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Bishop Samuel N. Hancock Timeline
1883
Samuel Nathan Hancock is born November 9 in Columbia, Adair County, Kentucky, to John and Charlotte Hancock.
1888
Hancock migrates with his family to Indianapolis, Indiana, at the age of five.
1908
Hancock marries Bertha Valentine (d. 1913). Two children are born to this union: Norlin Winifred (1909-1964) and Emma Geraldine (1911-1921).
1914
1. Hancock marries Annie W. Williams (d. 1938).
2. Hancock receives the baptism of the Holy Ghost on September 5 under Garfield T. Haywood, and by extension, becomes affiliated with the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW).
1916
On March 6, Hancock, along with Haywood and hundreds of others, submits to rebaptism in the name of Jesus, subscribing to the Oneness theology.
1917
Hancock becomes assistant pastor to Haywood at Christ Temple Apostolic Faith Assembly in Indianapolis which Haywood founded in 1909.
1921
Hancock moves to Detroit, Michigan, to assume the pastorate of a small mission, vowing to “Do a great thing in Detroit.”
1923
Hancock's church moves to 2238 Clinton Street, later expanding to 2254 Clinton Street. Ultimately, the church grows to more than 3,000 parishioners, becoming the renowned Clinton Street Greater Bethlehem Temple Church.
1927
Hancock is elevated to the bishopric by the PAW.
1932
Hancock becomes affiliated with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ (PAJC), a failed merger of the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance (previously named the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ) and the PAW. After the merger fails, the PAW restores its charter under Bishop Samuel Grimes. Hancock remains with PAJC for a while.
1936
Under Hancock's direction, Clinton Street's all-saints senior citizens home for aged women is erected in Detroit.
1938
Hancock returns to the PAW.
1939
1. Hancock marries Ida Louise Howard Haywood (d. 1954), widow of Bishop G.T. Haywood, who died in 1931.
2. Under Hancock's direction, Clinton Street's 3-story Temple Rest Home dormitory for girls is erected in Detroit.
1955
Hancock marries Anna Bell Davis Douglas (d. circa 1960), widow of Bishop Floyd I. Douglas.
1957
Hancock separates from the PAW and organizes the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith Association (PCAF).
1959
Hancock travels to Liberia, W. Africa to organize the PCAF Liberia Board of Bishops.
1961
Hancock marries Bertha Jackson on October 14.
1962
The Clinton Street church purchases the Jewish Synagogue, Shareey Zedek, at 2900 Chicago Blvd.
1963
1. Hancock leads the church to its new location on March 10.
2. Bishop Samuel Nathan Hancock dies on August 18.
Other outstanding achievements of Bishop Hancock:
• Designed the PCAF logo in 1957.
• Opened a supermarket to assist the saints and others during the Great Depression.
• Erected a neighborhood workshop to train boys in wood crafting.
• Designed a teaching chart titled “Revelation of the Ages” that explains the rise and fall of man from Genesis to Revelation.
• Wrote The Great Godhead, The Marriage and Divorce Question in the Church, and countless other articles for the Voice in the Wilderness and other periodicals.
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