Wake County, NC - Bicentennial File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Barbara Kawamoto Reprinted with permission of the News & Observer and cannot be reproduced without permission. ‘To Make the Best of a Bad Bargain’ The News and Observer December 29, 1991 Raleigh 200/The New Capital John Chavis Preacher - Educator 1763-1838 John Chavis was a free black that preached and taught blacks and whites, including some to the state’s future leaders, in North Carolina for 30 years. He ended his life the victim of his times, stripped of his right to preach and to vote. Little is definitely known of Chavis’ early years. He was almost certainly the "indentured servant named John Chavis" mentioned in the inventory of the estate of Halifax lawyer James Milner in 1773. Chavis enlisted in December 1778 in the 5th Virginia Regiment and served for three years in the Revolutionary War. His commander certified in 1783 that Chavis had "faithfully fulfilled his duties and is thereby entitled to all immunities granted to three-year soldiers." He was listed as a free Negro in a 1789 tax list of Mecklenburg County, Va., his property consisting of a single horse. Chavis is thought to have attended Washington Academy, a Presbyterian institution that became Washington and Lee University, and then Princeton University. From 1801 to 1807 Chavis was sent by the Lexington, Va., Presbytery to preach to slaves in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. He wrote reports about religious conditions and indicated how many attended meetings. Whites attended his services as well. Chavis moved to Raleigh in 1807 or 1808 and opened a school for both races, though not together. In an 1808 edition of the Raleigh Register, he announced his terms: white students would attend during the day, and pay $2.50 a quarter; blacks would come in the evening and stay till 10 p.m., paying $1.75. Some white students were said to have boarded in Chavis’ home. Accepted as a licentiate in 1809 by the Orange Presbytery, which included Raleigh, Chavis continued to preach until 1832 when, in the wake of the Nat Turner rebellion, blacks were barred from preaching. Chavis and his wife were apparently given $50 a year by the Orange Presbytery from 1834 until Chavis’ death in 1838. The Rev. William McPheeters of Raleigh’s First Presbyterian Church helped raise money to alleviate the "distresses, wants (of) our old friend John Chavis." In an effort to raise money, Chavis published "An Essay on the Atonement" in 1837. No copies are known to have survived. Chavis and Sen. Willie P. Mangum, of Orange County, were close friends and their long and intimate correspondence suggests that the former slave may have once been Mangum’s teacher. In one letter, Chavis declared that he was opposed to the abolition of slavery. He admitted "that Slavery is a national evil . . . but what is to be done? . . . All that can be done is to make the best of a bad bargain . . . The Oxford Torchlight of September 28, 1840, indicated that Chavis was living between Oxford and Willimsboro at the time of his death. The editor recalled having "seen him when a short time before his death several of his white pupils, prominent gentlemen, called to see him. Chavis was then advanced in years, his white hair forming a strange contrast to his ebony face for he was of unmixed African descent. His manners were dignified yet respectful and entirely unassuming and his conversation sprightly and interesting." He died on June 10, 1838. Chavis had no known children. Chavis Park in Raleigh, named in his honor, is located near the site of the school he conducted there. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ==============================================================