Absalom Jones | |
|---|---|
 1810 portrait of Absalom Jones by Raphaelle Peale | |
| Born | November 7, 1746 |
| Died | February 13, 1818 (aged 71) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Occupation | Clergyman (Anglican/Episcopal Church) |
| Known for | Anti-slavery petitioner |
| Spouse | Mary King |
| Relatives | Julian Abele (architect) |
Absalom Jones (November 7, 1746 – February 13, 1818) was an African-American abolitionist and clergyman who became prominent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Disappointed at the racial discrimination he experienced in a local Methodist church, he founded the Free African Society with Richard Allen in 1787, a mutual aid society for African Americans in the city. The Free African Society included many people newly freed from slavery after the American Revolutionary War.
In 1794, Jones founded the first Black Episcopal congregation, and in 1802,[1] he was the first African American to be ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church of the United States. He is listed on the Episcopal calendar of saints. He is remembered liturgically on the date of his death, February 13, in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer as "Absalom Jones, Priest, 1818".
- ^ Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2003. New York: Church Publishing. 2003. p. 160. ISBN 0-89869-410-8.