Richmond Theological Seminary (RTS) was a higher education institution in Richmond, Virginia, serving former slaves after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. It had its beginnings in November 1865 when the

American Baptist Home Mission Society The American Baptist Home Mission Society is a Christian missionary society. Its main predecessor the Home Mission Society was established in New York City in 1832 to operate in the American frontier, with the stated mission "to preach the Gospe ...

(ABHMS) sponsored Joseph Getchell Binney (formerly of Columbian College in

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, and later of Karen Theological Seminary in Rangoon,

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

) a short-lived class in

Richmond, VA (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

for theological training of African-Americans. Around the same time, the National Theological Institute of Washington, DC was forming schools for ministerial training of freedmen in Washington and Augusta, GA. They sponsored Nathaniel Colver to form a school in Richmond, VA, which commenced in Lumpkin's Jail, formerly a slave trading facility, in late 1867.

Robert Ryland Robert Ryland (March 14, 1805 – April 23, 1899) was the first president of Richmond College (now the University of Richmond), serving from 1840 to 1866. Prior to the establishment of the college, he had served as the only superintendent of its ...

was hired as an instructor the first year. Both Dr. Colver and Dr. Ryland resigned after one year, and in 1868, Charles Henry Corey was transferred from the Augusta Institute (which was later to become Morehouse College) and commenced classes in October. At the recommendation of Dr. Ryland, a female instructor was hired at half the pay he had received. The school took the name Colver Institute in 1869. In 1876 the school was incorporated as the Richmond Institute only to be reincorporated as the Richmond Theological Seminary in 1886 after it became the central college for advanced theological training of Black Baptist ministers in the South. In 1870, the National Theological Institute was absorbed by the ABHMS, which carried on its work in Augusta and Richmond, and merged operations in Washington into its

Wayland Seminary Wayland Seminary was the Washington, D.C. school of the National Theological Institute. The institute was established beginning in 1865 by the American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS). At first designed primarily for providing education and tra ...

. Charles Corey headed the RTS for 30 years. In the 1890s, Corey was instrumental in the merging of the Richmond Theological Seminary with the

to form

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

. In 1895, Corey wrote a history of the school
The L. Douglas Wilder Library and Learning Resource Center
holds the records of the Richmond Theological Seminary.

References

Virginia Union University Seminaries and theological colleges in Virginia History of Richmond, Virginia {{Virginia-university-stub