Tag: United States – Pennsylvania
Martin Robison Delany (1812-1885)
Martin Robison Delany was an African American abolitionist, the first African American Field Officer in the U.S Army, and one of the earliest African Americans to encourage a return to Africa. Delany was born in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia) to a slave father … Read MoreMartin Robison Delany (1812-1885)
Betsey Stockton (1798-1865)
Betsey Stockton was born into slavery in Princeton, New Jersey in 1798. She belonged to Robert Stockton, a local attorney. Presented to Stockton’s daughter and son-in-law, the Rev. Ashbel Green, then President of Princeton College, as a gift, Betsy Stockton was now in a household … Read MoreBetsey Stockton (1798-1865)
A’Lelia Walker (1885-1931)
A’Lelia Walker, the only daughter of Madam C.J. Walker, helped her mother found the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company in Denver, Colorado in 1906. From 1908 to 1918, she played a major role in the growth of the Madam C.J. Walker business empire by … Read MoreA’Lelia Walker (1885-1931)
Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797)
Olaudah Equiano, whose father was an Ibo chief, was born in 1745 in what is now Southern Nigeria. At the age of 11 years, Olaudah was captured by African slave traders and sold into bondage in the New World. Equiano, given the name Gustavus Vassa … Read MoreOlaudah Equiano (1745-1797)
Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919)
Madam C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove to former slaves, Owen and Minerva Breedlove in Delta, Louisiana on December 23, 1867. Breedlove became an orphan at age seven when her parents died. Three years later, ten-year-old Sarah and her sister moved across to river to Vicksburg, … Read MoreMadam C. J. Walker (1867-1919)
Grace Bustill Douglass (1782-1842)
Grace Bustill Douglass, a Quaker abolitionist, was born into a distinguished black activist family in Burlington, New Jersey. She was the fifth of eight children born to Cyrus Bustill, a baker, and Elizabeth Morey Bustill, the daughter of an Englishman and a Delaware Indian woman. … Read MoreGrace Bustill Douglass (1782-1842)
Sarah Mapps Douglass (1806-1882)
Born to a distinguished abolitionist family, Sarah Mapps Douglass was the only daughter of Robert Douglass, a baker, and Grace Bustill Douglass, a milliner. Like many educated women, Sarah Douglass became a teacher. She also was an active abolitionist and joined her mother as a … Read MoreSarah Mapps Douglass (1806-1882)
Eleanor Dickey Ragsdale (1926-1998)
Eleanor Dickey Ragsdale was one of the most distinguished activists, educators, and entrepreneurs in Arizona history. In 1947 she graduated from the historically black Cheyney University in Pennsylvania. The university’s main mission was to cultivate African American teachers, who would become leaders in their local … Read MoreEleanor Dickey Ragsdale (1926-1998)
William Owen Bush (1832-1907)
William Owen Bush was the eldest son of George and Isabella Bush. George Bush was a mixed-race settler who came with his large family to what is now the Tumwater, Washington area in 1845. The Bushes and their sons, William Owen, Joseph Tolbert, Rial Bailey, … Read MoreWilliam Owen Bush (1832-1907)