She hired herself out by the day and as there was money in the country, she received as pay potatoes, molasses, and peas enough to keep us from starving.". Regardless of the reason, his acquisition strategy made Atlanta Life one of the most successful black businesses in the nation by the 1920s. Completed in 1910, the Herndon Home, was the residence of Alonzo Herndon and his family. (Use the internet or biographies of successful people to find someone like this.) background:#111; He also became the president of this company. . Clergyman, activist, author And the company he founded, Atlanta Life, continues to prosper into the 21st century. Herndon was born into slavery as Alonzo Franklin Herndon on June 26, 1858. Within six months, Herndon became a sought-after talent in his new trade. 1. Do you know that he was born into slavery? @media screen and (max-width: 550px){body,p{ His holdings eventually came to include more than 100 residential and commercial properties. His full name is Alonzo Franklin Herndon. Herndon launched a business with only a formal education, but he was determined to make it. With the Southern economy wrecked, she was forced to accept payment in molasses, potatoes, or other provisions in order to feed her sons. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. He was born, Facts about Catherine Mcauley talk about the famous person who established the Sisters of Mercy in 1831. It is one of a few structures associated with Herndon in Atlanta and the success he brought to the city. The Company rapidly expanded, establishing branches in Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. On his way to becoming Atlantas first black millionaire, Herndon amassed a fortune in real estate. An African American barber and entrepreneur, Alonzo Herndon was founder and president of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the most successful Black-owned insurance businesses in the nation. } Herndon also sought to save other failing Black enterprises. He decided to leave his Social Circle in 1878. Worked Fields as a Child .flex-slider .read-more.read-more-slider a,.flex-slider.button-two .read-more.read-more-slider a,.flex-slider.button-three .read-more.read-more-slider a{color:#fff;border-color:#fff;background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);} An entrepreneur at heart, he learned barbering and eventually opened his own shop in Atlanta called the Crystal Palace and later founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Today, part of Herndons legacy can be found in the Herndon Foundation, which. He incorporated it as the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. ::-moz-selection{ Read more Reading age 8 - 10 years Print length 28 pages Language English Grade level 3 - 4 Dimensions header,.page header{ Du Bois. font-size:38px; By now Herndon was worth a small fortune, having made shrewd investments in Atlanta real estate, including a commercial strip on Auburn Avenue, business hub of the city's African American community. DuBois-led Niagara Movement. Another structure on Morris Browns campus is. Fax: (908) 580-3402 .upcoming-events li { He also invented his money in real estate. In 1905, Herndon purchased a failing mutual aid association . In 1893, he was married to Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, an Atlanta University drama instructor, scion of one of the citys most important black families and widely regarded as a great beauty. His mother was Sophenie, an enslaved woman. By the time of his death in 1927, Herndon was Atlanta, Georgias wealthiest African American and one of the first black millionaires in the United States. Are you interested reading facts about Alonzo Herndon? background:#f4c85e; Such financial success provided Herndon with entree into Atlantas black elite where he met his wife. Herndon didnt stop there; he continued to buy companies throughout the South, gobbling them until Atlanta Life became the largest insurance company owned and operated by African American in the nation. Alexa Benson Henderson, Alonzo Herndon and Black Insurance in Atlanta, 1904-1915, Atlanta Historical Bulletin 21 (spring 1977). Alonzo Herndon. They were homeless and living in poverty. Herndon received only a token amount of public schooling. All Stadiums England Premier League Championship League 1 League 2 National League National League North National League South All stadiums in England Premiership League 1 League 2 All grounds in Scotland Wales The family worked chiefly as sharecroppers on plantations in Social Circle, Georgia, 40 miles east of Atlanta. color:#f4c85e; Civil Rights Movement Mid- to Late 20th Century Topics . background:#f4c85e; About his early life Alonzo writes, "My mother was emancipated when I was seven years old and my brother Tom five years old. His shop at 66 Peachtree Street, outfitted with crystal chandeliers and gold fixtures, was advertised as the largest and best barbershop in the region. letter-spacing:0.7px; Eventually he established Atlanta Life, an insurance company. After Herndons death in 1927, his son, Norris B. Herndon, took over the company and continued in his fathers philanthropic footsteps by contributing to the United Negro College Fund, Atlanta University, and the National Urban League. value: 100, } All requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource must be submitted to the rights holder. }. DuBois-led Niagara Movement. Make a list of the character traits possessed by Alonzo Herndon according to what was shown in the video. Herndon was also a founding member of Booker T. Washingtons National Negro Business League. Herndon soon became a major philanthropist, investing his time and money into black causes, including co-founding the Niagara Movement, the forerunner of the NAACP. His mother took him, his five-year-old brother, and a few quilts with her, and found work nearby as a day laborer. At one point, Herndon was the wealthiest African-American in Atlanta. Herndon was born on June 26, 1858 in Walton County, Georgia to Frank Herndon, a white farmer, and Sophenie, his slave. li.social-icon ul li a,ul.single-social-icon li a i{ Despite his beginnings as a slave, through hard work and determination Alonzo was able to make his own success. His insurance business reported more than $400,000 in assets in 1922. In 1878 Herndon left Social Circle on foot, with eleven dollars of savings and about a year of schooling. Jan. 03 1992. The young Herndon was one of 25 slaves owned by his father, who The Crystal Palace became an instant landmark, drawing customers and tourists from across the south and beyond. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Born into slavery, he became one of the first African American millionaires in the United States, first achieving success by owning and operating three large barber shops in the city that served prominent white men. } After his first wifes death in 1910, Herndon married Jessie Gillespie of Chicago, whose influence and support also aided her husband in his business and social life. Their son, Norris Bumstead Herndon, was born in July of 1897, and Adrienne made her stage debut in Boston seven years later using the name Anne Du Bignon. 3. Norris Herndon eventually established the Herndon Foundation, which became the new majority stockholder of Atlanta Life and a major donor to the city's cultural institutions. American executive Alonzo Franklin Herndon (1858-1927) founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the leading insurers in the American South. Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company (Atlanta Life), "Alonzo Herndon, pioneering businessman | African American Registry", Who left what behind: wills of famous blacks; while some left millions, others left nothing but legal problems |, The New Georgia Encyclopedia; Alonzo Herndon, National Park Service--Register of Historic Places; Herndon Home, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alonzo_Herndon&oldid=1114544299, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 October 2022, at 01:36. Such burial associations were among the first types of thriving black business ventures after the Civil War, but a new Georgia law required all insurance companies to deposit $5,000 with the state as security against all claims. 260 14th St. NW She was sent adrift in the world with her two children and a corded bed and [a] few quilts. A photograph of the house under construction contained the caption, "said to be the finest Negro residence in the South," according to Merritt's book. The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. his personal fortune grew, Herndon entered the field of insurance. He was also involved in the Southview Cemetery Association, Atlanta Loan and Trust, and the Atlanta State Savings Bank, and was a key investor in Gate City Drug Company, the first black-owned drugstore on Auburn Avenue. [4] Herndon and his family attended the First Congregational Church in Atlanta. A 1916 reorganization made Herndon's company a shareholder-owned one, but he held the majority of stock. Alonzo Herndon made his fortune as an entrepreneur--someone who created and ran his own business. Georgias rise from the ashes of civil war sparked a debate about development and the future of the state. )- (Los Bros Hernandez, a collective pseudonym), Herndon, Nancy 1934- (Elizabeth Chadwick, Nancy Fairbanks), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/herndon-alonzo-franklin, The Mixed Legacy of the Reconstruction Era. Total Assets: $114.35 billion (1994) In 1882, he moved to Atlanta, and found a post with a highly regarded local barber. } The publicity materials for the event claimed she was from an old French and Creole family in South Carolina, mentioning nothing about her race, and though she earned good reviews for a recital of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, no other roles came her way. line-height:22px; Black barbers who owned a shop across the street from Herndons barbershop were killed by the angry mob. Insurance executive [1], Through his enterprises, Herndon became Atlanta's first black millionaire. The couple had a son, Norris, who grew Atlanta Life to even greater heights after Herndons death. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); List choice .footer-wrapper .footer-copyright .copyright { Public Co, 15 Mountain View Road, P.O. At the time of his death in 1927, he was also Atlanta 's wealthiest Black citizen, owning more property than any other African American. Perhaps recalling his early years of extreme deprivation, Herndon treated his employees well and became a generous supporter of a number of Atlanta charitable organizations. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. background:#111; It also produced his only child, Norris, who succeeded him as chief executive of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Alonzo Herndon and Booker T. Washington. Alonzo Herndon has been a part of the Entrepreneur list. Famous for founding and heading the successful Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company, he is also remembered as the city of Atlanta's first African-American millionaire. !function(c,h,i,m,p){m=c.createElement(h),p=c.getElementsByTagName(h)[0],m.async=1,m.src=i,p.parentNode.insertBefore(m,p)}(document,"script","https://chimpstatic.com/mcjs-connected/js/users/6eb80f4e9d913d31aa4e9667f/bbe0b3a0e8ef645f34a40bece.js"); She was a drama teacher at Atlanta University at the time. As the founder and President of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, Herndons empire began small but grew to become an inspiration for Black business. As for Atlanta LIfe, it exists today as Atlanta Life Financial Group, located at. /*margin-digbar*/ Twice Herndon's businesses were destroyed by fire: once in 1896 after a gas stove across the street from the Markham ignited its building and leveled the hotel, and again in 1902 when his new place on Marietta Street ignited in a fire that destroyed an entire city block. line-height:48px; After moving to segregated Atlanta, Herndon opened several barbershops including the upscale Crystal Palace in 1902. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. border: 1px solid #f4c85e; 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); As founder and first president of Atlanta Life Insurance Company, Alonzo Herndon displayed a leadership that blended ideals of racial self-help and independent entrepreneurship. His insurance business reported more than $400,000 in assets in 1922. 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