PETER WILLIAMS, JR. Biography - Religious Figures & Icons

 
 

Biography » religious figures icons » peter williams jr

PETER WILLIAMS, JR.

  Name: Peter Williams, Jr.                                                           
  Born: 1780                                                                           
  Died: 1840                                                                           
                                                                                       
  Rev. Peter Williams Jr. (1780 - 1840) was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey.         
  Williams grew up to become active in the Methodist Church. In 1818, with the         
  blessings of prominent white Methodist minister Thomas Lyell, Williams organized     
  a black congregation in Harlem, St. Philip's African Church. He was the first       
  African-American Episcopalian minister in the United States. As a young man,         
  Williams tutored James McCune Smith while he was attending The African Free         
  School.