In the 1830s , major planters and slaveholders Stephen Duncan, Isaac Ross (1760-1838), Edward McGehee (1786-1880), John Ker (1789-1850), and educator Jemeriah Chamberlain (1794-1851), president of Oakland College, co-founded the Mississippi Colonization Society. Their goal was to relocate (repatriate) free blacks and newly freed slaves from their state to the developing colony of Liberia on the African continent.Mary Carol Miller, Lost Mansions of Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2010, Volume II, pp. 53-54  This Society bought a portion of land for the colony, which was known as Mississippi-in-Africa. They believed that free blacks threatened the stability of slave societies, and Mississippi's population had a majority of slaves, outnumbering whites by a three-to-one ratio.   Isaac Ross provided for manumission of his slaves in his will, if they agreed to relocation to West Africa. His plantation was to be sold to provide funds for transportation and for supplies for the pioneer settlers. A grandson contested the will, but it was upheld by Mississippi's High Court of Errors and Appeals (since renamed the Supreme Court  ). In the late 1840s, approximately 300 African-American freedmen from Ross's Prospect Hill Plantation emigrated to Mississippi-in-Africa. They were the largest single group of American colonists to migrate to Liberia. Ross's grandson and heir Isaac Ross Wade contested the will through years of litigation, during which time he occupied the plantation. Wade was supposed to pay the freedmen for their labor.  In 1847 the court ruled that the slaves, then technically free, could leave the United States. In 1848 the last group of Ross's freed slaves emigrated to the colony in West Africa. The passage to Africa was arranged by the Mississippi Colonization Society. It had purchased land on the Pepper Coast for a colony for freedmen from Mississippi. The late Ross was the first among its founders to have arranged for manumission of his slaves. The freedmen developed a society in West Africa much like the one they had left but taking the dominant position in relation to indigenous natives. They built houses in the style of Southern mansions and established a hierarchical society with strong continuities to what they had known in the United States. They established plantations and battled local tribes for control of the territory, believing their American culture and Christianity made them superior.Alan Huffman, Mississippi in Africa: The Saga of the Slaves of Prospect Hill Plantation and Their Legacy in Liberia , University Press of Mississippi, 2004 This settlement existed independently from 1835 until 1842, when it was incorporated into the Commonwealth of Liberia. In 1847 Liberia became independent of the American Colonization Society. Governors Term Incumbent1835Mississippi and Louisiana State Colonization societies found Mississippi-in-Africa colonyJune 1837 – 10 September 1838Josiah Finley , Governor1842Incorporation into the Commonwealth of Liberia  References External links Alan Huffman, Mississippi in Africa
In June 1831 , major planters and slaveholders Stephen Duncan, Isaac Ross (1760-1838), Edward McGehee (1786-1880), John Ker (1789-1850), and educator Jemeriah Chamberlain (1794-1851), president of Oakland College, co-founded the Mississippi Colonization Society. Their goal was to relocate (repatriate) free blacks and newly freed slaves from their state to the developing colony of Liberia on the African continent.Mary Carol Miller, Lost Mansions of Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2010, Volume II, pp. 53-54 . This Society bought a portion of land for the colony, which was known as Mississippi-in-Africa. They believed that free blacks threatened the stability of slave societies, and Mississippi's population had a majority of slaves, outnumbering whites by a three-to-one ratio. The first settlers arrived in 1837. The town of Greenville was built in about 1838 by the colonists. Greenville was named after Judge James Green, one of the first Mississippi Delta planters to send a group of former slaves to Liberia. Mississippi In Africa Josiah Finley — the brother of Robert Finley, who was one of the founders of the American Colonization Society — was governor of Mississippi-in-Africa from June 1837 to 10 September 1838, when he was murdered by local fishermen.Sullivan, Jo. M. "Mississippi in Africa: Settlers Among the Kru," Liberian Studies Journal Vol. VIII, No. 2 (1978–1979). Isaac Ross provided for manumission of his slaves in his will, if they agreed to relocation to West Africa. His plantation was to be sold to provide funds for transportation and for supplies for the pioneer settlers. A grandson contested the will, but it was upheld by Mississippi's High Court of Errors and Appeals (since renamed the Supreme Court of Mississippi ). In the late 1840s, approximately 300 African-American freedmen from Ross's Prospect Hill Plantation emigrated to Mississippi-in-Africa. They were the largest single group of American colonists to migrate to Liberia. Ross's grandson and heir Isaac Ross Wade contested the will through years of litigation, during which time he occupied the plantation. Wade was supposed to pay the freedmen for their labor. Dale Edwyna Smith, The Slaves of Liberty: Freedom in Amite County, Mississippi, 1820-1868, Routledge, 2013, pp. 15-21 In 1847 the court ruled that the slaves, then technically free, could leave the United States. In 1848 the last group of Ross's freed slaves emigrated to the colony in West Africa. The passage to Africa was arranged by the Mississippi Colonization Society. It had purchased land on the Pepper Coast for a colony for freedmen from Mississippi. The late Ross was the first among its founders to have arranged for manumission of his slaves. The freedmen developed a society in West Africa much like the one they had left but taking the dominant position in relation to indigenous natives. They built houses in the style of Southern mansions and established a hierarchical society with strong continuities to what they had known in the United States. They established plantations and battled local tribes for control of the territory, believing their American culture and Christianity made them superior.Alan Huffman, "Mississippi In Africa: The Saga of the Slaves of Prospect Hill Plantation and Their Legacy in Liberia Today", African Diaspora Archeology Newsletter, Volume 13, Issue 4, December 2010 This settlement existed independently from 1835 until 1842, when it was incorporated into the Commonwealth of Liberia. In 1847 Liberia became independent of the American Colonization Society. Timeline June 1831 — Mississippi Colonization Society founded 1835 — Mississippi and Louisiana State Colonization societies found Mississippi-in-Africa colony June 1837 — Josiah Finley named Governor 10 September 1838 — Finley murdered 1841 — Thomas Buchanan (Governor of Liberia) named Acting Agent (but not in residence) 1842 — Incorporation into the Commonwealth of Liberia 1844 — Richard E. Murray named Governor References 
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The first settlers arrived in 1837. The town of Greenville was built in about 1838 by the colonists. Greenville was named after Judge James Green, one of the first Mississippi Delta planters to send a group of former slaves to Liberia. Mississippi In Africa
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Josiah Finley — the brother of Robert Finley, who was one of the founders of the American Colonization Society — was governor of Mississippi-in-Africa from June 1837 to 10 September 1838, when he was murdered by local fishermen.Sullivan, Jo. M. "Mississippi in Africa: Settlers Among the Kru," Liberian Studies Journal Vol. VIII, No. 2 (1978–1979).
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Dale Edwyna Smith, The Slaves of Liberty: Freedom in Amite County, Mississippi, 1820-1868, Routledge, 2013, pp. 15-21
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Today", African Diaspora Archeology Newsletter, Volume 13, Issue 4, December 2010
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External links Alan Huffman, Mississippi in Africa