The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-03-06
Well-to-Do Colored Men.
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The Hon. George W. Williams, ex-member
of the Ohio legislature and author of the
'History of the CoIored Race in America"
is q lightskinned, well dressed mulatto of
perhaps 35. He is now engaged here lin
Washington on his second volume of the
''History of Reconstruction. 1 asked him
tonight to give me some facts as to the rich
negroes of the United States. He replied:
''The colored people are amassing fortunes
very rapidly, and know of a great many
who are worth from hundred thousand to
a million dollars. Here at Washington
S25,0O0, at least so worth $4,000, and I
should say nearly 1000 worth $1,000. Fred
Douglass is worth about 100000, and he
has beautiful home surrounded by large
grounds on the other side of the Potomac,
overlooking Washington. 1t is the old Van
Hook mansion, the home of noted negro
batter, who, when he divided up his lands for
sale, put into every deed a stipulation that
the purchaser should in no case sell to
negro. Fred Douglass owns it to-day, and
the whole of the estate, so divided, is dotted
with the houses of colored men. Douglass
was, you know, slave, and he fought as a
boy with the dogs for the crumbs that fell
from his masters table. He has made his
money chiefly by lecturing, and by paper
called the North Star, which he used to edit.
He got 500 night lecturing, and he in
vested his money in government bonds and
real estate. There is no pleasanter home in
Washington than his, and his new white
wife is a beautiful and accomplished lady.
John Cook, the tax collector of the district
of Columbia, is a wealthy colored man. He
is worth about $3.50, 1000. He has held his
present Office for 10 years. He is man Of
great ability, and is well educated. Then
there is a broker here named Matthews, who
did business of more than 100000 last
year. He is graduate of the law depart
ment of Harvard university, and got his
start as a clerk in the pOstoffice department.
He saved his money, and lent it out in
drblets at exorbitant rates of interest to his
more improvdent white fellow clerks. His
pile soon grew large enough to enable him
to withdraw from the department, and he
now does a legitimate brokerage business.
John NJ. Langston, our minister to Hayti,
has good deal of property in Washington,
and he is a rich man. He is the son of a
rich Virginian of Louisa county, Va, by a
beautiful colored mother His father freed
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education. He was sent to Oberlin, and he
studied law, after graduating there, at Cleve-
land. When the war was over he was given
place on the Freedman's bureau, and finally
became vice-president of the Freedman's
saving bank. This had capital of sos, ,0O0.-
600, and it failed. 1t was not due to Lang
ston that it did 50, though he did not fail
with it.. He next became vice-president of
Howard university, and was then Imember
of the national board of health. All this
time he was getting big salaries, and was
leading colored man in the country. When
Hayes was elected, Langston wanted to be
commissioner of agriculture. Hayes COM
promised the matter by sending him as min
lister to Hsyti, a place then worth $500.
He now gets $1,000 year,