These are materials concerning the life and career of Reverdy C. Ransom. Many of the materials pertain to matters concerning the AME Church and Wilberforce University.
This photo was scanned from the collection.
This finding aid includes a file-level inventory of the collection and is subject to change if more materials are added. See the attached file.
Reverdy Cassius Ransom was born in Flushing, Ohio on 4 January 1861 to Harriet and an unknown father. At some point, Harriet married George Warner Ransom who gave his surname to his stepson. At 4, Ransom moved in with George’s parents until finally relocating to Cambridge, Ohio. He attended the local school under the auspices of the AME Church but quickly surpassed the curriculum. After being denied entry into the white public school, Ransom began taking private lessons from various people around town in exchange for his mother providing laundry services. He eventually secured a teaching position to pay for his upcoming entry at Wilberforce University, and his mother helped cover the costs by taking out a mortgage on their home.
Ransom began studying at Wilberforce in the Fall 1881. Although he seemed to appreciate the time he’d spent there, Ransom decided to attend Oberlin College on a scholarship after his first year, believing this would offer more educational opportunities. After protesting a policy that segregated the female dining hall, however, Ransom lost his scholarship and decided to return to Wilberforce. During this time, he felt called to ministry. So, after graduating from Wilberforce in 1886, Ransom began his career with the AME Church.
His first appointment was as a deacon in Altoona, PA in 1886. He served there for four years before being transferred to Springfield, Ohio by Daniel Payne in 1890. As time passed, Ransom grew interested in discussing the social standing of black Americans. When he was elected as the editor of the AME Church Review, this publication became a frequent medium for sharing his social views. He served as the editor until 1924 when he was elected as a bishop of the AME Church. His first episcopate was the 13th District covering Kentucky and Tennessee. Within 10 years, he was transferred to the 3rd District comprised of Ohio, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Shortly after his return to Ohio, Ransom began serving as the chairman of the Wilberforce University board of trustees. Later in his career, he proposed the establishment of a research center for the AME Church. The Bureau of Research and History was created in 1948 —of which Ransom was appointed the head— and was headquartered in Wilberforce, Ohio. In this role, Ransom published a yearbook of the AME Church in 1949 and the Preface to the History of the AME Church the following year.
During his life, Ransom was married three times. He married his first wife, Leanna Watkins, as a teenager, and the couple had one son together—Harold—before divorcing. His union with his second wife, Emma, lasted 55 years and ended with Emma’s death. One son, Reverdy Jr., was the product of this relationship. Ransom’s final wife was Georgia Myrtle Teal, who served as the Dean of Women at Wilberforce. The couple married shortly after Emma’s death and were married until Ransom’s death on 22 April 1959.
Unless otherwise stated, this information comes from the collection itself.
Bibliography
Gomez-Jefferson, Annetta L. The Sage of Tawawa: Reverdy Cassius Ransom, 1861-1959. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press. 2002.
Ransom, Reverdy C. The Pilgrimage of Harriet Ransom’s Son. Nashville: Sunday School Union. 1949.