Woman of color, daughter of privilege : Amanda America Dickson, 1849-1893 / Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege is the life story of an elite woman of color who lived within the social and economic systems of slavery and quasi-freedom in nineteenth-century Georgia. This fascinating story of Amanda America Dickson, born the privileged daughter of a white planter and an unconsenting slave in antebellum Georgia, shows how strong-willed individuals defied racial strictures for the sake of family. Monday/Tuesday - closed. She was born on November 20, 1849, on the plantation of her father, the famous white agricultural reformer David Dickson in Hancock County, Georgia. At the time of her birth, her mother was 12 year old Julia Frances Dickson, a house servant belonging to Elizabeth Dickson. Dicksons social status may have enabled the child to live a life of relative privilege while enslaved. Dickson was the daughter of wealthy Georgia plantation owner David Dickson (Sam Waterston), and his slave, Julia (Lisagay Hamilton). Hancock was a rich county and one of its wealthiest planters was David Dickson. Born 1835 in Hancock County, Georgia. As a consequence, Amanda America Dickson's life unfolded within the boundaries of her father's social and economic power, her mother's conflicting loyalties, and her own evolving sense of self" (Page 32). [1]:44, In 1864, Amanda's grandmother Elizabeth Sholars Dickson died. Dickson inherited his estate in Hancock County upon his death in 1885. Legally, Amanda was still a slave until her grandmother's death in 1864. The Supreme Court ruled in 1887 that Amanda was legally entitled to the inheritance under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that property rights are equal for blacks and whites, including the offspring of black and white citizens. She died at 5 p.m. June 11, 1893. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. This led me to the Toomer family web site to view what we call OUR slave deed . The Superior Court of Hancock County upheld her claim and the family appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court. The will was upheld in Probate Court. Her mother, a slave belonging to his mother, had been raped at age 12 or 13 by David Dickson. After her father's death in 1885, Amanda Dickson inherited his estate. This courthouse was destroyed by fire in 2015, but reconstructed around the original walls. Amanda America Dickson, the daughter of a slave and her owner, became one of the wealthiest black women in nineteenth-century America when the Georgia Supreme Court upheld her claim to her father's contested will. The first ovine . Dickson left Eubanks in 1870 and with her sons returned to her fathers plantation. July 30, 2000 12 AM PT TIMES STAFF WRITER Set in the late 1800s, the Showtime historical drama, "A House Divided," tells the story of Amanda America Dickson, a woman of mixed race who fights. Resend Activation Email. He had been the slave of Richard Pilkinson of Chatham Co., North Carolina, the personal assistant and slave of John Toomer of Houston Co., Georgia, and finally the property of Col. Henry Toomer of Perry. Amanda America Dickson, the daughter of a slave and her white owner, became one of the wealthiest black women in nineteenth-century America. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Kent Anderson Leslie's 1995 biography Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege: Amanda America Dickson, 1849-1893, was written about her life, and from this book came the 2000 film, "A House Divided," starring Sam Waterston and Jennifer Beals as David and Amanda Dickson. Kent Anderson Leslie uses the events of Dickson's life to explore the forces driving southern race and gender . In her childhood, she was taken into the Dickson family and tutored by her paternal grandmother Elizabeth Sholars Dickson. [1]:42 Amanda also learned rules of social etiquette appropriate for the social standing of her father's side of the family. She was. Fashion and politics from Georgia-born designer Frankie Welch, Take a virtual tour of Georgia's museums and galleries. One of the first laws the Georgia State legislature passed after the war reinstated the prohibition against interracial marriage. 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. The storm almost wiped the town off of the map and only a handful of buildings survived. In 1892 Dickson married Nathan Toomer of Perry. Amanda Smith emerged as one of the A.M.E. Church's most effective missionaries and one of the most remarkable preachers ever known. Because of anti-miscegenation laws, they couldn't legally marry in Georgia. Therefore, they either never officially married, or they married out of state before returning to Georgia (but there is no surviving proof of a legal marriage. Wednesday - by appointment. Ann Short Chirhart and Betty Wood (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2009). Her education also included knowledge of finance and business important skills in her adult life. Find-A-Grave, Amanda America Dickson Toomer, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13428942; Mark A few days later he became ill with pneumonia and died. At the time, David Dickson was forty and the wealthiest planter in the county. Amanda America Dickson spent her childhood and adolescence in the house of her white grandmother and owner, Elizabeth Sholars Dickson, where she learned to read and write and play the pianothe survival skills of a young lady but not ordinarily the opportunities of a slave. Clinging to his body, Amanda cried, "Now I am an orphan, though her mother was still alive. Julia relinquishes Amanda to the Dicksons, realizing that her baby will be raised free because she was born with fair skin. . Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. His will left his estate to her "sound judgment and unlimited discretion" and prohibited interference from anyone, including any husband that she may have. Kent Anderson Leslie uses the events of Dickson's life to explore the forces driving southern race and gender . Adella Hunt Logan, 1902 The Logan family are African Americans descended from Warren Logan and his wife Adella Hunt Logan. Upon his death in 1885, Dickson bequeathed most of his wealth to Amanda. Try again later. His work to protect his daughter proved prescient because in February 1885, he died suddenly, leaving Amanda devasted. Amanda's birth resulted from the rape of her black slave mother, Julia Frances Dickson, by her white master, Mr. David Dickson. Before the supreme court decision, Dickson purchased a large house at 452 Telfair Street, in the wealthiest section of the then-integrated city of Augusta. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [1]:58 Because of anti-miscegenation laws in Georgia at the time, Amanda America and Charles, as an interracial couple, could not legally marry in Georgia. [1]:118 Amanda died on June 11, 1893, eleven months after they were married. A historical marker was dedicated to honor her legacy May 21 at the site of her former residence, now a law firm. In 1793 or 1794 Suzanne married Jean-Baptiste Peltier. A Biracial socialite, she was one of the wealthiest women of the 19th century. Toomer was born on November 20, 1849, in Sparta, Georgia, to a White 41-year-old plantation owner, David Dickson and an enslaved twelve-year-old girl, Julie. [1]:117 But some were willing to accept children of wealthy planters, especially if mostly white. Amanda America Dickson (November 20, 1849 - June 11, 1893) was a mulatto or mixed-race socialite in Georgia who became known as one of the wealthiest African-American women of the 19th century after inheriting a large estate from her white planter father. While Dickson left bequests to his nieces and nephews, most of his wealth went to his daughter with the caveat that she bequeath $100,000 to each of her sons, whom he had called his little men. How Amanda used this legacy was left to her sound judgement and unlimited discretion . Toomer was born in 1839 in Chatham County, . Historical evidence suggests that DuSable must have settled in Chicago prior to 1779. Amanda America Dickson (November 20, 1849 June 11, 1893) was an African-American socialite in Georgia who became known as one of the wealthiest African American women of the 19th century after inheriting a large estate from her white planter father. The first such family was that of Captain Benjamin Fulsam, his wife, one son, and three . 1., ed. Amanda America Dickson's birthplace, Hancock County, Georgia, is in the fertile so-called black belt of the state, 125 miles south and east of Atlanta, between the pre-Civil War capital of Milledgeville and the river-port city of Augusta (Map 1). As her father quickly began to rebuild using tenant farmers and establishing businesses including the Dickson Fertilizer Company in Augusta, Amanda also began to build her new life. When her father died on February 18, 1885, Amanda became the center of a famous lawsuit. GREAT NEWS! She learned to read and write, and assumed the social graces of white Southern affluence. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 3 daughters. Dickson left Eubanks in 1870 and with her sons returned to her father's plantation. It would be a mistake, however . Please reset your password. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Show more. In 1892, Amanda married a wealthy biracial farmer from Perry, Ga., but they had limited time together; she died the next year despite receiving the best medical care available. Kent Anderson Leslie. Showtime Networks Inc., New York, 1999, film. Paterson residents woke up to a surprise Monday: A group of six sheep from unknown origins were roaming the streets of New Jersey's third-largest city. ." who was raised and educated in David's household. Kent Anderson Leslie uses the events of Dickson's life to explore the forces driving southern race and gender . Amanda America Dickson was born into slavery in Hancock County, Georgia. of Thomas Eubanks and Nancy Dickson [sibling(s) unknown] Husband of Amanda America (Dickson) Toomer married about 1865 (to . MORE: Augusta Historical Marker Part of Georgia Civil Rights Trail BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. The union produced two sons: Julian Henry (1866-1937), who married Eva Walton, the daughter of Isabella and George Walton of Augusta; and Charles Green (1870-ca. Search above to list available cemeteries. Davids death and his surprising will became news throughout the country. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. In his will David Dickson stated that the administration of his estate was to be left to the sound judgment and unlimited discretion of Amanda Dickson without interference from any quarter, including any husband she might have. Executors appraised the estate, which included 17,000 acres of land in Hancock and Washington counties, at $309,000. Their mixed-race sons later married prominent members of Georgia society. In 1866, 17-year-old Amanda married her white first cousin, Charles Eubanks, a recently returned Confederate Army veteran and together they had two children, Julian Henry and Charles Green. That cotton was produced by the enslaved men, women and children of African heritage, on whose labor the wealth of the South depended. [1]:47, Throughout Amanda's childhood, her father became wealthier and more famous, renowned for his innovative and successful farming techniques. Her father left his wealth to her.. Walton, Frank, and their lawyer, E. J. Waring, were indicted by the grand jury of Baltimore, Maryland for conspiracy to kidnap Mamie Toomer. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10337890/amanda-america-toomer. . Although dozens of white relatives fought the case in court, Amanda prevailed under the 14th Amendment, with the Georgia Supreme Court noting "all distinction as to right's pertaining to citizenship between the two races are abolished, and as to their civil rights, they stand on the same footing.". Dickson left his estate to his mulatto daughter Amanda America Dickson. On his death he scandalized Hancock county society by bequeathing the vast bulk of his estate (a share with a value estimated at more than $300,000) to his only child, Amanda America Dickson (1849-1893). From a variety of sources, a great deal of information can be gathered on Mullato Amanda America Dickson, who exempted the traditional role of gender and racial inferiority in Antebellum and post-Civil War southern society. All requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource must be submitted to Georgia Historical Society. Old scuppers and downspouts have been removed. Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, "Restoration project, historic plaque to shine light on Augusta's first Black millionaire", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amanda_America_Dickson&oldid=1129851652, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 December 2022, at 11:38. She learned to play piano; to dress with subdued elegance . Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. By the time the courts settled the Dickson will case, she had firmly ensconced herself in this new home and decorated it with Brussels carpets, oil paintings, a walnut dining room table and chairs, and books. 12557 . You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. It stars Jennifer Beals as Dickson, Sam Waterston as David Dickson, LisaGay Hamilton as Julia Frances Lewis Dickson, and Shirley Douglas as Elizabeth Sholars Dickson.[6]. The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. (2003). In 1873, Mr. Dickson deeded 1,560 acres of land worth $10,000 to Amanda. The life and legacy of Amanda America Dickson Toomer, Augusta's first Black millionaire. While white Georgians were establishing segregation as the ruling social order in the public sphere, members of the Dickson family went about their private lives. After four years of being married to (or living as a married couple with) Charles Eubanks, Amanda left her husband and returned to her father's plantation in 1870, shortly after giving birth to her second son, Charles Green. Amanda was treated as part of the Dickson family. The name David Dickson is intertwined in early Hancock County history. Although conceived through the rape of her adolescent mother, Amanda was raised and educated in the Dickson household. daughter of a white master and slave mother. [1]:112114, Amanda America Dickson spent the last eleven months of her life as the wife of Nathan Toomer, from Perry, Georgia, whom she married on July 14, 1892. She married twice: her first husband was white while her second husband was wealthy, educated, and mixed-race. In 1892, she married Nathan Toomer of Perry, Georgia. Born in 1849, Amanda was the daughter of David Dickson, a plantation owner who had raped Amanda's mother when she was 12. By the 1880s, he had deeded Amanda three-fourths interest in 13,000 acres of good land in Texas, as well as several thousand dollars of bonds. Sorry! Your donation is fully tax-deductible. She learned to read and write, and assumed the social graces of white Southern affluence. )[1]:58, They had two sons: Julian Henry (18661937) and Charles Green Eubanks (1870c. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. 916-320-9573 sojomuseum@gmail.com. [1]:80 In November 1885, the trial in the Superior Court of Hancock County began, with the eventual ruling siding with Amanda America Dickson and her two sons. Thank you for your time. Amanda America Dickson. Evidence suggests that David Dickson took charge of Amanda's education. Amanda was still a teen-ager when she married her father's nephew, Charles Eubanks. Died: June 11, 1893 (aged 43) Alma mater: Atlanta University: Spouse(s) Charles Eubanks; Nathan Toomer . They serve as an inspiration and testament to the strength of the human spirit and the will to succeed. 1900). Eubanks was a Confederate Veteran. The marker was placed at Toomer's last Augusta residence448 Telfair Street. Born November 20, 1849, on the Dickson Plantation, near Sparta, Georgia (Hancock County), Amanda America was the product of her 12-year-old mother, an enslaved house servant, Julia Francis Lewis, and 40-year-old David Dickson, a well-known agricultural reformer of that era and one of the wealthiest planters in the area. Alachua County Voters1st Florida Election1845Gabriel Waters (father) & William Waters (son)Gabriel Waters c.1780-after 1846. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. In her late 20s, Dickson attended the normal school of Atlanta University, a historically black college, from 1876 to 1878. Dickson was born in 1849 to prominent Hancock County plantation owner David Dickson and a 12-year-old slave. She left home briefly, between the years 1876 and 1878, to attend the Normal School of Atlanta University. Kent Anderson Leslie uses the events of Dickson's life to explore the forces driving southern race and gender . To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. The higher court stated that the rights of each race are controlled and governed by the same enactments or principles of lawin other words, whatever rights and privileges belonged to a bastard white child belonged to a mixed-race child as well. [2] In what became known as the David Dickson Will Case, seventy-nine white relatives of David Dickson disputed the will in court, mainly arguing that David Dickson was not of a sound mind when he wrote the will, that he was "unduly influenced" by Amanda America and Julia Dickson, and that Amanda America was not his child. February 27, 2023, 4:41 PM. [1]:101102 On October 11, 1886, chief justice James Jackson, and associate justices Samuel Hall and Mark Blanford heard the case following the appeal. Symptoms of neurasthenia, as described by nineteenth-century physicians, include "sick headache, noises in the ear, atonic voice, deficient mental control, bad dreams, insomnia, nervous dyspepsia (disturbed digestion), heaviness of the loin and limb, flushing and fidgetiness, palpitations, vague pains and flying neuralgia (pain along a nerve), spinal irritation, uterine irritability, impotence, hopelessness, claustrophobia, and dread of contamination. In her childhood, she was taken into the Dickson family and tutored by her paternal grandmother Elizabeth Sholars Dickson. At that time she and her children took the last name of Dickson. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Born November 20, 1849. New Georgia Encyclopedia, last modified Jul 17, 2020. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/amanda-america-dickson-1849-1893/, Leslie, K. A. It has been listed on Rocket Homes since February 27, 2023 and is currently priced at $289,900. Born on November 20, 1849, Amanda America Dickson was Davids daughter, the product of his rape of thirteen-year-old Julia Francis Lewis, the enslaved property of his mother. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. [1]:41 Beginning in 1801, Georgia had prohibited slaveholders from independently freeing their slaves, requiring an act of legislature (seldom given), for each request. The funeral was held at Trinity Colored Methodist Church. On May 30, 1830, a tornado traveled through Middle Tennessee. Her enslaved mother, Julia Frances Lewis Dickson, was just 13 when she was born. Amanda America Dicksons life reflected the power of family and class to erode the boundaries of race in the nineteenth-century South. based on information from your browser. She was buried in her wedding dress, in a metallic coffin, which was lined in rose colored plush fabric. Failed to remove flower. Citing the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision, saying that the rights and privileges of a black woman and her children would be the same rights and privileges of a white concubine or an illegitimate white woman and her children. 2251 Florin Rd. So, the same laws governed the rights and privileges of women of both races. Son. She moved to Augusta, Georgia before the town mandated residential segregation by race and purchased a large brick home at 484 Telfair Street, in the most prominent neighborhood in the city. She was intermittently unconscious from nervous shock. This fascinating story of Amanda America Dickson, born the privileged daughter of a white planter and an unconsenting slave in antebellum Georgia, shows how strong-willed individuals defied racial strictures for the sake of family. Amanda was raised by Elizabeth Sholars Dickson, her white grandmother and legal mistress. Her birth was the result of the rape of her slave mother, Julia Frances Lewis Dickson, when Julia was twelve years old. According to the Dickson family oral history, David Dickson doted on Amanda, and Julia quite openly became his concubine and housekeeper. She was the richest woman in the south, at that, a black woman during the civil war era. [1]:7980, On July 6, 1885, probate judge R. H. Lewis ruled in favor of the will. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. When Julian Henry Eubanks Dickson was born in May 1866, in Georgia, United States, his father, Charles Henry Eubanks, was 29 and his mother, Amanda America Dickson, was 16. Amanda America Dickson spent her childhood and adolescence in the house of her white grandmother and enslaver, Elizabeth Sholars Dickson, where she learned to read and write and play the pianothe survival skills of a young lady but not ordinarily the opportunities of a enslaved child. Suzanne bore a daughter Eulalie in Chicago in October of 1796. "[1]:123 Amanda America Dickson Toomer died on June 11, 1893, with "complications of diseases" being the cause of death listed on her death certificate. She left home briefly, between the years 1876 and 1878, to attend the Normal School of Atlanta University. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. The film stars Sam Waterston (Dickson), Jennifer Beals (Amanda) and Lisa Gay Hamilton (Julia). We extend our congratulations and best wishes; May her Soul Be At Rest. The doctors diagnosed her with neurasthenia, a disease characterized by profound physical and nervous exhaustion. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. It was an unhappy marriage and Amanda left Charles in 1870, returning to the Dickson Plantation, where she was legally given the surname of Dickson for herself and her sons. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Leslie, Kent. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Amanda Dickson Toomer died at her home at 448 Telfair Street on June 11, 1893. This time the family argued fornication was banned and interracial relationships were a felony, so . Amanda married first to her father's nephew, Charles Eubanks, in 1866-67 and they lived on a plantation in Rome, Georgia. [3], A House Divided (2000) is the television movie that depicts the life of Amanda America Dickson. David Dickson showed that farmers could profit from slave labor without having to resort to violence to keep them in submission. Photojournalism: Amanda America Dickson Toomer
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