John Wesley Cromwell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Wesley Cromwell
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John Wesley Cromwell from 1887 publication
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| Born | September 5, 1846 Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
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| Died | April 14, 1927 (aged 80) Washington, DC, U.S.
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| Occupation | teacher, lawyer, civil servant, journalist, historian, civil rights activist |
| Spouse(s) | Lucy A. McGuinn, Annie E. Conn |
John Wesley Cromwell (born September 5, 1846 – died April 14, 1927) was an important person in American history. He worked as a lawyer, teacher, and journalist. He was also a historian and fought for civil rights in Washington, D.C. He helped start important groups like the Bethel Literary and Historical Society and the American Negro Academy. For many years, he worked for the U.S. Post Office.
Cromwell also helped start and write for several newspapers and journals. One of the most famous was The People's Advocate. Later in his life, he became a leading expert on African-American history. People even called him the "best English scholar in the United States" in 1887. He was also a successful lawyer. He was the first black lawyer to appear before the Interstate Commerce Commission.
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John Cromwell's Early Life
John Wesley Cromwell was born into slavery on September 5, 1846. This happened in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was the youngest of twelve children. His parents were Willis H. and Elizabeth (Carney) Cromwell. John's father worked as a ferryman. He was allowed to keep some of his earnings. One of John's brothers, Levi, later became a well-known caterer in Washington, D.C.
Gaining Freedom and Education
In 1851, John's father bought freedom for his whole family. They then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was a free state, meaning slavery was not allowed there. John went to school in Philadelphia from 1851 to 1856.
He later attended a teaching school. This was the Preparatory Department of the Institute for Colored Youth. Ebenezer Bassett was the principal there. Cromwell finished his studies in the summer of 1864.
Starting a Teaching Career
In October 1864, Cromwell moved to Columbia, Pennsylvania. He began his career as a teacher there. When the school in Columbia closed, he returned to Portsmouth, Virginia. This was in April 1865, near the end of the American Civil War. He started a private school and worked there until the fall.
By the end of 1865, Cromwell went back to Philadelphia. He taught at the Baltimore Association for the Moral and Intellectual Improvement of the Colored People. In March 1866, the school was attacked and burned down. Cromwell was even shot at. He kept working for the group until May. That month, he returned to Virginia. He worked for the American Missionary Association. This group was setting up schools across the Southern states. Around this time, he also became more involved in politics. He also briefly worked in the grocery business.
Public Service and Activism
In Virginia, Cromwell became very active in public life. In 1867, he was part of the jury pool for the U.S. District Court. He served on juries for cases involving government officials. On April 17, 1867, he was chosen as a delegate. He went to the Republican convention in Richmond, Virginia. He also attended the Republican State convention in Richmond, Virginia in August. Later that year, he went to the Virginia Constitutional Convention. He was elected as a clerk there.
Teaching and Law Studies
In 1869, Cromwell went back to teaching. He worked with a Quaker group called the Philadelphia Friends. That same year, Cromwell saw something terrible happen. He witnessed the assassination of Joseph R. Holmes. Holmes was a fellow member of the Constitutional Convention. He was also running for the Virginia House of Delegates.
In 1869 and 1870, Cromwell taught at a grade school in Withersville, Virginia. In 1870, he returned to Richmond. He became the principal of a black school held in Dill's Bakery. In the summer of 1871, he taught for a term in Southampton County. This experience later influenced his writings. He wrote about Nat Turner's slave rebellion of 1831, which happened nearby.
In the fall of 1871, Cromwell moved to Washington, D.C.. He enrolled in the Howard University Law Department. He finished his law studies in March 1874. He was then allowed to practice law before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. In 1872, Cromwell passed a civil service exam. This allowed him to get a job in the federal government. He got the highest score among his group. He also took a test to qualify for teaching and scored at the top. He accepted a teaching job for a while in Washington County, Virginia.
Government Work and Legal Achievements
In 1873 and 1874, Cromwell was promoted twice in his government job. He and Robert William Waring were the first two black clerks to get such promotions. He became the chief examiner of the money order department. He was in charge of money order accounts until he retired from government service in 1885. In April 1875, federal clerks took part in two spelling bees. Newspapers across the country wrote about them. Cromwell was a finalist in both. He became a very successful lawyer. He was the first black lawyer to appear before the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Journalism and Community Leadership
In 1875, Cromwell helped organize the Virginia Educational and Historical Association. He was its president until it closed in 1883. Cromwell was also very active as a journalist. In 1876, he started a journal called the People's Advocate in Alexandria, Virginia. It moved to Washington, D.C. the next year. He ran it until 1884. In 1883, he was president of the Bethel Literary Society. He was also a member of the Odd Fellows and the Metropolitan AME Church. He represented the District of Columbia at the 1884 World's Fair in New Orleans. This fair was also known as the Cotton Centennial Exhibition.
In 1881, Cromwell and Daniel Alexander Payne started the Bethel Literary and Historical Association. Cromwell was president of this group in 1883. In 1897, Cromwell helped create the American Negro Academy. It was founded by Alexander Crummell. Cromwell worked as the organization's corresponding secretary until 1919. In 1919, he served as its fourth president for a short time. From 1901 to 1909, he was the editor of a Washington weekly newspaper called the Washington Record. In 1910, he and James Robert Lincoln Diggs started the American Negro Monograph Company. This was a publishing company that lasted for eleven months.
From 1901 to 1909, he taught and served as principal at several schools in Washington, D.C. These included Briggs, Garnet, Banneker, and Crummell schools.
Cromwell's Ideas and Impact
Beyond his work as an educator, Cromwell greatly influenced black American thinking. The Bethel Literary Organization, which he helped create, was very important. His speeches at other groups in the capital were also very powerful. In 1900, Cromwell gave many materials to the Howard University Library. This collection is now called the Cromwell Collection.
Cromwell strongly supported black-owned businesses. He encouraged black people to succeed financially. He believed black people should try to shop at businesses owned by black people. In the later part of his life, Cromwell was seen as an important statistician and historian. He strongly disagreed with any attempts to downplay the harm of slavery to black people in America. He focused a lot of attention on slave rebellions. Cromwell wrote that Nat Turner's revolt showed black people working to "help himself." He believed they should not depend on others for protection.
Cromwell wrote many articles and several books. Cromwell's 1914 book, The Negro in American History: Men and Women Eminent in the Evolution of the American of African Descent, was very influential. It inspired Carter G. Woodson to create the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in 1915. Cromwell later published articles in the Journal of Negro History.
John Cromwell's Family Life
In 1873, Cromwell married Lucy A. McGuinn from Richmond. They had seven children together. The couple believed strongly in the importance of education for all their children. Their children included Otelia, Mary E., Martha, Lucy, John Wesley Jr., and Brent.
Otelia Cromwell, born in 1874, made history. She became the first black graduate of Smith College. She was a teacher and professor at Miner Teacher College. She also earned a PhD from Yale in 1926. Mary E. Cromwell was born in 1876 and taught mathematics. John Wesley Cromwell, Jr. was born in 1883. He taught mathematics, German, and bookkeeping. He became the first black certified public accountant.
After Lucy's death, Cromwell married Annie E. Conn in 1892. Annie was from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
John Wesley Cromwell died on April 14, 1927. His granddaughter, Adelaide M. Cromwell, is the child of John Wesley Jr. She is a well-known sociologist and historian.
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