Lucius Henry Holsey (July 3, 1842 – August 3, 1920) was an American bishop.
Lucius Henry Holsey
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Lucius Henry Holsey circa 1919
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Born | July 3, 1842 ![]() Near Columbus, Georgia, U.S. |
Died | August 3, 1920 ![]() Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
Lucius Henry Holsey was born on July 3, 1842, near Columbus, Georgia.[1][2] His mother Louisa was enslaved. His father James Holsey owned the plantation.[1] Lucius was born enslaved.[3]
He was sold to his cousin T. L. Wynn and then to Richard Malcolm Johnston, an academic.[1] According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, Holsey chose to be sold to Johnston.[4] According to American National Biography, Holsey taught himself to read and write and was not educated;[1] according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, some of Holsey's relatives taught him to read.[4] He remained enslaved by the Johnston family until slavery was abolished.[5]
Holsey converted to Methodism after attending plantation missionary revivals led by Henry McNeal Turner.[4] He was given a preaching license as a Methodist minister in February 1868 and held various positions as a minister until he was appointed a bishop of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (now the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church) in March 1873.[1][5] The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was a division of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, created for Black people in the year 1870 during the Reconstruction era.[4]
As a bishop, Holsey founded churches, wrote and revised religious texts including the church's Book of Discipline,[5] and participated in church governance.[4][3] He also edited a church newspaper, The Gospel Trumpet.[5][6] He raised funds in support of educational institutions including Paine College; Lane College; Holsey Industrial InstituteinCordele, Georgia; and the Helen B. Cobb Institute for GirlsinBarnesville, Georgia.[7]
Initially an advocate for racial cooperation, Holsey endorsed Black separatism around the turn of the 20th century after Sam Hose was lynched in 1899.[4]
In 1898, Holsey published Autobiography, Sermons, Addresses, and Essays with Franklin Printing & Publishing Company in Atlanta, Georgia.[8] It went through three editions.[3]
Holsey married Harriett Turner on November 8, 1862,[4][5] or 1863.[7] Harriett was 15 at the time.[5] Her name is also given as Harriett A. Pearce or Harriet A. Turner.[7] Harriett and Lucius met in Hancock County, Georgia, while classes at the University of Georgia, where Johnston taught, were canceled due to the Civil War.[4] Lucius died on August 3, 1920,[1] at his home on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta.[9]
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