People, Locations, Episodes

Thomas Lewis Johnson, Minister born

*Thomas Johnson was born on this date in 1836. He was a Black slave, minister and author.

Thomas Lewis Johnson was from Rock Raymon, Virginia; his grandfather had been brought to America from Guinea, Africa. His mother was also a slave but his father was a freeman. At the age of three, his father attempted to buy his wife and son but they were sent to Alexandria, VA. When Johnson was 12 years old he was separated from his mother by being sent to work in Fredericksburg, VA.

Amanda Smith, Missionary born

*Amanda Smith was born on this date in 1837. She was a Black evangelist and missionary who opened an orphanage for African American girls.

Born a slave in Long Green, Md., she grew up in York County, Pennsylvania, after her father bought the freedom of most of the family. Smith was educated mainly at home and at an early age began working as a domestic. An unhappy first marriage ended with the disappearance of her husband in the American Civil War. In 1863 she married James Smith and eventually moved with him to New York City.

The Michigan Street Baptist Church (Buffalo, NY), is Founded

The Michigan Street Baptist Church was founded on this date in 1837 in Buffalo, NY, one of the oldest Black Baptist Churches in the United States.

Benjamin W. Arnett, Minister, and Politician born

*Benjamin W. Arnett was born on this date in 1838. He was a Black administrator, politician, and minister.

Bethel Institutional Baptist Church is Founded

*This date in 1838 celebrates the founding of the Bethel Church. Originally Bethel Baptist Institutional Church, it was founded in Jacksonville, Florida, and is the city’s oldest Baptist congregation.   Established under co-pastors James McDonald and Ryan Frier, it had only six charter members, four whites and two Blacks; the latter were held as slaves by white members.  Membership quickly grew, […]

Maria Fearing, Missionary born

Maria Fearing, a Black teacher and missionary, was born on this date in 1838.

Fearing, born a slave near Gainesville, AL, completed the ninth grade, learning to read and write at age 33. As a house servant, she spent much of her time with her mistress and the other children. Mrs. Amanda Winston taught her children and young Maria the Presbyterian catechism and told them Bible stories and tales about missionaries in Africa. These stories about Africa left a deep impression on Fearing.

The Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, (Washington D.C.) is Founded

*This date in 1839 marks the founding of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest Black Baptist Churches in the Nation’s Capital.

Elijah Marrs, Soldier, and Minister born

*The birth of Elijah Marrs is celebrated on this date in 1840. He was a Black soldier, minister, and educator. Elijah P. Marrs was born a slave in Shelby County, Kentucky, to Andrews and Frances Marrs. His father, Andrew, had been granted his freedom by his master before Elijah was born, but his mother was […]

The Twelfth Baptist Church (Boston) is Founded

*The Twelfth Baptist Church was dedicated on this date in 1840. This is a historic church in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The Twelfth Baptist Church was established when a group of 36 dissenters broke with the First Independent Baptist Church, which met in what is now known as the African Meeting House. The […]

Matthew Gaines, Minister, and Politician born

*Matthew Gaines was born on this date in 1840. He was a Black community leader, minister, and Texas State Senator. Matthew Gaines was born near Alexandria, Louisiana to a slave woman owned by the Martin Despallier family. Gaines learned to read from a white boy who smuggled in books. This boy may have been young […]

The First African Baptist Church (Richmond, VA), is Formed

*The First African Baptist Church, a prominent black church in Richmond, Virginia, began services on this date in 1841. The First African Baptist Church was founded by Black members of Richmond’s First Baptist Church. The First Baptist Church housed a multiracial congregation from its beginning in 1802 until the white members built a new church […]

The A.M.E. Church Review is Published

*On this date 1841, the A.M.E. Church Review was published.  This is the journal of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and arguably the earliest published American Black Journal. It publishes articles on religion, politics, history, and world events.  Originally named The A.M.E. Church Magazine, the church’s general book steward first published it, Rev. George Hogarth of Brooklyn, New York. It was intended to be a monthly […]

Samuel Ferguson, Pioneering Bishop born

Samuel David Ferguson, a Black priest and bishop, was born on this date in 1842.

Allen Allensworth, Municipal Administrator born

*On this date in 1842, Allen Allensworth was born. He was a Black minister, administrator and educator.

From Louisville, KY, born to slave parents, Phyllis and Levi Allensworth, Allen escaped from slavery at the age of twenty. During the Civil War, he became a civilian nurse in the 44th Infantry’s hospital corps serving in the Nashville campaign. A year later he joined the Navy serving on gunboat in the Ohio River. By 1865, he became a chief petty officer. Allensworth then returned to Louisville, where he converted to the Baptist faith in their Fifth Street Church.

Saint Augustine Catholic Church (New Orleans) is Founded

This date in 1842 marks the dedication of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. Since its dedication, St. Augustine has been a church of the free black citizens of New Orleans, welcoming both free and slave as worshippers.