Jump to content

William A. Creditt

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Abraham Creditt
William Abraham Creditt, c. 1912
BornJuly 14, 1864
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedJune 28, 1921(1921-06-28) (aged 56)[1]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Burial placeEden Cemetery, Collingdale, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other namesWilliam Abraham Credit,[2] Wm. A. Creditt, W. A. Creditt
EducationLincoln University (BA, DD, LLD), Newton Theological Institute
Occupation(s)Baptist minister, educator, school founder, civil rights activist
SpouseStella Vessells (m. 1890–?)

Rev. William Abraham Creditt (1864 – 1921),[1] also known as W. A. Creditt, was an American Baptist minister, educator, civil rights activist, and school founder.[3] He worked to uplift the African American community. Creditt co-founded the Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School in Pennsylvania; and was president of the New England Baptist Convention.[1][4]

Early life and education

[edit]

William Abraham Creditt was born July 14, 1864, in Baltimore.[2][4][5][6][7] His parents were free Blacks, Mary (née Lindsey, or O'Neil) and Bushrod Creditt.[8][9] His brother James O'Neil Creditt was a physician and co-founder of Provident Hospital, and his brother Daniel Creditt was a principal in Baltimore.[10][11][12] He attended public school in Baltimore.[8]

Creditt attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a B.A. degree in 1885; followed by study at the Newton Theological Institute (now Andover Newton Theological School) in Newton, Massachusetts, where he graduated in May 1889.[4][5][6][9]

Creditt was bestowed a D.D. degree in 1898 from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania; and a Ph.D. from Guadalupe College in Seguin, Texas the same year.[5][7] In 1911, he was granted a LL.D. degree from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.[4]

Career

[edit]

While in college, Creditt was a member of the First African Baptist Church in Philadelphia.[5] By June 1889, Creditt was ordained by the American Baptist Home Mission Board.[5]

Creditt became a professor and preacher at State University at Louisville (now Simmons College of Kentucky).[5] Starting around 1890, he taught at State Normal School for Colored Persons (now Kentucky State University), and preached at the First Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church at Frankfort, Kentucky.[5]

From 1891 until 1897, he preached at Berean Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.[5] Some notable attendees to his sermons included Frederick Douglass, John R. Lynch, and Blanche K. Bruce.[8] Creditt also lectured at Howard University, which eventually was developed into a student training program for ministers.[8]

From 1897 to 1915, Creditt served as the 7th pastor of the Cherry Street Baptist Church (now the First African Baptist Church) in Philadelphia.[2][5][8][13] Creditt founded the Colored Farmers' Alliance of Pennsylvania.[2] For four years he served as president of the New England Baptist Convention, from 1908 until 1912.[1][9] Creditt also served as the president of the Cherry Building and Loan Association; treasurer of Reliable Mutual Aid Life Insurance Company; and was a member of the Republican State Central Committee from 1911 to 1912.[2][8]

In 1905, Creditt and John S. Trower founded the Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School (DIAS) in Downingtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania, an African American vocational training school.[8] Creditt served as the president of the school.[14][15]

He died on June 28, 1921, in his home in Philadelphia.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "Rev. Wm. A. Creditt Dead". The Afro-American (Obituary). July 1, 1921. p. 7. Retrieved June 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bacote, Samuel William (1913). "William Abraham Credit, A.B., A.M., B.O., D.D., LL.D.". Who's Who Among the Colored Baptists of the United States. The Library of Congress. Kansas City, Missouri: Franklin Hudson Publishing Co. pp. 40–42 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Merrill, Philip J. (2023). Baltimore and the Civil Rights Movement. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-4671-6000-1.
  4. ^ a b c d White, Charles Frederick (1912). "Rev. William Abraham Creditt". Who's Who in Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: A.M.E. Book Concern. pp. 44–46 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Brooks, Charles H. (1923). "Pastorate Of Rev. Wm. A. Creditt, 1897 to 1915". Official History of the First African Baptist Church. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: CH Brooks Corp. Counsel. pp. 41–43 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b Bragg, George Freeman (1925). "William Abraham Creditt, D.D., LL.D.". Men of Maryland. Baltimore, Maryland: Church Advocate Press. p. 137 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ a b Gibson, John William (1920). Progress of a Race. Naperville, Illinois: J. L. Nichols. pp. 356–357 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Merrill, Philip J.; Aiono, Uluaipou-O-Malo (August 30, 2000). "Self Help through Self Work". The Baltimore Sun. p. 122. Retrieved June 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c Mather, Frank Lincoln, ed. (1915). "Creditt, William Abraham". Who's Who of the Colored Race: A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent. Vol. 1. pp. 80–81.
  10. ^ Shepperd, Gladys B. (Nov 1967) "Early Medical and Health Progress in Maryland" Journal of the National Medical Association. 53(6): 627-32 Baltimore, Maryland.
  11. ^ "The Late Dr. J. O. Creditt". The Baltimore Sun (Obituary). May 11, 1898. p. 7. Retrieved June 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Daniel Creditt School Head Dies at 57". The Afro-American. August 13, 1927. p. 1. Retrieved June 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "The First African Baptist Church 1600‐06 Christian Street" (PDF). Nomination of the First African Baptist Church, 1600–06 Christian Street for the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. October 9, 2015. p. 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 16, 2021.
  14. ^ "The Dowington Industrial School". New Pittsburgh Courier. July 5, 1912. p. 1. Retrieved June 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "New Principal Is Named For 'Aggie' School". Brandywine Archive. June 24, 1965. p. 7. Retrieved June 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Abraham Creditt.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_A._Creditt&oldid=1294365313"