Hannah Elias (1863 – Unknown)
Once considered to be the richest Black woman in America and even the world, Hannah Elias was the child of former slaves. She was raised in Philadelphia with a Black mixed-race couple with nine children. Her fortune was well above $1 million and she owned some of the most valuable property in New York City including four midtown properties and a grand Central Park West mansion. It was also reported that she bought a $250,000 apartment building at 546-552 Lenox Ave.
Robert Reed Church (1839-1912)
Born the son of a former slave in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Church was a community and business leader who made his fortune in Memphis, Tennessee. During the Memphis Race Riot of 1866, he was shot by the raging white mob. Never one to give up, in 1899, he used his own money to purchase land on Beale Street where he built an auditorium. In 1906 he founded the Solvent Savings Bank and Trust Company, the first black bank in Memphis in more than 30 years.
Joseph Haygood Blodgett (1858-1934)
Born into slavery in Augusta, Georgia, Joseph Haygood Blodgett moved to Jacksonville during the 1890s. Legend has it that he moved to Florida with one paper dollar and one thin dime to his name. He started his first business while working for a dollar a day on the railroad. Before becoming a building contractor around 1898 he also developed a farm and restauraunt. As a contractor, he designed and built 258 houses, keeping 199 to rent, which eventually made him one of the city’s first Black millionaires.
