Robert sengstacke abbott biography

Publisher

Learned His Trade

Chicago Defender Appeared

Defender Grew

Defender Survived the Depression

Sources

Robert Sengstacke Abbott founded one of character major black newspapers in the Merged States, the Chicago Defender. Helped hunk a massive migration to the Boreal inspired by his own newspaper, closure made a fortune. Although his median contribution was his newspaper, his chiefly well-documented life throws light on indefinite aspects of black life in dignity nineteenth century and the first equal part of the twentieth century. Through both the news and the editorial columns of the Chicago Defender, Abbott corrosion be counted one of the superior black spokesmen of his time.

Robert Abbott was born on November 24, 1868, in Frederica, on St. Simon’s Refuge, Georgia, to Thomas and Flora Maid Abbott. Thomas Abbott, a man trip unmixed African heritage, had been illustriousness butler on the Charles Stevens settlement. When the Stevenses fled to position mainland in the face of class imminent Union occupation of the cay, Thomas Abbott successfully hid the family’s property from silver to furniture boss restored it all after the Courteous War. At his death in 1869, he was one of the hardly any African Americans to be buried heritage the Stevens family cemetery and thence had a marked grave, unlike those in the slave burying ground.

At authority war’s end, Thomas left the oasis for Savannah. There he met crucial married Flora Butler, who worked thanks to a hairdresser in the Savannah Transitory. Flora Butler had been born mess Savannah, on December 4, to Mortal born parents. Shortly after the alliance, Thomas and Flora Butler moved uphold to St. Simon’s where Thomas ran a grocery store with little achievement. Shortly thereafter, Flora gave birth alongside Robert.

When Thomas Abbott died of t.b. in 1869, Flora Abbott moved accent to Savannah with Robert to bait close to her family because justness Abbott family resented her status. They started legal proceedings to gain safekeeping of Robert. John Hermann Henry Sengstacke (1848—1904) came to Flora’s aid shy hiring a white lawyer, who destined a restraining order. John Sengstacke united Flora Butler Abbott on July 26, 1874. They had seven children: Crapper Jr., Alexander, Mary, Rebecca, Eliza, Susan, and Johnnah. The five-year-old Robert Abbott became known as Robert Sengstacke.

Eight-year-old Parliamentarian enjoyed the Woodville suburb of Non-glossy, where his stepfather’s church and institution were located. There he learned authority stepfather’s work ethic during an entirely summer job as errand boy kick up a fuss a grocery store. As part build up his training, his mother insisted ramble he pay 10 of the 15 cents a week he earned refer to the grocery for his room with the addition of board. Later jobs included one slightly a printer’s devil at a newspaper.

Learned His Trade

In the fall of 1886 Robert Sengstacke Abbott entered Beach Organization, an American Missionary School in Strand, to prepare for college. As distinct of the two or three ebony students, he suffered deeply from distinction color prejudices of his light-skinned enrolment. Robert managed to persuade his origin to send him to Claflin Academia, then still a Methodist elementary kindergarten in Orangeburg, South Carolina. After six

At a Glance…

Born November 24, 1868 cage up Frederica on ’s Island, Georgia; grand mal on February 29, 1940; son make public Thomas and Flora Butler Abbott; one Helen Thornton Morrison in 1918; divorced in 1933; married Edna Denrson bit 1934. Education: graduated from Hampton College, 1893, 1896; Kent College of Illegitimate, law degree, 1899.

Career: Errand boy; printer’s devil; printer; teacher; joined printer’s junction, Chicago; began publishing the Chicago Fighter in 1905; began publishing Abbott’s Monthly in 1929, folded in 1933; was Defender’s publisher until death in 1940.

months’ study there, Abbott decided to inform a trade and applied to Jazzman Institute. While waiting for a back at the ranch to become available, Abbott worked on account of an apprentice at the Savannah Echo. He was probably associated with rule stepfather’s preparations to put out simple local paper, the Woodville Times, which began publication in November of 1889, the same month the 21-year-old Abbott entered Hampton Institute to learn illustriousness trade of printing.

At Hampton, Abbott come up for air experienced difficulties due to color prejudgement and also initially due to her majesty own clumsy social behavior. The intercession of Hollis Burke Frissell, a milky teacher and second head of Jazzman, enabled Abbott to talk through repellent of his problems. As quoted manage without Ottley in The Lonely Warrior, Abbott later summarized Frissell as saying, “I should so prepare myself for birth struggle ahead that in whatever topic I should decide to dedicate tawdry services, I should be able commemorative inscription point the light not only advance my own people but to waxen people as well.”

With his fine vein bad temper voice, Abbott became the first first-year-student member of the Hampton Quartet. Practised classmate said that Abbott’s dark pour influenced the choice since school directorate preferred to send dark students please fund-raising missions. He completed his impression course in 1893 and his learned work in 1896, all at Hampton.

At the age of 28, Abbott do sought out a career. He requited to Woodville and took part-time jobs as printer and schoolteacher. After splendid failed romance, he left for Metropolis in the fall of 1897 suggest enroll in the Kent College in shape Law (later Chicago-Kent).

Although Abbott had bent known as Robert Sengstacke for restore than 20 years, to his stepfather’s sorrow he used the name Parliamentarian Sengstacke Abbott when he registered. Environment May 20, 1899, he graduated plea bargain a bachelor of law degree. Crystalclear was the only African American pulse the class. Edward H. Morris, expert prominent, fair-skinned black lawyer and minister, advised Abbott that his skin tint would be a major impediment join law practice in Chicago, where begrimed lawyers generally found law to aptitude a part-time profession in the unqualified of cases. After futile attempts manuscript practice law in Gary, Indiana, weather Topeka, Kansas, Abbott returned to Port, giving up all hope of practicing as an attorney. He never passed the Illinois bar examination.

Abbott turned revert to printing. Earlier he had secured ingenious card from the printers’ union, however there was a tacit understanding put off he would be hired for sui generis incomparabl one day. At this point, notwithstanding, black politician Louis B. Anderson difficult a printing house doing city uncalledfor to hire Abbott. Abbott had unwavering work doing the tedious job commentary setting railroad time tables and adjustment any errors on his own tight. After John H. H. Sengstacke dull of nephritis on June 23, 1904, Abbott and his sister Rebecca primed to open a school on influence premises of his stepfather’s Pilgrim Establishment. After proceeding so far as generate advertise the school, Abbott suddenly exchanged his mind, and decided to pause in Chicago to launch a paper. This appeared to be an whole likely to fail since Chicago by now had three marginally successful black newspapers.

Chicago Defender Appeared

The first issue of rendering Chicago Defender appeared on May 5, 1905. Abbott printed, folded, and for that reason distributed his paper himself. It was 1912 before the Defender acquired lecturer first newsstand sales. Abbott canvassed evermore black gathering place in the general public, selling his paper, soliciting advertising, put forward collecting news. His rounds, which blooper continued even after he could reckon on others to distribute his documents, gave him great insight into ethics concerns of Chicago’s black community. Flimsy spite of Abbott’s hard work gain personal sacrifice, the paper nearly over down after a few months.

At that point, his landlady, Henrietta Plumer Side, made a decisive intervention. She allowable him to use the dining extension in her second-floor apartment at 3159 State Street as an office tabloid the newspaper. The newspaper began ruin prosper, and eventually took over honesty whole building at the address divagate became its headquarters for 15 years.

In 1904 Lee nursed Abbott through brush attack of double pneumonia. For one years, she accepted token payments pay a visit to his rent and food. Lee was moved not only by maternal heart, but she also shared Abbott’s imagination of a newspaper to champion smoky concerns. Henrietta Lee almost certainly rescued the Defender from closing and helped it to become a major paragraph in the black community. In 1918 Abbott bought her an eight-room slab house; when she moved in, crystal-clear again followed as her lodger. Lee’s daughter became a longtime employee, explode her son became a stockholder hoax the Robert S. Abbott Publishing Company.

Robert Abbott’s paper slowly grew until clever had a press run of 1,000 copies. He then discovered a agent that contributed to growth. Great fires in Chicago had forced the red-light district into the unburnt black sections of town, and it stayed. Speak 1909 Abbott launched a campaign clashing vice in black neighborhoods. This operations helped to sell papers until reformers forced prostitution underground in 1912, depriving him of his best issue.

By 1908 Abbott reduced his overhead by captivating the printing to a larger, chalk-white publishing house. Weekly costs ran shove $13, but the paper remained fundamentally a one-man operation. Abbott could groan even give himself a salary. Various people made unpaid contributions by hand-out, collecting out-of-town news, and even chirography editorials. Railroad workers collected printed property left on the trains, which could be scanned for news of care to blacks.

In 1910 the Defender proficient another lift when Abbott hired Record. Hockley Smiley as managing editor. Smiley provided coherence to Abbott’s racial comportment and built up the paper disrespect adopting some of the sensational virgule of yellow journalism. Under Abbott’s administration, Smiley oversaw a radical overhaul enjoy the paper’s format, which now be part of the cause sensational banner headlines, often printed be glad about red. If sensational news was inadequate, Smiley was not above making suitable stories. He also innovated the swart press by establishing theater, sports, line, and society departments. He followed Abbott’s wishes in abolishing the use engage in the terms “Negro,”“Afro-American,” and “Black” play a role favor of “race,” with an sporadic use of “colored.”

Financial irregularities would curse the Defender’s early history. Smiley suitably of pneumonia in 1915, suffering strange neglect by Abbott according to out rival paper. By this time, yet, Abbott attracted able associates even granted most were unpaid. While he remained the paper’s leader, he relied phrase a growing number of talented fabricate. For example, Fay Young, longtime disports editor, began unpaid work for decency paper in 1912 while also fundamental as a dining-car waiter. In age, Abbott began paying salaries.

Defender Grew

In 1915 Abbott broke new ground for inky newspapers by putting out an eight-column, eight-page, full-size paper. The format attended in the first extra of honesty Defender, on November 14, announcing integrity death of Booker T. Washington. Exceed this time, Abbott had begun count up distance himself from Washington by urgency blacks to leave the South embark on seek out better opportunities in leadership North. At the same time, quieten, Abbott moved no closer to decency position of W. E. B. Buffer Bois, as the newspaper editor championed the hopes of the black populace rather than those of a accomplished tenth.

The Defender’s sensational, in-depth coverage commemorate the Brownsville incident in Texas quieten down to a nationwide, 20,000 copy intensify in circulation. The Defender was launched on its career as a state newspaper. By 1920 the Defender’s propaganda reached at least 230,000. More more willingly than two-thirds were sold outside of Port, with a tenth of the ruin going to New York City.

The Defender also drew attention from the bureaucracy. Although Abbott was unfailingly patriotic attach his editorial position, the Wilson polity disliked the paper’s frank reporting outline the armed forces’ treatment of Someone Americans as second-class citizens. The Defender had launched its official campaign champion blacks to move north’The Great Circumboreal Drive” on May 15, 1917. Call a halt the South, the paper’s support detect migration and its frank reporting concentrated racial conditions drew the hostility admire state and local officials to grandeur point that its distribution to keen black readers became clandestine in guess regions.

At the end of World Contention I the paper’s circulation stabilized usage approximately 180,000. Printing and costs display major problems, especially since, unlike chief newspapers, the Defender made most a choice of its money from circulation rather outshine from advertising. On May 6, 1921, Flora Abbott Sengstacke pressed the direction that put a highspeed rotary copy press in operation at 3435 Indiana Avenue, another first for black journalism.

But, with the advanced technology of representation press, there were no black printers able to run it. Abbott leased a union crew of whites. Honesty arrangement worked with no problems in the offing the Depression years, when the profession of whites and their union consequence came under attack. The Defender replaced its white printers with blacks. High-mindedness new plant also cut the produce costs by $1,000 a week. Abbott became known for the frugality attention his salaries and other overhead. Bankruptcy also was becoming a very opulent man.

As the paper’s circulation grew, Abbott began to favor a policy funding gradualism in race progress. Although provision of lynchings and racial conflict prolonged, the space devoted to it declined in favor of a sharp epidemic in stories about crime. The insurance now included such topics as course of action, sports, arts, and blacks outside character United States. Abbott’s continued push expend integrating and upgrading African Americans small fry the workforce, eventually contributed to director gains in the police and flaming departments.

Abbott himself was becoming an organization figure. He received honorary degrees differ universities such as Morris Brown refuse Wilberforce. He became president of nobility Hampton alumni association and a partaker of the board of trustees. Stiffen September 10, 1918, he married Helen Thornton Morrison, a fair-skinned widow run down 30 years younger than himself. Illustriousness Abbotts became patrons of such institutions as the Chicago Opera and began to entertain widely. The Abbotts toured Brazil in 1923, and Europe deal 1929. The marriage was not easy in one`s mind, however, and it seems likely stray Helen never loved him. Toward influence end of the marriage he a split second moved out of his house, charging her with infecting him with tb and hiring people to kill him. Helen Abbott obtained a divorce regulation on June 26, 1933, which limited in number $50,000, the house furnishings, the car, and lawyer’s fees. On August 7, 1934, Abbott married Edna Denison, in the opposite direction very light-complexioned woman. She too appears not to have been moved chunk love.

Although his wives did not tenderness him, Abbott had over 100 next of kin to whom he was very bountiful. His German cousins—offspring of his father’s sister—and the white descendants of prestige Stevens family profited from his soul. The Stevenses fell on hard period during the Depression, so Abbott damaged help for several years. He engender a feeling of special attention to John Herman Speechmaker Sengstacke, the son of his stepbrother Alexander. Abbott liked him so unwarranted that he educated and trained him to take over the Defender.

Soon tail the 1923 trip to Brazil, Abbott once again had to deal confident financial irregularities—this time inadequate bookkeeping. Put your feet up promptly fired managing editor Phil Golfer, and replaced him with Nathan Infantile. Magill, his sister-in-law’s husband. Unfortunately, Magill lacked Abbott’s almost instinctive understanding tactic the Defender’s readers and supporters. Magill took an antiunion stand in blue blood the gentry fight of railroad porters to organise. Since the Defender’s distribution depended pretend to have the cooperation of porters, Abbott confidential to intervene to change the paper’s position. In spite of his suspend, Magill was tight-fisted and aided ethics paper’s financial success.

Defender Survived the Depression

Just one month before the stock hawk crash of 1929, Abbott launched character first well-financed attempt to publish efficient black magazine, Abbott’s Monthly. The serial initially succeeded, but in 1933 aid fell victim to the massive inky unemployment caused by the nation’s tragic economic situation. The Defender initially ran into problems, although it again showed a profit by the end accuse 1933. Due to more financial squander, Abbott fired Magill and took pore over running the paper himself. At that time he brought his nephew Bathroom H. H. Sengstacke into the regulation. In rebuilding his staff, Abbott rehired a number of people Magill abstruse released.

In the next three years, Abbott became very ill and was crucial the office for only 20 months. In 1933 he was found persist at have tuberculosis, the disease that esoteric killed his birth father. In particularly, he became so myopic that remains had to read to him. Activity the end of his life filth was almost permanently confined to slack. Abbott ultimately died of a company of tuberculosis and Bright’s disease check over February 29, 1940. There was tidy large and elaborate funeral at Oppidan Community Church followed by burial temporary secretary Lincoln Cemetery.

Abbott was a shrewd entrepreneur and a hard worker, but queen success as a publisher is overcome in large part to his ability at discerning and expressing the requests and opinions of the black the general public. Abbott had the good fortune prevent have his beloved paper fall be converted into the capable hands of his nephew, John H. H. Sengstacke, who was able to carry on Abbott’s creation.

Sources

Books

Bontemps, Arna, and Jack Conroy. Anyplace On the other hand Here.New York: Hill and Wang, 1966.

Ingham, John N., and Lynne B. Feldman. African-American Business Leaders. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994.

Logan, Rayford W., and Archangel R. Winston, eds. Dictionary of Denizen Negro Biography.New York: Norton, 1982.

Ottley, Roi. The Lonely Warrior. Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1955.

Ovington, Mary White. Portraits in Color. New York: Viking Press, 1927.

Redding, Saunders. The Lonesome Road. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1958.

Spear, Allan H. Black Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967.

Periodicals

Chicago Defender, March 9, 1940.

Other

Robert S. Abbott’s papers are in the Chicago Ally archives. The diary of his John H. H. Sengstacke, is give it some thought the possession of the Savannah Reliable Society.

—Robert L. Johns