Clarence H. Cobbs
African-American clergyman and broadcaster (1908–1979)
Clarence Henry Cobbs (February 29, 1908 – June 28, 1979) was an African-American spiritualist clergyman and broadcaster, the leader of the First Church of Deliverance in Chicago.
Early life
Clarence H. Cobbs was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on February 29, 1908. He attended Kortrecht High School, where his teachers included hymnwriter Lucie Campbell. He moved to Chicago in 1916, becoming a member of the Pilgrim Baptist Church. In the late 1920s, he met and was influenced by spiritualist medium "Mother" Della Hedgepath.
The First Church of Deliverance
After Hedgepath's death, Cobbs founded his own congregation, the First Church of Deliverance. It initially met at his mother's residence, and moved to a storefront at 4155 South State Street in May 1929. It moved again in 1930, to 4633 South State Street, and to a brick building at 4315 South Wabash Avenue in 1933.
Nicknamed "Preacher", Cobbs became known for his fashionable clothes, informal manner, and stirring performances with the church's 200-member choir. They appeared before large crowds in Comiskey Park, and began broadcasting services on radio station WSBC in 1935.
“Clarence H. Cobbs” enters the record as african-American clergyman and broadcaster (1908–1979). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Clarence, Cobbs and African-American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 1, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q84809398. VIAF identifies the subject as 78941747. The Library of Congress control number is no2009020094. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1908, 1979, 1916 and 1929.
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