The reason why I wept: Finding the Rev. Jesse W. Devine

(The photo depicts members of the 1868 General Conference. These were contemporaries of Jesse W. Devine and it is possible that he is in the picture.)

When I accepted my call to preach some 20 years ago (time really flies!), one of the first questions people began to ask was, “Are you the first preacher in your family?” As far as I knew, I was the first. However, my late grandmother Iowa Milan put the record straight (somewhat). She informed me that sometime in the late 1800s, one of my ancestors had also been a preacher in the AME Church. The only information I gleaned from her before her passing a couple of years later, was that he was a full blooded Native American with a head of white hair, that he served as a Presiding Elder in Arkansas, and that his name was Joe Divine.

Over the past 20 years, I have periodically searched the records of the AME Church in hopes of finding the Rev. Joe Divine, but with no success. That is, until late last year. While conducting research for something totally unrelated (which is often the case in historical research-most success comes when you’re NOT looking for it), I saw the name J.W. Devine. “Hmmmm,” I thought to myself, “could this be the person I’m looking for?” Well, it didn’t make much sense. This person was a pastor in the Ohio Annual Conference, not Arkansas. Also, his named turned out to be Jesse W. Devine, not Joe Divine. He also seemed to be too old to be the same person that fit my description.

But I followed the lead, anyway and what I discovered blew my mind. It turns out that this in fact, was the relative that had come down through family lore. Jesse Devine (which was often misspelled Divine, even in US Census records) was in fact the father of Joe Devine. Joe was the father of Hattie Devine, who was the mother of Georgia Moore, who was the mother of Iowa Milan, my maternal grandmother. It turns out that Jesse W. Devine was a mulatto, which might account for the description of his being a Native American. He also served as the pastor of the Monticello Circuit from 1874 until his death in 1876, which might account for the story that he was Presiding Elder.

Jesse W. Devine was born in Pennsylvania in 1818 and married Elvira (last name unknown), who was born in 1823 in Louisiana. They were property owners, buying their first home in Xenia, Ohio in 1848, where they lived until 1864. It appears that he entered the ministry of the AME Church in 1851 under the leadership of Bishop William Paul Quinn. So affectionate were they of the venerable old bishop, they named their last child after him, William P. Q. Devine. In fact, my mother reminded me that the use of that name continued into the 20^th century with a cousin known as Quinny.

He served as the pastor of the Hamilton Circuit (Ohio), the Columbus and Delaware Circuits (Ohio), the Washington Circuit (Pennsylvania), and Brown Chapel in Allegheny City (modern day Pittsburgh). He was a delegate to the 1864 General Conference; he served on the board of the Connectional Missionary Society alongside the Rev. Henry McNeil Turner; and he served on the board of trustees for Wilberforce University. In addition to serving under Bishop Quinn, he also received appointments from the hand of Bishop Daniel A. Payne. In 1869, he and his family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he set up practice as an attorney. During this period, until he served a church again in 1874, he served as a Class Leader at Bethel AME Church in Little Rock under the Rev. J.T. Jennifer.

Jesse Devine also found himself mixed up in the world of national politics. He served as an election official during the controversial election of 1870. During that election, allegations were made that John Edwards (can you believe it?), the Democrat who won the seat in the House of Representatives, had stolen the election by way of voter fraud. It was alleged by the loser, Republican Thomas Bowles, that Black voters had been illegally disenfranchised at the polls. Jesse’s depositions are found among the records in this case. When the dust settled, the courts agreed that Mr. Edwards had stolen the election and the seat was given to the rightful winner, Mr. Bowles.

This is a great story and it may provoke some to question why it would make me weep. But the reason why I wept was two-fold.

First, I wept because of the joy of finding a long, lost relative. At a certain point, I realized that this was not just some scholarly, academic pursuit or just another part of my research agenda. It was personal, deeply personal. As I read through the pages of the Christian Recorder articles that mentioned the various activities he did during his day, I came across his own words. It was just a thank you note, showing his appreciation for the way in which his congregation had taken care of Mrs. Devine. But when I “heard” his voice, it touched me in such a way that the tears were uncontrollable.

But the second reason that I wept was not so joyful. I wept because of the pain in knowing that somewhere along the way, we dropped the ball. Somewhere, we stopped telling this story. No “White man” did that to us, we did that to ourselves. We somehow arrived at a point where the only thing we could say about our roots in Arkansas was that our family came from “somewhere back East.” Unfortunately, ours is not the only family that has forgotten and when I think about that tragic fact, it makes me weep all over again. I wept for joy and I wept because of a sense of loss. But mostly, I wept because I was just happy to have found my great, great, great, great grandfather, the Rev. Jesse W. Devine.

Vote for Quinn Chapel (Chicago) as they compete for Historic Funding

The following is a reprint from the Christian Recorder (online version). If we can spend our valuable time voting for contestants on American Idol, surely we can spend the same time investing in ourselves. Read on and cast your vote!!!

QUINN CHAPEL IS ONE OF 25 SITES COMPETING FOR FUNDS FROM THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND AMERICAN EXPRESS:

The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express launched a 1 million dollar competition for the preservation of historic sites in Chicago. Quinn Chapel is one of 25 sites competing for these funds. A major criterion for winning this competition is daily on line voting. The site with the most votes from today through October 10, 2007 will receive their total funding request. Quinn requested $150,000.00 for the restoration of the kitchen, common space and restrooms on the first floor of the building. You can make this request a reality when you log on to www.partnersinpreservation.com/openhouse and vote. Vote every day and forward this message to all of your email lists. There is no limit to the number of votes or participants eligible to assist.

On September 15 and 16, 2007 from 10 am until 4 pm daily, Quinn will hold an open house for you to tour this historic landmark. Quinn is the oldest black church in Chicago and the experience promises to be worth your while. You will meet some of the historic leaders who have spoken from this pulpit. Anticipated appearances from Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglas, and President McKinley are among the invitees. Please join in this fun and once in a lifetime experience.

As we continue to restore this American Treasure please know the significance of your vote. We appreciate your continued help and support. You may receive daily reminders to vote. We can make this happen.

Quinn Chapel AME Church family, the oldest African American Church in Chicago is asking the help of the Connectional AME Church in receiving the attached grant. We need is for persons to vote by computer. Distributing our request for voters through The Christian Recorder Online would be of tremendous assistance.

*Rev. James M. Moody is the pastor of Quinn Chapel AME Church
2401 S Wabash
Chicago IL 60616,
312-791-1847 Church Office

AMEC Archives Can't Wait!

(A portion of the collection handed down to the AME Church by the family of Bishop Reverdy C. Ransom)

It is incredible and puzzling to think that the oldest African American denomination in the United States does not have a centralized Archive. At the present moment, most of our material is spread out in libraries all over the world that we do not control. Some of our AME colleges and seminaries are doing their best to keep a handle on what little they have been given, by way of documents, rare books, and other items. But, when you consider the tight budget constraints that they face, they are often trying to make bricks without straw.

In fact, the collection from Payne Theological Seminary’s Archive is currently being housed at the library at Wilberforce University. These materials were moved from Payne to WU almost 10 years ago as a “temporary” move, but now they still sit in the same location (literally in the stacks) “boxed” off from the general public. But anyone can simply walk around the boxes as you can see demonstrated by the photo above which was taken during normal business hours of the library.

As the photograph shows, the holdings that were given by the family of Bishop Reverdy C. Ransom sit out in the open where the general public can just go through them at will.

Need I say that Bishop Ransom’s life is a vital link in the telling of the history of African Methodism? He walked with the leaders of the 19^th century church as a young man being ordained and sent out by Bishop Payne; he served as a pastor during the period of the Great Migration of Blacks from the South to the North in the early 20^th century and literally transformed urban ministry in Chicago; as pastor in Boston, he participated with W.E.B. DuBois in the founding of the NAACP where his speech to the group was described as “…the most stirring single episode in the life of the Niagara Movement”; and he personally influenced a great many AME Church leaders that shaped the denomination in the late 20^th century and even into this current millennium.

Yet, we allow his papers and records to sit unattended, like a barren grave and headstone that have been covered by weeds and shrubs due to neglect because no family member came back to care for it!

The point is not to cast blame on the library staffs of Payne or Wilberforce, or anyone else for that matter. No, the blame is to be shared by all of us for not making this more of a priority and the point is to demonstrate just how much of a crisis we face with regard to the preservation of our historical assets.

Some have said to me, “We can’t afford anything new added to the budget.” To this I say that we cannot afford NOT to build and maintain an Archive. When we forget the past, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.

If elected to the office of Historiographer in 2008, I pledge to provide an Archive by the time we celebrate the 200^th year of African Methodism in 2016. If we take this mission serious, friends from inside and outside our great Church will rise up to help the AMEC build a first class Archive where God’s name will be praised because of the great things He has done!

I am interested in learning how others in the AMEC and the greater historical community feel about this issue. Please post a comment by clicking the comment button below (comments may be posted anonymously if chosen). Also, click the mail note below to share this posting with others by email.

A Warning from Bishop Richard Allen

"We deemed it expedient to have a form of discipline, whereby we may guide our people in the fear of God, in the unity of the Spirit, and in the bonds of peace, and preserve us from that spiritual despotism which we have so recently experienced--remembering that we are not to lord it over God's heritage, as greedy dogs that can never have enough. But with long suffering, and bowels of compassion to bear each other's burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ, praying that our mutual striving together for the promulgation of the Gospel may be crowned with abundant success." Excerpt from Bishop Allen’s autobiographical work, The Life, Experience, and Gospel Labours of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen, p.21 (NOTE: To read Bishop Allen’s autobiography in full, click on the link.)

Bishop Richard Allen chose a rather interesting place to end his autobiography. Instead of concluding on a note of self glorification, he ends with words that sound more like a prophetic warning. In the previous pages, Bishop Allen has related the painful details of how the AMEC had to wrestle free from the White Methodists in Philadelphia. Many of us in the AMEC only know the romanticized version of our founding that we often tell at Founders Day, where Bishop Allen and his faithful band of followers leave St. Georges Methodist Episcopal Church, start Mother Bethel, and live happily ever after with no more interference from the outside world. But the fact is that the members of the White Methodist body for the most part did not simply let us walk away. Their Book of Discipline was used as a tool of harassment and the preachers acted like (in Bishop Allen’s words) spiritual despots and greedy dogs. It ultimately would take God's hand moving through the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to truly set us free to worship under our own vine and fig tree.

Yet, after telling that great story of liberation, Bishop Allen does not end with finger wagging at the White Methodists. Instead, he ends his story with a warning to his future sons and daughters. He knew that there may come a day when we might forget God's saving acts on our behalf and as a result, begin to behave in ways more like our former oppressors instead of our ancestors. Bishop Allen's quote gives us pause to do some serious introspection and soul searching by asking ourselves some tough questions.

Have we become the greedy dogs that never have enough? Have we become the new spiritual despots that misuse the Book of Discipline to divide and conquer instead of bringing together and building up? Has our church become more like old St. Georges or do we still favor old Mother Bethel?

Well, the good news is that if we as individuals, local congregations, or even as a denomination have strayed from the path, we still have hope. We can still turn to the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Richard, and Sarah who will always take us back. The God of the prodigal son stands waiting with open arms. An accurate reading and remembering of our history is a helpful means of ensuring that we remain grounded in the faith that has brought us thus far along the way!