Rebecca Howard, an outstanding hotelier and cook, was one of Olympia, Washington‘s earliest businesswomen. Born in 1827 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rebecca Groundage married Alexander Howard, a local cooper, in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1843. By 1859 Rebecca and her husband had moved to Olympia and … Read MoreRebecca Groundage Howard (1827-1881)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Born in 1816 in Maryland to a freedwoman mother and a German father, Henry O. Wagoner (often spelled Waggoner) had the benefit of a brief exposure to education in Pennsylvania. This limited education gave him a base for further self-education and … Read MoreHenry O. Wagoner (1816-1901)
Born in Pennsylvania, little is known about Anderson before he arrived in California at the end of the California Gold Rush. In 1854, Anderson established a tailor shop in San Francisco and plunged into the city’s small but energetic African American community, participating in California … Read MorePeter Anderson (ca. 1822-1879)
Horace Mann Bond served as the first president of Fort Valley State College from 1939 to 1945 and president of Lincoln University from 1945 to 1957. He was a notable educator and scholar holding degrees from Lincoln University (B.A. in 1923 and a LL.D. in … Read MoreHorace Mann Bond (1904-1972)
The 1830s saw an unprecedented wave of mob violence in the Northern states. The Pennsylvania Hall fire is one such case of violence spurred by racial/gender tensions. The hall had several rooms and a large auditorium that seated three hundred people. A Board of Managers … Read MorePennsylvania Hall Fire (1838)
William Whipper was born in Little Britain, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on February 22, 1804. Whipper was best known for his activities promoting the abolition of slavery, temperance and “moral suasion” which he defined as the power of non-violence as the most effective way to eradicate … Read MoreWilliam Whipper (1804-1876)
African American philosopher and minister Richard Ishmael McKinney was born on August 8, 1906, in Live Oak, Florida. He began his formal education at a local school, the Florida Institute, co-founded by his father, George McKinney, a Baptist Minister. Due to financial difficulties, McKinney stayed … Read MoreRichard Ishmael McKinney (1906-2005)
In 1950, Ethel Waters was the first black American performer to star in her own regular television show, Beulah, but it was the 1961 role in the “Good Night, Sweet Blues” episode of the television series Route 66 that earned her an Emmy award. She … Read MoreEthel Waters (1896-1977)
Dubbed “The Moses of Her People,” escaped slave Harriet Tubman assisted hundreds of slaves on the Underground Railroad, leading them from Maryland to safety in Pennsylvania. Born enslaved in 1821 and raised in Dorchester County, Maryland to Benjamin and Harriett Greene Ross, she was both … Read MoreHarriet Ross Tubman (ca. 1821-1913)
Peter William Cassey was born in Philadelphia in 1831, the son of renowned African American abolitionist Joseph Cassey. Cassey learned political activism from his father. He also learned the barbering trade which he pursued after his arrival in San Francisco in 1863. In 1859 Cassey … Read MorePeter William Cassey (1831-?)
