Person

William Andrew Harrod

Attended Yale Divinity School 1901-1902

William Andrew Harrod - Charles H. Brooks, *Official History of the First African Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pa.* (Philadelphia, PA: Self-published, 1923)

Biography

William Andrew Harrod was born on September 17, 1873, to John Harrod and a mother who has not yet been identified, in Baltimore, Maryland. His father and grandfather were both pastors. By the 1880 census, the Reverend John Harrod was a shoemaker and widowed with four children.1 In 1895, William A. Harrod graduated from Wayland Seminary in Washington D.C.2 In 1899, he attended Brown University as an undergraduate first-year, and later transferred to Yale Divinity School in 1900, attending Yale for a year.3 He married Nettie Watts, who also originated from Baltimore, in 1899 in Norwich, Connecticut.4 During his time at Yale, he was active in the Union A.M.E. Church in New Haven and spoke to the congregation celebrating John Brown’s anniversary.5

Harrod began his career in ministry in 1901 at the First Baptist Church of Milford. He later served at Shiloh Baptist Church in Hartford, Connecticut, from 1904 to 1915. He received praise for expanding membership and financing a new church for the congregation.6 During his time in Hartford, he was known for his work on improving racial relations, representing Black congregations in community events and preaching before 10,000 white Baptists in Northfield, Connecticut. Alongside Adam Clayton Powell (who attended Yale Divinity School, 1895-96), he was elected to serve as an officer of the New England Baptist Missionary Convention.7

In 1914, Harrod received a doctor of divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary.8 He later moved to Philadelphia to oversee the First African Baptist Church in Philadelphia and led it for more than 30 years.9 In Philadelphia, he was considered a leader of the city’s Black community. He established several clubs and societies in the church such as the Book Band Society, the Flower Club, the Benevolent Board, and the Cherry Blossoms. In 1929, he was elected vice president of the predominantly-white Baptist Ministers’ Conference in Philadelphia.10 During the Great Depression, Harrod was selected by the mayor of Philadelphia to join a committee in organizing relief measures for 25,000 unemployed African American.11 The committee would go on to organize soup kitchens, establish temporary shelters, and distribute coal and clothing for the needy.12

In 1947, Harrod died at the age of 74 from pulmonary embolism in Philadelphia. He was survived by his wife and daughter.13

  1. "United States, Census, 1880", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNQC-1ZQ : Sun Jan 12 06:19:04 UTC 2025), Entry for John Harrod and Suanna Harrod, 1880. ↩

  2. “Graduates of the Seminary,” The Washington Times, May 30, 1895, https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/84723546/?match=1&terms=%22William%20Andrew%20Harrod%22&pqsid=3c1lmWO_KptB9IRAepM9mA%3A2074318%3A2003446722. ↩

  3. Directory of the Living Non-Graduates of Yale University, 1910 (New Haven, CT: The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company, 1910), 56, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101068034337?urlappend=%3Bseq=66%3Bownerid=27021597767902989-70. ↩

  4. "Norwich, New London, Connecticut, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9V5-KQM5?view=index : Apr 24, 2025), image 155 of 157; Norwich (Connecticut). Registrar of Vital Statistics. Image Group Number: 007616166. ↩

  5. “Three Nights’ Bazar of Union A. M. E. Church,” The Morning Journal-Courier, March 14, 1901, https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/595220082/?match=1&terms=%22W.%20A.%20Harrod%22&pqsid=berH20GICyv3cU6CMputRw%3A237050%3A145300107; “John Brown’s Birthday,” The Morning Journal-Courier, May 2, 1901, https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/595223047/?match=1&terms=%22W.%20A.%20Harrod%22&pqsid=berH20GICyv3cU6CMputRw%3A237050%3A145300107. ↩

  6. “Connecticut”, The Watchman-Examiner 4, no. 98 (1916), 317, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433003180746?urlappend=%3Bseq=327%3Bownerid=120071978-329. ↩

  7. “Banner Year For Baptists.” New Pittsburgh Courier, July 1, 1911, https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/33455475/?match=1&terms=%22W.%20A.%20Harrod%22&pqsid=berH20GICyv3cU6CMputRw%3A15860%3A1135350799. ↩

  8. “Rev. W. A. Harrod Gets Degree.” The Hartford Courant, June 19, 1914, https://www.proquest.com/docview/556108989/fulltextPDF/C85F1A57DCF34354PQ/34?accountid=15172&sourcetype=Historical%20Newspapers. ↩

  9. Charles H. Brooks, Official History of the First African Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pa. (Philadelphia, PA: Self-published, 1923), 47. ↩

  10. “Rev. W. A. Harrod Is Signally Honored,” Philadelphia Tribune, November 14, 1929, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/rev-w-harrod-is-signally-honored/docview/530999734/se-2?accountid=15172. ↩

  11. “25,000 Negroes Unemployed With 10,000 Additional Underemployed Survey Shows,” Philadelphia Tribune, November 20, 1930, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/25-000-negroes-unemployed-with-10-additional/docview/531208648/se-2?accountid=15172. ↩

  12. “Make ‘Unofficial’ Unemployment Report,” Philadelphia Tribune, February 26, 1931, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/make-unofficial-unemployment-report/docview/531203183/se-2?accountid=15172. ↩

  13. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, PA, USA; Pennsylvania (State). Death Certificates, 1906-1968; Certificate Number Range: 057151-059700, 57612; “Rev. William A. Harrod Dies in Philadelphia,” The Hartford Courant, June 14, 1947, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/obituary-3-no-title/docview/560807225/se-2?accountid=15172. ↩

Full Name

William Andrew Harrod

Family Name

Harrod

Yale Affiliation

Attended Yale Divinity School 1901-1902

Birth Date

1873

Birth Place

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Educated At

Wayland Seminary
Brown University
Virginia Theological Seminary
Yale Divinity School

Places Lived

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Death Date

1947

Gender

male

Decade(s) at Yale

1900s
Media
William Andrew Harrod - Charles H. Brooks, *Official History of the First African Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pa.* (Philadelphia, PA: Self-published, 1923)William Andrew Harrod - Charles H. Brooks, *Official History of the First African Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pa.* (Philadelphia, PA: Self-published, 1923)