Rev. R. O. Taylor

Rev Ralph O'Neil Taylor

On November 1, 1875, a report of a missionary meeting in Port Antonio on October 26 appeared in the Jamaica Church Chronicle:

Great interest was manifested when the Rev. Mr. Taylor, a black gentleman from Africa and native of that place, who was lately ordained Deacon by the Bishop, rose up to speak. He gave the audience interesting accounts of mission work in Africa and other places. The people were highly amused when he spoke in the African tongue. He sang sweetly in it, and repeated some prayers, &c. He was brought up in St. Augustine College in Canterbury, where he graduated as "Licentiate of Arts.’’ We trust that he will succeed in Jamaica, and will act as a stimulus to the black inhabitants to educate their children. We are glad to add that he is quite a gentleman in his manners as well as a scholar.
Jamaica Church Chronicle, January 11, 1875, p 82

Bishop Courtenay ordained Taylor as a deacon on October 10, 1875,
and later ordained him to the priesthood on April 8, 1877.

Daily Gleaner, April 7, 1877

. . . but who was Ralph O'Neil Taylor?

In the 1870s the Bishop of Kingston, Reginald Courtenay, embarked on an interesting experiment – he brought a young Black man from Sierra Leone to the island, and surprisingly quickly ordained him, first as a deacon and then as a priest. The evidence presently at hand gives very little indication as to the Bishop’s motives, but the fairly speedy failure of the project may suggest what the object of the experiment was, and why it did not work out.

Ralph O’Neil Taylor was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone on August 14, 1849, and was baptized November 23, the same year, by the Rev Henry Rhodes, a CMS missionary. He was one of the large family of children of the Rev. John Christopher Taylor, an African clergyman of the Church of England. According to his father, Ralph was determined, from the age of six, to be a teacher or a minister. He was educated at the Freetown Grammar School, which had been established by the Church Missionary Society in 1845.[1] The Head Master while Ralph Taylor was there was the Rev James Quaker (1861-1882), the first Black Principal; Taylor did well at Mathematics, being awarded several prizes in that subject.[2]

Around 1870, rather than sending him to the Fourah Bay Institution, the CMS college in Freetown, the Rev Mr Taylor sent his son to England for two or three years to continue his education and ‘to study the manners and customs and improve in English diction and then become a missionary.’[3] He spent some time with Mr Thomas Matthews in Horsham; Matthews had thirty years experience of tutoring and was well known in the missionary community. He instructed Ralph Taylor in Classics, Mathematics, New Testament Greek and the Thirty-Nine Articles.[4] However, it was the wish of Ralph and his father that he should go to St Augustine’s College in Canterbury to further his training for eventual entry into the Anglican ministry. The Rev J C Taylor had visited St Augustine’s in 1860, when he was in England and staying with the Rev Dr John Stevenson, vicar of Patrixbourne, just outside Canterbury. He commented to the Warden, the Rev Henry Bailey, ‘I was not aware that foreigners were allow[ed] the privilege of being admitted there, otherwise I would have applied to you before I sent him over to your country.’[5] (For ‘foreigners’ one might, in the context, read ‘Blacks’.) So in 1871 both father and son were eager that Ralph should be accepted at the College.

There was a flurry of letters involving both Taylors, Mr Matthews, the Warden of St Augustine’s, the Rev Henry Bailey and the former bishop of Sierra Leone; Ralph Taylor was eager to move to Canterbury as early as possible. The former Bishop of Sierra Leone, Edward Hyndman Beckles, could say little of the Rev J C Taylor, who had been more in Nigeria than in Sierra Leone during his episcopacy. However what he did say was satisfactory, though he confirmed that the pay of a Native clergyman was small.[6]

. . . . (I need to do more research in these gaps,)

Three years later Ralph Taylor had apparently completed his course at St Augustine’s successfully, graduating, according to the later report in Jamaica, as ‘Licentiate of Arts’. The Warden communicated the news to the Rev J C Taylor in Freetown, who in response thanked him for his assistance to his son. He asked a further favour of Dr. Bailey – that he would recommend Ralph to the Bishop of Sierra Leone, who would be in England shortly, in the hope that he might be given a then vacant chaplaincy in Sierra Leone.[7] At this point things started to go wrong.

The new Bishop of Sierra Leone, Henry Cheetham, is described by Hollis Lynch in his book on Edward Wilmot Blyden in distinctly unflattering terms as dynamic, but ‘with a low opinion of African ability and with no patience for the “pretensions’ of the African pastors towards ecclesiastical independence.’[8] His letter, in response to one from Canon Bailey, the Warden of St Augustine's, was very discouraging to any thought of the younger Taylor being ordained in Sierra Leone. The Bishop was convinced that the young man ought to go as a missionary into interior regions in West Africa, and felt that he and the Warden should 'try to rally him and provoke him to some measure of missionary zeal'; what was wanted was
'. . . not empty inflated tall words in which the African delights, but someone to step out & do something: and not leave it entirely to the European to endure all the hazard & reap the rewards of hard service.'
He further commented:
'Of course he may be useful if he settle down in his own land: but it would be like an Englishman settling down in a family living. . . .
. . . but, in truth if you think he has it not in him: & that he is a poor weak mortal, only good and[sic] for home work, then let me know it at once, that we may know what we are about & agree to do the best we can for him.'
But what the Bishop suggested was that they 'try the effect of this little stimulant' on the young man.[9]

This letter from Cheetham appears to support entirely Lynch's description of him, and it is particularly unfair in the circumstances, since Ralph Taylor's father, the Rev John Christopher Taylor, had served in the mission field in Nigeria, with considerable distinction and at great personal cost. He established the CMS station at Onitsha, and did pioneer work in translating the Gospels into Ibo during much of the 1860s; three of his sons died during this period, and he himself came near to death in 1865.[10] It is understandable that the elder Taylor may have wished that his son might serve the Church at home in Sierra Leone. Other aspects of the situation in the Church there in the 1860s and '70s will be considered later in assessing the reasons for Ralph Taylor's problems in Jamaica, and may throw further light on Cheetham's attitude in this case.

. . . .

Taylor then had a very satisfactory interview with Bishop Courtenay, who ‘explained everything . . . as regards Deacon Schoolmaster.’ He returned to St. Augustine’s to collect his books, and to express his gratitude to the Warden and the College. He was clearly uncertain when, or if, he would see his parents and friends in Sierra Leone again, but was buoyed up by the thought of serving in the Christian ministry, for which he had studied most of his young life. In February 1875 Taylor was therefore ready to leave for Kingston, as soon as he had received a letter from his parents. He expected to be ordained deacon there, soon after the Bishop got back in April.[11]

On November 1, 1875, a report of a missionary meeting in Port Antonio on October 26 appeared in the Jamaica Church Chronicle, and included this account of Taylor’s presence:

Great interest was manifested when the Rev. Mr. Taylor, a black gentleman from Africa and native of that place, who was lately ordained Deacon by the Bishop, rose up to speak. He gave the audience interesting accounts of mission work in Africa and other places. The people were highly amused when he spoke in the African tongue. He sang sweetly in it, and repeated some prayers, &c. He was brought up in St. Augustine College in Canterbury, where he graduated as "Licentiate of Arts.’’ We trust that he will succeed in Jamaica, and will act as a stimulus to the black inhabitants to educate their children. We are glad to add that he is quite a gentleman in his manners as well as a scholar.[12]

Bishop Courtney had ordained Taylor as a deacon on October 10, 1875, and later ordained him to the priesthood on April 8, 1877.[13] Taylor served at several churches: in 1876 he wrote from Manchioneal, in Portland, 'I am glad . . . that the word of God is taking deep root in this island, especially among my own people, to the praise and glory of God.'[14] After ordination to the priesthood he served at Mount St James, in St Andrew, and Scotts Hall, in St Mary, for both of which he is recorded as officiating at baptisms in 1877.[15] However it was noted in June 1876 that a house at Elmwood, Rural Hill, Portland, was to be rented for him.[16] What the significance of this item was is not clear, but in the following year, 1878, he was in fact officiating at Rural Hill. What happened when Taylor went to Rural Hill can only be pieced together from his letter to Bishop Courtenay, and the Bishop's letter to the Warden of St Augustine's, after Taylor had resigned the cure and decided to leave the island. It is to be hoped that further materials can be located which may throw more light on the problem.

Taylor's letter to the Bishop, dated February 27, 1878, shows clearly that he felt he had been rejected by the clergy of the Diocese because of his colour. He wrote, 'I think I made a mistake My Lord in coming to Jamaica to labour – it is quite clear that the clergy do not want a black clergyman to work amongst them.' Even more bitterly - 'I often ask myself, My Lord that should I go to heaven, whether my White and Brown brethren will say they don’t want me in the church triumphant. I wonder whether they would refuse signing my testimonial for heaven, . . . .' He went so far as to challenge the bishop's attitude to colour, writing, 'My Lord my prayer for your Lordship is this - & ever will be this – that God may guide your Lordship in governing this ruined community; & that your Lordship may not be respecter of persons – because one is White another is Brown & a third Black.' The trouble at Rural Hill specifically, was related to the adverse reaction of the Custos of Portland (John Wigham?) to Taylor, who characterized him as 'an unchristian Custos with money.' However, he claimed that 'the people are determined not to let me go', but that he was leaving 'for the sake of Mr Campbell' his replacement, though he would not have left for any other clergyman. In spite of the general tone of the letter Taylor asked the Bishop to send him letters commendatory to present to the Committee of Foreign Missions of the Episcopal Church in New York, to whom he had already applied for a missionary posting in Africa; he also thanked the Bishop for what he had done for him – his ordination to the priesthood would, of course, give him status in the church for his lifetime.[17]

Bishop Courtenay, not surprisingly, was decidedly angered by Taylor's letter. He enclosed it with an agitated letter[18] he sent to the Warden of St Augustine's College, Canon Henry Bailey, who must have been disappointed to hear of Taylor's problems in Jamaica. The Bishop dealt with Taylor's tiresome dithering about leaving his cure even after his resignation, while pointing out that he had offered to find him temporary employment if possible. He also mentioned that a problem had emerged at the Synod of Taylor misappropriating some church money, promising to replace it, but not doing so. However the most significant sections of the letter deal with the problem of colour. The Bishop accused Taylor of expecting and imagining slights and snubs, based on his colour, from both clergy and laymen, and expressed a concern, shared by other clergy, to counter the impression given by Taylor 'that it was his colour, and that alone, which hindered his success as a clergyman in this Diocese.'

The Bishop also related other issues connected with Taylor's thinking on colour. He agreed that Taylor 'had gained a certain popularity [with the people] by proclaiming on all occasions, in season and out of season, to all sorts of persons, that "a black man was as good as a white"; but this did not secure for him much hold'. Bishop Courtenay also recorded that Taylor gave a 'Lecture' in Kingston just before leaving the island 'which was one violent tirade against "whites" especially those in the church; and descending to such gross personality as to declare that Mr Barnes (our one black clergyman) was of much greater intellectual capacity than Mr Mudie, - the clergyman who succeeded him at Rural Hill'. Aside from some confusion over the identity of his successor, these sentences clearly indicate Taylor's determination to express the ideas which were spreading in West and southern Africa under the heading of 'Ethiopianism'. Until the last two letters in the file from St Augustine's, Taylor had portrayed himself, and others had perceived him, as a conventionally pious and earnest young Christian, who was eager to enter the ministry of the Anglican mission; in these later letters the impact of the men who had influenced his education in Sierra Leone may be visible.

. . . .

The Rev. Ralph Taylor, then aged 28/30, arrived in New York from Kingston on the S. S. Atlas, on April 18, 1878, and there, for now, my knowledge of his life ends.[19] The Rev. Joshua Kimber, Secretary of the Committee of Foreign Missions, had written in January that ‘I should be very glad to see you, however, if it should be your pleasure to call when you arrive in New York next month.’[20] But there had been no possibility of a missionary appointment. Did he stay in the USA, go across to the UK or make his way back to West Africa?[21] All of these were possibilities, but there was no future for him in Jamaica, where Bishop Courtney’s gamble had been a dismal failure.

NOTES:
1. Canterbury Cathedral Archives, U88 A2/6 C1004/6. J C Taylor to H Bailey, 12/04/1871
2. CCA, U88 A2/6 C1004/5(1), T Matthews to H Bailey, 04/04/1871
3. CCA, U88 A2/6 C1004/1, R O Taylor to H Bailey, 04/02/1871
4. CCA, U88 A2/6 C1004/5(1), T Matthews to H Bailey, 04/04/1871
5. CCA, U88 A2/6 C1004/6. J C Taylor to H Bailey, 12/04/1871
6. CCA, U88 A2/6 C1004/3 E H Beckles to H Bailey 27/02/1871
7. CCA, U88 A2/6 C1004/7 J C Taylor to H Bailey, 28/05/1874
8. Hollis Lynch, Edward Wilmot Blyden, Pan-Negro Patriot, 1832-1912, 1967, p 88
9. CCA, U88 A2/6 C1004/9 H Cheetham to H Bailey 24/11/1874
10. Rev Samuel Crowther and Rev John Christopher Taylor, The Gospel on the Banks of the Niger, Vol 3, 1864, esp. p 47; CMS Record 1860-70, passim.
11. CCA, U88 A2/6 C1004/14 R O Taylor to H Bailey, 22/02/1875
12. Jamaica Church Chronicle, 01/11/1875, p 82
13. Diocese of Jamaica: Synod Reports, 1876 Appendix G p lx; 1877 Appendix G p lxiv
14. J C C, March 1876 p 20
15. ibid., April 1877 p 27; relevant Anglican Baptismal Registers 1877
16. ibid., June 1876 p 43
17. CCA, U88 A2/6 C1004/15/2 R O Taylor to R Courtenay, 27/02/1878
18. CCA, U88 A2/6 C1004/15/1 (1) & (2) R Courtenay to H Bailey 14/04/1878
19. Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, S S Atlas passenger list 18/04/1878
20. The Archives of the Episcopal Church, Correspondence, Committee of Foreign Missions Kimber to Taylor 19/01/1878
21. His name does not seem to appear on US (1880) or UK (1881) census returns, which seems to suggest that he may have returned to West Africa, either to Sierra Leone or Nigeria.