At the time, David Dickson was forty and the wealthiest planter in the county. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. She left Eubanks four years later and returned home to her father's plantation, where she and her mother moved into a new home that had been built on the property. Their mixed-race sons later married prominent members of Georgia society. When her father died on February 18, 1885, Amanda became the center of a famous lawsuit. Dickson left his estate to his mulatto daughter Amanda America Dickson. Antebellum Hancock County, Georgia, was a place where black slaves outnumbered . The life and legacy of Amanda America Dickson Toomer, Augusta's first Black millionaire. Her education also included knowledge of finance and business important skills in her adult life. Drama In the aftermath of the terrible Civil War which has devastated the South, Amanda America Dixon returns home to find she has become the sole heir to a vast cotton plantation. [1]:128, Nine months after Dickson's death, Nathan Toomer married Nina Pinchback, the daughter of P. B. S. Pinchback, the Reconstruction Era senator-elect from Louisiana. In her childhood, she was taken into the Dickson family and tutored by her paternal grandmother Elizabeth Sholars Dickson. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. [1]:112114, Amanda America Dickson spent the last eleven months of her life as the wife of Nathan Toomer, from Perry, Georgia, whom she married on July 14, 1892. Who was Amanda America Dickson Toomer? [1]:120121 The delayed travel to Augusta and the conditions in the Pullman car, most notably the rising temperature, became intolerable for Amanda America. "Amanda America Dickson." The problem with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Caribbean excursion wasn't the disastrous photo-ops which ranged from offensive to farcical, writes Kehinde Andrews. [1]:117 Nathan Toomer was a wealthy, educated African-American man of her class. Explore genealogy for Charles Eubanks born 1835 Hancock County, Georgia including ancestors + descendants + more in the free family tree community. In his will David Dickson stated that the administration of his estate was to be left to the sound judgment and unlimited discretion of Amanda Dickson without interference from any quarter, including any husband she might have. Upon John Toomers death in 1859, his brother Colonel Henry Toomer purchased Nathans mother, Kit, and seven of her children from the estate. Her father had stipulated that Amanda, and her children after her death, were the beneficiaries, and no future husband or Dickson family member could "interfere". 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. Amanda America Dickson was born into slavery in Hancock County, Georgia. A House Divided . Kent Anderson Leslie uses the events of Dickson's life to explore the forces driving southern race and gender . Coleman. Legally, Amanda was still a slave until her grandmother's death in 1864. of Thomas Eubanks and Nancy Dickson [sibling(s) unknown] Husband of Amanda America (Dickson) Toomer married about 1865 (to . Leslie, Kent. Kent Anderson Leslie. Upon his death in 1885, Dickson bequeathed most of his wealth to Amanda. Born in 1839 in Chatham County, North Carolina, Toomer had been the slave of Richard Pilkinson of Chatham County, North Carolina but was later sold to John Toomer of Houston County, Georgia. As her father quickly began to rebuild using tenant farmers and establishing businesses including the Dickson Fertilizer Company in Augusta, Amanda also began to build her new life. Mother of Julian Henry Dickson and Charles "Charley" or Leslie Green Dickson, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10337890/amanda-america-toomer. Daughter of David Dickson and Julia Frances Dickson Nathan Toomer later married Nina Pinchback. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. On July 14, 1892, Amanda married Nathan Toomer of Perry, Georgia. She was only 43 years old. At the time of her birth, her mother was 12 year old Julia Frances Dickson, a house servant belonging to Elizabeth Dickson. His work to protect his daughter proved prescient because in February 1885, he died suddenly, leaving Amanda devasted. Legally a slave owned by her white grandmother, the biracial child was reared in her father's household. Try again later. As a child Toomer was purchased by John Toomer, who moved to Houston County, Georgia, in the 1850s. It would be a mistake, however . based on information from your browser. Ancestors . The will was upheld in Probate Court. After four years of being married to (or living as a married couple with) Charles Eubanks, Amanda left her husband and returned to her father's plantation in 1870, shortly after giving birth to her second son, Charles Green. Shortly thereafter Nathan Toomer married Nina Pinchback. (2003). Fashion and politics from Georgia-born designer Frankie Welch, Take a virtual tour of Georgia's museums and galleries. In 1892 Dickson married Nathan Toomer of Perry. Kent Anderson Leslie's 1995 biography Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege: Amanda America Dickson, 1849-1893, was written about her life, and from this book came the 2000 film, "A House Divided," starring Sam Waterston and Jennifer Beals as David and Amanda Dickson. She was kind-hearted, generous, and charitable, and her benevolent work was indeed extensive. Her legacy is preserved in the historic marker on Telfair Street that tells this complicated story of race and family in 19th-century Georgia. The name David Dickson is intertwined in early Hancock County history. Amanda America Dickson, the daughter of an enslaved woman and her enslaver, became one of the wealthiest Black women in nineteenth-century America when the Georgia Supreme Court upheld her claim to her father's contested will. Legally, Amanda was still a slave until her grandmother's death in 1864. As a result, her health quickly deteriorated. But the dreadful secret which has blighted her life threatens to deprive her of the birthright which her . New Georgia Encyclopedia: Amanda America Dickson (1849-1893) Immediately I thought about cousin Ricardo and his question. In 1865 or 1866 Dickson married her white first cousin, Charles Eubanks, a recently returned Civil War (1861-65) veteran. Dickson was born in 1849 to prominent Hancock County plantation owner David Dickson and a 12-year-old slave. She was born November 20, 1849, on the Dickson Plantation, near Sparta, Georgia (Hancock County) to a famous 40-year-old plantation owner David Dickson and a 12-year-old enslaved girl, Julia . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A. Dickson Toomer was, in her time, the wealthiest African-American woman in Georgia and possibly the United States. It is the first project from Atkinson Way Films, the production company created by Waterston and. By the 1880s, he had deeded Amanda three-fourths interest in 13,000 acres of good land in Texas, as well as several thousand dollars of bonds. The family has become part of the educated, professional black elite in the United States. This is a carousel with slides. The white members of the Dickson family appealed to the Superior Court of Hancock County and to the Georgia Supreme Court. As a consequence, Amanda America Dickson's life unfolded within the boundaries of her father's social and economic power, her mother's conflicting loyalties, and her own evolving sense of self" (Page 32). [1]:36061, In 1866 at the age of sixteen, Amanda America moved to a small plantation in Floyd County, Georgia near the city of Rome. Amanda died just one year later after becoming ill during a trip to Baltimore with her husband. [1]:58 Because of anti-miscegenation laws in Georgia at the time, Amanda America and Charles, as an interracial couple, could not legally marry in Georgia. 916-320-9573 sojomuseum@gmail.com. [1]:101102, The death of her father, David Dickson, on February 18, 1885, was a pivotal turning point in Amanda America's life. While white Georgians were establishing segregation as the ruling social order in the public sphere, members of the Dickson family went about their private lives. The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The former slave-turned-millionaire purchased a home at 448 Telfair St., Augusta, Georgia, primarily to distance herself from irate relatives in Hancock County, Georgia. Born November 20, 1849, on the Dickson Plantation, near Sparta, Georgia (Hancock County), Amanda America was the product of her 12-year-old mother, an enslaved house servant, Julia Francis Lewis, and 40-year-old David Dickson, a well-known agricultural reformer of that era and one of the wealthiest planters in the area. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. 448 Telfair St. Augusta, Georgia. She learned to dress in a modest, elegant fashion and how to present herself as a "lady". As Henry Toomer's personal assistant, Nathan Toomer learned the manner of the white upper class. [1]:117 Her health was fragile throughout her second marriage, as she had several health problems which required the continual attention of her family physician, Thomas D. By 1860, David Dickson, who earned a widespread reputation as an agricultural reformer, was the wealthiest planter in the county. Elegant Bridals, a bridal and special occasions destination, is a passion project for Jane . A Loving Wife. . In New Georgia Encyclopedia. Just one grandparent can lead you to many Amanda Dickson Toomer died at her home at 448 Telfair Street on June 11, 1893. Hancock County, Georgia, US. It reached the height of its power by the time it reached Charlotte. Retrieved Jul 17, 2020, from https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/amanda-america-dickson-1849-1893/. . The couple were essentially married, although Georgia laws forbade interracial weddings. It has been listed on Rocket Homes since February 27, 2023 and is currently priced at $289,900. She was quickly tended to by Dr. Eugene Foster, in place of their family physician, Thomas D. Coleman, who was out of town. This account has been disabled. Amanda America Dickson was born to 40-year-old slave master David Dickson and 13-year-old slave, Julia Lewis in 1849. Julia relinquishes Amanda to the Dicksons, realizing that her baby will be raised free because she was born with fair skin. The funeral was held at Trinity Colored Methodist Church, and she is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Richmond County, Georgia. [1]:108, She arrived in Augusta in 1886 and purchased a large, seven-bedroom house at 452 Telfair Street, which was in a multiracial neighborhood. She was. This episode is sure to set a fire in you to go for your dreams! GREAT NEWS! Amanda America Dickson spent her childhood and adolescence in the house of her white grandmother and enslaver, Elizabeth Sholars Dickson, where she learned to read and write and play the pianothe survival skills of a young lady but not ordinarily the opportunities of a enslaved child. Her younger son, twenty-three-year-old Charles Dickson, who was married to Kate Holsey, became infatuated with stepsister Mamie Toomer, who was only fourteen years old. Amanda's birth resulted from the rape of her black slave mother, Julia Frances Dickson, by her white master, Mr. David Dickson. She was the main heir to the estate of over 15,000 acres valued at $309,543. married a second time, on July 14, 1892. On March 10, 1893, Nathan and Amanda brought Mamie to the St. Francis School and Convent in Baltimore, Maryland, an order of black nuns, in an attempt to protect her from Charles Dickson's misguided attentions. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. At that time she and her children took the last name of Dickson. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10337890/amanda-america-toomer. This fascinating story of Amanda America Dickson, born the privileged daughter of a white planter and an unconsenting slave in antebellum Georgia, shows how strong-willed individuals defied racial strictures for the sake of family. Amanda attended Atlanta University from 1876-1878. Twelve-year-old Julia . There was an error deleting this problem. Sho was Mrs, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. [1]:127 Ultimately, Julia Dickson, Nathan Toomer, and Amanda America's younger son, Charles Dickson, settled the dispute over Amanda America's estate amicably out of court. 16 mm, 101 min. Because of anti-miscegenation laws, they couldn't legally marry in Georgia. Dickson's family members appealed the lower court decision and the case wound up in the Georgia Supreme Court. The will was upheld in Probate Court. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print. She was educated and schooled in the social skills of her father's class, and he helped her to enjoy a life of privilege away from the harsh realities of slavery before emancipation following the Civil War. Kent Leslie, Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege: Amanda America . White relatives did contest it, first at the probate level, then on appeal to the Superior Court, and to the Georgia Supreme Court, arguing that the future of the Anglo-Saxon race, the traditions of the past, and the hope for the future all lay in the balance. The Court decided, however, in favor of Amanda based on the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, making her one of the wealthiest Black women in the nation. [1]:44, In 1864, Amanda's grandmother Elizabeth Sholars Dickson died. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. She was kind-hearted, generous, and charitable, and her benevolent work was indeed extensive.. I am proud to be a Dickson.I am John R. Dickson's daughter's child. Born November 20, 1849, on the Dickson Plantation, near Sparta, Georgia (Hancock County), Amanda America was the product of her 12-year-old mother, an enslaved house servant, Julia Francis Lewis, and 40-year-old David Dickson, a well-known agricultural reformer of that era and one of the wealthiest planters in the area. Amanda America was born to 40-year-old slave master David Dickson and 13-year-old slave, Julia Lewis in 1849.Legally, Amanda was still a slave until her grandmother's death in 1864.By the 1860s David Dickson was the richest planter in Hancock County, with 150 slaves, 350 cattle, 600 hogs, 200 sheep and 57 mules and horses.Amanda was still a teen-ager when she married her father's nephew . 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