Alonzo Herndon

Early life

Born into slavery, he was the son of his white master, Frank Herndon, and an enslaved woman, Sophenie. Herndon was one of twenty-five slaves owned by his father, though Frank never acknowledged paternity. Together with his mother, her parents, and his younger brother, Herndon was emancipated in 1865 when he wasseven years old. They entered freedom with no financial background. At a very young age, Herndon worked as a laborer, and a peddler, to support his family. The family worked in sharecropping in Social Circle, Georgia, forty miles east of Atlanta.

Career

In 1878, Herndon left Social Circle on foot with only eleven dollars of saving and only had approximately one year of schooling and eventually went to Senoia, Georgia, to work as a farmhand and learned the barbering trade. Later, Herndon opened up his first barbershop in Jonesboro, Georgia. His barbering business thrived and expanded over the years. He later became the owner of three barbershops in Atlanta. Those barbershops had elite customers such as presidents, judges, business men and lawyers, who frequented the barbershop. He went on to invest in real estate, and then entered insurance. He began by buying a failing mutual aid association in 1905, which he incorporated as the Atlanta Mutual Insurance Association. By 1916, the Association was reorganized as a stock company capitalized at $25,000. In 1922, the company was reorganized as Atlanta Life Insurance Company, and became one of five African American insurance companies at the time to achieve legal reserve status. Atlanta Life’s business thrived,and expanded their business into Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas.

Through his enterprises Herndon became Atlanta's first black millionaire. Herndon was featured in The Crisis Magazine’s “Men of the Month” in March 1921. The article emphasizes his competence and success as a businessman.

Personal life and Legacy

In 1893, Herndon married Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, a professor at Atlanta University. After Adrienne died in 1910, Herndon married Jessie Gillespie of Chicago. His home, Herndon Home, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. His son, Norris B. Herndon, expanded the company into a multimillion-dollar empire. Herndon attended the First Congregational Church.

The Herndon Home was built in 1910 and may be visited at 587 University Place NW in the Vine City neighborhood. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000. Herndon Homes, an Atlanta public housing project (now demolished) was named for Herndon, as was Herndon Stadium at Morris Brown College, which was the field hockey venue at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Death

Alonzo Herndon died in Atlanta in July 21, 1927 at the age of 69.