Item #010030 1858 – Although enmeshed in the Third Great Awakening, a New York woman finds a nearby African-American church service to be an “unpardonable” “mock of religion.”. “Mary”.
1858 – Although enmeshed in the Third Great Awakening, a New York woman finds a nearby African-American church service to be an “unpardonable” “mock of religion.”
1858 – Although enmeshed in the Third Great Awakening, a New York woman finds a nearby African-American church service to be an “unpardonable” “mock of religion.”

1858 – Although enmeshed in the Third Great Awakening, a New York woman finds a nearby African-American church service to be an “unpardonable” “mock of religion.”

Poughkeepsie to Nile, New York: 1858. Envelope or Cover.

This four-page letter was sent by “Mary” is datelined “Po’keepsie Apr 11, 1858” to a friend in Nile, New York. The accompanying envelope bears a 3-cent Washington stamp (Scott #26) that has been canceled with a circular Poughkeepsie postmark dated April 12. The letter is in nice shape.

In the midst of Third Great Awakening, Mary begins her letter by expressing her regrets that illness prevented her from witnessing the baptism of twenty-five new members of her Baptist Church. She further queries her friend if she had been to any revivals, noting there had been one in every Poughkeepsie church. However, she reports that services held by

“The colored population make the most noise. We live near one of their Church’s & they dance, sing, scream & jump enough to craze the whole neighborhood. They are not converted unless the Convert gets on to the floor & rolls around & jumps up so as to touch the wall. Then they form a ring around them & dance & sing. It is said that two of their members have been in a trance & that last Sabbath one was to tell what she saw while in that state. Father & Edward have been to see them & said they were disgusted with such actions. Some say it is as good as a Theatre. I would not like to go to such meetings. God I do not think is deaf or requires us to dance in order to be one of his chosen ones. I like to hear a good sermon & prayer as well as any one, but a mock of religion is unpardonable to me. . ..”

. Very good. Item #010030

A to-the-point description of an antebellum African-American church service from a decidedly white perspective.

Scarce. At the time of listing, nothing similar is for sale in the trade, and the Rare Book Hub lists nothing similar as ever having appeared at auction. OCLC identifies three institutions that hold similar descriptions of African-American church services.

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Price: $500.00

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