Bellefontaine Cemetery - St. Louis, Missouri

Mother Priscilla Baltimore Monument Dedication

Please join us as we honor Mother Priscilla Baltimore, founder of Brooklyn, Illinois.

Born into slavery in 1800, Priscilla Baltimore not only bought her own freedom, but also that of her mother and her husband. She founded the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in the west in her living room, and led eleven families across the Mississippi in the early 1820’s to establish Freedom Village, which is now known as Brooklyn, Illinois, the oldest black incorporated town in America. She died at age 82 and history had forgotten her. Fast forward to 2007, Roberta Obadan, past resident of Brooklyn, now living in Houston Texas, along with Ronnie Steele found The Historical Society of Brooklyn, Illinois which has raised money for a marker for Mother Priscilla Baltimore, 129 years after her death.

This formidable woman, known as Mother Priscilla Baltimore, devoted her life to helping others and the African Methodist Episcopal Church and will be memorialized with a marker and ceremony. The public is invited to this ceremony. Roberta Obadan will speak along with Nathaniel O’Bannon, Mayor of Brooklyn, and George McShan, Board member, Quinn Chapel, Brooklyn, Illinois.

Event Details

  • When: June 17, 2011 at 3:00 pm
  • Where: Bellefontaine Cemetery, 4947 West Florissant Ave. St. Louis, MO 63115

Born into slavery in 1800, Priscilla Baltimore not only bought her own freedom, but also that of her mother and her husband. She founded the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in the west in her living room, and led eleven families across the Mississippi in the early 1820’s to establish Freedom Village, which is now known as Brooklyn, Illinois, the oldest black incorporated town in America. She died at age 82 and history had forgotten her. Fast forward to 2007, Roberta Obadan, past resident of Brooklyn, now living in Houston Texas, along with Ronnie Steele found The Historical Society of Brooklyn, Illinois which has raised money for a marker for Mother Priscilla Baltimore, 129 years after her death.

This formidable woman, known as Mother Priscilla Baltimore, devoted her life to helping others and the African Methodist Episcopal Church and will be memorialized with a marker and ceremony. The public is invited to this ceremony. Roberta Obadan will speak along with Nathaniel O’Bannon, Mayor of Brooklyn, and George McShan, Board member, Quinn Chapel, Brooklyn, Illinois.

Event Details

  • When: June 17, 2011 at 3:00 pm
  • Where: Bellefontaine Cemetery, 4947 West Florissant Ave. St. Louis, MO 63115

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