Lewis Woodson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lewis Woodson
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1806 |
| Died | 1878 (aged 71–72) |
| Occupation | American academic |
Lewis Woodson (born January 1806 – died January 1878) was an important American educator, minister, writer, and abolitionist. An abolitionist is someone who worked to end slavery. He was a key leader in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Woodson helped create and build many important groups and schools for free African-American communities before the American Civil War.
Woodson was one of the first 24 people to start Wilberforce University in Ohio in 1856. This university was a joint effort between the AME Church and the Cincinnati Methodist Council. When the university faced money problems during the Civil War, the AME Church bought it in 1863. This made Wilberforce the first historically black college to be owned and run by African Americans.
Contents
Lewis Woodson's Early Life
Lewis Woodson was the oldest of eleven children. His parents, Thomas and Jemima Woodson, were both mixed-race slaves who had gained their freedom. Lewis was born in January 1806 in Greenbrier County, Virginia. This area is now part of West Virginia.
The Woodson family had a long-standing story that Thomas Woodson was the oldest child of Sally Hemings and President Thomas Jefferson. However, a DNA study in 1998 showed that there was no genetic link between the Jefferson male family line and the Woodson male family line. The study found a link between the Jefferson male line and Sally Hemings' son, Eston Hemings.
Moving to Ohio and Pittsburgh
Around 1821, the Woodson family moved from Virginia to Chillicothe, Ohio. Chillicothe was a strong community for free Black people. It was also a center for abolitionist activities and a stop on the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a secret network that helped slaves escape to freedom.
In Chillicothe, the Woodsons helped start a Black Methodist Episcopal church. This was the first one west of the Allegheny Mountains. Lewis and his two brothers, Thomas and John, became ministers in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). This was a new, independent Black church started in Philadelphia in 1816. The Woodson brothers helped set up new churches in what was then the western United States. Lewis Woodson and his family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1830 or 1831.
Family Life and Legacy
In Chillicothe, Lewis Woodson married Caroline Robinson, who was also from Virginia. They had ten children who survived. Many of their children followed their parents' example by getting an education and helping their communities.
One of their sons, Granville S. Woodson, served on the Executive Committee of the National Equal Rights League. Their grandson, George Frederick Woodson, earned degrees from Drew University and Morris Brown University. He was the Dean of the Payne Theological Seminary at Wilberforce for over thirty years. Another grandson, Howard D. Woodson, earned a degree in civil engineering in 1899. He helped design Union Station in Washington, D.C., and was also a community activist. H.D. Woodson High School is named after him.
A great-great-great grandson of Lewis and Caroline Woodson, Timothy K. Lewis, became a United States District Judge in Pittsburgh in 1991. He then became a United States Circuit Judge in 1992.
Working for Change: AME Conferences and Education
In 1829, Lewis Woodson began writing to influence public policy. His first letter was published in Freedom's Journal, an early African-American newspaper. He spoke out against ideas to send Black Americans to Africa. Instead, he believed Black communities should be strong and separate within the United States.
Reverend Lewis Woodson served as secretary for an AME Conference in Hillsborough, Ohio. This was after the riots of 1829 in Cincinnati. These riots caused many African Americans to leave Cincinnati for Canada.
In Pittsburgh, Woodson and John B. Vashon started the African Education Society. Woodson taught students in his own school until Black students were allowed to attend public schools. One of his students, George Vashon, was the first African American to graduate from Oberlin College. Another student was Martin Delany. Woodson's school was one of the first run by an African American. In 1833, Woodson helped pass a resolution urging the AME Church to support schools and temperance societies. This was the first time the AME Church officially supported education.
A few years after moving to Pittsburgh, Lewis Woodson opened a barbershop. He ran this business while also working as a minister and community leader. He and Vashon mentored the young Martin Delany. Delany later became an important voice for Black people during the Civil War.
In 1837, Lewis Woodson helped create the "Pittsburgh Memorial." This document argued that free Black people in Pennsylvania should keep their right to vote. After the 1831 Nat Turner slave rebellion, some white people wanted to limit the rights of free Black people. Even though free Black people lost the right to vote for some years, Woodson helped get public money for Black education. He also joined the Western District of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and worked to end slavery.
"Augustine" and Black Nationalism
Historian Floyd Miller found that Woodson wrote under the pen name "Augustine". Augustine was an early Christian leader from North Africa. Miller suggested that Woodson, as "Augustine," could be called the "Father of Black Nationalism." From 1837 to 1841, Woodson published many letters as "Augustine" in The Colored American (New York City) newspaper. He encouraged Black people to create their own churches, newspapers, and schools, independent of white control. Woodson believed this was important to prepare for when enslaved people would gain their freedom.
Woodson attended and organized meetings for Black American abolitionists. He spoke at national conventions and helped lead conventions in Pennsylvania. He also attended meetings where both Black and white abolitionists gathered.
Lewis Woodson also had debates with other Black leaders. He joined the American Moral Reform Society (AMRS), but he often disagreed with its leader, William Whipper. Whipper did not like groups named after race, like the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Woodson's letters as "Augustine" were partly to argue against Whipper's ideas. Woodson also disagreed with Frederick Douglass about some abolitionist strategies. However, Douglass's views later became more similar to Woodson's.
Woodson's beliefs were very consistent throughout his 40 years of activism. He never called for slave uprisings, never supported Black Americans moving to Africa, and never supported certain abolitionist ideas that he disagreed with. His steady views matched what many Black Americans believed over time.
Founding Wilberforce University
Lewis Woodson was one of four Black Americans from the AME Church who helped start Wilberforce College. He worked with white leaders from the Cincinnati Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The university opened in 1856 to provide college education for African Americans. Salmon P. Chase, who supported ending slavery and was then the Governor of Ohio, was also a trustee. The AME representatives were the first African Americans to help establish a historically black college.
In 1858, Woodson's youngest sister, Sarah Jane Woodson, became the first woman to teach at Wilberforce. She was also the first African-American woman to teach at any college.
When the American Civil War began, many students from the South stopped attending Wilberforce. Most of these students were mixed race, and their tuition was paid by their wealthy white fathers. The war also meant the Methodist Church could not fully fund the school. In 1862, Wilberforce University temporarily closed due to money problems.
In 1863, the AME Church bought the university and took full control. They chose Bishop Daniel Payne as president, making him the first African-American college president in the United States. To help pay for Wilberforce, the AME Church sold the property used by Union Seminary.
Death and Lasting Impact
Lewis Woodson died in January 1878. He was buried in the Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His wife, Caroline Woodson, is buried next to him.
One of his obituaries mentioned his work on the Underground Railroad. Wilberforce University still teaches about its history, including the important contributions of Lewis Woodson and Daniel A. Payne. The John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh also highlights the work of John B. Vashon, Lewis Woodson, and Martin Delany in its exhibits.
