|
Title: |
George A. Myers Correspondence |
|
Repository: |
Western Reserve Historical Society
Phone: 216-721-5722 http://www.wrhs.org |
|
Creator: |
Myers, George A. |
|
Dates: |
1912-1923 |
|
Quantity: |
0.20 linear feet (1 container) |
|
Abstract: |
George A. Myers (1859-1930) was the owner of the Hollenden Barber Shop, which became his steppingstone into Republican politics in the 1890s, Myers became an influential African American politician and civic leader in Cleveland, Ohio, and a close ally to Marcus Hanna. Myers was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1892, 1896, and 1900 and was instrumental in the development of the McKinley-Hanna organization and in the election of Hanna to the United States Senate. During the 1920s, Myers adopted a new tone of militancy in racial matters. The collection consists of correspondence between Myers and James Ford Rhodes, businessman and historian. Contains comments and opinions on contemporary political issues and notable public figures (Theodore Roosevelt, Marcus A. Hanna, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson). |
|
Identification: |
MS 1199 |
|
Location: |
closed stacks |
|
Language: |
The records are in English |
George A. Myers (1859-1930) was the owner of the Hollenden Barber Shop, which became his steppingstone into Republican politics in the 1890s. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1879 and began work as a barber at the Weddell House Barber Shop. He opened the barber shop at the Hollenden Hotel in 1888 with the financial backing of Liberty Holden and James Rhodes. By 1920, his barber shop employed 17 barbers, 6 manicurists, 5 porters, 3 hairdressers, and 2 podiatrists. Myers became an influential African American politician and civic leader in Cleveland, Ohio, and a close ally to Marcus Hanna. Myers was a delegate to the Republican Natl. Convention in 1892, 1896, and 1900 and was instrumental in the development of the McKinley-Hanna organization and in the election of Hanna to the U.S. Senate. Myers was offered several political appointments but declined them all, instead securing 4 appointments for other African Americans.
During the 1920s, Myers adopted a new tone of militancy in racial matters, possibly due to the fact that the Hollenden Hotel replaced all of its African American barbers with white barbers after Myers retired in 1923. He lobbied local newspapers to capitalize the word Negro and stop using offensive words. He also persuaded guards at the Woodland Hills municipal swimming pool to stop threatened violence against African Americans.
View the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for George A. Myers
The George A. Myers Correspondence, 1912-1913, consists of typescript copies of correspondence between Myers and James Ford Rhodes, businessman and historian. Contains comments and opinions on contemporary political issues and notable public figures (Theodore Roosevelt, Marcus A. Hanna, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson).
This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of Cleveland, Ohio, and African American political participation in the early twentieth century. Those interested in the political activities of George Myers and James Ford Rhodes will find this collection useful.
None.
Related Material: Related MaterialThe researcher should also consult The Barber and the Historian: The Correspondence of George A. Myers and James Ford Rhodes, 1900-1923 by John A. Garraty.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 1199 George A. Myers Correspondence, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of Andrew Squire in 1927.