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Andrew F. Hilyer

Andrew Franklin Hilyer (August 14, 1858 – January 13, 1925) was an accomplished Washington, D.C., lawyer, businessman, real estate investor, activist and inventor. He was born on August 14, 1858, in Georgia, and died in January 1925. An avid believer in the potential and development of African Americans, he devoted his life to cultivating black business in D.C. His interests spanned a variety of activities, and although a lawyer by profession, he dabbled in many areas throughout his time in the capitol.

Andrew Franklin Hilyer
Personal details
Born(1858-08-14)August 14, 1858
Georgia
Died(1925-01-13)January 13, 1925
Washington D.C.
Spouses
(m. 1886; died 1916)

(m. 1923)
ProfessionBusinessman, lawyer, inventor, activist and real estate investor

Early life and education edit

Andrew Hilyer was born enslaved in Georgia in the Summer of 1858. When he was still a child, he and his mother became Exodusters, a group of thousands of southern blacks who moved to High Plains states in search of a better life. They fled to Nebraska and he relocated again after the death of his mother, this time to Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a freeman.[1] There, he met and befriended several wealthy white families such as the Gale and Pillsbury families. These families helped him in his education, especially in pursuing higher education. He graduated from the Minneapolis High School in 1878. Then, he enrolled in the University of Minnesota, and was the first African American to graduate from there with a B.A. in 1882. In order to further his education and to fuel his interest in law, Hilyer moved to Washington, D.C., where he attended Howard University, graduating with an LL.B (1884) and an LL.M (1885).

Personal life edit

In 1886, he married Mamie Elizabeth Nichols (1863–1916), with whom he had three children: Gale, Franklin and Kathleen. Mamie Elizabeth was a D.C. native whose family had been free for several generations. She was a music enthusiast and a member of the well-known Booklovers Clubs.[2] Seven years after his first wife died in 1916, he married Amanda Victoria Gray (1870–1957). She was a graduate of the Howard School of Pharmacy, the widow of Arthur Gray, who was involved with the Hilyer family in Washington's civic affairs.

Professional life edit

Hilyer's first job was as a correspondent for the Northwest Review while he was at Howard University. After his graduation, he took a job as a class II clerk at the Treasury Department and he later on became Secretary Treasurer.[3] Hilyer's most notable impact and significance lie in his innovative organizational activities aimed at developing the black community in Washington, economically, politically, culturally and educationally. At a time when there was a very strong debate within the black community between the advantages of industrial versus liberal, political versus economic development, and the strategies of internal black development versus attempts for equality and assimilation into the mainstream of American life, Hilyer did not see the need to restrict the options for black development. His passion lay in organising opportunities for the betterment of Washington, D.C.’s black business population, and he often worked with white citizens, convincing them to help develop the black economic community through employment and business education.[4] Hilyer was one of the founders and the first president of the Union League of the District of Columbia which was organized in 1892 "to advance the moral, material and financial interests of the colored people". The Union League published directories of black businesspeople in 1892, 1894, and 1895 and in 1901 published A historical, Biographical and Statistical Study of Colored Washington which was directed and a coordinated by Hilyer. The document recorded 1000 black-owned business by 1901, an impressive leap from the 120 recorded in 1894.[5] His business interests also led him to attend the Paris Exposition of 1900, representing the U.S. Commission, where he organised the “Collective Exhibit of Negroes in Merchandise, Factories and Allied Occupations.”

Because he was a civil servant Hilyer was not able to participate in politics overtly. He was, however, the founder of the Correspondence Club which was designed to influence public opinion, media representation and public policy as they affected the black community. The membership of this club was limited to only twelve people and its existence was never publicized. In essence, the Correspondence Club was a secret lobbying organization for the black race. As a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Hilyer also lent his efforts to the struggle against racial injustices. He showed his support for other empowerment initiatives, and was present at the first meeting of Booker T. Washington’s National Negro Business League in 1900. He held a position on the Board of Trustees at Howard University and he advocated for liberal and professional education. He was also a supporter of industrial education, participated in Hampton institute conferences, and sent one of his sons, Franklin, to Armstrong, the industrial high school in Washington, D.C. He was also the chairman of the Committee of Business and Labor in D.C.[6]

Other interests edit

Alongside his federal employment, Hilyer also dabbled in real estate investment – buying, developing and selling properties. He was also an acclaimed inventor, receiving patents in 1900 for his inventions of a hot-air register and a water evaporator for a hot-air register. He enjoyed literature and the arts, and was a member of the Bethel Literary and Historical Association as well as the Muso-Lit Club. The establishment of the S. Coleridge-Taylor Choral Society was as a result of Hilyer and his first wife. Mamie Elizabeth had a passion for music and through her dedication the pair even managed to organise concerts on two separate occasions at which the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor himself performed.

Death edit

Hilyer died at his home on January 13, 1925. Funeral services were held on Jan. 16 in Rankin Memorial Chapel, Howard University, and he was buried in Harmony Cemetery, Washington, D.C. His home is still part of the Howard University campus today and is used for administrative offices.

References edit

  1. ^ Rummel, Jack. African-American Social Leaders and Activists. New York: Infobase Publishing.
  2. ^ "Men of the Month - A Social Leader. Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races". African American Periodicals. p. 227.
  3. ^ Thompson, R.W. (1907). "The Negro Exhibit at Jamestown". Colored American Magazine. 13 (1): 27.
  4. ^ Logan, Rayford Whittingham; Winston, Michael (1982). Dictionary of American Negro Biography. New York: Norton. ISBN 9780393015133.
  5. ^ Asch, Chris Myers; Musgrove, G. Derek. Chocolate City: Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capitol. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, forthcoming.
  6. ^ Hilyer, Andrew F. (1899). "Report of the Committee on Business and Labor. Southern Workman". No. 9. African American Periodicals.

andrew, hilyer, andrew, franklin, hilyer, august, 1858, january, 1925, accomplished, washington, lawyer, businessman, real, estate, investor, activist, inventor, born, august, 1858, georgia, died, january, 1925, avid, believer, potential, development, african,. Andrew Franklin Hilyer August 14 1858 January 13 1925 was an accomplished Washington D C lawyer businessman real estate investor activist and inventor He was born on August 14 1858 in Georgia and died in January 1925 An avid believer in the potential and development of African Americans he devoted his life to cultivating black business in D C His interests spanned a variety of activities and although a lawyer by profession he dabbled in many areas throughout his time in the capitol Andrew Franklin HilyerPersonal detailsBorn 1858 08 14 August 14 1858GeorgiaDied 1925 01 13 January 13 1925Washington D C SpousesMamie Elizabeth Nichols m 1886 died 1916 wbr Amanda Victoria Gray m 1923 wbr ProfessionBusinessman lawyer inventor activist and real estate investor Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Personal life 3 Professional life 4 Other interests 5 Death 6 ReferencesEarly life and education editAndrew Hilyer was born enslaved in Georgia in the Summer of 1858 When he was still a child he and his mother became Exodusters a group of thousands of southern blacks who moved to High Plains states in search of a better life They fled to Nebraska and he relocated again after the death of his mother this time to Minneapolis Minnesota as a freeman 1 There he met and befriended several wealthy white families such as the Gale and Pillsbury families These families helped him in his education especially in pursuing higher education He graduated from the Minneapolis High School in 1878 Then he enrolled in the University of Minnesota and was the first African American to graduate from there with a B A in 1882 In order to further his education and to fuel his interest in law Hilyer moved to Washington D C where he attended Howard University graduating with an LL B 1884 and an LL M 1885 Personal life editIn 1886 he married Mamie Elizabeth Nichols 1863 1916 with whom he had three children Gale Franklin and Kathleen Mamie Elizabeth was a D C native whose family had been free for several generations She was a music enthusiast and a member of the well known Booklovers Clubs 2 Seven years after his first wife died in 1916 he married Amanda Victoria Gray 1870 1957 She was a graduate of the Howard School of Pharmacy the widow of Arthur Gray who was involved with the Hilyer family in Washington s civic affairs Professional life editHilyer s first job was as a correspondent for the Northwest Review while he was at Howard University After his graduation he took a job as a class II clerk at the Treasury Department and he later on became Secretary Treasurer 3 Hilyer s most notable impact and significance lie in his innovative organizational activities aimed at developing the black community in Washington economically politically culturally and educationally At a time when there was a very strong debate within the black community between the advantages of industrial versus liberal political versus economic development and the strategies of internal black development versus attempts for equality and assimilation into the mainstream of American life Hilyer did not see the need to restrict the options for black development His passion lay in organising opportunities for the betterment of Washington D C s black business population and he often worked with white citizens convincing them to help develop the black economic community through employment and business education 4 Hilyer was one of the founders and the first president of the Union League of the District of Columbia which was organized in 1892 to advance the moral material and financial interests of the colored people The Union League published directories of black businesspeople in 1892 1894 and 1895 and in 1901 published A historical Biographical and Statistical Study of Colored Washington which was directed and a coordinated by Hilyer The document recorded 1000 black owned business by 1901 an impressive leap from the 120 recorded in 1894 5 His business interests also led him to attend the Paris Exposition of 1900 representing the U S Commission where he organised the Collective Exhibit of Negroes in Merchandise Factories and Allied Occupations Because he was a civil servant Hilyer was not able to participate in politics overtly He was however the founder of the Correspondence Club which was designed to influence public opinion media representation and public policy as they affected the black community The membership of this club was limited to only twelve people and its existence was never publicized In essence the Correspondence Club was a secret lobbying organization for the black race As a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP Hilyer also lent his efforts to the struggle against racial injustices He showed his support for other empowerment initiatives and was present at the first meeting of Booker T Washington s National Negro Business League in 1900 He held a position on the Board of Trustees at Howard University and he advocated for liberal and professional education He was also a supporter of industrial education participated in Hampton institute conferences and sent one of his sons Franklin to Armstrong the industrial high school in Washington D C He was also the chairman of the Committee of Business and Labor in D C 6 Other interests editAlongside his federal employment Hilyer also dabbled in real estate investment buying developing and selling properties He was also an acclaimed inventor receiving patents in 1900 for his inventions of a hot air register and a water evaporator for a hot air register He enjoyed literature and the arts and was a member of the Bethel Literary and Historical Association as well as the Muso Lit Club The establishment of the S Coleridge Taylor Choral Society was as a result of Hilyer and his first wife Mamie Elizabeth had a passion for music and through her dedication the pair even managed to organise concerts on two separate occasions at which the Samuel Coleridge Taylor himself performed Death editHilyer died at his home on January 13 1925 Funeral services were held on Jan 16 in Rankin Memorial Chapel Howard University and he was buried in Harmony Cemetery Washington D C His home is still part of the Howard University campus today and is used for administrative offices References edit Rummel Jack African American Social Leaders and Activists New York Infobase Publishing Men of the Month A Social Leader Crisis A Record of the Darker Races African American Periodicals p 227 Thompson R W 1907 The Negro Exhibit at Jamestown Colored American Magazine 13 1 27 Logan Rayford Whittingham Winston Michael 1982 Dictionary of American Negro Biography New York Norton ISBN 9780393015133 Asch Chris Myers Musgrove G Derek Chocolate City Race and Democracy in the Nation s Capitol Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press forthcoming Hilyer Andrew F 1899 Report of the Committee on Business and Labor Southern Workman No 9 African American Periodicals Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Andrew F Hilyer amp oldid 1170681911, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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