Henry Adams was a Baptist pastor and leader in the black community in 19th century Kentucky. He was born to free parents in Franklin County, Georgia and became ordained at age 23. He preached throughout the Deep South before moving to Louisville, Kentucky in 1829, where he became minister to black members of First Baptist Church. In 1842, his 45-member congregation eventually withdrew to form First African Baptist Church, which was later renamed Fifth Street Baptist Church. It was the second black Baptist church in the state. He remained pastor of the congregation until his retirement in 1871. Adams was self-educated and became a respected biblical scholar, and led the black Baptist community in Louisville for decades. Adams stressed that church-related education and self-help was the key to improvement of the situation of blacks in America. He organized black congregations during the Civil War and served as moderator of the General Association of Colored Baptists. Later in life he led a movement that culminated in the founding of Kentucky Normal and Theological Institute in 1879. He married Margaret Corbin in 1842 and they had five children. 

December 17th, 1802 in United States of America  /  Died:   Sep 14th, 2014 - aged 96