Rev. Glenn Settle
*Glenn T. Settle was born on this date in 1894. He was a Black minister and choral director.
Born in Reidsville, North Carolina, to Rubin and Mary Settle, Glenn Thomas Settle moved with his family to Uniontown, Pa., and attended public school. Settle then moved to Elyria, beginning his pastorate as assistant pastor of Mount Haven Church. Settle married Mary Elizabeth Carter in 1917. They had three children: Elizabeth, Glenn H., and Gwendolyn. Settle moved to Cleveland about 1920, worked as a city clerk, and joined Gethsemane church, becoming a pastor in 1935.
Settle founded Wings Over Jordan gospel choir in 1935, one of African American religious history's most revered choral representations. It aired locally in July 1937 on WGAR's "Negro Hour." On 9 Jan. 1938, it debuted nationally over the CBS network as the Wings Over Jordan Choir. In 1939, the choir earned national recognition for outstanding radio series rendered by Blacks. In 1940, the choir toured America.
Settle was honored for distinguished achievement in improving race relations by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASALH). In 1941 Settle received a plaque from the National Negro Insurance Association for his outstanding contribution as a builder of interracial and international goodwill.
In 1946, Settle legally changed his name from "Glenn" to "Glynn" to inherit an islet in the Dan River near Reidsville. He earned his Doctor of Divinity in the late 1940s. By the 1950s, he had moved back to Uniontown and married Mildred Ridley in California, ca. 1960. Rev. Glynn Settle died on July 16, 1967, and was buried in Los Angeles.
