The First African Presbyterian Church stands as a testament to the enduring spirit and unwavering faith of the African American community in Philadelphia. Founded in 1807 by John Gloucester, a former slave, the church holds the distinction of being the first African Presbyterian Church in the United States.
There was no African American Presbyterian Church at the start of the 19th century, despite desires for one. In 1806, Archibald Alexander, a Presbyterian pastor in Philadelphia, established the Evangelical Society with hope of evangelizing blacks, but he still desired an African American Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.
His hopes started to come to fruition when he met a Presbyterian pastor by the name of Gideon Blackburn and his slave, John Gloucester, at the 1807 General Assembly in Kentucky. Blackburn and Gideon came to the General Assembly with hope of getting Gloucester licensed as a minister.
After preaching in houses, street corners, and schoolhouses, Gloucester organized First Colored Presbyterian (later renamed First African Presbyterian Church) with 22 members in May 1807. First edifice was dedicated 1811 at 7th & Bainbridge Streets.
African American church service in Philadelphia, 1899
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A Legacy of Leadership
After Gloucester, several other prominent ministers presided over First African Presbyterian Church.
Rev. John W. Sudor Q. Mitchell, minister during the Great Depression, became the first African American to serve as a member of the Board of Foreign Missions (PCUSA).
Shelton B. Waters, called to the pulpit of First African in 1947, left in 1969 to take an executive position at the synod level.
His successor, Kermit E. Overton, became the leader of Black Presbyterians United, founded the journals on Black Presbyterianism Periscope and Periscope 2, served as Philadelphia Presbytery moderator, and held important posts within the synod and the General Assembly.
The Role of the African American Church in the Civil Rights Movement
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Following the Community
Over the succeeding centuries, First African Presbyterian Church has moved westward, following patterns of African American settlement in Philadelphia.
From 1879 to 1891 the congregation worshipped in a hall on Lombard Street near Broad Street, until building a new church at 17th and Fitzwater Streets, occupied until 1946.
After briefly occupying a church at 18th and Christian Streets (1946-1957), the congregation settled at the 42nd Street and Girard Avenue it continues to occupy today. Church has been at this location since 1957.
Map of the Underground Railroad
Archival Treasures
The John Gloucester Memorial and Historical Society preserves archival materials from First African Presbyterian Church, including minutes, membership materials, correspondence, financial documents, photographs, and various other administrative records of the church, 1863-2014 (bulk from 1950 to 2014).
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Of special interest in the collection are photographs by John W. Mosley (1907-1969), a self-taught photographer known for capturing images from Philadelphia’s African American community.
He worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer but also served as official photographer of First African Presbyterian Church.
A Broader Impact
The records of First African Presbyterian Church not only document that particular church and its members, they also track the development of Presbyterianism and of the African American community in Philadelphia.
The Presbyterian Church has a rich history of bold, courageous and gifted African-Americans who contributed and continue to contribute to the advancement of the denomination and efforts to advance social justice for all of our citizens.
Here are some other notable figures:
- Lucy Craft Laney founded the Haines Institute in Augusta, Georgia, in 1883 and served as its principal until 1933. She was one of the first three African-Americans to have their portrait displayed in the Georgia State Capitol.
- Gladys Nickelby Nelson was a member of Doylestown Presbyterian Church, a nurse and the first African-American employee of the Doylestown School District and in 1954 opened and managed the very first clinic in the United States to inoculate citizens against Polio. Through her partnership with the vaccine’s developer Dr.
- Rev. Dr. Thelma C.D. Adair was elected in 1976 as its first African-American female moderator.
- Emily Gibbs came to DPC in 1990. Prior to that she had been on the faculty of the New York Theological Seminary teaching practical theology and serving as Dean of the Religious Education program there. The seminary’s Women’s Resource Center and a scholarship are named after her.
- Katherine Johnson was a Presbyterian Elder and the mathematician behind one of engineering’s greatest feats: the launch of astronaut John Glen into orbit. She is featured in the book and 2016 hit movie Hidden Figures, which documents this extraordinary achievement.
