5 facts about alonzo herndon

background:#494bbc; Your support helps us commission new entries and update existing content. Despite several crises in the industry and lean times generally, Atlanta Life under Herndons leadership survived and progressed into the next decades as a secure and prosperous business. .footer-wrapper .footer-copyright .copyright { .upcoming-events li { He opened his own barbershop in Atlanta in 1886. Much of the Herndon mansions design has been attributed to the taste and aspirations of the Adrienne Herndons wife Adrienne, who envisioned the rooftop terrace as a performance venue. Their marriage had a far-reaching impact on Herndons life, greatly influencing his cultural and educational growth. Economic Dignity (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1990); Carole He was even a delegate to the first conference of the National Negro Business League organized by Washington in 1890, and was involved in Du Bois's 1905 Niagara Movement, a conference held in Fort Erie, Ontario that eventually led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). #menu .has-mega-sub-blog-menu .mega-sub-menu ul li a:hover{ Marker Text : Alonzo Herndon was born into slavery in Walton County, Georgia, in 1858. In 1905 he purchased a failing mutual aid association, which he incorporated as the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. .social-icon i.fa:hover{ content:'Main Menu'; Herndon began to appreciate the acumen of operating good business when dealing with people, a quality that would come to serve him greatly later in life. . As for Atlanta LIfe, it exists today as Atlanta Life Financial Group, located at. border-left: 3px solid #f4c85e; The family attended the First Congressional Church in Atlanta and was closely associated with Clark University and AMA schools. Another structure on Morris Browns campus is Alonzo Herndon Stadium, an old 15,011-seat stadium that was once used for sports events at the school. "Alonzo Herndon." AboutPressCopyrightContact. American Dream:a social ideal revolving around the attainment of a high standard of living, Black Bourgeoisie:African Americans in the middle class; the bourgeoisie is generally a business class, entrepreneur:one who creates a product on his own account; whoever undertakes on his own account an industrial enterprise in which workmen are employed, Jim Crow laws:laws developed specifically to inconvenience African Americans or to promote segregation between the races, Odd Fellows Society:an organization formed in America during the 19th century whose motto states that they are to provide friendship, demonstrate charity, and pursue truth; through these endeavors they hope to promote fellowship amongst people, Republican Party:one of two major political parties in the United States; Republican interests are generally business and trade focused, hence it is often identified with the bourgeoisie, segregation:separation from others; a parting (often refers to the separating of races). With Herndon playing a pivotal role as president and chief stockholder, the small association expanded its assets from $5,000 in 1905 to more than $400,000 by 1922. . [1] "My knees quaked with fear for I thought I was being telegraphed," he recalled, according to the Merritt book. One of the results of the Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906 was that Black leaders realized that W. E. B. } Carole Merritt, The Herndons: An Atlanta Family (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2002). To make ends meet, Herndon and his brother worked in the fields as well alongside their mother and grandparents, and he had very little formal schooling as a result. n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; Alonzo Herndon rose to prime prominence as a Entrepreneur. The family entered freedom in destitution. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/herndon-alonzo-franklin. } [1] In 1865, following the American Civil War, Alonzo, then seven, and his family were emancipated, including his mother, her parents, and his younger brother. Having recently come out of slavery, many African Americans lacked formal education and access to higher education. He also had a younger brother, Thomas, as well as a number of half-brothers and half-sisters born to other slave women on the Herndon farm. Alonzo and Adrienne had a son, Norris. . Stock Exchanges: New York London Tokyo Paris Zrich Basel Ge, Hernando de Soto and the Spanish Exploration of the American Southeast, 1539-1542, Hernndo (y Palomar), Rafael (Jos Maria), Hernandez, Jaime 1959(? 1925. Freed by the 13th Amendment, Herndon and his mother, younger brother, and maternal grandparents became sharecroppers. His mother was Sophenie, an enslaved woman. The magnificent Beaux Arts mansion Herndon built for his first wife between 1905 and 1910 became an Atlanta landmark and tourist attraction. Henderson, Alexa. Merged with two other firms and renamed the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, the firm prospered. {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? He soon founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, where he served as president. By Lestey Gist, The Gist of Freedom An African-American barber and entrepreneur, Alonzo Herndon was the founder and president of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the most successful black-owned insurance businesses in the nation. (February 23, 2023). fbq('track', 'PageView'); His home was included in National Historic Landmark in United States in 2000. Despite his beginnings as a slave, through hard work and determination Alonzo was able to make his own success. Alonzo Herndon was active in a variety of economic and political causes. font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; .page-template-magazine-template header.header-style-one #main-menu-wrapper, It was located 40 miles to the east of Atlanta. He developed a great reputation as a barber and his business thrived. line-height:22px; Let me show you the interesting Facts about Alonzo Herndon if you want to know the founding father of the Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company. 31. When W. E. B. Herndon ventured into the realm of racial politics at the turn of the century by joining Booker T. Washington in establishing the National Negro Business League. Alonzo was born on June 26, 1858 in Georgia. #main-menu-wrapper nav .mega .thunk-widget-menu a:hover,#menu .mega-menu-posts a:hover, The firm grew rapidly in the 1920s, expanding its operations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. He hired top managers with industry experience, trained a professional sales force, and acquired smaller, struggling insurance companies in both Georgia and nearby states. About his early life Alonzo writes, "My mother was emancipated when I was seven years old and my brother Tom five years old. He was a member of W.E.B. Subscribe to ournews alerts here, follow uson Twitterand like us onFacebook. Herndon and the prominent writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass both spent their early years in slavery. When President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Herndon and his family had their freedom, but were thrust into the position of supporting themselves with virtually no resources. One of Herndons most lasting contributions includes his role in establishing the United Negro College Fund. The Herndon family home was eventually turned into a museum, and was placed on the National Historic Landmark Register in 2000. Born into slavery, he became one of the first African American millionaires in the United States, first achieving success by owning and operating three large barber shops in the city that served prominent white men. Encyclopedia.com. His barbering business thrived, and he expanded it over the years. Herndon was born on June 26, 1858 in Walton County, Georgia to Frank Herndon, a white farmer, and Sophenie, his slave. Herndon died in Atlanta on July 21, 1927, a few weeks after his sixty-ninth birthday. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); List choice Herndon eventually bought into a partnership, but it was later dissolvedperhaps due to Hutchins's financial setbacks, which taught Herndon to always be cautious about business expansion. Herndon also sought to save other failing Black enterprises. It remained a segregated establishment until it closed in 1972. Herndon was four years old when President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, freed the slaves in the Southern states that had seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy, but was seven when Frank Herndon released them when the war ended. . Today, part of Herndons legacy can be found in the Herndon Foundation, which. In 1922 the company had achieved legal reserve status, a position enjoyed by only four other Black insurance companies at that time. Here are some interesting facts about him for you: Herndon was born on 26 June 1858 in Walton County, Georgia. At the time of his death in 1927, he was also Atlanta 's wealthiest Black citizen, owning more property than any other African American. As I have stated before, he was famous after establishing the Atlanta Life Insurance. Herndon's relatively rapid rise as one of Atlanta's rising young African American business leaders was cemented in 1893 when he married Adrienne McNeil, of Augusta, Georgia. 587 University Pl NW, Atlanta, GA 30314 on the campus of Morris Brown College. You can visit it in Vine City at 587 University Place NW. Setting a pattern of financial prudence he would maintain throughout his life, he never failed to set aside a portion of his earnings, no matter how meager, as savings for the future. background: #f4c85e; Merritt, Carole, The Herndons: An Atlanta Family, University of Georgia Press, 2002. Herndon received only a token amount of public schooling. Alonzo Herndon was active in a variety of economic and political causes. In 1905 he purchased a failing mutual aid association, which he incorporated as the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. (2004). In 1905, his property holdings were valued at nearly $325,000. Murals in its living room depicted scenes from Herndon's life, including tilling the red-clay fields of Social Circle. Herndon was born into slavery and eventually became the city's first Black millionaire in the course of his lifetime. He also supported commercial activities, including the Southview Cemetery Association and the Atlanta State Savings Bank. Employees: 46,000 On his way to becoming Atlanta's first black millionaire, Herndon amassed a fortune in real estate. Facts about Elias Howe make us talk about the American inventor. .simplesocialbuttons.simplesocialbuttons_inline .ssb-fb-like { color:#f4c85e; ALONZO HERNDON WAS CONSIDERED THE FIRST BLACK ENTREPRENEUR OF ATLANTA IN THE 1800s Hide chat MLK: The Other America The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change Heartland. Telephone: (215) 761-1000 Herndon didnt stop there; he continued to buy companies throughout the South, gobbling them until Atlanta Life became the largest insurance company owned and operated by African American in the nation. Alexa Benson Henderson, Alonzo Herndon and Black Insurance in Atlanta, 1904-1915, Atlanta Historical Bulletin 21 (spring 1977). Mcauley was, Facts about Charles I of England present the interesting information about the monarch of three kingdoms. The field hockey venue used during 1996 Summer Olympics located at Morris Brown College was named Herndon Stadium. Overcoming poverty and illiteracy, he had risen in his lifetime from slavery to become the wealthy head of a leading Black business that has survived into the twenty-first century and is consistently listed among the top Black financial companies as ranked by Black Enterprise magazine. Holla:CJ@AtlantaFi.com. ." She was the decorator. Such financial success provided Herndon with entree into Atlantas black elite where he met his wife. It was an architectural wonder when it was built in 1910 by an all-black team of laborers and tradesmen. In 1915, he ventured into Alabama, and the acquired another Georgia insurance company, Union Mutual, the largest black-owned insurer in the state. James Oglethorpe Colonial Figures. Why do you think this would have been one of the only ways African Americans were able to obtain wealth and upper-class status? letter-spacing:0.4px; h3.view{background:#0e0e0e;} The firm grew rapidly in the 1920s, expanding its operations into a half dozen new states, including Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. Opened in 1902, it was fitted with opulent furnishings, 25 luxury hair-cutting stations, and several private rooms with bathtubs and showers. Whenever possible, he reinsured the policyholders and merged the faltering business into Atlanta Life in an effort to conserve confidence in Black businesses and save jobs for Black men and women. Alonzo Herndon and Booker T. Washington - Atlanta Life Project. Like BlackAmericaWeb.com onFacebook. Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company (Atlanta Life), "Alonzo Herndon, pioneering businessman | African American Registry", Who left what behind: wills of famous blacks; while some left millions, others left nothing but legal problems |, The New Georgia Encyclopedia; Alonzo Herndon, National Park Service--Register of Historic Places; Herndon Home, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alonzo_Herndon&oldid=1114544299, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 October 2022, at 01:36. 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