London Ferrill, spelled Ferrell, was a former enslaved man and carpenter from Virginia who became the second preacher of the First African Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, serving from 1823 to 1854.
17 Facts About London Ferrill
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In Lexington, London Ferrill successfully worked with the city's black and white leaders and became highly respected.
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London Ferrill led the first black church west of the Allegheny Mountains; it was the third oldest black Baptist congregation in the United States and had been founded in 1790 by enslaved preacher Peter Durrett, from Virginia.
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London Ferrill's estate, including enslaved persons, was inherited by his sister, Ann Winston.
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London Ferrill named the mixed-race enslaved boy London Ferrill after her brother, who was likely his father.
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Ann Winston died when London Ferrill was eight or nine years old.
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When her estate was settled, London Ferrill was sold away from his mother to Colonel Samuel Overton.
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Soon, the enslaver apprenticed London Ferrill to learn carpentry, a skilled trade.
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London Ferrill was baptized in 1809 at the age of 20 and had a conversion experience with the Baptists.
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London Ferrill bought her husband's freedom from Overton's estate after his death.
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London Ferrill moved to Lexington, where another preacher, Peter Durrett, was preaching at what is known as the First African Baptist Church of Lexington.
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Durrett was quite old, and the people desired London Ferrill to begin preaching.
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London Ferrill was ordained in 1822, and leaders of the First Baptist Church helped the First African Baptist Church be covenanted in "fellowship" in 1822; this allowed it to be independent.
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London Ferrill worked well with both blacks and whites in the growing city.
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In 1833, London Ferrill was notable as among the few clergy to stay in Lexington during the cholera epidemic, when he cared for the sick, dying, and bereaved.
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London Ferrill continued to attract members to his growing congregation.
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London Ferrill was said to have baptized 5,000 persons during his years of service in the region.