The Dayton forum. [volume] (Dayton, Ohio) 1913-1949, 1940-11-22
GroUth OF Negro
Baptist Church

from the early struggles Of missionaries
working among slaves to its present
strength embracing l7,743 ministers,
22,O81 churches, 3,75O,O00 communicates
and property valued at S103, 465, 800
is recounted in the Inventory of Church
Archives in Virginia entitled Negro Bap-
list Church in Richmond" just issued.
This publication stems from the His
torical Records Survey Project Of the
Virginia WPA. Russell S. Hummel,
WPA State Administrator, says that an
average Of four persons were employed
on work-relief rolls for year in prepar-
ing this Inventory of Church Archives
for publication. Eight other, similar In
vcntores have been produced in this
State.
The President, on September |, 1899,
authorized the Historical Records Sur
Wy to perform work leading to the pre-
pairing and duplicating inventories Of
Federal, state, county, municipals and
otner public archives; preparing and da-
plcating inventories guides and calen-
dars Of manuscript collections including
church archives"
| A Negro by the name Of Quassey is
cited in the Archives of Virginia as the
first communicate Of his race to have
joined the Baptist church. In 1743 he
was one of the ffty-one members OF the
Baptist Church at Newton, Rhode Island,
the publication asserts.
] Although the first known Negro Bap-
! tist was a member of the Rhode Island
Church, there were Negro Baptist
churches in the South for more than a
quarter of century before they begun
to be constituted in the North and about
a half century before the first church of
/ its kind was planted in the West" the
Inventory of Negro Baptist Churches in
Virginia continues
When the first African Baptist Church
was organized in Boston, Mass, in 1906,
it was not only the first Negro Baptist
church in the North but was also the
only independent Negro church in that
area with the exception of the st. Thomas
Episcopal Church in Philadelphia which
, had Negro Rector.
The Inventory of Church Archives
cites the case of many slaves in South
Carolina who as early as 1896 could read
the Bible distinctly and great numbers
OF them who were engaged in learning
the scriptures. While English planters
generally neglected religious instruction
among the slaves, the missionary move
ment laid a broad foundation which was
resonsible for "the epic quality of the
rise Of the Negro Baptist church from
primitive animism in Africa to the pres
cit impressive organization
The first Negro Baptist church in
America was established between 1773
and 1775 at Silver Bluff, Georgia. This
church went into exile when Savannah
fell to the British in December 1778. The
Reverend David George, and about forty
other slaves moved from Silver Bluff to
Savannah to seek protection There they
won their freedom in exchange for an al
lance with the British
The earliest known Baptist church for
Negro communicates in Virginia is said
to have been the Gilfield Baptist Church,
organized at Petersburg in the year 1774.
The first Baptist Church of Manchester is
the only Negro Baptist Church that was
organized before 1865 within the present
bounds of the City of Richmond.
The Inventory also recounts the found
ing of the Richmond African Baptist Mis-
sionary Society on April %, 1915, and
summarizes the eminent career Of Lott
Carey, one Of the co-founders Of this
Society
Mainly, the Inventory records the IN
dividual history Of eight Baptist Conven-
tions in the Old Dominion State and tells
a orief story Of each Richmond church
affiliated with its respective Convention.
The histories OF thirty-three churches not
connected with any district association
are also set forth.
For many years, it has been the aim