Messiah Baptist Church, Kensington, Philadelphia

Date: 16 Oct 1873 [unknown]
Location: Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

16 Oct 1873: Cornerstone laid for new chapel at 2055 E Dauphin St (between Amber and Coral streets). Neighborhood is now known as East Kensington/Fishtown.^[1]

The first pastor was Rev. George L. C. Hanna, formerly of Mount Zion Baptist Church (later Frankford Avenue Baptist Church), and most initial members, consisting of a roll of 90 names, came over from that church.^[2]

By 1902 the building was empty, at which point it was occupied by the Kensington branch of the Free Library, until it moved in 1953. ^[3]

Afterward, the church building was demolished. The lot remained vacant until 2019; between 2019 and 2021, an addition to an adjacent rowhouse at 2053 E Dauphin was built on part of the lot.

Ministers:^[4]

1. George Ledlie Carson Hanna, 1873-1875
2. Silas Porter Pendleton, 1875-1876
3. Clarence A. Adams, 1877-1883?^[5][6]
4. William Williams Dalby, 1883-1889
5. Orlando Thomas Steward, 1892-1894
6. George Boddis, 1894-?^[7]

An obituary of George Boddis says Messiah Baptist was in Manayunk rather than Kensington; was this a different church/location, or an error in the obituary?

Sources

1. ↑ Philadelphia Inquirer, 16 Oct 1873, p.2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/167951303/
2. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/image/167951531/
3. ↑ https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/47560
4. ↑ https://www.ourfamtree.org/records/ministers.php?state=PA&county=Philadelphia-Co&place=Philadelphia%2C-Messiah-Baptist-Church
5. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/image/167956187/
6. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/image/53238936/
7. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/image/53782929/