John Wesley Cromwell
John Wesley Cromwell
ENTRY

John Wesley Cromwell (1846–1927)

SUMMARY

John Wesley Cromwell was an educator, lawyer, and journalist. Born enslaved in Portsmouth, he became free after his mother, who was manumitted in 1849, purchased and freed his father and siblings. The family settled in Philadelphia, where Cromwell attended the Institute for Colored Youth, a Quaker school. He taught at several schools between 1865 and 1871, some of which were located in Portsmouth and Norfolk County. Cromwell acquired his law degree at Howard University and likely was the first African American attorney to argue before the Interstate Commerce Commission. He also published and edited the People’s Advocate, a weekly newspaper, from 1876 to 1884; established a series of intellectual associations, such as the Negro American Society and the Bethel Literary and Historical Association; and helped found the American Negro Academy. He resumed his career in education in 1899. Cromwell was a strong advocate for industrial and agricultural education, but later came to believe that African American leaders should also seek political solutions to racial problems. He died at his Washington, D.C., residence in 1927.

Contributor: Donald W. Gunter

Early Years

Willis Hodges Cromwell

Willis Hodges Cromwell

Cromwell was born on September 5, 1846, in Portsmouth. His parents, Willis Hodges Cromwell and Elizabeth Carney Cromwell, were both slaves. Yeates’s Free School, located in Nansemond County, owned his father but permitted him to live in Portsmouth, where he worked as a carpenter and transported freight aboard his small sloop. In a scenario probably devised by Willis Cromwell, in January 1849 B. W. Dobson purchased Elizabeth Cromwell from Thomas Twine, of Elizabeth City County. Evidently Dobson set her free, because in that same month, most likely with her husband’s earnings, she paid $2,950 to Twine for their seven children, ranging in age from almost two and a half years old to twenty-five. In July 1850 she paid $300 for her husband and in June of the next year put her mark on documents that freed him and their children. Once free, the family settled in Philadelphia. John Wesley Cromwell attended grade school there until 1856, when he enrolled at the Institute for Colored Youth, a Quaker school that included instruction in the classical languages, history, and mathematics.

Teaching Career

After graduating in 1864 with a cash prize for superiority in Greek and Latin studies, Cromwell took a teaching job in Columbia, Pennsylvania. That school soon closed, however, and from the spring of 1865 until the end of the year he operated a private school in Portsmouth. The Baltimore Association for the Moral and Educational Improvement of the Colored People then employed him, but Cromwell’s stay in Maryland was cut short in March 1866, when someone fired a gun at him and unknown persons burned down the church in which he held school. He returned to Portsmouth, where he taught Sunday school at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Believing strongly in the importance of education for African Americans, Cromwell declared that he desired “to assist in the elevation of my own down-trodden, unfortunate, illiterate yet not God-forsaken people.” In the autumn of 1866 the American Missionary Association hired him as a teacher at Providence Church, in Norfolk County. The school closed in June 1867, and for a time he was an agent for the Society of Friends.

In 1867 Cromwell may have attended the Republican Party‘s first and second state conventions held in Richmond, although his name does not appear on the official lists of delegates. Later he was an organizer for the Republican Party and for the Philadelphia-based Union League Association. Returning to the classroom, he taught in Wytheville during the winter of 1869–1870, in Richmond the following year, and in Southampton County during the summer of 1871.

Lawyer and Journalist

Cromwell entered Howard University’s law school in the autumn of 1871 and three years later graduated and was admitted to the bar. Having in the meantime passed the civil service examination in 1872 and become a clerk at the Treasury Department, he rose through the ranks to become chief examiner of the money order department. Later he worked in the auditor’s office of the post office department until June 30, 1885, when he was dismissed, probably for political reasons, soon after a Democrat became president.

After leaving the Treasury Department, Cromwell practiced law. When he appeared before the Interstate Commerce Commission as counsel for the plaintiff in William H. Heard v. the Georgia Railroad Company in December 1887, he was likely the first African American attorney to argue a case before that new body. Cromwell resumed his career in education in September 1889 and taught or served as principal at several District of Columbia schools until at least 1919. In 1914 he received an honorary degree from Wilberforce University, in Ohio.

The People's Advocate

The People’s Advocate

While working for the federal government and studying for his law degree, Cromwell continued strong advocacy of African American education. At a Richmond meeting of the Virginia Educational and Literary Association late in August 1875, he was elected second vice president and delivered a keynote speech before the convention, later published as an Address on the Difficulties of the Colored Youth, In Obtaining an Education in the Virginias (1875). Cromwell also chaired the convention’s Committee on Organization, which created the Virginia Educational and Historical Association, and was named president of the new organization.

In April 1876 Cromwell published the inaugural issue of the People’s Advocate in Alexandria. By 1878 he had moved the weekly newspaper to Washington, D.C., where its pages continued to reflect his concerns about racial issues and the importance of studying history and literature. Cromwell remained proprietor and managing editor at least through the spring of 1884, when he wrote a history of area black churches that ran in three installments. In 1880 he was a key figure in founding the National Colored Press Association (after 1894 the National Afro-American Press Association).

Organizer and Educator

A gifted organizer, Cromwell in 1877 helped found the short-lived Negro American Society. In 1881 he helped establish the Bethel Literary and Historical Association, whose meetings attracted Frederick Douglass and other leading black scholars and activists. Cromwell served on its advisory board, sat on the executive committee, and in 1886 and 1887 was elected president. To commemorate its fifteenth anniversary he wrote the History of the Bethel Literary and Historical Association (1896). During this period Cromwell was elected an honorary member of the Philosophian Literary Society of Lincoln University. He sat on the board of the Progressive Co-operative Society, was an officer in the Mutual Benefit Association, and represented the District of Columbia at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, which opened in New Orleans in December 1884.

Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute

A staunch supporter of industrial and agricultural education, Cromwell in 1879 was president of the Banneker Industrial Education Association. In May of that year he attended the Nashville meeting of the National Conference of Colored Men of the United States, was elected its secretary, and chaired the Committee on Education and Labor. Cromwell’s essay in the Southern Workman entitled “The Chance for Skilled Negro Labor in the South” (1897) hailed the new trade school at Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (later Hampton University) as a forerunner of educational institutions that would boost black participation in the region’s industrial development. He attended the inaugural meeting of the Hampton Negro Conference in 1897 and continued to serve on its various committees until at least 1903. Cromwell initially supported Booker T. Washington‘s vision of black education and defended him against critics at a meeting of the Bethel Literary and Historical Association in 1895. Cromwell’s support of Washington waned, however, as Cromwell came to believe that African American leaders should subordinate the quest for education and material success to seeking political solutions to racial problems.

Cromwell played a key role in founding the American Negro Academy (ANA), and at its organizational meeting on March 5, 1897, he was elected corresponding secretary, an office he held until 1919. As a member of the executive committee between 1898 and 1903, he emerged as a dominant force and became the public face of the ANA. Elected the academy’s fourth president in 1919, Cromwell made strong efforts to revitalize the organization. He chose not to seek reelection the following year, probably because of his age. During the absences of his successor, Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, Cromwell conducted association business as a member and occasional chair of the executive committee.

The Negro in American History

The Negro in American History

Desiring to promote the work of black scholars, Cromwell in 1910 helped establish the American Negro Monograph Company. The enterprise published four papers during its eleven months in business. His interest in book collecting led to an association with other bibliophiles, including Schomburg, with whom he corresponded frequently between 1912 and 1926. In 1915 the two men helped organize the Negro Book Collectors Exchange, with Cromwell as vice president. Throughout his career Cromwell wrote on educational and historical subjects, including The Early Negro Convention Movement and The Jim Crow Negro (both 1904), The Negro in American History: Men and Women Eminent in the Evolution of the American of African Descent (1914), The Challenge of the Disfranchised: A Plea for the Enforcement of the 15th Amendment (1924), and articles for the Journal of Negro History entitled “The Aftermath of Nat Turner’s Insurrection” (1920) and “The First Negro Churches in the District of Columbia” (1922), a revised version of his history of black churches.

John Wesley Cromwell and Family

On November 13, 1873, Cromwell married Lucy A. McGuinn in Washington, D.C. They had five daughters and two sons, one of whom died in infancy. His wife died on April 6, 1887, and on October 20, 1892, he married Annie E. Conn in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. They had no children. Cromwell died at his Washington residence on April 14, 1927, and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the District of Columbia.

Major Works

  • The Early Negro Convention Movement (1904)
  • The Jim Crow Negro (1904)
  • The Negro in American History: Men and Women Eminent in the Evolution of the American of African Descent (1914)
  • The Challenge of the Disfranchised: A Plea for the Enforcement of the 15th Amendment (1924)

MAP
TIMELINE
September 5, 1846
John Wesley Cromwell is born enslaved in Portsmouth. His parents are Willis Hodges Cromwell and Elizabeth Carney Cromwell.
June 1851
John Wesley Cromwell's mother, Elizabeth Carney Cromwell, secures his freedom along with that of his father and siblings.
1856
John Wesley Cromwell enrolls at the Institute for Colored Youth, a Quaker school in Philadelphia.
1864
John Wesley Cromwell graduates from the Institute for Colored Youth, a Quaker school in Philadelphia, with a cash prize for superiority in Greek and Latin studies. He takes a teaching job in Columbia, Pennsylvania, at a school that soon closes.
1865
John Wesley Cromwell operates a private school in Portsmouth.
March 1866
John Wesley Cromwell leaves his position at the Baltimore Association for the Moral and Educational Improvement of the Colored People after someone fires a gun at him and unknown persons burn down the church in which he holds school. Cromwell returns to Portsmouth, where he teaches Sunday school.
Autumn 1866—June 1867
John Wesley Cromwell teaches at Providence Church in Norfolk County.
1867
John Wesley Cromwell may attend the Republican Party's first and second state conventions held in Richmond, although his name does not appear on the official lists of delegates.
Winter 1869—1870
John Wesley Cromwell teaches at a school in Wytheville.
1871
John Wesley Cromwell teaches at a school in Richmond.
Summer 1871
John Wesley Cromwell teaches at a school in Southampton County.
Autumn 1871
John Wesley Cromwell enters Howard University's law school.
1872
John Wesley Cromwell passes the civil service examination and becomes a clerk at the Treasury Department. He will rise through the ranks to become chief examiner of the money order department.
November 13, 1873
John Wesley Cromwell marries Lucy A. McGuinn in Washington, D.C. They will have five daughters and two sons, one of whom dies in infancy.
1874
John Wesley Cromwell graduates from Howard University's law school and is admitted to the bar.
August 1875
At a meeting of the Virginia Educational and Literary Association in Richmond, John Wesley Cromwell is elected second vice president. He delivers a keynote speech before the convention, later published as an Address on the Difficulties of the Colored Youth, In Obtaining an Education in the Virginias.
1876—1884
John Wesley Cromwell publishes the weekly newspaper the People's Advocate in Alexandria and then in Washington, D.C.
1877
John Wesley Cromwell helps found the short-lived Negro American Society.
1879
John Wesley Cromwell is president of the Banneker Industrial Education Association.
May 1879
John Wesley Cromwell attends the Nashville meeting of the National Conference of Colored Men of the United States, is elected its secretary, and chairs the Committee on Education and Labor.
1880
John Wesley Cromwell is a key figure in founding the National Colored Press Association (after 1894 the National Afro-American Press Association).
1881
John Wesley Cromwell helps establish the Bethel Literary and Historical Association, whose meetings attract Frederick Douglass and other leading black scholars and activists.
December 1884
John Wesley Cromwell represents the District of Columbia at the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, which opens in New Orleans at this time.
June 30, 1885
Having worked in the auditor's office of the post office department until this date, John Wesley Cromwell is dismissed, probably for political reasons.
1886—1887
John Wesley Cromwell is twice elected president of the Bethel Literary and Historical Association.
April 6, 1887
Lucy A. McGuinn Cromwell, wife of John Wesley Cromwell, dies.
December 1887
John Wesley Cromwell appears before the Interstate Commerce Commission as counsel for the plaintiff in William H. Heard v. the Georgia Railroad Company. He is likely the first African American attorney to argue a case before this body.
September 1889—1919
John Wesley Cromwell resumes his career in education and teaches or serves as principal at several District of Columbia schools.
October 20, 1892
John Wesley Cromwell marries Annie E. Conn in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. They do not have any children.
1895
John Wesley Cromwell supports Booker T. Washington's vision of black education and defends him against critics at a meeting of the Bethel Literary and Historical Association.
1896
John Cromwell writes the History of the Bethel Literary and Historical Association to commemorate the association's fifteenth anniversary.
1897
John Wesley Cromwell writes "The Chance for Skilled Negro Labor in the South," which hails the new trade school at Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute as a forerunner of educational institutions that would boost black participation in the region's industrial development. Cromwell attends the inaugural meeting of the Hampton Negro Conference.
March 5, 1897
The American Negro Academy holds its organizational meeting at which John Wesley Cromwell is elected corresponding secretary. Cromwell holds this office until 1919.
1910
Desiring to promote the work of black scholars, John Wesley Cromwell helps establish the American Negro Monograph Company.
1914
John Wesley Cromwell receives an honorary degree from Wilberforce University in Ohio.
1915
John Wesley Cromwell and Arthur Alfonso Schomburg help organize the Negro Book Collectors Exchange, with Cromwell as vice president.
April 14, 1927
John Wesley Cromwell dies at his residence in Washington, D.C. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.
FURTHER READING
  • Cromwell, Adelaide M. Unveiled Voices, Unvarnished Memories: The Cromwell Family in Slavery and Segregation, 1692–1972. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2007.
  • Gunter, Donald W. “Cromwell, John Wesley.” In the Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Vol. 3, edited by Sara B. Bearss, et al., 565–567. Richmond: Library of Virginia, 2006.
  • Moss Jr., Alfred A. The American Negro Academy: Voice of the Talented Tenth. Baton Rogue: Louisiana State University Press, 1981.
  • Simmons, William J. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. 1968 ed. New York: Arno Press, 1887.
CITE THIS ENTRY
APA Citation:
Gunter, Donald & Dictionary of Virginia Biography. John Wesley Cromwell (1846–1927). (2020, December 07). In Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/cromwell-john-wesley-1846-1927.
MLA Citation:
Gunter, Donald, and Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "John Wesley Cromwell (1846–1927)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 02 Jun. 2023
Last updated: 2021, December 22
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