She sold the city of Brenham the land upon which Pickard High School was erected, land which she may well have given by her ex-"owner", Daniel Shipman, one of Sephen F. Austin's "Original Three Hundred." The photograph below shows the street sign at Kerr and Mangrum next to the monument erected by the Lion's Club to commemorate Pickard High School in 1979. It reads
"Site Of Pickard High School.
Esteemed Texas school established about 1875 by Brenham public school system for black pupils of elementary through high school levels and called Camptown School. It was renamed East End School and later, in 1936 Pickard High School in honor of A.R. Pickard, it's principal for about forty-five years, becoming a senior high school in 1958. It continued until 1969.
Principals serving here were Paul Bledso, Anerson, Sam McCoy, A.R. Pickard Sr. and W.L. Alton Sr. The spirit of Pickard High School lives in the hearts of its thousands of students."
The Corner of Mangrum and Kerr,
Site of Pickard High School
Louisa
Shipman-Mangrum-Yoos: Screaming from the Dust
By Robert R. Bubb
The lack of records and documentation
make tracing the genealogical roots of former slaves extremely
difficult, if not impossible. For Louisa
Shipman-Mangrum(Mangram)-Yoos, tracing those roots is no different.
Untangling Louisa’s family roots is like envisioning a 1,000 piece
puzzle with two corner pieces, twelve middle pieces, and a whole lot
of educated inference. Based on the interpretation of slave
population censuses, sale deeds, and newspaper clippings, it appears
Louisa’s father was likely her slave owner, Daniel Shipman, and her
mother was likely a “yellow” slave named Vina. Louisa may have
also had five other bi-racial siblings as well: Jane, Julie,
Caroline, Thomas, and a sibling who only lived a few days. Louisa
was likely born around 1846 near Sexton, Texas. Shortly thereafter
and according to the 1850 Slave Census, she was living in Brenham,
Texas. Like many slave families, Daniel Shipman may have sold some of
her siblings as they came of age, and it appears that in 1859
following the death of his wife, Shipman sold Louisa and her
remaining family as well.
After emancipation the records are
much clearer, Louisa started a family of her own, and in 1869, she
married a former slave named Smith Mangrum (Mangram). Although the
marriage would not last more than 15 years, Louisa and Smith raised
two children – Mary and John. Louisa was an advocate for education
as the Census records all indicate that her children were in school.
Little is known about Mary, however John would later marry Aggie
Fredericks who, according to the Brenham Banner, was known for her
swearing and fighting. Sadly in 1900, John died of consumption and
according to the 1900 Census, Mary may have had passed away as well.
In addition to her
own children, Louisa also cared for several other children including
a niece, Rebecca Lusk, and two nephews, Harrison Pressey and Earl
Jones. Louisa and Smith made a lasting impression on Harrison, as he
would later name two of his children after them. Louisa would also
adopt the daughter of Mattie Foster and cared for her until she
decided to return to her mother. Louisa’s open home was likely the
result of her relatively unusual financial position for a former
slave.
Despite her roots,
Louisa was quite prosperous. How she came about such wealth is still
a mystery; however Daniel Shipman may have had something to do with
it. According to the 1870 Census Louisa and Smith owned a home valued
at $600 which was double the value of most homes owned by former
slaves at that time. But it would not be until after 1880 that Louisa
was a regular in terms of land acquisitions and transfers.
Coincidentally in 1880, Daniel Shipman sold all of his interests in
Brenham for $10,000 and divided the money among his children.
Although it is not known if his mulatto children received any of the
sale proceeds, Louisa’s escalation in property transactions after
that date suggests she may have received a portion.
Interestingly and
despite being married, Louisa maintained property rights and all
transactions were in her name and not her husband’s. Texas and
California were the only two states at the time that allowed wives to
retain the rights to their own property, and Federal Censuses and
newspaper articles demonstrate that Louisa owned a lot of property.
She owned a house on Sandy Street – now known as Alamo Street, 100
acres outside of town in Andrew Miller’s abstract under Smith’s
name, 5 lots in Gays addition – between Garrett and Mangrum Streets
across from Mount Rose Baptist Church where the Pickard High School
Home Economics building now stands, the land south of Mangrum Street
– possibly named after Louisa – to the train tracks, a lot in
Randle’s addition in north Brenham, and two other unspecified lots.
Much of the land she owned surrounded Camptown Cemetery, and several
land transactions were in the interest of furthering Black causes. In
1884, Louisa sold the land south of Mangrum Street for the building
of a new Camptown School – later known as East End and Pickard High
School. Later Louisa sold two lots of land to the United Brothers of
Friendship and the Sisters of the Mysterious Tens. Both orders were
responsible for caring for the sick and burying the dead. Given all
the land she owned, it is with little surprise that the Galveston
Daily News referred to Louisa as a “well-to-do colored woman of
Brenham.”
Given Louisa’s
dealings in the community, she was referenced much in the local
newspaper. An article in the Brenham Banner tells of Henry McDade’s
close call with death on Louisa’s property. Louisa treated her
property for ants and unknown to her, the gas from chemicals poised
her water well. Coincidentally, McDade was called out to clean the
well and was overcome with the fumes. He passed out at the bottom of
the well. After Prince Edward failed in his attempt to save McDade,
Wiley Hubert scaled the well and pulled McDade to safety.
Not only was Louisa involved in
property transactions, she was also involved in several legal
matters. In 1879, Louisa demonstrated her open nature to those in
need and willingness to confront danger by harboring a battered
woman. Louisa literally stood in the line of fire protecting the
woman. The woman’s husband, Taylor Smith, tried to shoot Louisa. In
her own words at Taylor’s trial, “Smith’s wife left him about a
week ago on account of ill treatment, coming to my house; Smith who
seemed to have been drinking came to my house on Tuesday and
quarreled with me about keeping and harboring his wife; came to my
house twice after dark, and each time sending his small boy with
somewhat threatening messages and again came about 10 o’clock at
night, this time accompanied by a double barreled shot gun. I heard a
noise outside and stepping to the open window, I saw the muzzle of
the shotgun, it looked large enough to drive a mule in; heard him
cock the gun and stepped to one side; had hardly got out of the way
when the gun was discharged, the load taking effect in the wall. I
was not hurt.” Louisa not only stood up for the rights of others,
she also stood up for her own rights.
Louisa knew her rights and defended
them. She filed suit for several property and custody rights. In 1884
and 1886, she sued for land rights against Wilson Mangrum – a
possible relative of her husband. She also sued Charles Wilson and K.
A. Sloan for failure to fulfill promissory notes, and she took Mattie
Foster to court over custody of Mattie’s daughter. Although the
court upheld Louisa’s right to the child, the child later returned
to her biological mother. The many legal battles demonstrated that
Louisa was determined to take control of her life – to act and not
be acted upon.
Louisa’s success
in Brenham also demonstrated her ambitious nature. She took every
opportunity to make something of her life. In 1888, she traveled to
California to pursue additional prospects. She spent a year in San
Francisco before moving across the bay. In downtown Oakland, she
purchased a 13-room lodge on the corner of Franklin and 7th
Streets. As a lodge owner, she met several interesting people.
Gustave Rutz was a well-to-do inventor of rail car safety equipment.
Rutz was known for his free love philosophy which was also suspected
to play a role in his mysterious and sudden disappearance.
Another resident
was the self-proclaimed General Charles Kelly of the Industrial Army
and advocate of labor rights. General Kelly’s labor rights march on
Washington was chronicled by the American author – and fellow
marcher – Jack London. Although the movement eventually faded with
little effect, it is not surprising that Louisa would be tangently
connected to the labor rights movement given her pursuit and
exercising of her own legal rights.
Louisa would again
demonstrate her compassion for her fellow human beings. Old David
McNea was a poor peddler and Oakland pioneer who Louisa found in the
street and brought him into her lodge. McNea was ill and she cared
for him at her own expense for the last 6-months of his life. Several
years after his death, a small fortune belonging to McNea was
discovered in a San Francisco bank. McNea’s choice to live a life
of a poor peddler when he hoarded money across the bay left many
scratching their heads and calling him a miser.
While managing the
lodge in Oakland, Louisa struck a relationship with a German
immigrant named Frederick D. Yoos. Unfortunately, they could not
marry because California Civil Code prevented the marriage between
any White person and any Black or Mulatto persons. However they did
raise two children together – Frederick Daniel and Lillian
Virginia. They lived together as a family while residing in Oakland.
While in Oakland,
Louisa also had a run-in with the leader of the Sporting Life Gang,
Frank Nolan. The Sporting Life Gang was characterized by Jack London
as murderers and ballot box stuffers. Frank Nolan had a knack for
getting arrested and then intimidating his way out of legal charges.
Avoiding charges is not too surprising though given that Oakland’s
police force at the end of the 19th Century was considered
the most corrupt in the nation. On this occasion, Nolan assaulted a
woman by the name of Lizzie James. Louisa was called to be a
character witness and possibly in a moment of uncharacteristic
weakness, she testified that Lizzie had a poor reputation. As a
result, Frank Nolan was yet again acquitted. Given Nolan’s own
reputation, it is likely Louisa was also intimidated by the gang
leader.
Shortly after her
testimony at the Sporting Life Trial, Louisa sold the lodge. It is
possible that the trial, and her role in it, persuaded her that
downtown Oakland was not the best place to raise young children.
Louisa and her family moved to Fair Play, California and purchased
two lots of land for a homestead. They would remain in Fair Play
until Fred Yoos passed away in 1906.
After 1906, Louisa
bounced back and forth between her properties in Brenham and in
California. Shortly after the death of Fred Yoos, Louisa and Lillian
moved back to Brenham until women gained the right to vote in
progressive California. It is not surprising that Louisa returned to
Fair Play to exercise her right to vote at the very first available
chance. She had already demonstrated by suing for custody rights,
owning land in her solely her name, managing a lodge, and pursuing
legal actions against others that she was a strong, smart woman
willing to exercise her rights.
She remained in
Fair Play until both Frederick Daniel and Lillian were married.
Lillian married Jacob Harris in 1919 while Frederick married Florence
Moore in 1920. Following the marriages, Louisa traveled back to
Brenham for a couple of years before returning to Oakland in 1922.
Shortly thereafter Lillian moved to Quincy, California and Frederick
moved to Los Angeles. With her children now pursuing their own lives,
Louisa would return one final time to Brenham around 1924.
In October of 1926,
Louisa suffered a stroke. She was taken to a hospital in Rusk, Texas
for medical care, and on January 4th, 1927, Louisa passed
away. Her body was taken back to Brenham to be buried.
Louisa Shipman-Mangrum-Yoos was one of the many forgotten voices that
made up the vibrant history of Camptown. Not even her descendants
knew of her life and accomplishments. Her grandson did not even know
her name until he was 85 years old and knew her only has a poor,
uneducated Black woman from Louisiana who adopted and raised his
mother. Louisa’s memory could not have been more misrepresented!
But no more! As much in life, Louisa is now again making her presence
known in death. The historical revival in Camptown has stirred her
spirit, hopefully never to be silenced again.
