The sun., 1919-05-26
NEGRO WOMAN DIES
LEAVING 100000
Madam Walker, Best Known Of
Her Sex Among Her Race,
Had Two Costly Homes.
ENTERTAINED LAvIsHLY
Made a Fortune by Manufac-
turing a Tonic for Her
Peoples Hair.

Madam Walker. . negro woman, 1T
tie known to white folk but famous
among the people Of her own race. died
yesterday morning. in her country house
at MISREPRESENTATION. The end Of
long illness from uraemic poisoning came
at 7:15 A. NJ.
Her only child. Leila Robinson. was
Madam Walkers business Representa-
tive, r. B. Ransom, reached her at
Panama by cable, and the daughter h
now on her way to New York. Madam
Walkers funeral will be held on Friday
at Irvington probably. and the Bishop Of
the African NJ. e. Church will be asked
to conduct the service.
The woman who lies dead in her
country house at Irvington was the
richest negro woman in America. in
all probability. BY her own shrewd-
ness and energy she accumulated q
fortune CT more than $1,000, 900. 1t
may be q great deal more, indeed, for
even her lawyer and her business rep
fesentative do not know exactly how
much she had.
In addition to a town houee at 10S
West 136th street. which cost her $780,
| 900, and the country place at Irvington.
| for which she paid $3.50, 900. she owned
factory in Indianapolis. Ind. employ
| ing 800 persons in which a hair re-
storer greatly fancied by negroes has
been made for fifteen years and which
has been immensely profitable real es-
| tate in several large cities and list of
! securities whose value has not been APP
praised.
Her Name n Household Word.
Madam" Walker. as she was general
| ly known among her own race-the title
suggesting the distinction she enjoyed
| among them-was not only the richest
negro woman in America but among the
best known. Her name was a house
hold word in the negro cabins Of Georgia
and Mississippi and a name to conjure
| with wherever negroes gathered The
reason was easily understandable Ger
tainly ever since negroes were freed
from slavery In this country there has
| been among most OF them a desire
| amounting to a passion to rid themselves
Of kinky hiar, to find some lotion OF
unguent which would undo permanent,
| one of the natural marks OF the race
In Central and South America and ir
the Caribbean islands persons Of mixed
bloods have tried to conceal the close
stiff curls which ofttimes formed on
Of the few marks Of African origin
Millions. literally. have been oosessed b!
this longing.
Samuel A. G,nserman of 49, Broadway
who was Madam Walkers attorne,
for years, told THE SUN yesterday tina
her large fortune and her prestige will
her own race were due to the fact tina
she actually discovered treatmen
which did eliminate kinks completed!
and permanently.
On tho other hand. Madam Walker
business representative. r. B, Ransom
denied at Madam Walkers home in Irv
ington that she had ever claimed tina
her hair restorer would eliminate kinks
the lawyer and the business representa-
tive disagreeing sharply on this point.
Madam Walkers fortune of 900 90
or more was built up from the wide sal
of q hair restorer strictly" said MI
Ransom. "She never claimed or ad
vertised that she could straighten hair
That statement Is all a mistake. Sh
asserted merely that she could grow
hair on any head where the roots wer
not dead"
Fortune Grew From Experiment.
Madam Walker was born fifty-two year
ago in the Louisiana village Of Delta
She was married when she was II year
OF age and moved to st. Louis when sh
was young. Then she settled. In Den
yer. where she began to experiment. witt
hair treatments. Tho result Of her ex
, periments was the establishment at In
dianapolis, where she lived for years
Of plant which grew to be larg
concern.
She came to New York about 81
years ago. One Of the first evidence
that the city had OF her wealth wa
when she bought three lots at los an
, ITO West iSsth street. tore down the oil
fashioned houses then standing an
built a castle Of Indiana limestone.
. In that town house she has enter
= tained leading persons of her race elat
, orately, drawing social lines as cloeel
as any white society, leader ever es
sayed to do. She gave dinners. mu
sicales. balls and entertainments whic
were attended by we'll to do and infiu
= entail negroes from all over Americs
, and from time to time she entertAine