Martha Tolton's Fight for Faith and Freedom
St. Peter's Catholic Church
Ralls County, Missouri
Listen | Hidden in Plain Sight
Where in Missouri? .
Margot and Heather travel to Ralls County, Missouri, where they explore the story of Martha Jane Chisley Tolton, an enslaved woman who freed herself and her three young children during the Civil War. Her son, Augustus Tolton, would grow up to become the first known African-American Catholic priest to serve in the United States, building Chicago’s first black parish, and serving congregants across the color line during a time of deep racial division. We speak with members of the Ralls Counry historical society about the history of the Brush Creek Church, including the graveyard where many enslaved were buried. They also speak with Bishop Joseph Perry of the Chicago Archdiocese, who now serves as the postulator for the cause of canonization for Father Tolton.
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Learn more about the history of Brush Creek and St. Peter’s Church by visiting the Ralls County Historical Society.
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Bauer, Father Roy. 1993. They Called Him Father Gus: The Life and Times of August Tolton, First Black Priest in the USA. St. Peter Parish.
Christenson, Lawrence O. 1999. Dictionary of Missouri Biography. University of Missouri Press.
Coggswell, Gladys. 2010. Stories From The Heart: Missouri’s African American Heritage. University of Missouri Press.
“Martha Tolton.” Dains, Mary K. 1993. Show Me Missouri Women, Vol. 1. Thomas Jefferson Press.
Gates, Henry Louis. 1998. Six Women’s Slave Narratives. Oxford University Press.
Greene, Lorenzo J. and Gary R. Kremer & Antonio F. Holland, eds. 1993. Missouri's Black Heritage. University of Missouri Press.
McMillen, Margot Ford and Heather Roberson. 2002. Called to Courage: Four Women in Missouri History. University of Missouri Press.
Nolen, Rose. 2003. Hoecakes, Hambone, And All That Jazz: African American Traditions In Missouri. University of Missouri Press.
Penn, Sabrina A. 2007. A Place for My Children: Father Augustus Tolton. Pennink.
Access the WPA collection of slave narratives (collected by the Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration, 1936-1938) through the Library of Congress.
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