Blog Posts | Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Jan 27, 2019 Biographies

Carolyn Betty Woods was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on January 12, 1923. She is the daughter of Reverend Doctor Robert Clisson and Nellie Hunter Woods. She was baptized by her father and was a life-lo...

Community Lynchburg United States VA

Sherman Lewis Walker

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Jul 13, 2018 Biographies

Like so many of his contemporaries, it's difficult to confine Sherman Lewis Walker's contributions and achievements to one field. He was a funeral director (business pioneer), engaged in politics and ...

Business Charlottesville United States VA

Bettie Spencer Anderson

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Apr 13, 2018 Biographies

A native of Lynchburg, Virginia, Mrs. Anderson was a graduate of Hampton Institute (now Hampton University). She taught at an elementary school near Lynchburg until her marriage to Mack G. Anderson in...

Community Lynchburg United States VA

Benjamin C. Taylor MD

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Apr 6, 2018 Biographies

Dr. Benjamin Taylor was among one of the earliest Blacks to settle in Buffalo, New York. His home state is not exactly known, but in one census Missouri was named. Virginia has also been identified as...

Healthcare United States VA

Geneva Ellen Byrd Scruggs

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Mar 2, 2018 Biographies

Geneva Ellen Byrd Scruggs was born in Winfall, Virginia on June 11, 1906. She was the second of three daughters of William Lee Faulkner Byrd, a Baptist Minister and Wilhelmina Scott Byrd, a public sch...

Community United States VA Winfall

James Emmet Bell

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Feb 7, 2018 Biographies

James Emmet Bell was a native of Farmville, Virginia. His parents were George and Rosalie Brown Bell. He and the former Thelma Lewis married on February 17, 1920. The Bells were the parents of six son...

Business Farmville United States VA

Ruth E. Tappe Scruggs

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Feb 6, 2018 Biographies

Ruth E. Tappe was born on August 4, 1893 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Her parents were James and Mary Tappe. At this time, not much is known about her family or her early life. However, she was a graduate ...

Education Lynchburg United States VA

Rebecca Harris

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Feb 6, 2018 Biographies

When she died, Mrs. Harris was believed to be at least one hundred years old. The wife of Peyton Harris, a legendary early Black Buffalo settler, Rebecca was a native of Richmond, Virginia. A newspape...

Community Richmond United States VA

Jesse Edward Nash Sr

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Feb 3, 2018 Biographies

Rev. Nash was born in Occoquan, Virginia in 1868. Although both of his parents had been enslaved, they were free persons at the time of his birth. His father earned his freedom and then purchased the ...

Occoquan Religion United States VA

Barney Cleaver

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Aug 11, 2017 Biographies

As a proponent of racial uplift, Andrew J. Smitherman, editor and publisher of the Tulsa Star (1913-1921) newspaper often published biographic stories on Tulsa's Black citizens. The following is an ex...

Legal Newbern United States VA

Thomas W. Payne

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Aug 5, 2017 Biographies

Thomas W. Payne was the patriarch of a family that produced a number of members who are Uncrowned Queens and Kings, having been extremely contributory to the development of Buffalo's Black community. ...

Business Richmond United States VA

William Qualls

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Aug 4, 2017 Biographies

Buffalo's 1850 City Directory listed William Qualls's occupation as barber. Qualls was a member of the Michigan Street Baptist Church. He was married to Adelaide Harris, daughter of Peyton Harris and ...

Community United States VA