Florida J. Wolfe, also known as “Lady Flo,” was one of the most remarkable, resilient, albeit mysterious Black women to live in El Paso, Texas. Consort and common law wife to Irish Lord Delaval James Beresford, who owned cotton plantations and cattle ranches in Canada, … Read MoreFlorida J. Wolfe (ca. 1867-1913)
Johanna July, a black Seminole, was born around 1857 in Nacimiento de Los Negros, the settlement established in northern Mexico following the emigration of Indian and black Seminoles from the Indian Territory in 1849. By 1870, the U.S. Army, desperate for translators and scouts familiar … Read MoreJohanna July (ca. 1857-ca. 1946)
Ben Kinchlow began life as a free black in Texas, when most African Americans were slaves. After the Texas Revolution, the new Republic legalized slavery and free African Americans were at risk of being sold back into slavery. Ben’s mother, Lizaar Moore, a half-white slave … Read MoreBen Kinchlow (1846?-1939?)
While many Americans are familiar with the song, “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” few know the story of Emily West, the African American woman who was the inspiration for its creation. In the excerpt below from a longer article that first appeared in 1996, University … Read More“The Yellow Rose of Texas”: The Ironic Origins of a Popular Song
Fort Davis stands unique among frontier forts in that it became the Regimental Headquarters for all four Buffalo Soldier regiments that served during the last decades of the 19th-century. Troopers of the Ninth Cavalry were the first Buffalo Soldiers to garrison Fort Davis. Arriving in … Read MoreBuffalo Soldiers at Fort Davis, Texas (1867-1885)
Anita Scott Coleman was a relatively unknown but important western contributor to the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico in 1890, Coleman’s mother, Mary Ann, met her father, William Henry Scott, near Fort Elliott, Texas where he served as a buffalo soldier. He retired … Read MoreAnita Scott Coleman (1890-1960)
Mercurial and gifted bassist and band leader Charles Mingus is considered by many to be one of the jazz greats of all time, and one of the 20th Century’s most important Black composers. He worked and recorded with jazz legends such as Miles Davis, Art … Read MoreCharles Mingus (1922-1979)
Bridget “Biddy” Mason, born a slave in Mississippi in 1818, achieved financial success that enabled her to support her extended family for generations despite the fact that she was illiterate. In a landmark case she sued her master for their freedom, saved her earnings, invested … Read MoreBridget “Biddy” Mason (1818-1891)
Hugh MacBeth, Sr., an African American attorney active in Los Angeles, California in the early 20th Century, was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1884 as Hugh Ellwood MacBeth. His father, Arthur MacBeth, was a pioneering African American photographer. Hugh MacBeth attended the Avery Institute … Read MoreHugh MacBeth, Sr. (1884-1956)
Pio Pico was the last governor of Mexican California. He was of African, Indian, and Spanish ancestry. He was born in San Gabriel in 1801 and resided there until his father’s death in 1819; he then moved to San Diego. It is not clear how … Read MorePio de Jesus Pico (1801-1894)
