Reverend John Henry Hector was an African American who preached to white and Black audiences on both sides of the Atlantic in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His lectures focused on slavery, the American Civil War and the Temperance Movement. He visited the East Riding of Yorkshire between 1896 and 1898 where he campaigned against the consumption of alcohol.
Background
John Henry Hector was born on 17 March 1845 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Although Hector was a free man, it is possible that his parents were slaves who escaped a life of bondage via the famous Underground Railroad, a network of people who helped slaves regain their freedom by crossing the American border into Canada. Britain had outlawed slavery in her colonies in 1833 and therefore Canada became a safe haven for men, women and children who had been enslaved. Unfortunately, very little information can be found about Hector’s early life. However, it was reported that he was orphaned at a young age.[1] In his teenage years, Hector crossed the border back into the United States and travelled to Rhode Island where he worked as a farmer. When he was eighteen years old, Hector joined the 11th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery Unit. His enlistment papers indicate that he was 5 feet and 3 inches tall with black eyes, black hair and a dark complexion.[2] They also advise that Hector was to be trained as a drummer. During the Civil War, Hector’s regiment was based in New Orleans. When the conflict ended in 1865 he was honourably discharged after serving two years in the army. Over the subsequent two decades, Hector travelled around America, married Eliza H. Peekskill (right) and worked as an engine driver before entering the Christian ministry. In the late 1880s or early 1890s Hector became friends with Jason Brown (below), son of radical abolitionist John Brown who believed the only way to end slavery was with violence. Before Hector ventured to Britain, he toured America with Brown giving lectures about his Civil War experience and campaigning against the consumption of alcohol. The Temperance Movement was widespread and supported by many people of African descent, whether this was for religious reasons or because they felt they could positively contribute to social reform and be accepted on a more equal platform remains unclear. Regardless of their motivations, it would appear that these men and women were relatively well received in the majority of areas they visited. It was during his tour of America that Hector was christened the ‘Black Knight’ of the Temperance Movement.
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Transatlantic Connections
On 30 July 1896 Hector boarded the Pavonia at Boston, Massachusetts and arrived at Liverpool on 30 July.[3] He was part of a group of African American men and women who travelled across the Atlantic to gain supporters for the Temperance Movement.[4] In August Hector attended the British Wesleyan Conference in Liverpool, ironically a city which was built on the proceeds of the slave trade, before he travelled to South Yorkshire, Lancashire and South Wales preaching about a range of topics including abstinence from alcohol. Hull and the Temperance Movement The British Temperance Movement was a national campaign to restrict the consumption of alcohol in the nineteenth century. In the East Riding, various groups came together to support the movement such as the Hull and District Band of Hope and Temperance League.[5] It was at their meeting on 29 November 1896 that Hector first appeared in the region. He was invited to give his lecture entitled “The Slavery that was, and the Slavery that is,” which took place in the Wesleyan chapel on Thornton-Street (pictured below). [6] |
The meeting was organised by Mr and Mrs Tennyson Smith who were eager to mobilize the British public to fight against the consumption of alcohol so it is likely that Hector also preached about his dedication to the Temperance Movement. In order to aid national reform, Mr Tennyson Smith gave Hector a folder with the following words etched on the front, ‘Official copy of the share list of the Bristol Brewery, George’s and Co., Limited.’[7] The folder contained the names of forty-six people and was reported to be ‘A new weapon with which, ‘The Black Knight’ can strike blows at the liquor traffic.’ [8] The gift was well received by Hector and with it he made an urgent appeal for the Christians of Hull to support the Temperance Movement. Therefore, it is possible that Hector used the emotive topic of slavery in the home town of Wilberforce to bring contemporary issues of social reform to the forefront widening his appeal to the audience.
The following year Hector was invited back to the Wesleyan Chapel to deliver a lecture entitled ‘My Personal Reminiscence of the Civil War.’ Those who rushed to enter the chapel that day were captivated by Hector and his trials and tribulations fighting against the Confederacy who supported the continuation of slavery in the South. As a newspaper report published in the Hull Daily Mail on 20 October 1897 advised, the ‘audience were at one time convulsed with laughter, only to be moved almost to tears as they listened to the vivid description of the battlefields.’[9] Hector went on to speak about his involvement in anti-drinking campaigns. Once again, whether intentional or not, Hector used his memories of war to engage the audience before preaching about the Temperance Movement.
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Hector’s last visit to the region caused a great deal of excitement. Local newspapers periodically reported from January 1898 that ‘the great American Temperance reformer’ was going to return to the East Riding in May.[10]
Instead of revisiting the Wesleyan Church in Hull, on this occasion Hector ventured to Beverley Corn Exchange where he lectured for two nights on 10 and 11 May. Despite adverse weather conditions, a large congregation gathered on both evenings to listen to the Black Knight. On the first evening, Hector gave a lecture entitled, ‘The Question of the Hour’ which was most likely about the Temperance Movement.
Instead of revisiting the Wesleyan Church in Hull, on this occasion Hector ventured to Beverley Corn Exchange where he lectured for two nights on 10 and 11 May. Despite adverse weather conditions, a large congregation gathered on both evenings to listen to the Black Knight. On the first evening, Hector gave a lecture entitled, ‘The Question of the Hour’ which was most likely about the Temperance Movement.
On the second, he delivered the very same lecture on slavery that he had given two years previously in Hull. He was introduced by Alderman Hall who advised the audience that Hector was the perfect person to speak about matters concerning slavery and alcohol as ‘he had experienced not only the thraldom of a slave owner, but witnessed under many aspects the degrading resulting from strong drink.’[11]
Whether Hector had endorsed the view that he was an emancipated slave is unknown. Wilberforce’s legacy ensured that people in the region were sympathetic to the plight of Black men, women and children who had endured the hardships of bondage and therefore it is possible that Hector saw this as an inlet to gain further support. It seems very unlikely from the surviving evidence that John Henry Hector was at any point in his life enslaved but contemporary evidence suggests people believed that he had suffered at the hands of a master. Whether Hector had used specific tactics to engage audiences before preaching to them about the negative effects of alcohol is unclear. However, he was very successful in bringing large crowds together and possibly initiating social reforms on both sides of the Atlantic. |
After his final visit to Hull, Hector continued his tour of the country. He visited the North of England and Ireland before returning to America in 1900 where he remained dedicated to the Temperance Movement until his death in 1914.
Footnotes
[1] Hull Daily Mail, 11 November 1896.
[2] US Colored Troops Military Service Records 1863-1865.
[3] The National Archives, Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and Successors, Inward Passenger Lists, Class: BT26, 86:4.
[4] Jeffrey Green, Black Temperance Campaigners in late Victoria Britain, http://www.jeffreygreen.co.uk/129-black-temperance-campaigners-in-late-victorian-britain accessed 22/11/16.
[5] Hull Daily Mail, 30 November 1986, p.6.
[6] Hull Daily Mail, 1 December 1896, p.6.
[7] Hull Daily Mail, 30 November 1896, p.4.
[8] Hull Daily Mail, 30 November 1896, p.4.
[9] Hull Daily Mail, 20 October 1897, p.6.
[10] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 29 January 1898, p.4.
[11] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 14 May 1898, p.8.
[1] Hull Daily Mail, 11 November 1896.
[2] US Colored Troops Military Service Records 1863-1865.
[3] The National Archives, Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and Successors, Inward Passenger Lists, Class: BT26, 86:4.
[4] Jeffrey Green, Black Temperance Campaigners in late Victoria Britain, http://www.jeffreygreen.co.uk/129-black-temperance-campaigners-in-late-victorian-britain accessed 22/11/16.
[5] Hull Daily Mail, 30 November 1986, p.6.
[6] Hull Daily Mail, 1 December 1896, p.6.
[7] Hull Daily Mail, 30 November 1896, p.4.
[8] Hull Daily Mail, 30 November 1896, p.4.
[9] Hull Daily Mail, 20 October 1897, p.6.
[10] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 29 January 1898, p.4.
[11] Beverley and East Riding Recorder, 14 May 1898, p.8.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Alexander Degenhardt for permission to reproduce photographs in his collection.
Thanks also to Jeffrey Green for alerting us to this story.
Many thanks to Alexander Degenhardt for permission to reproduce photographs in his collection.
Thanks also to Jeffrey Green for alerting us to this story.