Black Catholics in Buffalo

Blacks have lived in Buffalo since the late 18th century, when much of the area was still wilderness frontier inhabited mostly by English and French settlers and Native Americans. Some of the first Black pioneers were enslaved to white or Native American masters at the time of their residence in the Buffalo area. By the 19th century, Blacks were travelling north from the slave states in large numbers seeking their freedom. Buffalo was a waystation on the famous Underground Railroad, the informal linkage of concerned whites and blacks that assisted the escaping slaves. Although New York abolished slavery in 1817, most runaway slaves who passed through Buffalo were en route to Canada due to the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Act (1850), that enabled slave owners to apprehend slaves even on free soil in America.

The first Black resident of the Niagara frontier and Buffalo area was known as "Black Joe" Hodge. Hodge, a fugitive slave, initially worked as a trader in the vicinity of Cattaraugus Creek around 1790. Later, he moved to the area near Little Buffalo Creek and es

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him in the least from directing the spiritual, mental, and physical nourishment of his flock. During his years at Lackawanna, Father Baker established two missions, the Working Boys' Home and two Working Girls' Homes in Buffalo, St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, Our Lady of Victory Infant Home, Our Lady of Victory Hospital, St. John's Protectory, and various trade schools for boys. By 1935, the Lackawanna Apostolate had baptized approximately 700 black converts. In the 1930s, the Black Catholic missionary effort in Buffalo experienced significant growth, particularly during the administrations of Father John Lalley and Father John Conway. By 1933, St. Augustine's mission church boasted 193 Black Catholics. In 1937, a shrine to Blessed Martin de Porres was installed in the church. The shrine included a statue and an authenticated relic from the exhumed body of the Dominican brother. Also in 1937, a mission chapel was established at Jefferson and Bristol Streets; the name of the chapel was St. Peter Claver. St. Augustine's school functioned from 1940 to 1947. During the 1940s, Father Philip N. Blake, a Jamaican-American priest, was hired by the Diocese of Buffalo to perform Catholic social action work among the Black parishio
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