HERE AND THERE.
In this chapter it is my purpose to mention some men and women engaged
in different lines of business throughout the country.
MR. E. H. DIBBLE.
Mr. Dibble is a native of South Carolina, and is at present operating
a large store in Camden, S. C., where he keeps a stock of dry goods,
boots, shoes, fancy and family groceries. Aside from the store he
owns he also has an interest in another one in the same town, which
is operated by his brother. The patrons at either one of the stores
are not all colored by any means, but a large percentage of their
trade comes from a splendid class of white people. My object in making
mention of so many men engaged in business in the South is to stimulate
among my readers, and especially in the North, a determination to at
least make some effort along that line.
ROBERT G. WALKER.
Robert G. Walker, of Springfield, Ohio, is a carpenter and contractor
the race may be proud of. He was born in Ohio. At one time he was
the leading contractor of Hill City, Kansas, and gave employment to
fourteen men as carpenters. He built the courthouse, jail, and many of
the store buildings. He also served there as city clerk. He returned to
Springfield because of hard times in the West, and began contracting
for himself after working a while as foreman for a white contractor.
Mr. Walker has built some of the finest houses in Springfield owned by
white people. He is very much thought of by his race and the better
class of the whites.
JAMES NELSON,
manufacturer of "IXL" and Whiteley plows, two and four-horse wagons,
carts, etc., in Springfield, Ohio. Mr. Nelson was born a slave in the
State of Kentucky, and learned his trade as blacksmith while a slave.
He has carried on a business in Springfield for himself, with a great
deal of success, for quite a number of years. He bought out the entire
right to manufacture the "IXL" and Whiteley plows, and has very much
improved the plow and worked up a splendid sale for it, principally
throughout the various Middle, Western, and Southern States.
He also makes a specialty of manufacturing an iron tank-wagon, used by
men who are in the oil business and deliver oil from house to house. He
has shipped these tank-wagons to several of the different States.
JOHN H. ANDERSON.
John H. Anderson, of Urbana, Ohio, is the leading contractor and
builder of that city. He has had and finished some very large
contracts. He built the Y. M. C. A. building in Piqua, Ohio, also a
beautiful passenger station at same place. Mr. Anderson had a contract
to build a factory in Urbana that cost one hundred thousand dollars.
His finest work, he says, was done on a residence in Urbana that cost
forty thousand dollars. Most of the men employed by Mr. Anderson are
white; but whenever he can secure a good workman among colored men, he
is only too glad to give him work. I regard him as one of the leading
colored contractors in the country.
CAPTAIN HENRY.
Mr. Henry, of Pocomoke City, Md., better known as "Captain Henry,"
owns several sailing vessels that are manned by colored men, which he
operates between Pocomoke City, Md., and Philadelphia, Pa. He ships
large cargoes of wood, used in Philadelphia for fuel. Mr. Henry also
has a large dry goods and grocery store in Pocomoke City.
MR. GEORGE H. WHITE.
Mr. George H. White, of Staunton, Va., has a large and well-stocked
grocery store, and very nearly all of his patrons are white. He was
born a slave in Virginia, and spent the early part of his life at the
blacksmith trade. He has been in the grocery business since 1892, and
his trade has been growing larger ever since. He owns a beautiful home
and has the confidence and respect of the best citizens, both white and
colored.
FRANK T. WARE.
Frank T. Ware was born a slave at Staunton, Va., May 15, 1843. His
master "hired him out" until 1860, when he was sold to Negro traders,
who took him to Vicksburgh, Miss. There he served as dining-room waiter
until the beginning of the war. He was then taken as a body servant
into the Confederate Army, but was soon captured by the Federal troops.
He then became a soldier in the Union Army, and rose to the position
of orderly sergeant and continued as such until the war closed. He
then came back to Staunton and went into the express business, which
he followed for twelve years. Next he embarked into the hardware and
furniture business, and is now said to be the leading colored man in
that line of business in the United States. His store is three stories
high and is packed from bottom to top. It is in the business center
of Staunton. His race identity is no barrier to his success. He buys
from the best firms in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond, and a
large number of his customers are of his own race, but the bulk of
his patrons are the white people of this city and adjoining counties.
Scrupulously honest in his dealings, he has won an enviable business
reputation and enjoys the implicit confidence of all. He is a man of
means and influence, and every good cause receives his aid.
MR. A. R. COOPER.
Mr. A. R. Cooper, of Findley, Ohio, has invented a strictly water-proof
shoe. Manufacturers of shoes have always claimed to make them
water-proof, but who ever wore them? Mr. Cooper is a practical
shoemaker, and for a long time has been giving this matter serious
thought and consideration, until now his efforts have been rewarded by
the invention of this shoe. It is not only guaranteed by the maker to
be water-proof, but also protects the foot from any dampness whatever.
The shoe will be easier, warmer, and cheaper than the ordinary make.
ROBERT ORRICK.
Robert Orrick owns the largest livery, sale, and feed stable in the
city of Winchester, Va. Mr. Orrick was born a slave. He began business
for himself in 1859, which was before freedom was granted. This he
did by paying to his master a certain amount of money for his time.
He married a freeborn woman, and as a slave could not transact any
business, all business matters had to be done in his wife's name. The
amount named for his time by his owner was $65 per year. His first
business venture was hauling baggage and freight, and by degrees his
work developed into a regular livery business. He now owns forty
horses and some forty-five different kinds of vehicles. His residence
and stable join, and are valued at about ten thousand dollars. In the
country he has two farms of three hundred acres, valued at one hundred
dollars per acre.
MR. N. T. GANT.
Mr. N. T. Gant, of Zanesville, Ohio, is a very interesting man; looks
enough like the late Frederick Douglass to pass for his brother.
Mr. Gant was born a slave in Virginia. He bought his own and wife's
freedom. For his wife he paid fifteen hundred dollars. He moved to
Zanesville before the war, and began life as a truck farmer. He made
money like magic, and owns several farms now, after giving all of his
children good homes. The property now used as "Gant Park" was sold
by him for twenty thousand dollars, with the understanding that no
intoxicating drinks were to be sold on the ground. His residence in
Zanesville was a part of the park. He has one of the best-furnished
homes in the State of Ohio. Among the leading business and moneyed men
of Zanesville, Mr. Gant is considered one of them.
CASPER TITUS.
Norfolk, Va., can boast of a progressive man in the person of Casper
Titus, a thriving florist, in Huntersville, Norfolk, Va.; carries about
3,000 feet of glass; grows plants, flowers, and vegetables; has a good
patronage from white as well as colored; is the leading colored florist
south of Baltimore; began business with ten lilies and eight geraniums,
the few brought to him by his wife. The total number of lilies to-day
is 500, with a spring sale of about 5,000 plants of different varieties.
MR. J. STEPHENSON.
Mr. J. Stephenson, watchmaker and jeweler, does a good business in
Norfolk, Va., and has a splendid stock of goods. He began first by
repairing watches and clocks, until he had built up a trade, and at
the same time saved enough money to put in a small stock of goods. His
trade is by no means confined to colored people. His success simply
shows what can be done when the proper effort is put forth.
MR. W. J. OVERTON.
Mr. Overton, of Clarksville, Tenn., was for years before his death
foreman and manager of the Clarksville ice factory. He began work there
as a fireman. Mr. Overton had the confidence and respect of the best
people in the city. He, by hard work and good management, saved enough
money to purchase splendid property.
J. W. PAGE.
Mr. J. W. Page is also of Clarksville, Tenn., and is regarded by all as
a very prominent man. For years he was one of the city councilmen, and
much of the public improvement in his ward has been done through his
effort. He owns a great deal of property, which is rented. At his home
he operates a grocery business that is well patronized in that portion
of the city. Mr. Page takes an active part in church and Sunday-school
work; in fact, in all things that will in any way lift up his people.
BOTTS & HENSLEY.
Messrs. Botts & Hensley, at Mt. Sterling, Ky., own and operate one of
the leading grocery stores of that city. Both of these men stand high
and own good homes. Their patrons are mostly white.
J. R. HAWKINS.
Mr. J. R. Hawkins, of Hopkinsville, Ky., has a very large and
well-furnished grocery store. His trade is about equally divided
between the white and colored people. As for his white patrons, he has
some of the leading families in the city who deal there. He owns a
splendid home, and is very highly respected by all.
A. C. BRENT.
Mr. A. C. Brent, also of Hopkinsville, Ky., is engaged in the grocery
business. He has a large trade and many white patrons. Hopkinsville
has many things of interest among colored people. In addition to Mr.
Hawkins' and Mr. Brent's grocery business, Mr. Peter Postell has a
large store, which is mentioned in another part of this publication.
MR. E. W. GLASS.
Mr. E. W. Glass, of Hopkinsville, Ky., is a successful undertaker. He
is a native of Hopkinsville, and has always taken an active part in
all movements that would advance his people. Mr. Glass has been one of
the city teachers, and for some four years was engaged in the revenue
service as United States storekeeper. He was at one time an alderman in
his ward. As an undertaker he is a success, and is regarded as one of
the leading men in that line in the State.
MRS. C. HODGES.
Mrs. C. Hodges, a colored woman, is holding the position of Deputy Meat
Inspector in one of Mr. Armour's large packing houses at Kansas City,
Kan.
MRS. M. M. BROWN.
Mrs. M. M. Brown, of Staunton, Va., has a good dressmaking business.
She keeps on hand a large stock of ladies' ready-made clothing of all
kinds. She owns a splendid building on Main Street. The most of her
customers are white.
MISS ELIZABETH B. SLAUGHTER.
[Illustration: MISS E. B. SLAUGHTER.]
Miss E. B. Slaughter, of Louisville, Ky., is a young lady who deserves
more than passing mention. She is engaged in the millinery business,
and has built up a splendid trade among both white and colored patrons.
Miss Slaughter learned her trade in the "Armour Institute" at Chicago,
Ill., where she, in part, worked her way through that institution. Her
store is well and neatly furnished, and she keeps on hand a line of
goods that will please the best class of patrons among both races. I
regard her work of great interest from the fact that she is one of the
first among colored ladies who have made an effort along this line. We
publish a splendid picture of Miss Slaughter in this edition in the
hope that it, along with this short sketch of her work and success,
may inspire some other young lady to start in business of some sort.
When colored people, and especially ladies, are engaged in different
business enterprises, such as women take up as a means of support,
white people will then be compelled to see them not only as cooks
and washerwomen, but as business women and competitors. Then, too,
when colored ladies can operate successful millinery stores, that in
itself will at least have a tendency to make white women engaged in
such business treat their colored customers with more consideration.
Miss Slaughter is a graduate from the schools of this city. She is
very highly respected, and I am sure that the better class of colored
ladies are proud of the fact that Louisville has a colored milliner.
At Lexington, Ky., Mrs. J. C. Jackson and Mrs. Hathaway have opened a
millinery and notion store, and they are meeting with success.
MR. ANDREW HAYDEN.
Andrew Hayden, of Cynthiana, Ky., a blacksmith by trade and an
ex-slave, has, by very hard work and good business judgment, built up
quite a start in life in the way of good property. He owns, in addition
to his residence, which is a beautiful brick structure, several houses,
which are rented--one as a business house, and some ten others as
dwellings. Mr. Hayden has his own home in the most aristocratic part of
the town, and his family are the only colored people on that street.
His house is well furnished, and his wife takes great pride in her
home. She has a very large and fine collection of house plants, and
Mr. Hayden built her a very fine pit to keep them in during the cold
weather. He has but little education, but a large stock of good common
sense. I regard him as a credit to the town.
PEOPLE'S DRUG STORE.
[Illustration: MR. R. F. WHITE.]
The People's Drug Store, located at Louisville, Ky., is another
evidence of colored people's ability to manage business enterprises
of their own. The store is well equipped with a good stock of goods,
and is patronized by both races. It is kept neat and clean. Mr. R.
F. White, who has charge of the store, is a graduate in pharmacy
from Howard University, at Washington, D. C., and stands high in his
profession. In speaking of the class of people who give the most
support to race enterprises, Mr. White thinks "that the middle-class
seem to have more interest and pride in the places of business started
by colored men than those who have had better advantages, and ought,
because of their ability, feel a deeper interest in all things that
would help in any way the business development of the race." Of all
stores that would be helpful to the colored people a drug store would
be one of them, from the fact that the business could only be carried
on by educated people, and the more of that class who can be brought
into prominent places the better for the entire race. Mr. White is
a native of Florida and is much thought of by his people. He is
progressive, and believes in perfect system and order, and conducts the
drug store on that principle.
GREENE BROTHERS.
Greene Brothers, of Holly Springs, Miss., are merchants on a very large
scale. They handle a general line of all sorts of goods that can be
found in what is known in the South as a general store. They furnish
quite a number of planters from year to year, and of course take their
chances on the results of the crops for their pay. They are young men
and owe their success to the very close attention they give to the
business. Their store is not only one of the leading places of business
in Holly Springs, but is one of the best in the State. I live in hope
that the time is not far distant when just such places of business can
be found in every town in the South owned by colored men.
REV. I. H. ANDERSON.
Rev. I. H. Anderson, of Jackson, Tenn., is another evidence of Negro
success. Mr. Anderson has been for years a minister in what is known
as the C. M. E. Church, and for some years managed the publishing house
of that connection at Jackson, Tenn. He has retired from active work in
the ministry and gone into business. Mr. Anderson has built a very fine
brick block in Jackson, where he keeps a line of groceries, dry goods,
boots and shoes; in fact, a general store. He has a large white trade.
I am informed that in addition to his store he owns a large amount of
property.
FITE'S STUDIO.
Mr. S. Fite, owner of Fite's Studio, at Owensboro, Ky., is in a
position to render the race a great service. It is acknowledged that he
is by far the best photographer in that city, and his patrons are not
only the leading white people there, but they come from other towns to
have work done. Mr. Fite had a hard struggle when he first located at
Owensboro, because of the unfair means used by the white men engaged
in the same line of work to defeat him. But he has more than won the
fight, and stands at the head as an example of what push and pluck will
do.
J. G. HIGGINS.
Mr. and Mrs. Higgins, at Chattanooga, Tenn., are engaged in business in
a way that will be helpful to the race. Mrs. Higgins is a manufacturer
of human hair goods, in such things as switches, wigs, waves, bangs,
and vest-chains. Her patrons are about all white, and their store is in
the heart of the business part of the city, and is one of the neatest
stores in that line I ever saw. Mr. Higgins is a practical watchmaker,
and has a splendid trade repairing and cleaning watches.
J. W. MOORE.
J. W. Moore, at Paducah, Ky., is another successful business man. Mr.
Moore is a native of Louisville, Ky. He was at one time a clerk in the
Mileage Department of the C. & O. & S. W. R. R. office, and was also a
letter-carrier for three years at Paducah. He operates now a very large
grocery store; in fact, one of the best in the city. He has something
to show for his labor, in the way of some eight houses, seven of which
are rented. I found him interested in all that will help and advance
the race.
JORDAN C. JACKSON.
Jordan C. Jackson, the subject of this sketch, was born in Fayette
County, Kentucky, February 25, 1848. He is a remarkable example of what
pluck and energy can do for a man without scholastic training. Mr.
Jackson has been a prominent figure in the State for twenty years, and
has attended every Republican convention held in the State within that
time.
[Illustration: JORDAN C. JACKSON.]
He was alternate delegate to the late Hon. W. C. Goodloe to the
National Republican Convention, which met in Cincinnati in 1876, and
delegate-at-large to the National Republican Convention which met at
Minneapolis to nominate Benjamin Harrison the second time as President
of the United States--an honor which only one other man of the race
has had conferred upon him from Kentucky. Mr. Jackson was twice elected
lay trustee of Wilberforce University, and is now, and has been for
the past twelve years, trustee of Berea College, the most unique
institution on the American continent. He stands ready with might and
means to do his part in any and all movements for the advancement of
his race. Mr. Jackson has been United States storekeeper and gauger for
a number of years, and has always taken rank as a first-class officer.
He is now a member of the undertaking firm of Porter & Jackson, and
has won for the firm and himself a place in the confidence of the
people that can be had only by fair business transactions and personal
integrity. He was a most valued contributor to the _Standard_ for a
year, and was known to the many readers as "Observer," a title that
befits him well, as all who have read his able articles will readily
attest. Owing to his many business cares, he has for a time retired
from the literary field, and in losing him the _Standard_ has lost
one of its most highly prized writers. Writing under the nom de plume
of Uncle Eph, he also furnished a number of most valuable articles
for the _American Citizen_. He combines qualities that every man is
not possessed of--literary talent and business qualification. Mr.
Jackson is one of the most enthusiastic workers against the enactment
of the separate-coach law of Kentucky, and was one of the first men
appointed to wait on Governor Brown for the purpose of preventing the
passage of the now obnoxious law. He is a member of the State Central
Committee, and there is no man on the entire committee who is more in
the struggle that we are now undergoing. He believes that if sufficient
money is collected to test the constitutionality of the law, that it
will be wiped from the statute-book of the Commonwealth. Mr. Jackson
was elected temporary chairman of the separate-coach convention held in
Lexington, Ky., June 22, 1892.
REV. A. H. MILLER.
[Illustration: REV. A. H. MILLER.]
Rev. A. H. Miller, the subject of this brief sketch, was born a slave
in St. Francis county, Arkansas, March 12, 1849. He has lived in
Arkansas all his life, with the exception of a brief period just after
the war, which was spent in St. Louis, Mo. After remaining in St.
Louis about one year he returned to Arkansas, worked by the day, and
saved enough money to give himself one session in Southland College,
near Helena, which constitutes the major portion of his school
advantage. He was chosen by the people of his county to represent
them in the Arkansas General Assembly, in 1874, and served his whole
term honorably. It was with the small amount of money he saved while
a member of the State Legislature that he began his remarkable career
as a financier. He is a man of economical habits, and gives close
attention to his personal business. He has amassed a handsome little
fortune, being regarded as one of the wealthiest negroes in East
Arkansas. Rev. Miller has travelled extensively, and is well known in
the Baptist denomination. He is somewhat a philanthropist, and has
the credit of being one of the first to make a personal gift to the
National Baptist Publishing House. He has filled many important places
in the work of his denomination. He is prominent as a local leader,
and is at present a member of the Helena School Board. Mr. Miller owns
and rents some fifty houses in Helena, and is building more for that
purpose.
MR. S. BOYCE.
[Illustration: MR. S. BOYCE.]
Mr. Stansbury Boyce, of Jacksonville, Florida, has made a start in
the right direction, and I hope that many colored men will follow
in the lead he has taken. I have mentioned many men who have stores
and are doing a successful business, but Mr. Boyce is the first one
I have found who operates a regular department store on the plan of
a city store of the same kind. Each department is in the hands of a
colored girl, who has been trained by Mr. Boyce as a saleslady, and
I am very confident that the girls in his store understand their work
and know the quality of goods quite as well as white girls doing the
same work. The store is patronized as much by white people as it is by
colored, and Mr. Boyce said that in the "millinery department most of
his trade came from the best class of white ladies." I hope those who
read this short sketch will see what a great blessing stores like this
would prove to the colored people if we had them all over the country,
not only to make money for the owner, but for the purpose of giving
employment to a large number of well-educated girls who can't find
anything to do outside of teaching and domestic work. I found Mr. Boyce
not only a successful merchant, but a very intelligent and polished
gentleman. His wife has charge of the millinery department, and she
thoroughly understands her work.
ISAAC JOHNSON.
Isaac Johnson, Manufacturer and Dealer in Florida Curiosities, Jewelry,
Novelties, Live and Stuffed Alligators, Chameleons, Shells, Palmetto
Fans, Fly Brushes and all kinds of Alligator Tooth Jewelry--such is the
wording of the billhead handed me by Mr. Johnson, the only colored man
in the country who owns a store where all kinds of curiosities are made
and sold. His store is in Jacksonville, Florida, and when walking down
Hogan street your attention is frequently attracted to large crowds
gathered on the left-hand side of the street. This is the great curio
establishment sometimes known as the "Alligator Store," and is owned
and operated by Mr. Isaac Johnson.
Mr. Johnson, when a boy, was employed on the very spot where he is now
proprietor to assist around the store. He showed great ability, and as
time went on this boy began to take hold of the work and manifested
a deep interest in all curiosities. And from stuffing alligators he
began to make very many pretty designs from different parts of this
animal, thus showing his ability in various directions, which was soon
recognized by those who employed him.
[Illustration: ISAAC JOHNSON.]
He not only displayed his ability, but he took special training,
thus fitting himself for the work, which is one of an expert nature.
Before very many years went by Mr. Johnson, by his honesty, thrift and
diligence, not only acquired and mastered the trade, but was able when
the opportunity presented itself to buy out the business, and to-day he
is doing a large trade and is able to help others of his race.
HOWARD BROTHERS.
[Illustration: E. E. HOWARD.]
P. W. & E. E. Howard, of Jackson, Miss., are engaged in the mercantile
business on quite a large scale. They handle a general line of dry
goods and groceries. I have mentioned several men who are engaged in
the same line of business, in different parts of the country, and some
who own larger stores, but when we take into consideration the age of
these young men their effort becomes a thing of great interest to the
public at large. Mr. E. E. Howard, whose cut appears in connection
with this sketch, is only about 21 years of age, while his brother, P.
W. Howard, is only 24. These young men both attended Rust University,
at Holly Springs, Miss., and there and at the public schools prepared
themselves for their life's work. The money they have invested in their
business is entirely their own earnings--from boyhood they have been
saving what they could earn with a view of some time going into some
line of business. I have no doubt but what a large number of young men
who have lived only to enjoy life will read this sketch with a degree
of sadness when they look over their past life and think how different
things might have gone for them had they followed in the footsteps of
such energetic and progressive young men as the Howard Brothers.
MR. E. E. FLUKER.
[Illustration: MR. E. E. FLUKER.]
E. E. Fluker, of Pine Bluff, Ark., is another of the successful
merchants of the South. Mr. Fluker, like most men, began business
on a small amount of money, and has had some heavy losses that were
hard to stand and remain in business. He has a large store, and does
both a wholesale and retail trade in dry goods, hats, caps, boots and
shoes and groceries. Mr. Fluker handles cotton on a large scale, and
thinks nothing of buying and selling twelve thousand bales per year. He
furnishes dry goods and provisions to a large number of poor planters
who can only pay their bills once a year, and that is when they sell
their cotton. Mr. Fluker has also been active in society work and
has been instrumental in getting large numbers of colored people into
benevolent societies, where they could get help when sick and in
need. He owns a fine brick block in Pine Bluff, where his business
is conducted, and in part of his building one of the city banks is
operated. The room where the bank is is rented to white people, who
carry on that business.
MR. R. J. PALMER.
[Illustration: MR. R. J. PALMER.]
R. J. Palmer, of Columbia, S. C., the subject of this short sketch,
is one of the successful and leading business men of that city. Mr.
Palmer is a merchant tailor by occupation. His patrons are numbered
among the leading white citizens of Columbia, who give him their work
because of the confidence they have in him as an honest business man
and an excellent workman in his line. Mr. Palmer keeps on hand a full
and complete stock of foreign and domestic woolens and a good line of
gents' furnishing goods. He employs only the best of workmen, and he
does all the cutting and fitting, and his business is carried on in a
good brick building, which is owned by himself. He also owns a good
home. He is an active and prominent member of the M. E. Church. Mr.
Palmer is a native of South Carolina, and has all his life enjoyed the
respect and confidence of the best people of both races.
MR. LOUIS KASTOR.
[Illustration: MR. LOUIS KASTOR.]
Louis Kastor, of Natchez, Miss., is the only colored man I have found
in my travels engaged in the line of work he represents, at least on
so large a scale as he carries on his business. He is a first-class
harness-maker by trade and owns one of the largest and best-equipped
stores in his line in the country. In addition to the harness he
makes he keeps on hand a large stock of ready-made harness, bridles,
saddles, whips, rugs, in fact, a large and complete stock of all goods
sold by men in his business. Mr. Kastor began first with $65.00, and is
now doing a business of some $22,000 a year. He owns a fine property
for a residence, and has the respect and confidence of the best people
in Natchez. In addition to his own residence Mr. Kastor owns three
other houses, which he has rented. I found him a very intelligent man,
and one who is very anxious to see the colored people advance in every
department of life. He feels that they must be engaged in all lines of
work and business in order that they may succeed.
MISSISSIPPI COTTON MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
This company is located at Jackson, Miss., for the purpose of building
a large cotton mill where colored labor only will be employed.
On nearly every sidewalk, at every railway station from the country
store to the great city, the highways are crowded with idle colored
boys. It is very difficult for them to find employment in the
commercial pursuits of any kind. They would gladly seize an opportunity
to earn a livelihood along the industrial lines if they were permitted.
Hence the necessity of the erection of the cotton factory. The
Mississippi Cotton Manufacturing Company is incorporated under the laws
of the State of Mississippi for the purpose of manufacturing cotton and
woolen goods and such other articles as the directors from time to time
may see fit. Such an enterprise was proposed by the lamented Frederick
Douglass in 1893, who was president of the Freedom Manufacturing
Company, of which Hon. James Hill was vice-president. Owing to the
money panic of '93, Mr. Douglass decided to wait until after the panic
had subsided and business confidence was restored. On the eve of this
restoration of business confidence Mr. Douglass died. The idea has
heretofore prevailed that the negro is not competent to manage or
operate any manufacturing concern or any great business enterprise.
We cannot yield assent to that idea. The young people who are being
educated in the various colleges of this country should not all seek
to go into the professions, and the main object of this company is to
build this factory and give the deserving boys and girls in that State
an opportunity to follow the industrial as well as the professional
walks of life.
The capital stock of the company is $250,000. The shares of stock are
placed at $10 each. Any person, however, can purchase as many shares of
stock as he may desire.
Mississippi is one of the greatest cotton-producing States in the
Union, and the negro produces the major part of said product, and he
should feel a deep interest in the manufacture of this raw material,
thereby doing something to advance civilization and adding something
substantial to the commonwealth and the welfare of its people.
[Illustration: HON. JAMES HILL.
_President of Cotton Mill Company._]
Hon. James Hill is president of the above company. Mr. Hill is a man
of high standing and well known in all parts of this country. He has
been a political leader for years, and has held some very important
positions. He was at one time Postmaster of Vicksburg, Miss., the
largest town in the State. Mr. Hill is now, in 1900, in the United
States Land Office at Jackson, Miss. He was appointed to this position
by President McKinley.
Rev. E. W. Lampton, first vice-president of the company, is also a
well-known man. He has been a very active man in the A. M. E. Church.
His home is at Greenville, Miss., where he owns valuable property.
Mr. Lampton has been at the head of the Masonic order for the State of
Mississippi, and thousands of dollars have been disbursed by him for
the benefit of widows and orphans annually.
MR. EUGENE BURKINS.
[Illustration: EUGENE BURKINS,
Inventor of the Burkins Automatic Machine-Gun.]
Eugene Burkins, inventor of the "Burkins Automatic Machine-Gun," was
at one time a bootblack in the city of Chicago. He never had any
education outside of learning how to read and write. Nor had he ever
been a soldier, or had any experience with guns of any description; and
for that reason his invention is all the more wonderful. He began first
to make a careful study of the picture that appeared in the papers,
showing the guns on the "Battleship Maine." Mr. Burkins saw in what
way he could improve the machine-gun by increasing its rapid-firing
capacity, and along that line he began to work. His first model was
mostly made with a pocket-knife. Some of the leading colored people
helped him secure his patent. Mr. Madden, a wealthy man in Chicago,
furnished over $3,000 to make a perfect model. Admiral Dewey said it
was "by far the best machine-gun ever made." It shoots seven times more
a minute than the Gatling gun, and will doubtless take the place of
other machine-guns. Several foreign countries have offered large sums
for the right to manufacture it for their navies; but Mr. Burkins and
Mr. Madden, his partner, proposed to control the manufacturing interest
in this country.
MR. GEO. E. JONES.
[Illustration: MR. GEO. E. JONES.]
Mr. Geo. E. Jones, of Little Rock, Ark., is beyond doubt one of the
most successful business men among the colored people. He began life
a very poor boy, without friends or capital, and has by hard work and
close economy placed himself among the most prominent business men
of his city. Mr. Jones is engaged in the undertaking business, and
can say what no other colored man engaged in that line of work in the
South can say, and that is--he has about as much patronage among the
white people as he has with his own race. Mr. Jones first started in
business as a merchant on a small amount of money, and finally worked
into the undertaking business. He owns now in Little Rock quite a large
amount of property, and among the different buildings there he has two
large brick blocks, one on Main street, where he has his undertaking
establishment, and one on West Ninth street, which is rented. In the
Ninth street block Mr. Jones has in one room a fine drug store, which
he employs a young druggist to attend to. He owns a fine lot of horses
and carriages used in his business as an undertaker. His residence is
by far the best furnished home I ever saw owned by a colored man. Mrs.
Jones, his wife, is a very refined and cultured lady.
MR. G. W. HIGGINS.
[Illustration: MR. G. W. HIGGINS.]
G. W. Higgins was born in South Carolina, and lived for some time at
Newberry, S. C. He began at an early age to acquire an education in
order that he might be of some help to himself and race. Mr. Higgins
attended Biddle University at Charlotte, N. C., where he took a course
in theology. He was at one time principal of the public school at Old
Fort, N. C., and while teaching there he established a Presbyterian
Church, which is still in existence. After leaving the Presbyterian
work he joined the A. M. E. Zion Connection, and was appointed pastor
at Abington, Va., and afterwards at Johnson City, Tenn. There he became
interested in the industrial advancement of the colored people, and
set about to learn some trade, and secured work in a first-class steam
laundry, and learned the business thoroughly, and afterwards operated
a laundry of his own. Mr. Higgins came to Cincinnati, O., in 1893 and
secured employment with the Oil and Grease Company of Chas. H. Moore
& Co. After five years of faithful work for that firm he became an
expert in the compounding of the oils and greases made by the firm,
and was offered a larger salary by Burchard & Co., of Cincinnati, who
are refiners of lard oil. For this firm, Mr. Higgins has charge as
foreman of the oil and grease department. He is much thought of by his
employers.
MR. A. MEANS.
A. Means, of Memphis, Tenn., is a practical hatter, and is the only
colored man I know of engaged in that line of work. He has a large
trade and keeps on hand a select assortment of the latest styles
in hats and caps. Mr. Means does a large business in cleaning and
repairing hats.
MR. J. E. HENDERSON.
J. E. Henderson, of Little Rock, Ark., is engaged in the jewelry
business. Mr. Henderson is regarded as a good workman in his line, and
for some years before he began business for himself he did the repair
work for one of the leading jewelry houses of Little Rock. He gets a
great deal of his work now from the white people. I hope before many
years to see a larger number of colored men engaged in the jewelry
trade.
SOUTHERN MERCANTILE COMPANY.
The Southern Mercantile Company, Pine Bluff, Ark., is a company of
excellent business men, who are demonstrating that colored men can
manage a successful business enterprise. They handle a large stock of
dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes and plantation supplies. They do
both a wholesale and retail business. The firm has in it such men as
Wiley Jones, Fred. Havis, who is president of the company, and Mr. M.
R. Perry, as secretary and treasurer. Mr. Perry is a graduate from one
of the best schools in the country and regarded as a splendid business
man.
MR. L. CARTER.
L. Carter, of Greenville, Miss., was born of slave parents at
Carthage, Tenn. He has been in Mississippi since 1866. Mr. Carter owns
and operates the only large book store in the country owned by a
colored man. He keeps a splendid stock of school books, blank books,
stationery, periodicals and a good assortment of story books and toys.
In speaking of where he got the greater part of his support, he said
that at least two-thirds of his patronage came from the white people,
and among the best class of them. Mr. Carter owns good property in
Greenville as a residence, and is regarded as one of the prominent
citizens.
DAVIS & ROBINSON.
Davis & Robinson, of Jacksonville, Fla., are the leading commission
merchants of that city. They do both a wholesale and retail business
in oranges, fruits, strawberries, northern produce, turkeys, chickens,
eggs, early vegetables. They handle melons in car-load lots and keep
all kinds of game in season. They also supply the large hotels there
with all they need in their line. Both of these men are respected and
regarded as excellent business men by the leading people.
MRS. ELLA HENDERSON.
Mrs. Ella Henderson, who is located at Natchez, Miss., has opened a
very excellent millinery store, where she keeps a splendid stock of
goods in that line of trade. As I have stated in other parts of this
book, there are very few colored ladies engaged in the millinery
business. This is to be regretted, for there is an opening for some one
to do well in all towns where the colored population is large. Mrs.
Henderson has taken special training to thoroughly prepare herself for
the successful management of her business. She started in a small way,
and has twice since she opened her store had to enlarge the room in
order to meet the demands of her trade. She buys her stock from the
best houses in the country. The travelling salesmen who visit the town
with millinery goods call on her and give her the same attention to
secure her patronage as they do the white ladies in the same business.
I hope that many colored ladies who may read this short sketch will be
inspired to at least try and start some kind of business.
RISHER BAKERY COMPANY.
Mr. H. T. Risher, of Jackson, Miss., who owns and operates a very large
and successful bakery business, has taken a new departure in the line
of business for colored people. I have only found two men engaged in
that line of work. One was Mr. Jones, at Danville, Va., and Mr. Risher,
of Jackson. His place of business is equipped with all the modern
appliances for a first-class bake shop. Mr. Risher's trade extends to
many of the towns in the State, where he supplies merchants who sell
his bread. He has several delivery wagons that are used to supply his
city patrons. Mr. Risher is regarded as a very excellent man, who is
much interested in all that will advance the cause of his race in a
business and educational way. He has been one of the leading spirits in
building up Campbell College at Jackson, one of the A. M. E. schools.
Mr. Risher owns splendid property and enjoys the respect of both white
and colored people.
MR. F. B. COFFIN.
F. B. Coffin, of Little Rock, Ark., is a druggist by profession. He
operates a very fine drug store at Little Rock for Mr. Geo. E. Jones.
Mr. Coffin is a graduate from Meharry Medical College, at Nashville,
Tenn. In addition to his work as a druggist he has written a book of
poems, entitled "Coffin's Poems." The book has 248 pages, and contains
some very interesting matter, which shows his ability as a writer. Part
of his book is devoted to the question of Lynch law, and he speaks out
like a true and brave man against that awful curse to this country.
MR. J. E. BUSH.
J. E. Bush was born in Moscow, Tenn., in 1856. His parents moved to
Arkansas during the rebellious unpleasantness of 1862. At an early
age he manifested the energy and self-reliance that has developed
him into the useful prominence of a worthy and highly respected
citizen. He earned his tuition at school by moulding brick. He may
have made "bricks without straw," but his manliness has never allowed
him to complain of the many hardships he has endured to overcome the
difficulties in his experience or surmount the obstacles with which he
has so often been brought into contact. Mr. Bush was educated in the
schools of Little Rock, Ark. He has been successful in life and owns
valuable property there. He has also held some important political
positions, and was appointed in 1898 by President McKinley as Receiver
of the United States Land Office at Little Rock.
DR. G. W. BELL.
Dr. G. W. Bell, of Pine Bluff, Ark., is a graduate of Lincoln
University, and he took his medical training at "The University of
Michigan." He has a very large practice. Dr. Bell has established, in
connection with his profession, a private sanitarium for the benefit
of those who come to him from a distance for treatment. He has built
a comfortable building for that purpose, and I think it is the only
institution of the kind carried on by a colored doctor in the State.
MISS MATTIE JENNETE JOHNSON.
Miss Mattie J. Johnson is employed as a saleslady in Siegel, Cooper &
Company's large store in the city of Chicago. She began work for them
in 1893, and has been there ever since. Miss Johnson is in the grocery
department, and is looked upon by her employers as one of the most
competent women in their store. She has many warm friends among the
patrons of the establishment. While Miss Johnson is the first colored
lady thus employed, knowing that she was colored when they engaged her,
I am sure she will not be the last, and I hope many young women will
prepare themselves for some useful place.
DR. T. M. DORAM, M. D. V.
[Illustration: DR. T. M. DORAM, M. D. V.]
Dr. Doram will doubtless be quite a bit of interest to the readers of
this book, from the fact that he is the first and only negro graduate
to receive a diploma from a veterinary college in the United States. He
was born in Danville, Ky., where his parents own valuable farm land.
His father was a carpenter, and when Dr. Doram was young he worked
with him at the trade. After he had finished at the public school,
in 1892, he entered Eckstein Norton University at Cane Spring, Ky.
While there the building was destroyed by fire. Dr. Doram then found
his knowledge of the carpenter's trade of great value to him and the
school, in helping to rebuild the college building. In 1896 he entered
the McKillip Veterinary College at Chicago, Ill. At the close of the
first year he was at the head of his class in materia medica, and the
second year he led his class in pharmacy, and during his last year he
was made senior instructor of his class, an honor of which he may be
justly proud. In 1899, when he graduated, he came to Evanston, Ill.,
where he enjoys a good practice, and he is called in his profession by
the best people in that very wealthy and aristocratic community. I very
much hope that a few at least of the young colored men who may read
this sketch may be inspired to take up the profession of veterinary
medicine and surgery, for I am confident that many could succeed in
different parts of the country.
MR. J. W. ADAMS.
[Illustration: MR. J. W. ADAMS.]
In presenting a few words about Mr. J. W. Adams and his business I
feel that I am doing the people at large a great favor to give them an
opportunity to know something about this eminently successful colored
business man. My attention was first called to Mr. Adams by Prof.
Booker T. Washington while I was lecturing at Tuskegee. I changed my
plans somewhat in order that I might visit Montgomery, Ala., and see
both the man and his place of business. Mr. Adams was born in 1867. He
began business for himself about 1899. But before that he picked up
some knowledge of business by working for a large clothing house in
Montgomery. He first went there as a porter, but in time they allowed
him to sell goods. Mr. Adams always saved his money, and when he had
about three hundred and fifty dollars he decided to make an effort
for himself. He now operates a large store, where he sells dry goods,
clothing, millinery, boots and shoes, hats, caps, trunks, notions,
etc. Mr. Adams carries a stock of over twenty thousand dollars, and
his store covers over four thousand square feet; but he first started
in a room only 18 by 19 feet. His patrons are about evenly divided
between white and colored people. He gives employment to a large number
of clerks, all colored. In the millinery department I found two young
ladies who had learned their trade at Tuskegee. Many of the white
ladies in Montgomery buy their hats at Mr. Adams' store. I need not
tell you that he is of great importance and help to the race, for we
all know what a great inspiration such a man must be in stimulating
a feeling among young men to at least try to build up some business
interest.
MR. H. A. LOVELESS.
[Illustration: MR. H. A. LOVELESS.]
Mr. H. A. Loveless is also a resident of Montgomery, Ala., and must
be classed among the successful business men of the race. He, like
Mr. Adams, began business on a small scale, and by hard work and an
untiring effort he has made a showing no man need to be ashamed of.
Mr. Loveless operates a coal and wood yard, where he gives employment
to a large force of men. He also owns teams and does general hauling,
and has nine fine carriages that are kept on the street for the benefit
of the general public. Then, in addition to what I have referred, Mr.
Loveless has a very large undertaker's establishment, which also gives
quite a number of people employment. He owns fine town property, and is
regarded by both white and colored people as a very excellent man. He
takes an active part in church work, and is especially interested in
every movement that will advance the colored people in the development
of business interest. He along with other leading men of the race feel
that industrial education, and a good business training for the young,
will prove a great factor in the solution of what we call a "race
problem."
PROF. R. B. HUDSON.
[Illustration: PROF. R. B. HUDSON.]
Prof. R. B. Hudson is a resident of Selma, Ala., where he is principal
of the city school for colored youths. The school is a very large
one, and is regarded by such men as B. T. Washington, W. H. Councill
and others as the best public school in the State. Mr. Hudson has been
very active in educational and religious work, and for over fifteen
years has been superintendent of a large Sunday-school, and president
of the largest District Sunday-school Convention in the State. He is
also secretary for the Baptist State Convention, and statistician for
the Baptist denomination in the State. Prof. Hudson was for six years
secretary of the State Teachers' Association, and was then elevated
to the presidency. So one can see that in a religious and educational
work Mr. Hudson has been a very useful man, and I am glad to inform
my readers that he has also done something in a business way, that
is of great value to the race in starting a large coal and wood yard
in Selma, where he gives employment to quite a force of men. There
are six coal and wood yards in the city, and Prof. Hudson has the
second in size. His business in that line brings him an income of over
ten thousand dollars per year, and his customers are made up of all
classes, among them bankers, lawyers and leading merchants among the
white people. Prof. Hudson is still young, and I am sure has a great
future ahead of him.
DR. L. L. BURWELL.
Dr. Burwell is also a resident of Selma, Ala., and a young man the
people seem very fond of. He worked his way through school and
graduated with high honors at Selma University, after which he entered
Leonard Medical College, at Raleigh, N. C., and by hard work finished
the four-year course in three. Dr. Burwell located at Selma, and has
built up a very extensive practice. He owns valuable property, and
operates one of the largest drug stores in the South, and perhaps
the largest owned by a colored man. The country people have great
confidence in him, not only as a physician, but as a splendid business
man, and from far in the country people come to get his opinion on
some business matter. In our late war with Spain the doctor induced
over thirty colored men to enlist, on the ground that they ought to
show their loyalty to the American government. I regret that I am
unable to present a picture of the doctor.
JOHN M. BROWN.
Mr. John M. Brown is to me a very interesting character. My attention
was first called to him by a white man who sells the goods manufactured
by Mr. Brown. The white man was a Southerner, but seemed quite proud of
him. He is located in Macon, Ga., and operates a broom factory on quite
a large scale, so much so that most of the time he has fifteen people
employed. He makes only a high grade of brooms and sells them to the
white merchants. Mr. Brown does not send out a white man to sell his
goods, but goes himself and presents his claim for their patronage on
the merits of his manufactured article. I am glad to tell my readers
that only on one or two occasions has his color been a hindrance to
him in the State of Georgia, as far as the sale of his brooms are
concerned. Just one other point of interest that will, I am sure, be
appreciated, and that is, Mr. Brown has taught colored men the trade of
broom making, and employs only members of the race.
MR. CHARLES W. CHESTNUT.
Few people are aware of the fact that Mr. Charles W. Chestnut, whose
volumes of character sketches and short stories have made him famous,
is a colored man. His home is in Cleveland, and to meet him on the
street one would take him for a clerk in a store rather than an
author. Until within the past couple of years Mr. Chestnut was a court
stenographer in Cleveland and employed several assistants. He has
reported dozens of large conventions in this city, and he is known to
thousands as a stenographer. Mr. Chestnut is of medium size and of very
slight build. His hair is light and he has a small, light mustache. His
hair has a slight tendency to kink, but this is hardly noticeable. His
complexion is very fair, so much so that many Cleveland people believe
him a white man.
PROVIDENT HOSPITAL.
Provident Hospital and Training School, St. Louis, Mo., opened for the
care of colored patients in this city on the 4th day of April, 1899,
with a staff of nine colored physicians and a consulting staff of nine
white.
It has a Board of Managers composed of colored citizens of this city,
it is a regular chartered institution, and has a capacity of fifteen
beds, modern operating room, and three young colored women in training.
Some of the most difficult operations known to surgery have been
performed at the hospital during the past year. The hospital has been
furnished entirely by the colored people of this city.
This institution meets a long-felt want, as the colored people are not
admitted to the white hospitals in St. Louis. Miss J. E. Valentine, a
graduate of the Freedmen's Hospital Training School, is head nurse.
The course in the training school is two years.
Dr. Samuel P. Stafford, a graduate of the Medical Department of
the University of Pennsylvania, and lately one of the internes of
Freedmen's Hospital and Douglass Hospital, is the physician in charge.
The future of the hospital is full of hope and growing in usefulness.
Dr. Curtis is President of the Board of Managers; W. E. Jackson,
Secretary; C. H. Dodge, Treasurer.
This data should have appeared in chapter twenty-five on Hospitals
and Homes, but came too late. It, however, will be of interest to my
readers.
WARREN KING.
Mr. Warren King, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is making a most excellent
impression among the better class of white people as to his
qualifications as a splendid business man. Mr. King has taken charge of
the restaurant in what is known as the Cumberland Flats. Only the very
best people live in those Flats, and they must be persons of means to
afford it. Mr. King boards all who live in those magnificent buildings.
He has a great many friends, and is regarded by those who take meals in
his restaurant as a most excellent manager.
J. A. BRABOY & SONS.
I have stated in several places in this book that colored people are
here and there engaging in all kinds of business. It is with pleasure
that I call attention to Mr. J. A. Braboy & Sons, of Kokomo, Ind.
These gentlemen operate what is known as a "Temple of Music." They
keep on hand a good assortment of high grade pianos and organs; in
fact, they handle only the best that is on the market. In addition to
their stock of pianos and organs, they keep a general line of music
and musical instruments. Mr. Braboy owns splendid property, and is
respected by the leading people in Kokomo.
MR. Z. E. WALKER.
Mr. Z. E. Walker, of Sumter, S. C., is one of the most successful
merchants in that city. He operates what is known as a general store,
where all kinds of goods are sold. He owns a great deal of very
valuable property in town and one or two plantations in the country. He
stands high in business, church and society. Mr. Walker began business
with a very small amount of money, but is now looked upon as a very
well-to-do man.
MR. W. G. JOHNSON.
Mr. W. G. Johnson, of Macon, Ga., has one of the best shoe stores in
that city. His stock is not only large, but is in every way up to date.
Mr. Johnson feels that if he buys the best goods made his people, and
especially the better class of colored people, cannot have that as an
excuse for giving their patronage to the white merchants. Aside from
his shoe store, he owns some very excellent property; in fact, he owns
the whole block in which his store is kept. He is a young man, and I
believe has a useful future before him.
JAMES A. JOYCE.
Mr. James A. Joyce, of Cleveland, Ohio, is employed by the King Iron
Bridge Co. of that city. Mr. Joyce is the only colored man engaged as
a bridge draftsman in the U. S. A. His work for that company is making
designs for high grade bridge work. Mr. Joyce has on several occasions
been sent out on large contracts to oversee the construction of some
very difficult work in their line. I am sorry that I am unable to give
a picture of Mr. Joyce in connection with this brief mention of what I
regard as a very important character in race history.
R. B. FITZGERALD.
Mr. Fitzgerald is a resident of Durham, N. C., and is one of the
largest brick manufacturers in the United States. He makes a specialty
of fine and ornamental brick. Mr. Fitzgerald lives in one of the
handsomest residences in Durham. He is also interested in what is known
as the Durham Real Estate, Mercantile and Manufacturing Company. It is
not a "trust" or grasping monopoly; on the contrary, it is a trust for
the people, through which, on the most generous plan, they can with
absolute safety and ease become stockholders, do business and become
factors in the mercantile world.
This corporation is formed under the laws of the State of North
Carolina to promote manufacturing and mercantile interests, thus
becoming a factor in the development of nature's resources as they
exist in North Carolina, thereby opening up an avenue heretofore
unknown to colored people.
The shares are low, within the reach of all. For $10.00 one can become
a stockholder and will be entitled to an equal share of all profit,
which dividends will be declared and paid at such periods as will be
designated by their by-laws.
With ample capital, backed by such well known parties as R. B.
Fitzgerald, P. H. Smith, D. A. Lane, and others, under its agreements
consolidating large interests, it is able to provide homes and
investments, large or small, at a great benefit to its patrons, and,
with absolute safety and ease, enable one to become the owner of the
most precious thing on earth--a home for his family.
HOSPITAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL FOR NURSES.
The hospital and training school located at Charleston, S. C., was
organized in 1897, for the purpose of training colored women as nurses.
That such an institution was needed in that community is evidenced by
the fact that their nurses are always in demand, and graduates find
ready employment.
Students have been admitted to the institution, not only from
Charleston and vicinity, but from all parts of this State, and from
some adjoining States.
The course extends through two years, the first year being devoted to
lectures and practical work in the hospital, and the second year to
practical work in the hospital and to outside cases.
Thorough training is given in all branches of the nurse's profession,
including the nursing of surgical cases. Tuition is free, and nurses
are given board and lodging in the hospital building. Candidates for
admission to the training school must be of good character, in good
health, and have a common school education.
Further information may be procured by addressing the Surgeon-in-Chief,
Dr. A. C. McClennan, at the hospital, No. 135 Cannon St., Charleston,
S. C.
The general public is asked to give what aid they can for the support
and development of this most worthy institution. If those who have
means to give would take into consideration that by educating some
young colored lady as a trained nurse they have helped one more of the
race to leave somebody's cook kitchen, and enter a life where they can
not only be self-sustaining, but their position would give both dignity
and standing to the race.
Dr. A. C. McClennan, who is in charge of the hospital, I found a very
pleasant gentleman, and one who is kept busy with a large practice
outside of the hospital work. This information came too late to be
mentioned with other such institutions written up in my book.
DR. L. J. HARRIS.
Dr. L. J. Harris is a native of Virginia and a son of Samuel Harris, of
Williamsburg, the noted merchant referred to on page 300 of this book.
Dr. Harris is a graduate of Harvard, and has taken a special course
of study in the treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat, and has
located in Boston, and gives all of his time to this special work.
There have been a large number of colored doctors educated, and I think
that, as a rule, they are succeeding in their profession as regular
practitioners. But Dr. Harris is the first to establish himself as a
specialist. We most certainly wish him well in this departure from a
regular line of practice, and hope his success may inspire other young
men to follow in his footsteps.
MR. EDWARD C. BERRY.
[Illustration: MR. E. C. BERRY.]
Mr. E. C. Berry, owner and proprietor of a $60,000 hotel at Athens,
Ohio, is a man that I feel the world ought to know. He was born at
Oberlin, Ohio, in 1855; his education was received at Albany, a hamlet
in Athens county. When fifteen years of age he went to Athens and
was employed as a hodcarrier on the Hospital for the Insane, then in
course of building. Mr. Berry was married in 1875, and for a time
he boarded his wife at his own people's home. His first business
venture was a lunch counter, which he started without any means, and
was already $40.00 in debt. After he had got fairly started his wife
joined him, and in 1878 they opened a restaurant in a small building
on the site of the present hotel, and Mr. Berry's peculiar talent
for serving palatable viands made him the popular caterer of the
town. His restaurant was often patronized by traveling men who would
arrive too late to get a meal at the hotel, and because of the most
excellent meals served at his restaurant those men would ask, Why do
you not open a hotel? and at the same time would say, If you will,
you can count on my being one of your patrons. So many of those who
took meals at his restaurant said about the same thing to him that he
felt encouraged to make the effort. In 1892 Mr. Berry purchased the
adjoining building and commenced the erection of a twenty-room hotel.
From the very first the business paid; the house was new, neat and
clean, and always full of people, so much so that Mr. Berry soon found
that his house was inadequate for the business. In 1894 he built two
large sample rooms, over which he arranged four more sleeping rooms.
But one year later was--because of the increase in his trade--forced to
again enlarge his house. Up to that time he had spent very near five
thousand dollars in improvements. In 1899 Mr. Berry enlarged his house
to its present capacity, which is forty-six sleeping rooms, a dining
room with a seating capacity of seventy-five, a light, well-ventilated
room used exclusively for writing 20 by 40 feet, one reading room 15
by 30 feet, four good, light sample rooms on ground floor, and the
whole house is heated with three large hot-water heaters, with public
bath-rooms on each floor, and several rooms with bath. The success
that has come to Mr. Berry in the hotel business is due wholly to the
fact that he is a natural-born caterer and a splendid manager. I have
traveled for years in this and other countries, and I am free to say
that the "Hotel Berry" is one of the best furnished houses I ever saw.
Mr. Berry gives his personal attention to every detail that will make
those who are guests in his house comfortable. His trade comes only
from the best people on the road. He employs two clerks, one white and
one colored. Colored people who are refined and represent the same
class of whites who stop there are never turned away. I was pleased to
hear him say that much of his success was due to the constant oversight
his wife had of affairs in the inside management of the house. I only
wish I could write an article that would paint a word-picture strong
enough to make the American people see what a magnificent hotel Mr.
Berry really keeps. Aside from his very busy life, he finds time to
do a lot of church work, and is looked upon as the leading man in the
colored Baptist church of Athens.
[Illustration: E. C. BERRY'S $60,000 HOTEL.]
MR. DUMAR WATKINS.
[Illustration: MR. DUMAR WATKINS.]
Dumar Watkins is another member of the race who should be known by the
American people at large. Mr. Watkins is holding a position and doing a
line of work that has never been done by any colored man in connection
with a white institution such as the one with which he is associated.
My attention was called to him while lecturing at Princeton, N. J.,
by Rev. J. Q. Johnson. I am sure it will be as much a surprise to my
readers, and I hope as much of a pleasure, as it was to me, when I
learned that the pathologist of Princeton University was a colored man
in the person of Dumar Watkins. When we called upon him we found him at
his work, preparing some pathological slides for microscopic use. He is
much liked at the university, and is considered very proficient in his
work. The picture I present here of Mr. Watkins is a splendid likeness
of the man. I need not tell my readers that Princeton University is
regarded as one of the greatest schools in the world, and it ought
to very much increase the colored people's race pride to know that a
member of the race holds such a position there as Mr. Watkins occupies.
MR. LEWIS H. LATIMER.
[Illustration: MR. LEWIS H. LATIMER.]
Lewis H. Latimer, of New York city, is the only member of the race
engaged in the line of work he represents. In 1880 Mr. Latimer
entered the employ of the United States Electric Lighting Company as
a draftsman and private secretary to Sir Hiram S. Maxim, of Maxim
gun fame. In 1881 Mr. Latimer was sent to England by the above-named
company to establish the manufacture of the incandescent electric lamps
in the factory of the Maxim, Weston Electric Light Company of London.
He returned in the latter part of 1882, and continued only a few months
in the employment of the company who sent him abroad. For some time he
served as draftsman and electrician in several minor companies. He was
employed by the Edison Electric Light Company in 1886, and has remained
with them practically ever since, although that company has been
absorbed by the General Electric Lighting Company. Mr. Latimer is kept
in what is known as the legal expert department, and is regarded as a
very competent man in his profession. He stands almost alone in his
work as a colored man. I have only known of about three members of the
race who have made any effort along that line, but the other two never
succeeded in making any headway, at least not enough to become known
to any extent. Now, one can easily see that the people who employ Mr.
Latimer must hold him in high esteem and place in him the most implicit
confidence, or they would never have sent him to another country to
represent their business. This mention of Mr. Latimer is another
evidence that colored people are gradually but surely getting into all
lines of business and professions, and I hope that in time we may call
attention to other successful electricians among the race.
MR. J. S. ATWOOD.
[Illustration: MR. J. S. ATWOOD.]
Mr. J. S. Atwood, of Ripley, Ohio, is a member of the race who has a
great many friends and admirers among both white and colored people. At
present Mr. Atwood is engaged in the livery business on a very large
scale. His horses and carriages are the best, and his trade comes from
the leading people in the city. He not only owns the large building
where his business is carried on, but he owns quite a number of others
in the place. He was born a slave in Alabama, and is a brother of Mr.
W. Q. Atwood, of Saginaw, Mich., who is also mentioned in this book.
For years he has been active in the interest of his race, especially in
defending their rights. He was one who urged Bishop Arnett to introduce
the bill in the Ohio legislature that mixed the schools of the State,
and in that way gave several thousand colored children an educational
opportunity who had before that been kept out of school, as there were
only colored schools in towns where the colored population was large.
For sixteen years Mr. Atwood was a member of the board of councilmen
of Ripley, Ohio. He has always been a strong and very influential
Republican, but his general popularity as a leader and strong man was
such that he was chosen by a Democratic governor to take the presidency
of the Ohio Institution for the Education of the Blind, located at
Columbus, Ohio. He served as president of this institution for five
years, and while there brought about many reforms in the interest of
the race. Before he went there colored people had never held positions
of any kind at the institution; in fact, colored children had been
put off by themselves to both eat and sleep. Mr. Atwood soon put a
stop to that sort of thing, and he also appointed several colored
people to different positions about the institution, such as clerks
and teachers. Some of the colored teachers appointed by him gave such
general satisfaction that they are still retained, although he has been
away for years. At Ripley Mr. Atwood is looked upon as a very important
citizen, and his color in no way stands in the way of his popularity
and usefulness.
GEORGE W. FRANKLIN, JR.
[Illustration: GEORGE W. FRANKLIN, JR.]
George W. Franklin, Jr., was born in Rome, Ga., December 11, 1865. He
learned the blacksmith trade with his father, who is still living and
engaged at his trade. Mr. Franklin saved his money from childhood, and
by the time he was a man he had enough to start business with. His
first effort in a business way was a hack line and livery stable; in
this he succeeded. Seeing the need of a colored undertaker in Rome,
he began by making his own hearse, which was the first ever owned
by a colored man in Rome. In time he wanted a larger field for his
business, and moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., and opened an undertaker's
establishment on a larger scale. In five years' time he built up a
business that brought him several thousand dollars per year. He now
owns three beautiful funeral cars and landau carriages, dead wagons and
a beautiful lot of white horses. Mr. Franklin has over ten thousand
dollars invested in his business and is out of debt. He is recognized
by white undertakers to the extent that when either he or they have
large funerals they will exchange carriages with each other. He buys
only the best of everything used in his business, and has bought a
large tract of land for burial purposes, which is known as East View
Cemetery. I found him a very pleasant man. He is much interested in the
race, and when Booker T. Washington called a meeting in 1900 of the
colored business men of this country, which met in Boston, Mass., Mr.
Franklin took an active part, and, in fact, gave an address there that
was regarded as very able by the press of Boston.