John Gloucester was the first African American to become an ordained Presbyterian minister in the United States.
Background
Gloucester was born in 1776 as a slave in Tennessee.
Career
He arrived in Philadelphia in 1807. He began preaching at a house on Gaskill Street. His congregation grew and eventually moved to the corner of 7th and Shippen (now Bainbridge) Streets.
Gloucester preached his first official sermons to a congregation of 123 people.
He served the church until his death in 1822.
