✊🏾BHM 2026 Notables by QCT | Post #14 Pioneers of Catawba Presbytery & JCSU Founders

 

✊🏾BHM 2026 Notables by QCT | Post #14

Pioneers of Catawba Presbytery & JCSU Founders

⛪Rev. Samuel Carothers Alexander (1833–1901)

Rev. Samuel C. Alexander pastored Steele Creek and Pleasant Hill Presbyterian churches in Mecklenburg County during the Civil War era. Post-emancipation, he hosted worship for freedpeople in his home, donated land for McClintock Presbyterian Church—Charlotte's first Black Presbyterian congregation—and co-founded Catawba Presbytery (1866), the nation's first all-Black presbytery. As director of the newly chartered Freedmen's College (1867, later Biddle Institute and JCSU), he trained Black preachers and teachers to lead Reconstruction-era communities.

⛪Rev. Willis L. Miller (d. 1917)

Rev. Willis L. Miller co-founded Catawba Presbytery in 1866 with Alexander and Murchland, spinning off Black congregations like St. Lloyd Presbyterian from white parent churches such as Sharon. As associate director of Freedmen's College/JCSU (1867), he championed its mission to educate freedpeople as ministers and educators. His efforts built autonomous Black Presbyterian institutions that sustained worship, schools, and mutual aid amid Jim Crow Mecklenburg.

⛪Rev. Sidney Smith Murchland (1807–1880)

White ally Rev. Sidney S. Murchland, pastor at Bethany Presbyterian (Iredell, near Mecklenburg), donated land in 1865 for Freedom Presbyterian Church and Bethany School, aiding Black independence post-slavery. He co-organized Catawba Presbytery (1866), enabling churches like Murkland Presbyterian in Charlotte and supporting the 1867 founding of JCSU/Biddle Institute through presbytery networks. His interracial partnership advanced Black self-determination in faith and education.

🔗 Tickets & Tour Info: charlottepilgrimagetour.com

📍 Charlotte, NC | 28^th Annual QCT Pilgrimage Tour^sm

#BHM2026 #BlackFaithLeaders #JCSUHistory #CharlotteNC #CatawbaPresbytery #ReconstructionEra #BlackChurchHistory #PresbyterianLegacy #FreedmensEducation #HistoricCharlotte #TrailblazersOfFaith #QueenCityTours

📚 Sources:

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ncschgs/mclntkch.htm

https://landmarkscommission.org/2016/12/13/st-lloyd-presbyterian-church-cemetery/

https://landmarkscommission.org/2016/12/19/murkland-presbyterian-church/

https://www.iredell.lib.nc.us/Blog.asp?IID=39

https://www.jcsu.edu/who-we-are/our-history

https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2024/01/16/johnson-c-smith-university-l-101