John Baptist Snowden (May 14, 1801 – September 8, 1885) was an American minister. He was born enslaved, and purchased his freedom. He wrote an autobiography which was published following his death by his son.

Biography

By the time Snowden was a teenager he had five different enslavers in Anne Aundel County in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He was able to buy his freedom by selling baskets and hickory brooms he made himself; peppermint drops he distilled, and other small items he was able to sell to his neighbors. During the 1820s his enslaver agreed to a price for Snowden's freedom, and then he left the vicinity. Snowden was taught to read by his enslaver's children, as well as by a teacher whom he hired. He was forced to hide his studies from his enslavers, as they did not approve. Snowden became a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

preacher in 1823 while he was still enslaved to his fifth enslaver. While still enslaved, his ministry was confined to Anne Arundel County, but after he bought his freedom he was able to preach throughout Central Maryland, including: Harford,

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Carroll and

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederi ...

counties. Rev. Snowden also walked as far as Gettysburg,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and Leesburg,

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 ...

. After buying his freedom he moved to

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and in 1831 married Margaret Coone, who had also been born enslaved and was manumitted upon the death of her enslaver. She never learned to read, and Snowden described her as "competent at the mathematics involved in business transactions." John and Margaret spent the rest of their lives in and around Westminster, where they had their 14 children, eight of whom reached adulthood. Of these, all of them learned to read and write but the oldest daughter. Margaret died in 1870, at the age of 60. Snowden was a member of the Baltimore and Washington Methodist Episcopal conferences during most of his life. Several of his sons also became ministers or were in responsible jobs in business. His daughters married ministers and other well-respected community members. Snowden died in 1885 and was buried near his wife at the Ellsworth Cemetery in

Carroll County, Maryland Carroll County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 172,891. Its county seat is Westminster. Carroll County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

. Scholars Howard and Judith Sacks have theorized that

Daniel Decatur Emmett Daniel Decatur Emmett (October 29, 1815June 28, 1904) was an American songwriter, entertainer, and founder of the first troupe of the blackface minstrel tradition, the Virginia Minstrels. He is most remembered as the composer of the song "Dixie" ...

, the blackface minstrel usually credited with writing the minstrel song " I Wish I Was in Dixie's Land", actually adapted it from a song originally composed by his Knox County neighbors, the Snowden family.

References

1801 births 1885 deaths Christian Methodist Episcopal Church African-American history of Maryland 19th-century American slaves People from Anne Arundel County, Maryland 19th-century Methodist ministers People from Westminster, Maryland Religious leaders from Maryland {{Africandiaspora-stub

Biography

Further reading

References