On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [1] Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps. That year Herndon changed the name of the company to Atlanta Life Insurance Company. [3], In 1893, Herndon married Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, a professor at Atlanta University who helped him gain an education and refinement. His son took over his businesses and . Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. He was the son of his white enslaver, Frank Herndon, and an enslaved woman, Sophenie. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. border: 1px solid #f4c85e; 2. Regardless of the reason, his acquisition strategy made Atlanta Life one of the most successful black businesses in the nation by the 1920s. Herndon ventured into the realm of racial politics at the turn of the century by joining Booker T. Washington in establishing the National Negro Business League. Encyclopedia of World Biography. ." Alonzo Herndon, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, died in Atlanta on July 21, 1927 at the age of 69. Take a virtual tour of Georgia's museums and galleries, Fashion and politics from Georgia-born designer Frankie Welch. background:#f4c85e; background:#111; 1. Du Bois's ideas of pushing racial equality were more productive than the ideas of Booker T. Washington. Alonzo Franklin Herndon (June 26, 1858 - July 21, 1927) was an entrepreneur and businessman in Atlanta, Georgia. Holla:CJ@AtlantaFi.com. font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } currency: 'USD', Alonzo, Adrienne, and Norris Herndon, 1907. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) (2004). He incorporated it as the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. Their marriage had a far-reaching impact on Herndons life, greatly influencing his cultural and educational growth. Alonzo Herndon was born on the 26th of June, 1858. Web site: http://www.cigna.com Alonzo Franklin Herndon was born on June 6, 1858, in Social Circle, Georgia, which is located in Walton County. Pub, Turner, Henry McNeal 18341915 "My aim," he explained in a speech that year delivered at the Tuskegee Institute and quoted in the Merritt book, "has been for several years to try to get as many of our people together to cooperate in business and along all other lines. The great trouble in establishing insurance companies among our people is that it is difficult for our people to understand the advantage of pulling together for the common and for their own good." He took his presumed father's surname. Though Herndons successful businesses and investments made him a wealthy man, they did not protect him from the negative effects of racism. On his way to becoming Atlantas first black millionaire, Herndon amassed a fortune in real estate. 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. 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. line-height:22px; Discuss the traits and describe how each one contributed to Herndons amazing success. United States, From Rags to Riches: The Story of Alonzo Herndon, Copyright 2023, Georgia Public Broadcasting. 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. As his personal fortune grew, Herndon entered the field of insurance. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. 3. ::-moz-selection{ } font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; In 1905, Herndon purchased a failing mutual aid association . never acknowledged paternity. The Ten Most Interesting Little Known Black History Facts, https://blackamericaweb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/10/102214lkbhf.mp3. There he opened his first barbershop. "Herndon was eager to capitalize on it.". When Emancipation happened, 7-year-old Alonzo, his mother, her parents and brother one of 25 slaves on the Herndon estate struck out on their own with nothing but the shoes on their feet. Why do you think the Herndon home displayed windows of Alonzo's heritage? "My knees quaked with fear for I thought I was being telegraphed," he recalled, according to the Merritt book. Alonzo Herndon was born in Georgia. Atlanta Life's business thrived, and they expanded their business into Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. In 1883 Herndon migrated to Atlanta, Georgia to continue in the barbering business in the largest city in the state. He also supported commercial activities, including the Southview Cemetery Association and the Atlanta State Savings Bank. border-left: 5px solid #f4c85e; .slider-wrapper .flex-slider .fs-caption-overlay{ In 1905 he used his proceeds to purchase a failing insurance business in the city, naming it the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. Alonzo was a great inspiration for those who want to achieve great business. In 1905 he became the founder and president of what he built to be one of the United States' most well-known and successful African-American businesses, the Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company (Atlanta Life). Alonzo Herndon. He was considered. 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. Public Co, 15 Mountain View Road, P.O. Herndon was born on June 26, 1858 in Walton County, Georgia to Frank Herndon, a white farmer, and Sophenie, his slave. Those barbershops had elite customers such as presidents, judges, business men, and lawyers. /*margin-digbar*/ Eventually he established Atlanta Life, an insurance company. He was a founding member of Booker T. Washington's National Negro Business League in 1900. . . Herndon was also a founding member of Booker T. Washingtons National Negro Business League. 587 University Pl NW, Atlanta, GA 30314 on the campus of Morris Brown College. }body,p{ .header-wrap-top .top-menu .top li a:hover{ Born into slavery, he belonged to the first generation of successful African American entrepreneurs of the early twentieth century. Alonzo Herndon and Booker T. Washington. Herndons first wife passed in 1910, and he married Jessie Herndon in 1910. Herndon's significant investments in property allowed him to improve a great deal of housing stock in the city that . line-height:48px; Alonzo Herndon rose to prime prominence as a Entrepreneur. 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. In 1893, Herndon married Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, a professor at Atlanta University, who influenced his cultural and educational growth. The Company rapidly expanded, establishing branches in Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. }@media screen and (max-width: 768px){body,p{ Alonzo Herndon, a former slave born in 1858 in Social Circle, sought to better himself and ultimately became Atlanta's first African-American millionaire. 31. 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. His son, Norris B. Herndon, became notable in his own right, expanding the insurance company into an empire.[6]. 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 Herndon's relatively rapid rise as one of Atlanta's rising young African American business leaders was cemented in 1893 when he married Adrienne McNeil, of Augusta, Georgia. . Economic Dignity (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1990); Carole 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. Alonzo Herndon and Booker T. Washington - Atlanta Life Project. .flex-slider li .caption-content p{color:#fff;} 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. Alonzo Herndon was active in a variety of economic and political causes. Subscribe to ournews alerts here, follow uson Twitterand like us onFacebook. 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. 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. ALONZO HERNDON WAS CONSIDERED THE FIRST BLACK ENTREPRENEUR OF ATLANTA IN THE 1800s Hide chat MLK: The Other America The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change Heartland. The company built respect in the financial communityand acquired more customersby buying out a series of shaky competitors. Herndon also sought to save other failing Black enterprises. display: block; Another structure on Morris Browns campus is Alonzo Herndon Stadium, an old 15,011-seat stadium that was once used for sports events at the school. 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. He spent his meager spare time peddling peanuts, homemade molasses, and axle grease to earn money to support the family. "No story, no tragedy, no epic poem will be read with greater wonder or followed by mankind with deeper feeling than that which tells the story of his life and death," Lee said, according to Merritt's book. "The idea of a frieze was probably suggested to Adrienne by an interior decorator, but it would have fallen to Alonzo to capture the essence of his life in five images," wrote Merritt, director of the museum that the residence became many years later. "Significantly, Alonzo chose field labor rather than barbering to depict his critical path to success." 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. } border: 1px solid #f4c85e; In 1920, the Atlanta Life building, built at 148 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, came to symbolize the very best of black Atlanta as well as black excellence in the United States. Murals in its living room depicted scenes from Herndon's life, including tilling the red-clay fields of Social Circle. border-bottom: 1px solid #f4c85e; Father of Larry Herndon; Roy V Herndon and Ora Herndon. 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. color:#494bbc; Herndons barbershops, his real estate holdings, and his insurance company flourished throughout the 1920s and survived through the Great Depression of the 1930s. He also had a younger brother, Thomas, as well as a number of half-brothers and half-sisters born to other slave women on the Herndon farm. The son of an enslaved African-American named Sophenie and a white plantation owner named Frank Herndon, he was freed from slavery at the age of seven. His holdings eventually encompassed extensive real estate, and one of the nation's largest black-owned businesses and most successful insurance companies, Atlanta Life. With Herndon playing a pivotal role as president and chief stockholder, the small association expanded its assets from $5,000 in 1905 to more than $400,000 by 1922. 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. His insurance business reported more than $400,000 in assets in 1922. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Featured Content. } He passed away on 21 July 1927. Many people simply call it as Atlanta Life. .footer-wrapper li, It was located 40 miles to the east of Atlanta. Worked Fields as a Child background:#f4c85e; He also owned a hundred or so residential rental properties in the city. The article emphasizes his competence and success as a businessman. Telephone: (215) 761-1000 "I knew my mother would never consent to my leaving the farm, so I took my little hand trunk on my shoulder and stole silently away in the darkness of night," he wrote in a memoir, according to Carole Merritt's The Herndons: An Atlanta Family. Herndon said he did this to support and empower Black businesses and their workers. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. He also became the president of this company. 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. A 1916 reorganization made Herndon's company a shareholder-owned one, but he held the majority of stock. B. . In mourning, he threw himself into managing his new business. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. Now he was a great deal businessman. At one point, Herndon was the wealthiest African-American in Atlanta. .page blockquote{ 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. In 1878, at the age of 20, Herndon left his family and moved to Jonesboro, Georgia where he openedhis first barbershop. After some years, Herndon decided to get in on the insurance business. 1925. Total Assets: $256.89 billion (2001) Whenever possible, he reinsured the policyholders and merged the faltering business into Atlanta Life in an effort to conserve confidence in Black businesses and save jobs for Black men and women. } His success in barbering was spectacular, and as his earnings grew, he invested in real estate in Atlanta and in Florida. He also invented his money in real estate. } He was born on June 26, 1858 and his birthplace is Georgia. 2. Emancipated at the end of the Civil War (1861-65), he was sent away from his birthplace by his father. fbq('init', '213902435871547'); } The shop was a success, but Herndon was pulled to Atlanta and he struck gold there. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. A second restructuring in 1922 gave the company, by now operating in several Southern states, the name "Atlanta Life.". margin: ; {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? Husband of Jane Gaston. Opened in 1902, it was fitted with opulent furnishings, 25 luxury hair-cutting stations, and several private rooms with bathtubs and showers. In 1913, he signed a partnership agreement with a Kentucky firm, Standard Life. Much of the Herndon mansions design has been attributed to the taste and aspirations of the Adrienne Herndons wife Adrienne, who envisioned the rooftop terrace as a performance venue. Here are some interesting facts about him for you: Herndon was born on 26 June 1858 in Walton County, Georgia. Learn more about the foundation. They had one son together, Norris B. Herndon. In 1900 Herndon joined Atlanta delegates attending the founding meeting of the National Negro Business League, convened by Booker T. Washington in Boston. -webkit-box-shadow: 0 14px 26px -12px rgba(255,255,255,0.42), 0 4px 23px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.12), 0 8px 10px -5px rgba(255,255,255,0.2);box-shadow: 0 14px 26px -12px rgba(255,255,255,0.42), 0 4px 23px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.12), 0 8px 10px -5px rgba(255,255,255,0.12)} } .header-wrap-top .top-social-icon li a:hover{color:#f4c85e;} Incorporateci: 1866 as National Travelers Insurance Herndon began to appreciate the acumen of operating good business when dealing with people, a quality that would come to serve him greatly later in life. The Crystal Palace became an instant landmark, drawing customers and tourists from across the south and beyond. .loader { Equality were more productive than the ideas of Booker T. Washington and axle grease to earn money to and! Restructuring in 1922 gave the company built respect in the city landmark, drawing customers tourists! The Crystal Palace became an instant landmark, drawing customers and tourists from across the and! 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