People, Locations, Episodes

The Sisters of the Holy Family Congregation is Founded

The Sisters of The Holy Family Parish, an African American congregation of pontifical status, was founded on this date in 1842 in New Orleans.

It was founded by a free woman of African descent, Henriette Delille, some 20 years before the Emancipation Proclamation. It was created by Henriette Delille of New Orleans, Juliette Gaudin, born in Cuba of Haitian parents, and Mlle Alcot, a young French woman.

It was started under the direction of Father Etienne Rousselon, Vicar-General of the Diocese of New Orleans.

Richard Boyd, Spiritual Leader born

*Richard Henry Boyd was born on this date in 1843. He was a Black preacher, missionary, entrepreneur, publisher, banker, educator, writer, and Black Nationalist.

Theophilus Steward, Minister born

Theophilus Steward was born on this date in 1843. He was a Black clergyman, teacher, and author. Theophilus Gould Steward was born in Gouldtown, New Jersey.

Harvey Johnson, Minister born

*Harvey Johnson was born on this date in 1843. He was a Black minister and theologian.

William Robeson, Minister, and Abolitionist born

*William Robeson was born on this date in 1844. He was a minister, and abolitionist. William Drew Robeson was born a slave, his father was Benjamin Robeson, and his mother was named Sabra. They were enslaved on the Roberson plantation near Cross Road township in Martin County, North Carolina. He was a descendant of the Igbo […]

Henry Plummer, Soldier, and Chaplain born

Henry Plummer, a Black soldier and chaplain, was born on this date in 1844.

Black History and the Southern Baptist Convention in America, a story

*Black history and the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) are examined on this date in 1845. That summer in Nashville, TN, at the Southern Baptist Convention’s founding, approximately 1 in 3 Southern Baptist church members were black. By 1900, there were virtually no black Southern Baptists. About 1 in 5 Southern Baptist churches are predominantly non-white, […]

William Pettiford, Minister, and Businessman born

*William Pettiford was born on this date in 1847. He was a black minister, educator and business entrepreneur.

The Mormon Church and American Slavery, a story

*On this date in 1827, we examine the Mormon church and American Slavery with a brief article.  On this date, white Mormon Joseph Smith translated the Golden Plates into English (aka) the Book of Mormon.    The Latter-Day Saints Mormon movement has had varying and conflicting teachings on slavery. Early converts were initially from the […]

Bethel A.M.E. Church (Atlanta) is Founded

*Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Atlanta was founded on this date in 1847.

Levi Jenkins Coppin, Minister born.

*Levi Jenkins Coppin was born on this date in 1848.   He was a Black minister and editor. From Fredericktown, Maryland, he was the son of John Coppin and Jane Lily. His mother, a free Black woman, taught him to read and write, which was illegal then.  After the American Civil War, his mother became the first teacher at a […]

William J. Simmons, Educator, and Minister born

*William J. Simmons was born on this date in 1849. He was an educator, minister, and college administrator. William J. Simmons was born a slave in Charleston, South Carolina, to Edward and Esther Simmons. While William was young, his mother fled slavery with her three children, William and his two sisters, Emeline and Anna. They […]

St. Andrews AME Church (Sacramento), is Founded

This date in 1850 marks the founding of St. Andrews African Methodist Episcopal (A. M. E.) Church of Sacramento, California.

William Harrison Heard, Politician and Clergyman born

*William H. Heard was born on this date in 1850.  He was a Black clergyman and politician.  William Henry (Harrison) Heard was born a slave in Elbert County, Georgia, some three miles from the small settlement of Longstreet. His father, George, was a blacksmith and later a wheelwright and carpenter of mixed ethnicity. George was the son of an […]

Francis J. Grimke, Minister, and Author born

On this date in 1850, Francis James Grimke was born. He was a Black minister and author.

He was born in Cane Acres, a rice plantation near Charleston, SC, the son of a wealthy white man and Nancy Weston, a black slave. After his father died and property rights on them were exercised by his half-brother Montague, Grimke ran away from home and joined the Confederate Army as an officer’s valet. He served there until Emancipation. After the Civil War his aunts Angela and Sarah Moore Grimke acknowledged their kinship and helped in his education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.