author
Abel C. (Abel Charles) Thomas
1807–1880
A lively 19th-century Universalist minister, journalist, and memoirist, he wrote with the energy of a preacher and the eye of a storyteller. His work preserves a vivid picture of religious debate and everyday life in early America.
1 Audiobook
The Gospel of Slavery: A Primer of Freedom
by Abel C. (Abel Charles) Thomas
About the author
Born in Pennsylvania in 1807, Abel Charles Thomas became a Universalist evangelist, minister, journalist, and historian. He is especially associated with Philadelphia, where he served the Universalist church in two pastorates that together lasted nearly twenty-five years.
Thomas was known in his own time as a forceful religious controversialist and an active writer. He also left behind a more personal record in Autobiography of Rev. Abel C. Thomas (1852), a book filled with recollections of people, places, and incidents from his life.
He died in 1880. Today, he is remembered both for his role in 19th-century Universalism and for the autobiographical writing that gives modern readers a direct, engaging glimpse into his world.