Richard Arthur Bogle (September 7, 1835 – November 22, 1904) was an American pioneer. He was born in Jamaica, and he died in Walla Walla, Washington state. He was known as the first African-American businessman in
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two ...
.
Early life
Bogle was born in Jamaica in 1835 to parents who were slaves until 1833. At the age of 12, he escaped by smuggling himself onto a ship bound for New York, where he remained for one year before moving to Michigan. He stayed in Michigan for a short time before joining a wagon train to the
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. ...
at age 16 in 1851. Three years later, Bogle packed up and left to
Yreka, California
Yreka ( ) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River; the city has an area of about , most of it land. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,807, reflecting a meager increase fro ...
, and studied under Nathan Ferber, as a barber.
From there, he traveled to Deadwood, California three years later, and he mined for gold, while also opening a barbershop and a restaurant. Bogle returned to Oregon three years later, the “land of promise” in mid-October to start a barbershop in Roseburg. He followed this trade until 1862 when he moved to visit the mining camps in Florence, Elk City, and Ori Fine in Idaho before returning to the Walla Walla Valley.
Wedding controversy and marriage to America Waldo
On January 1, 1863, the same day that the
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...
was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Bogle married America Waldo, an Oregon pioneer from Missouri. The wedding caused controversy due to the attendance of several white guests, including
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Joseph G. Wilson and state legislator Daniel Waldo. Daniel, who raised America and is thought to have been her uncle, gave them "several gifts of great value with which to start their home."
Bogle and America Waldo were married in a private home by Obed Dickinson, a pastor known for advocating African American equality in Oregon who was sent by New England's American Home Missionary Society to establish a congregation in the Salem area. After officiating the wedding, Dickinson's congregation received even more criticism and heightened racial tension in Oregon that would continue until after the Civil War.
Newspaper editor
Asahel Bush
Asahel Bush (June 4, 1824 – December 23, 1913) was an American newspaper publisher and businessman in Salem, Oregon. As publisher of the ''Oregon Statesman'' newspaper, he moved the paper to Salem when the territorial capital moved to that city ...
called the wedding "shameful" for its "negro equality sentiment". However, ''
The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...
'' defended
Wilson
Wilson may refer to:
People
*Wilson (name)
** List of people with given name Wilson
** List of people with surname Wilson
* Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender
*Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Rod ...
and Waldo's attendance, writing that "the good feeling thus frequently called forth" by the presence of white guests "is one of the gratifications of the blacks that reconciles them to their lot."
Later life in Walla Walla
Later, Bogle and his family bought and ran a successful 200-acre ranch and settled in eastern Washington.
At the Fort Walla Walla Museum in Washington, a 15-acre park consisting of four historic exhibits and a seventeen-building pioneer village, Bogle's life is being presented by a member of the Living History troupe.
Walla Walla businesses
Soon after their wedding, the Bogles moved to
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two ...
. Richard Bogle started a barbershop on Main Street, making him the first black businessman in Walla Walla on “proprietor of the tonsorial parlors at No.3 Second Street.” Racial segregation made it difficult for black visitors to find accommodation in Walla Walla, so Bogle often allowed them to stay in his shop.
He was a co-founder of the Walla Walla Savings and Loan Association. After working, as a barber for several years until his health deteriorated he turned the business over to his sons.
Family
Of America Waldo and Richard Bogle's eight children, five lived into adulthood. Bogle's three oldest children appear to have died between 1876 and 1878. His younger children- Belle, Waldo, Arthur, Warren, and Katherine- lived to adulthood. Two of their three sons followed in their father's path and became professional barbers in Portland, Oregon. Bogle's son, Waldo Bogle, moved to Portland in 1913, to operate their barbershop "in the Golden West Hotel" thankful for the "courtesy of the Oregon historical society".
Their great-grandson, also named Richard Bogle, became the second African-American city commissioner in Portland, Oregon.