Theophilus Gould Steward and Gouldtown research, October 3, 2026

National Park Service biography gives 17 April 1843 birth in Gouldtown, 11 January 1924 death in Wilberforce, Ohio, and burial in Gouldtown Memorial Park. It documents Rebecca Steward’s home reading, local seasonal work, Gouldtown Literary and Moral Improvement Society lectures, 1863 ordination, Charleston Freedmen’s Bureau/school activity from May 1865, 1891 appointment as first African American chaplain of the 25th Infantry, service as educator and historian, and later Wilberforce teaching. Do not turn “first in the 25th” into “first Black Army chaplain.”
Trinity AME National Register nomination, pages 4 and 8–11, locates the 1860 church on Route 49 just east of Woodruff Road and names Steward among Gouldtown’s prominent people. It describes earlier house and barn meetings and school-based worship. Caution: page 9 says the Lummis school was purchased in “1934” while the same paragraph says services there were 1834–1860. Treat this as an unresolved apparent typo, not a verified date.
Steward’s 1877 Rebecca memoir names Theophilus as one of six children and documents Rebecca’s household and letters. It is a first-person son’s devotional arrangement, not an independent transcript of the original letters. It says Theophilus and William returned to Gouldtown from work in the South. The archive already has a separate Rebecca Steward entry, so new story cross-links it.
Steward’s The Colored Regulars, published in 1904, has a preface dated 1899 explaining his use of official reports, correspondence and interviews to document Black soldiers in the war of 1898. That preface supports the new story’s description of his intent and method, but the book itself is his historical interpretation and should not stand alone to establish battle details.
William and Theophilus Steward’s 1913 Gouldtown book is a primary community history. It is already covered in the archive’s Gouldtown entry; the new story highlights the coauthor’s role and points readers there. Genealogical traditions in the book require separate checking.

Map/access decision: Existing places.json has two approximate Gouldtown locality points tied to existing entries. The new story should link one established Gouldtown locality, ideally with ?q=Gouldtown on the map. The sources do not demonstrate public access to Trinity AME’s interior or grounds, the cemetery, or a childhood home. Do not add a precise grave pin or a routed church stop. Research did not verify a safe roadside pull-off on Route 49.