Lemuel Haynes | |
|---|---|
 Frontispiece of 1837's Sketches of the Life and Character of the Rev. Lemuel Haynes, A.M. | |
| Born | July 18, 1753 |
| Died | September 28, 1833 (aged 80) South Granville, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Lee-Oatman Cemetery, South Granville, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Congregational minister |
| Years active | 1780-1833 |
| Known for | The first credentialed African-American clergyman in the United States |
Lemuel Haynes (July 18, 1753 – September 28, 1833) was an American clergyman. A veteran of the American Revolution, Haynes was the first black man in the United States to be ordained as a minister.
Haynes was a native of West Hartford, Connecticut, and was the son of an African American man and a white woman. He spent much of his childhood as an indentured servant in the house of a Granville, Massachusetts, farmer. A regular churchgoer, he began to preach as a boy. He served in the militia during the American Revolution, including garrison duty at the recently captured Fort Ticonderoga in 1776. Haynes also became an anti-slavery activist. In addition to arguing against involuntary servitude and preaching against the slave trade, Haynes also advocated against the colonization movement, arguing that people of African descent living in the United States should be entitled to the same rights as other citizens, and that having them resettle in Africa would not be beneficial.
Ordained in the Congregational church in 1785, Haynes pastored a church in Torrington, Connecticut, for three years. In 1788, Haynes accepted a call to pastor the West Parish Church of Rutland, Vermont (now West Rutland's United Church of Christ), where he remained for the next 30 years. He then moved to a temporary pastorate at Manchester, Vermont, and finally to South Granville, New York, where he was pastor of South Granville Congregational Church.
Haynes died in South Granville in 1833 and was buried at Lee-Oatman Cemetery.