John Gregg Fee
| John Gregg Fee | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | September 9, 1816 Bracken County, Kentucky, United States |
| Died | January 11, 1901 (aged 84) |
| Education |
Augusta College Miami University Lane Theological Seminary |
| Occupation | Minister, educator, Berea College (founder) |
| Spouse(s) | Matilda Hamilton |
| Children | Several |
| Parent(s) | John Fee and Elizabeth Bradford Fee |
John Gregg Fee (September 9, 1816 – January 11, 1901) was an abolitionist, minister and educator, the founder of the town of Berea, Kentucky, and Berea College (1855), the first in the U.S. South with interracial and coeducational admissions. During the American Civil War, Fee worked at Camp Nelson to have facilities constructed to support freedmen and their families, and to provide them with education and preaching while the men were being taught to be soldiers.
Fee was born in Bracken County, Kentucky on September 9, 1816, the son of John Fee, of Irish and Scots descent, and Elizabeth Bradford, of Scots-Irish descent, whose mother was a Quaker from Pennsylvania. His father inherited a bondsman who reached the term of his indenture. He then began to buy slaves, finally holding thirteen. Later he recognized more of its problems and invested in lands in free states, but held on to his slaves throughout his life and opposed his son's abolitionism.
Following a conversion to the Christian faith at age 14, John Fee, Jr., wanted to join the Methodist Episcopal Church. His father encouraged him to wait, and a couple of years later they both joined the Presbyterian Church. He studied at Augusta College in Bracken County, Kentucky and Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He then entered Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1842, where in studying for the ministry, he made lifelong friendships. The young Fee became a staunch abolitionist, vowing to "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
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