Flora, William (fl. 1775–1818), war hero and businessman, was born probably in the vicinity of Portsmouth, Virginia, the son of free black parents, whose names are unknown. On the eve of the American Revolution fewer than 2,000 free blacks lived in Virginia. The colony’s statutes forbade the manumission of slaves except those who exposed an incipient slave uprising. Consequently, Flora, who was known as “Billy,” was probably descended from Africans who arrived in Virginia before 1640, when blacks were treated like indentured servants rather than slaves....
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Flora, William (fl. 1775–1818), war hero and businessman
Charles W. Carey Jr.
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Grace, Charles Emmanuel "Daddy" (25 January 1881–12 January 1960), religious personality
Richard Newman
Grace, Charles Emmanuel (25 January 1881–12 January 1960), African American religious personality, was born, probably as Marcelino Manuel da Graca, in Brava, Cape Verde Islands, of mixed Portuguese and African ancestry, the son of Manuel de Graca and Gertrude Lomba. In the charismatic church that he founded and headed, however, he managed to transcend race by declaring, “I am a colorless man. I am a colorless bishop. Sometimes I am black, sometimes white. I preach to all races.” Like many other Cape Verdeans, Grace immigrated to New Bedford, Massachusetts, around the turn of the century and worked there and on Cape Cod as a short-order cook, a salesman of sewing machines and patent medicines, and a cranberry picker....
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Green, Hetty (1834-1916), private banker, money lender, and eccentric
Janet L. Coryell
Green, Hetty (21 November 1834–03 July 1916), private banker, money lender, and eccentric, also known as the Witch of Wall Street, was born Harriet Howland Robinson in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the daughter of Edward Mott Robinson, the owner of a prosperous whaling company, and Abby Slocum Howland, a member of one of the oldest and wealthiest families in New England. After the birth of her brother, who lived only a short time, Hetty’s parents sent her to live in her grandfather Gideon Howland’s household, where she was raised by her Aunt Sylvia. There she received her early education, reading the financial pages to her grandfather, whose sight was failing, and gaining a nascent understanding of financial markets. At age ten she attended a Quaker boarding school for three years, returning to New Bedford in 1847 after her grandfather’s death....
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Vanderbilt, Gloria Laura (20 February 1924–17 June 2019), socialite, fashion designer, and entrepreneur
Ann T. Keene
Vanderbilt, Gloria Laura (20 February 1924–17 June 2019), socialite, fashion designer, and entrepreneur, was born in New York City, the only child of Reginald Vanderbilt, great-grandson of
