Bishop Lucius Henry Holsey
Lucius Henry Holsey was a self-educated writer, preacher, farmer, world traveler, and academic pioneer for African Americans. Holsey was born a slave in 1842 near Columbus, Georgia; his father, James Holsey, was his enslaver and his mother enslaved to his father.
Upon the death of his father, Holsey became enslaved to his cousin. That cousin also died early, but first asked young Holsey to choose one of the man's two best friends as his new master. Holsey chose Richard Malcom Johnston. Around the time of Holsey's transfer to Johnston's ownership, Johnston received a professorship at the University of Georgia and moved his family, including Holsey, to Athens, Georgia. It was in this academic atmosphere that Holsey said he first felt the desire to learn.
While he knew his endeavor would be risky, Holsey decided to teach himself to read, noting that his master was a kind man -- implying, perhaps, that his punishment for getting caught would not be significant enough to deter him. Holsey saved money by collecting and selling rags. With this money, he purchased two Webster blue back spellers (a common dictionary of the time), Milton's Paradise Lost, and a Bible. He taught himself to read and write with the help of an old black man and young white children.
In Athens, Holsey was also introduced to Christianity at the Methodist Church where he was baptized. Following the Civil War, Holsey helped found and became the Bishop of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (CME).
Holsey is best remembered as the founder of Paine College, a liberal arts college founded in Augusta, Georgia in 1883. He also founded several other industrial arts schools. Holsey believed that education was the key to success for African Americans in a post-slavery world.
When Holsey was not preaching or traveling throughout the South raising money for Paine College, he enjoyed gardening and farming as recreation and as a supplement for his income.
Holsey traditionally had been a proponent of black and white harmony in the United States and accepted the idea of white superiority and a paternalistic plantation society. In the 1890's, however, a series of violent lynchings changed his views on race and politics. In 1899, Holsey called for the creation of a black state.
Bishop Lucius Henry Holsey died in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1920.
Sources:
Cade, Brother John. Holsey - The Incomparable. New York: Pageant Press, Inc. Library of Congress. 63-21706.78.
Eskew, Glenn T. "Black Elitism and the Failure of Paternalism in Postbellum Georgia: The Case of Bishop Lucius." The Journal of Southern History VOL, NUM. CITY: Southern Historical Association, 658.
Holsey, Henry Lucius. Autobiography, sermons, addresses, and essays of Bishiop L.H. Holsey. Atlanta: Franklin Print and Pub. Co., 1898.
Thurmond, Michael L. Black Men and Women in Athens History. Athens, GA: Clarke County School District, 1970.