John Chavis
Encyclopedia
John Chavis was a black educator and Presbyterian minister in the American South during the early 19th century.
Information about Chavis's early life is scant as well, with few records to document it. It is believed that he may have been the 'John Chavis' who was employed as an indentured servant by a Halifax lawyer named James Milner. A 1773 inventory of Milner's estate does list an "indentured servant named John Chavis." Since Milner possessed a large library, it is likely that Chavis received some schooling during his period of service.
. He enlisted in December 1778 and served in the 5th Virginia Regiment
for three years. Captain Mayo Carrington of the regiment wrote in a bounty warrant dated March 1783 that Chavis had "faithfully fulfilled [his duties] and is thereby entitled to all immunities granted to three year soldiers."
A 1789 tax list of Mecklenburg County, Virginia, shows that he was listed as a free black man owning one horse. He had married a woman named Sarah Frances Anderson, and they had one son, Anderson Chavis. In 1789, he was employed by Robert Greenwood's estate as tutor to Greenwood's orphans.
's gift of 100 shares of James River Company Stock. He was still a student when the institution changed its name to Washington Academy
. (Washington Academy would change its name a third time long after Chavis left the school, becoming Washington and Lee University.)
Prior to 1795, Chavis had resided in New Jersey, where he had taken private classes under John Witherspoon
in preparation for entering the Presbyterian ministry. In the recorded minutes of the meeting of the trustees of the College of New Jersey (later to become Princeton University
) dated September 26, 1792, there is a recommendation by Reverend John Blair that "Mr. Todd Henry, a Virginian, and John Chavis, a free black man of that state, ... be received" on the school's Leslie Fund. Chavis transferred to Liberty Hall Academy after Witherspoon's death in 1794.
Six months later, with high character recommendations from the Presbytery of Lexington, Chavis was transferred to work under the Hanover Presbytery.
In April 1802, Chavis had applied for freedmen's papers and received them from Rockbridge County Court. It was recorded that "said [John] Chavis has been known to the Court for several years ... and that he has always ... been considered as a freeman, and they believe him to be such, and that he has always while in the county conducted himself in a decent orderly and respectable manner, and also that he has been a student at Washington Academy [sic] where they believe he whent [sic] through a regular course of academical [sic] studies."
Between 1801 and 1807, Chavis served as a circuit riding missionary for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church to slaves and free blacks in the states of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. He also converted whites as well.
Chavis came to Raleigh, North Carolina
sometime between 1807 and 1809, where he was licensed to preach the Christian Gospel by the Orange Presbytery. While he was not given a parish, he continued to preach to Black and White congregations in Granville, Orange, and Wake Counties. Some of the white congregations included slaveholders.
His school was described as one of the best in the state. Students from some of the most prominent white families in the South studied at Chavis' school. His students includes Priestly H. Mangum, brother of Senator Willie P. Mangum; Archibald E. Henderson and John L. Henderson, sons of Chief Justice Henderson; Governor Charles Manly
; The Reverend William Harris
; Dr. James L. Wortham; the Edwardses, Enlows (Enloes), Hargroves, and Horners; and Abraham Rencher
, Minister of Portugal and Territorial Governor of New Mexico.
After Nat Turner
, an educated slave and preacher in southern Virginia, led a bloody rebellion in 1831 that saw the murder of dozens of white men, women and children, slave-holding states quickly passed laws that forbade all blacks to preach. Although Chavis was forced to give up preaching and teaching school, the presbytery continued to pay Chavis $50 a year until his death to support him and his wife. The presbytery even continued payments to his wife after his death until 1842.
Receiving charity was not a new experience for Chavis. In the past he had received financial assistance from his friend and former student, Senator Mangum. In 1825, Mangum helped him secure renewal on a bank loan for $270. Later Chavis asked Mangum to pay the interest of $30. Chavis was always able to turn to prominent friends when he was in need, and usually they were generous to him.
Chavis died in June 1838. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.
Both Chavis Heights apartments and Chavis Park in Raleigh, North Carolina are named after him.
Early life
The exact date of Chavis's birth is not known. It is believed that he was born in either 1762 or 1763. One source claims he was born on October 18, 1763, but with no evidence given.Information about Chavis's early life is scant as well, with few records to document it. It is believed that he may have been the 'John Chavis' who was employed as an indentured servant by a Halifax lawyer named James Milner. A 1773 inventory of Milner's estate does list an "indentured servant named John Chavis." Since Milner possessed a large library, it is likely that Chavis received some schooling during his period of service.
Military service
Chavis served as a soldier during the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. He enlisted in December 1778 and served in the 5th Virginia Regiment
5th Virginia Regiment
The 5th Virginia Regiment was raised on December 28, 1775 at Richmond, Virginia for service with the U.S. Continental Army. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of Charleston. The regiment...
for three years. Captain Mayo Carrington of the regiment wrote in a bounty warrant dated March 1783 that Chavis had "faithfully fulfilled [his duties] and is thereby entitled to all immunities granted to three year soldiers."
A 1789 tax list of Mecklenburg County, Virginia, shows that he was listed as a free black man owning one horse. He had married a woman named Sarah Frances Anderson, and they had one son, Anderson Chavis. In 1789, he was employed by Robert Greenwood's estate as tutor to Greenwood's orphans.
Education
Chavis arrived at the Liberty Hall Academy in Lexington, Virginia in 1795, one year prior to George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's gift of 100 shares of James River Company Stock. He was still a student when the institution changed its name to Washington Academy
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
. (Washington Academy would change its name a third time long after Chavis left the school, becoming Washington and Lee University.)
Prior to 1795, Chavis had resided in New Jersey, where he had taken private classes under John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey. As president of the College of New Jersey , he trained many leaders of the early nation and was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration...
in preparation for entering the Presbyterian ministry. In the recorded minutes of the meeting of the trustees of the College of New Jersey (later to become Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
) dated September 26, 1792, there is a recommendation by Reverend John Blair that "Mr. Todd Henry, a Virginian, and John Chavis, a free black man of that state, ... be received" on the school's Leslie Fund. Chavis transferred to Liberty Hall Academy after Witherspoon's death in 1794.
Ministry
On November 19, 1800 Chavis completed with high honors a rigorous theological examination that began on June 11, 1800. On this date, he was also granted a license to preach by the Presbytery of Lexington in Virginia.Six months later, with high character recommendations from the Presbytery of Lexington, Chavis was transferred to work under the Hanover Presbytery.
In April 1802, Chavis had applied for freedmen's papers and received them from Rockbridge County Court. It was recorded that "said [John] Chavis has been known to the Court for several years ... and that he has always ... been considered as a freeman, and they believe him to be such, and that he has always while in the county conducted himself in a decent orderly and respectable manner, and also that he has been a student at Washington Academy [sic] where they believe he whent [sic] through a regular course of academical [sic] studies."
Between 1801 and 1807, Chavis served as a circuit riding missionary for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church to slaves and free blacks in the states of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. He also converted whites as well.
Chavis came to Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
sometime between 1807 and 1809, where he was licensed to preach the Christian Gospel by the Orange Presbytery. While he was not given a parish, he continued to preach to Black and White congregations in Granville, Orange, and Wake Counties. Some of the white congregations included slaveholders.
Educator
In 1808, Chavis opened a school in his home where he taught both white and black children. He placed ads in the Raleigh Register to encourage enrollment. At first he taught both races together, but after some white parents objected, he taught white children during the day and black children in the evenings. He charged white students $2.50 per quarter, and black students $1.75 per quarter. As an educator, Chavis taught full time and instructed his college bound white students in Latin and Greek, which were required study in the colleges and universities of that time.His school was described as one of the best in the state. Students from some of the most prominent white families in the South studied at Chavis' school. His students includes Priestly H. Mangum, brother of Senator Willie P. Mangum; Archibald E. Henderson and John L. Henderson, sons of Chief Justice Henderson; Governor Charles Manly
Charles Manly
Charles Manly was the 31st Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1849 to 1851, and the last member of his party to hold the office. After one two-year term, Manly was defeated in the 1850 election by David S. Reid, whom Manly had defeated in 1848.He was the brother of Matthias Evans...
; The Reverend William Harris
William Harris
William or Will or Willie Harris may refer to:*William Harris , past president of Columbia University*William Harris , NFL player...
; Dr. James L. Wortham; the Edwardses, Enlows (Enloes), Hargroves, and Horners; and Abraham Rencher
Abraham Rencher
Abraham Rencher was a Congressional Representative from North Carolina; born near Raleigh, North Carolina, August 12, 1798; tutored at home and attended the common schools and Pittsboro Academy; graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1822; studied law; was admitted to...
, Minister of Portugal and Territorial Governor of New Mexico.
Personal life
Chavis maintained a friendship with one of his white students, Senator Willie P. Mangum. For many years, they conducted a correspondence where Chavis often criticized the senator's political positions. Chavis, it seems, was opposed to the abolition of slavery, had a great dislike for President Andrew Jackson and was opposed to the states' rights advocacy of Mangum and his colleagues. In 1837, Chavis published "An Essay on the Atonement," though no copies are known to have survived.After Nat Turner
Nat Turner
Nathaniel "Nat" Turner was an American slave who led a slave rebellion in Virginia on August 21, 1831 that resulted in 60 white deaths and at least 100 black deaths, the largest number of fatalities to occur in one uprising prior to the American Civil War in the southern United States. He gathered...
, an educated slave and preacher in southern Virginia, led a bloody rebellion in 1831 that saw the murder of dozens of white men, women and children, slave-holding states quickly passed laws that forbade all blacks to preach. Although Chavis was forced to give up preaching and teaching school, the presbytery continued to pay Chavis $50 a year until his death to support him and his wife. The presbytery even continued payments to his wife after his death until 1842.
Receiving charity was not a new experience for Chavis. In the past he had received financial assistance from his friend and former student, Senator Mangum. In 1825, Mangum helped him secure renewal on a bank loan for $270. Later Chavis asked Mangum to pay the interest of $30. Chavis was always able to turn to prominent friends when he was in need, and usually they were generous to him.
Chavis died in June 1838. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.
Both Chavis Heights apartments and Chavis Park in Raleigh, North Carolina are named after him.
Further reading
- Court Order Book, April 6, 1802. Rockbridge County, Virginia
- Washington & Lee University Trustees Papers (Folder 21) Room Rent Book, 1794-95. Washington & Lee University Library, Lexington, Virginia.
- Berlin, Ira. Slaves Without Masters: The Free Negro in the Antebellum South Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1974.
- Franklin, John Hope. The Free Negro in North Carolina, 1790-1860 Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1943.
- Kaplan, Sidney & Emma Nogrady Kaplan. The Black Presence in the Era of Revolution. Revised edition. Amherst, Mass.: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989.
- Quarles, Benjamin. The Negro in the American Revolution Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Va., 1961.
- Shaw, G. C. John Chavis, 1763-1838. Binghamton, New York: The Vail-Ballou Press, 1931.
- Weeks, Stephen. "John Chavis: Antebellum Negro Preacher and Teacher." Southern Workman (February 1914): 101-106.
- Woodson, Carter G. Negro Makers of History Washington, DC: The Associated Publishers, 1928.
External links
- John Chavis biography at North Carolina State University
- Stephen Weeks article on John Chavis in the Southern Workman
- January 19, 2001 Founder's Day lecture at Washiongton and Lee University about John Chavis
- AA Registry entry for John Chavis
- Article at the NC Division of Non-Public Education
- North Carolina Historical Marker
- News & Observer: Group says Chavis sign part of history