Black History Month in a Year Series: Black Barbers of 19th Century Wayne County
Black History Month in a Year Series
Black Barbers of 19thCentury Wayne County
Throughout our country’s history, barber shops have been one of our hubs of social life and centers for the sharing of local news. In Wayne County, Black barbers were in the thick of it. Drawing from census records, directories and advertisements, former Wayne County Historian, Marjory Perez, has discovered much about these mid-19th century barbers. As many as sixty-four Black barbers plied their trade in all but three of Wayne County’s towns. Black Barbers like Tudor Grant of Palmyra who was originally a social activist from Oswego, played a role in the Underground Railroad before the war and linked their clients to other mutual support networks after the war. Of note in that regard was Perry B. Lee who, in addition to his sartorial skills, was an agent for The Colored American, and part of the Colored Men’s Convention movement. The list goes on. There was Joseph Williams of Red Creek in the1870s, David Gregor and Charles Treadwell of Rose in the same period as well as Philemon Stout of Wolcott and the Lloyds of Sodus Pt. Add to that, twelve different barbers in Lyons from 1833 to the late 1860s. They were joined by barbers in Savannah, Macedon, and Marion. These barbers make an impressive group. If anyone knows more about the details of these Black barbers of Wayne County, please send it to the Black History Month in a Year Planning Group, c/o Jim Wood, jwood6923@gmail.com.