Robert Reed Church
Encyclopedia
Robert Reed Church was an African-American entrepreneur and landowner who lived most of his adult life in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

. His father, Captain Charles B. Church was a white steamship owner. His mother was Emmeline, a slave owned by his father. According to family accounts, Emmeline was the daughter of a White planter from Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...

 and a "Malay" Malagasy
Malagasy people
The Malagasy ethnic group forms nearly the entire population of Madagascar. They are divided into two subgroups: the "Highlander" Merina, Sihanaka and Betsileo of the central plateau around Antananarivo, Alaotra and Fianarantsoa, and the côtiers elsewhere in the country. This division has its...

 princess.

By 1878-79 Church had acquired considerable wealth and was able to move his family to safety during the yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....

 epidemics that swept through Memphis. Depopulated by epidemic, and therefore devaluing the land, Church saw a great opportunity in Memphis real estate and increased his property holdings throughout the city. His properties would grow to include undeveloped land, commercial buildings, some residential housing, and bars in the red-light district. It is estimated that he was able to collect approximately $6,000 a month in rent from his properties. Multiple sources refer to Church as the first black millionaire, although it is now generally accepted that his wealth reached only about $700,000.
He is most famous as the father of Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell , daughter of former slaves, was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree. She became an activist who led several important associations and worked for civil rights and suffrage....

.
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