Jesse Freeman Boulden

Jesse F. Boulden
from The History of Negro Baptists in Mississippi

Jesse Freeman Boulden (Lowndes County)

State House: 1870-1871

Born: October 8, 1820 in Delaware
Died: March 6, 1899

Baptist minister, editor. Active in political and church work in Chicago, Mississippi, and Washington, DC. Listed on the 1850 and 1860 census in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a clerk in 1850 and living with wife Louisa and children in 1860. Listed on the 1870 census in Columbus, Mississippi, with Louisa and children. By 1880, he and Louisa had moved to Washington, where he is mistakenly listed as “Joseph” on the census.

Boulden is often portrayed in the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science’s annual Eighth of May Emancipation Celebration, held at Sandfield Cemetery, where high school students tell the stories of notable African Americans who lived in Columbus.

“He obtained his education in the public schools of Delaware and the Quaker schools of Philadelphia, Pa… Ordained in 1854 to take charge of the Union Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pa., and there remained seven years. In 1861 he was called to the charge of a Baptist Church in Chicago, Ill., for the purpose of calling together and building up a church that had been wrecked at the death of its former pastor. Here he remained until 1864, when the Northwestern Baptist Convention was organized for the purpose of looking after the religious and educational interest of the Negro of the South. In 1865 the above-stated convention sent Dr. Boulden to Natchez, Miss., to work among his people and denomination as a missionary. He took charge of the Rose Hill Church, Natchez, and remained there till 1867, when he accepted a call of the M. U. B. Church, Columbus, Miss., where he did a fruitful work for the Master. During his pastorate at Columbus, in 1869, he organized the Mt. Olivet Association and later the General Baptist Association of Mississippi.”
(Patrick H. Thompson, The History of Negro Baptists in Mississippi, 1898)

Links:
Wikipedia: Jesse Freeman Boulden
Memorial on Find A Grave


Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science student Jaylin Jones performs an original emancipation day speech as Jesse Freeman Boulden as part of the school’s annual Eighth of May Emancipation Celebration in Columbus’ Sandfield Cemetery. Introduced by Jacob McGee. May 8, 2021.


A short talk I gave about Boulden and Green Henry, a teenager sentenced to death in Columbus. April 12, 2023.

Signature of Jesse F. Boulden
Signature of Jesse F. Boulden from an 1868 Freedmen’s School document
Chicago Tribune, April 22, 1862
Savannah Republican, September 18, 1865
Evansville Daily Journal, Aug 18, 1866
J. F. Boulden's Freedmen's School Report for June 1868
Freedmen’s School Report, June 1868
J. F. Boulden's Freedmen's School Report for July 1868
Freedmen’s School Report, July 1868
Semi-Weekly Clarion, September 20, 1870
Hinds County Gazette, June 7, 1871
Letter to Governor Alcorn, June 28, 1871
Letter to Governor Alcorn, June 28, 1871
Macon Beacon, July 22, 1871
The Tennessean, October 15, 1873
New National Era, May 14, 1874
Philadelphia Inquirer, November 6, 1874
Letter from J. F. Boulden to Governor Ames
Letter to Governor Ames, Jan 8, 1875
Letter from J. F. Boulden to Governor Ames
Letter to Governor Ames, Jan 12, 1875
Resignation letter, February 20, 1875
Resignation letter, February 20, 1875
Clarion-Ledger, March 4, 1875
Clarion-Ledger, May 5, 1875
The American Citizen, August 7, 1875
The American Citizen, August 7, 1875
Weekly Mississippi Pilot, Aug 7, 1875
Weekly Mississippi Pilot, August 7, 1875
National Republican, August 31, 1877
Philadelphia Inquirer, October 5, 1877
Cincinnati Commercial, October 17, 1879
Evening Star, July 18, 1881
Evening Star, September 27, 1881
Boulden headstone, May 8, 2021
Boulden headstone, May 8, 2021