Alonzo Herndon

At 69 years old, Alonzo Herndon physical status not available right now. We will update Alonzo Herndon's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Alonzo Franklin Herndon (June 26, 1858 – July 21, 1927) was an African-American entrepreneur and businessman in Atlanta, Georgia.

Born in slavery, he became one of the first African-American millionaires in the United States, first opening and operating three large barber shops in the city that served prominent white men.

He founded and governed the Atlanta Family Life Insurance Company, one of the country's most well-known and profitable African-American businesses, in 1905 (Atlanta Life).

Early life

Alonzo was born into slavery in 1858 in Walton County, Georgia, and was the son of Sophenie, a slave woman, and a white father, most likely her enslaver, Frank Herndon, who was from a wealthy slaveholding family. He was one of 25 people enslaved by his father, but he never denied his paternity. Following the American Civil War, Alonzo, then seven years ago, and his family were emancipated, including his mother, her parents, and his younger brother. He took the surname of his presumed father. The family was released from destitution. Herndon began as a child and an peddler, then moved to help his families, because only his mother could work in the early years. The family farmed mainly as sharecroppers on plantations in Social Circle, Georgia, 40 miles east of Atlanta.

Personal life and legacy

Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, a Atlanta University professor who taught him, gained an education and refinement in 1893. Norris B. Herndon and his son were together for one son. Herndon married Jessie Gillespie of Chicago after Adrienne died in 1910. Norris' son, who attended Atlanta University and Harvard Business School before starting his father's business full time. Herndon and his family attended the First Congregational Church in Atlanta. It had been closely linked to Clark University and other AMA schools. Herndon died in Atlanta on July 21, 1927 at the age of 69. Norris B. Herndon, his son, became renowned in his own right, growing the insurance company into a behemoth.

Source

Career

Herndon left Social Circle on foot with eleven dollars in savings and approximately one year of formal education in 1878. He eventually settled in Senoia, Georgia, to work as a farmhand; here, he began to learn the barbering trade, which was regarded as a respectable one at the time. In those years, many white men used African-American barbers. Herndon's first barbershop in Jonesboro, Georgia, was opened later. His barbering market thrived, and he extended it over the years. Herndon later owned three barbershops in Atlanta, one of which was located in 66 Peachtree Street, which featured luxurious furniture, after beginning in another black man's in Atlanta. Presidents, legislators, businessmen, and attorneys were all among those barbershops. During the 1906 Atlanta riot, one of his many large, upscale barbershops serving white customers was stricken by white rioters.

Herndon later invested in real estate and then into insurance. He started by purchasing a failing mutual aid group in 1905, when Georgia increased capital requirements for such enterprises. A few ministers in the area had urged him to purchase the firm as something for the black community. The Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association was founded by a man named The Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. The Association was reorganized in 1916 as a stock company profited at $25,000, the bulk of which Herndon bought. The company was rebranded Atlanta Life Insurance Company in 1922 and became one of five African-American insurance companies to gain legal reserve status. Atlanta Life's company flourished, and they expanded their market into Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas.

Herndon was Atlanta's first black millionaire, thanks to his businesses. In March 1921, Herndon was featured in The Crisis Magazine's "Men of the Month." The essay emphasizes his professionalism and success as a businessman.

Source