Gideon Blackburn, a Presbyterian minister, purchased and sought to free a slave named Jack. Through Blackburn's tenacity and by action of the Blount County Court, he received his freedom and the name John Gloucester in 1807. Educated at Greenville (Tusculum) College, Gloucester became a Presbyterian missionary in 1809. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Philadelphia physician and Gloucester’s friend, assisted in freeing his wife and children. The first African American ordained as a Presbyterian minister, Gloucester became a respected pastor and teacher in Philadelphia. His four sons became Presbyterian ministers.