Timeline

 

1859	Nov. 16 - born in Baltimore, MD to Joseph and Louise Beaulette Sheafe
1864	Moves with mother and brother to Boston, MA
1869	Eye injury makes study difficult
1875	Conversion experience
	Laborer and farmer, West Dedham, MA
1885	Enters Wayland Seminary, Washington, D.C., to study for gospel ministry
1887	Pastor, Beulah Baptist Church, Alexandria, VA, during final year of seminary
	Ordained as minister of the gospel by council of ministers from Washington and Alexandria
1888	May 22 - graduates from both the Normal and Theological courses at Wayland
	June 6 – marriage to Annie C. Howard
	Dec. – begins ministry at Pilgrim Baptist Church, St. Paul, MN
1889	March 20 – daughter, Clara, born
	Nov. – participates in organization of St. Paul Afro-American League
1890	July 10 – speaker, along with Ida B. Wells and other luminaries, at “grand reception” for black educators attending NAE convention
	Dec. – takes third prize in the Appeal newspaper’s multi-city “Popular Preachers” contest
1891	March – son, Howard, born
	May – Afro-American League of Minnesota organizing committee member
	Sept. 27 – sermon, “Rights, Civil and Otherwise,” at concluding meeting of campaign to challenge new segregation laws in South
1892	May 31 – introductory address at Twin Cities rally for national day of fasting and prayer to bring an end to lynching
	June – resignation from Pilgrim Baptist pulpit becomes effective; tenure marked by restored unity, large membership gains, and major progress on church building debt
	Aug. 14 – accepts call to Third Baptist Church, Youngstown, OH
1893	June 18 – dedication of new church building on Mahoning Avenue
	Sept – launches comprehensive plan to address problems faced by Youngstown’s black community
1894	Leadership in Christian Endeavor society exemplifies ministry across denominational and racial lines, and emphasis on social action
	Dec. – leaves Youngstown and begins new pastorate at Second Baptist Church, Urbana, OH
1895	March – organizes county-wide memorial to the late Frederick Douglass
	June 26 – addresses audience of 7,000 at state Christian Endeavor convention in Springfield
	Sept. 22 – fiery call for racial justice and critique of GOP for broken promises at Emancipation Day oration in Springfield
1896	Jan. 26 – powerful speech in Urbana against dilution of local option measure backed by Anti-Saloon League in state legislature
	May – son, Lewis Jr., born
	Embraces Seventh-day Adventist message after receiving health care at Battle Creek Sanitarium
	Summer – takes brief medical missionary course at Battle Creek Sanitarium
	July 18 – first sermon as Adventist minister preached in Battle Creek Tabernacle
	Sept. – family moves to Battle Creek
	Evangelistic and revival work in Ohio Conference through spring 1897
1897	March 28 – given ministerial credentials and assigned to South by General Conference Committee (GCC)
	May – evangelism in Louisville, followed by city mission work in Chattanooga
	Dec. – becomes pastor of Lexington, KY church: vigorous work for health reform, social welfare, and religious liberty as well as evangelism
1898	Aug. – family moves from Lexington to Mount Vernon, OH, where the children could attend an Adventist school
	Aug. – successful evangelism in Georgetown, KY, continues into November
1899	Feb.-March – designated delegate “to represent the colored race” at the General Conference session; ordained and given ministerial credentials.
	March – initiates plan to focus on black educational institutions in order to win talented black workers for the Adventist movement
	March-April – ministry in Louisville, where “Receive Ye the Holy Ghost” revival led by A.F. Ballenger brings about short-lived merger of black and white Adventist congregations into one church
	June – ministry at progressive community for freedpeople led by Berea College founder John G. Fee in Camp Nelson, KY
1900	Evangelism in South Carolina; church raised up in Aiken
1901	March-April – preaches at landmark GC session in Battle Creek; proposal for “colored department” similar to that being established for German and Scandinavian immigrants is shelved.
	April – resumes itinerant ministry, mainly in South Carolina and Ohio; leaders of newly-formed Southern Union Conference resist his assignment to the South by GCC.
1902	Jan. – attends Southern Union organizational meeting in Nashville, which adopts new GC President A.G. Daniells’ policy of church work along racially separate lines and no agitation for equal rights
	Jan. – first black minister appointed to board of Oakwood Industrial School
	March – attends extended board meeting at Oakwood; expresses strong support for the school at conclusion
	May – begins ministry in Washington, D.C. marked by dramatic evangelistic success and strong cultural impact.  Co-pastor of Washington church with white counterpart J.S. Washburn
	Sept. – becomes pastor of the “mixed-race” First SDA Church in D.C. after GC-backed division leads to new, all-white congregation; his failure to support division creates mistrust with GC leadership.
1903	Jan. 1 – among prominent figures selected to speak for 40th Anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation
	Feb. – additions to First Church stemming from 1902 evangelism  and follow-up reach 75
	July – General Conference moves to Washington, D.C. / Takoma Park
	Sept. 25 – speaks at controversial meeting of D.C. Suffrage League, part of a chain of events leading to the Niagara Movement and finally the NAACP formed in 1909.
	Dec. 5  - organizes new congregation of 51 members, the People’s SDA Church, with support of A.G. Daniells
1904	April – visit with Ellen White in Takoma Park, who notes the Lord’s blessing on his work
1905	June 10-11 – dedicatory services for new building, with ample facilities for school and “treatment rooms,” acquired and financed by People’s Church, membership now ca. 130
1906	April – People’s Church presents petition to GCC to retain tithes and offerings in view of racial exclusion from institutions built in Takoma Park combined with failure to fund separate black institutions.
	Tensions increase when GCC rejects petition, promising future support but no specifics
	Nov. – visit to Battle Creek and alliance with J.H. Kellogg and A.T. Jones, whose controversy with GC leadership was moving toward open schism.
	Dec. – resists A.G. Daniells’ admonition to read and present testimonies from Ellen White regarding the spiritual dangers presented by the Battle Creek opposition.
1907	Jan. 9 – People’s Church declares independence from conference governance
	Feb. – Testimony from Ellen White urges Sheafe to resist influences of Battle Creek and correct his course
	Feb – returns ministerial credentials at request of A.G. Daniells
	March 30 – leaders of First Church, though generally sympathetic with Sheafe, decide to maintain their denominational connection
	Summer – M.C. Strachan, charged with raising a loyal black congregation in Washington, organizes the small Fifth Church; membership reaches 24 by 1908
	Initiatives in 1907 and 1908 by black Adventist ministers Sydney Scott and W.H. Green to mediate reconciliation between Sheafe and the denomination fall short.
	Dec. – Clara Sheafe, 16, dies of tuberculosis
1908	March 4 – Annie C. Sheafe, 43, dies of tuberculosis
1909	May 28 – influenced in part by pressure from the Sheafe crisis, the GC session responds to a proposal from leading black ministers by forming a Negro Department, albeit thoroughly under the control of white ministers
1910	May 18-22 – call for first General Assembly of the People’s S.D.A. Church refers to connections throughout the U.S. and West Indies, but specifics are unclear.
1911	March – marriage to Lucy Parker Whetsel, who openly declares intention to influence Sheafe to restore his connection with the denomination.
1912	Plans for developing People’s Church property in the progressive black community of Fairmount Heights, MD, begun in 1908, move slowly forward with a view toward establishing a home for the “aged.”
	Feb. 3 – K.C. Russell, head of the GC religious liberty work, and former chair of the temporary committee (1903-1909) for supervising the D.C. area churches, accepts invitation to preach the Sabbath sermon at People’s Church
1913	May – reconciliation of Sheafe and People’s Church to the denomination effected at GC session in Takoma Park
	Oct. 14 – daughter, Doris Elizabeth, born
	Dec. – arrival in Los Angeles to begin new assignment based in Furlong Church
1914	Evangelistic effort in L.A. leads to formation of Berean Church, with 30 members
1915	Organizes a congregation of 17 in Watts, building on work led by Bible instructor Jennie Ireland
	Sept. 11 – resignation from Southern California Conference due to conflict over application of Ellen White’s counsels on race relations compiled in Testimonies, Vol. 9
	Sept. 15 – Berean Church withdraws from conference; becomes “Berean Church of Free Seventh Day Adventists”
1916	May – with J.W. Manns of Savannah, GA, announces the new Free Seventh Day Adventist denomination, with “congregational sovereignty” and a “square deal for the Negro.”
	Aug. – joins A.T. Jones and Fred Seeney in conducting evangelistic meetings at People’s Church in Washington
1917	Feb. 25 – People’s Church again declares independence from denominational governance
	Break with J.W. Manns – joint evangelistic effort announced for Jacksonville, FL, cancelled
	Oct. – with Lucy, launches short-lived training school in Jacksonville for “the poorest and most needy class”
1918	Return to Washington and to pastorate of the People’s Church as an independent SDA congregation
1921	600-seat pavilion or “Tabernacle” completed adjacent to the People’s Church building
1922	Feb. 6 – purchase of $100 UNIA bond shows support for Marcus Garvey
1923	“Divine healing revival” led by Milton Grotz at People’s Church leads to brief affiliation with Church of God (Seventh-day).
1924	May 15 – formal separation from Lucy
	June – graduates with degree from Central Chiropractic College and establishes practice as chiropractor in addition to ministry
1926	July – People’s Church affiliates with the Seventh Day Baptist denomination
	Aug. 16 – principal speaker for opening night of the third annual convention of the D.C. chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement Association-African Communities League
1927	May – five-night celebration of 25th anniversary of ministry in Washington
1932	Moves approval of Seventh Day Baptist ministerial credentials for Ludwig R. Conradi
1934	Initiative to promote fellowship between various seventh-day Sabbath observing groups in the D.C. area; continues into 1935
1938	Despite ill-health, continues with pastoral duties until June 12
	June 24 - death, aged 78.

Comments

[Lawrence Taylor]

Wow! I am spent. Just looking at this timeline makes me feel as though I've experienced a lifetime of mixed emotions. I feel like I need to recover from the obvious disappointment that Mr. Sheafe experienced. Thank you Doug for your passion to uncover some of the richness of our Adventist history and thank you for not being afraid to shine a light on the darkness that is in our history.

Lawrence

[Trina]

One of the most comprehensive timelines on Elder Sheafe and black adventist history that I have seen in recent times.

Trina-member of Free SDA congregation

[Constance Jones]

Thank you for this most inspiring information about Elder Sheafe and the early work in the Adventist church.I had never heard of him until I was looking on praize vision and saw his name,and started to read about him.Looking at this timeline makes me feel like I'm experiencing his disappointments too.Thank you for this enlightenment. Constance

[Dr. Edward L. Richardson]

The problem of racism has been deep and strong in America.Sister White dealt withn it and tried to mix the races in the Church, but the pressures were so great against her that she could only come up with "The Southern Work".
Elder Sheafe was stung with racism and division in the Adventist Church, and because of his high intelligence and keen sensitivity was led to break with the Church as did several others.This was very unfortunate.
Only as we as Blacks have submitted to the plan God has had for our race, have we been able to make humble, spiritual and rapid progress. God allowed powerful and irresistible forces outside the Church to bring about positive changes inside the Church as well as in the nation. Marvelous and mysterious have been the workings of the Lord!

[Garnett Weir]

wow, oh wow. Fantastic information. Thanks Dwight. I will have to get the book.

[Lenora]

Thank you for taking the time to research...I'm so happy to find this reference information. This increases the knowledge of "my kind of people"...makes me wanna shout!

[Karen F]

I have heard of Elder Sheafe while attending a Black History seminar for the Senior Youth Leadership Course, and I have been searching high and low for addtional inforamtion on him. Praise GOD for this site I am moved my the struggles and passion this gentleman had. But I have a story to tell To God Be the Glory Great things he has done, we have come a long way and by faith will are and still travelling on. Amen!
Thank for allthe information you have given.

[David R Hearon]

Thank you Dr. Morgan for your important work in revealing the life of this great man of God. I say that hoping in Christ's redeeming righteousness for him. I will continue to read your accounts of this endowed and remarkable servant of Jesus, trusting that he ultimately came to understand Ellen White's Vol. 9 comments as God intended them to be understood.