Thomas W. Stringer (1815–1893) was an American Christian minister in the A.M.E. Church, state senator in Mississippi, Prince Hall Mason, and the founder of the

Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia The Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, also known as the Colored Knights of Pythias or the Knights of Pythias, is a fraternal organization in the United States. The Knights of Pythias, founded ...

. He helped organize churches, schools, and fraternal organizations. He was elected to the

Mississippi Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

in 1869 and served from 1870 until 1871. Stringer was born in Maryland, and raised in

North Buxton, Ontario North Buxton is a dispersed rural community located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1849 as a community for and by former African-American slaves who escaped to Canada to gain freedom. Rev. William King, a Scots-Irish/Ame ...

, a settlement of

Black Canadians Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...

. He later moved to Ohio, where he was ordained a minister of the

African Methodist Episcopal Church 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 theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

. He was a highly successful AME missionary in Ohio and Canada, founding over thirty-five churches. He moved to

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

, after the American Civil War. Stringer was Union League organizer and credited as the founder of the Mississippi Republican party. He was an organizer at Mississippi's 1868 constitutional convention. He is buried at the Vicksburg City Cemetery.

Prince Hall Freemasonry

Stringer became a mason in 1836 at the Hiram Lodge No. 3 in Pennsylvania. Later when he moved to Ohio, he helped organize the first Grand Lodge of Ohio and became its first Grand Master in 1849. Stringer became a leader in the

Prince Hall Freemasonry Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry created for African Americans, founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784. Prince Hall Freemasonry is the oldest and largest (300,000+ initiated members) predominantly African-A ...

world and had a lodge in New Orleans, Louisiana named after him. When he moved to Mississippi, he brought Prince Hall Masonry to the state founding the first lodge in Vicksburg in 1867 and organized the Grand Lodge of Mississippi, where he was elected the first Grand Master, in 1875. Known as the "father of black Masonry in the South," he founded lodges in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia

The

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an Act of Co ...

formed in 1864 and barred Black members from becoming members. In 1880, Stringer, along with Thomas M. Broadwater, A. E. Lightfoot, George A. Place, W. D. Starks, Claybourne Julian, formed the

in Vicksburg, Mississippi. It is unclear how these men got access to the rituals of the white organization with competing origin stories. One claim is that more light skinned African American men joined and then brought the rituals into their organization or that a white member of the

gave the Black organization the rituals. The first lodge in Vicksburg was named Lightfoot Lodge, No. 1. The organization provide benefits to their members such as insurance, sick, and death benefits. In 1883, the Independent Order of Calanthe was created as the women's auxiliary order. The membership was originally opened to family members of the Knights but was later widened to any woman sponsored by a Knight.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stringer, Thomas W. 1815 births 1893 deaths Mississippi state senators Religious leaders from Maryland African-American state legislators in Mississippi Politicians from Vicksburg, Mississippi African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era African Methodist Episcopal Church clergy American expatriates in Canada 19th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American clergy 19th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature

Prince Hall Freemasonry

Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia

See also

References