Gowan Pamphlet (1748–1807) was an American Baptist minister and

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

who founded the Black Baptist Church (now known as

First Baptist Church First Baptist Church may refer to: Canada *First Baptist Church (Toronto), Ontario *First Baptist Church (Ottawa), Ontario * First Baptist Church (Halifax), Nova Scotia, involved in the founding of Acadia University United States Alabama *First ...

) in

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, United States.Woodson, Carter G. ''The History of the Negro Church''. Washington, D.C.: Associated Publishers, 1921. He was one of the first and, for a time, the only ordained African American preacher of any denomination in the American Colonies.

Early life

Gowan Pamphlet was born into

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in 1748. In the 1770s, he was enslaved in the

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

of a tavern owner, the widow Jane Vobe (1733–1786). Multiple Black persons enslaved by Vobe "learned to read the Bible and took part in formal Church of England services at Bruton Parish Church," possibly including Pamphlet. During this time, Pamphlet began his pastoral ministry. Pamphlet was forced to work alongside employees and slaves in Vobe's 1772 King's Arms Tavern in Williamsburg. Before the Revolution, Pamphlet catered to

William Byrd III Colonel William Byrd III (September 6, 1728January 1 or January 2, 1777) was an American planter, politician and military officer who was a member of the House of Burgesses. Biography He was son of William Byrd II and Maria Taylor Byrd, and ...

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben ( , ; born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis Freiherr von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben, was a German-b ...

, and

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and "became skilled in the manners, etiquette, and services that genteel diners and travelers expected."

Ministry

Pamphlet was inspired by the teachings of blind disabled preacher, Moses "Daddy Moses" Wilkinson, a radical

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

preacher who combined

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

divination with African religious traditions such as conjuring and sorcery. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and inspired by the

First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening, sometimes Great Awakening or the Evangelical Revival, was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affected Pro ...

,Tate, Thad W. ''The Negro in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg''. Williamsburg, Virginia: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1965. in the 1770s, Pamphlet began secretly preaching a message of equality to a congregation of free and enslaved African Americans on wooded land at

Green Spring Plantation Green Spring Plantation in James City County about west of Williamsburg, was the 17th century plantation of one of the most unpopular governors of Colonial Virginia in North America, Sir William Berkeley, and his wife, Frances Culpeper B ...

on the outskirts of the city. By 1781, the informal congregation grew to over 200 members. With his owner's permission, Pamphlet was ordained in 1772, becoming one of the first and only ordained black preachers of any denomination in the country. Gowan Pamphlet Manumission

Pamphlet remained in Williamsburg until 1786 when he moved with his owner to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Chesterfield County. He resided there until Vobe's death.Rowe, Linda H. “Gowan Pamphlet: Baptist Preacher in Slavery and Freedom.” ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 120, no. 1 (2012): 2–31. 1793 was a significant year in the life of Pamphlet; he returned to Williamsburg with his new owner (and Vobe's son) David Miller, returned to preach to his informal congregation and promote equality, and was freed by his owner through a deed of

manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves by their owners. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that the most wi ...

in September 1793. The deed is the first listing of his chosen surname, "Pamphlet," which he is believed to have chosen after reading

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In ...

's pamphlet, ''

Common Sense Common sense () is "knowledge, judgement, and taste which is more or less universal and which is held more or less without reflection or argument". As such, it is often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or know ...

''. In that same year, Pamphlet's informal congregation was formally received by the Dover Baptist Association, establishing them as an official church congregation. By the early 1800s, Pamphlet was a landowner in Williamsburg and owned 14 acres in

James City County James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg. Located o ...

. He continued to serve as the minister of his congregation, which amassed an estimated 500 members by the time of his death.

Death

Pamphlet died in 1807 at age 58 or 59 in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Legacy

In 1962,

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

visited Williamsburg and preached at First Baptist Church, where he paid tribute to the founding of the church and its importance in the broader civil rights movement.

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, wh ...

tells the stories of 18th-century African Americans including interpreters in the ''Revolutionary City'' and ''Sharing the Spotlight'' programs portraying Pamphlet. In 2010, Pamphlet was recognized as an "African American Trailblazers" honoree by the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library is located at 800 East Broad Street, tw ...

. A state historical marker (Marker Number W 110.) was erected in 2020 by the

Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

to commemorate Pamphlet's life and legacy. The marker is located at the intersection of North Nassau and Scotland Streets in Williamsburg, close to the original site of the church.

References

External links

Colonial Williamsburg Biography of Gowan Pamphlet
{{authority control 1748 births 1807 deaths Baptists from Virginia African-American activists 18th-century American slaves 18th-century Baptist ministers from the United States African-American theologians American indentured servants African-American Baptist ministers 18th-century African-American people Colonial Williamsburg Free Negroes American former slaves People from Williamsburg, Virginia