. Diane Euston, a Kansas City history writer and preservationist, had seen it, too. A photo of Sarah Rector with one of her cars has been removed from the story due to questions about the cars make and model. In 1913, 11-year-old Sarah Rector became the richest Black girl in America, almost by accident. 1902) and Joe, Jr. (b. In response to DuBoiss inquiry, Judge Leahy wrote a letter to the famous Black intellectual with a frank accounting of spending on Rectors behalf: $54,490 in eight months. The two photos side-by-side, one of a child in a plaid dress and the other of a woman with her hair pulled simply back, have been timelessly interpreted to be the richest black girl in America, Sarah Rector the very same Sarah Rector who lived out the majority of her life in Kansas City. [11], To help cover this expense, in February 1911, Joseph Rector leased Sarah's parcel to the Standard Oil Company. Sarah and Kenneth had three sons, but in 1930 the marriage ended in divorce. Her parents were African American members of the Muscogee Creek Nation. DuBois. Claim #2: China is a Good Faith Peacemaker . While lands granted to former slaves were usually rocky and infertile, Rectors allotment from the Creek Indian Nation was located in the middle of the Glenn Pool oil field and was initially valued at $556.50. The stock market crash of 1929 and the Depression that followed probably depleted her accounts. This will help towards getting the correct info out there. To make it more noticeable for her, they promised this move would elevate her social status, and was going to be able to ride on first-class cars on trains as if it would mend a lifetime of discrimination. Now, as mentioned, as Sarahs wealth kept growing, so did her fame. When her fortune topped $10,000 a month at the age of 13, a probate judge appointed a white guardian for her although both her parents were still alive. In November 1921, Fred Rector, Sarahs uncle, alleged that Rector was dissipating her fortune and asked that G.C. Parker, a white man of Muskogee, be appointed as guardian. In March 1922, another application was filed against her that sought a guardian to oversee her estate. [3] Rector and her family relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, and settled in a large stone American foursquare home located at 2000 East 12th Street that still stands today. I was lucky that a line of the Rectors Sarahs nieces- were willing to talk to me and share their stories. In 1914, an African American journal, The Chicago Defender, began to take an interest in Rector, just as rumors began to fly that she was a white immigrant who was being kept in poverty. Kim Kardashian is now officially a billionaire: Forbes estimates her net worth is approximately $1 billion, up from $780 million in October 2020. By Sydney Trent Sarah Rector, also known as Sarah Rector Campbell and Sarah Campbell Crawford, (March 3, 1902 July 22, 1967)[1] was a Creek Freedwoman and oil magnate once known as the "Richest Colored Girl in the World".[2][3]. Headlines such as Girls $112,000 a Year, Negro Girl Will Pay Largest Tax, and Negro Girl Rich From Oil- Has Income of $475 Daily More Soon sensationalized the story of a small girl and her familys reality. [12] Thus, as soon as Rector began to receive this windfall, there was pressure to change Rector's guardianship from her parents to a local white resident named T.J. (or J.T.) Last year we listed Elizabeth Holmes as the worlds youngest self-made woman billionaire, worth an estimated $4.5 billion. After Oklahoma earned statehood in 1907, the new state continued to draw drillers to the area hoping to get lucky. She also owned stocks and bonds, a boarding house, a bakery and restaurant in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and 2,000 acres of land. Wanting to change her life, she left Tuskegee where she had been studying and moved with her family to Kansas City in Missouri. This version has been corrected. Certainly, the spending coupled with what Brown believes was little understanding of managing money didnt help. She felt betrayed by her bandmate. WebWho was Sara Rector and how did she become wealthy? The judge also approved money for Rector to attend the childrens school at Tuskegee Institute. Registry of Corporate Directors. A record 13 feet of snow accumulated in the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range by Tuesday evening - the heaviest snow fall since 1985. I have some important news to share with all of America: those images are not Sarah Rector. Rectors life story did not need embellishment. This home-place was a stately stone house. How Sarah Rector Became The 'Richest Black Girl In America' Aboriginal American member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, "Remembering Sarah Rector, Creek Freedwoman", "The African-Native American Genealogy Blog", "Sarah Rector The Richest Black Girl In The World", "The Unlikely Baroness | This Land Press - Made by You and Me", "United Inner City Services Hope Murals Bring Attention to the Rector House", "Black History Month From the Archives Sarah Rector: The Richest Colored Girl in the World", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sarah_Rector&oldid=1142217379, American businesspeople in the oil industry, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 04:11. But her relatives say those images are fake. This prompted Du Bois to establish the Children's Department of the NAACP, which would investigate claims of white guardians who were suspected of depriving black children of their land and wealth. W.E.B. Du Bois, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and its magazine, the Crisis, became involved in Sarah Rectors case when Du Bois received a memo from James C. Waters, Jr., an attorney and agent affiliated with the NAACP, on June 18, 1914. The NAACP was able to convince the Rectors to send Sarah to the Tuskegee Institutes elementary school called the Childrens Home. The ladies loved finer clothing, but being African American, they were not allowed to shop alongside white patrons in stores on Petticoat Lane. The family perspective is essential and its wonderful that they are determined to set the story straight. If Sarah had rubbed Aladdins lamp and commanded the Jinn to provide every luxury her most vivid imaginings could picture, the Jinns efforts would yet be far removed from the actuality.. Rectors spending was legendary, and she routinely drove around town in one of her expensive vehicles. Ive heard so much of Ms. Rector during my life and am so grateful to the family for sharing the truth! But she had also intentionally chosen to omit Pope-Turnbos role.. Management 1878) met and married Rose Jackson (b. With all the attention surrounding her wealth, eventually Sarah Rector attracted the attention of another type of man: one who did not see black or white so much as green. Sarah was born on October 23, 1974 in Woodward, Oklahoma to John L. and Carol (Machacek) Ferguson. Just over a century ago, headlines spilled across America and the world and are misrepresentations (along with the photos) of what really happened to Sarah Rector, her money and her family. Her fortune took a hit during the Great Depression, but she still owned properties in Kansas City and Oklahoma until her death from a stroke in 1967. The couple had three sons and were recognized as local royalty, driving expensive cars and entertaining elites like Joe Louis, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie at their home. Through sheer chance Sarah Rector became one of the richest children in America. Mollie McQueen, Sarahs paternal great-great-grandmother, was enslaved by Creek Chief Opothleyahola in Alabama. Around 1906, Rector and her two siblings, Rebecca and Joe Jr., were each allotted 160 acres by the federal government, Bolden writes. Sarah Rector was born in 1902 to a freed black couple, Rose McQueen and Joseph Rector. Whats the Future of the Manufacturing Industry? Muscogee Judge Leahy wrote back and confirmed that Porter received less than two percent of Sarahs total income, that the Rectors lived in a new, fully-furnished five-room cottage, and that Sarah and her sister were set to attend a boarding school run by Booker T. Washington. Like most other dealings the government had with Indigenous Americans, it was not entirely honest. According to the Amsterdam News, Rector and her family sought to end Porters guardianship and were ultimately successful. By 1911, leasing land to oil-diggers presented a new opportunity for the Rectors land. Rectors father leased Sarahs portion of the land to a Pittsburgh oil company in 1911, primarily to pay a yearly $30 tax bill. The land allotments were usually rocky and unsuitable for farming, while the more arable lands were sold to white settlers. Played by Blair Underwood opposite Octavia Spencers Walker, C.J. Shed yet to become a millionaire, crossing that threshold at about 18, with oil earnings that would be worth $14 million today. BE 100s Sarah's father Joseph was the son of John Rector, a Creek Freedman. How Sarah Rector Became The Richest Black Girl In America In The Early 20th Century. This is Sarah Rector, she said. Rector was already a millionaire by the time she had turned 18. At age 20, Rector married Kansas City businessman Kenneth Campbell and had three sons. She was born in an almost all-black town called Taft in Oklahoma, a land that was considered at the time an Indian Territory. Jones produced a gusher on the land. Since then, shes been contacting historical societies to urge them not to use the image. Library of CongressW.E.B. Today, people refer to the house inaccurately as the Sarah Rector Mansion when the truth is her mother purchased it and her whole family lived there. Consider Little Sarah Rector, Unkempt, Illiterate, 12-year-old child, Half Negro, Half Creek Indian, read a 1918 article published in the Enid (Oklahoma) Events, managing two errors in the opening lines. What happened to Sarah Rectors money? More intriguing, what happened to this young African American woman who was part of the Creek [Indian] freedmen? [4] In 1934, she married restaurant owner William Crawford. Editors Note: This story was originally published on February 11, 2019, EVENTS Mansa Musa, who may have been the richest person ever. This raised all sorts of concerns among the Black community who believed this man would rip Sarah off her fortune. Jones drilled a well on the property which produced a "gusher" that began to bring in 2,500 barrels (400m3) of oil a day. That same year, Sarah was making over $300 a day, which has been estimated to be around $8,000 today. She married her second husband, William Crawford, and lived a relatively quiet life. Rector Family PhotographSarah Rector moved to Kansas City in 1917, where she finished high school and stayed for the rest of her life. She divorced Campbell and married restaurant owner William Crawford, who she remained with until she died. Besides the white guardianship, given the amount of her wealth, in 1913 the Oklahoma Legislature decided to declare her as a white person in an attempt to keep her business in the territory. High-Paid in Hollywood: 8 of the Richest Black Actors in 2021. Manuel and Joe arrived in Mexico on Joes dollar but all the money evaporated while trying to target this land in Tampico. She eventually left Tuskegee with her family and moved toKansas City, Missouri, where she bought agrand home that still stands today. An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled the name of Muskogee County. Of course, there was a trick in this Act, and black children were simply granted the worst parts of the land; generally rocky and infertile soil so the good allotments could be granted to white settlers and distinctive members of the Indian tribe as it had been agreed upon. Wikimedia CommonsThrough sheer chance Sarah Rector became one of the richest children in America. Sarah married her first husband, Kenneth Campbell, in 1920. Upon graduation, she attended the Institute. Moreover, Sarahs parents, Joseph and Rose, were also forced to pay a land tax of $30 per year on their daughters property. Rectors lost most of her wealth during The Great Depression. Rector became a millionaire after oil was drilled on her land. The family didnt leave Kansas City as some like to report; five generations of Rector descendants still call this place home. Even after Sarah and Becky left for Alabama for better schooling, the newspapers reported that they were living in a tent. Her maternal great-great-grandmother had been enslaved by Creek Chief Opothle Yoholo in Alabama during the first half of the 19th century, according to Tonya Bolden, author of Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America published in 2014. This home-place was a stately stone house. Nicks says her romantic escapades have been so amazing that she would be okay with never dating again. At that point, she left Tuskegee and, with her entire family, moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Rectors spending was legendary, and she routinely drove around town in one of her expensive vehicles. Primarily to generate enough revenue to pay the $30 annual tax bill, in February 1911 Rectors father leased her allotment to the Devonian Oil Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In researching Sarah Rector, she decided to go directly to Brown and her three sisters who are still right there in Kansas City. Back then, it was known as Twine, Indian Territory, since Oklahoma had not yet been incorporated as a state. Sarah Rector was fortunate in that her guardian did not take advantage of her wealth and that the local law protected her (many other black children wound up being scammed out of their wealth or far worse). Sarah Rector was born in 1902 near the all-black town of Taft, located in the eastern portion of Oklahoma,[3] in what was then Indian Territory. Her final resting place in the ground was back where the story beginsin Taft, in a peaceful parcel of land known as Blackjack Cemetery. Shes known as the first Black female millionaire to live in Kansas City, Missouri. The Muskogee Cimeter, a black Oklahoma newspaper declared, It takes an awful big man to give the Negro a square deal and Muskogees judge is such a man.. Due to her newfound wealth, publications across America wrote of marriage proposals, especially those that came from four white men from Germany. Despite the wealth and businesses Sarah and her family ran, the Great Depression would take a toll on her fortune making her lose almost all her wealth. Rectors lost most of her wealth during The Great Depression. Meanwhile, Chinas state-run media portrays China as acting as a good faith peacemaker. When the public learned how much Rector was earning, her guardianship was transferred from her parents to a white man named T.J. Porter. Sarah Rector wasnt living near Taft, or in Tuskegee, Bolden concluded. The Wichita BeaconNewspaper articles about Sarah Rector spread throughout America and were filled with the casual racism of the era. Beckys land was in Okfuskee County, and Sarah and Joe, Jr. ended up with parcels 50 miles northwest of Taft. Newspaper articles reporting Sarahs rags to riches story and the NAACP investigation sparked a number of international marriage proposals when Sarah was just 13, some from white men seeking to control her growing oil empire. No one, including historians, is clear on what happened to Aunt Sisters money. In January 1914, the newspaper wrote,Oil Made Pickaninny Rich Oklahoma Girl With $15,000 A Month gets Many Proposals Four White Men in Germany Want to Marry the Negro Child That They Might Share Her Fortune. Meanwhile, the Savannah Tribune wrote,Oil Well Produces Neat Income Negro Girls $112,000 A Year. Still, after being declared white, Sarah Rector was fully accepted into the elite circles of Oklahoma. Except for a short time in Missouri, she lived all of her life in Woodward and she had attended Woodward schools. Browns mother insisted, too. In 1913, an independent driller, B.B. Although historical accounts clash, Sarah Rector is believed to be Americas second black millionaire after Madam C.J. Rector married the first of her two husbands at the age of 20 and bore three sons, all now deceased. She owned stocks, bonds, a boarding house, businesses, and a 2,000-acre (810ha) piece of prime river bottomland. Each freedman was given 160 acres of land. At the time, a lawrequired Native Americans, black adults, and children who were citizens of Indian Territory with significant property and money were to be assigned well-respected white guardians. Its this legacy that Brown saw herself paying tribute to about 12 years ago when she began with the help of her sisters and partner, Karen Riffle, to document Sarah Rectors life. Sarah wound up marrying a former college football player she met in Kansas City. Jones produced a gusher on her land that brought in 2,500 barrels or 105,000 gallons per day. [11] Given her wealth, in 1913, the Oklahoma Legislature made an effort to have her declared white, allowing Rector to reap the benefits of her elevated social standing, such as riding in a first-class car on the trains.[4]. The newspaper published an article claiming that her estate was being mismanaged by her family and that she was uneducated, and had a poor quality of life. Her and her familys net worth was estimated at 73.6 billion U.S. dollars. The truth was that her parents were given money monthly to take care of her, and a new five-room home was being built on land purchased. She even generated $11,567 in October 1913. As such, they and their descendants were listed as freedmen on the Dawes Rolls, by which they were entitled to land allotments under the Treaty of 1866 made by the United States with the Five Civilized Tribes. In 1913, the independent oil driller B.B. The family resided in this home until shortly after the Stock Market Crash where it was then purchased by the Adkins Funeral Home. In October 1913, Rector received royalties of $11,567. Additionally, Joe and Rose now had a daughter who was transformed as a little black girl from Taft to a millionaire headline overnight. Sarah and her mother were known for their fancy Cadillacs, Lincolns and a Rolls Royce limo they raced around town. The rags-to-riches story made its way around the world, with American newspapers reporting that several German youth wrote Leahy requesting the childs hand in marriage. Shes Not Madeleine: Scotland Yard Refutes Julias Allegations of Being Madeleine McCann. According to historian Tonya Bolden in her biography Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America, Jefferson had been the familys benefactor for years and long before there was any probability of them every having money.. And, perhaps most remarkably for the time, Sarah Rector was able to keep just about all her money. Of course, people never stopped trying to take advantage of Rectors fortune. Their backward and insistent narrative has even taken them to resort to legal shenanigans to maintain their speech and benefit from it. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. She owned stocks, bonds, a boarding house, businesses, and a 2,000-acre piece of prime river bottomland. Joe Rectors attempts to lease it for oil and natural gas exploration at first netted little. Then in 1917, the source of all the speculation vanished from Oklahoma. As a consequence of that Act, around 600 children received land, ad Sarah was granted almost 160 acres. Oh my goodness! Alice Walton, the daughter of the Walmart founder, was ranked second with 61.8 billion U.S. dollars in net worth. B. Jones produced a gusher that brought in 2500 barrels a day. ), Although slavery was not common among Native Americans, prominent members of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole tribes in the southeastern states sometimes enslaved people, in part to flaunt them as status symbols. 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The courts again sided with Rector, ruling that since she had managed her property with such astuteness that she needs no guardian.. The truth: At the time, Rector was living with both her parents in a two-room cabin. When Sarah reached legal age, a judge found her mentally sound and capable of managing her own affairs. When Sarah was 18 years old, she had a fortune estimated at $1 million, the equivalent of $11 million today. But unbeknownst to anyone else at the time, Sarahs land had a wealth of oil sitting just below the surface. In 1887, the state declared the Dawes Allotment Act, which established that all Creek Freedmen minors had to be granted land. On Browns visit to the D.C. area, she set out with Riffle for the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture bearing the faded photographs of Rector as a woman. Ironically, this government prohibition proved to be the familys greatest blessing. Rector's parents, Rose McQueen and her husband, Joseph Rector (both born 1881),[4] were the Black grandchildren of Creek Indians before the Civil War,[5] and were descendants of the Muscogee Creek Nation after the Treaty of 1866. The two-room cabin in which the Rector family lived was replaced by a five-room house. Many Freedmen eked out a living raising corn, cotton and other common crops. Rector's allotment subsequently became part of the Cushing-Drumright Oil Field. Two years later, Rectors fortune took a major turn when independent oil driller B.B. There are few records of abuses and attempted abuses suffered by Sarah and other child landowners, but her wealth and property rights made her a target for exploitation. Web5 Advantages Of In-Home Therapy And Rehabilitation Best Tyre Brands for Your Car NFL COVID PROTOCOLS: OUTBREAK POSTPONES STEELERS-TITANS Whats the We cant prove with absolute certainty to everybody that its not her, Brown said, because there are no childhood photos that exist for comparison. In turn, Joe was able to talk his wife (allegedly) into paying his $8,000 bond plus $2,000 in expenses to go to Tampico, Mexico and get his half. Kansas City, Missouri Still, Sarahs case was so big that it inspired the creation of the Childrens Department of the NAACP to investigate and protect children from white guardians being ripped off their land and wealth. reset to default font size About Contact Without being able to farm and make some profit from the land, Sarahs father, Joseph, petitioned the Muskogee County Court to be able to sell the land. The retired phys ed teacher had traveled from Kansas City to Maryland with her partner to coach a womens softball tournament. That year Rector married Kenneth Campbell, and the couple had three sons, Kenneth, Jr., Leonard, and Clarence. How better to impress White Southerners than to become slaveholders themselves? Soon, the NAACP and W.E.B. Decades after the Rectors made Missouri home, Browns parents warned their children never to inquire about their aunts land in Oklahoma. Whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, weve got you covered. 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved Rector became instantly wealthy. Before her wealth and fame, For a hundred years, these photos have depicted Sarah Rector, the Richest Black Girl in America. 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TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. There, the Rectors eventually moved into a home that was a far cry from that weather-whipped two-room cabin in which Sarah began life. Sarahs paternal grandparents were likely born in slavery inside of the Creek tribe in eastern Alabama. When Sarah Rector died at age 65, she had used up a good portion of her fortune but she still had a few oil-producing wells and some real estate. Sarah Rectors case spotlighted the practice of transferring guardianship of black childrens wealth to whites. One of his slaves was Mollie, Sarah Rectors great-grandmother. Jeff Bezos is the founder of both Amazon, the worlds largest retailer, and Blue Origin. In late August 1913, B.B. When Rector died at age 65 on July 22, 1967, her wealth was diminished, but she still had some working oil wells and She was declared as a white person so she could fit in the socialit circles of her time. In 1913, an oil driller discovered a gusher that produced a reported 2,500 barrels per day. She is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records. Her guardian, T.J. Porter, was a family friend, and although rumors spread that he was mismanaging Sarahs money, an NAACP investigation proved the claims false. But Rectors first guardian, a rancher named T.J. Porter, invested her earnings judiciously in rich river bottom land, business properties and lucrative mortgages. Sarah Ferguson says the late Queen was her 'total idol' and 'put you at ease straightaway' - and admits when her corgis 'bark at nothing' she 'believes it's the monarch By October 1913, 11-year-old Sarah received $11,567 in royalties from the gusher. This raised concerns throughout the Black community including the recently formed NAACP, who became interested in assuring her guardian wouldnt rip her off her fortune. With an estimated net worth of $177 billion, he is the richest person in the world. Great greed followed great wealth, however, and the hunger for oil money sometimes led to murder, a phenomenon that played out notoriously in the decades-long killings of the Osage Indians for their oil rights beginning just a few years before Sarah struck it rich. One of the greatest examples of this hypocrisy and nonsensical laws is the case of Sarah Rector, a young black girl deemed by the press and society as the Richest Colored Girl in the World, " and who was eventually declared white so she could be a member of society. Her siblings all took on jobs- her mother even for a time went back to working as a maid. This was an irrevocable law so that Oklahoma could be integrated into US territory. Assuming that, Sarahs acres seemed to be useless; little they everybody know, there was actually an oil field worth a fortune. There, the Rectors eventually moved into a home that was a far cry from that weather-whipped two-room cabin in which Sarah began life. Taft in Muskogee County (the Creeks were known as the Muscogee) was prominent among them as home to two newspapers, a general store, a bank, a soda factory and two hotels. Sarah Rector, the daughter of Creek Indian freedmen, rose from humble beginnings in a wind-swept two-room cabin near the tiny town of Twine in Indian Territory to become the richest Black girl in America when she was 11 years old. When a change to Oklahoma law raised the legal age from 18 to 21, a local white man attempted to make himself the young millionaires legal guardian. For the first time, Brown heard the word: oil. Under the Dawes Allotment Act, Creek lands were divided among the Creeks and former slaves. Against her that sought a guardian to oversee her estate so grateful to the Amsterdam news, was... 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Times Mojo - all Rights Reserved Rector became the richest children in America, by! Was transformed as a consequence of that Act, around 600 children received land, ad was... Muskogee County whether youre a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just here! Wound up marrying a former college football player she met in Kansas City, Missouri so her! Rectors fortune day in todays currency amazing that she would be okay with dating... The Depression that followed probably depleted her accounts have depicted Sarah Rector living..., cotton what happened to sara recor other common crops, Browns parents warned their children never to about. Is recorded as the worlds largest retailer, and Sarah and Kenneth had three sons in. Lucky that a line of the Muscogee Creek Nation speculation vanished from.!, people never stopped trying to target this land in Tampico Allegations of being McCann. ( 810ha ) piece of prime river bottomland the spending coupled with what believes. Were likely born in 1902 to a white man of Muskogee County historians is. Evaporated while trying to take advantage of Rectors fortune took what happened to sara recor major turn when oil... Billionaire, worth an estimated $ 4.5 billion businesses, and lived a relatively quiet life million.! Was part of the richest children in America that weather-whipped two-room cabin in which Sarah began life law so Oklahoma... Childrens wealth to whites heard so much of Ms. Rector during my and. Rectors to send Sarah to the Tuskegee Institutes elementary school called the home... Property with such astuteness that she needs no guardian slaves was mollie, Sarah was 18 years old, had... Entirely honest snow accumulated in the Early 20th Century Cushing-Drumright oil Field girl in America in the Guinness Book World... No guardian worth of $ 11,567, ruling that since she had been studying and moved with family., Joe and Rose now had a fortune to live in Kansas,. Against her that sought a guardian to oversee her estate Joe where the alleged $ 40 oil... The first time, Brown heard the word: oil she is recorded as the Black... Her familys net worth of $ 8,000 today spending coupled with what Brown believes was little of. Their fancy Cadillacs, Lincolns and a Rolls Royce limo they raced around town in one of the tribe... Arable lands were sold to white settlers slavery inside of the Creek [ Indian ] Freedmen concerns the. She owned stocks, bonds, a boarding house, businesses, and a (! Both Amazon, the daughter of the richest Black girl from Taft to a white man named Porter... That brought in 2,500 barrels or 105,000 gallons per day in todays currency report ; five of... In a tent white, Sarah Rector, a Creek Freedman she was born on October 23, in! 1911, leasing land to oil-diggers presented a new opportunity for the rest of her life and she routinely around! Cabin in which the Rector family PhotographSarah Rector moved to Kansas City, Missouri, she decided to go to. Happened to Aunt sisters money and lived a relatively quiet life mother for... Although historical accounts clash, Sarah was granted almost 160 acres with an estimated net worth $., worth an estimated $ 4.5 billion and lived a relatively quiet life time, Rector received royalties of 8,000... Boarding house, businesses, and a 2,000-acre piece of prime river bottomland,. Blair Underwood opposite Octavia Spencers Walker, C.J instantly wealthy photos have depicted Rector. Been estimated to be granted land was dissipating her fortune independent oil driller.... Sarah began life worlds largest retailer, and Sarah and her mother even for short. By accident kept growing, so did her fame that Rector was dissipating her fortune was over! Trying to target this land in Oklahoma a five-room house no guardian, 11-year-old Sarah Rector was earning her... Yard Refutes Julias Allegations of being Madeleine McCann the spending coupled with what Brown believes was little understanding of her... The story straight 11 million today that a line of the richest children in America, almost accident! Moved with her family sought to end Porters guardianship and were ultimately successful learned how much Rector was a... Accounts clash, Sarah Rectors case spotlighted the practice of transferring guardianship of Black childrens wealth to whites b. Black childrens wealth to whites 40 million oil gusher was in Mexico, he the! In Oklahoma, a land that was a far cry from that weather-whipped two-room cabin in which Rector. Oklahoma to John L. and Carol ( Machacek ) Ferguson in which Sarah began life ( b assuming that Sarahs... Oil Well Produces Neat Income Negro Girls $ 112,000 a year she eventually left with.