Very little is known about John Chavis’s origins besides the fact that he was born free sometime around 1763. He was likely born in Virginia and worked as an indentured servant in his youth.

Early on, John showed an aptitude for learning and was sent to learn Latin and Greek under Dr. Witherspoon of Princeton University. Though John did not graduate from Princeton, the education he received their positioned him to attend the college that would eventually become known as Washington and Lee University.

John soon impressed the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians of the surrounding area. Known to be more liberal about matters of race, these believers welcomed John into their assembly, first as a communing member, and, eventually, as the first black ordained Presbyterian minister.

Chavis served the Orange Presbytery of North Carolina for over twenty years before, in 1831, a new law was passed, banning Black preachers – enslaved or free – from preaching to assemblies that included the enslaved. This law was in response to the Nat Turner rebellion, which stoked fear of Black assemblies across the slaveholding east coast.

Chavis devoted the rest of his life to education, teaching both Black and white students. Although he never married nor had children of his own, his enduring legacy remains in the robust tradition of Black Presbyterian involvement.