BEYSOLOW, THOMAS E.

Thomas E. Beysolow (1857-1949), jurist educator, author, reformer and renowned Liberian sociologist, was born at Gohn, Konneh, Ground Cape Mount County, a grandson of the famous Vai King called King Zolu Duma.

He was educated at St. John’s Episcopal Mission in Cape Mount and later attended Liberia College, Lincoln University, Pa., and Williams College, Rhode Island, where he obtained the B.A. degree.

A trained Sociologist, Beysolow, on his return home, applied his knowledge in dealing with many problems arising out of the relationship between the new settlers and the indigenes of Liberia. He was fitted by birth and education for the role he played as mediator; but his job as pacifier was not always easy, since both sides often charged him with duplicity.

In spite of these difficulties, both elements regarded him as an honest and devoted mediator. At times his pacifying missions took him to battlefronts, such as the one in 1874 when he was dispatched by the national government to quell an insurrection in Bassa County.

He became the Territorial Attorney for the new Grand Mount County, his home County, and its member in the House of Representatives. As a Jurist, he rose to the position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, bringing to the Bench his vast experience in human relations and understanding of native laws and administration.

A prolific writer, Beysolow wrote many papers and compiled and edited native laws, many of which are still used in the courts. One of his most popular works is “From Darkness of Africa to Light of America”. As a reformer, his progressive views often clashed with those of the Establishment, and this led to disappointments in his later years.

OSBORNE K. DIGGS