George Taylor (1810-1892) was a Grand Eminent Commander of the Colored Knights Templar of Kentucky. He also served as Grand Recorder for the First Independent Grant Commandery of the Knights Templar and as Grand Secretary of the Most Excellent Grant Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons. All of these organizations were statewide for African American men. Taylor, who lived at 526 S. 10th Street (formerly 732 S. 10th), worked as a carver in Anna M. Thurston’s restaurant at 303 W. Main Street. Image is from “History of the United Brothers of Friendship and Sisters of the Mysterious Ten.”
Rev. Henry Wise Jones (1873-1954) was born in Knoxville, TN and arrived in Louisville by the time he was seven. Wise went to school at Knoxville College and State University (Simmons College of Kentucky). His occupation was a marble polisher, his passion was Baptist ministry. In his lifetime, he ministered in Owenton, KY; Shelbyville, KY; Shelbyville, IN ; Lexington, KY; and Louisville, KY at Green Street Baptist Church. He was chairman of the Joint Commission representing the Interdenominational Alliance and the Baptist Ministers and Deacons. He also served as the Chairman of the Simmons’s Board of Trustees. Image from Kentucky Commission on Human Rights.
Jesse Meriwether (1812-1892) was a slave who was emancipated in 1847 on the condition that he go to Liberia. Meriwether lived in Liberia until 1849 when he returned to Louisville. He was a carpenter by trade and was active in the African American community. In 1850, helped organized the first black Masonic Lodge in secret at his house on Walnut Street between 9th and 10th Streets. After the Civil War, Meriwether was appointed to several boards in the city: School Board’s Board of Visitors, Freedmen’s Savings Bank, and Louisville Cemetery Association. In 1889, Republicans in Louisville’s 6th Legislative District nominated Meriwether for Representative. The motives are unclear; however, when other white Republicans asked him to step down Meriwether refused. He did not win the election. Image from “The Evening Bulletin” July 18, 1889.
Washington Spradling, Sr. (1802-1868) was born into slavery in Kentucky. He was the son of an overseer, William Spradling, and Maria Dennis, a slave on the Isaac Miller farm in Nelson County, KY. Washington’s father died in 1814 when Washington was twelve. His father made provisions in his will for the freedom of Washington, his three younger siblings, and mother.
In 1828, Spradling married Lucy Ann Jackson and together they had five children: three girls (Ellen, Martha, and Julia) and two boys (Washington Jr. and William). According to records, he had a third son, William Wallace “Willie,” with a woman named Henrietta. Willie was born two years before Spradling’s death and is listed in his will as Spradling’s natural son along with his other five children. A barber by trade, Spradling often catered to a wealthy, clientele. He also bought and sold real estate helping establish an African American presence in what is now known as the Russell Neighborhood.
Spradling’s family allied with another important family of free African Americans when Shelton Morris married Spradling’s younger sister Evalina in 1828. This helped Spradling’s business in the African American community as well as his assistance to that community. By 1860, Spradling’s real estate was worth over $100,000, which made him one of the richest men in the city.
Spradling used his wealth to help others. For example, Spradling loaned enslaved African Americans funds to purchase their freedom. Typically, he purchased them and then freed them himself. In 1863, Spradling was interviewed by the American Freedmen’s Inquiry Commission. He stated that he alone had bought and freed 33 enslaved African Americans. He was owed $3,337.50. Some had repaid him and some had not. Dr. Blaine Hudson, a scholar of the Underground Railroad, asserts that Spradling and other free African Americans in Louisville were deeply involved in the Underground Railroad.
At the time of his death in 1868, Washington Spradling was 66 years old. The Chicago Tribune ran an article on Spradling. The headline read, “Death of a Colored Millionaire in Louisville.”
Rev. Dr. John H. Frank, Sr. (1859-1941) was baptized at the 5th Street Baptist Church where he eventually became minister for over fifty years and served as minister emeritus until his death. He was a Doctor of Medicine, graduating from the Louisville School of Medicine, and studied medicine in Germany. He was very active civically and helped form the Cave Dwellers Life Association, a life insurance company. Rev. Dr. Frank and his wife Clara had four children, one of which was John H. Frank, Jr. (circa 1895-1941). He was the first black man to serve Jefferson County as the Probate Commissioner, appointed by a Southern Democratic judge. John H. Frank, Jr. was an attorney for Brown and Frank and practiced law for eleven years. He preceded his father in death by six days. Image is of the Reverend and is from “The Golden Jubilee of the General Association of Colored Baptists in Kentucky.”
Rev. Andrew Heath (1832-1887) was born into slavery in Henderson, Kentucky. In 1843, Heath was sold to Knott, Wicks & Co. and he bought his freedom in 1858. He was a pastor at Fifth Street Baptist Church from 1866 until his death in 1887. He and his wife Lucy Hamilton, a former slave of Mrs. George Ormsby, had eleven children. Heath was a distinguished pastor in the community, and his funeral celebrated his life and achievements. Twelve African American pastors (including Dr. Simmons, J.H. Frank, and D.A. Gaddie) assisted with the funeral as well as six white ministers with members of his Masonic Lodge. Image from the “Golden Jubilee of the General Association of Colored Baptists in Kentucky.”
Thomas Fountain Blue (1866-1935) was born in Farmville, VA. He graduated from Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute and then earned a degree in divinity from Richmond Theological Seminary. He excelled as both a theologian and a librarian. In 1908, he became part of the Western Branch Library of Louisville, which was the first Carnegie Library for African Americans in America. Blue was its first librarian. He went on to be the first African American to head a department with the Louisville Free Public Library. Image of Blue and staff in front of the Western Branch is from “The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia.” If you know the women in the photo, please tell us☺️
The Kean Brothers: Henry Arthur Kean, Sr. (1894-1955) graduated from Fisk University with a degree in physical education and later earned Master of Arts degree in physical education. He taught math and coached football at Central High School for 10 years. He was hired as the Athletic Director of Kentucky State College and became a key player in the development of the Kentucky High School Athletic League. He continued his career at Tennessee State University until his death. Henry’s brother Bill was also passionate about athletics. William Lee “Bill” Kean (1899-1958) was born in Louisville and attended Central High School, where he excelled in athletics. Although he was not large in size (5’7”, 140lbs), he was the captain of the baseball, basketball, and football teams. He attended Howard University and earned four letters. He later earned a master’s degree from Indiana University. He returned to Louisville in 1923 and coached football, basketball, baseball, track, and tennis. His teams won 5 state championships in the Kentucky High School Athletic League and 4 National Negro High School titles. Posthumously, he was named to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame (1988), the National High School Sports Hall of Fame (1993), and the Afro-American Hall of Fame (1995).
Charles W. Anderson, Jr. (1907-1960) was the son of Dr. Charles W. and Tabetha (Murphy) Anderson. He attended Kentucky State College and Wilberforce University. In 1931, Anderson received his JD from Howard University and in 1933, he passed the bar. Anderson was the first African American elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives, the first African American legislator in the South since Reconstruction, and the first African American Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for Jefferson County. This was the highest judicial position held by an African American in the South at the time. Anderson is credited with a number of early Civil Rights measures, including the Anderson-Mayer State Aid Act, which provided out of state tuition funding for African American students because Kentucky enforced higher education segregation laws. Anderson, a longtime president of the Louisville National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was awarded the Lincoln Institute Key in 1940 for his service to the African American community. He also served as president of the National Negro Bar Association chapter in Kentucky. In 1959, President Eisenhower also selected him as the alternate delegate to the United Nations. Anderson and his second wife Victoria McCall had two children: Charles III and Victoria. Anderson died in a train car accident in Shelbyville in 1960. Image from Kentucky Historical Society.
Rev. Dr. Marshall Bell Lanier (1869-1961) was a dean, president, and president-emeritus of Simmons University (Simmons College of Kentucky) for 51 years. Born in Mocksville, NC, Lanier was a graduate of Maryland Seminary, Lincoln University, and Western Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1895 with his first pastorate at Grace Church in Pittsburgh, PA. Lanier married Maudellen Brice and together they moved to Kentucky where he preached at the First Baptist Church of Irvington and the Corinthian Baptist Church of Frankfort before joining the staff of Simmons. Lanier was active in the community as a member of the Masons and trustee of the Home for Colored Boys. Image from “The National Cyclopedia of the Colored Race.”
Rev. Bartlett Taylor (1815-1901) was born into slavery in Henderson, Kentucky. His father, Jonathan Taylor, owned Bartlett, his mother, and his siblings. Jonathan Taylor sold many of them to pay for his debts and moved the remaining slaves, including Bartlett, to LaGrange. Bartlett Taylor worked as a butcher to buy his freedom in 1840. He grew his business into a retail and wholesale butcher that also packaged and shipped meat as well as traded livestock. As a fairly wealthy man, Taylor owned several homes and lots on E. Market Street and lived in Germantown at 940 Mary Street (formerly 938). Taylor was also known as a preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He was a driving force in building AME churches and schools across the state. Image is from “Courier-Journal” article from July 4, 1901.
Albert E. Meyzeek (1872-1963) was a Civil Rights activist as well as a principal and teacher at several Louisville schools for 50 years (Booker T. Washington School, Central High School, and Jackson Junior High School). He was a president of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association, a founder of the Domestic Life Insurance Company, a founder of the Louisville Urban League, and a founder of the Chestnut Street YMCA. Meyzeek advocated for educational opportunities and better housing conditions for African Americans. Meyzeek was born in Toledo, OH; educated in Toronto, Canada; graduated from high school in Terra Haute, IN; and received degrees from Indiana University. Meyzeek Middle School was named in his honor.
Harvey Clarence Russell, Sr. (1883-1949) was born in Bloomfield, Kentucky. He attended school at Kentucky State Normal School (Kentucky State University), Simmons University (Simmons College of Kentucky), and University of Cincinnati. Russell had a long, distinguished career as an educator. He taught at Bloomfield public schools, Frankfort Normal School, Booker T. Washington Elementary School, and Louisville Normal School. Russell was also dean of Kentucky State College and president of West Kentucky Industrial College. Russell was president of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association, a founder of the Domestic Life and Accident Insurance Company, a grand master of the United Brothers of Friends, an educational columnist for the “Louisville Leader,” and a business manager for Simmons University. Russell lived in the Russell neighborhood—first at 1029 W. Madison St. and then at 2345 W. Chestnut St. The neighborhood was named in his honor as was the Harvey C. Russell Junior High School.
Mary E. Merritt (1881-1953) was born in Berea, KY and initially attended Berea College. However, when the Kentucky Governor signed the Day Law, a school racial segregation law, in 1904 she was forced to leave Berea College. Merritt continued nurse training at Freedman Hospital in Washington D.C. When Merritt graduated as a registered nurse in 1906, she was the first African American nurse licensed in Kentucky. In 1911, Mary became superintendent of Louisville’s Red Cross Hospital, which only had 12 beds. By the time she retired 34 years later, the number of beds had increased to 100. Merritt was an active member of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, which awarded her the Mary Mahoney Medal for distinguished service in nursing. Furthermore, President Woodrow Wilson awarded her a Certificate of Merit for her Red Cross work during WWI. The Merritt Building at Central State Hospital was named in her honor. Image from “Courier-Journal” August 14, 1949.
Emma Lewis Minnis (1881-1972) was the youngest of nine children of Madison Beaumont Minnis and Elizabeth Turner. Minnis was a graduate of Central High School, Louisville Normal School (Breckinridge Metropolitan High School), University of Chicago, and University of Illinois. Minnis was principal of the Benjamin Banneker School for 13 years; taught music at Oakwood College in Huntsville, AL; and taught music for many years at the Magazine Street Seventh Day Adventist Church and its school. The school was established in 1915, but in 1970, it was renamed the Emma L. Minnis Junior Academy in her honor. The school is still in operation. Image from “Bellarmine Magazine” Summer 2014 features Emma’s portrait and her great nephew Dr. Bernard Minnis.
