Absalom Jones

Adorned with a silhouette of the Reverend Absalom Jones and Masonic emblems, this jug likely commemorates the tenth anniversary of the first African American Masonic order, which Jones co-founded in 1798.
Born in Delaware, Jones was enslaved until his owner freed him in 1784. He subsequently worked to form the Free African Society, an organization that assisted newly freed slaves. Jones became the first African American Episcopal priest, and while unsuccessful, he petitioned Congress regarding “the oppression and violence which so great a number of like colour and National Descent are subjected.”