William Hosmer

Rev. William Hosmer (27 May 1810, Brimfield, Massachusetts – 17 July 1889, Auburn, New York) was an American anti-slavery author and editor, and a Methodist minister.

Biography

Hosmer was born on 27 May 1810 near the town of Brimfield in Massachusetts to Eleazer and Clara (Needham) Hosmer. He studied at the Franklin Academy in Plattsburgh, New York.

In 1831 Hosner was admitted as a probationer to the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Church, and was ordained as a minister two years later.

Between 1848 and 1856 Hosner was the editor of the Northern Christian Advocate newspaper, owned by the Methodist General Conference. Hosner was a strong believer in Wesleyan philosophy, and during his incumbency at the Advocate he was a strong advocate for both antislavery and temperance issues. Due to a schism within the Methodist church, his stance eventually led to his replacement as editor in June 1856 by Rev. F.G. Hibbard. Following his removal from the Northern Christian Advocate, a new paper called The Northern Independent was established and Hosner appointed as its editor. Hosner remained editor of The Northern Independent until "stricken by paralysis ... while delivering a temperance address" in 1871. He also wrote articles and essays for other periodicals, including the Methodist Quarterly Review.

Hosner was a charter trustee of the Genesee College in Lima, New York, which later became Syracuse University.

He died in his home in Auburn, New York on the morning of Monday, June 17, 1889.

Family

Hosner married Martha Matilde Gamage (21 October 1813 – 21 December 1878) sometime before 1835. Together they had six surviving children:

• John Gamage (1835–1906)
• Julia A. (1837–1916)
• William M. (1839–1921)
• Martha Matilda (1841–1921)
• Clara Elizabeth (1845–1903)
• Mary H. (1852–)

• Haight-Eckert, Mary Jane. "Rev William Hosmer". Find A Grave. Retrieved 20 October 2016. 
• ^ New York, State Census, 1855. FamilySearch. 1855. pp. 14–15. 
• Haight-Eckert, Mary Jane. "Martha Matilde Gamage Hosmer". Find A Grave. Retrieved 20 October 2016. 

Select bibliography

• The higher law, in its relations to civil government : with particular reference to slavery, and the Fugitive Slave Law (Auburn: Derby & Miller, 1952), dedicated to William Seward.
• Slavery and the church (Auburn: W.J. Moses, 1853)

• ^ Work, Monroe N. (1928). A Bibliography of the Negro in Africa and America. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company.