29 Facts About Richard DeBaptiste

Richard DeBaptiste was a Baptist minister in Chicago, Illinois.

Richard DeBaptiste's ministry took him to Ohio, and in 1863, to Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago.

Richard DeBaptiste was a leader in the local and national Baptist community.

Richard DeBaptiste was a journalist, serving as editor or correspondent to various newspapers and journals.

Richard DeBaptiste was born free in Fredericksburg, Virginia on November 11,1831, to free people of color William and Eliza DeBaptiste.

Richard DeBaptiste was educated in secret, first by a black man and then by a Scots-Irish man who had been a teacher in Scotland.

Richard DeBaptiste's grandfather, John DeBaptiste, was in the American Revolutionary War and had been born on the island of St Kitt's.

Richard DeBaptiste had two brothers, George and Benjamin, who both took part in the American Civil War.

In 1846, the Richard DeBaptiste family moved from Virginia to Detroit, Michigan in a pilgrimage of free blacks led by William Richard DeBaptiste and Marie Louis More.

In Detroit and later in Ohio and Chicago, Richard DeBaptiste worked to help fugitive slaves escape to Canada.

Richard DeBaptiste acted with George DeBaptiste, a noted conductor of the Underground Railroad in Detroit.

Richard DeBaptiste was immediately active at that church and taught at the Sunday School.

Richard DeBaptiste married Georgiana Brische of Cincinnati, Ohio in October 1855.

Richard DeBaptiste was the daughter of James and Louisa Brischo.

In Mount Pleasant, Richard DeBaptiste was licensed to preach and organized a Sunday School.

Richard DeBaptiste preached at the Union Baptist Church in Cincinnati.

Richard DeBaptiste was ordained in April 1860 at Mount Pleasant, Ohio by a council called by the Union Baptist Church of Cincinnati.

Richard DeBaptiste organized or planted several churches in Illinois, including the Second Baptist Church of Elgin, the Third Baptist Church of Aurora, the Baptist Church at St Charles, and the Second Baptist Church of Evanston.

Richard DeBaptiste held numerous leadership positions in local and national Baptist organizations.

Richard DeBaptiste was elected corresponding secretary of the Wood River Association, serving from 1856 to 1887.

Richard DeBaptiste was elected recording secretary of the Northwestern and Southern Baptist convention in 1865 in St Louis, Missouri.

Richard DeBaptiste was elected president of the consolidated American Baptist Missionary convention in Nashville, Tennessee in 1867 and reelected for the following four years, including in 1870 at Wilmington, North Carolina, although he did not attend.

From 1872 to 1876, Richard DeBaptiste attended the national convention and was elected president each of those years.

At the 1877 meeting at Richmond, Virginia, Richard DeBaptiste was elected corresponding secretary of the Foreign Mission department, a position he held for two years.

About this time, Richard DeBaptiste served as a trustee at Leland University.

Richard DeBaptiste's efforts contributed to the repeal of black laws in Illinois.

In 1886, DeBaptiste was a leader at the American National Baptist Convention called by William J Simmons.

Richard DeBaptiste worked closely with Illinois' first black state legislator, John W E Thomas.

Richard DeBaptiste was president of the Cook County Building and Loan Association of Chicago, an African-American group organized to promote black business.