Robert Reed Church | |
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| Born | June 18, 1839 |
| Died | August 29, 1912 (aged 73) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Pico (m. 1857; was considered not legal) Louisa Ayres (divorced) Anna Wright (died) |
| Children | 4 (including Mary Church Terrell and Robert Church Jr.) |
Robert Reed Church Sr. (June 18, 1839 – August 29, 1912) was an American entrepreneur, businessman and landowner in Memphis, Tennessee, who began his rise during the American Civil War. He was the first African-American "millionaire" in the South.[1] Church built a reputation for great wealth and influence in the business community. He founded Solvent Savings Bank, the first black-owned bank in the city, which extended credit to blacks so they could buy homes and develop businesses. As a philanthropist, Church used his wealth to develop a park, playground, auditorium and other facilities for the black community, who were excluded by state-enacted racial segregation from most such amenities in the city.
The son of a black mother and white father, Church began working as a steward when his father, a steamboat owner, took him along on his route between Memphis and New Orleans. Robert Church bought his first property in Memphis in 1862. He was well established by 1878-79, the years of devastating yellow fever epidemics which resulted in dramatic depopulation in the city. With property devalued, Church bought numerous businesses as well as undeveloped land, with the long-term view of their appreciation as the city recovered. He built his great wealth on this real estate. He purchased the first $1,000 municipal bond to help the city recover from bankruptcy after it was reduced to a Taxing District.[2]