Name John Kizell | ||
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John Kizell was a first-generation African American of Sherbro origin and a key figure in the early history of Sierra Leone. Kizell was a Black Loyalist and a Baptist who belonged to the David George (Baptist) congregation of African Americans. Kizell served as an intermediary between the British colonial government and inhabitants of his native Sherbro Island off the coast of Sierra Leone, including Sherbro Caulkers and Sherbro Clevelands. Kizell was one of only 50 African-American immigrants to Sierra Leone who was born in Africa. Kizell also worked with agents of the American Colonization Society, including Samuel Bacon and Samuel Crozer, as well as with African American settlers to help colonize the territory that would later become the Republic of Liberia.
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Background
He was born to a Sherbro Chief and he was sold into slavery while on a visit to see his uncle who was another chief nearby.
Slavery
Kizell was a sold into slavery in Charleston, South Carolina. He escaped from his master to join the British after the Philipsburg Proclamation by British General Henry Clinton.
Return to Africa
Along with 1,200 African Americans immigrants, John Kizell was expatriated to Sierra Leone and helped establish Settler Town, Sierra Leone, the oldest section of present-day Freetown.
Kizelltown
Kizell ran a trading post on his native Sherbro land, a kind of outpost colony of the Freetown colony established by fellow Black Loyalists and the Sierra Leone Company called Kizzelltown. He also served as an intermediary between British officials and inhabitants of Sherbro Island, including Afro-European groups such as the Caulkers and Clevelands (who were descendants of early white British slave traders and the black indigenous people of the island). Kizell was a prosperous trader and a Baptist preacher who established a church on Sherbro Island.
Dealings with the ACS
Before interacting with American Colonization Society (ACS) officials in 1820 when the first settlers of Liberia arrived, John Kizell had already established a relationship with the organization in 1818 when Samuel J. Mills and Ebenezer Burgess visited to conduct research for the ACS and submit a report on the feasibility of African colonization. Soon after Mills and Burgess's visit, Kizell also interacted with African American colonizationist Paul Cuffe (whose efforts predated formalization of the ACS) during one of his expeditions and confirmed that the Sherbro lands would be suitable for African American settlers. In 1820, Kizell helped ACS officials Samuel Bacon and Samuel Crozer, as well as African American settlers like Daniel Coker, negotiate with local leaders on the island for land.
Debt
Kizell maintained ties with the African American community in Settler Town, Sierra Leone and had 278 lots in the city. For unclear reasons, Kizell fell into debt and forfeited his property until he was able to repay the Sierra Leone Company.