 Once inside the doors, the history buffs were greeted by Allen
Chapel's pastor, the Rev. Peggie Senor. She spoke about the history
of the Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Also speaking for the evening was Bobbi Reddix. Reddix provided a
short history of the African-American community in Lincoln beginning
with the Civil War to the end of the second decade of the 20th
century.
The AME was founded in the latter part of the 18th century in
Philadelphia by a group of former slaves who withdrew from a local
church because of discrimination. The AME founder was Richard Allen,
who felt strongly that all people had a right to worship without the
sting of discrimination in their house of worship.
The membership in the AME Church grew rapidly, recording 17,000
members in 1836.
The Lincoln AME Church began when five residents gathered to
start the congregation in 1866.
Lincoln had a small African-American population following the
Civil War, when white Union soldiers from the area around Lincoln
brought former slaves with them upon their return home. In many
cases the former slaves were brought into Lincoln under cover of
darkness so that the white residents of the town would not protest
their arrival.
By 1868, services were held in an old schoolhouse that was
located on the site of the current AME Church.
The AME Church served more than the spiritual needs of the
African-American community in Lincoln. Social services were handled
out of the church. The church was also the center of social and
political life in the African-American community and was a place of
refuge in the community.
Ministers in the church were looked upon as people of great
wisdom, and their guidance of parishioners was very important. They
taught their members to be a giving part of the community and to
become assets to Lincoln. The ministers stressed the need for
education for black children and the importance of proper conduct in
town.
Regardless of a family's economic circumstance, attendance at
church on Sunday was a formal occasion requiring the best conduct
and attire.
During this time, racism was a part of daily life in the
community and required an open struggle for members of the AME
Church. The local newspaper even had a separate section for news of
the African-American community in town.
In 1880, the old schoolhouse was removed from the lot on
Broadway, and the brick church erected was named after the founder
of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The members of the AME
Church sacrificed to build a church they could be proud of, a sign
of their dedication to one another and to the community.
The Allen Chapel building in Lincoln was first designated as a
Lincoln Historical Landmark by the city of Lincoln in 2003. Then, in
2004, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and
it is the only church building in Logan County on the National
Register.
Pastor Senor spoke to the group attending on the rainy evening as
if she was speaking to her congregation on Sunday morning. Her heart
is full of caring for her parishioners, for everyone she meets and
for the mission of the AME Church.
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Pastor Senor, who was called to the ministry in the 1980s,
travels from Springfield to Lincoln and back home on Amtrak, so her
time in Lincoln is dictated by the train schedule. She preaches
every other week on Sunday at 11:15 a.m.
She points out that Peoria, Bloomington, Decatur and Springfield
all have active AME churches. In fact, Springfield has two. The AME
Church also has overseas connections. She pointedly stated that the
AME Church has a long history of ordaining women as pastors. Rosa
Parks was a member of the AME Church. The Christian Record, the AME
newspaper, was started in the 1840s.
Following Pastor Senor's presentation, Bobbi Reddix gave a short
history of some of the African-American families who lived in
Lincoln from 1858 until the time of the World War I.
Ms. Reddix is known for her first-person living history portrayal
of Elizabeth Keckley, a black woman who was Mary Todd Lincoln's
closest confidante during the Lincolns' time in Washington, D.C.
Reddix has done extensive research into the lives of
African-American families in Lincoln. One fascinating point she made
was that many black families in Lincoln came from Bowling Green, Ky.
Bowling Green is in Logan County, Ky. These families traveled from
one Logan County to another.
Reddix's meticulous research even goes into the death records of
the black community in Lincoln, so that she can know the names of
the families who lived here. She mentioned that during the infamous
race riot in Springfield in 1908, tension was high in Lincoln. The
populace went out of its way to keep things calm in town.
The March meeting of the Logan County Genealogical & Historical
Society will feature a presentation on Capt. Adam Bogardus of
Elkhart. He was the 19th-century Elkhart resident who became a world
champion marksman, celebrity and performer in Buffalo Bill's Wild
West Show. Check the society's website and Lincoln Daily News for
further information.
___
Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society website:
http://www.logancoil-genhist.org/
Allen Chapel history:
http://www.acamec.org/index.php/
about-allen-chapel/our-history
[By CURT FOX]
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