Notable Kentucky African Americans Database

The Family of Jack and Sallie Foster [Blyew v. United States]
Birth Year : 1868
In Lewis County, KY, during the summer of 1868, five members of the Foster family were attacked by John Blyew and George Kennard, who used a carpenter's ax and some other bladed tool to hack at the bodies of the family members. Jack, his wife Sallie, and his grandmother Lucy Armstrong, who was blind, were killed outright. Richard, the Foster's 16 year old son, took shelter under his father's body. He later regained consciousness and crawled 300 yards to a neighbor's house for help. Richard died two days later. The two youngest children were the only survivors: Laura Foster, 8 years old, hid and was unharmed, while her 6 year old sister, Amelia, was hacked about the head but lived. A posse was formed and Blyew and Kennard were arrested and indicted on four counts of murder. The court hearings began October 26, 1868, with the following evidence presented: Richard Foster's dying statements, Laura Foster's written testimony [it was illegal in Kentucky for African Americans to give testimony against whites during criminal proceedings], and the testimony of those who investigated the crimes. One of the reasons given for the murders was retaliation for the Civil War and the potential for another war about African Americans. The trial was held in U.S. Court for the District of Kentucky before Judge Bland Ballard. The prosecuting attorney was Benjamin H. Bristow, who would later become the first U.S. Solicitor General and serve as Secretary of the Treasury in the Grant Administration before becoming a Republican presidential nominee in 1876. Two years prior to the Foster family murders, Congress had passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which gave jurisdiction to federal courts for all causes, civil and criminal, affecting persons who are denied or cannot enforce any of the rights secured to them in the courts or judicial tribunals of the state or locality, where they may be. The understanding of the provisions of the act was the reason Blyew and Kennard were tried in a federal court. Their case was presented to an all-white jury [it was still illegal to have African American jurors in such cases in Kentucky]. None of the jury members were from Lewis County. Blyew and Kennard were found guilty and sentenced to hang. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court as a Writ of Error. Blyew v United States was one of the first cases for the full court to analyze the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Kentucky Governor J. W. Stevenson called for a special legislative session, and funds were appropriated for use in the Blyew v United States case to hire the distinguished lawyer, Judge Jeremiah S. Black, to represent Kentucky's sovereign rights as a challenge to the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. It was determined by the governor and many of the Kentucky legislators that the 1866 Act exceeded the authority of Congress and was an unconstitutional intrusion of authority. The U.S. Supreme Court deliberated for more than a year before rendering a judgment on April 1, 1872, that reversed the convictions of Blyew and Kennard with a 5-2 majority. Prior to the decision, the Negro testimony law in Kentucky was repealed, and Blyew and Kennard were indicted and to be tried in the Lewis County Circuit Court in 1873. In Blyew's case, there was a hung jury, and the case was then to be prosecuted in federal court. But before the retrial could take place, Blyew escaped. In George Kennard's case, he was convicted and sentenced to hard labor for his natural life. He was pardoned by Governor Blackburn in 1885 due to his health. Kennard died of senility on April 5, 1923 in Carter County, KY, according to his death certificate. John Blyew was recaptured in 1890, and the Lewis County Circuit Court convicted and sentenced him to life in prison. Governor W. J. Worthington pardoned Blyew in 1896, and Blyew, his wife Emma, and granddaughter Mary, were residing in Cincinnati, OH in 1900, according to the U.S. Federal Census. The surviving Foster sisters, Laura and Amelia, were taken in by a white family named Ruggles. It has been written that Laura, who was born around 1860, died of measles after living with the Ruggles for a few years, but according the U. S. Census, she was with the Ruggles' family as a servant up to 1880. Amelia (1862-1936), who was described as having horrendous scars on her head, was single and remained in Lewis County doing housework up until 1934 when she became ill, according to her death certificate. For more see Blyew v. United States, 80 U.S. 13 Wall. 581 (1871) [full-text at Justia.com]; R. D. Goldstein, "Blyew: variations on a jurisdictional theme," Stanford Law Review, vol. 41, issue 3 (Feb. 1989), pp. 469-566; and Race, Law, and American Society, by G. J. Browne-Marshall.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Orphans and Orphanages in Kentucky, Court Cases, Blind, Visually Impaired
Geographic Region: Lewis County, Kentucky

Farris, Samuel
Birth Year : 1845
Samuel Farris was born in Barren County, KY. At a young age, he was taken to Mississippi to work on a cotton plantation. After his master died, Farris attempted to make his way back to Kentucky but ended up in Alabama, then later made his way to Memphis. He worked on steamboats for 13 years, then changed his occupation to undertaking. His business was located at 104 DeSoto Street in Memphis, according to the Memphis, TN, City Directory for 1890 and for 1891. In the 1890s Samuel Farris was a member of the A.M.E. Church and considered a wealthy businessman -- worth $15,000. For more see the Samuel Farris entry in Afro-American Encyclopaedia: Or, the Thoughts, Doings... by James T. Haley, pp. 207-208 [UNC University Library, Documenting the American South].
Subjects: Businesses, Freedom, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, Migration South
Geographic Region: Barren County, Kentucky / Memphis, Tennessee

Ferguson, Andrew
Birth Year : 1828
Ferguson was a slave born in Paris, KY, owned by Dr. Andrew Todd. Ferguson was given his freedom with the condition that he live in Liberia, Africa. At the age of 24, his name is listed among the freeman, all bound for Liberia, in the 1853 publication of The African Repository, p. 70 [available full-text at Google Book Search]. Ferguson remained in Liberia for two years, then returned to the U.S. as a free man and settled in Louisville, KY, where he was employed as a janitor in the Hamilton Building. He was a member of the Board of Missions for Freedom Colored Church that had been holding services in a rented hall. When it came time for the church to find a permanent home, Ferguson confidentially encouraged Pastor J. R. Riley to consider a church on Madison Street that was for sale by a German denomination. Once the pastor had made up his mind, Ferguson, with the pastor in attendance, paid $4,880 in cash for the building. The deed was made out to the trustees of the church. After the purchase, Ferguson continued as an unassuming member of the congregation, holding no positions in the church. For more see "A Noble Deed of a Colored Man," The Presbyterian Monthly Record, vol. 32 (1881), pp. 321-322 [available full-text at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Freedom, Liberia, Liberian Presidents & Diplomats, Kentucky African American Churches, Religion & Church Work
Geographic Region: Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Ferrill, London
Birth Year : 1789
Death Year : 1854
A slave from Virginia, Ferrill became minister in 1820 of the Lexington First African Baptist Church, which became the largest church in Kentucky with 1,828 members. His exact birth date is not known. For more see Biography of London Ferrill, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Colored Persons, Lexington, Ky at the Documenting the American South website; and A History of Blacks in Kentucky from Slavery to Segregation, 1760-1891, by M. B. Lucas.
Subjects: Freedom, Kentucky African American Churches, Migration West, Religion & Church Work
Geographic Region: Virginia / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Fifth Street Baptist Church (Louisville, KY)
Start Year : 1815
The church was founded in 1815, known at that time as the First Baptist African Mission. In 1842 the congregation separated from the First Baptist Church of Louisville, forming the Colored Baptist Church of Louisville. It is one of the oldest African American churches in the city, and one of the oldest among African American Baptist churches. The church archive is available at the University of Louisville Archives and Record Center. Historical Sketch of The Fifth Street Baptist Church of Louisville, Kentucky, by G. A. Hampton, is included in the archive collection.
Subjects: Kentucky African American Churches, Religion & Church Work
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Finn, Marvin
Birth Year : 1917
Death Year : 2007
Finn was an internationally known urban folk artist who lived in Louisville, KY. He began making toys as a child in Clio, AL, where he lived with his family, including 12 siblings. After coming to Kentucky in 1940, he worked at various jobs, carving toys as time allowed. After his wife died in 1966, he began making toys full-time. His work was highlighted in 1985 when the Kentucky Art and Craft Gallery opened in Louisville. For more see Marvin Finn: Wizard of whimsical whittling; Folk Artists Biographical Index, 1st ed., edited by G. H. Meyer; and P. Burba, "Fans flocked to his work; artist Marvin Finn dies," Louisville Courier-Journal, 01/31/2007, News section, p. 1B.
Subjects: Artists, Fine Arts, Migration North
Geographic Region: Clio, Alabama / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Firmatown (Woodford County, KY)
(Also known as Fermantown.) There are two accounts of how Firmatown came to be: The first states the land was given to freemen by their former master, the second that an African American man named Furman won 18 acres in a lottery with a ten cent ticket. In either case, in 1877 there was a landowner named Furman living in Firmatown, along with R. Peters, R. Brown, and H. Smith. By the turn of the century there were 150 people in the community. An 1892 picture of the Fermantown Colored School is included in the Hifner Photo Collection at the Kentucky Historical Society website. For more see Negro Hamlets and Gentlemen Farms: a dichotomous rural settlement pattern in Kentucky's Bluegrass Region, by P. C. Smith.
Subjects: Communities, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Firmatown (Fermantown), Woodford County, Kentucky

Fisher, Mary Ann
Birth Year : 1923
Death Year : 2004
Born in Henderson, KY, Fisher was a rhythm and blues singer whose career began in Louisville, KY. She toured with Ray Charles, with whom she had a relationship, and also toured with others before becoming a solo act and later returning to Louisville. Her first album Song Bird of the South was released in 2004. She can also be heard on the albums Early Girls, v.4, What'd I Say, and Talk'n 'Bout You. She can also be seen performing on the KET Mixed Media Programs 523, 541, and 813 [available online]. During her childhood, Fisher and some of her eight siblings were placed in the Kentucky Home Society for Colored Children in Louisville. Fisher was adopted after her first year at the orphanage. The orphanage was also home to Jonah Jones, Dicky Wells, and Helen Humes. For more see "Fisher, Louisville's 'queen of blues,' dies," Courier-Journal (Louisville), 03/13/04, News section, p.01B.
Subjects: Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers, Orphans and Orphanages in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Fitzbutler, Henry
Birth Year : 1837
Death Year : 1901
Fitzbutler, born in Maiden, Ontario, Canada, attended medical school in Detroit, enrolling in the Detroit Medical School in 1871 at the age of 29. He practiced medicine with his wife, Sarah, in Louisville, KY, where he pushed for a medical school for African Americans: the Louisville National Medical College opened without race restrictions. Fitzbutler also published the African American newspaper, Ohio Falls Express, from 1878-1904. Only the July 11, 1891 issue is still available, on microfilm, at the University of Louisville Archives and Record Center. Henry Fitzbutler was the father of Mary Fitzbutler Waring. For more see Kentucky Encyclopedia 2000 [electronic version available on the University of Kentucky (UK) campus and off campus via the proxy for UK affiliates], Find a Grave; and the Henry Fitzbutler entry in The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography by J. T. White [available full-text at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Medical Field, Health Care, Migration South
Geographic Region: Maiden, Ontario, Canada / Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Detroit, Michigan

Fitzpatrick, Jack "Jackie"
The 6'4" center was a member of the 1953 Kentucky High School Athletic League (KHSAL) championship basketball team from Dunbar High School in Somerset, KY. The team was unbeaten for the season and runners-up in the 1954 National High School Tournament, held at Tennessee State University in March of that year. The tournament matched the best African American high school teams from as many as 17 states. Fitzpatrick played college ball at Knoxville College, a historically black college in Tennessee. He continued his career by playing guard for the Harlem Globetrotters and Saperstein's Chicago Majors, an American Basketball League team, from 1961 to 1963. Jack Fitzpatrick was inducted into the Dawahares-Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2005. For more see Shadows of the past, by L. Stout; P. Kuharsky, "Black teams lived out hoop dreams," The Tennessean (newspaper), 02/24/2005, p. 1C; and the KHSAA 2005 Inductees (pdf).
Subjects: Basketball, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky

Foley, Shirley, Jr.
Birth Year : 1916
Born in Louisville, KY, Mr. Foley is a 1938 graduate of Fisk University and a 1940 graduate of Indiana University. Foley was married to the late Mary Frances Eaves, who was also from Louisville. He currently resides in Silver Spring, MD. Foley worked for the federal government for 38 years, including a tour of duty in the Pentagon's Department of Defense, and later was with the U.S. Department of Labor. He also did a two year temporary assignment in the U.S. Virgin Islands, assisting in the establishment of the Federal Office for Alien Employment Certification. Foley retired from the U.S. Department of Labor as a Manpower Development Specialist and has since traveled all over the world. He is the great-grandson of Pvt. Calvin Byrd (a.k.a. Calvin Brown), a slave born in Louisville, who ran away and enlisted in the 108th Infantry in 1864. Foley is also the nephew of Esther Maxwell Barrens. Contact Mr. Shirley Foley, Jr. for more information on his life. For an overview of Alien Employment Certification, see A. Weber, "The Role of the U.S. Department of Labor in Immigration," International Migration Review, vol. 4, issue 3 (Summer 1970), pp. 31-46.
Subjects: Employment Services, Immigration, Migration North
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Silver Spring, Maryland

Foree, George W.
Birth Year : 1904
Foree was born in Ballard County, KY. She was a member of the Paducah Art Guild. Her artwork, which came from remembered images, has been included in several exhibits. For more see Black Kentucky Artists: an exhibition of work by black artists living in Kentucky (1979).
Subjects: Artists, Fine Arts
Geographic Region: Ballard County, Kentucky

Foreign Labor
At the close of the Civil War, Kentucky and other southern states were faced with a labor shortage. The slaves were free and labor stabilization was an ongoing issue. Plantation owners across the south led the movement to bring in foreign labor, claiming it was necessary because paying wages for Negro labor had made the Negro prone to laziness and unreliability. Foreign laborers were sought from the north, Europe, and China. Approximately 3,500 persons, including a small contingency of Chinese immigrants, came to Kentucky, most settling in Louisville. It was not nearly enough to address the labor shortage, however. For more information see A History of Kentucky, by T. D. Clark; and R. T. Birthoff, "Southern Attitudes Toward Immigration, 1865-1914," The Journal of Southern History, vol. 17 (Aug. 1951), pp. 328-360.
Subjects: Immigration
Geographic Region: Kentucky

Former Kentucky Slaves form town near Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Start Year : 1817
According to the Abolitionist, as early as 1817 a community of about 150 escaped slaves from Kentucky had made their home in Upper Canada. The former slaves had escaped at various times. They were witnessed by Captain Stuart, who lived in Upper Canada between 1817-1822. When Stuart returned to the area in 1828, the population had doubled. The former slaves had formed a town (name unknown) on a tract of land purchased a few miles from Amherstburg, Canada. For more see p. 37 of the Abolitionist, vol. 1, issue 3 (March 1833) [available at Google Book Search]. Author Betty DeRamus mentions in her book that Amherstburg was a well-known haven for escaped slaves, but the city was not always a safe place for them. For more see Forbidden Fruit, by B. DeRamus; and An Enduring Heritage, by R. E. Reindeau. For earlier accounts of Amherstburg as a receiving station for escaped slaves, see The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom, by W. H. Siebert.
Subjects: Communities, Freedom, Migration North
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada

Fort Spring (Fayette County, KY)
Formerly referred to as Slickaway and Reform, the community was located on Versailles Road. The more recent name, Fort Spring, is from a local tavern that had a spring under it; the tavern had been used as a fort during the Civil War. The community was established by white residents, and in 1826 Henry and Patty Sthreshley sold 1 1/2 acres of land to freeman Henry Clark. A few other African Americans moved to the area. Following the Civil War, adjoining land owned by Mr. H. W. Worley may also have been sold to African Americans, which added to the population of the community. By 1882, Fort Spring had 100 African American residents, making them the majority in the community. For more see the Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer, and Negro Hamlets and Gentlemen Farms: a dichotomous rural settlement pattern in Kentucky's Bluegrass Region, by P. C. Smith.
Subjects: Communities
Geographic Region: Fort Spring (Slickaway, Reform), Fayette County, Kentucky

Foster, Leonard N. "Leo"
Birth Year : 1951
Born in Covington, KY, Foster was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1971 and remained with them until 1976, when he was traded to the New York Mets. He played second and third base and shortstop. Foster ended his baseball career in 1977. For more see Leo Foster in the Baseball Almanac.
Subjects: Baseball
Geographic Region: Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky

Fouse, William H.
Birth Year : 1868
Death Year : 1944
Fouse was the first African American graduate of Otterbein College in Ohio. He served as principal of Russell School and was the first principal of old Dunbar High School as well as supervisor of African American schools in Lexington, KY. He developed the Bluegrass Oratorical Association and the Bluegrass Athletic Association. He was married to Elizabeth R. Fouse. For more see Fouse Family Papers in the Kentuckiana Digital Library, and Who's Who of the Colored Race. A general biographical dictionary of men and women of African descent, vol. 1, edited by F. L. Mather.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Fox, Robert and Samuel
The Fox brothers owned a grocery store and one of the three leading undertaking businesses in Louisville, KY. Their undertaking business would eventually be merge with that of J. H. Taylor. In 1870, the Fox brothers and Horace Pearce went against the public streetcar policies when they boarded the Central Passenger's car at Tenth and Walnut Streets. All three men were removed from the car and jailed and their case would be resolved in U.S. District Court. Robert Fox (b.1846) and Samuel Fox (b.1849 ), both born in Kentucky, were the sons of Albert and Margaret Fox. For more see History of the United Brothers of Friendship and Sisters of the Mysterious Ten, by W. H. Gibson, Sr.; and the entry Streetcar Demonstrations.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Businesses, Civic Leaders, Jim Crow, Corrections and Police, Rioting, Insurrections, Panics, Protests in Kentucky, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, Railroad, Railway, Trains, Court Cases
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Francis, Edward and Eliza
Edward Francis (b.1830 in VA) was a former slave of Edy Francis from Madison County, KY. He enlisted in the Union Army in 1864 and was trained at Camp Nelson, KY. He was a member of the 114th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops. Francis and Eliza (b.1839 in KY), the parents of three children, could not read or write, yet much of what is known about them comes from the letters that were written for them while Edward was away in the Army. Their letters are an example of how soldiers kept in touch with their families when neither were literate. When the war ended, Edward Francis' unit was transferred to Texas, where they served for two additional years. When he returned home to Madison County, Francis and Eliza had two more children. Edward married Susan Miller in 1893. For more see M. Meyers and C. Propes, "I Don't fear nothing in the shape of man," Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 101, issue 4 (2003), pp. 457-478.
Subjects: Freedom, Military & Veterans
Geographic Region: Virginia / Madison County, Kentucky

Frankfort, KY, Klan Violence
Start Year : 1871
On March 25, 1871, a letter was sent to the U.S. Congress asking for protection from the Ku Klux Klan for the newly-freed African Americans in Kentucky. The letter was from Colored citizens of Frankfort & vicinity, signed by Henry Marrs, a teacher; Henry Lynn, a livery stable keeper; N. N. Trumbo, a grocer; Samuel Damsey; B. Smith, a blacksmith; and B. T. Crampton, a barber. The letter contained a list of 116 incidents of beatings, shootings, hangings, tarring and feathering, and other violence that had taken place around the state. For more see Documentary History of the Negro People in the United States, vol. 2, ed. by H. Aptheker.
Subjects: Barbers, Businesses, Freedom, Lynchings, Blacksmiths
Geographic Region: Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Franklin Colored Benevolent Society No.1 (Franklin, KY)
Start Year : 1874
The Act to incorporate the organization was passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in February 1874, with R. R. Burnley as president; William Butts, vice president; John H. Perdue [or Purdue], secretary; and King Boisseau as treasurer. The organization purpose was "intellectual, moral, and social improvement of its members, and works of benevolence and charity." [John H. Purdue may be the great great grandfather of John J. Johnson. See the ky.gov press release, 08/23/2007.] For more see Chapter 486 of the 1874 publication Acts Passed at the...Session of the General Assembly, pp. 543-544 [available at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Fraternal Organizations, Grandparents, Benevolent Societies
Geographic Region: Franklin, Simpson County, Kentucky

Free Frank
Birth Year : 1777
Death Year : 1854
Born in South Carolina, Frank was the son of a slave named Juda and her owner, George McWhorter. Frank and McWhorter settled in Pulaski County, KY, in 1795. Frank worked McWhorter's farm and was allowed to establish his own saltpeter business. He earned enough money to purchase a farm, his wife's freedom, his freedom, and that of an older son. Once free, Frank took the name Free Frank. In 1830, he and the free members of his family moved to Pike County, Illinois, where he accumulated land. Frank eventually established the town of New Philadelphia, continuing to purchase the freedom of his children and grandchildren still in Pulaski County, KY. While in Illinois, Frank officially changed his name to Frank McWhorter. Three years after his death, portions of the New Philadelphia property were sold to purchase the freedom of the remaining family members in Kentucky. For more see Free Frank; a black pioneer on the Antebellum frontier, by J. E. K. Walker.
Subjects: Businesses, Early Settlers, Freedom, Migration North
Geographic Region: South Carolina / Pulaski County, Kentucky / Pike County, Illinois / New Philadelphia, Illinois

Free Persons of Color in Fayette County, Kentucky, 1838
Information taken from the Directory of the City of Lexington and County of Fayette For 1838 & '39, by J. P. B. Mac Cabe.
Subjects: Directories, Freedom
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Free Station (Owen County, KY)
Start Year : 1847
Tom Frazier was the first slave to be freed in Owen County, KY, in 1825. He had been owned by members of the Hardin family and Benjamin F. Hawkins. The next slave to be freed was Tobias in 1827; he had been owned by Alexander Guthrie. By 1843, there were 1,143 slaves in Owen County, including those owned by Susannah Herndon Rogers. In 1847, Rogers' will emancipated her slaves, and her property was divided into 10 lots and given to her former slaves, all of whom had the last name Locust. The community that was formed became known as Free Station. In 1849, it became law in Kentucky that a security bond must be posted for every slave who was freed. The law would stall the emancipation of Rogers' brother's slaves [James Herndon]. For more see Mountain Island In Owen County, Kentucky: the settlers and their churches, by J. C. Bryant.
Subjects: Communities, Freedom
Geographic Region: Free Station, Owen County, Kentucky

Freeman, Maggie L.
Birth Year : 1875
Freeman was an educator and an early African American woman school principal in Bourbon County, KY. She was born in Bourbon County, the daughter of Mary and Willis Freeman. According to the U.S. Federal Census, in 1910, she was a high school teacher at the Colored School in Paris, living with her father. Freeman had been a teacher at the school since 1903 when she was elected as one of the six teachers under principal J. C. Stone. She became the principal of the Bourbon County Training School around 1911. The school was located in Little Rock and was still in operation in 1933. For more see "Teachers Elected," The Bourbon News, 05/15/1903, p. 5; and "Bourbon County Training School" on pp. 264-265 in Negro Education by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Bulletin 1916, NO. 39, Volume II [available full-text in Google Book Search].
Subjects: Education and Educators
Geographic Region: Paris and Little Rock, Bourbon County, Kentucky

Freetown, Kentucky
Start Year : 1846
Located on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, in 1846 it became the first African American community in Monroe County, KY. The community members were the freed slaves of William Howard, who gave them 400 acres to build homes. Albert Martin gave the land for the church, which was also built in 1846. For more see Free-Town Church on the Kentucky Department of Tourism website.
Subjects: Communities, Freedom, Kentucky African American Churches
Geographic Region: Freetown (Gamaliel), Monroe County, Kentucky

Frye, Helen F.
Birth Year : 1919
Helen F. Frye was born in Danville, KY. In 1963 she became the first African American woman to receive a library science degree from the ALA-accredited library school at the University of Kentucky. [Recently, it was found that James R. O'Rourke graduated from the UK Library School in 1957, and may be the first African American graduate.] Frye and two other students attempted to attend a University of Kentucky extension class taught in Danville, but they were forced to drop the class because they were African Americans (as reported in the Louisville Federal newspaper). Later Frye went to the University of Kentucky campus to earn her library degree. In 2006, she was nominated by Danville native Dr. Frank X. Walker for the University of Kentucky's Lyman T. Johnson Award, then chosen as one of the two recipients by the UK Libraries and the UK School of Library and Information Science to receive the award for her many years of service as a librarian and civil rights activist. Her oral history is included in the Civil Rights Movement in the Kentucky Oral History Project at the Kentucky Historical Society; she also has an oral history interview in the Centre College Special Collections in Danville. Mrs. Frye helped organize the first integrated production on the Centre College campus in 1951: Porgy and Bess, featuring Danville native R. Todd Duncan. For more see Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones; Fifty Years of the University of Kentucky African-American Legacy, 1949-1999; and Helen F. Frye's oral history interviews.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries
Geographic Region: Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky / Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Fuqua, Harvey
Birth Year : 1929
Harvey Fuqua was born in Louisville, KY, the son of Lillian Fuqua. [Chicago has also been given as his birth location.] He was married to Gwen Gordy, a sister of Berry Gordy. Fuqua, who is still recording today, has had an extensive career as a singer, songwriter, record producer, talent scout, developer, and manager. He was owner of Tri-Phi Records and Harvey Records and helped develop Motown Records in Detroit, MI. He founded the Moonglows, a doo-wop group, with Bobby Lester (who was from Louisville, KY), Alexander Graves, and Prentiss Barnes; he sometimes shared the lead vocals with Lester. Fuqua and Lester had sung together in high school, and Fuqua had sung with Barnes in Cleveland when they were members of the group, Crazy Sounds, the group who would become the Moonglows. In Detroit, the Moonglows gave Marvin Gaye his start, and Fuqua helped produce the song "Sexual Healing" plus a number of other songs by other artists [Gaye's father was from KY]. The Moonglows were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He served as the road manager for Smokey Robinson and is credited with discovering Sylvester, for whom he produced the single "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)." Fuqua left Motown for RCA Records in the early 1970s. This entry was suggested by Tiffany Bowman, a family member of Harvey Fuqua's who lives in Louisville, KY. For more see Harvey Fuqua, a Wikipedia entry; Fuqua performing "Don't Be Afraid of Love" on YouTube; the Harvey Fuqua entry in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 3rd. ed., edited by C. Larkin; Notable Black American Men, Book II, by J. C. Smith; and Encyclopedia of Rock, by P. Hardy, et al.
Subjects: Migration North, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Cleveland, Ohio / Detroit, Michigan

Furman, James B.
Birth Year : 1937
Death Year : 1989
Born in Louisville, KY, Furman was a composer, teacher, choral director and church musician. Best known as a choral composer, he composed more than 50 works. Furman attended public schools in Louisville and received his B.A. (1958) and M. Mus. Ed. (1965) from the University of Louisville, completing his Ph. D. coursework at Brandeis University. For more see International Dictionary of Black Composers, ed. by S. A. Floyd, Jr.; James Furman, a website created by former student S. D. Severn; and  Who's Who Among African Americans, 1975-2004.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky