Slaveryto
freedom
Harrisburg on the eve
of Civil War
Study Areas
Dedication of Wesley Union Church, November 1839
Tanner's Alley, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Text of newspaper announcement:
DEDICATION.
THE Wesley Union Church in the Borough of Harrisburg, for the use of the colored Methodists, will be dedicated to the worship of Almighty God, on Sabbath, the 24th November, 1839. The services of several clergymen have been engaged for the occasion. The exercises will commence at half past nine o'clock in the morning, and be continued throughout the day, when collections will be taken up to assist in defraying the expenses of the building.
The friends of Christ are respectfully and affectionately invited to attend.
William M. Jones,
Wm. Scott,
Richard C. Brown,
Joseph Pople,
Horatia Brown,
David Williams.} Building Com.
Notes
Prominent among the listed members of the Wesley Union Church Building Committee is William M. Jones. Known popularly as "Dr. Jones" due to his knowledge of medicines and natural healing, Jones was a respected figure in Harrisburg's antebellum African American community, having arrived with his family about 1822 from Wilkes-Barre and quickly establishing himself as a trusted leader. He played a key role in local Underground Railroad activities, working closely with church leaders, other citizens and white abolitionists to transport freedom seekers out of Harrisburg northward to stations in Wilkes-Barre.
Joseph Pople was highly involved in Harrisburg African American community and social causes. He took an active part in abolitionist and Underground Railroad activities, and played a key part in freeing several men from the clutches of slave catchers in an August 1850 incident at the borough prison.
An 1842 account of slavecatchers raiding William Jones' house in search of hidden freedom seekers may be found here.
The obituary of William Jones, along with notes on his life, may be found here.
The story of Joseph Pople's heroics in freeing captured men is told here.
Sources
- Harrisburg Telegraph, 21 November 1839.