Thomas James (minister) facts for kids

Thomas James (1804–1891) was born into slavery. He became an important African Methodist Episcopal Zion minister. Thomas James was also a strong abolitionist, working to end slavery. He helped manage and write for his church.

During the American Civil War, he worked with the Union Army. He helped supervise camps for "contraband" people, who were formerly enslaved. After the war, he held important roles in the AME Church. He also worked as a missionary in Ohio.

While living in Massachusetts, he fought against a rule that made Black people ride in separate, second-class train cars. He won, and the rule was changed by the State Supreme Court. In 1886, he wrote a short book about his life called a memoir.

Early Life as a Slave

Thomas James was born into slavery in Canajoharie, New York, in 1804. His birth name was Tom. He was the third of four children born to his mother. He never knew his father. His family was enslaved by a man named Asa Kimball.

When Tom was a child, his younger sister died. At just eight years old, he lost his mother, brother, and older sister. Kimball sold them away, and Tom never saw his mother or sister again.

When Tom was seventeen, Kimball died. Tom and all of Kimball's property were sold to a neighbor, Cromwell Bartlett. Bartlett soon traded Tom to George H. Hess, a rich farmer. James later wrote that Master Hess "worked me hard, and at last undertook to whip me." This made Tom decide to escape slavery. In June 1821, he ran away to become a "freedom seeker."

Finding Freedom

Tom left at night and traveled west. He followed the path where the Erie Canal would later be built. He reached Lockport. With help from others, he crossed the Niagara River into Canada. There, he found freedom. He stayed in Canada for about three months. He waited until he felt it was safe to return.

Career and Helping Others

Starting Work and Learning

Tom went to Rochester. He found a community of free Black people there. He also found more chances for work and education. He began working as a laborer.

At nineteen, Tom went to a church school. He learned how to read and write. Being able to read opened up the world of religion for him. In 1823, he joined the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Society (AME Zion).

When the Erie Canal opened, Tom got a job. He worked in the warehouse for the Hudson and Erie line. People at work called him Jim. He lived with the manager of the warehouse. He also helped around the manager's house. Eventually, he was put in charge of loading boats and managing the freight business.

Becoming a Teacher

In 1828, Tom started teaching. He taught at a school for Black children.

Becoming a Minister

The next year, 1829, he started preaching. By 1830, James bought land and built a small church in Rochester. It was called the AME Zion Church. In 1833, he was officially made an African Methodist Episcopal Zion minister. This was done by AME Zion Bishop Christopher Rush. At this time, he took the name Thomas James, his name as a free man.

In 1835, James was sent to a small Black church in Syracuse, New York. He helped the church grow from fewer than 20 members to four times that number. He also helped the church buy an old Methodist church building in 1837. This became the largest African American church in Syracuse before the Civil War. Its members were very active in the fight against slavery and the Underground Railroad.

Fighting Against Slavery

Starting in 1830, James was inspired by others who wanted to end slavery. He decided to make fighting slavery his life's work. He began to organize meetings in Rochester with other people, including important white citizens. They formed an anti-slavery society in the city. Sometimes, they faced violence, but they kept going.

He helped start a newspaper called The Rights of Man. It was published every two weeks to promote the cause. James traveled around the county to get people to subscribe to the paper. He began speaking more often about abolitionism. He also went to the first Anti-Slavery Society Conference in Utica.

Next, James was sent to Ithaca. There was already a small Black religious group there. During his two years, James helped them build a church. After that, he went to Sag Harbor, New York. Many free Black people worked in the whaling industry there. Finally, he moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts. This was also a whaling and fishing town. While leading a church there, James made Frederick Douglass a preacher in his church. This was before Douglass became a famous public speaker against slavery.

Helping on the Freedom Trail

Thomas James helped the anti-slavery movement in Syracuse. He also helped efforts to free enslaved people on the "Freedom Trail". He was active in the anti-slavery movement in Massachusetts too.

James directly helped some enslaved people gain freedom. For example, he met a young enslaved girl named Lucy on a train. She was traveling with her enslavers from Richmond, Virginia. James talked to her in the segregated train car. He invited her to his church while they were on vacation.

A few weeks later, Lucy had not come. James went to her enslaver, who said Lucy could not receive visitors or attend church. James asked the law for help. The local sheriff helped free Lucy from her enslaver. Local Black people also helped protect her. In a court case in Boston, the judge ruled that Lucy was free. This was because Massachusetts laws did not allow slavery. Lucy chose to be free and became free the next day. James also helped with the Amistad case.

Fighting the Fugitive Slave Act

While in Boston, James was very involved in cases about escaped enslaved people. These included cases like Anthony Burns and Ellen and William Craft. The federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 said states had to return escaped enslaved people. But many people in Massachusetts strongly opposed this law. They helped enslaved people gain freedom, even when facing US Marshals.

Fighting for Equality

James also successfully fought against the custom of making Black people ride in second-class on trains and other transportation. When his railroad case went to the State Supreme Court in Boston, the court made an important decision. It said that the word "color" (meaning race) was not known to the laws of Massachusetts. It ruled that "the youngest colored child had the same rights as the richest white citizen."

Missionary Work

In 1856, James returned to Rochester. After the American Civil War began, he was sent to the American Missionary Association in 1862. He was meant to minister to enslaved people in Tennessee and Louisiana. But he was reassigned to Louisville, Kentucky.

There, he served the Union Army. He helped supervise the camps for formerly enslaved people. He also helped free enslaved people who were being held illegally. He visited prisons. By order of General Palmer, James performed marriages between United States Colored Troops (USCT) soldiers and Black women in the camp. This helped the women gain legal freedom as wives of USCT soldiers. At that time, the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to Kentucky, so slavery was still legal there.

After the war, in 1868, James was elected general superintendent and missionary agent. This was by the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Congregation. In 1878, Bishop Wayman made James a missionary preacher. He worked for Black churches in Ohio.

Helping Migrants

In 1880, many Black people moved from the South to the West. This was known as the "Exodus." James worked with the Topeka Relief Association. He helped thousands of Black migrants arriving in Kansas. These people were called the Exodusters. About 60,000 people passed through Topeka.

The next year, James worked with others in southern Kansas. They organized the Agricultural and Industrial Institute. This school later joined with Pittsburg State University. One of the other founders was Elizabeth L. Comstock. She was an English Quaker who also helped with relief efforts in Topeka. James became the general agent for the school.

Family Life

Thomas James married his first wife, Mary Ann McEntire, in 1829 in Rochester, New York. He wrote that they had four children. Two of them were married and living in the West by 1887. His first wife died in 1841.

His will, written in 1891, mentions a daughter named Nancy James. Another daughter was Eliza James. She went with her father to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1862. She worked as a nurse during the Civil War. Records show she married Benjamin Thomas in 1867. They had nine children and lived near her father in Rochester.

In 1870, James married again. His second wife was Esther A. (née Jones) Hazgood. He wrote: "My wife was a slave, freed by Sherman at the capture of Atlanta and sent north with other colored refugees." He first met her in Pennsylvania.

Thomas and Esther had two children together. They were Thomas Edward James (1874-1934) and Ida James (1870-1887). Esther's daughter, Eliza Hazgood James (1866-1886), also lived with them.

Later Life and Death

Around 1882, James returned to New York. He served a church in Lockport. Around 1884, he started having problems with his eyes, called cataracts. He returned to Rochester with his wife. In his later years, he wrote or dictated a short book about his life. It was published in 1886 and called "LIFE OF REV. THOMAS JAMES, BY HIMSELF."

James died at his home in Rochester on April 18, 1891. He is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York.

Legacy

• Thomas James is remembered for founding churches. He also worked hard to end slavery and fight for the civil rights of African Americans.
• In 1989, the city of Rochester honored him. They named April 18, the day he died, as an annual memorial day for him.
• Artist Sara Rubin made a clay sculpture of Thomas James. It was placed in the Hall of Justice in downtown Rochester.