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Charles Albert Tindley

          Charles Albert Tindley Jr. was born on July 7, 1851, to Charles Tindley Sr. a slave, and Hester Miller Tindley, who was free in Berlin, Maryland. Charles Tindley Sr. was the slave of Joseph Brindell whose farm was near Berlin. Charles Albert Tindley’s mother died when he was young. His aunt, Caroline Miller Robbins, raised Mr. Tindley until he was old enough to find work for himself. Although he was born into slavery, the knowledge of his African heritage destined him for much greater things. Charles Albert Tindley was a descendant of the Zulu Nation, which produced the great King Shaka and the renowned President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela.

          Mr. Tindley taught himself to read and write by the age of 17. He studied and mastered the Greek and Hebrew languages. He dreamt of building a 3,000 plus seat structure on a street, which did not sell real estate to “Negroes”. Tindley worked as a janitor and a hodcarrier at the John Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church, the church where he would later begin to preach on Sunday mornings. While attending night school, Mr. Tindley earned his degree through a correspondence course.

          When Mr. Tindley was about 17, he married Daisy Henry in 1868. They had eight children, several whom displayed musical talent. Mrs. Tindley died in 1924. Mr. Tindley then got remarried to Jenny Cotton in 1927.

          In 1885, Mr. Tindley asked to join the Methodist Episcopal church’s segregated Delaware Conference, which included Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. After a probationary appointment in Cape May, New Jersey, Mr. Tindley was promoted to deacon in 1887. He became an elder in 1889 and the elder for the Wilmington District in 1900. He was nominated for bishop twice, in 1916 and 1920.

          In 1902, Mr.Tindley became the preacher of the Bainbridge Street Church; he stayed with this congregation until the day of his death. Everyone in the congregation felt Mr.Tindley’s character and power as a preacher. The church’s members grew from 130 members to about 5,000 members. He attracted a large number of Caucasians on Sunday evenings. During this time, Mr. Tindley began to build a 3,200-seat church, later named Tindley Temple in 1925, after his first wife, Daisy Henry Tindley.

          With a new church and about 5,000 members in the congregation, Tindley’s dreams had come true. But the congregation was poor; finances were always a major problem. When the bank threatened foreclosure in 1930, the church called in a revival minister named G. Wilson Becton to bring more people to the church. Becton did help with the finances but many people thought he was too flamboyant, so when he was forced out, about 3,000 members from the congregation went with him.

          By this time, Mr. Tindley was in poor health. After having a foot injury in early 1933, Mr. Tindley was diagnosed with Gangrene. He spent the last two weeks of his life at the Frederick Douglass Hospital. Charles Albert Tindley died on July 26, 1933.

          Mr. Tindley is remembered as one of the “Founding Fathers of Gospel Music”. He is like the Babyface or Kirk Franklin of the Civil War era, only he wrote inspirational gospel songs. His most famous songs are “I’ll Overcome Someday”, “Leave It There”, and “Stand By Me”. Charles Tindley’s song “I’ll Overcome Someday” was the basis and inspiration for the Civil Rights Anthem, “We Shall Overcome”.

          Charles Albert Tindley was 82 when he died. His songs made such an impact on the African- American community that the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church was named after him.
 
Charles Albert Tindley July 7, 1851- July 26, 1933

[Crystal Steed]