Kate Chapman was born February 19, 1870 in Mount City, Illinois. She began writing very early in life. Her family moved to Yankton, South Dakota where her father established a hunting dog breeding business valued at $50 to $100 and owned a home valued at … Read MoreKatherine Davis Chapman Tillman (1870-?)
Born 1855 in Trenton, Kentucky, Josephine Leavell was an accomplished pianist, organist and music teacher before marrying prominent Baptist minister, Rev. Allen Allensworth, in 1877. From 1886 to 1906, Josephine lived with her husband, one of the few African American chaplains in the U.S. Army, … Read MoreJosephine Leavell Allensworth (1855-1938)
The citizens of Colorado elected their first African American legislator in 1894, eighteen years after gaining statehood in 1876. The man they elected, Joseph H. Stuart, came to the United States from the British West Indies where he had been born in 1854. He studied … Read MoreJohn H. Stuart (1854-1910)
Joseph D.D. Rivers’ name appeared on the second page of The Colorado Statesman (1895–1961), a respected African American weekly newspaper, as editor and publisher for nearly forty years. Rivers started the paper in 1895 and worked diligently to print news from around the country as … Read MoreJoseph D.D. Rivers (ca. 1856-1937)
Born in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1863, Joseph Blackburn Bass made his mark in the newspaper business in Kansas, Montana, and California. After teaching school during the 1890s, Bass took over ownership of the Topeka Call in 1896, where he had worked for two years … Read MoreJoseph Blackburn Bass (1863-1934)
John Ware was born a slave in South Carolina circa 1845. When the Civil War ended, he decided to exercise his freedom by moving west. Ware settled in Texas and got a job with a rancher who raised horses. In 1879 Ware rode north on … Read MoreJohn Ware (1845?-1905)
John Newington Conna was a pivotal figure in the early history and development of Washington State. Born enslaved near San Augustine, Texas in 1836, Conna was a free man by the time of the Civil War because he served in the 1st Louisiana Native Guards, … Read MoreJohn N. Conna (1836-1921)
John Horse, also known as Juan Caballo, John Cowaya, or Gopher John was the dominant personality in Seminole Maroon affairs for half a century. He counseled Seminole leaders, served as an agent of the U.S. government, and became a Mexican Army officer. He served the … Read MoreJohn Horse (ca. 1812-1882)
John Grant Pegg was born around 1869 in Virginia. He began his career in about 1890 as a Pullman porter, working out of Chicago. It was there that he met Mary Charlotte Page of Kansas, a seamstress. After their marriage they moved to Omaha, Nebraska … Read MoreJohn Grant Pegg (1869-1916)
John Baptist Rayner was born a slave in North Carolina to mixed race parents Kenneth Rayner and Mary Hicks in 1850. His father was a plantation owner and politician, and his mother was a slave. He was taken from his mother at birth and raised … Read MoreJohn B. Rayner (1850-1918)
