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BLACK HISTORY
<Tlje Portland ©barrUer
Looking back on history: Memoirs of M rs. Zilpha Elaw
by James L. Swinton
Zilpha was born in the state of
Pennsylvania around 1790 to C hris
tian parents. Her mother died when
Zilpha was 12 years old. Her father
then placed her under the care of
Pierson and Rebecca Mitchel, who
were Quakers, until she was eigh
teen. Zilpha said she m issed the
family devotions they had mornings
and evenings where prayer and prais
es were offered to God daily But her
new Quaker family, their religious
devotions were held, if any, only in
their mind. As a result, Zilpha soon
fell into sin.
But she said God rebuked her
through a dream in which the Angel
Gabriel said, “Jehovah was about to
judge the world, and execute ju d g
ment on." After months o f prayer
seeking G od’s forgiveness for her
sins, Zilpha said, “I distinctly saw
the Lord Jesus approach me with
open arms, and a m ost divine and
heavenly smile upon His counte
nance. As He advanced toward me,
I felt that His very looks spoke, and
said, ‘Thy prayer is accepted, I own
thy nam e.’” From that moment,
Zilpha never doubted G od’s love for
her soul. This was the time of her
total acceptance o f God. And in the
year 1808, Zilpha joined a local
Methodist Episcopal Society.
Zilpha still felt the lost o f her
mother: "Oh, how often do 1 think of
the advantage enjoyed by many
young people, who are blessed with
devout and god I y parents, and of the
little estim ation they are held in by
too many perverse and giddy chil
dren, who, instead of greatly prizing
the grace conferred upon them, re
sent the kind restraints o f family
worship and attendance at the house
of God."
In 1810, Zilpha married Joseph
Elaw, who was not a Christian.
Zilpha advised against such mar
riages: “Oh! let me affectionately
warn my dear unmarried sisters in
Christ, against being thus unequally
yoked with an unbeliever. In general
your lot would be better, if a mill
stone were hung about your necks,
and you were drowned in the depths
o f the sea, than that you should
disobey the law of Jesus [Matt. 18:6],
and plunge yourselves into all the
sorrows, sins, and anomalies in
volved in a matrimonial alliance
with an unbeliever.”
In 1817, while attending a gospel
cam p-m eeting, a voice spoke to
Zi Ipha and said: "Now thou art sanc
tified; and I will show thee what thou
must do.” Afterward, as she appeared
not to be on earth, she prayed public
ly. Many came to her requesting her
to present their petitions to God,
thus began her’’ministry of prayer."
Before the end of the gospel cam p
meeting, the Holy Spirit revealed to
Zilpha that she was to be like anoth
er Phoebe|R om . 16:1-2, a colleague
of Apostle Paul) who was to visit
families; she was to speak to them
about salvation, the state of their
soul, and to visit the sick.
This revelation confirmed what
her sister, after recovering from a
near death experience, had stated a
year previous. Her sister had said
she had seen Jesus, had been in the
society of the angels, and that an
angel came and told her that Zilpha
must preach the gospel. Both of these
revelations still didn't move Zilpha
to preach. But doing a severe sick
ness, Zilpha said a person appeared
and stood by her bedside and said:
“Be of good cheer, for thou shalt yet
see another camp-meeting; and at
that meeting thou shalt know the
will of God concerning thee.”
It was nearly one and a half years
later before Zilpha attended the next
camp-meeting. W hile at the cam p
meeting, a voice said to her, “Go
outside o f the tent while I speak to
thee.” Im m ediately, Zilpha went
outside o f the tent, and began to
speak, as if involuntarily, exhorting
the people. After Zilpha had finish
speaking, she said, “I sat down and
closed my eyes; and there appeared
a light shining round about me as
well as within me, above the bright
ness of the sun, and out of that light,
the same identical voice which had
spoken to me on the bed o f sickness
many months before, spoke again to
me on the camp ground, and said,
’Now thou knowest the will of God
concerning thee; thou must preach
the gospel; and thou must travel far
and wide.’ This is my commission
for the work of the ministry, which I
received, not from mortal man, but
from the voice of an invisible and
heavenly p e rso n a g e sen t from
God...my ministry was commenced
in the midst o f thousands who were
both eye and ear witnesses of the
fact.”
After Zilpha returned home, she
got the approval of all the ministers
in the Methodist Society to preach,
but jealousy soon developed toward
her among many of her local class
members. She became a personal
witness to Matt. 13:57 “A prophet is
not without honor, saved [except] in
his own house.”
On January 27, 1823, Z ilpha’s
husband died. Afterward, she tried
working as a maid, and also opening
a school to pay off her debts. But
Zilpha wasn’t very pleased with her
situation because she knew she
w asn’t carrying out the commission
God had given her She thought of
schemes and ways of how He would
work the situation out, but she knew
the scripture said. “For as the heav
ens are higher than the earth, so are
my ways higher than your ways, and
my thoughts than your thoughts.”
(Isa. 1:9).
After Zilpha finished her engage
ments in New York, she returned
home to Nantucket. While at home,
she experienced three visions, each
more vivid than the previous: "I was
caught up in the Spirit, away from
and far above all sublunary things;
and appeared to be standing on a
very elevated place in the midst of
tens of thousands, who were all seat
ed around, clothed in white; my own
com plexion and raiment were also
white and I was employed in ad
dressing this immense concourse.”
In 1839 as Zilpha again m inis
tered in the southern states, she felt
it was time for her to go England.
W hen she returned to Providence,
Rhode Island, Lady Hunter and may
others, whites and blacks, contribut
ed offerings to Zilpha for her ex
penses to England.
Zilpha left for England on July
1st, 1840 and arrived on July 25th.
W hile in England, she preached over
a thousand sermons during her five
year tour. Her biggest opposition
came from some ministers who be
lieve that women shouldn’t preach,
for they believed that Paul said wom
en shouldn’t speak in a church. But
Z ilpha responded: "T he apostle
[Paul] directed that a woman, when
praying or prophesying should have
her head covered 11 Cor. 11:5]; from
which it may be inferred, that the
praying or prophesying of a woman
is allowable ” Paul also said, "Who
art thou that judgeth another m an’s
servant: to his ow n m aster he
standeth or falleth. Why doest thou
judge thy brother?” (Rom. 14:4,10).
INSIDE:
“Remember, dear brethren, that
they who will be rich, fall into tem p
tation. and a snare, and a numerous
foolish and hurtful lusts, which will
eventually drown them in perdition.
Cease, therefore, from earthly accu
mulations; but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven. Remember the
love of money; for it is the root of all
evil [ I Tim.6:10], Love not the world;
for the love o f God is not in those
who love the w orld.”
* Source: Andrews, W illiam L.
Sisters of Spirit: Three Black W om
en ’s Autobiographies o f the N ine
teenth Century. Bloomington: Indi
ana University Press, 1986
Buildings of Portland's Afri can-American History
Join the Bosco-M illigan Founda
tion in celebrating Black History
month by participating in the first
community meeting for the founda
tion’s program “Buildings o f Port
land’s African A merican H istory”.
The free event will describe the
Foundation’s continuing effort to
identify buildings and sites associat
ed with African- American individ
uals, institutions and events.
In fall of 1995, the Foundation
published Cornerstones of Com m u
nity: Buildings of Portland’s A fri
can-American History. A dedicated
team of professional historians (Dr.
Darrell Millner, Dr. Carl Abbott,
Dr. QuintardTaylor, McKinley Burt
and Kimberly Moreland) was sup
ported by a community-based Histo
ry Committee, to tell the story of
Portland’s African-American com
munity by connecting people with
places, up through the early 1970s.
Cornerstones documented 325 ex
isting buildings w here A frican-
American History happened! That
extensive publication linked build
ings to individuals, institutions, and
events in Portland’s African-Am er
ican History.
As hoped, many people have ex
pressed their interest in helping to
“fill in the gaps” in Cornerstones
and add many more people and plac
es. An expanded publication with
photographs will be developed by
September 1997. At the February
15th meeting, a slide show o f signif-
icant buildings from the 1995 publi
cation will be shown. The Program
Workshop will describe the project
more fully, and seek individuals for
the Community History Committee.
In particular, we hope for the partic
ipation of people willing to share
their experiences, memories, and any
photographs and information relat
ed to African-American individu
als, in stitu tio n s, b u ild in g s and
events.
This program is partially sup
ported by funding from the State
Historic Preservation Office, Black
United Fund, The Oregon Council
for the Humanities, and a territory
resource.
There is no fee for attending, but
pre-registration is requested by call
ing the Foundation Office at 231-
7264, so we can plan for handouts
and refreshments. Special thanks to
Mt. Sinai Baptist Church for hosting
the event. You can park on the street
or in the parking lot at the corner of
6th and NE Skidmore.
For additional information call
the Foundation Office at 231-7264.
The Bosco-M illigan Foundation is a
non-profit organization whose pur
pose is to establish the Architectural
Heritage Center at 701 SE Grand
Avenue in the W est’s Block Build
ing, the oldest building in Portland’s
Central Eastside.
Project Kick-Off and Community
M eeting Saturday, February 15,
1997, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at
M t. S in a i C o m m u n ity B a p tist
Church 602 NE Prescott, Admis
sion is free
African American Women on tour
CHICKEN & BISCUITS
Salutes
Black History
Month
Equal Opportunity Employer
J. California Cooper (right), author. Some Soul To Keep; Homemade Love; A Piece o f Mine. Bertice
Berry Ph.D (left), author o f Bertice: The World According to Me. pubished by Scribner, Photo by: Martin
O'Jflffclligent, inspirational and to
tally hilarious are all words used to
describe talk show host and author
Bertice Berry, who is scheduled to
appear at the African A m erican
Women on Tour conference in O ak
land, California, Friday, April 4 at
the Marriott City Center at 8pm.
Presented by Allstate Insurance
company, AAW OT is regarded as
the nations foremost empowerment
conference for Black women.
The conference travels to five cit
ies this year, including Dallas, TX,
June 13-15; Chicago, IL, July 25-27;
Atlanta, GA, August 14-16; and Phil-
a d e lp h ia , PA , A u g u st 2 2 -2 4 .
AAW OT features some of the na
tion’s most sought-after speakers on
Black female issues.
B e rry , w ho w ill a p p e a r at
A A W O T’s Opening Sessions, will
also moderate a “Relationships Fo
rum” hosted by Heart & Soul maga
zine. She will be joined by author/
playwright J. California Cooper and
legendary vocalist Gladys Knight
on Sunday, April 6, sponsored by
Chrysler Corporation.
Berry , a professor-turned stand
up comedian, burst onto the televi
sion screen as host of her short-lived
self-titled talk show in 1993.
Now, back on the talk show scene
on the USA Network, Berry also
lectures and performs stand-up com
edy nationally, while promoting her
first book, Bertice: The World A c
cording to Me, where she shares her
story of success and triumph despite
the stereotypes o f being and African
American child growing up poor.
Also appearing at African A m er
ican W omen on Tour will be re
nowned author/playwright J. Cali
fornia Cooper on Saturday, April 5,
sponsored by Mobil Oil Corpora
tion.
Author o f popular novels Family,
and In Search o f Satisfaction, Coo
per has also produced four collec
tions of short stories: Some Soul To
Keep, Homemade Love, The M atter
is Life and A Piece o f Mine. Coo
per’s latest work, Some Love, Some
Pain, Sometime is being heralded as
one o f her best works yet. She has
also written 17 plays that have been
perform ed on stage and radio.
Awarded “Playwright of the Y ear”
in 1978 for “Strangers”, C ooper’s
work has a broad appeal to audienc
es of all ages and interests.
Vessels schedules activities for February
V e sse ls, “T a b le w a re W ith
M eaning,"announces events in cel
ebration and honor of Black His
tory Month.
On Saturday, February 22, from
1:3O-3:3Op.m., Vessels will present
a wedding planning workshop, "Be
fore Jumpin' the Broom”. The work
shop will feature details on wedding
invitation etiquette and offer many
helpful do’s and dont’s to follow to
make this essential prelude to your
wedding day a success. In addition,
i
the workshop will include ways to
enhance your wedding by blending
cultural elements into the ceremony.
Front decorating the broom to view
ing an African wedding gown, the
session is an event not to miss.
“Before Jum pin’ the Broom" will
feature a presentation by Barbara
Taylor, president of Positive G ath
erings, a meeting planning and con
sulting services business Co-spon
sors include It’s My Kind of Face!
Photography Studio and the Ramada
Plaza Hotel. Discounts and door
prizes will be available. Because
seating is limited, registration is
required Call Vessels at 249-1952
to reserve a space or for more infor
mation.
Vessels, “Tableware With Mean
ing”, features ethnic items for the
dining room bath and kitchen. Lo
cated at 2605 NE Martin Luther
King Jr. Boulevard, at the corner
Russell, Vessels is open Tuesday-
Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.