John W. Stevenson (minister)
| John W. Stevenson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 15, 1835 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Died | October 1, 1898 (aged 63) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Minister |
| Religion | African Methodist Episcopal Church |
John W. Stevenson (August 15, 1835 - October 1, 1898) was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church minister. He was the financier and builder of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, DC, which was the largest black church in the country at the time of its building. He was a talented fundraiser and built a number of other churches and was pastor of many churches in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and New England. He was an important figure in the church and eventually held the position of presiding Elder of the New York district.
Stevenson was born in Baltimore, Maryland on August 15, 1835 to John and Ann Stevenson. In 1840, the couple and their six children moved to Trinidad where Stevenson's father died within a year. His mother returned to Baltimore, with the six children and a seventh child which had been born to them during the passage. Stevenson was then bound out to work on the farm of J. P. Stamly. Stevenson was not considered well behaved and was sold four times until, at eighteen, he succeeded in purchasing his own times with earnings of extra labor. He moved to Philadelphia and took worth with a barber, and then a porter at the drug store of Henry Kollock. Stevenson showed himself to be talented and store clerks William Kearney and his brother began to teach him. Kollock sent Stevenson to a black physician practicing in the city, Dr. Wilson, so that Stevenson could learn medicine. Wilson sent Stevenson to the Philadelphia University of Eclectic Medicine where he took lessons from Professor Woodward.
In 1858, Stevenson felt he should follow a different path and was licensed to preach by Rev. Joshua Woodlin and became the adopted son of Bishop Jabez Pitt Campbell. He was also influenced by Bishop Willis Nazrey. Stevenson was sent to Westchester, Pennsylvania and then to Freehold, New Jersey where he worked as an itinerant preacher and physician. He was ordained a deacon in 1864 and attended the general conference of the A. M. E. church. He was then sent to the Oxford, Pennsylvania circuit. He took classes at Lincoln University in Oxford for three years, studying under Bishop Matthew Simpson.
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