Peter Williams Jr. (1786–1840) was an African-American
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
priest, the second ordained in the United States and the first to serve in New York City. He was an abolitionist who also supported free black emigration to
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
, the black republic that had achieved independence in 1804 in the Caribbean. In the 1820s and 1830s, he strongly opposed the American Colonization Society's efforts to relocate free blacks to the colony of Liberia in West Africa.
In 1808 he organized St. Philip's African Church in
lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
, the second black Episcopal church in the United States. In 1827 he was a co-founder of ''
Freedom's Journal
''Freedom's Journal'' was the first African-American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States. Founded by Rev. John Wilk and other free Black men in New York City, it was published weekly starting with the 16 March 1827 issue. ...
,'' the first African-American owned and operated newspaper in the United States. In 1833 he founded the Phoenix Society, a mutual aid society for African Americans; that year he was also elected to the executive board of the interracial
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS; 1833–1870) was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, had become a prominent abolitionist and was a key leader of this society ...
.
Early life and education
Williams was born in
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Revolutionary War veteran, and his wife, an
indentured servant
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an " indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment ...
from
St. Kitts
Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...
.Peter Williams Jr., ''An Oration on the Abolition of the Slave Trade; Delivered in the African Church in the City of New-York, January 1, 1808'' Paul Royster, Ed., online pdf version, Digital Commons, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, accessed 31 May 2012 After his family moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Williams attended the
African Free School
The African Free School was a school for children of slaves and free people of color in New York City. It was founded by members of the New York Manumission Society, including Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, on November 2, 1787. Many of its alumni ...
, founded by the
New York Manumission Society
The New-York Manumission Society was an American organization founded in 1785 by U.S. Founding Father John Jay, among others, to promote the gradual abolition of slavery and manumission of slaves of African descent within the state of New York. ...
. He was also taught privately by Rev.
Thomas Lyell
Thomas Lyell r Lyelwas a Scottish clergyman associated with the diocese of Ross in the late 14th century and early 15th century. After William de Tarbat, Subdean of Ross, was elected Dean of Ross, on 1 May 1395, Thomas was provided as William' ...
, a prominent
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
priest.Julia Henning Larsen, "Peter Williams Jr. (1780-1840)" ''Black Past'', n.d., accessed 30 May 2012
In 1796, his father was among the organizers of the
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
(AME Zion) in New York. It developed as an independent black denomination, the second in the United States after the
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...
(AME), which was founded in Philadelphia. After the American Civil War, the AME Zion Church sent missionaries to the South and planted many congregations there among freedmen.
Career
Williams gradually became active in the
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
Church, attending afternoon services at Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan together with other free blacks. Beginning in 1803, he was tutored by Rev. John Henry Hobart, assistant minister at Trinity. As a young man, Williams began to establish himself as a leader.
In 1808 he was chosen to give a speech on the first anniversary of the United States' abolition of the international
slave trade
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
; his talk was ''An Oration on the Abolition of the Slave Trade; Delivered in the African Church in the City of New-York, January 1, 1808''. His speech was published as a pamphlet; it was one of the earliest publications by a black about abolition.
In 1818, with the blessings of the prominent white Episcopal minister Rev.
Thomas Lyell
Thomas Lyell r Lyelwas a Scottish clergyman associated with the diocese of Ross in the late 14th century and early 15th century. After William de Tarbat, Subdean of Ross, was elected Dean of Ross, on 1 May 1395, Thomas was provided as William' ...
, Williams organized a black Episcopal congregation, which identified as St. Philip's African Church. The following year the congregation was recognized by the Episcopal Church; it was the second black Episcopal church to be founded in the US (the first was
African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas
The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas (AECST) was founded in 1792 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the first black Episcopal Church in the United States. Its congregation developed from the Free African Society, a non-denominational group f ...
, in Philadelphia). It was originally located in Lower Manhattan, where most of the black population was then concentrated. As blacks moved north, so did St. Philip's. Since the early 20th century it has been located in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
.
Williams believed that abolitionist societies would rescue freed African-Americans from the ‘evil consequences’ of slavery through 'example, the lessons of morality, industry and economy', that would one day create a world where ‘all the distinctions between the inalienable rights of black men, and white’ were gone. Williams continued in his leadership and was ordained as an Episcopal priest on July 10, 1826, the second in the United States and the first in New York. The following year, he was a co-founder of ''
Freedom's Journal
''Freedom's Journal'' was the first African-American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States. Founded by Rev. John Wilk and other free Black men in New York City, it was published weekly starting with the 16 March 1827 issue. ...
'', the first black newspaper in the United States. He tutored promising students at the African Free School, including James McCune Smith, whom he aided to go to college and medical school in Scotland at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
. Smith returned to practice in New York as the first African-American doctor to be university-trained.
In 1833 Williams founded the Phoenix Society, a mutual aid society for African Americans. That same year he joined the
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS; 1833–1870) was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, had become a prominent abolitionist and was a key leader of this society ...
and was selected as one of the African-American leaders on the executive board of the interracial group. However, his bishop, requested that the subject resign from the society.
Marriage and family
Rev. Hobart presided at the wedding of Williams and his wife. Of their children, one daughter, Amy Matilda Williams, survived to adulthood. She married wealthy black financier, Joseph Cassey of Philadelphia.Cassey, Joseph (1789-1848) /ref>
See also
*
African Free School
The African Free School was a school for children of slaves and free people of color in New York City. It was founded by members of the New York Manumission Society, including Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, on November 2, 1787. Many of its alumni ...
Abolitionism in the United States
In the United States, abolitionism, the movement that sought to end slavery in the country, was active from the late colonial era until the American Civil War, the end of which brought about the abolition of American slavery through the Thi ...
*
Slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
*
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
*
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS; 1833–1870) was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, had become a prominent abolitionist and was a key leader of this society ...