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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E229]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JEREMIAH G. HAMILTON
______
HON. JERROLD NADLER
of new york
in the house of representatives
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, as we celebrate Black History Month, I
rise today to commemorate the life of Jeremiah G. Hamilton, the first
black millionaire in the United States, whose story has been absent
from the history books. I have the honor of representing the district
in which Mr. Hamilton lived and worked.
Born in the West Indies in 1807, Mr. Hamilton made his way to New
York in 1828 and began amassing his fortune by selling stocks to both
black and white entrepreneurs. He was touted as being astute in
successfully predicting the markets and became a prominent financier
and businessman on Wall Street in the pre-Civil War era.
Mr. Hamilton defied many conventions of his time as he rose to the
top of the business world. He owned stock of railroad companies on
whose trains he was not legally allowed to ride. He married a white
woman named Eliza Morris and had a close relationship with his friend
Benjamin Day, who was the publisher of the Sun Newspaper. He took on
titans of industry, including battling Cornelius Vanderbilt over
control of the Accessory Transit Company until he got a settlement. In
fact, in Vanderbilt's obituary it is stated, ``There was only one man
who ever fought the Commodore to the end, and that was Jeremiah
Hamilton . . . the Commodore respected him.''
However, Mr. Hamilton faced the horrors of the rampant racism and
violence against African-Americans in the mid-19th century. In the
1830s, insurance companies blackballed him and refused to underwrite
his business ventures. During the draft riots in 1863, white men
unsuccessfully sought to lynch Mr. Hamilton in his own home.
Jeremiah G. Hamilton died in 1875, leaving behind an estate of $2
million, which would be around $45 million today.
It is vital that the history of America reflects the lives of all
Americans, and I am proud to help share some of the lost history from
the 10th Congressional District.
Madam Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in recognizing
not only the life of Jeremiah G. Hamilton but the dedicated work of
both the Committee to Commemorate Jeremiah G. Hamilton and historian
Shane White to create a permanent place in history for the first
African-American millionaire.
The Committee to Commemorate Jeremiah G. Hamilton was established in
February 2018 by community activists, including Dr. Sam D. Albert, Hon.
Louise Dankberg, Hon. Alan J. Gerson, Gail Green, Barbara Guinan, Greg
Lambert, Esq., Christine Merritt, Hon. Daisy Paez, Mark P. Thompson,
Leona Zeplin and the Committee's Co-Chairs Dolores Leito and Hon.
Michelle D. Winfield.
____________________
