HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lemuel Haynes (July 18, 1753 – September 28, 1833) was an American clergyman. A veteran of the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, Haynes was the first black man in the United States to be ordained as a minister. Haynes was a native of
West Hartford West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The C ...
, Connecticut, and was the son of an African American man and a white woman. He spent much of his childhood as an indentured servant in the house of a
Granville, Massachusetts Granville is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,538 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named for John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville ...
farmer. A regular churchgoer, he began to preach as a boy. He served in the militia during the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, including garrison duty at the recently captured Fort Ticonderoga in 1776. Haynes also became an anti-slavery activist. In addition to arguing against involuntary servitude and preaching against the slave trade, Haynes also advocated against the colonization movement, arguing that people of African descent living in the United States should be entitled to the same rights as other citizens, and that having them resettle in Africa would not be beneficial. Ordained in the Congregational church in 1785, Haynes pastored a church in
Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States. The city ...
for three years. In 1788, Haynes accepted a call to pastor the West Parish Church of Rutland, Vermont (now West Rutland's
United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...
), where he remained for the next 30 years. He then moved to a temporary pastorate at
Manchester, Vermont Manchester is a town in, and one of two shire towns (county seats) of, Bennington County, Vermont. The population was 4,484 at the 2020 census. Manchester Village, an incorporated village, and Manchester Center are settlement centers within t ...
, and finally to South Granville, New York, where he was pastor of South Granville Congregational Church. Haynes died in South Granville in 1833, and was buried at Lee-Oatman Cemetery in South Granville.


Early life and education

Haynes was born on July 18, 1753 in
West Hartford West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The C ...
, Connecticut, reportedly to a Caucasian mother of some status and an unknown man who was African or African-American. The identity of Haynes's mother has long been the subject of debate among historians and theologians. The most prevalent theory is that she was a servant named Lucy or Alice Fitch who worked for the John Haynes family of West Hartford. Another theory suggests that Fitch was a stand-in, willing or unwilling, for his real mother. According to this theory, Haynes's mother was a member of the prominent Goodwin family of Hartford who tried to avoid the scandal associated with giving birth while unmarried by staying with the Haynes family. Both theories suggest that Lucy (or Alice) Fitch was fired by the Haynes family after she attested to or was accused of being the mother. She named her son Haynes, either to give him respectability or to take revenge against the Hayneses for firing her. At the age of five months, Lemuel Haynes was given over to
indentured servitude Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an " indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repaymen ...
to Deacon David Rose, a blind farmer of
Granville, Massachusetts Granville is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,538 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named for John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville ...
. Part of the indenture required Rose to see to Haynes's education, and by accompanying Rose to church, he became exposed to
Calvinistic Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
religious doctrine, including the works of Jonathan Edwards,
George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at t ...
, and
Philip Doddridge Philip Doddridge D.D. (26 June 1702 – 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist (specifically, Congregationalist) minister, educator, and hymnwriter. Early life Philip Doddridge was born in London the last of the twenty children of ...
, who all became strong influences on Haynes' religious outlook. According to Haynes, while David Rose fulfilled his indenture obligations to Haynes, Rose's wife Elizabeth (Fowler) (d. 1775) was especially devoted to his upbringing, to the point of treating him as though he was her own child.


Military service

Freed in 1774 when his indenture expired, Haynes joined the
minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...
of Granville. In 1775, he marched with his militia company to
Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts. Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for neighborhood services coordination. The city states that Roxbury ser ...
, following the news of the
Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concor ...
. In 1776, he accompanied them in the garrisoning of the recently captured Fort Ticonderoga. He remained on garrison duty until contracting Typhus, which caused him to return home.


Writings

During the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, Haynes began to write extensively, criticizing the
slave trade 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 ...
and slavery. He continued these activities after the war, and also began to prepare
sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
s, family
prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...
s and other
theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
works. The
Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
,
abolitionism 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 British ...
, and
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
affected his published writings, in which Haynes argued that slavery denied black people their
natural rights Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights. * Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', ''fundamental'' and ...
to "
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase from the United States Declaration of Independence. Scanned image of the Jefferson's "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence, written in June 1776, including ...
". Paralleling the recent American experience with oppression to the slave experience, Haynes wrote: "Liberty is equally as precious to a black man, as it is to a white one, and bondage as equally as intolerable to the one as it is to the other".


Ministry

After his militia service, Haynes studied theology with members of the clergy in Connecticut and Massachusetts. He received his license to preach in 1780, along with a position as temporary 'supply' to his home congregation in Middle Granville. About the same time, he began his many years of service as a missionary in the wilderness of the
New Hampshire Grants The New Hampshire Grants or Benning Wentworth Grants were land grants made between 1749 and 1764 by the colonial governor of the Province of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. The land grants, totaling about 135 (including 131 towns), were made o ...
, soon to be known as the independent
Vermont Republic The Vermont Republic ( French: ''République du Vermont''), officially known at the time as the State of Vermont ( French: ''État du Vermont''), was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The ...
and finally the American state of
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the n ...
. Haynes was ordained in 1785 and settled at Hemlock Congregational Church in
Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States. The city ...
. He was the first
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
ordained in the United States. On March 28, 1788, Haynes left his pastorate at Torrington to accept a call at the West Parish Church of Rutland, Vermont (now West Rutland's
United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...
), where he led the mostly white congregation for 30 years. Haynes continued to write and speak about slavery. His contemporary white republican and abolitionist thinkers did see slavery as a liability to the new country, but most argued for eventual slave expatriation to
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. The
American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebo ...
(founded in 1817) was the largest colonization group. Included among its supporters were people such as
James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
,
James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
,
Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...
and
Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...
. The ACS was strongly supported in Vermont. In contrast, Haynes continued to passionately argue along Calvinist lines that God's providential plan would defeat slavery and lead to the harmonious integration of the races as equals. After asking for and accepting dismissal from West Rutland in 1818, he took a temporary post at
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
. His final pastorate was in South Granville, New York where he was minister of the South Granville Congregational Church from 1822 to 1833. Haynes died in South Granville, and was buried at Lee-Oatman Cemetery in South Granville. He had composed his own epitaph, which was included on his gravestone as he had requested.


Family

While living in Middle Granville in the early 1780s, Haynes met and married Elizabeth Babbitt (1763-1836), a white schoolteacher. Their children included: i. Elizabeth (b. November 1785 Granville, Mass., d. 6 Sep 1866 Rutland) ii. Eunice (b. 3 March 1789 Rutland, d. 2 January 1859 Granville, New York) iii. Louis (b. 1790 Rutland, d. 12 January 1828 Granville, New York) iv. Electa (b. 26 July 1791 Rutland, d. after 1833 Granville, New York) v. Lemuel, Jr. (b. 11 July 1794 Rutland, d. after 1850) vi. Sarah (b. 6 May 1796 Rutland, d. August 1841 Granville, New York) vii. Olive (b. 9 August 1798 Rutland, d. 19 September 1823 Middlebury) viii. Pamela (b. 14 October 1800 Rutland) ix. Samuel Woodbridge (b. 11 January 1803 Rutland, d. after 1 March 1885 Kansas) x. William Babbitt (twin, b. 11 January 1803 Rutland, 3 March 1839 at sea)


Legacy

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 5 ...
granted Haynes an honorary master of arts in 1804, the first honorary degree ever bestowed upon an African American. Historian John Saillant (2003, p. 3) writes that Haynes's "faith and social views are better documented than those of any African American born before the luminaries of the mid-nineteenth century." The Lemuel Haynes House, Hayne's home in South Granville, New York when he was pastor of the South Granville Congregational Church, was declared a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1975. In 2009, it was purchased from Charles Halderman by Bo Young and William Foote, formerly of Brooklyn.


References


Further reading

*Thabiti M. Anyabwile. ''The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors'' (2007). *Lemuel Haynes. ''May We Meet in the Heavenly World: The Piety of Lemuel Haynes'' (2009). *Lemuel Haynes. "Liberty Further Extended, 1776" (Volume 1, 2013) *Sidney and Emma Nogrady Kaplan. ''The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution''. Amherst, Massachusetts: The
University of Massachusetts Press The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The press was founded in 1963, publishing scholarly books and non-fiction. The press imprint is overseen by an interdisciplinar ...
, 1989. . *John Saillant. ''Black Puritan, Black Republican: The life and thought of Lemuel Haynes, 1753-1833''. New York, Oxford University Press, 2003. .


External links


The Life and Thought of Lemuel Haynes
a podcast interview with Thabiti M. Anyabwile * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Lemuel 1753 births 1833 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights Activists from New York (state) African-American abolitionists African-American Christian clergy African-American college graduates before 1865 American Calvinist and Reformed ministers American Christian clergy Black Patriots Congregationalist abolitionists Massachusetts militiamen in the American Revolution People from Granville, Massachusetts People from Granville, New York People from West Hartford, Connecticut