Edmund Kelly
| Edmund Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 23, 1818 Columbia, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | October 4, 1894 (aged 76) New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Minister |
| Political party | Republican |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Born | Columbia |
Edmund Kelly (May 23, 1818 - October 4, 1894) was the first African-American Baptist minister ordained in Tennessee. He escaped slavery in the 1840s to New England and returned after the US Civil War. He worked as a preacher and teacher in Columbia, Tennessee and was a frequent participant in national Baptist Conventions.
Edmund Kelly or Kelley was born in Columbia, Tennessee on May 23, 1818 to Edmund Kelly, an emigrant from Dublin, Ireland, and a slave woman, Kittie White, who was also born in Columbia. His father wished to buy the freedom of his mother and son, but was not able. When Edmund was six, his mother was sold away and he and his sister remained. In 1833, Kelly was hired by a school-master to run errands and serve as a table waiter. Kelly saw the advantage of an education, and in secret gave candies to students who came to the house in exchange for a speller, a child's English textbook, and lessons. When the mistress of the house discovered Kelly's learning to write, she was upset, but because those responsible were children, nothing was done and Kelly continued to learn, although he never attended a formal school. He married in September 1839.
In April 1837 Kelly was baptized and joined a missionary church in Columbia. He was born to the Catholicism of his father, but was convinced by the Baptist teachings. On May 19, 1842 he was licensed to preach from the Mission Baptist Church at Columbia, and on October 1 of that year he was ordained by Rev. R. B. C. Harell and the First Baptist Church of Nashville to be an evangelist. His first posting was at the Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church in 1843, which at that time had only six members. This posting made him the first black Baptist preacher ordained in Tennessee. He is also credited for organizing the First Negro Baptist Church in Columbia in 1843.
Around this time, he escaped from slavery on the underground railroad to Massachusetts. He then purchased the freedom of his wife and four children for twenty-eight hundred dollars. For this purpose, he collected money in New England and in England. While in England, it was recommended to him that he purchase not only his family's freedom, but also his own, so that he would not be captured under the Fugitive Slave Act. His children included J. H. Kelly, a teacher in Columbia and W. D. Kelly who was a member of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in the US Civil War. In 1848, he organized the 12th Baptist Church in Boston, Massachusetts.
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