Elizabeth Amelia Gloucester (née Parkhill; 1817 – August 9, 1883) was one of the wealthiest black women in America at the time of her death and was a supporter of the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

and a business owner.

Life and career

She was born in 1817 in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, as Elizabeth Amelia Parkhill to a freedwoman. Little is known about her father, but census records listed that she was "

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese ...

" which implies she might have had a white father. When her mother died when she was still young, she went to live with Rev.

John Gloucester John Gloucester (1776 – 1822) was the first African American to become an ordained Presbyterian minister in the United States, and the founder of The First African Presbyterian Church at Girard Avenue and 42nd Street in Philadelphia, which had ...

Sr. and married his youngest son, James Gloucester, in 1838. She developed her business skills by selling secondhand clothing and then operating a furniture store on West Broadway. Gloucester ran 15 boarding homes in New York and they lived in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

from 1855. Her husband founded the Siloam Presbyterian Church and she helped to pay for the building of the church. They hosted abolitionist

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia *John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Iri ...

, and she contributed to his causes. She purchased the Hamilton Club and turned it into an upscale boarding house called the Remsen House, which had a mostly white clientele. She hosted

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he becam ...

, John Brown and many others at the house and held meetings for the Freedman's Friend Society, Ladies National Union Fair, and Union Soldier Association. Following her death, two of her daughters continued to run the Remsen House for some years, but the building was eventually demolished. Through the church, the Gloucesters carried out their abolitionist convictions by making it a stop on the

. She led the efforts to raise money for the Colored Orphan's Asylum in Weeksville, Brooklyn which was founded in 1866.

Death and legacy

Gloucester died on August 9, 1883, of pneumonia. She was interred at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several ...

in Brooklyn. In her obituary, ''

The Brooklyn Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

'' wrote, "She came to be known to every one in Brooklyn, New York, the State and in fact throughout a great part of the country." At the time of her death, Gloucester's properties were worth about $300,000 ($7 million today), making her perhaps the wealthiest Black woman in America at the time. Newspapers called her "the remarkable colored woman." She had six children: Emma, Stephen, Elizabeth, Eloise, Charles and Adelaide.

Life and career

Death and legacy

References

Further reading