WEBVTT - “Black Harry” Hoosier: The Story Behind Indiana’s Namesake

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<v Speaker 1>This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,

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<v Speaker 1>the show where America is the star and the American people.

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<v Speaker 1>To search for the American Stories podcast, go to the

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. How did

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<v Speaker 1>Indiana get its nickname as the Hoosier State? And how

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<v Speaker 1>did people from Indiana come to be known as Hoosiers.

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<v Speaker 1>Here to answer these questions and to tell the story

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<v Speaker 1>is doctor Stephen Flick, head of the Christian Heritage Fellowship.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's take a listen.

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<v Speaker 3>One such individual that has so deeply influenced our nation

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<v Speaker 3>and one state in particular, is a black man, a

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<v Speaker 3>black Methodist preacher by the name of Harry Hoosier. John Wesley,

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<v Speaker 3>the well known evangelist and father of Methodism, at one

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<v Speaker 3>of his conferences in the British Isles in seventeen seventy one,

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<v Speaker 3>called for his itinerant ministers to volunteer to go to America.

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<v Speaker 3>Among those who volunteered was a young man by the

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<v Speaker 3>name of Francis Asbury. In a few short years, Francis

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<v Speaker 3>Asbury would rise to the highest office of bishop in America.

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<v Speaker 3>Having traveled thousands upon thousands of miles. His face was

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<v Speaker 3>more readily recognized than the Father of our nation, George Washington.

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<v Speaker 3>It was during the American Revolution that Francis Asbury asked

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<v Speaker 3>Harry Hoosier to travel with him throughout all of the

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<v Speaker 3>colonies from New England, the Middle Colonies, and Southern colonies,

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<v Speaker 3>and it was there that Harry Hoosier gained a reputation

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<v Speaker 3>as the most widely accepted and widely applauded minister of

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<v Speaker 3>his day. Harry Hoosier had been born in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

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<v Speaker 3>He had been born into slavery. He was purchased by

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<v Speaker 3>a Methodist by the name of Henry Gough, and mister

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<v Speaker 3>Gough invited his slaves as well as those white inhabitants

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<v Speaker 3>of his plantation in the Baltimore area, to prayers both

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<v Speaker 3>morning and evening, and it was out of this setting

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<v Speaker 3>that mister Gough freed Harry Hoosier. As the first first

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<v Speaker 3>anti slavery movement began just prior to the American Revolution,

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<v Speaker 3>and it was the Methodist to with the Quakers helped

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<v Speaker 3>to champion this cause, and Harry Hoosier was among those

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<v Speaker 3>that was the first to be liberated from slavery. After

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<v Speaker 3>being liberated, he became the traveling companion of Francis Asbury,

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<v Speaker 3>and together they traveled thousands of miles, carrying the Gospel

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<v Speaker 3>of Jesus Christ to both black and white. It's very

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<v Speaker 3>significant that Harry Hoosier was more widely acclaimed as a

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<v Speaker 3>preacher than any other minister, any other preacher, white or black.

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<v Speaker 3>In fact, it was one of the three most important

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<v Speaker 3>founding fathers, doctor Benjamin Rush, who, along with George Washington

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<v Speaker 3>and Benjamin Franklin. Doctor Benjamin Rush was so impressed with

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<v Speaker 3>Harry Hoosier's ability as a preacher that he said, making

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<v Speaker 3>allowances for his illiteracy, he was the greatest orator in America.

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<v Speaker 3>Many of those who heard the preaching of Harry Hoosier

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<v Speaker 3>who had been converted as they moved out of the

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<v Speaker 3>Appalachian Mountains and moved west, there located in Indiana. Indiana

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<v Speaker 3>became a strong haven for Methodism. Those individuals that located

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<v Speaker 3>in Indiana assumed the name of Hoosier's because they had

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<v Speaker 3>been so deeply and so thoroughly influenced by the preaching

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<v Speaker 3>of Harry Hoosier. Like so many other terms that have arisen,

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<v Speaker 3>sometimes out of derision, this term Hoosier was also a

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<v Speaker 3>term of derision for those who had come to believe

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<v Speaker 3>in the anti slavery message and who made their way

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<v Speaker 3>into Indiana and other parts of the burgeoning nation. Professor

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<v Speaker 3>William Pearson of Fisk University has said, as memories of

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<v Speaker 3>the preacher Black Harry slipped away, and as the white

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<v Speaker 3>people of the Frontier adopted the nickname Hoosier for themselves,

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<v Speaker 3>the term lost its original racial connotations and came to

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<v Speaker 3>means simply an illiterate, ignorant or uncouth yahoo. For the

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<v Speaker 3>thought who flocked to hear Harry Hoosier preach, the name

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<v Speaker 3>Hoosier was a memorial to both the man and his

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<v Speaker 3>message of freedom from human bondage and freedom from the

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<v Speaker 3>bondage of sin. People from Indiana should take pride in.

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<v Speaker 4>Having the most distinctive state nickname, but they may justly

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<v Speaker 4>exercise greater appreciation for the person whose name it was.

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<v Speaker 1>And a terrific job on the production by Greg Hangler.

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<v Speaker 1>In a special thanks to doctor Stephen Flick, head of

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<v Speaker 1>the Christian Heritage Fellowship, for sharing Harry Hoosier's story. Born

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<v Speaker 1>into slavery in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Harry was freed by

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<v Speaker 1>a slave owner in Baltimore, Maryland.

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<v Speaker 2>He would go on to travel the country preaching the gospel.

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<v Speaker 1>No less an authority than doctor Benjamin Rush was impressed

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<v Speaker 1>his man.

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<v Speaker 2>Well.

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<v Speaker 1>His name was memorialized, as was his message, and of

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<v Speaker 1>course the name for anyone who was listening, meant freedom

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<v Speaker 1>from human bondage and freedom from human sin. The story

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<v Speaker 1>of Harry Hoosier here on our American Story.

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