Wake Wednesday 250: John Chavis, Notable Black Educator, preacher and Rev War Soldier

This article was previously posted in our newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch, Vol 6.4, Summer 2023 under the title A Useful Find: NC Schools & Academies, 1790-1840. 

I often discover interesting records by accident as I am researching other things. I found a lot that I was not looking for as I researched things for the Wake Cemetery Survey. This record is one you will find interesting if you have early NC ancestors. - CD 

You will find a digitized copy of North Carolina Schools and Academies, 1790-1840, A Documentary History at NCDigital for your research and browsing pleasure. Created by Charles Lee Coon and published in 1915, “North Carolina Schools...” is a collection of education related postings that appeared in the weekly Raleigh Register during the 1790-1840 time frame. The book is an attempt to portray education as it existed in North Carolina during the fifty years immediately succeeding 1790. 

While the volume covers all NC counties of that time, I focused on browsing Wake County. It should be noted that one must add 50 to any page you choose in the table of contents if you wish to land on the correct page. The front matter was numbered with roman numerals and that shifts the page numbering out of line considerably. The Table of Contents starts on page 51. The Wake County index includes pages 54 and 55. Schools appear to be listed in the order in which they were created chronologically from 1809- 1839. A more readable copy of each page appears by clicking on the preview window of the page you have chosen. A higher resolution image will appear. Raleigh Academy, the largest school in the area, appears on pages 388 (438) -512 (562). 

John Chaves’ school of Wake County highlighted below caught my interest as I read that the school catered to both white children and children of color. The free colored population of Raleigh at this time must have been large enough to support this. I wondered if there was more to find on this school. 

Source.
Click image to enlarge text.

I went looking and did find several articles about the teacher, John Chavis (Chaves). A lengthy article at NCPedia summarized his life. He was a brave and accomplished man who certainly earned his historical marker located at East and Worth Streets (if not more). 

He was probably an "indentured servant” of John Milne of Halifax (c. 1773). He was a soldier in the Rev War, educated at the Presbyterian Washington Academy (now Washington and Lee University) and at Princeton. He was a licensed Presbyterian minister, and described as "almost certainly the most learned black of his time in the South, and perhaps in the United States." 

His school in Wake started in 1808 was still running in 1828. He taught in Granville and Chatham counties as well. His bio is a good read. 

I went to school with many Chavis kids at Millbrook High School back in the day. I imagine they were probably descendants. I wonder if they knew of their inspiring ancestor. I hope so, and wish we had been taught his role in history. It is amazing what you find when you are not looking for something. Check out NC Schools and Academies online and see what you learn. - CD

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