William Paul Quinn's untold story is a missing piece of American history. His deep but little-known involvement with the Underground Railroad is one of the most fascinating subplots of a remarkable life. More than any other prelate of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, or AME Church, Quinn (1788-1873) guided the faithful throughout the perilous pre-Civil War years, sanctioning escape from slavery while avoiding suspicion and, by all appearances, upholding the law. Quinn helped his followers navigate the hardships of slavery, as well as the demands of freedom in the post-Civil War world. The book illuminates Quinn's significance, demonstrating why his life and courageous efforts deserve more attention-and more appreciation. It also explores, in depth and for the first time, the eight and a half years Quinn spent in New York City. It was during this time that Quinn experienced the major conflict of his life with AME founder Bishop Richard Allen over Quinn's independent activities in New York. Much to Bishop Allen's frustration, Quinn-along with Allen, one of the AME Church's "Four Horsemen"-associated with ministers of other denominations, collaborated with the city's African American civic leaders, rescued freedom seekers, and operated beyond Allen's reach. Quinn later established a 150-member independent church in the city, earning Allen's wrath and a five-year exile from the church. This remarkable missionary's life embodies the struggles and challenges that shaped the lives of nineteenth-century Black leaders, and those who followed them. Divine Mystery explores the historical figure as well as the man of God-his spiritual gifts, his character and uniqueness, as well as his many strengths and failings. The book carefully lays out his trials and triumphs, and the magnitude of his accomplishments in the face of legally sanctioned national opposition, denominational fights and schisms, and devastating Supreme Court decisions. Combining AME Church history, the story of the Underground Railroad, the origins of African American educational efforts, and inspiring anecdotes of westward migration and community engagement, Divine Mystery offers an original and distinctive contribution to American religious history.
Cheryl Janifer LaRoche, Ph.D., is the author of Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad: The Geography of Resistance (2013). She is widely known as an archaeologist, and received the John L. Cotter Award from the Society for Historical Archaeology in 2011. In 2023 LaRoche received the Calvert Prize from the Maryland Historical Trust, and in 2022 LaRoche was interviewed on three PBS documentaries: "Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom," "Becoming Frederick Douglas," and "Making Black America: Through the Grapevine," a series hosted by Henry Louis Gates. LaRoche is an Associate Research Professor in Historic Preservation in the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at the University of Maryland, College Park. She has consulted on a wide range of pre-Civil War historical projects and sites, particularly for the National Park Service. She also served as the project historian for the Cultural Expressions exhibition for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. She began her career as an archaeological conservator for the New York African Burial Ground.
