1901 – Joseph H. Jordan died at the age of 59. He was born a black free man in West Norfolk, Virginia, in June of 1842. After trying his hand as a laborer and grocer, he achieved financial success as a carpenter. Jordan was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1880 but he became a Universalist after reading The Plain Guide to Universalism by Thomas Whittemore. The Universalist Ordaining Council voted to ordain him as the first African-American Universalist minister. Read more about Joseph H. Jordan.