Letter from A. Worley Brown to Pilgrim Black (May 21, 1962)
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from A. Worley Brown to Pilgrim Black (May 21, 1962)
Alternative Title
Letter from Brown to Black (May 21, 1962)
Subject
Sanford (Fla.)
Upstate New York (N.Y.)
Migrant workers
Farm laborers
Description
Letter of correspondence from A. Worley Brown, chairman of the Florida Industrial Commission, to Pilgrim Black written on May 21, 1962. In the letter, Brown informs Black that he has been scheduled for summer agricultural labor outside of Florida, as approved by the Florida State Employment Service.
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
Brown, A. Worley
Source
Original letter from A. Worley Brown to Pilgrim Black, May 21, 1962: Private Collection of Patricia Ann Black.
Date Created
1962-05-21
Contributor
Black, Patricia Ann
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original letter from A. Worley Brown to Pilgrim Black, May 21, 1962.
Is Part Of
Patricia Black Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Format
image/jpg
Extent
112 KB
Medium
1-page typewritten letter on Florida Industrial Commission letterhead
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Tallahassee, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Originally created by A. Worley Brown 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
FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION
TALLAHASSEE
STATE OF FLORIDA
FARRIS BRYANT
GOVERNOR
A. WORLEY BROWN
CHAIRMAN
BURNIS COLEMAN
GENERAL COUNSEL
5-21-62
Dear Pilgrim
You are just completing, or have completed, the 1961-62 agricultural harvest season here in Florida. The efforts by you and your crew members working in agriculture have assisted our florida growers in completing another harvest season.
Through the recent pooled interviews, arranged by the Florida State Employment Service, summer work has been scheduled for you outside of the State.
In your work associations this summer it is hoped that you will be a Florida ambassador and carry our story of agricultural labor needs to other fellow crew leaders who do not have work commitments in our State this winter. Encourage them to contact their nearest State Employment service or the Florida State Employment Service for florida harvset work during the 1962-63 harvest season.
Sincerely,
A. Worley Brown
Chairman
TALLAHASSEE
STATE OF FLORIDA
FARRIS BRYANT
GOVERNOR
A. WORLEY BROWN
CHAIRMAN
BURNIS COLEMAN
GENERAL COUNSEL
5-21-62
Dear Pilgrim
You are just completing, or have completed, the 1961-62 agricultural harvest season here in Florida. The efforts by you and your crew members working in agriculture have assisted our florida growers in completing another harvest season.
Through the recent pooled interviews, arranged by the Florida State Employment Service, summer work has been scheduled for you outside of the State.
In your work associations this summer it is hoped that you will be a Florida ambassador and carry our story of agricultural labor needs to other fellow crew leaders who do not have work commitments in our State this winter. Encourage them to contact their nearest State Employment service or the Florida State Employment Service for florida harvset work during the 1962-63 harvest season.
Sincerely,
A. Worley Brown
Chairman
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
1-page typewritten letter on Florida Industrial Commission letterhead
Collection
Citation
Brown, A. Worley, “Letter from A. Worley Brown to Pilgrim Black (May 21, 1962),” RICHES, accessed April 26, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/2663.