Julia Chinn, the putative common-law wife of 9th US vice president Richard Mentor Johnson (1780-1850), was born an octoroon slave in Scott County, Kentucky. Her parents and exact date of birth are unknown, but she was raised and educated in Johnson’s household by his mother … Read MoreJulia Ann Chinn (ca.1790-1833)
In the article below Seattle historian Carver Clark Gayton describes his most prominent ancestor, Lewis G. Clarke, who is widely considered to be the model for one of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s main characters in her novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Here Gayton describes Clarke’s evolving relationship … Read MoreLewis G. Clarke: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Forgotten Hero
Mary Magdalena Lewis Tate founded a Pentecostal denomination and became one of the first American women to hold the title of Bishop. Born in Vanleer, Tennessee on January 5, 1871, to Belfield Street and Nancy (Hall) Street, she married her first husband, David Lewis, at … Read MoreMary Magdalena Lewis Tate (1871-1930)
Dr. Riley Andrew Ransom Sr., the founder of the first hospital for African Americans in Fort Worth, Texas, was born on March 9, 1886, in Columbus, Kentucky, to parents Allen and Alice Ransom. Ransom briefly attended Lane College in Tennessee then transferred to Southern Illinois … Read MoreRiley Andrew Ransom Sr. (1886-1951)
Educator, newspaper publisher and politician John Quincy Adams is best known as the editor of the Western Appeal/The Appeal of St. Paul, Minnesota. He held the position from 1886 to 1922. John Quincy Adams was born free in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 4, 1848, to … Read MoreJohn Quincy [“J. Q.”] Adams (1848-1922)
Saxophonist, bandleader and songwriter Paul Williams was a performer at The Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland in 1952, considered to be the first rock concert. He has been recognized as a pioneer in the American music industry. Paul Williams was born on July 13, 1915 … Read MorePaul “Hucklebuck” Williams (1915-2002)
Founding publisher of the Los Angeles-based African American newspaper, the Sentinel, Leon H. Washington Jr. was born in Kansas City, Kansas on April 15, 1907. Washington, along with his two other siblings, was born to his parents, Leon and Blanche Washington. Young Washington spent much … Read MoreLeon H. Washington, Jr. (1907-1974)
The novelist and poet Gayl Jones was born November 23, 1949 in Lexington, Kentucky. She came from a creative background; her grandmother Amanda Wilson wrote religious dramas and her mother Lucile wrote fiction. By the time she was seven years old, she had already begun … Read MoreGayl Jones (1949- )
Today the phrase “Uncle Tom” evokes a powerfully negative image in American society. It depicts a weak, subservient, cringing black man who betrays his race and its struggle for liberation. David Reynolds, an English professor in the Graduate School of the City University of New … Read MoreUncle Tom Revisited: Rescuing the Real Character from the Caricature
