That cotton was produced by the enslaved men, women and children of African heritage, on whose labor the wealth of the South depended. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Legally a slave owned by her white grandmother, the biracial child was reared in her father's household. 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). Jonathan Bryant, Race, Class, and Law in Bourbon Georgia: The Case of David Dicksons Will, Georgia Historical Quarterly 71 (summer 1987): 226-42. Amanda is 19 degrees from Jennifer Aniston, 22 degrees from Drew Barrymore, 21 degrees from Candice Bergen, 24 degrees from Alexandre Dumas, 15 degrees from Carrie Fisher, 32 degrees from Whitney Houston, 20 degrees from Hayley Mills, 15 degrees from Liza Minnelli, 19 degrees from Lisa Presley, 21 degrees from Kiefer Sutherland, 19 degrees from Bill Veeck and 25 degrees from Brian Nash on our single family tree. The first such family was that of Captain Benjamin Fulsam, his wife, one son, and three . Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Amanda America was born to 40-year-old slave master David Dickson and 13-year-old slave, Julia Lewis in 1849.Legally, Amanda was still a slave until her grandmother's death in 1864.By the 1860s David Dickson was the richest planter in Hancock County, with 150 slaves, 350 cattle, 600 hogs, 200 sheep and 57 mules and horses.Amanda was still a teen-ager when she married her father's nephew, Charles Eubanks. 16 mm, 101 min. [1]:119, By 1893, Amanda America's health had greatly improved, but a disturbing family ordeal would be the catalyst for the further deterioration of her health and eventual death. She learned to play piano; to dress with subdued elegance . Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. 2251 Florin Rd. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. The City of M. He became known as a Harlem Renaissance writer, noted for his modernist novel Cane (1923). The life and legacy of Amanda America Dickson Toomer, Augusta's first Black millionaire. 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. Amanda America Dickson. If so, login to add it. A historical marker was dedicated to honor her legacy May 21 at the site of her former residence, now a law firm. She was the richest woman in the south, at that, a black woman during the civil war era. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. 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. Ancestors . At that time she and her children took the last name of Dickson. So, the same laws governed the rights and privileges of women of both races. Amanda is raised and educated by her father and grandmo Cast & Crew Read More John Kent Harrison Director [1]:47. [1]:69, Years after having completed her teaching degree, Amanda America 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. But the dreadful secret which has blighted her life threatens to deprive her of the birthright which her . This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. The former slave-turned-millionaire purchased a home at 448 Telfair St., Augusta, Georgia, primarily to distance herself from irate relatives in Hancock County, Georgia. Shutters are being built for the house's front. On March 10, 1893, Nathan and Amanda brought Mamie to the St. Francis School and Convent in Baltimore, Maryland, an order of black nuns, in an attempt to protect her from Charles Dickson's misguided attentions. Kent Anderson Leslie, Amanda America Dickson: A Wealthy Lady of Color in Nineteenth-Century Georgia, in Georgia Women: Their Lives and Times, vol. [2] After Amanda was weaned, she was taken from her enslaved mother and maternal grandmother, Rose, to be raised in the household of her white paternal grandmother and mistress, Elizabeth Sholars Dickson. By 1860, David Dickson, who earned a widespread reputation as an agricultural reformer, was the wealthiest planter in the county. . The white members of the Dickson family appealed to the Superior Court of Hancock County and to the Georgia Supreme Court. 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. She was Mrs. her father's plantation, Hancock County, GA, United States, Charles "Charley" or Leslie Green Dickson, Amanda America "miss Mandy" Eubanks (born Dickson), Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1791-1963, The Springfield Daily Union - June 15 1893, The Springfield Daily Union - June 23 1893. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? In July 1886, Amanda purchased a home on Telfair Street in Augusta, furnishing it elegantly including the Dickson silver, oil paintings . Dickson was known for agriculture innovation in Hancock County, Georgia. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Historical evidence suggests that DuSable must have settled in Chicago prior to 1779. Features. 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. She was kind-hearted, generous, and charitable, and her benevolent work was indeed extensive.. Their mixed-race sons later married prominent members of Georgia society. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. There is a problem with your email/password. Antebellum Hancock County, Georgia, was a place where black slaves outnumbered . I am proud to be a Dickson.I am John R. Dickson's daughter's child. A Loving Wife. Have you taken a DNA test? Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Amanda Toomer (10337890)? For newspaper articles concerning the Dickson estate and will, and Amanda Dickson, refer to The Atlanta Constitution June 12, 1893; June 14, 1887; June 19, 1887; November 15, 1885; July 5, 1885. [1]:117 But some were willing to accept children of wealthy planters, especially if mostly white. Born November 20, 1849, on the Dickson Plantation, near Sparta, Georgia in Hancock County, Amanda America was the product of her 12-year-old mother, an enslaved house servant, Julia Francis. Her mother, Julia Frances Lewis Dickson, and her second husband, Nathan Toomer, both petitioned in court to be designated the temporary administrator of her estate. Dicksons social status may have enabled the child to live a life of relative privilege while enslaved. She was born on November 20, 1849, on the plantation of her father, the famous white agricultural reformer David Dickson in Hancock County, Georgia. During the contest of the will, Amanda purchased a beautiful three-story brick house in the elite downtown neighborhood of Augusta, Georgia, which was at the time an integrated city. [1]:128, Nine months after Dickson's death, Nathan Toomer married Nina Pinchback, the daughter of P. B. S. Pinchback, the Reconstruction Era senator-elect from Louisiana. . Hi my name is Ashlee Dickson and I am a descendent 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. 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. In her late 20s, Dickson attended the normal school of Atlanta University, a historically black college, from 1876 to 1878. 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. Read all Director John Kent Harrison Writers . On July 15, 1886, before the Georgia Supreme Court ruling, pressure from other family members forced Dickson to leave the family plantation where she had spent most of her life. Some of the businesses that were destroyed included several . She was the main heir to the estate of over 15,000 acres valued at $309,543. Amanda attended Atlanta University from 1876-1878. It would be a mistake, however . That court ruled in 1887 that Amanda Dickson 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. (2003). She died intestate, but the Dickson will stipulated that her sons receive the inheritance upon her death, which included $100,000 to each son and part of the remaining $247,000. Resend Activation Email. When her father died on February 18, 1885, Amanda became the center of a famous lawsuit. A few days later he became ill with pneumonia and died. 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. Legally, Amanda was still a slave until her grandmother's death in 1864. She learned to read and write, and assumed the social graces of white Southern affluence. Toomer and Dicksons marriage lasted until her death on June 11, 1893, of neurasthenia, or nervous exhaustion. Amanda was still a teen-ager when she married her father's nephew, Charles Eubanks. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. She left Eubanks four years later and returned home to her father's plantation, where she and her mother moved into a new home that had been built on the property. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print. 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.