Brown walked up to the visitors desk and asked the two women behind the counter if she could speak to a museum official to explain the photos before handing them over. Around 1906, Rector and her two siblings, Rebecca and Joe Jr., were each allotted 160 acres by the federal government, Bolden writes. 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. One of the greatest examples of this hypocrisy and nonsensical laws is the case of Sarah Rector, a young black girl deemed by the press and society as the Richest Colored Girl in the World, " and who was eventually declared white so she could be a member of society. All rights reserved 2022 Collective Culture. Three sisters, now in their 60s and 70s, sat down with 41 Action News Anchor Kevin Holmes to talk 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. 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. Beckys land was in Okfuskee County, and Sarah and Joe, Jr. ended up with parcels 50 miles northwest of Taft. Her issues with disputed guardianship continued in Kansas City, Upon graduation, she attended the Institute. 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. The couple had three sons and were recognized as local royalty, driving expensive cars and entertaining elites like Joe Louis, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie at their home. Her mother insisted that older sister Becky go along to ensure her younger sister was tended to. 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. 1886), and by 1907, they were living in a two-room cabin outside of Taft, population 250, on Roses land allotment. It became known as the Rector Mansion, Tonya Bolden said. Despite the wealth and businesses Sarah and her family ran, the Great Depression would take a toll on her fortune making her lose almost all her wealth. Crystal click on the link The New Santa Fe Trailer for a longer more in depth story. In 1887, the state declared the Dawes Allotment Act, which established that all Creek Freedmen minors had to be granted land. Still, after being declared white, Sarah Rector was fully accepted into the elite circles of Oklahoma. By the time she was 11, her portion of the familys land was earning more than 300,000 a year, drawing both suitors and global attention despite her age. Everyone has their own agenda (even those directly concerned) so we have to take bias into account. 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. Jones struck a gusher on Sarahs land that produced 2,500 barrels a day, which gave Sarah a whopping daily income of $300. She had three boys. The federal government required the appointment of financial guardians, usually White men, to manage the oil wealth of Native Americans and Freedmen. The truth: At the time, Rector was living with both her parents in a two-room cabin. Great greed followed great wealth, however, and the hunger for oil money sometimes led to murder, a phenomenon that played out notoriously in the decades-long killings of the Osage Indians for their oil rights beginning just a few years before Sarah struck it rich. The parcel allotted to Sarah Rector was located in Glenpool, 60 miles (97km) from where she and her family lived. [4] Sarah Rector died in 1967 from a stroke at the age of 65. Du Bois is said to have written directly to the county judge who oversaw Rectors affairs for more information. 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. 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. 1902) and Joe, Jr. (b. 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. Back then, it was known as Twine, Indian Territory, since Oklahoma had not yet been incorporated as a state. Played by Blair Underwood opposite Octavia Spencers Walker, C.J. A horse and buggy were purchased to spare the children the two-mile trek to school. Your Money, Your Life, LATEST LISTS Her fortune took a hit during the Great Depression, but she still owned properties in Kansas City and Oklahoma until her death from a stroke in 1967. Kansas City, Missouri 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. ABOUT Many Freedmen eked out a living raising corn, cotton and other common crops. Rectors lost most of her wealth during The Great Depression. B.E. Likely in order to escape scrutiny and not wanting to be the target of some greedy partys act, Still, Sarahs case was so big that it inspired the creation of the Childrens Department of the NAACP to investigate and protect children from white guardians being ripped off their land and wealth. B. Jones produced a gusher that brought in 2500 barrels a day. Shortly thereafter, he died and was buried in Blackjack Cemetery in Taft. and last updated 8:53 PM, Mar 02, 2021 KANSAS CITY, Mo. SistersInc. Who is the youngest richest woman in the world? Mansa Musa, who may have been the richest person ever. Dubois, founder and editor of the NAACPs Crisis magazine, set out to discern whether the reports were true. By 1922, Sarah was able to make her own decisions, and she married her first husband that year. Was Sarah Rector the first black millionaire? In 1913, a speculator produced a gusher on Sarahs land. Sarah married her first husband, Kenneth Campbell, in 1920. You can leave them as donations, one of the women politely told her. Rector, with the familys signature round face, looked nothing like the girl with the more angular chin in the picture, said Brown, who first caught sight of the photo online in 2010. Spain 's Jeff Bezos is the founder of both Amazon, the worlds largest retailer, and Blue Origin. We have things we would like to share with everyone., Today, their history is kept alive by relentless Rector women making sure their story from now on is told right.. In a role not unfamiliar to descendants of historical figures, Brown said she finds herself constantly playing whack-a-mole as journalists and academics replicate earlier errors. [12] Thus, as soon as Rector began to receive this windfall, there was pressure to change Rector's guardianship from her parents to a local white resident named T.J. (or J.T.) The land became part of the famous Cushing-Drumright Oil Field and it propelled Rector into both spotlight and scandal. Rectors spending was legendary, and she routinely drove around town in one of her expensive vehicles. Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. She divorced Campbell and married restaurant owner William Crawford, who she remained with until she died. Her issues with disputed guardianship continued in Kansas City, but most stemmed from greed and not legitimate concern for her welfare. He also concluded that the men that wrote her were fine looking chaps.. The couple had three children and though over a decade of marriage enjoyed the status of being local royalty. All Rights Reserved. Consider Little Sarah Rector, Unkempt, Illiterate, 12-year-old child, Half Negro, Half Creek Indian, read a 1918 article published in the Enid (Oklahoma) Events, managing two errors in the opening lines. When his people were forced west of the Mississippi by the U.S. government, the chief took his enslaved workers with him. Jones produced a gusher on the land. Joe wasnt in the best of health, but when a friend from back home named Jim Manuel was serving time in the penitentiary, he contacted Joe and claimed to have property in Mexico that had been found to have oil on it. Sarahs acreage, divided into two parcels near the bend in the Cimarron River, did not appear to be an exception. By Sydney Trent Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. As a result, Rectors guardianship switched from her parents to a white man named T.J. Porter. 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. At some point, the mansion was sold and Rector moved into a more modest house. 1. Who is the poorest person in the world? When Fleetwoods second marriage to Boyd broke down in 1978, he leaped into a new relationship with Nicks close friend Sara Recor. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. [11], As news of Rector's wealth spread worldwide, she began to receive requests for loans, money gifts, and marriage proposals, despite the fact that she was only 12 years old. . Sarah Rector moved to Kansas City in 1917, where she finished high school and stayed for the rest of her life. Many stores, including Emery, Bird, Thayer & Co., would close down and allow the Rector women to shop freely. In 1913, an independent driller, B.B. . The richest kid in the world is Prince George Alexander Louis who is worth approximately $1 billion dollars as of today. After learning about Sarah Rector, read about Mansa Musa, who may have been the richest person ever. Defeated, he sobbed all the way to Dallas on a train where he ended up in Baylor Hospital. She drove a green and black Cadillac, later adding a silver-plated Lincoln and a chauffer-driven Rolls Royce. But will go back to this in a moment. The Rector Mansion use to belong to Sarah Rector, the richest 12-year-old Black American at that time. The NAACP was able to convince the Rectors to send Sarah to the Tuskegee Institutes elementary school called the Childrens Home. 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. And Kardashian has earned at least $10 million annually since 2012 from endorsement deals, mobile apps and her show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Masthead. This home-place was a stately stone house. The family perspective is essential and its wonderful that they are determined to set the story straight. Walker did steal the base formula from Turnbo before adapting it into her own Wonderful Hair Grower. Sarahs land, totaling 160 acres, was valued at a mere $556.50, roughly $15,000 today. At this point, her lawyers claimed that she owned $750,000 in oil properties along with other assets that pushed her worth to over $1 million. Shes Not Madeleine: Scotland Yard Refutes Julias Allegations of Being Madeleine McCann. 1878) met and married Rose Jackson (b. But she was also on a dual mission: She had packed two small black-and-white photographs of Aunt Sister to hand to the right authority at the African American Museum in D.C. We were going to present them and say, This is the record. Du Bois to become concerned about her welfare. WebIn the 1920s, the Rector family moved to Kansas City where Sarah graduated from Lincoln High School. Rector was already a millionaire by the time she had turned 18 in 1920. 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. 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. 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