The African Americans, Many Rivers to Cross – Episode 4: Gone to Oklahoma

Last night, the fourth episode of The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross aired on PBS.  This episode, entitled Making a Way Out of No Way (1897-1940), highlighted the relocation of more than 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest, and West from around 1910 to 1970.  This mass relocation became known as the Great Migration. African Americans left the South in droves, removing themselves from the harsh and racist climate of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Texas.  Even in my own family, my maternal grandmother, Minnie Davis Reed, who was the youngest child of nine children born to John Hector Davis and Mary Danner Davis, had six of her own siblings to relocate to Chicago Illinois, Evanston Illinois, and Benton Harbor Michigan. Grandma Minnie and her brother, Uncle Fred Douglas Davis, were the only two to remain in the South. They both opted to live their last years in Memphis, Tennessee, just 35 miles north of their hometown of Como, Mississippi.

Conditions were so volatile in my home state of Mississippi, that from 1910 to 1920, the state experienced the largest migration of its African-American citizens to northern states than any of the ten southern states.  Sources note that of the approximately 473,000 African Americans that left the South in that decade alone, nearly 130,000 were from Mississippi.  From 1940 to 1960, about a million other Mississippians, nearly 75 percent of them African-American, departed the state permanently.  Many of them relocated to Chicago and Detroit, especially.  So many Mississippians had moved to Chicago that I often heard the city being called “New Mississippi.”  Chicago’s African-American population tremendously grew from 40,000 in 1910 to over 230,000 in 1930.

However, little is spoken about a small sector of the migrating African-American population who chose to go west to Oklahoma during the 1889 Land Rush of Oklahoma, occurring about 20 years before the start of the Great Migration.  On March 3, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison announced that the government would open the 1.9 million-acre tract of Indian Territory for settlement at noon on April 22nd. Anyone could join the race for the land, but jumping the gun was not permitted. During those 7 weeks after Harrison’s announcement, over 50,000 land-hungry Americans quickly began to gather around the borders of Oklahoma to take advantage of the new land.  By nightfall on April 22, they had staked thousands of claims either on town lots or quarter section farm plots. The towns of Norman, Oklahoma City, Kingfisher, Guthrie, and others sprung into being almost overnight.  This is considered to be the largest land rush in American history, and within a month after April 22, five banks and six newspapers were established. By 1900, African-American farmers owned about 1.5 million acres of land in the Oklahoma territory. A number of African-American towns in Oklahoma were also established, such as Boley, Langston, Lincoln, Taft, etc.

One of those many land-hungry settlers in 1889 was my great-grandmother’s second oldest brother, Mack Danner (1859-c.1910).  Whether or not Uncle Mack was one of those 50,000+ who setup a tent on the border the night before April 22 is a matter of speculation, but he, his wife Annie, and their children had settled near Guthrie, Oklahoma sometime between 1889 and 1892. This was evident from the 1900 Logan County, Oklahoma census. Their son, Alexander (Alex) Danner, was born in Panola County (Como), Mississippi in Jan. 1889, but their next child, Laura Danner, was born in Oklahoma in May 1892.

1900 Logan County, Oklahoma census

The census-taker erroneously spelled the family’s last name as “McDanna”. Also, it was noted in this census that Uncle Mack Danner owned land.

I have been fortunate to meet and get to know a number of Uncle Mack Danner’s descendants after learning of their existence. The family had settled in Omaha, Nebraska by 1918. One of those descendants is my cousin, the late Dorothy Danner West, a granddaughter of Uncle Mack Danner, who shared the following photos of the family that were taken in Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Uncle Mack Danner (1859-c.1910)

Picture taken before 1910 in Guthrie, Oklahoma

Uncle Mack Danner’s wife Annie McGee Danner and their 10 children

Guthrie, Oklahoma

Two of Uncle Mack Danner’s sons who were killed in Oklahoma by a man who feared for his life from the two brothers

Uncle Mack Danner’s son, Alex Danner, who was the last child born in Mississippi in Jan. 1889 before the family moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma

Uncle Mack Danner’s daughter, Laura Danner Lowe, and her son, Artis Lowe. She was their first child who was born in Oklahoma in May 1892.

Uncle Mack Danner’s in-laws, Mack Henry McGee & Julia Hinkles McGee, who accompanied them to Oklahoma from Panola County, Mississippi

Omaha Sen. Edward R. Danner, youngest son of Mack and Annie Danner, was the lone African-American legislator in the Nebraska Unicameral during the U.S. Civil Rights era of the 1960’s.

Pictures by the late Dorothy Danner West

The African American Blogging Circle is a group of genealogy bloggers who are sharing their family stories, seen through their own personal lens, from the PBS series, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross.  Click here for a list of the participating bloggers and check out their stories.

Watch Episode 4

Oral History Interview

I FOUND THE CASSETTE TAPE! On April 8, 2005, I drove to Memphis, TN to capture my late Cousin Robert Danner’s family recollections on tape. This was for an assignment for one of my graduate classes while pursuing my Master of Arts degree in African-American Studies from Clark Atlanta Univ.  The day of this interview was Cousin Robert’s 99th birthday.  Shortly after moving to Memphis in Nov. 1996, I developed a close relationship with him. Born on April 8, 1906 near Como, Mississippi, he was my maternal grandmother’s first cousin and my great-grandmother Mary Danner Davis’ nephew.  He became like a grandfather to me; he shared so much with me about our family history.  In fact, Mississippi to Africa: A Journey of Discovery would not have been possible if it wasn’t for his clear mind and vivid recollections.  I often brag that Cousin Robert was a “Walking History Book,” and now you can hear why.

This interview is presented here in 5 short clips with a synopsis of what he had shared with me many times during the 11 years I was blessed to have him in my life.  Really, this is just a small portion of all the knowledge he poured onto me.  Cousin Robert Danner joined the ancestors three years after this interview on April 9, 2008, at the age of 102. I am thrilled to be able to share his voice, his kind spirit, and his wonderful recollections with family members and the world. Two thumbs up for technology!

Cousin Robert Danner with his longtime companion/”girlfriend,” Ruthie Mae Byers (left), and our cousin, Orien Reid Nix (right), taken in 1998, Memphis, TN

AUDIO CLIP 1 (7:40): Cousin Robert shares his memory of his grandmother, Louisa “Lue” Bobo Danner (1842-1921) of Panola County (Como), MS (my great-great-grandmother), and why he and his baby sister were afraid of her when they were small children.  He also shares how Grandma Lue got her land (100 acres).

Louisa “Lue” Bobo Danner (1842-1921)

AUDIO CLIP 2 (8:00): Cousin Robert talks about how his father, Uncle Alfred Danner, quit school to work after his father Edward “Ed” Danner had passed away on Sept. 15, 1876.  Ed Danner was only 42 years old. He shared more recollections of his grandmother, Lue.  He recalls her white half-brother, Sandy Wilbourn. In this interview, he said Sandy was her “Daddy” in error but in previous conversations, he confirmed that Sandy was her brother.  He also recalls what his grandmother Lue had told him about how they had church during slavery. He shares about how he and his family lived on Dr. Archie Yarbrough’s farm near Como. Lastly, he talked about how his church, Mt. Moriah C.M.E.Church (Como), began shortly after slavery.

Cousin Robert’s father, Alfred Danner (1863-1961), sitting with his sister, Laura Danner Reid (1871-1955)

AUDIO CLIP 3 (8:00): Cousin Robert continues talking about the history of Mt. Moriah Church and how it was built shortly after slavery by his grandfather Ed, the Pratchers, etc. He discusses the injustice of sharecropping. He recalls the elders he remembered during his childhood, and how his grandmother’s sisters would visit her and they had “church” out in the road. He shares how his grandmother Lue would be shouting as she walked to church (Mt. Moriah).

Mt. Moriah C.M.E. Church near Como, MS. The red arrow points to the spot where Cousin Robert showed me where Grandma Lue Danner was buried on July 6, 1921.

AUDIO CLIP 4 (4:14):  Cousin Robert confirms that his father, Alfred Danner, was born into slavery. He describes his grandmother Lue’s house. He talks about his Aunt Martha’s son, Isaac Gray (who changed his last name to Hockenhull after his stepfather, his mother’s 2nd husband.). Cousin Isaac Hockenhull married the great gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson. Remarkably, he shares accounts of what his father told him about how he raised money to pay the lawyer so that Grandma Lue could get a widow’s pension from the federal government.  Her husband Edward Danner (my great-great-grandfather) fought with the 59th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) during the Civil War.  Cousin Robert shares how he heard that black soldiers fought in the War with sticks.

1880 Panola County, MS Census showing Cousin Robert’s father, Alfred Danner, in his mother’s household. His reported age was 18. My great-grandmother was Mary.

AUDIO CLIP 5:  Cousin Robert discusses how a white store-owner in Como, named Charlie Chambers, surprisingly revealed to him that his wife, Mrs. Maggie “A.T.” Wilbourn Chambers, was a first cousin to his father, Alfred.  He recalls a story of how his father Alfred had to borrow money from a white merchant in Como.  He also discusses how his father had a philosophy of a person being a “Man of his Word”. 

Cousin Robert celebrating his 100th Birthday, Memphis, TN

1910 Panola County, MS Census showing Cousin Robert Danner in his father’s household, 4 years old

Cousin Robert’s grandfather’s name is on the African-American Civil War Memorial in Washington, DC. After the Civil War, Ed changed his name back to Danner.

Unearthing Hidden Jewels

Photo by Dennis Cox

Let me be frank. I cannot imagine going through life without having vast knowledge about the accomplishments of my own ancestors, the people whose blood flows through my veins.  In addition to having knowledge about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and many other noted African Americans who are often commemorated during Black History Month, I want to know as much as I can about my past family members who made a difference in their communities in their own ways. I’ve been researching since 1993, and I realize that (1) I still have a lot to learn about their accomplishments, and (2) researching to unearth those hidden and untold “jewels” will be a life-long journey.  Recently, Angela Walton-Raji made these facts very evident!

While attending the AAHGS conference in Little Rock, Arkansas in October 2011, Angela, a renowned genealogist, historian, and my “genealogy buddy” for nearly 20 years, became fascinated by the buried accomplishments and life of Madam Martha “Mattie” E. Danner Hockenhull. Angela also happens to be the great-great-granddaughter of my great-great-grandfather Pleasant Barr’s second wife Amanda Young.  She had no idea that Mattie Hockenhull was my maternal grandmother’s aunt, my great-grandmother’s sister.  Instead of me sharing how researching Mattie Hockenhull led Cousin Angela back to me, check out her blog post, “The Search For and Discovery of Madam Martha Danner Hockenhull.”

I first learned about Aunt Mattie from my late and dear cousin, Vivian Ivory Jones, when I moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1996. Cousin Vivian shared how Aunt Mattie had owned a beauty shop in Pine Bluff, Arkansas during the 1910’s and 1920’s. Aunt Mattie’s only child, Isaac Hockenhull, married the late great gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, in Chicago, IL.  That was all that was basically shared with me about her. Then, Cousin Vivian, whose grandmother Frances Danner Howard was also my great-grandmother’s sister, pulled out the following picture of her.  Aunt Mattie was obviously a lady of style and elegance.

Madam Martha “Mattie” Ella Danner Hockenhull

(1873 – 1937)

Yesterday, I got a Facebook message from Cousin Angela. In addition to her findings that she revealed in her blog post, she recently found more about Aunt Mattie!  Not only did Aunt Mattie run her own beauty shop in Pine Bluff, Arkansas during the early 1900’s, not only did she publish a series of publications about beauty techniques in 1917 (see Angela’s blog post for pictures), not only was she the former mother-in-law of Mahalia Jackson, but this elegant lady, who was born just eight years after slavery near Como, Mississippi, also ran a correspondence school!  This additional fact was discovered in a 1917 edition of the Muskogee Cimeter, a black newspaper published in Oklahoma.  Excitingly, Angela also expressed the following, “Note that in 1917, she had a telephone! Most families did not get phones till the 1950’s! She was ahead of her time!” I am so proud to claim this lady as my great-grand-aunt!  One can only imagine what else will be unearthed, not only about Aunt Mattie, but about others with whom I share DNA. The same goes for you, too!

 1917 article from the Muskogee Cimeter newspaper; shared by Angela Walton-Raji

Many Thanks to Angela!