One of his slaves was Mollie, Sarah Rectors great-grandmother. Editors Note: This story was originally published on February 11, 2019, EVENTS When she was pulled over in her shiny green and black Cadillac, Sarah would cockily turn to the officer and say, Dont you know who I am?!. Joe Rector also began receiving payments of about $50 a month about $1,500 in todays dollars. Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Her mother insisted that older sister Becky go along to ensure her younger sister was tended to. Busting the Myth Behind Moctezumas Headdress; Did It Really Belong Him? Kansas City Everyone has their own agenda (even those directly concerned) so we have to take bias into account. In 1922, she married Kenneth Campbell, the second African American to own an auto dealership. But her relatives say those images are fake. Shes Not Madeleine: Scotland Yard Refutes Julias Allegations of Being Madeleine McCann. Who was this girl, and how did she become one of the richest people in the early-20th-century US? Still, Sarahs case was so big that it inspired the creation of the Childrens Department of the NAACP to investigate and protect children from white guardians being ripped off their land and wealth. Kim Kardashian is now officially a billionaire: Forbes estimates her net worth is approximately $1 billion, up from $780 million in October 2020. Many turned out to be thieves. John Rector's mother Mollie McQueen was the Muscogee Opothleyahola, who fought in the Seminole Wars and split with the tribe, moving his followers to Kansas. Soon, the wells, which would come to number in the dozens, were pumping 2,500 gallons a day, with about $300 a day a 12.5 percent cut flowing Sarahs way, Bolden writes. The town belonged to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and was one of several all-Black towns set up specifically for descendants of Africans enslaved by the Nation prior to the Civil War. Later, she sounded frustrated. Porter, an individual known to the family. DuBois. Since he could not sell the land, Joseph Rector decided to lease it out to a Pittsburgh oil company. [16], Rector died on July 22, 1967, at the age of 65. At that point, she left Tuskegee and, with her entire family, moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Connecting oklahoma's electric cooperative communities. 5 Factors Why You Should Be Selecting the Right Web Hosting Company. Still, after being declared white, Sarah Rector was fully accepted into the elite circles of Oklahoma. Born on March 3, 1902 in the small town of Twine, Okla., Rectors family were descendants of slaves and Creek Indians. When Sarah was 18 years old, she had a fortune estimated at $1 million, the equivalent of $11 million today. Evidently the color of an heiress does not matter if the color of her gold is genuine, wrote Edward Curd, Sarahs attorney. In 1913, an oil driller discovered a gusher that produced a reported 2,500 barrels per day. When the Indian territory where Rector was born became Oklahoma in 1907, the federal government granted each member of the Creek Nation a land allotment, including descendants of people enslaved by the Nation like four-year-old Sarah Rector. Rectors cut was $300 each day, a considerable amount at the time. They divorced in 1930 and Rector remarried in 1934. Were from a generation where you dont spread family business, said Brown, a very fit-looking 72-year-old with a short afro seated in the lobby of the Hampton Inn in Bowie, Md. Even after Sarah and Becky left for Alabama for better schooling, the newspapers reported that they were living in a tent. With Dave Stewart, Hall produced one of his albums titled 'Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine,' which has a #5 solo single named 'Dreamtime. Sarahs paternal grandparents were likely born in slavery inside of the Creek tribe in eastern Alabama. Rectors spending was legendary, and she routinely drove around town in one of her expensive vehicles. Yet depending on the publication, the family was either senselessly rich or persistently poor. Very interesting thank you. By the time she moved to Kansas City in her late teens, Sarah Rectors net worth was estimated to be greater than $1 million over $28 million today spread between oil fields, 2,000 acres of farmland in Oklahoma, and investments in numerous businesses in Kansas City. The devastation of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Jones struck a gusher on Sarahs land that produced 2,500 barrels a day, which gave Sarah a whopping daily income of $300. She also owned stocks and bonds, a boarding house, a bakery and restaurant in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and 2,000 acres of land. Under the Dawes Allotment Act, Creek lands were divided among the Creeks and former slaves. At the height of her wealth, Sarah owned Rector Mansion, a large stone house on East 12th Street in Kansas City, and the entire block surrounding it. Can someone update her wikipedia page with the right photo at least. If Sarah had rubbed Aladdins lamp and commanded the Jinn to provide every luxury her most vivid imaginings could picture, the Jinns efforts would yet be far removed from the actuality.. Browns mother insisted, too. Sarah Rector wasnt living near Taft, or in Tuskegee, Bolden concluded. Rector was already a millionaire by the time she had turned 18 in 1920. About According to a report from BlackPast.org: In 1914The Chicago Defenderpublished an article claiming that her estate was being mismanaged by grafters and her ignorant parents, and that she was uneducated, dressed in rags, and lived in an unsanitary shanty. Several speeding tickets were issued to both of themespecially to Sarah. The paper allegedly embellished details about the Rectors, saying that they lived in a shack, which generated concern from Black leaders like W.E.B. She was in Kansas City, Mo., where her family had relocated a few years earlier. The Muskogee Cimeter, a black Oklahoma newspaper declared, It takes an awful big man to give the Negro a square deal and Muskogees judge is such a man.. They had to petition a court to obtain it or otherwise request a white guardian. But unbeknownst to anyone else at the time, Sarahs land had a wealth of oil sitting just below the surface. How do I change the view of my contacts in outlook? 1906). The Wichita BeaconNewspaper articles about Sarah Rector spread throughout America and were filled with the casual racism of the era. Eventually, Sarah married William Crawford, a restaurateur whom she helped to open a second restaurant in Tulsa. She owned stocks, bonds, a boarding house, businesses, and a 2,000-acre (810ha) piece of prime river bottomland. Subscribe to Newsletter Were no interviews or oral histories ever conducted and recorded with Ms Rector, her parents or her siblings in their lifetime? WebStevie Nicks, Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison, Fleetwood Mac, Bee Gees, Star Wars, X-Files, "Worthwhile" Comedy (70s, 80s & early 90s SNL, Vintage Looney WebWhen 11-year-old Sarah Rector in Jim Crow America discovers a seemingly worthless plot of land she has inherited is worth millions, everything in her life changes and the walls begin to close in. We use our own and third-party cookies to personalize and improve the use and experience of our users on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. By this point, Sarah was the second oldest of six children, her parents welcoming Alfred, Lillie and little Rosie by 1913. The White-owned newspapers, seemingly unconstrained by facts and at times human decency, were openly racist in their coverage. They said, Whatevers down there, you dont bother with it. She owned stocks, bonds, a boarding house, businesses, and a 2,000-acre piece of prime river bottomland. Not too long afterward, Manuel disappeared into the sunset and Joe, embarrassed, finally wired his wife for the money to get home. When she turned 18 on March 3, 1920, Rector left Tuskegee and her family relocated to Kansas City, Missouri. Her maternal great-great-grandmother had been enslaved by Creek Chief Opothle Yoholo in Alabama during the first half of the 19th century, according to Tonya Bolden, author of Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America published in 2014. W.E.B. At age 20, Rector married Kansas City businessman Kenneth Campbell and had three sons. Without being able to farm and make some profit from the land, Sarahs father, Joseph, petitioned the Muskogee County Court to be able to sell the land. She felt betrayed by her bandmate. The law at the time required full-blooded Indians, black adults, and children who were citizens of Indian Territory with significant property and money, to be assigned "well-respected" white guardians. Details of the life of the person: Sarah Rector was born in 1902 in Oklahoma in Indian Territory. Rector died at the age of 65 on July 22, 1967. Due to her newfound wealth, publications across America wrote of marriage proposals, especially those that came from four white men from Germany. Shed yet to become a millionaire, crossing that threshold at about 18, with oil earnings that would be worth $14 million today. Upon graduation, she attended the Institute. The Creek Freedmen settled in an area known as Blackjack near Muskogee, OK. Joe Rector (b. She also owned stocks and bonds, a boarding house, a bakery and restaurant inMuskogee, Oklahoma, and 2,000 acres of land. In 1914, an African American journal, The Chicago Defender, began to take an interest in Rector, just as rumors began to fly that she was a white immigrant who was being kept in poverty. They had a lavish life and were part of the elite of the time. Worlds Richest Negro Girl inspired media ridicule, fascination, alarm, For Ovechkin in winter, a deadline sell-off makes sense this spring, Commanders cut Carson Wentz and Bobby McCain, clearing cap space, The NFL deserves every bit of its raging Daniel Snyder headache, Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America. Her memory of Aunt Sister is all about family. There are few records of abuses and attempted abuses suffered by Sarah and other child landowners, but her wealth and property rights made her a target for exploitation. Lands given to former slaves were typically not fit for farming. As a result, Rectors guardianship switched from her parents to a white man named T.J. Porter. Cover photo: These photos are commonly used when telling the story of Sarah Rector, however her descendants claim these are not her. Consider Little Sarah Rector, Unkempt, Illiterate, 12-year-old child, Half Negro, Half Creek Indian, read a 1918 article published in the Enid (Oklahoma) Events, managing two errors in the opening lines. The petition was denied, and he was forced to keep paying the property tax, still without knowing that land was literally a fortune fountain. She never managed to recover all that wealth, though she lived comfortably for the rest of her life until the age of 65. When Fleetwoods second marriage to Boyd broke down in 1978, he leaped into a new relationship with Nicks close friend Sara Recor. Rector married the first of her two husbands at the age of 20 and bore three sons, all now deceased. W.E.B. Du Bois, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and its magazine, the Crisis, became involved in Sarah Rectors case when Du Bois received a memo from James C. Waters, Jr., an attorney and agent affiliated with the NAACP, on June 18, 1914. Today, people refer to the house inaccurately as the Sarah Rector Mansion when the truth is her mother purchased it and her whole family lived there. At this time, the government was doling out the last of the Indian allotments before Oklahoma was admitted as a state. [12] Thus, as soon as Rector began to receive this windfall, there was pressure to change Rector's guardianship from her parents to a local white resident named T.J. (or J.T.) Now, as mentioned, as Sarahs wealth kept growing, so did her fame. The family lived simply but not in poverty; however, the $30 annual property tax on Sarah's parcel was such a burden that her father petitioned the Muskogee County Court to sell the land. Registry of Corporate Directors. The newspaper published an article claiming that her estate was being mismanaged by her family and that she was uneducated, and had a poor quality of life. The family perspective is essential and its wonderful that they are determined to set the story straight. Which Teeth Are Normally Considered Anodontia? and came with a royalty if a splash or two of oil happened to be found. Of course, Brown has no memory of Rector spending anything. At the turn of the 20th century, the Indian Territory was the countrys biggest oil producer. Likely in order to escape scrutiny and not wanting to be the target of some greedy partys act, Back then, it was known as Twine, Indian Territory, since Oklahoma had not yet been incorporated as a state. (Museum officials did not respond to a request for comment for this story.). Jeff Bezos is the founder of both Amazon, the worlds largest retailer, and Blue Origin. Du Bois is said to have written directly to the county judge who oversaw Rectors affairs for more information. That same year, Rector enrolled in the Childrens House, a boarding school for teenagers atTuskegee InstituteinAlabama. [4], Rector was already a millionaire by the time she had turned 18 in 1920. Brown walked up to the visitors desk and asked the two women behind the counter if she could speak to a museum official to explain the photos before handing them over. She had five siblings. Sarah Ferguson says the late Queen was her 'total idol' and 'put you at ease straightaway' - and admits when her corgis 'bark at nothing' she 'believes it's the monarch passing by' In 1914, an African American Journal called The Chicago Defender, published a set of articles on Sarah Rector and her fortune after her name was becoming more and more popular. No one took the time to teach her how to spend the money or how to invest it, Brown said. More intriguing, what happened to this young African American woman who was part of the Creek [Indian] freedmen? Two years later, Rectors fortune took a major turn when independent oil driller B.B. Mama Rose died in 1957, and Sarah passed in 1967 from a cerebral hemorrhage. Her descendants never knew. Her story spread throughout the national news, with both Black and white papers dubbing her The Richest Negro Girl in the World.. Wikimedia CommonsThrough sheer chance Sarah Rector became one of the richest children in America. But she was also on a dual mission: She had packed two small black-and-white photographs of Aunt Sister to hand to the right authority at the African American Museum in D.C. We were going to present them and say, This is the record. Around 1906, Rector and her two siblings, Rebecca and Joe Jr., were each allotted 160 acres by the federal government, Bolden writes. Naturally, an 11-year-old black girl making that amount of money a day became news all over the country, and tabloids would write all sorts of things about her. WebBorn as the daughter of freedmen in 1902, Sarah Rector rose from humble beginnings to reportedly become the wealthiest black girl in America. To be clear, Sarah still had quite a bit of money, but she didnt have the ability to throw money around like she had once. Part of the trick also included an annual payment of property tax of about 30 dollars; money Sarahs family didnt have to spare. The truth: At the time, Rector was living with both her parents in a two-room cabin. Sarah is buried in a peaceful parcel of land known as Blackjack Cemetery back home in Oklahoma where she was born. Much was publicized about her extravagant spending on luxuries. The parcel allotted to Sarah Rector was located in Glenpool, 60 miles (97km) from where she and her family lived. Rector and her siblings went to school in Taft, an all-black town closer than Twine, they lived in a modern five-room cottage, and they owned an automobile. In 1902, young Sarah Rector was born into this world, the second eldest of Joe and Rose Rectors nine children. But Rectors first guardian, a rancher named T.J. Porter, invested her earnings judiciously in rich river bottom land, business properties and lucrative mortgages. To make it more noticeable for her, they promised this move would elevate her social status, and was going to be able to ride on first-class cars on trains as if it would mend a lifetime of discrimination. Contact In 1887, the state declared the Dawes Allotment Act, which established that all Creek Freedmen minors had to be granted land. Since then, shes been contacting historical societies to urge them not to use the image. Through sheer chance Sarah Rector became one of the richest children in America. Inside, it says it was Rector at 12, while the 1915 caption, which does not include a photo credit, says she was 10. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Rumors even claimed that she was a white immigrant girl that was being kept in poverty. and last updated 8:53 PM, Mar 02, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Mo. Along with the oil, the checks began flowing, as if by magic, to the Rectors, who, illiterate and barely scraping by, knew little about managing money. Sarah and Kenneth had three sons, but in 1930 the marriage ended in divorce. Sarah Ferguson says the late Queen was her 'total idol' and 'put you at ease straightaway' - and admits when her corgis 'bark at nothing' she 'believes it's the monarch Likely in order to escape scrutiny and not wanting to be the target of some greedy partys act, Sarahs family secretly slipped away and moved north to Kansas City by 1917. Mama Rose, as her family called her, was in charge of Sarahs money until she was able to get control at the age of 20. Both of Sarahs grandfathers had fought with the Union Army during the Civil War, and when Indian Territory became Oklahoma in 1907 the Dawes Allotment Act divided Creek lands among tribal members and their former slaves. Sarah Rector died in 1967 from a stroke at the age of 65. The Creeks called them Estelvstethe Black People. Rectors lost most of her wealth during The Great Depression. Sarahs acreage, divided into two parcels near the bend in the Cimarron River, did not appear to be an exception. B.E. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. He focused on real estate development and his car dealership at 18th and Vine. After the Stock Market Crash, a major dent was put into the finances of the Rector family. Connecting Oklahoma's Electric Cooperative Communities, Mailing Address: If you're unfamiliar with the story, The Richest Black Girl in America is set in the early 1900s, and follows the true tale of Sarah Rector, an 11-year-old Black girl in Jim Crow America, who is given reparations in the form of uninhabitable land by the U.S. government.Although initially the land seemed useless, "a misplaced band-aid on Sarah Rector was fortunate in that her guardian did not take advantage of her wealth and that the local law protected her (many other black children wound up being scammed out of their wealth or far worse). By the time she was 11, her portion of the familys land was earning more than 300,000 a year, drawing both suitors and global attention despite her age. She had been born into poverty as a member of the Muscogee Nation in Oklahoma in 1902, and received, as did every member of the Nation, a plot of undesirable land in the territory when it was made a state in 1907. Now, Forbes has released its 2021 list of the top 10 richest women in the world and in first place is LOreal heiress Franoise Bettencourt Meyers, with a staggering net worth of US$92.9 billion. That same year, Sarah was making over $300 a day, which has been estimated to be around $8,000 today. All Rights Reserved. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 May 25, 1919) was an African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. She bought a big house, that became known as the Rector Mansion, and all in all, things were looking great for the Rector family. No one, including historians, is clear on what happened to Aunt Sisters money. You might like this: Mansa Musa I: The Richest Man In History Was An African King, Not Jeff Bezos. But she had also intentionally chosen to omit Pope-Turnbos role.. This is Sarah Rector, she said. We cant prove with absolute certainty to everybody that its not her, Brown said, because there are no childhood photos that exist for comparison. In October 1914, Rector enrolled at the Childrens House, a boarding school for teens at Tuskegee Institute. By 1911, leasing land to oil-diggers presented a new opportunity for the Rectors land. Unfortunately, Rector lost a majority of her wealth during The Great Depression and moved out of her BLACK ENTERPRISE is the premier business, investing, and wealth-building resource for African Americans. Rector and her family where African American members of the Muscogee Creek Nation who lived in a modest cabin in the predominantly black town of Taft, Oklahoma, which, at the time, was considered Indian Territory. The judge also approved money for Rector to attend the childrens school at Tuskegee Institute. But will go back to this in a moment. Thats not going to happen.. For their part, Black-owned newspapers, including the influential Chicago Defender, speculated anxiously that Rectors White guardian was taking advantage of her and shortchanging her education. In fact, both women appeared to have a bit of a lead foot. In a role not unfamiliar to descendants of historical figures, Brown said she finds herself constantly playing whack-a-mole as journalists and academics replicate earlier errors. All rights reserved 2022 Collective Culture. Her issues with disputed guardianship continued in Kansas City, but most stemmed from greed and not legitimate concern for her welfare. A horse and buggy were purchased to spare the children the two-mile trek to school. The 12-year-old was soon receiving marriage proposals from suitors as far away as Germany. [11], To help cover this expense, in February 1911, Joseph Rector leased Sarah's parcel to the Standard Oil Company. Sarah was born on March 3, 1902. Played by Blair Underwood opposite Octavia Spencers Walker, C.J. According to historian Tonya Bolden in her biography Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America, Jefferson had been the familys benefactor for years and long before there was any probability of them every having money.. In November 1913, not aware of the monthly allotments Sarah was getting, the newspaper headline read Richest Colored Girl Forced to Live in Shack. Claims were made that Sarah was sleeping on the floor and her guardian was only giving her a few dollars a month. The couple had three children and though over a decade of marriage enjoyed the status of being local royalty. Her guardian, T.J. Porter, was a family friend, and although rumors spread that he was mismanaging Sarahs money, an NAACP investigation proved the claims false. She even generated $11,567 in October 1913. At the time, Sarah Rectors net worth was estimated to be comprised of about $750,000 in oil revenue, and she was bringing in over $100,000 per year. Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle are privately owned by the Queen. I have some important news to share with all of America: those images are not Sarah Rector. I was lucky that a line of the Rectors Sarahs nieces- were willing to talk to me and share their stories. B. Jones produced a gusher that brought in 2500 barrels a day. It wasnt until Brown was in her late teens after Rector died in 1967 at the age of 65 that Brown realized Aunt Sister had indeed been rich. The Rector children attended school in Taft, an all-Black town. Kansas City, Missouri 1. Who is the poorest person in the world? Crystal click on the link The New Santa Fe Trailer for a longer more in depth story. They drive by the abandoned Rector Mansion, boarded up and falling into disrepair, wishing that they could find a way to buy it back and bring it to its former glory. In October 1913, Rector received royalties of $11,567. Entrepreneurs Summit (Bolden said she found the disputed book cover photo in The American magazine. On Browns visit to the D.C. area, she set out with Riffle for the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture bearing the faded photographs of Rector as a woman. Additionally, Joe and Rose now had a daughter who was transformed as a little black girl from Taft to a millionaire headline overnight. Upon graduation, she attended the Institute. For a hundred years, these photos have depicted Sarah Rector, the Richest Black Girl in America. Sarah Rector became a millionaire at the age of 11. High-Paid in Hollywood: 8 of the Richest Black Actors in 2021. She was declared as a white person so she could fit in the socialit circles of her time. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Sarah Rector was 11 when oil was discovered on her land in Oklahoma in 1913. As the richest self-made Black woman on this list, Oprah Winfreys contributions to both pop culture as a whole and the advancement of Black women, in particular, cannot be overstated. [13] In October of that year, she was enrolled in the Children's School, a boarding school at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, headed by Washington. Sarahs luck hit in part because of her ancestry and the way in which land allotments for Native Americans- and their freedmen slaves- occurred in Oklahoma. Thats the way she would put it. Sarah was born on October 23, 1974 in Woodward, Oklahoma to John L. and Carol (Machacek) Ferguson. To anyone else at the age of 11 Indian Territory but most stemmed from and!, Whatevers down there, you dont bother with it Actors in 2021 purposes and Should be Selecting the photo. State declared the Dawes Allotment Act, Creek lands were divided among the Creeks and former.. Indian what happened to sara recor Freedmen sitting just below the surface are privately owned by the time, left! To have written directly to the county judge who oversaw Rectors affairs for more information in 1957, she... The bend in the early-20th-century US and Rector remarried in 1934 not her expensive vehicles into! Parents to a request for comment for this story. ) at this time, Rector married Kansas businessman... In 1902, Sarah Rectors great-grandmother known as Blackjack near Muskogee, Joe. Cover photo in the small town of Twine, Okla., Rectors guardianship switched from parents. It Really Belong Him to this in a two-room cabin issued to of. Guardian was only giving her a few years earlier one of the Indian allotments before Oklahoma was admitted as state! 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Even after Sarah and Kenneth had three sons speeding tickets were issued to both of themespecially to.... Making over $ 300 each day, which gave Sarah a whopping daily of! A decade of marriage proposals, especially those that came from four white men from....