[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Page Header” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Exhibit Title” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” _module_preset=”default” border_width_bottom=”1px” border_color_bottom=”#E09900″ global_module=”6078″ global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50Ijoic2l0ZV90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IjxoMj4iLCJhZnRlciI6IjwvaDI+In19@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Section Title” module_id=”section-title” module_class=”page-header” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”||5px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Page Title” module_id=”page-title” module_class=”page-header” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”0px||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/01\/CCP_048_DoneganAdvertisement-1854-3.jpg” title_text=”CCP_048_DoneganAdvertisement-1854 (3)” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”13px” text_line_height=”1.3em” header_font_size=”13px” min_height=”51.7px” custom_margin=”-8px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Advertisement for Spencer Donegan’s Business, 1853 [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Spencer Donegan was prominent in Black communities in the Springfield area. An African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) minister, he also worked as a barber. He attended the 1853 Colored Convention in Chicago and remained active for many more years.<\/p>\n Born in Kentucky to enslaved parents in 1820, Spencer Donegan married Elizabeth Guy<\/a> on June 15, 1841 in Christian, Kentucky. Around that time, the couple, along with Spencer\u2019s brother, Presley Donegan, migrated into Illinois. Spencer and Elizabeth eventually had at least eight children, the eldest of whom, Susan, was born in Illinois in 1845.[1]<\/span><\/p>\n Spencer Donegan is remembered as the founding pastor of Springfield\u2019s A.M.E. church, which took shape in 1843 and eventually became known as St. Paul\u2019s. Donegan was also a successful barber. In 1854 he advertised himself as \u201cone of the best barbers now in the west” and invited customers to “call and see for yourselves.”[2]<\/span> His prominence in the local Black community makes it unsurprising that he became a Sangamon County delegate to\u00a0the 1853 Colored Convention in Chicago<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Ad Transcription:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/01\/CCP_143_AllenChapel-2014-scaled.jpeg” title_text=”CCP_143_AllenChapel-2014″ show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”13px” text_line_height=”1.3em” header_font_size=”13px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Allen Chapel A.M.E. [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n By 1868, the family had moved to the town of Lincoln, about thirty miles northeast of Springfield. There, Spencer continued to work as a barber, and the Donegans became the wellspring of a new A.M.E. church. Allen Chapel was founded in 1868, when a small group of worshippers began meeting in the Donegans\u2019 home. Eight months later, the congregation managed to purchase a local high school building to use for church services. In 1870, the church received its first official pastor, and Spencer Donegan became a trustee.[3]<\/span><\/p>\n Allen Chapel played a critical role in the Lincoln community. In addition to serving as a house of worship, it was home to a school and hosted political meetings as well as social events. Lincoln was a racially segregated town, and the church was one of the only places where Black residents could convene freely. This greatly improved their lives.[4]<\/span><\/p>\n The church continues today at the corner of Broadway and Sherman in Lincoln. In 2004, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Spencer Donegan died on <\/span>October 13, 1890, at his home just east of Lincoln.[5]<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/black-illinois-organizing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/01\/CCP_142_EmancipationBarbecue-1875.png” title_text=”CCP_142_EmancipationBarbecue-1875″ show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”13px” text_line_height=”1.3em” header_font_size=”13px” min_height=”51.7px” custom_margin=”-8px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Broadside Advertising Emancipation Day Barbecue, 1875 [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”13px” text_line_height=”1.3em” header_font_size=”13px” min_height=”51.7px” custom_margin=”-8px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” admin_label=”Sources” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n 1. 1841 Marriage Record, Christian, Kentucky, Ancestry.com; 1880 US Census: Spencer Donegan, Ancestry.com; 1850 US Census: S. Donegan, Ancestry.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2. \u201cS. Donegan, Tonsorial Professor,\u201d Sangamo Journal<\/i>, April 19, 1854.<\/p>\n 3. \u201cAllen Chapel to Mark 100th Anniversary,\u201d Pantograph <\/i>(Bloomington, IL), June 15, 1968.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>This advertisement for Spencer Donegan’s new business location in Springfield, Illinois, appeared in the Sangamo Journal<\/em> on April, 19, 1853. (Source: Courtesy of Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.)<\/p>\n“S. Donegan, Tonsorial Professor,
BARBER AND HAIR DRESSER,
Would respectfully inform his old customers and the public generally, that he has now fitted up in superb style as neat a shop as any in the city, and has associated with it one of he best barbers now in the weet. Call and see for yourselves. One door east of the City Hotel.
Springfield, Feb. 9, 1853.”<\/h2>\n
<\/strong>Allen Chapel A.M.E. church in Lincoln, Illinois, pictured here in 2014. (Source: Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.)<\/p>\n
<\/strong>This poster advertised the Logan County Emancipation Proclamation celebration of 1875. Spencer Donegan served as President of the Day. The date of the festivities, September 22, was the thirteenth anniversary of President Lincoln’s Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. (Source: Paul J. Beaver and Paul E. Gleason, Logan County: Pictorial History<\/em> [St. Louis: G. Bradley Publishing, 2000]. Courtesy of the Atlanta Pubic Library and Museum, Atlanta, Illinois.)<\/p>\nSources<\/h4>\n