.navigation .menu > li > a:hover,.navigation ul li a:hover,header #main-menu-wrapper .menu-item-has-children > a:hover:after,.navigation ul ul.sub-menu a:hover,.smaller .navigation ul li a:hover, .home .smaller .navigation .menu > li > a:hover,.navigation ul .current-menu-item > a, Emancipated at seven years old in 1865, his family worked as sharecroppers in rural Georgia near Social Circle, some 45 miles east of Atlanta. (Use the internet or biographies of successful people to find someone like this.) Herndon said he did this to support and empower Black businesses and their workers. s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script', Facts about Elias Howe make us talk about the American inventor. Holla:CJ@AtlantaFi.com. color:#494bbc; Herndon employed an acquisition strategy where he bought out failing insurance businesses and merged them with his company. a:hover{ [1] He was even a delegate to the first conference of the National Negro Business League organized by Washington in 1890, and was involved in Du Bois's 1905 Niagara Movement, a conference held in Fort Erie, Ontario that eventually led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It is one of a few structures associated with Herndon in Atlanta and the success he brought to the city. } [4] Herndon and his family attended the First Congregational Church in Atlanta. In 1922 the company had achieved legal reserve status, a position enjoyed by only four other Black insurance companies at that time. } } ::selection{ line-height:48px; The move was a success and Herndon became the premier barber among Atlantas rich and powerful. 1890. B. .flex-slider .read-more.read-more-slider a:hover,.flex-slider.button-two .read-more.read-more-slider a:hover,.flex-slider.button-three .read-more.read-more-slider a:hover{color:#fff;border-color:#fff;background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);} Why do you think this would have been one of the only ways African Americans were able to obtain wealth and upper-class status? Box 1615 He eventually settled in Senoia, Georgia to work as a farmhand; here he started to learn the barbering trade, considered a good one at the time. Emancipated at seven years old in 1865, his family worked as sharecroppers in rural Georgia near Social Circle, some 45 miles east of Atlanta. In 1858, Alonzo Franklin Herndon was born into slavery in Walton County. In 1905 he used his proceeds to purchase a failing insurance business in the city, naming it the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. } His full name is Alonzo Franklin Herndon. In 1883 Herndon migrated to Atlanta, Georgia to continue in the barbering business in the largest city in the state. She was sent adrift in the world with her two children and a corded bed and [a] few quilts. background:#f4c85e; line-height:48px; Birthdate: November 08, 1866. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. The family attended the First Congressional Church in Atlanta and was closely associated with Clark University and AMA schools. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Ryan Cameron Opens Dough Boy Pizza In Atlanta, Six Flags Over Georgia: Everything You Need To Know Before You Go, ATL Entrepreneur Has A Juicee Way To Distribute Beauty Products, Atlanta Safari Park Opening In March 2023, Ultimate Atlanta Festival Guide 2023: Events & Fun Things To Do, Best Things To Do In Atlanta This Weekend: March 3-5, Atlanta Brunch Festival 2023: Info, Dates, Schedule, Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival 2023: Dates, Time, Info, Heres The List Of Movies Being Filmed In Atlanta, Georgia Right Now, Inman Park Festival and Tour of Homes 2023: Dates, Time, Info, Here Are The Best Things To Do In Buckhead, Best Things To Do In Atlanta On A Wednesday. In 1905, Herndon purchased a failing mutual aid association . In 1905, he purchased a small mutual aid association that eventually became the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Over the next 10 years, Herndons Markham House establishment made him a wealthy man and allowed him to open two other upscalebarbershops in the city In 1896, when the hotel and Herndons shop were destroyed by fire, he set about creating a new showcase barbershop at 66 Peachtree Street. .loader { He also became the president of this company. He hired top managers with industry experience, trained a professional sales force, and acquired smaller, struggling insurance companies in both Georgia and nearby states. .footer-wrapper .footer-copyright .copyright { According to the Atlanta Journal, Herndon and his all-Black barbering staff were known from Richmond all the way to Mobile as the best barbers in the South. Following the racial practices of the era, the Black barbers served an exclusively white clientele composed of the citys leading lawyers, judges, politicians, and businessmen. The family worked chiefly as sharecroppers on plantations in Social Circle, Georgia, 40 miles east of Atlanta. In mourning, he threw himself into managing his new business. Herdon was a former slave raised in a sharecropping family after the Civil War. U.S.A. Encyclopedia of World Biography. border-left: 5px solid #f4c85e; }.footer-wrapper { Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. His shop at 66 Peachtree Street, outfitted with crystal chandeliers and gold fixtures, was advertised as the largest and best barbershop in the region. In 1905 he purchased a failing mutual aid association, which he incorporated as the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. Another structure on Morris Browns campus is. Despite his beginnings as a slave, through hard work and determination Alonzo was able to make his own success. } Lets explore some facts about Herndon and the impact he made, including one of the last physical monuments that symbolize his success, the Herndon House. !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"); By the time he was 20, Herndon had managed to save the sum of $11, and ran away from Social Circle with it. 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. The Herndon Home is a historic house museum and National Historic Landmark at 587 University Place NW, in Atlanta, Georgia.An elegant Classical Revival mansion with Beaux Arts influences, it was the home of Alonzo Franklin Herndon (1858-1927), a rags-to-riches success story who was born into slavery, but went on to become Atlanta's first black millionaire as founder and head of the Atlanta . document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 15 Rare Black History Facts Youve Never Heard. In 1905, his property holdings were valued at nearly $325,000. 31. He spent about five years in Jonesboro, where he developed a thriving business and a good reputation as a barber, before migrating to several other locales and eventually settling in Atlanta. border-bottom: 1px solid #f4c85e; h3.view{background:#0e0e0e;} It also produced his only child, Norris, who succeeded him as chief executive of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Alonzo's marriage to Adrienne had a far-reaching impact on his life, greatly influencing his cultural and educational growth. color:#494bbc!important; AboutPressCopyrightContact. font-size:38px; That year Herndon changed the name of the company to Atlanta Life Insurance Company. } Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 22, 1999, p. A1; August 18, 2002, p. G1. Luckily, Herndon had already gone home for the day. line-height:22px; He went to Jonesboro, Clayton County on foot. An. letter-spacing:0.4px; Herndon died in 1927, at 69. 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. Tragically, Adrienne died the same year the house was completed after a bout with Addison's disease, a glandular condition. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. At the time of his death in 1927, he was also Atlanta 's wealthiest Black citizen, owning more property than any other African American. There he opened his first barbershop. Merged with two other firms and renamed the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, the firm prospered. Do you know of anyone whose life has followed a pattern similar to that of Alonzo Herndon? He was a founding member of Booker T. Washington's National Negro Business League in 1900. background:#0e0e0e; The other was John Merricks North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company. Du Bois Niagara Movement. Norris eventually settled down and earned an M.B.A. from Harvard in 1921, where he was one of two blacks in his class. Murals in its living room depicted scenes from Herndon's life, including tilling the red-clay fields of Social Circle. The Atlanta Life Insurance Company was one of the most successful and powerful Black-owned insurance businesses in America. He took his presumed father's surname. Herndon also used his wealth to support local institutions and causes, such as the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA), Atlanta University, the First Congregational Church, the Southview Cemetery, and the Atlanta State Savings Bank. Herndon worked on his fathers plantation near Social Circle, Georgia. Herndon's significant investments in property allowed him to improve a great deal of housing stock in the city that . Five years later he was one of the original members of the W.E.B. 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. Du Bois called a meeting of selected Black leaders to organize the Niagara Movement, Herndon was among the twenty-nine men who attended the founding meeting in 1905. In 1922, the name was changed to the Atlanta Life Insurance Company and expanded to several states in the south such as Florida, Kansas, Kentucky and other states. abides by its mission to advance the Herndon legacy through education, mentoring, and preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs. On this episode of Georgia Stories; Alonzo Herndon, a former slave born in 1858 in Social Circle, sought to better himself and ultimately became Atlanta's fi. At that time, he was 7 years old. 1925. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Henderson, Alexa. 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. Herndon continued his to expand his insurance empire. Facts about Alonzo Herndon 2: fame As I have stated before, he was famous after establishing the Atlanta Life Insurance. Later, in 1905, he joined WE.B. Incorporated: 1967 Biography. 191 Peachtree St #2500, Atlanta, GA 30303. 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. Total Assets: $114.35 billion (1994) Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Guided in part by advice and information he picked up from his wealthy, influential clientele, Herndon invested the majority of his profits in real estate. At the time of. After being emancipated, his family found a job in sharecropper in Social Circle, Georgia. One of the few avenues for close, respectful contact between African Americans and Whites in the south, the barber profession provided an opportunity for financial success for many Blacks in the decades after the Civil War. Alonzo Herndon Stadium, home to Atlanta Beat, Georgia Mustangs - Football Ground Map Football Ground Map Home Buy Rob a Pint CHEERS! It was located 40 miles to the east of Atlanta. 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. He was considered. Georgias rise from the ashes of civil war sparked a debate about development and the future of the state. Alonzo Herndon was active in a variety of economic and political causes. Atlanta Haps Newsletter alonzo herndon in 1905 herndon bought a failing Are you interested reading facts about Alonzo Herndon? Alonzo, Adrienne, and Norris Herndon, 1907. [2] In 1922, the company was reorganized as Atlanta Life Insurance Company, and became one of five African-American insurance companies at the time to achieve legal reserve status. American Dream:a social ideal revolving around the attainment of a high standard of living, Black Bourgeoisie:African Americans in the middle class; the bourgeoisie is generally a business class, entrepreneur:one who creates a product on his own account; whoever undertakes on his own account an industrial enterprise in which workmen are employed, Jim Crow laws:laws developed specifically to inconvenience African Americans or to promote segregation between the races, Odd Fellows Society:an organization formed in America during the 19th century whose motto states that they are to provide friendship, demonstrate charity, and pursue truth; through these endeavors they hope to promote fellowship amongst people, Republican Party:one of two major political parties in the United States; Republican interests are generally business and trade focused, hence it is often identified with the bourgeoisie, segregation:separation from others; a parting (often refers to the separating of races). Get facts about Alan Sugar here. Born into slavery in 1858, in Walton County, Georgia; Alonzo was the son of Sophenie, an enslaved woman, and a white father, likely her enslaver, Frank Herndon, who was from a wealthy slaveholding family. Georgia Public Radio GPTV, Dreams Never Realized: The Strike of 1914-15, A Phoenix Reconsumed: The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917, Beyond the Cookies: The Girl Scouts of America, Rebecca Latimer Felton: Senator for a Day, The Empire of Pink Morton: Turn of the Century African-American Mogul, The Mother of the Girl Scouts: Juliette Gordon Low, Welcome South, Brother: Georgia's First Radio Station. She eventually went back to work on the Herndon farm, living in a one-room log cabin with four other former slave families and being paid pitifully meager wages. Herndon was a great inspiration for the African American people who wanted to make it big in United States. Retrieved Jul 14, 2020, from https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/alonzo-herndon-1858-1927/. Alonzo Herndon was born on the 26th of June, 1858. However, the date of retrieval is often important. color:#494bbc; Alonzo Herndon made his fortune as an entrepreneur--someone who created and ran his own business. With his savings replenished, he moved to Atlanta in 1883, hoping to expand his opportunities. Fittingly, Herndon had asked that his pallbearers be drawn from among his barber staff. Alonzo Franklin Herndon was an African American entrepreneur who founded and was the first president of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Sign up to receive GPB Event announcements via Email. She was the decorator. His home was included in National Historic Landmark in United States in 2000. Born into slavery, he belonged to the first generation of successful African American entrepreneurs of the early twentieth century. 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