London and Rodah Ferrell were free persons who made the decision to come to the frontier community of Lexington in 1812. They emigrated from Hanover County, Virginia. Although not ordained at the time, London had become a preacher and wished to spread the gospel.
Upon their arrival in Kentucky, they travelled through the rural communities preaching where they were allowed. The white citizens heard Ferrell and decided that "his voice was good for preaching, but that he did not speak grammatically." Despite this, Ferrell gained favor with leaders in the community. Lexington town trustees asked that he begin to preach to the African-American population to assist pastor Peter Durrett who had founded the first church for African-Americans in Lexington in 1790. Ferrell and Peter Durrett co-pastored the church until the death of Peter Durrett in 1823.
Ferrell became a member of the First Baptist Church (white) in 1817 and was ordained. His ordination meant that African-Americans who had accepted Christ could now be baptised and the church could be accepted into the organized religious association. The Elkhorn Association accepted the church in 1824.
After Peter Durrett's death, Ferrell became sole pastor and started building the church membership. The church continued to grow and eventually relocated from the west side of town to the east side. They purchased a lot in 1834 on the corner of Short and Deweese Streets which had been the site of the first Methodist Church (white). A new structure was built in 1856 and is still standing.
London Ferrell was invited to speak to various events in town. He was so well liked that Alexander Parker, a town trustee, hosted a dinner for him, "with the privilege of inviting all he (Ferrell) liked to have with him." (Biography of London Ferrill, by A.W. Elder, Lexington, Kentucky, 1854)
Ferrell was one of few people and one of two ministers who remained in Lexington during the cholera outbreak of 1833. Rodah, his wife, was one of those who succumed to the epidemeic. Yet he served both black and white victims and their families during their illnesses and provided religious service for those who had died.
Ferrell and his church were well established in the years Lincoln would have visited. The one thousand plus membership made the church the largest in Lexington.
When Ferrell died in October 1854, his funeral was said to have been the largest in Lexington with the exception of Henry Clay's. London Ferrell, the only African-American of record, was buried in the Episcopal Burying Ground on East Third Street.
