Beriah Green Jr.
*Beriah Green was born on this date in 1795. He was a white-American reformer, abolitionist, temperance advocate, college professor, and minister who was "consumed totally by his abolitionist views" and described as "cantankerous."
Beriah Green Jr. was born in Preston, Connecticut, the son of Beriah Green and Elizabeth Smith. His father was a cabinet and chair maker. The family moved to Pawlet, Vermont, in 1810, where he attended the Pawlet Academy. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1819, where he was valedictorian. In 1820, he became a minister at Andover Theological Seminary.
In 1832, he became head of the Oneida Institute. However, his religious beliefs did not agree with any denominational creed. Green led the secession of 59 church members from the Presbyterian church in Whitesboro over the issue of abolition of slavery. They formed the Congregational Church in Whitesboro in 1837. Green was pastor of that church from 1843 to 1867. In 1844, because of financial problems, the Oneida Institute was sold to the Free Will Baptists.
After the Oneida Institute closed, Green became an active supporter of the Liberty Party, a third party completely devoted to the abolition of slavery. After the party failed to impact American politics, Green became bitter with the democratic process. He did not like popular democracy and favored an oligarchy or modified theocracy. Green did not join the Free Soil Party, unlike many Liberty Party members.
He worried abolition would not be part of the major party principles. After fellow abolitionists did not support his ideas about government, Green became resentful and did not travel far from Whitesboro. He supported his wife and children by farming and preaching to small groups of abolitionists. Former student Alexander Crummell described him as a "bluff, kind-hearted man," a "master-thinker." Beriah Green Jr. died on May 4, 1874, while giving a speech on temperance in Whitesboro.
