Peter Randolph

Peter Randolph was an African American abolitionist, minister, and community leader. Born enslaved on a Virginia plantation, Peter Randolph and a group of 66 ex-slaves came to Boston in September 1847 from Petersburg, Virginia. The group has been freed in the will of their former slave master Carter H. Edlow. The group settled in the south end of Boston. Many of the group first joined Twelfth Baptist Church. After the Civil War they became the core of Ebenezer Baptist, in the south end. Rev. Randolph served as pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church from 1872 until 1873. 

Peter Randolph wrote a sketch of the realities of slave life which was published in 1855. He became a traveling lecturer sharing his firsthand experiences of slavery. He made friends with many prominent leaders, both black and white and he was not afraid to speak out strongly against the evils of slavery and racism. Rev. Peter Randolph served as the second pastor of Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton from 1877-1879. He died in 1897 in Boston, Massachusetts. It is not known if he is buried In Cedar Grove Cemetery Dorchester, or Oak Grove Cemetery, New Bedford; there are conflicting statements.