperance, and especially in behalf of abolition, to which he gave practically all his time in 1838 and a part of 1839, serving for a period as an agent of the American Anti-Slavery Society.
Addresses delivered in New England brought him to the attention of certain Boston Baptists who desired to establish a church with free seats, and particularly opposed to slavery and intemperance. Such a church, the First Free Baptist, later known as Tremont Temple, was organized, with Colver as minister. Here from 1839 to 1852 he had a notable pastorate.
A delegate to the World Anti-Slavery Convention at London in 1840, he attracted favorable attention there. In a sermon published in 1850, The Fugitive Slave Bill, or God's Lazos Paramount to the Laws of Men, he urged disobedience to the law as a sacred duty. Pastorates in South Abington (Whitman), Massachusetts; Detroit; Cincinnati; and Chicago followed. He kept up his attacks upon slavery, and a sermon, preached in Cincinnati, December 11, 1859, "Slavery or Freedom Must Die. ” The Harper’s Ferry Tragedy a Symptom of Disease in the Heart of the Nation, was published in 1860. Appreciating the need of theological education in the West, both in Cincinnati and Chicago, he gathered together groups of young men contemplating the ministry and instructed them.
He was active in the establishment of the Chicago Baptist Theological Institute in 1863, the object of which was the creation of a theological seminary in connection with the first University of Chicago, and pending its opening he was appointed to give instruction in doctrinal and practical theology at the University. In 1867 he established at Richmond, Virginia, the Colver Institute for the training of colored ministers, which survives in the theological department of the Virginia Union University. An oil painting of Colver hangs in one of the halls in Tremont Temple, Boston; another in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, bearing the inscription “A Founder of the Divinity School. ”
Achievements
Nathaniel Colver acquired an enviable reputation as a preacher and was recognized also as one of the ablest advocates of abolition. John Quincy Adams said he was the best off-hand speaker he had ever heard. He was also instrumental in founding the University of Chicago and the Colver Institute.
(Originally published in 1860. 18 pages. This volume is pr...)
Membership
Colber was a member of the American Anti-Slavery Society.
Personality
Colver had natural oratorical ability, derived probably from his mother whose family was noted for its public speakers, herself, it is said, a woman of unusual intellectual qualities. His mind was vigorous, and quick to acquire, and he possessed a ready wit and platform resourcefulness
Connections
On August 27, 1815, Colver married Sally Clark. His first wife died January 27, 1824, and January 26, 1825, at Plattsburg, New York, he married Mrs. Sarah A. Carter.
