Annals of the First African Church in the United States of America

By: WM. Douglass

During the 1700's most churches in America were not willing to open their congregations to African-American’s, and those that were willing would not mix the two inside of the same building. In Philadelphia, St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church, located on 4th Street below Vine, was one such church that would allow these meetings on their grounds. The African-American congregation would meet there until "the increasing numbers of the congregation, afforded a plea on the part of those invested with power, desiring their removal to the gallery." The shameful transaction that removed the African-American congregation from the church took place on Sunday morning shortly thereafter Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, both preachers at the church formed The Free African Society in 1787. Through the early 1790's the members of the society desired to transform into a distinct African congregation, and act that birthed two different churches. Those following Richard Allen would remain Methodist and created the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1793; while other members felt the need to branch out and join the Protestant Episcopal Church followed Rev. Absalom Jones who would build a congregation under the name the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in 1792. This volume follows the creation and growth of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, as led by Absalom Jones, and includes the notes, papers and letters cataloguing the decisions, and hurdles of its early growth. An extremely thorough record of the church, its members and functionaries, the Annals of the First African Church in the United States of America was published in 1862 by King & Baird.

• ISBN-13: 9781598382662

• Page Count: 174

• Book Height: 8 x Width: 0.375 x Length: 5 inches