Her guardian, T.J. Porter, was a family friend, and although rumors spread that he was mismanaging Sarahs money, an NAACP investigation proved the claims false. A trillionaire is an individual with a net worth equal to at least one trillion in U.S. dollars or a similarly valued currency, such as the euro or the British pound. Joe ended up quite satisfied when he was able to lease Sarahs land to an oil company where he received a bonus of $160. If theres a lesson for others in her legacy, its in the importance of financial literacy, she said. There, the Rectors eventually moved into a home that was a far cry from that weather-whipped two-room cabin in which Sarah began life. Brown, then a grade-schooler living in a two-bedroom house with three siblings, her parents and her grandmother, marveled but didnt dare ask questions. Rectors spending was legendary, and she routinely drove around town in one of her expensive vehicles. What happened to Sarah Rectors money? Evidently the color of an heiress does not matter if the color of her gold is genuine, wrote Edward Curd, Sarahs attorney. In October 1913, Rector received royalties of $11,567. A record 13 feet of snow accumulated in the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range by Tuesday evening - the heaviest snow fall since 1985. Joe Rectors attempts to lease it for oil and natural gas exploration at first netted little. Although Joseph Rector had selected Porter as Sarahs guardian before oil was discovered on her land, newspapers soon picked up the story that the Rector family was still living in relative poverty while Sarahs white guardian was making a killing off her oil. Except for a short time in Missouri, she lived all of her life in Woodward and she had attended Woodward schools. The town belonged to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and was one of several all-Black towns set up specifically for descendants of Africans enslaved by the Nation prior to the Civil War. But her relatives say those images are fake. Everyone has their own agenda (even those directly concerned) so we have to take bias into account. Who was this girl, and how did she become one of the richest people in the early-20th-century US? Claim #2: China is a Good Faith Peacemaker . Sarah Rector was 11 when oil was discovered on her land in Oklahoma in 1913. . Meet Sarah Rector, the 11-Year-Old Who Became The Richest Black Girl in America in 1913. 1878) met and married Rose Jackson (b. She was the owner of stocks and bonds, a boarding house, a restaurant in Oklahoma, a bakery, and around 2,000 acres of land. Sarah Rector was born in 1902 near the all-black town of Taft, located in the eastern portion of Oklahoma, in what was then Indian Territory. The family lived in what was called the Rector Mansion in Kansas City, but wrangling over Rectors earnings and financial mismanagement continued until she was 20. Sarahs acreage, divided into two parcels near the bend in the Cimarron River, did not appear to be an exception. To make it more noticeable for her, they promised this move would elevate her social status, and was going to be able to ride on first-class cars on trains as if it would mend a lifetime of discrimination. Likely in order to escape scrutiny and not wanting to be the target of some greedy partys act, When Sarahs popularity grew, her parents were forced to give up their guardianship status to a white man named T.J. Porter. The Muskogee Cimeter, a black Oklahoma newspaper declared, It takes an awful big man to give the Negro a square deal and Muskogees judge is such a man.. Of course, there was a trick in this Act, and black children were simply granted the worst parts of the land; generally rocky and infertile soil so the good allotments could be granted to white settlers and distinctive members of the Indian tribe as it had been agreed upon. The family lived simply but not in poverty; however, the $30 annual property tax on Sarah's parcel was such a burden that her father petitioned the Muskogee County Court to sell the land. WebIn the 1920s, the Rector family moved to Kansas City where Sarah graduated from Lincoln High School. In January 1914, the newspaper wrote,Oil Made Pickaninny Rich Oklahoma Girl With $15,000 A Month gets Many Proposals Four White Men in Germany Want to Marry the Negro Child That They Might Share Her Fortune. Meanwhile, the Savannah Tribune wrote,Oil Well Produces Neat Income Negro Girls $112,000 A Year. DuBois. Walker did steal the base formula from Turnbo before adapting it into her own Wonderful Hair Grower. Many Freedmen eked out a living raising corn, cotton and other common crops. A guardian was appointed to manage young Sarahs income, and a judge oversaw the guardian. Each freedman was given 160 acres of land. Rector married the first of her two husbands at the age of 20 and bore three sons, all now deceased. Her issues with disputed guardianship continued in Kansas City, but most stemmed from greed and not legitimate concern for her welfare. Then in 1917, the source of all the speculation vanished from Oklahoma. Rector now received an income of $300. The Rector Mansion use to belong to Sarah Rector, the richest 12-year-old Black American at that time. 5 Factors Why You Should Be Selecting the Right Web Hosting Company. Ironically, her body was brought to C.K. Cover photo: These photos are commonly used when telling the story of Sarah Rector, however her descendants claim these are not her. Rector's allotment subsequently became part of the Cushing-Drumright Oil Field. Contact In 1913, a speculator produced a gusher on Sarahs land. BE 100s She divorced Campbell and married restaurant owner Your Money, Your Life, LATEST LISTS While her fortune had diminished over time, at her death, she still held considerable investments. When Sarah was 18 years old, she had a fortune estimated at $1 million, the equivalent of $11 million today. Sarah Rector was born in 1902 near the all-black town of Taft, located in the eastern portion of Oklahoma, in what was then Indian Territory. She had five siblings. In November 1913, not aware of the monthly allotments Sarah was getting, the newspaper headline read Richest Colored Girl Forced to Live in Shack. Claims were made that Sarah was sleeping on the floor and her guardian was only giving her a few dollars a month. Kerford Funeral Home. This was a burden that became so great that Joseph attempted to sell Sarahs land, but was blocked from doing so by state law, which forbade the sale of lands belonging to minors. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 May 25, 1919) was an African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. Sarahs cut per day was $300. Concerned with her wellbeing and her white financial guardian, early NAACP leaders fought to protect her and her fortune. Muscogee Judge Leahy wrote back and confirmed that Porter received less than two percent of Sarahs total income, that the Rectors lived in a new, fully-furnished five-room cottage, and that Sarah and her sister were set to attend a boarding school run by Booker T. Washington. Likely in order to escape scrutiny and not wanting to be the target of some greedy partys act, Sarahs family secretly slipped away and moved north to Kansas City by 1917. Mama Rose, as her family called her, was in charge of Sarahs money until she was able to get control at the age of 20. How the author stumbled on Sarahs story is included in this spellbinding presentation of an early America and real-life mysteries. The two photos side-by-side, one of a child in a plaid dress and the other of a woman with her hair pulled simply back, have been timelessly interpreted to be the richest black girl in America, Sarah Rector the very same Sarah Rector who lived out the majority of her life in Kansas City. But instead of hearing that Porter was taking advantage of Sarah in the manner described, Du Bois was reassured. It's a site that collects all the most frequently asked questions and answers, so you don't have to spend hours on searching anywhere else. Rector and her family where African American members of the Muscogee Creek Nation who lived in a modest cabin in the predominantly black town of Taft, Oklahoma, which, at the time, was considered Indian Territory. The Rector children attended school in Taft, an all-Black town. Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. [6] Sarah Rector was allotted 159.14 acres (64 hectares). [16], Rector died on July 22, 1967, at the age of 65. Connecting oklahoma's electric cooperative communities. Sarah Rector Campbell Crawford, or Sarah Rector (ca. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. WebWhat happened to Daryl Hall and Sara Allen? The couple had three children and though over a decade of marriage enjoyed the status of being local royalty. Economic Equity & Racial Justice Townhall Series, Elevate Black Podcast sponsored by Fifth Third Bank, 100 Founders of Change by American Express, Chasing Success Podcast by JP Morgan Chase, Black Business Month Sponsored by Nationwide, 2022 Registry Of Corporate Directors Listing, 2021 BE Registry Of Corporate Directors Listing. Her story spread throughout the national news, with both Black and white papers dubbing her The Richest Negro Girl in the World.. At the time, Sarah Rectors net worth was estimated to be comprised of about $750,000 in oil revenue, and she was bringing in over $100,000 per year. She is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records. By 1920, the Rector family was living in a beautiful brick mansion at 2000 E. 12th St. that was purchased by Mama Rose for $20,000 from Henry S. Ferguson, president of the U.S. Water & Steam Supply Company. Sarah Rector, the daughter of Creek Indian freedmen, rose from humble beginnings in a wind-swept two-room cabin near the tiny town of Twine in Indian Territory to become the richest Black girl in America when she was 11 years old. Mansa Musa I: The Richest Man In History Was An African King, Not Jeff Bezos. Jones drilled a well on the property which produced a "gusher" that began to bring in 2,500 barrels (400m3) of oil a day. Details of the life of the person: Sarah Rector was born in 1902 in Oklahoma in Indian Territory. Their backward and insistent narrative has even taken them to resort to legal shenanigans to maintain their speech and benefit from it. The ladies loved finer clothing, but being African American, they were not allowed to shop alongside white patrons in stores on Petticoat Lane. After Oklahoma earned statehood in 1907, the new state continued to draw drillers to the area hoping to get lucky. Back then, it was known as Twine, Indian Territory, since Oklahoma had not yet been incorporated as a state. This raised concerns throughout the Black community including the recently formed NAACP, who became interested in assuring her guardian wouldnt rip her off her fortune. Not too long afterward, Manuel disappeared into the sunset and Joe, embarrassed, finally wired his wife for the money to get home. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Sarah was born on March 3, 1902. Its too dangerous, Brown recalled. Du Bois, who got involved with Sarah Rectors case when he heard rumors her money was being mismanaged by a white man. He wrote of her white financial guardian: Is it not possible to have her cared for in a decent manner and by people of her own race, instead of by a member of a race which would deny her and her kind the treatment accorded a good yard dog? Certainly, the spending coupled with what Brown believes was little understanding of managing money didnt help. Rector Family PhotographSarah Rector moved to Kansas City in 1917, where she finished high school and stayed for the rest of her life. If youre unfamiliar with the story, The Richest Black Girl in America is set in the early 1900s, and follows the true tale of Sarah Rector, an 11-year-old Black girl in Jim Crow America, who is given reparations in the form of uninhabitable land by the U.S. government. The most vexing bit to Brown: the black-and-white photo of the somber-faced girl with pigtails wearing a dark plaid dress. You can leave them as donations, one of the women politely told her. [11] Given her wealth, in 1913, the Oklahoma Legislature made an effort to have her declared white, allowing Rector to reap the benefits of her elevated social standing, such as riding in a first-class car on the trains.[4]. They drive by the abandoned Rector Mansion, boarded up and falling into disrepair, wishing that they could find a way to buy it back and bring it to its former glory. Whats the Future of the Manufacturing Industry? Her parents, Joseph Rector and his wife, Rose McQueen (both born 1881) were African descendants of the Creek Nation Creek Indians before the Civil war. Rectors father leased Sarahs portion of the land to a Pittsburgh oil company in 1911, primarily to pay a yearly $30 tax bill. The Hall & Oates tour begins on August 5 in Mansfield, Mass. SistersInc. Booker T. Washington even reportedly visited their home. Some estimates place Sarah Rectors net worth at the time at $1 million, or about $28 million today. This raised all sorts of concerns among the Black community who believed this man would rip Sarah off her fortune. PO Box 54309 On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. According to historian Tonya Bolden in her biography Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America, Jefferson had been the familys benefactor for years and long before there was any probability of them every having money.. It included five tribes who were relocated by the U.S. government using a combination of bribery and force from their former homelands in the Southeast to what would become Oklahoma so that new white settlers could take over their rich land. 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