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Eliza Carpenter (1851 – December 16, 1924) was a
race horse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...
owner and jockey who was born into
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and achieved success as the only
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
horse racer in early Oklahoma.Reinette Jones and The University of Kentucky Libraries: ''Eliza Carpenter'', Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/subject.php?sub_id=57, accessed 20 February 2012. For more than thirty years she owned and raced a number of
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
horses in country circuits, winning many races and considerable money. Born in Virginia some 10 years prior to the outbreak of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
,One reference, Reinette Jones and The University of Kentucky Libraries: ''Eliza Carpenter'', Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NKAA/subject.php?sub_id=57, accessed 20 February 2012, states she was born in 1849, however, the 1900 U.S. federal census shows her born in December 1851, presumably as she herself stated to the census-taker. at 6 years of age Carpenter was sold to a slave owner in
Madison County, Kentucky Madison County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. At the 2020 census, its population was 92,701. Its county seat is Richmond. The county is named for Virginia statesman James Madison, who later became the ...
. Two years later, at age 8, she was sold to a planter in
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. Gaining her freedom at the end of the Civil War, she returned to
Madisonville, Kentucky Madisonville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Hopkins County, Kentucky, United States, located along Interstate 69 in the state's Western Coal Fields region. The population was 19,591 at the 2010 census. Madisonville is a c ...
, where she learned the business of buying, training, and riding
race horses Race Horses were a Welsh band based in Cardiff, Wales and originally from Aberystwyth. Formed in 2005 as Radio Luxembourg, they changed their name in 2009 due to possible legal problems with the radio station of the same name. Initially the ...
. She then moved to
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...
where she purchased several horses. When the
Cherokee Outlet The Cherokee Outlet, or Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It was a 60-mile-wide (97 km) parcel of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between 96 and 100°W. The Cherokee Outlet w ...
was opened for settlement in 1893, she joined in the race for new land."Reproduced the Strip Run," in the ''Hutchison'' ansas''News'', September 17, 1906, p. 8. A $1,000 prize was offered to the first person to reach the site of
Ponca City Ponca City ( iow, Chína Uhánⁿdhe) is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 25,387 at the time of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 c ...
, generating a heated race with Carpenter as one of the competitors. She rode her horse like a man and covered twelve miles in forty-five minutes. Some sources say that she was the first to stake a claim, while other sources say that she did not win the race. She reportedly staked out a good farm, but lost it due to describing its
metes and bounds Metes and bounds is a system or method of describing land, real property (in contrast to personal property) or real estate. The system has been used in England for many centuries and is still used there in the definition of general boundaries. The ...
inaccurately at the
land office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Departmen ...
. By 1900 she was living at 491 Grand Avenue in
Ponca City, Oklahoma Ponca City ( iow, Chína Uhánⁿdhe) is a city in Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 25,387 at the time of the 2010 census- and a population of 24,424 in the 2020 ...
where her occupation was given in that year's United States census as a "trader flive stock."National Archives and Records Administration: ''1900 United States Federal Census'', Census Place: Ponca City, Kay County, Oklahoma, Enumeration District 97; Roll T623, p. 23A. The same record shows her to be a single woman, born in December 1851. In Ponca City, she trained Thoroughbreds,
quarter horses The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at ...
, and other horses for racing, becoming one of the few African-American stable owners in the
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
. When dissatisfied with the way a race was going, she sometimes would ride her own horses as a jockey, winning some races. Recorded names of her horses include "Irish Maid", "Blue Bird", "Jimmy Rain", "Sam Carpenter", and "Little Brown Jug", the last of which she reportedly raced at
Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and
< ...
,
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
. In a September 1920 recreation of the 1893
Cherokee Outlet The Cherokee Outlet, or Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It was a 60-mile-wide (97 km) parcel of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between 96 and 100°W. The Cherokee Outlet w ...
land rush, she won the race, driving two fast ponies hitched to a buggy while standing erect like a Roman
chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nb ...
eer. On a visit to family in
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...
in 1924, she was thrown from a buggy when her
Thoroughbred horse The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
spooked, suffering a fractured skull. She returned to Ponca City in August 1924 where she suffered a stroke resulting in
paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 5 ...
, and died on Tuesday, December 16, 1924.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Eliza 1851 births 1924 deaths African-American sportswomen African-American jockeys American female jockeys American racehorse owners and breeders 19th-century American slaves 19th-century American businesspeople People from Madison County, Kentucky People from Ponca City, Oklahoma 19th-century African-American women 19th-century sportswomen African-American equestrians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women