Quinn Chapel Archives, 1870-2006

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  • Collection ID ARCHIVES 2001/06
  • Creator Names Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Chicago, Ill.)
  • Title Archives, 1870-2006.
  • Physical description 5.5 linear feet
  • Collection arrangement The materials are arranged into four series: Administrative Materials, Quinn Chapel Events, Reverend Archibald J. Carey, Jr. and Photographs.
  • Access and usage restrictions Available for research in the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Chicago Public Library.
  • Collection summary The oldest African American congregation in Chicago, Quinn Chapel A.M.E. was founded in 1844. The archive includes anniversary books, programs, newsletters, membership registers, financial records and photographs.
  • Biographical or Historical Note As the home of Chicago's oldest African American congregation, Quinn Chapel A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) Church has a long history of activism in the city's African American community. The church started in 1844 (only a decade after Chicago incorporated) as a prayer group of seven. As the group grew it was admitted into the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The church is named after Bishop Paul William Quinn. After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 the church became an important station in the Underground Railroad. In 1871, the chapel was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. The church's congregants became nomads once again, holding services in a series of temporary locations. In 1891, they purchased a new site on 24th Street and Wabash Avenue, where the church continutes to be a center for African American activism in Chicago. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and W.E.B. DuBois are just a few of the figures who spread their message from the Quinn Chapel pulpit.
  • Finding Aids Note Finding aid available in the Harsh Research Collection, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Chicago Public Library and on the library's web site.
  • Acquisition information Donated by Reverend Thomas Higginbothan, pastor of Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church, December 2000
  • Names
    • Carey, Archibald J. (Archibald James), 1908-1981 Archives.
    • King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968 Archives.
    • Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Chicago, Ill.) Archives.
    • African Methodist Episcopal Church Illinois Chicago.
  • Subjects
    • African Americans Religious life Illinois Chicago.
    • African American churches Illinois Chicago.
  • Finding aid URL http://www.chipublib.org/fa-quinn-chapel-a-m-e-church-archives/