Allensworth, James L., Sr.
(born: August 2, 1845 - died: December 18, 1922)Reverend James L. Allensworth, Sr., pastor, veteran, and respected man, was one of the first African American coroners in Hopkinsville, KY. He owned a single lot of land on Lovier Street, according to the city property tax lists for 1893 and 1894. He was manager of the Good Samaritan Association in Hopkinsville, where his son was manager around 1914 [see NKAA entry Colored Lodges - Hopkinsville, KY].
James Sr. was editor of The Baptist Monitor newspaper while it was located in Hopkinsville [source: "Papers published by Negroes" in Chapter 13 of A History of Christian County Kentucky, by C. M. Meacham]. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
In 1905, he ran for re-election as the county coroner, and his son James Allensworth, Jr. (1872-1927), was named as constable [source: "Nominated for magistrate, and Jim Allensworth, Jr., for constable," Hopkinsville Kentuckian, 9/12/1905, p. 1].
James Allensworth, Sr. was again re-elected as coroner in 1909 [source: "Slate went through easy," Hopkinsville Kentuckian, 4/27/1909, p. 1]. First elected to the position of coroner in 1894 and in 1895, he held an inquest into the death of a man who was hit by a train while walking down the tracks [source: "A stranger killed," Hopkinsville Kentuckian, 1/22/1895, p. 1]. Listed among Christian County's first elected Negro officials [see NKAA entry], he served as coroner of Hopkinsville until 1920. Rev. Allensworth's duties included cutting down the bodies of lynched persons and burying them, including "Booker" Brame, who was said to have been lynched by an unknown party [source: "Coroner cuts down body," Springfield Sun, 4/19/1909, p. 1].
Rev. Allensworth was the husband of Gracie McComb Allensworth; they married in May 1899 [source: "County Corner weds," Hopkinsville Kentuckian, 6/2/1899, p. 5]. Gracie McComb Allesnworth is listed on James's military pension record. His previous wife was Minerva Perkins Allensworth. Rev. Allensworth, his wife, and their four children are listed in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census.
Rev. Allensworth was a Civil War veteran, having served with the 13th Heavy Artillery division of the U.S. Colored Troops. According to his enlistment record, he was born in Christian County, KY around 1845; enlisting in Bowling Green, KY September 24, 1864. He may have been enslaved prior to enlisting in the military. His parents were listed as unknown on his death certificate.
* See James L. Allensworth, Sr. in the U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1863-1865, and in the U.S., Civil War Pension Index, both in Ancestry.