John Gloucester

John Gloucester is a Tennessee historical marker in Greene County.

Greene Co., old entrance to Tusculum College, old Hwy 11E.

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Gideon Blackburn, a Presbyterian minister, purchased and sought to free a slave named Jack. Through Blackburn's tenacity and by action of the Blount County Court, he received his freedom and the name John Gloucester in 1807. Educated at Greenville (Tusculum) College, Gloucester became a Presbyterian missionary in 1809. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Philadelphia physician and Gloucester’s friend, assisted in freeing his wife and children. The first African American ordained as a Presbyterian minister, Gloucester became a respected pastor and teacher in Philadelphia. His four sons became Presbyterian ministers.

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TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1796 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1797 · Tennassee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1809 · United States of America, southern part. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1812 · Kentucky. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1814 · Kentucky (Mathew Carey, 1814) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

John Gloucester

Historical maps covering this location

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