3. Herndon was born on July 21, 1858, to Sophenie Herndon, a slave. Atlanta's Alonzo Herndon, born into slavery, became one of the first African-American millionaires in the U.S., founding Atlanta Life Insurance Company, among #main-menu-wrapper nav .mega .thunk-widget-menu .menu a:hover { From a very young age, Herndon worked as a laborer, and a peddler, to help support his family, as only his mother could work in the early years. 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. !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"); }); His child Norris B. Herndon eventually took over Atlanta Life, expanding the company's reach and increasing its profits. As proprietor, Herndon personally saw to the barbering services provided to some of the most important figures in the state, earning their acquaintance and good will. .home .navigation .menu > li > a:hover, .home .navigation ul li a:hover, .home header #main-menu-wrapper .menu-item-has-children > a:hover:after, Do you find this information helpful? The legacy of Alonzo Herndon (b. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. font-size:38px; His holdings eventually encompassed extensive real estate, and one of the nation's largest black-owned businesses and most successful insurance companies, Atlanta Life. Mrs. Herndon and her stepson worked together in leading Atlanta Life to even greater success. 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. 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. James Oglethorpe Colonial Figures. li.social-icon ul li a,ul.single-social-icon li a i{ line-height:22px; Alonzo Herndon is a famous Entrepreneur. Merrick, a contemporary of Herndons, also had begun his career as a barber. 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 . . He passed away on 21 July 1927. Herndon's early life and family history represent a fascinating microcosm of black American life in the pre-and post-Civil War South. background:#f4c85e; American executive Alonzo Franklin Herndon (18581927) founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, one of the leading insurers in the American South. [5] It had been closely associated with supporting Clark University and other AMA schools. Fax: (908) 580-3402 }h2,.two-grid-layout .post-content h2,.standard-layout .post-title h2{ Father of Larry Herndon; Roy V Herndon and Ora Herndon. 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. 1. In 1905, his property holdings were valued at nearly $325,000. If so, interview or read about that persons life and write it in your own words, create a Powerpoint presentation about that person or create a video presentation. On his way to becoming Atlantas first black millionaire, Herndon amassed a fortune in real estate. Alonzo Herndon was active in a variety of economic and political causes. 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. Freed by the 13th Amendment, Herndon and his mother, younger brother, and maternal grandparents became sharecroppers. Company Herndon was four years old when President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, freed the slaves in the Southern states that had seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy, but was seven when Frank Herndon released them when the war ended. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Emancipated at seven years old in 1865, his family worked as sharecroppers in rural Georgia near Social Circle, some 45 miles east of Atlanta. Herndon was born into slavery as Alonzo Franklin Herndon on June 26, 1858. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19192-1550 fbq('track', 'PageView'); He began by buying a failing mutual aid association in 1905, when the state of Georgia increased capital requirements for such businesses. "Herndon, Alonzo Franklin Why do you think the Herndon home displayed windows of Alonzo's heritage? Alonzo is also well known as, Famous for founding and heading the successful Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company, he is also remembered as the city of Atlanta's first African-American millionaire. 20072023 Blackpast.org. Alonzo Herndon rose to prime prominence as a Entrepreneur. border: 1px solid #f4c85e; Herndon bought the business for $140 in 1905, and when he deposited the sum according to the new state regulatory rules, his company became the first in the state to meet the new requirement. Herndon worked on his fathers plantation near Social Circle, Georgia. Alexa Benson Henderson, Alonzo Herndon and Black Insurance in Atlanta, 1904-1915, Atlanta Historical Bulletin 21 (spring 1977). As for Atlanta LIfe, it exists today as Atlanta Life Financial Group, located at 191 Peachtree St #2500, Atlanta, GA 30303. When he turned 20, Herndon left the farm with just $11 dollars and a year of schooling. "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. .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);} Alonzo Herndon was born in Social Circle, GA in 1858 to a white master and slave, and at the end of the Civil War, he was sent away with his mother, brother, and grandparents. In 1922 the company was reorganized as the Atlanta Life Insurance Company and achieved legal reserve status, a position enjoyed by only four other Black insurance companies at that time. )- (Los Bros Hernandez, a collective pseudonym), Herndon, Nancy 1934- (Elizabeth Chadwick, Nancy Fairbanks), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/herndon-alonzo-franklin, The Mixed Legacy of the Reconstruction Era. Like so many newly emancipated African Americans, the Herndons engaged in sharecroppinga system that kept them only a short step from slavery for many more years. .read-more.read-more-slider a:hover{ The firm grew rapidly in the 1920s, expanding its operations into a half dozen new states, including Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. never acknowledged paternity. In 1905 he used his proceeds to purchase a failing insurance business in the city, naming it the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. Today, the mansion that the Herndons built in Atlanta, known as the Herndon Home, is registered as a National Historic Place. In his leisure time, he relaxed at an orange-grove estate he had acquired in Lake County, Florida, which he improved and sold some years later at an impressive profit. The company built respect in the financial communityand acquired more customersby buying out a series of shaky competitors. In 1893, he was married to Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, an Atlanta University drama instructor, scion of one of the citys most important black families and widely regarded as a great beauty. Death: Immediate Family: Son of Stephen C Herndon and Lucinda Philpot McGowan. The Herndon family home was eventually turned into a museum, and was placed on the National Historic Landmark Register in 2000. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. .footer-wrapper .footer-copyright{ Today the home is registered as a National Historic Place. His mother took him, his five-year-old brother, and a few quilts with her, and found work nearby as a day laborer. 2. Subscribe to ournews alerts here, follow uson Twitterand like us onFacebook. Famous for founding and heading the successful Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company, he is also remembered as the . The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 56. He decided to open his barbershop here. One of the results of the Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906 was that Black leaders realized that W. E. B. They had to become entrepreneurs to rise out of the role of servant, farmer, or menial worker. color:#f4c85e; Many white men used African-American barbers in these years. "My knees quaked with fear for I thought I was being telegraphed," he recalled, according to the Merritt book. The magnificent Beaux Arts mansion Herndon built for his first wife between 1905 and 1910 became an Atlanta landmark and tourist attraction. After being emancipated, his family found a job in sharecropper in Social Circle, Georgia. } Five years later he was one of the original members of the W.E.B. background:#f4c85e; Alonzo Herndon, a former slave born in 1858 in Social Circle, sought to better himself and ultimately became Atlanta's first African-American millionaire. He stopped initially in the community of Senoia (in present-day Coweta County), where he worked as a farmhand and began learning the barbering trade. Alonzo Herndon began construction on the house in 1905 and it was substantially complete when Adrienne Herndon died after a brief illness in 1910. 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. [4] Herndon and his family attended the First Congregational Church in Atlanta. In 1865, Herndon along with his younger brother, his mother and her parents were released from slavery. Born into slavery, he belonged to the first generation of successful African American entrepreneurs of the early twentieth century. Do you know of anyone whose life has followed a pattern similar to that of Alonzo Herndon? Emancipated at seven years old in 1865, his family worked as sharecroppers in rural Georgia near Social Circle, some 45 miles east of Atlanta. } How does Alonzo Herdon embody the American dream? Alonzo Herndon, a former slave born in 1858 in Social Circle, sought to better himself and ultimately became Atlanta's first African-American millionaire. line-height:48px; 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. Feb. 24 1955. alonzo herndon in 1905 herndon bought a failing A 1916 reorganization made Herndon's company a shareholder-owned one, but he held the majority of stock. U.S.A. 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. In 1905, he purchased a small mutual aid association that eventually became the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Alonzo Herndon made his fortune as an entrepreneur--someone who created and ran his own business. Alonzo Herndon. It remained a segregated establishment until it closed in 1972. Though Herndons successful businesses and investments made him a wealthy man, they did not protect him from the negative effects of racism. Husband of Jane Gaston. 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. Georgias rise from the ashes of civil war sparked a debate about development and the future of the state. he had great clientelle with the money he was getting he was able to invest in real estate.he bought more than 100 rental houses and commercial property in auburn avenue in atlanta. Merged with two other firms and renamed the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, the firm prospered. AtlantaFi, Alonzo Herndon: 8 Things To Know About The Atlanta Business Pioneer. Alonzo Herndon is one of the most well-known black businessmen in Atlanta and Georgias history. Web site: http://www.chubb.com Herdon was a former slave raised in a sharecropping family after the Civil War. Born into slavery, he belonged to the first generation of successful African American entrepreneurs of the early twentieth century. #main-menu-wrapper nav .mega .thunk-widget-menu a:hover,#menu .mega-menu-posts a:hover, } Marker Text : Alonzo Herndon was born into slavery in Walton County, Georgia, in 1858. In 1858, Alonzo Franklin Herndon was born into slavery in Walton County. (February 23, 2023). display: block; Why do you think the Herndon home displayed windows of Alonzo's heritage? his personal fortune grew, Herndon entered the field of insurance. fbq('init', '213902435871547'); Incorporated: 1967 That year Herndon changed the name of the company to Atlanta Life Insurance Company. background:#494bbc; There is no need to wonder that this self made man became the first black millionaire from Atlanta. As his personal fortune grew, Herndon entered the field of insurance. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. background:#111; Facts about Alonzo Herndon 2: fame As I have stated before, he was famous after establishing the Atlanta Life Insurance. In 1910, the house was built. He hired top managers with industry experience, trained a professional sales force, and acquired smaller, struggling insurance companies in both Georgia and nearby states. They were homeless and living in poverty. [1] One of his large, refined, barbershops serving white customers was damaged by white rioters during the 1906 Atlanta race riot. 3. Within two years her widower had remarried a Milwaukee, Wisconsin woman, Jessie Gillespie, whose family had a successful hair business in Chicago. Famous for founding and heading the successful Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company, he is also remembered as the city of Atlanta's first African-American millionaire. Civil Rights Movement Mid- to Late 20th Century Topics . Many people simply call it as Atlanta Life. Fittingly, Herndon had asked that his pallbearers be drawn from among his barber staff. (2004). Herndon supplemented the family income by working as day laborer and peddler of peanuts, homemade molasses, and axle grease. Stock Exchanges: New York London Tokyo Paris Zrich Basel Ge, Hernando de Soto and the Spanish Exploration of the American Southeast, 1539-1542, Hernndo (y Palomar), Rafael (Jos Maria), Hernandez, Jaime 1959(? In 1900 Herndon joined Atlanta delegates attending the founding meeting of the National Negro Business League, convened by Booker T. Washington in Boston. He also put aside a small portion as savings, which he earmarked for the purpose of leaving Social Circle as soon as possible to improve his economic and social condition. Looking to make his fortune in a place that offered better opportunities for blacks, Herndon relocated to Rome, Georgia, and then Chattanooga, Tennessee, but at one point was so discouraged by his business setbacks that he thought about quitting altogether and taking in a job a plow factory. He took his presumed father's surname. .format-quote blockquote, .single .format-quote blockquote, .single blockquote{ Atlanta, GA 30318 587 University Pl NW, Atlanta, GA 30314 on the campus of Morris Brown College. 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. Herndon died at home in Atlanta on July 21, 1927, at the age of 69. Herndon didnt stop there; he continued to buy companies throughout the South, gobbling them until Atlanta Life became the largest insurance company owned and operated by African American in the nation. He passed away on 21 July 1927. 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. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? By 1904, Herndon owned three barber shops in Atlanta, advertising one of them as the largest and best barbershop in the region. Tweet. .magazine-single-box .header-style-one .header #main-menu-wrapper{ border-left: 3px solid #f4c85e; Herndon brought in experienced, professional management with a sound business plan that included an expanded, knowledgeable sales force and a new network of branch offices. Alonzo Herndon. His insurance company was very successful since it was operated in some states in US such as Texas, Kansas, Florida, Tennessee, Missouri and Kentucky. He had been approached by a couple of ministers in the community to acquire the company as something for the black community. Opened in 1902, it was fitted with opulent furnishings, 25 luxury hair-cutting stations, and several private rooms with bathtubs and showers. 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. Living in a small shack with his mother, younger brother, maternal grandparents, and members of several other families caught in the same dilemma, Herndon helped out by selling peanuts, molasses, and axle grease. What Is The Herndon Foundation? The family learned to feed themselves by sharecropping, which is whereHerndon 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. In 1893, Herndon married Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, a professor at Atlanta University, who influenced his cultural and educational growth. 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. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. } His business was very great and he could expand it. 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