John Patterson Sampson

John Patterson Sampson, D. D. (1837-1928) (also known as "J. P. Sampson") was an American abolitionist, newspaper publisher, judge, and minister.[1]

He was born free to James Drawhorn Sampson and Fanny (Kellogg) Sampson on August 13, 1837 (or 1838[2]) in Wilmington, North Carolina.[1][3] His grandparents were Drawhorn and Susan Sampson and Manerva (Green) Kellogg,[3] and he had two brothers, Benjamin and Joseph.[2] James, who had both Scottish and African ancestry, was born a slave, and became a successful carpenter after being freed, establishing his family's prominence in the state.[2]

He graduated from Comer's College in Boston, Massachusetts in 1856[4] after which he taught in New York, and soon launched a newspaper, The Colored Citizen, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Colored Citizen was oriented toward black soldiers in the American Civil War, and enjoyed strong Christian support.[5] He earned a law degree from the National University School of Law in 1873.[6] He served in several local government offices, and then served for 40 years as a Methodist minister.[7]

He published the book Mixed Races: Their Environment, Temperament, Heredity, and Phrenology in 1881.