Samuel Hanson Cox facts for kids
Samuel Hanson Cox (born August 25, 1793 – died October 2, 1880) was an American Presbyterian minister. He was also a very important leader in the movement to end slavery in the United States.
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Early Life and Education
Samuel Cox was born in Rahway, New Jersey. His family belonged to the Quaker religion. As a young man, he decided not to follow the Quaker faith. He then served in the War of 1812. After the war, he studied law before becoming a minister.
From 1817 to 1821, he was a pastor at a Presbyterian church in Mendham, New Jersey. He then moved to New York City. There, he served as a pastor for two churches between 1821 and 1834.
Helping Others and Founding NYU
In the early 1830s, Cox helped an African American man named John Sykes Fayette. Cox and other people who were against slavery helped Fayette travel to Ohio. Fayette later became the first African American to attend (in 1832) and graduate (in 1836) from a college west of the Appalachian Mountains. This college is now known as Case Western Reserve University.
In 1832, Cox also helped start the University of the City of New York, which is now New York University. He taught theology classes there. He also came up with the university's motto: Perstare et praestare, which means "To persevere and to excel."
Standing Up Against Slavery
Because Samuel Cox was strongly against slavery, he faced many challenges. In 1834, during the Anti-abolitionist riots in New York, angry mobs attacked him. His home and his church were damaged. In 1835, another mob in Charleston, South Carolina, even burned an effigy (a dummy) of him.
After these riots, he moved out of New York City. In 1834, Cox invited another abolitionist, Photius Fisk, to study at Auburn with a free scholarship. Photius traveled with Cox and his family. Cox became a professor of pastoral theology in Auburn, New York, and he stayed in this job from 1834 to 1837.
A Powerful Speaker
Samuel Cox was known for his amazing public speaking skills, even outside of the church. People described him as "eccentric," meaning a bit unusual. Sometimes, he would even switch from English to Latin during his speeches!
In 1833, he gave a famous speech in Exeter Hall in London. In this speech, he said that the British government was responsible for slavery in America. This speech was so powerful that it was printed and shared widely.
Theodore Ledyard Cuyler, another famous figure, described Cox as "one of the most famous celebrities in the Presbyterian Church." He was known for his knowledge of languages, his humor, his unique ways, and his powerful speeches on important occasions. When he received an honorary degree called Doctor of Divinity from the College of New Jersey (which later became Princeton University), he jokingly called it a couple of "semi-lunar fardels."
Later Years and Family
For the next seventeen years, Cox was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn Heights. During this time, he also taught Ecclesiastical History (church history) at the Union Theological Seminary. He was also a leader of a group called the "New School" Presbyterians.
In 1854, he had a throat infection and lost his voice, so he moved to Owego, New York. He passed away in Bronxville, New York, on October 2, 1880.
Several of his children became notable. His son, Arthur Cleveland Coxe, became a bishop in the Episcopal Church. Another son, Samuel Hanson Coxe, was an Episcopal minister in Utica, New York. He married Eliza Conkling, who was the sister of a famous politician named Senator Roscoe Conkling. Many of his 15 children changed the spelling of their last name back to an older version. His grandson, Alfred Conkling Coxe, became a well-known federal judge in New York.
Works
- Quakerism not Christianity (1833)
- Interviews, Memorable and Useful (1853)
