Lemuel Haynes
Lemuel Haynes (Library of Congress)
Veteran of the Revolutionary War, poet, and preacher, Lemuel Haynes (1753–1833) was the most prolific African American writer of his era. Haynes was born in Connecticut. His mother was a white indentured servant and his father was an enslaved African. Haynes was sent to serve as an indentured servant in Massachusetts. Released from service when he was 21, Haynes signed up with the Minutemen, joined the rebels at the siege of Boston, and fought with Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys.
In 1780, Haynes was licensed to preach, and led an all-white congregation in Massachusetts. From 1788 to 1818 he served as minister of a white congregation in West Rutland, Vermont, publishing sermons and essays on racial equality.
