Allan
Ralph Griggs was born of slave parents in Hancock county, Georgia, about
1850. His father's name was Sutton; his mother, Brazilia, belonged to a
family by the name of Griggs. He remembers seeing his mother but twice,
the last time after he had been sold at auction. He was taken to Grimes
county, Texas, where he labored on a farm till 1867. He was converted in
1869, licensed and ordained in 1874. In 1875 he became pastor of the
Baptist church in Dallas; while here he attended Ministers' Institutes,
under the auspices of the Home Mission Society. In . 1881 he aided in the
founding of Bishop College, and became one of its trustees. In 1886 he
entered Richmond Theological Seminary, where he remained two sessions. He
has been president of the National Baptist Convention, and is now
superintendent of missions and educational agent in Texas. He is editor
and publisher of the National Baptist Bulletin.Sketch from The
Story of a Rising Race: The Negro in Revelation
by James
Jefferson Pipkin - 1902