John Bunyan Reeve (October 29, 1831 - January 24, 1916) was a Presbyterian minister and professor at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. In 1871 he organized the department of theology at Howard.

Early life

John Bunyan Reeve was born October 29, 1831, in Mattituck, New York. He attended district schools and worked on a farm as a young man. His parents were Presbyterians and his mother pushed him to become a minister. As a young man he was a member of the Shiloh Presbyterian church under Rev. James W.C. Pennington. He worked as a teacher for a few months at New Tower, Long Island when, in 1853, he enrolled at the

New York Central College New York Central College, commonly called New York Central College, McGrawville, and simply Central College, was a short-lived college founded in McGraw, New York, in 1848 by abolitionist Baptists led by Cyrus Pitt Grosvenor. The first college ...

at McGrawsville, New York, in a preparatory course for the seminary. He finished that program in June 1858 and entered the Union Theological Seminary in September 1858.Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p199-201 Reeve was Union's first black student. As a student, he was supported financially and spiritually by

William E. Dodge William Earl Dodge Sr. (September 4, 1805 – February 9, 1883) was an American businessman, politician, and activist. He was referred to as one of the "Merchant Princes" of Wall Street in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Dodge ...

and Asa D. Smith. In April 1861 he graduated and became a minister at the Third Presbytery in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Ministry

He was quickly dismissed to the Fourth Presbytery of Philadelphia and on June 14, 1861, he was ordained by the Fourth Presbytery and made pastor of the Lombard Street Central Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia succeeding B. F. Templeton in that role. In 1865, Reeve attended the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church and was appointed by the Home Missionary Committee to visit the American Southwest (then comprising states like Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas) and work to organize black churches there. In 1870 he was given a doctorate in Divinity by Lincoln University, and his initial posting at the Lombard Street Central Presbyterian Church continued until September 1871. At that time he was appointed to organize a theological department at Howard University by

Oliver O. Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army, Union General officer, general in the American Civil War, Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard ...

and became a professor there. In June 1875 he resigned from Howard and in September was reinstalled pastor at Lombard Street Central Presbyterian Church. He resigned as pastor in 1914 and served as pastor emeritus until his death in 1916.Last Solemn Rites Rev. Dr. J. B. Reeve, Broad Ax (Chicago, Illinois), January 29, 1916, page 4 Reeve was a distinguished leader in the church. In 1895, he was president of the Council of Colored Presbyterian Ministers and Elders in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

Personal life and family

Reeve's niece,

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 ...

, was a science professor at Lincoln University. In 1870, she lived with Reeve while studying at the

Institute for Colored Youth The Institute for Colored Youth was founded in 1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It became the first college for African-Americans in the United States, although there were schools that admitted African Americans preceding it. ...

. Reeve married Jemima E, who died April 21, 1898. Reeves died January 24, 1916, in Philadelphia after an illness of several months and was survived by two daughters. He is interred at Eden Cemetery in

Collingdale, Pennsylvania Collingdale is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,908 at the 2020 census. Local governance The Borough of Collingdale follows a council-manager form of governance. The Borough Council is composed ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeve, John Bunyan 1831 births 1916 deaths Burials at Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania) People from Mattituck, New York 19th-century Presbyterian ministers Clergy from Philadelphia Howard University faculty Union Theological Seminary alumni American Presbyterian ministers 19th-century American clergy