This finding aid includes a file-level inventory of the collection and is subject to change if more materials are added. See the attached file.
Levi Jenkins Coppin was born to John Coppin and Jane Lilly on 24 December 1848 in Fredericktown, MD. John was enslaved, but young Coppin inherited the free status of his mother—one that she’d inherited from her mother, in turn. Jane Lilly Coppin also taught her son to read, an action that drove his desire for education as he grew older.
In 1869, Coppin went to Philadelphia for a period with his friend, C.J. Hall, before moving to Wilmington, DE. He taught in Smyrna, DE before being called to the ministry in 1877, his first church home being Bethel Church in Wilmington. Coppin’s first charge was the Philadelphia City Mission consisting of Morris Brown Mission, the Poplar Sisters Misson, and St. James Mission. At some point, he also attended classes at the Philadelphia Episcopal Divinity School.
Coppin was head of Bethel Church in Baltimore during the early 1880s. From 1888 to 1896, he served as the Editor of the AME Church Review. In 1900, Coppin was elected the 30th bishop of the AME Church and was assigned to South Africa. After completing this assignment, he returned to the United States in 1904 and was assigned to the 7th District (South Carolina and Alabama). He continued to play an active role in the AME Church—especially during conferences—and detailed his experiences in his 1919 autobiography, Unwritten History.
Coppin was married three times. He married his first wife, Martha Grinnage, in 1875. The couple had one son named Octavius Valentine. After Martha died, Coppin married a teacher named Fanny M. Jackson. Their union lasted until Fanny’s death in 1913. The following year, Coppin was married for the final time to a physician named Evelyn Melissa Thompson. They had one daughter named Theodocia and remained married until Coppin died on 25 June 1924.
Unless otherwise stated, all information comes from the collection.
Bibliography
Coppin, L.J. Unwritten History. Philadelphia: AME Book Concern, 1919.
Wright, Richard R., Jr. Centennial Encyclopedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Philadelphia: Book Concern of the AME Church, 1916.