Envelope Addressed to Harry Black
Dublin Core
Title
Envelope Addressed to Harry Black
Alternative Title
Envelope Addressed to Harry Black
Subject
Sanford (Fla.)
Migrant workers
Agricultural laborers--Florida
Description
Envelope addressed to Harry Black (d. 1911), although the letter was likely for his son, Pilgrim Black (1905-2002), as Harry had passed away years before 1932.
Pilgrim Black was born in 1905, although some records list 1907 as his birth year. Pilgrim and Lula Mae Haynes Black were migrant crew leaders, and thus migrated to Wayne County in Upstate New York in the summers and back to their home in Sanford for the rest of the year. Pilgrim was the son of Harry Black (d. 1911) and Maggie Benjamin Black (ca.1870-ca.1934), who migrated to Sanford from South Carolina in the 1800s. Harry and Maggie had several children: Leckward Black, Mustar Black, Malachi Black, Leatha Black Walker (1889-1976), Pilgrim Black, Margaret Black Jones (1889-1976), and Harriett Black Lawson. In 1911, Harry owned a grocery store at 206 South Sanford Avenue. One day, he came home from work with pneumonia and passed away shortly thereafter. Pilgrim was nine years old when his father passed away. Maggie was the daughter of former slaves, Isaac and Roseanna Benjamin, and the sister of Nathan Benjamin, Pledge Benjamin, Sam Benjamin, Loui Benjamin, Chainey Benjamin, Lara Benjamin, Melvina Benjamin, and Katie Benjamin.
Pilgrim had to quit school at age eleven in order to provide for his mother, originally working in a mill house until he was 18n years old. After declining a management position, he traveled to Wayne County to pick cherries, apples, pears, and other crops. He broke a bone after falling from an apple tree his first year and decided to try farm labor on a potato farm in Red Creek, New York, instead. Don Holdridge, the farmer who owned the land, noted Pilgrim's high rate of productivity and offered him a management position supervising up to thirty workers at once, which he accepted.
While in Sanford, Pilgrim also worked as a foreman in Sanford for Chase & Company for over 30 years. He married Lula in 1937 and they had several children together, including Vivian Louise Black (1940- ); Lula Yvonne Black (1942- ); Charles Samuel Black (1945- ); Pilgrim Black, Jr. (ca.1947- ), and Patricia Ann Black (1956- ).
Pilgrim Black was born in 1905, although some records list 1907 as his birth year. Pilgrim and Lula Mae Haynes Black were migrant crew leaders, and thus migrated to Wayne County in Upstate New York in the summers and back to their home in Sanford for the rest of the year. Pilgrim was the son of Harry Black (d. 1911) and Maggie Benjamin Black (ca.1870-ca.1934), who migrated to Sanford from South Carolina in the 1800s. Harry and Maggie had several children: Leckward Black, Mustar Black, Malachi Black, Leatha Black Walker (1889-1976), Pilgrim Black, Margaret Black Jones (1889-1976), and Harriett Black Lawson. In 1911, Harry owned a grocery store at 206 South Sanford Avenue. One day, he came home from work with pneumonia and passed away shortly thereafter. Pilgrim was nine years old when his father passed away. Maggie was the daughter of former slaves, Isaac and Roseanna Benjamin, and the sister of Nathan Benjamin, Pledge Benjamin, Sam Benjamin, Loui Benjamin, Chainey Benjamin, Lara Benjamin, Melvina Benjamin, and Katie Benjamin.
Pilgrim had to quit school at age eleven in order to provide for his mother, originally working in a mill house until he was 18n years old. After declining a management position, he traveled to Wayne County to pick cherries, apples, pears, and other crops. He broke a bone after falling from an apple tree his first year and decided to try farm labor on a potato farm in Red Creek, New York, instead. Don Holdridge, the farmer who owned the land, noted Pilgrim's high rate of productivity and offered him a management position supervising up to thirty workers at once, which he accepted.
While in Sanford, Pilgrim also worked as a foreman in Sanford for Chase & Company for over 30 years. He married Lula in 1937 and they had several children together, including Vivian Louise Black (1940- ); Lula Yvonne Black (1942- ); Charles Samuel Black (1945- ); Pilgrim Black, Jr. (ca.1947- ), and Patricia Ann Black (1956- ).
Creator
Roswell Motor Company
Source
Original envelope from Roswell Motor Company to Harry Black: Private Collection of Patricia Ann Black.
Date Created
ca. 1932-06-31
Contributor
Black, Patricia Ann
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original envelope from Roswell Motor Company to Harry Black.
Format
image/jpeg
Extent
95.2 KB
Medium
1 envelope
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
North Roswell, Georgia
Sanford, Florida
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by Roswell Motor Company and owned by Pilgrim Black.
Inherited by Patricia Ann Black in 2002.
Rights Holder
Copyright to the resource is held by Patricia Ann Black and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.
Contributing Project
Curator
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
Source Repository
Private Collection of Patricia Ann Black
External Reference
Coles, Robert. Uprooted Children: The Early Life of Migrant Farm Workers. [Pittsburgh]: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1970.
Piore, Michael J. Birds of Passage: Migrant Labor and Industrial Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
Transcript
ROSWELL MOTOR CO.
Ford
SALES AND SERVICE
NORTH ROSWELL, GEORGIA
Henry Black, Colored,
Cor. 10th St. & Bay Ave.,
Georgetown,
Sanford, Fla.
Ford
SALES AND SERVICE
NORTH ROSWELL, GEORGIA
Henry Black, Colored,
Cor. 10th St. & Bay Ave.,
Georgetown,
Sanford, Fla.
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
1 envelope
Collection
Citation
Roswell Motor Company, “Envelope Addressed to Harry Black,” RICHES, accessed April 26, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/2661.