Independent Historian

Multiple business owner Euell Dixon (formerly Nielsen) was born on November 3, 1973, in Sewell, New Jersey. The youngest daughter of scientist and author Eustace A. Dixon II and Travel Agent Eleanor Forman, Euell was an early reader and began tutoring at The Verbena Ferguson Tutoring Center for Adults at the age of 13. She has owned and operated five different companies in the past 20 years including Show and Touch, Stitch This, Get Twisted, Dimaje Photography, and Island Treazures.

Euell is a Veteran of the U.S. Army (Reserves) and a member of the Order of Eastern Star, House of Zeresh #103. She is also the 3rd Historian for First African Presbyterian Church, the nation’s oldest African American Presbyterian church, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Additionally, Euell is also a photographer, storyteller, fiber artist, and a historical re-enactor, portraying the lives of Patriot Hannah Till, Elizabeth Gloucester, and Henrietta Duterte. Euell has been writing for Blackpast.org since 2014 and was given an award from the site in 2016 for being the only African American female who had almost 100 entries at the time. Since then, she has written over 300 entries. Euell currently lives in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Walter Fitzgerald Jerrick (1894-1953)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Walter Fitzgerald Jerrick, prominent Philadelphia, Pennsylvania physician and founder of The Pyramid Club was born in Georgetown, British Guiana, on March 21, 1894. He attended the public schools there until October 12, 1908, when he came to the United States and … Read MoreWalter Fitzgerald Jerrick (1894-1953)

Henrietta S. Bowers Duterte (1817-1903)

Henrietta Smith Bowers Duterte (pronounced Dew-tier), the first female undertaker in the nation, was born free in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was one of 13 children born to John Bowers and Henrietta Smith Bowers in July 1817. The Bowers family was originally from Baltimore, Maryland but … Read MoreHenrietta S. Bowers Duterte (1817-1903)

Salem Baptist Church, Alton, Illinois (1819- )

Salem Baptist Church, in Alton, Illinois, first organized in 1819, still stands as the only predominantly African American congregation in Madison County, which is situated along the Mississippi River across from Missouri. African American stonemason Madison Banks and white contractor Samuel Marshall, both from Alton, … Read MoreSalem Baptist Church, Alton, Illinois (1819- )

First African Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1807- )

First African Presbyterian Church, the nation’s oldest African American Presbyterian Church, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1807 by former Tennessee slave John Gloucester. This church is the fourth of the first five African American churches founded in the city of Philadelphia. After gaining … Read MoreFirst African Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1807- )

Louise Celia “Lulu” Fleming (1862-1899)

Louise Cecelia Fleming, the first African American to graduate from the Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was born January 28, 1862, to slave parents on a plantation near Hibernia in Clay County, Florida. Her father is unknown; she was raised by her mother, who … Read MoreLouise Celia “Lulu” Fleming (1862-1899)