Biography

Harry Hoosier: Hero of the Faith

Feb 26, 2025

“Black Harry” Hoosier: Everything by Faith | c. 1750-1810

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”—John 15:5

Biography:

Born into slavery near Fayetteville, North Carolina, Harry Hoosier became one of the most celebrated preachers of the Great Awakening and one of the most accomplished circuit riders of his time. Sometime in his early life, Harry Hoosier was sold to a man named Henry Dorsey Gough who owned a large estate called Perry Hall just outside of Baltimore. Little did Mr. Gough know, an enslaved person working his land was working even harder in prayer, petitioning the God of Heaven to bring Gough to saving faith in Jesus. When the circuit-riding minister Francis Asbury preached in town, those prayers were answered. Gough surrendered his life to Christ and quickly became an influential member of the Methodist denomination, which was known for its commitment to abolishing the evil of human slavery. Gough freed every single person that he held in slavery and built a large chapel on his estate where he regularly assembled with blacks and other whites in worship. It is in that chapel, built on the land he was once forced to work as a slave, that Hoosier is thought to have accepted Christ.

When Harry came to Christ, he was a young man in late twenties or early thirties, and the American Revolution was underway. By 1780, the famed preacher Francis Asbury noted his journal about friendship with both Henry Gough and Harry Hoosier. In “Black Harry”, as he was called, Asbury recognized the Lord’s gifting for preaching, and he wrote of his dream to obtain a second horse and take Harry out with him on a mission through the South. Less than a year later, that dream became a reality. That spring in Virginia, Harry preached what would become his most famous sermon on “The Barren Fig Tree”. The message was taken from Luke 13:6–7, and Harry challenged an audience of mixed ethnicities—blacks and white together—to bear real fruit and live holy lives unto the Lord. What made this stirring message more amazing is that Harry, who was illiterate, could recite the Scriptures word for word. God gifted him with great eloquence, a gift for teaching, and humble spirit that working men flocked to, but his incredible auditory memory (that worked like someone with a photographic memory) amazed other preachers he traveled with.

It is estimated that Hoosier and Asbury traveled between 150,000-200,000 miles together between 1780-1803, carrying the Gospel to great cities, rustic frontiers, and nearly every part of the US east of the Mississippi on horseback. Together, they preached Christ and often baptized in a day more converts than a parish pastor in England could expect to convert in a lifetime of ministry. Asbury said that often, Hoosier drew even larger crowds that he did, preaching regularly to audiences that numbered in the thousands (without the aid of a microphone). Methodist historians estimate that Hoosier’s preaching—even in remote wilderness areas—brought as many as 50,000 souls to repentance!

“Black Harry” was especially loved and respected by the rugged frontiersmen who were settling the “Northwest Territory” that we know today as the Midwest. These men were rough and known as brawlers, given to alcoholism, cursing, and many worldly evils—until they were discipled in the Gospel by Hoosier. The change in their character after embracing Christ was so dramatic that these men became known for the evangelist who brought them to the Lord. To this day, the state they settled (Indiana) is known as the “Hoosier State.”

Hoosier also traveled with other noted preachers and leaders in the methodist movement. In addition to Francis Asbury, Hoosier shared a pulpit with Bishop Thomas Coke, Bishop Whatcoat, Reverend Henery Boem, Freeborn Garrettson, and others. Together, shared a message of freedom in Christ and called their fellow man to work for the freedom of all people by abolishing the salve trade. While Hoosier is remembered today as the first Black American to preach to all-white congregations, these men often (even normally) worshipped with congregations of mixed ethnicities because of the church’s clear teachings that God created all people in His image. The work of these evangelists was instrumental in shaping much of our nation, especially the Northwest Territory (including Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin), where human slavery never became legal and where civil rights flourished.

However, sometime after 1803, Hoosier went through a period when sin enticed him away from ministry. His friend, Reverend Henry Boem, wrote an account of Hoosier’s life. Boem recounts how everywhere Harry went, he was greatly revered and praised for his extortionary skills as an orator and preacher—to the extent that, for a season, pride and wine got the better of him. Boem wrote, “Falling under the influence of strong drink, he made shipwreck of the faith.” Late in life, Harry spent several year living in drunken poverty in Philadelphia—until the Lord brought him back to repentance and a life of humble holiness. Historian Carter Woodson records how Hoosier, in a moment of spiritual wrestling, sought the Lord under a tree one night. He was “determined to remain there until his backslidings were healed” and he sought deliverance through hours of prayer. That night, the Lord restored him to the joys of salvation (Psalm 51:12) and a new era of ministry began with the dawn. In this season of renewal and restoration, “Black Harry” became more dedicated than ever to serving the Lord and sharing the Good News that Jesus alone can save. He continued to travel and preach until the very end of his life. Reverend Boem joyfully reported on these years of restoration and that Harry “died in peace in Philadelphia in 1810.” Hoosier was buried in Kensington” before a great number of people—both black and white—who gathered to honor his legacy and celebrated his lifelong message of freedom from human bondage and freedom from the bondage of sin.

Lessons From Hoosier’s Life:

Harry Hoosier’s life is a powerful illustration of John 15. When we abide in the Lord—When He is our source, our strength, and our sustainer—we produce beautiful, eternal fruit that testifies of His glory. As Harry taught, faith in Jesus is supposed to change how live. When we put our faith in Him and walk in obedience to the Father’s commands, we abide in His love and show ourselves to be His disciples. Harry’s own life was changed when the man who owned him met Jesus, obeyed His Word, gave him earthly freedom, and introduced Harry to Savior who won his spiritual freedom. Harry’s ability preach—to recall and recite Scripture, to make Bible stories come alive, to command rhetorical skills better than Patrick Henry or George Whitfield or the acclaimed ministers he traveled with—were all gifts from God to equip him for the work to which he was called. Harry was illiterate, and nothing in the world’s eyes qualified him for such an extraordinary ministry that spanned a continent—except the calling and equipping of the Lord. Harry’s testimony that he did “everything by faith” speaks of the power of sincere faith when we fully rely on and abide in the Lord.

His life is also a reminder that apart from the Lord, we can do nothing. If ever we should depend on our own strength, we can fall quickly into sin. Thankfully, Harry’s story also illustrates that we can never fall so far that God cannot redeem and restore.

Harry Hoosier in His Own Words:

“I sing by faith, pray by faith, and do everything by faith. Without faith in Jesus Christ, I can do nothing.”

What Others Said About Harry Hoosier:

“[Hoosier is] the greatest orator in America” –Dr. Benjamin Rush

“I really believe he is one of the best preachers in the world. There is such an amazing power attends his preaching . . . and he is one of the humblest creatures I ever saw.” Bishop Thomas Coke

“Harry. . . . was so illiterate he could not read a word [but h]e would repeat the hymn as if reading it, and quote his text with great accuracy. His voice was musical, and his tongue as the pen of a ready writer. He was unboundedly popular, and many would rather hear him than the bishops.”– Rev. Henry Boehm

“[Hoosier] was the first black American Methodist preacher in the United States…He traveled extensively … and shared the pulpits of the white ministers whom he accompanied. But he seems to have excelled them all in popularity as a preacher.” –Booker T. Washington

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