William Paul Quinn (10 April 1788 – 21 February 1873)[1] who said he was born in India and immigrated to the United States, was the fourth bishop of theAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church, the first independent black denomination in the United States when founded in 1816 inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 1836, Quinn was assigned as amissionary to what was known as the Northwest, specifically Indiana and Ohio, although he also traveled to Illinois and Missouri. He settled inRichmond, Indiana as his base, founding an AME Church there and several throughout these states. In 1844 he was elected as bishop and in 1849 as Senior Bishop of the church.
By his own account, Quinn was said to have been born inCalcutta, India to an Indian family. An 1851 affidavit said his mother wasEgyptian and his father wasSpanish, who were involved in the mahogany trade. He was introduced to Christianity by a Quaker missionary in India and went to England, where he took an English name. He immigrated to the United States as a young man by 1808 and became active with anAME Church in New Jersey. He was part of its founding as a denomination in 1816.[2]
Quinn came to the US by 1808, when he became involved in the AME Church in New Jersey. He was among the founders of the denomination in 1816, the first black independent denomination in the United States. According to that account, he was ordained adeacon in 1818. His wife was Mary Jane Quinn.
In 1836 Quinn was assigned as a missionary to theNorthwest Territory, and traveled throughout Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio to plant congregations. He is also credited with helping found the Brooklyn AME Church inBrooklyn, Illinois.[3] Now called the Quinn's Chapel AME Church, it is thought to be the earliest AME Church west of the Appalachian Mountains. Brooklyn was an early black village founded on the Mississippi River across fromSt. Louis, Missouri.
Quinn settled with his wife inRichmond, Indiana, which he used as a base for his missionary work. Quinn became an elder in 1838. They founded the Bethel A.M.E. Church in Richmond, as well as similar churches in Dublin, Newport (now Fountain City), and Cambridge City, Indiana, and most of the AME churches in Ohio and Indiana.
On May 19, 1844, due to his success in planting churches in the Northwest, the General Conference of the church elected him a bishop. He became the Senior Bishop of the church in May 1849, serving until his death in Richmond on February 3, 1873. During that period, another 47 AME congregations were established fromPittsburgh, Pennsylvania toCalifornia.[2]
Quinn was known for saying that theDivine Command theory should be accepted without question, because God could be seen as always doing the right thing; even if he does notappear to be doing the right thing, the end outcome will be good.[citation needed]
Quinn was buried at Earlham Cemetery in Richmond.
Paul Quinn College, the oldesthistorically black college inTexas, was named after him. It was founded inAustin, Texas in 1872 by AME Church members to educatefreedmen and later moved toWaco, Texas. In 1991 Paul Quinn College moved to Dallas, Texas, where it remains today.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
