Adolph Achille Gereau
Encyclopedia
Adolph Achille Gereau, or Adolph Gereau, (December 20, 1893 – May 24, 1994) was a United States Virgin Islands
civil servant who was the principal founder of the Republican Club and one of the committee of founders of the Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands.
Gereau was born December 20, 1893 in Charlotte Amalie
, St. Thomas, then Danish West Indies, and died May 24, 1994 in Christiansted, St. Croix. His father was Mederic Gereau, a boat captain and steam engine mechanic from the island of Guadeloupe
, French West Indies. His mother was Diana Beale of the island of Anegada
in the British Virgin Islands
. Although mostly Black, Adolph Gereau was adopted at the age of 11 in 1905 by a white family resident in Charlotte Amalie, the Ffrenches. Marie Leonides Galiber Ffrench and her husband Gustav Augustus Ffrench operated a commercial warehouse and stevedoring contracting firm. Ffrenches second wife was Esther Levy-Maduro who, though a Catholic herself, was of an illustrious Sephardic Jewish family. The Gereau and Ffrench families have been in communication since that time. One of Gereau's foster brothers, Leopold Adelbert Augustus Ffrench, moved to Mexico and a grandson Leonardo I. Ffrench
serving in the diplomatic corps eventually became the Director General of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad
of the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores. Adolph Gereau's wife was Annetta Brewster Gereau of black, Asian Indian and white descent, a seamstress and herbal healer active in the Episcopal Church. Her sister Louise Brewster Siebenhoven was grandmother of Michael S. Fields at one point President of Oracle USA
. The Gereaus had three children Iva Liston Gereau, Edith Mercedes Gereau and Gustave Adolph Gereau.
He was educated in the islands' Catholic School system and received an Associates in Accounting by correspondence from the Pace Accountancy Institute forerunner to the Pace University
. During a varied civil service career Gereau was a Danish police officer, Acting Commissioner of Public Safety, and Deputy United States Inspector of Immigration in charge of the United States Virgin Islands. He was part of the official welcoming party at the visit of aviator Charles Lindbergh
. The officious character Police Officer Adolphus in the 1939 novel Star Spangled Virgin by DuBose Heyward
author of Porgy and Bess
is a humorous interpretation of his personality. Gereau was one of the people who hosted Heyward when he visited on a cruise in 1937.
Gereau was one of the first Blacks to go through training as an FBI agent, through a program offering training to senior police officers from cooperating departments. Before his civil service career, he also worked as a boilermaker's apprentice with the West India Corporation a division of the Danish East Asiatic Company
, ships steward with Hamburg America Line
. During his career he moonlighted as a merchant clerk with Cyril Daniel (honorary consul for Haiti and fiscal agent for Stenio Vincent
) and the St. Thomas branch of Paiewonsky Hermanos of the Dominican Republic. An article he wrote on a riot in Charlotte Amalie by Southern White sailors from the U.S. Navy in 1924 was given prominent coverage in the U.S. press. At this time he also wrote Calvin Coolidge
requesting that he be permitted to form a Republican Club to help lobby for greater respect for the islanders. He was then invited to become a newspaper reporter with AP
, UPI and American Negro Press Agency. In support of his capacity as a journalist he also financed the Virgin Islands Daily News. After moving to St. Croix on his retirement in 1959, he served the Catholic Church and he was Director of the St. Croix, Virgin Islands chapter of the Red Cross.
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
civil servant who was the principal founder of the Republican Club and one of the committee of founders of the Republican Party of the United States Virgin Islands.
Gereau was born December 20, 1893 in Charlotte Amalie
Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands
-Education:St. Thomas-St. John School District serves the community. and Charlotte Amalie High School serve the area.-Gallery:-See also:* Anna's Retreat* Cruz Bay* Saint Thomas* Water Island-External links:* *...
, St. Thomas, then Danish West Indies, and died May 24, 1994 in Christiansted, St. Croix. His father was Mederic Gereau, a boat captain and steam engine mechanic from the island of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, French West Indies. His mother was Diana Beale of the island of Anegada
Anegada
Anegada is the northernmost of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands which form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It lies approximately north of Virgin Gorda. Anegada is the only inhabited British Virgin Island formed from coral and limestone, rather than being of volcanic...
in the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
. Although mostly Black, Adolph Gereau was adopted at the age of 11 in 1905 by a white family resident in Charlotte Amalie, the Ffrenches. Marie Leonides Galiber Ffrench and her husband Gustav Augustus Ffrench operated a commercial warehouse and stevedoring contracting firm. Ffrenches second wife was Esther Levy-Maduro who, though a Catholic herself, was of an illustrious Sephardic Jewish family. The Gereau and Ffrench families have been in communication since that time. One of Gereau's foster brothers, Leopold Adelbert Augustus Ffrench, moved to Mexico and a grandson Leonardo I. Ffrench
Leonardo Ffrench
Leonardo Ffrench Iduarte is a retired career Mexican Ambassador who served in variety of posts. He was the Foreign Press spokesperson for President Carlos Salinas and the first full time spokesman at the Mexican Embassy in the US. He was also Consul General of Mexico in Denver and in Chicago...
serving in the diplomatic corps eventually became the Director General of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad
Institute for Mexicans Abroad
The Mexican government’s commitment to the Mexicans who live and work abroad led to the creation of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad , a decentralized agency of the Foreign Ministry....
of the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores. Adolph Gereau's wife was Annetta Brewster Gereau of black, Asian Indian and white descent, a seamstress and herbal healer active in the Episcopal Church. Her sister Louise Brewster Siebenhoven was grandmother of Michael S. Fields at one point President of Oracle USA
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
. The Gereaus had three children Iva Liston Gereau, Edith Mercedes Gereau and Gustave Adolph Gereau.
He was educated in the islands' Catholic School system and received an Associates in Accounting by correspondence from the Pace Accountancy Institute forerunner to the Pace University
Pace University
Pace University is an American private, co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus university in the New York metropolitan area with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York.-Programs:...
. During a varied civil service career Gereau was a Danish police officer, Acting Commissioner of Public Safety, and Deputy United States Inspector of Immigration in charge of the United States Virgin Islands. He was part of the official welcoming party at the visit of aviator Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
. The officious character Police Officer Adolphus in the 1939 novel Star Spangled Virgin by DuBose Heyward
DuBose Heyward
Edwin DuBose Heyward was a white American author best known for his 1925 novel Porgy. This novel was the basis for the play by the same name and, in turn, the opera Porgy and Bess with music by George Gershwin.-Life and career:Heyward was born in 1885 in Charleston, South Carolina and was a...
author of Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
is a humorous interpretation of his personality. Gereau was one of the people who hosted Heyward when he visited on a cruise in 1937.
Gereau was one of the first Blacks to go through training as an FBI agent, through a program offering training to senior police officers from cooperating departments. Before his civil service career, he also worked as a boilermaker's apprentice with the West India Corporation a division of the Danish East Asiatic Company
East Asiatic Company
The East Asiatic Company was founded by Hans Niels Andersen in Copenhagen in 1897. Service which would eventually include both passenger and freight lines between the Danish capital, Bangkok and the far east was the initial objective. Routes to include the Baltic and Black Seas were...
, ships steward with Hamburg America Line
Hamburg America Line
The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...
. During his career he moonlighted as a merchant clerk with Cyril Daniel (honorary consul for Haiti and fiscal agent for Stenio Vincent
Sténio Vincent
Sténio Joseph Vincent was President of Haiti from November 18, 1930 to May 15, 1941.In October 1930 Haitians chose a national assembly for the first time since 1918, which elected Vincent as President of Haiti...
) and the St. Thomas branch of Paiewonsky Hermanos of the Dominican Republic. An article he wrote on a riot in Charlotte Amalie by Southern White sailors from the U.S. Navy in 1924 was given prominent coverage in the U.S. press. At this time he also wrote Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
requesting that he be permitted to form a Republican Club to help lobby for greater respect for the islanders. He was then invited to become a newspaper reporter with AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, UPI and American Negro Press Agency. In support of his capacity as a journalist he also financed the Virgin Islands Daily News. After moving to St. Croix on his retirement in 1959, he served the Catholic Church and he was Director of the St. Croix, Virgin Islands chapter of the Red Cross.