Early Life and Education
In 1780 Lott Cary was born into slavery and humble surroundings in Charles City County, Virginia, on the estate of Mr. William A. Christian. It soon became apparent that he was exceptionally bright and energetic.
In 1804, his master John Bowry, a Methodist minister, hired Cary out as a young man in Richmond, about 25 miles away. He was hired out by the year at the Shockoe warehouse. In 1807 Cary joined the First Baptist Church of Richmond, originally a congregation of both whites and blacks, free and slave. He was baptised by its pastor, John Courtney. Beginning his education by learning to read the Bible, Cary later attended a small school for slaves. Its twenty young men were taught by Deacon William Crane. He had come from Newark, New Jersey in 1812, opened a shoe store and joined the First Baptist Church. Crane's students met three evenings each week to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, and the Bible.
As he became educated, Cary rose from working as a common laborer to become a shipping clerk in a tobacco warehouse along Tobacco Row. Because of his diligence and valuable work, Cary was often rewarded by his master with five-dollar bills from the money he earned. He was also permitted to collect and sell small bags of waste tobacco for his own profit.
Read more about this topic: Lott Cary
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or education:
“We do not preach great things but we live them.”
—Marcus Minucius Felix (late 2nd or early 3rd ce, Roman Christian apologist. Octavius, 38. 6, trans. by G.H. Rendell.
“For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul was whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. I know they are as lively, and as vigorously productive, as those fabulous dragon’s teeth; and being sown up and down, may chance to spring up armed men.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“A woman might claim to retain some of the child’s faculties, although very limited and defused, simply because she has not been encouraged to learn methods of thought and develop a disciplined mind. As long as education remains largely induction ignorance will retain these advantages over learning and it is time that women impudently put them to work.”
—Germaine Greer (b. 1939)