Who is absalom jones

When he was 16, his owner Benjamin Wynkoop brought him to Philadelphia where he served as a clerk and handyman in a retail store. He was able to work for himself in the evenings and keep his earnings. He also briefly attended a school run by the Quakers where he learned mathematics and handwriting. In , he married Mary Thomas and purchased her freedom.

It was until that he obtained his own freedom through manumission. He also owned several properties. Allen disagreed with this decision and withdrew from the African Church, taking a small number of followers with him. Jones remained as the leader of The African Church which was formally received into the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania on October 17, and renamed St.

Thomas African Episcopal Church. Thomas was the first black Episcopal parish in the United States. Jones became the first ordained priest of African descent in the United States. They were among the founders of the African Masonic Lodge in Philadelphia in The two men also led the black community in petitioning the Pennsylvania State Legislature for the abolition of slavery in In , they sent a similar petition to the United States Congress.

In , Jones saw his friend Allen consecrated the first bishop of the newly formed African Methodist Episcopal Church. And in , the two men were united again when they condemned the newly formed American Colonization Society , which encouraged freed slaves to return to Africa.

One year later, Absalom Jones died at his home in Philadelphia on February 13, Alarmed by the rise in black attendance, in the vestry decided to segregate African Americans into an upstairs gallery without notice. When ushers attempted to remove the black congregants, the resentful group exited the church. Shortly after the establishment that same year, the African Church applied to join the Protestant Episcopal Church, laying before the diocese three requirements: the Church must be received as an already organized body; it must have control over its own affairs; and Jones must be licensed as lay-reader and if qualified, ordained as its minister.

The following year Jones became a deacon but was not ordained a priest until , seven years later. At 56 years old, he became the first black American priest. He continued to be a leader in his community, founding a day school as African Americans were excluded from attending public school , the Female Benevolent Society, and an African Friendly Society.