St. Joseph’s History

Members of Note

Many of St. Joseph’s members were instrumental in service to the community.

John Sinclair Leary

John S. Leary, a member of the original Vestry of St. Joseph’s. John was the son of Cumberland County’s first black county commissioner, Matthew Leary. John Leary was elected to the state legislature at the age of 24 and was one of the first blacks elected to represent Cumberland County in Raleigh.

In 1871, Leary entered the law department of Howard University in Washington, D.C.  Following graduation in May 1873, he was admitted to practice law in North Carolina Courts making him Fayetteville's first black lawyer and North Carolina's second black lawyer. 

John Leary later helped establish the law school at Shaw University and served as the Dean from 1890-1892. In 1892, Leary moved to Charlotte, becoming that city's first black lawyer and where he devoted his time to the practice of law until his death in 1941. Leary was also associated with many important social and civil rights groups in North Carolina.

Howard School - Fayetteville State University

In the late 1860’s, several founding members of St. Joseph’s were also involved in the founding or operation of the Howard School, which evolved into the first State Normal School in North Carolina. The Howard School then evolved to become Fayetteville State University, a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina.

Charles W. Chestnutt

In 1867, Charles Chesnutt, a member of St. Joseph’s, enrolled in the Howard School, operated by the Freedmen's Bureau. At the school Charles studied and read widely to gain knowledge in the classics, including French and German. By 1873, Chesnutt was teaching school in rural communities in North Carolina. In 1877, he became the assistant principal of the State Colored Normal School (Howard School). The school trained African Americans to be schoolteachers. In 1880, Chesnutt became the institution's principal.

In 1878, Chesnutt married Susan Perry at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church. In 1883, he moved to New York City to pursue his writing, and he later moved to Cleveland, Ohio to pursue a legal degree. He had a lucrative court reporting business.

Chestnutt is best known for his activism and his writings exploring complex issues of racial and social identity in the post-Civil War South. Two of his books, The Conjure Woman and The House Behind the Cedars were adapted as silent films. In 2008, the United States Postal Service honored Chesnutt with the 31st stamp in the Black Heritage Series.