Rev. David Leroy Nickens (1794–1838) was a freed

slave 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 ...

who was born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Nickens was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

licensed minister in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in July, 1824. He worked with

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

Theodore Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...

and Augustus Wattles reforming education for black children in

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio. It is the only city in Ross Count ...

. Nickens was called as the first pastor of the Union Baptist Church in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, which was established on July 21, 1831. Nickens died in Cincinnati in 1838 and is buried in the Union Baptist Cemetery in Price Hill, a Cincinnati neighborhood. His wife, Serena, and children returned to Chillicothe and finished out their days there.

References

External links

THE DAVID NICKENS HERITAGE CENTERFrontiers of Freedom: Cincinnati's Black Community, 1802-1868
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickens, David Leroy 1794 births 1838 deaths 18th-century American slaves 19th-century American slaves 19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States Activists from Ohio African-American abolitionists African-American Baptist ministers Baptist abolitionists People from Chillicothe, Ohio Religious leaders from Cincinnati