Wilkerson had been born a slave in Virginia in 1813 and had purchased his freedom , becoming an elder of the AME Church in Cincinnati , a denomination established in 1819 and the first independent black church in the United States .
Wilkerson had been born a slave in Virginia in 1813 and had purchased his freedom . 
 He had become an elder of the AME Church in Cincinnati ; the denomination was established in 1819 as the first independent black church in the United States .