"Harriet Tubman was a patriot and soldier, and early in the irrepressible conflict of the Civil War was commissioned by President Lincoln as a spy in the Union Army. The spirit of liberty and equality—the glowing fires of a holy patriotism—impelled her onward." – African-American author, Rev. James E. Mason D. D.
"Thoughtful and scholarly, alike creditable to his Church and race." - One Hundred Years of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (1895)
On October 14, 1920, Rev. James E. Mason D. D., Secretary of Livingston College Salisbury, N. C., delivered an address extolling Harriet Tubman at the Harriet Tubman Home Coming Held at Auburn, N. Y., which was published as a short 9-page pamphlet in 1920.
Harriet Tubman (1822 –1913) was an American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, Tubman was an activist in the struggle for women's suffrage.
About the author:
James Edward Mason, B.D. was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., in 1859 and was converted when about sixteen years of age in a revival in 1876, and joined the church. Soon after he was elected superintendent of the Sunday school, secretary of the board of trustees, and May 10, 1876, received local preacher's license. In Walton and Delhi, where his predecessor failed, the largest white churches were filled to overflowing to hear the "Boy Preacher," and his services were in constant demand throughout Delaware County. Bishop J. J. Moore ordained him elder in 1880. He was elected a delegate to represent his Conference at the General Conference, 1884, 1888, 1892. His contributions to the Star and Church Quarterly were thoughtful and scholarly, alike creditable to his Church and race. The degree of Bachelor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Livingstone College in 1893. He was an ambitious, earnest, diligent, and faithful minister of Jesus Christ.
