Black First of the Day

1804

Lemuel Haynes (1753-1833)

Lemuel Haynes (1753-1833) was the first black to receive an honorary degree in the United States. Middlebury College in Vermont awarded Haynes a master's degree at its second commencement. Haynes has been regarded as a trailblazer in practically every aspect of black life. Born in West Hartford, Connecticut, to a white mother and an African father, he was abandoned by both his parents. While still an infant, he was taken to Middle Granville, Massachusetts, and classified as an indentured servant. He was raised on a farm, and credits this upbringing with establishing his religious orientation. His indentured status ended when he was twenty-one, and he enlisted in the army as a Minute Man. He later served with Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys and was one of the three blacks who participated in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. He was an early anti-slavery advocate, writing and speaking on the topic years before Frederick Douglass. Haynes had little formal schooling. He had a chance to enter Dartmouth College after his army service ended, but he studied instead with pastors in Granville and taught school. He was pronounced eligible to preach in 1780 and was soon named pastor of a new Congregational church in Granville. This was the start of a fifty-three-year ministry, during which he served at least five white congregations. Of these, his longest pastorate was in West Rutland, Vermont, where he served for thirty years. His last pastorate was in Granville, New York, where he served from 1822 until his death. During his ministerial career, some of his sermons were published, and he was often consulted on questions of theology by the Yale University and Amherst College presidents. Haynes did not confine himself to theological and antislavery treatises; he also wrote a short story, "Mystery Developed," about a real-life murder case, which is said to be one of the early short stories written by a black writer.

Sources: Logan and Winston, Dictionary of American Biography, pp. 300-301; Smith, Notable Black American Men, pp. 532-33.

From Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Events by Jessie Carney Smith, © 2013 Visible Ink Press®. A celebration of achievement, accomplishments and pride.