Bragg, George F. (George Freeman), 1863-1940

African American Episcopal minister active in Virginia and Baltimore, Md.

From the description of Papers, 1889-1930. (Moorland-Spingarn Resource Center). WorldCat record id: 70941073

George Freeman Bragg served as rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland from 1891 until his death in 1940 and also edited and published several newspapers.

Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, he was brought up in Virginia. In 1887 Bragg graduated from the Theological School for Negroes, a branch of the Virginia Theological Seminary. Wilberforce University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1902.

Bragg was ordained a deacon of the Episcopal Church in 1887. One year later he became a priest and was assigned to St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Norfolk, Virginia, where he enlarged the size of the congregation during his three years there. He did the same for St. James Episcopal Church in Baltimore.

Bragg was an active leader in African American social and educational movements. In 1884 he was an honorary commissioner of the New Orleans Exposition. His major achievement in Baltimore was the founding in 1899 of the progressively administered Maryland Home for Friendless Colored Children.

During his journalistic career, Bragg founded "The Lancet" in 1882, one of the first African American weekly newspapers, and in 1886 he edited "The Afro-American Churchman" which later became "The Church Advocate." He also wrote many pamphlets and books including "History of the Afro-American Group of the Episcopal Church" (1922) and "Men of Maryland." (1914).

From the description of George Freeman Bragg manuscripts, undated. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122533842

Reverend George Freeman Bragg was born in 1863 in Warrenton, North Carolina. Soon after his birth his parents, George Freeman Sr. and Mary Bragg, moved the family to live with his grandmother, Caroline Wiley Bragg, in Petersburg, Virginia. Caroline Bragg, the former slave of an Episcopal priest, had four sons who had helped to establish an African American Episcopal Church in Petersburg. In 1879 Bragg entered the Theological School for Negroes in Petersburg, a branch of the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, in 1879. He was soon suspended however, by school officials who claimed he was “not humble enough.” His suspension was most likely connected with his support of a political party called Readjuster, which advocated higher taxes for the rich. Bragg taught school in Staunton, Virginia until he was allowed to return to the Theological School in 1885. He graduated in 1887, and married Nellie Hill with whom he had four children. In 1902 Wilberforce University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree.

Bragg was ordained a deacon of the Episcopal Church in 1887. One year later he became a priest and was assigned to St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Norfolk, Virginia. In the three years he ministered there, the congregation grew and the church facilities improved because of his efforts. At this time Bragg also established the Industrial School for Colored Girls, and opened the Holy Innocents Mission.

In 1891 Bragg became rector of St. James' Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland. At that time St. James' had a sixty-nine member congregation and worshipped in a rented building. Within a few years Bragg raised enough money to buy land and to build a new church, and by 1931 the congregation had five hundred members. Bragg preached at St. James' for forty-nine years, until his death in 1940. Although a candidate for the bishopric more than once, Bragg was never appointed.

Bragg believed the Episcopal Church provided a forum where educated people could communicate across racial divisions. Although he was a candidate for the bishopric more than once, Bragg was never appointed. He spoke in opposition to discrimination within the church; as segregation spread however, he fought, unsuccessfully, to create an African American district and a position for an African American bishop within the Episcopal Diocese of Baltimore.

Bragg was an active member of many organizations outside of the church. In 1884 he was an honorary commissioner of the New Orleans Exposition. Between the years 1887 and 1891 he served as curator of the Hampton Normal and Industrial Institution, chaplain of the second battalion of the Colored Militia, and secretary of the National Colored Association. Beginning in 1892 he became the General Secretary of the Conference of Church Workers, a national organization of African American clergy and laymen. Bragg's most important accomplishment in Baltimore was the establishment of the Maryland Home for Friendless Colored Children (1899). This institution was noted for its progressive approach; it attempted to create a homey atmosphere and to place teen-agers in foster homes. In 1901, he became the first African American elected to the board of managers of the House of Reformation for Colored Boys, a position to which he was annually elected for several years. Bragg worked with Booker T. Washington to prevent disfranchisement in Maryland, but later joined W.E.B. DuBois' Niagara movement which opposed Washington's conservatism. He also led a movement in Baltimore to hire African American teachers for African American students.

Bragg edited and published several newspapers. He founded “The Lancet” in 1882, one of the first African American weekly papers. In 1886 he edited “The Afro-American Churchman” which later became the “The Church Advocate.” He was also secretary of the National Colored Press Association. Aside from editing, Bragg wrote many books and over twenty pamphlets, most of which were published by the Church Advocate Press. His best known work, History of the Afro-American Group of the Episcopal Church (1922), was the first book written on this topic. Another book, Men of Maryland (1914), was the first study of African Americans in Maryland. “The Hero of Jerusalem” (1926) is an example of one of his pamphlets written in honor of General William Mahone. Many of his articles were published in “The Church Advocate.”

In 1940, at the age of seventy-seven, Bragg died after a brief illness.

Most of the information in this biographical note was drawn from an article by J. Carleton Hayden

From the guide to the George Freeman Bragg manuscripts, undated, (The New York Public Library. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division.)

• 1863, Jan. 25: Born in Warrenton, NC
• 1879: Entered Petersburg Seminary, Petersburg, VA
• 1882: Appointed Page, Virginia Legislature Founded Lancet, a weekly newspaper in Petersburg, VA
• 1886, Jan.: Enrolled in the Bishop Payne Divinity School, Petersburg, VA
• 1887, Sept. 20: Married Nellie Hill
• 1887, Dec. 19: Ordained to the Episcopal Ministry in Norfolk, VA
• 1887 - 1891 : Appointed one of the State Curators of Hampton Institute, Hampton, VA
• 1891 - 1940 : Served as Rector of the St. James Episcopal Church, Baltimore, MD
• 1899: Organized and founded the Maryland Home for Friendless Colored Children, Baltimore, MD
• 1901: Member, Board of Managers, House of Reformation for Colored Boys, Baltimore, MD
• 1902: Received Honorary Doctor of Divinity from Wilberforce College, Wilberforce, Ohio

From the guide to the George Freeman Bragg Papers, 1889-1930, (Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University)