Notable Kentucky African Americans Database

Abbington v Board of Education of Louisville (KY)
Start Year : 1940
When the Louisville Board of Education denied the petition for equal pay for African American teachers, a suit was filed by the NAACP on behalf of Vallateen Virginia Dudley Abbington. The case of Abbington v. Board of Education of Louisville was filed on December 5, 1940, in the Federal District Court. Abbington (1907-2003), a native of Indiana, was a school teacher in Louisville at the time. She was one of the African American teachers who received 15% less salary than white teachers. The case, brought by the NAACP, was argued by Thurgood Marshall. The School Board agreed that if Abbington would drop her lawsuit, the discrimination in salaries would cease. The lawsuit was withdrawn, and a retroactive clause in the suit gave African American teachers back pay. The equalization of teacher salaries was a campaign by the NAACP that began in 1936. Abbington v Board of Education of Louisville was the third case for the NAACP, the first such case in Kentucky. Abbington left Louisville and moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where she is remembered as a social worker, civic leader, and civil rights leader. For more see Papers of the NAACP, Part 3, The Campaign for Educational Equality: Legal Department and Central Office Records, 1913-1950 / Series B, 1940-1950 / Reel 8; see "Kentucky Cases" in The Negro Handbook 1946-1947, edited by F. Murray; "Alumna, 96, remembered as strong-willed activist," Exemplar (Eastern Michigan University), Winter 2004, Special Annual Report Issue; and "Vallateen Abbington, social worker, civic leader," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/19/2003, Metro section, p. D15.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), Court Cases
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Abernathy, Ronald L.
Birth Year : 1950
Abernathy was born in Louisville, KY, to Ben W. and Juanita Abernathy. He is a graduate of Morehead State University (BA) and Louisiana State University (MA). Abernathy was a teacher at Shawnee High School in Louisville when he received the Teacher of the Year Award and was second in the state for Kentucky High School Coach of the Year, both in 1976. From 1972-1976, he was head basketball coach at the school. He left Kentucky to become an assistant basketball coach at LSU, 1976-1989, the first African American basketball coach hired full-time at the school. For more see Dale Brown's Memoirs from LSU Basketball, by D. Brown; and Who's Who Among African Americans, 1980-2006.
Subjects: Basketball, Education and Educators, Migration South
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Adam (Boone slave)
Start Year : 1773
Adam was one of the slaves who came to Kentucky in 1773 with Daniel Boone, his brother, Squire, and their families. Adam was with the group of men who were sent out for provisions. The men were attacked by Indians, and Adam survived by hiding out on a creek bank. He returned to tell of the killings, including that of Boone's son, James. For more see A History of Blacks in Kentucky from Slavery to Segregation, 1760-1891, by M. B. Lucas.
Subjects: Early Settlers
Geographic Region: Kentucky

Adams, Charles "Cane"
Adams was a musician who invented the 'walking cane flute,' a flute combined with a walking cane. He recorded with the Kentucky Jug Band/Phillip's Louisville Jug Band in Chicago in 1930. Adams' playing may also be heard on the recording Clifford Hayes & the Louisville Jug Bands, Volume 4. For more see Album Review: Clifford Hayes & the Louisville Jug Bands, Volume 4, an answers.com website; and Charles 'Cane' Adams in The Unsung Musicians of Early Jazz and Blues [.pdf], by R. Schneider.
Subjects: Inventors, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Chicago, Illinois

Adams, Henry
Birth Year : 1802
Death Year : 1872
Henry Adams was a Baptist leader in Louisville, KY, where he established the first African American Church. He also set up a school for African American children; the school survived while other schools established for African Americans by white ministers were being destroyed. He was the father of John Quincy "J. Q." Adams. For more see Life Behind a Veil, by G. C. Wright; and A History of Blacks in Kentucky from Slavery to Segregation, 1760-1891, by M. B. Lucas.
Subjects: Civic Leaders, Education and Educators, Fathers, Kentucky African American Churches, Religion & Church Work, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Adams, John Quincy "J.Q."
Birth Year : 1848
Death Year : 1922
John Quincy Adams was born in Louisville, KY. In 1879, Adams established the Bulletin as a weekly newspaper in Louisville. He served as president of the American Press Association (the African American press organization). In 1886, he left Louisville to join the staff of the Western Appeal in St. Paul, Minnesota, assuming ownership of the newspaper within a few months. Adam's career also included his position as Engrossing Clerk of the Arkansas Senate. He was also a school teacher in both Kentucky and Arkansas. He was a civil rights activist and served as an officer in the National Afro-American Council. Adams was a graduate of Oberlin College. He was the son of Henry Adams and Margaret P. Corbin Adams. For more see Dictionary of American Negro Biography, by R. W. Logan & M. R. Winston; and D. V. Taylor, "John Quincy Adams: St. Paul editor and Black leader," Minnesota History, vol.43, issue 8 (Winter, 1973), pp.282-296..
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Migration West, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Saint Paul, Minnesota / Arkansas

Adams, William T.
Birth Year : 1912
Death Year : 1974
When the second African American firehouse in Louisville, KY, opened in 1937, Adams was among the first group of firemen. In 1939 he was promoted to lieutenant, and in 1941 he became a captain. Adams would become the first African American put in charge of a predominantly white company in Louisville. He was named assistant chief in 1967. For more see B. M. Tyler, "William T. Adams (1912-1974): African-American firefighter, Louisville, Kentucky," Filson Club History Quarterly, vol. 73, issue 3, pp. 284-293.
Subjects: Firefighters
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

The African American Ball (Lexington, KY)
Start Year : 1994
The 1st Annual African American Ball was presented as a charity event, in January 1994, and has since been held every year. It is the largest African American ball in the state; more than 6,000 guests have attended the affair over the years. The ball is a black tie event with art, entertainment, fashion, and music all in one night. Proceeds benefit the African American Forum Endowment Fund, with the Blue Grass Community Foundation. For more see the African American Forum, Inc., and the Lexington Herald-Leader's annual article about the ball.
Subjects: Balls, Promenades, Socials
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

The African American Borah Family
Start Year : 1810
In 1810, the Borah Family moved from Pennsylvania to Butler County, KY, led by the great great grandfather of Idaho Senator William Edgar Borah (1865-1940) and his eight sons. The family slaves, who also carried the last name Borah, were the ancestors of African American musician Harry Edison. Edison's great grandmother, Mariah Borah (born between 1810 and 1812, died 1876), was born in Ohio County, KY. Her mother's last name was Rogers. Mariah may have been the slave of Jacob Borah. She was later owned by George M. Borah in Butler County. Mariah had several children with Jesse Barnes [or Brookins or Brokins], a freeman from Maryland who had settled in Butler County prior to the end of slavery. It is believed that Jesse was at one time enslaved and migrated to Kentucky with the Barnes Family and then later freed. All of Jesse and Mariah's children carried the last name Borah because their mother was enslaved and carried the last name Borah, and the same applied to the children. Two of their daughters were Ellen and Julia Borah, one of whom was the mother of McDonald Porter. Their son, Larkin Borah, was the father of Katherine Meryl Borah Edison, who was the mother of Harry Edison. All information about the African American Borah family was submitted by Denyce Peyton. For more about the Borah family from Pennsylvania, see "Wisconsin at Washington," The Oshkosh Northwestern, 04/04/1936, p. 18: and Borah, by M. C. McKenna.
Subjects: Genealogy, History, Grandparents
Geographic Region: Pennsylvania / Butler County and Ohio County, Kentucky

African American Business District (Danville, KY)
Located on Second Street, between Main and Walnut Streets in Danville, KY, the African American business district thrived for over 100 years. The area was razed by Urban Renewal in 1973. A Kentucky Historical Marker notes how valued the district was to the African American community of Danville and nearby areas. For more see the Kentucky Historical Marker Database #1958.
Subjects: Businesses
Geographic Region: Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky

African American Communities in Warren County, KY
Sunnyside, Freeport, and Oakland were three African American communities in Warren County, KY, developed after the Civil War. In 2001, the city of Oakland was awarded a grant from the African American Heritage Commission to complete the study of the community Sunnyside. The resulting report, Writ Upon the Landscape: an architectural survey of the Sunnyside Community, reveals that the African American section of Sunnyside grew to the point that it merged with the white section of Sunnyside. There are presently 53 buildings and the Loving Union CME Church and its cemetery. The community also had a one room schoolhouse with grades 1-8 that was torn down in 1948. Sunnyside is located 5 miles southwest of Freeport, an African American community that had a two-room schoolhouse, Woodland School. One room held grades 1-3 and the other grades 4-8; the school was closed after integration, and the building was used as a restaurant and for social entertainment. The Mt. Zion Baptist Church, established in 1870, is still in use. The communities of Freeport and Oakland were separated by a railroad track, with Freeport on the north side. Mrs. Virgie M. Edwards was a teacher at the School in 1916; she was a member of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association. The names of other Oakland teachers are listed in the KNEA Journal from 1916-1935 [available online]. A photo of what is believed to be the new Oakland School being constructed in 1937 is available in the Kentuckiana Digital Library photograph collection. For more see Transpark: a collapse of dreams, by the City of Oakland, Kentucky; Landmark Stories: Loving CME Church, a Landmark Association website; and the following articles from the News section of the Daily News - J. Dooley, "Oakland gets grant to fund study - work will cover history, heritage of Sunnyside," 07/26/2001; A. Carmichael, "Historic Oakland mill being dismantled - lumber will be used by famed Nashville-based builder," 08/30,2003; A. Harvey, "Black History: woman remembers Freeport's heyday," 02/22/2004; A. Carmichael, "A lifetime of teaching - Warren County woman has passion for education," 08/01/2005; and J. Niesse, "Freeport endangered by transpark project," Letter section, 04/25/2001.
Subjects: Communities, Education and Educators, Kentucky African American Churches, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Sunnyside, Freeport, Oakland, Warren County, Kentucky

African American Felony/Voter Disenfranchisement
The Kentucky Constitution, section 145, bars a person with a felony conviction from voting for the rest of the individual's life whether the full sentence has been completed or not. In reference to African Americans, Kentucky has the highest disenfranchisement rate in the nation. A request to have voting rights restored begins with the individual submitting an application to the Kentucky Governor requesting an executive pardon for reinstatement of voting rights. It is the Governor's decision as to whether the voting rights are restored or not. For more see J. Shugarts, "Felons' disenfranchisement mostly a matter of geography," Republican-American, 01/25/2009," Local News section, p. 1A; "African Americans and the Criminal Justice System" on pp. 20-21 in The State of African Americans in Kentucky, by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights [available online .pdf]; and Felony Disenfranchisement in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a report of the League of Women Voters of Kentucky [available online .pdf].
Subjects: Voting Rights, Corrections and Police
Geographic Region: Kentucky

The African American Herndons from Simpson County, KY
Start Year : 1852
The following information was submitted by Gayla Coates, Archives Librarian at the Simpson County Kentucky Archives. Melford, Solomon, Bob, and Amy were the slaves of James Herndon in Simpson County, KY. In 1852, they were all to be freed when James Herndon's will was probated. The will stipulated that the slaves were to be freed if they agreed to go live in Liberia, Africa; otherwise, they were to remain in bondage to a member of James Herndon's family. Robert Herndon (b. 1814) and Melford D. Herndon (b. 1819) sailed to Liberia in 1854 aboard the ship Sophia Walker. Solomon Herndon (b. 1811) left aboard the ship Elvira Owen in 1856. In Monrovia, Liberia, Melford Herndon attended the Day's Hope mission school where he learned to read and write. He became a missionary among the Bassa people. During the American Civil War, his salary for his missionary work was discontinued. Melford returned to the U.S. and was able to secure assistance for the mission in Liberia. He also brought two of his sons to Liberia. While in the U.S., he was ordained a minister at the First African Baptist Church in Philadelphia. Herndon also collected $2,000 to build a school and meeting house for the Bassa people. He returned to Liberia in 1865 and continued his work without a salary. In 1869, Melford Herndon left his brother in charge of the school in Liberia and again returned to the U.S. for additional fund-raising and to locate his other four children. In 1873, Melford Herndon was back in Herndonville, Liberia. He would again return to the U.S., bringing with him ten Africans who would become students at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. When he returned to Liberia, he brought along his sister, Mrs. Julia Lewis, from Kentucky. They sailed on the ship Liberia, which was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Colonization Society. For more see G. Coates, "Melford D. Herndon: Freed Slave and Missionary to Liberia," Jailhouse Journal, vol. 18, issue 2 (04/2009), p. 22. [The Simpson County Historical Society is housed in the old jail, thus the name of its journal.]
Subjects: Education and Educators, Liberia, Liberian Presidents & Diplomats, Religion & Church Work, Migration Outside the U.S. and Canada
Geographic Region: Simpson County, Kentucky / Monrovia and Herndonville, Liberia, Africa

African American Librarians
Kentucky was the first state in the South to have trained African American librarians and was also the first to have a library training program for African American librarians (1912-1931) [located at the Louisville Western Colored Branch Library]. The highest number of African American librarians employed in Kentucky was recorded in 1980, estimated at 161. The lowest estimate was 4, in the year 2000. For more see the Bureau of the Census 2000 EEO Data Files; 1980 EEO Data Files at the Kentucky State Data Center; and Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones.
Subjects: Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries
Geographic Region: Kentucky

African American Miners and Migrants: the Eastern Kentucky Social Club
By T. E. Wagner and P. J. Obermiller - African American coal miners in Eastern Kentucky. For more see African American Coal Miners. African American miners and migrants: the Eastern Kentucky Social Club is available at the University of Kentucky Libraries.
Subjects: Miners, Mines, & Steel Mills
Geographic Region: Kentucky (Eastern Kentucky)

African American Performer at Louisville Sängerfest
Start Year : 1881
Sängerfest (or singer's festival) is a German cultural festival, first held in the United States in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1849. The 1866 festival was held in Louisville, KY; the New York Times reported it was to be the largest festival ever in the U.S. The 1881 festival, held at the Grand Opera House in Louisville, included Amelia Tilghman, an African American singer, teacher, journalist, poet, and composer. Tilghman had a leading role, she was the prima donna soprano of the Sängerfest. For more see The Encyclopedia Britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences, literature, and general information, volume VI, by H. Chisholm (1910) [available online via Google Book Search]; "The Louisville Sangerfest," New York Times, 07/20/1866, p. 5; Amelia Tilghman in Piano Music by Black women composers, by H. Walker-Hill; and The Music of Black Americans: a history, by E. Southern.
Subjects: Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

African American Police Women (Louisville, KY)
Mrs. Fanny R. Givens and Patsy Sloan, both African Americans, were two of the four women police officers hired by the Louisville Police Department in 1930. The other two hires were Pearl Boston and Agnes L. Castle, both of whom were white. The local newspaper reported the four women to be the first hired on the Louisville police force, which was incorrect. Alice Dunlap had been hired in 1921, and in 1922, Bertha P. Whedbee was the first African American woman hired. When the new administration came into office at City Hall in 1938, Givens, Sloan, Boston, and Castle were relieved of their duties. For more see the Louisville Division of Police by M. O. Childress, Sr.; and The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians by A. A. Dunnigan.
Subjects: Corrections and Police
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

African American Schools and Students in Kentucky (Photographs)
Start Year : 1901
Photographs of "Colored" and "Negro" schools and students are available online within the Kentuckiana Digital Library - Images section.  Student body photographs include Bracktown 1901, Briar Hill 1901, and Burdine 1921.  For more see the Kentuckiana Digital Library - Images.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Photographers, Photographs, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Bracktown and Briar Hill, Fayette County, Kentucky / Burdine (Jenkins), Letcher County, Kentucky

African American Schools in Madison County, KY
Start Year : 1866
End Year : 1963
Within the Black American Series title Berea and Madison County are pictures of former students, teachers, and principals at Madison County schools. The pictures were taken prior to school desegregation in Bobtown, Farristown, Middletown, Peytontown, and Richmond. Also included are students and faculty at Berea College prior to segregation in 1904. For more see Black American Series: Berea and Madison County, by J. G. Burnside.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Photographers, Photographs, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Higher Education Before Desegregation, Kentucky
Geographic Region: Madison County, Kentucky

African American Schools in Paris and Bourbon County, KY
Start Year : 1900
End Year : 1910
The following is a compilation of newspaper items about the Paris and Bourbon County Colored Schools; they contain quite a bit more information than was printed in most other Kentucky newspapers for the same time period. Reverend Graves, who died in 1902, had come to Paris, KY in 1901 to become principal of the Paris Western Colored School. There were 248 students and seven teachers, and the numbers would remain consistent for the next several years. The prior year there was a high school graduating class of eight: Katie L. Long, Anna E. Parker, Fannie B. Buford, Dora B. Kimbrough, Jimmie R. Fields, James B. Woodward, and Keatha R. Williams. Graduation ceremonies were initially held at the Opera House in Paris, KY, with admission costs of 10 cents, 15 cents, and 25 cents. A smaller school system was the Millersburg Colored School, where in 1901 there were three graduates: Frank R. Lewis, Lucile Jefferson, and Hattie B. Mayburry. Manual training was introduced in the Paris school in 1907 with 26 men and boys enrolled in the newly established night school; the Colored teachers' wages for the year totaled $2,550. At the end of the school year in 1909, there were two graduations, one for 7th graders held at a local African American church and one for high school graduates held in the school auditorium. In 1909, new Colored Schools were scheduled to be built in Ruddles Mills and Jacksonville. The following year, several Colored schools in the county were consolidated: Ruddles Mills School with Glentown School; Millersburg School with Shipptown School (the school location was undecided); and Houston School with Amentsville School. By 1910, a new school was being built in Centerville, and the Sidville School was to be repaired if church members would agree to help raise funds for the repairs. For more see The Bourbon News articles - "Colored School Commencement," 06/12/1900, p. 1.; "Millersburg," 02/15/1901, p. 2; "Commencement items of the Paris High Schools," 05/31/1901, p. 3; "New board elects teachers," 07/05/1901, p. 3; "A tribute," 05/02/1902, p. 5; "City Schools," 09/09/1902, p. 5; "Meeting of school board," 06/14/1907, p. 1; "Expenditures," 07/16/1907, p. 8; "800 pupils," 10/08/1907, p. 6; "Calendar of Colored School," 06/04/1909, p. 1; "School Improvement League in session," 08/24/1909, p. 3; "County School Board," 11/16/1909, p. 4; "County School Board meets," 05/10/1910, p. 1; and "Recent meeting of the County Board," 08/12/1910, p. 1.
Subjects: Communities, Education and Educators, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Bourbon County, Kentucky: Paris, Millersburg, Ruddles Mills, Jacksonville, Glentown, Shipptown, Houston, Amentsville, Sidville, Centerville

African American Schools in Woodford County, KY
Start Year : 1892
Within the Hifner Photo Collection are pictures of all the Colored schools in Woodford County in 1892. The collection was created for the educational exhibit at the World's Fair and is available online via the Kentucky Historical Society Digital Collections web page.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Photographers, Photographs, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky
Geographic Region: Woodford County, Kentucky

African American Shoe Shiners and Shoe Repairers in Lexington, KY, 1930-1947
Start Year : 1930
End Year : 1947
By 1920, there were approximately 50,000 shoe repair shops in the United States. In Lexington,KY, there were many African Americans who supported their families as shoe repairers, shoe shiners, and shoe finishers. The making, repairing and caring of shoes were trades taught in Kentucky's African American normal and industrial institutes, orphanages, and schools for students with disabilities. During the economic depression, when jobs were few and the purchase of new shoes had drastically declined, skilled workers in other trades turned to shoe repair and shoe shining as a source of income. Very limited research has been done on these occupations, but very good documentation can be found in reference to Lexington, KY, and African Americans employed in the shoe care and repair market. Below are some of their names for the years 1930-1947. Many were WWI and WWII veterans. The information comes from Polk's Lexington (Kentucky) City Directories, U.S. Federal Census Records, military registration records, death certificates, and other sources as noted. See the NKAA entry for more on African American Shoe Makers and Shoe Repairers in Lexington , KY, prior to 1900.

• William Anderson was a shoe shiner at McGurk's Shoe and Hat Shop (1939 directory). William and Luvenia Anderson lived at 252 E. 3rd Street (1940-41 directory).
• William E. Anderson (b.1873) was a shoe shiner for M. Churchill Johnson. He had been a porter at his father's barber shop at the corner of Main and Upper Streets, according to his WWI draft registration card. Anderson lived at 321 E. 2nd Street (1940-41 directory) with his father Will Anderson.
• Robert Arthur was a shoe repairman at Ben Snyder Inc. Robert and Mary Arthur lived at 668A Charlotte Court (1942 directory).
• Thomas Atkins was a shoe shiner at Woodland Barber Shop. He lived at 543 E. 2nd Street (1937 directory).
• Edward Bailey was a shoe shiner at E E Harber Shoe Repair Company. He lived at 150 N. Eastern Avenue (1947 directory).
• Roosevelt Ballard was a shoe repairman at E E Harber Shoe Repair Company. He lived at 389 Patterson Street (1945 directory).
• James W. Beatty was a shoe shiner at 204 Deweese Street (1942 directory).
• Benjamin Bibbs (b.1880) was a shoe shiner at N Y Hat Cleaners (1931 directory). According to his WWI draft registration card, Bibbs had been a tinner at State University on Limestone [now University of Kentucky], and he and Lena Bibbs lived at 167 E. 7th Street.
• William Bibbs was a shoe shiner at Lexington Hatters and Cleaners. He lived at 716 N. Limestone Street (1940-41 directory).
• Coleman Bledshaw was a shoe shiner at Lexington Hatters and Cleaners. He was the husband of Artemesia Bledshaw, and the couple lived at 530 Lawrence Street (1940-41 directory).
• Robert Brookter was a shoe repairman for Mrs. Sadie Bederman. He lived at 501 Patterson Street (1945 directory). [The last name Brookter was more common in Louisiana and Mississippi, than in Kentucky.]
• Daniel Boone was a shoe shiner for Clyde R. Clem. Boone lived at 558 N. Upper Street (1937 directory).
• William Huston Bradshaw (b.1877) was a shoe shiner at McGurk's Shoe Shop. He lived at 274 E. 2nd Street (1940-41 directory), and was the husband of Susie Bradshaw, according to his WWI draft registration card. 
• Matthew Buckner was a shoe shiner at Lexington Hatters and Cleaners. Buckner lived at 448 Ohio Street (1937 directory).
• Thomas Henry Buckner (b.1878) was a shoe shiner. He lived at 450 Chestnut Street (1943-44 directory). He had been a waiter at the Phoenix Hotel in downtown Lexington, according to his WWI draft registration card, and lived at 824 Charles Avenue with is wife Mollie Buckner.
• Titus Buckner (1855-1936) was a shoe repairman (1931 directory). He had also been a shoemaker and was listed in William's Lexington City Directory 1881-82. Buckner was also a minister. Reverend Titus Buckner was born in Fayette County, KY. He was the husband of Julia Buckner, b.1856 in KY. The couple lived at 196 Eddie Street, according to the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. Titus Buckner was a widower by 1920, and Mattie Titus is listed as his wife in the 1931 city directory. Titus Buckner is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Lexington, KY, according to his death certificate.
• Jesse Cawl (1911-1971) was a shoe shiner at McGurk's Shoe Shop at 244 E. Short Street (1942 directory). He was born in Jefferson County, KY, and Eugene Booker is listed as his mother on the birth certificate. Cawl was a WWII veteran, he enlisted in Cincinnati, OH, on January 22, 1943, according to his Army enlistment record. Cawl died in Louisville, KY.
• Felix Chapman (1906-1966) was a shoe repairman and shoe finisher for Charles H. McAtee. Chapman lived at 366 E. 2nd Street (1939 directory and 1940-41 directory). He was later a shoe repairman at E E Harber Shoe Repair Company, and lived at 545 Wilson Street (1945 directory). Chapman had been a chauffeur and lived at 336 E. Short Street (1927 directory). Chapman died in Bourbon County, KY.
• Marcus Caldwell was a shoe shiner at Lexington Hatters and Cleaners. Marcus and Sarah Caldwell lived at 507F S. Aspendale Drive (1939 directory).
• Robert D. Claybourne (b.1880) was a shoe repairman at McGurk's Shoe Shop. He lived with his wife, Lollia Claybourne, and family at 357 Wilson Street (1947 directory). Claybourne, born in KY, had been a shoemaker at a shoe store in Louisville according to the 1920 U.S. Federal Census.
• Farris Craig (b.1890) was a shoe shiner for Fred D. Bostic. Craig lived at 352 Poplar Street (1937 directory). He is listed with his wife Anna H. Craig, and his step-daughter in the 1920 U.S. Federal Census. He had been a porter in a barber shop owned by William Johnson in Lexington, KY, according to his WWI draft registration card. Craig was born in Danville, KY, the son of John and Jessie Craig, according to the 1900 Census.
• Kenneth Craig (1923-1945) was a shoe repairman for Samuel Bederman. He lived in Versailles, KY (1943-44 directory). Craig was born in Buffalo, NY, the son of Clayton Coleman and Roy C. Craig, Sr., and according to his death certificate, his parents were Kentucky natives. Kenneth Craig died of tuberculosis in Lexington, KY.
• Joseph Davis was a shoe repairman employed by Samuel Bederman. Davis lived at 324 Hickory Street (1931 directory). He was later a shoe shiner at Harber Shoe Repair Company, and lived at 501D N. Aspendale Avenue (1940-41 directory).
• John Doty was a shoe shiner at Broadway Shine Parlor. He lived at 468 Kenton Street (1942 directory).
• Loyal R. Drye (1901-1975) was a shoe shiner at Five Minute Hat Shop. Loyal and his wife Eliza lived at 178 Race Street (1931 directory). He died in Cincinnati, OH.
• Jessie Edwards was a shoe shiner for Samuel Bederman. He lived at 327 Chestnut Street (1940-41 directory).
• Alphonso Fair was a shoe shiner employed by William T. Hurst. Alphonso and Mayme Fair lived at 446 Ash Street (1931 directory).
• Nathaniel C. Farmer was a shoe repairman at 306 E. 2nd Street (1931 directory).
• William Fisher was a shoe shiner at Broadway Shine Parlor. He lived at 197 Deweese Street (1947 directory).
• Thomas Foster was a shoe shiner at Harber Shoe Repair Company. Foster lived at 313 Henry Street (1939 directory).
• Lawrence Fox was a shoe shiner for Martin Berlin. Fox lived at 427 Kenton Street (1940-41 directory).
• Mitchell Garth (b.1881) was a shoe shiner. He worked from his home at 133 W. Water Street (1937 directory). Garth was born in Alabama, and had been a janitor while a boarder at the home of Samuel Young on Corral Street, according to the 1930 U.S. Federal Census.
• James A. Graves (b.1891) repaired shoes at his home, 523 S. Spring Street (1931 directory). He was born in Kentucky, the son of Florida Graves, according to the 1920 U.S. Census. James Graves later repaired shoes at 211 Deweese Street (1937 directory). James was the husband of Abbie Graves. The city directory entry reads "Shoe Repair Shop, I Doctor Shoes, Heel Them and Save Their Soles" (1945 directory).
• Patrick Green was a shoe shiner at McGurk's Shoe Shop (1947 directory).
• Walker Green was a shoe finisher at McGurk's Shoe Shop. He lived at 726 Chiles Avenue (1945 directory).
• Peter Harley was a shoe shiner at 164 Race Street (1943-44 directory).
• Samuel M. Harrison (1874-1951) was a shoemaker and shoe repairman at 535 Jefferson Street, and he lived at 533 Jefferson Street (1931 directory). Harrison was born in Fayette County, KY, the son of Martha Allen Harrison and Essix Harrison, according to his death certificate. He was the husband of Cordelia Harrison. By the 1940s, Samuel Harrison had expanded his shoe repair business to include the making of artificial limbs (1943-44 directory). Samuel M. Harrison is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Lexington, KY.
• John F. Holman was a shoe shiner at McGurk's Shoe & Hat Shop. He lived at 150 N. Eastern Avenue (1943-44 directory).
• Henry E. Howe (1911-1984) was a shoe finisher at a shoe shop in 1930 when he was living with his grandmother Mary Howe at 275 E. 4th Street, according to the U.S. Federal Census. He was later a shoe repairman at 607 N. Limestone, and was married to Nannie Howe. The couple lived at 275 E. 4th Street (1937 directory). A few years later, Henry Howe lived at 332 Ohio Street (1942 directory) with his wife Louise P. Howe (1945 directory), and he was still repairing shoes on N. Limestone.
• Alex Hutsel was a shoe shiner employed by Samuel Bederman. Hutsel lived at 350 Deweese Street (1942 directory).
• William Irvin was a shoe shiner for Robert E. Parris. Irvin lived at 549 Thomas Street (1937 directory).
• Christ Jackson was listed as a laborer who lived at 180 Correll Street [Corral Street] in the R. C. Hellrigle and Co's Lexington City Directory 1877-78, and he was later a shoe shiner at Broadway Shine Parlor (1939 directory). Christ and Lillie Jackson lived at 309 Coleman Street (1939 directory and 1940-41 directory).
• James L. Jackson was a shoe shiner who lived at 217 E. 2nd Street (1942 directory).
• Robert Jackson was a shoe repairman for Sol Bederman. He and his wife Annabelle Jackson lived at 219 E. 2nd Street (1945 directory).
• Roy Jackson was a shoe shiner at 314 Corral Street (1931 directory).
• Robert E. Johnson was a shoe shiner for Samuel Bederman. He lived at 436 Kenton Street (1943-44 directory).
• Shirley B. Johnson was a paperhanger when he and his wife Sidney lived at 553 Ohio Street (1931-32 directory). Shirley Johnson was later a shoe shiner at O K Barber Shop, and the couple lived at 145 Prall Street (1939 directory).
• Chester Jones was a shoe repairman at 559 White Street (1937 directory). He was later a shoe shiner at the Lexington Shoe Hospital (1939 directory).
• Lloyd Jones was a shoe finisher and shoe repairman at McGurk's Shoe and Hat Shop. Lloyd and Mary Jones lived at 684C Charlotte Court (1943-44 directory & 1945 directory).
• Oliver Jones was a shoe shiner at 371 Corral Street (1937 directory).
• William C. Jones repaired shoes at 243 Lee Street. He and his wife Callie C. Jones lived at 923 Whitney Avenue (1931 directory).
• John L. Lawrence was a shoe shiner at Lexington Hatters and Cleaners. John and Mary Lawrence lived at 450 N. Upper Street (1940-41 directory).
• David Lee was a shoe shiner at McGurk's Shoe & Hat Shop. He lived at 736 N. Broadway (1943-44 directory).
• Spurgeon L. Lewis (1911-1985) was a shoe shiner at Unique Shine Parlor. Lewis lived at 326 E. 2nd Street (1937 directory) with his parents, Henry S. and Elizabeth T. Lewis. There was a family of eight listed in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census.
• Joseph B. Lyons, Sr. was a shoe shiner at Lexington Hatters and Cleaners. Joseph and Sam Ella Lyons lived at 182 Eddie Street (1937 directory). They later lived at 507D S. Aspendale Drive (1942 directory). [He was the father of Donald W. Lyons, Sr. and Joseph B. Lyons, Jr.]
• Robert Hamilton McClasky (b.1881) was a shoemaker at his home at 209 South Broadway, and was the husband of Clara M. McClasky, according to his WWI draft registration card. He is listed as a widow in the 1920 Census, he was sharing his home, 207 S. Broadway, with his brother John E. McClasky (b.1891) who was a shoe repairman. Both brothers were born in Kentucky. Robert McClasky was later a shoe repairman at 207 S. Broadway (1931 directory), and would become the owner of Tuskegee Shoe Shop, which had a separate entry in the city directory (1945 directory). The shop was located at his home. The directory entry reads "Tuskegee Shoe Shop, (c; Robert H. McClasky), 35 Years of Dependable Service, Shoe Repairing, and Rebuilding." He was the husband of Birdie McClasky (1945 directory).
• Andrew McGee (1894-1942) was a shoe shiner for John K. Reeder. McGee lived at 346 Corral Street (1939 directory). He is listed in the 1920 U.S. Federal Census as a barber. He had earlier been a porter at Wiley & Fields, at the corner of Main and Broadway, according to McGee's WWI registration card. Andrew McGee was born in Kentucky, the son of Pollie Lee and William McGee, according to his death certificate. He lived with his grandmother when he was a child; Jane Lee was a widow who lived on Constitution Street in Lexington, KY, according to the 1900 Census. Andrew McGee was a WWI veteran and is buried in the National Cemetery in Nicholasville, KY.
• Michael Miegel was a shoe shiner at Broadway Shine Parlor (1947 directory).
• William Mells was a shoe shiner for Martin Berlin (1940-41 directory). He later shined shoes at Lexington Hatters and Cleaners. William and Jean Mells lived at 248 Jefferson Street (1942 directory). Jean Hamilton Mells was a 47 year old widow when she died in 1948, according to her death certificate.
• Thomas Mells (1900-1967) was a shoe shiner at Lexington Hatters and Cleaners. Mells lived at 122 W. 4th Street (1942 directory), and later lived at 248 Jefferson Street (1943-44 directory). He died in Lexington, KY, according to the Social Security Death Index.
• Thomas Mullen was a shoe shiner at McGurk's Shoe Shop. He lived at 351 E. 3rd Street (1940-41 directory).
• Robert Mundy (1915-1976) and Thomas L. Mundy (1916-1983) were brothers, both were shoe shiners at Harber Shoe Repair Company. Robert was the husband of Ruth Mundy and the couple lived at 419 Chestnut Street. Thomas Mundy lived at 243 Ann Street (1937 directory). The brothers were born in Kentucky, the sons of George and Sally Mundy. The family of seven is listed in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census, they lived on Mary Street in Lexington, KY.
• Edward M. Neal, Jr. was a shoe repairman at 508 Thomas Street (1937 directory).
• Raymond Nichols was a shoe shiner for Henry Howe (above). Nichols lived at 738 N. Broadway (1939 directory).
• Kenneth A. Paige (1903-1961) was a shoe repairman at 322 Chestnut Street in the 1930s. Kenneth and his wife Anna J. Paige lived at 219 W. 7th Street (1931 directory). Kenneth Paige is listed in the Lexington city directory for almost two decades, including his employment at E E Harber Shoe Repair Company (1942 directory). Paige was also a shoe repairman at Pinkston's, and lived at 351 Corral Street (1945 directory). He was owner of "Paige's Shoe Repair Shop, The House of Souls and Heels." The business was located at 211 Deweese Street (1947 directory).
• Charles Palmer did shoe repairs at his home, 445 Chestnut Street. He was the husband of Anna B. Palmer (1931 directory).
• John Nimrod Paul was born in 1885 in Russell County, KY. He was the husband of Emma Grider Paul, born in 1892 in Cumberland, KY. The couple lived in Russell Springs, KY, according to John Paul's WWI registration card. John Paul had a shoemaker's shop in Russell Springs according to the 1920 U.S. Federal Census. By 1930, the family of six lived in Lexington, KY, and John Paul did shoe repairs from their home at 457 Georgetown Street (1931 directory).
• Felix Pearsall (1922) was a shoe shiner for Charles H. McAtee (1939 directory). He was the son of Katherine Pearsall who was a widow when listed in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census.
• Gilbert W. Potter (1910-1954) was a shoe shiner for Sol Bederman, and he and his wife Virginia lived at 667C Charlotte Court F (1945 directory). He had been a waiter (1937 directory), and was later a porter at Drake Hotel (1939 directory). Gilbert W. Potter served in the U.S. Army during WWII, he enlisted in Cincinnati, OH, October 23, 1942, according to his enlistment record.
• Albert Rogers was a shoe shiner at Harber Shoe Repair Company. Rogers lived at 230 E. 2nd Street (1937 directory).
• Jesse Ross shined shoes at N Y Hat Cleaners. He lived at 731 Whitney Avenue (1931 directory).
• Paul L. Seals (1930-1985) was a shoe shiner at McGurk's Shoe Shop. He lived at 500C N. Aspendale Drive (1947 directory). Seals was the son of Robert P. and Marjorie R. Seals, the family of four is listed in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census.
• Harry Shields was a shoe repairman. He lived at 248 E. Short Street (1942 directory). Shields was later a shoe repairman at Tuskegee Shoe Shop (1947 directory). He was the husband of Sarah Shields.
• David Singleton was a shoe shiner for Sol Bederman. He lived at 248 E. 5th Street (1937 directory).
• Jerry Smith was a shoe shiner at 118 W. Vine Street. He was the husband of Beatrice T. Smith (1947 directory).
• John Smith repaired shoes at 401 1/2 Race Street. He and his wife Mary Smith lived at 562 Thomas Street (1931 directory).
• Rudolph Smith was a shoe shiner at McGurk's Shoe & Hat Shop. He lived at 374 E. 2nd Street (1943-44 directory). He was later a shoe shiner at E E Harber Shoe Repair Company, and lived at 428 Ash Street (1945 directory).
• Thornton Smith was a shoe shiner at 390 Patterson Street. Smith lived at 721 Noble Avenue (1942 directory).
• George W. Stewart was a shoe repairman at 337 N. Limestone. George and Leona P. Stewart lived at 341 N. Limestone (1937 directory).
• George A. Stone was a shoe shiner and a shoe repairman at Harber Shoe Repair Company. Stone lived at 532 Emma Street (1939 directory), and later lived at 425 N. Upper Street (1943-44 directory).
• A second George A. Stone was a shoe finisher at 417 E. 2nd Street. He was the husband of Rose L. Stone (1943-44 directory), the couple lived at 309 E. 2nd Street (1940-41 directory).
• Albert Taylor was a shoe shiner. He lived at 133 Water Street (1940-41 directory).
• Dillard Taylor (1884-1939) did shoe repairs at 801 Whitney Avenue. He was married to Lizzie Taylor (1931 directory). Dillard Taylor was born in Scott County, KY, the son of Litha Redd and George Taylor, according to his death certificate. He was buried in Georgetown, KY.
• George T. Taylor (1900-1952) was a shoe repairman. He lived at 322 Chestnut Street (1942 directory). Taylor was later a shoe repairman at Third Street Bargain Store. George and Rosa Taylor lived at 316 Deweese Street (1945 directory). According to his death certificate, George T. Taylor was also a shoemaker. He was born in Macon, GA, the son of Eugenia and Lee Taylor. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Lexington, KY.
• Ella B. Thomas was one of the few women who were employed as a shoe repairer. The business was at 337 N. Limestone, and Thomas lived at 341 N. Limestone (1931 directory).
• James Tribble was a shoe shiner at McGurk's Shoe & Hat Shop. He lived at 753 Loraine Avenue (1943-44 directory).
• Sanford Vinegar was a shoe shiner for George Miner. He lived at 477 W. 4th Street (1937 directory).
• E. Waldo was a shoe shiner at Lexington Hatters and Cleaners located at 321 Wilson Street (1942 directory). He was the husband of Corine Waldo.
• Joseph E. Walker was a shoe shiner. Joseph and Mozelle Walker lived at 157 N. Eastern Avenue (1945 directory).
• Virgil Washington was a shoe repairman employed by Sol Bederman. Washington lived at 309 E. 6th Street (1931 directory).
• Thompson Webb was a shoe shiner at Unique Shine Parlor. He was the husband of Hattie Webb (1939 directory).
• Earl White was a shoe shiner for Sol Bederman. White lived at 702 Lindbergh Court (1940-41 directory).
• Joseph White was a shoe repairman for Samuel Bederman. White lived at 343 E. 2nd Street (1937 directory).
• Albert Wilkerson was a shoe shiner at State Cleaners. He lived at 413 Elm Street (1937 directory)
• Jesse Williams was a shoe repairman at Harber Shoe Repair Company. Jesse and Clara Williams lived at 205 E. Euclid Avenue (1937 directory).
• Jesse Williams, Jr. was a shoe repairman at E E Harber Shoe Repair Company. He lived at 248 Roosevelt Boulevard (1943-44 directory).
• William Wilson was a shoe shiner at Lexington Hatters & Cleaners (1937 directory).
• William Winchester was a shoe shiner at Lexington Hatters and Cleaners (1940-41 directory).
• Harry E. Worsham was a shoe shiner at Lexington Shoe Hospital. Worsham lived at 445 Chestnut Street (1942 directory). He was later a shoe repairman for Mrs. Sadie Bederman (1945 directory).
• Nathaniel Young was a shoe shiner at Martin's Barber Shop. Nathaniel and Luella Young lived at 108 York Street (1939 directory).

African American Slavery in Mexico - Tom West
According to author J. K. Turner, Tom West was born free in Kentucky and later became a slave in what was described as an experiment in Mexico. Turner met West in 1908-1909. West had earned $2 per day in a brickyard in Kentucky, and he left the U.S. for Mexico by way of Florida along with 80 other African Americans, with the promise of earning $3.75 or 7.5 pesos per day. They were to work at coffee and rubber plantations in La Junta. Once in Mexico the group was locked away at night, and armed guards watched over them as they worked during the day. Unbeknownst to West and the other African Americans, they had been sold as slaves to an American plantation owner and were forced to work off their purchase price before they would be paid for their labor. Those who escaped and then captured were beaten, and according to Turner, the Diaz government turned a blind eye to the whole affair. African American slavery in Mexico was considered a failure, and Tom West was freed after two years on the plantation but remained in Mexico. For more see Barbarous Mexico, by J. K. Turner.
Subjects: Freedom, Migration Outside the U.S. and Canada
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Mexico

African American WACs Who Were Born in Kentucky
Start Year : 1943
End Year : 1945
This is a partial list of the African American women born in Kentucky and served in the WACs. The information comes from the WWII Army Enlistment Records. Martha L. Bell, b.1918, Daviess County; Georgia A. Bradley, b.1900; Lena C. H. Bruce, b.1923, Kenton County; Sarah M. Carr, b.1911, Jefferson County; Gladys L. Collier, b.1923; Lula B. Collins, b.1910; Dorothy C. Davis, b.1919; Ethel W. Fields, b.1922, Jefferson County; Alma C. Fischer, b.1924; Edna M. Griffin, b.1909; Willia M. Griffin, b.1920; Zelma H. Grooms, b.1922; Elizabeth Hardyster, b.1921, Jefferson County; Ann M. Highsaw, b.1917, Jefferson County; Florence J. Hoard, b.1919, Jefferson County; Ruth Holt, b.1911; Hannah E. Huley, b.1911, Grant County; June C. Ingram, b.1921; Juanita M. Irvin, b.1920, McCracken County; Julia M. Jackson, b.1911, Jefferson County; Lula M. Johnson, b.1918, Fayette County; Alma E. Kairson, b.1918; Emma L. Lutz, b.1917; Hollie B. Martin, b.1903; Anna C. Morrison, b.1923; Mary E. Neal, b.1914; Dorthea M. Owens, b.1920; LaVenta M. Penn, b.1916; Thelma L. Pruden, b.1923, Daviess County; Catherine Roberts, b.1920, Bath County; Beaulah C. Simms, b.1924; Emma Smith, b.1922, Lincoln County; Marjorie Smith, b.1923; Mattie L. Sproul, b.1917, Barren County; Vivian Steward, b.1918; Susie D. L. Tardy, b.1920; Annie B. Thurman, b.1921, Fulton County; Ora L. Tichenor, b.1915; Anna S. Townsend, b.1923, Jefferson County; Effie M. Turner, b.1923; Joanna M. Turner, b.1900; Anna M. Wall, b.1924, Fulton County; Lena M. Warden, b.1923; Helen C. Washington, b.1919, Bourbon County; Alice T. White, b.1923, Fayette County; Thelma M. Wimbley, b.1921; Daisy B. Utterback, b.1922, Graves County; Dorothy J. Young, b.1921.
Subjects: Military & Veterans, Women's Groups and Organizations, Women's Army Corps (WACs)
Geographic Region: Kentucky

African Americans in the Thoroughbred Industry
Website produced by the Paris-Bourbon County Public Library.
Subjects: Jockeys, Horsemen & The Derby
Geographic Region: Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky

African Cemetery No. 2 (Lexington, KY)
Start Year : 1869
The cemetery has been located at 419 E. 7th Street since 1869 when, according to The Kentucky Leader (02/03/1892), the Union Benevolent Society No. 2 formed "to take care of the sick, bury the dead and perform other deeds of charity." The organization purchased four acres in November 1869; the charter from the Legislature permitted the operation of a cemetery in 1870. In 1875 another four acres were purchased. The official name of the cemetery became Benevolent Society No. 2 of Lexington, Kentucky. Well over 6,000 men, women, and children are interred in the cemetery, and 100 have been identified as U.S. Colored Troops of the Civil War. The information in this entry comes from African American Cemetery No. 2, a flier published by African Cemetery No. 2, Inc. (Feb. 2005). Board member Yvonne Giles has been researching the history of the cemetery and is preparing a manuscript for publication, Benevolent Society No. 2 Cemetery, 1969-1979: African Cemetery No. 2, Inc. 1980. For more information about the cemetery, publications, Juneteenth celebrations, and other events, see African Cemetery No. 2 or contact the African Cemetery No. 2, Inc., P. O. Box 54874, Lexington, Kentucky 40555. See also S. Lannen, "Reliving Slavery," Lexington Herald Leader, 6/19/05, City&Region section, p.B1; and M. Riegert and A. Turkington, "Setting stone decay in a cultural context: conservation at the African Cemetery No. 2, Lexington, Kentucky, USA," Building and Environment, vol. 38, issues 9-10 (September-October 2003), pp. 1105-1111.
Subjects: Businesses, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, Benevolent Societies
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

The African Repository and Colonial Journal (periodical)
Start Year : 1825
End Year : 1892
Published by the American Colonization Society, the journal was first known as The African Repository and Colonial Journal. In 1850 the title changed to The African Repository and in 1892 to Liberia. The journals contain reports, records, and activities of the American Colonization Society. Included in the issues are the names of slave owners, estates, and the freed slaves who were to be colonized in Liberia, Africa. An example of the listing can be found under the heading "African Colonization in Kentucky at the Google Book Search site.
Subjects: Freedom, Liberia, Liberian Presidents & Diplomats, Religion & Church Work, Migration Outside the U.S. and Canada, Inheritance, Colonies, Colonization
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Liberia, Africa

Agricultural and Mechanical Association of the Colored People of Bourbon County
Start Year : 1874
On January 16, 1874, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky passed an act for the benefit of the Agricultural and Mechanical Association of the Colored People of Bourbon County. The act, referring to the organization's colored fair, prohibited booths and the selling of refreshments or liquor within a half mile of the fairgrounds while the fair was in progress. The fair was held in Millersburg, KY. For more see Chapter 58 of the Laws of Kentucky in Acts Passed at...Session of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth, printed in 1874 at the Kentucky Yeoman Office in Frankfort, KY [available full view via Google Book Search] .
Subjects: Colored Fairs & Black Expos
Geographic Region: Millersburg, Bourbon County, Kentucky

Ainsworth, Marilyn V. Yarbrough
Birth Year : 1945
Death Year : 2004
Ainsworth was born Marilyn Virginia Yarbrough in Bowling Green, KY, the daughter of Merca L. Toole and William O. Yarbrough. When Marilyn was a child, the family moved to Raleigh, NC. She was a graduate of Virginia State University and , in 1973, the UCLA Law School. Ainsworth was an aerospace engineer with IBM and Westinghouse. She and her husband, Walter, were able to pay her law school tuition with her winnings from the Hollywood Squares Show. Marilyn Ainsworth later earned additional winnings from the television game shows Concentration and Match Game. She was a law professor at several colleges and served as dean of the University of Tennessee College of Law. She was the first African American woman to become dean at a major southern law school, and she was one of the first African American female law professors in the United States. Prior to her death, Ainsworth was a law professor at the University of North Carolina. For more see Who's Who In American Law; Who's Who of American Women; Who's Who Among African Americans, 1985-2006; and L. Stewart, "Yarbrough, 58, law professor," The Daily Tar Heel, 03/15/04, at dailytarheel.com.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Lawyers, Television, Migration East
Geographic Region: Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky

Akins, Clyde B., Sr.
Birth Year : 1950
Akins is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Bracktown, KY. He is also author of From burden to blessing. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a B.A. in Social Work, and his Master's of Divinity and Doctorate of Ministry are from Lexington Theological Seminary. He served in the Army as a multilingual interpreter and taught foreign languages, having studied eight languages. Akins was appointed to the Kentucky Board of Education in 2006. For more see First Baptist Church Bracktown; "Governor Fletcher Appoints Members to the State Board of Education," 02/24/2006 (a Kentucky government press release); F. E. Lockwood, "Expanding a ministry - First Baptist Church Bracktown moves into its $6.5 million facility with lots more room and outreach opportunities," Lexington Herald Leader, 07/08/2006, Main News section, p. A1; and the Akins interview, "Future Black Males Working Academy," Connections with Renee Shaw, #215, 06/02/2007, at KET (Kentucky Educational Television).
Subjects: Authors, Civic Leaders, Kentucky African American Churches, Religion & Church Work, Appointments by Kentucky Governors, Board of Education
Geographic Region: Bracktown, Fayette County, Kentucky

Alexander, Henry
Birth Year : 1802
Henry Alexander was a slave from Mayslick, KY, who purchased his freedom when he was 21 years old. He was a merchant and is listed in the 1840 U.S. Federal Census as a free man. Henry and his wife, Lucy Alexander, had a daughter, Maria Ann Alexander, who graduated from Oberlin College with a Literary Degree in 1854 and taught for a while in Covington, KY. Maria married Mifflin W. Gibbs, and the couple moved to Vancouver Island, Canada. Mifflin Gibbs would become the first African American judge in the United States. Harriet A. Gibbs was one of the couple's five children. For more see F. Fowler, "Some undistinguished Negroes," The Journal of Negro History, vol. 5, issue 4 (Oct. 1920), p. 485.
Subjects: Fathers, Freedom, Migration North, Grandparents
Geographic Region: Mayslick, Mason County, Kentucky / Vancouver Island, Canada

Alexander, Lucy
Birth Year : 1803
Lucy, who was born in Kentucky, was the wife of Henry Alexander. Though Henry had purchased his freedom at the age of 21, it is not known if Lucy had aways been free or was freed sometime after her birth; she is listed in the 1850 U.S. Federal Census as a free person. Lucy and Henry worked strenuously to earn money to send their children to school. Their daughter, Maria A. Alexander, graduated from Oberlin College with a Literary Degree in 1854. Maria married Mifflin W. Gibbs, and the couple moved to Vancouver Island, Canada. Mifflin Gibbs would become the first African American judge in the United States. Harriet A. Gibbs was one of the couple's five children. For more see They stopped in Oberlin: Black residents and visitors of the Nineteenth Century, by W. E. Bigglestone.
Subjects: Migration North, Mothers
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Oberlin, Ohio / Vancouver Island, Canada

Allen, Bessie Miller and Henry
The Allens were the first African American social workers in Louisville, KY, they managed the Kentucky Home Society for Colored Children. In the 1920 U.S. Federal Census, Henry (b.1877 in KY) is listed as the janitor of the home, and Bessie is listed as the matron and probation officer. The Allens were the parents of author and librarian Ann Allen Shockley. Bessie Allen was a graduate of State University [Simmons University in Louisville]. She started a nonsectarian Sunday School in 1902. She was also head of the Colored Department of Probation Work and opened the Booker T. Washington Community Center, which offered domestic classes for boys and girls. She also organized a marching band for African American children. Bessie Allen (1881-1944) was born in Louisville, KY, the daughter of Anna and John D. Miller. For more see "Ann A. Shockley" in A Biographical Profile of Distinguished Black Pioneer Female Librarians (selected), by L. G. Rhodes; and Life Behind a Veil, by G. Wright.
Subjects: Fathers, Mothers, Social Workers, Sunday School
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Allen County (KY) Slaves, Free Blacks, and Free Mullattoes, 1850-1920
Start Year : 1850
End Year : 1920
Allen County is located in south-central Kentucky, and was formed in 1815 from parts of Barren and Warren Counties. The county is named for Colonel John Allen, and the county seat, Scottsville, is named for Kentucky Governor Charles Scott. Allen County is one of the Kentucky locations to experience oil booms: 1850, 1890, and 1915-1920. Below is the number of slaves and free African Americans in the U.S. Federal Census for Allen County for the period during the oil booms.

1850 Slave Schedule

• 179 slave owners
• 795 Black slaves
• 102 Mulatto slaves
• 25 free Blacks
• 18 free Mulattoes

• 314 slave owners
• 1,246 Black slaves
• 283 Mulatto slaves
• 27 free Blacks
• 10 free Mulattoes

• 806 Blacks
• 199 Mulattoes
• 44 U.S. Colored Troops said they were born in Allen County, KY

• 718 Blacks
• 175 Mulattoes

• 1,100 Blacks
• 3 Mulattoes

• 634 Blacks
• 143 Mulattoes

Allen, Elmer Lucille
Birth Year : 1931
Allen was born in Louisville, KY. She is a 1953 chemistry graduate of Nazareth College [now Spalding University], and in 1966 she became the first African American chemist at the Brown-Forman Company in Louisville. Allen was one of three women employed at the company, where she held the title of senior analytical chemist. She retired from the company in 1997 and returned to college to earn a MA in creative arts in ceramics from the University of Louisville in 2002. Allen's art work has been displayed at various galleries in Louisville, Indiana, Kansas, and many other locations. She was the first recipient of the Community Arts Lifetime Local Achievement Award in 2004, and that same year was also recognized as a Woman of Distinction. In 2007 she was one of the "Women of Spunk" honorees. Allen is also actively involved as a community volunteer with organizations such as the Louisville Western Branch Library Support Group, Inc. For more see "Elmer Lucille Allen: Shibori and Ceramics" at carnegiecenter.org; J. Egerton, "Actors Theatre will honor Women of Spunk," The Courier-Journal, 12/02/2007, Arts & Travel section, p. 1I; and "Black Achievements in the Arts Recognized by Governor's Awards" a kyarts.org press release on 01/31/2005.
Subjects: Artists, Fine Arts, Chemists, Civic Leaders, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Allensville (KY) Emancipation Celebration
For more than 123 years, on or around August 8, the Allensville community has been celebrating the Emancipation of African Americans. About 200 people attended the celebration in 1992. For more see "Kentuckians celebrate Emancipation Proclamation," The Evansville Courier, 08/10/1992, Metro section, p. A4.
Subjects: Freedom, Emancipation Day / Juneteenth Celebrations
Geographic Region: Allensville, Todd County, Kentucky

Allensworth, Josephine
Birth Year : 1855
Death Year : 1939
Josephine Leavell Allensworth was born in Trenton, KY. She was the wife of Allen Allensworth, and, as her husband had done, she taught in the Kentucky common schools. Josephine Allensworth was also an accomplished pianist. She helped develop the Progressive Women's Improvement Association, which provided books and a playground to the town of Allensworth, California. In 1913, Jospehine Allensworth donated the land for the Dickinson Memorial Library in Allensworth. For more see African American Women: a biographical dictionary, by D. C. Salem; and Friends of Allensworth.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries, Migration West, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers, Women's Groups and Organizations
Geographic Region: Trenton, Todd County, Kentucky / Allensworth, California (no longer exists)

Alston, Ethel B. Richardson
Birth Year : 1949
Death Year : 2003
Alston, born in North Carolina, moved to Kentucky with her husband, Virnal J. Alston. It is thought that they were the first African American couple to be admitted to the Kentucky Bar Association. Mrs. Alston was a graduate of Spelman College, where she earned a B.A. in history, and she earned her law degreee at North Carolina Central University School of Law. She was a legislative analyst and attorney with the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Alston assisted with implementation issues relating to the Kentucky Educational Reform Act of 1990 and the Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997. In 2003, the Legislative Education Staff Network posthumously awarded Alston the Recognition Award for her service to the organization and to the Kentucky Legislature. For more see SR113.
Subjects: Lawyers
Geographic Region: Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky / North Carolina

American Baptist Home Missionary Society Schools in Kentucky
Start Year : 1895
In 1895, the American Baptist Home Missionary Society had 619 African American students in its Kentucky schools: State University [Simmons University], Louisville; Cadiz Normal and Theological College [headed by Rev. W. H. McRidley], Cadiz; Simons Memorial College [headed by Robert Mitchell], Bowling Green; Henderson Normal School, Henderson; Glasgow Normal School [now Western Kentucky University], Glasgow; and Baptist Church School, Danville. For more see the Sixty-third Annual Report, of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, May 30th and 31st, 1895, pp.115-117 [full view available via Google Book Search].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Religion & Church Work, Higher Education Before Desegregation, Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / Cadiz, Trigg County, Kentucky / Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky / Henderson, Henderson County, Kentucky / Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky / Danville, Boyle County, Kentucky

An African American History and Geography of Lexington
By Dr. Jeffery A. Jones, Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Human Behavior, College of Public Health, at the University of Kentucky.
Subjects: Genealogy, History
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Anderson, Carl L.
Anderson became the first African American member of the Bardstown, KY, City Council in 1975, winning a second term in 1977, a third term in 1979, and a fourth term in 1981. For more see "Three Kentucky cities have black mayors," in 1982 Kentucky Directory of Black Elected Officials, 6th Report, by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, p. 21.
Subjects: Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections
Geographic Region: Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky

Anderson, Charles W., Jr.
Birth Year : 1907
Death Year : 1960
Anderson, born in Louisville, KY, was the son of Dr. Charles W. and Tabetha Murphy Anderson. He was a graduate of Wilberforce University and received his law degree from Howard University School of Law. Anderson was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1933, and in 1936, as a Republican, was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives, making him the first African American Kentucky legislator. He had competed against five other candidates: Charles E. Tucker, Rev. Ernest Grundy, Dr. Richard P. Beckman, James D. Bailey, all Democrats, and Lee L. Brown, a Republican. Anderson is credited with a number of early Civil Rights measures, including the Anderson-Mayer State Aid Act, which provided funding for African Americans to seek higher education out of state because Kentucky enforced higher education segregation laws. Anderson was also appointed alternate delegate to the United Nations. For more see Not Without Struggle, by J. B. Horton; and Kentucky Encyclopedia 2000 [electronic version available on the University of Kentucky campus and off campus via the proxy server].
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Lawyers, Politicians, Politics, Appointments & Elections, Legislators, Kentucky
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Anderson, Dennis H.
Birth Year : 1869
Dennis Henry Anderson was originally from Tennessee. A graduate of Lane College in Tennessee, he became a Methodist minister. His wife was Artelia Harris Anderson. Dennis Anderson came to Kentucky and opened schools in Graves and Fulton counties. He raised funds for the building of the first high school in Fulton County in 1905. Anderson also initiated the building of West Kentucky Industrial College [now West Kentucky Community and Technical College], starting the building with his bare hands in 1911. The school, located in Paducah, KY, became a state institution in 1918. For more see The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians, by A. A. Dunnigan; Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, by R. F. Jones; Fifty Years of Segregation: Black Higher Education in Kentucky, 1904-1954, by J. A. Hardin; and My West Kentucky, by J. M. Blythe.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Religion & Church Work, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Higher Education Before Desegregation, Kentucky
Geographic Region: Fulton County, Kentucky / Graves County, Kentucky / Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky / Tennessee

Anderson, Ezzret
He became one of the first African Americans from a predominantly African American school to play professional football when he joined the Los Angeles Dons in 1947. Anderson attended Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky, and played professional football with the Los Angeles Mustangs. He played for the Hollywood Bears in the Pacific Coast League when they won the title. For more see Smith, T., "Outside the pale; the exclusion of Blacks from the National Football League, 1934-1946," Journal of Sport History, 15, no. 3 (Winter 1988); and Pro Football Hall of Fame, General NFL History: African-Americans in Pro Football.
Subjects: Football
Geographic Region: Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Anderson, James S. [Anderson's Administrator v. Darland]
Death Year : 1919
James S. Anderson was a doctor of herbal medicine. He was described by his daughter, Irene Anderson Elder, as part black and part Choctaw Indian. Anderson came to Somerset, KY, from Kingston, TN; he had also had a practice in Chattanooga, where he met Irene's mother, a nurse named Mary Bowman, who was white. Mary gave birth to Irene in 1914 in a home for unwed mothers in Chattanooga. Irene was reared by her maternal grandmother in Lenoir City; she was Irene's protector. Several years later her grandmother died, and Irene went to live with a foster family. Her father, James Anderson, had moved to Somerset, KY, not too long after Irene was born. In Kentucky, he was sometimes regarded as a Negro and at other times as a Choctaw Indian. Anderson established a tuberculosis treatment clinic, Unity Hill Sanatorium, a three story structure with over 100 beds, 65 rooms, a parlor with a piano, and a grocery store in the basement. He came to be considered a wealthy man with $100,000 in the Somerset bank. When Mary Bowman came down with tuberculosis, she came to Somerset to be a patient at Unity Hill for six months. She was still alive when Dr. James S. Anderson died of hypostatic pneumonia or was murdered November 19, 1919; it is still unclear exactly how he died. M. L. Jarvis was appointed curator of Anderson's estate. Unity Hill Sanatorium was sold to a group of businessmen who changed the operation to Watnon (or Watson) Sanatorium, a cancer treatment clinic with separate buildings for Negro patients. In 1924, the clinic had closed and the campus became the new location for the Somerset School of Business. Irene Anderson Elder never benefited from her father's wealth. This entry was submitted by Yvonne Giles. For more information see L. A. Kochtik, "Irene's journey: a good life and a bad life," Appalachian Life Magazine, issue 51 (February), pp. 6-8; "Cancer Sanatorium opened at Somerset, Ky.," The Somerset Journal, 01/30/1920, p. 8; and Anderson's Administrator v. Darland, Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 192 Ky. 624; 234 S.W. 205; 1921 Ky.
Subjects: Fathers, Medical Field, Health Care, Migration North, Court Cases, Hospitals and Clinics: Employment, Founders, Ownership, Tuberculosis: Care and Deaths
Geographic Region: Kingston, Lenoir, and Chattanooga, Tennessee / Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky

Anderson, Myrtle D.
Birth Year : 1907
Myrtle Anderson was from Boston, Massachusetts. In her civilian life, she was an actress. In 1943, she was a 1st Lieutenant in the Women's Army Corps (WACs). Anderson and 2nd Lieutenant Margaret E. Barnes Jones arrived in Ft. Breckinridge, KY, with 175 enlisted African American women. The enlistees and officers were the first African American women of the U.S. Army to be stationed in Kentucky. The enlistees were given menial tasks such as cleaning latrines, and some of the women resigned from the WACs. Majors Jones and Anderson fought for better work assignments for the women. Ft. Breckinridge, also referred to as Camp Breckinridge, was disposed of by the U. S. Army on December 5, 1962. For more about the African American women enlistees see To Serve My Country, To Serve My Race, by B. L. Moore; and "6 WACs Resign: WAC Clerks Decline to Scrub Floors," Philadelphia Afro-American, July 10, 1943, p. 1. For more about Camp Breckinridge, see the Camp Breckinridge entry in the Kentucky Encyclopedia [available on the University of Kentucky campus and off campus via the proxy server]; and History of Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, by P. Heady. See also the entry about the WACs Protest at Camp Breckinridge, KY.
Subjects: Actors, Actresses, Military & Veterans, Women's Groups and Organizations, Women's Army Corps (WACs)
Geographic Region: Fort Breckinridge [or Camp Breckinridge], Henderson, Webster, and Union Counties, Kentucky (no longer exists) / Boston, Massachusetts

Anderson, Sammy Louis "Shake"
Born and raised in Louisville, KY, Anderson is a bassist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has worked with Donna Summer, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, The Indigo Girls, Crystal Lewis, New Breed, and many others. As a songwriter, he was signed to Warner Brothers/Chappel for six years. His musical work with movies includes Dr. DooLittle, Boys on the Side, and Austin Powers. He has performed on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show, and Superbowl XXXVII. Anderson thought that his career had come to an end in 2004 when he was told that he was dying; gastroesophageal reflux disease had caused his esophagus to detach from his stomach, and one of his lungs deflated. After more than nine months in the hospital, Anderson overcame the odds and recovered. His album, Stories from Sammy Louis, is his tribute to another chance in life. The album was recorded at the St. Claire Studio in Lexington, KY. This entry was submitted by Michael L. Meeks. For more see the Shake Anderson website; and J. L. Puckett, "Friends of 'Shake' Anderson to unite for benefit," Courier-Journal, 09/03/2004, Weekend Extra section, p. 12W.
Subjects: Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky

Anderson, W. H.
In 1852 the separate coach bill became law in Kentucky. Anderson and his wife tested the law by sitting in the white section of the train and refusing to move. They were put off the train and subsequently filed a $15,000 lawsuit against L & N Railroad. U.S. District court ruled the law unconstitutional and void for interstate commerce, and the Andersons won their lawsuit. For more see Kentucky's Black Heritage, by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights; and A. A. Marshall, "Kentucky's separate coach law and African American response, 1892-1900," Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 98, issue 3 (2000), pp. 241-259.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Court Cases
Geographic Region: Kentucky

Archives of Ontario (Canada)
The archives is a program of the Ontario Ministry of Government Services. The archives are made up of a number of collections, including government records, genealogical records, an art collection, and sound and moving images. The exhibit, Black Canadian Experience in Ontario 1834-1914: Flight, Freedom, Foundation, included the stories of former Kentuckians, such as Solomon Moseby and the Emancipation of Susan Holton. Holton and her children were taken to Ohio by Mary Kirk and given their freedom in 1848. The family moved on to Canada. For more information contact the Archives of Ontario.
Subjects: Freedom, Migration North, National Resources
Geographic Region: Kentucky / Ontario, Canada

ARL Career Enhancement Program Participants
Start Year : 2009
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and academic libraries partnered for the first time in 2009 to offer the Career Enhancement Program. The University of Kentucky was one of the nine host library locations. The Career Enhancement Program was funded by the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS). The program provides current Library Science students from an underrepresented group the opportunity to gain practical experience in an academic research library setting. Three fellows completed an eight week program at the University of Kentucky Libraries in 2009: Anissa Ali, from Detroit Michigan, a Wayne State University library student; Katie Henningsen, from New York, a Long Island University library student; and Bethany McGowen from South Carolina, a University of South Carolina library student. For more information about the fellows see Association of Research Libraries Career Enhancement Program, a University of Kentucky Libraries website.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky

Arnett, Charles H.
Birth Year : 1858
Born in Henderson, KY, Arnett was an ordained minister, owned a contracting business, and built seven churches (two in Sebree, KY) and a number of homes in Kentucky. For more see Who's Who of the Colored Race, 1915.
Subjects: Businesses, Construction, Contractors, Builders, Religion & Church Work
Geographic Region: Henderson, Henderson County, Kentucky / Sebree, Webster County, Kentucky

Arnold, Horacee
Birth Year : 1937
Arnold, born in Wayland, KY, is a professional drummer who began playing while enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard during the 1950s. He added an extra 'e' to his first name when he began performing on stage. Arnold has performed with a number of bands over the years, and many are listed in his biography. His own bands were the Here and Now Company, formed in 1967, and Colloquium III, formed in the 1970s. He was one of the most well-known fusion drummers of his time, and he was involved with electronic programming. Arnold studied composition and guitar composition and taught music at William Paterson College [now William Paterson University] in New Jersey. His recordings include two albums, Tales of the Exonerated Flea, re-released in 2004, and Tribe. He also performed in the educational video, The Drumset. Arnold also performed dance; he toured in Asia with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company [now Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater]. For more see the Horacee Arnold website; and "Horacee Arnold" in the Oxford Music Online Database.
Subjects: Artists, Fine Arts, Education and Educators, Military & Veterans, Musicians, Opera, Singers, Song Writers
Geographic Region: Wayland, Floyd County, Kentucky

Arthur, William R. B. [People's Auxiliary Hospital (St.Louis, MO)]
Birth Year : 1868
Arthur, a surgeon and physician, was born in Kentucky; he received his M.D. from Howard University Medical College in 1890. He returned to Kentucky to practice medicine in Louisville, to teach at the Louisville National Medical College, and to serve as a surgeon at the Auxiliary Hospital. Arthur left Louisville and moved to St. Louis, MO, where he founded the People's Auxiliary Hospital and Training School in 1898. The three-story hospital building, which had 12 rooms for up to 15 patients, was located at 1001 N. Jefferson Avenue. For more see the William R. B. Arthur entry in A Historical, Biographical and Statistical Souvenir, by Howard University Medical Department [available full-text at Google Book Search]; "Hospital for Colored Patients," Medical Review, vol. 39 (Jan. 7 - July 1, 1899) [available full-text at Google Book Search]; and Glimpses of the Ages, vol. 1, by T. E. S. Scholes [available full-text at Google Book Search].
Subjects: Education and Educators, Medical Field, Health Care, Migration West, Hospitals and Clinics: Employment, Founders, Ownership
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / St. Louis, Missouri

Ashford, Mary B.
Birth Year : 1898
Death Year : 1997
Ashford, born in Kentucky, was a poet, teacher, and advocate for equality. The Mary B. Ashford Senior Citizens Daycare Center in New Haven, CT, was named in recognition of Ashford's more than 40 years of community service and volunteerism. Ashford also compiled a scrapbook containing the history of her family; the book was donated to a Kentucky archive. The Mary B. Ashford Outreach Support Project was established at the Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church. For more see S. A. Zavadsky, "Community remembers Mary B. Ashford," New Haven Register, 05/14/1997, Local News section, p. a3.
Subjects: Civic Leaders, Education and Educators, Migration North, Poets
Geographic Region: Kentucky / New Haven, Connecticut

At Leisure's Edge
A one hour documentary of Kentucky's historic black parks, by B. L. Shearer, Jr.  For more see At Leisure's Edge.
Subjects: Parks
Geographic Region: Kentucky

Atkins, Calvin Rupert and Dora G. Graham Atkins
Calvin R. Atkins (1870-1923) was born in Hadensville, KY. He was the husband of Dora G. Graham Atkins (1875-1923), who was born in Pembroke, KY. In 1895, Calvin Atkins became a certified teacher for the Todd County Colored School District [see his copy of certification, IHS]. Dora Atkins was also a certified teacher in Todd County [copy of certification, IHS]. In 1900 the family had moved to Anderson, IN, according to the U.S. Census. Dr. Atkins practiced medicine there for a few years, and in 1904, the family moved to Indianapolis. Dr. Atkins received his license to practice in Indianapolis on August 2, 1905; he was an 1895 graduate of Howard University Medical School [now Howard University College of Medicine], according to the 16th Annual Report of the Indiana State Board of Medical Registration and Examination [full view at Google Book Search]. Dr. Atkins was a physician for the Flanner House, which was founded in 1898 to provide health, social, and educational assistance to African American families migrating from the South to Indianapolis [archival information, IHS]. His dedication to the Flanner House is mentioned in a speech given by Aldridge Lewis around 1918 [digital copy of speech, IHS]. He was one of the promoters and vice president of Lincoln Hospital, a hospital for African Americans founded in 1909 in Indianapolis on North Senate Avenue. The hospital had both doctors and dentists, and there were 12 rooms that could hold up to 17 patients. The hospital also had a nurses training program. Dr. Atkins was involved in establishing a similar hospital in Marion, IN. Dr. Atkins was a prominent member of the city of Indianapolis for 19 years before he was murdered in June of 1923. For more see "Calvin R. and Dora G. Atkins" entry in Who's Who in Colored America 1927; Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century, by Thornbrough and Ruegamer; the Papers of Calvin R. Atkins and the Dora Atkins Blackburn Papers, some items available online in the digital collections at the Indiana Historical Society; "Suspected slayer who shot himself soon after murder dies," The Indianapolis Star, 06/18/1923, p. 16.
Subjects: Education and Educators, Medical Field, Health Care, Migration North, Grade Schools & High Schools in Kentucky, Hospitals and Clinics: Employment, Founders, Ownership
Geographic Region: Hadensville, Todd County, Kentucky / Pembroke, Christian County, Kentucky / Indianapolis, Indiana

Atwood, Rufus B.
Birth Year : 1897
Death Year : 1983
Atwood was born in Hickman, KY. In 1929 he became the sixth president of Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University], serving in that capacity until 1962. Atwood led the school toward becoming a four-year accredited college with revised and expanded programs. He was a non-confrontational advocate for the school and the education of African Americans. Atwood was a World War I veteran and the first African American awarded the University of Kentucky Sullivan Medallion for his dedication to education. The Rufus A. Atwood papers are located at Kentucky State University. For more see A Black Educator in the Segregated South, by G. Smith; and the Kentucky State University entry.
Subjects: Activists, Civil Rights, Education and Educators
Geographic Region: Hickman, Fulton County, Kentucky / Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky

Aunt Charlotte and King Solomon
Aunt Charlotte was a slave brought to Lexington, KY, in the late 1700s. She was freed and inherited property after her owners died. She supported herself by selling fruit and baked goods at the open market. She and William "King" Solomon had known each other in Virginia, and Aunt Charlotte's story is tied to his in the literature. Solomon was a white vagrant who supported his drinking with wages earned as a digger of cisterns, graves, and cellars. In the spring of 1833, as punishment for his vagrancy, local officials put Solomon up for sale as a slave for one year; at the end of that year he was to return to court. Aunt Charlotte purchased Solomon for $13; she outbid two medical students who were investing in a future cadaver. Aunt Charlotte set Solomon free, and he promptly managed to get liquor, later making his way back to Aunt Charlotte's home, where he passed out on a Thursday. He woke on a Saturday to find that many had died or were dying of cholera while others were evacuating the city. Aunt Charlotte was preparing to leave, but when Solomon refused to go, she would not leave him. People were dying quicker than they were being buried--the gravediggers had deserted the city. Solomon took up his shovel and began burying the dead. His dedication probably prevented further spread of the disease. Both Solomon and Aunt Charlotte survived the epidemic. When Solomon returned to court, the judge shook his hand and others thanked him for his heroic deeds. Solomon died in the poorhouse in 1854; he is buried in the Lexington Cemetery. In 1908 a large tombstone was placed at his grave. It is not known what became of Aunt Charlotte. For more see "King Solomon of Kentucky" in Flute and Violin and other Kentucky Tales, by J. L. Allen; and "King Solomon, Heroic Gravedigger" in Offbeat Kentuckians, by K. McQueen.
Subjects: Alcohol, Freedom, Undertakers, Cemeteries, Coroners, & Obituaries, Inheritance
Geographic Region: Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky / Virginia

Austin, Helen C.
Birth Year : 1944
Death Year : 1997
Austin was the second African American student to attend the University of Louisville School of Social Work, from which she graduated in 1953. With the help of a congressman she became the first African American professional hired at the San Antonio State Hospital, a mental health facility. In 1983, Austin was the San Antonio Social Worker of the Year and the Texas State Social Worker of the Year. She retired from the hospital in 1987 and died in 1997. The Helen Cloud Austin Papers are at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Subjects: Medical Field, Health Care, Social Workers, Hospitals and Clinics: Employment, Founders, Ownership
Geographic Region: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky / San Antonio, Texas

Autobiography of a Female Slave, by Mattie Griffith
Start Year : 1856
The Autobiography of a Female Slave was written by Owensboro, KY, native Mattie Griffith. The book was initially thought to be a Kentucky slave narrative, and even today it is still occasionally mistaken as such. Martha "Mattie" Griffith was a white abolitionist who wrote the book in hopes of raising money to emancipate her slaves and resettle them in a free state. A few weeks after the book was published, Griffith admitted writing the story based on real life incidents that she had witnessed. The Louisville Courier denounced the book as abolitionist propaganda. The book did not sell well, but Griffith received money from the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1858 that she used to free and resettle her slaves. Griffith and her sister, Catherine, had inherited their slaves from their deceased parents, Catherine and Thomas Griffith, who died in 1830. The girls were raised by family members in Louisville, KY, and around 1854 they were both living in Philadelphia, PA, where Mattie wrote her book. Beginning in 1859, she wrote a serialized anti-slavery novel with a mulatto heroine from Kentucky: "Madge Vertner," published in the National Anti-Slavery Standard newspaper, July 1859-May 1860. In 1866, Mattie Griffith married Albert Gallatin Browne from Massachusetts. She died in Boston in 1906. This entry was suggested by James Birchfield, Curator of Rare Books at the University of Kentucky Libraries. For more information see the Mattie Browne Griffith entry in the American National Biography Online database; Slippery Characters, by L. Browder; and J. M. Lucas, "Exposed Roots: from pseudo-slave narratives to The Wind Done Gone, the authenticity of representations of black history has always been in question," 02/27/2002, at Indyweek.com (Independent Weekly).
Subjects: Authors, Freedom, Migration North
Geographic Region: Owensboro, Daviess County, Kentucky / Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / Boston, Massachusetts