Richard Freeman, deputy city marshal and entrepreneur in the early years of San Diego, California, was born somewhere in the Eastern United States. His date of birth and his parents’ names are unknown. In fact, there is little information known about his life before he came to San Diego. Some historians have speculated that he may have been a fugitive slave. We do know that Freeman came to San Diego with Allan B. Light, another early Black settler, in 1845 and then were the only two African American settlers to reside in what is now Old Town San Diego. At the time, San Diego was part of Mexican California, but a number of people like Freeman and Light, both of whom were born in the United States, had settled there. Freeman and Light purchased a building from Henry D. Fitch, a Massachusetts sea captain and trader, for $96 on February 10, 1847. The building had four rooms and would be known as the Freeman-Light House or the San Diego House. Inside, the two would operate a successful saloon, which was remarkable, as, at the time, most African Americans would be engaged in menial labor rather than business. Freeman and Light … Continue reading Richard Freeman (?-1851)