People, Locations, Episodes

The Abyssinian Baptist Church, NYC is Founded

On this date in 1808, we celebrate the founding of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City.

Black Americans along with a group of Ethiopian merchants were unwilling to accept racially segregated seating of the First Baptist Church of New York City and withdrew forever their membership. Determined to organize their own church, they established themselves in a building on Anthony Street (later Worth Street), calling it the Abyssinian Baptist Church. The name was inspired by the nation from which the merchants of Ethiopia had come, Abyssinia.

Juliette Gaudin, Catholic Nun born

*Juliette Gaudin was born on this date in 1808. She was an Afro Cuban educator and Nun. Born in Cuba, she dedicated her life to mercy among orphans, the needy elderly, and the Black race. In 1842, along with Henriette Delille, she helped establish The Sisters of The Holy Family Parish in New Orleans, Louisiana. Juliette Gaudin […]

Samuel Crowther, Yoruba Clergyman born.

*Samuel Crowther’s birth is celebrated on this date in  1809. He was a Yoruba linguist, clergyman, and the first Black African Anglican bishop of West Africa. Samuel Crowther was born in Nigeria, the grandson of King Abiodun, through his mother, Afala; Ajayi was around 12 years old when he and his family were captured by […]

Walter Hawkins, Bishop born

*The birth of Walter Hawkins is celebrated on this date in 1809. He was a Black bishop in the British Methodist Episcopal (BME) Church. From Georgetown, MD., as a child, his father worked to save enough to purchase his freedom. However, he could not afford to free his children. Young Hawkins grew up in the […]

Samuel H. Davis, Minister, and Educator, born

*Samuel H. Davis was born on this date in 1810. He was a Black minister, teacher, and community leader. Davis was born in Temple Mills, Maine. Samuel, Sr., was born into slavery in 1782 in Lunenburg, New York, near the Hudson River, later known as Athens, in Greene County, NY. (4) His father’s father was […]

Theresa Maxis Duchemin, Missionary born

*The birth of Theresa Maxis Duchemin in 1810 is celebrated on this date.  She was a Black missionary.  Born Almeide Maxis Duchemin, she was the daughter of immigrant parents from Baltimore, MD. Her father left her family, and her Haitian mother raised Duchemin.   At nineteen, as Miss Mary Theresa Duchemin, she founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence.  This was the […]

Daniel Payne, Bishop, and Historian born

*On this date in 1811, Bishop Daniel A. Payne was born. He was an African American historian, educator and AME minister.

He was born in Charleston, South Carolina to free colored parents, London and Martha Payne. He attended a private school in Charleston, South Carolina and Gettysburg Seminary in Pennsylvania. He also did a great deal of studying on his own. Payne was the first Bishop to have formal theological seminary training. He, more than any other individual, is responsible for the A.M.E. church’s interest in trained ministry.

John Jasper, Spiritual Activist born

John Jasper, a Black preacher, philosopher, and orator, was born on this date in 1812.

Jasper was born in Fluvanna County, VA, the youngest of 24 children. He became a Christian on July 4, 1839, in Capital Square of Richmond. He was baptized in 1849, and on the same day, preached a funeral service, which immediately brought him fame. He taught himself to read and write, and although he delivered his sermons in the dialect of the southern slave, more educated ministers said that Jasper’s vivid and dramatic sermons transcended “mere grammar.”

Jermain Loguen, Minister, and Abolitionist born

The birth of Jermain Wesley Loguen is celebrated on this date in 1813. He was a Black abolitionist and religious leader.

Henriette Delille, Religious Leader and Abolitionist born.

*The birth of Henriette Delille in 1813 is celebrated on this date. She was a Creole abolitionist and religious leader.

The American Baptist Missionary Union Founded

*The American Baptist Missionary Union was founded on this date in 1814. It is a constituent board affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Their headquarters is in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States.  The Society was founded in 1814 as the Baptist Board for Foreign Missions by the Triennial Convention (now American Baptist Churches […]

Jordan Winston Early, Minister born.

*Jordan Winston Early was born on this date in 1814. He was a Black Methodist preacher. Jordan Early was born into slavery in Franklin County, Virginia. After his mother’s death, when Early was three, he and his siblings were cared for by a maternal aunt, an uncle who taught him astronomy, and an older woman […]

Jabez Campbell, Minister, and Abolitionist born

*On this date, in 1815, Jabez Campbell was born.  He was a Black minister, abolitionist, and philanthropist.  Jabez P. Campbell was born free in Slaughter Neck, Sussex County, Delaware.   Both his grandfathers were soldiers during the Revolutionary War, a rare occurrence since only about 5,000 Blacks served in the Continental Army. His father was Anthony Campbell, a Methodist preacher, and his mother […]

Leonard Grimes, Pastor, and Abolitionist born

*Leonard Grimes was born on this date in 1815.  was a Black abolitionist and pastor.   Born a mulatto child in Leesburg, Virginia, Leonard Andrew Grimes grew up a free man. Yet, he witnessed the horrors of slavery in the South and devoted his life to assisting fugitive slaves and advocating abolitionism. After moving to […]

The First African Methodist Episcopal Church in America is Founded

On this date in 1816, representatives of five Methodist congregations assembled at the Bethel church in Philadelphia.