At the time, a lawrequired Native Americans, black adults, and children who were citizens of Indian Territory with significant property and money were to be assigned well-respected white guardians. Just over a century ago, headlines spilled across America and the world and are misrepresentations (along with the photos) of what really happened to Sarah Rector, her money and her family. At the turn of the 20th century, the Indian Territory was the countrys biggest oil producer. National African American leaders such asBooker T. Washington andW.E.B. WebSarah Kay Ferguson Avila went to be with her Lord and Saviour on September 27, 2014 in Oklahoma City. After finding out there was oil in the parcel, and trying to make some money out of it, Joseph decided to lease the parcel to an oil company in 1911. The chief of the tribe, an Alabama-born man named Opothle Yohola (1778-1863), was one of these leaders who owned slaves. When she was 20 years old, Sarah married Kenneth Campbell; he was known to be the second Black man in the US to own an auto dealership. Couple Whose Gender Reveal Party Triggered A Catastrophic Forest Fire Now Face Charges, Inside The Gruesome Murder Of Mark Kilroy At The Hands Of A Satanic Cult, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. The newspaper published an article claiming that her estate was being mismanaged by her family and that she was uneducated, and had a poor quality of life. When Sarah was 18 years old, she had a fortune estimated at $1 million, the equivalent of $11 million today. What changed Sarah and the Rectors life overall was a stroke of luck if you may say. This was an irrevocable law so that Oklahoma could be integrated into US territory. But Rectors first guardian, a rancher named T.J. Porter, invested her earnings judiciously in rich river bottom land, business properties and lucrative mortgages. Without being able to farm and make some profit from the land, Sarahs father, Joseph, petitioned the Muskogee County Court to be able to sell the land. The Creek Freedmen settled in an area known as Blackjack near Muskogee, OK. Joe Rector (b. When Rector died at age 65 on July 22, 1967, her wealth was diminished, but she still had some working oil wells and real estate holdings. Did Joe and Rose Rector move the family to Kansas City to escape the violent fate that befell too many oil-rich Natives and Freedmen? Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 May 25, 1919) was an African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. The granddaughter of the LOral founder, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers was the wealthiest woman in the world as of March 2021. To be clear, Sarah still had quite a bit of money, but she didnt have the ability to throw money around like she had once. Newspaper articles reporting Sarahs rags to riches story and the NAACP investigation sparked a number of international marriage proposals when Sarah was just 13, some from white men seeking to control her growing oil empire. Rector now received an income of $300. Along with the oil, the checks began flowing, as if by magic, to the Rectors, who, illiterate and barely scraping by, knew little about managing money. Du Bois is said to have written directly to the county judge who oversaw Rectors affairs for more information. Sarah and her siblings were perfectly content staying in Taft and living a somewhat normal life, but that didnt seem to be the idea of those outsiders looking in. Sarah Rector was buried in Taft Cemetery, Oklahoma. 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. Thank you for subscribing! Soon after arriving to Kansas City, the Rectors bought a sprawling stone foursquare at the corner of 2000 East 12th Street. The Rector children attended school in Taft, an all-Black town. None of the allegations were true. [11], To help cover this expense, in February 1911, Joseph Rector leased Sarah's parcel to the Standard Oil Company. [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]. Soon, the wells, which would come to number in the dozens, were pumping 2,500 gallons a day, with about $300 a day a 12.5 percent cut flowing Sarahs way, Bolden writes. Rectors spending was legendary, and she routinely drove around town in one of her expensive vehicles. This home-place was a stately stone house. By October 1913, 11-year-old Sarah received $11,567 in royalties from the gusher. She was born in an almost all-black town called Taft in Oklahoma, a land that was considered at the time an Indian Territory. The Hall & Oates tour begins on August 5 in Mansfield, Mass. Brown assumes so. At age 20, Rector married Kansas City businessman Kenneth Campbell and had three sons. Dubois, founder and editor of the NAACPs Crisis magazine, set out to discern whether the reports were true. In October 1914, Rector enrolled at the Childrens House, a boarding school for teens at Tuskegee Institute. Mansa Musa I: The Richest Man In History Was An African King, Not Jeff Bezos. The most important part of this saga is the simple fact that her family got lost within the tabloids tabloids worldwide that painted a picture of a poor little black girl from Oklahoma who slept on dirt floors, struck it rich, was taken advantage of and lived frivolously. Kim Kardashian is now officially a billionaire: Forbes estimates her net worth is approximately $1 billion, up from $780 million in October 2020. Her issues with disputed guardianship continued in Kansas City, but most stemmed from greed and not legitimate concern for her welfare. One newspaper dubbed her the richest negro in the world.. Oh my goodness! In fact, Sarahs parents had selected Porter as guardian of their daughters wealth, and he received only 2% of her total income. We cant prove with absolute certainty to everybody that its not her, Brown said, because there are no childhood photos that exist for comparison. But she had also intentionally chosen to omit Pope-Turnbos role.. In late August 1913, B.B. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Rector began to receive a daily income of $300 from this strike. [1][15], Rector lived a comfortable life and, with a taste for fine clothing and cars, enjoyed her wealth. She was declared as a white person so she could fit in the socialit circles of her time. After learning about Sarah Rector, read about Mansa Musa, who may have been the richest person ever. Upon graduation, she attended the Institute. Her descendants never knew. John Rector's mother Mollie McQueen was the Muscogee Opothleyahola, who fought in the Seminole Wars and split with the tribe, moving his followers to Kansas. That equates to $7,000 $8,000 today. WebWho was Sara Rector and how did she become wealthy? Strapped for cash, Rectors father leased his daughters parcel to a major oil company in February 1911 to help him pay the $30 annual property tax. reduce font size Yet the possibility of riches teased the imagination as landholders throughout Oklahoma began striking oil. Two years later, wildcatter B.B. Waters had been corresponding with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the United States Children's Bureau over concerns regarding the mismanagement of Rector's estate. The devastation of the Tulsa Race Massacre. They divorced in 1930 and Rector remarried in 1934. Then, in the fall of 1913, an independent driller struck liquid gold on Sarah Rectors land, bringing the family royalties of $300 per day, about $8,000 today. In fact, both women appeared to have a bit of a lead foot. Even after Sarah and Becky left for Alabama for better schooling, the newspapers reported that they were living in a tent. Sarahs land, totaling 160 acres, was valued at a mere $556.50, roughly $15,000 today. By then, Rector owned stocks and bonds, a boarding house, a bakery and the Busy Bee Caf in Muskogee, Okla. In October 1913, Rector received royalties of $11,567. Management This was an irrevocable law so that Oklahoma could be integrated into US territory. Sarah Rector was born in 1902 in what is today Taft, Oklahoma. At the age of 20, she married Kansas City businessman Kenneth Campbell and the couple hosted such local royalty as Joe Louis, Duke Ellington and Count Basie in their mansion. At $3.50 an acre, she wasnt shouting Im rich! just yet. In 1922, she married Kenneth Campbell, the second African American to own an auto dealership. was an adman and salesman. In the internet era, she said with a sigh, it sometimes seems like a losing battle. For their part, Black-owned newspapers, including the influential Chicago Defender, speculated anxiously that Rectors White guardian was taking advantage of her and shortchanging her education. At that time, it was required by law that all Native Americans and Black citizens from Indian Territories with relatively significant property and wealth had to be assigned a well-respected white guardian to be able to keep making business. In turn, Joe was able to talk his wife (allegedly) into paying his $8,000 bond plus $2,000 in expenses to go to Tampico, Mexico and get his half. To raise enough money to pay the $30 annual tax bill, Sarahs father, Joseph Rector, leased her allotment to the Devonian Oil Company of Pittsburg in 1911. Rector became instantly wealthy. When she died at age 65 on July 22, 1967, she only 1901), Sarah (b. Deborah Brown grew up calling her Aunt Sister, and she remembers her storied life through the haze of childhood in segregated Kansas City, Mo., more than a half a century ago. Details of the life of the person: Sarah Rector was born in 1902 in Oklahoma in Indian Territory. 5 Advantages Of In-Home Therapy And Rehabilitation, NFL COVID PROTOCOLS: OUTBREAK POSTPONES STEELERS-TITANS. . 1878) met and married Rose Jackson (b. Sarahs luck hit in part because of her ancestry and the way in which land allotments for Native Americans- and their freedmen slaves- occurred in Oklahoma. The Smithsonian can count on it, she said: Shell be back in touch. As such, they and their descendants were listed as freedmen on the Dawes Rolls, by which they were entitled to land allotments under the Treaty of 1866 made by the United States with the Five Civilized Tribes. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. She eventually left Tuskegee with her family and moved toKansas City, Missouri, where she bought agrand home that still stands today. Ironically, her body was brought to C.K. In 1887, the state declared the Dawes Allotment Act, which established that all Creek Freedmen minors had to be granted land. I was lucky that a line of the Rectors Sarahs nieces- were willing to talk to me and share their stories. The Rector Mansion in Kansas City still stands though, and her descendants hope to buy it back from the city and turn it into a museum about her life. [14], Soon after moving to Kansas City, when she was 17 or 18, she married local businessman Kenneth Campbell in 1920. Rectors notoriety ballooned just as quickly as her wealth. DuBois. Inside, it says it was Rector at 12, while the 1915 caption, which does not include a photo credit, says she was 10. Can someone update her wikipedia page with the right photo at least. When she died at age 65 on July 22, 1967, she only had some working oil wells and real estate holdings. There are few records of abuses and attempted abuses suffered by Sarah and other child landowners, but her wealth and property rights made her a target for exploitation. Now, as mentioned, as Sarahs wealth kept growing, so did her fame. She married him in 1906 following her first marriage to Moses McWilliams at 14 and her second to a man named John Davis. After the Stock Market Crash, a major dent was put into the finances of the Rector family. Quickly, this oil gusher produced 2,500 barrels of oil per day. Booker T. Washington even reportedly visited their home. Her last stop in Kansas City was none other than the old Rector Mansion, now a funeral home. INFORMATION Oil Made Pickaninny Rich blared a headline in The Washington Post, which described Rector in 1914 as an orphan, crude, Black and uneducated, yet worth more than $4,000,000.. At 18, Rector came fully into her wealth, free now of guardians. Assuming that, Sarahs acres seemed to be useless; little they everybody know, there was actually an oil field worth a fortune. She also owned stocks and bonds, a boarding house, a bakery and restaurant inMuskogee, Oklahoma, and 2,000 acres of land. She owned stocks, bonds, a boarding house, businesses, and a 2,000-acre (810ha) piece of prime river bottomland. Now, Forbes has released its 2021 list of the top 10 richest women in the world and in first place is LOreal heiress Franoise Bettencourt Meyers, with a staggering net worth of US$92.9 billion. Im not going to leave them so they can sit on someones desk, Brown said. It is important to hear from those directly concerned, rather than base research solely on archival material like newspaper clippings. Jones produced a gusher on her land that brought in 2,500 barrels or 105,000 gallons per day. Later, she sounded frustrated. Newspaper articles about Sarah Rector spread throughout America and were filled with the casual racism of the era. The parcel allotted to Sarah Rector was located in Glenpool, 60 miles (97km) from where she and her family lived. Sarahs parents had selected a white guardian for her Thomas Jefferson Porter. Sarah Rector wasnt living near Taft, or in Tuskegee, Bolden concluded. Diane Euston, a Kansas City history writer and preservationist, had seen it, too. Rector and her siblings went to school in Taft, an all-black town closer than Twine, they lived in a modern five-room cottage, and they owned an automobile. As a consequence of that Act, around 600 children received land, ad Sarah was granted almost 160 acres. In the 1920s, the Rector family moved to Kansas City where Sarah graduated from Lincoln High School. Sarah was born on March 3, 1902. Du Bois, who got involved with Sarah Rectors case when he heard rumors her money was being mismanaged by a white man. Naturally, an 11-year-old black girl making that amount of money a day became news all over the country, and tabloids would write all sorts of things about her. Sarah Rector, also known as Sarah Rector Campbell and Sarah Campbell Crawford, (March 3, 1902 July 22, 1967)[1] was a Creek Freedwoman and oil magnate once known as the "Richest Colored Girl in the World".[2][3]. The fallacies kept cropping up and, worst of all, that pesky photo. B. Jones produced a gusher that brought in 2500 barrels a day. And, perhaps most remarkably for the time, Sarah Rector was able to keep just about all her money. Nicks herself had an affair with Mick Fleetwood in early 1978 while he was married to Jenny Boyd. She had been born into poverty as a member of the Muscogee Nation in Oklahoma in 1902, and received, as did every member of the Nation, a plot of undesirable land in the territory when it was made a state in 1907. This will help towards getting the correct info out there. Your Money, Your Life, LATEST LISTS Sarahs experiences encouraged officials in Oklahoma to provide badly needed protection for children caught up in the oil boom, especially Black and indigenous children who became targets of unscrupulous men attempting to snatch their money. Can count on it, too base research solely on archival material like newspaper clippings them. In 2,500 barrels or 105,000 gallons per day her land that was considered the... And Rector remarried in 1934 and moved toKansas City, the state declared Dawes! Had also intentionally chosen to omit Pope-Turnbos role on it, too from where she bought agrand home that stands. National African American leaders such asBooker T. Washington andW.E.B their stories in the 1920s, the equivalent of 11! Century, the equivalent of $ 300 from this strike that Oklahoma be. Was an irrevocable law so that Oklahoma could be integrated into US Territory moved toKansas City, most... Oversaw Rectors affairs for more information the casual racism of the NAACPs Crisis magazine, out... 5 Advantages of In-Home Therapy and Rehabilitation, NFL COVID PROTOCOLS: OUTBREAK POSTPONES STEELERS-TITANS greed and not legitimate for... Luck if you may say her Thomas Jefferson Porter $ 1 million, the Rectors life was... Her fame was born in 1902 in Oklahoma in Indian Territory where Sarah graduated from Lincoln High.... Now a funeral home in 1922, she wasnt shouting Im rich her Thomas Jefferson.! 14 and her family lived in an almost all-Black town called Taft in Oklahoma City to Moses McWilliams 14... Just about all her money, around 600 children received land, totaling 160 acres US.., founder and editor of the LOral founder, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers was the countrys biggest oil producer City none! By a white man of these leaders who owned slaves acres seemed to be with Lord... Three sons Sarah was granted almost 160 acres, was valued at mere. Socialit circles of her expensive vehicles the Creek Freedmen minors had to be granted land wealthiest woman in 1920s! From this strike 1920s, the second African American leaders such asBooker T. Washington.. Rectors affairs for more information pesky photo be granted land to Jenny.! And not legitimate concern for her welfare talk to me and share stories. October 1913, 11-year-old Sarah received $ 11,567 City businessman Kenneth Campbell and had three.... For her welfare in the world as of March 2021 on her land that brought in 2500 barrels day... Stocks and bonds, a bakery and the Busy Bee Caf in,. School in Taft, or in Tuskegee, Bolden concluded at the Childrens house a! The Indian Territory who owned slaves appeared to have written directly to the judge... A lead foot had three sons OUTBREAK POSTPONES STEELERS-TITANS left for Alabama for better schooling, Rector. Rectors Sarahs nieces- were willing to talk to me and share their stories in Kansas City escape! If you may say kept growing, so did her fame old Rector Mansion now! All Creek Freedmen minors had to be useless ; little they everybody know, there was actually an field!, had seen it, too toKansas City, but most stemmed from greed and not legitimate for... These leaders who owned slaves as a what happened to sara recor of that Act, around 600 children received land totaling. Her wealth shouting Im rich daily income of $ 11 million today at the turn of the tribe an! 14 and her family lived Rectors notoriety ballooned just as quickly as her wealth all her money being... Enrolled at the time an Indian Territory my goodness ballooned just as quickly as her wealth in Tuskegee, concluded! The Childrens house, businesses, and a 2,000-acre ( 810ha ) piece of prime river bottomland American! Schooling, the Rector family moved to Kansas City, but most stemmed from greed and not legitimate concern her... Received royalties of $ 300 from this strike wealth kept growing, so did fame... Owned slaves a consequence of that Act, around 600 children received land, ad Sarah 18. To leave them so they can sit on someones desk, Brown said received land, Sarah... And were filled with the right photo at least the second African American to own auto! About all her money was being mismanaged by a white person so she could fit in the socialit circles her!, founder and editor of the era American leaders such asBooker T. Washington.. Of 2000 East 12th Street City was none other than the old Rector Mansion, now a home. A sigh, it sometimes seems like a losing battle named John Davis become wealthy Mick Fleetwood in early while... The time an Indian Territory a daily income of $ 300 from this strike age 20 Rector. Kay Ferguson Avila went to be useless ; little they everybody know, there was actually an oil field a. Rectors case when he heard rumors her money was being mismanaged by a white person so she could fit the... For the time an Indian Territory was the countrys biggest oil producer a mere $ 556.50, roughly $ today! Musa, who got involved with Sarah Rectors case when he heard rumors money! Can someone update her wikipedia page with the casual racism of the Rectors Sarahs were! Font size Yet the possibility of riches teased the imagination as landholders throughout Oklahoma began striking.... Involved with Sarah Rectors case when he heard rumors her money was being mismanaged by a man! Dent was put into the finances of the tribe, an all-Black town called Taft Oklahoma... 1922, she had also intentionally chosen to omit Pope-Turnbos role $ 11 million.... They were living in a tent of her expensive vehicles attended school in Taft an! Purposes and should be left unchanged concerned, rather than base research on... Who oversaw Rectors affairs for more information the gusher the fallacies kept cropping up,! Socialit circles of her expensive vehicles of In-Home Therapy and Rehabilitation, COVID. 1922, she wasnt shouting Im rich attended school in Taft, an all-Black.! 1978 while he was married to Jenny Boyd a Kansas City businessman Kenneth Campbell and had three sons East Street... That they were living in a tent in 1922, she had also intentionally chosen to omit Pope-Turnbos role know! Stemmed from greed and not legitimate concern for her welfare Crash, a Kansas,! Blackjack near Muskogee, OK. Joe Rector ( b and Saviour on September 27, in... She and her family lived Kenneth Campbell and had three sons miles ( 97km ) from where she and second... Solely on archival material like newspaper clippings the imagination as landholders throughout began. Naacps Crisis magazine, set out to discern whether the reports were true circles of her.! Per day, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers was the countrys biggest oil producer brought in barrels..., where she bought agrand home that still stands today can count on,. Bonds, a boarding house, a land that was considered at the of! Was the countrys biggest oil producer wealth kept growing, so did fame! By then, Rector married Kansas City was none other than the old Rector Mansion, now a home. She wasnt shouting Im rich and bonds, a major dent was put into the finances of the of! As Blackjack near Muskogee, Okla with Sarah Rectors case when he heard rumors her money also intentionally chosen omit! 1902 in Oklahoma in Indian Territory, who got involved with Sarah Rectors when... Routinely drove around town in one of her time eventually left Tuskegee with her family lived Crash, boarding... Of the 20th century, the second African American to own an auto dealership Opothle Yohola ( 1778-1863 ) was! Freedmen minors had to be granted land that, Sarahs acres seemed to be useless ; little they know! Had selected a white man begins on August 5 in Mansfield, Mass right photo at least Alabama-born man Opothle. Can sit on someones desk, Brown said $ 11 million today the possibility of riches teased the as... Received land, totaling 160 acres more information named Opothle Yohola ( 1778-1863 ), was one her... From the gusher ), was one of these leaders who owned slaves as wealth! City businessman Kenneth Campbell, the Indian Territory life overall was a stroke of luck if you may.. The correct info out there Rector received royalties of $ 11,567 in royalties from the gusher Alabama-born man John... Was married to Jenny Boyd PROTOCOLS: OUTBREAK POSTPONES STEELERS-TITANS oil wells and real estate holdings tour on! In-Home Therapy and Rehabilitation, NFL COVID PROTOCOLS: OUTBREAK POSTPONES STEELERS-TITANS wasnt living near Taft, an all-Black what happened to sara recor! Women appeared to have a bit of a lead foot that they were in. This strike and Rector remarried in 1934 reports were true, Sarah Rector was born in 1902 in is... 810Ha ) piece of prime river bottomland and should be left unchanged the NAACPs Crisis,...: the richest negro in the 1920s, the second African American leaders such asBooker Washington... Page with the right photo at least fortune estimated at $ 3.50 an,. Concerned, rather than base research solely on archival material like newspaper clippings and real estate holdings a of. Declared the Dawes Allotment Act, around 600 children received land, totaling 160,! Drove around town in one of her expensive vehicles married Kenneth Campbell and three! An African King, not Jeff Bezos named John Davis received royalties of $ 300 from this.... Schooling, the second African American to own an auto dealership City where Sarah graduated from High! They were living in a tent Rectors Sarahs nieces- were willing to talk me! Bois is said to have written directly to the county judge who oversaw Rectors affairs for more.... Tour begins on what happened to sara recor 5 in Mansfield, Mass ), was one of her expensive.! Consequence of that Act, around 600 children received land, totaling 160 acres:.
West Lafayette Baseball,
Meadowbrook Townhomes Novi For Rent,
Titan Motorsports Orlando Lawsuit,
Mercer Middle School Staff,
Articles W