Mississippi-in-Africa: founding of Liberia and the Prospect Hill Plantation – [History Documentary]

This unique story begins with Captain Isaac Ross, a veteran of the American War of Independence, born to a middle-class Carolina family 15 years before the war. His teenage years were largely spent fighting in the conflict and would earn the rank of captain serving under the command of General Thomas Sumter. In 1808, at the age of 48, Captain Ross and his brother Thomas purchased land in the recently acquired Mississippi Territory. A decade later, by the time Mississippi became an American state in December 1817, Captain Ross had acquired nearly 3,900 acres to form what became known as the Prospect Hill Plantation. However, this plantation was anything but usual. For one, the slaves themselves were mostly of mixed West African and European descent, also joined by free blacks who had fought alongside Captain Ross in the war. Against Mississippi state law, Ross allowed the education of his slaves to read and write. He also schooled them in skills and trades, as well as allowing them to marry of their own free will, with Captain Ross usually participating in the ceremony and presenting wedding gifts. While again there was nothing typical about this experience in the antebellum Southland, it was an early indication that this story would be anything but typical. Captain Ross and his wife, Jane Allison Ross, had five children, two boys and three girls. The next year, tragedy struck the couple, as their third child, Martha, died at the age of 15. The remaining four children did reach adulthood, and each would marry in the coming years. When Pennsylvania abolitionist Jeremiah Chamberlain came south, looking to establish a Presbyterian secondary school, Captain Ross, despite being one of the largest slaveholders in the area, became close to Chamberlain and supported the effort. By 1829, Captain Ross was 69 years old, while Jane was now 66. Later that year, Jane passed away, and following her death, Captain Ross began to focus his attention on philanthropic projects. The next year, he partnered with Reverend Chamberlain to found Oakland College, a private Presbyterian school, with Chamberlain serving as its first president. His abolitionist views would later cause issues, but for now the school educated several future prominent Mississippians. The next year, in June 1831, Ross and Chamberlain became involved in another endeavor. Alongside fellow Mississippi landowners Edward Magee, Stephen Duncan, and John Kerr, together they founded the Mississippi Colonization Society. This was created as a chapter of the American Colonization Society, an organization set up 15 years earlier to establish a colony for freed slaves in West Africa. The motives behind the society were mixed, with both abolitionists and pro-slavery advocates involved, as well as a range of opinions in between. Captain Ross, despite being a large-scale slaveholder, and Reverend Chamberlain, despite owning a few slaves himself, each believed in future abolition of the institution. That said, they did not believe there was a viable path to citizenship and integration within Mississippi, and thus set up a plan to establish a freedman's colony. However, Captain Ross' legacy soon came into question under tragic circumstances. The next year, his son, Isaac Ross III, passed away, and two years later his other son, Arthur, also passed away in August 1834. This left Captain Ross not only devastated, but without a male heir. His daughters, Jane and Margaret, survived. Margaret had been married to the U.S. senator from Mississippi, Thomas Reed, but had been widowed in 1829 after Reed's unexpected death. Jane had married Daniel Wade and had also been widowed in 1820. She had multiple children, with Isaac Ross Wade, named after his grandfather, Captain Ross, appointed as the heir to Prospect Hill. Under these circumstances, Captain Ross put together his last will and testament. Isaac Ross Wade was named the executor of the will, but instead of being carried out upon the death of his grandfather, Captain Ross, or his mother, Jane, the will was instead to be executed upon the death of his aunt, Margaret. The will stipulated that the Prospect Hill slaves, now numbering over 150, were to be granted their freedom. The plantation itself was to be sold to the highest bidder. Those funds would then be used for the establishment of a freedman's colony in West Africa. Slaves would be given a choice, although not an easy one. Though freedom would seem like an obvious option, it required settling in an undeveloped and as of yet unfamiliar land. Although termed repatriation, North America was the only land most had ever known. As an additional protocol, families were not to be broken up, and were to be given the opportunity to remain together regardless of the direction they chose. With the future of his estate and legacy now set in place, Captain Ross continued with his philanthropic ventures. Oakland College was celebrating its first few graduating classes, with the first student to receive a diploma, James Smiley, part of the Class of 1833, going on to serve as the Vice Chancellor of the State of Mississippi. On January 18, 1835, Captain Ross celebrated his 75th birthday. A year later, however, as he turned 76, Captain Ross' health was deteriorating. The following day, Captain Isaac Ross died, concluding the journey of one of the period's most unique figures. The story of his legacy, however, would be drawn out for years to come. At the time of Captain Ross' death, preparations were being finalized for the launch of the resettlement venture. The Mississippi Colonization Society had purchased land in West Africa, and in June 1837, the first settlers, a group of 26 freed slaves from the estate of Judge James Green, established the colony of Mississippi in Africa. Nearby on the coast were other freed slave colonies, including both those of the American Colonization Society as well as the British freed slave colony of Sierra Leone. The territory was under company rule of the American Colonization Society and the Mississippi Colonization Society, with a white American governor appointed by the ACS. The role went to Robert Finley, brother of ACS founder Josiah Finley. The next year, work was completed on a territorial capital, the town of Greenville, named after Judge Green. In July, an influx of 37 new settlers arrived, but like the original group, they battled exceptionally high levels of malaria, with the colony suffering a 30 percent mortality rate over the first two years, significantly higher than the neighboring settlements. In an attempt to help consolidate the venture, the Louisiana Colonization Society, tied in closely with its Mississippi counterpart, set up its own adjacent colony. Also a challenge were the local natives, mainly the bossa to the In September, Governor Finley was captured and killed by a bossa ambush while traveling, a major blow for the struggling venture. At this point, Captain Ross' estate began to enter the equation, as back in Mississippi, Margaret had fallen ill. As part of solidifying her father's legacy, she had a memorial constructed for her late father on the grounds of Prospect Hill, with the rest of the Ross family buried adjacent. She died that same year, and while the last of Captain Ross' children, Jane, was still alive, Captain Ross' will dictated that her son, Isaac Ross Wade, would become executor of his grandfather's estate upon his aunt's death. According to the document, Prospect Hill Plantation should be sold, with the estate's 160 slaves freed and the funds used to resettle them in Mississippi and Africa. Isaac Ross Wade, however, evidently did not think highly of his grandfather's plan, filing litigation to contest the will in court. While the litigation was ongoing, the Ross slaves were considered to be free men and women, though the court ordered they continue to work at Prospect Hill in the interim, with Isaac Ross Wade obligated to pay them for their labor. Although payment was deferred and effectively never came, the American Colonization Society did fund their legal expenses. This would prove to be important as the case dragged on for nine years. In the meantime, the land they had been promised was not proving to be as attractive a destination as hoped. Issues with malaria continued, as did skirmishing with the local indigenous. The other nearby American freedmen settlements were also struggling, though not as badly, and in an attempt to strengthen them, a federation was set up, the Commonwealth of Liberia, Land of Liberty. This was under the leadership of Monrovia, the largest and wealthiest settlement. The Mississippi Colonization Society, and the American Colonization Society as a whole, had seen funding dry up. This added to the existing crises in Greenville, and by 1843, the population was still only 79. Back in Mississippi, the Ross litigation continued to drag on. By April of 1845, patience was running thin at Prospect Hill. The former slaves had not received their promised wages, while their impending freedom had been held up in the courts for over six years. Many of the plantation workers, as well as members of the Colonization Society, feared that Captain Ross' will would never be carried out as long as Isaac Ross Wade was in the picture. They believed other Ross family members would likely drop the litigation and allow the will to be executed. What role the society had in the events to come is unknown, but an elaborate plan was hatched. This saw the plantation cook poison the food of Isaac Ross Wade and his family at Prospect Hill. Then other workers would set the manor house alight. This was to cover up evidence of the poisoning and make it appear that they had all died in the fire, preventing any suspicion and allowing the Ross will to pass on to the next family member in line. However, the plan went awry. The poison did not work, and family members were awakened during the fire, attempting to escape the house. Several family members were injured in their escape attempts, while six-year-old Martha Richardson Wade, daughter of Isaac Ross Wade and great granddaughter of the late Captain Ross, lost her life in the fire. Instead of accomplishing its intended goal, the uprising instead brought severe retaliation. Through a series of interrogations, 11 participating individuals were identified. Isaac Ross Wade called upon the help of his social network and local authorities, who formed a posse and lynched the 11 suspects on the grounds of Prospect Hill. Captain Ross' legacy had now taken a dark turn. Though not long after, light did appear on the horizon. Later that year, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in favor of the former Ross slaves. While there were still a few additional legal hang-ups to work out, the final outcome was now all but assured. Still, that was little comfort to the 160 plantation workers still required to remain at Prospect Hill over the next two years. By early 1848, all obstacles had finally been cleared. Isaac Ross Wade was forced to sell Prospect Hill plantation. With the proceeds, land was purchased in Mississippi and Africa, and travel expenses were paid for with the arrangements made by the American Colonization Society. 123 of the 160 former slaves chose to go, showing how even though remaining meant being returned to bondage, the challenges presented by resettlement were so great that it was not such an easy choice. Those who did choose to go departed Prospect Hill for Natchez, being united there with over 150 other freed slaves that were set to be resettled. In the end, a group of around 300 freed men departed down the Mississippi River. From the port of New Orleans, they began the perilous journey across the Atlantic, arriving safely in Greenville later in 1848 to begin their new life. The Emigres founded a new town nearby, naming it Rossville in honor of Captain Ross. Of course, that was only the beginning of the challenge, but the 300 new arrivals did more than triple the settlement's population, giving it a much-needed shot in the arm. A year earlier, Liberia as a whole had unilaterally declared independence, with Joseph Jenkins Roberts, who six years earlier had become the colony's first non-white governor, as the republic's president. The United States, however, did not recognize Liberia as independent until 1862, during the American Civil War. The freedmen settlers became known as Americo-Liberians. Their difficult relationship with the locals would define Liberian politics for decades to come, with a social dynamic similar to that of the society they had left in the southern United States, foreshadowing deadly conflict between the sides later in the 20th century. Back in Mississippi, Isaac Ross Wade and his family were now living elsewhere after the of Prospect Hill. His mother, Jane, the last of Captain Ross' children, passed away at the age of 65. The same year, September 5, 1851, another shocking twist occurred. Reverend Chamberlain was still involved in his endeavors, but with tensions over slavery heating up, Chamberlain's abolitionist views placed him increasingly at odds with many of his acquaintances. Tensions boiled over between Chamberlain and George Briscoe, another local landowner who detested Chamberlain's abolitionist positions. The two ended up in a scuffle when Briscoe suddenly pulled out a knife and stabbed Reverend Chamberlain to death. A week later, filled with regret, Briscoe committed suicide. A memorial, which still stands to this day, was erected on the grounds of Oakland College, which was later succeeded by today's Alcorn State, a black land-grant university. In 1854, Isaac Ross Wade repurchased Prospect Hill, building a new manor house which lasts up to the present day. Wade continued to have a contentious relationship with his grandfather's former slaves when they wrote of the difficult situation facing them in Liberia, requesting aid and reminding Wade that he still owed them years of unpaid wages. Wade coldly wrote back that their aid had been deducted from their rent over the years, reasoning that if they were free to collect wages, they were also free to pay rent. Thus, Wade not only claimed room and board from the payments that were supposed to go to Liberia, but also claimed that there were not enough funds to pay for nine years' worth of room and board, making the case that the Americo-Liberians were actually in debt to him. Although Wade did not pursue this further, there wasn't going to be any substantial aid for Liberia, either. Isaac Ross Wade would live to the same age as his grandfather, 76. He died on January 10, 1891, and was buried at Prospect Hill alongside the rest of the Ross family. However, due to his less-than-savory role, the family would face his headstone in the opposite direction of all the others. His descendants continued to live at Prospect Hill until 1956, by which time the manor house had fallen into a state of disrepair that was no longer livable. The structure, though abandoned, did remain standing, and in 2011, it was purchased by the Archaeological Conservancy, coming on the heels of a book by Alan Huffman which popularized the story. Since then, a large-scale restoration project has been underway. Three years later, a reunion was held, gathering together Americo-Liberians descended from those who had emigrated from Prospect Hill. Indeed, it's said that, today, while Mississippians have little awareness of what's occurring in Liberia, Americo-Liberians from the former Mississippi and Africa are widely tuned in to events occurring in Mississippi and the United States as a whole. Liberia and the freed slave ventures of West Africa remain an enigma within the English-speaking world, but on the ground amongst Americo-Liberians, the unique origins of this people and country are not forgotten. Thank you so much for watching. If you like this content, make sure to hit the like button and leave a comment. For more content like this, please subscribe to the channel and hit the bell so you know when the next video is posted. Be sure to check out the project that forms the basis for these videos at apoliticalworldmap.org. And if you can, please join us on Patreon to help keep the videos coming. Thanks again for watching! I'm Alex, I am out!