West End in Cincinnati in Hamilton County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

George Washington Williams

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009

1. George Washington Williams Marker

Inscription. George Washington Williams was born in 1849 in Bedford, Pennsylvania. At age 14, he enlisted in the Union Army to fight in the Civil War and received a medical discharge in 1868. In 1874, he became the first African American to graduate from the Newton Theological Institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and shortly after married Sarah A. Sterrett. He became pastor of the Twelfth Baptist Church in Boston before moving to Washington, D.C. to serve as editor of a newspaper called The Commoner. He then moved to Cincinnati to become pastor of the Union Baptist Church and while there served as the first black member of the Ohio Legislature from 1879-1881. Williams went to the Belgian Congo in 1890 where he criticized King Leopold II in an Open Letter for his inhumane policies in the Congo. He died in 1891 in England.

Erected 2003 by The Ohio Bicentennial Commission, Historic Preservation Committee, Union Baptist Church and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 52-31.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Churches & Religion • Civil Rights • Communications

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• Patriots & Patriotism • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1849.

Location. 39° 6.15′ N, 84° 31.234′ W. Marker is in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Hamilton County. It is in West End. Marker is at the intersection of 7th Street and Central Avenue (U.S. 22), on the right when traveling east on 7th Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 405 W 7th Street, Cincinnati OH 45203, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. International Typographical Union (about 800 feet away, measured in a direct line); Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise and the Plum Street Temple (about 800 feet away); Cincinnati Bell Telephone Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); First National Correctional Congress / Declaration of Principles of 1870 (approx. 0.2 miles away); Cincinnati Fire Fighters (approx. 0.2 miles away); Covenant - First Presbyterian Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Gaines High School / Peter H. Clark (approx. 0.2 miles away); William Henry Harrison (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cincinnati.

Also see . . .

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009

2. George Washington Williams Marker

At Union Baptist Church.

George Washington Williams: A Biography. by John Hope Franklin, published by the Duke University Press in 1998. (Submitted on December 5, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)

Additional keywords. Historian USCT United States Colored Troops

George Washington Williams, author image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Wikipedia

3. George Washington Williams, author

(from his History of Negro Troops)

Union Baptist Church Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009

4. Union Baptist Church Sign

Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 4, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 3,129 times since then and 78 times this year. Last updated on December 5, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 4, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 3. submitted on December 5, 2009, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 4. submitted on December 4, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.