Background
John Chavis was born about 1763 in North Carolina, United States.
John Chavis was born about 1763 in North Carolina, United States.
John was sent to Princeton to study privately under President Witherspoon of the College of New Jersey. Later he continued his studies at Liberty Hall Academy in Virginia and was licensed to preach.
In 1778 Chavis enlisted in the Army and served in the 5th Virginia Regiment for three years. Through the influence of the Reverend Samuel Davies, a Presbyterian divine, Chavis became connected as a licentiate with the Presbyteries of Lexington and Hanover, Virginia. The Hanover records stated that in 1801 he was “riding as a missionary under the direction of the General Assembly. ” About 1805 he migrated to North Carolina, joining in 1809 the Orange Presbytery and ministering to whites and slaves in various churches in at least three counties.
He was distinguished for his dignity of manner, purity of diction, simplicity and orthodoxy in teaching. Familiar with Greek and Latin, he established a classical school, teaching sometimes at night, and prepared for college the sons of prominent whites in several counties, sometimes even boarding them with his family. He was respectfully received in the families of his former pupils.
Advised by his Presbytery to yield to the law of 1832 prohibiting African American preaching, John wrote and published a sermon, The Extent of the Atonement, which, widely sold and read, aided in the support provided for him, and for his wife after his death, by his Presbytery. Chavis died in 1838, aged about seventy-five years, a conspicuous example of merit rewarded by slave-holding whites.
Chavis was well-known Presbyterian minister in the American South during the early 19th century. He was the first African American to graduate from a college or university in the United States. He made the great contribution to the education of young North Carolinians. Among his pupils were the subsequent United States Senator Willie P. Mangum, Governor Charles Manly, Rev. Williams Harris, two sons of Chief Justice Henderson, and others who became lawyers, doctors, teachers, preachers, and politicians.
Chavis was a member of the Presbyterian church.
Chavis was an ardent Federalist and a critic of racism and slavery.
Chavis was married to Sarah Frances Anderson. They had one son, Anderson Chavis.
