James W.C. Pennington
Encyclopedia
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
orator, minister, and abolitionist.
James Pembroke was born a slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. When his owner died, he became the property of his son, Frisby Tilghman who moved to Rockland, Washington County, Maryland. There James learned the trades of brickmaker and blacksmith. On October 28, 1827 he ran from a job in Hagerstown, towards Petersburg (now called York Springs), Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He changed his name to James W.C. Pennington and moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1828. He settled in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, and audited classes at Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...
from 1834 to 1839 - becoming the first black man to attend classes at Yale. He was subsequently ordained and became a teacher, abolitionist, and author.
He wrote The Origin and History of the Colored People in 1841, which has been called the first history of African Americans, and a slave narrative
Slave narrative
The slave narrative is a literary form which grew out of the written accounts of enslaved Africans in Britain and its colonies, including the later United States, Canada and Caribbean nations...
in 1849, The Fugitive Blacksmith.
In 1849 the University of Heidelberg awarded him an honorary doctorate of divinity.