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 an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

and a business owner.

Life and career

She was born in 1817 in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

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

mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

" 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 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 Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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 on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, 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 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

, 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, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

in Brooklyn. In her obituary, ''

The Brooklyn Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'' 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