Cobb EARLY COUNTY, GA - Rev. Samuel George Means, D.D. ***************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm *********************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Saundra Brown REV. SAMUEL GEORGE MEANS Ph.D was born on 8 Nov 1873 in Early Co., Georgia. He appeared on the census in 1880 in Early Co, GA with his parents. He was a Blacksmith before 1894 in Early Co, GA. He was ordained in 1894 in GA. He Communicant on 12 Nov 1894 in North Georgia Conference - AME. He was a Canton, GA AME Minister - 1st Pastorate (3 yrs) between 18 Nov 1895 and 1898 in Canton, GA. He was an Acworth, GA AME Minister between 1898 and 1900 in Acworth, GA. He appeared on the census in 1900 in Acworth City, Acworth Dist 851, Cobb Co., GA. Vol.. 15, ED 32 sheet 7A, line 31, stamped p. 60, Roll #188, T623. Here it says that Samuel was born in Florida. He was a Cedartown, GA AME Minister between 1900 and 1902 in Cedartown, GA. He was a Dalton, GA AME Minister in 1902/3 in Dalton, GA. He was a Cartersville, GA AME Minister between 1903 and 1905 in Cartersville, GA. He was a Milledgeville, GA AME Minister in 1905/6 in Milledgeville, GA. He was a Sparta, GA AME Minister between 1906 and 1909 in Sparta, GA. He was educated Theology, Turner Seminary, Morris Brown College in 1908. He received a degree in Doctorate of Divinity in 1908 in Campbell College, Jackson, Mississippi. He received a degree in Doctorate of Divinity in 1908 in Turner Seminary, Morris Brown University. He appeared on the census in 1910 in Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA. ED73? (hard to read), Vol.. 44, sheet 187?, stamped p. 28, p. 205B, listed on 181 E. Merritt Avenue, Atlanta, GA, Ward 4 - Samuel age 51, Faraba age 35, James age 7. He appeared on the census in 1920 in Woodlawn Borough (Aliquippa), Beaver Co., PA. House #503 on Washington Street. Vol.. 52, ED72, sheet 41A, line 1, SD22, stamped 278, Roll 1532, M520 Soundex code. LIVING ALONE! He was an AME Minister in Shiloh Methodist Church (now Cosmopolitan). SAMUEL GEORGE MEANS is listed in the book called BLACK BIOGRAPHY 1790 - 1950, A Cumulative Index, Vol.ume 2 K- Z, Editors - Randall K. Burkett, Nancy Hall Burkett, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 1991 Chadwyck-Healey Inc. The information there reads as follows: MEANS, SAMUEL GEORGE Born: 8 November 1873 [NOTE: This is a one year discrepancy with the 1870 census which says that he was 8 years old then.] Place of birth: Early County, GA. Occupation: Religious worker, Domestic, Missionary Religion: African Methodist Episcopal Biography: 052 - Vol.. I, p. 508f; Caldwell, Arthur Bunyan, HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO AND HIS INSTITUTIONS, Georgia Edition, Vol.. I and II, A. B. Caldwell Publishing Co., Atlanta, 1917; 1920 Title No: 052 (13mf) " REV. SAMUEL GEORGE MEANS, one of the most efficient and successful pastor and evangelists in the A.M.E. connection in Georgia, is a man who, without early advantages, has won a position of prominence and usefulness in his denomination. He is a South Georgia man, having been born in Early county on November 8, 1873. His parents were Thomas and Elizabeth (Leath) Means. His grandmother, Rebecca Leath, was a native of Richmond, Virginia, and is said to have been half Indian. Samuel was early trained to work and was taught the blacksmith's trade by his father. His educational advantages were very limited. He has not permitted this, however, to discourage him, nor can it be said that he lacks education. He has been a student all his life. He was converted at the age of sixteen and at once became active in the work of the church. When grown to young manhood, he moved to Atlanta and worked at his trade. He joined the Shiloh Methodist Church, now known as the Cosmopolitan, which he serves by special request of the members, who consider Elder Means one of their own "boys". Feeling called to the work of the ministry, he was licensed in 1894 and joined the conference in November of the same year. In order better to prepare himself for his vocation, he took the Theological course at Turner Seminary, Morris Brown University, completing same in 1908. So conspicuous has been his success, so noteworthy the work he has accomplished in various fields, that Campbell College, Jackson, Mississippi, conferred on him the degree of D. D. in 1908. He says that his mother's prayer were perhaps the greatest influence in shaping his life for good. In his reading he lays special emphasis on the Bible, theological works and books of sermons. Elder Means went direct from the blacksmith's shop to the pulpit. His first pastorate was at Canton Mission, which he served or three years. Some idea of his success is indicated by the fact that he built five houses of worship in three years. When he was moved, the conference sent two men to take care of the work which had become self-supporting under his administration, in the face of the fact that fifteen pastors preceding him had failed to bring the work up to that standard. From Canton he went to Acworth for two years, paid off $1000 of debt, built a schoolhouse worth $425 and paid for that. He was then sent to Cedartown, where he remained for two years, repairing the church at an expense of $1200, all of which was paid, and adding largely to the membership of the church. This was done under adverse conditions to begin with. His next pastorate was at Dalton, which he served for one year, rebuilt the church and left it without debt. From Dalton he went to Cartersville for two years, where he paid off a debt of $600 and left a balance of $1000.25 towards the building of a new brick church, which has since been completed. While at Cartersville, he was brought into close personal contact with the late Sam P. Jones, and acknowledges with gratitude the help given him by that distinguished evangelist. His next pastorate was at Milledgeville, where he paid a debt of $580. The following year he went to Sparta, where he remained for three years, paid the church debt of $300, built a seven-room parsonage worth $1600. At the end of that time he was promoted to the Presiding Eldership of the South Atlanta District. While this was a small district, he raised for the quarto- centennial fund and educational purposes, $1050.00 and in two years' time added 1001 members to the district. From this work he was sent to St. James Station at Columbus, where he remained for the full quadrennium. Here he organized the kindergarten department of his Sunday School, built a new Sunday School room and repaired the church at a cost of more than $2000.00. In 1915 he was sent to Rome Station, where his first task, as usual, was to pay off a church debt, after which he built a modern two-story, ten-room parsonage at a cost of more than $2000.00. By special request, in 1916, he was assigned to the Cosmopolitan Station at Atlanta. Dr. Means has been quite successful as an evangelist, and while not neglecting his pastoral work ha traveled extensively in a number of States doing revival work. Were he to respond to half the calls that came to him for work of this sort, he would have no time left for his home church. Some years he averages almost a sermon a day and something of the fruitfulness of his ministry can be understood from the fact that he has added to his denomination in the twenty-one years of his ministry nearly 17,000 members. He was a delegate to the General Conference meeting in Kansas City. Among secret orders Dr. Means is identified with the Odd Fellows , Masons, Good Samaritans, Supreme Circle and Pythians . On December 21st, 1893, he was married to Miss Ferriba Clark, a daughter of Julius and Caroline Clark. They have one son, James George Means, and own a comfortable home in Columbus." There is an ILLUSTRATION in book #293, on p. 158, Wright, Richard Robert, Jr., Philadelphia, 1916, Title No: 293 (5mf), CENTENNIAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH Book Concern of the A.M.E. Church, Centennial Encyclopaedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Containing Principally the Biographies of the Men an http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/wright/wright.html MEANS, REV. SAMUEL GEORGE, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Means, both African Methodists, was born November 8, 1873 in Early County, Ga. He joined the A.M.E. Church on probation, September 16, 1883. He was converted and became a full member August 28, 1889. He was licensed to exhort February 9, 1894. He joined the North Georgia Conference, November 12 1895, and was appointed pastor of the Canton (Ga.) Mission, November 18, 1895; three years were spent on said Mission, during which time he built it from a small mission to a circuit of more than 350 member, and five preaching points. At the end of the three years the conference moved him from the circuit and appointed two pastors to take charge of the work he had given the Church where it had none before. He was ordained deacon November 7, 1897; he was ordained elder November 13, 1899. He has pastored with success many large charges in the State of Georgia. He was presiding elder two years on the South Atlanta District under Bishop Smith. His district was a success. He is now finishing up his fourth year at St. James' Church at Columbus, Ga. He finished from the correspondence course of theology at Morris Brown University, June, 1908, and was that same year given the degree of doctor of divinity by Campbell College, Jackson, Miss. He has engaged extensively in evangelistic work, having in the last twenty years added to the Church more than 18,000 souls. He was a member of the general conference of 1912. Dr. Means has many more calls than he is able to fill. 1900 Cobb County, GA, Acworth District 851, SD 7, Acworth City, Vol.. 15, ED32, sheet 7A line 31, stamped p. 60: Samuel G. Means born Nov 1872 age 27; Feriba Means, wife, Jan 1873 age 27 GA 1910 Fulton County, Atlanta, Georgia Census, ED13, Vol. 44, sheet 187?, SAMUEL is age 51 (1859); his wife, FARABA is age 35 (1875), and their son, JAMES is age 7 (1903). In the 1920 census at age 47, he is in the WOODLAWN BOROUGH, BEAVER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. It says that he was a Minister in the City. He became a Baptist Minister there. Pennsylvania Census, REV. SAMUEL GEORGE MEANS is found there alone without his wife and child. The name Woodlawn was changed Jan. 31, 1928 to Aliquippa. In Pennsylvania, SAMUEL became a Baptist Minister. He pastored for many years at the Burke Street Baptist Church in Philadelphia. About 30 years ago, the congregation figured that he was too old to preach, so they released him. He was very angry about this. Therefore, he founded another church and named it THE MEANS TEMPLE, 1904 N. Mervine Street in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Paul Jackson's mother Barbara remembers attending Means Temple with Jeremiah McClendon and his mother Laura between 1932-October 1933. Jeremiah said that he attended this church before he married in 1936. Jeremiah got his 1st job in November 1932-33. President Roosevelt took office in March 6, 1933, at that time, Jeremiah just started working. The MEANS TEMPLE BAPTIST CHURCH, 1742 11th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. lasted through the 1940s, he says. Samuel probably died in Philadelphia. Samuel had a wife named JETTA in Philadelphia. His brother named JOHN was preaching in AME Church in Georgia. Samuel had a son who became a Baptist minister in New Jersey. It is not known at this time whether this was his son from the first marriage, or a subsequent one. Samuel worked with the oldest AME church in Philadelphia, PA. This church was still in existence 6 years ago said Luella Powell Koonce. 1930 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania He was married to FERRIBA CLARK (daughter of JULIUS CLARK and CAROLINE UNKNOWN ) on 21 Dec 1893 in Atlanta, GA. FERRIBA CLARK was born in 1872 in Georgia. Clark, Fereby 1790-1907 AL,AR,FL,LA,MI,MN Land Rcd CD 255 Clark, Ferely 1790-1907 AL,AR,FL,LA,MI,MN Land Rcd CD 255 On May 7, 1995, I called phone information to locate both of these churches. None of them are listed. Now maybe have to contact the library there to see if they have city directories reflective of that time and to see if these churches are listed in them. UPDATE on August 6, 2000 : I learned that Rev. Samuel George Means was a womanizer and was forced out of the AME church because of this. This story was given to me by EVELYN KOONCE. I got this information when I attended Luella Powell Koonce. REV. SAMUEL GEORGE MEANS Ph.D and FERRIBA CLARK had the following children: 48 i. JAMES GEORGE MEANS was born in Georgia. Means, James 1641-1994 AL,GA,SC Marriage CD 3 Means, James Civil War Union Soldiers Roll of Honor Social Security Death Index Search Results JAMES MEANS 27 Jul 1899-Apr 1977 30305 (Atlanta, Fulton, GA) (none specified) 252-26-2464 Georgia SS-5 Letter JAMES MEANS 05 Nov 1909-Sep 1982 30080 (Smyrna, Cobb, GA) (none specified) 258-09-0813 Georgia SS-5 Letter He was married to JETTA UNKNOWN after 1920 in Philadelphia, PA. They are in the 1930 census. There was a SAMUEL MEANS whose S.S.#167-09-0101 born August 30, 1883 in Pennsylvania, who died on May 1977. zipcode 15632. Samuel had a descendant, REV. TOM MEANS, who was pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, NY., the same church that Adam Clayton Powell attended. Its phone number is 212-862-7474. I called it on Saturday, July 31, 1999 and left a message asking for information on him. There was a Tom Means in the 1880 Damascus, Early Co, GA census age 16 (1864) born in Georgia who was a nephew to ______________________ Must contact the Prince Hall Masons, 815 6th Avenue, Columbus, Georgia 31901; 706-324-2807. Georgia Prince Hall Grand Lodge, 330 Auburn Ave, NE, Atlanta, GA 30301 Since the Odd Fellows were segregated back in those days, it is most likely that Samuel belonged to the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, rather than the I.O.O.F. - Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Philadelphia City Archives Suite 942, 401 N. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19108 215-686-1581. --http://libertynet.org/~gencap/counties/phillyo.html