People, Locations, Episodes

Allen Allensworth, Municipal Administrator born

*On this date in 1842, Allen Allensworth was born. He was a Black minister, administrator and educator.

From Louisville, KY, born to slave parents, Phyllis and Levi Allensworth, Allen escaped from slavery at the age of twenty. During the Civil War, he became a civilian nurse in the 44th Infantry’s hospital corps serving in the Nashville campaign. A year later he joined the Navy serving on gunboat in the Ohio River. By 1865, he became a chief petty officer. Allensworth then returned to Louisville, where he converted to the Baptist faith in their Fifth Street Church.

Julia Bullard Nelson, Educator, and Activist born

*Julia Bullard Nelson was born on this date in 1842. She was a white-American educator and activist for inclusive education and a woman’s right to vote. Born in High Ridge, Connecticut, Bullard moved to Minnesota with her family in 1857. Around 1862, she earned a teaching degree at Hamline University and then relocated to Red […]

Annie Ford, Slave Teacher born

*The birth of Annie Ford is celebrated on this date in 1842.  She was a Black slave and homemaker.  Born Annie Helm, she was from Owensboro, Kentucky, and was one of two daughters of an African slave woman and her white-American master. As a child, she worked in the house of her master, mainly taking […]

Lewis Adams, Tuskegee Institute Founder born

*Lewis Adams was born on this date in 1842. He was a Black businessman, educator and public policy administrator.

Richard Greener, Legal, and Political Advisor born

*Richard Theodore Greener was born on this date in 1844. He was an African American administrator, politician, lawyer, and educator.

From Philadelphia, when Greener was about nine, his father left the family to pursue mining opportunities in California. Tragically, his father was presumed dead after efforts to locate him failed. His mother moved the family to Boston, then to Cambridge in search of educational opportunities for her son. Greener received his early education at the Broadway Grammar School until he was about 14, when he quit to support his mother.

The Union Literary Institute (Ohio), Opens

*The Union Literary Institute opened its doors on this date in 1846.  This was an early American establishment of formal education for Blacks in a non-slaveholding state.   The Union Literary Institute was a unique school conceived during racial prejudice and strife.  Anti-slavery Quakers founded the Institute with free Blacks who lived near the Greenville […]

The American Missionary Association is Founded

*On this date in 1846 the American Missionary Association (AMA) was founded. The AMA trained and educated slaves, it was the first such organization to teach southern slaves in a creditable and organized manner.

John Wesley Cromwell, Lawyer and Teacher born

*John Wesley Cromwell was born on this date in 1846. He was a Black lawyer, teacher, civil servant, journalist, historian, and activist. John Wesley Cromwell was born into slavery in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was the youngest of twelve children. His parents were Willis H. and Elizabeth (Carney) Cromwell. Cromwell’s father worked as a ferryman on […]

James Storum, Educator born

*On this date in 1847, James Storum was born. He was a Black educator and Professor.  From Buffalo, New York, his mother Mary Canady was from Sussex County, his grandfather Charles Storum was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Storum’s mother was a woman deeply religious, and full of energy and enterprise. At age thirteen, […]

Maritcha Remond Lyons, Suffragist born

*Maritcha Remond Lyons was born on this date in 1848.  She was a Black educator, civic leader, suffragist, and public speaker in New York City and Brooklyn, New York. She taught in public schools in Brooklyn and was the second black woman to serve in their system as an assistant principal.   She was born at 144 Centre Street in New York City, […]

James M. Gregory, Professor born

*James Gregory was born on this date in 1849.  He was a Black Professor, author, and Dean.   James Monroe Gregory was born in Lexington, Virginia, to Maria A. (Gladman) Gregory and Henry L., a local minister.  As a child, the family moved to Lynchburg, Virginia. In 1859 they moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where James entered public schools. The family moved […]

The Allegheny Institute is Chartered

*On this date in 1849, the Allegheny Institute was chartered.  Along with the institute, he included Mission Church, north of Pittsburgh.   Charles Avery funded this school to offer elementary and advanced education to qualified Black students without regard to sex.  The racial and coeducational features of the program were controversial, and the school’s connection […]

Sara Iredell Fleetwood, Nurse and Teacher born

*Sara Iredell Fleetwood’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1849. She was a Black nurse, clubwoman, and teacher. Sara Louise Iredell was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Elizabeth Susan (née Webb) and Geoffrey George Iredell. Her father was originally from Edenton, North Carolina, and was the son of an enslaved person who had […]

William J. Simmons, Educator, and Minister born

*William J. Simmons was born on this date in 1849. He was an educator, minister, and college administrator. William J. Simmons was born a slave in Charleston, South Carolina, to Edward and Esther Simmons. While William was young, his mother fled slavery with her three children, William and his two sisters, Emeline and Anna. They […]

William Councill, Educator born

*On this date we mark the birth of William Councill in 1849. He was a Black teacher, college president, and editor.