ALLEN, RICHARD

ALLEN, RICHARD. Minister/Hymnal compiler (14 February 1760 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 26 March 1831 in Philadelphia). He was the founding father of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1794 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was elected its first bishop in 1816 when the church became incorporated as an independent denomination. In 1801 he compiled a hymnal for the exclusive use of his congregation of the Bethel AME Church, titled A Collection of Spiritual Songs and Hymns Selected from Various...