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"JllDNflOD 'H '/A
LAMP OF WISDOM;
OR,
RACE HISTORY ILLUMINATED.
A COMPENDIUM OF RACE HISTORY COMPRISING
FACTS GLEANED FROM EVERY FIELD
FOR MILLIONS OF READERS.
BY W. H. COUNCILL, PH.D.,
President of Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes,
No final, Ala.
SOLD ONLT BT SUBSCRIPTION.
"I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed(Ps. cxxxii. if.)
Nashville, Tenn.:
J. T. Haley & Co., Publishers.
1898.
3>eMcatton.
TO IDA CHRISTINE COUNCILL
(My Little Daughter);
TO THE THOUSANDS OF NEGRO YOUTHS WHO NEED
THE HOPE AND INSPIRATION WHICH THIS
LITTLE VOLUME MUST GIVE TO THEM;
TO ALL PERSONS WHO WISH THE NEGRO RACE WELL; AND
TO ALL WHO SEEK KNOWLEDGE OF THIS
STRUGGLING PEOPLE,
THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS
C ORDIALL T DEDICA TED.
(4)
Copyright.
J. T. Haley & Co.
1S9S.
PREFACE.
The need of a hand-book of such information as this little
volume contains is my apology for placing it before the public.
I am fully conscious of its many defects. Many facts are
given which could be well omitted, and many important things
*
are left out which should be in the work. The difficulty of ob¬
taining -this information about the race makes an attempt of
this kind quite a task. If I shall do no other service than to
collect facts and transmit them to the hands of an abler com¬
piler, who will bring out a more complete work, I will feel
fully repaid for my labor. I hope that by the light of this lit¬
tle Lamp of Wisdom ** the world may see more clearly the
merits of the Negro, and accord him a man's chance in the
race of life* and that the Negro himself may take fresh cour¬
age and press forward to grander achievements.
W. H. Councill.
(5)
PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCEMENT.
This "Lamp of Wisdom" is intended to give intellectual
light—to light up the dark places of the mind. The Negro is
just passing, as it were, through the gateway that enters upon
life's great work, and it is facts, not theories and fancies, that
he needs. We are glad to see our colored brother developing,
intellectually and morally, and, however great his success may
have been, we are anxious to stimulate him to still greater
achievements.
We believe that this book should be. and will be, made a
standard text-book for the Negro schools throughout our beau¬
tiful Southland. No man is better prepared than the author to
write such a book. It can scarcely fail to profit every member
of the race who will read it.
We send it forth on its mission for good, hoping and believ¬
ing that it will help to bring sunshine to many a home, and
that it will bring new thoughts and aspirations into many a
life. The Publishers.
(6)
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Presentation Page i
W. H. Councill Frontispiece
Dedication 4
Preface 5
Publishers' Announcement 6
Africa 9
Negro 13
Slavery ' 16
Slavery Abolished 25
A Marble Shaft to the Memory of Faith¬
ful Slaves 28
Population 29
Our Race Name . 32
Financial Growth 34
Educational 36
The White South and Negro Education 36
What Negro Education has done for the South
Since the War 39
What Benevolence Has Done for Negro Edu¬
cation 40
Schools 40
Deceased Race Leaders 46
The Negro as a Soldier 47
Negro Education During the Rebellion.. 52
Negroes in Federal Offices. '. 53
Negro Members of Congress 57
Negro Lawyers 58
Negro Physicians \ .. „ \ 60
The Negro in Dentistry 62
(0
8 CONTENTS.
PAGE
Afro-American Authors 65
" The Dying Bondman " 73
Great Words of a Great Man 74
Best Thoughts of Negro Leaders 75
The Negro Press .. .. 83
Representative Negro Editors 85
Negro Women Writers of Distinction .... 86
The Stage 87
Insurance 9°
JJanks 92
Sanitariums and Hospitals 93
Homes for the Negro Homeless 95
Artists . 98
Painters 98
Sculptors 99
Negro Baptist Church 99
African Methodist Episcopal Church 101
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. 104
C. M. E. Church in America 105
The Presbyterian Church and the Negro. 107
Negro Cumberland Presbyterians 108
Underground Railroad 109
Grand United Order of Odd-Fellows in
America 110
Scottish Rite Negro Masons 114
Independent Order Immaculate 121
The Order of Twelve 122
Negro Pythian Knights 124
Benevolent "CJrder of Colored Profes¬
sionals 126
The Y. M. C. A. Work 126
Miscellaneous Race Facts 127
Greatest Things on Earth 149
LAMP OF WISDOM.
AFRICA.
Question. Where does this great continent of
the globe lie?
Answer. In the Eastern Hemisphere.
Ques. What direction is it from the United
States ?
Ans. It is southeast from the United States, and
is separated from it by the Atlantic Ocean.
Ques. What direction is it from Europe ?
Ans. It is south of Europe, and is separated
from it by the Mediterranean Sea.
Ques. What direction from Asia?
Ans. It is southwest from Asia, with which it is
connected by the Isthmus of Suez.
Ques. What is the greatest length of Africa?
Ans. About 4,330 geographical miles.
Ques. What is its greatest width?
Ans. About 4,000 geographical miles.
Ques. What length is the coast line of Africa?-
Ans. Sixteen thousand miles, or about two-thirds
of the distance around the globe.
Ques. What bodies of water surround Africa?
Ans. The Mediterranean Sea on the north, the
Southern Ocean on the south, the Red Sea and
the Indian Ocean on the east, and the Atlantic
Ocean on the west.
Ques. What is said of the southern portion of
Africa?
Ans. It is a vast table-land.
Ques. What about Northern Africa?
(9)
10
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Ans. The great Sahara Desert stretches almost
across Northern Africa.
Ques. Is this desert an unbroken, sandy ex¬
panse?
Ans. No, it is full of variety, broken up by
green stretches of land, some of them 120 miles
in length and from 3 to 5 miles wide.
Ques. What do you know of the plateaus of
Southern Africa?
Ans. They are fertile and thickly populated.
Ques. What is the total population of the con¬
tinent, of Africa?
Ans. In its "Population of the World" the
"Afro-American Encyclopagdia" places the popu¬
lation of Africa at 205,825,000 souls.
Ques. How does Africa compare with other di¬
visions of the globe?
Ans. Africa has an area of 11,514,700 square
miles, being second in point of size, but least im¬
portant as regards progress and civilization.
Ques. What are the most valuable productions
of the vegetable kingdom in Africa?
Ans. Oranges, olives, dates, rice, bananas, in¬
digo, cotton, and grains.
Ques. What is said of the dense forests of the
equatorial regions?
Ans. They are teaming with animal life.
Ques. Will you name some of the native ani¬
mals of th^t section ?
Ans. It is said to be the home of the monkey,
baboon, elephant, lion, leopard, zebra, camel,
buffalo, giraffe, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, ante¬
lope, tiger, jackal, hyena, panther, and hundreds
of other animals whose homes are in tropical cli¬
mates.
Ques. What animal has been domesticated and
is in use as the principal beast of burden ?
AFRICA.
II
Ans. The camel.
Ques. What is the general form of Africa?
Ans. It is triangular.
Ques. How many important rivers in Africa?
Ans. No less than six. The Congo, Niger, and
Nile are the most important, the Nile being the
most famous.
Ques. What religion prevails among the Afri¬
cans?
Ans. In the northern part of Africa the Mo¬
hammedan religion prevails. It embraces quite
two-thirds of the entire population.
Ques. Where does Christianit}' prevail?
Ans. In Liberia, Madagascar, Algeria, the Brit¬
ish possessions of Southern Africa, parts of Egypt
and. Abyssinia.
Ques. How many languages are spoken by the
inhabitants of Africa ?
Ans. One hundred and fifty, according to the
best estimate.
Ques. Why does it seem that this great and glo¬
rious country is especially for Negroes?
Ans. Because centuries of effort and centuries
of failure have demonstrated that white men can
not build up colonies there..
Ques. To what race does the greater portion of
Africa's population belong?
Ans. To the Berbers and the Negroes.
Ques. In what part of Africa are the Hotten¬
tots found ?
Ans. The Hottentots are found in South Africa,
and are entirely different from all the Negro races.
Ques. To what point in Africa have emigrants
from this country gone?
Ans. To Liberia, a Negro republic in Western
Africa.
Ques. What is said of this part of Africa?
*2
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Ans. Agriculture is carried on with increasing
success.
Ques. What are the principal articles of pro¬
duce?
Ans. Sugar, arrowroot, rice, cocoa, and coffee.
Ques. What are the principal articles of export?
Ans. Ivory, gold-dust, palm-oil, barwood, wax,
ginger, and hides.
Ques. What is said of the republic of Liberia
as she now stands.
Ans. The nations of the earth are looking to
her as one of the hopeful spots on the continent of
Africa.
Ques. Name some great men who have been
seeking to redeem and Christianize Africa.
Ans. Dr. Livingstone, Dr. Blyden, Bishop Tay¬
lor, and Bishop Turner. Bishop Turner has been
more persistent and more generally misunderstood
than any of the others.
Ques. Does he advocate Negro emigration from
America to Africa ?
Ans. Only so far as such emigrants would be
necessary and useful in the civilization and devel¬
opment of Africa.
Ques. Name some Negro missionaries who have
done good work in Africa.
Ans. Miss Nancy Jones, of Memphis, Tenn.,
who has labored many years among the Zulus;
Rev. Shephard, who has also done good work
among tribes in the interior. He has been made
a member of the Royal Geographical Society, of
London, England.
Ques. What great white woman fitted up- an ex¬
ploring expedition of 200 native Africans and
marched across the continent?
Ans. Mrs. May French-Sheldon. The expe¬
dition cost her $200,000. She made many im-
negro.
13
portant discoveries, and brought to England and
America thousands of dollars worth of curios.
Ques. What great educational institution has
hundreds of dollars worth of these curios ?
Ans. The A. and M. College, Normal, Ala.,
being presented to President Councill by Mrs.
Sheldon. Mrs. Sheldon has written a large vol¬
ume, giving in detail her work in Africa.
NEGRO.
Question. In the preceding chapter what did
you learn?
Answer. In the preceding chapter we learned
that Africa is the native home of the Negro.
Ques. What is the meaning of the word "Ne¬
gro ?2'
Ans. The word "Negro" is a name given to a
considerable branch of the human family possess¬
ing certain physical characteristics which distin¬
guish it in a very marked degree from the other
branches or varieties of mankind. Specifically, it
means one of a race of men characterized by a
dark or black skin, and hair of a woolly or crisp
nature.
Ques. From whence came the Negro?
Ans. From Africa. The tribes south of the Sa¬
hara, and especially in the Soudan, are said to be
the purest representatives.
Ques. Are there any other black-skinned people
who are not classed as Negroes?
Ans. Yes, numerous tribes, as dark in color as
the blackest Africans, reside in India and the
islands of Melanesia, where they are believed to be
the descendants of the earliest human inhabitants.
H
LAMP OF WISDOM.
These, however, differ in other physical traits
from the African Negro, and for that reason they
are not called Negroes.
Ques. How about the inhabitants of the eastern
portion of Africa?
Ans. The eastern portion of Africa is peopled
by tribes usually very dark in color, but with fea¬
tures and hair of intermediate racial character,
and they are therefore not known as Negroes.
Ques. What is said of those who live in Central
Africa ?
Ans. In the center of the continent a number of
small-sized, dark-colored tribes are grouped to¬
gether and are called Negrillos, a Spanish word
meaning small Negroes.
Ques. What physical traits does the Negro pos¬
sess that designate him from other black races ?
Ans. He has a long and narrow skull, wool-i
ly hair, high cheek-bones, flat feet, projection of
the visage in advance of the forehead, the pro¬
longation of the upper and lower jaws, flatness of
the forehead and of the hinder part of the head;
short, broad, flat nose, and thick, projecting lips.
Ques. When the above characteristics do not
appear, is the race Negro?
Ans. When these characteristics are not all
present, the race is not always classed Negro,
though black and woolly-haired.
Ques. What portion of Africa are the Negroes
said to occupy?
Ans. They are said to occupy about one-half of
Africa, excluding the northern and southern ex¬
tremities, but including its most fertile portions.
Ques. How old is the history of the Negro race?
Ans. It is as ancient as that of the Egyptians,
and as worthy of perusal as that of any other na¬
tion on the globe.
NEGRO.
Ques. Has it ever been claimed that the Negro
is a descendant from Adam through Cain ?
Ans. Yes, and some have claimed that slavery
is a "mark of Cain."
Ques. Can that theory be true?
Ans. It can not, because the descendants of
Cain perished in the flood. (Gen. vii. 23.)
Ques. Has it not been claimed that the Negro
is a descendant of Ham through Canaan ?
Ans. It has, but this is not true, since the Negro
is not a descendant of Canaan, but of Cush, the
eldest son of Ham.
Ques. Is it not claimed by the best authority
that the Negro is an amalgamation of the sons of
Cush and Misraim1?
Ans. It is.
Ques. Do you believe God created one race
that was inferior to another?
Ans. I do not. Dr. Blyden says: "There is
no absolute or essential superiority on the one side,
nor absolute or essential inferiority on the other.
Races have inferior or superior conditions, but
God never made a superior or inferior race, and
there is nothing in the heavens above or in the
earth beneath that can substantiate any such doc¬
trine."
Ques. What has research into the early history
of mankind developed?
Ans. It seems to establish the fact that all na¬
tions had one common origin.
Ques. Then is there any difference in the blood
of the various races of men ?
Ans. An analysis of the blood of one of every
nation reveals the truth that not the slightest dif¬
ference can be detected.
Ques. What statement does this corroborate?
Ans. It corroborates the scriptural injunction
16
lamp of wisdom.
that says " God hath made of one blood all na¬
tions of men for to dwell on all the face of the
earth."
Ques. Why is one race greater than another ?
Ans. One race is greater than another only in
the development of the mind through the channel
of an education; superiority of condition only.
Ques. In addition to Africa, where are Negroes
found?
Ans. In Brazil, West Indies, Peru, Arabia,
Cape Verde Islands, and the United States. A
few are found in Europe, Austria, and Polynesia.
Ques. From whom are the Negroes in America
descended ?
Ans. The ancient Ethiopians. Their armies
invaded Egypt many centuries before the Christian
era. They assisted the Egyptians on their mon¬
uments as early as 1,600 years B.C.
SLAVERY.
Question. What is one of the most revolting of
every other kinds of human injustice ?
Answer. Slavery, and yet there is no fact so
wide-spread-in history.
Ques. What is the meaning of slavery?
Ans. "The right of property of one man in an¬
other man, in his family, in his posterity, and in
the products of his labor."
Ques. How old is the institution of slavery?
Ans. "History can not penetrate the depths of
antiquity sufficiently to ascertain the origin of hu¬
man slavery, for it is older than history itself,
older than civilization—a vice conceived in dark-
SLAVERY.
17
ness and cradled in adversity. It probably had its
origin at an eairly period of the world's history out
of the accident of capture in war."
Ques. What did the early savages do with their
captives ?
Ans. Instead of massacring, they found it more
profitable to keep them in servitude.
Ques. Did slavery exist in ancient Greece?
Ans. It did, and Aristotle defends its justice on
the ground of a diversity of race, dividing man¬
kind into the free and the slaves by nature.
Ques. How many times does the word " slave "
or " slaves " occur in the Bible?
Ans. T.he word "slave" or "slaves" occurs
only twice in the Bible: once in Jeremiah ii. 14;
the other time in Revelation xviii. 13. The words
"bondrpan," "servant," or their equivalents, are
of very frequent occurrence.
Ques. What is the first mention of slavery in
the Bible?
Ans. The first recorded instance of slavery was
during the famine in Egypt, when the Egyptians
came to Joseph, saying: " There is not aught left
in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our
lands. Buy us and our land for bread, and we
and our lands will become servants to Pharaoh."
Ques. About what time did the African slave
trade commence?
Ans. According to Bancroft, it commenced in
the year of our Lord 990, when Negroes from Cen¬
tral Africa were exchanged to Moorish merchants
for European luxuries.
Ques. Did Negroes ever enslave their own race ?
Ans. Like other savage races, Negroes enslaved
those captives in war whom they did not put to
death, and a considerable trade on slaves on the
coast of Guinea was carried on by the Arabs. .
2
18
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Ques. What did the importation of slaves to the
new world do?
Ans. It probably raised the price of slaves, and
caused the petty chiefs to make war on each other
for the purpose of acquiring captives and selling
them.
Ques. In what part of the New World were
slaves first introduced ?
Ans. The first African slaves were brought to
the New World in the year 1565* and they were
landed in Hayti, in San Domingo, by Sir John
Hawkins, an Englishman, and the first importation
numbered two hundred and fifty.
Ques. Why were slaves in demand on the is¬
land of Hayti?
Ans. The cruel Spaniards had exterminated the
inoffensive Indians found on the island, and it was
found necessary to have Negro slaves to cultivate
the plantations. " While Hayti w^.s the first spot
in America that received African slaves, she was
also the first to set the example of African lib¬
erty."
Ques. When were the first slaves landed in
what is now known as the United States ?
Ans. The first slaves were brought to Florida
at the founding of St. Augustine, in 1565.
Ques. To what country did Florida then be¬
long?
Ans. Spain.
Ques. According to the most authentic account,
when and where were the first slaves landed in
what is now known as the United States?
Ans. At Jamestown, Va., in 1619, when a
Dutch ship landed, and offered for sale twenty
Negroes. They were regarded as chattels until
an act was passed in 1705 declaring them to be
real estate,
SLAVERY.
J9
Ques. From 1680 to 1700 how many African
slaves did England export?
Ans. No less than three hundred thousand.
Ques. During the eighteenth century how many
Negroes did England import into Jamaica?
Ans. Between six and seven hundred thousand.
Ques. When did Spain engage in the traffic of
slavery ?
Ans. In 1444.
Ques. Under whose reign was slavery legalized
in England?
Ans. Queen Elizabeth's.
Ques. How long did it flourish?
Ans. This infamous trade flourished under the
sanction of law until 1807, when it was abolished
by act of Parliament.
Ques. What is said of slavery to-day?
Ans. It is now treated as piracy by almost every
'civilized nation^Jbut it exists almost everywhere in
Mohammedan and pagan countries.
Ques. Is the slave trade practised anywhere to-
day?
Ans. It is practised by lawless men on the slave
coast of Africa and the country behind it, to en¬
rich themselves at the expense of their fellow
countrymen.
Ques. What is the result of this practise?
Ans. It has contributed more than anything else
to retard-the progress of civilization in that part
of Africa.
Ques. According to the best estimate, about
how many Africans lost their lives for each one
sold into slavery in America?
Ans. It is estimated by competent authorities
that for every slave brought from Africa to Ameri¬
ca ten Africans were killed in their native country
during their capture. The same authorities assert
20
LAMP OF WISDOM.
that, of the number started from the " Dark Con¬
tinent" for the new world, one-fifth died during
the voyage and one-third before they became
hardened to slave labor.
Ques. When did the state of Virginia legally
recognize slavery?
Ans. On the 3d of October, 1670, "servants,
not Christians, imported by shipping, were de¬
clared slaves for lives."
Ques. When did Maryland legally recognize
slavery ?
Ans. "In 1663 the civil law rule was fully
adopted by a provision that 'Africans, or rather
slaves,' then in the province, or thereafter imported,
should serve through life, and their children also."
Ques. When do we first hear of slavery in Dela¬
ware?
Ans. Probably as early as 1636, but its first
legal recognition was in 1721.
Ques. When was the first law for slavery en¬
acted in South Carolina?
Ans. June 7, 1712, the first legislation in favor
of slavery was enacted. Slaves are said to have
been introduced as early as 1670.
Ques. When was slavery first heard of in Penn¬
sylvania?
Ans. In 1688.
Ques. When did the state pass a law forbidding
the sale of slaves out of the province without the
slave's consent?
Ans. In 1700. So late as 1795, however, the
state Supreme Court decided that slavery was not
inconsistent with the state'constitution.
Ques. When did the state of New Jersey recog¬
nize slavery by law?
Ans, In 1664.
SLAVERY.
21
Ques. When was slavery recognized in New
York?
Ans. As early as 1628, but there was no legal
recognition of slavery until 1665.
Ques. When was slavery introduced into Con¬
necticut ?
Ans. The exact time of the introduction is un¬
certain. In 1680 the Governor of the state in¬
formed the Board of Trade that, "as for blacks,
there come sometimes three or four in a year from
Barbadoes, and they are sold usually at the rate
of £22 apiece." In this state slavery was never
directly established by law.
Ques. At the establishment of the colony in
Georgia, was slavery recognized?
Ans. No. Slavery was prohibited at the es¬
tablishment of the colony in 1732, and was not
legally recognized until 1755.
Ques. What about slavery in Massachusetts?
Ans. We read of slaves in that state in 1633.
In 1637 they exchanged Indian servants for Ne¬
groes.
Ques. What kind of treatment did the slaves in
the Northern states receive ?
Ans. This depended entirely upon the disposi¬
tion of the master. Sometimes it was kind, and
quite as frequently it was cruel.
Ques. What is said of the children of these
early Negro slaves?
Ans. "Negro children," says Dr. Dunlap,
" were considered an encumbrance in the family,
and when weaned were given away like young
puppies."
Ques. When was slavery introduced into the
state of Rhode Island?
Ans. It is supposed slavery was introduced in
1647. The only legal recognition it ever had was
22
LAMP of wisdom:
in the, series of acts beginning January 4, i7°3> ^
control the wandering of Indian and African
slaves and servants, and another beginning in the
spring of 1708, in which the slave trade was recog¬
nized by its being taxed.
Ques. What is said of slavery in New Hamp¬
shire ?
Ans. It was recognized by law in I7I4» there
were but few slaves in the colony, however, and
slavery had but a nominal existence.
Ques. What about slavery in Vermont?
Ans. Vermont never legally recognized slavery.
Ques. Why did slavery seem to flourish more
in the Southern States than in the Northern?
Ans. Because the conditions were more favor¬
able. The climate was more genial, and the cul¬
tivation of cotton and tobacco were more profit¬
able.
Ques. What about slavery in Tennessee and
Kentucky?
Ans. They were never colonies or territories of
their own. They were parts of Virginia and
North Carolina. When they set up "house¬
keeping" for themselves they naturally entered the
Union as slave states.
Ques. How did Mississippi and Alabama be¬
come slaveholding states ?
Ans. In the same way in which Tennessee and
Kentucky did.
Ques. What of slavery in Louisiana and Flor¬
ida?
Ans. The custom of slavery was already in ex¬
istence in these territories at the time of their an¬
nexation, and hence they entered the Union as
slave states.
Ques. What about slavery in Missouri, Arkan¬
sas, and Texas?
SLAVERY.
23
Ans. As there was no abolition of the custom
of slavery in these states, they were all admitted
to the sisterhood as slaveholding states.
Ques. How long after the introduction of slaves
into the Virginia colony before the system of Ne¬
gro slavery became well established ?
Ans. It was nearly half a century before slavery
became well established in the English colonies.
Ques. When did England decide that slavery
was illegal ?
Ans. Lord Mansfield, in 1772, pronounced that
by the laws of England no man could be held in
slavery.
Ques. How many slaves are in the African ter¬
ritory controlled by England?
Ans. Fifteen millions.
Ques. How are they valued?
Ans. At $50 to $100 each.
Ques. What does Mr. Heli Chatelain, former
U. S. Commercial Agent at Loanda, West Africa,
say about the great continent of Africa?
Ans. "In a territory of 5,000 miles long by
4,800 miles wide," says he, "human slavery
reigns supreme."
Ques. How many Negro slaves does he say are
in Africa to-day?
Ans. Not less than Jifty millions.
Ques. How many does he say are required for
the annual consumption of the market?
Ans. At least two millions.
Ques. How many lives does he say are sacrified
annually?
Ans. Five hundred thousand.
Ques. What does he say of many parents?
Ans. They sell their own children.
Ques. What does he say of Negro women?
lamp of wisdom.
+Vi<=»v are the only beasts of
Ans. In the interior they ar
burden. M Chatelain say of Moroc-
Ques. What does ivur.
co? . Naked women are sold in
AnS* ^Ltabv dealers who have sought the
open market y tection."
America h|n was the siave trade declared ille-
gafby Austria?
* Ans. In 1782.
Ques. How many slaves has the Emperor of
China?
Ans. He is said to have 230,000.
Ques. What number of slaves did wealthy Ro¬
mans often own?
Ans. Wealthy Romans often owned as many as
10,000 slaves.
Ques. Was a debtor ever, sold as a slave?
Ans. According to the Hebrew law a debtor
might be sold as a slave.
Ques. How is a Persian's wealth judged?
Ans. In Persia a nobleman's wealth- is judged
from the number of his slaves.
Ques. Where did slavery exist before the Rev¬
olution ?
Ans. Up to the time of the American Revolu¬
tion slavery existed in every part of the United
States.
Ques. What is said of Egyptian peasants?
Ans. The Egyptian peasants have been slaves
for ages. They sold themselves to the king of
Egypt in the time of Joseph, and have never been
free si'nce.
slavery abolished.
25
SLAVERY ABOLISHED.
Question. What country first emancipated her
slaves ?
Answer. Sweden, in 1846.
Ques. What nation followed her example ?
Ans. On the 4th of March, 1848, France set
her African slaves free.
Ques. What was the result of this emancipa¬
tion?
Ans. The Danish colonies proclaimed the lib¬
eration of her slaves on the 3d of July of the same
year.
Ques. When did Holland free the slaves in her
American colonies?
Ans. August 8, 1862.
Ques. When were the slaves of the Dutch West
Indies liberated?
Ans. Forty-six thousand slaves were freed in
1863. The owners were compensated at the rate
of £32 for each slave.
Ques. What colony was the first to abolish sla¬
very ?
Ans. Rhode Island was the first to pass a posi¬
tive act against slavery. This was in 1652. The
law, however, was not recognized, and slavery
flourished for several years after the law was upon
the statute-books.
viyQues. What was the first state to abolish sla¬
very in the United States ?
Ans. Vermont adopted a plan for general eman¬
cipation in 1777, before she'had joined the Union,
and in 1800 slavery in that state had entirely
ceased.
Ques. When were the slaves of Pennsylvania
set free ?
Ans. In 1780 slavery was abolished in Pennsyl-
16
LAMP OF WISDOM4
vania by gradual emancipation. Massachusetts
followed the example of Pennsylvania in the same
year.
Ques. When did Connecticut abolish slavery?
Ans. In 1784, and New Hampshire followed her
good example the same year.
Ques. Emancipation came when in New York?
Ans. In 1799.
Ques. When in New Jersey?
Ans. In New Jersey the slaves were compelled
to wait until 1804.
Ques. When was slavery prohibited in the
United States?
Ans. In 1808, on the 1st day of January.
Ques. When did the United States partially
abolish slavery?
—♦-•Ans. On the 1st day of January, 1863, when
Abraham Lincoln struck the slave chains from over
three million slaves.
Ques. When was slavery totally abolished in
the United States ?
Ans. The total abolition of slavery in the United
States was officially announced December 18,
i865-
Ques. How long did slavery reign in the United
States?
Ans. Two hundred and forty-four years.
Ques. When did England abolish slavery?
Ans. The complete emancipation of slaves in
the English colonies took place in 1838.
Ques. When did Brazil liberate her slaves?
Ans. Slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1889,
when there were freed 800,000 males and 700,000
females, the owners being compensated at the rate
of £80 to £100 for each slave.
Ques. Slavery was abolished in Cuba in what
year?
SLAVERY ABOLISHED.
27
Ans. In 1880.
Ques. When was slavery in Denmark abol¬
ished?
Ans. In 1766.
Ques. When did slavery cease in Hayti?
Ans In 1791, its abolition having beeri one of
the results of the Negro insurrection of that year.
Ques. What was shown by the census of i860?
Ans. By the census of i860 it was shown that
slavery was entirely abolished north of Mason and
Dixon's line.
Ques. What did the thirteenth amendment to
the constitution of the United States do?
Ans. It made all the slaves free.
Ques. What did the fourteenth amendment do?
Ans. It made all the freedmen citizens of the
United States government.
Ques. What did the fifteenth amendment do?
Ans. It gave the ballot to the freedman and se¬
cured the right to use it.,
Ques. Who weret largely instrumental in the
abolition of slavery?
Ans. In the United States the Quakers from
the beginning condemned slavery. In 1776 they
required all their members holding slaves to eman¬
cipate them. Societies were formed to relieve the
slaves in the colonies and to discourage the slave
trade.
Ques. In what year was a society for the sup¬
pression of slavery formed in London?
Ans. In 1787.
Ques. Who were the leaders in this movement?
Ans. Dellwin, Clarkson, and Sharp.
Ques. Who introduced the first bill in Parlia¬
ment to put an end to the further importation of
slaves ?
Ans. In 1791 William Wilberforce introduced a
28
lamp of wisdom.
bill to put an end to the further importation of
slaves.
Ques. Who was the first President of an aboli¬
tion society in this country?
Ans. In 1775 Benjamin Franklin became the
President of the first abolition society.
Ques. Can you name other abolition leaders
who waged a determined and aggressive agitation
against the continuance of slavery ? m
Ans. William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phil¬
lips, Frederick Douglass, Arthur Tappin, Henry
Ward Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Horace
Greeley, John Brown, O. P. Lovejoy, Abraham
Lincoln, Frances Ellen W. Harper, Benjamin
Lundy, John Greenleaf Whittier, and a host of
others. Willliam Lloyd Garrison was chief of all
by reason of his great efforts.
A MARBLE SHAFT TO THE MEMORY OF
FAITHFUL SLAVES.
Question. What Southern white gentleman has
recently erected a monument to the memory of the
faithful slaves of the South ?
Answer. S. E. White, of Fort Hill, S. C., has
erected a handsome marble shaft to the memory of
faithful ex-slaves.
Ques. Where does it stand?
Ans. On the brow of the hill on the main street
of Fort Hill.
Ques. What inscriptions does it be^r?
Ans. " i86o.» Dedicated to the faithful slaves
who, loyal to sacred trusts, toiled for the support
®of the army with matchless devotion and sterling
fidelity, guarded our defenseless homes, women,
population.
29
and children, during the struggle for the princi¬
ples of the Confederate States of America. 1865.
" 1896. Erected by Samuel E. White in grate¬
ful memory of earlier days, with the approval of
the Jefferson Davis Memorial Association. Among
the many faithful, Nelson White, Sandy White,
Warren White, Silas White, Handy White, An¬
thony White, Jim White, Henry White, Nathan
Springs, Solomon Spratt."
Ques. Wfiat figures relieve the other two faces?
Ans. A Negro woman holding in her arms a
white child, and second, that of a Negro man
seated on a log in a wheat-field, with a scythe
resting on his knees.
POPULATION.
Question. What is the black population of the
world ?
Answer. It is two hundred and fifty millions, as
near as can be estimated.
Ques. What is the population of Africa?
Ans. 205,825,000.
Ques. What proportion of this population are
negroes ?
Ans. About one-half.
Ques. Can you give the colored population of
the United States of each census since 1800?
Ans. In 1800 it was 1,002,037; 1810, 1,377,808;
1820, 1,771,6561 1830, 2,328,642; 1840, 2,873,-
648; 1850,3,638,808; i860, 4,441,836; 1870,4,-
880,009; 1880,6,580,793; 1890,7,470,040.
Ques. How many Negroes in t^e United States,
according to the last census, were pure Africans?
* Ans. 6,337,980.
Ques. How many Mulatto (one-half Negro) ?
3°
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Ans. 956,989.
Ques. How many Quadroons (one-quarter Ne¬
gro)?
Ans. 105,135.
Ques. How many Octaroons (one-eighth Ne¬
gro)?'
Ans. 69,936.
Ques. How many states in the United States
have a majority of Negroes?
Ans. Three: Louisiana, Mississippi, and South
Carolina.
Ques. How many more Negroes than whites in
each of these states?
Ans. Louisiana has a majority of 798, Missis¬
sippi has a majority of 197,708, and South Caro¬
lina has a majority of 226,926.
Ques. What states have the greatest number of
Negroes?
Ans. Georgia stands first, with a population of
858,815; Mississippi comes next, with 742,559;
South Carolina, with 688,934, is closely followed
by Alabama, with 687,489; next comes Virginia
with 635,438, North Carolina with 561,018, Lou¬
isiana with 559,193, Texas with 488,171, and Ten¬
nessee with 430,678; Arkansas follows Tennessee
with 309,117; Kentucky has 268,071, Maryland
215,657, Florida 166,180, and Missouri 150,184.
Ques. What Northern states have the largest
colored population?
Ans. Pennsylvania is the only state north of
"Mason and Dixon" that has over one hundred
thousand Negroes; it has 107,596. Ohio, District
of Columbia, New York, Illinois, Kansas, New
Jersey, and Indiana follow in the order named.
Ques. What states contain the largest number
of pure Negroes, and what number do they con¬
tain?
POPULATION.
31
Ans. Mississippi has 657*393* Virginia comes
next, and has 621,781.
Ques. What state contains the largest number
of Mulattoes?
Ans. Virginia contains 122,441 Mulattoes,
Quadroons, and Octaroons; Louisiana has 90,953.
Ques. Can you name twenty-five cities in the
United States which have the largest colored popu¬
lation ?
Ans. Washington, D. C., 75,572; Baltimore,
Md., 67,104; New Orleans, La., 64,491; Phila¬
delphia, Pa., 39,371; Richmond, Va., 32,330;
Charleston, S. C., 30,970; Nashville, Tenn., 29,-
382; Memphis, Tenn., 28,706; Louisville, Ky.,
28,651; Atlanta, Ga., 28,093; St. Louis, Mo.,
26,865; New York, N. Y., 23,601; Savannah,
Ga., 22,963; Norfolk, Va., 16,244; Augusta, Ga.,
3:5,875; Chicago, 111., 14,271; Kansas City, Mo.,
13,700; Mobile, Ala., 13,630; Montgomery, Ala.,
12,987; Chattanooga, Tenn., 12,563 ; Petersburg,
Va., 12,221; Cincinnati, Ohio, 11,655; Birming¬
ham, Ala., 11,254; Macon, Ga., 11,203; Hous¬
ton, Tex., 10,370.
Ques. Have the above cities increased their col¬
ored' population very rapidly since the census of
1890?
Ans. Yes; some have almost doubled.
Ques. How many Negroes on the island of
Cuba?
Ans. There are about 480,000, which is about
one-third of the total population.
Ques. What is the population of Porto Rico?
Ans. 784,709.
Ques. How many of these are Negroes?
Ans. All except about 50,000, who are Span¬
iards, English, Germans, Dutchmen, Danes, Chi¬
nese, South Americans, and Canary Islanders,
32
lamp of wisdom.
Ques. How many of the Negro inhabitants of
Porto Rico are of unmixed blood?
Ans. 400,000; the rest are Mulattoes.
OUR RACE NAME.
Question. What does H. C. C. Atwood, of
Cambridge, Mass., say about the controversy
about our race name?
Answer. "The controversy going on regarding
the particular term by which to designate the race
is important and of general interest."
Ques. After reading all that has been written
upon this subject, what is his conclusion?
Ans. His conclusion is that "Colored Ameri¬
can" is the most logical race name.
Ques. What does R. C. O. Benjamin say on
this subject?
Ans. "A large majority of our people," says
he, "object to the term Negro, and prefer the
term "Colored," but I think it is no compliment
for us to be designated as 'Colored People.' "
Ques. What reason does he assign for this
opinion ?
Ans. He says, "The word 'colored' as applied
to us is meaningless. 'Colored' is a very gen¬
eral term; it applies to several different peoples
whose complexion is not fair; hence it can have
no special reference or strict application to the
black man."
Ques. What does he say of the Indian, Japa¬
nese, and Chinese races?
Ans. He says: "They are all colored, but they
are not Negroes; and if we should be designated as
colored, or colored people, it would not distinguish
us from the Indian, Chinese, or Japanese races."
OUR RACE NAME.
33
Ques. What does Prof. Benjamin say of the
word "Negro?"
Ans. He says: "I use the word'Negro' always,
because it means something. The term 'Negro'
includes the-whole race, wherever they may be
dwelling. The word is the name of a race of
men, just as the word Caucasian is the name of a
race of men. I know of no better term than 'Ne¬
gro' by which the race could be designated. There
is nothing dishonorable about it; and if there is, it
is for us to make it honorable. Races are what
they make themselves, and the terms by which
they are designated stand or fall on this theory."
Ques. Speaking of a name for the race, what
does the late Bishop J. C. Embry, of Philadelphia,
say ?
Ans. "We prefer the title Afro-American to all
others, for the reason that it is euphonious, beau¬
tiful, and true. It is a correct description of a class
of men to whom it should be applied. The title
' Negro' is too narrow and exclusive to compre¬
hend the race. It is certain that all Africans are
not Negroes, nor are all Negroes Africans. But
we are all Americans of African descent, and hence
we are Afro-Americans."
Ques. What is the opinion of Hon. T. McCants
Stewart, of New York, as regards a race name?
Ans. "It is difficult," says Mr. Stewart, "for
us to get a scientific name. We are a mixed-
blooded animal. We have no distinct race, no
race name."
Ques. What does he say about ethnologists?
Ans. He says: "They are the only people who
have any right to establish race names and define
them. They have the human race divided into
several different classes. If there is no house-
room in any class for the man of several different
3
34
lamp of wisdom.
bloods, then we must get a new name. I like
Afro-American, because it rids us of the word
'nigger.' I find it in a late standard dictionary,
and I notice our best American publications are
using it. I do not claim that the term 'Afro-Amer¬
ican ' can be defended upon scientific principles."
Ques. What does P. B. Thompkins, of New
York, say of the race name?
Ans. "We are not Negroes/' says he,' 'for many
of our forefathers who were brought from Africa
wefe not Negroes. We can not be what we are
not. We can all be Afro-Americans, because we
all were of Africa and now are of America.
While our forefathers were not all Negroes, they
were all Africans by birth, and became Americans
by adoption. Some of us are Negroes; but if we
wish to adopt a name for every member of the
race, it must be Afro-American. This addition,
Africans plus Americans, equals Afro-Americans.
The term Negro is honorable, but too narrow to
be adopted as a national appellation."
FINANCIAL GROWTH.
Question. According to the best estimate, what
are the Negroes of the United States worth to¬
day?
Answer. Including personal property and real
estate, they have amassed in one generation, in
round numbers, $650,000,000.
Ques. What is the general belief that the next
census will show?
Ans. That the Negro race have property valued
at one billion dollars.
Ques. How many Negro families own their own
homes free from all indebtedness?
FINANCIAL GROWTH.
35
Ans. 234,747.
Ques. How many homes owned by Negroes are
mortgaged for balance due on them ?
Ans. 30,247.
Ques. In what section of the country is the per¬
centage of home-owners greater?
Ans. In the South.
Ques. Which has the preference in value, coun¬
try or city property?
Ans. Statistics compiled by the United States
government show that more property is owned" by
Negroes in the country than in the city.
Ques. What is the value of Negro wealth by
states ?
Ans. See " Sparkling Gems," published by T.
T. Haley & Co.
Ques. Are there any Negroes in the United
States who are millionaires?
Ans. No. The only Negro who ever accumu¬
lated a million dollars was Tony Lafon, of Louisi¬
ana, who died about two years ago.
Ques. What is the estate of Harry Todd, of
Darien, Ga., worth?
Ans. $500,000.
Ques. Will you name other Negroes who have
accumulated fortunes ?
Ans. John McKee, Philadelphia, Pa., $300,-
000; Mrs. M. Carpenter, San Francisco, Cal.,
$300,000; R. R. Church, Memphis, Tenn.,
$250,000; William Still, Philadelphia, Pa., $200,-
000; Robt. Purvis, Washington, D. C., $150,000;
Ex-Governor P. S. B. Pinchback, Louisiana,
$150,000; John Thomas, Baltimore, Md., $150,-
000; J. W. Bowen, New York City, $150,000;
D. C. White, New York City, $130,000; W.
C. Coleman, North Carolina, $100,000; Avery
Smith, Florida, $80,000; John Sunday, Pensa-
36
lamp of wisdom.
cola, Fla., $80,000; A. M. Horton, Benjes, Tenn.,
$75,000; Bishop Bebee, North Carolina, $50,000;
William Johnson, Macon, Ga., $49,000; Benja¬
min Johnson, Memphis, Tenn., $30,000; John
Kane, Rome, Ga., $20,000. Hundreds of other
worthy Negroes, who count their wealth by tens
and hundreds of thousands, could be named.
Ques. Is the above not sufficient to encourage
every young Negro man and woman to still great¬
er efforts ?
Ans. It is. Many of those who have accumu¬
lated thousands started without a penny. The
man who is determined is the one who removes
all obstacles and marches on to sure success.
EDUCATIONAL.
The White South and Negro Education.
Question. What can you say of the white South
and Negro education?
Answer. The white people of the South have
never received full credit for their support of Negro
education. The violent outbursts of passion and
often lawlessness which have occurred in the
South since the war have never very materially
hindered the progress of Negro education. I can
not nofv call to mind a single plank in any party
platform which took firm stand in opposition to
Negro education. Now and then some minor
local opposition has found expression in the pub¬
lic prints, and these were often contorted and
magnified by people whose unfriendly feeling
toward the South had become chronic. That cer¬
tain localities in the South have defrauded Negro
EDUCATIONAL.
37
children of their legal share of school tax, I admit,
but I still insist that legislative, executive,, and ju¬
dicial powers of Southern governments have been
fair—yea, liberal—in affairs pertaining to Negro
education. Of course the white South has had
its peculiar views on social equality, which have
more or less entered into its legislation on educa¬
tion. But I think that where such views were
construed to be detrimental to Negro education
they were only meant more to emphasize the white
South's attitude on the social equality question
than to give expression to real opposition to Negro
education. The pulpit, the lecture rostrum, the
public prints of the white South have all along ad¬
vocated the wisdom of educating the Negro. In
speaking of Negro education in the South, the
liberality of our Northern friends alone is made
prominent. This is a great mistake. While the
Christian and generous North has given of its
abundance since the war $25,000,000 for Negro
education, it must be remembered that it has gone
largely through denominational channels—a kind
of pardonable religious selfishness. But what
shall I say of the South? Not a Negro church, or
schoolhouse, of the thousands which dot the
South like oases in a desert, has been reared with¬
out contributions from the white South. In hun¬
dreds of cases the lands have been donated by
white people. The army of Negro ministers, and
the thirty thousand Negro teachers in the South,
must attest the correctness of this statement. And
the South, out of its weakness and poverty, has
gone on giving, and continues to give, regardless
of denominational lines. I do not take into ac¬
count $100,000,000 contributed by the states from
taxation, as the Negro property, although small in
amount, forms a part of that fund. Negro indus-
33
LAMP OF WISDOM.
trial education especially commends itself to the
white South, and what the white South recom¬
mends for the Negro in this regard is earnestly
advocated for white boys and girls. I think that
I can safely say that every ex-Confederate general,
colonel, major, and captain is willing to stand up
and be counted for Negro education; and when
you shall have counted the ex-Confederate gener¬
als, colonels, majors, and captains, there will not
be left a sufficient number of the old battle-scarred
veterans to form a mutiny which could not be
squelched in one minute by the " Governors" and
"Judges." So, judging by the sentiment of the
white South, I must conclude that some sort of
Negro education is fairly safe. There are many
reasons, which I shall not attempt to give now,
that make the separate schools of the South with
Negro teachers the wisest and best arrangement.
I would look upon any considerable disturbance
'of- this arrangement with much fear and trem¬
bling. When we note the intellectual strength,
the vast amount of property, the prominent and
able men and women of our race in the South, all
since the war, we see plainly the helping hand of
the white South in it all. Its moral support in re¬
ligion, education, and business has been the lever
by which we have been raised. As babes in the
hands of giants, could we have done so splendidly
if the towering brain, moral force of the white
South had been arrayed against us? For one, I
think not. After all, the education most needed
in the South is that which will take us all far
away from prejudice and misrepresentation, will
make us drive away the ghosts of hate, and al¬
ways hold in conscious view angelic memories of
the good service which we have rendered each
other. Unless we can thus educate the heart, our
educational.
39
trained heads and hands will be but sharpened in¬
struments of hate. Therefore let us of the black
South be fair with our neighbors and friends of
the white South. We have too much in common
to agree about and live for, to spend one moment
in misrepresentation and abuse.
What Negro Education Has Done for the
South Since the War.
It has reduced Negro illiteracy forty per cent,
in thirty years.
Children in the common schools 1,500,000
Students in higher institutions 40,000
Teachers 'rrv 30,000
Students learning trades 20,000,.
Students pursuing, .classical course 1,200
Students pursuing scientific course 1,200
Students pursuing business course 1,000
Graduates 17,000
Volumes in libraries 250,000
Number of higher institutions 156
Value of libraries $ 500,000
Value of school property 15,000,000
Value of Church property 25,000,000
One hundred and thirty thousand farms... 450,000,000
One hundred and fifty thousand homes,
besides farms 125,000,000
Personal property .. 100,000,000
The Negro has raised in dollars through various
denominations, for his own education:
Congregational Church $1,264,700
Methodist Episcopal Church 500,000
Presbyterian Church 1,000,000
Colored M. E. Church in America 250,000
United Presbyterian Church 10,000
Cumberland Presbyterian Church 25,000
African M. E. Zion Church 1,000,000
Baptist Church 2,000,000
African Methodist Episcopal Church 3,000,000
Other denominations 500,000
40 lamp of wisdom.
What Benevolence Has Done for Negro
Education.
Amount Value of
Raised. School Property.
Methodist Episcopal Church.. .$ 4,265,000 $1,372,000
Presbyterian Church 2,000,000 500,000
United Presbyterian Church... 500,000 150,000
Congregational Church 12,000,000 5,000,000
Baptist Church 3,500,000 1,500,000
Hand Fund 1,000,000
Slater Fund 1,000,000
Other sources 1,500,000 250,000
Total $25,765,000 $8,772,000
SCHOOLS.
Question. What did President Garfield say
about education ?
Answer. "Next.in importance to freedom and
justice," said he, "is popular education, without
which neither justice nor freedom can be perma¬
nently maintained."
Ques. What did Bishop Atticus G. Haygood, of
Georgia, say in "Our Brother in Black," about
the intellectual progress of the Negro?
Ans. He said: "The most unique and altogeth¬
er wonderful chapter in the history of education
is that which tells the story of the Negroes of the
South since 1865."
Ques. What does the Atlanta Journal say in
regard to the intellectual strides that are being
made by the Negro?
Ans. It says: "The Negro schools are crowded,
and the absolute illiteracy that characterized the
Negro at the close of the war is giving away to a
broad education that is fitting the Negro of the
South to occupy any position in life. That the
SCHOOLS.
41
Negroes appreciate the opportunities offered them
is proven by the eagerness with which they take
up the work of securing an education, and their
cheerful acquiescence in the rules that keep the
races separate in the schoolroom."
Ques. What does Dr. Palmore, of St.' Louis,
Mo., say of the Negro?
Ans. In the Si. L.ouis Christian Advocate, one
of the best-edited papers in the Methodist Episco¬
pal Church, South, its editor, Dr. Palmore, speak¬
ing of the Negro, says: "Possibly no race that
God has created has made such rapid progress in
the same length of time from an intellectual or pe¬
cuniary standpoint as the Negro since his emanci¬
pation."
Ques. What does Dr. Ruffner, for many years
Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state
of Virginia, say to the credit of the Negro?
Ans. "He wants to do right, and is the most
amiable of races. The Negro craves an educa¬
tion. He makes fully as great sacrifices to send
his children to school as the laboring classes of
the whites. The civilization of the race is pro¬
gressing, and even faster than his thoughtful friends
anticipated."
Ques. What does Prof. W. H. Crogman, of
Atlanta, Ga., say of the help the race has re¬
ceived ?
Ans. "As a race," says he, "we have been
greatly helped in our struggles up toward a higher
and better life; helped from many and various di¬
rections; helped by the nation, by the State, and
by the Church; helped by individuals and by help¬
ful organizations; helped in money and helped in
prayers. In a word, the history of the nineteenth
century does not present a page more luminous, a
page more creditable to our civilization, than that
4*
LAMP OF WISDOM.
on which are recorded the benevolences of the
American people to their 'brother in black.' "
Ques. What is the object of an education?
Ans. Its chief object is to form good, strong
character, and to prepare one for usefulness in
life.
Ques. Then should not every opportunity be
improved ?
Ans. It should. No boy or girl, white or black,
at the close of the nineteenth century can offer a
plausible excuse for not having a fair education,
when so many opportunities are offered.
Ques. What grand movement in the interest of
education is being agitated by the Negro ?
Ans. The founding of the American Negro
Academy. The Academy is an organization of
authors and scholars, men of African descent, for
the promotion of letters,art,literature,and science;
for the creation of a form of literary taste; to en¬
courage and assist scholarship; to stimulate inven¬
tion and artistic power; and to ai<J in the publica¬
tion of works of merit and genius.
Ques. What great race leaders are interested in
this movement?
Ans. Dr. F. J. Grimke, a graduate of Prince¬
ton ; Dr. Alexander Crummell, a graduate of Ox¬
ford, England; Prof. Kelly Miller, of Howard
University; Prof. Du Bois, a graduate of Howard
University; Paul Lawrence Dunbar, the poet;
Prof. Scarborough, of Wilberforce University;
Prof. Hoffman, of Orangeburg, S. C.; Dr. J.
W. E. Bowen and Prof. W. H. Crogman, of At¬
lanta University; Bishop B. T. Tanner, of Phila¬
delphia; Prof. J. W. Cromwell, of Washington,
D. C. These gentlemen are all noted for their
scholarship, and all measure up to the highest
standard.
SCHOOLS.
43
Ques. Name some of the leading schools of the
race in Alabama, and give number of students of
each.
Ans. Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute,
Tuskegee, 1,000 students; Mechanical and Agri¬
cultural College, Normal, 500 students; State
Normal, Montgomery, 859 students; Calhoun
Colored School, Calhoun, 271 students; Tallade¬
ga College, Talladega, 581 students; Lincoln Nor¬
mal, Marion, 140 students; Trinity Normal, Ath¬
ens, 275 students; Burrell College, Selma, 276
students; Selnja University, Selma, 225 students;
Central Alabama Academy, Huntsville, 130 stu¬
dents.
Ques. Name some of the leading schools in
Arkansas, giving number of students.
Ans. Arkansas Normal College, Pine Bluff,
192; Philander Smith College, Little Rock, 312.
Ques. Name three schools in the District of
Columbia.
Ans. Wayland Seminary, 161; Howard Univer¬
sity, 587; High School, 518.
Ques. Name some of the schools in Florida.
Ans. Florida Institute, Live Oak, 136; Cook-
man Institute, Jacksonville, 247; Edward Waters
College, Jacksonville, 271.
Ques. Name some of the schools in Georgia.
Ans. Spellman Seminary, Atlanta, 495; Clarke
University, Atlanta, 341; Atlanta Baptist Semi¬
nary,. Atlanta, 217; Gammon School of Theology,
Atlanta, 100; Walker Baptist Institute, Augusta,
100; Jerual Academy, Athens, 124; Lagrange
Academy, Lagrange, 425; Paine Institute, Au¬
gusta, 135; Morris Brown College, Atlanta, 485;
Haynes Normal and Industrial School, Augusta,
395; Knox Institute, Athens, 244; Storr's Col¬
lege, Atlanta, 222; Ballard Normal, Macon, 400;
44
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Allen Normal and Industrial, Thomasville, 175 5
Georgia State Industrial, Savannah, 201; Beach
Institute, Savannah, 150; Atlanta University, At¬
lanta, 217.
Ques. Name some of the leading schools of
Kentucky.
Ans. Chandler Ladies' Normal, Lexington,
238; State Normal, Frankfort, 310; Berea College,
Berea, 460; Central High School, Louisville, 806.
Ques. Name some of the leading schools in
Louisiana.
Ans. Southern University, New Orleans, 310;
New Orleans University, New Orleans, 603; Le-
land University, New Orleans, 439; Straight Uni¬
versity, New Orleans, 339.
Ques. Name some of the leading schools in
Mississippi.
Ans. Jackson College, Jackson, 167; Rusk
University, Holly Springs, 230; Meridian Acade¬
my, Meridian, 175; Tougaloo University, Touga-
loo, 375; Mount Herman Female Seminary, Clin¬
ton, 192; Alcorn Agricultural School and Medical
College, West Side, 305.
Ques. Name some of the leading schools in
North Carolina.
Ans. Shaw University, Raleigh, 362; Bennett
College, Greensboro, 205; Waters Normal In¬
stitute, Winstead, 211; Livingston College, Salis¬
bury, 450; Biddle University, Charlotte, 260;
Scolia Seminary, Concord, 283; Alvion Acade¬
my, Franklinton, 235; Lincoln Academy, King's
Mountain, 200; Gregory Normal Institute, Wil¬
mington, 360; State Colored Normal, Elizabeth
City, 165; Barrett Collegiate and Industrial In¬
stitute, Pee Dee, 135; State Colored Normal, Ply¬
mouth, 180; City High School, Reidsville, 811.
SCHOOLS.
45
Ques. Name some leading schools of South
Carolina.
Ans. Benedict College, Columbia, 135; Allen
University, Columbia, 253; Harbison Institute,
Beaufort, 105; Avery Normal Institute, Charles¬
ton, 410; Brewer Normal School, Greenwood,
231^ Scofield Normal and Industrial, Aiken, 223;
Walingford Academy, Charleston, 221; Claffin
University, Orangeburg, 570; Beaufort Academy,
Beaufort, 385.
Ques. Name some of the principal schools of
Tennessee.
Ans. Fisk University, Nashville, 539; Roger
Williams University, Nashville, 227; Central Ten¬
nessee College, Nashville, 564; Morristown Nor¬
mal Academy, Morristown, 290; Knoxville Col¬
lege, Knoxville, 317; Freedmen's Normal Insti¬
tute, Maryville, 253; Austin High School, Knox¬
ville, 620; Le Moyne Institute, Memphis, 670;
Meig's High School, Nashville, 584; Bradley
Academy, Murfreesboro, 342; Lane Institute,
Jackson, 300.
Ques. Name some of the leading schools in
Texas.
Ans. Bishop College, Marshall, 368; Wiley
University, Marshall, 285; Paul Quinn College,
Waco, 125; Tillotson College, Austin, 193; Cen¬
tral High School, Galveston, 212.
Ques. Name some leading schools in Virginia.
Ans. Richmond Theological Seminary, Rich¬
mond, 50; Hartshorn Memorial College, Rich¬
mond, 100; Norfolk Mission College, Norfolk,
686; Hampton Normal Institute, Hampton, 815;
Peabody School, Petersburg, 747; Virginia Nor¬
mal and Collegiate Institute, Petersburg, 329.
Ques. Are there not many other fine schools
not mentioned in the above list?
46
lamp of wisdom.
Ans. Hundreds of them. We have named only
a few of the leading schools in the Southern states.
One of the best schools owned by the colored peo¬
ple is Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, O.
Ques. Can you mention some Negroes of known
profound scholarship?
Ans. Yes. Among Negro men of learning are
Dr. Alexander Crummell, Bishop H. M. Turner,
Dr. John G. Mitchell, Dr. E. W. Blyden, and
others.
Ques. Can you mention some Negro women of
profound learning?
Ans. Yes. Frances E. W. Harper, of Phila¬
delphia; Fannie Jackson Coppin, of Philadelphia;
Elizabeth L. Jackson, of Wilberforce, O.; Ida
Alexander Gibbs, of Washington, D. C.; and
many more.
DECEASED RACE LEADERS.
Question. Name three of the world's greatest
warriors who were Negroes.
Answer. Gen. Hannibal, Gen. Toussaint
L'Ouverture, and Gen. Antonio Maceo.
Ques. Name three great statesmen.
Ans. Frederick Douglass, John M. Langston,
and B. K. Bruce.
Ques. Name three intellectual giants of the pul¬
pit.
Ans. Bishop D. A. Payne, Bishop J. C. Embry,
and Dr. J. C. Price.
Ques. What great race politicians have recently
passed away?
Ans. Hon. N. W. Cuney, of Galveston, Tex.,
and B. K. Bruce, of Washington, D. C.
Ques. For what was the late W. W. Browne,
of Richmond, Va., noted?
the negro as a soldier.
47
Ans. He was famous for being one of the great¬
est, if not the greatest, organizers of the race. It
was through his organization that the "True Re¬
formers " have become so widely known.
Ques. What prominent Negro priest recently
died?
Ans. Rector James E. Thompson, of Chicago,
111.
Ques. What great tragedian now sleeps with
his ancestors?
Ans. Ira Aldrich. He enjoyed the honor and
distinction of being the best in his day.
Ques. What great variety actor and song-writer
recently died?
Ans. John W. Kelly, of New York.
THE NEGRO AS A SOLDIER.
Question. What is said of the Negro as a sol¬
dier?
Answer. It has been said: "From the days of
Washington to the days of Grant there was
scarcely a decisive battle fought on American soil
in which, the Negro did not participate in defense
of the stars and stripes."
Ques. Why has much of his heroism been for¬
gotten ?
Ans. Because it has not been published and
commented upon in American history; yet a few
great men, such as Gens. Jackson, Lee, Grant,
and Sherman, have been generous enough to hand
down to us in their private diaries the valuable
services rendered the government by these black
soldiers on the bloody field of battle.
Ques. What three generals are said to be the
48
LAMP OF WISDOM.
greatest warriors the Negro race has ever pro¬
duced?
Ans. Gens. Hannibal, Toussaint L'Ouverture,
and Antonio Maceo.
. Ques. By whom was the first blood in the Rev¬
olution shed?
Ans. On March 5, 1780, at Boston, Mass.,
Crispus Attucks, a Negro slave, received his death-
wound.
Ques. Who is credited with being the black
hero of Bunker Hill?
Ans. Peter Salem.
Ques. Who was Maj. Jeffrey?
Ans. He was a brave Tennessee Negro who
fought under Gen. Jackson, and for his heroic
deed received the title of " Major " by Gen. Jack¬
son.
Ques. How many Negroes are said to have
fought to gain American independence?
Ans. At least 50,000.
Ques. Who made the first enlistment of colored
troops during the great rebellion ?
Ans. Gen. David Hunter, in 1862, but this was
without government authority.
Ques. Who was the first man to enlist Negro
troops officially?
Ans. Gen. Rufus Saxon.
Ques. What number were first enlisted?
Ans. 5,000.
Ques. Who was the first Negro chaplain in the
army?
Ans. Rev. H. M. Turner, now Bishop H. M.
Turner, who was appointed by President Lincoln.
Ques. Did these former slave troops receive the
same pay as the white troops?
Ans. No. The white soldier received $13 per
THE NEGRO AS A SOLDIER.
49
month, while the Negro soldier was allowed but
$10.
Ques. What did the Fifth Regiment of Negro
troops refuse to do?
Ans. They refused to accept pay until they were
equally paid with white soldiers. *
Ques. How many Negro troops were enlisted
on the Federal side during the rebellion?
Ans. The records of the war department show
that there were 178,595 Negro men enlisted'as sol¬
diers.
Ques. How many battles did Negro soldiers en¬
gage in during the rebellion ?
Ans. More than four hundred.
Ques. How many Negro soldiers were engaged
in the battle of New Orleans?
Ans. Between four and five hundred.
Ques. How many Negroes were connected in
different ways with the Confederate army?
Ans. More than 5,000.
Ques. How many Negro cadets have been ad¬
mitted to the United States military school at West
Point?
Ans. Ten, of whom three have graduated.
Ques. Name these graduates.
Ans. Lieuts, Flipper, Alexander, and Young.
Alexander died about two years ago, and Flipper is
now in the service. Charles Young graduated in
1894, and until recently was First Lieutenant of
the Ninth U. S. Cavalry. He is a Kentuckian
and a very large man.
Ques. What position does he hold in our war
with Spain?
Ans. He is Major of the Ninth Battalion of the
Colored Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Lieut. Young
is the only colored officer in the line of the army.
This is said to be the first instance in which a col-
*4
5°
LAMP OF WISDOM.
ored officer has been given the command of a bat¬
talion of troops in the army.
Ques. Of the two hundred and sixty-six men
who lost their lives on the unfortunate "Maine,"
how many were Negroes?
Ans. Thirty.
Ques. What state claims the honor of sending
the first Negro volunteers to the front in our war
with Spain?
Ans. Company L, of Boston, Mass., were the
first colored troops to be given marching orders.
Ques. How many companies of Negro troops
from Alabama have volupteered their services to
fight for Cuba'sfreedom?
Ans. Four—one each from Birmingham, Mont¬
gomery, Huntsville, and Mobile. Their services
have been accepted by the Governor.
Ques. Who will be in command of the battal¬
ion?
Ans. It is said T. A. Thurston will be pro¬
moted to this position. He is a graduate of
West Point and a lieutenant.in the regular army.
He is a Huntsville man.
Ques. How many regiments of Negro troops in
the United States Army?
Ans. Four. Ninth and Tenth are cavalry,
Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth are infantry.
Each regiment has its own Negro chaplain.
Ques. What is said of the Capital City Guards,
of Montgomery, Ala.?
Ans. It is one of the best-drilled companies in
the South.
Ques. How many Negro troops in the U. S.
standing army?
Ans. 2,068.
Ques. What salary do they receive?
Ans. Thirteen dollars per month for the first
THE NEGRO AS A SOLDIER. 51
two years, and fourteen dollars per month for the
third year. If they reenlist after the third year,
their pay is increased two dollars per month.
Ques. In a paper presented to President McKin-
ley on May i, 1898, by leading representative
men of the race, what fact was noted?
Ans. "In every important martial conflict in
which our country has been engaged, beginning
with the struggle for the independence of the
American colonies, colored men have taken their
places as soldiers in the ranks with white men,
and have fought with a gallantry that will ever be
regarded as a climax of courage and daring."
Ques. After reviewing the part taken by-the-
Negro in the Revolution, in the war of 1812, and
in the great civil war, what support did they pledge
President McKinley?
Ans. They pledged the moral support of our
race, they pledged the support of a million able-
bodied soldiers, if needed.
Ques. Name the party of representative men
who presented this paper to the President.
Ans. The party consisted of the following: P.
S. B. Pinchback, Louisiana; John R. Lynch,
Mississippi; Judson W. Lyons, Georgia; Robert
E. Terrell, Massachusetts; George H. White,
North Carolina; H. P. Cheatham, North Caro¬
lina; Robert Smalls, South Carolina; George W.
Murray, South Carolina; Whitfield McKinlay,
South Carolina; Cornelius J. Jones, Mississippi;
Louis H. Douglass, New York; Henry O. Flip¬
per, Arizona; P. H. Murray, Missouri; James
Lewis, Louisiana; J. L. Jones, Louisiana; H. M.
Blunt, Louisiana; C. M. Ferguson, Texas; G.
B. Jackson, Texas; Bishop W. J. Gaines, Geor¬
gia; Bishop B. W. Arnett, Ohio; Bishop M. B.
Salter, South Carolina; Rev. H. J. Kershaw, Rev,
52
lamp of wisdom.
P. A. Hupbard, Colorado; Rev. C. L. Bradwell,
Georgia; Rev. N. J. McCracken, Illinois; Rev.
Bedford Green, Tennessee; Rev. W. A. J. Phil¬
lips, Arkansas; Rev. J. M. Henderson, New
York; Rev. John Webb, Louisiana; Rev. J. W.
Beckett, Maryland; Rev. B. A. J. Nixon, Ten¬
nessee; Rev. J. P. Shorter, Ohio; E. E. Cooper,
Indiana; Rev. John R. Hawkins, North Carolina.
NEGRO EDUCATION DURING THE RE¬
BELLION.
Question. When and where was the first Ne¬
gro school opened ?
Answer. The first Negro school was opened at
Fortress Monroe, Va., in 1861.
Ques. Name the dates and places of the estab¬
lishment of other Negro schools.
Ans. In 1862 schools for Negroes were estab¬
lished in Washington City, Portsmouth, Norfolk,
Newport News, and at points along the coast of
South and North Carolina. In 1863 Gen. Banks
established schools in Louisiana, where, in 1865,
we find 95 schools, 162 teachers, and about 10,000
pupils. Negroes in the rags of war, with their
nappy heads in bandannas, begged that the bur¬
dens of taxation be laid upon their crops in order
to give their children the benefits of education,
and the opportunity to become enlightened Amer¬
ican citizens. In parts of Tennessee and Missis¬
sippi, as early as 1864, Negroes paid 25 cents and
$1.25 per month for each pupil. Government aid
through the Freedmen's Bureau was brought to an
end in 1870. While the reports are conflicting,
negroes in federal offices. 53
still we are safe in stating that, up to the close of
the work of the bureau, there had been in opera¬
tion 2,677 schools, 3,5°° teachers, and 150,000
pupils. The bureau had expended $5,880,026,
which had been raised from the following sources:
The bureau itself 1 $3,521,938 99
Benevolent associations 1,572,287 01
From the Negroes 785,700 00
NEGROES IN FEDERAL OFFICES.
Question. Who was the first President of the
United States to appoint a Negro to an office?
Answer. Abraham Lincoln.
Ques. During the days of reconstruction, what
did President Grant do for the Negroes?
Ans. Many important places in the Southern
states were assigned to them.
Ques. Were any government positions given to
Negroes under the Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur
administrations ?
Ans. Quite a good many received appointments,
some few in the diplomatic service.
Ques. Did Mr. Cleveland appoint any of the
race leaders to office ?
Ans. He made several appointments, among
whom were C. H. J. Taylor and James Matthews.
Ques. What did President Harrison do for the
Negro?
Ans. He appointed colored men to a number of
good posts, some of which had never previously
been given to Negroes.
Ques. What about the McKinley administra¬
tion ?
Ans. He has bestowed a larger number of im-
54
LAMP OF WISDOM.
portant positions upon Negroes than any other
President.
Ques. What is the highest diplomatic place giv¬
en to a colored man under this administration ?
Ans. Hon. William P. Powell, of New Jersey,
has received the commission of minister resident
and consul-general to the republic of Hayti.
Ques. What salary does this position pay?
Ans. Five thousand dollars a year.
Ques. What other colored men have held this
office?
Ans. Frederick Douglass, L. D. Bassett, John
M. Langston, John E. W. Thompson, and John
S. Durham.
Ques. Whom did McKinley appoint as minister
to the republic of Liberia?
Ans. Owen L. W. Smith, of North Carolina.
This appointment receives an annual salary of
$4,000.
Ques. What other colored men have held this
office?
Ans. John Milton Turner, Hemy H. Garnett,
J. H. Smythe, C. H. J. Taylor, E. E. Smith, and
William H. Heard.
Ques. Can you name other appointments made
by President McKinley to prominent and worthy
colored men?
Ans. George H. Jackson, of Connecticut, is to
represent America's commercial interests in Cog¬
nac, France, at a salary of $1,500 per annum;
M. V. Horn will represent the United States at St.
Thomas, at an annual salary of $2,800; Judge M.
V. Gibbs, of Little Rock, Ark., has been sent as a
consul to Madagascar, at $2,000 a year. This place
was once held by Hon. John L. Waller, of Kan¬
sas. Prof. R. T. Greener, of New York, will be
stationed at Bombay, and will receive a salary of
NEGROES IN FEDERAL, OFFICES.
55
$2,000 a year and commissions amounting to at
least one-fourth this amount. Dr. H. W. Furniss,
of Indiana, is a consul to Bahia, Brazil, salary
$2,000, and commissions about $1,000 more;
John E. Williams, of North Carolina, goes to Si¬
erra Leone, at a salary of $1,000 a year.
Ques. This is quite a good list for President
McKinley, but are there not other appointments
he has made that you can mention?
Ans. J. N. Ruffian, of Memphis, Tenn., will
receive $1,500 per year as consul to Asuncion,
Paraguay; W. L. Livingston, of Florida, will get
$1,500 at Cape Haytien; James A. Spurgeon, of
Kentucky, the first colored citizen of that state
to receive a Presidential appointment, goes to
Monrovia, Liberia, for which he receives an an¬
nual compensation of $1,500; Henry A. Rucker,
of Georgia, collects the internal revenue in that
state, for which he receives $3,375 annually.
Ques„. How many men does Mr. Rucker em¬
ploy?
Ans. About ninety, whose salaries aggregate
$70,000 a year.
' Ques. Who is the collector of customs at Sa¬
vannah, Ga?
Ans. John H. Devaux, editor of the Tribune.
He has a force of thirteen men, and receives an
annual compensation 'of $4,100. About seventy
vessels enter his port yearly, and the receipts
amount to $45,000 annually. He is the first man
of the race to hold this position. His bond is
fixed at $30,000.
Ques. What other port officers can you men¬
tion?
Ans. Joseph E. Lee is the collector of the
port at Jacksonville, Fla., receiving about $2,-
000, and has a force of five employees; Domin-
LAMP OF WISDOM.
go N. Pappy is the collector at St. Augustine,
Fla., and receives $1,300 per annum; Hon. John
C. Dancey is collector of the port at Wilmington,
N. C., and enjoys an annual compensation of
$2,400. He has nine employees. C. C. Wim-
bish, as surveyor of the port at Atlanta, Ga., re¬
ceives $1,100 annually. As collector of customs
at New Orleans, La., Henry Demas receives the
snug sum of $5,000 a year.
Ques. Whom did President McKinley appoint
as Register of the Treasury?
Ans. His first appointment was Hon. B. K.
Bruce, who had previously held the same position.
After his death Hon. Judson F. Lyons, of Augus¬
ta, Ga., was appointed as his successor.
Ques. Under the Department of the Interior,
how many appointments have been made by Mc¬
Kinley ?
Ans. Five: Henry P. Cheatham, of North Caro¬
lina, who has twice represented his people in Con¬
gress, is Recorder of Deeds. The salary is $4,-*
000 a year. John C. Bush is the Receiver of
Public Moneys at Little Rock, Ark., for which he
receives $2,500 annually. Hon. James Hill, a
member of the national committee for the state
of Mississippi, is Register of the Land Office at
Jackson, at a salary of $3,000 a year. H. V.
Cashin is Receiver of Public Moneys at Hunts-
ville, Ala., for which he receives annually $2,300.
John C. Leftwich is Receiver at Montgomery,
Ala., at $3,000 per annum.
Ques. How many postmasters are holding com¬
missions under the present administration?
Ans. Four.
Ques. Name them, giving salary of each.
Ans. M. B. Morton is postmaster at Athens,
Ga., at a salary of $2,400 a year; C. S. Jackson
■negro members of congress.
57
is postmaster at Darien, Ga., and receives $1,000
a year for his services; Israel Hargett, at Rocky
Mount, N. C., receives $1,100 a year for his serv¬
ices as postmaster; and S. J. Banfield, of Beau¬
fort, S. C., a son-in-law of Hon. Robert Small, of
rebellion fame, is postmaster at that place at $i,-
600 a year salary.
Ques. What is the total number of colored men
who have received appointments of consequence
under President McKinley?
Ans. Thirty appointments have been made to
colored men, including various executive depart¬
ments, as well as several branches of the civil serv¬
ice. This gives the race a fair share of repre¬
sentatives in the Federal service. It should be
remembered, too, that Mr. McKinley has made all
these appointments during the first year of his ad¬
ministration, and that more will follow.
NEGRO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
Question. How many United States Senators
have we had ?
Answer. Two.
Ques. Who were they?
Ans. B. K. Bruce and Hiram Revells, both of
Mississippi.
Ques. When were they elected?
Ans. Hiram Revells was elected February 23,
1870, and served to March 3, 1871- B. K. Bruce
was elected in 1875, and served until 1881.
Ques. How many colored Representatives have
we had in Congress?
Ans. Twenty, including our present member.
58
lamp of wisdom.
Ques. Name them.
AllS. Name. Congress. Term. State.
Cain, Richard H.. .43d and 45th 4 years S. C.
Cheatham, H. P.. -52d and 53d 4 years N. C.
De Large, Robt. C.42d 2 years S. C.
Elliott, Robert B.. .42d 2 years S. C.
Haralsson, Jerry . .44th 2 years Ala.
Hyman, John 44^h 2 years N. C.
Langston, John M.51st 2 years Ya.
Long, Jeff 41st 2 years Ga.
Lynch, John R 43d, 44th, and 47th 6 years Miss.
Miller, Thomas H.5ist 2 years S. C.
Murray, Geo. W . .53d and 54th 4 years S. C.
Nash, Charles E.. .44th 2 years La.
O'Hara, James E. .48th and 49th 4 years N. C.
Rainey, Joseph H.44th et seq. 10 years S. C.
Ransier, A. J 43d 2 years S. C.
Rapier, James T.. .43d 2 years Ala.
Smalls, Robert... .44th, 45th, and 47th 6 years S. C.
Turner, Benj. S .. >42d 2 years Ala.
Wall, Josiah T... ,42d, 43d, and 44th 6 years Fla.
White, George H..55th serving N.'C.
NEGRO LAWYERS.
Question. What is the meaning of the word
" lawyer? "
Answer. According to Webster, it is "one
whose profession is to institute suits in courts of
law, and to prosecute or defend the cause of
clients."
Ques. Is the profession a lucrative one?
Ans. There is no profession more profitable to
a man of ability, after he has established a reputa¬
tion, than the practise of law.
Ques. What about the fees they receive?
Ans. In numerous instances, when large
amounts were involved, attorneys have received
$100,000 for gaining a single suit, and to receive
$10,000 for such service, is a common occurrence.
Ques. Are there in the practise of this profes-
NEGRO LAWYERS.
59
sion any Negro lawyers who receive these fancy
salaries ?
Ans. Yes, there are Negro lawyers who have
national reputations and whose practise is almost
wholly among white people, colored people as a
rule not being able to pay the fees their ability
commands.
Ques. Will you name a few of the leading law¬
yers of the race ?
Ans. D. Augustus Straker, Detroit, Mich.; T.
McCants Stewart, New York City; F. C. Crock¬
et, Alabama; John L. Waller, Kansas City, Mo.;
J. Madison Vance, New Orleans, La.; Albert S.
White, Louisville, Ky.; Robert Pelham, Jr., De¬
troit, Mich.; George H. White, Tarboro, N. C.;
Waller S. Baker, Waco, Tex.; James C. Napier,
Nashville, Tenn.; Josiah T. Settle, Memphis,
Tenn.; Ferdinand L. I3arnett, Chicago, 111.;
George L. Jones, Indianapolis, Ind.; George W.
Murray, South Carolina; Alfred-C. Cowan, New
York City; John P. Green, Cleveland, Ohio; C.
H. J. Taylor, Atlanta, Ga.; Robert H. Terrell,
Washington, D. C.; Mifflin W. Gibbs, Little
Rock, Ark.; Henry A. Rucker, Atlanta, Ga.; J.
E. Hawkins, Seattle, Wash.; J. Milton Turner,
St. Louis, Mo.; Judge E. M. Hewlett, Washing-
ington, D. C.; Isaac B. Allen, Boston, Mass.;
I. L. Purcell, Palatka, Fla.; John R. Lynch,
Washington, D. C.; Samuel P. Hurst, Clarks-
dale, Miss.; P. B. S. Pinchback, New Orleans,
La.; Richard T. Greener, New York City;
Judge Raymond, Philadelphia, Pa.; Lloyd G.
Wheeler, Chicago, 111.; and last, but not least,
Miss Ida Piatt, of Chicago, 111., and Miss Lytle,
of Kansas.
Ques. Have you named in the above list all the
leading lawyers of the race ?
6o
lamp of wisdom.
Ans. We have hardly made a beginning. Hun¬
dreds whose names are not mentioned in this list
are far superior in ability to many who have been
named ?
Ques. Is there still room for others in this pro¬
fession ?
Ans. "Plenty of room at the top," was the re¬
ply of Benjamin Franklin to a young man who
desired to read law, but thought the profession
was full.
Ques. Are not the services of others needed?
Ans. Yes. The sooner the profession is en¬
larged by competent men of the race, men who
can command the patronage of wealthy men of
both races, the sooner will our race receive justice
before the bar. The field is open to all, and the
success of the disciple of Blackstone will depend
entirely upon his own effort.
NEGRO PHYSICIANS.
Question. With what success has the Negro
been meeting in this avocation?
Answer. Where the Negro's service seems to
have been most needed is just where he seems to
have made the greatest success. For the past
few years the colored physicians of ability have
made wonderful progress.
Ques. How many successful practitioners have
we to-day?
Ans. It is difficult to give the exact number of
colored physicians. According to the best esti¬
mate that has been furnished, there are over one
thousand.
Ques.. Does this number include the " voodoo"
who styles himself a "doctor?"
NEGRO PHYSICIANS.
6l
Ans. Only those are included who have re¬
ceived diplomas from reputable medical schools.
Graduates in medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy
are included.
Ques. Can you name the number of colored
medical colleges?
Ans. The following are the leading institutions
that have been established for the education of col¬
ored physicians: Howard University, Washing¬
ton, D. C., established in 1868; Meharry Medical
College, Nashville, Tenn., established in 1876;
Leonard Medical School, Raleigh, N. C.; New
Orleans University, New Orleans, La., organized
in 1889; Louisville National Medical College,
Louisville, Ky., organized in 1888; Knoxville
Medical College, Knoxville, Tenn., organized in
i895-
Ques. Have the above-reamed colleges turned
out all the graduates of the*profession?
Ans. A few other schools have occasionally
graduated a colored man.
Ques. What about colored women as physi¬
cians ?
Ans. They have gone into the profession very
rapidly. They are scattered throughout the South,
and are doing a good practise.
Ques. From what schools do they graduate?
Ans. Many of them graduate from the Woman's
Medical College of Philadelphia. Most of the
medical schools are open to them, but they come
principally from Ann Arbor, Mich.; Howard, at
Washington, D. C.; or Meharry, at Nashville,
Tenn.
Ques. Is the profession crowded?
Ans. It is not. Thousands of others are need¬
ed, both male and female. Colored physicians
come from good schools, and are well qualified
62
lamp of wisdom.
for their work. They receive encouragement and
■patronage from both races.
Ques. How many of the Southern states have
organized medical associations?
Ans. At the present time we can name six:
Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina,
South Carolina, and Texas. We understand that
others will soon be organized.
Ques. Name some of the leading physicians
among the colored race.
Ans. Daniel H. Williams, Chicago, 111.; A. M.
Curtis, Washington, D. C.; D. H. C. Scott,
Montgomery, Ala.; S. A. Albert, Indianapolis,
Ind.; N. F. Mossell, Philadelphia, Penn.; U. G.
Mason, Birmingham, Ala.; Samuel E. Courtney,
Boston, Mass.; T. W. Haigler, Chattanooga,
Tenn.; Henry R. Butler, Atlanta, Ga.; Henry
Fitzbutler, Louisville, Ky.; William D. Crum,
Charleston, S. C.; W.*A. Warfield, Washington,
D. C.; R. F. Boyd, F. A. Stewart, and H. T.
- Noel, Nashville, Tenn. Hundreds of others could
be named who have established more than a local
reputation.
Ques. Name six leading lady physicians.
Ans. Hallie T. Johnson, Montgomery, Ala.;
Alice McKane, Savannah, Ga.; Sarah G.Jones,
Richmond, Va.; Carrie V. Still Anderson, Phila¬
delphia, Pa.; Georgia E. L. Patton, Memphis,
Tenn.; Susan McKinney, Brooklyn, N. Y.
THE NEGRO IN DENTISTRY.
Question. What is the work of a dentist?
Answer. To clean and extract teeth, repair
them when diseased, and replace them, when nec¬
essary, by artificial ones.
THE NEGRO IN DENTISTRY. 63
Ques. Is the art of dentistry easy to acquire?
Ans. Our best dental surgeons claim that a
perfect knowledge of the art of dentistry is diffi¬
cult to acquire. It is, however, an art which is ex¬
tremely useful, and has done valuable service. It
is not too much to say that many lives have been
saved, and a still greater number prolonged,
through the instrumentality of the aid afforded by
the use of artificial teeth.
Ques. Is the profession profitable among Ne¬
groes ?
Ans. In most places it is, and should be in all.
Americans, white and colored, have the worst
teeth of any people on earth.
Ques. What does Dr. T. A. Curtis, of St.
Louis, say about the teeth of the Negro?
Ans. He says: "There seems to be a prevailing
but erroneous opinion that N tgroes possess better
teeth than white people. There might have been
a time when this statement was correct, but since
the Negro has adopted all the modes of living of
his white brother his teeth are no better than his,
if as good. The advantage the Negro has over
the white man as to predisposing causes he loses in
exciting causes, carelessness, and wanton neglect
The man or woman who neglects his or her teeth
is worse than a crocodile.
Ques. What is said of the crocodile?
Ans. He likes to have his teeth clean: insects
get into them, and, horrible reptile though he be,
he opens his jaws inoffensively to a faithful dentis-
tic bird, who volunteers his beak for a toothpick..
Ques. What race of people first practised den¬
tistry ?
Ans. The Egyptians, and Volney says: "The
ancient Egyptians were real Negroes,"
64
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Ques. What does the ancient historian Diodo-
rus say of the Egyptians ?
Ans. He says: "The Ethiopians considered
Egypt as one of their colonies.'
Ques. What would this prove?
Ans. That the Negro is the first race of people
to practise dentistry.
Ques. How many Negroes are practising the
profession of dentistry to-day?
Ans. It is difficult to give the exact number, as
many have graduated from dental departments of
medical colleges and are classed as M.D.'s. It is
believed, however, that not less than two hundred
and fifty doctors of dental surgery are having a
lucrative practise, and quite a good per cent, of
this number are women.
Ques. Will you name a few of the leading Ne'- s
gro doctors of dental surgery ?
Ans. D. P. Reedj of New York City; C. E.
Bentley, of Chicago, 111.; J. R. Porter, of Atlan¬
ta, Ga.; G. H. Clay, of Indianapolis, Ind.; E. B.
Jefferson, of Nashville, Tenn.; W. T. Didwiddie,
of Lexington, Ky.; Dr. Grant, of Howard Uni¬
versity, Washington, D. C.; Dr. Smith, of Little
Rock, Ark.; T. A. Curtis, of St. Louis, Mo.
Ques. Can you name one of the leading lady
dentists?
Ans. Dr. Ida Gray Nelson, of Chicago, 111., was
the first to enter the profession. She received her
diploma from the University of Michigan in 1890.
She has a large practise among the elite of both
races.
Ques. Is there not room for hundreds of others
in this profession?
Ans. Yes; thousands of men and women can
prepare themselves and enter this profession with
assurance of success.
afro-american authors. 65
AFRO-AMERICAN AUTHORS.
Question. How many books have been written
by Afro-American! ?
Answer. According to the very best informa¬
tion obtainable, about one thousand books and
booklets have been written by intelligent colored
men and women.
Ques. How many of these have had an exten¬
sive circulation?
Ans. Probably not more than one hundred have
ever paid the cost of publication."
Ques. How is this accounted for?
Ans. Several plausible reasons could be as¬
signed. In the first place, Negro authors ^usually
depend on their friends and acquaintances to ex¬
tend the circulation of their books. The commis¬
sion allowed does not justify devoting exclusive
time to the work, and the result is that only a few
hundred copies of some of our most valuable pub¬
lications have been sold. Again, there are hun¬
dreds of thousands of our people who will buy
anything offered for sale by a white man much
quicker than from one of our own race, and as a
rule our books are not sold by white men, and for
this reason, I am sorry to say, many of our books
have had only a limited sale.
Ques. WhoJiasthe preeminence as a historian?
Ans. Dr. George W. Williams is the acknowl-'
edged historian of the race.
Ques. What book by Negfo authors is having
the widest circulation?
Ans. The 4 4 Afro-American Encyclopaedia"
contains over four hundred articles, covering the
leading topics of interest to the race. It is hav¬
ing the largest -circulation of any book yet pub¬
lished for or by the Negro,
r
66
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Ques. Who is the author of this splendid vol¬
ume?
Ans. More than two hundred of the leading
representative men and women of the race from
the lakes to the gulf, and from the Atlantic to the
Pacific Oceans, were engaged upon this work.
Ques. Will you name some of the leading Ne¬
gro authors in alphabetical order, giving the names
of one or more of their publications?
Ans. Rev. A. E. P. Albert, D.D., is a promi¬
nent divine in the M. E. Church and is the au¬
thor of several publications. "Plantation Melo¬
dies,'* "The Negro Evangelist," and "Universal
Reign of Jesus" show his fine scholarly ability.
William T. Alexander is the author of " His¬
tory of the Colored race in America."
Rev. W. G. Alexander, D.D., Dean of the
Thelogical Department of Morris Brown College,
Atlanta, Ga., is the author of "Living Words,"
" The Negro in Commerce and Finance," and
" The Efficient Sunday-School."
Rev. Harvey Anderson is the author of " Di¬
rectory of the A. M. E. Zion Church."
Matthew Anderson, " Presbyterianism: Its Re¬
lation to the Negro."
Bishop B. W. Arnett, in his "Negro Litera¬
ture," " Black Laws of Ohio," "Jubilee of Free¬
dom," and " The Centennial Budget," has given
the race four good books.
Rev. R. C. O. Benjamin, D.D., is the author
of " Future of the American Negro," " History
of the British West Indies," " Origin of the Ne¬
gro Race," "The Southland," "The Boy Doc¬
tor," "Don't," "Light after Darkness," and
".Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture."
Eloise Bibb, " Book of Poems."
AFRO-AMERICAN AUTHORS.
67
G. L. Blackwell wrote "The Model Home¬
stead."
E. W. Blyden, LL.D., is said to speak seven
different languages fluently. He is the author of
"Liberia's Offering," " From West Africa to Pal¬
estine," and " Christianity, Islam, and the Negro
Race."
Rev. E. M. Brawley, "Negro Baptist Pulpit."
Rev. C. O. Booth, " Plain Theology for Plain
People."
J. W. E. Bowenr D.D., has given his race
" Plain Talks " and " The African and the Amer¬
ican Negro."
C. H. Brooks, " History of the Grand United
Order of Oddfellows."
George A. Brown, "The Afro-American Al¬
bum of Information."
Rev. R. T. Brown, " The Doctrines of Christ
and the Church," " Pastor's Annual and Finan¬
cial Report."
William Wells Brown, "He Fought to Free
His Master," " The Black Man," " The Negro in
the Rebellion," "The Rising Sun," and "Three
Years in- Europe."
H. C. Bruce, " The New Man."
Prof. J. E. Bruce, " The Blot on the Escutch¬
eon."
N. C. W. Cannon, "Rack of Wisdom."
J. B. S. Capponi, " Ham in Dixie."
Rev. E. R. Carter, pastor of the First Baptist
Church, Atlanta, Ga., enjoys the esteem and con¬
fidence of all classes and denominations. His
books ("The Holy Land," "The Black Side,"
and " Our Pulpit Illustrated") are very popular
productions.
Mrs. S. A. Christian, " A Novel."
P, H. Clark, " History of the Black Brigade."
'68
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Miss F. A. Clemmons, "Our Afro-American
Women."
Mrs. L. H. N. Coleman, "Poor Ben."
W. H. Coleman, "A Casket of Pulpit Thought."
Mrs. A. J. Cooper, "A Voice from the South."
L. H. Coppin, " Relation of Baptized Children
to the Church."
W. H. Councill, "The Negro Laborer: A
Word to Him," "The Teacher's Manual" (on
press).
Prof. W. H. Crogman, " Talks for the Times,"
and " Progress of a Race."
Rev. Alexander Crummell, D.D. This grand
man ranks among the first of any race. He has
no superiors as a writer among his own race, and
few among the Caucasian race. He is the author
of several books, all valuable additions to the lit¬
erature of the world. Don't fail to read his "Af¬
rica and America," "Future of Africa," and
" The Greatness of Christ," and other sermons.
D. Webster Davis, "A Book of Poems," "Weh
Down Souf."
Frederick Douglass, " Life and Times of Fred¬
erick Douglass," "My Bondage and my Free¬
dom," and "Narrative of My Experience in
Slavery."
Prof. W. E. DuBois, "The Suppression of the.
African Slave-Trade in the United States."
Paul Lawrence Dunbar is the greatest poet of
the Negro race. He is the author of several vol¬
umes of poetry, among which are found " Oak
and Ivie," Lyrics of Lowly Life," and "Majors
and Minors."
John S. Durham, B.$., C.E., "To Teach the
Negro History."
J« F. Dyson, "Are We Africans or Americans?"
" Origin of Color," " Political X Roads—Which
AFRO-AMERICAN AUTHORS. 69
Way?" and "Richard Allen's Place in His¬
tory."
Sarah Early, "Life and Labors of Rev. J. W.
Early."
Bishop J. C. Embry was one of the strongest
writers of the race. His books are all valuable
additions to race literature. Ministers will profit
by reading his " Digest of Christian Theology."
All will derive much good from "Our Father's
House."
H. O. Flipper, "A Colored Cadet at West
Point."
T. T. Fortune is the author of " Black and
White."
Bishop W. J. Gaines, "African Methodism in
the South," "The White Man and the Black
Man."
J. M. Gregory, " Frederick Douglass, the Ora¬
tor."
Mrs. Frances E. W. Harper, " Shadows Up¬
lifted" (a novel), " Forest Leaves," "Sketches
of Southern Life," and others.
F. M. Hamilton, "Handbook of Church Gov¬
ernment."
L. M. Haygood, " Colored Man in the M. E.
Church."
J. E. Hayne, "The Black Man," and "The
Negro in Sacred History."
A. M. Hodges, "Judge Clifford's Daughter."
Bishop J. W. Hood, " Book of Sermons."
J. H. W. Howard, " Bond and Free."
J. W. Hulley, "The Great Problem in Poetry."
Prof. E. A. Johnson, " School History of the
Negro Race in America."
Mrs. E. A. Johnson, " Clarence and Corinne,"
" The Hazely Family."
Prof. J. McHenry Jones, " Hearts of Gold."
7°
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Rev. S. T. Jones, D.D., "Book of Sermons.''
Hon. John M. Langston, " Freedom and Citi¬
zenship," " From the Virginia Plantation to the
National Capitol," "Lectures and Addresses."
J. W. Lognen, "As a Slave and as a Freeman."
E. K. Love, " History of the First African Bap¬
tist Church."
J. Robert Love, M.D., " Romanism Not Chris¬
tianity."
M. V. Lynk, "Afro-American School Speak¬
er."
Dr. M. A. Majors, " Noted Negro Women."
Mrs. W. E. Mathews, "Aunt Linda."
George Marion McClellan, " Book of Poems,"
" Stories of Green Bottom Inn."
Alice Ruth Moore, " Violets and Other Tales."
Rev. C. W. Mossell, A.M., B.D., "Toussaint
L'Ouverture."
Mrs. N. F. Mossell, " The Work of Afro-
American Women."
Daniel Murra}', "Napoleon."
D.J. My rick, " Scripture Baptism."
J. T. C. Newsom, "The Composer's Friend."
T. F. Paige, ".Twenty-Two Years of Free¬
dom."
Bishop D. A. Payne, " Domestic Education,"
"History of the A. M. E. Church," "Recollec¬
tions of Seventy Years," " Official Sermons of
the A. M. E. Church."
John H. Paynter, " Joining the Navy."
Rev. A. W. Pegues, " Our Baptist Ministers
and Schools."
Lewis Pendleton, ""The Sons of Ham."
I. Garland Penn, "Afro-American Press and
Its Editors."
R. L. Perry, "The Lenshite."
W. H. Quick, "Negro Stars."
APr6-AM£RICAN authors.
E. A. Randolph, " Life of Rev. John Jasper."
R. C. Ransom, " School-Days at Wilberforce."
J. R. Riley, "The Philosophy of Negro Suf¬
frage."
Rev. George C. Rowe, " Patriotic Poems,"
" The Aim of Life," and "Thoughts in Verse."
Bishop C. Rush, " Rise and Progress of Zion
Church."
Prof. W. S. Scarborough, " First Lessons in
Greek," "LatinMoods and Tenses," and " Ques¬
tions on Latin Grammar."
L. A. Scruggs, "Afro-American Women of
Distinction."
William Simmons, D.D., " Men of Mark."
Bishop J. B. Small, " The Human Heart."
Amanda Smith, "A Story of My Life."
Rev. C. S. Smith, " Glimpses of Africa."
L. H. Smith, " Earnest Pleas."
Rev. S. E. Smith, "Anti-Separate Coach His¬
tory of Kentucky."
Rev. J. W. Stevenson, M.D., " Church Finan¬
ciering."
T. G. Stewart, " Genesis Reread."
T. McCants Stewart, "Liberia."
William Still, "The Underground Railroad,"
"The Kidnapped and Ransomed."
Walter H. Stowers and W. H. Anderson, "Ap¬
pointed" (a splendid novel).
D. Augustus Straker, "The New South Inves¬
tigated," "Law and Practise."
Benjamin Tucker Tanner, "Apology for Amer¬
ican Methodism," "Is the Negro Cursed?"
"Outline of History," "The Negro's Origin,"
" The Negro (African and American)," " Theo¬
logical Lectures," and "Martyrdom of Lovejoy."
M. W. Taylor, " Plantation Melodies."
72
LAMP OF WISDOM.
J. M. Trotter, " Music and Some Highly Mu¬
sical People."
Rev. William Troy, "Hairbreadth Escapes
from Slavery to Freedom."
Bishop H. M. Turner, "African Letters,"
"Methodist Polity," and "The Negro in All
Ages."
William Johnson Vandyne, " Revels of Fancy,"
" Book of Poems."
Bishop A. W. Wayman, "Cyclopaedia of Af¬
rican Methodism," and "My Recollections."
Ida B. Wells, "A Red Record."
Phillis Wheatley, " Memoirs of Poems."
B. F. Wheeler, A.M., " Sacred Heart."
A. A. Whitman, " Not a Man and Yet a Man,"
" The Rape of Florida," and " Poems."
Prof. D. B. Williams, " Science and Art of
Elocution," " Freedom and Progress."
George W. Williams, LL.D., "A History of the
Negro Troops in the Rebellion," " History of the
Negro Race in America," and " Slavery before
the Revolution."
J. T. Wilson, "Black Phalanx" (history of
Negro soldiers), " The Voice of a New Race,"
"Emancipation," and "Twenty-Two Years of
Freedom."
Prof. R. R. Wright, "A Brief Historical
Sketch of Negro Education in Georgia."
Kennett Young, " Selene " (a novel).
Many others could be named.
Ques. To whom should any one wishing a copy
of either of the above books apply?
Ans. To the publishers of this little volume. If
they can not furnish it themselves, they can proba¬
bly name some one who can.
44 the dying bondman." 73
"THE DYING BONDMAN."
Question. Who is the author of this beautiful
poem?
Answer. Mrs. Frances Ellen W. Harper, of
Philadelphia, the poetess laureate of the race.
Ques. What suggested the idea of this poem ?
Ans. A faithful old slave, lying upon his death¬
bed, begged his master to free him before he died.
Ques. Was his request granted? *
Ans. It was, and the story is told in the follow¬
ing verses:
Life was trembling, faintly trembling,
On the bondman's latest breath,
And he felt the chilling pressure
Of the cold, hard hand of death
He had been an Afric chieftain,
Worn his manhood as a crown,
But upon the field of battle
Had been fiercely stricken down.
He had longed to gain his freedom,
Waited, watched, and hoped in vain,
Till his life was slowly ebbing,
Almost broken was his chain.
By his bedside stood the master,
Gazing on the dying one,
Knowing by the dull-gray shadows
That life's sands were almost run.
" Master," said the dying bondman,
"Home and friends I soon shall see;
But before I reach my country,
Master, write that I am free.
For the spirits of my fathers
Would shrink back from me in pride,
If I told them at our greeting
I a slave had lived and died.
Give to me that precious token,
That my kindred dead may see;
Master, write it, write it quickly!
Master, write that I am free!"
lamp of wisdom.
At his earnest plea the master
Wrote for him the glad release;
O'er his wan and wasted features
Flitted one sweet smile of peace.
Eagerly he grasped the writing,.
"I am free at last!" he said;
Backward fell upon the piUow,
He was free among the dead.
GREAT WORDS OF A GREAT MAN.
Question. What does Dr. Charles Leach, of
London, say of the American Negro in a recent
letter to the author?
Answer. " It seems to me," says he, " that the
Negro race now is much in the position of the
Hebrews who came from Egyptian bondage.
Moses led the people out of slavery. But they
were not then fit for the larger freedom and dis¬
tinction which was to be theirs later. So they
were kept for forty years in the wilderness. That
was their school. In it they were made, educated,
trained, drilled, disciplined and made ready for
the larger life to which they came. As the period
of waiting and schooling drew toward a close
there was much movement among them. And at
length they went forth a trained, a disciplined, a
formidable army. Crossing the Jordan, they soon
ate the old corn of the land—that is, shared its
good things, entered upon city life, and took their
place among the surviving races. So with the
Negro in the states. Emancipation came. God
willed it; man could not hinder it. But the slaves
knew not yet the value, the worth, the power, the
glory of freedom. And as the ancient Hebrews
cried for the flesh-pots of Egypt, knowing nothing
better, so the Negro in his helplessness and igno-
best thoughts of negro leaders. 75
ranee knew nothing better. But one in a thou¬
sand could read. But God, who loves the black
man just as he does the white man, and who has
predestined a great future for the black man,
sent teachers, leaders, helpers. The period of dis¬
cipline, drilling, training, testing, began. The forty
years are well-nigh gone. There is now action,
life, movement. Heralds of the dawn are seen;
signs of daybreak are before us, and already
the heavens are showing signs of a glorious sun¬
rise and an increasingly glorious age for the Ne¬
gro race of America, which is to lead and save the
Negro race of the world."
Ques. What does he say about-character ?
Ans. "The sword can free a race from slavery,
but only character can save it from extinction.
Next to a firm reliance upon God's providence
and help, the Negro race must look to the Negro
race for elevation and salvation. Any race which
God means to survive will always produce men
and women enough to instruct it, lead it, ennoble
it. When I see what an army of prophets, teach¬
ers r leaders, and organizers have sprung up out
of the Negro race in thirty-three years, beginning
with the soil withered, wasted, and crushed as the
blighting influence of slavery left it, I say God
has given this people grit and power and life. I
do not know another such marvelous case in the
history of the whole world."
BEST THOUGHTS OF NEGRO LEADERS.
Africa.—Robed in superstition and buried in
ignorance to-day, she was not always thus. She
was once the cradle of civilization, the mistress in
the arts and sciences. Her sculptured maidens in
7 6
lamp of wisdom.
the British Museum, hieroglyphics on Egypt's
pyramids, inscriptions on tombs and monuments
long since buried, now happily resurrected, these
silent witnesses from the dust bear unquestionable
testimony to her wonderful greatness and intel¬
lectual advancement.—M. C. B. Mason.
Africans.—Africans can not be influenced by
aliens, who, however Christian, seek to pervert
their manhood.—H. H. Smyth.
Books.—Books are the embodiments and mani¬
festations of great minds, the living organs through
which those who are dead yet speak to us, the
garners in which is stored the wisdom bought by
toil and study, the gorgeous dreams of the poet,
the excellent maxims of the philosopher, the skill¬
ful delineations of the close observer, the histories
of mighty deeds, the wonders of distant lands, the
silent messages which the wise and good send to
us laden with treasures for every mental want and
precepts for every duty.—Charles Alexander.
Civilization.—By civilization we mean a condi¬
tion of human communities characterized by po¬
litical and social organization and order, by ad¬
vancement in the sciences and arts, and progress
in general.—E. W. S. Hammond.
Civilization.—Civilization in these latter days
is taking an unfortunate turn in its measurements,
but it must be remembered that dynamics are not
ethics, and that financial avoirdupois is not char¬
acter.—J. IV. JE. JBowen.
Conditions.—He who imposes a condition does
so with the object of securing some certain advan¬
tage or of avoiding some well-understood and def¬
inite inconvenience.—J. Robert Love.
Crime. — Crime must be punished until ex¬
piated.—Harvey Johnson, D.D.
best thoughts of negro leaders. 77
Divine Love.—Contemplated in any light what¬
ever, the subject of divine love is one fraught with
increasing interest and wonder.—H. T. Johnson.
Duty.—Nothing teaches a man so well as duty.
—E. C. Morris.
Education.—All education has for its object
the right development of character and the proper
discipline of one's powers.—R. H. Bowlmg.
Ethiopia.—Those who see no connection be¬
tween the degraded modern African and the no¬
ble ancient Cushite or Ethiopian forget that for
centuries the Negro has suffered from the cupid¬
ity of the other races.— T. McCants Stewart.
Evils.—The evils of gross monstrous abomina¬
tions, the evils of great organic institutions, crop
out long after the departure of the institutions
themselves.—Alexander Crummell.
Fidelity.—No brighter pages of history will
ever be written than those which record the serv¬
ices of the slaves who were left in charge of their
masters' homes during the dark days of battle.—
H. C. Bruce.
God.—Eliminate the idea of God from the re¬
ligions of earth, and man, robbed of his noblest
aspirations, sees nothing in the universe higher than
himself, and nowhere the power that redeems
from sin, misery, and death.— Walter H. Brooks.
God.—The knowledge of God is common
knowledge. However imperfectly and perverted-
ly men may hold it and express it, all have it.—
Orishatukeh Faduma.
Harmony.—In the moral, as in the physical
world, the law of harmony obtains and runs like
a golden thread throughout all its parts.—J. J.
Durham, D.D.
78
lamp of wisdom.
Human Reason.—Human reason could not of
itself discover God, for it is finite and God is infi¬
nite. The soul finds itself existing; but whence
it came, what it is, and whither it goeth, it does
not know. It may formulate philosophical theo¬
ries as profound as thought can make; it may
gather up all it resources and start out on the high¬
way of agnostic evolution; it may move here and
there with all the learned "isms" with which the
ages have been so rife, but it will return unsuc¬
cessful, for no man can by searching find out God.
—Rufus L. Perry, D.D.
Ideals.—Only ideals are immortal, and men
are immortal as they stand for ideals.— W. H.
Councill.
Isms.—Most of all the pernicious isms of our
day, so dangerous to government, are the result
of commiserating spirits mutually magnifying their
wrongs, until, in a frenzy of excitement, judgment
and reason are overthrown and the passions reign.
— W. H. Anderson.
Knowledge.—He who contributes in any way
to the enlargement of our knowledge is a benefac¬
tor of his race.— T. Thomas Fortune.
Labor.—Young men who learn to cultivate the
soil systematically, and who train their hands to
all kinds of skilled labor, make useful and success¬
ful citizens.—C. S. Smith.
Laws.—Discriminating laws are degrading to
those against whom they operate, and the de-
grader will be degraded also.—Bishoj> H. M.
Turner.
Laws.—We owe it to ourselves to compel the
devil to wear his own garments, and to make
wicked laws speak out their wicked intentions.—
Frederick Douglass.
best thoughts of negro leaders. 79
Leaders.—Observation shows that when the
exigencies of the times have demanded leaders,
those were chosen whose training and experience
fitted them for the particular emergency.—James
M. Gregory.
Low Thoughts.—No man can afford to have
low thoughts, to say low things, and to do low
deeds.— W. H. Councill.
Lynching.—Lynching is the ghost of slavery
and the dark shadow of injustice.—J. T. Brown.
Man.—Man is an inquisitive being and is ever
pushing out into new fields in search of something to
conquer. He has gone down into the earth, brought
up the hidden treasures, and applied them to his
use. He has changed the course of mighty riv¬
ers, connected seas, and brought the continents so
close together that we can feel their social, polit¬
ical, commercial, and religious pulse every sixty
minutes.—Dr. H. R. Butler.
Negro Journalism.—When the soft notes of
progress among the colored people were hushed
amid the boisterous tones of prejudice and the
mighty din of greater improvement elsewhere, the
Negro journal was born.— William H. Steward.
Negro Problem.—-The solution of the Negro
problem involves the honor or dishonor, the glory
or shame, the happiness or misery, of the entire
American people.—Frederick Douglass.
Our Life.—
Our life is like a river,
Ne'er ceasing in its flow,
It rushes on forever,
The swift years come and go,
Bearing us on their current
To happiness or woe.
—George C. Rowe.
8o
l'amp of wisdom.
Patriotism.—Patriotism, valor, and sterling in¬
tegrity possess a pecular merit and beauty.—E. A.
Johnson, s
PiTY.^-There has been too much pity and too
little love exhibited for the Negro by the great
boards of the Church; too much done to make
him feel his degradation, the great distance be¬
tween him and his teachers, and too little to make
him feel that he is a man and a brother, that their
destiny is one, and that his Saviour and their Sa¬
viour is no respecter of persons.—Matheiv Ander¬
son.
Politeness.—Courtesy for revenue only is not
politeness, but diplomacy.—Mrs'. A. Cooler.
Praise.—He who refuses to eulogize the living
should decline to panegyrize the dead.— William
Alexander.
Progress.—It is said that savages, by putting
their ears to the ground, can hear a far-off tread.
So, to-day, I fear that there are savage elements
in our civilization which hear the advancing tread
of the Negro and would retard his coming.—Fran¬
ces E. W. Harfer.
Progress.—No race can prosper until it learns
that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in
writing a poem.—Booker T. Washington.
Race Literature.—A race's literature is the
expression of its national and social life. Its sub¬
jects are drawn from its heroes and their historic
achievements.—George Marion McClellan,
Religion.—The inclination to treat religion as
though it were a sort of secondary auxiliary to
civilization is the first-fruits of heresy.— Wesley F.
Graham.
Responsibilities.—Grave responsibilities are
best thoughts of negro leaders. 81
laid upon the shoulders of those men who assume
to mold the opinions and dictate the policy of
great religious denominations, and tremendous
will be the neglect if these responsibilities are not
fully and conscientiously made. — William H.
Steward.
Right.—A strong and abiding conviction of
right will hold us up even in the face of adversity.
—E. M. Brawley.
Signs.
While folks is gittin' smart, ez sho'
Ez whitewash made from lime,
I gwine b'l'eve what de Bible sez
Erbout signs ub de time.
—D. Webster Davis.
Success.—Purer thoughts, more race pride,
and firmer cooperation will make the Negro race
a success.—Charles O. Boothe.
Success.—The young man has only to be true,
brave, and faithful to win the highest rewards of
dignified life as bestowed by his fellow-citizens.—
John M. Langston.
The American Flag.—The American1 flag has
been washed and cleansed from the foul stain of
Negro slavery, until it is to-day among the most
beautiful of national emblems. The stars repre¬
sent the stars of heaven; the blue, the sky; the
white, a higher Christian civilization; the red, the
blood of the various nationalities who fought to
make the principles of the republic more lofty and
enduring. It is our purpose to continue agitating
until beneath its silken folds shall stand as equals
before the law the inventive German, the wily and
industrious Irishman, the trafficking and cunning
Jew, the musical' and wandering Italian, the polite
Frenchman, the hospitable and tenacious English-
6
82
lamp of wisdom.
man, the granite-minded and scholarly Scotchman,
the pagan Chinese, the unconquered Indian, and
last, but not least, the industrious, kind-hearted,
and forgiving Negro.—Bishoj) William B. Der¬
rick.
The Heart.—There is something about a
broken and contrite heart that attracts the infinite
mind.— G. W. L.ee.
The Race.—
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
Their color is a diabolic die.
Remember, Christians, Negroes black as Cain
May be refined, and join the angelic train..
—Phillis Wheatley.
Thought.—The right of thought's expression is
divine.—Paul Dunbar.
Truth.—More and more we are to fix our
eyes on truth and walk straight up to it.—C. H.
Par risk.
Unity.—Unite our forces and great things we
shall achieve.—D. W. Wisher.
Unity.—Unity will prevail in the New South
when justice is done to black and white alike.—
D. Augustus Straker.
Work.—
How few of us
In all the world's great, ceaseless, struggling strife
Go to our work with gladsome, buoyant step,
And love it for its sake, whate'er it be.
—Alice Ruth Moore.
the negro press.
83
THE NEGRO PRESS.
Question. What can truly be said of news¬
papers in general?
Answer. They are educators, and every family
should consider the newspaper as indispensable as
his daily bread.
Ques. What can you say of the Negro news¬
paper.
Ans. The Negro newspaper is one of our great¬
est factors in building up our race, and we are
glad that its latent force is being realized.
Ques. What does Mrs. Mossell, of Philadel¬
phia, say about the Negro press?
Ans. She says: u It is a sleeping lion which is
just awaking into life. We must teach wisely and
lead aright, that coming generations may bless us,
as we bless those who have passed before us."
Ques. What is said of the Afro-American Press
Association ?
It is well organized, and it should be able at its
annual sessions to give wise counsel as to the best
means of covering the field from which support
must come.
Ques. What progress has been made in Negro
journalism in the last decade?
Ans. Numerically, they have increased about
tenfold.
Ques. How many newspapers are owned, edited,
and published by the Negro race?
Ans. Very nearly "five hundred.
Ques. How many of these are considered jour¬
nals of nationalimportance?
Ans. The editorjoi; the Vindicator, of Columbus,
Ohio, says: " The great number of race papers
aim to be newspapers in the broadest sense, but
two, and only two, are journals rather than news-
84
LAMP OF WISDOM.
papers, in the accepted meaning of a newspaper.
The two referred to are the Colored American, of
Washington, D. C,, and the Freeman, of Indian¬
apolis, Ind. These two papers publish more con¬
tributed articles than any other papers. They re¬
flect the sentiments of many men from many sec¬
tions, and are truly race journals, standing alone
and occupying a field all to themselves. For this
reason they should be read by all, and, though you
be a regular subscriber to your home paper, you
should also be a subscriber and a reader of one of
our race journals."
Ques. Can you name a few other great race
newspapers?
Ans. The Age, New York City; the Afro-
American, Baltimore, Md.; the Planet, Rich¬
mond, Va.; the Gazette, Cleveland, Ohio; the
Couratit, Boston, Mass.; Appeal and Southern
Age, Atlanta, Ga.; the Progress, Helena, Ark,;
the Elevator, San Francisco, Cal.; the Statesman,
Denver, Colo.; the Sentinel, Pensacola, Fla.;
the Enquirer, Charleston, S. C.; the American
Citizen, Kansas City, Mo.; the Tribune, Phila¬
delphia, Pa.; the Freeman, Houston, Tex.; the
Appeal, Chicago, 111.; the Standard, Lexington,
Ky. Scores of others equally as worthy could be
named.
Ques. Will you name a few of the Church or¬
gans?
Ans. The Christian Recorder, Philadelphia,
Pa., organ of A. M. E. Church; the Christian In¬
dex, Jackson, Tenn., organ of C. M. E. Church;
Zion''s Harp, Charlotte, N. C., organ of A. M.
E. Zion Church; the American Baptist, Louis¬
ville, Ky.; the Georgia Baptist, organ of large
number of Baptist churches in the South; and the
Christian Banner, Philadelphia, Pa., organ of
representative negro editors. 85
Baptist churches in Middle and New England
states. The Congregationalist, of Boston, and
the Advance, of Chicago, are two of the leading
Congregational papers.
Ques. Should not each home have a Church
paper?
Ans. Certainly it should. Each colored family
owes it to the race to support some religious paper
which is using every effort to build up the race.
REPRESENTATIVE NEGRO EDITORS.
Question. Who has the credit of being the
greatest newspaper editor among Afro-Americans ?
Answer. Judging from a political standpoint,
we believe this honor is justly conceded to Hon.
T- Thomas Fortune, editor of the New York Age.
Ques. Name some of the leading editors.
Ans. E. E. Cooper, Washington, D. C.;
George L. Knox, Indianapolis, Ind.; C. J. Perry,
Philadelphia, Pa.; John Mitchell, Jr., Richmond,
Va.; John C. Dancy, North Carolina; C. F.
Adams, Chicago, 111.; G. W. Bryant, Baltimore,
Md.; W. J. White, ^.ugusta, Ga.; H. C. Smith,
Cleveland, O.; W. C. Chase, Washington, D. C.;
John L. Waller, Kansas City, Mo.; Josephine
St. P. Ruffin, Boston, Mass.; Ida Wells Barnett,
Chicago, 111.; J. Allison Sweeney, Indianapolis,
Ind.; Emmett J. Scott, T^uskegee, Ala.
Ques. What is said of Prof. Charles Stewart,
of Chicago?
Ans. He is the only Negro who has ever been
regularly employed by the Associated Press as a
reporter. He is one of the ablest reporters in the
United States.
86
lamp of wbsdom.
NEGRO WOMEN WRITERS OF DISTINC-
4 TION.
"Question. Have any women of our race a na¬
tional reputation as writers ?
Answer. More than a score of Negro women
are engaged as correspondents for leading news¬
papers, journals, and magazines which are edited
and published by the white race.
Ques. Will you give the names of some of the
leading ones?
Ans. Mrs. Ida Wells Barnett, Mrs. Fannie
Barrier Williams, and Mrs. Amanda Smith, of
Chicago, 111.; Mrs. R. E. Lawson, Mrs. Char¬
lotte F. Grumke, Mrs. Mary C. Terrell, and Mrs.
" Victoria Earl" Mathews, of Washington, D. C.;
Mrs. Harvy Johnson, of Baltimore, Md.; Mrs.
Fannie Jackson Coppin, Mrs. Frances E. W.
Harper, and Mrs. N. F. Mossell, of Philadelphia,
Pa.; Mrs. Alice Ruth Moore Dunbar, Mrs. Julia
C. Ringwood, Mrs. Libbie C. Anthony, Mrs. Jo¬
sephine St. P. Ruffin, of Boston, Mass.; Mrs.
Lucy B. Thurman, Jackson, Mich-; Mrs. Marie
S. Foster, Cambridge, Mass.; Mrs. Selma But¬
ler, Atlanta, Ga.; Mrs. Virginia Broughton, Mrs.
Julia A. Hooks, Memphis, Tenn.; Mrs. L. B.
Stevens, Lynchburg, Va.; Mrs. J. Napier Kemp,,
Minneapolis, Minn.; Mrs. B. T. Washington, Tus-
kegee, Ala.; Mrs. Ann Hale, Montgomery, Ala.;
Mrs. M. A. McCurdy, Rome, Ga.; Miss Mary E.
Britton, Lexington, Ky.; Miss Sarah J. Thomas,
Macon, Ga.; Miss Jennie Dean, Manassas, Va.;
Miss K. N. Hughes, Somerville, N. J.; Mrs. Ad-
die Waits Hunton, Normal, Ala.; Mrs. Josephine
Turpin Washington, of Birmingham; Mrs. Sarah
J. Earley.
the stage.
87
THE STAGE.
Question. What progress have Negroes made
from a theatrical standpoint?
Answer. Their progress in this profession has
been phenomenal, and there are many colored
troupes on the road to-day who have won golden
opinions from the public, who are loud and em¬
phatic in their praise.
Ques. What is said of Josef Downes?
Ans. He is one of the few Negro actons who
have appeared before the royal family of England.
As a tragedian he has met with great success in
Europe, America, and the West Indies.
Ques. What does the press say of him?
Ans. The New York World says: "He is an
elocutionist of marked ability." Public Opinion
says : "Josef Downes' 'Shylock's Soliloquy' was
spoken in masterly style, every word,, every ges¬
ture, denoting the finished elocutionist."
Ques. What is said of Henrietta Vinton Davis,
of Washington, D. C.?
Ans. She is a famous elocutionist, and is one
of the foremost of her race in the dramatic profes¬
sion. * She is cultured and full of pathos and hu¬
mor. She never fails to electrify, please, and cap¬
tivate her audience.
Ques. What is said of Hallie Q. Brown, of Wil-
berforce, Ohio?
Ans. She is credited with being one of the best
elocutionists before the public. She possesses a
voice of wonderful magnetism and great compass.
In her pathetic pieces she often moves her au¬
dience to tears. She is now making her third tour
through Europe with great success.
Ques. What do you know of Prof. W. L. Lind¬
say?
88
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Ans. It is claimed by some people that he is the
greatest whistler and -warbler of the human race.
The Selma (Ala.) Daily Journal says: "Prof.
Lindsay surpasses Blind Tom as a musician." The
Newark (N. J.) Daily Advertiser says: "He is
the greatest whistler of the human race. His imi¬
tation of the mocking-bird surpasses anything ever
heard from human lips."
Ques. What do you know about Mrs. Lillian
Thomas Fox?
Ans. It is said 4' she never fails to please." She
is a reader of extraordinary ability, and the Terre
Haute (Ind.) Daily News says: " Enough can
not be said of her work."
Ques. Will you name a few of the Negro con¬
cert companies ?
Ans. The "Black Patti Troubadours" is a
company composed entirely of black artists. Mad¬
am Sissiretta Jones, the most wonderful singer of
our race, has a select company of fifty pretty
young ladies and handsome young gentlemen,
tastefully costumed, who receive ovations seldom
equaled in the halls where dramatic and vocal art
are suprertie.
" Oriental America" has made a marked ad¬
vance in the theatrical profession of colored
people.
" Isham's Octoroons" reflect great credit upon
themselves and. their race. This company in¬
cludes some of the most talented colored singers,
dancers, and comedians, and it richly deserves
the liberal patronage it receives.
The "Bergen Star Concert Company" is greet¬
ed with large audiences in every section of the
country. Flora Batson, the queen of song, is the
stellar feature of the company. She is recognized
THE STAGE.
89
on two continents by white and colored as one of
the greatest singers of the day.
"Darkest America" is among the leading con¬
cert companies and is doing business to big houses.
"Nashville Students" is gaining a wide-spread
reputation. Judging from the press comments,
they have few superiors in their line.
"Sam T. Jack's Creoles" are playing to well-
filled houses in all sections of the country. They
are working their way into opera-houses hitherto
tightly closed against colored performers.
The "Canadian Jubilee Singers" are meet¬
ing with wonderful success. They carry a full
orchestra. Their audiences are large and ap¬
preciative.
"Blind Boone Concert Company" affords an
opportunity not only to hear classical composi¬
tions, rendered according to the best interpreta¬
tion, but genuine Negro music by talented repre¬
sentatives of the race. Blind Boone is, no less
than Blind Tom, a musical prodigy. He has been
before the public for sixteen years.
Ques. Can you name other concert companies
who are meeting with fair success in their profes¬
sion?
Ans. "South before the War," " Payne's Col¬
ored Female Band and Song-Birds," "Mahara's
Mammoth Minstrels," "Colored Sports," "Ori¬
ental Dancers," "A1 G. Fields's Colored Min¬
strels," "Uncle Tom's Cabin Company," and
Hall's "Georgia Minstrels."
Ques. Will you name some of the leading ac¬
tors o^-these opera and concert companies?
Ans. William Warner is the proprietor of the
"Canadian Jubilee Singers," Billy McClain is
stage director of " Darkest America," Harry West
is with "Uncle Tom," M. M. Hodges, Henry
90 lamp of wisdom.
Jackson, E. B. Wright, Bob Cole, J. F. DeLy-
ons, Paul C. Floyd, Ed F. Davis, George A.
Hammond, James Crosby, Harry Fidler, Harry
Hart, G. W. Houseley, James Osborn, M. D.
Houseley, C. P. Jones, Oscar Lindsay, Angelo
Houseley, L. E. Chenault, Arnold Stevenson, J.
E. Green, John Bailey, Harry Gillam, Harry Ea¬
ton, W. Frank Patterson, Mrs. Kate A. Patter¬
son, Ethel Johnson, Ollie Congers, Eva Larue,
Jeannette Murphy, Cassie Brown, Liz-zette Tay¬
lor, P. G. Hampton, Joseph Douglass, Ida Che¬
nault, Georgine Kelley, Myrtle Hart, Henry Hart,
Henry T. Burleigh, Theodore Dury, Cordelia
Scott-McClain, and scores of others equally wor¬
thy of mention. Charles Alexander, of Boston,
Mass., was also a successful manager.
INSURANCE.
Question. Can you give some idea of the
amount of money spent by the race annually for
insurance?
Answer. At least one million dollars is paid to
industrial insurance companies owned and oper¬
ated by white men, and about one-twentieth of
this amount is paid to companies composed of col¬
ored men.
Ques. What would have been the result if all
this enormous amount of money had been paid to
associations operated by colored men?
Ans. It would have added millions of dollars to
our wealth, and enabled our people to furnish just
as safe insurance at about one-half the cost that is
charged to-day.
Ques. How many building, loan, insurance, and
INSURANCE.
cooperative associations are successfully operated
by Negroes?
Ans. At least forty are doing business on a sub¬
stantial basis, having conformed to the laws of the
various states in which they are operated.
Ques. Will you give the names and locations of
two or three of the leading insurance corporations
operated by colored men?
Ans. The True Reformers, of Richmond, Va.,
has been in successful operation for several
years. It is the largest and possibly the most
widely known society operated solely by the Ne¬
gro race. This company will give as much as
$1,000 straight life insurance, payable at death, or
they will give weekly benefits with burial expenses
at death.
Ques. In what way do they solicit business?
Ans. Through regularly appointed agents; and
if they have not canvassed your city, you should
write to the home office for information ijTyou are
interested.
Ques. What, can you say of the Alpha Insur¬
ance Company?
Ans. The "Alpha Insurance Company" was
organized by Mr. M. M. Holland, one of the first
business men of the national capital, white or
colored. In addition to weekly benefits, it pays
a stipulated amount at death. Colored people
can not be more patriotic than when they show
their race pride by patronizing such companies as
the Alpha.
Ques. Where is the Tidewater Beneficial As¬
sociation located?
Ans. In Norfolk, Va. It charges from five
cents to fifty cents per week, allows from $1.50 to
$10 per week sick benefits, and pays from $15 to
$125 death benefit.
92
lamp of wisdom.
Ques. Is this Beneficial Association worthy of
the support of the race ?
Ans. It is, and should be patronized. If the
race would give any of the worthy companies their
support, they would soon be rich and powerful.
The Metropolitan, Prudential, John Hancock, Sun
Life, and scores of others, have piled up hun¬
dreds of thousands of dollars paid to them by our
race. We think it is due time to call a halt, and
commence to patronize our own institutions more
liberally, and as soon as this is done we will learn
to know the truth of the adage, " In union there is
strength."
Ques. Name other companies.
Ans. The Baltimore Mutual Aid Society, of Bal¬
timore, Md., offers various plans, all of which are
attractive. The home office is corner Park Avenue
and Saratoga Street, and all information will be
furnished on application. The Afro-American
Benefit Association is in full operation at Vicks-
burg, Miss. The plan is good and the associa¬
tion is growing. The United Aid and Insurance
Company, of Richmond, Va., is another good
company.
Ques. Having learned of these first-class insur¬
ance companies, what is the duty of our people?
Ans. To rally to their support.
BANKS.
Question. What has been the impression of the
public mind about banking enterprises ?
Answer. Until within the past few years it was
believed that colored men could not successfully
carry on such enterprises.
sanitariums and hospitals.
93
Ques. How many banking establishments are
in operation among colored men?
Ans. The Capitol Savings Bank, of Wash¬
ington, D. C., has $50,000 capital. It receives
deposits from ten cents upward. Its customers
are not confined to the colored race. Hon. John
R. Lynch is its President. The Penny Savings
and Loan Company, of Birmingham, Ala., has
a capital stock of $25,000. It was incorporated
in 1895 with W. R. Pettiford as President. The
" Nickel Savings Bank," of Richmond, Va., is a
prosperous financial institution of which Dr. R. F.
Francis is the President. Several other banking
institutions are successfully operated by colored
men.
SANITARIUMS AND HOSPITALS.
Question. What progress is being made along
this line in the large cities ?
Answer. Many institutions of this class have
been erected and many others are in contemplation.
Ques. Who is credited with owning the finest
private sanitarium in the United States?
Ans. Dr. John R. Francis, of Washington, D.
C., is said to own the finest sanitarium of any man
of the race. Freedman's Hospital, in the national
capital, is unique in its character and beautiful in
its construction.
Ques. Where is the Provident Hospital located?
Ans. This institution is located at Chicago.
Ques. When was it founded?
Ans. In 1891. Its special work is in behalf of
the colored people.
Ques. What new feature has recently been
added to this institution?
Ans. A training-school for nurses is a late idea.
94
LAMP OF WISDOM.
To see this feature incorporated bespeaks the
quick insight of the colored people of Chicago.
Such an institution must of necessity be a God¬
send to any community where Negroes exist in
large numbers.
Ques- What length of time is required for a
trained nurse to graduate?
Ans. Two years.
Ques. What have these training-schools done
for young colored women ?
Ans. They have established a new field of la¬
bor, and the remuneration is much more satisfac¬
tory. These trained nurses are receiving from
six to fifteen dollars per week, and their services
are in great demand.
Ques. Where is Hale Infirmary?
Ans. In Montgomery, Ala.
Ques. By whom was it established?
Ans. On the corner-stone of this building is to
be found this inscription: "Infirmary, given by
James A. Hale, for the benefit of his race, and
erected by his wife, as a memorial of their
deceased daughter and son, Sarah and James."
Ques. What is the value of this property?
Ans. $10,000.
Ques. What does the report of last year show?
Ans. It shows 62 patients received during the
year. This is a good showing, as there was but
a small death report out of the forty surgical oper¬
ations performed. These institutions are moving
along and accomplishing much good; in fact, the
good that is being accomplished by them can not
be estimated. Only a short term of years until
thousands of colored men and women will be em¬
ployed by these institutions. Now is the time to
prepare for that service. Mrs. Francis Ellsworth
Morin is one of its stanchest supporters,
homes for the negro homeless.
HOMES FOR THE NEGRO HOMELESS.
Question. What have the last few years dem-
monstrated?
Answer. The last few years have proved be¬
yond question the fact that the Negro can raise
large sums of money. For thirty years we have
been raising money to build churches, until at
present we have quite a large number of very
handsome church-edifices. Some of our finan¬
cial agents have raised as much as $10,000 a year.
Ques. What great work should next be accom¬
plished by the Negro?
Ans. That of establishing homes for the worthy
homeless in all the principal cities in the Union.
Ques. In what way can this work best be ac¬
complished ?
Ans. By the organization of associations for
this especial work.
Ques. Has this noble work not already been
commenced and much good been accomplished?
Ans. It has. Quite a good many homes have
been in successful operation for several years.
Ques. What do you know about the " Home
for Aged and Infirm Colored Persons ? ''
Ans. It is one of the best institutions of the
character in the United States.
Ques. When was it founded?
Ans. September 28, 1864, in a private dwelling
on South Front Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Ques. How did the preamble for this institution
read ?
Ans. It read as follows: "For the relief of
that worthy class of colored people who have en¬
deavored through life to maintain themselves, but
who from various causes are finally dependent on
the charity of others, an association is hereby or-
96
LAMP OF WISDOM.
ganized under the name of ' The Home for Aged
and Infirm Colored Persons.'"
Ques. How many persons were admitted to this
home the first year ?
Ans. Twenty-one.
Ques. When was the home enlarged?
Ans. In 1871 Rev. Stephen Smith and wife,
colored persons of considerable means, gave one
acre of ground on the corner of Girard and Bel¬
mont Avenues, together with a magnificent four-
story brick building, valued at $40,000.
Ques. When were the inmates of this new home
removed to the new building?
Ans. June 29, 1871. In 1887 Edward T. Par¬
ker gave the institution $85,000 for the purpose of
erecting an annex to the old building. Additions
have been made to the Home in the past few
years, making the total cost of the entire plan over
$150,000.
Ques. How many people have been cared for
in this Home?
Ans. Five hundred and forty-three.
Ques. How many inmates at the Home at the
present time?
Ans. One hundred and thirty-eight.
Ques. What is the annual cost of maintaining
this institution?
Ans. Nearly $20,000.
Ques. Where is the Watts Orphanage located?
Ans. At Covington, Ga.
Ques. Under whose management is the institu¬
tion? %
Ans. Mrs. D. P. Watts. This good woman is
spending her earnings and her life for the poor
and parentless of her race.
Ques. Where is the Burning Bush Mission lo¬
cated ?
HOMES FOR THE NEGRO HOMELESS.
Ans. At Chicago, 111.
Ques. By whom was it established?
Ans. Rev. George W. Dickey.
Ques. What is its object?
Ans. It is a home for homeless and unfortunate
women. This is a three-story brick building at
2338 Dearborn Street. This Home is under the
auspices of the Baptist denomination, and cost
$10,500.
Ques. What are the women taught in- this
Home?
Ans. Sewing, housekeeping, typewriting, cook¬
ing, and stenography, and whatever else will en¬
able them to be self-supporting.
Ques. What does Mr. Dickey say about this in¬
stitution?
Ans. " Our Home was established especially for
colored people, but I can assure you that we will
not close our doors against the needy of any race
or color."
Ques. Where is the "Industrial Home for Col¬
ored Children" located?
Ans. This is the work of Mrs. Amanda Smith,
an evangelist of national reputation. In 1895 she
established this Home in Chicago at a cost of
$6,000.
Ques. Where are the "Carrie Steele Orphans'
Home" and the "Carter Home for Old People
and Boys"?
Ans. In Atlanta, Ga.
Ques. Can you name any other home that has
been established for Negro people?
Ans. "Old Folks' Home," at Norfolk, Va.;
the "Orphans' Home," at St. Louis, Mo.;
" Home for Working Girls/' atWashington, D.C.;
the "Old Ladies' and Orphans'Home," at Mem¬
phis, Tenn.; the "Colored Children's Home," at
7
98
lamp of wisdom.
Nashville, Tenn. Many, other homes are being es¬
tablished in different places, and associations which
have been organized for this purpose are holding
meetings from time to time throughout the coun¬
try, striving to work up a healthy public sentiment
regarding these grand enterprises.
Ques. Where is the "Colored Orphan Indus¬
trial Home?"
Ans. Lexington, Ky. This Home is in a pros¬
perous condition, and is located in the suburbs of
the city, containing two and one-half acres, with
a substantial brick dwelling of twelve rooms.
Ques. Where is the "Unity Home for the
Aged" situated?
Ans. Glencoe, 111.
Ques. What has the Senate Committee on Edu¬
cation and Labor done?
Ans. This committee has recently reported fa¬
vorably a bill appropriating $100,000 for the "Na¬
tional Home for Aged and Infirm Colored Men
and Women." This Home is located in Washing¬
ton, D. C.
Ques. Where is the "Old Folks' Home?"
Ans. In Charleston, S. C.
Ques. Is there any other place in South Caro¬
lina where aged Negroes are cared for?
Ans. A plantation of many acres has recently
been given by Mrs. Emily Turner, of Bluffton, as
a home for poor and helpless Negroes.
ARTISTS.
Painters.
Question. Can you name some Negro artists?
Answer. Henry O. Tanner, of Philadelphia,
negro baptist church.
99
Pa., now in Paris; Richard Shoecraft, of De¬
troit, Michigan, deceased; George W. Carver, of
Tuskegee, Ala.; J. White, of Wilberforce, Ohio;
Emily Jones, of Ann Arbor, Mich.; E. Lewis, a
talented young lady now studying in Europe;
Miss Howard, of Philadelphia, Pa.; Clara C.
Duncan, of Pittsfield, Mass.; Miss Lizzie Clease,
of Cleveland, Ohio.
Ques. What is said of F. M. Banister, of Prov¬
idence, R. I. ?
Ans. He painted a picture, called "Under the
Oaks," that was awarded the gold medal at the
great Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, Pa.,
in 1876.
Ques. What is said of Prof. H. O. Tanner as a
painter?
Ans. He has received the highest price yet paid
to one of his race for a picture. He sold the
"Bagpipe Lesson" for $800 in cash.
Sculptors.
Mary Edmonia Lewis, of New York, studying
in Rome, Italy.
NEGRO BAPTIST CHURCH.
Question. How many Negro Baptists were
there in the United States at the commencement
of the civil war?
Answer. About 250,000.
Ques. How many do they number to-day?
Ans. In round numbers 1,600,000.
Ques. What is the value of their Church prop-
erty? , .
Ans. They have Church property valued at
$9'794'342*
IOO
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Ques. How much did they give for education
in 1897?
Ans. $41,897.
Ques. How much for missions?
Ans. $35,320.
Ques. How many religious publications have
they?
Ans. Thirty-two.
Ques. Name a few of them, and tell.where they
are published.
Ans. The American Baptist, Louisville, Ky.;
the Georgia Baptist, Augusta, Ga.; the Florida
Evangelist, Jacksonville, Fla.; the Baptist Stand¬
ard, St. Louis, Mo.; the Virginia Baptist, Rich¬
mond, Va.; the Baptist Vanguard, Little Rock,
Ark.; the Christian Banner, Philadelphia, Pa.;
Southern Watchman, Mobile, Ala.; the Baptist
Magazine, Washington, D. C.; and the Texas
Baptist Star, Dallas, Tex.
Ques. What can be said of the Baptist ministry?
Ans. Whether it be accepted or not, the fact is
that there are Negro Baptist ministers in the North
and South who, in intellectual ability, in moral
power and purity, and in spiritual insight and
breadth of wisdom, are the equals of some of the
leading of any denomination or race.
Ques. Will you name a few of the leading in¬
tellectual lights of the Baptist pulpit?
Ans. J. L. Dart, Charleston, S. C.; J. Milton
Waldron, Jacksonville, Fla.; J. E. Jones, Rich¬
mond, Va.; G. L. P. Taliaferro, Philadelphia,
Pa.; Harvey Johnson, Baltimore, Md.; E. C.
Morris, Helena, Ark.; E. W. D. Isaac, Dallas,
Tex.; Phillip S. Evans, New Haven, Conn.;
William H. Eaton, Boston, Mass.; H. F. Coch¬
rane, Cedar Springs, Mich.; R. B. Vandervil,
Nashville, Tenn.; C. O. Boothe, Holly Wood,
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. IOI
Ala.; G. B. Howard, Charleston, W. Va.; R.
E. Neighbor, Indianapolis, Ind.; P.. H. Thomp¬
son, Jackson, Miss.; A. S. Jackson, New Or¬
leans, La.; W. R. Pettiford, Birmingham, Ala.;
S. N. Vass, Raleigh, N. C.; R. d'Baptiste,
Chicago, 111.; S. E. Smith, Owensboro, Ky.; R.
D. Phillips, , Ohio; W. J. Howard, Wash¬
ington, D. C.; E. R. Carter, Atlanta, Ga.; J. L.
Cohron, St. Louis, Mo.; W. H. LaTourett,
Oakland, Cal.; E. P. Bartlett, Des Moines, la.
Hundreds of others equally worthy could be
named.
Ques. When and where was the first Negro
Baptist convention organized?
Ans. In North Carolina, in 1866.
Ques. How many states have conventions to¬
day? _
Ans. There are colored Baptist conventions in
fifteen states and in the District of Columbia.
Ques. How many associations have they?
Ans. Four hundred and fourteen.
Ques. What state has the greatest number of
Baptists ?
Ans. Virginia has 225,000 colored Baptists.
This is 100,000 more than the whites and 15,000
more than any other state.
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL
CHURCH. ,
Question. When was the A. M. E. Church
organized ?
Answer. This branch of American Methodism
was organized in November, 1787* in Philadel¬
phia, Pa., and is the oldest colored Church or¬
ganization in America.
102
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Ques. Why did the colored people withdraw
from the M. E. Church?
Ans. In order that they might have larger priv¬
ileges and more freedom of action than was pos¬
sible for them to have while connected with their
white brethren.
Ques. Who was their first bishop?
Ans. Rev. Richard Allen.
Ques. When and where was the first church-
edifice erected?
Ans. In 1794, at the corner of Sixth and Lom¬
bard Streets, Philadelphia, Pa. This site is now
covered by a.handsome building, erected in 1890,
which is valued at $50,000.
Ques. How many organizations have they in
the United States?
Ans. 5,146.
Ques. What is the value of their Church prop¬
erty ?
Ans. They have Church property valued at $6,-
469>375-
Ques. How many members or Church com¬
municants ?
Ans. 565,149.
Ques. What states do their membership cover?
Ans. Every state in the United States, except
the Dakotas, Idaho, Maine, Nevada, New Hamp¬
shire, and Vermont.
Ques. Have they organizations in all the terri¬
tories ?
Ans. All except Alaska, Oklahoma, and Ari¬
zona.
Ques. In what states have they the largest mem¬
bership ?
Ans. In South Carolina, where they have 88,-
J75-
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. I03
Ques. How many Sunday-schools are under the
supervision of the A. M. E. Church?
Ans. 4,672.
Ques. How many Sunday-school teachers?
Ans. 42,391.
Ques. How many Sunday-school scholars?
Ans. 367,199.
Ques. Including the adherents, what is the
grand total marching under the banner of this
grand body of Christian believers ?
Ans. 2,385,047.
Ques. How many parsonages have they?
Ans. 1,655, valued at $79,125.
Ques. How many schools, colleges, and uni¬
versities have they?
Ans. 43.
Ques. Including their parsonage, Church, and
school property, what is its valuation ?
Ans. $9,482,000.
Ques. Can you name the bishops of the A. M.
E. Church?
Ans. H. M. Turner, E. W. Arnett, B. F. Lee,
W. B. Derrick, W. J. Gaines, B. T. Tanner, A.
Grant, M. B. Salter, J. A. Handy, and J. H.
Armstrong. This Church has other strong men
among its ministry who have been educated in the
schools, North and South, and are second to none
in ability.
Ques. What paper is the Church organ?
Ans. The Christian Recorder, published at
Philadelphia, Pa.
lamp of wisdom.
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL
ZION CHURCH.
Question. When was the A. M. E. Zion
Church organized?
Answer. A congregation of colored people, or¬
ganized in New York City, in 1796, was the nu¬
cleus of the African M. E. Zion Church, but it was
not formally organized until February 16, 1801.
Ques.* What was the cause of the separation
from the mother Church?
Ans. In order that they " might have an oppor¬
tunity to exercise their spiritual gifts among them¬
selves, and thereby be more useful to one an¬
other."
Ques. When was the first annual conference
held?
Ans. In 1821. It was attended by nineteen
ministers, representing six churches and 1,426
members.
Ques. Who was the first bishop?
Ans. Rev. James Varick.
Ques. What distinctive feature has this branch
of Methodism from other Methodist bodies ?
Ans. It has laymen in its annual as well as in its
general conferences, and there is no bar to the or¬
dination of women.
Ques. How many bishops has it?
Ans. Nine. J. B. Small, T. H. Lomax, C. C.
Pettey, J. Holladay, J. W. Hood, C. R. Harris,
G. W. Clinton, A. Walters, and I. C. Clinton.
Ques. In how many states is this denomination
represented ?
Ans. Twenty-eight states and the District of
Columbia.
Ques. In what state is it strongest?
c. m. je. church in america. 10$
Ans. It is strongest in North Carolina, where it
has about 150,000 communicants.
Ques. How many organizations have they?
Ans. 1,981.
Ques. What is the value of its Church prop¬
erty?
Ans. Its property is valued at $3,510,189.
Ques. How many Church communicants?
Ans. 499,000.
Ques. How many parsonages are owned by the
A. M. E. Zion Church?
Ans. It has 214 parsonages, valued at $177,162.
Ques. How many Sunday-school scholars has
this Church?
Ans. 124,227.
Ques. How many teachers ?
Ans. 13,360.
Ques. Name some of its leading men not in¬
cluded among the bishops.
Ans. J. W. Smith, editor of the Star of Zion;
J. C. Dancy, editor of the Zion Quarterly; J. H.
Anderson, editor Zion's Tear-Booh; A. J. War¬
ner, editor of Missionary Herald; J. W. Alstock,
General Steward; B. F. Wheeler, Secretary of
Education, W. H. Day, General Secretary; W.
H. Goler, President Livingston College
C. M. E. CHURCH IN AMERICA.
Question. When was the Colored Methodist
Episcopal Church in America organized ?
Answer. This body of Methodists was organ¬
ized in 1870.
Ques. Of what was it composed?
io6
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Ans. It was composed of the colored members
and ministers of the M. E. Church, South.
Ques. In i860 what was the colored member¬
ship of the M. E. Church, South?
Ans. 207,000.
Ques. How many were organized into the C.
M. E. Church, South?
Ans. About 78,000.
Ques. What is its present membership?
Ans. Nearly 200,000.
Ques. How many annual crnferences has the
C. M. E. Church?
Ans. 23.
Ques. How many church-edifices?
Ans. 3,675.
Ques. How many Church organizations?
Ans. 3,822.
Ques. What states have the largest member¬
ship?
Ans. Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ala¬
bama—in the order named.
Ques. How many traveling ministers?
Ans. 1,236.
Ques. How many local ministers ?
Ans. 2,356.
Ques. How many Sunday-schools?
Ans. 2,065.
Ques. How many officers and teachers?
Ans. 10,000 in round numbers.
Ques. How many scholars?
Ans. 80,126.
Ques. What is the value of its Church prop¬
erty?
Ans. Nearly $2,000,000.
Ques. Can you give the names and ^dresses
of its general officers?
Ans. Bishop J. A. Beebe, Washington, N. C.;
presbyterian church and the negro. i07
Bishop E. Cottrell, Holly Springs, Miss.; Bishop
L. H. Holsey, Atlanta, Ga.; Bishop Isaac.Lane,
Jackson, Tenn.; Bishop R. S. Williams, Augusta,
Ga.; I. H. Anderson, Agent, Jackson, Tenn.;
Dr. C. H. Phillips, Editor Christian Index, Jack¬
son, Tenn.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND THE
NEGRO.
Question. What has the Presbyterian Church
done for the Negro since the organization of its
" Board of Missions for Freedmen?"
Answer. In thirty years it has expended $2,-
556>830.
Ques. How much was raised and expended by
the Board last year?
Ans. $203,805.
Ques. How much was raised last year by the
Negroes for self-support?
Ans. $63,385.
Ques. What is the membership of the Colored
Presbyterian Church?
Ans. About 40,000.
Ques. How many Sabbath-school scholars?
Ans. 20,000.
Ques. How many scholars are taught in its day-
schools?
Ans. 200,000.
Ques. What is the value of its church and other
property ?
Ans. It has property valued at over $500,000.
Ques. How many ministers in the Colored Pres¬
byterian Church?
Ans. In round numbers there are 200.
Ques. How many^churches?
Ans. 306.
io8
lamp of wisdom.
Ques. How many day-schools?
Ans. 87.
Ques. How many teachers and scholars?
Ans. 10,530.
Ques. How many states and territories does the
Colored Presbyterian Freedmen's Board cover?
Ans. 14.
Ques. Their schools are of what classes?
Ans. Parochial, academies, seminaries, and
universities.
Ques. How many schools of these classes have
they?
Ans. 21.
Ques. How are these schools supported?
Ans. By generous gifts of God's people.
Ques. How many Negroes in the United States
who have no connection with any Church?
Ans. There are over 5,000,000.
Ques. What is the name of the leading Presby¬
terian university, and where is it located?
Ans. Biddle. Located at Charlotte, N. C.
NEGRO CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS.
Question. When was the body organized?
Answer. May, 1869, at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Ques. When was its first synod organized?
Ans. In 1871, and its general assembly in 1874.
Ques. Is it an independent body?
Ans. It has the same doctrinal symbol as the
parent body, and the same system of government
and discipline, but is wholly independent.
Ques. In how man}'- states and territories is it
represented ?
Ans. Nine states and one territory.
underground railroad. i09
Ques. What is the number of organizations and
church-edifices of this denomination ?
Ans. It has 224 organizations and 185 church-
edifices.
Ques. How many communicants?
Ans. About 13,000.
Ques. What is the value of its Church property?
Ans. $200,000.
Ques. How many Negro members has the M. E.
Church ?
Ans. 260,000.
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
Question. What is the meaning of ''Under¬
ground Railway?"
Answer. The name does not indicate its real
character. It has no grades, cuts, embankments,
ties, rails; nor was it equipped with baggage,
freight, and palace sleeping-cars. The track was
an ordinary highway, country road, or path. The
locomotive was a pair of horses or mules. The
car was a road wagon or the back of a horse.
Very often there was neither locomotive nor car,
and the passengers were compelled to walk. The
sole employee was at once engineer and conductor,
no brakeman being needed, since the breaks must
always be off. But always the purpose was the
same—to help slaves to escape from bondage;
always the destination was the same—Canada.
Once there the Negro was under the protection
of the British flag, and -was free. In short, the
"Underground Railroad" was simply an informal
association of people who believed that the Negro
had an inherent right to his freedom, and who,
"without money and without price," received,
iio
lamp of wisdom.
harbored, and guided the fleeing slave on his way
to Canada.
Ques. Can you name some of the "Under¬
ground Railroad" leaders?
Ans. Calvin Fairbanks, of Kentucky; John
Rankin,-of Ohio; W. L. Chaplin, of Georgia.
Thomas Garnet, of Delaware, is said to have as¬
sisted not less than five thousand slaves in secur¬
ing their freedom from bondage. Levi Coffin, of
Cincinnati, O., succeeded in aiding over twenty
thousand slaves to gain their freedom.
Ques. What Negro was largely instrumental in
securing the freedom of thousands of slaves?
Ans. William Still, of Philadelphia.
Ques. Where can a complete history of the
"Underground Railroad" system be found?
Ans. Probably the best and most authentic of
these thrilling accounts of the struggle for liberty
are found in a book written and published in Phil¬
adelphia by William Still, and every Negro should
own a copy of it.
GRAND UNITED ORDER OF ODD-FEL¬
LOWS IN AMERICA.
Question. Can you tell us something of the
history of this order?
Answer. We are indebted to M. V. P., Charles
H. Brooks, of Philadelphia, Pa., for the following
article, which will give a brief outline of the his¬
tory of this grand and benevolent order.
On March 1,1843, the first regularly constituted
lodge of the united order was established in Amer¬
ica. It was set apart by Past Grand Master Pe¬
ter Ogden, in the city of New York. The lodge
GRAND UNITED ORDER OF ODD-FELLOWS. Ill
was composed exclusively of colored men. It was
the old Philomathean Institute transformed into an
Odd-Fellows' lodge, and styled "Philomathean
Lodge No. 646." The warrant to open this lodge
was granted by Victoria Lodge No*. 448, at Liv¬
erpool, England, and issued by the Commit¬
tee of Managers, then at Leeds, England. Og-
den was steward of the ship "Patrick Hen¬
ry," sailing between New York and Liverpool,
and a member of Lodge No. 448. Through his
recommendation the warrant was granted, and
a bond of union established between the white
lodges of England and the colored lodges of Amer¬
ica that has continued uninterrupted until this
day, and we trust it shall continue till time shall
be no more. As to the origin of the order in Eng¬
land, we have only to say that it is the parent or¬
ganization of all Odd-Fellows upon the face of
the globe. The Independent Order Manchester
Unity seceded from our order in 1813, and estab¬
lished the Independent Order in America in 1819,
which in turn seceded from their parent in 1843,
and declared themselves "the only fountain and
depository of Independent Odd-Fellowship on the
globe." Such monumental gall is worthy of a
place in history. Only one lodge was established
in 1843. In 1844 five lodges were established; in
1845, five; in 1846, ten; 1847, four;; 1848, five;
1849, two; 1850, four; 1851, two; 1852, five.
The first ten years there were only forty-three
lodges established. From 1853 to 1863 there were
thirty-two more established. Nearly all of these
were in the North. Very few lodges were opened
from 1861 to 1865. But, with slavery abolished,
the order spread rapidly South and West, and
from 1865 to 1875 two hundred and thirty-five
new lodges were established. During the next
112
LAMP OF WISDOM.
fifteen years one thousand two hundred and fifty-
five more lodges were opened. From 1890 to the
present day there have been opened eight hundred
and fifty more lodges. Whole number of lodges
in America, two thousand four hundred and ten.
This does not include one thousand one hundred
female branches, two hundred and sixty-five coun¬
cils and patriarchies opened since the year 1844.
The order grew so rapidly during the 70's that it
became difficult to govern all the branches from
one central point, so State Grand Lodges were
established in 1880, with jurisdiction over the
lodges in the respective states. There are now
thirty-six grand lodges, but every grand lodge and
subordinate branch are subject to the laws of the
B. C. M. and orders of the S. C. M., the highest
legislative and judicial bodies in America. The
growth of Odd-Fellowship has been phenomenal.
Every state and territory in the Union, besides
Canada, Central and South America, the Danish,
French, English, and Spanish Islands, have re¬
ceived warrants from our Board; Englishmen,
Frenchmen, Spaniards, Danes, Indians, Chinese,
and Afro-Americans are included among its vast
membership—the latter, of course, predominating.
Next to its magnitude is the remarkable harmony
and unity that characterize its operation. No di¬
vision and subdivision have ever marred the beau¬
ty of this grand organization; no bickering and
contention have ever retarded the growth of that
fraternal fellowship with which our fathers anoint¬
ed the order over fifty years ago. What a grand
and inspiring thought that—amidst all the revolu¬
tions of the century which have divided Churches,
encouraged violent sectarianism, reared up new
societies which soon destroyed themselves by in¬
ternal strife, gave birth to new political parties,
GRAND UNITED ORDER OF ODD-FELLOWS. II3
fostered unions and labor organizations to the in¬
dustrial detriment of our race, sought to destroy
the confidence of the Negro in the ability of his
leaders and to array class against class—Odd-
Fellowship, the living monument of the capacity
of the Negro, has gone steadily on with majestic
strides over every opposition and planted its ban¬
ner on every hilltop and in every valley of this
broad land. In its work of benevolence and char¬
ity it has no equal. In developing the latent pow¬
ers of young men and cementing the race it is the
acknowledged and incomparable leader. How
shall we estimate the worth of Odd-Fellowship?
Its wealth in realty and lodge paraphernalia, as
per last reports from all branches, was found to
be $1,867,597.94. Its worth can not be estimated.
Our order has expended over $3,000,000 for the
relief of sick and distressed brothers, widows,
and orphans in the past fifteen years. Last year
16,197 reliefs were granted, and 1,434 persons
were buried; $294,824,29 was paid out for re¬
lief and burials during the year beginning August
1, 1895, and ending July 31, 1896. Think of the
amount of suffering and destitution this vast sum
assayed, and then estimate, if you can, the worth
of Odd-Fellowship to the cause of benevolence.
Its value to society and government can scarcely
be overestimated. Does it not teach the lesson of
purest "morality, ho'nesty, and sobriety? Yea; it
also teaches us to be faithful to our rules and loyal
to our country; to avoid turbulent measures, and
to submit with respect to the decisions of the leg¬
islative power. It is then surely of inestimable
value to any community or state to have under its
power and jurisdiction a body of men who are
loyal subjects, patrons to science, and friends of
mankind. Why multiply facts to show the proud
8
"4
lamp of wisdom.
preeminence of the order? An association that
has attained such vast proportions, under adverse
circumstances, with an annual revenue of $600,-
000, increasing rapidly each year in wealth and
members, may well be proud, not of the rank and
position these elements of strength may bring but
of the opportunities that are thus brought within
its reach of accomplishing the great object of its
existence—the relief of human suffering and the
advancement of the human race. The worth of
the order can not be estimated. To say that a
quarter of a million dollars was expended last
year for the assistance of those in need, and that
nearly two million of dollars have been accumu¬
lated in cash and property, might give some tangi¬
ble evidence of the worth of Odd-Fellowship.
But a greater worth remains untabulated in the
silent and unobtrusive influence exerted on society
through the operations of our three thousand sub¬
ordinate branches, wherein week after week,
through all the year, are taught those lessons of
morality, charity, and fraternity which over 150,-
000 members carry into practical effect in their
intercourse with each other and the world at
large.
SCOTTISH RITE NEGRO MASONS.
Question. What does R. W., Brother William
H. Upton, Grand .Correspondent, Washington, say
in the American Tylerf
Answer. "The mere fact that more than 27,-
000 of our fellow citizens, unknown to us as mem¬
bers of the fraternity, claim to be affiliated Masons
in good standing, and regularly study our mys¬
teries in 1,300 lodges which we never visit, is
alone sufficient to justify a brief reference to Ma-
SCOTTISH RITE NEGRO MASONS. 115
sonry among the colored men of America. The-
fact that the Grand Lodge of Florida has recently
accepted from the state a charter which expressly
limits her authority to Masonry among men 'of
the white race,' as well as some other circum¬
stances, tend to call attention to what have been
termed 'the minor Grand Lodges,' and to raise
the question of their legitimacy. Bent upon avoid¬
ing unnecessary controversy, we propose to ex¬
press no opinion upon the latter subject, but con¬
fine ourselves to a brief statement of their history
and statistics."
On March 6, 1775, an army lodge, warranted
by the Grand Lodge of England, and attached to
one of the regiments stationed, under General
Gage, in Boston, Mass., initiated Prince Hall and
four other colored men of Boston in the mysteries
of Freemasonry. From that beginning, with
small additions from foreign countries, sprang the
Masonry among the Negroes of America. These
fifteen brethren were probably authorized by the
lodge which made them—according to the custom
of the day—to assemble as a lodge. At least, they
did so, but it does not appear that they did any
work until after they were regularly warranted.
They applied to the Grand Lodge of England for
a warrant March 2, 1784. It was issued to them
as "African Lodge No. 459>" with Prince Hall as
Master, September 29, 1787. The lodge was or¬
ganized under the warrant four days later. It re¬
mained upon the English registry—occasionally
contributing to the Grand Charity—until the amal¬
gamation of the rival Grand Lodges of the " Mod¬
ern" and the "Ancients" into the United Grand
Lodge of England. In 1813 it and the other Eng¬
lish lodges in the United States were erased.
Brother Prince Hall, a man of exceptional abili-
ii 6
LAMP OF WISDOM.
ty and energy, worked zealously in the cause of
Masonry, and from 1792 until his death, in 1807,
exercised all the functions of Provincial Grand
Master. In 1797 he issued a license to thirteen
black men who had been made Masons in England
to "assemble and work" as a lodge in Philadel¬
phia. Another lodge was organized by his au¬
thority in Providence, R. I. In 1808 these lodges
joined in forming the "African Grand Lodge" of
Boston, now the "Prince Hall Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts;"" and Masonry gradually spread
over the land.
In 1847 the Negro Masons made the mistake,
which their white brethren narrowly avoided at
times, of forming a National Grand Lodge. This
body, when at its zenith in 1867, had twenty Grand
Lodges under it—Pennsylvania, New York, New
Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, we understand,
remaining independent—but it fell into decay; its
constituent Grand Lodges, one by one, with¬
drew; so that now, we are informed, its existence
is but nominal. Capt. W. D. Matthews, of
Leavenworth, Kans., has, we understand, been
its head for many }^ears.
The legitimacy of the Masonry among these
Negroes is acknowledged by the leading Masonic
historians, but has been vigorously and bitterly at¬
tacked by many eminent writers, some of whom
have, in their zeal, even gone to the extent of mis¬
quoting documentary evidence. A candid review
of the controversy would seem to disclose that the
motives which inspired the attacked were, named
in the order of their influence, race feeling, a de¬
sire to bolster the dogma of " exclusive territorial
jurisdiction," Scottish Rite quarrels, real doubt
of their legitimacy, and fear of discord among
white Masons. Of the arguments put forth against
SCOTTISH RITE NEGRO MASONS. II<]
the Masonry of the colored men, probably the only
ones which would receive any consideration at
this day, were: (i) That Prince Hall was only a
Master, not a Provincial Grand Master, and con¬
sequently could not warrant lodges; (2) that Ne¬
gro Masons read "free" where we read "free-
born;" and (3) that their existence violates the
"American doctrine of exclusive territorial juris¬
diction." To the first of these objections, the col¬
ored men remind us that the usages of the nine¬
teenth century were not those of the eighteenth;
that all over Europe lodges were formed by men
with no higher authority than Prince Hall's, as¬
suming that he was not a Provincial Grand Mas¬
ter; they point to numerous examples,- from that
of Kilwinning Mother Lodge to the lodge in which
Washington was made a Mason, to show that the
approval of any known Masonic authority was
then generally considered a sufficient credential to
justify Masons in working as a lodge. They quote
the statement of Brother Albert Pike in 1875, that
"Prince Hall Lodge had a perfect right (as other
lodges in Europe did) to establish other lodges,
making itself a mother lodge. That's the way the
Berlin lodges, Three Globes, and Royal York be¬
came Grand Lodges." And the opinion is that
the Negroes can make as good a show for the le¬
gality of their Grand Lodges as the whites can.
Answering the second objection, they contend that
"free-born" is not a landmark, but a Grand
Lodge regulation, and that "free," not "free-
born," is the reading of the Grand Lodge of Eng¬
land. The second objection takes two forms:
first, "that more than one Grand Lodge can not
exist in the same territory;" second, "that more
than one ought not to exist." To the whole ob¬
jection they reply that the dogma is no part of the
Il8 LAMP OF WISDOM.
Masonic institution, but is simply and admittedly
an "American doctrine." In addition, that, in its
first form, it is contradicted by all Masonic history
in nearly every country on the globe. Against it
in its second form some of them do not strenuous¬
ly object, but plead " necessity-," and the fact that
no real conflict has been occasioned by their ex¬
istence in practically an unoccupied field—among
the colored men, and that the spirit of the regula¬
tion has not been violated. Of course this brief
summary does not do justice to the arguments on
either side. One of the striking things about the
controversy is the amount of ability shown by
some of the colored men. For example, we do
not recall, in all Masonic literature, an abler paper
than that entitled The Negro Mason in Equity, by
M. W., Samuel W. Clark, G. M. of the Colored
Masons in Ohio, 1886.
In 1875 or 1876 a committee of the white Grand
Lodge of Ohio, consisting of Brothers L. V. Bierce,
E. T. Carson, F. Wilmer, C. A. Woodward, and
L. H. Pike, reported that they were satisfied be¬
yond all question that colored Freemasonry had
a legitimate beginning and that it had been trans¬
mitted to the colored lodges of Ohio. Also that
they had most satisfactory and conclusive evidence
that the colored Masons have our cities, ceremo¬
nies, and esotery. The committee recommended
that the colored Grand Lodge of Ohio be recog¬
nized as a legitimate and independent Grand Lodge
of Free and Accepted Masons of the state of Ohio.
This recommendation was defeated in the white
Grand Lodge by a vote of only three hundred and
ninety to three hundred and thirty-two. Upon the
question whether they exercise care in guarding
the fraternity from the admission of unworthy per¬
sons, it is to their credit that, while among the
SCOTTISH RITE NEGRO MASONS. I19
whites in the United States one in every eighty-five
is an affiliated Mason, the affiliated Negroes are
but one in each two hundred and seventy-three of
their race.
The Masonic Library of Walla Walla possesses
a nearly complete set of the " Transactions of the
M. W. Grand Lodge of the M. A. and Honorable
Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons for the
State of Ohio and Jurisdiction," of which body M.
W. J. A. Brown, of Columbus, is—or was in 1893
—G. M., and M. W. William T. Boyd, P. G. M.,
of Cleveland, an able and remarkably well in¬
formed Masonic scholar, Chairman of the Com¬
mittee on Correspondence. They have bodies of
all the high degrees^ including the Accepted and
Ancient Scottish Rite, and are enjoying—what no
Masonic body would be complete without, in these
days—a first-rate Scottish Rite controversy. It is
known to. a certainty that they possess our secrets
and practise our rites. It is, therefore, not for
the purpose of showing this, but to show how
much foundation there is for the claim that ciphers
and keys, when printed by Grand Lodges, are
carefully guarded that we print the following ex¬
tract from a private letter, dated March, 1895,
from one of their prominent members (colored),
Past Grand Master of Ohio, and a man of unques¬
tionable veracity: "We work all the rituals of
the (white) Grand Lodges, Grand Chapters, and
Grand Commanderies of the United States. The
revised rituals (the printed secret work) of the'
(white) Grand Lodge of Ohio were in our hands
before they were received by many of their own
lodges; the revised ritual of the General Grand
Chapter, as revised and promulgated at Denver,
has been in our Chapters for over eighteen months.
We have also the entire new rituals of the Templar
120
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Orders, which, as you know, only went into oper¬
ation in January, 1894."
Ques. What does the Chicago Sun say about
Masonry among the Negroes?
Ans. " Within the past two weeks a large
number of the white shriners and Masons in other
departments of Freemasonry have been in a state
of consternation in this city, and Masonic circles
in all of the departments of the craft have been
stirred up to the highest pitch. It now has leaked
out, and turns out to be true—and the white shriners
say that it is true—that John C. Jones, 330 of this
city, who is Imperial Grand Potentate for the col¬
ored shriners of the United States, and who is
also the Sovereign Grand Commander of the
United Supreme Council Grand Orient at Wash¬
ington, D. C., and who is a prominent lawyer of
the Chicago bar and a leading man among his
people, was the first and only Mason in the United
States to have a patent of power and authority to
confer this sublime degree of the mystic shrine.
Brother Jones got his patent of power from the
Grand Council of Arabia, which is the fountain-
head of mystic shrine, and the degree was con¬
ferred upon him by a Turk named Rofelt Pasha,
a deputy from the Grand Council of Arabia, in
1893, at Chicago, and assisted by others at the
Masonic hall with imposing ceremonies, and while
the secret work of the mystic shrine of colored
shriners is just exactly the same that is used by
the white shriners; the difference is about the le¬
gality of those entitled to do the work.
William J. Florence, 330, a prominent white
Mason of New York City, got the mystic shrine
work while he was on a visit to Arabia, and brought
it to America, and placed it in the hands of Dr.
Walter M. Fleming, 33°, who is another distin-
independent order immaculate. 121
guished white Mason in New York City, and in
1871 the mystic shrine degree was conferred on
several prominent white Masons. June 6, 1875,
Mecca Temple was established, but the trouble
now is that neither William J. Florence nor Dr.
Fleming, nor any other white shriner in this country,
ever had any power or patent from the Grand
Council of Arabia to do any work in the United
States. Brother Jones- last week presented his
patent from the Grand Council of Arabia to a
committee of white shriners and they declared it
to be genuine and legal, and the white shriners
were called upon to produce their patent of power
and authority, and they could not, as they did not
have any. This puts Brother Jones, a colored
Mason, to the front, as being the first and only le¬
gitimate shriner with power and authority to do
the work in the United States."
INDEPENDENT ORDER IMMACULATE.
Question. What can you say of this order?
Answer. It is a benevolent institution of great
merit.
Ques. When, where, and by whom was it
founded?
Ans. It was founded in Nashville, Tenn., about
twenty-five years ago, by Dr. W. A. Hadley and
a few other noble men who sought the good of
the race.
Ques. Has it a charter, secret work, and rit¬
uals?
Ans. Yes. It has a broad charter, and ex¬
tends to all parts of the United States. There
are fully 25,000 obligated members of the order in
122
lamp of wisdom.
the United States. Dr. Hadley prepared all the
impressive ceremonies and owns the copyrights.
Ques. Does it admit to membership both sexes?
Ans. Yes; it has lodges for men, courts for
women, and gems for children. All meet once a
year in a grand or supreme convention.
Ques. On what is the secret work founded?
Ans. Upon the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The ceremonies are impressive and beautiful.
Ques. Does this society give benefits?
Ans. It provides for its members in sickness,
buries them when dead, and also pays a kind of
insurance to legal representatives of the deceased.
Ques. Will you name some prominent Negroes
who are members of this noble order?
Ans. Dr. R. F. Boyd, Nashville, Tenn.; Dr.
H. T. Noel, Nashville, Tenn.; Prof. W. H. Coun-
cill, Normal, Ala.; Prof. W. S. Thompson, Nash¬
ville, Tenn.; and many others throughout the
country.
THE ORDER OF TWELVE.
Question. Who was the founder of the " In¬
ternational Order of Twelve, Knights and Daugh¬
ters of Tabor?"
Answer. Rev. Moses Dickson, of St. Louis,
Mo.
Ques. When and where was he born?
Ans. Cincinnati, Ohio, April 5, 1824.
Ques. Who were the charter members of this
order?
Ans. John Patton, Henry Wright, of South Car¬
olina; James Bedford, Silas W. Green, of Missis¬
sippi; Irvin Hodges, of Alabama; Peter Coleman,
Willis Owens, of Virginia; James Orr, of Louisi-
THE ORDER OF TWELVE.
123
ana; Miles Graves, of North Carolina; Henry
Simpson, of Georgia; Lewis Williams, of Tennes;
see; and Moses Dickson, of Missouri.
Ques. What was the object of this secret order?
Ans. The freedom of the slaves.
Ques. When and where was it organized?
Ans. On the second Tuesday in August, 1846,
in St. Louis, Mo. These twelve men met as per
agreement, and in the second story of an old
brick house on the southeast corner of Green and
Seventh Streets the "Order of Twelve" was
born.
Ques What was the next movement?
Ans. Organizations were made in all the South¬
ern States.
Ques. What kind of men were enrolled?
Ans. Courageous, patient, temperate, and re¬
liable men were the only class desired.
Ques. What time was set for the liberation of
the slaves ?
Ans. Ten years.
Ques. At the expiration of this time (1856)
how many members had they?
Ans. 47,240.
Ques. By what name was the order generally
known?
Ans. This organization was known among its
members by the name of "Knights of Tabor."
Ques. After the freedom of the slaves, what
•was the next work of the "Twelves?"
Ans. To secure schools for the colored chil¬
dren, and the next was to secure colored teachers
for colored schools. All this has been accom¬
plished.
Ques. What did Mr. Dickson decide to do in
1868?
Ans. He decided to create a beneficial order to
124
lamp of wisdom.
perpetuate the memory of the twelve who organ¬
ized the " Knights of Liberty."
Ques. When was this movement carried out?
Ans. A convention was held on the second
Tuesday in August, 1872, at Independence, Mo.,
when the National Grand Temple and Tabernacle
of the Order of Twelve of the Knights and Daugh¬
ters of Tabor was organized.
Ques. What has been the result of this organi¬
zation?
Ans. Within the past twenty-six years this order
has taken its place and rank with the greatest col¬
ored organizations of the world.
Ques. Name some of the chief objects of this
order.
Ans. It has a law making it the duty of every
member of the order to help build up the Chris¬
tian religion. It encourages education, morality,
and temperance. It teaches the art of self gov¬
ernment, true manhood and womanhood. It rec¬
ommends its members to get homes and acquire
wealth.
Ques. What other inducements does it offer?
Ans. It cares for the sick and disabled mem¬
bers, relieves the distressed, buries the dead, and
provides homes for the orphans and the aged.
Ques. In how many states is it organized?
Ans. Twenty-nine.
Ques. What is its membership?
Ans. It has oyer 30,000 Knights and 85,000
Daughters.
NEGRO PYTHIAN KNIGHTS.
Question. Who organized the first lodge of
Knights of Pythias?
Answer. Rev. T. W. Stringer.
NEGRO PYTHIAN KNIGHTS.
125
Ques. When and where?
Ans. March 26, 1880, in the city of Vicksburg,
Miss.
Ques. Since its organization what progress has
it made?
Ans. Its growth has been most marvelous.
Ques. What territory does it cover?
Ans. Besides about one-half the states in the
United States, it has lodges in the West Indies Is¬
lands, Central and South America.
Ques. What city has the largest number of
lodges?
Ans. St. Louis leads with five lodges and three
divisions of the uniform rank.
Ques. Why is there a probability that this order
will be widely extended?
Ans. Because of its recognition of the univer¬
sality of human brotherhood.
Ques. What great principles does it dissemi¬
nate?
Ans. Friendship, charity, and benevolence.
Ques. Is it sectarian or political?
Ans. Nothing of a sectarian or political charac¬
ter is permitted within its portals. The chief ob¬
ject of the order is to uplift the fallen, and be his
guide, hope, refuge, shelter, and defense.
Ques. Has this order an endowment rank?
Ans. It has, the object of which is to furnish
from $300 to $2,000 insurance at actual cost on a
perfectly reliable plan.
Ques. What is the numerical strength of this
order at this writing (May 2, 1898)?
Ans. Between six and seven thousand.
126
lamp of wisdom.
BENEVOLENT ORDER OF COLORED
PROFESSIONALS.
Question. When, where, and by whom was
the Benevolent Order of Colored Professionals
organized?
Answer. It was formed at Indianapolis, Ind.,
February 19, 1898, with J. W. Hunter as prelate.
Its main features are something on the order of
the "Elks" among the white people, but is en¬
tirely original with, the Negro. Subordinate
lodges are being instituted throughout the coun¬
try. It will no doubt fill a long-felt want among
the profession.
THE Y. M. C. A. WORK.
The work of the Y. M. C. A. among Negroes
has reached a high degree of perfection under the
management of that scholarly, polished Christian
gentleman, W. A. Hunton, whose headquarters
are in the city of Richmond, Va. The associa¬
tion has supported well-organized local associa¬
tions, with splendid rooms and secretaries. Nor¬
folk, Richmond, Philadelphia, and Washington,
D. C., have had good local quarters. The col¬
lege work conducted by Mr. Hunton extends to
all the leading institutions in the land; the good
he has accomplished can not now be estimated.
This association work is under the general direc¬
tion of the National and International Y. M. C.
A., Mr. Hunton deriving his authority and sup¬
port from that source.
miscellaneous race facts. 12
MISCELLANEOUS RACE FACTS.
Louisville, Ky., has a Negro Salvation Army.
W. Webster Davis is known as the Virginia
poet.
Rufus M. Cooper is Atlanta's leading merchant
tailor.
A. Means, of Memphis, Tenn., is a first-class
hatter.
The Negroes of Hayti speak the French lan¬
guage.
M. C. Lewis is editor of the Recorder, at Nor¬
folk, Va.
Over three hundred patents have been granted
to Negroes.
Miss Adnorah Naharis Boston's Afro-American
elocutionist.
H. O. Flipper is the first Negro graduate from
West Point.
D. D. Smith, of Richmond, Va., is a popular
merchant tailor.
There are eleven Negroes in the Legislature of
North Carolina.
Warren C. Coleman owns the largest store in
Concord, N. C.
George C. Scuriock, of Fayetteville, N. C., is
editor of the Sun.
Mr. Isaac H. Smith is a wealthy banker of
New Berne, N. C.
Rev. J. H. Dickerson is Deputy Grand Master
of Florida Masons.
128
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Col. W. A. Pledger, of Atlanta, Ga., is editor
of the Southern Age.
E. W. Glass, of Hopkinsville, Ky., is a mem¬
ber of the city council.
W. McCoy, of Detroit, Mich., is a wealthy in¬
ventor and manufacturer.
Prof. W. H. Spencer is Principal of the public
schools of Columbus, Ga.
E. H. Wright, of Chicago, 111., is county com¬
missioner of Cook County.
Baltimore has a Young Woman's Christian As¬
sociation for Negro women.
Cleveland, Ohio, has a Negro deputy sheriff, in
the person of Paul Schriner.
C. F. Holmes, of Columbia, S. C., is the edi¬
tor of the People's Recorder.
There are nearly one thousand children in the
Negro schools of Danville, Va.
The Weekly Recorder, of Norfolk, Va., has re¬
cently been changed to a daily.
John H. Dillingham and Co. are large wood
and coal dealers of St. Paul, Minn.
Samuel Fisher, Z. Copeland, and George Colden
are undertakers at Portsmouth, Va.
Prof. John W. Williams, a Negro, is private
secretary to Hon. Mark A. Hanna.
Thomas P. Morgan, of Chicago, 111., has one
of the largest bakeries in that city.
Barton F. Powel, of Albany, Ga., is one of the
most successful farmers in the state.
Dr. T. W. Henderson, of Philadelphia, is man¬
ager of the A, M. E. Book Concern.
MISCELLANEOUS RACE FACTS. 129
Mrs. Anna E. Sutton is said to be the most pop¬
ular Negro woman in Columbus, Ga.
A movement is on foot to hold a great Negro
exposition at Richmond, Va., in 1900.
M. A. Clark, of Marianna, Ark., is Grand Mas¬
ter of the Masonic Order in that state.
William A. Cline, of Plainfield, N. J., is one of
the first colored politicians in that state.
Prof. P. W. Moore, of Elizabeth City, N. C.,
is Principal of the State Normal School.
Edward I. Carter was the first Negro pressman
to work in the government printing-office.
George A. Myers, of Cleveland, is a member of
the State Republican Committee of Ohio.
Savannah, Ga., has 217 Negro employees in the
different departments of the city government.
San Domingo is a republic belonging to Spain,
and the Negroes speak the Spanish language.
J. E. Bruce, of Albany, N. Y., is the "most ex¬
tensive newspaper correspondent of the race.
Capt. R. J. Henry, of Atlanta, is said to be the
most hospitable social entertainer of the race.
Rev. Caesar A. A. Taylor is editor and pro¬
prietor of the Forum, published at Ocala, Fla.
Negroes are now employed in a knitting-mill at
Columbia, S. C., a mill owned by white people.
. Mr. John H. Burrill is Grand Master of the
Masonic Fraternity for the District of Columbia.
Mrs. CloustQn is said to be worth $50,000, and
is the wealthiest colored lady in Memphis, Tenn.
9
I30 LAMP OF WISDOM.
I. Garland Penn, of Atlanta Exposition fame, is
now a minister of the gospel of the M. E. Church.
The first school for the especial benefit of Ne¬
gro children was opened in 1830, in Philadelphia,
Pa.
Phineas Cartwright, a Negro, is boss black¬
smith at Studebaker's carriage works, South Bend,
Ind.
L. C. Binkley, of Philadelphia, is one of the
largest wholesale liquor dealers and bottlers in the
city.
E. R. Overall", of Omaha, Neb., has been mail-
carrier in that city for twenty-five years in succes¬
sion.
Out of a population of 50,000 Negroes in St.
Louis, Mo., one-third are said to own their own
homes.
Mrs. T. H. Lyles, of Boston, is the nation¬
al President of the John Brown Monument Asso¬
ciation.
Rev. George W. Clinton, D.D., of Raleigh, N.
C., is the youngest bishop in the A, M. E. Zion
Church.
Mrs. Mason, of Hannibal, Mo., is an evangelist
of great ability, an eloquent talker, and a deep
thinker.
Dr. J. Harris, of Boston, Mass., is the only Ne¬
gro specialist of the eye, ear, nose, and throat in
America.
Miss Georgia DeBaptist, of Evanston, 111., has
been appointed directory clerk in the Chicago
post-office.
Dr. Joseph H. Ward is Deputy Supreme Chan-
MISCELLANEOUS RACE FACTS. I3I
cellor for the Knights of Pythias for the District
of Indiana.
Charles W. Anderson, of New York city, was
the orator on "Negro Day" at the Tennessee
Centennial.
E. J. Crane is said to be the only Negro to make
a watch out and out. His place of business is
Richmond, Va.
R. M. Hancock is the boss pattern-maker at
Frazier and Chalmers' immense machine works
at Chicago, 111.
Miss Lizzie Seals, of Cleveland, Ohio, is a ris¬
ing young artist, who has already won more than a
local reputation.
The Old Folks' Home, under the auspices of
Friendship Baptist Church of Atlanta, is in a flour¬
ishing condition.
Louis H. Latimer is an expert electrician, and
is in the employ of the Electric Light Company of
New York City.
D. W. Sanders is said to be the best dog-trainer
of the Negro race. He is with the A1 G. Field
Colored Minstrels.
The Colored Orphans' Home, of Indianapolis,
Ind., has cared for 155 friendless colored children
during the past year.
The Colored Masons at Norfolk, Va., have
completed their four-story temple, said to be a
magnificent building.
The common council of Philadelphia has three
Negro representatives: Henry Martin, C. J. Perry,
and Andrew Stevens.
Nashville, Tenn., has a Negro population of
I32
LAMP OF WISDOM.
40,000, with forty churches, representing all the
leading denominations.
G. L. Davis is one of the most popular song¬
writers of the day, yet few people are aware of
the fact that he is a Negro.
James T. Rapier was a member of the forty-
third Congress of the United States. He died in
1883, at Montgomery, Ala.
The Jenkins Orphanage is located at Charles¬
ton, S. C. This institution is a blessing to the
race in that part of the country.
C. A. Johnson is assistant cashier of .the Capi¬
tal Savings Bank of Washington, D. C. Douglas
B. McCary is cashier of this bank.
Denver, Colo., is credited with having a greater
number of handsome residences owned by Ne¬
groes than any other city of its size.
Rev. Walter H. Brooks is the only Negro ever
placed in nomination and voted for for Chaplain
of the U. S. House of Representatives.
Rev. Marshall Taylor was the founder of the
United Brothers of Friendship, which was organ¬
ized August 1, 1861, in Louisville, Ky.
Rev. Alexander Crummell, D.D., of Washing¬
ton, D. C., is in his eightieth year. He is still
active in body and his mind is vigorous.
Mr. Charles Alexander is editor of the Monthly
Review, a magazine containing a very high class
of literature, published in Boston, Mass.
E.E. Murphy, of Leavenworth, Kans., has been
suggested to Gov. Leedy as a suitable man for the
position of State Insurance Commissioner.
Rev. B. A. Imes is Chaplain of the A. and M.
MISCELLANEOUS RACE FACTS. " 133
College, at Normal, Ala. He is one of the lead¬
ing ministers of the Congregational Church.
William B. Akers has succeeded Ida Wells Bar-
nett as editor of the Conservator. This is an ex¬
cellent paper, and is published at Chicago, 111.
Washington City still leads all others as to the
number of Negro population. The last census
shows 87,853 in the capital of our government.
Hon. E. C. Smith, of Cleveland, Ohio, is a mem¬
ber of the Ohio Legislature, and for thirteen
years has been editor of the Cleveland Gazette._
Nimrod was the founder of Babylon. He was
the son of Cush, the father of the Negro family,
and Ninus, his son, was the founder of Nineveh.
J. Q. Adams, J. E. Terrell, Charles Mason,
Fred L. Magee, and Will Rideout are leading
representative men of the race at St. Paul, Minn.
Isaac E. Allen, of Boston, is the first Negro in-
a Northern State to have been elected a counselor
to a Governor. He was born a slave at Hampton,
Va.
J. E. S. Capponi, of St. Augustine, Fla., is Su¬
preme Grand Chief of the American Negro Union,
organized in Nashville, Tenn., during the Centen¬
nial.
Prof. C. A. Leftwick is connected with the
Cookman Institute at Jacksonville, Fla. Jackson¬
ville has a population of 2^,^61, of whqm 15,000
are colored.
Mrs. Georgia Henderson, of Nashville, Tenn.,
is the International Grand Princess of the United
Brothers of Friendship and Sisters of the Myste¬
rious Ten.
134
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Hon. John M. Langston, one of the most prom¬
inent leaders of his race, died at his home in
Washington, D. C., on Monday evening, Novem¬
ber 15, 1897.
To any who may wish race information from
Montana, D. F. Faw, B. B. Adams, and D. P.
French, of Butte, will furnish any information
with pleasure.
Rev. Moses Dixon, of St. Louis, Mo., is the
founder of the " Knights and Daughters of Ta¬
bor,'" one of the largest secret organizations of
the Negro race.
A company has been incorporated at Asheville,
N. C., composed of leading Negroes, for the
erection of a hotel in that city for the accommoda¬
tion of Negroes.
The Federation of Afro-American Women was
organized in Boston July 31, 1895, and held its
first annual convention in Washington, D. C.,
July 20-22, 1896.
J. H. Lewis, of Boston, Mass., has one of the
finest merchant tailor establishments in the coun¬
try. He does a large business and employs many
men of both races.
Dr. H. R. Revels, the first Negro to occupy a
seat in the United States Senate, is a minister of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and lives in
Holly Springs, Miss.
Robert H. Key, of Washington, D. C., is the
General Manager of the National Steamboat
Company, a boat line owned and operated by Ne¬
groes of Washington.
Dr. J. M. Henderson, of Brooklyn, N. Y., is
one of the most intelligent ministers in the A. M.
miscellaneous race facts. 135
E. Church, and one of the most versatile and vig¬
orous writers of the race.
Fred W. Hedge, of Topeka, Kans., has accept¬
ed a position under President McKinley's admin¬
istration as clerk of the post-office department at
Washington, D. C.
J. H. LeMs, of Boston, Mass., is the largest
merchant tailor of our race. He is the second
largest in the state, and is said to be the fourth
largest in the United States.
The poorest Negro living is the man or woman
who has no race pride, no hope of the future, no
desire to see the race progressing and no ambi¬
tion to aid in its advancement.
Prof. E. Williams, of Medford, Wis., is the
only Negro circus owner in America. He owns
two hundred head of Arabian ponies and horses,
and employs seventy-five men.
Kansas has a Negro clerk of court at Hill City,
a Negro county attorney at the same place, a post¬
master at Nicodemus, and a professor of music
who teaches in a mixed school.
Prof. G. N. Grisham, A.M., is Principal of the
Lincoln High School, of Kansas City, Mo. He
is a native Tennesseean, and is a graduate of Brown
University, of Providence, R. I.
C. H. J. Taylor, editor of the Afj>eal, published
at Atlanta, Ga., is authority for the statement that
W. F. Cook, of Washington, D. C., is unques¬
tionably the greatest financier of the race.
Rev. John Jasper, pastor of the Sixth Street
(Richmond) Zion Church, and author of the fa¬
mous " Sun Do Move" sermon, observed his
eighty-fifth birthday anniversary, July 4, 1897.
136
LAMP OF WISDOM.
Peter Gillette, of Cottondale; William Hardin,
of Quincy; George Giles and F. P. Gadson, of
Ocala; Earnest Benton, of Paddock; Thomas
McClary, of Madison—are all wealthy Floridians.
Rodney Long was the first Negro appointed to
the Chicago police force. He received his ap¬
pointment in December, 1876. There are now
about thirty Negroes on the police force in that
city.
Cyrus Field Adams has one of the largest, if not
the largest, collection of stamps in the United States,
having six thousand varieties. Joseph W. Piles, of
Washington, has a most valuable collection of
stamps also.
The G. U. O. of True Reformers is the largest
secret society in the Union ever organized and
successfully managed by Negroes. It was founded
about sixteen years ago by Rev. W. W. Browne,
of Richmond, Va.
W. G. Atwood, of East Saginaw, Mich., is the
largest Negro lumber-dealer in the United States.
His property is estimated at more than $100,000,
all of which has been made in the lumber and
real estate business.
The "Invincible Sons and Daughters of Com¬
merce" is a national secret society that was organ¬
ized June 12, 1897, in Brooklyn, N. Y. The
members are pledged to purchase all their goods
from Negro merchants.
The first clock ever made in this country was in
1870, by Benjamin Banaker, a Negro, who had
never seen a clock, but who had seen a watch that
had attracted his attention and inspired him to
make something like it.
MISCELLANEOUS RACE FACTS. I37
Dr. Sadie F. Porter, of Nashville, Tenn., is
said to be a great magnetic healer. She offers a
reward of $5°' with a substantial guarantee, for
any disease, mentioned in her advertisement that
her remedies fail to cure.
The Capital City Benefit Society, of Washing¬
ton, D. C., was incorporated September 27, 1887.
Its present officers are: A. S. Taylor, President;
S. H. Walker, Vice-President; B. B. Whalen and
John N. Walker, Directors.
The National Anti-Mob and Lynch Law Asso¬
ciation, with headquarters at Springfield, Ohio, has
elected the following officers: William H. Dixon,
President; Samuel E. Huffman, Secretary; E. T.
Butler, National Organizer.
Things have greatly changed in Halifax County,
N. C., during the past few years. Now they have
a Negro county commissioner, a Negro postmaster
at every important post-office in the county but
two, a Negro jailer, and a Negro court crier.
P. V. Glenn is a native African healer, and in
many respects is the wonder of the present age.
At his home in Philadelphia people gather around
him by hundreds to witness his wonderful cures.
His local address is 1844 Lombard Street.
Miss Millie Christine, of North Carolina, is said
to be the greatest living wonder of the Negro race.
She has two perfectly developed heads, four arms,
four legs, and a single body. She is called the
44 Twin-lady," or the "Two-in-one young lady."
Wayland Seminary, a collegiate institution lo¬
cated at Washington, D. C., for the education of
Negro youth, will be moved to Richmond at the
end of the spring term. The school is under the
I3^
LAMP OF WISDOM.
control of the American Baptist Home Mission So¬
ciety.
The object of the National Colored Soldiers'
Monument Association of the United States, which
was recently organized in the city of Chicago, is
to erect in Washington, D. C., a monument to
the memory of Negro soldiers who fell in the great
war of 1861-65.
If at any time an apparent discrepancy should
appear in the population of any of the cities as
compared with statements made at any other
place, it can be accounted for in the fact that one
is the statistics of 1890, and the other is a later
census of each city.
The Fidelity Savings and Loan Association of
Indianapolis is the only institution in the state of
Indiana managed by Negro men. It is now in its
fourth year, and is doing a satisfactory business.
C. A. Webb, President; W. M. Lewis, Secretary;
and W. F. Christy, Treasurer.
Richard A. Hudlin, of Clayton, Mo., has been
on the reportorial staff of the St. Louis Globe
Democrat ten years. As a reward for his services
to the Republican party, President McKinley re¬
cently appointed him postmaster at Clayton, the
county seat of St. Louis County.
For the first time in the history of Kentucky the
body of a Negro has lain in state. It was that of
Lewis George Clark, the original of " George
Harris" in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and his body
lay in state in the Auditorium on Main Street,
from 9 o'clock until 2 on the day of the burial.
A Negro foundry company has been organized
in Chattanooga, Tenn. The building is 25x100
feet. The plant will make fifteen stoves a day.
MISCELLANEOUS RACE FACTS. 139
When running full time, fifty Negro men will
be employed. The plant is known as "The
Southern Hollow-Ware and Foundry Company."
The little republic of Hayti, with less than i,-
000,000 Negroes, has donated $1,000 toward the
erection of a monument to the memory of Hon.
Frederick Douglass. This is twice as much as
has been subscribed up to date (June 23, 1898),
by nearly 10,000,000 Negroes in the United States.
The Negroes at Vicksburg, Miss., have twenty-
four associations, lodges, and societies. Dr. C.
Henri Woode is the only practising colored physi¬
cian. Dr. W. H. Kirby is the only druggist.
They have two public school buildings, with nine¬
teen teachers, one college, two high schools, and
two or three private schools.
At the convention of the American Federation
of Labor, held at Nashville, Tenn., in 1897, Har¬
ry Llo}Td introduced a resolution, which was adopt¬
ed, welcoming to its ranks all labor without regard
to creed, color, sex, race, or nationality. This
was a move in the right direction. Negro labor
should and is going to be organized.
"Blind Tom," who for many years charmed
the music-loving people of this country by his
masterly playing on the piano-, has practically re¬
tired from the stage. He is nearly fifty years old,
and has made enough money to keep him ^ com¬
fortable the rest of his days. He is living in the
New Jersey highlands, with his guardian, Mrs.'
Learche.
Phillis Wheatley was a natural poetess. She
was brought to this country when eight years old
and sold into slavery from the auction block in
Boston, Mass. She once wrote a letter to General
I40
LAMP OF WISDOM.
George Washington, who acknowledged it with a
courteous reply, admitting her poetical ability.
She was emancipated at the age of 21, and died
at the age of 31 years.
Prof. W. E. B. DuBois has resigned his posi¬
tion as professor of ancient languages at Wilber-
force University, to accept the appointment ten¬
dered him as assistant in the Department of Soci¬
ology at the University of Pennsylvania. This
recognition of the race is received with delight.
Thirty years ago this institution refused the ad¬
mission of colored students.
The African Colonization Society has been in
existence more than eighty years. During this
time twenty thousand Negro emigrants have been
sent to Liberia. This is an average of two hun¬
dred and fifty each year. At this rate it would re¬
quire thirty-two thousand years to remove the
8,000,000 Negroes from the United States, but
it is not desired to remove them.
Alphonso Johnson, a bright and very intelligent
young Negro, a member of the Junior Class of the
Indianapolis Blind Institute, is said to be an ex¬
pert typewriter. It is claimed that he writes
seventy-five words a minute, with an average of
less than three errors. He is credited with being
a proficient mathematician, fully capable of dem¬
onstrating any geometrical or algebraical prob¬
lem.
The Colored United Friendly Society of Amer¬
ica, located at Athens, Ga., charges from five to
ten cents weekly dues, with one dollar annual
dues, and pays from one to two dollars per week
sick benefits, and from ten to seventy dollars bur¬
ial benefits. They have an Orphans' Home, where
MISCELLANEOUS RACE FACTS. I4I
children under twelve years of age, whose parents
were members of this organization, are properly-
cared for.
A race paper, published at Seattle, Wash., in
April, 1898, is filled with encouragement and en->
thusiasm for the Negro race. It advises emigra¬
tion to that state, and offers great inducements.
Hon. J. E. Hawkins", Hon. C. A. Rideout, John
A. Canna, Geoge H. Gross, and Judge G. A.
Bailey are representative men of our race who
live in Seattle, and will take pleasure in giving any
information desired.
One of the best Insurance Associations in the
United States is the one organized and managed
by Rev. T. W. Walker, of Birmingham, Ala. It
is growing more rapidly than any other company
of its kind in the world. Mr. Walker is a fine
business man. He conducts a first-class drug¬
store, shoe-store, and undertaking establishment,
and is Moderator of one of the largest Missionary
Baptist Associations in the South.
The "Strangers' Home" is an elegant modern
style Baptist church, with Rev. J. Milton Waldron
its pastor. W. A. Glover is an enterprising citi¬
zen of Jacksonville, and is prominent in many se¬
cret organizations. J. L. H. Watkins is the Pres¬
ident of Edward Walters College at Jacksonville.
Rev. W. A. Byrd, Rev. E. B. Braddock, Rev. S.
H. Coleman, Rev. E. W.Johnson, are among the
prominent A. M. E. ministers of Florida.
The Raleigh (N. C.) Gazette says there will be
nine Negroes in the House and two in the Senate
as follows: Vance, W. M. Page; Greenville, W.
H. Crews; Halifax, J. H. Arrington; Scotland,
Harris Edgcomb; Jordan, J. Dancy, E. E. Bry¬
ant; Northampton, N. R. Rawls; New Hanover,
142
LAMP OF WISDOM.
J. T. Howe; Wake, James H. Young. Senate:
Fifth District, W. Lee Pearson, Henderson. Out
of five in the House, three of these were in the
last Legislature.
W. C. Coleman, of Concord, N. C., has erected
a cotton-mill to be operated entirely by Afro-
Americans. A Concord correspondent to the
Washington American says: " This is the most
gigantic race enterprise that has ever been at¬
tempted in this country. The success of this mill
will mean the establishment of others. It will en¬
courage the race to branch out in other lines of
enterprise, broaden our scope, brighten our hori¬
zon, and give character and standing to the race."
" Bud " Rogan, a Negro, of Gallatin, Tenn.,
is the tallest person in the world so far as heard
of. He is eight feet tall. Aside from being eight
feet tall, he has a reach, with both arms extended,
of 96 inches, the longest in the world, and 21
inches more than Fitzsimmons. His hands are
each thirteen and a half inches in length, and his
finger-nails are about the size of a twenty-five cent
piece. His feet are eighteen inches in length,
and no shoes have ever been found that he could
put on.
Negroes all over the country will be pleased to
learn that there is one place in America where
Negro girls are allowed to earn a living by work¬
ing in the factories. This new step has been
taken in Charleston, S. C., mills, and Negro girls
are admitted to work freely and without friction.
In this connection it is said that white girls have
displayed no inclination to continue in the work,
and the manufactories have done the inevitable
thing in training Negro girls for their places. The
MISCELLANEOUS RACE FACTS. I43
same wages are paid and the results are equally
good.
Booker T. Washington, of the Tuskegee Insti¬
tute, delivered an address the other day before the
faculty and students of Trinity College, Durham,
N. C. This is the first instance on record of a
Southern white college inviting a colored man to
deliver an address. Mr. Washington says that he
and the half-dozen colored people who accom¬
panied him were treated with the greatest courtesy,
and his address was received with marked enthu¬
siasm. As he left the college grounds, the stu¬
dents assembled on the campus and gave him their
college yell.
The Colored American, of Washington, D. C.,
is authority for the following statement: "Nearly
ninety thousand colored people in the District of
Columbia, and not one shoe-store, not one dry-
goods or clothing store! What are we doing?
What are we thinking about ? With all our boast¬
ed wealth, progress, and opportunity, until we en¬
ter the channels of business, until we open stores
for monetary purposes as well as for giving em¬
ployment to our young men and women, we as a
race will amount to but little in the financial
world. We lack cohesiveness, we lack confidence
in ourselves."
Prof. W. S. Scarborough, A.M., of the Fac¬
ulty of Wilberforce University, Xenia, Ohio, is as
well known to the literary world, both black and
white, as any Negro in America. As a professor
of ancient languages he has but few equals, and
can be excelled by none. He is a Greek author,
and one of the only two Negro members of the
Philological Society of America, a society that
has only the most cultured brains of the Cauca-
I44
LAMP OF WISDOM.
sian race as its members. Prof. Scarborough is
an orator, lecturer, and profound scholar. In
him the Negro has a worthy representative. His
Greek text-book is used in many schools of both
races.
The late Rev. J. C. Price, D.D., was the first
President of Livingston College, and chief pro¬
moter of said institution, one of the greatest
orators in America. Borri at Elizabeth City, N.
C., in February, 1854. Ordained deacon at Wil¬
son, N. C., in 1875. Educated in Lincoln Uni¬
versity, taking classical and theological courses.
Ordained elder in 1880 at Charlotte, N. C. Dele¬
gate to General Conferences 1880, '84, '88, '92.
Could have been elected bishop in '88 and '92,
but positively refused to allow the use of his name.
Delegate to Ecumenical Conferences in London
in 1881, and Washington, D. C., in 1891. Great
temperance and race advocate and champion.
The Journal of Agriculture, of St. Louis, Mo.,
says: "Every colored man who expects to make
a farmer should buy a small tract of land, if only
ten acres, and improve it. The day of large farms
is passing away. Ten acres, properly cultivated,
will produce as much as forty ordinarily produce.
Let the poor colored man take courage. If he is
willing to make a home, in the timber, he can do
so, and be free from the mortgage-holder and the
interest-gatherer. Several counties in this state,
where valuable timber has been removed, can be
bought very cheap. This land, of course, is not
fertile like river bottoms, but with proper care it
can be made very valuable."
Topeka has five Negro schools, employing nine¬
teen Negro teachers. Prof. John L. Harrison is
the Principal of Washington School; Prof. Fred
miscellaneous race facts. 145
Roundtree, Principal of Monroe School; Prof.
R. H. Wade, Principal of .Madison School; Prof.
S. G. Watkins is the Principal of Lane School;
Prof. C. F. Clinkscale is the Principal of Buch¬
anan School. These gentlemen are all graduates,
and are ably assisted by Mrs. L. M. Jamison, Mrs.
Julia B. Abbott, Mrs. F. E. Buckner, Mrs. L. M.
Guy, Mrs. M. E. Langston, Mrs.D. H. Watkins,
Miss Celestine Johnston, Miss Nora Sexton, Miss
Mary A. Jamison, Miss Maggie Page, Mr. Ezekiel
Ridley, Mr. Nathaniel Sawyer, Mr. David De-'
Frantz, and Mr. James A. Page.
Speaking about mistakes of the race, Booker T.
Washington writes: "We have had any number
of conventions whose objects were to seek redress
for some grievance. This is right and proper.
But it is with a race as with an individual—it will
begin to make progress backward if it is constant¬
ly dwelling on the dark side, is constantly grum¬
bling and finding fault." Again he says: "We
have spent much time in discussing the value of
the nation's keeping on friendly terms with Spain,
and have failed, too often, in cultivating, in a
manly way, friendly relations with our next-door
neighbor. We have spent time and energy in try-
ing to get to Congress or the Legislature that
would have been better spent in trying to become
the leading contractor or real estate dealer in our
own town or city."
Speaking of race enterprises, H. A. Hagler, of
Atlanta, Ga., editor of the Southern Age, says:
" Our young men should go into business, and we
should support them, encourage them, speak of
their enterprises from the pulpit, and urge our
people to trade with them. We have in our cities
colored stores, printing-offices, wood and coal
10
146
LAMP OF WISDOM.
yards, meat-shops, tailor shops, drug-stores, black¬
smith-shops, undertakers, pawnbrokers, and pho¬
tographers, all of our own race. We have com¬
petent physicians, who ought to have the support
of the race. Our young men should organize
business leagues, cooperative stores, and become
united in business ventures. We need race con¬
fidence and race unity. A divided people will
always be a weak people. In union there is
strength. We must have race leaders, and re¬
spect them as such. No people can rise who con¬
tinually seek to run down and belittle their lead¬
ers."
Some of the leading Negroes of Washington City
have organized the Colored Supply Company, at
1607 Eleventh Street, N. W. The principles of
the company are grand, and it starts out under
bright auspices. It is the beginning of a new era
in our business life. The officers are: W. A.
Creditt, President; John R. Francis, M.D., Vice
President; Rev. Owen M. Waller, Secretary and
Treasurer;' Arthur S.'Gray, Assistant Secretary;
Joseph Morrison, Associate Treasurer; H. C. Ty¬
son, General Manager. The objects of the com¬
pany are to cultivate self-reliance and self-support
in business, to give employment and business
training to our industrious youths; to make our
patrons the profiters of their purchasing by allow¬
ing them participating certificates in the business;
to circulate and retain among us as a people, as
far as possible, the money so hardly earned in our
limited spheres of industrial, commercial, and pro¬
fessional life.
Pensacola, Fla., has a Negro population of
8,000. The Knights of Labor Association is a
big organization of Negro men." The Longshore-
MISCELLANEOUS RACE FACTS. 147
men Association, which includes draymen, hack-
men, house carpenters, milkmen, etc., is another
association among the colored people.. Pensacola
has fifteen churches, one state normal school,
eight public schools, one industrial school, four
physicians, two druggists, one dentist, one lawyer,
two undertakers, one dry-goods dealer, and twen¬
ty grocers. George B. Green is a wholesale and
retail furniture dealer. He employs five or six
men in this business. E. P. West, D. J. Cun¬
ningham, R. J. Edwards & Co., Green & Ha-
den, H. M. Demps & Co., Thomas McMillan,
C. Bradley, and E. C, Baker are all grocery deal-
lers. W. E. Harbey is an undertaker, and is sole
owner of his business. A. L. Marshall and H.
Fowler are first-class merchant tailors, who do an
extensive business with both races. The Pen¬
sacola Drug-Store is one of the largest in the city.
Dr. H. C. Williams is its manager, and Mr. C. H.
Smith, a practical pharmacist, compounds the
drugs. John Sunday, J. M. Harvey, E. Edwards,
W. E. Plummer, and A. H. Whorley »are among
the financial representatives of the race. Hon. M.
M. Lewey is a prominent politician. Among
other prominent men of Pensacola we mention the
names of M. S. G. Abbott, Dr. C. O. H. Thomas,
Prof. C. F. Call, Prof. E. E* DeVaughn, and Rev.
J. G. Peterson. F. E. Washington is editor of
the Florida Sentinel.
Of all the public institutions owned and con¬
trolled by the Afro-Americans, the Sunday-School
Union of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
deserves special mention. From a purely busi¬
ness standpoint it has been a decided success.
Organized August 11, 1882, it has just completed
the first fifteen years of its existence- What as to
148
LAMP OF WISDOM.
results? It is the first colored religious denomina¬
tion to adopt " Children's Day" as an anniversary
of annual observance, and to apply the collections
received therefrom to the extension of Sunday-
school work. It is the first colored religious or¬
ganization in the world to purchase and possess
real estate paid for by moneys raised exclusively by
Sunday-school children. It is the first colored re¬
ligious denomination to issue a series of graded
Sunday-school helps, such as quarterlies and lesson
papers. It is the first colored religious denomina¬
tion to print and publish, with the aid of its own
machinery and material, Sunday-school literature
and requisites. From the returns of Children's
Day it has received $56,969.57, while the receipts
to business aggregate $158,658. It has donated to
needy Sunday-schools, in the way of books and
periodicals, $5,057.98. It owns a solid stone
front, brick building, situated on the public square,
in Nashville, Tenn., which is of inestimable value
to the A. M. E. Church, and would not be parted
with for any sum less than $25,000. It is five
stories high, including the basement. Its periodi¬
cals have a circulation in almost every state and
territory and in the West Indies and West and
South Africa. Its property and business is easily
worth $40,000, and is free and unencumbered,
except a current debt of $1,500, which is partially
offset by a cash balance. It has never assumed
the attitude of a public beggar nor asked a white
person for a single penny. Its support from all
sources has come absolutely and exclusively from
colored people. Its founder, Dr. Charles Spencer
Smith, has been its secretary and treasurer from
its organization to the present.
greatest things on earth. i49
GREATEST THINGS ON EARTH.
The costliest mansion in Great Britain belongs
to Lord or Marquis Bute. He has expended over
$8,000,000 upon it.
The largest orchard in the world is situated near
Santa Barbara, Cal., belonging to Elwood Cooper.
It comprises 1,700 acres.
The tallest chimney in the world is at Fried-
burgh, Germany. It is 460 feet high, and cost in
the neighborhood of $30,000.
The largest estate in Russia is the " Crown
Lands." It belongs exclusively to the czars, and
is an estate of over 100,000,000 acres.
Vanderbilt's yacht, the "Valiant," is the
largest that has ever been built. She is 308 feet
long, 39 feet wide, and 16.2 feet deep.
The great Hamburg (German) grape-vine,
which was planted in the year 1751, and is now
sixty inches in circumference, is the largest in the
world.
The largest electric generator in the world be¬
longs to the Edison Illuminating Company, of New
York. It is situated at Nineteenth and Gradiot
Streets.
The largest state building in the United States
is the capitol of Texas. It is also seventh in size
among the great buildings of the world. It cost
$3,500,000.
The largest check ever drawn on a bank was
one of $12,278,750. It was drawn by G. W.
Young in favor of Thomas A. McEntyre, of
Brooklyn, N. Y.
The largest aerolite which has fallen since the
LAMP OF WISDOM.
dawn of history tumbled into the frozen soil of
Greenland in 1870. It is now in the museum at
Copenhagen. It weighs 49,000 pounds.
The longest tunnel in the world is the St. Goth-
ard. It is 9.2 miles long.
The longest single span of wire in the world is
used for a telegraph in India. It is over 6,000
feet long.
The largest Bible in the world is a manuscript
Hebrew Bible in the Vatican, weighing 320
pounds.
The largest map in the world is in course of
preparation by the United States government. It
is a map of her own country, and will cover an
acre in area.
The greatest lump of coal ever mined was ex¬
hibited at the Iowa State Fair. It weighed 7,000
pounds.
The largest church in the world is St. Peter's,
at Rome, Italy. It has a seating capacity for 54,-
000 persons.
The largest theater in the world is the opera-
house in Paris. It is said to cover nearly three
acres of ground, and was built at a cost of 100,-
000,000 francs.
The largest ship in the world is the " Great
Eastern." She is 680 feet long, 83 feet broad,
and 60 feet deep, with a capacity for 28,625 tons
burden.
Queen Victoria has the largest book ever made.
It is eighteen inches thick, and weighs sixty-three
pounds. It contains the Jubilee addresses of con¬
gratulation.
greatest things on earth. 151
The greatest elevation ever attained by a bal¬
loonist was 37,000 feet, about seven miles. This
ascension was made September 5, 1862, at Wol¬
verhampton, England, by Messrs. Glaisher and
Coxwell.
The largest bell in the world is the great bell of
Moscow. The rim is 68 feet in circumference,
and 21 feet high. It is 23 inches thick, and
weighs 443,772 pounds.
The loftiest active volcano in the world is
" Smoking Mountain," thirty odd miles south¬
west of Pueblo, Mexico. It is 17,740 feet above
the sea-level, and is 1,000 feet deep. Its crater is
three miles in circumference.
The greatest sheet of paper was made at Water-
town, N. Y., paper works. It weighed 2,207
pounds, was six feet wide and seven and three-
fourths miles in length, and was made and rolled
entire without a single break.
The deepest soundings of the ocean ever made
were ninety miles off the island of St. Thomas, in
the Atlantic, 39875 fathoms or 23,250 feet. Other
soundings of greater depth have been claimed, but
investigation has failed to prove.
Paris has the largest library: The Bibliotheque
National. It contains 1,400,000 volumes, 300,000
pamphlets, 175,000 manuscripts, 300,000 maps and
charts, 150,000 coins and medals. It has 10,000
volumes, containing over 1,300,000 engravings.
The portraits number 100,000.
The fastest regular express trains in the United
States run daily between Washington and Phila¬
delphia. The average rate of speed is forty-five
miles per hour, including stops. A part of the dis-
LAMP OF WISDOM.
tance is made at a much higher rate of speed, not
less than sixty-five miles an hour.
The largest trees in the world are the mammoth
trees of California. One in Tulare County was
shown to be 275 feet in height, 108 feet in circum¬
ference. Some of the trees are 376 feet high and
34 feet in diameter. These are the measurements
made by the members of the Geological Survey of
the state.
The largest desert is that of Sahara, a vast re¬
gion of Northern Africa, extending from the At¬
lantic Ocean on the west to the valley of the Nile
on the east. The length from east to west is about
3,000 miles, its average breadth about 900 miles,
its area about 2,000,000 square miles. Rain falls
in torrents in the Sahara at intervals of five, ten,
and twenty years. In summer the heat during the
day is excessive, but the nights are often cold.
The greatest fortress is the famous Gibraltar.
It is three miles long and three-quarters of a mile
wide. The highest point is 1,435 feet above the
sea. Its northern face is almost perpendicular,
while its southern terminus is what is called " Eu-
ropa PoinL" The east side is full of tremendous
precipices, while the west is less steep. Between
its base and the sea—in which it is a peninsula—
is the narrow and almost level span on which the
town of Gibraltar is built. This fortress is con¬
sidered, from a strategical point of view, the most
famous in the world. It is considered impregna¬
ble to military assault. Its regular garrison num¬
bers about 7,000.
THE STAR ©F ZION
Published at Charlotte, N. C. Edited by Rev. J. W. Smith,
D.D. Established in 1876.
Frie@p $1 pmr Awuunrjo
Independent in All Things,
Neutral in Nothing.
THE^FEMnEEM
©
Maryland's Leading Race Journal,
The Oldest and Best,
THE BEST ADVERTISING MEDIUM IN T^HH STATE.
Published Weekly in the Interest of the Race at
123 North Liberty Street, Baltimore, Md.
J. H. MURPHY, Manager.
mwriBT ¥11
PUBLISHED AT LITTLE ROCK, ARK.
Devoted to the interests of the colored Baptist denomination.
T A. Booker, Editor.
J (153)
THE. ESTABLISHED IN 1679.
AMERICAN
BAPTIST,
Published by William H. Steward, Louisville, Ky.
It has a larger circulation than any other denomina¬
tional papei in the state.
Thoroughly reliable.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $1.25 PER ANNUM,
FLORIDA EVANGELIST.
REV. J. M. WALDRON, A.M., Editor.
Published every Saturday by Florida Evangelist Publishing
Co. Established in 1896. Price, $1.50 per year.
It is the organ of the colored Baptist Church in the state.
THE GHARAGTRR
of a paper evidences the character of its readers.
THE GEORGIA BAPTIST,
Published every Thursday at Augusta, Ga., by
W. J. White, D.D., should be in the home of
every Baptist family in the state. Price, $1.50
per annum. Established in 1880.
THE. ADVOCATE,
JACKSONVILLE, FLA.,
M. J. Preston, Editor and Publisher. Established in 1891.
Price, $1.50 per annum. Issued every Saturday.
(154)
THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER
REV. H. T, JOHNSON,
Published at Editor,
Philadelphia, Pa., by
Rev, T, W, Henderson, D.D, ©——<©■—©•——
Established in 1852. The official organ of the African Meth¬
odist Episcopal Church.
»»» Subscription Price, $1 a Year. «««
It is a good advertising medium. Write at once for terms.
ZION HARP
Is published semimonthly at Greenville, Miss., by Rev. J. W.
Scott, in the interest of the colored Missionary Baptists.
Subscription Price, 75 Cents a Year.
THE Official Newspaper
of the
CHRISTIAN c-Mficw,
INDEX,
Is Published at q)
Jackson, Tenn,
REV. L H. ANDERSON, Editor and Publisher,
Price, $1.50 per Year, First,Class in All Respects,
Established in 1867. —
THE COURANT,
The Boston Courant, established September, 1887, is the
strongest representative Race Journal in New England.
It is a fact that it is the best-paying advertising medium to
reach the Afro-American.
{IBB)
JOURNAL OF THE LODGE.
DR E, A,- WILLIAMS, Editor and Publisher.
This paper has a larger circulation than any other race
paper in the state of Louisiana.
IT IS REPUBLICAN IN POLITICS.
Published every Saturday at 420 Baroune Street, New
Orleans, La.
THE BAPTIST LEADER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT SELMA, ALA.,
Is the official organ of the colored Baptists, and has a larger
circulation than any other denominational race paper in the
state.
THE
SENTINEL.
A Leading Negro Weekly Newspaper Pub¬
lished at Pensacola, Fla.
Liberal Terms to Agents. Address
F. E. WASHINGTON, Publisher,
PENSACOLA, FLA.
NATIONAL REFLECTOR,
SsIlCHITK, KKNS,
Published every Saturday by Jones, White & Co Price,
Newsy and bright. A good medium for advertising.
(156)
THE NASHVILLE CITIZEN,
GEORGE T. ROBINSON, Managing Editor.
Published every Saturday at Nashville, "Tenn., by the Citi¬
zen Publishing Co. Subscription for one year, $i. Furnishes
all the news all the time.
Established 1893. Circulation in 189S, 6,500.
The Weekly Express.
PUBLISHED AT DALLAS, TEX.
< PRICE, $1.25 PER YEAR. >
The only seven-column, eight-page, all "home-print" Negro
newspaper in the world. Stalwart Republican in politics.
Devoted to the interests of the country and the maintenance
of our institutions.
JV. E. King and J. Q. Tyler, Managers.
The Kansas City Observer.
THE LEADING COLORED PAPER OF MISSOURI AND KANSAS.
The oldest race paper of Kansas City, Mo. Subscription:
$1.50 per year; 75 cents for six months; 50 cents for three
months—positively in advance. Circulation, S>000, g°°d
advertising medium. It reaches the masses—preacher, politi¬
cian, and teacher as well.
Office, 117 West Sixth Street, Kansas City, Mo.
L. C, WILLIAMS and F. A. TURNER, Editors.
(157)
THE
COLORED
AMERICAN.
THE GREATEST OF ALL NEGRO
NEWSPAPERS—CLEAN, AGGRES¬
SIVE, NEWSY. IT IS NATIONAL
IN TONE, AND IT GIVES ALL OF
THE RACE NEWS.
IT is published at the nation's capital, and reflects
the progress, achievements, and doings of the
Negro everywhere.
It is beautifully illustrated, containing the portraits
and sketches of the representative men and women of
the race in all parts of the country.
The subscription price is (invariably in advance) :
Agents are wanted everywhere. Send for sample
copies and instructions to agents. Address
THE COLORED AMERICAN,
WASHINGTON, D. C,
(158)
$2 oo fer year,
J oo fer six months,
do fer three months.
The Indianapolis Freeman
Is the leading Negro journal. It is a real news¬
paper. No expense is spared in producing it. It is
the organ of all Afro-Americans. Always reliable.
Its aim is to publish all the news possible.
The Indianapolis Freeman
Is not only a national paper, but a historical paper,
with sketches and articles from the pen of oui; best-
educated men. Its sentiment went down into the
French prison" to the consolation of the Hon.
John L. Waller.
When You Support
The Indianapolis Freeman
You are supporting a paper that is pleading for jus¬
tice and liberty for 10,000,000 Negroes in America.
This is an oppressed race as far as justice and the
rights of citizens are concerned, and The Freeilldft
is doing more to create sentiment in the Negro's
behalf than any other Negro paper in the United
States. Agents Wanted Everywhere. Sub¬
scription Rates: $1.50 per year; 85 cents for six
months; 60 cents for three months. Address
The Freeman, Indianapolis, Incl.
(159)
Agricultural and
Mechanical College,
NORMAL, ALA.
The liberal College Course of four years and
the Normal Course of three years include, be¬
side the regular studies, instrumental and vocal
music, drawing, and fine art painting.
The Normal Preparatory Course of three
years and the Commercial Course of one year in¬
clude shorthand, typewriting, and bookkeeping.
A Bible Course of two years.
A Model School of two years.
Thoroughly equipped Machine - Shop. A
course of four years in Foundry, Sawmill,
Plumbing, Steam-Fitting, and Engine, Boiler,
and Pump Building and Repairing.
Thoroughly organized Agricultural Depart¬
ment, with three years' course in Agriculture,
Stock-Raising, Dairy-Farming, and Horticul¬
ture. t
First-Class Printing-Office. Presses run by
steam. Three years' course in Typesetting,
Job and Book Printing, Binding, etc.
Thoroughly organized departments with three
years' courses in Carpentry, Mechanical Draw¬
ing, Carriage-Making, Wood-Turning, Shoe-
Making, Painting, Broom-Making, and- Mat¬
tress-Making. Two to three years' courses in
Cutting and Making all kinds of Garments,
Fancy Needlework, Laundering, Cooking, and
Nursing.
Each department is in charge of competent
instructors.
Send for Application Blapk arid Illustrated
Ca* ilogue.
IV. II. COTTNCILL, Presidentr Normal, Ala,
(160)
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IT IS FINISHED!
%\
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUVENIR J®
VOLUME OF THE NEGRO DE=
PARTMENT OF THE TENN¬
ESSEE CENTENNIAL CALLED
parkling
Gems"
IS NOW READY.
W
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Thirty-five leading representa¬
tive colored men, and nine intelli¬
gent colored women, from every
quarter of the United States, have
contributed articles to this grand
book. Besides these, editorials oil important topics from Twenty-six
leading race newspapers have been quoted, making a grand total of
seventy-three Negro men and women who have been engaged upon
this work. Qon^ajns 2QQ Pages Beautifully Bound in Cloth. Price $1,25.
Every colored family in America who has any pride should own a copy.
Agents are making from $5 to $10 a day selling this b-jok.
Now is the time to commence work while you can get a vjood field,
WRITE FOR TERMS. Address
J. T. HALEY & CO., Publishers, Nashville, Tenn.
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