John T. Weeden, Sr. (1901-1988) was born on August 2, 1901, the oldest of two children born to Louis and Dovie Weeden. In 1916 Weeden moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he attended Manuel Training School, Indiana Central College, and Butler University. He later continued his education at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illnois, and Roger Williams College in Nashville, Tennessee. After moving to Cleveland, Ohio, he studied political science at Case Western Reserve University.
On August 2, 1922, John T. Weeden married Gladys Mae Evans in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was born on May 2, 1901, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Together they had twelve children. In February 1926 he was licensed to preach and was ordained in August 1928.
Reverend Weeden pastored three churches in sixty years. He was first the pastor of Bethany Baptist Church of Indianapolis, at the age of 25, for three years and eight months. From 1932 to 1948, he was the pastor of Eastern Star Baptist Church in Indianapolis, and was called to pastor St. Timothy Baptist Church in Cleveland, where he remained until his death in 1988.
Reverend Weeden was presented with a number of honorary degrees. He received a Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) from Monroe College and Institute of Africa of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Monrovia, Liberia.
Reverend Weeden was involved in a number of organizations. He was president of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Cleveland and Vicinity, Inc.; moderator emeritus of the Progressive District Association; vice president of the Pastor's Division of the National Baptist Convention of Christian Education, U.S.A; president of the Ohio Baptist State Convention, Inc.; and president of the Interdenominational Ministers' Alliance of Cleveland and Vicinity.
Reverend Weeden was a board member of the National Baptist Sunday School Publishing Board; a Senior Executive Board member of the Brothers' Brother Foundation; a member of the Kiwanis Club of Cleveland; president of Missionary Baptist College of Biblical Education; Executive Board member of the Cleveland Convention Center; and a Senior Executive Board member of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A, Inc. He was co-chairman on the clergy committee for Carl Stokes during his mayoral election of 1967.
The John T. Weeden Sr., Papers, 1922-1994, consist primarily of church programs, sermons, certificates, cards, correspondence, memorabilia, datebooks, telegrams, financial and family records, registers, notes, speeches, lessons, bylaws, postcards, passports, books, obituaries, and newspaper clippings.
This collection is of value to researchers studying the African-American clergy and churches in the United States, and in particular, St. Timothy Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition, researchers interested in the topics of civil rights and political activism in Cleveland will find this information significant. This collection includes a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., presented at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1967 entitled, "The Crisis in America's Cities : An Analysis of Social Disorder and Plan of Action Against Poverty, Discrimination and Racism in Urban America." It also includes correspondence from Gladys Weeden inviting Nannie Burroughs (religious leader and civil rights activist) to be a guest speaker for the Nurses' Guild program at St. Timothy Baptist Church. There is also correspondence from political leaders such as Congressman Louis Stokes and Carl Stokes, mayor of Cleveland.
The collection is arranged in three series.
All photographs have been removed to PG 498 John T. Weeden Sr. Family Photographs.
The researcher should also consult PG 498 John T. Weeden Sr. Family Photographs.
Processed by Artricia Love in 1998
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4789 John T. Weeden Sr. Family Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Phyllis Weeden Oliver, 1994
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.