Henry N. Jeter (October 7, 1851 – August 4, 1938) was a Baptist minister and social justice activist from Newport, Rhode Island. He was minister at Shiloh Baptist Church in Newport for 42 years before founding a pair of organizations seeking to aid poor, urban African Americans, the Pastors and Laymen's Humane and Reform Association and the Jeter Movement of Race Relations and Social Service.

Early life

Henry Norval Jeter was born a slave in Charlotte County, Virginia on October 7, 1851, to Riland and Mary Jeter. In 1862, Riland was pressed to help build breastworks for the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Later that year Riland was shot and killed by a soldierSimmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p588-589 After the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

, Henry served as a shoemaker apprentice and attended night school in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

. In 1868 he joined the Baptist religion, being baptized by Rev. Sampson White. He felt called to preach, and in 1869 he entered Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C., under Rev. George Mellen Prentiss King.

Move to Newport

Jeter was invited on January 8, 1875, to preach to the Shiloh Baptist Church in Newport, Rhode Island after the resignation of its previous pastor, Ananias Brown.Jeter 1901, p15 Shiloh had been founded May 10, 1863, by Rev. Edmund Kelly. Jeter was ordained June 24, 1875, at Shiloh and made its pastor by a council including Kelly and others. H N Jeter

In 1894, Jeter was a financial agent for the Wayland Seminary, collecting donations for the school. His work exhausted him, and he was advised to rest. He invited evangelist Joseph Murphy from Congdon Street Baptist Church in Providence to replace him during his vacation. On Jeter's return, Murphy sought to remain as pastor, and the case was put before a state council of Baptist ministers, who retained Jeter. Murphy sued Jeter for slander, but the case was thrown out.

Expanded role

Jeter became a prominent leader in the national Baptist church and African American civil rights organizations. He was a founding member of the New England Baptist Convention. He was also a member of the

National Afro-American League The National Afro-American League was formed on January 25, 1890, by Timothy Thomas Fortune. Preceding the foundation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the organization dedicated itself to racial solidarity ...

. In 1903 he attended the National Baptist convention in

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. He was also active in the Republican Party, participating in city Republican Convention in 1903. In 1904 he was awarded an honorary degree of doctor of divinity by

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Aid organizations

On July 2, 1916, Jeter offered his resignation as pastor to take place after three months so that he could devote his time to other causes. That August he created an organization called the Pastors and Laymen's Humane and Reform Association for the improvement of the condition of blacks in big cities. His organization was initially supported by

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, H. M. King, O. P Gifford, Clark Burdick, Bishop Rhinelander, Bishop Perry, Dr. Puller, and Watt Terry. Jeter was active in his organization and received broad support. In 1917, he presented on the group to the New England

African Methodist Episcopal The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. It cooperates with other Methodist ...

conference and was endorsed by that body. In 1922, he toured the Pacific Coast giving speeches and taking donations. In 1924, he took a similar tour of Middle Atlantic states and in 1927 he made a tour of the South. In 1928, his focused shifted slightly, and he incorporated the Jeter Movement of Race Relations and Social Service along with Rufus L. Perry, Clinton Stevens, Mitchel Klupt, Francis W. Mandell Jr.,

Henry Barton Jacobs Henry Barton Jacobs (June 2, 1858 – December 18, 1939) was a physician and educator from Maryland. He taught at Johns Hopkins University and served as a trustee of Johns Hopkins Hospital and Peabody Institute later in life. He married Mary Fr ...

, Charles H. Brooks, and George W. Bacheller. This group would focus on black migrants from the South to the North.

Family and death

In 1878 he married Thomasinia Hamilton, daughter of Thomas Hamilton, the editor of the influential New York City newspaper, the ''Anglo-African''. They had twelve children, five sons and six daughters: Octavia, Leonard, Hiram, Nellie, Susie, Walter, May, Mary, Francis, Willie, Olive and Paul. The Jeter family was noted for their musical talent, and gave numerous concerts. Thomasina was an officer in the Northeastern Federation of Colored Women's Club and president of the

Josephine Silone Yates Josephine Silone Yates (1852 or November 15, 1859 ; September 3, 1912) was an American professor, writer, public speaker, and activist. She trained in chemistry and became one of the first black professors hired at Lincoln University in Jeffers ...

Mothers' Club in Newport. She was also a member of the Women's Newport League, the Newport Women's Missionary Alliance, and Hope of Circle of Kings Daughters. She accompanied Henry on many of his tours and was active in many other community works. She died November 19, 1931, in Newport. Henry died August 4, 1938, at his home in Newport. His funeral was held at his home led by Thomas B. Livingston, and he was buried in the City cemetery.

Bibliography

Jeter, Henry Norval. Pastor Henry N. Jeter's Twenty-five Years Experience with the Shiloh Baptist Church and Her History: Corner School and Mary Streets. Remington Printing Company, 1901, accessed November 3, 2016

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeter, Henry N. 1851 births 1938 deaths People from Newport, Rhode Island African-American Baptist ministers Baptist ministers from the United States Activists for African-American civil rights People from Charlotte County, Virginia 20th-century African-American people