Father Divine Comes to Sayville

This year marks Sayville’s 250th anniversary and the community held a daylong celebration October 1 at The Common Ground. To commemorate this historic occasion Sayville Patch is running a series of stories that look back on the history of the hamlet.

George Baker, aka the Evangelical Father Divine, was perhaps one of the most mysterious, yet famous, men to ever walk the streets of Sayville. 

Born George Baker, son of a share cropper, his actual birth date and location are a mystery, although most agree it was in the 1880s in the Deep South. As a young man, Baker educated himself and, like many other African-Americans in the 1920s, migrated north. 

Baker eventually settled on Macon Street in Sayville and began an Evangelical ministry which preached to a small following. Most of the early followers were African-Americans who lived in the area. 

Divine would help many of his followers get jobs as domestic servants or landscapers with the hotels or on the estates in the area. On Sundays, Father Divine held small services and banquets at his house for his followers. At first, Father Divine was considered the model neighbor. One neighbor noted that the house and yard were immaculate and that they would occasionally see Divine doing odd jobs around the yard. Services were so quiet that most of the people in the neighborhood did not even know there was a service being held. All that would soon change with the Stock Market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. 

As the Great Depression deepened through the early 1930s, the size and scope of the Sunday service and banquets at Divine’s house grew. People talked of luxurious meals at what was called “the Peace Mission.” The congregants at the Peace Mission were a mixture of white and African Americans, which at that time was unusual. This was the appeal of Father Divine’s message, which was one of integration and equality for all. The singing and sermons on Sundays began in the early morning and lasted until midnight. The crowds grew so big that six police officers were assigned to the area to direct traffic. 

By 1931, Father Divine and his followers had worn out their welcome. After a near riot at the Peace Mission house in November 1931, Father Divine was charged with disturbing the peace. Believing that Divine would not get a fair trial in Sayville, the venue was changed to Mineola. 

Judge Smith, a known racist who presided over the case, took an instant dislike of Father Divine and the result was a sham trial, which resulted in a conviction. He was sentenced to one year in jail and fined $500. 

Incredibly, three days after the trial, Judge Smith, who was said to be in perfect health, suddenly collapsed and died. The incident caused Father Divine's popularity and status as a martyr to grow to legend status.

Eventually his conviction was overturned and he was freed. Taking recent events in stride, (as he always did) he left Sayville for a bigger venue which was also closer to the core of his following in Harlem, N.Y.  Yet, he never forgot those early days in Sayville, returning for one final visit in the early 1960s. 

David Moglia is a Sayville resident is a very keen interest in local history. He can be reached via e-mail at dlmoglia@gmail.com.

Works Cited:

Dickerson, Charles P. A History of the Sayville Community, including Bayport, Bohemia, West Sayville, Oakdale, and Fire Island. S.l.: S.n., 1975. Print.

Dickerson, Charles P. Father Divine Photo. S.l.: S.n., 1975. Father Divine Project. Web. <scalar.usc.edu>.

Weisbrot, Robert. Father Divine and the Struggle for Racial Equality. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1983. Print.