Marcus Dale (1832 – December 7, 1892) was a leading
African Methodist Episcopal
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...
preacher in
.
Early life
Marcus Dale was born in 1832 in Galliopolis, Ohio to free blacks David and Synthia Dale. David and Synthia were born in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. In about 1842, the family moved to
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. David died while Marcus was still young, and Marcus quit school to help raise four younger siblings, working as a
cooper
Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to:
* Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels
Arts and entertainment
* Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads
* Cooper (video game character), in ...
. In January 1852 he joined the African Methodist Episcopal church. In the fall of 1854 he married Mary L. Williams, the daughter of Rev. J. M. Williams, who was the new pastor at Dale's church. He then enrolled at
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
, but after one year could not pay the fees, in spite of working nights. He then returned to working as a cooper, affording him the means to finish his studies. He also became a preacher, being licensed as an exhorter in 1856, a preacher in 1858, and an elder in 1861.
Civil War
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 th ...
started in 1861, and in 1863, Dale enrolled as a private in the 1st Michigan colored infantry regiment, which became the
102nd Regiment United States Colored Troops
The 102nd United States Colored Infantry was an African American infantry regiment of United States Colored Troops in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was organized as the 1st Michigan Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment bef ...
. Dale led a soldier protest against unequal pay for black soldiers compared to white soldiers. He influenced soldiers not to accept lesser pay, but also not to refuse to do their duty. The protest succeeded, and the regiment's pay was increased to equal white regiments.
By the end of the war, he held the rank of commissary sergeant.
Post-war career
After the war ended in 1865, Dale began working as a teacher. In 1867 he moved to
and taught at a
Freedmen's Bureau
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...
school. He organized the building of the school and organized a church in the same building. He also joined the Louisiana Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
. Less than a year later, he built a new church and schoolroom.
His success was not universally well received, and in 1874 he received death threats from white supremacist
White League
The White League, also known as the White Man's League, was a white paramilitary terrorist organization started in the Southern United States in 1874 to intimidate freedmen into not voting and prevent Republican Party political organizing. Its f ...
clubs. In 1880, he was nominated bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church at the national conference of the church in
St. Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...
but was not elected. In the early 1880s he was appointed to the Wesley chapel, the largest church in New Orleans. In 1884, he was appointed presiding elder of the North New Orleans district, before returning to Wesley.
In 1885, he helped organize an "Old Folks Home" for poor African Americans in New Orleans. In 1887, he was assigned to Mount Zion.
He died on December 7, 1892, in
.
["Louisiana, Orleans Parish Death Records and Certificates, 1835-1954", database, ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CYTK-DFZM : 13 April 2020), Marcus Dale, 1892.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dale, Marcus
1832 births
1892 deaths
People from Gallipolis, Ohio
People from New Orleans
African-American Christian clergy
American Christian clergy
Artisans
African Americans in the American Civil War
19th-century American clergy