Henry Adams (pastor)

Henry Adams (December 17, 1802 – November 3, 1872) was a Baptist pastor and leader in the black community in 19th-century Kentucky. He was born to free parents in Franklin County, Georgia, and became ordained at age 23.[1] He preached throughout the Deep South before moving to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1829, where he became minister to black members of First Baptist Church.[1]

Henry Adams
Born	(1802-12-17)December 17, 1802 Franklin County, Georgia
Died	November 3, 1872(1872-11-03) (aged 69) Louisville, Kentucky
Occupation	Minister

In 1842, his 45-member congregation eventually withdrew to form First African Baptist Church, which was later renamed Fifth Street Baptist Church.[1] It was the second black Baptist church in the state. He remained pastor of the congregation until his retirement in 1871.[1] He ordained a number of prominent pastors during his term, including, Daniel Abraham Gaddie and Andrew Heath. Heath was also his assistant and successor at Fifth Street Baptist Church.

Adams was self-educated and became a respected biblical scholar, and led the black Baptist community in Louisville for decades.[1] Adams stressed that church-related education and self-help were the keys to improvement of the situation of blacks in America.[1] He organized black congregations during the Civil War and served as moderator of the General Association of Colored Baptists[1] on August 3, 1869.[2] He also taught night school, attended by many slaves and free blacks before and after emancipation, including William Henry Steward and Bartlett Taylor.[3]

Later in life, he led a movement that culminated in the founding of the Kentucky Normal and Theological Institute (later Simmons College of Kentucky) in 1879.[1]

He married Margaret Corbin, sister of Joseph Carter Corbin, in 1842 and they had five children.[1] He died on November 3, 1872, due to a heart attack.[2]