Samuel Burdett grew up in Kentucky. While still a young man, he joined the Union Army and served as a private for only twenty days before being promoted to corporal. Burdett fought for the last two years of the Civil War, and he was present … Read MoreSamuel Burdett (1849-?)
Dr. Matthew Oliver Ricketts was the generally acknowledged political leader of Omaha’s African Americans at the turn of the 20th century. Ricketts was born to an enslaved couple near New Castle, Kentucky in 1858. He later received a degree from Lincoln Institute at Jefferson City, … Read MoreMatthew Oliver Ricketts (1853-1917)
Madame Sul-Te-Wan was born on September 12, 1873 as Nellie Conley in Louisville, Kentucky where her widowed mother worked as a laundress. Madame Sul-Te-Wan was a pioneering stage and film actress who became one of the most prominent black performers in Hollywood during the silent … Read MoreMadame Sul-Te-Wan (1873-1959)
Primary Documents: Buchanan v. Warley (1917) Argued April 10, 11, 1916 Reargued April 27, 1917 November 5, 1917 MR. JUSTICE DAY delivered the opinion of the court. Buchanan, plaintiff in error, brought an action in the Chancery Branch of Jefferson Circuit Court of Kentucky for … Read More(1917) Buchanan v. Warley
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)
Kirke Smith was born July 22, 1865 in Montgomery County, Virginia. He graduated from Berea College in1894 and earned an M.A. degree from the University of Michigan. In 1894, Smith became the Superintendent of the Lebanon Colored Schools and the following year, Superintendent of Principals … Read MoreKirke Smith (1865-1935)
John Seamon Cotter, Jr., a talented playwright, journalist, and poet, was born and reared in Louisville, Kentucky. The son of journalist, playwright, poet, teacher and community developer Joseph Seamon Cotter, Sr., the younger Cotter’s education began with his sister Florence Olivia teaching him to read. … Read MoreJoseph Seamon Cotter Jr. (1895-1919)
Joseph Seamon Cotter, Sr., the father of poet-playwright Joseph Seamon, Jr., distinguished himself as a playwright, poet, author, and educator. Cotter was born in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1861, but was reared in Louisville. He was one of the earliest African American playwrights to be published. … Read MoreJoseph Seamon Cotter, Sr. (1861-1949)
Historian Carter G. Woodson was born to poor, yet land-owning, former slaves in New Canton, Virginia on December 19, 1875. During the 1890s, he hired himself out as a farm and manual laborer, drove a garbage truck, worked in coalmines, and attended high school and … Read MoreCarter G. Woodson (1875-1950)
