This is the second of two posts that are adapted from a reflection given at the UUCAS worship service on Sunday, March 26, 2023.

In Part 1 of this series, I told a story about Joseph Kinney’s generosity.  Here are two more stories about members of the Kinney family:

Julia Kinney Scott’s “The Slave”

Julia Kinney Scott was a granddaughter of Joseph Kinney.  She was born in Sheshequin in 1809 and was raised in the Universalist faith.  She began writing poetry as a young girl.  A few of her poems were published in the Towanda newspaper in the early 1830s, but otherwise she was relatively unknown outside of Sheshequin.

Her big break came in 1831 when she attended a Universalist association meeting with her father in Lisle, NY.  There she met the editor of one of the prominent Universalist periodicals.  He was impressed with her writing and began publishing her poems in his paper.  Within a few years she was well-known throughout the denomination.

Julia was a passionate Universalist.  She cared deeply about those who were sick, unfortunate, or mistreated.  In this poem she wrote about the suffering of an enslaved African.  While she was a gentle soul, she didn’t hesitate to express anger at the perpetrators of injustice, as you will see in this poem, which was published in a Universalist newspaper in 1832.

The Slave, by Julia Kinney Scott

And canst thou see him toiling there,

     Beneath the scorching, noonday sun,

And mark his look of deep despair,

     Which says, “My work is scarce begun:? –

Canst thou behold his writhing form

     When the inhuman lash is given;

Behold his tears of anguish warm,

     And his clasped hands, upraised to heaven, –

[And not] say, from thy remorseful heart,

     “Slave, thou art free – depart – depart”?

Man, if thou canst, thy soul must be

     Composed of metal yet unknown –

Harder than steel – and thou shouldst flee

     From all of life to dwell alone!

Thy home should be the desert waste –

     Thy nourishment the burning sand –

A galling chain should gird thy waist,

     A manacle thy bloody hand!

Thy drink should be the negro’s tears,

     Thy music his expiring sighs –

Thy bitter days should drag like years,

     Thy torturing nights like centuries –

Thy conscience, like a restless snake,

     Should keep each cankering thought awake!

The shaft of death should mock thee still,

     And thou shouldst live against thy will,

Till thy proud heart could meekly say,

     “Negro, thou art my brother clay!”

The issue of slavery was a difficult one for Universalists.  Most Universalists in the North were opposed to it but knew that if they condemned it too harshly, they might alienate their Southern brethren and split the denomination.  There were political organizations in Bradford county that opposed slavery, which they described as “evil,” and some Universalists were members.  But these groups’ opposition was not entirely rooted in compassion for the enslaved people.  They often argued that slavery should be abolished because free labor gave the South an economic advantage over the North.

The last line of Julia Scott’s poem, “Negro, thou art my brother clay!” makes it clear that she opposed slavery because of her belief in the equality and “siblinghood” of all people.

O. H. P. Kinney on Women’s Suffrage

Oliver Hazard Perry Kinney was a younger brother of Julia Kinney Scott.  He was also raised in the Sheshequin Universalist society.  After practicing law for several years in Towanda, he moved to Waverly, NY, where he became part-owner and editor of the Waverly Advocate, a local newspaper.

In 1867 Kinney was elected delegate from Tioga County to the New York State Constitutional Convention, where proposed changes to the state constitution were presented and discussed.  Voting rights – specifically those of women and Black men – was a key issue at this Convention.

Kinney supported the rights of all men and all women to vote.  His speech at the convention in support of woman’s suffrage was published in many newspapers and was “highly complimented for the spirit of humanity, and for its strong logical appeal” on behalf of women.

The speech is too long to include in its entirety here, so I will summarize it.  Kinney said that women were the equals of men in intelligence and capability, and pointed out that they now worked in many occupations that had previously been reserved for men.  He did use gender-based stereotypes of women (pure, generous, humane) – and of men (stern, profane, even corrupt) – in his argument.  But his final statement rings true.  He said:

“This State will never become our idea of a perfect State until it is made to impersonate all the elements of a perfect society and a perfect humanity.”

In other words, all voices need to be heard for the government to be the best it can be.

You can read his entire speech starting on p. 423 of this book:

https://books.google.com/books/about/Proceedings_and_Debates_of_the_Constitut.html?id=4BAbAAAAYAAJ

Closing

I chose these three stories because I saw parallels with the way we live our UU values today – taking care of each other and helping the less fortunate in our community, speaking out against injustice and advocating for the earth and the interdependent web of life.  These are ways that we embody Unitarian Universalism and find meaning and happiness in our lives.