MO Then and Now Textbook Information:
John Berry Meachum
John Berry Meachum was a St. Louis pioneer. He became a teacher, a preacher, a businessman, and a leader. He did much to give African Americans a better chance in life.
Meachum was born a slave in Virginia. He learned to be a carpenter, a cabinetmaker, and a cooper. A cooper was a person who made barrels. These were all important jobs. Persons with those skills could always find work.
Meachum was a slave. But he also was allowed to take extra jobs on the side. His owner let him keep some of the extra money he earned. Meachum used that money to buy freedom for himself and his father.
After he was free, Meachum moved to Kentucky. He married a slave. Her owner moved and took her to Missouri. Meachum followed them to Missouri.
Meachum arrived in St. Louis with only three dollars in his pocket. He did not have trouble finding a job. St. Louis was growing rapidly. There were not enough skilled workers there. Meachum saved his money. Before long he had enough money to buy freedom for his wife and their children.
Meachum built a steamboat. He ran it on the Mississippi River. People paid him to carry them and their goods. Soon he owned two brick houses in St. Louis and a farm in Illinois.
Meachum also became a Baptist minister. He started a church for African Americans in St. Louis. It was the first black church in Missouri.
Meachum also began a school for black children in St. Louis. He wanted them to learn to read and write. At the time it was against the law to teach African Americans to read and write. The officials closed his school.
He did not give up. Meachum built another steamboat. He used it as a school. The boat picked up the students and steamed out to the middle of the Mississippi River. The classes were held on the boat in the middle of the river. The officials in Missouri could not do anything about it. Meachum’s school became known as the freedom school.
Meachum used much of the money that he made to buy slaves. He helped them go to school. Then he freed them. Meachum died before slavery was ended. But he worked to help blacks be free. All Missourians can be proud of this pioneer African American leader.
Information taken from: Missouri Then and Now by Perry McCandless and William E. Foley