Robert Brown Elliott (1842-1884)

Robert Brown Elliott, Reconstruction-era Congressman, was born in 1842 in Liverpool, England. He attended High Holborn Academy in London, England and then studied law, graduating from Eton College in 1859. From there he joined the British Royal Navy.  Elliott decided to settle in South Carolina … Read MoreRobert Brown Elliott (1842-1884)

Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix Sr. (1898-1987)

Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix, Sr. was born on August 9, 1898 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where his father, Nelson, was dean of South Carolina State College. Nix graduated from Townsend Harris High School in New York City, and then from Lincoln University in Chester County, … Read MoreRobert Nelson Cornelius Nix Sr. (1898-1987)

Samuel Harrison (1818-1900)

Samuel Harrison, a minister, political activist, and former slave, became one of Berkshire County, Massachusetts’s most ardent abolitionists. Harrison was born enslaved in Philadelphia in 1818 but he and his mother were freed in 1821.  Shortly afterwards the widowed mother and her son moved to … Read MoreSamuel Harrison (1818-1900)

Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson (1906-1968)

Ellsworth Raymond “Bumpy” Johnson was an American gangster in Harlem, New York in the 20th century. He has been the subject or character of a number of Hollywood films including The Cotton Club, Hoodlum, and most recently, American Gangster. Johnson was originally from Charleston, South … Read MoreEllsworth “Bumpy” Johnson (1906-1968)