Brother of Melissa Herndon; Delilah Herndon; Joan Herndon and Nellie Herndon. Regardless of the reason, his acquisition strategy made Atlanta Life one of the most successful black businesses in the nation by the 1920s. .social-icon i.fa:hover{ 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. } An extended European honeymoon was partly spent gathering furnishings to refit his Crystal Palace. Merged with two other firms and renamed the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, the firm prospered. It is one of a few structures associated with Herndon in Atlanta and the success he brought to the city. Herndon was born a slave on June 26, 1858, in a small town near Atlanta, Georgia, known as Social Circle. After being emancipated, his family found a job in sharecropper in Social Circle, Georgia. header,.page header{ .footer-wrapper .footer-copyright .copyright { 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. Alonzo Franklin Herndon was born on June 6, 1858, in Social Circle, Georgia, which is located in Walton County. Worked Fields as a Child Herndon was most involved on the local level. Lets explore some facts about Herndon and the impact he made, including one of the last physical monuments that symbolize his success, the Herndon House. Sign up to receive GPB Event announcements via Email. } Herndon also sought to save other failing Black enterprises. color:#dd9933; His holdings eventually encompassed extensive real estate, and one of the nations largest black-owned businesses and most successful insurance companies, Atlanta Life. Web site: http://www.chubb.com His full name is Alonzo Franklin Herndon. According to the Atlanta Journal, Herndon and his all-Black barbering staff were known from Richmond all the way to Mobile as the best barbers in the South. Following the racial practices of the era, the Black barbers served an exclusively white clientele composed of the citys leading lawyers, judges, politicians, and businessmen. 2. .home .navigation .menu > li > a, .home header #main-menu-wrapper .menu-item-has-children > a:after, .home .navigation ul li a, .home header #main-menu-wrapper .menu-item-has-children > a:after,.navigation .menu > li > a, header #main-menu-wrapper .menu-item-has-children > a:after, .navigation ul li a, header #main-menu-wrapper .menu-item-has-children > a:after,.smaller .navigation .menu > li > a,.home header.smaller .navigation .menu > li > a,.home header.smaller #main-menu-wrapper .menu-item-has-children > a:after,.home.page-template-magazine-template .navigation .menu > li > a, .home.page-template-magazine-template header #main-menu-wrapper .menu-item-has-children > a:after{ Web site: http://www.cigna.com Herndon was a great inspiration for the African American people who wanted to make it big in United States. 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. In 1882, he moved to Atlanta, and found a post with a highly regarded local barber. }} The firm grew rapidly in the 1920s, expanding its operations. background:#111; } The young Herndon was one of 25 slaves owned by his father, who Public Co, 15 Mountain View Road, P.O. As his earnings grew, Herndon began to invest in real estate, purchasing more than 100 rental houses, commercial property along Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, and a plantation near Tavares, Florida. Encyclopedia of World Biography. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. .home header.smaller, header.smaller{ .last-btn #menu >li:last-child > a { } The Herndons were very proud to be African Americans. Even as a boy, however, Herndon exhibited an entrepreneurial spirit. After six months Herndon purchased half interest in the shop, entering into a partnership with one of the few free Blacks operating barbering establishments since before the Civil War. .header-wrap-top .top-social-icon li a:hover{color:#f4c85e;} Atlanta Life's business thrived, and they expanded their business into Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. The family entered freedom in destitution. Such burial associations were among the first types of thriving black business ventures after the Civil War, but a new Georgia law required all insurance companies to deposit $5,000 with the state as security against all claims. For dues of 25 cents weekly, a payee's beneficiary would receive a sum up to $50 upon death, which paid for funeral expenses. She was the decorator. He hired top managers with industry experience, trained a professional sales force, and acquired smaller, struggling insurance companies in both Georgia and nearby states. .header-wrap-top,.header-wrap-top .inner-wrap-top{background:#1e73be;}.header-wrap-top .top-date{color:#fff;}.header-wrap-top .top-menu .top li a{color:#fff;} .header-wrap-top .top-social-icon li a{color:#fff;} He was considered. Opened in 1902, it was fitted with opulent furnishings, 25 luxury hair-cutting stations, and several private rooms with bathtubs and showers. He was a founding member of Booker T. Washingtons National Negro Business League in 1900. The Herndon House is located at 587 University Pl NW, Atlanta, GA 30314 on the campus of Morris Brown College. Eventually he acquired more than 100 houses, a large block of commercial property on Auburn Avenue, and a large estate in Tavares, Florida. Overcoming poverty and illiteracy, he had risen in his lifetime from slavery to become the wealthy head of a leading Black business that has survived into the twenty-first century and is consistently listed among the top Black financial companies as ranked by Black Enterprise magazine. He decided to leave his Social Circle in 1878. Alonzo is originated from United States. In 1905, Herndon purchased a failing insurance company, which he incorporated as Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. New Georgia Encyclopedia, 20 September 2004, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/alonzo-herndon-1858-1927/. Herndons business thrived. It also produced his only child, Norris, who succeeded him as chief executive of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Alonzo Herndon has been a part of the Entrepreneur list. Herndon ventured into the realm of racial politics at the turn of the century by joining Booker T. Washington in establishing the National Negro Business League. 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. Herndon quickly found employment in one of the citys most important black- owned barbershops, and just as quickly, developed a loyal clientele among the members of Atlantas white elite who patronized the establishment. 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. Get facts about Alan Sugar here. As his personal fortune grew, Herndon entered the field of insurance. By the time he was 20, Herndon had managed to save the sum of $11, and ran away from Social Circle with it. Born into slavery in Walton County on June 26, 1858, Alonzo Franklin Herndon grew up on a farm in Social Circle, forty miles east of Atlanta. @media screen and (max-width: 1024px){ Their son, Norris Bumstead Herndon, was born in July of 1897, and Adrienne made her stage debut in Boston seven years later using the name Anne Du Bignon. He gave generous support and resources to such local institutions and causes as the YMCA; Atlanta University; the Leonard Street, Carrie Steele, and Diana Pace orphanages; the Herndon Day Nursery; and the First Congregational Church. } 3. About his early life Alonzo writes, "My mother was emancipated when I was seven years old and my brother Tom five years old. In 1893 he married Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, a professor at Atlanta University (later Clark Atlanta University). Mrs. Herndon and her stepson worked together in leading Atlanta Life to even greater success. } His father was Frank Herndon, a white master. 1. It also produced his only child, Norris, who succeeded him as chief executive of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Atlanta Haps Newsletter Completed in 1910, the Herndon Home, was the residence of Alonzo Herndon and his family. Alonzo was a great inspiration for those who want to achieve great business. ." 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. The firm grew rapidly in the 1920s, expanding its operations into a half dozen new states, including Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. } Husband of Jane Gaston. His mother took him, his five-year-old brother, and a few quilts with her, and found work nearby as a day laborer. In 1858, Alonzo Franklin Herndon was born into slavery in Walton County. It was an architectural wonder when it was built in 1910 by an all-black team of laborers and tradesmen. color:#494bbc; 20072023 Blackpast.org. } Now he was a great deal businessman. In mourning, he threw himself into managing his new business. Do you find this information helpful? Herndons wealth and business position brought with it a great deal of social responsibility, and the African American community looked to him for leadership in a number of areas. Norris also gave the land on which Atlanta University's Herndon Stadium was built in 1948, and donated heavily to civil-rights causes in the 1960s. Merrick, a contemporary of Herndons, also had begun his career as a barber. color:#ddd; "Herndon, Alonzo Franklin 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. }@media screen and (max-width: 768px){body,p{ When W. E. B. Twice Herndon's businesses were destroyed by fire: once in 1896 after a gas stove across the street from the Markham ignited its building and leveled the hotel, and again in 1902 when his new place on Marietta Street ignited in a fire that destroyed an entire city block. 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. Here are some interesting facts about him for you: Herndon was born on 26 June 1858 in Walton County, Georgia. His holdings eventually came to include more than 100 residential and commercial properties. The son of an enslaved African-American named Sophenie and a white plantation owner named Frank Herndon, he was freed from slavery at the age of seven. An. background:#f4c85e; After a few months Herndon migrated to the town of Jonesboro, in Clayton County. font-size:38px; Herndon was featured in The Crisis Magazine's Men of the Month in March 1921. 3. Herndon soon opened his first business, a barbershop, in Jonesboro. He opened his own barbershop in Atlanta in 1886. "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. Box 1615 587 University Pl NW, Atlanta, GA 30314 on the campus of Morris Brown College. In New Georgia Encyclopedia. background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.18);} His insurance business reported more than $400,000 in assets in 1922. Encyclopedia of World Biography. On his way to becoming Atlantas first black millionaire, Herndon amassed a fortune in real estate. then he bought a plantation near tavares florida. As one of the South's leading black business leaders, Herndon was friendly with both Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Encyclopedia of World Biography. .post_pagi a i:hover{ Tweet. With the Southern economy wrecked, she was forced to accept payment in molasses, potatoes, or other provisions in order to feed her sons. Total Assets: $114.35 billion (1994) 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. Year Erected: 2017. background:#f4c85e; } James Oglethorpe Colonial Figures. He was the son of his white enslaver, Frank Herndon, and an enslaved woman, Sophenie. 191 Peachtree St #2500, Atlanta, GA 30303. Alonzo Herndon and Booker T. Washington. 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. Alonzo Herndon, a former slave born in 1858 in Social Circle, sought to better himself and ultimately became Atlanta's first African-American millionaire. @media screen and (max-width: 550px){body,p{ .flex-slider.button-three .read-more.read-more-slider a:hover{ } Its barbers were African American, but the establishment served a white clientele only, and quickly became one of the city's leading barbershops. His child Norris B. Herndon eventually took over Atlanta Life, expanding the company's reach and increasing its profits. [3], In 1893, Herndon married Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, a professor at Atlanta University who helped him gain an education and refinement. He was born, Facts about Catherine Mcauley talk about the famous person who established the Sisters of Mercy in 1831. His insurance business reported more than $400,000 in assets in 1922. .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);} After Adrienne died in 1910, Herndon married Jessie Gillespie of Chicago, Illinois who became an active partner in Atlanta Life and who led the company along with her stepson, after Herndons death. Why do you think this would have been one of the only ways African Americans were able to obtain wealth and upper-class status? .content .standard-layout .post.format-standard .post-img{ 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. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. ALONZO HERNDON WAS CONSIDERED THE FIRST BLACK ENTREPRENEUR OF ATLANTA IN THE 1800s Hide chat MLK: The Other America The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change Heartland. The publicity materials for the event claimed she was from an old French and Creole family in South Carolina, mentioning nothing about her race, and though she earned good reviews for a recital of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, no other roles came her way. Do you know that he was born into slavery? Merritt, Carole, The Herndons: An Atlanta Family, University of Georgia Press, 2002. Herdon was a former slave raised in a sharecropping family after the Civil War. She was sent adrift in the world with her two children and a corded bed and [a] few quilts. His father was Frank Herndon, the white farmer to whose Social Circle, Georgia land Sophenie was restricted. Herndon worked on his fathers plantation near Social Circle, Georgia. In 1922 the company had achieved legal reserve status, a position enjoyed by only four other Black insurance companies at that time. Five years later he was one of the original members of the W.E.B. .mega >ul.sub-menu>li.mega-sub-item>a, .mega .thunk-widget-menu .widget h2.widgettitle, .mega .thunk-widget-menu .widget .recent-post h4.widgettitle,.navigation .mega >ul.sub-menu>li.mega-sub-item>a{ Read more Reading age 8 - 10 years Print length 28 pages Language English Grade level 3 - 4 Dimensions 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. {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? By 1916, the Association was reorganized as a stock company capitalized at $25,000, most of which Herndon bought. The Civil War of the reason, his five-year-old brother, and an enslaved woman,.. After being emancipated, his acquisition strategy made Atlanta Life one of the Month in 1921. Career as a day laborer, 1858, alonzo Franklin Herndon ; n=f.fbq=function )! 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