Matthew Wesley Clair
Encyclopedia
Matthew Wesley Clair was one of the first African-American bishops in the Methodist Episcopal Church
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. He was a son of Anthony and Ollie (Green) Clair, former slaves
.
Clair and Robert E. Jones
were appointed bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church
in 1920, becoming the first black people to receive that title. Clair was assigned to Monrovia, Liberia. Prior to his appointment, he served as District Superintendent for the Church in Washington, D.C.
Bishop Clair and wife, Fannie, were the parents of two children:
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
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Biography
Matthew W. Clair was born in 1865 in Union, West VirginiaUnion, West Virginia
Union is a town in Monroe County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 548 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Monroe County.-History:...
. He was a son of Anthony and Ollie (Green) Clair, former slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
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Clair and Robert E. Jones
Robert Elijah Jones
Robert Elijah Jones was an American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and The Methodist Church in the U.S., elected in 1920. Along with Matthew Wesley Clair, Jones was one of the first African-American Bishops of the M.E. Church....
were appointed bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
in 1920, becoming the first black people to receive that title. Clair was assigned to Monrovia, Liberia. Prior to his appointment, he served as District Superintendent for the Church in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Bishop Clair and wife, Fannie, were the parents of two children:
- William O. Clair, born c. 1894
- John A. Clair, born c. 1903