[1] This dissertation was written from facts obtained from these
churches and their pastors and verified by reference to books and
newspapers. The most important source was the _Special Report of the
U. S. Commissioner of Education on the Schools of the District of
Columbia_, pp. 197 _et seq._
[2] _Special Report of the United States Commissioner of Education on
the Schools of the District of Columbia_, pp. 195-197.
[3] _Special Report of the United States Commissioner of Education on
the Schools of the District of Columbia._
[3a] After the Civil War "Little Ebenezer" entered upon a new career.
The white pastors who up to this time had been serving this
congregation were replaced by ministers of color, the first one being
Noah Jones. About 1874 the property of the church was transferred from
the white church to the local organization. Placed upon this
advantageous basis, the success of this congregation soon entitled
that church to rank among the leading Negro churches of the city. C.
G. Keyes built the first church edifice. Under C. G. Walker, who came
later, there were added so many more new members that a new building
was necessary to accommodate the congregation. Then came W. H. Draper,
Alexander Dennis, and finally Dr. M. W. Clair. Using the plans devised
by Dr. M. W. Clair, now Bishop of the M. E. Church, John H. Griffin
built the edifice which is today used by the Ebenezer Church. This
church was later served by W. T. Harris, E. W. S. Peck, and more
recently by the efficient S. H. Brown and W. H. Dean, who did much to
promote the religious life and expand the work of the present
flourishing congregation now under the direction of J. W. Waters.
[4] From records preserved by Miss H. H. Beason.
[5] The time for radical changes was approaching when the political
discussions of the time were affecting Washington and all elements of
its population. It was not until the Civil War was in its third year
that Mt. Zion felt the change, and this was by the organization of the
Washington Annual M. E. Conference in 1864. Had it not been effected
at this time, it is doubtful if the M. E. Church would have been able
to make much headway in Virginia with the Negro members who up to that
time were counted a part of the M. E. South, worshipping in the same
edifice as the whites and under such conditions as to give rise to
little or no friction. The Civil War was in its last year, and there
had been no opportunity before this time for the M. E. Church to
secure Negro members to any extent. The A. M. E. Church, moreover, had
already got a foothold in Norfolk and Portsmouth where the Union
armies had triumphed, as early as 1862, and in 1865 the A. M. E. Zion
Church secured a large following with valuable property in Petersburg.
Bishop Levi Scott, who organized the Washington Conference, was not
concerned primarily for such churches in Baltimore as Sharp Street,
Asbury, and Mt. Zion in Washington, but he was looking beyond the
Potomac. At any rate he organized with four members and in 1864 sent
to Mt. Zion Rev. John H. Brice, who thus became their first Negro
pastor. Mt. Zion then had a membership of 317. Rev. Mr. Brice was
reappointed in 1865. He was succeeded in 1866 by Rev. N. W. Carroll,
whose career as an aggressive minister is that of one of the very
first in his denomination. Rev. Mr. Carroll served three years and was
an elder when his successor, Rev. Henry R. Elbert, was appointed in
1869.
Following Mr. Elbert came Rev. G. T. Pinkney, under whose
administration the planning of a new structure first took form, and
$1,500 for the purpose was deposited in the Freedmen's Bank. Rev. Mr.
Pinkney was succeeded by Rev. George Lewis, who raised $1,600 for the
building fund. Then came the Rev. Benjamin Brown, one of the useful
pastors of the Negro church, a man whose reputation was coextensive
with the confines of the Washington Conference, which at that time
included Virginia and West Virginia as well as Maryland and the
District of Columbia.
The desire for a new edifice increased, and the people contributed
liberally. At the time of the suspension of the Freedmen's Bank in
1874 the church had on deposit $2,500. The effect of the failure of
the bank was most disastrous. There was a cessation of effort for a
time, but under the magnetic and masterly leadership of Rev. Mr. Brown
the people rallied, and $624 was collected in one day toward the new
building. The time had come for a forward movement. The members were
called together March 24, 1875. The question of rebuilding was
discussed thoroughly and with but ten dissenting votes the proposition
was endorsed and the trustees, thus empowered, undertook the purchase
of a lot on Twenty-ninth Street, between Dunbarton and O Streets, from
Mr. Alfred Pope, one of their number, for $25.
The work on the new edifice was begun. Meanwhile Rev. Mr. Brown was
reappointed and the cornerstone was laid, the ceremony being performed
by the Good Samaritans. Then came Rev. R. A. Read, who subsequently
became pastor at Asbury. Rev. James Dansbury followed Mr. Brown and
gave a good account of himself. In 1880 Rev. James D. S. Hall, an
eloquent preacher, who had done very creditable work in different
parts of the country and who had served successfully in the A. M. E.
Church as well as in the M. E. Conferences, was appointed. His
appointment was the signal for new life. The cornerstone was relaid,
this time under the authority of the Masons. The next morning the
building when only five feet high was discovered on fire.
Dissatisfaction crept in the flock, lawsuits followed, and there was
formed a separate A. M. E. body, with Rev. James T. Morris as its
first pastor. Mt. Zion kept on nevertheless, and the first services
were held in the new structure October 30, 1880, although the building
was without roof or plaster. The subsequent history of Mt. Zion until
the close of the nineteenth century was notable for its steady
progress.
[6] In 1869 a bill passed both houses of Congress to transfer the
authority of the separate management of the Negro schools to the white
board. The colored people became alarmed. Israel Church opened its
doors for a mass meeting and under the leadership of John F. Cook a
strong protest against the legislation was voiced. The other churches
were asked to follow and endorse the stand taken at Israel. They did
so; the President, Andrew Johnson, refused to sign the bill and the
schools remained intact under Negro management until 1900.
[7] Israel was the church above all which made itself an example for
other independent churches in Washington. Mt. Zion in Georgetown had
been acting as an organized church since 1816. Until 1830, however, it
had no records. It had no Negro pastor for forty-eight years and no
trustees until 1866.
[8] Payne, _History of the A. M. E. Church_, p. 38.
[9] Some of the strongest men in that denomination were sent to
Israel. Charles Wesley Fitzhugh, Charles H. Phillips, R. S. Williams,
N. S. Cleaves, and S. B. Wallace were among the number. Phillips,
Williams, and Cleaves became bishops, while Dr. Wallace, who died
while pastor in 1895, was certainly one of the foremost pulpit orators
in any of the Negro churches, without exception, during the nineteenth
century.
[10] From the records of this church.
[11] At this time there were eighteen classes at the Asbury and a
membership of about 640. A financial report for the year ending March
30, 1850, shows receipts of $829.17-1/2. Ten years later the stewards'
financial report gives $798.01. At the dedication of Asbury in 1869 a
review of its history was given by Benjamin McCoy, who was the most
influential personage in the history of this church. He was a
colleague of John F. Cook, Sr. An extract from a report submitted by
him is very interesting, showing for the building the amount of the
debt of the old Asbury, $15,354.97, on which $11,610.97 was paid
Downing and Brothers, $3,744 to Rogers and Cissil, $1,257.48 paid to
Morsell and Dearing, leaving a balance of $2,486.52.
[12] The order then follows: W. H. Waters, 1856; John J. Herbert,
1857; Michael F. Sluy, 1858; Alexander W. Wayman, 1859; Daniel W.
Moore, 1860-1861; James A. Handy, 1864 (6 weeks); James D. S. Hall,
1864, 1865; James A. Handy, 1866, 1867; Richard A. Hall, 1868, 1869;
Daniel P. Seaton, M.D., 1870, 1871; Daniel Draper, 1872, 1873; Richard
A. Hall, 1874; Joseph S. Thompson, 1875, 1876; George W. Brodie, 1877,
1878, 1879; Rev. John W. Stevenson, 1880, 1881.
Union Bethel finally became the Metropolitan Church in 1881. James A.
Handy served in 1882, 1883, 1884; after which came Rev. George T.
Watkins, 1885; Theophilus G. Steward in 1886 and 1887, and John T.
Mitchell in 1888 and 1889.
[13] The organization of the Bethel Literary and Historical
Association by Bishop Payne in the early autumn of 1881 was an event
worth chronicling because of its immediate influence on the individual
church, the community, the denomination and the entire country. For
twenty-five years the Bethel Literary in the fall and winter seasons
was recognized as an intellectual clearing house. In distant
communities the reflex influence was just as unmistakable because of
the newspapers, whose Washington correspondents did not fail to
register the utterances and the discussions which the Literary
occasioned.
[14] Union Bethel became the Metropolitan A. M. E. Church by order of
the General Conference of 1872, affirmed by that of 1876 and
reaffirmed by its successor in 1880.
The church building is 80 x 120 with a sub-basement for domestic
purposes and a basement above grade containing lecture, Sunday School,
library, and class rooms. The cost was $70,000 on ground, the assessed
valuation of which at the time of the erection of the edifice was
$25,000. The cornerstone was laid in 1881. The basement was opened for
divine worship November 8, 1885, and dedicated by Bishop A. W. Nayman,
Dr. J. A. Handy, Dr. B. W. Arnett, and Dr. G. T. Watkins, pastor. On
the completion of the main auditorium services were first held Sunday,
May 30, 1886. When dedication features extending one week took place,
John A. Simms, Andrew Twine, William Beckett, John Shorter, George C.
Brown, James Washington, Walter F. Hyson, George R. Dalley, and J. T.
Harris were the trustees.
In 1886 the new edifice was dedicated with elaborate exercises. T. G.
Steward was the first pastor to serve in the new building. After an
administration of two years he was succeeded by Dr. John G. Mitchell.
John W. Beckett followed Dr. Mitchell in 1889 and remained three
years. In 1873 John T. Jenifer, who bears the distinction of being a
member of the first graduating class of Wilberforce University, was
appointed and served three years. He was succeeded in 1896 by John
Albert Johnson, who served a term of five years with unusual success.
Daniel J. Hill followed J. Albert Johnson and remained two years.
Oscar J. W. Scott, who followed in 1903, filled out three terms and
was serving his fourth when he received an appointment as Chaplain in
the 24th United States Infantry to succeed Chaplain T. G. Steward.
John H. Welch, named to succeed J. W. Scott, served two years and was
appointed for the third when he suddenly passed away to the intense
sorrow of his congregation. Dr. Isaac N. Ross began in 1909 an
incumbency of five years.
In 1914 Dr. C. Harold Stepteau succeeded Dr. Ross and remained for
three years. Dr. Stepteau was succeeded in 1917 by Rev. Carlton M.
Tanner. He at once bent his efforts toward the reduction of the debt
which had handicapped the progress of the church for a generation.
Such was his success that within two years he accomplished what had
been regarded as an impossible task. The event was made an occasion
for great rejoicing, culminating in a thanksgiving service Monday
evening, January 27, 1919, which included among other features an
address by the pastor, Dr. Tanner, one by the presiding Bishop, John
Albert Johnson, and an original poem by Dr. Robert E. Ford. The most
spectacular number was the burning of the fourteen thousand dollar
mortgage deed in the presence of the vast audience, the taper being
applied by a committee of elderly members who had been connected with
the church for a score or more of years.
[15] One has said that not long thereafter they employed as temporary
pastor the Rev. Mr. Nickens, whose coming being unacceptable to some
members of the congregation, caused about thirty to secede, organizing
a church by themselves. These seceding members were expelled and, as
the church property was deeded to the members of the church, there
ensued a controversy as to the title of the church, which for a number
of years was in litigation between the mother church and her
offspring. See the _Special Report of the United States Commissioner
of Education on the Schools of D. C._, 311.
[16] During his school days Rev. Harvey Johnson of Baltimore was a
follower of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church.
[17] This account was given by the present pastor of this church, Dr.
W. H. Brooks.
The deacons during Dr. Brooks's pastorate have included some of the
foremost men in the community. Such men are William Coke, who was a
deacon in 1840, John H. Beale, Nathaniel Gilmer, Henry Jarvis, Linsey
Muse, Albert Parker, William P. Pierre and William Syphax, while among
the trustees will be recalled Carter A. Stewart, Charles Lemos, David
Clark, William B. Brooks, W. A. Johnson, Edgar Ball and John H.
Hunter. Among the local churches either directly or indirectly
originated in the Nineteenth Street Church are the Vermont Avenue, the
Metropolitan, Berean, Pilgrim of Brentwood, Salem and Israel Baptist
Churches.
[18] The following persons constituted the church: John F. Cook, David
Carroll, Jane Noland, Mary Ann Tilghman, Clement Talbert, Lydia
Williams, Elizabeth Carroll, Ann Brown, Charles Bruce, Basil Gutridge,
Clarissa Forest, John Madison, Catherine Madison, Ann Chew, Ruth
Smith, Emily Norris, Maria Newton, Alfred Cook and Eliza Stewart.
[19] See F. J. Grimké's _Anniversary Address on the Occasion of the
Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian
Church_.
[20] A statement verified by the present pastor, Dr. J. L. S.
Holloman.
In 1883 Dr. William Bishop Johnson accepted the call to the pastorate
which, notwithstanding its nearly forty years of struggle, had been
reduced to a membership of less than one hundred. During Dr. Johnson's
pastorate a church edifice was erected in 1895 at a cost of $75,000,
one of the largest and most imposing in the city. An outstanding
feature of Dr. Johnson's administration was the organization of a
Sunday School Lyceum in 1885 which was one of the most popular
literary organizations in the Capitol, meeting Sunday afternoons, when
there were discussions of some foremost topic by representative
thinkers of both sexes and races. Notable among the presidents of the
Sunday School Lyceum were Mr. Jesse Lawson, Mr. R. D. Ruffin, and Mr.
R. W. Thompson, the newspaper correspondent. Johnson died in 1917
mourned by the congregation and community as one of its leading
preachers. Through his administration of the affairs the church became
one of the best known throughout the country because of the organizing
abilities of the pastor and his unusual ability. In 1917 the church
called as pastor Dr. J. L. S. Holloman of Winton, North Carolina.
During his four years of service the church has been practically freed
of debt and has entered on a new era of progress.
[21] The present building was erected about 1886, by Dr. R. H. G.
Dyson. The present pastor is Rev. H. J. Callis, who easily takes rank
in the city as one of its leading public-spirited influences.
[22] This story is taken largely from records preserved by Mr. B. J.
Grant, one of the oldest members of this church.
[23] At the present time this plot of ground is covered by the
Ebenezer A. M. E. Church.
[24] Two years later they erected another story, which remained intact
until the church was sold. The remodeling and addition cost $1,100.
This property proved to be very valuable, as they decided after many
years to make it one of its most fashionable thoroughfares. Bought for
almost a pittance, this property had advanced in value to such an
extent that the business interests offered a high price for it and it
was sold.
[25] A new edifice is being favorably considered to accommodate the
growing congregation. A building fund has been started for this
purpose.
[26] This account was taken from the records of the Third Baptist
Church.
[27] There were elected the following officers in 1885: W. C. Laws,
Joseph Jones, Henry Hughes, James H. West, Daniel Lewis, Moten Waites,
and Joseph Montgomery. P. H. Umbles officiated during the vacancy of
the pulpit occasioned by the death of Mr. Jefferson, which occurred in
October, 1885.
On March 19 James H. Lee of New Bedford, who had formerly been
connected with the Third Baptist Church, was called to the pastorate.
He accepted and preached his inaugural sermon May 9 and was installed
on May 30. During the first seven years of his administration 242
members were received by baptism, 49 by letter, 62 by experience, 59
by restoration. In the same period 24 were dismissed by letter, 65
excluded and 117 lost by deaths. A debt of $3,475.55 was paid during
this period including balance due on site. The collections aggregated
$28,729.
[28] The following officers were then in charge: Deacons W. L. Laws,
Daniel Lewis, Joseph Jones, Joseph Montgomery, James H. West, Henry
Hughes, and Moten Waites; and Trustees Alexander Peyton, Henry C.
Bolden, William Reynolds, Ottowa Nichols, Richard Basey, George Duff
and Dennis Johnson. After the death of Rev. James H. Lee, Rev. Mr.
Bullock became the pastor.
[29] James L. Pinn is the present pastor, having served since
September, 1916.
[30] Records of the Shiloh Baptist Church.
[31] About a year before the church was organized a number of
Baptists, who with their children afterward formed the church, met in
a little shanty situated at that time on the south side of L Street,
just across from the present church house, and under the direction of
J. McCleary Perkins, a white Union soldier, formed a Sunday School.
The members of this Sunday School were largely adults of African
descent, while the teachers were from both races. The Bible was the
book from which morals and religion were taught, and Webster's
blueback speller was the constant companion of children and parents
while they were learning to read the Word of God. James H. Payne
succeeded Mr. Perkins as Superintendent of this school, and six months
thereafter John M. Washington succeeded Payne. These two men
alternated as superintendents of this Sunday School for ten or twelve
years, and worked together faithfully until they succeeded in building
up a flourishing institution.
[32] Those who were in the original company that founded the church
were Washington Whitlow, John J. Taylor, J. Mason Wilson, George
Armstead, Edward Brook, Clement Morgan, Henry Frazier, Henry D.
Payton, Griffin Saunders, Alfred Pendleton, James H. Payne, James G.
Semple, Jane Brown, Elizabeth Morgan, Annie Armstead, Lucy Davis and
Rev. William J. Walker.
[33] The Moderator then informed the members of Shiloh that the
Council was ready to hear their statement, whereupon Henry Frazier,
the senior deacon of the newly formed church, gave a history of the
organization and prosperity of Shiloh Baptist Church in
Fredericksburg, from which the members forming the new church had
come. William J. Walker, who had been associated with the
Fredericksburg church for about twelve years, presented some
interesting facts, and added: "These brethren, who have been driven
from their homes and scattered among strangers, long to be gathered
into a church, that they may worship God unitedly as they formerly
did." Thereupon A. Rothwell offered the following resolutions which
were unanimously passed:
"Resolved, That we recognize with devout gratitude the good hand of
our Heavenly Father, in delivering these, His children, from the
fetters of bondage, so that they may freely serve Him, and more
perfectly learn His Way, and we tender to them our cordial Christian
sympathies, as well as our prayers and our aid, in maintaining their
church organization.
"Resolved, also, That we heartily approve the proposition of the
brethren to be recognized as a church, based upon the Christian
doctrines and principles which are the foundation of our denomination,
and that we will cheerfully cooperate in the services appropriate to
the recognition of the Shiloh Baptist Church of Washington, D. C."
The following were the officers of the newly formed church: Deacons
Henry Frazier, Clement Morgan, James G. Semple, Edward Brook, James H.
Payne, Henry D. Payton and Alfred Pendleton; Trustees William J.
Walker, Edward Brook, John J. Taylor, James H. Payne, Griffin
Saunders, Washington Whitlow and Henry D. Payton; John J. Taylor,
church clerk, and J. McCleary Perkins, Superintendent of the Sunday
School.
William J. Walker, the first pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, was a
native of Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was born of free parents and
was about 72 years of age at the time of his death, in 1889. He was a
printer by trade, and enjoyed considerable educational advantages for
the times in which he lived. He was a wise leader, an untiring worker,
and a faithful and able minister of the gospel.
[34] This is a condensed account furnished Dr. J. M. Waldron.
[35] These facts were obtained from the church records.
[36] A statement verified by the present pastor.
[36a] A statement made by the clerk of the church.
[37] A statement made by a number of old members of the church.
[38] The records of the church.
[39] Their first meeting house was erected with a seating capacity of
300 at a cost of $800; the second, which would seat 500, cost $2,000.
With their more than 150 membership they raised $1,000 annually and
expended $850 on current expenses.
[40] These are facts given by the officers of this church.
[41] J. W. Parker, pastor of the E Street Baptist Church, was
moderator, and Lalmon Richards, of the North Baptist Church, was clerk
of this council. The organization consisted of twenty-two members, 10
men and 12 women: James Storum, Wormley, White, Harrod, Denney,
Bailey, John Pierre Randolph, Rowe, Page, Mrs. Wormley, Mrs. Anderson,
widow of D. W. Anderson, Eliza Jackson, Mary Jackson, Thompson,
Pierre, Denney, White, Farley, Bailey and Watson.
[42] This is an abridged statement verified by the church itself.
[43] This is based on a statement made by this church.
[44] This account is based on the records of this church.
[45] These facts were obtained from the records of the church.
[46] These facts as to Negro Catholics were taken from records in the
form of a church monthly newspaper in the possession of Dr. John F.
Smith.
[47] The sermon was delivered by Dr. O'Gorman. The edifice is an
imposing structure of Potomac blue stone, granite basement with
trimmings of Baltimore County marble. A slate roof crowns the
building, the elevation to the apex of the roof being 56 feet. The
facade is broken at the corner with a square tower standing with its
top about 113 feet from the ground. Three wide doors open from the
street approached by ten stone steps so constructed as to make them
easy to ascend or descend. The church will seat 600 persons and cost
about $40,000. In connection with its religious activities St.
Cyprian's has a parochial school and academy located on 8th and D
Streets, five blocks west. This is the gift of one Miss Atkins, one of
the most thrifty of Negro women of the community, who had been a
student at St. Francis Academy in Baltimore.